Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1939-11-02
THE PROFIT SYSTEM

Our three Capitalists are physical,
mental and money powers. The most
essential for serving society are the
two first mentioned. Nevertheless
God Mammon," the greatest dictator
of all dictators, rules them ALL
In the twelfth century the English
priest, John Ball, wrote:
"When Adam spade and Eva span
Where was then the gentleman"
For this and more similar thought
he earned CD the nickname of Mad
john" Mr.. Ball tried to show in these
two lines that there is no chance to
become a millionaire or pauper by
honest labor if products are conveyed
more directly from producer to con-
sumner.
The embryo that developed into
Socialism was of the same origin, of
that, of cooperation. Socialism wanted
to exterminate capitalism and pauper-
ism, while cooperation wants to elm
mate the middlemen's profit system.
Various groups of producers and con-
sumers agree that the middleman is
a detriment to both ends. Commod-
tiles often double in price before
they reach the consumers.
None of these in-betweens are add
ing, but take from the products
others helped to produce. Maybe this
was the reason that the old Greeks
deemed it not necessary to have a
different code of laws for merchants
than was used for thieves. The mid
dleman operates his business with
money. This money not only controls
the destination of the commodities,
but also guides and controls coopera-
ton in the same manner as it does
all other business.
Furthermore, the capitalist turns
money itself into a commodity to
make profit on it. Money that can
not be consumed, is no tool, does not
wear or tear, is no perishable pro-
duct, has the same value on the day
of return as it had on the day of
lending. If money is saved labor, it
certainly ought not to be in possession
of those who never delivered a day
of useful service to society.
Disparity exists in cooperative bust
ness; not only the disparity in wages
of its servants, but all the disparity
the profit system" exposes. In the
capitalist market is no parity. This
market is followed by all business
including the cooperatives. God
Mammon" rules the prices of COM
modities and also that of labor
Whether am gold, coal or sewer
digger, a scrub woman or stenogra-
pher, my time lost in the service of
society means as much loss to me as
it does to anybody else in that serv-
ice. Physical service should be worth
the same price as mental service;
money comes third and if necessary
society could go without.
If 1 do for you what you can
not lido for yourself and you do for
me what l cannot do for myself" we
are truly cooperating.
Education, training and money is
mainly used for the purpose of get
ting a better share of the common
wealth than what hard labor re-
ceives, in other words, to take adj
vantage of the low wage earning
hard laborer. Give every normal
child the proper education and train
ing to the full capacity under govern
ment care and support. 1t would do
away with the ''miraclemen" earning
half a million dollars salary or more
per year and save us the extravagant
waste of burying undeveloped ex-
cellent brains in paupers' graves.
JOHN NIEBOER.
Hinckley, MINI.