'. ' 
 HX 
 
 E2. 
 
 A PLAIN 
 
 I ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 BY 
 
 L. K EGCLES 
 
 A< hor of "The 1 impct \'oice From the Throne." (Vol. II) 
 
 PUBi.i 1 BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 PULLMAN, WASH. 
 
 PI ICE >25 CENTS 
 
 Postage (extra) 5 
 
 jpies. $2.00; '5 copies, $4.50; \ 
 
 > Plus shipping charges 
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IN MEMORIAM 
 
 JESSICA PEIXOTTO 
 1864-1941 
 
VOL. I 
 
 A PLAIN 
 
 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 BY 
 
 L. F. ECCLES 
 
 Author of "The Trumpet Voice From the Throne." (Vol. II) 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 
 PULLMAN, WASH. 
 
 PRICE 25 CENTS 
 
 Postage (extra) 5 
 
 10 copies, $2.00; 25 copies, $4.50; ) 
 
 50 cooies. $8.00 : 100 copies, $15.00 ; / PIu 
 

 Copyright. 1907, by L. F. ECCLES 
 
 THE CO-OPERATIVE PRESS, 15 SPRUCE ST.. NEW YORK 
 
 119 
 
Preface 
 
 My Dear Reader: You who are busy, whose energies 
 have been taxed heavily by much work, manual or mental, 
 and perhaps more heavily by that interminable worry that 
 arises from a feeling of uncertainty; or you who for want of 
 opportunity, inclination or any other cause, have not become 
 familiar with the history of the past nor studied carefully the 
 philosophy of human events, it is for you especially that these 
 pages are intended and to you that they are addressed. 
 
 It is needless to say that this work is not intended as a 
 great literary production ; for its perusal will easily disclose to 
 a critic the fact that it is not. And if the style should seem 
 abrupt or coarse to those of refined literary taste, I trust that 
 they will bear with and excuse it ; for, above all things, I 
 desire to be thoroughly understood by all. To this end there 
 are two things necessary : First, that I write plainly ; and 
 secondly, that you read carefully. How well I have done my 
 part you may judge. Will you do your part? And, if, from 
 any cause you fail to get the full meaning, will you do yourself 
 and me the justice to re-read carefully? A certain order has 
 been pursued, so that a thorough understanding of any por- 
 tion depends largely on a knowledge of what has gone before. 
 I have not hesitated to use the pronouns "I" or "me," as the 
 case may be, and, to relieve the monotony, have frequently 
 called in the editorial "we." 
 
 Every trade has its shop talk, which is easily understood 
 by all those of that trade, but Greek to those without. Liter- 
 ary men have theirs. I have been careful to avoid indulging" 
 in the use of literary shop talk. 
 
 My purpose in the present work is to present a brief, 
 plain, simple yet full, comprehensive and philosophical view 
 of the whole subject in its essential features. While I desire 
 to be brief, I do not wish to sacrifice clearness for brevity, and 
 so, in dealing with topics that seemed important, I have not 
 hesitated to introduce elaborate illustration. 
 
 If I have given a greater prominence to the moral phase 
 of the subject than most Socialist writers, I have no apologies 
 to make, for I believe that notwithstanding the tendency of 
 capitalism to uproot, obliterate and destroy it. man still has a 
 conscience, to which the message of Socialism, if properly 
 presented, will appeal. I have quoted freely from other 
 authors wherever I found it convenient, because my object is 
 
 M151389 
 
4 PREFACE 
 
 not so much to bring forth that which is new as to present a 
 complete case that cannot be upset. 
 
 I hope this work may not prove unworthy the consider- 
 ation of the learned; but my one fixed and settled purpose 
 has been to present to the great plain people, of whom I am 
 one, a book which, when one has read, he will be ready to 
 say, "I am a socialist." Or, if he is a conservative, doubting 
 Thomas, will at least comprehend the Socialist idea so thor- 
 oughly, that if he is still hesitating and doubting when the 
 majority vote to inaugurate the Socialistic state, he will be 
 ready to exclaim, "My shoulder to the wheel ! I voted against 
 Socialism because I feared to try the experiment; but it is 
 right in principle, and now, since it is to be tried, I desire to 
 see it succeed; I have as much interest in its success as any 
 one; and if it should fail I am determined that it shall be 
 through no faul-t of mine." 
 
 When you get the Socialist idea in all its fullness, there 
 will come with it the Socialist ideal in all its beauty and at- 
 tractiveness. You may cast it from you as chimerical, vis- 
 ionary and too good to think of; you may trample it under 
 your feet ; but it will rise and climb, and keep climbing till it 
 sits enthroned, the ruling impulse of your life. I have almost 
 entirely avoided statistics. Books of these are easily obtained 
 by those who desire to consult them. My object is not so 
 much to tell the reader something he does not already know, 
 as to reason with him upon information that he already has, or 
 may easily obtain. This is intended to be a book of reasons 
 rather than a book of facts. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 IMPORTANT 
 
 Unless specially arranged otherwise, all orders for books should be 
 sent to 
 
 L. F. ECCLES, 
 
 PULLMAN. 
 
 WASHINGTON. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Fundamental Principles Selfish, Unselfish. Primitive 
 Forms Savagery, Slavery, Serfdom, Capitalism 7 
 
 II. COMMERCE. 
 
 Primitive Arts. Division of Labor. Exchange. The 
 Competitive System. Competition. Public Conscience.. 12 
 
 III. THE TRUST. 
 
 The Great Comet. The Swallowing Process. Shameful 
 Misuse of Wealth (Moffett) 20 
 
 IV. REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. 
 
 The Bright Side. Machinery. Log Cabin Days and 
 Methods. The Dark Page. Panics 24 
 
 V. REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS (Continued). 
 
 Rule of Concentrated Wealth (Moffett). Evolution of a 
 Young Man. Two Idle Classes. What of the Future? 
 Standard Oil (Lawson) ". 31 
 
 VI. GLANCING BACKWARD AND FORWARD. 
 
 The Finger of God. Comparison of Injuries of Exploita- 
 tion. Society Ripe for a Change. No Turning Back. 
 Danger of Anarchy. In the Niagara River 42 
 
 VII. ORIGIN AND DEFINITIONS OF SOCIALISM. 
 Frances E. Willard on Socialism. Prof. Ely's Definition 
 and Arrangement. What is Not Socialism Anarchism, 
 Communism, Unionism 47 
 
 VIII. SOCIAL REFORM. 
 
 Social Reform in England.-^-Social Reform in New Zea- 
 land. Prof. Ely's Program of Social Reform. The Two 
 Principles. Competition, Co-operation. Shortness of "So- 
 cialistic" Legislation. Socialism more practicable than 
 Social Reform. The Hawks and Eagles 58 
 
 IX. THE PRACTICABILITY OF SOCIALISM. 
 
 Scope of the Subject. Importance. Intricacy. Necessity 
 for Patience 72 
 
 X. JUSTICE AND BENEVOLENCE OF SOCIALISM. 
 
 Misapprehension. Sacredness of Property Rights as an 
 Educator of Conscience. People better than their Prin- 
 ciples. "Vested Rights." Discussion of Fundamental 
 Moral Principles. A Great Emergency 73 
 
 XL ACQUIRING POSSESSION. 
 
 Taking Possession. Four Methods. Completeness of 
 Plutocracy's Title. Confiscation. Gradual Process vs. 
 Rapid Movement. "Muck Rake Speech." Proposal to 
 Abolish Constitutions. Basis of Right of Taxation. 
 "Great Unrest." 83 
 
 XII. LAW, ORDER AND ORGANIZATION. 
 
 Cross Action Produces Anarchy, Parallel Action, Har- 
 mony. Competition Anarchistic, Co-operation Concerted 
 Action. Development of Organization. Public Owner-- 
 ship Increased Exchange of Services produces Necessity 
 for Industrial Organization. Blocking the Road to Pro- 
 press. Society a Machine. Depending on the Politician as 
 a Specialist ' 90 
 
 XIIL THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM. 
 
 Socialism with the Old Method of Organization. The 
 More Practicable New Method. Eradication of Local 
 
6 CONTENTS OF CHAPTERS 
 
 Self Interests. Organization from the Bottom Upward 
 (Gronlund), (Vail). Waste of Capitalism and Economies 
 of Socialism. The New Standard Moral Excellence in- 
 " stead of Financial Excellence 102 
 
 XIV. DISTRIBUTION OF OCCUPATIONS AND POPU- 
 LATIONS. 
 
 Bellamy's Plan.. Craving for Distinction. Elimination of 
 the Great Leader. Advantages of Equal Wages. Dis- 
 tnbution of Population. The Race Question. Universal 
 Peace 113 
 
 XV. INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 Raw Material. Mining. Money. Lumbering and Fish- 
 ing. Manufacture. Machinery. Furniture and Clothing. 
 Food. Water, Light and Heat. Transportation, etc. 
 Decadence of the Great City. Increased Use of Railways. 
 Distribution 122 
 
 XVI. AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Inclination of the Farmer. Individualistic Methods. 
 Large Scale Methods. Bonanza Farming. Electricity and 
 Future Machinery. Science. Individualistic Waste and 
 Socialistic Savings. 133 
 
 XVII. PHYSICAL CULTURE UNDER SOCIALISM. 
 Physical Development and Health. Medical Practice 
 Now, and Then 140 
 
 XVIII. SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CULTURE UNDER 
 SOCIALISM. 
 
 The Happy Mean the Village. Stimulating Effects of 
 Great Movements. 'Discovery of America. The Reforma- 
 tion. The American Declaration of Independence. Abo- 
 lition of Slavery. "No Incentive." Inventive Genius 
 (Dewy). Removal of Trammels from Educational Field. 
 Vanity. Sweat Shop Methods 142 
 
 XIX. MpRAL INFLUENCES UNDER SOCIALISM. 
 Socialism a Moral Movement. Present Demoralizing 
 Effects of Taxation (Ely). Subsidized Vices The Liquor 
 Traffic, The Social Evil. The Family (Vail). Religion 
 Under Socialism 152 
 
 XX. THE CLASS STRUGGLE. 
 
 The Two Great Parties, Capital and Labor. Counter 
 Claims and Charges. The Right Side. Whole Contro- 
 versy Product of Capitalism; hence not Vital to Socialism. 
 Environment of Each Party. Crimes charged against 
 Each. Labor Troubles in the West. Socialism the Issue. 158 
 
 XXI. GOVERNMENTAL ALIGNMENT WITH WEALTH. 
 Sectional Views. Justice McKenna's Opinion in Moyer- 
 Haywood Case. Goebel. Julius Beiser. "Corporations 
 Enthroned." Against a Snag. President Roosevelt as a 
 leader of the Hawks. Main Issue Socialism. Fighting 
 Tactics. Roosevelt's Coming Prophecy 175 
 
 XXII. MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Selected Miscellanies. The Voice of Toil. Revolutions. 
 Capitalism and Your Daughter. Mr. Bryan and Immoral 
 Money. Gov. Altgeld's Optimism. Miscellaneous Ob- 
 servat ; ons of the Author. Equality Through Capitalistic 
 Glasses. The Red Flag. Mother's Wish. Around the 
 Square. The Test of a True Socialist. How to Destroy 
 Socialism . 186 
 
A Plain Analysis of Socialism 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Fundamental Principles. 
 
 There are two classes of principles that underlie, or 
 motives that prompt human action. These are, 
 
 1. Selfish principles or motives those which appeal to 
 each one's individual self interest. 
 
 2. Unselfish or moral principles those which prompt 
 to the consideration of the welfare of others and to the choice 
 of certain lines of action because it is right. 
 
 First: Selfish Principle. 
 
 Principle i. Generally, each one strives to get possession 
 of as much as possible of the earth's resources and the prod- 
 ucts which labor extracts therefrom. 
 
 Corollary : There is nothing so heinous but that someone 
 will be ready to do it, provided the reward is sufficient. 
 
 Second : Moral or Unselfish Principles. 
 
 Principle 2. (Justice) All men have an equal inherent 
 right to ownership of the earth and its resources. 
 
 Corollary: All men should have an equal opportunity to 
 use the earth's resources. 
 
 Principle 3. (Justice) Having this equal opportunity, 
 wealth belongs to those who produce it : or, The producer of 
 wealth is entitled to the full product of his toil. 
 
 Principle 4. (Benevolence) Human welfare is the high- 
 est basis of right. 
 
 So far, in the history of the human race, the selfish prin- 
 ciple is the one which has generally prompted Man's action. 
 And yet he has all along been more or less susceptible to 
 moral influences. Since the day in which God breathed into 
 man's nostrils the breath of life (spiritual life) there has 
 probably not been a tribe so wild and so low as not to be 
 influenced in some small degree by moral principles. No 
 doubt the influence was small, very small at times, and even 
 now, with all the boasted enlightenment of society, and with 
 all the cases that may be cited of individuals and classes of 
 individuals who have heroically sacrificed self on the altar 
 
8 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 ot humanity, v/e. are forced to confess that the average of 
 morality is still riot" very high ; that, on the average, man is 
 still influenced more by selfish than by unselfish motives ; 
 and not only so, but this is true even of that class that is 
 regarded as particularly moral. 
 
 Primitive Forms of Civilization. 
 
 That man is a progressive being I presume none will 
 deny. Just how far he has progressed and how rapidly may 
 be a queston, but that the most highly civilized nations have 
 risen from a state of barbarism or savagery in the not very 
 far distant past is not questioned. All agree upon the one 
 practical point, which 'alone concerns us in the discussion 
 of the subject in hand, namely, that man has made progress 
 in the past, especially in the recent past, and is making great 
 progress now, and this admitted fact I offer as a reason 
 why he may be expected to make further progress in the 
 future. 
 
 With reference to the industrial life, there are four dis- 
 tinct stages of civilization known to man: I. Savagery, 
 2. Slavery, 3. Serfdom, 4. Capitalism. 
 
 1. Savagery. The condition of man in the savage state 
 is but little above that of the beast. His wants are few and 
 simple, and may or may not be easily supplied, that depend- 
 ing on the nature of the country in which he lives, as to 
 climate, productions, etc. If he deoends upon fishing or hunt- 
 ing, like the beast of prey, his. living is about as precarious. 
 After a time he comes to desire better conditions. He makes 
 some effort to supply himself and his family with more of 
 the comforts of life. But his advancement is slow. There 
 is one very effectual bar to his progress along the path that 
 leads to civilization, and that is work, labor. There can 
 be no civilization without it, but that is what the savage most 
 dislikes. By and by an idea drops into his head. Instead of 
 killing his captive, as his custom is, he will make him do his 
 work. Thus the savage has taken the first decisive step 
 toward civilization. He has provided a way by which the 
 work may be done, will be done, must be done. Cruel and 
 heartless though he be, he has unwittingly conferred a great 
 blessing upon the human race. He has laid the foundation 
 upon which a future civilization may be built. He has intro- 
 duced human slavery into the world. 
 
 2. Slavery. In all the history of the human race man 
 has betrayed a degree of selfishness which has generally been 
 sufficient to prompt him to seek in one way or another to 
 partially or wholly shift the burdens of life to other shoulders 
 
INTRODUCTION 9 
 
 and to appropriate to his own use the products of others' 
 labors. And yet, after all, human nature is not so bad as it 
 would at first appear, for the reason that circumstances and 
 the institutions of society have generally been such as to 
 wholly or partially hide from man the criminality and hein- 
 ousness of his own actions, so that he is at least partially 
 excusable on the ground that his offence is not entirely 
 willful. 
 
 In the industrial life of all past civilizations there have 
 been two general classes : the exploiters and the exploited. 
 The exploiters have been generally among the most highly 
 honored and the most enterprising. The institutions and 
 customs of society have been such that they were perhaps, 
 as a rule, unconscious that they were doing otherwise than 
 pursuing their natural and inalienable rights ; and, in fact, 
 many of them are among the best of the people. But just 
 how far man has been excusable in his "inhumanity to man" 
 is not an essential part of this work. What we want par- 
 ticularly to do is to glean such facts as will aid us in shaping 
 our course for the future. 
 
 The first method by which man appropriated the labor 
 of his fellow man, aside from outright stealing and robbery, 
 was the taking possession of him as a chattel and compelling 
 him to do his work, reducing him to salvery. This was 
 pretty tough on the poor slave, but, as before observed, there 
 can be no civilization without work, and uncivilized man is 
 too indolent to do the work without compulsion, and, there- 
 fore, the institution of chattel slavery in the beginning of 
 civilization has proven a blessing to after generations. Some 
 one has said that every nation that has risen from savagery 
 has climbed out on the backs of slaves. There seems little 
 doubt that among all the great nations of antiquity most of 
 the manual labor was performed by slaves. The institution 
 was regarded even by the philosophers of those times as an 
 unquestionable right. The victorious nations accounted them- 
 selves humane when, instead of killing their captives, they 
 sold them into slavery; and so we find such commercial 
 nations as the Phoenicians hovering like vultures around the 
 great battlefields, always ready to drive a sharp bargain in 
 the living human spoils of victory, which they soM at a 
 profit in other lands. The slave trade seems to have been 
 the chief branch of commerce of those people, and 3 consid- 
 erable portion of that of the Genoese and Venetians during 
 the middle ages. 
 
 3. Serfdom. The institution of chattel slavery was con- 
 tinued in many of the warm portions of the earth, but never 
 obtained much foothold in cool climates. Among: the nations 
 
io ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 of central and northern Europe, the care of the slave in 
 providing him with food, clothing and shelter cut off so 
 much of the profit that another plan was resorted to, called 
 serfdom. The serf was simply bound to the soil, so that he 
 could not change about from one locality to another, and yet 
 was left with some degree of liberty, being permitted to go 
 and come for the most part as he pleased ; and being treated 
 somewhat as a human being, instead of as a mere chattel or 
 thing, he was better contented, and became much more trust- 
 worthy than the chattel slave, and was often called into> mili- 
 tary service. He was generally left to shift for himself in the 
 matter of food, clothing and shelter, which added to his own 
 development and relieved the master, who was glad to escape 
 the burden. 
 
 The serf had little liberty except some of its forms; his 
 condition as to the enjoyments of life did not differ much 
 from that of the chattel slave, except in outward appearancs. 
 This difference, however, counted for much, in that it pro- 
 moted the cultivation of a greater degree of self respect. 
 
 But serfdom, as well as chattel slavery, could not con- 
 tinue always. Both must give way before changing economic 
 conditions and the increasing light of civilization. So they 
 had to go, and have been replaced by another method of 
 exploitation, the wage system, or capitalism. 
 
 4. Capitalism. Definitions. The value of a thing is its 
 worth and is of two kinds, intrinsic and commercial. 
 
 The intrinsic value is its real worth as indicated by its 
 beneficial utility. 
 
 The commercial value is its worth in exchange for 
 other things. 
 
 Wealth consists of all articles that have commercial value. 
 
 Capital is any portion of wealth which is used in the 
 production of other wealth. 
 
 The owner of such productive wealth is called a capitalist, 
 the term being generally applied to one who owns a consid- 
 erable portion of it. 
 
 Money is a standard used in measuring value and is 
 anything that is used as a medium of exchange. 
 
 Capital requires the application of labor in order to 
 make it productive. 
 
 When a capitalist employs one or more persons to apply 
 his or their labor to his capital in the production of wealth, 
 paying to each one a stipulated sum of money for his services, 
 such sum is called a wa.ere ; and an industrial system in which 
 the workers have most or all the forms of freedom and work 
 for a wage is called the wage svstem, or capitalism, as dis- 
 tinguished from slavery and serfdom. 
 
INTRODUCTION n 
 
 The wage system was extensively practiced by the 
 ancients, though how extensively, or when it first became the 
 prevailing system, may be difficult to determine. Certain it 
 is, however, that when slavery and serfdom disappeared they 
 were replaced by the wage system. 
 
 And again we may observe that the advantages to the 
 worker of the wage system over slavery or serfdom are 
 mostly in outward appearance; for it has often happened 
 that the lot of the wage worker has been harder than that 
 usually accorded to the slave or serf. But again we say that 
 this difference in outward appearance counted for a great 
 deal. The condition of the chattel slave, that of abject servi- 
 tude, always subject to the beck and call and oversight of 
 another, was degrading in the extreme. The serf, having 
 some of the forms of liberty, made some advancement. His 
 self respect was raised ; his intellect received a decided stim- 
 ulus; he became more trustworthy; his labor more skillful, 
 and therefore more profitable to his employers. Production 
 was no doubt increased over what it was with chattel slavery, 
 and would probably have been much greater, had it not been_ 
 for some cf the evils of the Feudal System with which serf- 
 dom was generally connected. 
 
 But under the wage system the worker, having all the 
 outward forms of liberty, came to regard himself as in all 
 respects a free man. As a result, he soon rose in intellectual 
 capacity, in skill, in enterprise. As a result of the introduc- 
 tion of machinery production was greatly increased and the 
 standard of living was raised somewhat. The profit which 
 the capitalist derived from his labor was greatly increased, 
 so that there has come about that great concentration of 
 wealth, with the great power which it exerts in the world, 
 that has given to the whole system the name capitalism. 
 
 As compared with the older industrial systems, the wage 
 system or capitalism has been a great blessing to the human 
 race ; nevertheless, capitalism is but a method of exploitation 
 by which the capitalist appropriates to himself the labor of 
 the wage worker, and, as we shall see, it too must soon be 
 weighed in the balance and found wanting before ah enlight- 
 ened public conscience and be replaced, may we not hope, 
 by a system in which there shall be no more exploitation, 
 and under which "man's inhumanity to man" shall forever 
 cease? 
 
 "Man, whose heaven erected face 
 
 With smiles of love adorn; 
 Man's inhumanity to man 
 
 Makes countless thousands mourn." Burns. 
 
12 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 COMMERCE. 
 
 Primitive Arts. The wants of man in the primitive state 
 are few and simple. With a club he kills his game, tears it 
 into pieces, and devours it raw. Accidentally he discovers 
 the use of a sharp stick. In the same way, perhaps, he learns 
 the use of fire. With a shell or sharp rock he sharpens his 
 stick; next he hardens it in the fire and has a somewhat for- 
 midable weapon, a wooden spear. 
 
 Another very important accomplishment was the learn- 
 ing to throw his spear. Here his acquirements came to a 
 standstill for awhile. With the development of the spear and 
 the javelin the savage probably rested in the thought that he 
 had reached the utmost of human attainment in this .line. 
 After some time, perhaps many centuries, a further great 
 discovery is made, and that, to him, most wonderful weapon 
 and instrument of the chase, the bow and arrow, is developed. 
 
 Division of Labor. In his primitive condition, each man 
 is generally his own mechanic. His highest skill is exerted 
 in carving out, with his rude instruments, the bow and arrow. 
 Some have not skill to do this with any degree of success. 
 Others have special aptitudes, and they from preference, while 
 still others from necessity, as, for instance, by reason of being 
 old or crippled, cultivate their mechanical skill by making 
 and supplying tools to those who are less skillful, but stronger 
 and more active, and receive from them in return a portion 
 of the products of the chase. It was somewhat thus that 
 man first learned the principle of the division of labor. 
 
 Exchange. Simple as were the wants of the savage, it 
 often happened that these could not all be supplied from one 
 locality, and so exchanges became necessary. Shells and fish 
 from the seashore were exchanged for articles of the interior. 
 Nuts and berries of one locality were exchanged for the game 
 and skins of another. In such simple beginnings, commerce 
 originated. The simplest method of exchange, and no doubt 
 that which was used at first, was by barter, exchanging one 
 thing for another. As an exclusive method this did not prob- 
 ably continue long. And yet it has been used more or less 
 through all succeeding generations. Those of us who have 
 passed the half century mark may easily recall the old log 
 cabin days when money was scarce and people exchanged 
 their products, often without much regard for money value. 
 It was a common occurrence for a man to plow or gather 
 corn or make rails for the cobbler who worked during the 
 same time making or mending his shoes. In the same way 
 
COMMERCE 13 
 
 the farmer exchanged work with the carpenter, the black- 
 smith, the tanner, etc. 
 
 It is easy to see that the true and just basis of exchange 
 is the labor time required in the production, due allowance 
 being made for the value of skilled labor. To what extent 
 this principle was carried in exchanging articles already pro- 
 duced is of course unknown, but it was probably never exten- 
 sively used, for the reason that man, even among the nations 
 who have attained the highest development hitherto known, 
 has not generally been sufficiently unselfish and fair minded 
 to live up to a true and just standard. And this opens up 
 before us a broad side view of an important moral phase of 
 the subject. 
 
 Here let U3 pause and restate two of the principles men- 
 tioned at the beginning of Chapter I, namely, All men have 
 an equal inherent right to ownership of the earth and its 
 resources ; and, Wealth belongs to those 'who produce it. 
 
 For many years these principles, more or less definitely 
 stated, have been flaunted to the breeze on the banners of 
 Socialism, and in fact, of nearly all reformatory movements 
 in all parts of the world. They have constituted a standing 
 challenge to the world for refutal ; but notwithstanding the 
 fact that they are an acknowledged contradiction of, and 
 menace to, our present system of society, they have stood 
 unassailed, and for but one reason, namely, that they are 
 simply unassailable. They are too self evident to even a 
 superficial thinker to be questioned. And yet they condemn 
 the fundamental institutions of society. Principle II. places 
 the moral ownership of the earth in the whole people, while 
 we find the legal ownership, even in our own new America, 
 in the hands of a comparatively few, and fast passing into 
 the hands of a very few. Principle III. vests the moral 
 ownership of the whole product of labor in the laborer, while 
 we find the legal ownership of most of it in other hands. 
 
 In exchanging the products of tabor, as before observed, 
 man has generally proven too selfish to conform to a just 
 standard. With the individualistic method of production, even 
 though the moral sentiment might be high enough to attempt 
 the adoption of the labor time basis as a custom, there would 
 be so many exceptional cases and side conditions that they 
 together with man's selfishness would soon overturn the cus- 
 tom. To illustrate some of these, A has a surplus of corn and 
 B a surplus of wheat. A desires an exchange but B objects, 
 saying he has sufficient corn for his own use, and as there is 
 an overproduction of corn in the community he would have 
 to hold it for a long time before he would be likely to have 
 an opportunity to exchange it for some other article he needed. 
 
i 4 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 So he demands from A a larger amount of corn than is 
 represented by the labor time of the wheat, and though he 
 be strictly honest in his intentions, yet unless he be unusually 
 fair minded and unselfish B will incline to magnify the dif- 
 ference in the value to him. A, looking at it from his own 
 point of view, will incline to minimize them; nevertheless 
 he must have wheat and doesn't know where else to get it. 
 So he reluctantly accedes to B's terms, at the same time 
 feeling that B has taken advantage of his necessity; and, 
 perhaps, resolving that he will take a -like advantage at the 
 first opportunity. B also reckons on corn being more easily 
 spoilt and more likely to be destroyed by rats and mice than 
 wheat, and if it turns out that he makes a great gain by the 
 transaction he justifies himself saying it was worth a great 
 deal to take so much risk. 
 
 If A's surplus consists of cattle, horses and other live- 
 stock, their care arid feed while holding them for a reduction 
 of the supply must be taken into consideration. If it is in 
 perishable articles, like potatoes, for instance, that also must 
 be reckoned. Cases like these would soon multiply, until the 
 labor time basis would soon disappear; and practically, each 
 one would seek to get the best possible exchange for himself. 
 And that is just what has come to pass. 
 
 In all past civilizations so far as history informs us, the 
 agreed relative value of the articles exchanged, or the agreed 
 money price of the articles sold or exchanged has been the 
 basis of practically all exchanges. Generally, each one seeks 
 the best of the bargain, but not always. In many rural com- 
 munities and religious societies there has been a disposition 
 to refrain from charging exorbitant prices. But the tendency 
 has been to drift to the idea that the value of an article is 
 the most that it will sell for, and that is the principle that 
 controls in all our exchanges to-day. This constitutes a part 
 of the system which has grown up with it, 
 
 The Competitive System. The competitive system has 
 three essential elements: i. The Agreed ^ Price; 2. The Law 
 of Supply and Demand, and 3. Competition. 
 
 The first has already been discussed. 
 
 2. The Law of Supply and Demand. When a less quan- 
 tity of any article is offered for sale than would-be purchasers 
 are seeking to buy, the supply is said to be less than the 
 demand; when there is as much offered as is desired to be 
 purchased, the supply is said to equal the demand, and when 
 there is more offered the supply is said to be greater than the 
 demand. 
 
 One who makes, causes to grow, or gathers an article is 
 
COMMERCE 15 
 
 called a producer; the making or gathering or both, the pro- 
 duction, and the whole of the article produced, the product. 
 
 Those who use an article that is produced are called the 
 consumers, and the act of using, the consumption of that 
 article. 
 
 The supply of an article does not always correspond to 
 the production, for several reasons, among which are, that 
 the producer may be too busy at something else to move the 
 product to market; or, he may be holding for an expected 
 rise in the price. Similarly, the demand may be greater than 
 the consumption. The consumer may find it more convenient 
 at a particular time to purchase and store away for future 
 use, than to wait till he needs it, and he may desire to pur- 
 chase before there is an expected rise in the price. When 
 this is the case, profit mongers enter the field expecting to 
 reap a harvest for themeslves by buying and holding for a 
 rise. In the past they often competed with each other and 
 forced the price up; In recent times, however, they are gen- 
 erally shrewd enough to combine explicitly or tacitly, or 
 divide territory. 
 
 When the supply is less than the demand, the price goes 
 up and remains so until more is produced, or the producer 
 is induced by the higher price to put more of the product on 
 the market. When the supply exceeds the demand the price 
 falls and remains down till the supply is consumed, or the 
 consumer is induced by the lower price to store more for 
 future use. It will be observed that an under supplywith its 
 higher price stimulates production, while an over supply with 
 its lower price stimulates consumption. 
 
 3. Competition. When a large enough number of per- 
 sons engage in the production of a commodity to furnish an 
 over supply and a consequent fall in the price, it is evident 
 that some of them must go out of business, or a part, or all 
 of them, must diminish their production. 
 
 When a number are desirous of selling their product in 
 order to buy other necessaries and the amount of the product 
 offered is greatly in excess of the demand, since the purchaser 
 always seeks to buy as cheaply as possible, it is evident that 
 those who offer at the lowest price will be the first to sell. 
 
 This causes a competition or struggle among the pro- 
 ducers. Generally it is some expense to fit up for the pro- 
 duction of a given article, so that those who have been at the 
 expense dislike to change to some other calling; and besides, 
 it often occurs that thev see no other opportunity elsewhere, 
 so they set their minds to work, studying how they may 
 reduce the cost of production so as to enable them to under- 
 sell their competitors. Better tools, better methods, lower 
 
16 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 wages to hired help, harder work and longer hours any or all 
 of these are brought into requisition in the competitive 
 struggle. Finally, those who fall behind in the struggle 
 change wholly or in part to producing something else, until 
 the supply becomes diminished so that it is less than the 
 demand. Then the price begins to rise; for, let it be noted, 
 whenever the supply is less than the demand the price rises, 
 and whenever it is greater the price falls. And let us note 
 also that this principle applies to money and labor as well as 
 -to ordinary articles of merchandise. 
 
 Such then is the competitive system of exchanging 
 wealth; a system that is as old as history and which has been 
 depended upon by all past civilizations to stimulate produc- 
 tion, keep the wheels of commerce turning, and bring to each 
 one's door such a variety of labor's products as will supply 
 his every want. The fact has been recognized all along by 
 thinking people, that it is far from providing justice in each 
 individual case; and yet it was regarded as, on the whole, 
 generally bringing approximate justice; that, like a game of 
 chance, if one loses in one transaction, he will gain it back 
 in another. There can be no doubt about the similarity, and 
 more is the pity for the competitive system, that the resem- 
 blance is so strong. As in an ordinary game tricks are intro- 
 duced that give the strong an advantage over the weak, so it 
 is in competition ; and whether or not man could have risen 
 from savagery as well without as with competition, and how- 
 ever well it may be suited to a low stage of civilization, one 
 thing is certain ; the competitive system is based on pure 
 selfishness, and is, therefore, not well suited to a high civili- 
 zation. Allowing for exceptions, the producer produces more 
 in order that he may have more for himself, may get more 
 money into his own pockets, and not for the purpose of mak- 
 ing the price cheaper to the consumer; he withholds his 
 product from the market in hope of getting a better price 
 later on, and not for the purpose of giving his fellow pro- 
 ducers a better opportunity of selling theirs, and he changes 
 to some other occupation knowing that his doing so will be 
 against the interests of those of that occupation, because he 
 seeks to better his own condition and not because he is desir- 
 ous of alleviating the condition of those in the occupation 
 which he is leaving. Again, in the same way, the consumer 
 buys heavily in a crowded market, simply because he gets 
 more for the money, and not to accommodate those who are 
 anxious to sell. 
 
 Yes, our great commercial system, the competitive sys- 
 tem, is exceedingly selfish. We have become so accustomed 
 to it, however, that it hardly seems so. We have come to 
 
COMMERCE 17 
 
 take it as a matter of course and go right on and seldom 
 think of it as being otherwise than all right. Its main arm, 
 competition, has extended into and become a part of all indus- 
 trial systems. They too were born and nurtured in selfish- 
 ness, and they too were, for a long time, taken as a matter 
 of course, regarded as a natural condition, and therefore right. 
 After a time economic conditions changed, the public con- 
 science was awakened, and serfdom had to go ; chattel slavery 
 had to go. Then public conscience, seeing there were no 
 more cases on docket, or at least none of importance, was 
 quietly rocked to sleep. 
 
 For a long time she has been slumbering. Often she has 
 been disturbed by unpleasant dreams. Sometimes she has 
 been startled and partially awakened, but only to think some- 
 what stupidly for a very short interval of her hideous visions, 
 and then relapse into the same unconscious slumber. The 
 disturbances have become more frequent, and recently she 
 has been aroused by events of so startling a nature that it is 
 certain she is actually waking up. We may also add that the 
 events that are now transpiring are so intensely exciting that 
 there can scarcely be a doubt that she will remain awake. 
 Soon she will be seen donning the ermine and taking her 
 place on the bench. Soon our great competitive, capitalistic, 
 wage slavery civilization will be called up before her to 
 answer to an indictment in which it is charged with all the 
 crimes that are known to civilized man. The trial will no 
 doubt be long and tedious. The ground will be stubbornly 
 contested, inch by inch. Every falsehood and every device 
 which human ingenuity can invent will be brought into requi- 
 sition. The defendant will be supported by all the power 
 that concentrated wealth can furnish, and it will be a giant 
 to cope with. Nevertheless, truth is mighty and will finally 
 prevail. The evidence will be sifted ; it will thoroughly con- 
 vict the defendant, who will be found guilty of all the crimes 
 charged in the indictment, and will be sentenced to be tram- 
 pled under foot amid the wreck and rubbish of a semi-bar- 
 barous past. 
 
 But let us observe that the public conscience is largely 
 under the care and supervision of the ruling class, the most 
 influential, the wealthiest class, the class that has control of 
 the government, the press, and all the institutions of society; 
 this class usually lulls her to sleep or awakens her, which 
 ever best suits its purpose, based, of course, on its own self 
 interest. So long as chattel slavery best suited its purpose 
 the hnsh-a-bye song was continued so that the cry of the 
 oppressed bondman was not heard and the shrill cry of the 
 abolition agitator was smothered and confused so that the 
 
18 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 sleeper was but occasionally startled. But when the time 
 came that wage slavery was more profitable to the more 
 powerful masters than chattel slavery, then the public con- 
 science was called up and chattel slavery had to go. The 
 Cuban atrocities had been long continued, little noticed by 
 the people of the United States; but in the year 1898 our 
 imports exceeded our exports, the capitalists must have a 
 market for their surplus products; so the great dailies imme- 
 diately began to parade before the public, pictures of human 
 butchery, of Spanish tyranny and Cuban misery. The smaller 
 periodicals and the local press copied these articles, the public 
 conscience was awakened and the war followed. So it has 
 been in most wars of conquest; and often that most sacred 
 thing, that purest gem of society, the public conscience, has 
 been utilized by a corrupt plutocracy to minister to their in- 
 satiable greed. Sometimes, when the public danger is very 
 great, or the public conscience is greatly outraged, a weaker 
 influential party may succeed in arousing her in spite of the 
 efforts of the stronger to muffle and confuse their cry; but 
 generally the stronger party, the wealthiest class, prevails to 
 such an extent that the cry of the weaker is little heard. I 
 trust I may be pardoned for anticipating somewhat, but it 
 is a convenient point to say that the present awakening has 
 been caused by several widely different elements, chiefly the 
 smaller capitalists and those under their influence, and the 
 Socialist agitators. For a number of years the latter have 
 cried aloud and not entirely without success ; for the sleeper 
 has sometimes been known to sit up and rub her eyes, only, 
 however, to be lulled to sleep again, but now, the smaller 
 capitalists, who formerly were principal singers in the lullaby 
 chorus, have become alarmed at the prospect of being swal- 
 lowed up by the great capitalists, have suddenly dropped out 
 of the chorus, have joined the agitators and are violently shak- 
 ing the sleeper with magazine and newspaper articles much 
 to the chagrin and discomfort of the great capitalists, wha 
 appear to have been taken by surprise. 
 
 And permit me to remark in passing that I do not wish 
 to be understood as claiming that conscience is the only 
 motive, or even the strongest that determines national action. 
 It is, however, a factor that comes in to be reckoned with and 
 cannot be ignored under a popular government like our own, 
 or any other where the popular will is consulted. It is a 
 creature of education, and is very pliant. Naturally self- 
 assertive, it quickly loses this quality when the attention is 
 distracted or directed into other channels. And so it is that 
 those who have the power to grain and hold the public atten- 
 tion often perpetrate a wrong against society by educating the 
 
COMMERCE 19 
 
 public conscience through specious argument and skillful 
 maneuvering, till the wrong seems right, or by distracting 
 the attention till the wrong is overlooked. 
 
 The exercise of the public conscience occurs mainly in 
 those cases where a wrong is proposed or actually perpetrated 
 against a class, and the main body of society recognizes the 
 wrong and disapproves it for that reason, and not because of 
 their own self-interest in the matter. When a wrong is perpe- 
 trated against the great body of the people their recognition 
 and disapproval of the wrong could hardly be regarded as 
 a matter of conscience, but rather of self interest, which in 
 extreme cases takes on the form of self preservation. In the 
 case of American chattel slavery the Northern capitalists op- 
 posed it through self interest while with the masses of the 
 people it was almost exclusively a matter of conscience. The 
 capitalists, having control of the press, held the attention upon 
 the evil till the public conscience was aroused, which resulted 
 in a great tidal wave of indignation that swept all before it. 
 
 The condition of the slave was so degraded that what he 
 thought and said and did cut very little figure in his emanci- 
 pation. Nearly all of this work had to be done by those above 
 him who sympathized with him, and whose consciences re- 
 volted at the injustice heaped upon him. In our present case 
 it is different. True, there is a class at the bottom, the sub- 
 merged tenth, if you please, whose condition is pitiable in the 
 extreme, worse, far worse than was that of the black slave. 
 A large part of these are nearly as ignorant and about as little 
 able to help themselves. Their emancipation depends upon 
 the class above them, the great body of- the people, who, as 
 they come to learn and realize their abject condition, are com- 
 ing to sympathize more and more with them ; and whose con- 
 sciences are coming to revolt more and more at the injustice 
 heaped upon them. We may also add that again a great tidal 
 wave of indignation is rapidly rising that will surely sweep all 
 before it. Thus far the cases are alike; but here the diverg- 
 ence begins in the causes which produce the indignation. 
 Much of it is caused by the outrage against the public con- 
 science, growing out of the degradation of the submerged 
 class, and this alone would, no doubt, in time produce the 
 sweeping wave. 
 
 There is, indeed, a great sympathy springing up among 
 the great body of the people in behalf of the man at the bot- 
 tom, which is becoming a great force; but a far more power- 
 ful than this is that which springs from self interest and the 
 impulse of self preservation. How long before I or my chil- 
 dren will be in the same condition? This is the question 
 which startles. It appeals to the man who has a dollar a day 
 
20 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 job to-day but is doubtful as to whether it will last till next 
 week. In the same way it appeals to the two dollar, three 
 dollar, five or ten dollar man ; to the clerk behind the counter, 
 and the farmer in the field; to the preacher in the pulpit, and 
 the judge upon the bench; to lawyers, doctors, teachers and 
 men of all professions ; to men of low salaries and men of high 
 salaries all these classes are coming to entertain a feeling of 
 great insecurity; and with all any forecast of the future is 
 shrouded with a more or less gloomy foreboding. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 THE TRUST 
 
 As we have seen competition has been depended upon to 
 provide approximate justice in all commercial transactions. 
 And yet all political economists, from Adam Smith down, 
 agree that under competition the tendency is for wealth 
 gradually to become concentrated into the hands of a few. 
 During the last half century, with the advent of machinery on 
 a large scale, this tendency has been greatly accelerated. By 
 the use of machinery the production of wealth has been 
 greatly increased. Often there has been a real or apparent 
 overproduction of some articles, and in all such cases oppor- 
 tunity was offered to the exploiting capitalists to add greater 
 profits to their already rapidly increasing stock of wealth. 
 Fortunes, great fortunes, sprang into existence and came roll- 
 ing and gathered as they rolled. The speed with which the 
 concentration went on became greatly accelerated. The signs 
 seemed ominous. Wise men began to shake their heads, say- 
 ing, "It is only a question of time/' 
 
 But within the last twenty years a new factor has come 
 on the scene. A strange comet has appeared on the com- 
 mercial horizon. It was a mere speck at first, and only drew a 
 passing remark from the casual observer. But a little study 
 revealed two very important and startling facts : First, it was 
 coming directly this way ; and, secondly, it was travelling 
 with a rapid and very greatly accelerated veloctiy. I mean that 
 somewhat varied form of capitalistic combination which we 
 call the "Trust." The rapid advance of the stranger soon occa- 
 sioned some solicitude among the people. The politicians 
 were consulted, and they simply said, "Never mind, only elect 
 our party and we'll soon break the trust." A few of the 
 people became alarmed, and then the politicians began to 
 howl, "Down the trust!" and for a dozen vears it has been the 
 campaign watchword of both the great political parties. 
 
THE TRUST 21 
 
 But nothing stayed nor even hindered the onward sweep 
 of the great comet. Now she is upon us. Already she has de- 
 molished all that was claimed to be good in our competitive 
 system. The capitalists have substituted combination for 
 competition. All that is left of competition is among the 
 farmers, the smaller tradesmen and the wage workers (for 
 labor, too, is a commodity subject to competition) ; and to all 
 of these classes it is the direst curse. It is becoming apparent 
 that our liberties must be entirely swept aside unless some 
 decisive step be soon taken. And these are the startling and 
 exciting incidents that are just now awakening the sleeper 
 mentioned in the last chapter. How much of liberty is left 
 even now is a very serious question. The process of wealth 
 concentration under competition was gradual, yet moved with 
 an accelerated velocity. Under the trust the acceleration is 
 so stupendously increased that there is hardly a comparison. 
 The one may be called an absorption, while the other is simply 
 a swallowing process. And if the process continues at the 
 present rate it will not require long for the trust to swallow 
 our whole civilization. 
 
 And now, what is this great monster? What is the nature 
 of this thing we call the "Trust?" Just wherein lies its power 
 to take the wealth from the many and place it in the hands of 
 the few? Just what is it doing, can it do, will it do, and what 
 is, and will be the effect on society, and what may society do 
 with it? Under the competitive system each individual pro- 
 ducer, consumer, middleman, distributor or speculator (and 
 let it be remembered that a partnership or corporation is 
 accounted an individual), ea'ch individual constitutes a unit. 
 When every unit acts independently of every other unit com- 
 petition is said to be normal ; but when two or more units com- 
 bine so as to raise or lower prices for the purpose of enhancing 
 their mutual interests, competition is thereby rendered abnor- 
 mal to the extent that such combination affects prices. 
 
 As we have already seen competition failed to secure 
 justice in each individual exchange. It was recognized as a 
 game of chance ; but it was thought to be a game in which 
 each one had a fair chance, so that in a large number of 
 exchanges there would, on the average, generally be approxi- 
 mate justice secured to each one. It follows then, that when 
 two or more persons who own any commodity, as beef, for 
 instance, conspire together to raise the price, or when pur- 
 chasers conspire to lower it, they play unfairly, or are guilty 
 of foul play, or, to put it in up-to-date language, they have 
 formed a trust. It does not matter whether the conspiracy is 
 a written agreement, an oral agreement, or an unexpressed, 
 
22 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 tacit understanding. If it affects prices it is an unfair play. 
 It is virtually a trust. 
 
 Such foul play is probably as old as commerce and has, no 
 doubt, been practiced more or less through all past stages of 
 civilization; but the cases were probably comparatively 
 limited in number and generally on a small scale. It is only 
 in very recent times that it has reached such grand pro- 
 portions. 
 
 While the industrial units were small such combinations 
 were of little consequence. Perhaps the first cases that 
 attracted general attention were where two railroads belonging 
 to two opposing companies ran parallel. At first they cut rates 
 to the great delight of the people, who rejoiced greatly in the 
 realization of the saying that "competition is the life of trade." 
 Soon the companies saw their folly and came to realize that 
 while competition is the life of trade, it is also the death of 
 the trader. They therefore united and raised charges as high 
 as the traffic would bear, and the people's rejoicing came to a 
 sudden stop. 
 
 But this was only the beginning of sorrows. Soon the 
 real thing appeared. A very little thing at first, it soon grew 
 to make itself seen and felt and feared, and now we are up 
 against it. Now we have trusts galore great railroad trusts, 
 great iron and steel trusts, a great oil trust that has already 
 swallowed several others, great steamship trusts, machinery 
 trusts, woollen trusts, cotton trusts, linen trusts, clothing 
 trusts and all sorts and sizes of manufacturing trusts. Then 
 there are coal trusts, wood trusts, lumber trusts, shingle 
 trusts, coffin trusts, meat trusts, flour trusts, fish trusts, fruit 
 trusts, leather trusts, professional trusts of all sorts, labor 
 trusts of all sorts, mining trusts and so on without limit, not 
 forgetting the money trust. Go through a department store 
 and pick out all the articles the price of which is in no way 
 affected by the trust; you may have a small vest pocket 
 series, but more likely you will have nothing. 
 
 The methods of the trust are varied, and yet may, per- 
 haps, all be expressed by the word combination, as opposed to 
 competition. There are combinations to bull or bear the 
 market, raising or lowering prices according as those in the 
 combine desire to sell or buy. One of the chief methods of 
 raising prices is by limiting the supply, which is done in sev- 
 eral ways : one, by curtailing the output of each plant in the 
 combine ; another, by pooling profits and closing part of the 
 plants ; still another, by destroying a part of the product. The 
 last is resorted to perhaps oftener in cases of perishable 
 articles like fish, potatoes and other vegetables, fruit, etc., 
 large quantities of which are often dumped into rivers and 
 
THE TRUST 23 
 
 harbors. But it does not by any means stop with what are 
 usually termed perishable articles. Even shiploads of spices 
 are sometimes dumped into the sea. After the speculators 
 have bought up practically all of a cotton crop they sometimes 
 burn large quantities of it. In all these cases the object is to 
 reduce the product till the supply is less than the demand, 
 knowing that then the price will rise, so that they can get 
 more for the remainder than they could have gotten for the 
 whole product at the lower prices which the over supply 
 would have brought. 
 
 Often intimidation is resorted to, as in cases where 
 great packing associations coerce local markets all over the 
 country into buying their products by threatening to under- 
 mine them with rival shops. The immense profits which the 
 great capitalists are enabled by these methods to pile ur> 
 annually constitutes in each case a large fund for investment. 
 And a place for investment- is not far to seek ; for those who 
 are engaged in small manufacturing or business of any kind, 
 having to pay a royalty on every article used in their business, 
 and finding their profits continually reduced, are therefore 
 ready to sell at a reduced price to the trust combine, which by 
 application of large scale methods, adds greatly to its holdings 
 and its profits and increases its power to swallow. Again by 
 the uniting of a number of big plants, the swallowing power is 
 vastly multiplied. 
 
 And where is this swallowing to end? To me there 
 can be but one answer, and that is that unless something can 
 be done to avert it, the time is not very far distant when some 
 mammoth combine will gulp down the last morsel and howl 
 because there are no more worlds to swallow. And it begins 
 to look very much as though the great "Standard Oil" com- 
 bine will surely be "it". When we consider the vantage 
 ground occupied by this great octopus, and the power it 
 wields over all wealth, we find that the final swallowing pro- 
 cess has really proceeded much further than at first appears ; 
 in fact, that practically all that is left unswallowed is virtually 
 in the dragon's mouth, since it is under his control. To show 
 what I mean I will close this chapter with an extract from 
 "The Shameful Misuse of Wealth," by Cleveland Moffett, 
 found on page 7 of "Success Magazine" for January, 1906: 
 
 "Sixteen years ago Thomas G. Shearman, a distinguished corpora- 
 tion lawyer and a brilliant writer on economic questions, prophesied that 
 'within thirty years the United States will be substantially owned by less 
 than one in five hundred of the male population !' Nor is evidence want- 
 ing that his words are coming true. The land of this country is still 
 widely owned, although hundreds of millions of acres of its grazing 
 lands, timber lands and mineral lands have been shamelessly stolen in 
 land grants and land grabs; but the farmers and small producers are 
 
24 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 absolutely at the mercy of the railroads, which, with their two hundred 
 thousand miles of tracks, their capitalization of over twelve billion (par 
 value) and their army of five million people dependent on them for a 
 livelihood, are practically controlled by nine men John D. Rockefeller, 
 J. P. Morgan, n. fl. tiarriman, George Gould, W. K. Vanderbilt, J. J. 
 Hill, A. J. Cassatt, W. H. Moore and William Rockefeller. And John 
 Moody, author and publisher of 'Moody's Manual/ in his exhaustive 
 and authoritative work, The Truth About Trusts,' finds that in the 
 United States to-day there are 440 large industrial, franchise and trans- 
 portation trusts with a capitalization of over twenty thousand million 
 dollars. Which, says the 'Wall Street Journal/ is 'one-fifth of the wealth 
 of the country and the most powerful part of it, for it is wealth under 
 such concentrated control that it practically sways the whole/ And Mr. 
 Moody concludes that a score of men practically control this twenty 
 billions, which is the aggregate of our manufacturing and transportation 
 resources. They control the avenues of distribution and the agencies for 
 transforming raw materials into finished products; so it is plain that 
 these twenty men Rockefeller, Morgan, Gould, Harriman and the rest 
 indirectly control nearly all the remaining wealth in the country, since 
 whatever comes out of the ground or is fed by it must pass over their 
 lines of transit and through their factories (and at their terms) before 
 it can get from the producer to the consumer. These are signs of the 
 times !" 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITONS. 
 
 When we compare present with past conditions, we find 
 much to commend. We find that on the whole man has made 
 great advancement. The average of wealth per capita is much 
 greater than at any former period. In our own country and 
 in all parts of the earth except where there is an overcrowded 
 population there has come to be little fear of famine. The 
 average standard of living in all those things that go to make 
 life enjoyable is higher than ever before. The average family 
 has better food, better clothing and better shelter, better 
 schools and more books and periodicals of all sorts, more pic- 
 tures and more and better musical instruments ; and in the 
 matter of travel and communication we have made still 
 greater progress. Where a century ago it required a month 
 or two to learn of the severe illness or death of a relative or 
 friend, now we may be informed at once, and, stepping aboard 
 the next train, may be whirled away hundreds, even thousands 
 of miles to the bedsides of those who are near and dear to us. 
 
 With better education has come a greater degree of refine- 
 ment, higher ideals, and a much fuller appreciation of that 
 which is beautiful and good. While we still hear of wars and 
 rumors of wars, and the wars are of the most destructive char- 
 acter, yet, on the whole, there is far less of rudeness, coarse- 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 25 
 
 ness and fierceness in the average of human nature as we see 
 it to-day. 
 
 In the department of medical science, surgery and in the 
 various means of restoring and preserving health, we have 
 made great progress. The light of modern investigation has 
 wholly or in part banished the terrors of a number of con- 
 tagious diseases that have so often been the scourge of society 
 in centuries past. Indeed, so much has been done that the 
 average length of human life, which has been on the gradual 
 decline through all past history, is now said to be decidedly 
 rising. 
 
 There is, perhaps, no other field of progress that can show 
 a greater degree of advancement than that which provides not 
 only for the increase of wealth, but also for alleviating the 
 intensity of the toil and the hardship of the workers. It 
 requires but one word to explain what I mean, and that word 
 is "machinery/' The very mention of this word sets the mind 
 to drawing contrasts; contrasting the wooden mould board 
 with our gang plow ; hand sowing, with our double disk drill ; 
 the sickle, scythe and cradle, with our mower, self binder, 
 header and combined harvester ; threshing with flail or tramp- 
 ing with animals, with our modern traction steam rig; remov- 
 ing cotton seed by hand, with the cotton gin; the spinning 
 wheel and hand loom, with the factory ; the stage coach and ox 
 team, with our overland flyer and double or triple header 
 freight train ; the pony express, with the telegraph and tele- 
 phone, etc., etc. In all departments of human industry 
 machines without limit have been introduced which are calcu- 
 lated to confer untold blessings on humanity, in that by their 
 use without inexhaustible labor, there may be produced a 
 plentiful supply of all necessaries, and not only necessaries, 
 but an abundance of the luxuries of life. 
 
 In a land like our own with so great an abundance and 
 variety of the earth's natural resources, it is possible with our 
 modern labor saving appliances to produce an abundance o'f all 
 necessaries and all those luxuries that will help to make life 
 fuller and happier. And so great is the labor saved by machin- 
 ery, that this may be done without overtaxing the energies of 
 any of the laborers. In fact, most of the work is done by 
 machines. A man guides the machine, and the machine does 
 the work which formerly required the labor of five, ten, twenty, 
 fifty or one hundred men, and the remainder are left to run 
 other machines, and when all the machines have been manned 
 there is so large a force left that the work which must be done 
 without machines may be so divided among them as not to be 
 burdensome on any. And it need no longer be that children 
 
26 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 must be absent from school with the old time excuse of "staid- 
 at-home-diggin'-taters." 
 
 In the olden time the farmer (and most of the people then 
 were farmers), with his rude tools prepared the soil, planted, 
 cultivated, harvested, threshed and garnered his grain. He 
 also made many articles that now come from the factory, such 
 as shoes for his whole family. He raised a few sheep, sheared 
 them, washed the wool, the housewife picked it, and after it 
 was carded, plied her wheel, pacing back and forth from side 
 to side of the room, often the only room in the house, till the 
 rolls were worked into yarn. Then she colored the yarn. 
 Then, with her home made loom she wove it into cloth. Then 
 she entered upon her final task of cutting, fitting and sewing 
 all the clothes for the whole family, often of ten or a dozen. 
 Of course, the knitting of mittens and stockings of all sizes 
 went along with the rest. And besides all this there was the 
 regular round of cooking, washing, caring for the children in 
 sickness or health, soap making, which was started with the 
 ash hopper, milking cows (for she was lucky if her husband 
 found time to milk even part of the cows), making butter, 
 attending to chickens, turkeys and geese, including the picking 
 of the last named, and many other things too numerous to 
 mention. Of course, there was no time to be lost, and all 
 through the autumn and early winter, often all winter, she 
 worked far into the night weaving, making new garments and 
 mending the old that they might hold out till the new ones 
 were completed. 
 
 At the other side of the big fireplace making or mending 
 shoes or harness or making an axe or a hoe handle, or at some 
 other odd job sat her husband. Or, perhaps, he spent most of 
 the evening caring for the stock, for every day was needed to 
 gather corn, cut and haul fodder, cut and haul wood, make and 
 haul rails, build fences, make sheds, etc. 
 
 There was generally no time nor money for expensive 
 barns or fine houses, and generally the clothes were but plain 
 home spun plainly made, no flips, no flounces, no frills. Yet. 
 as a rule, the people were comparatively happy, simply 
 because they knew no better, were happy in the sense that 
 they were not unhappy. But where is the farmer now thai 
 would like to go back to the old log cabin days and methods: 
 And where, oh, where is the miss just fresh from college 01 
 high school, or even the common school, who would be willing 
 to tackle such a proposition? 
 
 No, we do not desire to return to that mode of living. W 
 have learned a better way. We are ready to shower blessing 
 upon the host of inventors who have brought to light th 
 means by which it is possible for the whole people to enjo 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 27 
 
 to the full the material bounties and sweetness of life, and not 
 only so, but, having leisure for intellectual culture, may come 
 into that higher and fuller enjoyment which results from the 
 mind being expanded and awakened to the contemplation of 
 all that is high, and noble, and grand, and beautiful, and pure, 
 and good, in history, in art, in religion, in science, in philo- 
 sophy and in the world of nature generally. 
 
 Yes, when we contemplate these things we are led to 
 exclaim, "What wonderful progress! How fortunate the 
 people of this generation !" But wait. There is another side 
 to the picture. There are two sides to this sheet, a bright 
 side and a dark side. We have reached the bottom of the 
 bright page, and will continue this topic where it belongs, on 
 
 The Dark Page. With a population of over 80,000,000, 
 and an estimated aggregate of wealth of about $100,000,- 
 000,000, our average of wealth per capita is about $1,200, or 
 $6,000 for the average family of five. The working man would 
 figure that, with that amount, by working very moderately he 
 would have a very comfortable living for his family. But 
 unfortunately for the worker, the wealth is not so evenly dis- 
 tributed. Instead of $6,000 per family the average wealth of 
 nine-tenths of the families of the United States is not far from 
 one-tenth of this sum, or $600, while half of the people have 
 practically nothing; -while one per cent of the people have 
 ninety-nine per cent of the wealth, five thousand have nearly 
 one-sixth ; ten men have one-fiftieth and one family has one 
 one-hundredth part of our national wealth. So it seems that 
 our labor saving proposition does not work so well as it 
 might; that instead of machinery being a blessing to all it is 
 but the direst curse to a large part of the people of our fair 
 land. Though the average standard of living has risen, yet 
 the rise is very small compared with what it ought to be, and, 
 leaving out of the account the luxurious living of the very 
 wealthy, were it not for the fact that a large part of the toilers 
 of all past generations have had a great deal of hardship to 
 endure, it might be doubtful whether the average lot of the 
 masses had improved at all. Certain it is that whatever may 
 be said of labor saving machinery as a blessing to humanity, 
 yet, compared with what it should be, it is certainly a signal 
 failure. If you have any doubt upon this point, go and read, if 
 you have not already, such writings as Hunter's "Poverty," 
 "The Shameful Misuse of Wealth/' by Cleveland Moffett. and 
 the published accounts of those who have investigated the use 
 of child labor in the factories of the south. Books and maga- 
 zines describing these things are easily found. Read them. 
 You will probably be filled with indignation by the stories of 
 the ruthless tyranny and unconscionable cruelty of capitalistic 
 
28 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 greed. You will probably become heart-sick at the tales of 
 hardship, squalid misery, wretchedness and woe. 
 
 When you stop and think, unless you have studied along 
 this line before, you probably will be ready to say : "Yes, I can 
 see that one reason for so much poverty is that the rich waste 
 it upon themselves, but why should there be land lying idle, 
 machines lying idle, and millions of people willing and able to 
 work, idle and living like rats?" You probably understand 
 that man will do anything for money, but fail to see where 
 the money comes in. While I regard the facts and not the 
 reason for their existence as the matter of chief importance in 
 this case, yet, since the reason is so simple, we will give it a 
 short space and then pass on. 
 
 As we have already seen, labor is a commodity subject to 
 competition and the law of supply and demand, the same as 
 -any other commodity. The more plentiful the supply, the 
 lower the price; and since all articles of wealth are produced 
 for profit and not for use, it follows that the more plentiful 
 the supply of labor the greater the rofit. Of two competing 
 establishments, the one that hires its work done the cheaper 
 comes out ahead. Of course, in such a contest the out-of-work 
 can expect nothing when the rivals combine and find it to 
 their interest to stop part of their machinery, one or more 
 mills for instance, in order to avoid an over production, that is, 
 the production of a quantity greater than that which would 
 bring them the greatest profit. It might seem at first glance, 
 that it could be easily arranged for the surplus workers to 
 take charge of the idle machinery and produce what they 
 themselves could consume. No doubt it could be done; but as 
 a matter of fact, it is not. You see, it is not business. In the 
 first place, the surplus workers, of course, have no money. 
 They must be paid in the product. The company has no use 
 for part of the product ; for their other machines make all the 
 goods that they can sell ; and to give them all the product 
 would tend to make their other workers dissatisfied. Then, 
 though the capitalists might see that the workers repaired the 
 machines or made new ones, yet it would require some can 
 and attention on their part, and they would not be likely to 
 take so much pains. Lastly they would not, because it would 
 diminish the supply of labor and tend to raise the price, the 
 very thing they desire to avoid. No, no. Things are not dont 
 that way. That would not be business you know. Business 
 is business and must be done according to business principles. 
 
 Panics. As we have observed, articles of wealth are pro 
 -duced for profit. The man would be called foolish who would 
 undertake a business with no hope of making a profit out o 
 it. In the production of wealth of all kinds in a nation 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 29 
 
 certain amount is paid out in wages. The wage workers buy 
 to the extent of their wages, and the money ail goes back to 
 the producers, so-called, the capitalists. The farmers and 
 other small producers of the raw material buy to the extent 
 of the net proceeds resulting from the sales of such raw 
 material, that is, what they have left after settling all bills 
 for wages, such net proceeds being usually no more than 
 ordinary wages and often very low wages. What the capi- 
 talists have left of the manufactured product is called profit. 
 Unless they can exchange it for wealth in the form of capital, 
 this surplus is of no value to them, and becomes a dead 
 weight in their hands. There are several ways by which this 
 may be done : 
 
 1. A limited amount may be sold to the small producers 
 beyond what their net income will purchase, they procuring 
 the money to pay for it by loan secured by mortgage on farm 
 or other property, and this is practically an investment of the 
 larger or exploiting capitalists in the property of the very 
 small capitalists, notably the farmers. I say a limited amount. 
 The farmers are usually more or less cautious about purchas- 
 ing when every additional purchase means an enlargement of 
 the mortgage, and generally wish afterward that they had 
 been much more cautious. 
 
 2. Whatever surplus of labor there is in the country may 
 be employed in improving the plants or providing the lux- 
 uries of the capitalists, the wages paid the workers going to 
 reduce the surplus product by that much. 
 
 3. If a foreign market can be found, part or all of the 
 surplus may be shipped to a foreign country and exchanged 
 for articles to be used in improvements and luxuries at home, 
 or for investment in foreign capital, or for money which may 
 be invested either at home or abroad. 
 
 4. Lastly, this surplus product may be given away, 
 either for or without a consideration. It may be given to the 
 most influential of the people in order to secure their support, 
 or it may be given to the whole people with or without the 
 same object in view. 
 
 If, from any cause (and the causes are multitudinous), the 
 surplus piles up and no market can be found, then there is 
 only one thing to do. The mills must close. The workers 
 must sit around and eat charity soup till the surplus product 
 is used up or wasted or an outlet is found for it. This is what 
 is called a panic. The financial loss always falls heaviest upon 
 the debtor class generally, and especially upon the farmers, 
 stockmen and other small producers, who supply the raw 
 material, and in this form and in their hands most of the sur- 
 plus remains. The great capitalist stops short when his 
 
3 o ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 market fails. He sells to the working man till he gets all his 
 money. He sells to the small producers till he gets all their 
 money ; but these are, many of them, in debt. They have made 
 extensive improvements and bought machinery. They must 
 have money. They apply to the bank. The -banker shakes his 
 head. It is not to be had. "Oh, yes, the security is gilt-edge, 
 but the fact is, there is no money in circulation." The banker 
 is not afraid of the loan. The great capitalist is not afraid of 
 it; but money always flows to the point that promises the 
 greatest profit, and for this reason it is now reserved for the 
 purpose of taking in the snaps, and when they have all been 
 gathered in, then it is reported that times are improving very 
 decidedly, for the banks are beginning to loan money. So, all 
 those whose fortunes have not been swallowed seek relief 
 from their crippled condition, and, as business presently starts 
 up, they are found moving forward with a greater debt than 
 before. Such is a panic. It is often the case that the workers 
 would be able to consume all the surplus product if only they 
 had the wherewith to buy. 
 
 In a country so rich in natural resources as is ours, where 
 people are enterprising and industrious, and where there is so 
 much labor saving machinery, panics are the inevitable result 
 whenever foreign markets fail. The foreign market does not 
 fill the bill, unless the people buy and consume more of our 
 products than we buy and consume of theirs. When they do 
 their money flows out of their country into ours, and the only 
 way they can get it back is to borrow it of our capitalists by 
 mortgaging their lands or other forms of wealth, or selling 
 some of it outright to them. It is evident that people cannot 
 go on long in this way without becoming bankrupt. All 
 enlightened nations have become too wise to pursue such a 
 course. Even benighted China is awakening to a sense of 
 her danger. Just now the nations are ransacking the remotest 
 corners of the earth in search of markets. In the intensity of 
 the struggle they are jostling each other, grumbling, growling, 
 threatening, and occasionally fighting weak nations. It is too 
 expensive fighting strong ones ; and then, war has become so 
 terrible that the people recoil from it. Nevertheless, military 
 and naval preparations of the great nations move steadily on, 
 and unless the people come to realize more fully that every 
 war is "a rich man's war and a ooor man's fi^ht," and do like 
 the working people of some of the European nations have 
 already begun to do, refuse to fieht each other, there will be 
 occasional instances of nations undertaking to crush others 
 that are weaker, or supposed to be. Now and then the 
 aggressor will miscalculate and draw an elephant as Russia 
 did when she tried to crush Japan. With all the nations 
 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 31 
 
 sruggling for markets, and not markets enough to go round, it 
 is not strange that the struggle occasionally takes on the 
 form of an appeal to arms. 
 
 When the markets fail our capitalists could avert a panic 
 if they would by keeping the mills running and increase the 
 wages of the workers and the price of raw material, which is 
 virtually wages, or reducing the price of the finished product 
 till the wages and the price paid for the raw material would 
 buy all the finished product, excepting what the capitalists 
 themselves consume. But again, ''that would not be business, 
 you know." The capitalists are not likely to he so foolish so 
 long as there are any small producers, any little fish left, 
 unless they come to fear the people. It is thought by some 
 that under the pressure of this fear J. Pierpont Morgan pre- 
 vented a panic in 1903. It is likely that as the people become 
 awakened on this subject, the capitalists will proceed more 
 cautiously and leisurely in their operations ; that they will not 
 grab quite so voraciously for "snaps," but the swallowing will 
 go right on, if somewhat more slowly, none the less surely. 
 
 I know that the foregoing theory of panics, called the glut 
 theory, is rejected by some writers as unscientific. Possibly it 
 is ; and I may be like the countryman who asked a physician 
 why hanging kills people, and after being given a long, scien- 
 tific definition, said, "No, no! That isn't it at all. It is just 
 because the rope is so short that the feet cannot reach the 
 ground." Now, whatever scientific reasons may exist, it 
 seems to me that as hanging cannot kill so long as the feet 
 reach the ground, so, neither will the factories close so long as 
 the manufacturers can find a market for their goods. I admit, 
 however, the possibility of a little discrepancy in this parallel 
 in cases where factories are compelled to close on account of 
 a money stringency produced by other causes. 
 
 But whatever original causes may have operated to pro- 
 duce the glut, it seems to me that the present intense struggle 
 among the nations for markets g-oes to prove that it is the 
 immediate cause of panics, and that it may be remedied by 
 procuring a sufficient outlet. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS (Continued). 
 
 To illustrate the baleful effects of concentrated wealth 
 and its consequent poverty, we quote again from Cleveland 
 Moffett's "Shameful Misuse of Wealth": 
 
 "It is interesting to consider how much richer the rich will get, 
 and I may remark here that there is no need to inquire how much 
 
32 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 poorer the poor will get. If they are to live at all they cannot 
 get much poorer. What greater burden of poverty can we put on the 
 four million American families who to-day with their best toil can 
 gather less than four hundred dollars a year? What more can we take 
 from them than we have already taken? The Massachusetts Bureau of 
 Labor has collected statistics showing how these poor families spend 
 their pitiful incomes. It appears that $3.88 each week goes for food. 
 Shall we cut that down? Or shall we cut down the $2.91 a month they 
 spend for clothing? or the $7.50 a year they spend for furniture and 
 household furnishings? Or the $7.00 a month they pay for foul, dark 
 rooms in a tainted tenement? Think what it means to support a family 
 in a city on four hundred dollars a year, to bring up children, to pro- 
 vide for sickness, to furnish pleasures on four hundred dollars a year ! 
 
 "And these are not the poorest of the poor, these are self respecting 
 laborers, producers of the national wealth ; there are millions of others 
 whose lot is worse than theirs ten million, Robert Hunter estimates, in 
 helpless poverty, out of work, out of health, out of heart with the world, 
 broken driftwood, vagrants, tramps what shall we take from them? 
 
 "So the question simply is how much richer will the rich get? Will 
 any limit be set to these vast fortunes? Are billionaires to become as 
 abundant in the twentieth century as millionaires were in the nineteenth? 
 Why not? We have scarcely scraped the outside crust of our national 
 resources. What our land and industries produce to-day is nothing to 
 what they will produce, and our present population is but a small part of 
 what it will be. By 1960, we are assured, the national wealth that seems 
 so enormous now (say a hundred billions in 1905) will have increased to 
 nearly a thousand billions, and by 1990 to over two thousand billions. 
 Such are the conclusions of experts in financial statistics, who also say 
 that under the present competitive system nearly two-thirds of this vast 
 increase in our national wealth will be permanently absorbed by a few 
 thousand very rich families. Which means that whatever may befall indi- 
 vidual millionaires or individual sons or grandsons of millionaires, the 
 rich as a class will continue to grow richer, much richer, so that in thirty 
 or forty years, under existing conditions, the five thousand richest Ameri- 
 cans, instead of having fifteen billions between them, as to-day, may have 
 fifty or a hundred billions. And still the mass of the people will have 
 practically nothing, still hundreds of thousands with bitter toil will barely 
 secure the necessities of life and millions will be crushed and broken in 
 the struggle. 
 
 "So, if present conditions continue one looks ahead vainly for some 
 brightening in the picture of our poverty and wealth, our misery and 
 affluence, our luxury and want. Things will be worse, not better, and 
 every year will show a more painful contrast between the few who have 
 everything and the many who lack everything. Ponder these words from 
 that hard financial compendium of Waldron's already quoted (p. 102) : 
 'Little wonder then that the rich are rapidly growing richer, when but 
 one-twentieth of the families, they are receiving one-third of the nation's 
 annual income and are able to absorb nearly two-thirds of the annual 
 increase made in the wealth of the nation.' Think what that means to 
 the poor! 
 
 "What it means to the rich is that they will find it more arid more 
 difficult to spend their enormous incomes and will set a faster and madder 
 pace of luxury and extravagance. All the signs point that way, and after 
 all what else can they do with their money. They cannot eat it nor hang 
 it around their necVs (except some odd millions in trinkets), nor buy 
 seats in heaven with it. There is nothing to do but flaunt it before the 
 nation .in palaces and gorgeous fetes, in costly laces and plates of gold, 
 in furious follies that seem to cry out: 'See. we are rich, rich, rich, and 
 you are poor.' Nor can any man say what will be the echo of that cry !" 
 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 33 
 
 When we compare present conditions with the funda- 
 mental principles of equal ownership already stated, together 
 with its derived principle, "Wealth belongs to those who pro- 
 duce it," we find that they do not in any manner correspond; 
 for we find the earth's resources in the hands of a few, while 
 the laborers, who are the actual producers of wealth, have very 
 little of it. 
 
 As heretofore observed it is a fact well understood that 
 the agreed price is far from being a fair basis of exchange, 
 for the reason that one of the parties may, and often does, 
 take advantage of the other's necessities. Political economists 
 have all along recognized the fact that the competitive system 
 does not furnish exact justice in all individual cases, but it has 
 been depended upon to supply approximate justice in its gen- 
 eral application. Time has shown the mistake, and the degree 
 of approximation has continued to deviate more and more 
 from the line of strict justice, and now that the trusts have 
 swept away the supposed approximation there is nothing left 
 but what? Ruthless robbery shall I call it? Well, yes. That 
 is surely what it is. P>ut come, let us not be too hard on the 
 poor millionaire. Possibly he may deserve about as much pity 
 as blame. If the force of accidental circumstances has caused 
 him to grow up before society a dangerous maniac, sowing 
 destruction broadcast, wrecking the lives of multiplied 
 millions of human beings, sending forth into millions of homes 
 the scourge of abject want and misery, and inflicting upon 
 all the people of our fair land a degree of injustice and hard- 
 ship and anxiety , that greatly mars their happiness, then 
 society is principally to blame if it does not use its utmost 
 endeavor to restrain him and remedy the evil. And what are 
 most, if not all, our great capitalists but maniacs, mono- 
 maniacs, who have studied so long and with such intensity 
 the one subject, profits, that they have become money mad 
 and entirely reckless of the welfare of their fellowmen? 
 
 But what is the real action that has produced such baleful 
 results? Perhaps one of the first rights recognized by human 
 beings was the right of each one to the product of his own 
 labor, and growing immediately out of this was the recognized 
 right to exchange this product by mutual agreement, and this 
 developed into the agreed price as the basis of right in all 
 commercial exchanges, which has been recognized and 
 adhered to by nearly all past civilizations. As we have seen 
 this is a very defective standard. At the first it was attended 
 by two principal evils. First, it permitted one person to take 
 advantage of another's necessities, and, secondly, it permitted 
 the strong minded to take advantage of the weak minded. 
 Under competition both these evils increased greatly. 
 
34 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Under trust domination they are so greatly aggravated that 
 there is practically no limit until the utmost of human endur- 
 ance is'reached. These two evils have been regarded all along 
 as necessary evils. Jn all the centuries of man's rise from 
 savagery society has recognized as a right belonging to each 
 person, that he 'might buy for as little as he could induce or 
 persuade the other fellow to take or sell for as much as he 
 would for any reason consent to give, without regard to any 
 hardship it might inflict upon the other, provided there is no 
 direct physical compulsion. So it is a fact that cannot be 
 controverted that a very large part of the evils that now afflict 
 us are the result of the legitimate exercise of this principle 
 we call a right, while the remaining part results mostly from 
 abuses that are the natural outgrowth of it. 
 
 A young man fresh from college, his face beaming with 
 intelligence, his open countenace the very impersonation of 
 honesty and integrity, his mother's kiss upon his forehead, and 
 her loving "God bless you, my boy," ringing in his ears, is 
 whirled away to the great city where he embarks in business. 
 Like nearly every other young man, he starts out to make a 
 big fortune. And it must be all honest money. He does not 
 hesitate on that point. He is careful to meet every obligation 
 promptly and expects the same from others. He is in for profits. 
 Therefore he says, "I buy as cheaply as I can. If the other 
 fellow does not want to accept my offer let him sell to some- 
 one else. I sell for the most I can get. If the purchaser can 
 do better let him do it. I do not hinder him. I employ the 
 laborer at the lowest possible wage, and get the most work I 
 can from him. If he is not satisfied he may quit at any time. 
 And, besides, this is the rule of my competitors and I must 
 follow it or go out of business. I know there is hardship and 
 suffering on every hand, and it makes my heart bleed to see it, 
 but what can I do to prevent it but become a pauper myself?" 
 
 He comes, however, to have a vague, indefinite feeling of 
 guiltiness, and that the-e is an injustice being perpetrated 
 somewhere, though his reason fails to show who is the guilty 
 party. In fact, on reviewing his action he finds that he has 
 adhered strictly to the line of his recognized rights. So he 
 goes on, his conscience bein<*- wakened somewhat, especially 
 if he has been successful in business, for success means profits, 
 and profits mean an increased appetite for more profits, and 
 this appetite for profits helps to smother the conscience. This 
 intense craving impels him forward and causes him to forget, 
 at least partially, the misery about him, and, to say the legist 
 of it, the process is a decidcdlv hardening one. Presently he 
 comes up against another phase of commercial life. H^e- 
 tofore, when he has found the other fellow in a pinch fo 
 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 35 
 
 money, and "must have it," and no one else to buy his wares, 
 he has exercised his acknowledged right to run the price to 
 the lowest limit; he has followed the same principle in selling 
 and in the employment of labor, and he has often made use of 
 his own superior knowledge and intellectual training in his 
 dealings with those less favored in this respect. This was his 
 acknowledged right, was perfectly legitimate. But he has 
 never purposely done anything to create or increase the other's 
 necessities. Neither has he ever resorted to falsehood in order 
 to deceive him into doing what he could not otherwise be 
 induced to do. True, he has always kept his own counsel, 
 which was also his admitted right. Now he has come to a 
 point where, by a skillful movement on the commercial 
 checkerboard, he may heap a necessity upon the other which 
 will compel him to buy or sell to his own advantage. Perhaps 
 the other fellow is his business rival. Maybe he has played 
 this same game on him. In any case, his competitors follow 
 the rule and he must follow it too or fall behind in the race. 
 His conscience has become less assertive. His appetite for 
 profits and the business pressure have become stronger; he 
 has become accustomed to the suffering about him ; he takes 
 another step. And so he goes on step by step, his conscience 
 gradually yielding, here a little and there a little. The soul 
 dwindles away to a mere speck. Selfishness finally acquires 
 full sway and manifests itself in crying out, "More profits! 
 More profits!" Thus the pure and noble youth has falK-n a 
 victim to our nefarious system, has become transformed into 
 a veritable demon, a money mad maniac, the enemy and 
 scourge of society. 
 
 I know it is said that our great captains of industry have 
 performed a most important and beneficent function, and that 
 the evils that afflict society are necessary evils and could not 
 have been avoided. Well, be it so. I have no desire to dis- 
 cuss this phase of the subject so far as the past is concerned. 
 There can no good come of "crying over spilt milk," nor in 
 spending time trying to place the responsibility for the spilling 1 . 
 But, drawing the mantle of charity over the past, looking 
 backward just long enough to get our bearings, and standing 
 in the present, the threshhold between the past and the future, 
 let us plan for the future. Taking society as we find it, regard- 
 ing present conditions as the natural outgrowth of the system, 
 which, under all the circumstances, may have been a fortunate 
 incident, an important factor in man's social progress, and 
 ascribing neither praise nor blame to the holders of wealth, 
 let us examine the facts as we find them. Let us then see if 
 we can devise some remedy for the evils that afflict us, the 
 application of which will, to some extent, substitute justice 
 
36 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 for injustice, plenty for poverty, equal opportunity for special 
 privileges, virtue for vice and happiness for misery. 
 
 As before stated, the earth with all its resources naturally 
 belongs to the whole people and not to a select few. Man 
 requires air, water and the products of the earth. Deprive 
 him of any of these and he dies. If a great corporation were 
 to gain possession of the air and lay tribute upon all who 
 breathe, it would be no worse, no more unjust than the very 
 wealthy getting possession of the earth, as they have most of 
 it, and laying tribute upon the people who draw their susten- 
 ance therefrom. Since wealth belongs to those "who produce 
 it, and since the very wealthy produce very little of it them- 
 selves, it follows, therefore, that the ownership by a select 
 few of most of the earth with its natural resources, as well as 
 most of the products of man's labor is simply an usurpation. 
 
 If our reason had failed to reveal the points of injustice in 
 our system, the result would demonstrate very clearly the fact 
 that there has been a great deal of injustice somewhere. It 
 bcomes clear that the great bulk of wealth is held by persons 
 who have not earned it. They therefore hold by sufferance of 
 the law, and society has a perfect moral right to appropriate 
 it for the general welfare. In fact, the proposition that 
 "Human welfare is the highest basis of right," is recognized 
 by leading political economists, and has become too well 
 settled to be controverted. We hear much of "vested rights," as 
 though it were the worst of sacrilege to speak of them except 
 with the most profound respect. But such rights are only 
 legal rights, rights conferred by the law, and when the people 
 decide that the law needs changing, the "vested rights" may 
 soon become invested wrongs. 
 
 Sometimes we hear people say, "Oh, they are too lazy to 
 work. If they would go to work like other people they might 
 have something." Here let it be remembered that I am not 
 defending the tramp, who by reason of his shiftlessness or dis- 
 couragement caused by his degraded condition, avoids work ; 
 but it is well known that the holders of great fortunes perform 
 practically no productive labor. There are, then, two idle 
 classes, the idle rich and the idle poor. And since all wealth 
 is the product of labor's hand, a very little reflection develops 
 the fact that there is a class between that produces all that 
 they themselves consume, and also all that is consumed by the 
 two idle classes. Since, then, the wealth belongs to those who 
 produce it, this last class has been robbed on both sides. 
 What the tramp manages to get without work is so small that 
 it is hardly worth considering. On the other hand the rob- 
 bery assumes the most astounding proportions, consisting, not 
 alone of what the idle rich consume in necessaries and wanton 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 37 
 
 luxuries, but by far the greater portion going to make up their 
 enormous profits. Again, let me assure the reader that I use 
 the term "robbery" because that is what it amounts to, with- 
 out intending any reflection upon anyone. My quarrel is 
 against the system, not the men who are its victims. I realize 
 that many of the men whom the system makes actual robbers 
 are men of good intentions, and not infrequently of fairly high 
 ideals. 
 
 Having, as I hope, discussed the underlying principles of 
 man's social development, and the conditions that now sur- 
 round us sufficiently to give the reader a fair comprehension 
 of our present industrial system, let us pause and inquire, what 
 OL 1.he future? 
 
 First let us inquire^ what will be the probable outcome if 
 society continues to drift on in its present channel? After 
 studying trust development, as set forth in Chapter III., it is 
 apparent that if we continue in the present channel some great 
 oligarchy of wealth having overthrown, trampled under foot 
 and destroyed commercially all the other great combinations, 
 will sit enthroned, enjoying the fat of the land, and, guided by 
 its interests and its whims, will distribute husks and crusts 
 and skimmed milk to the people, as seemeth it best. 
 
 To show that the "Standard Oil" group are making strong 
 calculations on being the conquerors, I insert here an extract 
 from "Frenzied Finance," by Thomas W. Lawson : 
 
 "The success of 'Standard Oil' is largely due to two things the 
 loyalty of its members to each other and to 'Standard Oil,' and the pun- 
 ishment of its enemies. Each member before initiation knows its religion 
 to be, reward for friends and extermination for enemies. Once a man is 
 within the magic circle he at once realizes he is getting all that anyone else 
 on earth can afford to pay him for like service, and still more thrown in 
 for full measure. The public has never heard of a 'Standard Oil' man 
 leaving the ranks. I know of but one case, a very peculiar one, which I 
 shall tell of in my story. While a 'Standard Oil' man's reward is always 
 ample and satisfactory, he is constantly reminded in a thousand and one 
 ways that punishment for disloyalty is sure and terrible, and that in no 
 corner of the earth can he escape it, nor can any power on earth protect 
 him from it. 
 
 " 'Standard Oil' is never loud in its rewards nor its punishments. 
 It does not care for the public's praise nor for its condemnation, but 
 endeavors to avoid both by keeping its 'business' to itself. 
 
 "In connection with the gas settlements I made with 'Standard Oil' 
 it voluntarily paid one of its agents for a few days' work $250,000. He 
 had expected at the outside $25,000. When I published the fact, as I had 
 a right to, 'Standard Oil' was mad as hornets as upset, indeed, as though 
 it had been detected in cheating the man out of two-thirds of his just 
 due, instead of having paid him ten times what was coming to him. 
 
 It is clear that the Rockefeller oligarchy is getting itself 
 pretty thoroughly intrench "d. In the lieht of these revelations 
 there can be no doubt about its indentions, and its methods are 
 certainly such as are well calculated to insure success. This 
 
38 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 mighty octopus, powerful in all its parts, in its strongly 
 intrenched position, with all its bulwarks and outer defences 
 reinforced and strengthened by every device which wealth 
 and ingenuity can furnish, seems well nigh invulnerable. 
 It is not by any means entirely certain, however, that it is 
 so. Two great enemies are just now looming up and are all 
 astir, all excitement, the scent of battle is in the air. Already 
 both of these are beginning to marshal their hosts for a great 
 struggle.- The first of these consists of the smaller capitalists, 
 those outside the "magic circle." They are becoming 
 alarmed by the threatening attitude of the great monster. 
 They are becoming terror stricken with the dread of being 
 swallowed. The second of these enemies is the great plain 
 people. 
 
 The smaller capitalists (or, perhaps I should say the 
 smaller of the great capitalists), comprise a rather uncertain 
 group, beginning with those just outside the "magic circle" 
 and extending downward somewhat indefinitely, (but not 
 including the very small capitalists or middle class). This 
 class is many times more numerous than the one above it, and, 
 as yet, by running pretty well down the dollar scale, repre- 
 sents more wealth than the group above it. But since those of 
 this class are larger in number, and therefore more difficult to 
 organize, and since also the group above them has, for the 
 most part, the control of the manufacturing and transportation 
 business, they are left at a decided disadvantage, if the fight 
 be conducted on strictly commercial lines. Their main hope 
 is in entering the political field and playing the class below 
 them against the one above. It is just barely possible in my 
 opinion that they may, under the guise of breaking the trust 
 and liberating the "dear people," be able to drive out the 
 present oligarchs, seat themselves, and become thoroughly 
 intrenched before the people awaken to realize the fact that 
 they have only changed masters. But I think it far more prob- 
 able that it will amount to nothing more than a feint move- 
 ment, or at the very most an earnest threat that they will 
 assist the people to overthrow the whole capitalistic system, 
 and by that means effect a compromise by which a consider- 
 able number may enter the "magic circle." 
 
 The oligarchy may thereby become greatly strengthened, 
 possibly double in power. It will then have no commercial 
 antagonist, none but the great plain people. 
 
 This final consolidation of the capitalistic forces will prob- 
 ably be done very quietly, secretly perhaps. The people may 
 be made to believe that they have scored a great victory, and 
 that that fond dream of the politicians, "the breaking of the 
 trust," has at last been accomplished, that the great monster 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 39 
 
 has at last been destroyed, never more to raise his hideous 
 form to menace the lives and happiness of a great and prosper- 
 ous people, and much more to the same effect. 
 
 But what matter to the people whether their masters be 
 ten thousand, one hundred thousand, or one million, so long 
 as they are to be ground into profits. After the masters (those 
 in the protected circle), have absorbed all the wealth of our 
 own country and all the nooks and corners of the earth that 
 have fallen to our lot in the scramble of the nations for 
 markets, and when it is no longer possible to find a nation silly 
 enough to buy more than it sells, then there will be no further 
 opportunity for investment of profits, and then the piling up 
 of profits as such will cease. In such case there might be a 
 little difference to the people whether the masters are a large 
 or small number, for then, there being no more place for invest- 
 ment of profits, the masters will plunge to the utmost limit 
 in luxury, and the larger their number the less of labor's pro- 
 duct will be left for the people. But in either case, their great 
 fear will be the people, and after squandering all they possibly 
 can on their own luxuries, a large part of the remainder must 
 needs be distributed among the people in a way that will 
 enable them to hold their prestige. Special privileges must be 
 granted to favorites and to those who have influence with the 
 people. Very little will be left to the masses. 
 
 With the continuance of our present system the people 
 have nothing to hope for but to be ruled by some such oli- 
 garchy as I have here described, and nothing to expect from 
 our rulers but crusts and virtually abject servitude. Mon- 
 archs have sometimes treated their subjects kindly, but an 
 oligarchy never. Nothing can reasonably be expected but the 
 most wanton luxury and extravagance on the one hand and 
 the most degrading poverty and servitude on the other. The 
 monarch may desire the esteem of all his subjects but an oli- 
 garchy cares not for the respect of those outside its own 
 circle. Effect follows cause, and if a wealthy caste, say 
 a million or half million people, having come into power by 
 means of a scientific system of legalized robbery, holding their 
 position by an organized system of corruption, accustomed to 
 the most wanton luxuries with its accompanying vices and 
 excesses, and used to thinking of the common people as far 
 beneath them, it would certainly be a new thing under the 
 sun if a caste trained in such a school should develop a degree 
 of unselfishness and sympathy for, and kindness toward, the 
 common people, that would prompt them to begin to deprive 
 themselves of any considerable portion of the luxuries which 
 they are wont to enjoy and use it in bettering the people's 
 condition. 
 
40 AXALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Seeing the present regime promises nothing but slavery 
 to the people, we turn now to inquire what they may do for 
 themselves. The common people, having so great a majority, 
 if they would thoroughly unite and organize, could do almost 
 anything that is within the range of human possibility. Hav- 
 ing the ballot in their hands, they could soon capture the 
 government and make it a government of the whole people 
 instead of a few. To "know their rights and knowing, dare 
 maintain," is the matter of first importance. 
 
 Since the wealth is the people's, and human welfare is the 
 highest basis of right, they would be perfectly justified in tak- 
 ing possession of the whole wealth of the nation, if by so 
 doing they could advance the general welfare, and dividing it 
 equally among the whole people. Or, if they found it practic- 
 able, they might vary the share of each one according as he is 
 more or less deserving. Exact justice would, of course, be 
 impossible, but providing for the general welfare would cure 
 all defects. There are two general ways by which the people 
 might do this: One, by a sudden general confiscation and dis- 
 tribution ; the other, by a gradual process which might be 
 accomplished by heavy graduated income taxes, inheritance 
 taxes and other forms of taxation,* providing by legislation for 
 higher wages to be paid to the workers and a great many other 
 devices, but it would all amount to the same thing, confis- 
 cation, since it would only be a different method of taking the 
 wealth from those who now have it, or it might be more per- 
 fectly termed a restoration, since it would be to a great extent 
 a restoring of the property to its rightful owners. 
 
 Now, the question that comes in here is, would such a 
 course be wise? That is to say, would it advance the general 
 welfare? I should not like to say that it would not be any 
 benefit to the people. Looking on our present chaotic, anarch- 
 istic form of society, with all its commercial tyranny, it does 
 not seem that it could be much worse, and yet it might be. 
 I do say, however, that such, a thing would not be worth the 
 doing if we are to go on in the same old way with the same 
 old industrial system. Man has learned the trick of trust 
 formation, and it would not be long till we would have the 
 same picture of millionaires and paupers, etc. 
 
 The people might enact laws prohibiting anyone from 
 owning more than his share of that form of wealth called 
 "capital." By this means it might be arranged so that each 
 one would enjoy an approximately just share of the product. 
 Possibly the condition of the people might be greatly 
 improved by this method, but there would certainly be found 
 to be some very serious objections. Some of the people would 
 be too indolent or selfish or wanting in intelligence to use their 
 
REVIEW OF PRESENT CONDITIONS 41 
 
 share of the capital well, or too impracticable or disagreeable 
 of disposition to join their capital with that of others in such 
 business as requires an aggregation of capital. As a conse- 
 quence, production might become very seriously reduced. So 
 large a number of individual stockholders as would be neces- 
 sary to operate a great manufacturing or transportation indus- 
 try, could not work so well together in a competitive struggle 
 with many other groups. Great enterprises would be likely to 
 lag under such a regime. It might be arranged so as to allow 
 one person to own $50,000, $100,000 or $500,000, but that 
 would soon divide the wealth among a number, each holding 
 the maximum amount, or nearly so, while practically all the 
 rest would have next to nothing. The same picture of wealth 
 (in smaller piles), on the one hand and poverty on the other. 
 
 Competition is exceedingly wasteful. Being based upon 
 selfishness, any form of it must be attended with more or less 
 of rapacity and ruthlessness. In a sense it transforms human 
 beings into savage beasts, preying upon each other, and noth- 
 ing can prevent it but such a detailed system of governmental 
 intervention as would render it a new system with the com- 
 petition feature practically eliminated. The fact is, competi- 
 tion is dead-, and any effort to restore it as a living force, by 
 bolstering up with human laws, must prove as fruitless as to 
 attempt to restore life to a corpse by setting props about it. 
 
 The trust, which is the final culmination of the competi- 
 tive system, has introduced co-operation, a much more effect- 
 ive industrial principle than competition. It has been proven 
 to be far more economical and successful ; it suggests what 
 seems to me the only possible way out of our dilemma, and that 
 is to expand the trust so as to include all the people on an 
 equal, an equitable footing. In such case, the co-operation 
 being based on unselfishness, would be attended by qualities of 
 human action directly the opposite of those mentioned as 
 attending competition. It is along these lines that we must 
 look for a remedy for the ills that afflict society, for competi- 
 tion fails utterly to furnish anything worthy of our consider- 
 ation. The fact is that the trust has broken competition, and it 
 cannot be mended, and I feel sure that after we have made the 
 right application of the new principle which the trust has 
 introduced, we will consider it not worth the mending, in 
 fact will be glad that it cannot be mended. 
 
 I say competition is broken. I mean so far as the capital- 
 ists are concerned. The mass of the people, the manual 
 laborer who works for a wage, the professional man, the small 
 manufacturer, the retail dealer and the farmer all virtually 
 wage workers, who, if not for a daily wage, virtually work by 
 
42 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 the piece are still subject to the same law of competition. It 
 is only to a very limited extent that these have availed them- 
 selves of the use of the trust principle, this being especially 
 true of the farmer. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 GLANCING BACKWARD AND FORWARD. 
 
 Before taking up the new line suggested, let us briefly 
 glance backward, and then forward. 
 
 We have examined the philosophy of the formation and 
 workings of the competitive system. We have found that it 
 was born and nurtured in selfishness, was attended with all 
 the characteristics of selfishness, and has grown and developed 
 until it has finally culminated and ripened into the trust, the 
 most striking personification of selfishness that could be 
 imagined. The competitive system through its modern capi- 
 talistic development, has performed a great work in the 
 world's progress, not so much in providing for present human 
 happiness, as in bringing society to a point where this may be 
 realized in the future. Human progress moves on, though the 
 competitive road, for a large part of the people, is a hard road 
 to travel. This ruthless, wicked system has now found its 
 end in its own culmination, that most selfish monster, the 
 trust. The trust has both substituted and proven the effect- 
 iveness of the new principle, which, when rightly applied, will 
 lay the foundation for a new civilization, in which unselfish- 
 ness with all its attendant characteristics and virtues, may 
 take the place of selfishness with all its attendant character- 
 istics and vices. 
 
 When I contemplate all this my heart is thrilled with 
 admiration ; my soul is filled with awe, and I am led to 
 exclaim, "The hand of God is in all this! Even now the 
 Divine hand is beckoning us onward ! The Divine finger is 
 pointing out to us the pathway to the new civilization." 
 
 We have traced man's industrial development, beginning* 
 with savagery, running through all the successive stages of 
 chattel slavery, serfdom and the wage system or capitalism, 
 and now see capitalism rapidly approaching its climax under 
 trust combination. We have examined these three industrial 
 forms and found them to be so many methods of exploiting the 
 labor of the workers. 
 
 Passing by chattel slavery, which is slavery pure and 
 simple, we come to serfdom, which also we find to be slavery, 
 not so simple, but under the guise of a partial freedom. It 
 
GLANCING BACKWARD AND FORWARD 43 
 
 varies little from the simple form except in outward appear- 
 ance. 
 
 Then coming to the wage system we find what seems at 
 first, and what has passed for centuries as entire freedom. 
 But when we come to analyze it we find that it too is slavery. 
 Under all these forms there has been much injustice perpe- 
 trated against the workers. At first glance it would seem that 
 the chattel slave had the greatest reason to complain, the serf 
 the next, and the wage slave the least. Then, when we look at 
 it from a purely financial or dollar standpoint we find it 
 reversed. Each enslavement was a robbery whenever and by 
 whatever the value of the slave's labor exceeded the value of 
 his food, clothing, shelter an4 protection. Now, since under 
 both chattel slavery and serfdom there is often ho excess, and 
 since the greatest excess is found under wage slavery, there- 
 fore, looking from this point of view, the wage worker of the 
 present has the greatest grievance. 
 
 But there is another and higher view point, and from this 
 it is again reversed. The consciousness of being held as a 
 mere thing, mere property, a mere commercial chattel, subject 
 to every whim of a master, was extremely degrading to the 
 mind and self respect of the slave. The greatest injury was to 
 his manhood. Under serfdom there was a little of the forms 
 and outward appearance of liberty. It is probable that the 
 serf did not often realize how little liberty he had, and 
 although the blow to his manhood was not so great as to 
 that of the chattel slave, yet it was. his greatest injury. 
 
 The wage slave escapes most of the degrading features 
 of chattel slavery ; nevertheless, the money standard for meas- 
 uring people is adhered to to such an extent, and the material 
 condition of a large per cent of our wage workers, especially 
 in the great cities, is so low, and they are made to feel 
 their inferiority and degradation so keenly, that, notwith- 
 standing the extent of the financial robbery to which they are 
 subjected, it may be truly said that their greatest injury is to 
 their manhood, although the injury in this respect is not so 
 great as that done to the chattel slave. 
 
 There may, however, be another reversal of this if present 
 tendencies continue. Take the California farm hand, for 
 instance, who carries his blankets with him and sleeps 
 wherever night overtakes him ; always called a hobo, except 
 where he stops and works long enough and hard enough to 
 prove that he is not. Rather hard to develop manhood under 
 such circumstances. Again, look at the sweat house or factory 
 worker with his pitiful wage, his family crowded into a vile, 
 reeking tenement with only a chalk mark to separate them 
 from others. Think of the many thousands of these and of 
 
44 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 the thousands of children whose young lives are being ground 
 into dollars. The condition of thousands upon thousands is 
 so desperate that it were better to take one's chances as a 
 chattel slave under such average conditions as existed in the 
 generations past ; and millions more are in circumstances not 
 much different. In all these there is not much opportunity to 
 develop manhood. 
 
 Since, as we have seen, there could have been no civiliza- 
 tion without labor, and since the condition of the workers has 
 been, on the whole, better than to have remained in savagery, 
 therefore it is better for the workers of all classes that civiliza- 
 tion came by the road it did, than not to have come at all ; 
 society has been greatly blessed by the labor that has been 
 performed. 
 
 Considering the nature of man, civilization must needs 
 have travelled by the road it has ; and here we observe that the 
 exploiting principle, like the competitive principle, is based on 
 man's selfishness and occupies an important place in social 
 development through the primitive stages of society, which 
 includes the present and must include so much of the future 
 as is governed by these selfish principles. 
 
 There are many things in our present social status to 
 indicate that society is getting about ripe for a change. 
 Prominent among these are, first, the destruction of competi- 
 tion and the substitution and proving of the new principle, 
 co-opefation, and, secondly, the continually increasing number 
 of the wretchedly destitute and miserable. About all that now 
 seems wanting in the ripening process is that the people, the 
 millions of great plain people, with ballots in their hands, 
 shall learn what the trouble is and the remedy. When they 
 do this we will be ready to move forward. 
 
 It is in the hope that I may be able to do something 
 toward hastening this educational work that I devote my 
 limited strength to writing this work. By the perusal of what 
 has gone before I trust the reader may obtain a tolerably 
 thorough and comprehensive view of the position that society 
 now occupies, may be able to see that there is no turning back, 
 and that our present order promises nothing but increased 
 injustice, hardship, misery and degradation for nearly all the 
 people, and that the only hope that presents itself is to leave 
 the old hulk and move forward. Of course, the reader will 
 want to know something of what the line of march shall be 
 and the reason for it; and that we shall attempt to make plain 
 in our exposition of Socialism, a theoretical system of society 
 in which it is proposed that the new principle, co-operation, 
 now used selfishly by the trust, shall be used unselfishly as the 
 chief industrial principle. 
 
GLANCING BACKWARD AND FORWARD 45 
 
 Starting with human nature as it is, and knowing that the 
 character of man is always determined in great measure by 
 the industrial principles that he practices, it is hoped that by 
 the introduction of industrial principles based on unselfishness, 
 the good that is in human nature may have an opportunity to 
 rise instead of being checked and smothered as is the case 
 to-day. We cannot go back to the old log cabin days ; nor do 
 we desire to. We have learned a better way. We cannot 
 restore competition; and why should we desire to? We cer- 
 tainly should hope that there is a better way. 
 
 There is another very important point that we must con^ 
 sider before closing this chapter; and that is the danger of 
 anarchy if the process of wealth concentration is permitted 
 to go much further. If our civilization would make sure of 
 avoiding the fate of Rome, that is to say, of falling by the 
 weight of its own rottenness and corruption, she should 
 beware of continuing much further on the road she is now 
 travelling. Glancing at the history of all the great nations of 
 the past we cannot but feel that there is undoubtedly a great 
 danger ahead. 
 
 Considering the whole situation as we have it now before 
 us, the important question is not whether Socialism can be 
 made to work easily, but whether it can be made to work at 
 all. The case resolves itself into this : That the choice lies 
 between Socialism on the one hand and capitalistic tyranny 
 and slavery on the other, with a very strong probability of 
 ending in a period of disastrous anarchy. We are in a 
 dilemma, and Socialism is the only way out. Socialism must 
 come sooner or later. The question is, will the people be wise 
 enough to introduce it without the lesson of a great catas- 
 trophe ? 
 
 Some years ago a populist writer illustrated the danger 
 ahead by saying that society is in the Niagara River drifting 
 rapidly toward the Falls, and that our only escape is by cut- 
 ting our Welland Canal. Transforming and enlarging, we 
 have it thus : Lake Eric represents competition in which 
 society has been sailing for the past four thousand years. The 
 upper Niagara is the narrowing of the people's liberties that 
 followed the amassing of great fortunes consequent on the 
 introduction of machinery. The great falls or cataract repre- 
 sents the catastrophe that certainly awaits us if the trustifi- 
 cation continues. The waters beyond the cataract represent 
 the condition of society beyond the point where calamity must 
 be experienced or averted. Now then, our old ship of state has 
 left the old lake where the sailing was not always smooth, has 
 passed the first rapids, where she parted from competition 
 never more to return to it. We are now in rough waters, 
 
46 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 moving at a rapid rate. On our entrance into the river an 
 alarm was sounded but little heeded. . Since we entered the 
 rapids an ever increasing number have kept the alarm bells 
 continually ringing. Recently there has been a great awaken- 
 ing. The great body of the passengers have become aroused 
 and are manifesting signs of great uneasiness. In fact, there 
 is somewhat of a flurry. "What is to be done?" is heard from 
 all quarters. Listen. First, keep cool; don't get excited. The 
 danger is near, but may be easily averted if only we act 
 promptly, and earnestly, and unitedly. Our cherished old ves- 
 sel is imprisoned in turbulent waters. We cannot retrace our 
 steps. We are drifting madly toward the great cataract, 
 where we must soon make the plunge to our destruction 
 unless we act at once and do something to avert it. There is 
 just one thing we can do. We must at once bring our vessel 
 to anchor and proceed to dig our Welland Canal, so that we 
 may be able to conduct our ship safely around the great cata- 
 ract, and, may we not hope, to successfully readjust our sails 
 in a manner suited to our environment and be able to steer 
 proudly out into the grand and beautiful lake beyond? 
 
 The success of this canal enterprise will require the com- 
 bined intelligence of the whole people. It will not do to trust 
 to leaders knowing and doing the right thing. To adopt such 
 a course would be to play into the hands of the enemy. The 
 influence of wealth would secure leaders that would be in 
 league with the wealthy class, and they would only laugh at 
 all warnings. "This is fine! Who cares for the rapids? We 
 do not see any falls ! Let her drive ! Whoop, hurrah !" The 
 only safe course is for the people, or a very large proportion 
 (the only danger is that it will not be large enough) of them, 
 to become well informed on this subject, for as many as pos- 
 sible to acquire a thorough knowledge of the underlying prin- 
 ciples connected with-it, and their relation to each other, and, 
 in short, the philosophy of the whole situation. There are few 
 of those of even very meagre education who would not be able 
 to understand these principles if only they would apply their 
 minds earnestly. It is far easier to learn principles than men. 
 If the people understood the principles thoroughly a way 
 could be provided wherebv they could hold the leaders whom 
 they elect in strict line with those principles, and it would be 
 much more satisfactory than our present method, which is to 
 guess at the men (it is the be^t we ran do with -men), and 
 trust to them to understand and follow right principles, 
 
DEFINITIONS OF SOCIALISM 47 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Were half the power that fills the world with terror, 
 Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts, 
 
 Given to redeem the human mind from error, 
 
 There were no need of arsenals or forts. Longfellow. 
 
 ORIGIN AND DEFINITIONS OF SOCIALISM. 
 
 As to origin, it doesn't matter whether the Socialistic idea 
 be an evolution, invention, doctrine or discovery ; the idea is 
 lere, and what are we going to do about it is the question. 
 
 "A theory of society that advocates a more precise, orderly and har- 
 monious arrangement of the social relations of mankind than that which 
 has hitherto prevailed." Webster. 
 
 "The abolition of that individual action on which modern societies 
 depend, and the substitution of a regulated system of co-operative action." 
 Imperial Dictionary. 
 
 "The ethics of Socialism are identical with the ethics of Christian- 
 ity." Encyclopedia Britannica. 
 
 "1 he answer of Socialism to the capitalist is that society can do 
 without him just as society now does without the slave owner and the 
 feudal lord ; both were formerly regarded as necessary to the well being 
 and even the very existence of society." Prof. Clarke. 
 
 "No thinking man will contradict that associated industry is the 
 most powerful agent of production, and that the principles of association 
 are susceptible of further and beneficial development." John Stuart Mill. 
 
 "Socialism being the product of social evolution, the only danger 
 lies in obstructing it." Rev. F. M. Sprague. 
 
 "Socialism is the idea and hope of a new society founded on indus- 
 trial peace and forethought, aiming at a new and higher life for all men." 
 William Morris. 
 
 "Government and co-operation are in all things and eternally the 
 laws of life ; anarchy and competition, eternally and in all things the laws 
 of death." John Ruskin. 
 
 "To the foregoing the writer would add another definition of 
 Socialism. Socialism would solve the labor problem by guaranteeing to 
 the producer the full product of his toil ; the prison reform problem by 
 removing the incentive to crime; the temperance problem by taking out 
 of the scheme of life the only incentive which ever induced any man or 
 woman -to keep a saloon, a gambling house or a brothel ; the immigration 
 problem by establishing a system of industry in which every day of 
 idleness would be (as it is now) a loss to society, and in which every day 
 of added labor would be a decided gain to all the inhabitants of the com- 
 monwealth. In a word, Socialism would make possible a fulfillment of 
 the teachings of the greatest of all Socialists, in universal brotherhood 
 among men, peace on earth, and plenty for all the children of a common 
 Father." A. M. Dewey. 
 
 Who Is a Socialist? By Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 
 
 "Who is a Socialist? It is the man 
 Who strives to formulate or aid a plan 
 To better earth's conditions. It is he 
 Who, having ears to hear and eyes to see, 
 
48 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Is neither deaf nor blind when might, roughshod, 
 
 Treads down the privileges and rights which God 
 
 Means for all men; the privilege to toil, 
 
 To breathe pure air, to till the fertile soil 
 
 The right to live, to love, to woo, to wed, 
 
 And earn for hungry mouths their need of bread. 
 
 The Socialist is he who claims no more 
 
 Than his own share from generous Nature's store; 
 
 But that he asks, and asks, too, that no other 
 
 Shall claim the share of any weaker brother, 
 
 And brand him beggar in his own domain, 
 
 To glut a mad, inordinate lust for gain. 
 
 The Socialist is one who holds the best 
 
 Of all God's gifts is toil; the second, rest. 
 
 He asks that all men learn the sweets of labor, 
 
 And that no idler fatten on his neighbor; 
 
 That all men be allowed their share of leisure, 
 
 Nor thousands slave that one may seek his pleasure. 
 
 Who on the Golden Rule shall dare insist, 
 
 Behold in him the modern Socialist. 
 
 In order to make clearer the definition of Socialism, and 
 the objects which it is intended to accomplish, and also for 
 future reference in this work, we insert here an extract from an 
 address by Frances E. Willard, delivered at the National 
 W. C. T. U. Convention at Buffalo, in 1897, which is as 
 follows : 
 
 "Look about you; the products of labor are on every hand; you 
 could not maintain for a moment a well ordered life without them ; every 
 object in your room has in it, for discerning eyes, the mark of ingenious 
 tools and the pressure of labor's hands. But is it not the crudest .injus- 
 tice for the wealthy, whose lives are surrounded and embellished by 
 labor's work, to have a superabundance of the money which represents 
 the aggregate of labor in any country while the laborer himself is kept 
 so steady at work that he has no time to acquire the education and refine- 
 ments of life that would make him and his family agreeable companions 
 to the rich and cultured? The reason why I am a Socialist comes in 
 just here. 
 
 "I would take, not by force, but by the slow process of lawful 
 acquisition through better legislation as the outcome of a wiser ballot in 
 the hands of men and women, the entire plant that we call civilization, 
 all that has been achieved on this continent in the 400 years since Colum- 
 bus wended his way hither, and make it the common property of all the 
 people, requiring all to work enough with their hands to give them the 
 finest physical development but not to become burdensome in any case, 
 and permitting all to share alike the advantages of education and refine- 
 ment. .1 believe this to be perfectly practicable; indeed, that any other 
 method is simply a relic of barbarism. 
 
 "I believe that competition is Jtoomed. The trusts, whose single 
 object is to abolish competition, have proved that we are better off with- 
 out it than with it, and the moment corporations control the supply of 
 any article they combine. What the Socialist desires is that the corpor- 
 ation of humanity should control all production. Beloved comrades, this 
 is the frictionless way; it is the higher law; it eliminates the motives tor 
 a selfish life; it enacts into our every day living' the ethics of Christ's 
 gospel. Nothing else will do it; nothing else can bring the glad day 
 of universal brotherhood. 
 
DEFINITIONS OF SOCIALISM 49 
 
 "Oh, that I were young again and it would have my life ! ^ It is God's 
 way out of the wilderness and into the promised land. It is the very 
 marrow of Christ's gospel. It is Christianity applied." 
 
 But the definition that I prefer as a working basis in the 
 treatment of this subject is that given by Richard T. Ely, Pro- 
 fessor of Political Economy and Director of the School of Eco- 
 nomics, Political Science and History, in the University of 
 Wisconsin : 
 
 "Socialism is that contemplated system of individual society which 
 proposes the abolition of private property in the great material instru- 
 ments of production, and the substitution therefor of collective property, 
 and advocates the collective management of production, together with the 
 distribution of social income by society, and private property in the larger 
 proportion of this social income.'' 
 
 This definition, however, leaves in the background the 
 central point in Socialism, which is the substitution of co- 
 operation for competition. 
 
 Following the line of Professor Ely's arrangement, let us 
 elaborate the definition somewhat. 
 
 Elements of Socialism. 
 
 1. Common Ownership. The enlargement of the powers 
 of government until it shall own nearly all the capital and 
 control the rest. The government must own all the capital in 
 those industries that tend toward monopoly. It may be found 
 more convenient, especially in the initial stages, to permit 
 some of the smaller branches of production to be conducted 
 by private enterprise ; and besides, Socialism proposes to make 
 people happier ; and if it should be found that there are persons 
 who have become so habituated to a certain way of procuring 
 a living that they could not be happy in any other way, then it 
 would be the business of the government to make provision ac- 
 cordingly ; but to permit those engaged in private enterprise 
 to receive more for their labor than those in the public employ, 
 would be contrary alike to sound policy and the spirit of 
 Socialism. On the contrary, such a course should be pursued 
 as will continually reduce private enterprise to narrower and 
 narrower limits until it entirely disappears. 
 
 2. Common Management. Under our present system 
 goods are produced for profit and often the profits increase 
 with the scarcity ; but under Socialism goods will be produced 
 for the sole purpose of supplying the wants of the people, and 
 the greater the supply the greater the cause for rejoicing. It 
 will be the duty of the government to provide for each person 
 who is able, to earn his living at some useful employment, 
 and in doing this it will be the further duty of the government 
 to use its utmost endeavor to so distribute the various occupa- 
 
50 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 tions among the people as will best promote the happiness 
 of all. 
 
 3. Distribution of Income by Common Authority. One 
 of the chief objects and strong features of Socialism is its 
 distributive justice. One of its leading .principles is equality; 
 but it requires that equal enjoyment of social income must be 
 preceded by equal, effort in production. If a man will not work 
 neither shall he eat. The theory of Socialism regards all 
 capital as the common inheritance, so that those who are dis- 
 abled and incapacitated share equally in its common ownership. 
 It also regards the state as an insurance company, insuring 
 all its members against disability of every kind, so that those 
 who are unfortunate may share their full portion and not 
 experience the humiliation of feeling that they are paupers. 
 
 4. Private Property in the Larger Part of Income. ^ ne 
 advocates of capitalism claim that private property is neces- 
 sary to man's highest development ; and Socialism replies that 
 capitalism fails to furnish each one with the private property 
 he needs. Socialism proposes to provide for each one to hold 
 for his own private use a just share of the social income. 
 
 The following from Professor Ely's work, "Socialism and 
 Social Reform," page 38, is inserted to show the character of 
 the advocates of Socialism : 
 
 "It is essential to the comprehension of the nature of Socialism to 
 know that it is a system of industrial society which has found advocates 
 among many gifted, learned and very practical men. The leaders of 
 Socialism in the present century have generally been men of extraor- 
 dinary capacity, placing them far above the ordinary man." 
 
 To show this author's high opinion of Socialism we quote 
 from page 145 : 
 
 "It may be said, indeed, that nothing in the present day is so likely 
 to awaken the conscience of the ordinary man or woman, or to increase 
 the sense of individual responsibility as a thorough course in Socialism. 
 The study of Socialism has proved the turning point in thousands of 
 lives and converted self seeking me*n and women into self sacrificing toilers 
 for the masses." 
 
 Socialism is especially attractive to poets, artists, authors, 
 scholars, philosophers and humanitarians. Until within a very 
 few years back it was very unpopular, but now its popularity 
 is increasing with an accelerated velocity. People no longer 
 require to be reassured that Socialism .does not mean anarch- 
 ism and everything that is hateful and dangerous. One can 
 now avow himself a Socialist without having the word 
 "Shame !" hurled into his face. A few years ago a Socialist 
 writer could show that he was in good company by scraping 
 together a list of a few renowned and untarnished names like 
 those of John Ruskin, William Morris, Walter Crane, Hall 
 Caine and William Dean Howells, but now it is different. 
 
DEFINITIONS ANARCHISM 51 
 
 Now the people are becoming so dissatisfied with present con- 
 ditions and are turning to Socialism to such an extent, that 
 our leading papers are finding it necessary, in order to hold 
 their patronage, to advocate "Socialism or something like it;" 
 for publishers must offer for sale what the people want to buy, 
 or go out of business. 
 
 What is Not Socialism. 
 
 I. Anarchism. Anarchism is a proposed scheme of 
 society in which there shall be no physical force or compul- 
 sion, the only restraint being that which each individual puts 
 upon himself. Practically, anarchism is the absence of all 
 law, of which the history of the past furnishes numerous 
 instances, and these were almost invariably attended with 
 crime and bloodshed owing to the presence of a considerable 
 turbulent and criminal element. This fact has caused the 
 word "Anarchy" to become associated with scenes of violence 
 until it has become very difficult for us to disconnect the word 
 from all that is vicious and dangerous and the fact that 
 anarchy seeks the same equality as Socialism, has caused the 
 two to become somewhat confused in the minds of some, 
 bringing Socialism to that extent into disrepute ; and it cannot 
 be disputed that capitalism has done its utmost to encourage 
 the misapprehension. The original meaning of anarchy or 
 anarchism does not include the idea of violence. It is easy to 
 imagine a people of so high a type morally that they could 
 dwell together harmoniously without the necessity of exer- 
 cising any compulsion or restraint upon any of its members. 
 Accordingly we find such writers as Count Tolstoi and Prince 
 Kropotkin under the name of anarchism spinning fine 
 theories and picturing a beautiful far-away society where the 
 only law shall be the law of Christ and the only restraint, self- 
 restraint. Such writings sown broadcast among a poverty- 
 stricken, ignorant and more or less criminally inclined people, 
 smarting under political and industrial tyranny caused 'by 
 unjust laws, can have but one effect. With such a picture and 
 such a people, and a few unprincipled leaders to harangue 
 them, they become easily imbued with the idea that the law is 
 their bitterest enemy, and that the true remedy for the ills 
 that afflict society, is to be found in the abrogation of all law. 
 
 Since anarchism is negative and has little or nothing in 
 the way of a reconstructive plan, these people are left to look 
 for their own remedies, and the bomb is a natural result. 
 The criminally inclined always smart under the restraints of 
 law, and often exert an influence on those who are more 
 peacefully inclined. 
 
52 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 This "beautiful theory," called philosophic anarchism, 
 presents a conception of what may be a remote future possi- 
 bility. The picture is drawn on a high moral plane to be sure, 
 but with a very unsightly background ; for I understand that 
 all anarchistic philosophers either declare with Tolstoi in favor 
 of abandoning all pursuits excepting agriculture and handi- 
 craft, thus doing away with machinery entirely, or advocate 
 social theories which would forbid its use excepting on a very 
 small scale. They would take us back to "the good old log 
 cabin days," or the mud hut, or the shack, and it is not hard to 
 find these even now. The two conceptions are incongruous. 
 I fear that such a high moral plane could never be attained 
 in the midst of a material environment so semi-barbaric and 
 rude. 
 
 But all these foolish speculations might be harmless if it 
 were not that the leading feature is to do away with the law. 
 Anarchism proposes little or no organization, not even an 
 organized effort to disorganize our present society. They 
 don't try to capture the government in a legal way that they, 
 may decide by a majority vote to do away with all govern- 
 ment and cease voting. Organization is inconsistent with 
 their principles. 
 
 Anarchism is the result of capitalism on the principle 
 that one extreme leads to another. It is characteristic of 
 ignorance that it always runs to extremes. In France, before 
 the Revolution, the people became aware that they were 
 being trampled into the dust by the king, the nobility and the 
 priesthood, and they imagined that when they had finished 
 killing all these aristocratic classes they would be happy. 
 And so, now, there are people so ignorant that when they 
 learn that all the injustice and misery which they suffer is 
 the result of pernicious laws they go to the extreme of sup- 
 posing that all laws are necessarily bad, and foolishly imagine 
 that their destruction would usher in an era of happiness. 
 
 Anarchism is the result of a good thought, misappre- 
 hended and misapplied. The good thought consists of a con- 
 ception of that very high ideal of society, a society in which 
 the moral plane is so high that compulsion by physical force 
 is no longer necessary. The misapprehension consists of an 
 incoherent undertanding of what constitutes a necessary part 
 of this ideal. As nearly as I can gather, the anarchistic 
 philosophers, from contemplating the absence of penal laws, 
 which this ideal involves, fell into the error of considering 
 all laws obnoxious and at enmity with it. Recognizing the 
 fact that law is but a rule of action, without which there can 
 be no organization or concerted action, they rejected these 
 from their creed, counting the prescribing of one's action by 
 
DEFINITIONS COMMUNISM 53 
 
 any other person or persons, even with his own voice and 
 consent, as a disturbance of his happiness. Then, it would 
 seem, from this they came to consider the absence of law as 
 the cause of the high moral plane. Thus, by a loose-jointed, 
 slip-shod jumbling of ideas, they evolved a distorted ideal. 
 In truth, however, the absence of penal law is only an inci- 
 dent to the high ideal and not the cause of it. The beauty 
 and practical utility of the conception is in the moral virtue 
 of society and the absence of a necessity for penal laws is 
 given as a measure of that virtue. It is a great mistake to 
 suppose that one's happiness is in the least reduced because 
 he regulates his conduct by rules made by others, in the mak- 
 ing of which he has or has not a voice, provided such rules 
 are agreeable to him and such regulation is entirely volun- 
 tary on his part; and since these rules must be presented to- 
 him, subject to the approval or disapproval of his judgment, 
 he has perfect liberty. Penal laws for the restraint of wrong 
 doers do not affect his liberty or his happiness ; and this view 
 of the matter saves to society another ideal that anarchism 
 throws to the winds, which is very important, even for the 
 beauty there is in it, but infinitely more so for its practical 
 utility. I mean that of perfectly concerted action. In the 
 matter of practical utility the former of the two ideals we 
 have just mentioned may be considered the captain of all 
 ideals, and the latter, the first lieutenant. Human virtue and 
 concerted action are alike absolutely essential to society, and 
 to dismiss the lieutenant as anarchism proposes, could have 
 no other effect than the dissolution of society. 
 
 Having misapprehended and misassociated this highest 
 ideal and discarded its indispensable assistant, the anarchistic 
 philosophers proceeded to do what? To formulate a plan for 
 the reorganization of society? No, hardly that: organi- 
 zation implies rules for concerted action ; such rules are 
 simply laws, and laws are what they are trying especially to 
 avoid. They hardly dare suggest a method or plan of action 
 of any kind, because it would be virtually a law. The fact is, 
 their theory carried them backward beyond the confines of 
 civilization ; but having tasted the sweets of civilized life, 
 they did not like their surroundings ; so they concluded to 
 recross the line and come back just a little way. A very little 
 reflection was sufficient to show the impossibility of any 
 civilization without some concerted action, some rules or 
 laws, and they seem to have imagined that by their small 
 group society they might reduce the laws to the minimum 
 and do away entirely with the most objectionable form, penal 
 laws. Since their theory cuts off organization, even in doing 
 iway with our present system, they could only advocate the 
 
54 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 idea that its dissolution would eventually come about some- 
 how, giving opportunity for the application of their "beauti- 
 ful philosophy of anarchism." 
 
 This "beautiful theory," especially that part which relates 
 to the abolition of all punishments, is attractive to the crim- 
 inal classes, who, becoming impatient for its realization, fall 
 upon the group idea as a way of getting rid of our present 
 system. Accordingly, they begin to group themselves into 
 ways and means committees, and with -their pockets full of 
 bombs, proceed to hasten the dissolution of society. No won- 
 der so many find it difficult to understand the teachings of 
 anarchism ; its doctrine seems to be mostly negative. 
 
 2. Communism. The term communism includes any 
 form of common ownership society which is merely local in 
 its operations. In various parts of the world communistic 
 experiments have been tried. A very large number of these 
 communities or colonies have been planted in the United 
 States. Most of them failed. There were a great many 
 reasons for these failures. A very large proportion were 
 religious societies. Many of them were drawn together by 
 what other people call fanaticism of one kind or another, and 
 it was said that when the fanaticism died away there was not 
 enough adhesiveness to hold them together. The influence 
 upon the young of their outside neighbors and of the outside 
 inducements in a comparatively new country, the inclination 
 of people to change from place to place, a change often neces- 
 sary for health, strife among leaders and personal bicker- 
 ings due to the smallness of the communities these were all 
 fruitful sources of disruption. But .there is little in the his- 
 tory of these societies that is of any value in. the discussion of 
 Socialism, excepting on one point, and that is that getting the 
 men to work satisfactorily was the least of the difficulties with 
 which they had to contend. 
 
 3. Unionism. As little similarity as there is between 
 unionism and Socialism, we often hear people say when the 
 subject of Socialism is mentioned, "Oh, I don't have any use 
 for the unions." As a matter of fact, they have very little in 
 common, so far as principles and methods are concerned. 
 True, some Socialists are labor unionists, and vice versa, some 
 labor unionists are Socialists. Both are organized to fight a 
 common enemy the capitalistic system, but their methods of 
 warfare are very different. Unionism acknowledges the 
 rightful supremacy of capitalism, Socialism denies it; union- 
 ism asks for part of the rights of those within its own circle, 
 Socialism demands the full measure of justice to all the 
 people; unionism petitions for redress of grievances and pro- 
 
DEFINITIONS UNIONISM 55 
 
 poses to remain subject to capitalism; Socialism means com- 
 plete revolution and proclaims a war of extermination against 
 capitalism. This may sound ferocious. But don t be 
 alarmed ; it is only capitalism that is to be exterminated ; the 
 capitalist himself is to be left free to breathe his part of the 
 pure air, drink his part of the pure water, receive and enjoy 
 his part of the product that labor draws from the beautiful 
 green earth and bask in his part of the pleasant sunshine, just 
 like anybody else. 
 
 Socialism is pre-eminently for peace. It is much more 
 peaceful than unionism. Unionism relies on brute force 
 methods. In the past unionism often went into the fight 
 armed -only with the fists or at most with clubs, stones and 
 brickbats, and, of course, it was defeated when it came in 
 contact with bayonets. Now, pitting its dollars against those 
 of capitalism, it sits down quietly and thinks to starve the 
 enemy into submission. This would be about as foolish, were 
 it not for two circumstances ; first, the greed of the capitalists, 
 who are often ready to compromise in order to resume the 
 accumulation of profits, and second, the fear that refusal of 
 the union's demands will drive it to political action and lead 
 it to Socialism. Socialism proposes that .the many workers 
 pit their ballots against the ballots of the idle few. Unionism 
 is valuable chiefly as an educator ; and, strange to say, its 
 best lessons are found in its failures. Capitalism understands 
 this perfectly. Capitalism doesn't want the workers to learn. 
 She also knows that the average unionist is pretty well 
 satisfied if he can gain one strike in about four or five and 
 can manage to get along if he can gain one in ten ; therefore 
 capitalism permits the unions to gain a strike occasionally or 
 think they have gained it. If all the charges against unionism 
 are true, it is only a further reason for Socialism. 
 
 To show how the education comes in we insert the fol- 
 lowing from "The Appeal to Reason," September 24, 1906: 
 
 "'Smashing the Union' in Australia.- 'The Crushing Out of Labor 
 Organizations Has Resulted in the Development of a Powerful Socialist 
 Party.' Hugh O'Neil in Kansas City Independent, organ of the National 
 Manufacturer's Association, and reprinted in the National Civic Feder- 
 ation Review. 
 
 "It was Malcolm Donald McEacharn, ship owner and capitalist, who 
 delivered the Commonwealth of Australia to the Socialists. He is the one 
 conservative on the continent that the Socialists fight without malice. 
 
 "Of course, McEacharn didn't want Socialism. He only wanted to 
 break the power of the trades unions. He thought that their exactions 
 had become intolerable, and there was some justification for that view. 
 Strikes were common, and frequently the cause of quarrel was trivial. 
 But the strikers were always successful because the country was being 
 flooded with British money, and the voice of the boomster was abroad in 
 the land. The union leaders were ignorant of all economic laws, and they 
 
56 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 mistook the existing condition for one of natural prosperity. (That's 
 where they made their mistake.) 
 
 "McEacharn knew better than that. He knew that the burst would 
 come sooner or later, and he prepared to attack labor on a falling market. 
 He figured to smash the unions and remove the heel of aggressive democ- 
 racy from the throat of capital. A partial victory was not what he 
 wanted. He was after the whole hog. He got it. (That's where he 
 made his mistake,) 
 
 "The unionists were lions led by asses. McEacharn knew that. 
 Time after time the shipping union made demands upon his company ; 
 time after time he granted these demands, with smiling readiness. But 
 day after day he went on building together the units of a force to fight 
 unionism that was destined to sweep organized labor out of existence. 
 The plan was colossal, but the solid patience with which in the meantime 
 he bore the galling exactions of the trades was quite as great. 
 
 "And then, one day, he loosed his thunders and struck hard and 
 straight and true. He chose the time of battle, the cause of battle, and 
 the place of battle. The unions chose nothing. They were arrogant with 
 riches. 
 
 "The cause of quarrel was childish, as McEacharn meant it should 
 be. A difference arose between the quartermaster and the steward of one 
 of his coasting steamers over the charms of a stewardess. The captain, 
 to settle the difficulty as he thought, poor man discharged the sailor. 
 The union demanded his reinstatement. McEacharn, knowing what the 
 reply would be, offered to put him on another ship. The union demanded 
 reinstatement on the same ship. McEacharn in very courteous terms 
 pointed out that that ,was impossible. Then the asses who led the lions 
 told him that unless the reinstatement was effected within twenty-four 
 hours they would call the crews off all his ships and order a general 
 strike. 
 
 "Then, like a flash, McEacharn unmasked his guns. Back went 
 the reply that the unions might strike and be damned. 
 
 "The strike was ordered. And then there followed a battle grim 
 and great. Union after union was called out, ship after ship was laid up, 
 state after state was involved in the quarrel, until the whole continent 
 stood under arms. In less than four weeks the fires of nearly every coast- 
 ing steamer were drawn. The trade of Australia was paralyzed. Four 
 hundred thousand unionists were idle, and every man of them was drawing 
 half pay. Also every unemployed man who looked like becoming a free 
 laborer was paid a weekly allowance from the general fund to prevent 
 remanning the ships. 
 
 "But the Shipowners' Union that McEacharn had organized didn't 
 even try to reman the ships. The land boom had reached its limit, trade 
 was declining, very large coal reserves had been laid up, the funds and 
 membership of the unions were known to a dollar and a man. The ship- 
 owners simply sat down on their hunkers and waited. 
 
 "Starvation won easily. Ten weeks after the first shot the unions 
 capitulated to the grim foe hunger, that before then had bowed the neck 
 of many a proud city. McEacharn had meant to break the unions. And 
 they were broken all right. 
 
 "Funds gone, membership decimated, courage wilted, the once great 
 trade unions of Australia were counted out. 
 
 "The capitulation was announced in the biggest public hall the labor 
 leaders could get. John Hancock, big bodied and big hearted the finest 
 platform man in Australia rose in that hall of silent hundreds to tell 
 the men that they must return to work on the best terms they could get. 
 It was the shortest and most pregnant speech he ever made in his life. 
 
DEFINITIONS UNIONISM 57 
 
 'Friends,' he said, 'men of Australia, we have not been beaten; we have 
 been starved into submission. Unionism is dead, but anything can hap- 
 pen in a democracy, and from the ashes of the funeral pyre that the ship- 
 owners have lighted will rise the phoenix of our liberties.' 
 
 "Nobody knew what he meant. It is doubtful whether he knew 
 himself. But it sounded large and fine, and something with that sort of 
 sound was just what those depressed people wanted that night. But one 
 year later big John Hancock took his seat in Parliament the first labor 
 member sent in by the first labor party in Australia. 
 
 "Vanquished in the industrial war, the members of the ba'ttered 
 trades unions had reorganized their forces on a political basis aad sought 
 to win by the ballot the privileges capital had denied them. Someone dis- 
 covered that where all men have votes and the bulk of men are wage 
 earners they only have to decide among themselves what they want from 
 the state to get it. 
 
 "That was only ten years ago. And now they have gotten nearly 
 all they wanted. Think of it. Eleven years ago the unions were bat- 
 tered, dead, done for. To-day their direct lineal successor owns the whole 
 blessed commonwealth of Australia. 
 
 "They attacked municipal councils first, and enforced the minimum 
 wage and eight hour day on all of them. They attacked the state parlia- 
 ments next and gr.ined factory legislation and old age pensions and com- 
 pulsory arbitration. No factory in the country can now employ child 
 labor or work its people more than eight hours per day, or pay less than 
 the minimum wage fixed by the wages board. In two of the six states the 
 labor party are the government in office, in two others they hold the bal- 
 ance of power, and in two others they are the direct opposition. 
 
 "But it is their success in the commonwealth parliament the 
 National Assembly that marks out Australia as a Socialistic nation. 
 
 "In the Senate half the members are pledged Socialists definite 
 servants of the labor party. In the Representatives the direct opposition 
 are pledged Socialists also members of the same party. Compulsory arbi- 
 tration in labor disputes is the law actually operating in two of the states, 
 :;ncl the national legislature has passed a law enforcing compulsory arbi- 
 tration in any labor dispute that extends from one state to another." 
 
 The above article furnishes a very fitting- illustration of 
 the benefk that sometimes accrues . to the unions from the 
 loss of a strike. Such failures are the most effective lessons 
 to teach them their political power. The beginner may be a 
 little puzzled, however, at seeing that it was published in 
 two prominent capitalist papers; but when he has studied 
 thoroughly the subject of social reform, and learned what an 
 elastic thing it is, he will come to understand what it means. 
 When he has learned that social reform is usually little more 
 than an inflated bubble, labelled Socialism, for the purpose of 
 leading Socialists away from Socialism, he will understand 
 why the above article found space in capitalist papers, why 
 the Australian and New Zealand reform measures are 
 called Socialism, why the Australian Labor Party is called a 
 Socialist party, and why the compulsory arbitration law is 
 paraded in capitalist papers as a great Socialist victory, and 
 will then begin to realize that capitalism has been playing 
 with a card up its sleeve. 
 
58 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WHAT IS NOT AND YET IS SOCIALISM; OR, SOCIAL 
 
 REFORM. 
 
 Under this head is included all proposed governmental 
 measures which are intended as remedies for the evils that 
 afflict society, while at the same time retaining our present 
 social order. Most of these are Socialistic in their tendencies, 
 and this, with the fact that many Socialists favor social re- 
 form as an initial step to Socialism, causes social reform to be 
 regarded by many as Socialism. In England and most of the 
 Continental nations of Europe much has already been done 
 in this line. In New Zealand the social reform forces have full 
 sway and have brought about a great change, and now they 
 are coming rapidly to the front. In this country the public 
 sentiment is looming up very strongly for social reform. 
 Experience, however, shows that it carries with it reaction- 
 ary forces that greatly hinder its operation. With all the 
 good that may be accomplished by social reform, it is only a 
 tacking on of new cloth to an old garment, and the danger is 
 that the rent may be made worse. This lets in the dragging 
 back or reactionary forces. But what is the program of 
 social reform? What Is it doing? What does it propose? 
 What can it do? What is and will be its effect on society? 
 
 Joseph Chamberlain, who now looms up as the leading 
 English statesman, in rehearsing the great good wrought by 
 reform legislation in that country, said : That in the last half 
 century pauperism had greatly diminished ; that the poor rate 
 had been' reduced to less than half what it was before the 
 new poor law; that crime had diminished in both "quantity 
 and character; that education had been brought within the 
 reach of every child; that protection had been afforded againsl 
 excessive toil and overwork; that the observance of propel 
 sanitary conditions for labor had been universally enforced 
 that trade unions had been legalized so that workmen mighl 
 meet their employers on something like an equal footing in 
 settling the rate of wages ; that the care of the public healtli 
 had been recognized; that the taxes on food and all othei 
 great necessaries had been repealed ; that facilities for trave 
 and intercommunication h^d been greatly extended anc 
 developed ; that opportunities for improvement and recreation 
 had been afforded to all at the expense of the community, anc 
 that wages had increased fifty per cent while the hours of labor 
 had been reduced twenty per cent. He also mentions the 
 diminution in the death rate, and adds: /'An impartial ex^mi 
 nation of the facts and figures here set forth must lead to 
 
SOCIAL REFORM 59 
 
 the conclusion that there has been a very great improvement 
 in the condition of the people during the period under review, 
 and this improvement has been largely due to the interven- 
 tion of the state and to what is called Socialistic legislation. 
 The acts for the regulation of mines and the inspection of 
 factories and workshops, the Truck Act (preventing the pay- 
 ment of wages in kind), the acts relating to merchant ship- 
 ping, the Artisans' Dwellings Act, the Allotments Act, the 
 Education Act, the Poor Law, and the Irish Land Acts, are 
 all of them measures which more or less limit and control 
 individual action." 
 
 One of the main items in the program is public owner- 
 ship of such industries as tend to become monopolies. Most 
 of the European governments own and operate the railways, 
 telegraphs and telephones. Most of their great cities, I 
 believe, own their watering and lighting plants, street rail- 
 ways and city telephone systems. In this country the people 
 are becoming awakened on the subject, and already consider- 
 able has been done. 
 
 But it is in New Zealand that the most decided steps 
 have been taken in social reform ; indeed, New Zealand has 
 been called the experiment station of modern democracy. 
 
 If the reader will stop at this point and procure a copy of 
 "New Zealand in a Nutshell," it will enable him to more 
 thoroughly understand this part of our subject; but to those 
 who do not find it convenient to do so we \vill state briefly 
 that New Zealand is a province of Great Britain situated in 
 the South Pacific, 1,200 miles southeast of Australia, having 
 an area of 104,000 square miles, with a population in 1901 of 
 720,000. It consists of two large and several small islands 
 that have a range of latitude extending from the 34th to the 
 47th parallels of south latitude. The climate is similar to 
 California ; the soil not generally very productive, and the 
 country chiefly adapted to grazing. Quoting from the above- 
 named work : "The soil, while fertile in patches, is only 
 profitable when held in large blocks for cattle and sheep 
 ranches. This ltd to 'land monopoly, and the few soon con- 
 trolled, whereupon the people deliberately came together and- 
 wiped out the millionaire class of land grabbers, and now the 
 motto is, 'No millionaires, no paupers.' New Zealand is no 
 Utopia. Our people do not claim to have reached a final 
 solution of any social problem, but they are trying to intro- 
 duce methods that will make all comfortable, contented and 
 happy/' 
 
 The people govern, it is said, and it is said also that 
 every effort is made to secure a still better system, but I 
 cannot vouch for the truth of either of these statements. 
 
60 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 The story of New Zealand is a pretty picture. Let us 
 examine it somewhat closely and see what we may learn from 
 it. The first, and perhaps most important, lesson is what the 
 workers who have ballots in their hands may do to better 
 their condition. It shows that they can have about what they 
 want when they go at it right. It shows that a great and 
 happy change may be wrought by granting to labor even a 
 small part of what belongs to it. And the workers took it 
 themselves ; or, rather, they asked for it in a way that showed 
 they meant to have it, and got what they asked for but no 
 more, as we shall see presently. 
 
 It is certainly a beautiful picture as compared with 
 society in this country. Those who but partially understand 
 the Socialist ideal call it Socialism ; and it is a movement in 
 that direction ; but, measured by the true Socialist ideal, it 
 falls so far short that a Socialist can hardly help the sug- 
 gestion that if Satan should slightly neglect the heating and 
 fumigation of some remote corner of his domain, those hap- 
 pening to stray thither would fancy themselves in heaven. 
 
 Having shown some of the things which social reform is 
 doing, we inquire next, what does it propose to do? We 
 quote from Professor Ely's work, page 255, as follows : 
 
 "Can we not, in our industrial life, keep what we have that is valua- 
 ble and escape some of the evils which Socialism has so vividly depicted? 
 And let -us frankly, fully, without equivocation, acknowledge the great 
 services which Socialism has in this, as in other respects, rendered society. 
 Can we not carefully, conservatively, add to our social order some of the 
 strong features of Socialism, and yet keep this social order intact? It 
 seems to the author that this is practicable, and the means for doing this 
 he endeavors to describe as a program of practicable social reform, giving 
 merely the outlines. 
 
 "Those who take up the subject of social reform at the present day 
 must remember that they cannot accomplish much that is permanently 
 valuable unless they start with a full knowledge of Socialism and its ad- 
 vantages, and attempt to realize those advantages. High ideals for the 
 masses have been realized once for all. 
 
 "Some of the things which we must strive to accomplish in social 
 reform may be enumerated as follows: First of all, we must seek a 
 better realization of productve forces. This implies, negatively, that we 
 should reduce the waste of the competitive system to its lowest possible 
 terms; positively, that we should endeavor to secure a steady production, 
 employing all available capital and labor power ; furthermore, the full 
 utilization of inventions and discoveries by a removal of the friction 
 which often renders improvement so difficult. Positively this implies, 
 also, that production should be carried on under wholesome conditions. 
 
 "In the second place, would we secure the advantages of Socialism, 
 we must so mend our distribution of wealth that we shall avoid present 
 extremes and bring about widely diffused comfort, making frugal comfort 
 for all our aim. Distribution must be so shaped, if practicable, that all 
 shall have assured incomes, but that no one who is personally qualified 
 to render service shall enjoy an income without personal exertion. 
 
 "In the third place, there must be abundant public provis : on of 
 
 
SOCIAL REFORM 61 
 
 opportunity for the development .of our faculties, including educational 
 facilities and the large use of natural resources for purposes of recreation. 
 One question which meets us at the threshold of our inquiries concerns 
 the possibility of reform. Can we accomplish the ends which we have in 
 view, and will the effort which we put forth to accomplish these ends 
 meet with a return commensurate with the effort involved? It is fre- 
 quently said that all our efforts amount to so little that it is not worth 
 our while to try to improve society. When we look into the efforts to 
 accomplish reform in the past we cannot find reason for discouragement ; 
 quite the contrary, well directed effort has accomplished great things; 
 and we are warranted in the belief that a thorough reformation of society 
 and the reduction of social evils to very low terms, if not a complete 
 abolition, is practicable. The number of those who are submerged, large 
 as it is, is comparatively small, giving, let us say, nine persons to help one 
 of the fallen, and improvement among the nine-tenths is not difficult." 
 (pp. 255-257.) 
 
 Now, I think we have the subject of social reform pretty 
 well up before us. 
 
 And here is a convenient point to inquire just what is 
 Socialistic? What is Socialism? What is social reform? 
 What is the distinction between Socialism and social reform? 
 And first, where does Socialism begin? To properly answer 
 this question we must get down to fundamentals. 
 
 There are two fundamental principles which may and 
 have governed industrial action competition and "co-oper- 
 ation. Competition is, as we have seen, the selfish, every-fel- 
 low-for-himself principle, adapted to man in the lower stages 
 of civilization. Co-operation is the unselfish, help-one- 
 another principle, adapted to man in the higher stages of 
 civilization. Not only does one or the other of these two 
 principles underlie all industrial action, but all political 
 action as well; and why should it not? For we may say 
 that, generally speaking, the political function is but the ser- 
 vant of the industrial function. 
 
 Out of the competitive principle have grown enmity, 
 contention and crime of all sorts, including all wars and all 
 inequalities of wealth ; great riches on the one hand, and 
 abject poverty on the other; palaces on the one hand, and 
 hovels on the other in short, our present society will all its 
 monstrosities. 
 
 Through the right, or unselfish use of the co-operative 
 principle, or Socialism, will come an era in which amity will 
 take the place of enmity ; the helping hand will take the place 
 of contention; justice will take the place of injustice; crime 
 will be reduced to the minimum, and, in time, almost or pos- 
 sibly wholly disappear; and by which means also will first 
 be developed nationalism, which will later merge into inter- 
 nationalism, bringing universal justice, peace and good-will, 
 finally realizing that fond dream of the ages, the universal 
 brotherhood of man. 
 
62 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Competition is always selfish. It is not, however, neces- 
 sarily always unjust. Competition usually misses justice 
 very widely, and, as we have seen, the sum of all its action 
 culminates finally in the grossest injustice. 
 
 Co-operation may be selfish or unselfish, and result in 
 justice or injustice, depending on the nature of the case, the 
 object of the co-operation, and the number of the co-oper- 
 ators. 
 
 Examples of wrong or unjust co-operation: When two 
 men unite and pounce upon a third man and relieve him of 
 his money or other effects ; where the members of a tribe 
 combine in a raid upon a weaker tribe for purposes of plunder, 
 murder and enslavement; where a nation, by war or intimi- 
 dation, takes an unjust advantage of another nation or 
 people; where two or more people combine to raise or lower 
 the price of an article so as to give them an- unjust advantage 
 over others ; this last includes all operations of the trust. 
 
 Examples of right or just co-operation : Where two or 
 more persons unite for self protection against thieves, robbers 
 or savages; where a tribe or nation unite to resist the unjust 
 encroachments of another tribe or nation, and, generally 
 speaking, where any number of people unite either indus- 
 trially or politically to resist the injustice of others, and to do 
 anything for the promotion of their own interests that will 
 not mitigate against the just rights of others. 
 
 . Competition, together with other forms of selfishness 
 from which it springs, has filled the world with contentions, 
 strifes, discords, jars, fightings and wars. The wisest were 
 the first to discover the principle that in union there is 
 strength ; hence, in the political field, the formation of cliques, 
 clans, tribes, independent states, nations small and great, and 
 trust combinations small and great. In society as it has 
 hitherto existed, every separate individual, every union of 
 individuals, and every confederation of unions, constitutes a 
 unit. Every state or nation, or confederation of states or 
 nations, constitutes a political unit ; and every political unit 
 is against every other political unit. Likewise, in the 
 industrial field, every unorganized individual, every union, 
 society, club, guild, partnership, syndicate, corporation, trust 
 combination, every organization or confederation of organi- 
 zations of either capitalists or laborers, constitutes an indus- 
 trial unit, and every industrial unit is against every other 
 industrial unit. Life as we view it to-day is a continual scene 
 of warring, jarring, jostling and struggling. Socialism pro- 
 poses to harmonize all these discordant elements, beginning 
 with the confederation of all the industrial elements of each 
 nation under one common, equal interest. This done in all 
 
 . 
 
SOCIAL REFORM 63 
 
 the great nations, the international confederation, or inter- 
 nationalizing process, will be easy. 
 
 But where does Socialism begin? is the -question we 
 started out to answer. It is obvious that where competitiqn 
 ends, co-operation begins ; i. e., with trust combination. But, 
 of course, this is not Socialism ; for though the trust partakes 
 of the characteristics of Socialism, in that it is a co-operation, 
 in which there is common ownership, and common manage- 
 ment, and common distribution, and the individual enjoyment 
 of distributed income, yet the co-operation is confined to such 
 narrow limits, being usually a small private body, the com- 
 mon ownership, management and distribution is so unequal, 
 and the injustice to those without is so great, that it is very 
 far from being Socialism as it is commonly advocated, though 
 it might not be far amiss to call it an abnormal, monstrous 
 form of unequal Socialism with those outside the narrow 
 circle retained as slaves. But Socialism as now advocated, 
 implies a public co-operation of the whole people ; an equal 
 interest in the collectively owned capital ; an equal voice in 
 the collective management ; a share in the distribution that 
 shall be- equal, nearly equal, or equal in proportion to effort, 
 and an ample provision for the unfortunte. With this view 
 a trust would hardly be considered even slightly Socialistic. 
 At any rate, if there is any Socialism in the trust, it is not the 
 kind we are looking for. The operation of the trust is a selfish 
 use of a naturally unselfish principle, co-operation, and is the 
 natural course pursued by men who have been educated in 
 the selfish school of competition, and Socialism must begin 
 with an unselfish use of this principle. 
 
 The so-called Socialistic legislation mentioned by Mr. 
 Chamberlain, the intervention by the state and the legis- 
 lative enactments and enforcements of laws providing better 
 conditions for the working classes, is 'indeed Socialistic, 
 though only slightly so. In the enactment of the laws he 
 mentions are exhibited several of the leading features of 
 Socialism, but in a very limited degree. These are all of 
 them, as he says, "measures which more or less limit and 
 control individual action." The interruption and control of 
 individual or private action by the substitution of state, or 
 public action, as a partially controlling force in producton, 
 is one Socialistic feature ; the provisions for trades unions to 
 have a voice in the regulation of wages, together with all pro- 
 visions whereby the condition of the workers has been 
 improved, constitutes two other features ; because in these 
 measures the state puts in a voice in the matter of distribution 
 and does something (a very little something to be sure) 
 toward equalizing the shares ; and, lastly, we may mention as 
 
64 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 another feature of Socialism the provisions for relieving the 
 condition of the very poor and reducing pauperism and crime. 
 Socialism advocates ample provision for the unfortunate, 
 those who are defective, and, although no doubt many of this 
 class have fair capacities and would be able under favorable 
 conditions to support themselves, yet as society is now they 
 must be accounted defective, unable by reason of perhaps a 
 slight degree of weakness of body or mind, or it may be 
 moral weakness, the result of lack of moral training or a 
 vicious environment, but unable, nevertheless, to cope with 
 those who are stronger in the competitive struggle for life. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain said .that the poor rate had been dimin- 
 ished and that crime had been reduced in both quantity and 
 character. When I read such boasts from politicians, it 
 reminds me of a farmers' convention where it is conclusively 
 shown by. testimony based on actual experience that it is 
 cheaper to keep animals fat than to keep them poor; that if 
 you feed a horse better he will do more work, and that if 
 the animal is disposed to be vicious and dangerous his dis- 
 position may be greatly improved ; and that animals that are 
 vicious and dangerous, are generally so, largely because they 
 are mistreated ; give them plenty to eat, treat them kindly, 
 and do not compel them to work harder than they are able to 
 stand; and that this method is much more profitable and 
 much safer for the masters. I appeal to the reader to say if 
 this is not a fair illustration of nearly all the legislation that 
 has ever yet been enacted for the benefit of the masses. 
 
 The Socialistic legislation mentioned is very far from 
 producing Socialism. It is scarcely worthy of notice as being 
 even slightly Socialistic ; and I only mention it in order that I 
 may be able to convey to the reader a clearer conception of 
 just what Socialism is, and show how far short is much of 
 the vaunted "Socialistic" social reform legislation. 
 
 Judging by my somewhat meagre information, I am 
 inclined to think that the above illustration will hold good in 
 some measure even in New Zealand, where more has been 
 done for the masses than in any other country on the globe. 
 The movement there seems to be a combination of the smaller 
 capitalists and the working classes against the larger capital- 
 ists, the land monopolists. Before the movement began, there 
 was great dissatisfaction among the working classes. Now 
 the main object of government seems to 'be to make all 
 classes satisfied rather than to mete out justice to all; and it 
 seems to have been very successful in attaining its object. I 
 draw this conclusion from points like the following, found in 
 the report alluded to : 
 
 
SOCIAL REFORM 65 
 
 "The state backs up private enterprise with all the machinery at its 
 disposal, but directly private enterprise tries to work monopolies and raise 
 prices, private enterprise receives a hint that there are limits to the 
 patience of the people and that if that kind of thing is persevered in the 
 Government will become an active competitor." (p. 23.) 
 
 Here, as elsewhere, the "limits to the patience of the 
 people" is the thing most dreaded by the industrial tyrants. 
 The difference is, that the people of New Zealand have 
 become sufficiently awakened to demand a larger proportion 
 of their rights than is demanded by any other people ; there- 
 fore the limit to their patience is sooner found. 
 
 On page 27, the folowing : 
 
 "No dispute can be considered except in trade where there are trade 
 unions, and only where these trade unions have registered under the law. 
 This is, first, to save the courts from being overwhelmed by a flood of 
 petty matters, and, second, because the disputes that threaten the peace 
 and prosperity of society came from organized, not unorganized, labor." 
 
 Here you have it. Even in New Zealand with all its 
 advanced ethics, the government has no time to render jus- 
 tice to those who do not know enough to ask for it, and not 
 even then unless the asking is done in a way that threatens 
 the "peace and prosperity of society." In line with these 
 items, we find on pages 261 and 262, Historians' History of 
 the World, the following: 
 
 "The change was emphasized by the active intervention in 'politics 
 of the trade unions. These bodies, impelled by a Socialistic movement 
 felt throughout Australia and New Zealand, decided, in 1889 and 1890, to 
 exert their influence in returning workmen to Parliament, and where this 
 was impossible to secure pledges from middle class candidates. This plan 
 was first put into execution at the general election of 1890. The number 
 of labor members thus elected to the General Assembly was small, never 
 more than six, and no independent labor party was formed. But the 
 interests of labor in the Progressive, or, as it preferred to be called, the 
 Labor Party, was considerable, and the legislative results noteworthy." 
 
 Speaking of the work of reform in New Zealand, Edward 
 Tregear, the Provincial Secretary, in a letter recently pub- 
 lished in this country, stated that they had but barely 
 touched the fringe of the economic garment, and that the con- 
 dition of the working people might properly be called that of 
 well fed slaves. 
 
 The government of New Zealand is the most Socialistic 
 of any in the world, but when we apply the testing points, we 
 find it too far defective to be properly called Socialism. Most 
 of the capital is in the hands of private individuals who oper- 
 ate it. Here are two points, the ownership and the manage- 
 ment of the capital that are each partly capitalistic and partly 
 Socialistic. Again in the matter of distribution, there is a 
 mixture of the capitalistic and the Socialistic. All legal pro- 
 visions relating to wages, hours of labor, industry or toil, or 
 care of aged or infirm, which have a tendency in the direction 
 
66 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 of equalizing income, are Socialistic ; the main capitalistic 
 feature of the distribution, consists of the profits which the 
 capitalists receive on their investments, for they must have 
 profits else they would retire from business. Of course, the 
 government by increasing the wages of the workers, reducing 
 the hours of labor, heavy taxes, etc., could reduce the profits 
 till they would barely be but wages sufficient to induce the 
 capitalists to remain in business and manage it or see that it 
 is managed to the best advantage, and it may be, so far as I 
 am informed, that this is what the New Zealand government 
 is doing. If so, so much the better for the cause of justice. I 
 think not, however, or there would be a greater dissatisfac- 
 tion than reports indicate. The New Zealanders have begun 
 well; but whether they will continue to advance, or choose 
 leaders who will conspire with the capitalists behind the 
 scenes to make the people satisfied with their present attain- 
 ments, is the question. This is their danger point; and it is 
 a danger that must always accompany social reform. A cen- 
 tury and a quarter ago, the people of our own nation began 
 singing a new song, beginning with the words, "We have the 
 best government in the world." The words were true then; 
 the song became a national air ; it passed from father to son, 
 and even now you will occasionally find a man, not always 
 from the backwoods either, who, when you undertake to talk 
 Socialism to him, will immediately begin to sing that song, 
 and you are exceedingly fortunate if you are able to get in 
 another word. The New Zealanders have begun singing the 
 same song. The words are true of them now, but it is not by 
 any means certain that they always will be, and they, like 
 ourselves, may go on singing the song long after it ceases 
 to be true.* 
 
 *Since writing the above an article was quoted in the Appeal to Reason from 
 which we make the following extract: 
 
 "The result of the 1890 struggle banded the workers of New Zealand together, 
 and much good work was accomplished during the subsequent two or three years. 
 Then the old enemy political differences intervened. Interested parties succeeded in 
 dividing the ranks on imaginary differences and non-essentials, and unionism at the 
 present time exists only for the benefit of a few salaried officers. Not thirty per cent 
 of the workers in any trade are unionists, and less than five per cent of these take any 
 interest in the affairs of their unions. And what are the subjects discussed at these 
 meetings? Is the objective of trade unionism ever mentioned or inculcated in the 
 speeches of their leaders? And on election day do they march in a body as trade 
 unionists (as they do on Labor Day) and vote as trade unionists? I'm afraid the 
 answer to these questions must be unsatisfactory, and the fact admitted that trades 
 unionism in New Zealand is reactionary, disorganized and almost non-existent. 
 
 "After the maritime strike, already referred to (which failed because of the want 
 of organization), the conciliation board and arbitration court were set up. In these 
 the exploiter and the exploited meet and mutually arrange the amount of exploitation 
 which satisfies the rapaciousness of the former, and to which the latter will submit and 
 still manage to exist and propagate his species! Did I not live in New Zealand I 
 should scout the idea as without the sphere of possibility. The conciliation board and 
 arbrtration act has dealt trade unionism in New Zealand its death blow. The condi- 
 tions of labor and wages paid are now decided, not by the votes of the members of 
 the unions, but by an outside tribunal, two-thirds of the members of which are in no 
 way under the control of the unions. From its very constitution what could the 
 workers expect but that the interests of their employers would be first and paramou 
 
 " 
 
SOCIAL REFORM 6; 
 
 Professor Ely's program of social reform suggests 
 much that is similar to what is being done in New Zealand, 
 but he goes one better and advocates that, "No one who is 
 personally qualified to render service shall enjoy an income 
 without personal exertion." His program also includes 
 government ownership of monopolies. It is sometimes said 
 that if the government would take up the ownership of all the 
 industries as fast as they became monopolies, we would soon 
 have Socialism ; for that even farming will soon become a 
 monopoly. It would be difficult to say just how defective a 
 system might be in Socialistic points, and still be properly 
 termed Socialism, but a government ownership of all indus- 
 tries might be so managed that, to say the least of it, it would 
 be a very imperfect Socialism. There might be a great 
 inequality in the distribution, but in a democratic country 
 where the people have an equal voice, the tendency would be 
 toward improvement in this respect. 
 
 There are four classes of people who advocate social 
 reform : First, those Socialists who favor social reform as a 
 step to Socialism ; second, sincere, conservative minded people 
 who have the welfare of the masses at heart but fear to cut 
 loose from the present order ; third, the middle sized or smaller 
 capitalists and those who hope to be but fear being swallowed 
 by the great capitalists, who desire more than their just share 
 in the distribution of wealth, while not willing to bear their 
 share of the burden in productive effort, and who seek to off- 
 set the present movement toward Socialism by introducing a 
 social reform that shall protect all against the great capital- 
 ists and so improve the condition of the masses, that the 
 people will be satisfied, while they themselves may retain or 
 accumulate their small fortunes, and thus be able to live free 
 of toil ; fourth, fake politicians who seek to ride into power on 
 a popular wave, sell themselves to the capitalists, and con- 
 spire with them against the people. 
 
 Social reform, as we have found, proposes a combination 
 of capitalistic with Socialistic principles, or, in other words, 
 it is the tacking on of Socialistic principles to the capitalistic 
 system. 
 
 To a genuine Socialist, one who comprehends the Social- 
 ist ideal in all its fullness, a program of social reform 
 such as Professor Ely's, or any other that may be pre- 
 sented, seems a very foolish and difficult method of doing 
 
 every time. The workers have been rohbed of their fighting weapon, the strike. The 
 enthusiasm of the members of the unions has been killed, and all interest in trades 
 unionism has gone by the board. The union meeting is a place for transacting routine 
 business only, instead of a rendezvous of the advanced guard of progress and a school 
 of preparation for the great coming event the Social Revolution." Philip Joseph in. 
 "The Socialist" of New Zealand. P J 
 
68 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 a good thing; a method in which the adverse, reaction- 
 ary forces are liable at any time to get an advantage and 
 turn a good thing into a very poor, if not a really bad 
 thing. He asks if we may not keep what is good in our 
 present system and escape some of its evils. In this, it seems 
 to me, the learned professor betrays one of two things; either 
 an attachment for the flesh pots of Egypt, (capitalism), that 
 is unworthy of a reformer, or a failure to grasp the full mean- 
 ing of Socialism ; for surely if he had studied the economies 
 of Socialism, one branch of which is its almost entire freedom 
 from corruption, by reason of the removal of temptations to 
 dishonesty, as well as economy in the use of all productive 
 forces, if he had studied these carefully, he surely would not 
 have turned hastily from Socialism as a thing impracticable, 
 to proceed in the formulation of a program which must 
 greatly multiply temptations to corruption, and which, if 
 effective even in a small degree, must involve intricacy, where 
 Socialism would furnish simplicity. In short, social reform 
 is a bungling, wasteful method of doing a small part of the 
 good that Socialism proposes to do by a systematic, scientific, 
 economical method. 
 
 So long as private ownership is allowed to exist at all, it 
 will- continue to corrupt the administration and tap public 
 ownership in the dark places. 
 
 Social reform, where it is of sufficient consequence to be 
 worthy of notice, like that in New Zealand, for instance, 
 whatever its promoters may choose to call it or intend to 
 make of it, is but a partial Socialism, an initial stage of 
 Socialism, hardly worthy the name, yet as a system of reform 
 where the people are greatly benefited "it is Socialism, and not 
 capitalism, that benefits; for all the beneficial features are 
 Socialistic. As we have already observed, there are four 
 classes who are advocating social reform. Among these are 
 the smaller capitalists. The position of this class is a peculiar 
 one : they are in a dilemma from which it will require their 
 utmost shrewdness to extricate themselves. I do not know 
 that I can better illustrate their position and methods than 
 by a story something like the following : 
 
 There was once a hawk that very shrewdly managed to 
 steal from a farmer a plentiful supply of chickens for him- 
 self and his family, till all grew plump and sleek. The farmer 
 frequently saw them sailing about very proudly, but never 
 suspected them. There did not seem to be as many chickens 
 as there ought to be but he did not think much about it. By 
 and by an eagle brought his family into the vicinity. He 
 looked about him, watched his opportunity, and pouncine down 
 upon the hawk relieved him- of his prey. The hawk did not 
 
SOCIAL REFORM 69 
 
 mind this very much but sailed away and got another chicken 
 for his family. The eagle, becoming more familiar with the 
 ground, repeated his performance of robbing the hawk; time 
 and time again he repeated it and more and more frequently 
 until the eagle family grew to an enormous size, and the 
 wonder was how big they might finally grow to be. The 
 hawk did not exactly fancy the treatment accorded him by 
 the eagle, but he did not care so very much ; for chickens 
 were plentiful and easy to get, he understood his business so 
 well. He was able to support his family about as before and 
 managed to keep up appearances very well, so that the young 
 hawklets were sometimes admitted into the society of the 
 young eaglets, greatly to the delight of the former. 
 
 This state of things continued for some time, until 
 finally, one day in a conversation with the farmer, with whom 
 he was on the best of terms, the latter remarked that he very 
 much feared he would have to go out of the chicken business ; 
 that somehow chickens did not pay. He did not know why, 
 but that somehow he could not raise many chickens. 
 
 This showed the hawk that he was in a very serious 
 dilemma. How to extricate himself now became the great 
 question of his life. After a little reflection he decided that 
 there was just one course for him to pursue. He would go to 
 the eagle and tell him plainly that if he did not compromise 
 and leave a larger share of the chickens, he would at once 
 inform on him, and if the eagle agreed to his terms, well and 
 good ; but if not, that he would immediately put his threat 
 into execution. 
 
 There are two sequels to this story. One is that the 
 eagle scorned his proposition and would not deign to look 
 at the hawk, whereupon the latter told the farmer that he had 
 discovered why he succeeded so poorly in the chicken busi- 
 ness ; that a thorough investigation had revealed the fact that 
 the eagle had stolen nearly all his chickens, and not only so, 
 but that he had also stolen many of the hawk's chickens ; that 
 then the farmer flew into a rage, and procuring his gun went 
 forthwith and broke up the eagle's nest, killing most of them 
 and scaring the "rest out of the country; that after this the 
 hawks fared sumptuously, while the farmer was at the same 
 time permitted to raise so many more chickens that he was 
 ever afterward exceedingly grateful to the hawk for having 
 helped him to break up the den of thieves, and thus save his 
 business from ruin. The other sequel is, that after some alter- 
 cation, the eagle, seeing the hawk had the drop on him, .made 
 terms at once, though with great reluctance, and that there- 
 after the hawk family were taken into the best society, fared 
 the same as the other great birds, and, in fact, in a very few 
 
70 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 years it came to be that one could hardly distinguish the 
 hawks from the eagles so much alike had they grown to be, 
 the eagles becoming somewhat smaller and the hawks some- 
 what larger. Through the influence of Mr. Eagle a number 
 of farmers had been induced to settle in the neighborhood and 
 embark in the chicken business, and chicken became an 
 important feature of all the fetes, dinners, pie socials, etc., 
 of the hawk-eagle society. 
 
 It is amusing to see the smaller capitalists squirm. For 
 a dozen years or more they have been sitting. in silence, and 
 now they are out with a program. But the most curious 
 thing that has ever happened in man's history since Adam lost 
 one of his ribs, is that after they have ransacked the earth, 
 gone through all the philosophy of the past, and, no doubt, 
 given flight to the wings of their imagination in all possible 
 directions, the best they can do, the only safe thing, is to 
 adopt a Socialistic program the very thing they most 
 fear except capitalism and it isn't safe from their point of 
 view. They know that only too well. They realize fully that 
 they are playing with fire, t but it must be done. They know 
 that it is the only chance for them and that it is but a forlorn 
 hope. They have learned that there is nothing between the 
 big end of capitalism, the trust, and Socialism. They like the 
 trust, if only they might be admitted to the inner circle and 
 permitted to take rooms at No. 26 Broadway, but they realize 
 that such a privilege is only for the very select few, and they 
 also realize that to be left out is death, unless they can form a 
 powerful coalition that will destroy the inner circle, the 
 eagle's nest, and they find there is no possible means of doing 
 this except by Socialistic methods. What they want is to 
 introduce just enough Socialism to enable them to accom- 
 plish their purpose and then fossilize Socialism in its initial 
 stages, but they tremble at the fear that by that time the 
 people may become so widely awakened that they will not 
 let it fossilize. But as they always have succeeded in hood- 
 winking the people, they hope still to be able to manage them 
 somehow. 
 
 There is no knowing just how many will be found play- 
 ing the hawk. Probably the number will be comparatively 
 small that do this intentionally and with a full understanding 
 of the import of their actions; but it is greatly to be feared 
 that the number connected with the hawk family will be by 
 far too large for the best interests of society. While I real- 
 ize tbat we should avoid being over suspicious, I cannot but 
 think that there is a great danger along this line, and that no 
 matter whether Socialism be started with an intention of 
 making it a full fledged Socialism, or simply a mere system 
 
SOCIAL REFORM 71 
 
 of social reform, there will be a strong effort made on the 
 part of some to fossilize the system ; to make the people 
 believe they have reached the summum bonum in govern- 
 ment ; to persuade them that they would better leave well 
 enough alone, and to induce them to take up the old cry, "We 
 have the best government in the world." As compared with 
 Socialism, social reform is a failure as a scheme of distribu- 
 tive justice, because it furnishes an opportunity to avoid the 
 full distributive justice which Socialism proposes; and we 
 find also that whatever improvement is furnished by social 
 reform over our present system is due to the Socialism there 
 is in it, and that whatever it lacks of justice is the result of 
 what it lacks of being perfect Socialism. 
 
 To make this plainer, let us consider a few points in the 
 New Zealand work. The government, by Socialistic methods, 
 that is, by public ownership of railways, telegraphs, tele- 
 phones and a few other things, its intervention in the partial 
 control of private industries and its system of agencies, stimu- 
 lated industry throughout the country and brought prosperity 
 to nearly, if not entirely all classes. By intervention in behalf 
 of the wage earners, part of the injustice to them is avoided; 
 but by reason of the capitalism that is mixed up in it, complete 
 justice cannot be done; for capitalism must have profits, and 
 these, in justice, belong to the worker. 
 
 Then take Professor Ely's program : all the measures 
 proposed are necessarily Socialistic measures, providing 
 partial Socialism ; and since all the points of social reform by 
 which it is capable of working an improvement over our 
 present order, in other words since all the good points in 
 social reform are Socialistic points, therefore all the good 
 wrought by social reform is so much done by Socialism, and 
 this goes toward establishing the proposition that nothing 
 else but Socialism is practicable ; for capitalism fails utterly 
 and since there is no other system proposed, the nearest being 
 anarchism which is conspicuous mainly for its absence of 
 system, therefore Socialism is a necessity and the only ques- 
 tion is as to which is more practicable, Socialism in full or 
 partial Socialism, that is, Socialism or social reform. 
 
 "It has so happened in all ages of the world that some 
 have labored, and others have, without labor, enjoyed a large 
 proportion of the profits. This is wrong and should not 
 continue. To secure to each laborer the whole product of his 
 labor, or as nearly as possible, is a worthy object of any good 
 government." Abraham Lincoln, Comp. Works, Vol. I, 
 p. 92. 
 
72 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE PRACTICABILITY OF SOCIALISM; 
 
 "And I believe it to be entirely practicable, in fact that any other 
 system is simply barbarous." Frances E. Willard. 
 
 Who has not often heard that Socialism is impracticable? 
 On every hand we hear people say, "Oh, that sounds nice 
 enough but you can never make it work/' Ask the politician 
 for the main argument against Socialism and the answer 
 comes back gruffly to you as it. has to me "Socialism isn't 
 practicable." The first question that meets us in the discus- 
 sion of this topic is, what does it take to constitute a thing 
 practicable? Of course, we know that practicability means 
 that which may be practiced ; but that does not meet the case. 
 What we want is a practical definition of practicable, one that 
 can be practically applied to the matter in hand. 
 
 In discussing the practicability of Socialism as a system 
 of society we should not confine ourselves to the simple 
 question as to whether under Socialism people will be able to 
 live till they die. If this were all, any system, even savagery 
 is practicable. But the practical question which confronts us 
 is, how successful is it reasonable to expect that Socialism 
 will be, both in its initial stages and in its later development, 
 as a means for the promotion of human welfare? And not 
 simply this, but how successful as compared with other sys- 
 tems, especially such others as the people may be disposed to 
 adhere to. Its success as a general scheme of justice and 
 benevolence ; the feasibility and adaptability of its methods-, 
 both in acquiring possession and in its operation in all depart- 
 ments of human activity these all have a bearing in deter- 
 mining its practicability. If Socialism were decidedly unjust 
 it would seriously mar its practicability ; while, on the other 
 hand, its thorough justification goes far toward establishing 
 its practicability. Similarly we may say of the necessity of 
 Socialism that if it can be shown that all other systems fail 
 absolutely as methods of promoting human welfare, then we 
 are left to cling to Socialism as our only hope, even though 
 the prospect of making it a success may be so poor as to 
 render it but a forlorn hope. (But we will find that it is not 
 a forlorn hope.) And again, if there were no possible way for 
 the people to acquire possession of the industries, the prac- 
 ticability of Socialism would be a mere dream. 
 
 In considering the practicability of Socialism I shall 
 endeavor to furnish a somewhat detailed explanation of its 
 practical workings, and occasionally to hold up before the 
 reader a word picture of Socialism in action. 
 
JUSTICE AND BENEVOLENCE 73 
 
 In undertaking to do this I cannot but realize that I am 
 handicapped very seriously by the fact that no one can tell 
 positively at the present stage of the game, just what the 
 actual program of Socialism will be. That will depend on 
 what the majority say; but since the people demand a feasible 
 practicable program before taking so decisive a step, it 
 becomes a matter of the greatest importance. And yet if we 
 understand thoroughly the Socialist philosophy it may not 
 after all, be so very difficult to determine approximately what 
 will be the fruits that result from the germination of its great 
 seed thoughts planted in the minds of the people. 
 
 The subjects of the next succeeding ten chapters all 
 relate to the practicability of Socialism, and if we would 
 understand it thoroughly, we must consider them patiently in 
 all their bearings and details. It is an extensive subject, but it 
 is very important. Perhaps there is not another question that 
 is now calling forth the best thought of the civilized world to 
 such an extent as this question, "Is Socialism practicable?" 
 The ideals of Socialism are admired the world over. All 
 honest people who think closely on the subject admit the 
 justice of Socialism ; but when they come to the practicability 
 they stand dazed and confused at what appears to them to be 
 a tangled labyrinth of matter surrounding the subject. Ques- 
 tions ! questions ! questions ! cross each other at every step ; 
 objections spring up from behind every bush-. After a little 
 desultory superficial skirmishing they retire shaking their 
 heads ; and I am astonished to know that among them are 
 found men of brains, men renowned for their learning and 
 erudition. Ihit need there be any doubt? I think not, if we 
 will but have the patience to wade boldly in, dig to bed rock 
 at every important point and let our motto be "One thing at 
 a time." Never mind the criss-cross questions and objections 
 at first. These will mostly vanish of their own accord as we 
 proceed with our investigation. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 THE JUSTICE AND BENEVOLENCE OF SOCIALISM. 
 
 There seems to exist in the minds of many good people, 
 the idea that Socialism proposes a great injustice to the 
 present property owners. Some who admire the high ideals 
 of Socialism and are favorably disposed to it in other 
 respects, stumble at the proposition to usher in the new sys- 
 tem by what seems to them to be virtually a wholesale rob- 
 bery. Let me assure the reader however, at the outset, that 
 
74 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 there could scarcely be anything farther from the truth; and 
 to show that I am in good company in this position, I cite 
 you to the extract already quoted from Miss Willard's speech 
 in which she denounced the great inequalities of distribution. 
 I also call your attention to the fact that Professor Ely with 
 all his doubtings concerning the practicability of Socialism,, 
 says confidently, that "Socialism is strong on its moral and 
 ethical side;" that one of its strong points is its distributive 
 justice; and that "Socialism is not a scheme of criminals for 
 theft and robbery ;" that the criminal only looks out for 
 to-day, while Socialism plans for the future upbuilding of the 
 human race. A careful study of this topic will reveal the fact 
 that the failure of many to appreciate the justice of Social- 
 ism, is the result of distorted ideals of justice which competi- 
 tion and capitalism have set before the world. By means of 
 all the institutions of society, our ideas of the rights of 
 property and the sacredness of those rights, have been so 
 thoroughly riveted upon the minds of the people that they 
 seem like bed rock, fundamental, as some one has said, "so 
 because it is so and that is all there is to it." There is per- 
 haps, no other principle the inculcation of which has done 
 more to educate the public conscience than that of the sacred- 
 ness of the rights of property ; and I am very glad indeed 
 that the public conscience has been so educated; for it is to 
 that conscience that I now appeal. One of the chief tests of 
 the civilization of a people in the past has been their respect 
 for the rights of property; and when the world comes to 
 understand better just what those rights are, the same test 
 will determine whether or not we are rising still higher in the 
 scale of civilization. 
 
 Let any reader who is in doubt about the justice of 
 Socialism, turn back and reread Chapters II., III. and V.,. 
 reflect carefully and say if you think the moral title to the 
 bulk of the wealth is where the legal title places it. If not, 
 then there is an injustice done those who have a moral right 
 but are kept out of possession. Socialism proposes the col- 
 lective ownership of most of the property ; of all of what is 
 called capital or tools of production, that is, the land with its 
 improvements, excepting what is used for homes; (and even 
 these no doubt many will find it more convenient to rent from 
 the government because of the changing wants of their 
 families and the necessity or disposition to change localities,) 
 all live stock excepting such as are used privately, as, for 
 instance, a cow or driving horse, which probably very few 
 will care to be bothered with, as the state could supply the 
 needs of each much cheaper; all the facilities for travel, com- 
 
JUSTICE AND BENEVOLENCE 75 
 
 munication and transportation, and whatever property may 
 be necessary in providing for the general welfare. 
 
 As we have seen, the average of wealth per family is 
 about $6,000.00, and it is evident that it does not matter 
 whether one own and operate his share separately, or share 
 in the collective ownership, provided he derives the same 
 benefit with the same effort. Now, it is clear, must be clear 
 to any thinking person, that in such case Socialism would not 
 be unjust, if, after the transfer of the wealth from private to 
 public ownership, allowing an equal share to each one, the 
 amount of wealth then held unjustly, is not greater than the 
 amount now held unjustly; for, be it remembered, that to say 
 the least of it, there is a very great injustice being perpe- 
 trated now, in that a very great part of the wealth is now 
 legally owned by those who have no moral right to it, and 
 Socialism cannot be unjust in making such transfer, unless 
 it increases the injustice. 
 
 And when the reader has studied the various economies 
 of Socialism, and considered the greater certainty which it 
 will provide instead of the . financial uncertainty that now 
 exists, and also the greatly improved advantages which the 
 higher society of Socialism will furnish, he will then be able 
 to see that one now having several times that amount would 
 be financially benefited by exchanging it for a six thousand 
 dollar interest in the co-operative commonwealth. It fol- 
 lows then, if this be true, that no injustice could result from 
 a Socialistic transfer unless the amount held unjustly then, 
 should be several times greater than that held unjustly now, 
 which is not the case ; for it may easily be shown that instead 
 of being several times greater, it would be several times less. 
 
 I believe there is much more good in human nature 
 than it usually gets credit for. Many who adhere to the 
 principles of our present order revolt against some of their 
 legitimate results. For instance, they endorse in a gen- 
 eral way the agreed price as a just basis of exchange, yet 
 frequently, when the price is extremely high or extremely 
 low, will denounce it as robbery. Again they endorse what 
 they call "vested rights," the right of each one to do as 
 he pleases with his own ; yet when he takes advantage of 
 his fellow-man's necessities and exacts an exorbitant inter- 
 est, or rent, or profit, again they cry robbery ! and raise 
 the standard of revolt against the principles they endorse. I 
 am very glad there are so many who are better than their 
 principles. It gives room to hope that they may be led to 
 see the defects in those principles, and induced to throw them 
 away and substitute those that are better. And they are 
 doing this even now. Like an old coat, the people have out- 
 
76 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 grown their principles; and it is gratifying to know that 
 every day they are doffing the old and donning the new that 
 fit them better. But with the ideals of justice held by those 
 who are still wearing their outgrown principles it is evident 
 that a very large part of the wealth is held unjustly, 
 especially the great fortunes which are very largely the 
 accumulations resulting- not merely from exorbitant rent, 
 interest and profit, but also the results of political corruption, 
 trust combination, conspiracies, etc. Socialism proposes the 
 use of machinery on a large scale, such as is not dreamed of 
 under capitalism ; of much better organization, much more 
 systematic, scientific and economical methods of production 
 and distribution, and that all who are able shall help. Social- 
 ists hope that by the economic use of all the productive forces 
 that are now working principally at cross purposes, the pro- 
 duction may be easily doubled with a considerable reduction 
 in the effort required by each one, and that by the use of 
 machinery on a vast scale as well as by more systematic, 
 scientific and economical methods, it may at least be doubled 
 and more likely quadrupled again. 
 
 Socialism proposes to supply all man's wants. If it 
 proves to be practicable as we Socialists have full confidence 
 it will, even to within half or a fourth of our expectations, the 
 lot of each one will be more enjoyable than that of any 
 millionaire now. The possession of great wealth brings a 
 burden of care which would be unknown under Socialism ; 
 for if Socialism can be made to work at all at the start, it 
 can be improved so that one having tasted its sweets would 
 not exchange his common lot for all the wealth of a Rocke- 
 feller. But this treatment of the subject is based on the ideals 
 of those who are still wearing the old coat, the old principles, 
 the extreme results of which they revolt against, the principle 
 of mutual agreement in questions of wages, of price, rent, 
 interest and profit, and the principle of "vested rights," all of 
 which boiled down signify simply that "might makes right." 
 And just here a few words on vested rights. In the days of 
 slavery the slave-owner talked much of these; but in reply 
 it was said, that, admitting the validity of the principle, these 
 so-called "vested rights" are rights only by sufferance of 
 the law, and that being morally wrong they cannot possibly 
 continue any moral right after the law has terminated the 
 right by sufferance. So with capitalism. In its last analysis 
 capitalism is but a form of slavery. Wealth or property, 
 especially property in capital, the tools of production, is desir- 
 able for the power that it gives over men. The chattel slave 
 owner desired the ownership of slaves in order that he might 
 command their services. That is exactly why the capitalist 
 
JUSTICE AND BENEVOLENCE 77 
 
 desires the ownership of capital, that he may command the 
 services of the wage slave. The more capital he has the more 
 services he may command. Capitalism too is in itself morally 
 wrong, and the ''vested rights" under it are also merely rights 
 by sufferance, and can have no morally binding force beyond 
 the time when the people abolish them with the system from 
 which they sprang and substitute something better. 
 Accumulations of wealth, especially great wealth, are largely 
 the result of chance. The owner justifies himself on the 
 ground of the risk he has taken. To this we reply, very well ; 
 the risk is worth something though generally less than the 
 profits, else the fortunes would not exist; but however that 
 may be, no just claim by virtue of risk can possibly extend 
 beyond the close of the competitive system under which all 
 business is to a greater or less extent gambling, when Social- 
 ism will put an end to the gambling and substitute certainty 
 for uncertainty. So much then for the treatment of the sub- 
 ject on this lower plane. And now, you who are still cling- 
 ing to the 'old principles, the extreme effects of which you 
 revolt against, you who are still wearing or trying to wear 
 the old coat, let me implore you to throw away the little old, 
 ragged, dirty, blood-stained thing, and come, follow me, while 
 I show*you a beautiful garment, and spotlessly clean, a little 
 large for you just now, it may be, but if you eat plenty of 
 the right kind of food, you may soon grow till it will fit you 
 to a "T." Come let us examine these new principles, which 
 are not entirely new, for they have been recognized by many 
 philosophers and sages of the past, but they are practically 
 new to most people. I refer to the three propositions already 
 stated, namely, first, "The earth with all its resources is the 
 common heritage of all the people ;" second, "Wealth belongs 
 to those who produce it ;" and third, "Human welfare is the 
 highest basis of right." 
 
 First, "The earth with all its resources is the natural 
 heritage of all the people." It seems hardly necessary to offer 
 anything in proof of this proposition beyond its simple state- 
 ment, its truthfulness is so self-evident. Nevertheless, I will 
 occupy a short space in endeavoring to elucidate it somewhat. 
 
 Whether you are Christian or non-Christian, you believe 
 that the earth exists for the benefit of all and not simply for 
 a few. That naturally all the people have an equal right to 
 all earth's resources rmist be admitted bv all excepting those 
 who adhere to the principle that "rmVbt makes ri<rht," and 
 I have 110 words to waste upon those who adopt so brutal a 
 standard : at least it is not worth while trying- to convince 
 such of the instice of Socialism. The only thing that we mav 
 be able to do with them row is, to show them that Socialism 
 
78 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 is to their individual interest, failing in which, we hope in 
 due time to prove in a practical way by their own standard, 
 the justice of Socialism. 
 
 There is an old saying that "he takes my house who takes 
 away the prop by which my house doth stand." Applying 
 the principle of this maxim to the matter in hand, we may 
 say, as someone has said, "He takes my life who takes away 
 the means by which I live." Man must have air, water, and 
 a supply of the earth's products for food, clothing and shelter, 
 or he will die; and unless he is supplied with books, papers, 
 pictures, schools, laboratories, libraries, sermons, lectures, 
 leisure, etc., etc., in short, unless he has opportunity for the 
 development of his higher nature, which he cannot have with- 
 out access to earth's resources, about all is lost that makes 
 life worth living. We would think it "just awful" if a syndi- 
 cate should contaminate the air of a city so as to cause the 
 death of all those who breathe it and then charge so much 
 for the privilege of breathing pure air from without which it 
 brings through pipes, that it would take all the 'wages of a 
 working man to pay it. "What!" we would say, "must we 
 choose between slavery and death?" Again, suppose the 
 water supply of our cities, now furnished for a small sum, 
 should be placed at an equally exorbitant figure ; anti again 
 we would say, "What ! must we choose between slavery and 
 death?" And again ; suppose the earth should fall into the 
 hands of a few persons who should cut the people off from 
 using its resources and charge so much for its products that 
 the masses of the people could barely supply themselves with 
 the coarsest kinds of food, clothing and shelter, with little or 
 no time or opportunity for education and culture. And again 
 
 we would say, "What ! must we choose between slav " 
 
 "Oh, that is all right," someone breaks in, "it always has 
 been so and always will be. It is according to the laws of 
 nature for the strong to prey upon the weak. It is the uni- 
 versal law of all animal life and man is no exception ; it is 
 nature, therefore, it is right." If there is anything to prove 
 conclusively that man has risen from the brute s it is the reflec- 
 tion that if such a man with such brutish ideals should fall 
 back to the brute plane, the distance of the fall would be so 
 short that it would scarcely jar him. Yes, it is quite true that 
 it always has been so that a very large part of the people 
 must choose between slavery and death ; but it does not 
 necessarily follow that it always will be so. It is only by 
 means of laws that one can enjoy the separate ownership and 
 use of land. No law nor set of laws whereby a few acquire 
 possession of the land and its resources, which enables them 
 to enslave their fellow men, is right unless such slavery is 
 
JUSTICE AND BENEVOLENCE 79 
 
 necessary to the advancement of civilization, and such laws 
 cannot confer any moral right extending beyond the period 
 covered by such necessity. Legislation has, no doubt, often 
 been enacted concerning land ownership which was beneficial 
 to the people at the time and for a considerable period after- 
 ward, but later, became very detrimental to the welfare of 
 another generation. In such case the former generation has 
 no right to bind the latter, and no law by the former, the 
 effect of which is to put the latter out of possession, can make 
 it wrong for the latter to enact a law or laws restoring the 
 possession to themselves. Our time-honored customs and 
 laws of inheritance whereby property of every kind passes at 
 the death of the owner to the next of kin, seem like bed rock. 
 It has come to seem almost sacrilegious to interrupt them. 
 But why should it? It is true that the parent is the natural 
 guardian of the child during minority, and that the family 
 brotherhood constitutes, to some extent, an insurance com- 
 pany, providing partly by tacit understanding based on cus- 
 tom, and partly by the ties of nature, for the support of such 
 of its members as are unfortunate. But really, after such 
 guardianship and insurance has been provided for by the state, 
 as Socialism proposes to do, why should the state be under 
 obligation to confer upon a person property which he never 
 earned and which comes from a parent who owes him nothing 
 but to whom he is greatly indebted, especially if such owner- 
 ship militates against the welfare of society in general? To 
 be sure, there is that doubtful point, the desire of the owner 
 that his offspring or next of kin shall inherit. But, to say 
 the most of it, it is r.ot worthy of even a passing consideration 
 when dealing with the important matter of restoring to the 
 people their natural rights. Again, one cannot 'accumulate 
 wealth, especially great wealth, outside of society. He is 
 therefore largely indebted to society for it, and society is 
 justly entitled to a greater share in the distribution than those 
 who owe him nothing. The owners of wealth are not only 
 indebted to society for much of it, but it is chiefly its con- 
 nection with society that renders it valuable. Rockefeller's 
 wealth would be greatly depreciated if it were suddenly trans- 
 ferred to the regions occupied by the wild tribes of the Sou- 
 dan, saying nothing of the fact that he could never have accu- 
 mulated such a fortune there. 
 
 Looking at the matter as we will from anything like a 
 reasonable standpoint our first proposition is true : the land 
 with all its natural resources is the natural heritage of all 
 the people; and nothing can justly keep them out of posses- 
 sion, unless we admit that the necessities of civilization de- 
 mand the slavery which its concentrated private ownership 
 
8o ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 imposes, and which necessity, of course must end when some- 
 thing better is provided to take its place. So far as their 
 right to the earth and its natural resources is concerned, each 
 generation comes into the world with the same rights as 
 every other generation. 
 
 Second, "Wealth justly belongs to those who produce 
 it." Obviously, this proposition is a direct corollary of the 
 first and must stand or fall with it; and if, as we think, the 
 first is established beyond question, there can be no doubt 
 about the second. And as sure as this is true, just so sure is 
 it true that the great bulk of aggregated wealth belongs to 
 the great mass of working people from whom it was drawn. 
 In applying this principle under Socialism it is proposed to 
 regard as producers all those who aid in the production and 
 distribution, all who, by either mental or physical effort in 
 any way minister to the wants of man. Socialism also pro- 
 poses to modify this proposition in relation to the disabled, 
 those who are prenatally defective in either body or mind and 
 those incapacitated for any productive effort by reason of 
 mental or bodily infirmity resulting from disease, accident or 
 old age. Socialism proposes to put the whole body politic 
 upon the plane of a great insurance company, so that the 
 contributions of society to the disabled may be considered, 
 not as a charitable gift to them, but as their right, their insur- 
 ance, and by that means, protect them from the humiliation 
 of being regarded as the pitiful objects of charity, as in our 
 present society. There is a humiliation in stretching forth the 
 hand for assistance as an object of charity which inflicts a 
 degree of suffering that is unbearable, and it is the manifest 
 duty of society to provide if practicable against this suffering, 
 which could be easily done under a Socialist administration. 
 
 But there is another reason that comes in back of this. 
 Leaving out the question as to whether wealth should pass 
 by individual inheritance, let us consider that a large part of 
 the value attached to all wealth comes from the fact of its 
 being in society, and that whatever part that is, society has 
 a just claim on it to that extent and should inherit accord- 
 ingly ; and, that whether society as a whole receives it or 
 not, if it is justly entitled to.it, then the next generation has 
 a just right to it by inheritance from the former generation, 
 and that the unfortunate justly inherit their equal right not 
 only to the earth and its natural resources and to the pub- 
 licly owned product, but- also to their part of the private sur- 
 plus which the public should but does not receive. But, after 
 all, such inheritance does not alter their dependence* except- 
 ing to divide it between the past and present generations. 
 But, we ask, what has been done for the unfortunate? 
 
JUSTICE AND BENEVOLENCE 81 
 
 Nothing, practically nothing. The only thing that I have 
 heard of worthy of note is the old age pension of New Zea- 
 land, of 25 cents per day to all native born. mendicant citizens 
 over sixty-five years of age. (and I believe there is also a 
 similar provision in Australia.) And this measure has been 
 blazed around the world as a wonderfully magnificent ex- 
 ample of state benevolence. Many are the heads that have 
 shaken in doubt of the wisdom of such a venture. Even 
 under our present industrial system the governments of the 
 earth could adopt this principle, but unfortunately, nearly all 
 so far have been conducted in the interest of the wealthy 
 classes who do not take to the idea. Capitalism is not built 
 .that way. As to providing for the general welfare, capital- 
 ism is a signal failure, and is therefore impracticable. But 
 what of Socialism? Socialism proposes to do this very iden- 
 tical thing; and it would succeed far better than capitalism 
 could if it tried ; for Socialism would rid society of that indus- 
 trial oppression that stultifies manhood and causes some to 
 feign misfortune. Socialism proposes to apply this insurance 
 idea to its fullest extent, which it could easily do, while capi- 
 talism opposes it and could not so easily do it if it would. If 
 capitalism should attempt it, there would be unavoidably more 
 or less corruption, while under Socialism there would be 
 practically no reason for corruption. And I see no reason 
 why the people should not desire the continuance of the 
 measure. On this point then, the providing for the welfare 
 of the unfortunate, Socialism is perfectly practicable. 
 
 Third, ''Human welfare is the highest basis of right." 
 Here is the highest principle of all. It is the unselfish, the 
 brotherhood principle. It is' the principle which recognizes the 
 fact and acts on the recognition, that "the life and happiness 
 of others is just as valuable as mine." The principles of 
 justice are high principles, but that of brotherhood is higher; 
 and nolh withstanding the fact that so far, practically all 
 industrial and most political action has been based on the 
 lower, selfish principles, yet in our present society this 
 brotherhood principle is recognized in various ways. The 
 theoretical motto of all democracies, "the greatest good to 
 the greatest number," is one form of expression for this prin- 
 ciple. In time of war all nations recognize it when they call 
 for men to offer their lives a sacrifice for the general welfare, 
 and those who respond recognize it by tlreir action in doing 
 so, and this latter is the encouraging feature of it. It proves 
 it to be a living, acting, moving force, this principle of 
 brotherhood. The history of the past shows that all along it 
 has been a very potent force under certain conditions ; that 
 it is naturally strong; that though continually smothered and 
 
82 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 trampled into the dust in the competitive struggle, it has 
 remained so strong that it could nearly always be relied on 
 in time of war or great public danger. Experience also shows 
 that the higher the civilization the stronger the manifest- 
 ation of brotherhood has been. This is another very encour- 
 aging feature. Socialism proposes to use this principle for 
 all it is worth; and, discarding competition with all its bale- 
 ful influences, to second and cultivate the brotherhood prin- 
 ciple by a brotherly co-operation in production and adherence 
 to justice in distribution. If the principle of brotherhood has 
 remained even but half alive during the past, what might it 
 not accomplish in so radically improved an environment? 
 Pessimistic indeed must be the student of Socialism who can 
 see nothing in this to inspire hope. 
 
 We have reached a point in civilization where we must 
 either take a step forward, or we must fall backward. The 
 people are preparing to step forward, and the capitalists, 
 through the press, the politicians, etc., are laying snares to 
 trip them at the first step. We have come to the point where 
 there is a great emergency. We have discovered that we 
 are a nation of slaves. Many millions are crying aloud under 
 the lash of rigorous and cruel taskmasters. Misery and want 
 stalk abroad at noonday and are found in the very shadow of 
 the greatest piles of wealth the world has ever known. From 
 the factory, mine and tenement house, from every quarter 
 where abides a son of toil, comes the sad wail of despair, 
 accompanied by the cry, "Let us have a change and let there 
 be no unnecessary delay." A perfectly practicable way out 
 of our bondage has been discovered. It may no longer be 
 said that slavery in some form is necessary in order that the 
 wheels of progress may continue to roll, for a perfectly 
 feasible method has been devised whereby the work of civili- 
 zation may be pushed happily forward by the more than will- 
 ing hands of freemen. The plan of a system has been pro- 
 posed, under which all poverty will cease, together with all 
 the misery, squalor, degradation and crime that goes with it. 
 The first step in the introduction of this system is the acquisi- 
 tion of all our industries which are now in the possession of 
 private persons. And here the enemy gets in his first 
 work. The present owners of wealth ask arrogantly, "How 
 are you going to get possession? And then the weak ones 
 repeat meekly after them, "Yes, sure enough, how are we 
 going to get possession?" This is one of the snares by which 
 they seek to cause the people to stumble and fall back. When 
 there is a great national emergency, that is to say, when there 
 is something that these autocrats want which must be pur- 
 chased with blood, then they, through the government which 
 
ACQUIRING POSSESSION 83 
 
 they own, declare that there is a great emergency and call 
 upon the people to volunteer, and if they do not respond in 
 sufficient numbers, then they compel them to go forth to the 
 slaughter and sacrifice their lives for the "general welfare." 
 Now, we have a greater emergency than ever confronted any 
 nation in all the history of the past. Now the people are' call- 
 ing upon* the masters to make a sacrifice. Do they respond? 
 Yes, with sneers and jeers and taunts. They are not asked 
 to risk their lives ; only to contribute their wealth that a 
 whole nation may be made happy. And there is every reason 
 to believe that they themselves would see far more enjoyment 
 in life than they now do. Even if they are justly entitled to 
 all their wealth, they ought to be willing to do this. Why 
 not? Is wealth more sacred than human welfare? But they 
 are not justly entitled to it. By every rule having even the 
 semblance of justice they are cut off. Even by the lower 
 ideals of justice heretofore held by the. people their claim 
 cannot stand, and when we apply those higher principles con^ 
 tained in the three foregoing propositions their claims melt 
 like snow before a summer's sun. The land with its re- 
 sources is the people's by natural indefeasible right. The 
 capital and all forms of wealth is theirs because they produced 
 it. Lastly, their welfare, the general welfare, the highest 
 basis of right demands it, demands its own. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 ACQUIRING POSSESSION. 
 
 Since the methods of acquiring possesion of the indus- 
 tries, as well as the methods of operating them, must be 
 determined by the will of the majority at the time Socialism 
 is inaugurated, we Socialists, who are now largely in the 
 minority, cannot say accurately and positively just what 
 those methods will be. We, who are now Socialists, may 
 agree as to what we consider the best methods only to see 
 them set aside and others substituted by those who join our 
 movement later. But since people require first to be shown 
 the practicability of Socialism, it is necessary to devote con- 
 siderable space to the Socialistic program, and it is quite 
 possible that the majority may see their way clear to proceed 
 with a program that is somewhat inferior before they could 
 be induced to adopt what is really the best; and this point 
 should not be overlooked, for it does not matter so much how 
 Socialism starts, so it begins with a set of methods that prove 
 to be practicable. 
 
84 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 How are we to get possession? is generally one of the 
 first questions that pops up before the mind of the student 
 of Socialism. Someone has said that the best way to do a 
 thing is to do it. For many years prior to our great civil 
 strife, the great question that agitated the nation was how 
 to free the negro. Finally, the question was settled by simply 
 setting him free. So it will be in the matter of getting pos- 
 session of our industries. When the time comes, the people 
 will settle it by taking possession. I was about to say, by 
 simply taking possession, but there is the question to be de- 
 cided,, whether it shall be directly or indirectly, suddenly or 
 gradually ; as to the question of taking possesion there can 
 be no doubt. If we ever get possession, we must take posses- 
 sion. There is a little tract entitled, "Methods of Acquiring 
 Possession of our National Industries," by N. A. Richardson, 
 which it would be well for those who are not clear on this 
 subject to procure and read; for they will find it more elabo- 
 rately treated there than we have space for here. The author 
 names four methods: i. Confiscation; 2. Competition; 3. Pur- 
 chase ; 4. Pension. To acquire possession by the first of these 
 methods would be simply taking possession, or taking posses- 
 sion directly. The second is somewhat indirect and complex. 
 In this it is proposed that the government become a competitor, 
 build rival establishments to compete with those privately 
 owned, operate them in the interest of the people, that is to 
 say, at cost, eliminating all profits, and, by competition also 
 eliminating all profits from the privately owned plants, so 
 that their owners, seeing they had become worthless to them- 
 selves, would be ready to turn them over to, the government 
 for a mere nominal sum. According to our present day 
 methods of doing- business and our present standards of 
 honor, this method would be perfectly legitimate and honor- 
 able. Of course the owners of the private plants would 
 clamor for a recompense, but measured by our present stand- 
 ards, none would be due, any more than to the vanquished 
 where a great corporation organized by the capitalists, 
 crushes all its little antagonists. It would be a case of the 
 people beating the capitalists at their own game, and the 
 latte- should stand pat and not scmeal. Nevertheless, it 
 would be but confiscation under another name. The fourth 
 method mentioned is for the government to take the property 
 and compensate the j^reat capitalists in part bv "mutiny them 
 pensions which shall cease with the expiration of their natural 
 lives, and let that end it. We readily see that this method 
 also is but another plan of confiscation. It proposes begin- 
 ning with a direct, partial confiscation, which is to become 
 complete a little further on. 
 
ACQUIRING POSSESSION 85 
 
 But there is still another method. We have reserved it 
 until the last because it is the popular method. By many it 
 is called the method, and by considerable numbers who have 
 very little comprehension of the situation it is called the only 
 honest method. I refer to the third method treated by Com- 
 rade Richardson, the purchase method. Many, even those 
 who have devoted some attention to the study of the justice 
 of Socialism and the injustice of capitalism regard this as the 
 very best method, the cheapest, the safest, the "peaceable 
 method." "Let us," they say, "pay the holders of wealth for 
 its full value as a matter of sound policy, even if they do not 
 deserve it." And then they point to the fact that it would 
 have been far cheaper from a money point of view and have 
 saved the spilling of much precious blood, to have paid the 
 slave owners every cent the slaves were worth and even more. 
 This sounds nice and this is the reason it is so popular. But 
 before considering this matter as settled let us follow this line 
 of thought to its legitimate conclusion. I have no objection 
 to being careful to adopt a "peaceable method;" but I am 
 fully convinced that the safest course is for a very large part 
 of the people to understand as thoroughly as possible the 
 whole situation as it is. Next to vice, ignorance is the most 
 dangerous thing in the world. Nearly all the devastating 
 wars of the past might have been avoided if the people had not 
 been ignorant. Just what, then, does it mean, this proposi- 
 tion to pay the holders of wealth every dollar their holdings 
 are worth ? 
 
 As we have alrea-dy observed, that and that only which 
 makes wealth valuable, is the power which it confers upon 
 the holder to command the services of others. This is what 
 made the title to the chattel slave valuable to the master, and 
 what makes the title to all forms of property, especially that 
 of the great capitalists, valuable to the holders now. As 
 already mentioned, one-tenth of the people of our country 
 own nine-tenths of the wealth. Practically speaking then, 
 one-tenth are able to command the services of all the rest. 
 But this is not the worst. When we consider that a very 
 large majority of this one-tenth are lower middle class and 
 rather small farmers and business men, whose services are 
 commanded indirectly, but commanded just as surely, when 
 we consider this, it becomes evident that a much smaller 
 number, probably not over a million, are able to command 
 practically all the services of the other eighty millions. That 
 is precisely what the slave master did with the chattel slave. 
 There is a little difference in the details, it is true. We eighty 
 million white slaves have on an average, somewhat better 
 food, clothing and shelter. (A very large proportion of the 
 
86 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 lower strata of us have not), but nearly all of us work harder 
 than the black slaves did, and when it comes to care and 
 anxiety, we are nearly all under a strain to which the black 
 slave was a total stranger. If there had been no interruption 
 of the slave master's title, his power over the slave would 
 have been perpetual. So also in our present case, unless 
 there shall be some interruption of the capital master's title, 
 his power over the eighty million white slaves must be per- 
 petual 
 
 Let one million of the wealthiest people in this country 
 league themselves together and stand loyally by each other, 
 and they would be able to inflict upon the remaining eighty 
 millions a bondage more galling than the black slave ever 
 knew; and the bondage would be perpetual; no power on 
 earth, save one, would enable them to throw it off. "And 
 what is that one?" I imagine I hear from a great clamorous 
 confusion of voices, Oh, never mind, it doesn't matter. 
 "What !" you say, "eighty million people in a rigorous and 
 perpetual bondage, you know of a way out and refuse to tell 
 us what it is? What do you mean?" I mean simply this; 
 that the only way under the sun by which we could extricate 
 ourselves would be to capture the government. "Oh, that's 
 easy," you say. Yes, that is very easy when a majority agree 
 together to do it. What then? "Oh, to be sure, we would at 
 once proceed to enact a system of laws that would lift the 
 yoke from our necks." Be careful ! be careful ! Don't you 
 know you are treading on dangerous ground? You are talk- 
 ing confiscation; for any legal interference by which you 
 escape any part of the services previous!; commanded by the 
 capitalists, depreciates the value of their holdings by that 
 much and is to that extent a confiscation. "Confiscation or 
 no confiscation, we will not endure a galling bondage. Con- 
 fiscation is better than perpetual slavery." Yes, that is what 
 I thought from the start, and I have taken so much pains and 
 have occupied so much space in order to make this point 
 plain, because I know that even among Socialists there are 
 many who talk loudly about being enslaved, and yet do not 
 believe the half of it ; and that when they come to know and 
 comprehend the whole situation fully, so tame a word as 
 confiscation will have no further terrors for them. I trust I 
 have made it plain to any thinking person who reads care- 
 fully, that no legal interruption being permitted, the value of 
 the wealth held by the plutocratic one million at the top, can, 
 practically speaking, only be measured by the perpetual and 
 undivided services of the eighty millions below them, and that 
 therefore it is utterly out of the question for them to buy 
 their freedom. Any method by which we may dispossess the 
 
ACQUIRING POSSESSION 87 
 
 present holders of great wealth and place it in the hands of 
 the whole people, amounts to a confiscation ; and such con- 
 fiscation would be right, for it would, in reality be, on the 
 whole, wresting the wealth from the hands of usurpers and 
 restoring it to its rightful owners. I know that the capitalist 
 dislikes very much the confiscation idea, and it may be that 
 the people may adopt 'the competitive method, the purchase 
 method or some other indirect method, and may, many of 
 them, be deceived into thinking that they are avoiding con- 
 fiscation, but they will not be able to deceive the capitalists. 
 They will understand the situation perfectly and will use it 
 for all it is worth in trying to confuse the people. My opin- 
 ion is that it were better for the great mass of the people 
 to thoroughly comprehend the whole situation and make a 
 square open fight on the merits of the case. 
 
 At present the popular tendency is to look for some sort 
 of gradual method of acquisition and, so far as I am able to 
 see, such a course may possibly be the best under all the cir- 
 cumstances that arise when the choice is made, but, to say 
 the least of it, several obstacles are liable to arise in applying 
 the gradual process. In the first place, Socialism proposes a 
 radical change and any gradual process of effecting it would 
 necessitate to a greater or less extent the sewing of new cloth 
 onto an old garment, by which the rent might be made worse. 
 In the second place, any decisive step of the people looking 
 toward the establishment of Socialism, would tend to demor- 
 alize what is left of capitalism. The capitalists might consider 
 the whole matter as settled and many of them might cease to 
 take much further interest, to the material lessening of pro- 
 duction ; or, in the third place, they might use the power 
 which their remaining wealth would confer to confuse the 
 people, make them believe that the Socialistic efforts were a 
 failure and cause them to desire a return to the old order, to 
 the flesh pots of capitalism. 
 
 There may be some things, possibly many things, bearing 
 on this point, which I fail to consider, and consequently, draw 
 a wrong conclusion, but considering the probable difficulties 
 named above I am strongly inclined to the opinion that it 
 would be better to make practically the whole change at one 
 step or one leap or bound if. you prefer the term. I know 
 that many will say in answer to this "too stupendously big 
 a step to take all at once." 
 
 But is it, will it be? Let us consider that no decisive step 
 can be taken till the people come to understand Socialism 
 and the necessity for it sufficiently to make them desirous of 
 taking the step. This educational work is part of the gradual 
 
88 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 process work that is now moving 1 steadily on. The other part 
 of it is the gradual development by the trust, of the new 
 co-operative garment, which is so shrouded by the old selfish 
 capitalistic rag that it discovers to our view "neither beauty 
 nor comeliness that we should desire it." But when the edu- 
 cational process has been completed and the tattered old gar- 
 ment of capitalism has been torn off of fallen by reason of its 
 own weight and rottenness, then the new garment, having 
 received the touches of the pure and unselfish principles of 
 the new era, will disclose to our view a degree of youthful 
 beauty as yet unknown to earth ; not perfect beauty ; perfec- 
 tion will require the work of time. There will probably be a 
 very great difference between the earlier stages of Socialism 
 and its later development. The preparatory work having 
 been accomplished, the transition will perhaps be a mere inci- 
 dent, an important one to be sure, but not so important as the 
 casting, counting and declaring of labor's finally victorious 
 ballot. I see no reason why the people should not carry t an 
 election in November, and by March have practically all the 
 industries organized except farming where the land is held 
 in small tracts. It will probably be arranged for the small 
 farmers to go on somewhat in the old way for a time, each 
 one using what land he can cultivate himself, receiving such 
 sum for the product as the government may adjudge to be 
 just, and this for three reasons: First, it will probably require 
 some little time to arrange for the most successful application 
 of the new methods of agriculture which will come in under 
 Socialism. Second, the small farms, being cut up into small 
 fields, small pastures, small orchards, etc., will not yield so 
 readily to the application of large scale methods. Third, the 
 small farmer will be the last to desire an exchange of private 
 enterprise for a position in the public service. The larger 
 farmers will not care to keep their farms, because the govern- 
 ment, as the principal employer of labor, will set the example 
 of giving the laborer the full product of his toil; the farmer 
 will be compelled to do the same, and rather than do this 
 or take just what he can work alone, he will generally prefer 
 to take a position in the government service where more 
 profitable methods can be applied. -From this class will prob- 
 ably come, the first corps of public farm managers, overseers 
 and foremen. Later, each young man will receive thorough 
 special training for the particular kind of work he expects to 
 do. By the time the government gets ready to operate the 
 small farms, the small farmers will be very glad to give up 
 their private holdings and take the much better paying posi- 
 tions in the government service. 
 
 And again we pause to ask, why should not labor take 
 
ACQUIRING POSSESSION 89 
 
 possession of its own, which it has purchased over and over 
 by many generations of slavery? 
 
 And now while writing this come the papers with the 
 announcement of President Roosevelt's "Muck Rake speech," 
 in which he proposes to lop off a slice from all vast fortunes 
 by a progressive tax on all inheritances beyond a certain 
 amount. This is followed by Ex-Senator Turner's advocacy 
 of the calling of a national convention for the purpose of revis- 
 ing and amending our constitution. Also, through a religious 
 paper, comes the following, the writer referred to being un- 
 known to me : 
 
 "Comment has been made again upon the power of judicial author- 
 ity as against the legislative, in instances where the constitutionality of 
 laws is to be passed upon. A case is cited in which seven judges, if the 
 decision was unanimous, overruled the authority of the Governor and 120 
 legislators, which was supported by ninty-nine-hundredths of a suffering 
 public. The remedy proposed in the following paragraph may or may 
 not be the best, but if its closing statement is true, some sort of remedy 
 is imperatively demanded. 
 
 "There is an increasing number of people who firmly believe that 
 the best thing which the people of the United States, and of the several 
 States, could do, is to abrogate every word of our much-vaunted con- 
 stitutions, except the clauses constituting the governments, and let each 
 generation enact such laws as it deems best to meet conditions as they 
 exist, as is done in Canada, Great Britain and most other countries, and 
 every such decision as that of our Supreme Court in the cases referred to 
 makes converts to that doctrine. The 'Constitution' is invoked twenty 
 times to sustain a fraud, perpetuate an abuse or enable some criminal to 
 escape the fangs of the law for once that it is used in the interests of 
 the public." 
 
 Since these all fit into our subject at this point, we will 
 pause and consider them. And I must say that it is a source 
 of no little gratification to me, while advocating the principle 
 of confiscation, which I realize must call forth upon my head 
 the anathemas of capitalism, to find myself in such distin- 
 guished company ; for what is the lopping off of big chunks 
 from great fortunes by providing that no one shall inherit 
 beyond a certain amount,, but a confiscation of the chunk 
 cut off? What is any income tax, graduated or simple; and, 
 for that matter, what is any tax, but a confiscation? Once 
 admit the principle of taking private property for publicise, 
 as we do in all current forms of taxation, and where is it to 
 end? What is the limit of taxation beyond which it would be 
 wrong to proceed further? To answer this we ask wherein 
 lies the right to tax at all? "Oh, the public good," "the gen- 
 eral welfare," you say. Certainly: we have already occupied 
 some space trying to'teach that human welfare is the highest 
 basis of right. Manifestly then, since the general welfare 
 is the basis of the right of taxation, the limit of that right can 
 only be measured by the limit of the general welfare. 
 
90 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Man, by constitutions and laws may set bounds, may 
 prescribe what are called legal rights, but from a moral point 
 of view, if it is right to take one-hundredth, one-fiftieth, or 
 one-twentieth of private property for public use because the 
 general welfare demands it, then it follows necessarily, that 
 it is right to take one-tenth, one-fourth, one-half or all of 
 private property whenever the general welfare demands it. 
 But why does the President and other political leaders just at 
 this juncture come out more radically than ever? The 
 answer is found in the utterances of the President, who says 
 in part: "At this moment we are passing through &c." and 
 further on he says, "There is coming to be a great unrest." 
 It is the business of statesmen to study closely the limits of 
 the people's patience. The reason suggested by the President 
 is about the only one that ever moves statesmen to do any- 
 thing for the people that is not also to the interest of them- 
 selves and the capitalists which they represent. It is the 
 same reason that existed in Australia and New Zealand when 
 the people were threatening to capture the governments by 
 either the ballot or the bullet. It is the same reason that 
 existed in England three-quarters of a century ago, when, 
 after several years of talking, Mr. Fox walked into Parlia- 
 ment one morning and said that "something must be done" ; 
 giving as his reasons for doing "something," that the people 
 were suffering, were starving in fact, and that they were 
 about to rise in rebellion. The last was the only real reason. 
 The theory is that it is cheaper to give the people what they 
 must have than have them take it themselves. Of course it 
 must be preceded by a considerable amount of talking; and, 
 like preaching "from a text," there is always a hope that they 
 may be able to talk from the subject, interest the people in 
 something else, and never return to it again. Talk is cheap, 
 but usually, capitalism is required to make no other sacrifice 
 than that which is found in "lip service." 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 LAW, ORDER AND ORGANIZATION. 
 
 It has been said that "Order is heaven's first law." 
 Whenever any considerable number of material, active, mov- 
 ing forces operate at the same time in the same vicinity and 
 over the same areas, there is apt to be more or less of dis- 
 order ; for whenever two of these attempt to cross each 
 other's path at the same time, there is a clash. Generally, 
 each one is swerved somewhat from its course. The weaker 
 
LAW, ORDER AND ORGANIZATION 91 
 
 is swerved the more. Each yields more or less to the other 
 and the weaker yields the more, sometimes nearly all its 
 motion. Man is such a force. Human beings in society are 
 material, living, moving active forces. When two individual 
 persons or groups of persons pass at the same time athwart 
 each other's pathway there is a clash. Each is swerved some- 
 what and the weaker is swerved the more. Sometimes he 
 yields nearly all his motion and begins to move along with 
 or in the same direction as the stronger. 
 
 But man is an intelligent being. He has a mind that 
 directs his physical action ; and, like all other intelligent 
 beings, he has his preferences, his likes and dislikes; and 
 having these, he chooses what his course of action shall be. 
 And so when one such person or group of persons is swerved 
 from a chosen course, unless the preferences are changed, 
 there will be a struggle during the period of contact and an 
 attempt to resume the original course afterward. This inter- 
 vention of intelligence tends to cause more frequent collisions. 
 The motives which prompt the preferences are multitudinous, 
 but may be summed up in two general classes: First, those 
 which affect one's own selfish interests, and second, those 
 which affect the recognized rights and interests of others. 
 The first may be called selfish motives and the second unsel- 
 fish or moral motives. Wherever man's moral nature is suf- 
 ficiently developed, he comes to recognize some actions as 
 right and others as wrong, and, at times, pursues lines of 
 action which he regards as against his own selfish interests, 
 because of his recognition of the rights belonging to others 
 and because of his brotherly sympathy toward them. And 
 herein lies another cause of collision. Whenever man's rec- 
 ognized rights are trampled in the dust he puts up a moral 
 protest against the infringement which causes an irritation 
 and disorder that never ceases till the wrong is removed. In 
 such case the irritation is a good thing for society. It is the 
 friendly pain that prompts to the removal of the disease. 
 
 , No human society can have perfect order nor anything ap- 
 proaching perfection unless it is permeated by a vein of 
 brotherly human sympathy and recognizes in a practical 
 way the rights of all. 
 
 There are two methods by which irritation and disorder 
 in society may be avoided : First, by kindly courteous and 
 mutual concession and mutual recognition of each other's 
 
 ' rights and interests. This method has sometimes worked tol- 
 erably well, but only where there is a healthy moral tone and 
 the modes of life are simple; where there is much complexity 
 it must ever prove a failure. Second, by an organized co- 
 operation, which, arranging the lines of action of all to run 
 
92 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 parallel, avoids the clashing of interests which would other- 
 wise occur. In other words, wherever society becomes com- 
 plicated it should be organized so that all its parts may 
 work harmoniously together like a great machine, else there 
 can be no great degree of effectiveness. 
 
 Competition is anarchistic. It has no law, no system, 
 no organized method of action. ' It is chaotic. It is anarchy; 
 for anarchy is a want of law, lack of system, lack of organiza- 
 tion, a confusion, a disorder. Society as we have it to-day 
 is mostly anarchy. After all the thunderings and denuncia- 
 tions against anarchism and all the howling for law and order 
 by those who defend what is called the competitive system 
 and oppose the introduction of the co-operative system, it is a 
 fact that cannot be controverted that all the law and order, 
 all the organization that exists in human affairs to-day, in 
 short, all that is not anarchy, is the result of the co-operative 
 principle. Come to think of it this thought seems so axiom- 
 atic as scarcely to require expression. Anarchy represents 
 disconcerted, disorganized action, as opposed to co-operation 
 which is the essence of concerted or organized action. Every 
 organization of human beings, whether it be national, state, 
 local, municipal, religious, benevolent, fraternal, political, 
 business or commercial, is a co-operation. And every nation, 
 every faction, every party consisting of two or more individ- 
 uals is a co-operation ; and every war, strife, or contention 
 between nations, factions or parties with the disorder growing 
 out of them, results from the co-operation being incomplete. 
 Where co-operation ends disorder, contention and anarchy 
 begin. In a true sense all war is anarchy in the fact that it 
 produces disorder, but most of those who engage in war are 
 not anarchists in the sense of desiring to dispense with all 
 law. Generally those who oppose existing laws do so because 
 they dislike those particular laws and desire to substitute 
 for them others which suit them better. As we have already 
 seen, co-operation may be either selfish or unselfish. Gener- 
 ally, the co-operation of a party or class against another party 
 or class, is attended with more or less of injustice and op- 
 pression exercised by the dominating party or class against 
 the party or class dominated. Any gross injustice or oppres- 
 sion is sure to develop sooner or later more or less social dis- 
 order ; and so long as injustice and oppression exist, there 
 will be social disorder, social disease, and the only way to 
 reduce the latter to the minimum is by reducing the former 
 to the minimum. For the purpose of providing order gov- 
 ernments are established. The primitive condition of society 
 was one of pure anarchy. The first beginnings of govern- 
 ment, the first steps toward civilization were very simple. 
 
LAW, ORDER AXD ORGANIZATION 93 
 
 Every advance or upward step was a step toward social order, 
 social health, social organization. At a very early period 
 savages were formed into tribes for the purpose of mutual 
 defense and mutual selfish offense against their enemies. 
 The tribal movements of each tribe was^a co-operation. The 
 co-operation was very simple, both in its methods and its 
 objects, about the only function of government being effect- 
 iveness in war ; and it is very remarkable how long that con- 
 tinued to be the only very important function, and how very 
 conspicuous a place it still occupies in all the governments of 
 the earth. And not only were the governments of the savage 
 tribes confined to warlike preparation and operations ; but 
 to those of the simplest kind. The chieftain simply called 
 about him his tribesmen and led them forth in marauding 
 expeditions or to repel the incursions of their enemies, each 
 one furnishing his own weapons and his own food, or his own 
 part of it, and serving without pay except when there were 
 spoils or plunder to be divided. Next came the confederation 
 of tribes into nations having the functions of government 
 enlarged so as to provide more elaborately for war and to 
 include some things which were partially or wholly not of a 
 warlike character. 
 
 As about all the early nations were monarchies there 
 were royal houses to support. Then came the tax gatherer. 
 Taxes must be levied and collected, not only to provide for 
 the support of these in regal splendor, together with a great 
 retinue of both civil and military officials, but for the purpose 
 of arming, equipping, feeding and paying vast armies both 
 regular and special, building ships, erecting public buildings 
 and other public works, constructing roads, improving rivers 
 and harbors, etc., these last being confined for the most part 
 to such improvements as rendered the nation more effective 
 in war. And in addition, there were laws and police regula- 
 tions for the punishment of crime and the protection of all 
 citizens in the enjoyment of their rights or what were called 
 rights. For many centuries, in fact until within the last 
 century, not much advancement was made by the nations 
 of the earth beyond this. In all this there was co-operation, 
 law, order and organization. Let us note, too, that in the 
 first steps toward law, order and organization, there was a 
 simple co-operation. Little law, little order, and practically 
 no organization was required. The chief gave the signal and 
 little order was necessary either in the march or the fight. 
 
 Such simple methods, however, were only adapted to 
 the operations of small bodies of people. They were entirely 
 inadequate to meet the demands of larger bodies acting in 
 a national capacity; Nations could not conduct wars without 
 
94 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 military organization. People could not live together in 
 society and have any security in the enjoyment of their rights, 
 especially their property rights, without the organization of 
 civil government. Even with it there was, by reason of the 
 defective and unjust laws and improper enforcement, gen- 
 erally little enough security. 
 
 During the past century the most highly civilized nations 
 have been taking some steps in civil government beyond mere 
 police regulations for making the people secure in the exer- 
 cise of their legal rights. We now have public highways and 
 bridges, instead of toll roads and bridges ; publicly owned 
 and managed schools and colleges, instead of those privately 
 owned and managed ; public postal systems, instead of pri- 
 vate ones and in nearly all the leading nations public, instead 
 of private ownership of railroads, telegraphs and telephones. 
 Also in many cities and towns, there is municipal ownership 
 and management of waterworks, street railways, electric light 
 plants, telephones and fire extinguishing appliances. 
 
 Let us here stop and carefully note several very impor- 
 tant points. 
 
 First, under both private and public ownership, all these 
 things were and are publicly used ; that is to say, they were 
 and are, the means by which the people's wants are supplied. 
 
 Second, under private ownership there was a clash of 
 antagonistic interests, a lack of organization, lack of system 
 and lack of unity of interest and purpose which tended to 
 render the service defective, while under public ownership 
 there is systematic organization and unity of interest and 
 purpose which is generally much more effective and satis- 
 factory. 
 
 Third, under private ownership the only object being 
 profits for the owners, there was little regard to justice and 
 the people's interests and convenience, the officers and em- 
 ployees being expected to please the private owners, while 
 under public ownership the only object is service to the pub- 
 lic, the managers and employees being responsible to and 
 expected to please the people who are the owners. 
 
 In the olden time most of the people were farmers. For 
 the most part the farm was then privately used. A ver) r 
 small part of the comforts of life were then produced by 
 specialists. The farmer produced nearly all that he used and 
 usually sold only enough of the products to enable him to 
 buy the few things he needed which required the work of 
 specialists. Now it is different. As we look over the indus- 
 trial field to-day, we find that practically all the industries 
 are publicly used. It is needless to enumerate all the articles 
 by name. You know them as well as I, They may all be 
 
LAW, ORDER AND ORGANIZATION 95 
 
 summed up in the one word service. Most of the labor of 
 civilized man is performed in the production of articles of 
 commerce, and whoever bestows such labor exercises a pub- 
 lic function, that is to say, he performs a service that is used 
 by many people, often by many thousands and frequently by 
 many millions. So then we find that almost the whole indus- 
 trial life has changed, so that from being a simple affair in 
 which each one for the most part serves himself, it has come 
 to be a complex, a complicated, a mutual interchange of ser- 
 vices by all those who perform useful labor. Even the well- 
 to-do farmer who sometimes thinks himself so independent 
 uses the services of millio'ns of others, while frequently mil- 
 lions of others use his services. 
 
 Concerning all the industries now privately owned a very 
 little reflection will show that practically all of them are gov- 
 erned and influenced by the same conditions that we have 
 mentioned as characterizing the others while they were 'pri- 
 vately owned. There is the same clashing of antagonistic 
 interests, the same want of organization and system, and the 
 same want of unity of interest and purpose. They are gov- 
 erned by the same single motive for production, namely, 
 profits to the private owners. There is the same want of 
 responsibility to the people and the same disregard of justice 
 and the people's interests. 
 
 I have no doubt that in some places where it was pro- 
 posed to substitute public roads and bridges for private ones, 
 there were people who denounced it as class legislation, say- 
 ing, "Let those who use the roads most, pay most for such 
 use ; therefore let the roads remain in the hands of the pri- 
 vate owners who will be interested in collecting their pay." 
 And there was logic in the argument. We cannot deny that 
 the reasoning was good, especially in the light of the super- 
 ficial ideas of human right which prevailed then and still pre- 
 vail for the most part in society to-day. In the absence of 
 any other reason it might have been taken as conclusive, but 
 it was offset by reasons on the other side. The change was 
 made under the protest of a part of the people. But who now 
 advocates a return to toll roads and bridges. 
 
 When the proposal was made to establish public instead 
 of private schools, there was wild and vehement, almost sav- 
 age denunciation of the scheme. Some of these opponents 
 almost tore their hair in rage. "Class legislation" became 
 but a sickly, weak expression. "Robbery," "knavery" and 
 "thievery" did not fill the bill. In fact no adjective could 
 be found that was adequate to express their indignation. But 
 how is it now? No doubt there are persons now who would 
 like to destroy our public school systems, but few are willing 
 
96 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 to face a storm of public indignation and express their oppo- 
 sition. 
 
 Before the national postal system was introduced it cost 
 five to twenty cents to send a letter by private post. Not 
 only was it expensive, but, being unorganized, the service 
 was uncertain, unsatisfactory and poor. Yet the proposal to 
 nationalize it was met with opposition. "It will bankrupt the- 
 government/' they said. But to oppose it now would be to 
 become a candidate for the insane asylum. Government 
 ownership of railways, telegraphs and telephones have been 
 receiving the same opposition. It has been hooted and de- 
 nounced vehemently. Yet the opposition is rapidly diminish- 
 ing in this country, and its popularity is making a phenom- 
 enal growth. In those countries where government owner- 
 ship is in operation, it seems to give satisfaction. Some 
 American travellers in central Europe find fault with the 
 cheapness and unkept condition of the cars, but this to my 
 mind only proves the success of the experiment, proves that 
 it is conducted with a view of pleasing the people ; for, a very 
 great part of the people being poor, the main necessary feat- 
 ure for pleasing them must be cheapness. The uncomfortable 
 accommodations signify little to people who are unable to 
 afford better at home. As to municipal ownership, I have had 
 little opportunity for personal observation and have taken no 
 pains to investigate it ; but it seems to be an improvement 
 over private ownership, notwithstanding the power of cor- 
 porate greed and capitalistic chicanery. 
 
 And so it has been all along the way. Every advance has 
 been made in the face of fierce opposition. At every step a 
 motley crowd, headed by scheming politicians, have thrown 
 themselves athwart the pathway of progress, yelling them- 
 selves hoarse, and crying "Stop ! Stop ! Stop ! Death and 
 destruction are just ahead!" And now that it is proposed 
 to extend public ownership, to include all the industries and 
 provide a democratic management, and just distribution; in 
 other words to establish Socialism, the same motley crowd 
 or same sort of crowd that call themselves "The great con- 
 servative and eminently respectable element of society," have 
 planted themselves squarely across the way and are yelling 
 frantically, "Stop! Stop! Stop! Socialism would destroy 
 all incentive! Socialism would make the people all alike just 
 like two peas ! Socialism would destroy our liberties ! Social- 
 ism would take the last cow you have! Under Socialism 
 who would do the dirty work? Socialism would destroy the 
 home! Socialism is paternalism! Socialism is robbery! 
 Socialism is anarchy! SOCIALISM MUST BE CRUSHED !" 
 These may stop the wheels for a short time. They cannot 
 
LAW, ORDER AND ORGANIZATION 97 
 
 turn them backward. The wheels of progress never turn 
 backward. There may be some delay, but finally, the way 
 will be cleared, the march will be resumed and no power will 
 be able to stop its progress. Afterward, the world will smile 
 at the childish silliness of the crowd that yelled. 
 
 Yes, Socialists propose to complete the organization of 
 society which has moved slowly forward during the centuries 
 past but which is now moving at a greatly accelerated velo- 
 city. Socialists claim that since under private ownership 
 there is so little system and that little is often little more than 
 a system of robbery ; that generally, so little regard is paid to 
 justice and the people's interests; that there is so little order 
 and so much antagonism that it is simply anarchy and con- 
 fusion ; that therefore private ownership is a failure as a means 
 of providing for human welfare, in short, that it is imprac- 
 ticable, and that considering especially the fact that all the 
 industries are publicly used, they ought to be publicly owned 
 and managed. 
 
 It must appear readily to any thinking person, that the 
 first method of organization is likely to be far from being the 
 best. The teachings of experience will, no doubt, introduce 
 great changes. In these days when the necessity for and the 
 general plain methods of organization are so well understood, 
 it seems hardly necessary to multiply words showing the 
 necessity nor to devote space to explaining just how we could 
 organize when we do not know just what method of organi- 
 zation will be adopted. Yet we often hear the question, "How 
 are you going to do it?" And the almost as frequent asser- 
 tion, "it can't be done?" These often come from persons who 
 call themselves organizers. The fact is, it has been said so 
 often that Socialism is impracticable, and those who said it 
 have looked so wise and spoken with such a degree of assur- 
 ance, that it has been generally accepted, swallowed whole 
 without stopping to consider that it is but a plain simple 
 problem of organization, large in its scope it is true, but 
 simple nevertheless, not complicated. 
 
 When the first great chieftain having collected together 
 a number of tribes in opposition to some other confederation, 
 and finding that the large number of men obstructed each 
 other's movements proposed to organize the men so as to 
 secure concerted action and avoid confusion, no doubt many 
 opposed it. "Never saw it done that way. It can't be done." 
 And when it was proposed to organize civil government in 
 order to collect taxes and provide for the settlement of disputes 
 between individuals, no doubt there was opposition. "Better 
 let each one furnish for the war just what he pleases. That 
 is the way we always have done; and as to disputes, better 
 
98 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 let them fight it out the old way." It is not strange if men 
 reasoned that way then. Organization was then a new thing. It 
 is not strange if there was, at first, some opposition to govern- 
 ment ownership of railroads, telegraphs and telephones, on 
 the ground that it was too big an undertaking. But now, 
 since the government ownership proposition has been applied 
 and found a success by all the great nations of Europe and in 
 other parts of the world; since municipal ownership has been 
 tested as it has ; since civil service and postal organization 
 have been tested ; since people have become more or less 
 familiar with the facts of the efficiency of organization in the 
 movements of great armies and navies, and last but not least, 
 since they have witnessed as they have during the past two 
 decades the organization and rise of many great corporations 
 and have seen the confederation of these into mammoth trusts 
 that are now sweeping the masses off their feet and con- 
 tinually hurling them into the great maelstrom of financial 
 despair since in all these the people have become so well 
 acquainted with the possibilities of organization, it seems a 
 little strange that they should hesitate, because of its magni- 
 tude, at the Socialistic proposition to organize all the indus- 
 tries. In fact, if we view it rightly, its very magnitude is but 
 a plain reason for organization. It goes without saying that 
 the more people there are working together in any 'of life's 
 activities, the greater the need of organization. Then, when 
 we consider that all those who work at useful employment 
 are in a sense working together to produce the necessaries of 
 life, we readily see the necessity of organization. When I say 
 working together in a sense, I mean all engaged in the same 
 general employment each producing what all use, but in 
 another sense they are not working together. They are work- 
 ing at cross purposes, are pulling against each other, and this 
 fact argues most forcibly. It suggests the very fundamental 
 objects of organization, the avoiding of such counter pulling 
 and pushing and cross action, and the securing of parallel, 
 concerted, united action. " 
 
 And here we may very profitably devote a little space to 
 the consideration of another example or class of examples of 
 modern organization. I refer to machinery. And what is a 
 machine? A machine is a mechanical device having parts, 
 organized and fitted together so as to produce concerted 
 action. A great machine is one having many parts all acting 
 harmoniously together. Now, the thought I wish to impress 
 is this : If the ingenuity of man is sufficient to take inanimate 
 iron, steel, wood and other materials and construct great 
 machines that almost seem to have life and accomplish such 
 great results, why could not society, consisting of animate, liv- 
 
LAW, ORDER AND ORGANIZATION 99 
 
 ing, moving, intelligent human beings, be organized so as to 
 operate as a great machine with intelligence to guide and regu- 
 late its movements at every point? ''Oh, but," says some wise 
 acre, "their intelligence would be a great obstacle!" Grand 
 thought this; but would it? Has it proven so in the past? 
 Have army and naval officers found the intelligence of their 
 men a great obstacle to the concerted movements of armies 
 and navies ? And does history confirm this assertion by show- 
 ing that, as a rule, the battle was against the more intelligent 
 and in favor of the more stupid? Did Dewey find intelligence 
 an obstacle at Manila? To ask all these questions is but to 
 answer them. 
 
 Yes, it seems a little strange that people nowadays, who 
 are so well acquainted with the facts, advantages, benefits and 
 necessities of organization should hesitate here, but a little 
 study of human nature reveals the fact that most people 
 reason little on anything outside of the business in which 
 they are engaged. Often with facts before them sufficient to 
 enable them to form a rational conclusion on a subject, they 
 get their conclusions ready made from someone who seems 
 to know, without stopping to think for themselves whether 
 they are true or false ; and this often where the person knows 
 less of .the subject and is less capable of judging than them- 
 selves. We are developing into an age of specialists. The 
 specialist talks very glibly, often eloquently of things in his 
 line. Naturally he speaks with a great deal of self assurance, 
 and often he makes strong impressions on those who are not 
 specialists in his line, who swallow his assertions whole with- 
 out investigation. The politician is a specialist, or passes 
 as such. Often he is a real specialist in one respect and a pre- 
 tended specialist in another, that is to say, he understands 
 perfectly how to deceive people and get their votes, but knows 
 next to nothing of the political principles he claims to stand 
 for. So, when he is asked about Socialism, he looks very wise, 
 and with a great deal of self assurance, replies with a great 
 deal of firmness and decision, that Socialism is impracticable. 
 He says Socialism is impracticable because it is too big a 
 thing ; because it is unnatural ; because it would destroy our 
 liberties, and because it would destroy the family, etc. He 
 says all this to people who well know if they would stop to 
 think, that its very magnitude is an unanswerable argument 
 in favor of it ; who would know if they stopped to think, that 
 instead of Socialism being unnatural it is capitalism that is 
 unnatural in that it mars and destroys the happiness of man 
 by its continued oppressions, warrings, jarrings and fightings, 
 and that Socialism is natural ; that co-operation is the natural 
 condition of man's activities, and that from fellowship and 
 
ioo ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 brotherly sympathy and helpfulness, springs the highest en- 
 joyments of earth, in fact, we would perhaps not miss it far 
 to say about all the enjoyment that is worthy the name. 
 
 They well know, if they would stop and think, that under 
 Socialism, there would be no incentive to graft in the civil 
 service, the postal service and other departments of public 
 activity. They know that there is graft in those departments 
 now ; and, if they stopped to think, would readily see that the 
 present tendency toward corruption must make it much more 
 difficult to maintain satisfactorily the organization of those 
 departments. They also know full well that in spite of these 
 corruptions, these departments are successful to such a degree 
 that no sane person would for a moment harbor the thought 
 of dispensing with them ; and if they took time to reason a 
 little further and to consider the difficulty in all governmental 
 organization occasioned by the tendency to corruption, they 
 would conclude that it is not extravagant to expect that with 
 the incentive to corruption practically all eliminated, as it 
 undoubtedly would be under Socialism, it would be a simpler 
 proposition to organize and manage all the industries, than it 
 has been to do the same with those now under governmental, 
 state and municipal supervision. They also know, if they 
 would stop and think, that instead of Socialism destroying our 
 liberties, it would be the greatest conservator of liberty ; for, 
 with a very meagre understanding of what capitalism is, and 
 of what Socialism is, they would know that Socialism would 
 secure to each one the enjoyment of the highest form of 
 liberty conceived by man, namely, liberty to do right and pro- 
 tection against wrong; that Socialism proposes to give each 
 one an equal right of access to the earth and its resources, not 
 simply an abstract right, but a privilege or opportunity; that 
 it would secure to each one the right and privilege of receiv- 
 ing the full product of his toil. They well know, if they 
 stopped to think just a little, that capitalism grants only ab- 
 stract rights to most people, denying them free access to he 
 earth and its resources while refusing to protect them in their 
 rights, and permitting them to be robbed of most of the pro- 
 duct of their toil ; and if they reasoned a little further, they 
 would see that many of the so-called rights of society are 
 simply wrongs in the exercise of which a special class is pro- 
 tected. 
 
 And then these people hear from this owl-faced gentle- 
 man the very startling information that Socialism would break 
 up the family, would destroy the home. This caps the climax. 
 
 What a withering charge is this ! Yet those who hear it, 
 if they know the mere rudiments of Socialism, know that the 
 proposition of Socialism is that the family shall remain in- 
 
LAW, ORDER AND ORGANIZATION 
 
 101 
 
 tact; that families shall retain their separate existence 
 would know, if they stopped to think, that there is no reason 
 why the family should cease, and, in fact, not so much as 
 there is now ; for it would be far easier to maintain a separate 
 family existence under the conditions which Socialism 
 promises ; and when they came to think of it they would see 
 that the tendency of the postal and other, civil service is not 
 to cause its employees to abandon the family existence; that 
 the fact is, capitalism has furnished a most crucial test show- 
 ing the stability and permanence of the family, especially if 
 equality cuts any figure in the matter, as the opponents of 
 Socialism claim; for in the tenement houses are many families 
 together, each subsisting on an equally pitiful wage, and 
 separated from each other only by a chalk line ; that notwith- 
 standing this the family still remains, and that morally speak- 
 ing, even families under such environment, will compare quite 
 favorably with those of the very wealthy so many of whom 
 turn night into day by their dissipations. 
 
 Yes, there are many people who know these things or 
 would know them if only they stopped to think. But therein 
 lies the trouble. The American people are not slow in acquir- 
 ing knowledge. Their chief failure lies in not digesting and 
 appropriating the knowledge they have. As a rule they fol- 
 low the line of least resistance, get their thoughts ready made 
 and leave the real thinking to others, and it is not at all 
 strange if, in these days of graft, the thoughts are often 
 moulded in the interest of the thinker and against the interest 
 of the receiver. Some may be ready to say that they got the 
 thoughts from some other than a politician. But if they did, 
 the chances are, nine out of ten, that they got them from 
 another, who got them from another, etc., who got them from 
 a politician. Such thoughts are usually passed very rapidly 
 along down the line. There is also a disposition to follow the 
 line of least resistance in holding to the old ruts, and the poli- 
 tician is careful to encourage it. He says virtually, "Be sure 
 you keep in the old ruts ; look out for the Socialist ; he is 
 liable to break the ruts and lead you out, and if you get out 
 you will be lost, for you will not know where you are." 
 
 So then, when the Socialist agitator comes around and 
 sends a few Socialist ideas clattering against his cranium, the 
 average man is apt to brace himself and say, "I'm from Mis- 
 souri. You'll have to show me." 
 
102 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM. 
 
 Very well, then, let us begin at once the showing process, 
 in an attempt to outline a general, workable, practicable pro- 
 gram of Socialism. To do so we must suppose that the 
 Socialists have come into the possession of the government, 
 both national and state; must not forget our definition of 
 Socialism, public ownership, public management, just distri- 
 bution of income and private ownership of distributed pro- 
 duct, not omitting the central thought, the pith of it all, the 
 substitution of co-operation for competition ; and we must ad- 
 here closely to our three cardinal moral principles. Following 
 these what we want to do is to organize all our industrial 
 activities under one general national interest, with such sepa- 
 rate state and local interests as may be deemed convenient. 
 
 Let us look forward in our imagination to the time when 
 the educational work that is now going on has been com- 
 pleted. The people have learned theoretically the principles 
 of Socialism. They have adopted them by electing Socialists 
 to office in all departments of government, both in the nation 
 and in the states, or most of them. If any held back the 
 others could go on without them. The holding back would 
 not last long. All things are ready and the people are willing 
 and anxious to usher in the co-operative commonwealth. We 
 are now ready to doff the tattered old garment of capitalism, 
 that is covered with fragmentary pictures and reminiscences 
 of past wars and carnage and crime and cruelty, and don the 
 new and spotlessly white garment, having emblazoned upon 
 it in shining letters the word brotherhood. We are now ready 
 to organize. How shall we begin? Ask a man of average 
 intelligence if he knows anything about the organization of 
 an army or navy, a civil government, the school business or 
 the postal business, and he will probably say, "Yes, I know 
 something of those things ; I know that they are organized." 
 
 Do you think you could organize an army? 
 
 After a little reflection he says, "Yes. I might not do a 
 very good job at it. There would perhaps be a great room 
 for improvement; but I think I could organize it." 
 
 Could you organize a navy, the civil service, the postal 
 business, the school business or the railroad business? 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 How would you proceed to organize any branch of 
 activity ? 
 
 ."I would look out and appoint over each department of 
 the institution to be organized the man or men who appear 
 
THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM 103 
 
 to be the wisest -concerning the work of that department and 
 let him or them organize it." 
 
 This is the general plan of organization that has been 
 practiced for more than three thousand years, since the days 
 when the tribes of Israel set before their great leader their 
 wise men whom he made to be "captains over thousands and 
 captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among 
 the people." The exact methods of organization are almost as 
 various as the institutions to be organized. There is a vari- 
 ation in details. Sometimes the organizer is self-appointed ; 
 sometimes he is appointed by a higher power; sometimes 
 elected by the people, and sometimes by the representatives 
 of the people, but in one essential respect there has not been 
 much change in three thousand years. Almost invariably, 
 organization begins at the top and proceeds downward. This 
 method is the best that can be done when the masses are igno- 
 rant of the subject matter of organization. Even democ- 
 racies are almost invariably content to follow this old time 
 method. The people are expected to study men principally, 
 and principles and methods a very little, and they do not 
 usually exceed these expectations. No wonder there has been 
 corruption. But, like many other evils that have afflicted 
 society in the past it was unavoidable under all the circum- 
 stances. It gathered as a clog on the wheels of progress ; but 
 the swamp must be crossed, and the best that could be done 
 was to wade steadily along, paying little attention to the 
 milder accretions, and raking off (with a "muck rake" or 
 other primitive tool) the grosser forms of corruption. 
 
 With all its drawbacks this method of organization has 
 accomplished much good in the past, and I see no reason why 
 it could not be continued under Socialism and result in a great 
 improvement over our present system. The powers and func- 
 tions of our federal, state and municipal governments could 
 all be enlarged and each of the industries could be assigned to 
 such departments of these as seemed best fitted to handle it, 
 until all were included. This would be Socialism, at least in 
 form. It would be a defective Socialism if it failed to carry- 
 out the expressed will of the people, to provide a just distri- 
 bution, or to secure to each the private ownership and enjoy- 
 ment of his just share of the social product. With these, it 
 might still be cumbersome, but it would nevertheless be per- 
 fect in the sense that it would be all Socialism and no capi- 
 talism. It would not be a perfect machine because it would 
 be fashioned after the imperfect machine of capitalism. Yet 
 it would undoubtedly run far more smoothly, because it would 
 be almost free from all incentive to and opportunity for cor- 
 ruption. Under Socialism nearly all financial dealings be- 
 
104 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 tween private persons would cease and be nearly altogether 
 with the public. All capital would be owned by the public. 
 There would be no reason for great individual accumulations 
 of the products of labor and such would be effectually dis- 
 couraged or forbidden to extend beyond certain limits. More- 
 over the public would furnish storehouses for all such incre- 
 ment, the private ownership of each being indicated by certi- 
 ficate and book account. 
 
 Considering then all these points, we readily see that 
 under Socialism there would be little incentive and little 
 opportunity for corruption in government. Practically, there 
 would be none except what might possibly result from a 
 scramble for the best places, and even in this there could 
 hardly be any opportunity for bribery except by the mutual 
 helpfulness of a combination of two or more persons in secur- 
 ing the best positions. The tendency in this direction would, 
 however, be very slight; for the main temptation, the prospect 
 of a considerable financial reward would be removed. No 
 one could obtain any but a petty advantage, and it is reason- 
 able to expect that under such an environment, the public 
 sentiment would become so strong against petty striving, that 
 few would risk its censure and yield to so small temptation. 
 It seems to me that any thinking person having but a bare 
 definition of Socialism should be able to see, with a little care- 
 ful reflection, that the proposition of Socialism is but a plain, 
 simple matter of organization, and not only simple, but 
 simplified by the elimination of the worst difficulty that besets 
 our present system, and that with our old time mehods of 
 organization it would be reasonable to expect it to become 
 such a success that, compared with our present society, it 
 would be as moonlight to starlight. And yet Socialism reveals 
 a far better method; a method in which the new Socialist 
 machine stands forth as a new model, having abandoned many 
 of the useless and cumbersome parts of the old capitalistic 
 machine and been fashioned to suit the proposed new environ- 
 ment ; and which being applied, may be expected to produce 
 so much greater results as to entitle it to be called the sun- 
 light method. 
 
 And what will be the new environment? But first what 
 of the present? 
 
 Our present society is built up entirely on selfishness. 
 The chief concern of each one is to enhance his own individual 
 interests. As a rule he takes readily to any proposition that 
 promises to enhance the value of his holdings. These^ are 
 usually confined to the particular locality in which he lives. 
 The people of a particular locality in a. county work together 
 to secure some county enterprise or institution, as, for in- 
 
THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM 105 
 
 stance, a county seat that will be a benefit to the whole neigh- 
 borhood. In such case, the chief motive of each individual is 
 that he may advance his own individual interest. In the same 
 manner the people of one part of a state will unite to promote 
 the financial interests of themselves. Likewise, also, the 
 people of a state will all work together to draw their way 
 some great national enterprise or institution, or seek the pro- 
 motion of whatever will benefit the people of that state ; and in 
 all these cases, as a rule, the motive that is uppermost in each 
 individual is his own self interest, the hope that his property 
 may be increased in value, or that his home may become a 
 pleasanter place in which to live. 
 
 But the selfish motive is not the only motive. Nearly 
 all people have more or less of what is called public spirit. In 
 spite of all the cultivation of selfishness which our present 
 society promotes, this public spirit still lives and still con- 
 tinues to crop out in some form or other. True, some people 
 seem to be almost entirely without it, and the proportional num- 
 ber of such people seems to be increasing, but on the other 
 hand there are persons so public spirited, that they are ready 
 at any time to sacrifice their own private interests for the 
 public good. But even in such case, the public spirit usually 
 finds its strongest expression in seeking the promotion of that 
 which is nearest home. Many a man through public spirit 
 works to promote the interests of his own neighborhood, 
 town or county, who takes little interest in the welfare of the 
 state, and some take a deep interest in what concerns their 
 own state, who care little for national affairs. 
 
 And so we find society as at present constituted, divided 
 and subdivided into' petty conflicting local interests. The 
 people of one part of a state being cut off by a mountain range 
 or in some way having interests which vary widely from the 
 interests of the majority, are often neglected and caused to 
 suffer greatly for want of the legislation they need, because 
 it does not concern the interests of the majority. So also a 
 state or a number of states in one quarter may'suffer for want 
 of national legislation. Then the various gradations in wealth 
 divide the people into a variety of classes with diverse con- 
 flicting class interests. Also diversity of occupation causes a 
 still further subdivision. Many laws are made in the interest 
 of the very rich that are of little benefit to the middle class 
 and very poor. Some laws benefit the great millionaires and 
 injure the smaller ones, and vice versa. Also, some laws 
 benefit the middle class which are against the proletarian, and 
 vice versa. Lastly, each occupation calls for laws that are of 
 little or no interest, or are against the interests of some or all 
 the other classes. What I am trying to get before the reader 
 
106 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 is the fact that, under our present system, besides the general 
 competitive squabble which is too much of a labyrinth, too 
 anarchical to be described, there is a continual clashing of 
 class interests and dissatisfaction with the laws, by reason of 
 the diversity of the local, financial and 'occupational interests 
 already mentioned. There is a continual complaining. In all 
 my life I do not remember hearing but one man say that he 
 was satisfied with the laws as they are, and he was a poor 
 foreigner who did not know enough of our laws to be dis- 
 satisfied with them. 
 
 And now, with this picture before the mind let us turn 
 and inquire how it would be under Socialism. 
 
 To begin with, Socialism proposes the public ownership 
 of all productive industries, all that portion of wealth called 
 capital. This would mean that if the United States should 
 adopt Socialism, when the transition is made, by whatever 
 means it may be accomplished, each owner of capital will 
 yield his ownership to the government and receive instead, 
 along with all other citizens, an equal interest in all the capital 
 of the whole with an equal right to apply his labor along with 
 the other partners and receive a share proportional to his 
 efforts. This would do away with all private competition in 
 buying and selling. There could no longer be a clashing 
 along the lines drawn on various gradations of wealth owner- 
 ship. All local and sectional diversity of interests would be 
 completely wiped out. Practically, the people living in Maine 
 would have the same interest in the material development of 
 California as the Californians themselves ; the inhabitants of 
 the Puget Sound country would be benefited about as much 
 by the opening up of new industries in the southern states as 
 the southerners themselves, and the people of each industry 
 would be as much interested in seeing all other industries 
 properly developed as in their own. The fact is that under 
 Socialism all would be equally interested in such a develop- 
 ment of the various localities, and in such a proportional de- 
 velopment of 'the various industries, as would supply the 
 wants of all with the least effort and inconvenience. There 
 could be no class interests, strictly speaking. The only sem- 
 blance of class lines would be those dividing between the 
 various occupations. There might be a little crowding for 
 the best places, especially if they paid better wages, but this 
 tendency would surely not be very strong since there would 
 be no opportunity to amass an individual fortune. If there 
 should prove to be such a tendency, it could be remedied for 
 the most part by applying Mr. Bellamy's method of reduc- 
 ing the hours of those having the most unpleasant work. 
 
 Under our present system, we are ever jealous of any- 
 
THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM 107 
 
 thing like an infringement of our state rights and are up in 
 arms against anything that smacks of usurpation. We feel 
 that we are the most interested in our own local affairs, and 
 therefore that our interests are safest in our own hands. But 
 under Socialism all would be changed. I see no reason why 
 state governments should be continued at all, though I think 
 probably it would be found best to divide the country into a 
 number of sections for convenience of administration. 
 
 Private ownership of wealth having principally ceased, 
 private financial dealings having been dispensed with, and the 
 causes of crime having for the most part been removed, most 
 of our present laws and our present governmental machinery 
 would become obsolete. As there would be no longer any 
 reason for sectional and local representation, it would be bet- 
 ter to abandon our present method 'of representation by states 
 and districts, and adopt instead a method which has generally 
 been advocated by Socialist writers, and which follows the 
 only line of classification left in society, namely, that of occu- 
 pation. 
 
 The following quotation is from Lawrence Gronlund's 
 Co-operative Commonwealth, pp. 191-6. 
 
 "The referendum is expedient because the stability and goodness of 
 all laws and institutions depend on their suitableness. I have compared 
 political institutions to coats that may or may' not fit the backs. The refer- 
 endum will insure that the coat will fit the back; in other words that 
 the measures adopted are commensurate with the development of the 
 people. If the coat does not fit, if a given measure does not suit them, 
 they will simply reject it. 
 
 "It is expedient because it, and it alone, will arouse and keep alive 
 in the people the interest in public affairs. It is a notorious fact that the 
 voters in the United States, and in all countries, are absolutely indifferent 
 to that many look with a sort of contempt on the electoral franchise; 
 and the humbug of representation to which we adverted in the preceding 
 chapter is a sufficiently good reason. Voters will naturally remain 
 indifferent as long as a political campaign means but a strife for candi- 
 dates. Whenever they do vote they will continue to do so from the 
 same reasons which solely influence them now; to wit, habit, or the 
 desire to advance a friend or a 'hero,' or the chance of getting a drink. 
 
 "But when the voters have measures before them not merely 
 general, and therefore vague, constitutional provisions, but direct special 
 measures to discuss, and then to ratify or reject, it may be fairly expected 
 that they will take a considerable and increasing interest in public affairs. 
 Then, also, they will very likely come more and more to appreciate the 
 fact that suffrage is not a right at all if it were, votes _would indeed be 
 'things to be sold or given away at pleasure but a public trust. 
 
 "The referendum is expedient, because bills will then be intelligently 
 discussed before they become laws. We shall then no more witness the 
 indecency that important laws, the provisions of which even often are 
 unknown to the legislators, are enacted in the hurry of the last night of 
 a session, under the spur of the party whip. Then we shall no longer see 
 huge volumes of trash issuing yearly from legislative 'halls, but shall have 
 few, and none but necessary laws. 
 
io8 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 " 'But this is all nonsense to propose to get along without representa- 
 tives. The people of a large country like that of the United States cannot 
 possibly pass upon all laws.' 
 
 ''Yes, we know that once "upon a time somebody made a remark of 
 that kind, and that it has been echoed and reechoed ever since. . Humanity 
 does really resemble a flock of she^p, which are known to be so con- 
 scientious that, if you hold a stick before the wether so that he is forced 
 to vault in his passage, the whole flock will do the like when the stick 
 is withdrawn. 
 
 "Why cannot the people even of so populous and extensive a 
 country as the union, vote upon all laws. Dp not, as a matter of fact, 
 the people vote to reject or accept the constitutions of their several States? 
 Do they not practically vote for the president? What reason in the 
 world is there why they cannot just as well vote upon a law as upon a 
 constitution or upon men? 
 
 "And what reason is there for the people to have representatives at 
 all? True, they needs must have men to direct affairs and to *lo certain 
 work tor them. These men are their agents for certain purposes, but in 
 no sense their representatives. It is the fictitious 'representative' character 
 that is father of all parliamentary nonsense, blundering work, and cor- 
 ruption of practical politics. 
 
 "Urjder the Socialist regime the administrators will form a working 
 body and not a talking body. The people in their organic capacity will 
 watch, stimulate and control them, but not meddle with details. Their 
 agents will have been put into the positions they occupy, because they 
 know better than anybody else how to contrive the means and execute 
 the measures demanded. They will administer the nation's affairs as a 
 pilot directs and handles a ship, but the direction of the ship of state 
 will be indicated by public opinion. 
 
 "But the pertinacious curiosity of critics will, undoubtedly, not be 
 satisfied before they have a sketch of such a Socialist administration 
 before them for examination. 
 
 "Well, anybody can construct such an administration in his imagina- 
 tion as well as we can, if he only will keep steadily before him these 
 three requirements : first, that all appointments be made from below ; 
 next, that the directors stay in office as long as they give satisfaction and 
 not one moment beyond; and, lastly, that all laws and regulations of a 
 general nature must be first ratified by those immediately interested. We 
 have no better means of guessing how those who come after us will con- 
 struct their administrative machinery in detail than anybody else; and 
 modern Socialists are not fond of laying down rules for the guidance of 
 coming generations. 
 
 "In order, however, to show that an administration without presi- 
 dent, without national or debating societies of any kind, is really possible, 
 I shall draw such a one in outline; but please bear in mind that Socialism 
 must not be made responsible for this fancy sketch of mine. 
 
 "Suppose, then, every distinct branch of industry, of agriculture and 
 also teachers, physicians, etc., to form, each trade and profession by 
 itself, a distinct body, a trades union (I simply use the term because it is 
 convenient,) a guild, a corporation managing its internal affairs itself, 
 but subject to collective control. 
 
 "Suppose, further, that the 'heelers' among the operatives in a shoe 
 factory in a given place come together and elect their foreman, and that 
 the 'tappers,' the 'solers,' the 'finishers' and whatever else the various 
 operators may be called, do likewise. Suppose that these foremen assemble 
 and elect a superintendent of the factory, and that the superintendents of 
 
THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM 109 
 
 all the shoe factories in that district, in their .turn elect a let us call him 
 district superintendent. Again, we shall suppose these district superin- 
 tendents of the whole boot and shoe industry to assemble themselves 
 somewhere from all parts of the country and elect a bureau chief, and he 
 with other bureau chiefs of related industries say, the tanning indus- 
 try to elect a chief of department. 
 
 "In the same manner I shall suppose that we have got a chief for 
 every group of related mechanical, and agricultural and mining pursuits, 
 a chief for the teachers, another for the physicians, another for the judges; 
 further, one or more chiefs for transportation, one or more chiefs for 
 commerce; in fact, suppose that there is not a social function whatever 
 that does not converge in some way in such chief of department. 
 
 "However, we do not want too many of these chiefs, for we mean 
 to make a working body, not. a talking body, out of them. I mean that 
 these chiefs of departments shall form the national board of adminis- 
 trations, whose function it shall be to supervise the whole social activity 
 of the country. Each chief will supervise the internal affairs of his own 
 department, and the whole board control all those matters in which the 
 general public is interested. 
 
 "But just as all inferior officers, this national board will be 
 nothing but a body of administrators, they will be merely trusted agents 
 to do a particular work; they will be in no sense, 'governors' or 'rulers,' 
 or, if anybody should choose to call their supervision and control 'govern- 
 ment/ it will, at all events, rather be a government over things than 
 over men. For they will decree no laws. 
 
 "If a general law is thought to be expedient, one that will affect 
 the people at large or those of any one department, then we suppose this 
 national board simply to agree on the general features of the measure, and 
 thereupon intrust the drafting of the proper bill either to the chief whose 
 department it principally concerns, or what might be the usual course, to 
 the chief of the judges. When this draft has been discussed and adopted, 
 the board will submit it to the people either of the whole country or of 
 the department, as may be, for their ratification. The national board is 
 thus no law maker, therefore no 'government' but an executive body 
 strictly." 
 
 Continuing the same subject, we quote from "Modern 
 Socialism," by Chas. H. Vail, pp. 75-6. 
 
 "Each directing officer would be held responsible, not only for his 
 own work, but for that of his subordinates. While appointments would 
 be made from below, dismissals would come from above. 'Subordinates 
 elect, superiors dismiss.' 
 
 "This would obviate divided responsibility 'by making the officers 
 responsible to some one person. In case any officer abused his power, 
 he himself would be dismissed by his superior. Should he be found ineffi- 
 cient, a foreman could be removed by the superintendent, a superintendent 
 by the bureau chief, or a bureau chief by the department chief. The 
 latter official, however, would be made responsible to the whole body 
 of his subordinates. If any department or member thereof became dis- 
 satisfied with the chief, the imperative mandate could be called irrto 
 service in the same manner as the initiative. That is, any person could 
 draw up a petition demanding the removal of the officer, and upon receiv- 
 ing the signatures of the majority of the department, his office would be 
 declared vacant by the proper officers and an election called to fill the 
 vacancy. The initiative and imperative mandate could, if thought advis- 
 able, be used in case of every officer. Thus the foreman of any shop or 
 superintendent of any factory could be recalled by the very persons who 
 placed him in power, the majority always ruling. The officer thus deposed 
 
no ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 would take his place among the rank and file and there remain, unless 
 elevated by a subsequent election. 
 
 "Is not this democracy, an administration by the people ? Every man 
 would have a part in the administration of affairs. That such a system 
 would work well in practice we may see by studying labor organizations 
 and trade unions. These unions furnish the skeletons of the future com- 
 monwealth. 
 
 "That Socialism would greatly improve government is evident, 
 because it would make administration of vital concern to all the people. 
 
 "It would raise into prominence a nobler class of men, and draw 
 into the public service the talent of the country. As the prosperity of 
 all would depend upon efficient management, the full moral strength and 
 mental acumen of the nation would be at the public service.." 
 
 Here we have a practicable program, perfectly adapted 
 to the new conditions, with nearly all our present unwieldy 
 governmental machinery left out. It would be worse than 
 useless. There would be little to legislate about. Nearly 
 all our present legislation relates to private ownership of 
 property and to crimes resulting directly or indirectly from it. 
 The new order being once established, legislation will be con- 
 fined to general methods of organization. The details would 
 be left to the administration just as in our postal department 
 or in the civil service. 
 
 There is one particular circumstance, the influence of 
 which in the promotion of the success of Socialism by the 
 methods of administration just outlined, can hardly be over- 
 estimated ; and that is the fact that under the new order each 
 one will be thoroughly instructed and trained for the special 
 work he expects to perform, and will therefore be able to vote 
 intelligently for 'both men and measures connected with the 
 work of his department. 
 
 I prefer to use the term government as applied to the 
 Socialistic state, for two reasons: First because it is more 
 readily understood by the reader; and secondly, because I 
 believe in yielding obedience to properly constituted 
 authority ; and I know of no word that better signifies the 
 strength and authority of the collective will expressed by the 
 referendum ballot and executed by the people's chosen agents. 
 But government under Socialism will have a very different 
 meaning from what it has now. Then, it will mean the whole 
 people : now, it means an organized body over and above 
 the people, supposed to be chosen by, and acting for them, 
 but in reality, for the most part, chosen by the plutocracy 
 and acting as their exclusive agents. Government under 
 Socialism will be an actual, and not merely a theoretical self 
 government. 
 
 It will be the duty of the government to provide for all 
 the wants of all the people, each receiving in proportion to 
 his effort. This will require systematic effort -in production^ 
 
THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM in 
 
 and let us not forget that production in the economic sense, 
 includes every step that is necessary to produce the raw ma- 
 terial, transform it into the finished product, and transport it 
 to the consumer in the form in' which it is to be used. This 
 will require much cool, careful calculating. Here the statis- 
 tician's position will loom up as the most important office in 
 the nation. 
 
 The importance of economy in determining the amount 
 and place of producing the raw material and in questions per- 
 taining to manufacture and transportation, would call for 
 an able statistician, or possibly a board of statisticians with 
 an able corps of assistants, each understanding thoroughly 
 the work of his own department. This work would be the 
 most arduous and uncertain at first and during the experi- 
 mental stage. Of course, sound policy would require that at 
 all times, due care be taken to provide against a shortage of 
 the necessaries of life. This would be a matter of the highest 
 importance at the beginning; and to make sure on this point, 
 it would be good policy to plan especially for the production 
 at first of a superabundance of such staple food products as 
 could be kept through several years without waste. After a 
 few years experience the statisticians could determine more 
 accurately how much of each article would be wanted, and 
 where it could be most economically produced. And we 
 must not overlook the fact that some articles must be sup- 
 plied from abroad, while others that could be provided for at 
 home *may be more easily obtained by producing still other 
 articles and exchanging with foreign countries. In such 
 cases it would devolve upon our government to enter into 
 reciprocal agreements with other countries, by which such 
 articles could be obtained. Thus in the very introduction of 
 Socialism we would substitute science for chance, co-opera- 
 tive, concerted action for competitive, disconcerted action ; 
 order for disorder; organization for disorganization, and 
 economy for waste. 
 
 Time and space forbid that we should undertake to 
 enumerate the points of waste in our present system that 
 would be saved under Socialism ; but we may begin to com- 
 prehend something of their aggregate magnitude, if we con- 
 sider how small a proportion of the men who are fit for ser- 
 vice, are now employed at what under Socialism would be 
 necessary work. It "is said they are only about one-third. 
 When we consider the great number of idle rich and idle 
 poor, the number employed in advertising, the great number 
 of merchants and shopmen great aad small with their armies 
 of agents, solicitors, salesmen, clerks and deliverymen, all 
 doing a work of distribution which could probably be done 
 
ii2 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 much easier by one-tenth the number working systematically 
 with machinery ; when we consider the enormous expense of 
 buildings, fences and other improvements for private opera- 
 tion, which, under Socialism would be unnecessary, the time 
 speric by employers hunting for men and by men hunting 
 for work; the time spent in looking up the best market for 
 buying and the best market for selling; also the waste result- 
 ing from the overproduction of some articles when we con- 
 sider all these and reflect that we have but touched the bor- 
 der, we cannot fail to see that the number on the other side 
 who are not now engaged in what, under Socialism would 
 be useful service, is very large. Suppose it is only half, 
 and that the workers now work on an average ten hours per 
 day, then to produce the same by the same methods all work- 
 ing, would only require five hours per day; or, if it is two- 
 thirds as claimed, only three and one-third hours per day. 
 But this is only a mere beginning of economy. Much of the 
 work formerly done by hand is now done by machines, the 
 same number of men doing with machines from five to one 
 thousand times as much as was formerly done by hand. 
 Socialism will multiply this advantage by bringing into use 
 far greater machines, and also by introducing machines to 
 do most of the work now done by hand. 
 
 Socialism will also economize by the application of sci- 
 ence and large scale methods of industry, in manufacture, in 
 transportation, in agriculture. In the last of these there will 
 probably be the greatest advancement made in both science 
 and large scale methods. To the thinking mind, the eco- 
 nomic possibilities of Socialism that are now in sight are 
 simply wonderful. And still there is the great unexplored 
 field lying beyond. What wonder that Socialists should seem 
 as dreamers to those who have not investigated the subject? 
 I feel sure that I would be keeping far within the lines of a 
 careful and cautious conservatism, to say that with each one 
 working but barely enough to meet the requirements of his 
 physical health, enough could be produced to supply all the 
 material wants of the people, leaving them all the leisure 
 necessary for the cultivation of their higher natures. If any 
 preferred to use his leisure time in providing for himself 
 more of the luxuries of life, probably he would be permitted 
 to do so; but I feel confident that leisure for the cultivation 
 of the mind in all its phases, moral, intellectual, social and 
 religious, will come to be regarded as one of the chief neces- 
 saries of life. I know that some have hesitated and doubted 
 and feared at this point. "Idleness," they say, "begets mis- 
 chief." 
 
 I have no doubt that some will misuse their leisure. I 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF OCCUPATIONS 113 
 
 think probably a considerable number will do so at first. 
 Those who fear that under Socialism the people would be 
 "all alike just like two peas" will be agreeably surprised to 
 find their fears not realized, but that there are still different 
 degrees of standing in society, based on moral and intellectual 
 excellence, instead of as now, on financial excellence. One's 
 standing will then depend mostly on how he uses his leisure 
 time; and that great improvement will result from the use of 
 this higher standard, I have not the least doubt. And since 
 man has advanced in the past in the midst of corruptions, dis- 
 couragements and adversity, how can we doubt that he would 
 amid the bright and encouraging environment of Socialism, 
 with so many of the evils and temptations removed. It is 
 true that in the lower stages of civilization man is beset with 
 more or less of indolence ; but every step upward brings new 
 aspirations which prompt to new efforts corresponding to the 
 new opportunities afforded; and I have no doubt that the 
 ushering in of Socialism will unlock from millions of breasts 
 the aspirations for a grander, higher and purer life which the 
 new environment would permit and encourage. The higher 
 man rises in the scale, the more he comes to realize that his 
 highest enjoyment is promoted by the symmetrical develop- 
 ment of all his faculties, and for this, Socialism would afford 
 the amplest opportunity to all ; and not only opportunity, 
 but great encouragement, while in our present society such 
 opportunity comes to comparatively few, and to those few, 
 generally accompanied by great temptations amid which the 
 higher aspirations are usually choked out. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF OCCUPATIONS AND 
 POPULATIONS. 
 
 We often hear people asking if there will not under 
 Socialism be a scrambling for the best places while the dis- 
 agreeable work will go begging? This, at first glance, seems 
 a very serious objection; but when we consider the changed 
 environment of Socialism, which would appeal to the unsel- 
 fish side of man's nature instead of the selfish, the objection 
 does not seem so great; even in our present society, man's 
 better nature when properly appealed to, responds with a 
 heartiness that is really encouraging. In cases of war, the 
 patriotism of the people is appealed to. They are impressed 
 with the fact that the welfare of all depends on each one, and 
 each realizes his individual responsibility and discharges it. 
 
n 4 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Such appeals are not usually in vain. Why then, could not 
 the same appeal be made in time of peace to the great army 
 of workers in a Socialist nation. We often find shirkers 
 but I feel safe in saying that where men are placed upon 
 their honor and permitted to do the kind of work that suits 
 them, the proportional number of shirkers is very small. I 
 very well remember the days when the men of each neigh- 
 borhood "swapped" work and did the threshing of all. I 
 remember too, that occasionally there were charges of shirk- 
 ing, but I do not remember of ever hearing of a crew where 
 so many shirked as to cause the work to seriously lag. It is 
 related that when the New Zealand Government built their 
 own railways the men organized themselves into a working 
 force, the stronger taking the harder places and leaving the 
 easier work for the weaker. Socialism must begin with the 
 kind of men that are developed by the latter end of capital- 
 ism, and since the effect of capitalism is to make men more 
 and more selfish as time passes, it would be well to seek some 
 sort of device to guard against a selfish struggle for the 
 best positions. And again, we find that the philosophy of 
 Socialism is not wanting. Mr. Edward Bellamy, in his re- 
 nowned work, "Looking Backward/' sets forth a plan which 
 meets the case fully. It is simply to increase the number of 
 hours work in those occupations that have too many appli- 
 cants and reduce the number of hours in those having too 
 few. A few experiments would determine, approximately, 
 the amount of work required in each in order to secure the 
 right number of applicants. The same thing could be ac- 
 complished by varying wages instead of the number of hours 
 or amount of work. 
 
 Mr. Bellamy, while doing a grand work for the cause of 
 Socialism, made prominent several things that are not neces- 
 sary parts of Socialism. Among these were : First, govern- 
 ment by those who had passed the age of industrial service ; 
 second, a sort of militarism, a rather harmless sort perhaps, in 
 fact, little more than an extreme expression for thorough 
 organization ; third, equal wages. 
 
 The word equality stands for an ideal that seems to have 
 been uppermost in his mind. It is one of the closely related 
 group equality, concerted movement, co-operative action, 
 brotherly sympathy and brotherly helpfulness, which, all com- 
 bined, form the Socialist ideal and may all be summed up 
 in the one word, brotherhood. In my opinion, this equality 
 ideal, is not so popular as it ought to be, not so popular as it 
 will be when the people are differently educated. Some have 
 a great horror of being- "all alike, just like two peas." This 
 idea is born of selfishness. In even the best ideals that have 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF OCCUPATIONS 115 
 
 been so far held up before the minds of youth, one of the lead- 
 ing characteristics is distinction. I think I am safe in saying 
 that nearly every one who purposely does great good to 
 society acts from a composite motive, made up of a desire 
 to distinguish himself, coupled with a desire that others may 
 be benefited. The former is selfish, the latter unselfish. 
 The idea of distinction has all along made so strong an im- 
 press upon the minds of many that they come to regard it 
 as necessary to their individuality. A desire to be distin- 
 guished above our fellows is but selfish vanity, but an 
 abnormal form of selfishness that brings us no real enjoyment 
 and more often reacts in the disapproval of others than in 
 their coveted approval. Yet this desire for distinction has 
 served a good purpose in society in the centuries past. It 
 has been, and still is, exactly suited to the hitherto undevel- 
 oped and partially developed condition of man. 
 
 Man finds his greatest enjoyment in harmony. He 
 admires and honors those who have produced the greatest 
 harmony for his enjoyment. Society admires and accords 
 great honors to a great military hero who produces a degree 
 of harmony of action that enables his army to break and 
 destroy the harmony of the enemy. We admire the great 
 musician who produces harmony of sound ; the artist who 
 produces harmony of form and color; the great statesman 
 who produces harmony among those of his own nation, and 
 the great philanthropic diplomat who promotes harmony 
 among the nations. We admire and honor great writers and 
 speakers who are able to produce harmony of thought; we 
 honor and admire all thoce who have done great good to 
 humanity, because in so doing they have done much for the 
 promotion of harmony in the world. 
 
 In the early stages of civilization the great leader was 
 indispensable. The people were generally ignorant; they 
 could not act in concert with a common intelligence, for 
 none existed. There must be decisive commands issued by 
 a great leader and implicit obedience by all followers. This 
 was the only way to protect the people from themselves, and 
 prevent their devouring each other. The leader was gener- 
 ally tyrannical, but tyranny was better than anarchy. As 
 man has advanced in civilization, he has come to act more 
 and more from an ever increasing common intelligence, and to 
 depend less and less upon the direction of great leaders. And 
 when the world becomes fully civilized the great leader will 
 have sunk into insignificance, while the common intelligence 
 will have become the great directing force by which harmon- 
 ious action will be preserved. 
 
 Then, conditions will be changed; influences will be 
 
n6 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 changed. Then, the best ideals of life will not encourage a 
 selfish longing for distinction and a selfish vanity in those 
 who have acquired it; but instead, they will be such as will 
 appeal to each one to strive to fit himself to perform intelli- 
 gently his part in the great living, moving machine of civili- 
 zation, so that each and all may be individually and collect- 
 ively benefited. The motto will then be "each for all and all 
 for each." Mr. Bellamy's picture represents all as putting forth 
 equal effort and receiving equal wages; and he was particu- 
 lar to avoid all inequalities in wages, by providing to increase 
 the hours of those having the easier places and reducing the 
 hours of those doing the harder work. While the equality 
 idea is very attractive to me, yet possibly liberty may demand 
 that those who desire to work more than the standard amount 
 may be permitted to do so, and receive proportionately more, 
 while those preferring to work less, may be allowed to and 
 receive less, but the last part of this must be taken with con- 
 siderable modification. It might-be unfair to their families if 
 they had any; while if their families received a full share it 
 would be unfair to society. But no doubt this question will 
 be finally settled by a generation that is far more competent to 
 settle it right than the present. 
 
 I like the idea of equal wages for equal effort. I like it 
 first, because it comports with the principle of brotherhood 
 more like a well ordered family where brotherly love reigns 
 and one is not preferred above another. The sooner we 
 begin, and the more fully we practice this principle, the more 
 rapidly will we develop true brotherhood. I like it second, 
 because it accords with the same principle of brotherhood as 
 is enunciated and expounded by the teachings of Christianity. 
 "For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall much be 
 required" ; "he that had gathered much had nothing over, 
 and he that had gathered little had no lack"; and "let each 
 seek another's and not his own good" ; in other words, each 
 is accountable according to his ability and deserves according 
 to his effort. I like it third, because I believe that usually, 
 talents differ mainly in kind rather than in degree, and that 
 if the person reputed to have little talent be put to work at 
 what he is best adapted to do, he will not generally fall so 
 far behind the most talented as is supposed. Often the man 
 of great managing capacity would fail for want of some 
 particular mental trait in what is considered an insignificant 
 work, and which is easily done by one having that particular 
 trait but who has little or no managing capacity. Question : 
 If each does what the other could not, and the work of each 
 is equally necessary to society, who can say who does the 
 greater work? Again, take the man of superior mental 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF OCCUPATIONS 117 
 
 endowment, who is capable of taking the helm and steering 
 the ship of state, who, as is often the case, is inferior physic- 
 ally, place him beside the man of giant body and herculean 
 strength who has little mental capacity, but who can perform 
 physical labor that is far beyond the other's ability. Ques- 
 tion : If the work of each is equally indispensable, which 
 does the greater work? 
 
 "Oh," you say, "the brainy man of course; he does the 
 work that so few can do." Yes, that sounds all right as the 
 world goes now; but let us remember that Socialism is a 
 science; that the Socialist nation will be conducted on sci- 
 entific principles; and let us not forget that the people under 
 Socialism will be much better educated than now, so that 
 most of them will understand well the science of Socialism ; 
 that the administration of the public function, though en- 
 larged in its scope, will be much simpler, so that very likely 
 there will be millions of -people in the United States, able to 
 perform well the work of the highest places in the nation. 
 And besides, let us not forget that the performance of dis- 
 agreeable work deserves great remuneration and that under 
 Socialism the physical work requiring the least skill will be gen- 
 erally the most disagreeable and the most avoided, and there- 
 fore would be, strictly speaking, entitled to the highest wages ; 
 but sound policy might perhaps forbid it, in order to encour- 
 age the unskilled to try to become skilled. 
 
 Fourth, I like the idea of equal wages for equal effort, 
 because, under Socialism, all those doing work requiring skill 
 will owe the public for their training. All will receive a gen- 
 eral education at public expense, probably continuing to a 
 certain age ; then, those whose examinations show their inca- 
 pacity for any kind of skilled labor, and those who prefer, will 
 be assigned to unskilled labor, which will probably be a very 
 small field, while the others of the same age will go into 
 special training for shorter or longer periods, depending upon 
 the nature of the work they expect to do. The training of 
 some will last but a short time, probably a few months, while 
 others, physicians for instance, will require several years. 
 The time of service of each one will begin when he begins 
 his special training, so that the whole expense, time included, 
 will he borne by the public, that is to say he will begin to 
 draw wages when he enters upon such special training. We 
 must admit, however, that the case will stand somewhat dif- 
 ferently during the formative period of Socialism. At the 
 beginning, some will have acquired skill by their own indus- 
 try and perseverance and that will be a reason for some 
 inequality at first. 
 
 Fifth, I like it because it accords perfectly with the insur- 
 
n8 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 ance idea of society that Socialism proposes to practice, of 
 insuring each member of society against all misfortune what- 
 soever. It is a misfortune to have less than the average 
 ability; and if for this reason, the labor of some is worth 
 more than that of others, who should pay the insurance for 
 this misfortune, but those whose ability is above the average. 
 Equal wages would exactly settle the whole account. 
 
 Sixth, I like this method because inequality of wages 
 would tend to cause more or less caste, corruption and tyranny, 
 depending on the extent of such inequality, which would 
 breed more or less irritation. Of course, if the inequality 
 should be small as it would have to be, to be at all in accord- 
 ance with the proposition of Socialism, these evil tendencies 
 will be but slight. On the other hand, equality in wages 
 would obviate these evils. There would be a better, a more 
 brotherly feeling. There would be far less encouragement 
 to ostentation, which almost invariably produces one of two 
 results; either an irritability which is unpleasant, or a ser- 
 vility which is degrading. In former times, and to some ex- 
 tent yet, monarchs delighted in parading before their sub- 
 jects with great ostentation in food, dress, liveried servants, 
 equipages, etc. The people caught the same spirit and car- 
 ried it each to the extent of his ability. We now smile at their 
 folly, for we recognize ostentation as the stamp of ignorant 
 selfishness, and congratulate ourselves for having learned 
 better. Now we consider it in better taste and prefer to be 
 dressed somewhat like other people. But there is still a 
 considerable amount of ostentation in the world of one kind 
 and another and will continue to be while there remains ignor- 
 ance and selfishness to prompt it and opportunity for its 
 expression. When this opportunity is no longer afforded, and 
 when ignorance is dispelled by the glowing light of truth, 
 selfishness will decrease until there comes about a healthier 
 sentiment, so that those of superior endowments will regard 
 it as in bad taste for them to accept additional remuneration, 
 any use of which would be considered ostentatious. They 
 would spurn to accept the proffered enjoyment of any of the 
 good things of life which their brothers, while putting forth 
 the same effort, are forbidden to enjoy. If there should be 
 any lurking selfishness left, it would find expression .in its 
 higher form of desire for the honor and esteem of his fellows. 
 The crown of laurel would be his highest ambition in this 
 direction. Permit me to say in passing, that the very highest 
 selfish motive by which one may be actuated is found in 
 the maxim that "he benefits himself most who strives most 
 to benefit others." The next step brings him to that entirely 
 unselfish motive which Christianity emphasizes, of doing 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF OCCUPATIONS 119 
 
 good to others out of a pure brotherly desire for their welfare, 
 without regard to any benefit of any kind whatsoever that 
 he himself may receive. It will require a long time, prob- 
 ably hundreds, and possibly thousands of years under Social- 
 ism, for the main body of society to attain to such a degree 
 of perfection. If some of my readers think it impossible of 
 attainment, we will not quarrel about that; but I will say, 
 that in this is found the highest ideal of Christianity, which 
 finds its genuine expression in that pure and simple word, 
 love, and that I have pursued this line of thought in order 
 to show how well Socialism is adapted to promote the reali- 
 zation of the ideals of Christianity; and I call your attention 
 further to the fact, that their realization is impossible under 
 our present system. Socialism would furnish the good and 
 honest heart, the soil in which Christianity may grow and 
 flourish and bud .and blossom, and bring forth fruit, while 
 you have only to look about you to see that the tendency of 
 our present system is to furnish the bad and dishonest heart. 
 Socialism therefore, is perfectly adapted to promote the 
 growth of pure Christianity, is perfectly practicable for that 
 purpose, while for the same purpose, capitalism having the 
 continual tendency to corrupt, uproot and choke out Chris- 
 tianity, is utterly impracticable. 
 
 With equal wages, the only difference that could tend to 
 form society into classes (excepting what is produced by 
 racial difference) are moral and intellectual qualities, and 
 these in each case, would depend largely on how the person 
 spends his leisure time. 
 
 But, after all said in favor of equal wages for equal effort, 
 as we have already mentioned, it is not absolutely necessary 
 to the success of Socialism. That is to say, Socialism inaugu- 
 rated with a small inequality would be fairly successful. I 
 am inclined to the opinion that it will start this way, though 
 I have but little doubt that the question will finally be- settled 
 in favor of equality. I know how unfavorably the equal 
 wages idea seems to strike many people. Our present en- 
 vironment controls our thought on this point to so great an 
 extent that I doubt if the majority would vote for the propo- 
 sition to pay equal wages for equal effort; and I should not 
 be surprised if a large majority of those who vote in the co- 
 operative commonwealth vote against equal wages and 
 instead continue for a considerable time, probably until the 
 thoroughly trained new generation comes in, possibly longer, 
 with some ineoualitv in washes. 
 
 For myself, I must confess that although the equality 
 idea contained in this proposition has from the first been very 
 pleasing to me, and though I have been inclined to favor it 
 
120 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 as a matter of good policy, I have all along had some doubt, 
 and it was not till I took the time to analyze the proposition 
 carefully, that I became thoroughly convinced of its sound- 
 ness. When the people vote to inaugurate Socialism, it will 
 be at least partially for the purpose of getting rid of some of 
 the inequalities of our present system ; and we may be sure 
 that they will not provide very great inequalities in the new 
 system. All the essential features of Socialism would exist, 
 and it would be far more practicable than the present system, 
 as a means of promoting the general welfare. 
 
 Distribution of Populations. 
 
 One of the most gratifying results of Socialism will be 
 the scattering out of the congested city populations and bring- 
 ing together the country populations into a closer communi- 
 cation with the rest .of the world. There will no longer be 
 the five cent fare .that now compels so many thousands to 
 pay exorbitant rents for their small quarters in filthy tene- 
 ments at long distances from their work. While it would 
 still be advantageous to live somewhere in the vicinity of 
 one's work, the facilities for travel will be so improved and 
 cheapened by the adoption of system and large scale methods 
 that it would no longer be necessary to sacrifice health by 
 living in the midst of unwholesome surroundings ; and if 
 necessary, labor to be performed in unhealthful places could 
 be done by those living at long distances. If not enough 
 volunteered for the work in the less desirable parts of the 
 country, and too many in the more desirable parts, then, the 
 amount of work would be varied till the proper balance is 
 reached, but as the tastes and preferences of people concern- 
 ing climate differ so widely, it would, I think, result practi- 
 cally in each family being able to live in the climate of its 
 own choosing. 
 
 The Race Question. Socialism recognizes the fact that 
 all the people of the earth have a natural right to all the 
 earth; that if the Japanese, the Chinese and the Hindoos are 
 so overcrowded in their own country that they can no longer 
 gain a subsistence, it is their perfect moral right to go into 
 other parts of the world where they can. But Socialism also 
 recognizes reason, not only in its construction, but also in its 
 introduction ; recognizes the fact that we must begin with 
 man as he is and move forward as we can, keeping the gen- 
 eral welfare in view. Since the Socialist movement is a move- 
 ment along political lines and the manv nations are politically 
 independent, the movement in each nation must be more or 
 less independent. Here in the United States of America, 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATIONS 121 
 
 when we go before the people with the Socialistic proposition, 
 we must put it in practicable tangible form, something that 
 they can take hold of, must at least outline a course of poli- 
 tical policy that could be pursued by the American people as 
 a separate nation. One of the first things would be to con- 
 sider the condition of the outside world. If some of the other 
 nations had already adopted Socialism, our attitude toward 
 and dealings with them would no doubt be quite different 
 from our attitude and dealings with those who had not. We 
 must keep continually in view, the general welfare. When 
 we begin the establishment of Socialism, the important chief 
 objective point will be success. The importance of this point 
 will be emphasized if we should be the first to adopt Social- 
 ism. The world would be interested, deeply interested, in 
 our experiment. We could not afford to make unnecessary 
 mistakes. So then if our adoption should start such a rush 
 to our shores from other nations as would seriously handicap 
 our work, it would be our manifest duty to at once cut off 
 immigration, not only Asiatic but perhaps also European. 
 And this would be to the interest of the people excluded as 
 well as to ourselves. As to the Orientals, it would probably 
 be a good thing for ourselves and a great benefit to the 
 Japanese, if we would sell or give them the Philipines. The 
 Chinese are adapted to a warm climate and the great com- 
 mercial nations could, if they would, open for their relief, a 
 number of new warm countries that are not well adapted to 
 white settlement. But there is not likely to be much done in 
 this direction while the civilized governments are capitalistic. 
 Capitalism cares little for her own poor, much less for the 
 heathen Chinese. When all the great nations become Social- 
 istic, it will be easy to distribute the populations of the earth 
 satisfactorily. There would be no reason under Socialism for 
 keeping any human beings crowded together like rats 
 and preventing their rising to self respecting manhood. 
 There is still a great abundance of room for the present popu- 
 lation of the earth and when science, which is probably yet in 
 its infancy becomes further developed, the resources of even 
 crowded China may be sufficient to produce an abundance for 
 several times its present population. Under Socialism it 
 could easily be arranged if so desired, for the various races to 
 live separately in separate nations, separate provinces, separ- 
 ate states, separate countries or parts of countries, or even 
 separate portions of the same city if there should continue 
 to be cities. There would be little occasion for friction and 
 race hatred. Socialism is perfectly adapted to furnishing a 
 peaceful and satisfactory solution of the distribution of all 
 the races and peoples over the earth. Socialism would do 
 
122 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 away with wars. "The nations would learn war no more." 
 Would "Beat their swords into plow shares and their spears 
 into priming hooks." On this point Socialism is practicable, 
 while capitalism has continually generated race prejudice 
 and race hatred, prevented the proper distribution of the 
 world's population, stirred up strife, and pitted the workers of 
 the various countries against each other in devastating wars 
 which have drenched the earth with blood. It goes without 
 saying, that on this point capitalism has proven a total failure 
 and is therefore utterly impracticable. Capitalism corrupts 
 society in all its phases, social, political, educational and 
 religious. It throws over truth in all its departments a veil 
 through which it is very difficult to distinguish it from false- 
 hood. Yes, we see that capitalism fails as a promoter of 
 honesty, and promotes dishonesty instead. It fails as a pro- 
 moter of purity of any sort, and promotes corruption of all 
 sorts. It fails as a promoter of knowledge and truth, and pro- 
 motes ignorance and falsehood. So then we see that capital- 
 ism fails utterly at every important point. 
 
 Whatever good may have been accomplished by capital- 
 ism in the past, it has run its course. It has become a dead 
 thing in the road to progress. It was the trust that killed it. 
 It has become a trustified fossil. Heretofore it has brought 
 both blessing and cursing. It has now passed the point where 
 the blessings began to decrease and the cursings to increase. 
 There is no ground for hope that it will be otherwise under 
 capitalism than that conditions will continue to grow worse. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION. 
 
 We now continue the showing process in a brief con- 
 sideration of the various departments of life in the Socialistic 
 commonwealth. We have been trying to present to the 
 imagination a bird's-eye view of the whole field of Socialism 
 in action ; let us now pass through the various departments of 
 this great field of activity and take a number of snap shots at 
 close range. 
 
 Industrial administration may be classified into three 
 great departments, viz. : Production of Raw Material, Manu- 
 facture, and Transportation. 
 
 Raw Material. 
 
 Mining. Since gold and silver would probably no longer 
 be used for money, and the amount now in use as such would 
 
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION 123 
 
 be sufficient for a long time to supply the need of it for other 
 purposes, the mining of these metals might perhaps mostly 
 cease for a time, unless they could be exchanged for neces- 
 saries produced by the people of other countries that have not 
 adopted Socialism. If the administration could procure in 
 this way articles which the people want with less labor than 
 to let the mines lie idle and produce them directly, it would 
 be the proper thing to do ; but in either case all the time that 
 is now spent in mining metals for money purposes would, 
 under Socialism be saved and applied elsewhere to lessen the 
 burden of each one who labors in the production of neces- 
 saries. 
 
 Mining of all sorts, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, coal, 
 etc., is now nearly all conducted by companies, mostly by 
 great companies. Most of these have more or less organization 
 and method in their work. Socialism will reorganize them 
 under one system and management and will adopt larger scale 
 methods and larger machinery. Is there any reason why the 
 same men with a unified and systematic organization should 
 not be able to carry the work forward even more successfully 
 than before? If not, Socialism would be more practicable 
 than capitalism in mining. 
 
 Money. Under Socialism there will be little or no use 
 for money. The financial dealings of each person, being all, or 
 nearly all, with the public will probably be conducted by book 
 account. The standard hour's work, or day's work will prob- 
 ably become the standard for measuring all values. If money 
 should be used, it will probably be of paper exclusively. It 
 will be much cheaper and more convenient than metal money. 
 The intrinsic value sticklers who object to legal tender paper 
 money now, cannot object to it then, since it will be based 
 upon the most unerring and steady of all intrinsic values, the 
 labor time check. 
 
 Lumbering and Fishing. These, like mining, are import- 
 ant industries that gather raw materials from the great store 
 house of nature. They also are handled by great companies 
 and the forces that now operate them might continue the 
 work more successfully because of more thorough, systematic 
 and unified organization. 
 
 Agriculture, the only other important raw material pro- 
 ducing industry, will, for convenience, be considered in a 
 separate chapter. 
 
 Manufacture. 
 
 This is already a very extensive branch of industry, and 
 is continually becoming wider in its scope. 
 
i2 4 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Under this head will be considered all work which, either 
 by machinery or by hand, transforms the raw material into 
 the finished product or passes it to a stage nearer the finished 
 product. Under Socialism nearly all this work will be done 
 by machinery. 
 
 Manufacturing includes, First, all buildings of all kinds, 
 cars, boats, ships, docks, public works, streets, sidewalks, 
 roads, railroads, telegraph and telephone lines, pipe lines, etc. 
 
 It only requires the application of great machinery, such 
 as a Socialist administration could easily bring into requisi- 
 tion, to make use of manufacturing processes already invented 
 and reduce the cost of building to a small fraction of what it 
 is now. The roofs and sides of houses, flues, ceilings of 
 rooms, etc., will probably be turned out in large sections by 
 great machines, so that the work of erection will be a mere 
 breakfast spell compared with what it is now. Immense 
 machines will greatly reduce the cost of roads, railroads and 
 nearly all the items in the list. 
 
 Science in all the industries will be much more cheaply 
 and systematically applied than now. The great manufactur- 
 ers now employ corps of scientific experts, being very careful 
 to keep secret from their competitors the results of their 
 experiments, in order that they may be able to produce more 
 cheaply and undersell them in the market. As it is now, 
 many expensive experiments are no doubt repeated over and 
 over many times by independent companies, where then, one 
 will suffice. 
 
 And let us not forget that while at present every man that 
 is displaced by a machine or scientific improvement, discovery 
 or device, helps to swell the army of the suffering unemployed 
 and sharpen the competition that tends to reduce the wages of 
 all the workers, under Socialism each man so displaced will 
 help to lighten the burden of all the workers. 
 
 Machinery. The manufacture of machinery has become 
 a great industry. It now includes not only machines great 
 and small for doing a very large part of the work in all the 
 industries, but also great machines for the manufacture of 
 other machines. Under Socialism the scale of operation will 
 be so enlarged that far greater machines of all sorts, doing 
 much more work to the number of men employed, will do 
 with less human effort not only all the work now done by 
 machinery, but also nearly all the work now done by hand. 
 There is no reason why the government could not consoli- 
 date this branch of the manufacturing industry under one 
 management, the men keeping their places mostly at first 
 till the improvements could be introduced, and go right on 
 successfully. 
 
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION 125 
 
 Furniture and Clothing. The above remarks concerning 
 consolidated organization, larger machinery, larger scale 
 methods and economy of human effort apply with equal force 
 in the manufacture of all kinds of furniture and clothing; for 
 most clothing will then be made by machinery. 
 
 Food Products. Most foods require various processes of 
 preparation of the raw product before it is ready for use. 
 Among these -is included cooking, and for convenience we 
 extend it to include dish washing. At present nearly all this 
 is done by woman's hand work. Some machines have already 
 been introduced, among which are machines for making and 
 baking bread, pies and cakes, and for washing dishes. Such 
 inventions can now only be used profitably in great public 
 houses, but under Socialism there would be no reason why 
 this work should not all be done at great central kitchens 
 and the food sent all warm and steaming in folded tables, by 
 rail or pneumatic tube, to all the people in the vicinity. Per- 
 haps the women may say this is too good to believe. But 
 look at the proposition. Can you think of any reason under 
 the sun why it could not be realized? Is there any except 
 "It never has been done?" But wait! Let us not leave this 
 point too hastily. 
 
 And now come ye matrons and ye maids; come and take 
 a look at the kitchen, the mussy kitchen with its pots and 
 pans and kettles, its coal hod, scattered kindling and catch- 
 all wood box. Now take a peep into the littered pantry, shud- 
 der at the milk that must be thrown out, or at other articles 
 upset by the cat or polluted by contact with the filthy mouse 
 trap ; then turn again to the kitchen, the woman's bastile of 
 all ages. Stop and sigh, but not too loud. The sound of 
 your own voice may startle you, for you may be mostly 
 alone in your imprisonment and not much accustomed to the 
 sound of human voices. "Yes, there is the floor 
 
 That yester morn was scoured so bright, 
 And see it now, it's like a fright." 
 
 If you utter this or some other rhyme it will probably be 
 purely accidental and not because your mind is in a rhythmical 
 mood. "But accidents will happen," you say. "Yes, and there 
 is that horde of breakfast dishes, dinner dishes, supper dishes, 
 to-day, to-morow, next day and so on, and on and on and on 
 and on." 
 
 And all this drudgery may be done with perhaps a tithe 
 of the work, by using system, machinery and large scale 
 methods. This, however, expresses but a part of the emanci- 
 pation that lies in store for woman, but, seems to me, it ought 
 
126 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 to be enough to induce every woman in the land to enlist in 
 the cause of Socialism, if she could by any means be made to 
 understand how much it means to her. "The rich," you say. 
 Yes, I suppose I must except some women of wealth, but even 
 amid the allurements and corruptions of plutocratic society 
 I think the heart of woman could be relied f on to intercede in 
 behalf of her enslaved sisters, if only she could be undeceived 
 as to the practicability of Socialism. There is the rub, how- 
 ever, for woman has generally been easily deceived, since the 
 day that the serpent talked with mother Eve. 
 
 Water, Light and Heat. If the reader will stop and 
 think here, it will probably enlighten him more than any- 
 thing I can write. Nearly all know more or less of how these 
 are procured in the cities. You know somewhat of the ex- 
 tortion that usually attends the private ownership of these and 
 of the graft that is likely to be connected with public owner- 
 ship under our present system, but for which there would be 
 no temptation nor opportunity under Socialism. You know of 
 the impure and disease producing water that is often fur- 
 nished because it is cheaper. You know that private cor- 
 porations conduct these for all that the traffic will bear, and 
 that wherever capitalism touches them under public manage- 
 ment it taps them for all there is in it. 
 
 You know that even with capitalism exacting tribute 
 at every point, as it does, there is now an advantage in using 
 furnace heat of the various kinds wherever it can be done 
 on a large scale. You also know how expensive it is for a 
 small plant to furnish heat for one family. Think then, 
 how the case would stand under Socialism; with no private 
 ownership to charge all the traffic will bear, and no capi- 
 talism to tap public ownership at a hidden point and graft 
 on its private pipe line, but with the government in full pos- 
 session of all the industries and of all resources and mater- 
 ials so as to provide the greatest ec9nomy in cost, and 
 with an administration having no other interest to conserve 
 than to follow the motto, "maximum of efficiency and mini- 
 mum of cost." 
 
 Think how much cheaper the government, using large 
 scale methods in collecting raw materials, in manufacturing, 
 in transportation etc., could furnish heat from a common 
 furnace to a large number of private families. Think of all 
 these things and ask yourself the question, "Is this part of 
 Socialism practicable?" 
 
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION 127 
 
 Transportation, Communication and Travel. 
 
 This is a very important as well as very extensive branch 
 of industry. It is, however, probably but yet in its infancy 
 and will be greatly developed under Socialism, so that our 
 present facilities will compare as a pigmy beside a giant. 
 
 Government ownership and management of facilities for 
 transportation and communication is not a new thing under 
 the sun. It is no longer an experiment, at least not in any 
 practical sense although some insist that it is, and that we 
 ought to try the experiment of government ownership on a 
 small scale but doubt the wisdom of our acting on the experi- 
 ments of other countries for fear that different conditions in 
 this country might cause a different result. But if we should 
 try the experiment on a small scale, we might with the same 
 propriety fear that conditions in other parts of the country 
 might cause a different result. The fact is such a course is 
 entirely unprogressive and impracticable. We do not pro- 
 ceed in that way in the ordinary affairs of life. We do not 
 generally stop to try an experiment, but apply reason to the 
 experience of others and go right on determined to succeed. 
 
 After most of the civilized nations of the earth have tried 
 government ownership and have all succeeded, it would be 
 decidedly un-American for us to hesitate in fear of failure. 
 Is this America, bold, fearless, proud and progressive? 
 America that led the world? And doth she now crouch in 
 fear? Is she about to become the laughing stock of the 
 nations? With all its openings for graft and tendency toward 
 paternalism the government ownership experiments of the 
 world seem to have proven successful, or at least for better 
 than private corporations charging all the traffic will bear. 
 The same may be said of municipal ownership. Wherever 
 public ownership reduces rates without reducing wages of 
 employees, no doubt the people at the bottom are benefited 
 somewhat, but for the most part it is rather a division of the 
 booty among the small exploiters, instead of among the great 
 capitalists. Like all social reform measures, about the most 
 that can be expected of government and municipal ownership 
 of railways is to do something toward preventing the building 
 up of great fortunes to swallow the smaller ones. The con- 
 dition of the class at the bottom is not affected much except 
 in having a larger number of masters to serve. The point I 
 make is that public ownership has been proven successful for 
 the class having charge of it. 
 
 But government ownership of railroads with nearly all 
 other industries in private hands, and mostly of great cor- 
 
128 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 porations, is a very different thing from Socialism in which 
 the government will not be handicapped by the corporate 
 ownership of other forms of wealth and by a bonded indebt- 
 edness in favor of great moneyed kings. Under Socialism 
 there will be no opportunity for graft nor incentive to pater- 
 nalism. Transportation will be our strong fort. It will be 
 the key to success in all other industries, for many materials 
 that are superior for building and other purposes that are now 
 practically cut out of the question by high rates of trans- 
 portation will then come into general use. The new regime 
 will bring practically every man's door to the railroad, by 
 settling the people along the passenger lines. 
 
 In educational work, the railways will be used by pupils 
 in attending school, wherever it is more convenient, fares not 
 being thought of. Even now in New Zealand school children 
 are carried free. There will be a greater number of youth 
 seeking a higher education, and consequently colleges will 
 be multiplied, so that nearly all college students may board at 
 home without any considerable cost or inconvenience, though 
 they could board away almost as cheaply. Travel will be so 
 cheapened by system and the great volume of it, and all the 
 people will be so well able to afford it, that it will undoubt- 
 edly increase many fold. Farmers will live in the villages like 
 other people, and travel to and from their work by rail. Much 
 of the now useless work of the cities will be dispensed with, 
 and at all events the people of the congested portions that 
 now breed so much of disease both moral and physical, will 
 be scattered out along electric lines, and if our great industries 
 should remain concentrated in our grert cities somewhat as 
 they are now, the people will need to be scattered out so far 
 in order to provide for their best health and the development 
 of the children that many will have to travel long distances, 
 adding greatly to the total volume of travel. 
 
 But this brings us to one of the points of doubt con- 
 cerning the total volume of both travel and transportation. I 
 apprehend that there will come a scattering out of industrial 
 institutions that will tend to reduce somewhat the volume of 
 travel and make a great reduction in the volume of freight 
 transportation. It would probably be impossible to even 
 approximate the extent to which this will proceed, but as 
 sure as effect follows cause, the industries will be greatly dis- 
 tributed. The cohesive forces that now cause all the various 
 industries and businesses to huddle closely together will cease 
 and be replaced by diffusive forces. For several reasons 
 nearly all the manufacturing industries are now crowded 
 together into the great cities. Chief among these are, First, 
 the fact that capital gets more labor corraled there making it 
 
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION 129 
 
 cheaper. Second, the advertising advantage of the most pub- 
 lic places so as to catch the personal attention of the most 
 people, and Third, the advantage of being where supplies and 
 repairs may be had by personal purchase without the delay 
 of ordering, waiting, paying an exorbitant transportation 
 charge, and then the piece doesn't fit or is not the thing 
 wanted. 
 
 Under Socialism the first two of these would melt entirely 
 away, while the last would dwindle into insignificance. There 
 would be no need of the purchaser making personal inspec- 
 tion. In fact he would not be a purchaser but an employee, 
 agent or official of that department of the government, and 
 would simply order what he needed of the agent or official 
 at the other end of the line, who could have no incentive for 
 "soaking" him with a bogus article. There would be no delay 
 in important cases, the cost of transportation would be little 
 more to the government than the work of handling, and it 
 would fit. Uncle Sam's machinery would be intended to fit. 
 It would not be changed every little while as machinery gen- 
 erally is now, so that a broken wheel of an otherwise good 
 machine could not be replaced except by a whole new 
 machine. 
 
 Yes, Socialism would wipe out practically all the cohesive 
 forces that now draws our population together into great con- 
 gested centers, and the diffusive forces, the necessity for more 
 room for factories, the saving in distance travelled by work- 
 men, and last but not least, the great necessities that will be 
 fully recognized then, but are little considered now, the neces- 
 sities of pure air and wholesome surroundings for the work- 
 men and their families, these will gradually distribute the 
 manufacturing plants out through the country, till each great 
 industry has its own village or cluster of villages or widely 
 spread out little city or town. 
 
 And so the great city as we know it to-day will go. The 
 city with its medley of rich and poor ; of palaces and hovels ; of 
 luxury and want ; of churches with their spires pointing up to 
 heaven, and saloons and "red lights" with their influences drag- 
 ging down to hell ; the city with its institutions of learning 
 on the one hand, and its jails and police courts on the other; 
 the city with its fashion, its learning, its culture, its preachers, 
 scholars, scientists, artists and poets on the one hand, and its 
 poverty, squalor, ignorance and rudeness, and its gamblers, 
 beggars, confidence men, cutthroats, bums and pickpockets on 
 the other; the city with its big stock market manipulators at 
 the top, and its tin horn gamblers at the bottom ; with its great 
 franchise grabber having commodious apartments in an upper 
 story (take the elevator), and its little pawn shop skinner oc- 
 
130 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 cupying the show window (Bargains! Bargains!) next the 
 street; the city with its great store houses bursting with all 
 the necessaries, yea, and the luxuries of life on the one hand, 
 and on the other with its slums and tenement houses reeking 
 with filth and vice and crime and poverty and misery and 
 degradation ; the city with its mixture of virtue and vice, 
 (mostly vice), with its conglomeration of goodness and 
 wickedness, (mostly wickedness), the great city as we know 
 it to-day must in due time become a thing of the past. 
 
 Nor will the diffusive forces be content with simply 
 spreading out into the immediately surrounding country. 
 They will do much more than this; and here comes in the 
 point of reduction of freight transportation. 
 
 Largely on account of the cheap labor, nearly all of our 
 manufacturing is done on the east of the Mississippi River 
 and mostly well toward the Atlantic seaboard. Many articles 
 are shipped to the Western prairies and across the Rocky 
 Mountains thousands of miles, and the products of farm, 
 orchard and pasture are returned, while much of this vast 
 region excels in climate, the cereals, fruits, vegetables, timber, 
 fish and minerals. No doubt there will be a considerable 
 shifting of population so that much of the carrying back and 
 forth will be saved. This would be an immense saving when 
 we consider the vast quantities of wheat, corn, oats, hay, 
 vegetables, fruit, beef, pork, lumber etc., going east and of 
 machinery and other manufactured articles going west. How- 
 ever, the greater supplies of hard wood, iron ore and coal may 
 perhaps, keep most of the manufacturing in the East for a 
 long time. 
 
 The increased use of concrete for building materials will 
 probably also greatly economize transportation, for in most 
 cases rock is not far to seek and the buildings are much more 
 durable than those of wood. 
 
 If electricity should displace coal and wood for heating 
 purposes it will furnish another considerable reduction in the 
 volume of freight tonnage. 
 
 There are numerous points of economy in freight trans- 
 portation which Socialism will introduce, and among these 
 will be a more methodical use of cars so as not to have them 
 standing idle so much of the time waiting to be loaded or 
 unloaded at starting point or destination, or through delays 
 in transit. With the through lines double tracked there 
 would be little occasion for delay. So, then, the increase in 
 the volume of business will not require so great an increase 
 in the number of cars, nor in the number of business buildings. 
 
 But notwithstanding the influences we have mentioned 
 that will tend to greatly reduce the volume of freight trans- 
 
 , 
 
INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION 131 
 
 portation, yet there are other influences which it seems to me 
 cannot fail to produce on the whole a vast increase in the 
 volume. If Socialism proves the success we confidently expect 
 it to, the masses of the people will consume much more per 
 capita. 
 
 When we consider the immense quantities of fruit that 
 would be consumed if all the people had all they wanted, and 
 the ease with which it is produced in the Pacific States and 
 in the South, we cannot fail to recognize that it would do a 
 great deal toward increasing the volume of our transpor- 
 tation. And if our own country is unable to furnish an abund- 
 ance of tropical and semi-tropical productions, our govern- 
 ment could arrange a wholesale exchange with the nations on 
 our southern border, till oranges, figs, lemons, dates, bananas, 
 guavas, pineapples and cocoanuts would become as common 
 and plentiful in every home as potatoes. 
 
 But perhaps the greatest increase in the volume of trans- 
 portation will be in the increased use of building materials. 
 As we have already seen, the use of concrete, which is more 
 durable and made from materials that are, in the majority of 
 cases nearer at hand than lumber, will tend to reduce the 
 volume of transportation, but its much greater weight will 
 tend to increase it. Then if the people are well able to afford 
 it, they will want a far greater quantity than is used now, 
 and will on an average be much more particular about the 
 quality than now. I say this confidently, for I do not believe, 
 as some seem to think, that the making it easy for all to afford 
 good houses nicely finished and furnished will cause the people 
 to go back to living in caves and hollow trees. Being once 
 loaded, it will cost the government but little more to move a 
 train load of rock one hundred miles than five miles, so that 
 within reasonable limits distance will not usually cut so much 
 figure as quality. 
 
 Another use which the government will make of the 
 roads and which is now mostly cut out by excessive rates, is 
 distributing feed to live stock, or the stock to the feed. As 
 it is now, a drought or hard winter often make feed sa scarce 
 in some parts that stock suffer and starve, while reverse con- 
 ditions together with other influences makes a superabund- 
 ance in other parts. Often a man having a few stock and no 
 money to buy feed that is shipped in at a high price, rather than 
 sell part of his stock at a sacrifice, (for no one will buy except 
 at a very low figure so as to make a big profit), takes chances 
 on their starving till some do starve, while one hundred or 
 one thousand miles away there is feed and perhaps green 
 grass going to waste. This, of course, belongs with the De- 
 partment of Agriculture, but I mention it here to show the 
 
132 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 increased volume of transportation and how much more use- 
 ful the railroads will be under Socialism. 
 
 Water transportation will also be organized and con- 
 ducted as a part of the same general department. 
 
 Like the other industries we have treated, at the inaugu- 
 ration of Socialism most of the men now employed in the 
 work of transportation could remain in their places till the 
 department is thoroughly organized. 
 
 Since private ownership and management of railways has 
 proven a practical success for the owners when fighting each 
 other and a far greater success for them when they 
 combine; since governments owned and controlled by great 
 capitalists have owned and managed them so as to make it 
 a practical success for its controlling class, and since govern- 
 ments under the control of the smaller capitalist class have 
 and are owning and managing railroads so as to make them a 
 success to those in control, in spite of the necessity of watch- 
 ing like hawks to prevent some of their own number from get- 
 ting an undue advantage over the rest and sitting up nights 
 to keep the great capitalists from grafting at the hidden 
 places, why could not all the people constituting" one great 
 equally interested body of workers, with no bone of con- 
 tention, no temptation to dishonesty, no incentive nor oppor- 
 tunity for graft, make it a success for themselves, the whole 
 people? 
 
 Distribution. Mr. Bellamy's plan strikes me as about as 
 nearly perfect on this point as can be imagined the great 
 central warehouses for keeping goods of all kinds ; the sample 
 stores where the people may go to put in their orders ; making 
 their selections on the information given on the tag attached 
 to each sample article, the tag being the stamp of the govern- 
 ment and giving all the information that they would care to 
 have, and the clerks having no temptation whatever to mis- 
 represent the goods, it making no odds to them- whether one 
 takes them or not. 
 
 The distribution to the people of large and bulky articles 
 will be very likely done by motor wagons or cars, while most 
 of the distribution will be by pneumatic tube or closed elec- 
 tric small railway lines, in either case, arranged so that boxes 
 may be sent through, the man at 'the station despatching, 
 switching and returning them by the manipulation of electric 
 buttons. A small part of the great army of merchants, shop- 
 men, clerks, etc., now eneaged in the work of distribution, 
 would be sufficient to do that work then, leaving the remain- 
 der to reinforce and make easier for all, the work in other 
 industries. 
 
 This closes the list of all the industries besides Agricul- 
 
AGRICULTURE 133 
 
 ture. In the last of these Socialism will make its best showing 
 in economy of work, and nearly all the work of the others is 
 conducted now on a large enough scale to require more or less 
 of organization. Most of it is under the immediate super- 
 vision of paid managers. I see no reason why these should 
 not continue under Socialism doing the same work with the 
 same forces of men, excepting that there would then be no 
 pressure from private owners bawling out profits ! profits ! 
 more profits ! and this would certainly be more than offset by 
 doubling or tripling the- number of workers, unless human 
 nature turns out to be far less reliable than it has shown itself 
 in the past. And besides this there is the further economy 
 of new and larger machinery and larger scale and more scien- 
 tific methods. 
 
 As to reliability, the experience of all ages since the dawn 
 of history, has shown that men with common aims and 
 under the pressure of a great necessity, can be relied upon to 
 stand shoulder to shoulder, inspired by the thought that all 
 depends on each doing his part, and that being so inspired 
 they have, where necessary, put forth herculean efforts and 
 have accomplished wonders. 
 
 Socialism would present such a unity of aim backed by a 
 common necessity, the greatest and most pressing imaginable, 
 that of sustaining the lives of a great nation. Nor is thic all. 
 Experience has also shown that the more enlightened, the 
 more reliable they are. Then with all the economies that 
 Socialism will furnish, tripling our working force, multiply- 
 ing machinery and introducing system and science, we are 
 forced to one of two conclusions ; either that Socialism will 
 be successful, or that civilization is moving backward and 
 that mankind is becoming less enlightened. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 9 
 
 For convenience we include under this head the culti- 
 vation and management of the garden, orchard and pasture, 
 as well as of the field . 
 
 This is regarded as the great stronghold of the objector 
 to Socialism. However you may be able to round him up on 
 any or all other points, he often closes the argument by a 
 sudden, sweeping side stroke, saying, "Oh, well, Socialism is 
 impracticable ; for it can never be successfully applied to agri- 
 culture." Even so learned a scholar as Professor Ely who 
 wrote much that favored Socialism, said that no feasible 
 
i 3 4 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 method had yet been suggested for socializing agriculture, and 
 stated that reports of "Bonanza farming" seemed to be ad- 
 verse. (But Ely wrote this twelve or fifteen years ago.) 
 
 To all objectors I throw down the gauntlet here and 
 now; for I claim this as my stronghold. I am a farmer 
 myself; and while I do not pretend to know all nor even much 
 about farming, yet I have studied at close range for many 
 years the subject of Socialism as related to agriculture. 
 While my information on other topics is nearly all second 
 hand, and mostly by reading, on this, it is first hand, by actual 
 observation, or at least, acquired by being on the ground. 
 
 And while I have not come in contact with the biggest 
 "Bonanza farming," yet I have lived in a county whose county 
 seat claims to be the greatest primary wheat receiving station 
 in the world, and where several sections (square miles) of 
 land under one management is quite common, the number of 
 sections, I think, in some cases reaching eight or ten. This I 
 suppose would be regarded in the East as "Bonanza farming," 
 although we hardly think of it as such out here. I have also 
 had good opportunity to observe stock raising, both on range 
 and pasture. 
 
 In order to get a thorough understanding of this subject 
 we must examine its several phases separately. 
 
 i. Inclination of the Farmer. In the past, the farmer, 
 by reason of his environment, has usually had a strong prefer- 
 ence for working to himself, but a great change in his environ- 
 ment is producing a rapid change in his disposition. Formerly, 
 with his simple tools, each farmer usually worked alone or a 
 very small number of the same family worked together with 
 occasionally one or two hired men. The tools were so simple 
 that there was little or no advantage in working in groups. 
 
 Now, all is changed. To use the new machinery so as to 
 derive the greatest benefit requires men in groups and often 
 of considerable numbers. He must use the new appliances or 
 fall behind in the race, and this necessity is educating him out 
 of his old inclination to work alone. If this had continued to 
 any considerable extent, it would have been some impediment 
 to the introduction of Socialism. Now, this would not be 
 much of an obstacle, and by the time the great body of the . 
 people in other industries are ready for Socialism, it will have 
 vanished nearly altogether, and, as a rule, the farmer will be 
 found marching in the army of progress. 
 
 There may be some exceptions 'among the small farmers 
 but whatever difficulties may be threatened by these, as we 
 have already explained, will probably be cured by a little 
 delay in getting ready to apply scientific and large scale 
 methods, during which, by an arrangement with the adminis- 
 
AGRICULTURE 135 
 
 tration, the small farmers may go on somewhat in the old 
 way, the former allowing them for their products what seems 
 to be just, which it is reasonable to suppose will be much 
 better for them than as it is now, being compelled to take the 
 price offered by the trust who has the market cornered; then, 
 by the time the government is ready to take over the small 
 farms, they will doubtless be very willing to exchange their 
 farms for the better paying positions in the public service. 
 
 2. Individualistic Methods. I have no doubt that a 
 Socialist government will introduce large scale methods in 
 agriculture and stock husbandry, such as has scarcely been 
 dreamed of ; but if it should not, what is "there to hinder the 
 farming being continued somewhat as it is now, each farmer 
 being paid as above mentioned and being held accountable for 
 results, which are expected to be proportional to his re- 
 sources? 
 
 I have no doubt that some will put in the objection that 
 this would necessitate such a large corps of inspectors. Yes, 
 this is a very strong reason for governmental management 
 and the application of large scale methods, but not much of 
 an argument against Socialism, when we consider the trust 
 manipulation by which the farmer is now exploited. Many 
 times better would it be to employ even one-half as inspectors 
 while the other half worked and make a fair division of pro- 
 duct, than have two-thirds idle or doing unnecessary work, 
 as it is now, part of the idlers taking the lion's share, and, in 
 many cases, leaving little more than a mere dog's living for 
 the worker. 
 
 Whether Socialism conducts the work of agriculture on 
 a small scale or a large scale, the same regulations that govern 
 the selection of employment in other indus'-ies may easily 
 be applied to this. 
 
 In the minds of many people the whole question of 
 Socialism turns on its practicability; its practicability turns 
 on the practicability of Socialistic farming, and this last 
 depends on the practicability of conducting Socialistic farm- 
 ing on a 'arge scale; but this is all a mistake. As we have 
 seen, it does not so depend. It could be arranged for each 
 farmer who desires, to keep wnat land he can work, the gov- 
 ernment paying him what its judges consider just, with a very 
 little or no governmental inspection. Almost any arrange- 
 ment at all Socialistic, would be better than the wholesale 
 robbery an J exploitation, by which the trust corporations now 
 get his raw product with so little return. 
 
 Thus it becomes clear that Socialistic management of 
 farming with small scale methods would be far more prefer- 
 
136 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 able, far more practicable as a means of providing for the gen- 
 eral welfare, than farming under our present system. 
 
 This settles the question as to the practicability of the 
 Socialistic management of farming, and with it the prac- 
 ticability of Socialism, for we have already found the immense 
 advantages of Socialistic management in other industries. 
 
 Large Scale Methods. Thus the objector is ousted from 
 his supposed great stronghold. He makes a great mistake in 
 supposing Socialistic management of farming on a small scale 
 impracticable, but in my opinion he makes a far greater mis- 
 take in supposing Socialistic management of farming on a 
 large scale impracticable; for I feel confident that Socialism, 
 by introducing system, science and large scale methods, will 
 bring about a greater economy in farming than in any other 
 industry except distribution. 
 
 We have already shown some of the changes that are 
 going on in the farmer's inclinations and desires. He has 
 been brought into closer touch with the world and has come 
 to desire better social and educational opportunities. For this 
 reason when Socialism is introduced, most farmers, however 
 well they may like their work, will be very glad to exchange 
 the old for the new economizing methods that will furnish 
 leisure for self-improvement, and will give a hearty welcome 
 to the village life having all the advantages of the cities and 
 small towns, without the evils of the present ones. 
 
 Even now many farmers consider it worth while and 
 count themselves fortunate if they are able to move to town 
 by the time their oldest children are ready for high school, 
 and will pinch and figure almost any way possible in order 
 that their children may acquire a liberal education. This 
 applies especially to the West with its great stock ranches 
 and wheat farms. 
 
 "Bonanza Farming." To illustrate big wheat farming in 
 what is called the "dry belt" of the Great Columbia basin, I 
 relate here a few things that met my observation one day as 
 I visited the farms of Mr. B. F. Berry, one of my neighbors. 
 
 At the home place a young man was "batching" and 
 doing the chores and odd jobs, while at another place three 
 miles away was the working "force" or "crew," consisting of 
 seven men, one woman and a little over forty horses and 
 mules. Five of the men with as many eight mule teams were 
 plowing with "three bottom gang" plows, that is, each gang 
 plow has three -fourteen inch plows. The house where they 
 were camped was but a small box house, or "shack," while 
 the teams were sheltered by a large tent stable that could be 
 easily moved to the next place. Asking Mr. B. how much 
 more he had to plow, he replied confidently that it would take 
 
AGRICULTURE 137 
 
 them just so many days, as there was still so many acres to 
 plow, and they were plowing thirty-five acres per day. You 
 will begin to realize how these farmers manage to work up to 
 their calculations when I mention that the other two men 
 with a team were doing some work near by that could be 
 dropped at any time, so that if a plowman quit or got sick, 
 the work went right on, and if a plow was broken there were 
 several two plow gangs setting around all sharpened and 
 ready. Besides, there were always harrows to hitch to in 
 such cases. A small boy out here knows that big farming 
 pays best. 
 
 Some of the larger farms still use headers, but the com- 
 bined header and thresher is rapidly coming into general use. 
 One man who has level ground told me last year that with an 
 eighteen foot combine operated by five men and thirty-two 
 horses, he usually heads and threshes a half section (320 
 acres) in about eight days. But there are new inventions 
 already in the field and now undergoing improvements, by 
 which it is expected that the same work will be accomplished 
 with less than half, and possibly not over a third of the horse 
 power. 
 
 I know of one firm that uses a traction engine for both 
 plowing and harvesting. They find the exorbitant price of 
 coal and the delay in getting repairs from Spokane or Port- 
 land to be the chief drawbacks, but these difficulties would be 
 greatly alleviated under Socialism. I mention a "firm." Yes, 
 we already have firms, and occasionally corporations engaged 
 in farming. In the nature of the case, it is now very difficult 
 for the farmers, especially the small ones, to unite very suc- 
 cessfully, but it looks very much as though the time is not 
 far off when at least the great wheat farming will be owned 
 and conducted by the great trusts that will double up the 
 price of bread as they now double up the price of lumber and 
 fuel. 
 
 Electricity and Future Machinery. It has been said that 
 we are just entering the electric age. Judging by what has 
 already been demonstrated in this line, it seems to me no more 
 than reasonable to expect that electricity will become the 
 chief power used in farming. I see no reason why there may 
 not come into use great harvesting machines run by electri- 
 city, by which wheat and other grain will be headed and 
 threshed and moved in motor wagons without sacks to the 
 nearest stations. If desired the straw could be baled at the 
 same time and mov^d in the same way. Light electric rail- 
 way lines all through the country and macadamized wagon 
 roads would greatly facilitate this work. 
 
 Science. Agriculture has heretofore generally been re- 
 
138 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 garded as a branch of industry in which science has little 
 place. "Science may be all right in other branches of indus- 
 try, but book farming is no good," is the verdict of the old 
 timer. Possibly this verdict may have been justified by the 
 failure of some "book farming" experiments in which the 
 adage "A little learning is a dangerous thing" would be ap- 
 plicable. 
 
 But "book farming" has passed the experimental stage, 
 and, in the light of recent investigations it is becoming more 
 and more evident that science will, in the future, bring greater 
 improvements in this than in any other branch of industry. 
 Read the accounts of experiments of such men as Burbank 
 and doubt this who will. Our present system does not give 
 much encouragement to it, but under Socialism science will 
 have full sway. And this is a strong reason, not only for 
 Socialism but for the entire wiping out of private manage- 
 ment, for in no other way can science be made to do its full 
 work as by a consolidation of all under one management. 
 
 Socialism will apply science systematically at every step 
 of agricultural and horticultural production, as well as in 
 stock husbandry science in soil analysis, in fertilizing, in 
 preparing the soil by plowing, sub-soiling, harrowing, &c. ; 
 science in determining the adaptation of various soils to vari- 
 ous crops; science in the selection of seeds, in planting and in 
 cultivating; science in destroying pests of all kinds, animal, 
 vegetable and insect; science in harvesting, moving crops and 
 in preserving feed for stock, and science in breeding and feed- 
 ing stock and in treating their diseases. 
 
 It seems to me well nigh impossible that any fair-minded 
 intelligent person should consider carefully the importance of 
 applying science in all these, the great difficulty amounting 
 almost to impossibility of their successful application under 
 our present individualistic system, and the evident ease with 
 which they could be systematically applied under Socialism, 
 and pronounce Socialism impracticable because of the imprac- 
 ticability of Socialistic farming. 
 
 The consideration of any of the items enumerated would 
 furnish a good argument for Socialism, and some of them very 
 strong ones, as for instance, Socialism would destroy weed pests 
 by summer fallowing a whole county or more in one body, so 
 that the seeds grown in wheat or other small grain could not 
 blow over on an adjoining field of summer fallowed land. 
 
 The fact is that satisfactory results require a specialist in 
 each of these items, which under our present system practi- 
 cally cuts science out of the question. 
 
 Individualistic Waste and Socialistic Savings. These 
 occur in many ways, of which we mention the following: 
 
AGRICULTURE 139 
 
 1. .Where for lack of means small farmers now often 
 fail to carry forward work which they attempt. This occasions 
 a great waste every year. 
 
 2. Loss of time in hunting for hired help, while laborers 
 are elsewhere wasting time hunting for work, and sometimes 
 a great waste by reason of failure to find help. 
 
 3. Loss of time in buying, selling and trading. Think 
 of the time that is wasted by most farmers in this way and of 
 the property that goes to- waste because the owner doesn't 
 know where to find a purchaser. 
 
 4. Loss of time in individual stock hunting. Now, those 
 who turn stock into the mountains may have to spend weeks 
 and even months in the fall, hunting among all the little 
 ranches around the mountains; under Socialism the stock 
 would all be partnership property, would all belong to Uncle 
 Sam, and would be at home wherever found. 
 
 5. Loss of time in fencing. Socialism would save most 
 of the fencing that is necessary under our present order. 
 There would be little required excepting between farming 
 and grazing lands, and generally small patches of the latter 
 could be grazed at times when there is no growing crop on 
 the former. 
 
 In all these, and especially the last, Socialism would be 
 far more practicable, in that it would save what is now 
 wasted. The farmer is the worst overworked and the worst 
 exploited of all the workers, and I see no reason why, after 
 Socialism is a little under way, it may not be arranged for 
 farmers to work like those in other industries, in forenoon and 
 afternoon shifts, the time gradually shortening till, as Miss 
 Willard said, it is orily "enough to give each a good physical 
 development." 
 
 Just how rapidly this will come, however, it would be 
 impossible to say, for the many changes that Socialism will 
 call for will require a considerable amount of work, and there 
 is no knowing now whether the people will adopt the policy 
 of pushing the work with vigor or proceeding more leisurely, 
 awaiting somewhat the developments of science and better 
 machinery. 
 
 I believe we have now presented enough to convince any 
 fair minded and reasonable person that capitalism has become 
 utterly impracticable and unfit, while so far as reason goes, 
 Socialism is exactly adapted as a means for promoting the 
 general welfare. Just how much inspection and overseeing of 
 work may be required under Socialism it would be impossible 
 now to say, but it seems to me perfectly reasonable to expect 
 that where the people are placed upon so high a plane of honor 
 as it is clear they will be under Socialism, they will not require 
 
140 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 much. If, however, much more inspection and oversight 
 should be necessary than we Socialists now expect, then much 
 more will be given. Let us not forget that society is in a pit, 
 and the only way out is by the way of Socialism, and let 
 us be thankful that this way is so plain and smooth and easy 
 of ascent. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 PHYSICAL CULTURE UNDER SOCIALISM. 
 
 The city and the country present two extremes, the one 
 of congestion, the other of isolation, and neither is calculated 
 to promote man's highest development. True, the vices that 
 infest our congested populations are the direct result of our 
 present system rather than of the congestion itself. Even if 
 the city populations should remain somewhat as they are the 
 vices and crimes of our cities would not continue under Social- 
 ism, but there are other reasons why populations should 
 neither be highly concentrated nor widely scattered, and these 
 will now be considered among other things, under the follow- 
 ing topics. 
 
 i. Physical Development and Health. With all the 
 sanitary measures that Socialism could and would adopt and 
 apply, there would still be more disease and a poorer oppor- 
 tunity for physical development of youth in a highly con- 
 centrated than in a diffused population. The greater liability 
 of crowded populations to epidemics and contagions is too 
 well known to require more than a mention, and, as we have 
 already seen, since the means of travel and communication 
 could be so easily afforded, and the reason for great concentra- 
 tion would cease, there is scarcely room for doubt that under 
 Socialism our city populations will become greatly diffused, 
 much to the promotion of physical health and development. 
 
 Medical Practice Under Socialism. It goes without say- 
 ing that medical practice as now conducted is very unsatis- 
 factory. With most of the people densely ignorant of the 
 subject of health, excepting with reference to its most ele- 
 mentary principles, and this in many cases with those who are 
 otherwise well informed, the people depend for health mainly 
 on the observance of those simple rules and principles 
 they know. (And of these nearly all are more or less, and 
 many are very reckless.) And when a disease fastens upon 
 them that they are unable to throw off, wear out or break up 
 with some simple remedy, as a last resort they send for a 
 physician of some one of the many conflicting schools, each 
 
PHYSICAL CULTURE UNDER SOCIALISM 141 
 
 more or less prejudiced against the practice of the others, 
 and having a selfish personal interest to conserve. 
 
 Of the present evils of medical practice which would be 
 cured by Socialism we mention the following: 
 
 I. Prejudice against and opposition to other schools. 
 From the standpoint of an onlooker we take the following 
 view. The student at the very outset of his career begins 
 to drink in this prejudice. He comes under the influence of 
 those who have imbibed it before him, and whose principal 
 interests continue to foster it in themselves, and when he 
 comes into actual practice his own financial interest continues 
 the process in him. Every admission of merit in any other 
 system is but helping to -tie his- feet in % the race ; for, when 
 called to treat a case, if he should happen to know, which 
 generally he would not, that some other method of practice 
 would be better in that particular case, and should so advise 
 his patient, it would tend to turn the people toward the other 
 method; this would occasion the displeasure of other physi- 
 cians of his own school, and altogether the tendency would be 
 to brand him with incompetence. 
 
 2. Usually the physician dares not tell a patient he does 
 not need medicine. If he should, and should give him instruc- 
 tions about resting, eating, bathing, ventilation, exercising in 
 the open air and a trip to the mountains, in probably four 
 cases out of five, possibly nine out of ten, the patient would 
 send next day for another doctor, insisting that he must have 
 medicine. 
 
 3. Generally speaking, the physician dares not confess 
 ignorance. A lawyer may admit the necessity of reading up 
 on a particular point and nothing is thought of it, but the 
 physician endangers his practice who does much of this, 
 unless it be in cases that are regarded as somewhat out of 
 his line. The young physician especially, when perplexed in 
 diagnosing a case, hesitates before calling counsel in fear of 
 bringing disaster to his practice, censure upon himself for 
 incurring an unnecessary expense upon his patient and the 
 derision of the community. Even in bad cases the doctor 
 who always calls in counsel is apt to make the impression 
 that he is only third or fourth rate. 
 
 All these evils work hardship on the people, and their 
 knowledge of them tends to produce distrust of the medical 
 profession. But there is another evil of still greater import, 
 which is partly the direct result of those we have mentioned. 
 
 4. Gross dishonesty and the fear of it. Physicians are 
 made of the same clay as other people, and all thinking persons 
 who have any considerable experience with humanity know 
 that some, yes, many, are grossly dishonest. Much as we may 
 
142 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 prefer to think otherwise, our experience with the world 
 forces us to this conclusion. 
 
 When loved ones are sick, perhaps in a strange .place, or 
 at least where there is no physician with whom we are 
 acquainted and in whom we have confidence, something must 
 be done. Yet the mind is filled with doubts and fears and 
 misgivings. And, oh, how much one would give to know that 
 the man he employs is honest. How disastrous to himself 
 and his it might be if he is not. He may understand well the 
 influences and temptations that beset the physician. He may 
 be a Socialist and inclined to a charitable view, to excuse him 
 somewhat for whatever shortcomings he may have, knowing 
 that his environment is such that he must have been almost 
 more than human to have been otherwise, but all this only 
 increases his fears. 
 
 And what would Socialism do? Socialism would provide 
 boards of physicians who would be health conservators as 
 well. Prevention of disease would receive as much, or per- 
 haps more., attention than remedies. 
 
 It will then be to the interest of the physician to keep 
 the people well, instead of, as now, depending entirely on 
 their sicknesses. All the people, physicians included, will be 
 equally interested in any and all methods of preserving health 
 and in all remedies for disease, without regard to the system 
 of treatment to which it belongs. The only question will be 
 as to whether it is successful or not. 
 
 It will be to the physician's interest to tell the truth 
 straight out. If you don't need medicine he will tell you so, 
 and if you are not satisfied you may appeal to higher 
 authority. 
 
 In diagnosing a case if the doctor is at all doubtful, he 
 will consult over the phone, and, if necessary, as in serious 
 cases, the best medical skill will be called, and the physicians 
 themselves would have no selfish interest in trying to deceive 
 the people as to who is most skillful. At this point, as at all 
 other points, to use the words of Frances Willard, Socialism 
 will "eliminate the motives for a selfish life." 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CULTURE UNDER 
 
 SOCIALISM. 
 
 Man is. a social being. In order that one may attain to 
 the highest happiness in life, and the highest usefulness in pro- 
 moting the happiness of others, he must come in contact with 
 the great pulsing, throbbing world, till his own pulse beats in 
 
SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CULTURE 143 
 
 unison, till his heart is filled with brotherly sympathy that 
 finds expression in service. Here our present isolated farm 
 life falls short. It is true that the farmer is not excelled by 
 any in neighborly kindness and a hearty good will for those 
 with whom he comes in contact ; none are readier to help the 
 poor, the needy and the suffering of his neighborhood; but, 
 as a rule, the farmer takes little interest in the outside world. 
 He is coming to be better educated and better read, but he 
 needs to be brought more into personal contact and fraternal 
 fellowship with the great world about him till he realizes that 
 there is such a world and that he is a part of it. And this 
 Socialism will do for him, as 'we have already shown. 
 
 But the city life as we find it now is far more defective. 
 With each engaged in an intense struggle for his own exist- 
 ence and familiar with daily scenes of suffering and want 
 which he is powerless to relieve without great danger of fall- 
 ing into the same straits, the process is a hardening one, and 
 humanity comes to seem cheap. 
 
 With the population still concentrated, Socialism would 
 clean up the physical and moral filth, relieve suffering and 
 obviate the cheapness, but in the matter of educating the 
 youth there would still be a drawback. Even under Social- 
 ism, the renovated city would not be so well suited to youth- 
 ful development as the pleasant village away out along the 
 line. 
 
 The city with all its multitudinous objects and feverish 
 excitements is disastrous to the child mind, which requires 
 quietude and familiarity with no more objects than it can 
 learn thoroughly ; many a bud has been blighted, and many a 
 precious young mind dwarfed by unfolding in an environment 
 that furnishes a flurry of excitement. 
 
 With all the facilities for education and culture possessed 
 by the cities and larger towns, it is well known that a very 
 large per cent of our most distinguished men and women 
 come from the country. On the other hand, while it has bee.i 
 pretty clearly showri that the country is better for beginning 
 an education, yet it cannot be denied that many have been 
 clogged and kept from rising by not having acquired that 
 polish which comes by mingling much in refined society at 
 the proper age. It is only in youth that habits are formed 
 easily and well, and he who would acquire that ease, self- 
 possession and refinement of manner that does so much in 
 promoting one's happiness and in making him effective in 
 doing good to others, must acquire it while young or not at 
 all. The author knows whereof he speaks, for he has learned 
 this by personal experience and to his sorrow. 
 
 As already shown, Socialism will bring these two 
 
144 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 extremes together in a happy mean that will combine the 
 advantages and eliminate the evils of both. 
 
 Under our present system most of those who acquire a 
 liberal education stop in their advancement on general lines 
 and turn their attention to specialties, so that, so far as general 
 culture and education is concerned, very little further pro- 
 gress is ever made, and in many cases retrogression expresses 
 it better. But under Socialism it will be different. Taking 
 a specialty will not then mean that one must push that 
 specialty as many hours a day as he can stand all the rest 
 of his life, in order that he may have as big a pile of wealth 
 as possible when he dies, or, what is more likely, that he may 
 be able to get a decent living for himself and his family. It 
 will not mean such a one-sided development, but it will mean 
 an abundance of leisure, or rather time for other things 
 besides the struggle for existence. The graduating thesis will 
 not so often represent the acme of one's literary attainments, 
 and the graduating class will not have to heave a sigh of re- 
 gret, for they may continue right on through life gathering the 
 glittering gems along the sea shore of the great unexplored 
 ocean of truth. 
 
 The ideal is often held up before the student that gradu- 
 ation is but the beginning of an education. A very good ideal 
 but of little worth at present, because it is generally so im- 
 possible of application, but Socialism will provide for its full 
 realization. 
 
 But here we are confronted with the question: What is 
 your reason for thinking that the masses will use their 
 leisure for their own betterment, and that they will adopt the 
 higher ideals? Why may not the tendency be to use the 
 leisure in idleness and vice? To these we reply that civiliza- 
 tion moves forward, not backward. Under normal conditions, 
 and with proper encouragement, man is active rather than 
 inert and chooses good rather than evil. 
 
 In all great movements of society, or in all great dis- 
 coveries or sayings 01 doings of men by which society has 
 been greatly attracted, excited or stirred to action, such ex- 
 citement acts as a stimulus that awakens the minds of the 
 people, and results in greater progress in learning and the arts 
 generally, with a special impetus in the direction of the excite- 
 ment or line of action. 
 
 For example: The discovery of America by Columbus 
 attracted the attention of the civilized world. Among all 
 European nations the public mind was awakened. The result 
 was a generally increased activity in the line of the excitement 
 
 in voyage and discovery, colonization and commerce, and 
 
 a general increase of geographical knowledge together with a 
 
SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CULTURE 145 
 
 greatly increased dissemination of it among the people. But 
 the activity of mind did not stop with these things. The 
 mind, once roused, became active along other lines as well. 
 
 When Martin Luther nailed his famous Theses to the door 
 of the church at Wittenberg he challenged the attention of 
 the religious world. The popular mind took part. The 
 immediate effect was a great religious awakening and break- 
 away from time-worn fetters, and this acted as a stimulus to 
 all branches of learning among the common people. 
 
 The American Declaration of Independence and the estab- 
 lishment of a "government of the people, for the people and 
 by the people," challenged the attention of all nations. The 
 ideals of civil liberty and the political rights of man began 
 to be held up before the people of all nations. For a century 
 and a quarter they have been the object of careful study, 
 resulting in their adoption to such an extent that all the 
 nations of Christendom have been compelled to yield more 
 or less to the popular clamor for more liberty. Even the 
 despotic, bureaucratic government of Russia is feeling the 
 pressure and is now yielding, but so grudgingly, slowly and 
 sparingly that the spectacle of another nation drenched in 
 blood seems about to be realized. 
 
 In this educational process the people have come to love 
 liberty and have formed a determination to have it. They 
 are not satisfied with anything short of freedom or what 
 appears to be freedom. And thus we see what great results 
 came of the action of a few backwoodsmen in the far away 
 American wilderness. 
 
 But this was not all. As the human mind was set free 
 from the shackles of political bondage it became active along 
 other lines, and science, invention, literature and art 
 flourished. 
 
 And when Mrs. Stowe's story of Uncle Tom's Cabin was 
 sent flying over the land and around the world bearing the 
 piteous and beseeching cry of the oppressed bondman, and 
 when later the emancipation proclamation broke the fetters 
 from four million black slaves, men were set to studying anew 
 the ideals of liberty ,and the result was that the ideals were 
 broadened, deepened and enlarged so as to include and define 
 more perfectly personal freedom and individual right. And 
 again there was an impetus given to all lines of thought and 
 activity, and science, invention and -industry took a bound 
 forward as never before. 
 
 Thus we see that all these great changes of society were 
 powerful stimulants of thought and industrial activity. They 
 were followed by periods of greater intelligence, enterprise 
 and progress. In no case did the wheels of progress turn 
 
146 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 backward. In no case did the new thoughts put men to 
 sleep. 
 
 Now we have the Uncle Tom's Cabin story modernized 
 and brought down to date in stories of tenement house, pack- 
 ing house and child labor; of trust robberies, monstrosities 
 and abnormalities; of capitalistic conspiracies, Pinkerton 
 atrocities and of many other forms of oppression. Books, 
 magazines and weekly and daily papers are sent flying all 
 over our land and around the world. And these modern Uncle 
 Tom's Cabins also carry with them the cry of the oppressed 
 bondman. 
 
 But it is a different cry from that heard a half century 
 ago. That came from ignorant, helpless people crouching and 
 cowering before the lash: this comes from an intelligent, 
 powerful and rapidly multiplying army of men with ballots in 
 their hands, who thought they were free but have discovered 
 that what they thought was freedom was but a delusive light. 
 That was a pitiful cry from those who were conscious only of 
 their own weakness, accompanied by an imploring for mercy : 
 this is a cry of defiance from those who are conscious of all 
 the strength of a vigorous manhood, that is being rapidly 
 united and cemented into a compact and effective force, 
 accompanied by a demand for justice; and this in a tone that 
 shows that they mean to have it. And one of these days a 
 new Emancipation Proclamation will be issued in this country 
 and the shackles will fall from eighty million slaves, white 
 and black, and simultaneously with this, or nearly so, the 
 same thing will occur in nearly all the civilized nations of the 
 world. 
 
 Again the ideals of liberty have been brought up before 
 the public for another overhauling. It has been discovered 
 that they are defective, as applied in actual practice, by reason 
 of not being based on fundamentals; that while the "general 
 welfare" and "equal rights" are recognized in word, as very 
 important, yet those words become as "sounding brass and a 
 tinkling cymbal" in the face of the fact that there is no equal 
 opportunity. 
 
 The revised, or rather the purified ideals of liberty, 
 divested of all the old, time-worn appendages of past civili- 
 zations, and based upon the three solid rocks of human wel- 
 fare, equal ownership of the earth and equal opportunity to 
 use its resources is now being held up before the people who 
 are very rapidly adopting them ; and when, a little further on 
 the great body of the people are ready, the old civilization 
 will be thrown aside, and, with these new ideals of liberty 
 before us, by methods already devised, we will begin and 
 
 
SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CULTURE 147 
 
 build a new civilization in which these pure ideals may be 
 fully realized. 
 
 This is a great world-movement, beside which all other 
 movements of society pale into insignificance. Even now it 
 has assumed immense proportions, but what will it be when 
 we come to make the transition from capitalism to Socialism? 
 Imagine, if you can, the immensity of the change. If the 
 discovery of an unknown coast in the fifteenth century, the 
 bold action of an obscure monk in the sixteenth, the desperate 
 determination of a few backwoodsmen in the eighteenth and 
 the freeing of a few million black slaves in the nineteenth, if 
 each of these in its own time was so effectual in waking up 
 mind, and constituted such an impetus in all lines of activity, 
 what will be the effect when the civilized nations usher in 
 the co-operative commonwealth? What do you think, dear 
 reader? Would the effect be to put the human race to sleep? 
 Do you think that man would begin to crawfish go back- 
 ward through all the stages of past civilization till he finds 
 himself a beast of prey in a cavern, surrounded by the skulls 
 of his victims? He wouldn't have to back very far, provided 
 he passed through Wall street, Broadway or some such 
 places, especially No. 26 Broadway, to find the beast of prey 
 with victims scattered everywhere. 
 
 But here comes someone running and yelling at the top 
 of his voice. What is he saying? Listen. "No incentive! 
 No Incentive ! ! NO INCEN-N-N-NTI VE ! ! !" 
 
 This no incentive argument is a very fine looking pet. 
 It is such a pretty beast, that I almost regret to interrupt it, 
 and yet, when I think of the harm it is doing I am filled with 
 a desire to flay and dissect it and show what it is made of. 
 
 On account of the ignorance, shiftlessness or improvi- 
 dence of a part of the people, it has no doubt often been well 
 in the past that there was an incentive that was sufficient to 
 prompt another part to lay up more than they needed for their 
 own use, but in these days of labor saving machinery when it 
 is easy to produce an abundance for all, such incentive is, to 
 say the most of it, not so much needed. 
 
 It is difficult to tell what is good in such a hap-hazard 
 hit-and-miss, topsy-turvy system, or rather, lack of system, 
 but waiving the question as to whether it is needed or not, 
 under the competitive system, the matter stands practically 
 thus : Every time one gets more than his share of the capital 
 another gets less. To illustrate, A and B both have small 
 farms adjoining each other. Each requires $500 to support his 
 family. Each raises potatoes. When each raises one thou- 
 sand sacks, the price is fifty cents per sack and each has a ' 
 living. Next year A becomes ambitious and raises three 
 
148 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 thousand sacks. This reduces the price to thirty cents. So 
 B is short two hundred dollars, which he borrows of A and 
 A has two hundred dollars more which he loans to others. 
 They go on this way for a few years until B is compelled to 
 sell his farm. So A buys it and has two farms while B has 
 none. Then B continues to live on the farm and afterward 
 continues to pay rent to A for the use of it. 
 
 So we find that this pet called incentive, innocent as he 
 appears and innocent, intentionally, as A is in keeping him, is, 
 after all, a pesky robber that has brought about B's enslave- 
 ment to A. This is a simple illustration, but it shows how 
 untold millions have been enslaved. 
 
 The process is generally more complicated, but the same 
 principle operates in buying or selling. If the money that A 
 loans to other parties had been put into the market for the 
 purchase of other articles which B needed, it might have 
 raised the price and B's living would have cost more than 
 $500. 
 
 The best we can make of it competition is gambling, an 
 all hands round game, in which the weak or unlucky are con- 
 tinually falling, while part or all the others are gaining what 
 they lose. It is disastrous when all play fair, but now that 
 the trusts have entered the game with their "tricks" an honest 
 man doesn't stand the ghost of a chance. 
 
 One trouble now is, that those who respond too little 
 to incentive fall behind in the race and sink into a posi- 
 tion in which they are required to work harder for a poorer 
 living. That is to say, the incentive becomes less, while the 
 need of it becomes greater. There can be no doubt that this 
 fact alone has discouraged millions and sent them forth as 
 tramps and vagabonds, who if it had been otherwise, would 
 have remained useful and respectable citizens. Under Social- 
 ism this evil will not occur. The incentive offered each one 
 will be the full product of his labor, and not only the full 
 product, but the many times, or at least several times greater 
 product which the economies of Socialism will furnish. 
 
 Thus Socialism will furnish a far greater incentive to 
 those who are weak in responding to incentive. If the present 
 nine hour wage or two or three times that amount should be 
 held up before one of these weak ones and he called on to do 
 three hours' work for it, do you think that the three hours' 
 work would be as great an obstacle to the drawing power of 
 the wage as nine hours? Now don't evade the question by 
 saying that some would not do even three hours' work. That 
 is not the question at all. It is not how lazy some men are, 
 but it is which will furnish the stronger incentive to those of 
 this class, Socialism or capitalism? 
 
SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CULTURE 149 
 
 But what will Socialism do for the more ambitious, those 
 who respond too easily to incentive? It will offer them the 
 same greatly increased incentive until their wants are all 
 supplied, but will not permit them to accumulate piles of 
 wealth that shall be a menace to the welfare of other people. 
 In a nation that constitutes a great insurance company, that 
 protects against misfortune, and incapacity of every kind 
 whatsoever, when enough has been produced by all to supply 
 the wants of all for a safe distance into the future, it would 
 be foolish to desire to accumulate more. Such a desire would 
 be abnormal just as much so as the appetite that prompts 
 one to eat far beyond what is necessary. 
 
 The incentives of Socialism will be far more satisfactory 
 in ordinary cases than at present. They will be all that will 
 be needed. There will be less physical labor required and 
 practically no individual business to manage; hence much 
 more leisure, and this together with the influence of the great 
 change in waking up mind can hardly fail to bring a period 
 of higher intellectual culture. 
 
 As to public spirit, ambition and inventive genius, we 
 will say that public spirit is now, and always has been a 
 strong factor in the world, in spite of the fact that it is con- 
 tinually clogged and crippled, crowded out and smothered by 
 selfish interests and necessities. What may we not expect 
 of it when these obstacles are removed? 
 
 As to inventive genius, we insert here a quotation from 
 A. M. Dewey in "The Ideal Republic," pp. 24-27. 
 
 "Why should ambition or inventive genius be stifled by the guarantee 
 of comfort and plenty which is proposed in the Co-operative Common- 
 wealth ? As well assume that the great artist^ who produces an Angelus 
 while living in comfort, surrounded by conditions which inspire the best 
 that is in a human soul, would have produced a better picture had he 
 lived in a garret with hunger and abject poverty for his daily com- 
 panions, while wife and children cried for bread. This might be true 
 were money the only inspiration to effort. But who ever heard of an 
 inventor, a painter, a sculptor or a composer of music or verse who found 
 his or her greatest inspiration in the hope of a financial reward? Can 
 any one point to a great achievement which promoted the welfare of 
 the human family which was so inspired? Does any one suppose for a 
 moment that Napoleon, Washington, Lafayette, Grant, Lincoln, Phillips, 
 Dewey or Schley were inspired to heroic effort by the hope of monetary 
 reward? Did any man or woman ever perform an act of heroism or 
 sacrifice for money alone? If they did, the writer does not know of 
 it. * * * 
 
 "How does the inventor fare to-day under the system ^ of com- 
 petition. * * * There are more than one thousand natents issued by 
 the patent office each week in the vear: yet the number of men who 
 have realized a competence for themselves from their efforts can be counted 
 on the finders of the two hands. Singer made a fortune by mulcting the 
 people in the price of his machine. Elias Howe died comparatively poor. 
 Morse ditto. Watt, Stevenson and Fulton were also poor men at the 
 
150 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 time of their death. The inventor of the block -signal system, in use on 
 many railroads, died in a mad house, crazed because no corporation could 
 be induced to try his invention, and after his death several railroads 
 adopted it at once as the very best possible device to avoid rear end 
 collisions on double track roads. 
 
 "Edison, than whom no man ever achieved greater success as an 
 inventor, is a comparatively poor man. But his inventions have electri- 
 fied the world, theoretically and actually and he will live in history after 
 the owners of the product of his genius will have been forgotten with 
 their death. 
 
 "And so it is with the inventors of the cotton gin, the power loom, 
 the rotary pump, the compressed air drill, and many other of the most 
 useful products of the brain of man. The men whose genius has brought 
 civilization and order out of barbarism and chaos are not the men who 
 have profited by the effort. To-day the inventor is recognized as a public 
 benefactor to just the extent that it is possible to skin him for the bene- 
 fit and profit of some individual, firm or corporation. Under Socialism the 
 inventor would himself reap the full reward of his effort, and be given 
 a place in the Hall of Fame just in proportion as his invention was of 
 value to society. Do you not think there would be in such a system suffi- 
 cient incentive to stimulate every man or woman to their best efforts ?" 
 
 Space forbids or we might add many pages showing the 
 disappointments and neglect suffered by inventors, and the 
 injustice heaped upon them by the sheer hoggishness of cor- 
 porate greed. 
 
 Socialism is already producing a great mental awakening. 
 The Socialist Party has a literature all its own, and at once 
 scientific, rich, and glowing with the love of humanity. Much 
 of this is already recognized as standard everywhere, while no 
 other political party has ever had a literature worth preserving. 
 
 This awakening process must continue to affect more and 
 more people, and when the great change occurs, the better 
 opportunity, the leisure time, will be seized eagerly by a very 
 large proportion of the people and used in mental culture and 
 the acquirement of knowledge. Education will then begin in 
 earnest. It will be counted a thing worth while and will go for- 
 ward relieved of many of the trammels which greed now 
 interposes. 
 
 The objects and ideals of education will be made to con- 
 form with the ideals of the new civilization. There is reason 
 to hope that Socialism will eliminate nearly all the vanity 
 and superficiality that still clings to our educational work, in 
 spite of all the efforts of educators to avoid them. They 
 result from two influences : In the first place, our whole 
 civilization is permeated with vanity which is a form of sel- 
 fishness lying at the foundation. What wonder, then, that we 
 so often find the student more concerned about appearing 
 well, than in doing actual work. I believe that the purer 
 educational ideals under Socialism will inspire the youth with 
 
SOCIAL AND INTELLECTUAL CULTURE 151 
 
 less of the desire to outshine and more of the desire to make 
 the most possible of one's self. 
 
 The second influence which causes superficiality, is the 
 mad rush for wealth the desire to get through as soon as 
 possible and go into business and the estimating the value 
 of an education in dollars and cents. 
 
 The pressure of these two influences, emanating from 
 every home, from every shop, from every office, from every 
 factory, from every street corner, from every moving train 
 and from all the institutions of society, sweep like a mighty 
 avalanche across the educational field, filling the faithful 
 teachers with dismay and dissipating their fond dreams of 
 thoroughness and successful mind building. 
 
 Too often now, our schools are but sweat shops in which 
 great numbers are herded together like a flock of sheep, the 
 individual being lost sight of in the mass, all at work, or 
 supposed to be, dipping, skimming, tasting, here a little and 
 there a little, all in a hurry-flurry, darting, pitching, too 
 frequently half learning a little of everything and learning 
 nothing well, and emerging with but one acquirement, a 
 habit of hesitation and doubting which sends them stumb- 
 ling all through life, and the teacher the worst sweated of 
 them all. 
 
 Under the new order based on unselfishness, vanity with 
 all other forms of selfishness will gradually wear away, and 
 the financial estimate and sweat shop methods will find no 
 place. Then, Mammon worship will have ceased and it will 
 be considered worth while to give the individual the atten- 
 tion which he requires. 
 
 Then, the teacher's dream of thoroughness will be real- 
 ized. Then, the educational work will have some solidity to 
 it will be a real mind building and character building. Then, 
 there will be time for the supposed dull pupil. Then, each 
 step will be a solid rock on which the pupil will stand 
 firmly and from which he will step confidently and self- 
 reliantly to the next higher step. Then, the pupil will actually 
 learn to think. The nations will become nations of thinkers. 
 The people will come to have real thoughts of their own and 
 not depend so much on patent thoughts, ready made and 
 turned out to order. This will surely be the result, for effect 
 always follows cause. 
 
 The diffusion of our congested city populations and the 
 better home co-operation in the educational work which must 
 result from a continually rising scale of intelligence will 
 greatly facilitate the work. When we come to consider edu- 
 cation as development ,the education of intellect as a learning 
 to think and proceed intelligently in the process of training 
 
152 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 the mind instead of pitching at it an immense confused and 
 conglomerated mass of ideas, most of which never find a iodg- 
 ment, and when the people come to be thoroughly and truly 
 educated, then much of the best of the world's philosophy -may 
 be condensed into the great seed thoughts with mere sug- 
 gestive outlines of the reasoning based upon them ,and easily 
 mastered. 
 
 Time was when knowledge was enthroned and it was 
 said that "knowledge is power." Now, however, wealth has 
 been crowned king and knowledge receives only a secondary 
 allegiance, is not much spoken of except as a means of acquir- 
 ing wealth : but when wealth (and by this I mean the desire 
 for great piles of individual wealth,) has been dethroned, 
 knowledge will again take the first place. 
 
 Yes, there is going to be a great awakening. The mind 
 will break, is already breaking the fetters that are holding it 
 in an abject bondage to an old time formalism, and will soar 
 aloft with a degree of freedom hitherto unknown to the human 
 race. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 MORAL INFLUENCES UNDER SOCIALISM. 
 
 But, you ask, what will be the principal field of its 
 soaring, and what of morals under Socialism? Will the 
 mind become purer and better by being made wiser, or will 
 greater freedom mean greater license? To this we simply 
 ask is it true, the old saying, that ''ignorance and vice go 
 hand in hand." 
 
 But let us turn and inquire what is the principal line 
 of excitement in this great movement? What motive lies at 
 the bottom? To what side of human nature does it appeal? 
 If it were a wild, licentious whoop and hurrah, in which right 
 and justice and purity and decency are set at naught and 
 trampled under foot, we might have reason to fear. But 
 instead of this we find that the opposite is true and that 
 the Socialist movement is emphatically a great moral move- 
 ment, a superlatively clean movement, a scheme by which it is 
 proposed to eliminate most of the evils of society, many of 
 which have hitherto been unavoidable under all the circum- 
 stances, or rather, to cast aside the old civilization with all 
 its evils, and build a new one in which it is evident that the 
 highest and purest ideals may be realized. 
 
 It is a proposition to put into operation a scheme of 
 society that will for the most part eliminate crime and vice, 
 by eliminating the causes that produce them; that will make 
 
MORAL INFLUENCES UNDER SOCIALISM 153 
 
 men honest, which they naturally incline to be under normal 
 conditions, by removing the temptations to dishonesty; that 
 will avoid injustice, by the removal of practically all oppor- 
 tunity for it ; and that will actually (not theoretically) provide 
 for the general welfare by the most systematic economizing 
 of all the industrial forces. 
 
 Such a movement, then, must be a decidedly moral move- 
 ment, and the special trend of thought that follows the great 
 awakening may be expected to be a decidedly moral trend. 
 
 When we look over the history of the past we see plainly 
 that man has made a great moral advancement. The fact that 
 he still has room for improvement does not alter this. Now, 
 since he has made any moral progress with all the discourag- 
 ing, dragging down influences that have beset him, what may 
 we not expect when for these are substituted the encouraging 
 lifting up influences? In line with this thought we quote the 
 words of Professor Ely, as found in Modern Socialism by 
 Charles H. Vail, pp. 95-96. 
 
 "Our present system, then must be rejected as not answering the 
 requirements of practical morality. It is thought necessary at every step 
 to reinforce it with oaths of citizens and administrative officers, and 
 there is nothing which so blunts the conscience as the frequent oaths in 
 our political life. 
 
 "Our system of taxation tends to bring the morality of the com- 
 munity down to the level of its most unscrupulous members, and that in 
 this way : No device known to man can enable the assessor to get at 
 certain classes of personal property in the hands of the cunning and 
 unscrupulous. They make false returns and their neighbors know it; the 
 entire community, in fact, know that men of large means are not bearing 
 their fair share of taxation ; people feel that it is an iniquity to place 
 upon them burdens which properly belong to others, and so they, too, 
 make inadequate returns, and still the voice of conscience with meaning- 
 less quibbles. 
 
 "Another aspect of this case is presented by the facts of competition 
 in business. Those who escape the payment of a fair share of business 
 taxes have an advantage in business which enables them to undersell their 
 competitors, and when a business man sees ruin staring him in the face 
 because his dishonest neighbor makes false returns and pays taxes on 
 only a fractional part of his property, the temptation to do likewise is 
 almost irresistible, except for moral heroes and moral heroism cannot be 
 made the basis of governmental action." 
 
 And let us consider before dismissing this topic that 
 under capitalism nearly all the evils of society, nearly all the 
 vices of man, have more or less, and in one way and another, 
 been subsidized and become articles of merchandise, and it 
 will be easily understood that to whatever extent these evils 
 are caused by the mercantile motive, the greed for gain, to 
 that extent Socialism will eradicate them ; for under Social- 
 ism there will be no longer any opportunity for the exercise of 
 such mercenary motives, for no one will be permitted to 
 engage in any business for private profit. 
 
154 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 One of the two principal of these evils is the liquor 
 traffic. There are two main reasons why this traffic con- 
 tinues: First, because Jack wants to drink, and Second, 
 because of a greed for gain in others. 
 
 Any one who has even a tolerable understanding of this 
 subject knows that the second of these is by far the greater 
 reason. This is shown by the facility with which anti-liquor 
 bills "in legislatures are defeated by the great liquor estab- 
 lishments. It appears in the opposition to local option in 
 small towns, on the ground that it will drive away trade. 
 It is seen in the saloon itself, and in all its many substitutes, 
 including the drug store, the "pocket saloon," the "blind 
 pig," etc. 
 
 Now, as to the first reason. Jack is not generally a very 
 bad sort of a fellow, in fact, he is frequently very genial and 
 often it was partly on account of his jolly good nature and 
 amiability that he contracted the drink habit. Usually in 
 his sober moments he realizes that it is a bad habit and would 
 be glad to quit. To such an extent is this true that the say- 
 ing that "the drunkard reforms every Monday morning," has 
 become proverbial. But in our present society his chances 
 against the habit are very poor. He can scarcely go any- 
 where on the earth, not even out to sea, without having the 
 temptation placed before him. 
 
 The second reason for the liquor traffic is wholly finan- 
 cial and mercenary, and, of course, would not exist under 
 Socialism ; and as to the first, the victim of the drink habit 
 would have every encouragement to reform. It could be 
 arranged for him to work where he would not come in contact 
 with the temptation. If the Keeley cure or any other proved 
 to be effective he would be encouraged to take it. 
 
 Of course, under Socialism the people through the 
 government, would have the power to regulate or prohibit 
 the manufacture and dispensing of liquors, in whatever man- 
 n^. seemed best to them. There would be no opportunity 
 for private persons to render the public management of no 
 effect. Under Socialism, if a majority want prohibition they 
 may vote for it, and it will prohibit. There will be nothing 
 to prevent it no drug store dodge, no pocket saloon, and the 
 entire "blind pig" species will have become extinct. 
 
 But, I believe most Socialist writers at present favor the 
 open windowed public dispensary, with no loafing and no 
 treating allowed, the liquor to be drank on the spot, with 
 the clerks wages just the same whether he sells little or much. 
 This cannot reasonably be objected to by those who oppose 
 prohibition on the ground of its interference with personal 
 liberty, and it is certainly reasonable to expect that with the 
 
MORAL INFLUENCES UNDER SOCIALISM 155 
 
 elimination of the element of profit which Socialism would 
 bring, and the encouragement to cease drinking which Social- 
 ism would furnish, it will at once dwindle into insignificance, 
 and will shortly die out altogether. 
 
 The other of the two most important subsidized vices, is 
 the social evil. This like the other also has two main reasons 
 for its existence. First unbridled lust, and second, greed for 
 gain. The latter may exist in either the victim or the one by 
 whom she is victimized; and when in the victim, it usually, 
 or at least very frequently, begins with the direst necessity. 
 
 It is well known and conceded on all hands, that a very 
 large majority of the cases of prostitution are the result of 
 money considerations to either the victim or those who work 
 her ruin, or both temptations which would not exist under 
 Socialism. 
 
 Socialism would at once reduce the number to those 
 whose downfall is wrought by lustful inclinations ; and, if 
 as we have reason to believe, Socialism brings a much higher 
 moral plane, the number will be still further reduced. In 
 a society where all have both opportunity and encourage- 
 ment to be self-respecting, the moral influences must become 
 greatly improved. 
 
 There is a constant struggle going on between the forces 
 of good and evil ; and as in the matter of wealth accumula- 
 tion in our present society every dollar that one has becomes 
 a power in his hands enabling him to get more, so in the 
 Socialist society, every time an immoral influence is elimi- 
 nated and a moral influence substituted for it, it will con- 
 stitute so much capital gained by the forces of good, and 
 every addition of such capital will furnish an additional 
 impetus that will accelerate the movement. Like the accumu- 
 lation of great fortunes it will roll and gather as it rolls. The 
 contemplation of this feature of Socialism, more than any 
 other, fills my mind with optimism concerning -the future. 
 
 And it seems to me that there is little room for doubt 
 on this point, for do we not see the same principle fre- 
 quently exemplified, not only on a large scale, as in a nation, 
 a city or a large section of country, but also on a small 
 scale, as in a school, a neighborhood or a small town. 
 
 A particular vantage point at which this principle will 
 operate under Socialism is found in the fact that, "the motives 
 of a selfish life" having been eliminated, that natural human 
 sympathy and love for his kind, which under normal conditions 
 exists in every one, will cease to be smothered out and caused 
 to dwindle away to nothingness. Many a man, naturally as 
 good as the average, and even better, being educated to sel- 
 fishness in our mercenary schools of finance, becomes a 
 
156 -ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 betrayer of female virtue as a matter of course, with little or 
 no compunctions of conscience, where, if he had been under 
 an opposite environment, nothing would have been farther 
 from him. 
 
 But we must not think that the operation of this prin- 
 ciple is confined to the stock market gambler who hurls to 
 ruin his. thousands of victims and learns to laugh at their 
 discomfiture. It operates in a milder form, but just as surely 
 in its effects, among all classes of society. This looking out 
 for number one, to the disregard of the interests and wel- 
 fare of others, a thing which all are now required to practice 
 more or less, educates to selfishness, and this selfishness, as 
 we can easily see, cannot but increase the danger to virtue 
 in the hour of temptation, while the presence of unselfishness 
 is always an added safeguard. 
 
 The Family. (Modern Socialism, pp. 133-136.) 
 
 "It is sometimes suggested by the refainers of capitalism that 
 Socialism is Hostile to the family. This can hardly be called a miscon- 
 ception, although in charity we will list it as such. It shows that the advo- 
 cates of the present order mobilize every argument, however sophistical, 
 that can be utilized to excite popular prejudice against any system that 
 antagonizes it. It also evidences that our friends are short of ammunition. 
 
 "As Socialism has to do solely with economic relations, the sup- 
 position is at once seen to be absurd. Socialism will, however, have 
 many indirect bearings of vast importance, and none of more conse- 
 quence than that upon woman and the conjugal relation. That both 
 would be greatly elevated under Socialism none can doubt who are suffi- 
 ciently informed to venture an impartial opinion. It is the Socialist who 
 has called attention to the destruction of the family life due to present 
 industrial methods. The present economic order is the direct cause of the 
 disintegration of the family. The separation of father, mother and chil- 
 dren in our great industrial centers is necessitated by the struggle for 
 existence. Each must seek through his or her own efforts the necessities 
 of life. The wage of the common laborer being insufficient to support his 
 family, the wife and children are pressed into service and the home life 
 is destroyed. 
 
 "Not only would. Socialism elevate the family, but it will also elevate 
 woman, by placing her economically upon an equal footing with man. I 
 do not mean by this that Socialism will simply open the door of indus- 
 trial employments to woman, for this is already done in most departments, 
 and with most baneful results. In those fields open to woman competition 
 has been fiercer, and wages so lowered that the whole family now earns but 
 the wage formerly received by the head of the family. Such has been 
 the result in many industries thrown open to the free competition of 
 women with men. Socialism docs not propose to increase this com- 
 petition, but recognizing the physiological difference between the sexes, 
 it would secure to woman the opportunity of suitable employment, with 
 reward according to results. This would mean the true emancipation of 
 woman. Instead of being dependent as now upon man for her support, 
 she would be at liberty to earn her own livelihood. This does not imply 
 that all women would avail themselves of this privilege, or that Socialism 
 would encourage her in seeking this employment. The very fact that she 
 
MORAL INFLUENCES UNDER SOCIALISM 157 
 
 has th^ power to earn her own living would have a salutary effect It 
 would extirpate the thought of marriage as a 'commercial institution '' and 
 would exterminate m toto the 'matrimonial market.' Were women 
 enabled to honestly earn their own living, they would not consent to 
 marry for a pecuniary consideration, or for anything else but love 'The 
 spirit of mercantilism,' says Mr. Sprague, 'has polluted the stream of love 
 and virtue till the most sacred human relation is often made a matter 
 of commerce.' Woman no less than man must be endowed with economic 
 independence in order to secure perfect freedom. This does not mean 
 that women whether married or single should as a rule earn their own 
 livelihood, or that Socialism expects such. Socialists hold that it is the 
 husband's province to provide for the necessities of his family, and the 
 very fact that the new order would render it easy for a man to support a 
 family would encourage matrimony. 
 
 "Says Lawrence Gronlund, 'It will enable every healthy adult man 
 and woman to marry whenever they feel so inclined, without present or 
 prospective misgivings in regard to their support or the proper education 
 of children. Socialists are charged, ignorantly or insidiously, with attempt- 
 ing to destroy the family. Why, we want to enable every man and 
 woman to form a happy family. And not only to form a happy family 
 but to preserve one, for Socialism would remove the chief cause of 
 divorce.' Says Professor Ely, 'The causes for divorce have been shown 
 by the National Department of Labor at Washington to be largely econo- 
 mic. It is the pressure of economic wants in the lower middle class which 
 is most fruitful of divorce.' Socialism by removing this pressure, would 
 mitigate this growing evil which threatens the home and the perpetuity 
 of our civilization." 
 
 Religion Under Socialism. The question naturally arises, 
 how are churches and other institutions which all the people 
 do not want, to be supported under Socialism? If a church, 
 for instance, wants the services of a man as pastor and that 
 man is enrolled in the industrial force, how can it be arranged? 
 
 The answer to this is very simple. If a church or any 
 number of people, organized or unorganized, desire the ser- 
 vices for a part or all his time of any member of the indus- 
 trial force, they can petition the government and he will be 
 exempt from duty for the specified time and the value 
 of his time will be charged to the petitioners. This will apply 
 to such preachers, lecturers, teachers, editors, authors or 
 any others whom a part of the people desire to employ. 
 
 The idea is that it will be the business of the govern- 
 ment to produce whatever the people want and furnish it to 
 them at cost, whether it be the direct services of a man, papers, 
 books, food, clothing or furniture ;. whether it be articles used 
 by all the people or a part of the people. 
 
 To put it in another form, each article produced repre- 
 sents service. At the beginning of each year the board of 
 statisticians will make up their estimates of the amount of 
 services required by the people during the year. The quo- 
 tient of the whole number of hours of service required divided 
 by the whole number of workers, will be the number of 
 hours service of each worker during the year, and this divided 
 
158 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 by the number of working days in the year will show the 
 number of hours per day of service for each worker. 
 
 In making up the estimate of services required as above 
 mentioned, it will be necessary to take into account the 
 demand for preachers, lecturers, etc., and those who support 
 them will receive less service in other forms, in food, clothing, 
 shelter, car fares, books etc. 
 
 All books and periodicals will be published by the govern- 
 ment and furnished to the people at cost, but a book or paper 
 that few use will cost more. 
 
 As to the attention given to Christianity in the period 
 immediately following the introduction of Socialism, there 
 can be no doubt. The intimate connection of Christianity 
 with all moral movements and the fact that the ethics of 
 Socialism are announced to be identical with the ethics of 
 Christianity gives assurance that Christianity will receive 
 much attention in that period of intellectual activity, and we 
 may be further assured that the circumstances will be such 
 that the truth, whatever it may prove to be, will have a 
 much better opportunity to rise to the top. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 THE CLASS STRUGGLE. 
 
 As we look over the world, we see a great struggle going 
 on. It is not new. It is as old as civilization. It has come 
 into distinct notice and taken definite form in this country 
 only during the last half century. I mean what is generally 
 known as the struggle between capital and labor, and by that, 
 of course, is meant the struggle between the capitalist and 
 the laborer. 
 
 On the side of capital it is claimed that capital and labor 
 both deserve and receive equal consideration in this country, 
 while on the other hand the labor advocates say that labor is 
 superior to capital and is far more deserving, while not 
 receiving so great consideration. Even so distinguished a 
 person as Abraham Lincoln, deplored the fact that capital 
 is placed above labor in the structure of government saying 
 that labor is prior to and the superior of capital; that it is 
 the creator of capital and deserves much the greater con- 
 sideration. 
 
 During the past ten years this struggle has been intensi- 
 fying very rapidly, and now it looms up as never before. Capi- 
 tal charges labor with murders, conspiracies and all the other 
 crimes of the decalogue. 
 
THE CLASS STRUGGLE 159 
 
 Labor charges capital with injustice, tyranny and cruelty 
 to the employees of railway, mine and factory, especially to 
 the women and children in their employ. Labor also charges 
 capital with judicial murder and conspiracies to discredit and 
 break up organized labor and bring it into disrepute in the 
 eyes of other people; with corrupting congresses, legisla- 
 tures and the courts, and many other crimes too numerous 
 to mention. 
 
 The struggle as it is now going on, is principally between 
 the capitalist class, and the proletarian or landless class, and 
 more particularly that portion of it that is organized into 
 labor unions. 
 
 Just above these is a class of small capitalists, usually 
 called the middle class. Some of these side with the great 
 capitalists and some with the labor unions, while many are 
 in doubt as to where the interest of their class lies, and 
 also as to the relative merits of the struggle viewed from 
 a moral basis. 
 
 It seems to be generally agreed among those of both the 
 middle and proletarian classes, that many oppressions are 
 inflicted upon both by the great capitalists. But as to the 
 moral status of the present struggle between organized capi- 
 tal and organized labor, many are very much in doubt. Many 
 Christian people are especially perplexed at this point. 
 
 As I have not made a special study of this question, I 
 will not undertake to give much information concerning it, 
 but will confine myself for the most part to observations, 
 suggestions and reasoning on generally admitted facts, hoping 
 that. I may thereby assist the reader somewhat in coming 
 to an intelligent comprehension of the situation. 
 
 My life having been mostly spent on the frontier I have 
 had very little personal acquaintance with either of the two 
 contestants, and therefore, if I must admit a shortage of 
 personal knowledge, I may, for that reason, claim some 
 degree of freedom from personal bias. 
 
 It is a fact so well known that it is hardly worth while to 
 mention it, that in almost every war, broil, fight or quarrel 
 of any kind, even down to a family quarrel, there is generally 
 more or less wrong on both sides. This is true in cases where 
 one side is decidedly in the right and the other is decidedly 
 in the wrong, and possibly it sometimes occurs that the party 
 that is in the right as to the cause of the trouble is guilty of 
 more wrong in the squabble. Viewing the matter thus, the 
 first question that arises is, which is the right side in the 
 great struggle? To answer this we cite the reader to the 
 chapters on Competition, The Trust and the Justice of 
 Socialism, in which we endeavored to show, and we think did 
 
160 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 show, that all the great millionaire fortunes are usurpations, 
 being the result of accumulations not always dishonest, but 
 nevertheless always unjust, the result of the operation of an 
 unjust system. 
 
 If, then, our conclusion is true, the capitalist side of this 
 struggle is the wrong side and the laborer's side is the right 
 side, for they are kept out of possession of what rightfully 
 belongs to them. And whatever grievance other wage work- 
 ers, or the middle class (many of whom are in even a worse 
 condition than the wage worker,) may have against labor 
 unions, the great capitalists have ho just financial grievance 
 against them none at all unless it be of a criminal nature. 
 And here let me repeat, that if all the crimes and all the 
 evils charged to labor unions were proven it would be an 
 argument in favor of Socialism, for. unionism is the product 
 of capitalism, so that its crimes whether many or few are 
 indirectly the product of capitalism ; and the greater the 
 crimes, the greater the reason that capitalism should go and 
 be replaced by Socialism. 
 
 But perhaps the capitalist would say that the Socialist 
 recruits come mostly from the trade union ranks, and that 
 there would be no use trying to inaugurate Socialism with 
 such material ; and to this we reply that in various parts of the 
 world prosperous communities of respectable people have 
 grown up from settlements of criminals, and, as under Social- 
 ism the temptations to commit crime would be mostly 
 removed, there would be a greater encouragement to reform 
 than in any of the penal settlements mentioned. But if union- 
 ism is so desperately criminal in its tendencies as the capi- 
 talists would have us believe, we would better rush the 
 game and usher in Socialism as soon as possible, before so 
 many have joined the unions and been debased as to make the 
 number to be reformed exceedingly large. 
 
 Since the argument is for Socialism, whatever the case 
 may prove to be, and since the object of this work is the 
 discussion of Socialism, we might with propriety rest the 
 case here ; for, having determined which is the right side, it 
 is not so very important to know which side is guilty of the 
 most wrong in the details of the struggle. The whole strug- 
 gle is a bad condition growing out of the accumulated wrongs 
 of a defective system. What we need is to change the system. 
 It is much more important to apply a remedy that is effective, 
 than to ascertain all the detailed manifestations of the disease; 
 to put an end to the wrongs than to know where to place the 
 blame of each wrong that is committed. Nevertheless, in 
 order to ^et the whole situation clearly in mind, we will 
 continue the analysis. 
 
THE CLASS STRUGGLE X 6i 
 
 What, then, of the two great parties? Who are they? 
 What is their environment? And what are the motives that 
 prompt the action of each? 
 
 In a general way, we may say of both parties, that they 
 are men, all human beings, capable of all the virtues and 
 liable to all the vices and frailties of human nature. The 
 natural qualities of the average millionaire are probably not 
 so very different from those of the average trade unionist 
 just a little more ambition, a little more acquisition, a little 
 more cunning, and a little less brotherly sympathy, a little 
 less conscience. In some cases there is a great difference 
 in these, and in others a considerable difference the other 
 way; but in the average as we have stated, there is but just 
 a little difference of natural qualities. Whatever differences 
 now exist result mostly from a difference in training. 
 
 First, take the millionaire. To understand the evolution 
 of the millionaire, turn back and read, if you do not recall it, 
 what we said of the development of the pure, unselfish and 
 honest youth into the corrupt, selfish, dishonest, money- 
 mad maniac. Of course most of the great capitalists will 
 resent the accusation of dishonesty, and so, as I am not 
 personally acquainted with them, I will presume that many of 
 them are comparatively honest. But the world has different 
 standards of honesty. Examining these, we find all grades 
 from nothing up to that perfect pattern of whom it was 
 said, "Neither was guile found in his mouth." Yes, the 
 millionaire is made of about the same clay as other people, 
 but his surroundings are different. The influences that gov- 
 ern his life are different. He looks from a different view- 
 point at many of the great questions that agitate society. 
 His glasses are colored with self-interest and set in the golden 
 frame of vested rights. This tends to make him proud, arro- 
 gant, arbitrary and often tyrannical. There is a great distance 
 between him and his employees. He associates chiefly with 
 those of his own class, and like all other classes, the capitalists 
 are not exempt from clannishness, a relic of barbarism 
 which if we will watch for, we will see enough of among 
 all classes to take the conceit out of us when we become 
 vain of our very high civilization. Clannishness minimizes 
 the faults of one's own class and magnifies those of the oppos- 
 ing class. Clannishness is suspicious and judges a whole 
 class by the worst it knows or suspects in any of its members. 
 This was illustrated by the simple minded Indian who said, 
 "The Kentuckians are all alike, all very bad people." Clan- 
 nishness often justifies or excuses the crimes of its own class, 
 and is easily made to believe that crimes committed by them 
 were committed by its opponents. 
 
i62 . ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Going back along the line to the point of divergence 
 between these opposing classes, let us inquire about the 
 training of the trade unionist. What is his environment and 
 what is its effect on him? 
 
 Well, to begin with, he usually earned his bread by the 
 sweat of his brow. That, under a normal estimate of respecta- 
 bility, would be calculated to make him decidedly self-respect- 
 ing; but society's estimate of respectability is decidedly ab- 
 normal. Society has come to regard as the most eminently 
 respectable those who earn nothing themselves and are the 
 most cunning exploiters of the labor of others; and not only 
 this, but labor has come to be regarded as degrading. 
 
 This has had a most baleful and debasing effect upon the 
 laborer, for he has felt most keenly the degradation. This 
 false notion of respectability has given him a feeling of self- 
 abasement where self-respect ought to have been. But now, 
 trade unionism is, to some extent, leading him out of this 
 error. He is coming to be more self-respecting, and con- 
 sequently is rising in intelligence, character and self-reliance. 
 
 But along with this the trade unionist is awakening to the 
 fact that he, along with all other toilers, is being robbed of a 
 large part of what rightfully belongs to him. This puts him 
 into an ugly mood. Like the wayfarer who has slept by the 
 roadside, and, awakening misses his purse, he is liable to 
 pick a quarrel with the first man he meets, and is apt to be 
 more or less suspicious of nearly every one. And this feel- 
 ing is not confined to the unionist. It was felt by many a far- 
 mer in the days of Populist agitation, and there are now many 
 farmers, small merchants and other middle class people, as 
 well as wage workers, organized and unorganized, that are 
 being made to feel the same way by the Socialist agitation. 
 
 These influences serve to ceme.nt the trade union forces 
 more firmly together in the bonds of fraternal comradeship. 
 They increase the spirit of clannishness ; for the unionist is 
 clannish as well as other classes. It comes to him as a 
 result of scenting a common danger. He also looks through 
 glasses colored by his own self-interest; but they are set in 
 the frame of natural rights to the extent that he understands 
 natural rights. 
 
 And now what of the crimes charged against each other 
 by the contending parties? 
 
 Here permit me to repeat, that among any very large 
 number there are nearly always some who are sufficiently sel- 
 fish, avaricious and wicked, to commit any crime that promises 
 great reward. (See corollary to principle I.) I introduce this 
 as having a possible bearing on either or both sides in this 
 conflict. 
 
TH'E CLASS STRUGGLE 163 
 
 It is clear to any one who has studied the subject closely, 
 that there are many great temptations besetting the great 
 capitalists. Just what proportion of them yield I am not con- 
 cerned to know; but it may be interesting to consider that 
 the world of commerce is a great game. We are all gamblers, 
 all who conduct any sort of business for profit all except 
 the wage worker. Those who play fair according to the 
 rules of fairness, which are not very well defined and often far 
 from being fair, are honest as the world counts honesty in 
 our present society, honest gamblers ; and those who play 
 "tricks" are dishonest, dishonest gamblers. Now, I believe 
 it is pretty generally understood that among common gamb- 
 lers, one who plays fair stands no show against those who 
 play "tricks." In the light of this thought, then, it would 
 seem highly probable that nearly all those at the top have 
 played "tricks," else they would not have gotten there, and 
 are therefore dishonest gamblers. Yes, we are almost driven 
 to the conclusion that those at the top are mostly corrupt ; 
 but perhaps the slackness of the rules of fairness may ease 
 the consciences of some of them somewhat ; I would like to 
 wedge in as much charity as possible ; but really there doesn't 
 seem to be much room for charity, not much chance for ease 
 of conscience, unless they have adopted the old saying that 
 "all is fair in war." 
 
 Capitalism is mercenary at best, in all its manifestations, 
 but in its more intense and concentrated forms, it is simply 
 ruthless. All in all, it is not strange then, that our magazines 
 and papers are filled with hair raising stories of the stock 
 market, of the grinding up of woman and child life in fac- 
 tories, of peonage atrocities, railway wrecks caused by work- 
 ing men long hours, requiring them to rush so as to leave no 
 time for precaution against accident, and failure of owners to 
 keep roads in proper repair. It is not strange that mine disas- 
 ters are of frequent occurrence because the owners fail to 
 provide the proper precautions and -life saving appliances. It 
 is not strange that we read of "packing house scandals" and 
 "insurance swindles." It is not strange that John D. Rocke- 
 feller, the boasted "Honest John," the great religio-educatio- 
 bcnevolcnto-humanitarian has been shown up to have acquired 
 his wealth by methods the most ruthless and unscrupulous ; 
 that instead of being an honest gambler, as he has claimed, 
 he has been the most cunning, ruthless, and unprincipled trick- 
 ster of all, which easily accounts for his having reached the 
 top. It is not strange, now that the people are waking up, 
 that he is planning to put them to sleep with a quarter billion 
 dollar rock-a-bye will, which if given, will be arranged, 
 no doubt, so that the beneficiaries will lose every time 
 
1 64 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 there is water squeezed out of his stocks. It is not strange 
 that he has already given magnificent sums to colleges, 
 churches, missionary societies etc., closing the list with thirty- 
 two millions to the Educational Board, while the student 
 \v?nks and says "It's too thin; he is trying to buy up the 
 whole people." None of these things surprise us when we 
 look at the matter from this point of view. The corollary 
 we have mentioned operates all too disastrously for society. 
 
 It may not be pleasant to think of our great "Captains 
 of industry" as mostly currupt; and neither is it pleasant to 
 think of society being in the power of the most knavish, but it 
 is best to know the truth, and there can be no doubt of the 
 tendency. The only question is as to what extent the tendency 
 is realized in its effects. For just as sure as our commercial 
 life is a game, which it is ; and that there is opportunity to play 
 unfairly, which there is ; and that there are some who are dis- 
 posed to play unfairly, which there are ; just so surely is there a 
 tendency for the unfair players, that. is to say, the tricksters, 
 the dishonest, the unprincipled, the unscrupulous, the rogues, 
 to rise to the top. Yes, it is unpleasant to think of these 
 things, but it is a very important, a very serious matter. It 
 shows a pressing necessity for a change in our industrial sys- 
 tem. We may console ourselves that every rogue at the top 
 makes one less among those further down, but the reflection 
 doesn't bring much comfort. 
 
 And what are the motives that chiefly prompt the actions 
 of the trade unionist? To this we say first, that he is selfish. 
 But then, as Ruskin says, "He need not see any particular 
 uneasiness about that, for so is everybody else." The num- 
 ber of extremely selfish at the top tends, of course, to raise the 
 average at the bottom, but the number at the top is so rela- 
 tively small as compared with the numerous throng at the 
 bottom, that it is too insignificant to be worth considering; 
 and so when the cavilist answers everything as he usually 
 does with one fell swoop, by saying with an air of triumph 
 that they would all do just the same way if they had the 
 opportunity, we say, "Yes, it is not the people but the system 
 that is to blame." Possibly we may admit a little too much, 
 but if the working classes had been placed in the environ- 
 ment of the capitalist, with the training that it would fur- 
 nish, those of them who rose to the top would probably pre- 
 sent just about the same spectacle of a "job lot" as those now 
 at the top. It is not accurately true to say that all the middle 
 class or all the rank and file of the wage workers would be as 
 bad as those at the top. But that is neither here nor there. 
 Our contention is against the system that tends to bring out 
 
THE CLASS STRUGGLE 165 
 
 the worst that is in each individual and place all the rest of 
 the people in bondage to a small group of the most corrupt. 
 
 The average working man is a stranger to the tempta- 
 tions to gross dishonesty and unscrupulous rascality which 
 beset the great capitalist. . Before he becomes a trade unionist 
 his relation to his employer is one of servility and self- 
 abasement. But when he enters a union that relation begins 
 to change. It often proceeds gradually no doubt, but finally 
 it comes to be one of self-assertion and self-respect. Social- 
 ists recognize this as the most important benefit derived from 
 trade unions, whatever else may be said for or against them. 
 
 As already stated the trade unionist is selfish. He tries 
 to get the most he can for himself. In order to do this he 
 strikes. He ties up business. Sometimes the tying up brings 
 little or no loss to the employer, as in the case where a factory 
 has enough goods on hand to supply the market for a long 
 time. In such a case the strike contiues till the strikers are 
 starved into submission to the employer's terms, and it serves 
 as a lesson against striking in the future and tends to hinder 
 the non-unionist from joining the union. When the employers 
 see that they would lose too heavily by the "tie up" they 
 make concessions and the work is resumed. Then the work- 
 ers are said to have gained a strike. They become more bold 
 for a future move and new recruits enter their ranks and the 
 union takes a stride forward. 
 
 In the past there were so few unionists and so many non- 
 unionists with which to break the strike that most strikes 
 were lost. But recently the unions have become so strong, 
 the tie-ups have become so serious, and it has become so much 
 more difficult to "break the strike" that it is now a much more 
 serious thing to the employers. The most serious feature 
 of the whole matter, from the capitalist standpoint, is the 
 fact that when the striker fails, he is easily led into the 
 thought of striking at the ballot box, the thing that the capi- 
 talist most fears and dreads. Socialists, however, recogniza 
 in this the key to his final triumph. 
 
 The unorganized worker complains, the capitalist or his 
 emissary often putting the complaint into his mouth, that 
 while the striker has a perfect right to refuse to work he has 
 no right whatever to prevent anyone else from working by 
 intimidation or force. But the employer comes in and enjoins 
 him from using even persuasion and reason. As a result of 
 these contentions it is not strange if on both sides many things 
 are done that ought not to be done. Knowing that the press 
 of the country with few exceptions is in league with capital, 
 and that every act of violence on the part of the strikers will 
 be magnified in the eyes of the people and made to appear 
 
i66 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 against them in its most flagrant light, the union leaders 
 usually use every effort in their power to restrain the men 
 from violence of all kinds, especially such as endangers life 
 or works great damage to property. And it would be very 
 strange indeed if reckless, hot headed, unauthorized members 
 should not at times be found breaking over all restraints. 
 Not having, had opportunity to observe and not caring to 
 investigate in detail, I take it for granted that there have 
 been many such cases, and possibly there have been cases 
 where leaders were indiscreet in this respect. But knowing 
 the tactics of their opponents, who take advantage of every 
 little slip to bring them into disrepute before the unor- 
 ganized workers and the great middle class whom they are 
 desirous of arraying against them, it seems to me prepos- 
 terous to suppose that it would be the settled policy of great 
 organizations to walk deliberately into the net that is set for 
 them. 
 
 The unionists in reply to the non-unionists' complaint, 
 say that they themselves were sacrificing more than the 
 strike breakers gained in a struggle which, if successful, would 
 make conditions better for themselves directly, and indi- 
 rectly better for the non-unionists; that the action of 
 the strike breakers paralyzed all their efforts, and that if 
 the non-unionists would join with themselves the result would 
 be greatly improved conditions for all the workers. 
 
 The middle class people, especially the farmers, also lodge 
 a complaint against the unionists. They admit the justice of 
 the unionists' claims as against the great capitalists, but com- 
 plain that after he gets the lion's share nothing is left for 
 themselves. To which the unionist replies "Form unions of 
 your own and strike for your rights." 
 
 "But," returns the farmer, "that sounds all well enough. 
 W. have often talked of farmers' trusts, but the trouble is 
 we arc dependent on so many other trusts that are backed 
 by all tne power of wealth in the hands of the robbers at the 
 top. We might strike for higher prices for our produce, but 
 they would offset our action and bleed us through the banking 
 trust, the railroad trust, the machinery trust, the warehouse 
 trust, the sack trust, the twine trust, and the packing house 
 trust etc." 
 
 "Then," continues the unionist, "you would better give 
 up your small business, which could be conducted much more 
 profitably on a larger scale, enter the ranks with us, and we 
 will all strike together for the rights of all." 
 
 Socialism recognizes the potency of this argument from 
 the unionist, but insists on the utter foolishness of stopping 
 
THE CLASS STRUGGLE 167 
 
 with anything short of a complete dethronement of the robbers 
 at the top. 
 
 No doubt the action of the labor unions sometimes works 
 a hardship on the old who are living upon the accumulations 
 of former years, on the farmer class especially, and possibly 
 on the small mercantile classes. The big capitalists take 
 advantage of this and seek to array these classes against the 
 trade unionists. And so their emissaries pass around among 
 the people patting the farmer and the small merchant on the 
 back and saying, "You are a capitalist, same as the rest of 
 us. You ought to belong to our Employers' Association." 
 But if they are wise they will not be caught by such cajoler- 
 ies; for they should know that so long as the robbers at the 
 top are in power there can be nothing for the farmer but 
 fleecings, and nothing for the small dealer but to be crowded 
 out by a branch house of a great corporation. 
 
 Next let uc consider briefly a few of the great struggles 
 between organized capital and organized labor. In nearly all 
 these there is more or less crime or malicious mischief com- 
 mitted. As before intimated, capitalists have been accused of 
 committing these, or hiring it done, for the purpose of charg- 
 ing it to the unions and bringing them into disrepute. Evi- 
 dently this might often be profitable to them, and i. would be 
 comparatively easy, .because of the small number of capital- 
 ists interested, and where part of them are too honorable, 
 the interest of one or a very few who are corrupt would often 
 be sufficient incentive. 
 
 Labor Troubles in the West. In the Rocky Mountain 
 states a battle royal has been waged for several years. The 
 contending parties are the Mine Owners' Association, a well 
 defined organization having branches in all the quartz mining 
 states, and strengthened by the backing of the smelter trust, 
 confronted by the Western Federation of Miners, organized 
 in 1893 with 2,000 members and now 60,000 strong. 
 
 The latter have conducted a considerable number of 
 strikes, among which was the famous Coeur d'Alene strike 
 of 1899 in northern Idaho. Here the bull pen was first intro- 
 duced in the West. Some miners were accused of destroying 
 property. They retorted saying that the mine owners them- 
 selves, through the Pinkertons, destroyed some almost worth- 
 less property for the purpose of charging it to the striker's. 
 The mine owners applied to Governor Frank Steunenberg for 
 assistance, who in turn called on the National Government 
 for troops. General Merriam with a force of negro soldiers 
 was sent in response, and the miners' organization was 
 destroyed by force. Using the language of George H. Shoaf, 
 "More" than a thousand men were rounded up like cattle, and 
 
1 68 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 herded into an open plain, where, surrounded by human har- 
 pies, they were subjected' to a brutal persecution such as 
 Andersonville and Libby never knew." 
 
 In 1903, in the Cripple Creek district, San Miguel County, 
 Colorado, occurred the last great strike. The miners claim 
 that it was not desired by either the officers or members of 
 the Western Federation of Miners, but that it was forced upon 
 them by the Mine Owners' Association, who were deter- 
 mined to destroy the union as they had done in Idaho. 
 
 A little before this movement, the Western Federation 
 of Miners had, in their general convention, adopted the princi- 
 ples of International Socialism. It spent money for the edu- 
 cation of its members in the new political faith, and its 
 leaders, especially Moyer, Haywood and the members of the 
 Executive Council, became bold and fearless advocates of this 
 new doctrine of industrial emancipation. This progressive 
 policy made it superior to any labor organization in the world ; 
 and this, it is claimed, together with the defiant attitude of 
 its leaders, determined the Mine Owners' Association to 
 exterminate the Western Federation of Miners root and 
 branch. 
 
 Our limited space forbids the rehearsal of so long a story 
 which has been given at length by George H. Shoaf and other 
 writers through the Socialist papers, and corroborated by 
 ''Report of the Labor Troubles in Colorado," made by Labor 
 Commissioner Carroll D. Wright, a copy of which I have 
 before me, and I wish that every reader would procure one 
 and examine it thoroughly; and please remember that Mr. 
 Wright is a Republican and that you are not getting from his 
 report simply the Socialist version. Space forbids more 
 than a brief comment, but let us observe a few important 
 points : 
 
 The various parties that figured in the recent Colorado 
 strike troubles, were, I, the union miners; 2, the non-union 
 miners; 3, the mine owners and smelters; 4, the Citizens' 
 Alliance ; 5, the Pinkertons, and 6, the Governor and military. 
 
 It is well to consider here the various viewpoints and 
 motives of these several parties. 
 
 The principal parties in the struggle were the union 
 miners, principally the Western Federation of Miners, on 
 the one side, and the Mine Owners 7 Association on the 
 other. The interests of these two classes were directly 
 opposed to each other. The mine owners were in it for profit 
 and regarded it as their right to get labor as cheaply as pos- 
 sible. The miners on the other hand, claimed the right to 
 get the highest possible wage. The mine owners' and smelters' 
 claim of benevolence is, on the face of it, about as hypocriti- 
 
THE CLASS STRUGGLE 169 
 
 cal as the oily speeches that fall from the lips of plutocratic 
 orators in which it is asserted that "the interests of capital 
 and labor are identical." Take the following from Wright's 
 report page 139: 
 
 "On July 5, Manager Guiterman issued to the public a statement 
 from which the following extracts are taken: 
 
 " 'Speaking for this company, I desire to say that it has at all times 
 had the interests of its employees at heart, and that it has hitherto 
 spared no expense by and through which the sanitary, operating con- 
 ditions' at its various plants could be improved and the nature of the 
 work lightened.' " 
 
 If it is really true that a great corporation had the inter- 
 ests of its employees at heart, it was certainly a new thing 
 under the sun. 
 
 The other three classes mentioned were, for the most part, 
 subject to the Mine Owners' Association. We will now con- 
 sider what seems to me the most important factor bearing 
 upon the views, motives and finally upon the actions of these 
 several parties, especially the union miners, mine owners and 
 Citizens' Alliance. That factor is Socialism. 
 
 i . The Influence of Socialism on the Western Federation 
 of Miners. In the struggle between capital and labor the 
 latter usually admits the right of the former to a "fair profit ;" 
 but just what constitutes a fair profit often comes in as a bone 
 of contention ; and besides, labor has come to question the 
 reported profits of capital. But Socialism teaches that the 
 laborer is entitled to the full product of his toil. This cuts 
 all profit entirely out of the question. As -early as 1902, 
 Socialism became a ruling force in the Western Federation of 
 Miners. And so the miners began to talk its principles in 
 connection with their struggle with the mine owners for a 
 larger share of the product. They began to talk of their 
 moral right to the whole product, and expressed their inten- 
 tion of continuing the struggle till they should get it. This, 
 of course, does not mean that those who have labored in the 
 production of the capital shall be left out of consideration, but, 
 of course, this is the construction which the opponents of 
 Socialism put upon it and worked for all it was worth. And 
 here the struggle began in earnest. Strictly speaking the 
 miners were right. The moral principle that the laborer is 
 entitled to the full product of his toil is just as true under 
 capitalism as it will be under Socialism. We cannot blame 
 the unionist, but in reality, when he insists on the applica- 
 tion of this Socialistic principle in the settlement between him 
 and his employer, he is but sewing new cloth on an old 
 garment and we must not think strange if the "rent is made 
 worse." The fact is the capitalistic garment is so woefully 
 rotten that any attempt at patchwork, especially when the 
 
i;o ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 patch is of a radically moral nature, must generally result 
 disastrously. The more I study the subject the more I become 
 convinced that the best plan is to carry forward the work of 
 education as rapidly as possible till a majority favor Social- 
 ism, and then make the transition at once. 
 
 Capitalism must have profits and cannot exist without 
 them. Any elimination of profits means the elimination of 
 capitalism, and in the nature of the case, this must be a 
 national affair. If under capitalism all profits should he sud- 
 denly cut off, then, practically all wage production would 
 cease, and before it could start forward, there would have to 
 be a change of possession and management. The advocacy of 
 Socialism by the Western Federation of Miners set the pot to 
 boiling. 
 
 2. The Influence of Socialism on the Mine Owners and 
 Smelters. The effect on these could be nothing but that of 
 alarm, coupled with a determination not to be beaten. No 
 doubt most of these, perhaps nearly all of them, are too aristo- 
 cratic to imbibe Socialistic principles and are disposed to 
 regard Socialism as a dangerous enemy. Even if they under- 
 stand the righteousness of Socialism, like nearly all those pos- 
 sessed of great wealth they are too much intoxicated by its 
 possession to be willing to yield the power it gives. They 
 set to work among the middle class citizens. 
 
 3. The Influence of Socialism on Those Who Became 
 Members of the Citizen's Alliance. No doubt there were 
 many of these who would have taken well toward Socialism 
 if it had been properly and honestly presented; but this was 
 not to be. Here was an opportunity for the opponents of 
 Socialism to present it in a distorted form. The customs of 
 society have so deeply ground into the minds of all holders 
 of private property the principle of "vested rights," that we 
 are apt to cling to it, even after we have reasoned ourselves 
 out of it. "Is not this mine? Did I not work for it? Man- 
 age, buy and sell, trade, save my earnings and my profits? 
 Was it not all made honestly and legitimately, and have I not 
 the right to do as I please with my own, to conduct my own 
 business as I please? Must I submit to the dictation of those 
 who, perhaps, have squandered their substance in riotous liv- 
 ing, or have been too lazy to work or too improvident to save 
 their earnings? Shall they be permitted to come in and share 
 equally with me in what has cost me so much pains to accu- 
 mulate? Never, while I have power to resist. Why, there 
 is neighbor A: He has worked hard all his life ; now he is too 
 old to work ; but he has saved enough to enable him to own 
 a nice little business, so that he can hire a man or two at fail- 
 wages and have a very nice living for his family; but now if 
 
THE CLASS STRUGGLE 171 
 
 the laborer must have the 'whole product/ there is nothing but 
 starvation for him, for he is unable to work." And thus with 
 misrepresentation, distorted reasoning, specious argument, 
 taking the principles of Socialism out of their proper con- 
 nection and tacking them on to our present system, the whole 
 question of Socialism with all its grand principles of justice, 
 economy, benevolence, and moral, intellectual and social uplift, 
 dwindles into a mere quibble, and many a would-be Socialist 
 is turned away in disgust. 
 
 To show that the members of the Citizens' Alliance were 
 further increased by bulldozing methods, we refer the reader 
 to Commissioner Wright's report, pp. 49-50: 
 
 The motives of the military and the Pinkertons were mer- 
 cenary. Governor Peabody and other civil and military state 
 officials were on hand to do the bidding of those on whom they 
 depended to keep them in office. The Pinkertons are them- 
 selves a criminal class that fatten off the crimes of others, 
 and it is well known that they do not hesitate, when the 
 criminal slop becomes too thin to suit them, to set about 
 instituting methods that will produce more crime. And why 
 should they? They are in it for what they can get out of 
 it, and the most money is in manufacturing crime to the order 
 of those who need it in their business and who have the money 
 to pay for it. 
 
 In examining the Colorado situation as shown by this 
 report I am just a little surprised at the criminal daring and 
 cheekiness of the plutocratic forces in the struggle. My 
 surprise is not great. I am not at all surprised at the mere 
 fact that crime has been committed by those high in authority, 
 for I know that one of the effects of capitalism is to keep a 
 large force trained ready to commit any crime that offers a 
 sufficient reward to pay for the risk. I have studied the ten- 
 dency of the criminal element to rise to the top financially. I 
 understand how easy a prey are the civil governments, both 
 national and state, to those plutocratic vultures. I also have 
 some understanding of the ease with which those in control 
 of the "powers that be" may make use of those powers in 
 reducing to the minimum, the risks of committing crime. I, 
 therefore, am not at all surprised at the mere fact of crime 
 in these quarters, but I am a little surprised at the shameless 
 brazenness with which the mine owners, supported by the 
 civil and military authorities, conducted their infamous cam- 
 paign of crime. I am a little surprised to find this report 
 reading so much like mediaeval history. 
 
 But there is one point indicated in this report that sur- 
 prises me very much and that is the decidedly peaceful atti- 
 tude of the Western Federation of Miners under the most pro- 
 
172 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 yoking and exasperating- circumstances. There had been, it 
 appears, some cases of violence among the .union men prior 
 to 1903, all of which were strongly disapproved and censured 
 by the unions as is shown on page 91, relating to the strike 
 at Leadville in 1897. 
 
 In 1899 there was a strike of Italians at Lake City. These 
 were members of the Western Federation of Miners and seem 
 to have been guilty of violations of the law, but they were 
 forced to leave by the action of the mine owners. There was 
 also a strike in 1901 at Telluride in which, under great provo- 
 cation, there were violations of law by members of the 
 W. F. M., which were disapproved by the union in the articles 
 of settlement with the mining company. These violations 
 were nothing more than might have been expected, and yet 
 they were recognized by the unions as being disastrous to 
 their cause. They were cautioned by the leaders, especially 
 by President Moyer, who implored them to be very careful not 
 to commit any acts of violence. Accordingly, after the begin- 
 ning of the strike of 1903-4, the peaceable attitude of the Fed- 
 eration men during the long stormy period of persecution that 
 followed, is a marvel of patient forbearance that it would be 
 hard to duplicate. True there seems to have been a very 
 few minor offences committed by individual members. These 
 occurred mostly in efforts to drive away non-union men who 
 were used in breaking the strike. In such cases the tempta- 
 tion of the striker to do this is very strong, and, looking from 
 his point of view, he is apt to justify himself in doing it. 
 There is nothing in the report, however, to indicate gross 
 violations of the law on the part of union men, excepting in 
 the riot that occurred at Victor just after the Independence 
 horror, and according to the report this was caused partly by 
 a mistake and certainly more by the fault of members of the 
 Mine Owners' Association than by the Federation men. The 
 attempt of their enemies to fasten upon them the responsi- 
 bility of the Independence outrage failed, and to some extent 
 reacted upon themselves. See Wright's Report, pp. 247-53;, 
 also pp. 253-6. 
 
 It seems to me that any one who reads this report care- 
 fully and impartially can hardly help agreeing with William D. 
 Haywood, who in answer to the mouthings of Governor Pea- 
 body about insurrection, said that, "If the Governor would 
 go and hang himself the principal insurgent would be dead," 
 
 The confession of H. H. McKinney shows the role which 
 the Pinkertons played. It is said that they were so thick and 
 so busily engaged in spying on the unions that in one instance 
 two of them, each unknown to the other, having worked their 
 way into the union and been appointed as organizers, were 
 
THE CLASS STRUGGLE 173 
 
 each watching the other, thinking the other a genuine union 
 man. It was a rich and promising field for the detective. All 
 that was needed was a few skillfully planned and executed 
 murders of the first magnitude, excitement and party feeling 
 would do the rest. Considering all the circumstances I think 
 it even more likely that the murder of Manager Collins was 
 a detective intrigue than that it was the act of some one of the 
 many unionists whom he had exasperated by his unjust and 
 high handed measures. 
 
 Whatever the reader may think of this Colorado situation 
 generally, there are three very important points which, it seems 
 to me, must be clear to every thinking person. These are : 
 
 1. That the whole trouble is a natural product of our 
 present economic system. 
 
 2. That this report does not indicate that the Western 
 Federation of Miners' leaders in general, nor Moyer, Haywood 
 and Pettibone, in particular, adopted a criminal policy; but in 
 fact it shows the opposite. The situation as here revealed 
 shows clearly that such a policy would be very foolish on 
 their part, and a rehearsal of the facts shows that they so 
 recognized it and that in this respect they were not indis- 
 creet. 
 
 3. That the fear of and opposition to the principles of 
 Socialism was the main impelling motive that prompted the 
 Mine Owners' Association and the Citizens' Alliance in their 
 criminal action, and that the whole affair of 1903-4 was princi- 
 pally a persecution of the Western Federation of Miners 
 because of their Socialistic tenets. In proof of this we cite the 
 reader to Commissioner Wright's report; pp. 41-42, 49-50, 
 291-2, 328-9; and from these we quote briefly as follows: 
 
 "However, the operators have had no negotiations whatever with 
 the Federation, nor will they unless unionism, and not Socialism, becomes 
 the controlling consideration in that organization. We are not knowingly 
 employing any members of the Western Federation of Miners, because we 
 do not believe that we can afford to allow a branch of that organization 
 to become re-established in this district while the Socialistic element in 
 the organization continues to direct it policies." One of the mine mana- 
 gers. See Wright's Reports, p. 292. 
 
 "Not only as individuals, but as an organization, the Citizens' 
 Alliance actively supported the policy of the Mine Owners' Association 
 of refusing employment to any member of the Western Federation of 
 Miners, and also the policy of deporting all members of the Federation. 
 The alliance and the association alleged that the Federation was a 
 'Socialistic and criminal organization,' and therefore, that their attitude 
 toward it was justifiable." Wright's Report, pp. 29-50. 
 
 When we examine these carefully, it is easy to see that the 
 progress of Socialism was and is the one particular thing 
 dreaded by the Mine Owners' Association and that they sought 
 to divide the ranks of labor and prejudice as many as pos- 
 
174 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 sible of all classes against Socialism, by parading before the 
 mind all the incongruity, both apparent and real, that would 
 result, from applying its principles in our capitalistic society. 
 
 The looting of the W. F. M. Co-operative stores by the 
 Citizens' Alliance, I think, may be taken as an additional mani- 
 festation of the opposition to Socialism; for they were cer- 
 tainly the 'result of an effort on the part of the W. F. M. to 
 realize some of the economies of Socialism. 
 
 The next important movement in this great struggle was 
 the unlawful kidnapping of the W. F. M. officers, Charles 
 Moyer, President; William D. Hay wood, Secretary -Treasurer ; 
 and George A. Pettibone, a member of the Executive Com- 
 mittee, at Denver on February 17, 1906, by the conspiracy of 
 the officials of Idaho and Colorado, aided by Pinkerton detec- 
 tives. 
 
 The crime with which they were charged was that of the 
 murder of ex-Governor Frank Steunenberg, of Idaho, who was 
 killed by the explosion of an infernal machine at his front 
 yard gate in the town of Caldwell, Idaho, on the night of 
 December 30, 1905. 
 
 The facts of this kidnapping conspiracy are too well 
 known to require more than a mention. For more than four- 
 teen months these men have been confined in jail, and now, as 
 the time set for trial approaches, it is enough to make one's 
 flesh creep, so much is it like the coiling of a snake around 
 its victim, to read an article such as now lies before me, which 
 is but a sample of hundreds that are paraded before the public. 
 
 This article was written from Boise, Idaho, under date 
 of May 4, 1907, in anticipation of the approaching trial. Con- 
 cerning the false affidavit by which the Federation leaders 
 were extradited, the writer says that "though false, it is 
 nevertheless true as a compliance with the letter and spirit of 
 the statute according to the officers of the state." 
 
 The statement may be true "according to the officers of 
 the state," but the trouble is they are liars when they say that 
 the affidavit was "true as a compliance with the letter and 
 spirit of the statute," unless it be that a statement can be 
 false and yet true at the same time. "True as a compliance 
 with the letter and spirit of the statute." How can that be? 
 Oh, I see now! The lawmakers manage to jumble words 
 together so that they may mean almost anything; and the 
 lawbreakers just juggle the words, breathe into them what- 
 ever spirit they please; and so, when it is desired to proceed 
 against laboring men, a false affidavit will answer the pur- 
 pose, for it can be interpreted to be "true as a compliance 
 with the letter and spirit of the statute." 
 
 I have not examined the Idaho statute, but I suppose 
 
GOVERNMENTAL ALIGNMENT WITH WEALTH 175 
 
 they must have it fixed up that way somehow. It used to be 
 that a statement that was false, was false sure enough, and 
 that was all there was to it. Now it is different. Now it all 
 depends on interpretation and construction. It is wonderful 
 what they can do these days? Wonderful! It all depends 
 on the officials. If they understand their business they can do 
 almost anything and it is all right. In the olden time it was 
 taught that "the king can do no wrong;" but in our modern 
 society the quality of infallibility extends to all officials who 
 have in their foreheads the mark of the beast of Capitalism. 
 
 Continuing, the writer says that the result was a victory 
 for the state. Yes, it was a victory for the party in power 
 in Idaho. It was a decided victory for capitalism ; but like 
 many another victory recorded in history, it is apt to prove 
 its greatest defeat. The writer of the article is surely not 
 so ignorant as not to know that the United States Supreme 
 Court admitted that it was a kidnapping "in defiance of all 
 constitutional right," but held the imbecilic position that the 
 possession of the bodies of the defendants, though illegally 
 acquired, was legal. As to the methods of gaining possession 
 of the defendants, the officials were black conspirators and 
 criminals, but once in their possession, that possession was 
 legal. This is very difficult for us to comprehend, who are not 
 versed in interpretations and constructions and juggling of 
 statutes. And it is not necessary that we should compre- 
 hend. All we need to know is that it can be done, and when 
 it is done we should acquiesce quietly, like good (desirable) 
 citizens, and not go bleating around that the prisoners were 
 kidnapped in defiance of all constitutional right, lest we also 
 become "undesirable" citizens. 
 
 But whatever may be the conclusion relative to the merits 
 of the Moyer-Haywood case, it is not by any means vital to 
 Socialism. The whole trouble, as well as all similar troubles, 
 is the result of a defect in our present system, that argues 
 very strongly for its abolition, provided there can be found 
 a better system to take its place; and such a system we con- 
 fidently insist has already been outlined in Socialism. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 GOVERNMENTAL ALIGNMENT WITH WEALTH. 
 
 And whatever one may think of the merits of the Mover- 
 Haywood case, so far as the actual guilt or innocence of the 
 accused parties is concerned, it helps to illustrate a fact already 
 well known, that nearly all our governmental machinery, both 
 state and national, is but a tool of capitalism. 
 
176 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 To get this well before the mind, we insert here a portion of 
 Justice McKenna's dissenting opinion. 
 
 In the case at bar the states, through their officers, are the offen- 
 ders. They, by an illegal exertion of power, deprived the accused of a 
 constitutional right. The distinction is important to be observed. It 
 finds expression in Mahon vs. Justice. But it does not need emphasizing. 
 Kidnapping is a crime, pure and simple. It is difficult to accomplish ; 
 hazardous at every step. All of the officers of the law are supposed 
 to be on guard against it. All of the officers of the law may be invoked 
 against it. But how is it when the law becomes the kidnapper? When 
 the officers of the law, using its forms and exerting its power, become 
 abductors? This is not a distinction without a difference another form 
 of the crime of kidnapping distinguished only from that committed by 
 an individual by circumstances. If a state may say to one within her 
 borders and upon whom her process is served, I will not inquire how 
 you came here ; I must execute my laws and remit you to proceedings 
 against those who have wronged you, may she so plead against her 
 own offenses? May she claim that by mere physical presence within 
 her borders an accused person is within her jurisdiction denuded of his 
 constitutional rights, though he has been brought there by her violence? 
 
 Talk about your Dred Scott decisions ! But why comment ? 
 This document is a commentary of itself, and ought to be 
 framed and hung in every home, in every office, in every public 
 hall, in every place where man doth congregate. 
 
 It presents a sectional view of our civil government. Per- 
 haps an observation taken at this point reveals more plainly 
 than at most other points the nature of the government and so 
 does more toward answering the question that naturally arises 
 in the mind of the student, as to whether our government is a 
 democracy or a plutocracy. The observation taken here reveals 
 very clearly the fact that it is a plutocracy; and I think it will 
 be found that if observations taken at other points do not show 
 this so plainly it is because they do not reveal so much ; and that 
 all they do reveal points in the same direction. 
 
 Observations made at two other simliar points reveal very 
 different phenomena, but go to prove the same thing, namely, 
 that is a plutocracy. 
 
 I refer first to the case that has been so well aired by the 
 Appeal to Reason and other Socialist papers, that of ex-Gov- 
 ernor Taylor who was charged with the murder of Goebel of 
 . Kentucky, and fled from the state after the crime was com- 
 mitted. A requisition for his return could be made out with a 
 true affidavit showing him to be a fugitive from justice no 
 need of an Idaho prosecutor to swear to a lie. 
 
 Was the requisition honored ? No. And why not ? Was 
 there any difference .in the crimes charged? No. Both were 
 the blackest of crimes cold blooded murder. Was there any 
 difference in the personnel of the meri ? Practically none. Both 
 were men of brains, men of recognized intelligence. Was there 
 any difference in the social standing? Not to speak of. Both 
 
GOVERNMENTAL ALIGNMENT WITH WEALTH 177 
 
 were recognized leaders among men. Why, then, was the requi- 
 sition based on an affidavit known to be false honored, while 
 that based on a true affidavit was dishonored? There must 
 surely be a difference somewhere. 
 
 Yes, there is a difference. It is true that both are leaders 
 of their respective classes ; and this suggests the difference. The 
 one was a rich man, a capitalist, a political advocate of capitalist 
 politics, and affiliated with the capitalist class. The others were 
 poor men, wage-workers, political advocates of working class 
 politics, and affiliated with the working class. 
 
 A comparison of the phenomena revealed by these two 
 sectional views shows conclusively that we are being pluto- 
 cratically governed. 
 
 The other case is related by the Appeal to Reason as 
 follows : 
 
 "Julius Beiser, who, being under indictment for various swindling, 
 operations, was kidnapped February 14, 1907, by Deputy Sheriff Andrew 
 Earnest, of Lima, Ohio, and taken from Cincinnati to Allen County,, 
 where he was wanted. What happened? Federal Judge Thompson of 
 Cincinnati (at request of the Bridge Trust, which has gone into volun- 
 tary bankruptcy to escape being held financially responsible for its swind- 
 ling operations,) ordered the Sheriff to release Beiser, and cited the 
 officer to appear before the Judge and answer a charge of contempt 
 This threat of Federal Judge Thompson failed to secure the release of 
 the Bridge Trust's agent. Then what did the Federal Judge do? He 
 wired the Sheriff as follows : Tf indictment against Beiser is nolled you 
 need not appear before me in contempt.' The Federal Judge, in plain 
 words, said to the kidnapping Sheriff: 'Release your victim dismiss the 
 charge against him, and you will not have to answer the charge of con- 
 tempt.' The Judge used his position to secure the release of a man 
 wanted in Allen County, Ohio, who, by the same tactics employed in 
 the Moyer-Haywood case, was dragged within the jurisdiction of the 
 court in which he has been indicted." 
 
 What the merits of this case are is of no particular value, 
 but it furnishes another sectional view similar to the Moyer- 
 Haywood case, in that the indicted person was brought into the 
 jurisdiction of the court by kidnapping. The phenomena we 
 wish to compare is the different actions of the Judges in the two 
 cases. In the one case the Supreme Court of the United States 
 refuses habeas corpus to the indicted persons, and in the other 
 Federal Judge Thompson, of Cincinnati, Ohio, orders the release 
 of the indicted person. 
 
 And again we ask, what was the difference in the two 
 cases that caused such a difference in the actions of the two 
 courts? Was it a difference in the courts themselves? Well, 
 we should hardly think so. True, one is higher in authority, but 
 a Federal Judge in a great city like Cincinnati is a man high 
 up in authority, and we may reasonably expect his action to be 
 not very different from that of the Supreme Court. Was it a 
 difference in the manner of the arrest? No. Both arrests were 
 
178 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 illegal. Both were kidnapped. The difference then, must be in 
 the men. What was the difference in the men ? we ask ; and the 
 answer comes back in thunder tones or in whispers low, it 
 doesn't matter which, but the answer comes back ; "the one 
 ordered released was a capitalist; the others ordered held in 
 chains, were poor workingmen." And again we have the same 
 conclusion, that we are plutocratically governed. 
 
 Another alarmingly illustrative point in the Moyer-Hay- 
 wood case is found in the illegal manner in which the arrest 
 was made, showing to what extent officers of the law may vio- 
 late the law without being held responsible. Unlawful injunc- 
 tions and illegal and arbitrary exactions have become of such 
 frequent occurrence that they have come to be taken as a matter 
 of course,, so that a Madden, an inferior officer of the Postal 
 Department, may arbitrarily abridge the freedom of the press by 
 unjust rulings, as he did with both Wilshire's and the Appeal 
 to Reason, without being even questioned by his superiors. And 
 when an official is beaten he simply retreats in good order with- 
 out any reparation being made to the injured party or suffering 
 any penalty for his violations of law however flagrant. It 
 would require volumes to rehearse the many official violations 
 of law in this country that are continually winked at, and in 
 nearly all cases they are committed by the wealthy, or by those 
 who seek to please them. Almost invariably they point to the 
 fact that wealth rules. 
 
 But we need not confine ourselves to the consideration of 
 sectional views. Just think for a moment of the United States 
 Senate, that august body of millionaires. Where is the man so 
 ignorant that he needs to be told, and who. so blind that he has 
 not seen many of them "get there." A comparison of notes 
 "shows that, allowing for exceptions and details, the story of one 
 is the story of all. 
 
 And as we contemplate all these things there come crowd- 
 ing into or minds those memorable and prophetic words of 
 the immortal Lincoln : 
 
 "Yes, we may all congratulate ourselves that this cruel war is near- 
 ing its close. It has cost a vast amount of treasure and blood. The best 
 blood of tjie flower of American youth ;has been freely offered upon our 
 country's altar that the nation might live. It has been indeed a trying 
 hour for the republic ; but I see in the near future a crisis approaching 
 that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my 
 country. 
 
 "As a result of the war corporations have been enthroned and an 
 era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the 
 country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the preju- 
 dices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and 
 the republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the 
 safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God 
 grant that my suspicions may prove groundless." Nov. 21, 1864, Wm. F. 
 Elkin Shibley, p. 282. 
 
GOVERNMENTAL ALIGNMENT WITH WEALTH 179 
 
 Mr. Lincoln said that corporations had been enthroned. 
 Have they since been dethroned? If not they must be reigning 
 still. And who does not know that this is the case? . But 
 they have run up against a snag at last. President Roose- 
 velt is reported to have recently delivered himself of the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 "Harriman and Rockefeller are backing Hearst, and I want to put 
 Hearst, Debs, Hay wood, Moyer and Harriman in the same class as 
 anarchists and undesirable citizens. The fight is against me and my 
 politics. It is on in Ohio, Pennsylvania and other states." 
 
 This means, of course, will have to mean that Mr. Roose- 
 velt will have to give in and submit to a third term. That 
 will be absolutely necessary, in order to enable him to con- 
 duct the fight to a finish. It will be a battle royal, no doubt. 
 
 To be candid, I was once an admirer of Mr. Roosevelt ; not 
 -however, so ardent an admirer as some, for I had a lurking 
 suspicion that he might possibly be just playing politics. And 
 even with that idea in view I could hardly help admiring him 
 still, for I thought that if it was but a play he certainly played 
 well. For a long time during this period of doubting I had 
 some hope that he would prove to be a really progressive man, 
 as progressive as the people are ready for, and that he would 
 exert an influence to lead them in the right direction. In the 
 midst of these doubts his course has been a source of great 
 encouragement to me, for, with the thought that he was simply 
 playing, I was glad that it was necessary to play that way. I 
 have long since learned to regard the sayings and doings of the 
 politicians as an index, not so much of what they are thinking, 
 as of what the people are thinking; and being generally too 
 busy to keep very well posted on the trend of popular senti- 
 ment I watch the great politicians pretty closely. I use them 
 for a political barometer or weathercock, and so when I see 
 the politicians sneezing, I know that the people are taking snuff. 
 Well, as time went on and the sneezing gradually became more 
 strenuous, my doubts gradually changed to -a firm conviction 
 that it was simply a play, that finally developed into a veritable 
 monkey show that was really amnsing. 
 
 But now, it has lost even the respectability of a monkey 
 show. The "tricks" are no longer even "cute." The fact is, 
 the performance has become so coarse and vulgar that it is 
 emphatically disgusting. Knowing to what extent President 
 Roosevelt stands in the minds of the American people for a 
 "square deal," I feel almost as if I ought to apologize for express- 
 ing myself so, especially as this is not absolutely vital to our 
 main subject, Socialism ; but it is important, as we shall en- 
 deavor to show presently. 
 
 Although a Socialist, I was inclined to regard Mr. Roose- 
 
i8o ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 velt as about the right kind of a man to steer the ship of state 
 through the shoals of the latter end of capitalism even though 
 he might be playing politics just a little ; but lately, since he 
 has become so blatant, seems to be presuming so much upon the 
 ignorance and credulity of the people, and is now seeking to 
 stir, up strife and animosity where there ought to be peace and 
 good will, my disgust has deepened into indignation. 
 
 That the President's fight against the millionaires is mostly 
 sham as shown by the way his right bower, Secretary Cortelyou, 
 turned over $71,000,000 the other day to the national banks in 
 order to help Standard Oil out of a seventy million dollar gamb- 
 ling scrape; (space forbids its discussion here, but this matter 
 ought to be investigated by every man in the nation ;) and that 
 whatever of his contention with the great capitalists is not sham, 
 is but a fight over the spoils stolen from labor, the farmers'" 
 chickens, is evidenced by the following which we copy from the 
 Chicago Daily Socialist: 
 
 "At the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington a short time ago, Presi- 
 dent Roosevelt showed his teeth and pointing his finger at H. H. Rogers 
 and J. Pierpont Morgan, delivered himself of this gem : 
 
 " 'If you gentlemen are not willing to accept the action of the con- 
 servative class, which is ready to afford protection alike to the rich and 
 poor, I will say to you now that when you have disposed of us by your 
 machinations you will find yourselves face to face with a people which 
 believes it has been deprived of its right and a mob which does not have 
 the least respect for riches. You can take your choice.' " 
 
 Could anything be plainer? It seems to me that the curtain 
 must have been slipped accidentally. Here is a plain propo- 
 sition, the ultimatum from the hawk combination to the eagle 
 combination. It virtually says: "You can take your choice be- 
 tween widening your circle and letting us in, or be turned 
 over to the tender mercies of the Socialist mob." And, in 
 view of the seventy-one million dollar consideration mentioned, 
 it now looks very strongly as if the hawks, by this shrewd 
 diplomacy had forced a compromise and have at last been 
 admitted to the inner circle where -hawks and eagles alike all 
 sit together around a common table. It will of course be neces- 
 sary to keep the curtain closely drawn except while the tourna- 
 ment is in progress. And this will be something grand. The 
 exciting part about it is that the people will be made to think 
 that it is a real fight, and many an exultant cheer will be sent up 
 for the "plumed knight." 
 
 To show that it is not the so-called Debs-Moyer-Haywood 
 anarchism, nor the "mob that has no respect for riches," but 
 an organized body that "believes it has been deprived of its 
 rights," "the real thing," the Co-operative Commonwealth, the 
 Social Democracy that he fears, we quote here a portion of a 
 
GOVERNMENTAL ALIGNMENT WITH WEALTH 181 
 
 letter written by Jackson Tinker, a New York newspaper man, 
 as published in the Appeal to Reason : 
 
 "Then he summoned some of the railroad presidents again and 
 told them frankly that he was convinced they were standing in the way 
 of their own best interests by not being willing to accept moderate regu- 
 lation of railroads by Federal authority. 'Gentlemen/ he said, 'you are 
 only inviting still more radical action government ownership.' One of 
 his visitors was shocked when the President, turning upon him in his 
 abrupt manner, exclaimed : 'The Republican Party will not go up against 
 any more "stuffed clubs" in a good while. The Democratic Party will not 
 try that game again in this generation.' 
 
 "'What then?' gasped his visitor. 
 
 " 'Social democracy,' came the astonishing rejoinder. 'That will be 
 the next move unless we Republicans, with full power in the executive and 
 legislative departments of the government, satisfy the people and reform, 
 existing conditions. If we don't do this we shall be overwhelmed.' " 
 
 Here is your "staunch," "bold," "fearless/' "true," "im- 
 partial," "square deal" man. Dear reader: Is this the kind of. 
 square deal you want? Simply to give the people the least pos- 
 sible that will satisfy them and tell them how much better off 
 they are than when they were starving? Do you want to depend 
 on leaders who have no sympathy, nothing in common with you, 
 no interest, in fact, but self interest, and no fear but the fear 
 of being "overwhelmed?" Or would you prefer a government 
 where the administration will have no incentive to give the 
 people less than their rights, whether they ask for them or not? 
 
 Considering all these things, especially the brandishing of 
 the "big stick" before the names of three millionaires linked 
 with those of three workingmen, and all branded with the 
 opprobrious name "anarchist," it becomes evident that the real 
 fight is to be against Socialism. It is evident that instead of 
 a "square deal," the President is determined that there shall 
 be no square deal for labor. This is evidenced from his attitude 
 toward the Moyer-Haywood case. 
 
 When great trials are pending it is expected of all court 
 and other officials, especially those high in authority, that they 
 avoid any expression that would tend to bias public sentiment. 
 His argument that the other side do this has nothing in it. 
 They have a right to object to kidnapping. But when we con- 
 sider the President's general attitude toward the accused, as 
 illustrated by his sending Secretary Taft to Idaho to preach 
 "law and order" and by his bitter denunciation of them as an- 
 archists and "undesirable citizens," when we consider this it 
 begins to read to us that he is taking up the slogan of the con- 
 spirators, which, in an evil moment of elation and excitement 
 found expression from the lips of Governor Gooding: "They 
 shall never leave Idaho alive." 
 
 We insert here the following from the Spokesman-Review, 
 a Republican paper published at Spokane, Washington: 
 
182 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 PITTSBURG, Pa., May 8. John D. Pringle, editor of the Labor 
 World of Pittsburg, to-night received the following letter from President 
 Roosevelt in acknowledgment of an editorial recently published in his 
 paper in connection with the Moyer-Haywood controversy: 
 
 "The White House, Washington, May 7, 1907. My Dear Mr. Prin- 
 
 fle: Nothing that has been spoken or written that I have seen of the 
 loyer and Haywood controversy has pleased me as much as your letter 
 and editorial. In my letter I wished to drive a wedge in between the 
 honest, law-abiding man with whom I feel much hearty sympathy and 
 those foes of the labor movement who preach anarchy and lawlessness, 
 just as I wish to see a wedge driven between the capitalist who is an 
 oppressor or swindler and the capitalist who strives to do right by all his 
 fellows the man who is an American citizen first and capitalist second. 
 Above all, I want to express my absolute agreement with your final para 
 graph, running as follows : 
 
 "'The Labor World has not a word to utter regarding the guilt or 
 innocence of Mover, Haywood and Pettibone in their present terrible 
 position. We hope they are innocent and will be proved to be so, but 
 what we want to point out is that their innocence of the preferred chaige 
 against them will not, in our estimation, exonerate them from the charge 
 of preaching an industrial and social policy that is damning to the best 
 interests of the wage workers of the country.' 
 
 "With all good wishes, believe me, sincerely yours, 
 
 "THEODORE ROOSEVELT." 
 
 The simple fact of the whole matter is, that the President 
 cares very little for this Idaho case, nor even whether 'Gene 
 Debs is an anarchist or not, but the main point that this so- 
 called "square deal" man is driving at is to prevent Socialism 
 getting a "square deal." He well knows that a very large 
 part of the people are favorably minded toward Socialism. He 
 knows that there are many of these who are Socialists -"of a 
 type," or who are "in sympathy with the under current of 
 Socialism," or who believe that "Socialism will come gradually 
 and will be a great blessing to society." He knows that many 
 of these have been deceived by the capitalist press into believ- 
 ing that the Western Federation of Miners are little more than 
 an anarchistic band of outlaws. He knows that many have 
 been made to believe that the present Socialistic movement is 
 decidedly anarchistic, that it has "fallen into bad hands," etc. 
 He knows that they are rapidly being undeceived, and that if 
 something is not done, and done quickly, the time is near when 
 all the "under currents" and upper currents, the "types" and the 
 anti-types, the Christian Socialists and the anti-Christian Social- 
 ists, the evolutionary Socialists and the revolutionary Socialists, 
 the "let-us-have-Socialism-quick" Socialists and the "no-use-to- 
 be-in-a-hurry" Socialists, when all these elements ^ will be 
 brought together in one grand and mighty movement, in which 
 the watchword will be FORWARD. 
 
 And there is another thing the President knows. He knows 
 something about human nature. He knows that there is no 
 more successful method of upsetting reason than by stirring 
 up contention and strife, and arousing combativeness. And so 
 
GOVERNMENTAL ALIGNMENT WITH WEALTH 183 
 
 he seeks to stir up a fight with what are called radical Social- 
 ists that he may bring them into disrepute as anarchists, and 
 wean away from them otheis of Socialistic proclivities. 
 
 This is the long and the short of it. It is a wily scheme 
 of capitalism that has already begun. It is impossible to look 
 into the future and say with any degree of accuracy what will 
 be, but there is certainly good reason now to believe this scheme 
 will be greatly developed. The tactics of "Royal Billy," in 
 using terrorizing methods, by stirring labor union and Socialist 
 leaders to words of resentment ; and then, pointing the finger and 
 crying "terrorist!" have already begun to be adopted in -this 
 country. 
 
 But whatever labor troubles there may be, whether much 
 or little, if Mr. Roosevelt can be by any means "prevailed on" to 
 accept a third term, we may look for another terrible four years' 
 war, a sanguinary conflict with the great capitalists, in which 
 the fighting will be nearly all done with the "big stick." It 
 will probably close in time to lay plans for a fourth term. 
 
 The "big stick" by reason of its "terrific momentum, will 
 probably continue its revolutions for several months (possibly 
 years; it cannot now be estimated) after the last foe has van- 
 ished from sight, and then all will be hushed and still. 
 
 And amid this deathlike stillness there 'will probably issue a 
 new prophecy from the White House: Not like unto that old 
 prophecy of fifty years before, filled with pessimism, with gloom 
 and despondency, but the new prophecy will be optimistic and cal- 
 culated to make one buoyant with hope. It will probably run 
 something like this : 
 
 "The war has at last drawn to a close. It has been indeed 
 a trying hour for ME and the Republic. It has cost a vast 
 amount of brain and muscle and splinters. The best end of the 
 "big stick" has been badly battered. The best portion of my 
 brain and muscle (especially muscle) have been freely 'offered 
 upon our country's altar that the nation might live, but I see 
 in the near future a picture arising that nerves me, thrills me, 
 fills me with ambitions that I've felt before. 
 
 "As a result of the war corporations have been dethroned 
 and an era of purity in high places will follow, and will con- 
 tinue as long as there is no interference with me and my poli- 
 tics. This it is that sets me dreaming, 'dreaming dreams I never 
 dared to dream before.' " Quoth the Red Raven, "Nevermore !" 
 
 To show that it is. the real thing, Socialism and not 
 "anarchy," "mob," "terrorism," "the destruction of the home," 
 or some other imaginary, chimerical, intangible, bugaboo, we 
 insert here an extract from an article of March 16, 1907, signed 
 N. J. and published in the New York Journal of Commerce and 
 
1 84 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 Commercial Bulletin, a plutocratic sheet of the highest authority 
 and quoted in the Appeal to Reason : 
 
 In recent editorials you have repeatedly touched upon the subject 
 of Socialism, and have emphasized the dangers that threaten our com- 
 monwealth from the alarming spread of Socialistic ideas. The fact 
 remains that within recent years those tendencies have been progressing 
 to a dangerous extent in the chief European countries. The question 
 arises : Should we wait until the movement has attained similar propor- 
 tions in the United States, or guard against it while we still have the 
 power to do so? 
 
 I have come to the conclusion that the four suggestions given below 
 will probably afford the best means of arresting the progress of these 
 unhealthful excrescences on our social organizations. 
 
 That Socialism, aided by its powerful ally, the labor unions, should 
 ever become strong enough to overthrow the laws relating to the owner- 
 ship of property, which would mean a change in our constitution, may 
 seem doubtful from present aspects ; but it is by no means impossible, 
 if we consider how often in the past the masses, when endowed with the 
 power, have been carried away to commit excesses, and if we consider 
 further that the masses will view matters of this nature not so much 
 from the standpoint of equity as from that of personal advantage, espe- 
 cially if the end can be attained through such a seemingly legitimate 
 means as the ballot box. To guard against such an eventuality we should 
 enact preventive laws before the power to do so has passed out of our 
 hands. We should make it impossible to destroy the constitutional safe- 
 guards thrown around property holders. If the constitution could be so 
 amended that its provisions relating to the rights of the owner to his 
 property could not be changed except by the vote of nine-tenths of all 
 qualified electors, and if at the same time the expropriation laws were 
 well defined and limited to the taxing power placed under reasonable 
 restriction, we should feel assured that we were reasonably well defended 
 against the onslaughts of Socialism. 
 
 A preventive measure, therefore, which is attainable now may not 
 be so a few years hence. 
 
 To propose such a radical measure as an amendment to the consti- 
 tution in order to guard against the aggressions of so puny a foe as 
 Socialism is at present, may seem unwarranted to the average voter. 
 Apparently, however, it is the only available measure within our reach. 
 It would surely be effective, considering that the property-owning element 
 of our population, notably the farmers, will at all times represent more 
 than ten per cent of the country's voting strength.* 
 
 Socialism makes for peace. One of its most beneficent 
 effects will be actual, universal peace. The ideals of Socialism 
 are especially attractive to peace-loving people ; and periods of 
 peace are best adapted to the propagation of Socialistic doc- 
 trines, but the enemy is too cunning to permit us to conduct 
 our Socialist agitation in a peaceable, amicable way. It is 
 likely to be a continual fight from now on. "Gentlemen cry 
 peace! peace! but there is no peace." 
 
 *History furnishes a very dose parallel to this. In A. D. 302, the Roman plu- 
 tocracy was confronted by a very similar industrial spectre to the one that now faces 
 the modern plutocracy. This spectre was first observed by one Galerius, who ap- 
 pealed to the Kmperors to take time by the forelock and provide while they -could 
 against majority rule. He had a program that was clear cut. It was simply to 
 make a great slaughter and kill all the Christians. Our modern Galerius is not so 
 practical. The first part of his program might he carried out. Possihlv the people 
 might he induced to tie their hands with the constitutional knot; but does the idiot 
 really think there will ever he a generation so tame as to submit to a constitution 
 that is opprobrious to nine-tenths of them? 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 185 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Selected Miscellanies. 
 
 Let dead hearts tarry and trade and marry, 
 
 And trembling nurse their dreams of mirth, 
 While we the living our lives are giving 
 ' To bring the bright new world to birth. 
 Come shoulder to shoulder as the earth grows older! 
 
 The Cause spreads over land and sea; 
 Now the world shaketh, and fear awaketh, 
 And joy at last for thee and me. 
 
 William Morris. 
 
 Revolutions are not destructive ; they are necessary to preservation. 
 Babes and birds grow to a certain development before birth, but cannot 
 live forever in the womb and in the egg. Nations can attain a certain 
 development under the capitalist system, but the social revolution must 
 bring the necessary change at the proper time or the nation will die. 
 Appeal to Reason. 
 
 "CAPITALISM AND YOUR DAUGHTER. 
 
 "Dearest Mother: It is very lonesome here and I almost wish my- 
 self at home with you. The small salary I earn each week does not 
 dress me as well as I would like to dress; and I can't afford to buy 
 the things I need. A gentleman came to where I was working the other 
 day and one of the girls introduced me to him. That evening we took 
 an automobile ride and later took dinner at a cafe. He told me he 
 was wealthy and offered to loan me money to buy new clothes, and 
 he says he wants me to have a good time and not be so lonely. Oh ! I 
 am so unhappy. What shall I do about it? Your loving daughter, 
 Jennie." Appeal to Reason. 
 
 "MR BRYAN AND IMMORAL MONEY. 
 
 "Unclean Muney In Washington the other ^evening Mr. Bryan 
 commended churches and educational institutions which refuse to re- 
 ceive money dishonestly obtained. He says : 
 
 'One of our rich men has reached a point where he sometimes 
 finds it hard to get people to take his money. And 1 regard this as the 
 best evidence of the growth of a moral sentiment in this country. It 
 means something when a great church hesitates and refuses to accept 
 the money until it knows how it was made. I believe the time will 
 come when churches and colleges will refuse to go into partnership 
 in the spending of money immorally made. The influence of the church 
 will be a powerful factor in restoring righteousness.' 
 
 "Clean Money But the difficulty is in determining what is immoral 
 money. Can there be any description of immoral money which will 
 cover a part of the money and not include the rest. Ethics, from the 
 workingmen's standpoint, insists that there is no justice in an exchange 
 
1 86 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 which does not mean an equal service for an equal service. Ethics from 
 the standpoint of the business world insists that it is not only a righteous 
 thing to get something for nothing, but if one gets a good deal of some- 
 thing for a very little of nothing, it is an evidence of character and 
 of divine favor, instead of an evidence of wrong doing. The difference 
 between honest money and dishonest money, from a business standpoint, 
 if such a distinction is to be drawn at all, would probably be that one 
 must not take too much of something for too little of nothing ; that it 
 is both inhuman and unprofitable to skin the lambs as well as take their 
 wool." Saturday Evening Tribune, Seattle, Wash. 
 
 GOV. ALTGELD'S OPTIMISM. 
 
 (Peroration of a speech delivered in Chicago by John P. Altgeld 
 in 1900.) 
 
 But, says one, is there any use in our making an effort?- Are not 
 all the banks of this country, all of the trusts and great corporations 
 of this country, is not the fashion of this country, are not the drawing 
 rooms and the clubs of this country now controlled by concentrated 
 and corrupt wealth ? Are they not growing stronger every year, and 
 do they not villify and attempt to corrupt everybody that does not 
 submit? Can anything be accomplished in the way of curbing this great 
 force and protecting the American people? 
 
 My friends, let me cite you a parallel. George W. Curtis and other 
 writers of his day, have described the slave power back in the 'so's. 
 They tell us that slavery sat in the White House and made laws in the 
 capitol, that courts of justice were its ministers, that senators and 
 legislators were its lackeys; that it controlled the professor in his 
 lecture room, the editor in his sanctum, the preacher in his pulpit, that 
 it swaggered in the drawing room; that it ruled at the clubs; that it 
 dominated with iron hand all the affairs of society; that every year 
 enlarged its power, every move increased its dominion ; that the men 
 and women who dared even to question the divinity of that institution 
 were ostracized, were persecuted, were villified aye, were hanged. 
 
 But the great clock in the chamber of the Omnipotent never stands 
 still. It ticked away the years as it had once ticked away the centuries. 
 Finally it struck the hour, and the world heard the tread of a million 
 armed men, and slavery vanished from America forever. Note the 
 parallel. To-day the syndicate rules at the White House and makes 
 laws in the capitol, courts of justice are its ministers, senators and 
 legislators are its lackeys. It controls the preacher in his pulpit, the 
 professor in his lecture room, the editor in his sanctum; it swaggers in 
 the drawing room, it rules at the clubs, it dominates with a rod of iron 
 the affairs of society. Every year enlarges its power, and the men and 
 women who protest against crimes that are committed by organized 
 greed in this country who talk of protecting the American people, 
 are ostracized, are villified, are hounded and imprisoned. It seems mad- 
 ness even to question the divinity of the American svndicate. But my 
 friends, the great clock is still ticking is still ticking. Soon it will 
 strike the hour, and the world will see. not one million, but ten million 
 free men rise up armed, not with muskets, but with freemen's ballots, 
 and the sway of the syndicate will vanish from America forever. 
 
 Miscellaneous Observations of the Author. 
 
 I. Equality Through Capitalistic Glasses. Charles J. 
 Bonaparte, Attorney-General of the United States, is reported 
 to have delivered a lecture on "Socialism and Charity," in Car- 
 nagie Hall, New York, recently, being introduced by Arch- 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 bishop ^ Farley, as "the first Catholic citizen of the United 
 States," and to have said, in part: 
 
 "As I have said on another occasion, the root of Socialism 
 is the doctrine that all men are of right and ought to be, -and 
 should therefore be made and kept precisely equal." 
 
 The first emotion that arises- in the mind of the Socialist 
 on reading this assertion is apt to be that of indignation; and, 
 unless he has learned self-control pretty well, the first impulse will 
 be to denounce it as a palpable falsehood; and next he will 
 feel very much ashamed of himself when he comes to con- 
 sider the matter and sees that the man is simply mistaken; and 
 that the mistake is perfectly natural for anyone to make who 
 looks through capitalistic glasses. Under capitalism, wealth is 
 everything ; it has become the god, the all in all. 
 
 Under capitalism wealth is the only thing that is sub- 
 stantial. . True, there is one other thing that has been much 
 talked of, but it is a mere nothing ; or at least it is not a sub- 
 stance, unless Wilford Hall's theory of the substantial nature 
 of sound be the true one. I refer to what we call "rights," 
 personal rights," "Equal and inalienable rights." Under capi- 
 talism, these all consist of pure sound and nothing else. 
 
 For a hundred years "equality" has been flaunted to the 
 breeze and greeted with cheers. That was all right so long as 
 it remained in the air ; but now, since it has been proposed to 
 bring it into contact with things mundane it has suddenly become 
 a thing to be loathed and execrated. Now, the only place for 
 equality is in the air. Capitalism is now sorry, no doubt, that 
 it was ever admitted, even there ; and if the present so-called 
 danger had been foreseen, it is safe to say that steps would 
 have been taken to cut it out of the air. So much of it, how- 
 ever, has accumulated in the air, that it is now too late to 
 cut it out. It is rapidly pressing down to the earth in spite 
 of all the thunders of capitalism against it. 
 
 Capitalism knows no distinction among people except that 
 of wealth. If there should come along seven men, all possess- 
 ing exactly a million dollars' worth of property, one a plain, 
 uneducated farmer of the old style, with a million dollars' worth 
 of land and stock and wheat ; another a great and learned 
 preacher with a million dollars' worth of bibles ; another a great 
 college president with a million dollars' worth of Standard Oil 
 stocks ; another a great merchant with a million dollars invested 
 in merchandise ; another a "red light" keeper with a million 
 dollars invested in houses of ill fame ; another a great distiller 
 with a million dollars' worth of whiskey; and another a blind 
 idiot with a million dollars' worth of jewsharps, if these should 
 all come walking down the street side by side capitalism would 
 
1 88 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 swear, with its hand on the whole stack of the preacher's bibles, 
 that these seven men are all alike, just like seven peas. 
 
 2. The Red Flag. It is interesting to contemplate the 
 impression that many people have of the red flag, the peculiar 
 effect it has upon some and the treatment it receives from them. 
 
 It is also curiously interesting to note the successive emo- 
 tions that fill our own minds during such contemplation. Mirth, 
 pity and disgust are all jumbled together as we see the capi- 
 talists enraged, storming and bellowing like a mad bull at the 
 sight of a red rag. This is likely to be succeeded by more 
 indignation and resentment than is best for us when we behold 
 the ruthless, forcible suppression of labor's chosen peaceful 
 emblem by the police and military, as though it were the most 
 dangerous thing, imaginable. Finally, we are, or should be, 
 filled with charity for the masses who are deceived by the capi- 
 talist press into believing that the red flag means fight, blood- 
 shed, violence, anarchy, devastation and destruction ;" who do 
 not know that it has been the emblem of labor from time im- 
 memorial, and that the significance of the color is international 
 and therefore peaceful, suggesting that all nations should be 
 united in one brotherhood, since the blood of all is alike, all 
 red. 
 
 3. Mother's Wish. As an illustration of the ruthlessness 
 of capitalism a little while ago I read what was given out as an 
 argument against Socialism, in which the writer evidently 
 thought he was making a great hit by saying that under Social- 
 ism the most valuable property would consist of old plate, family 
 pictures, etc. 
 
 About the same time the unfeeling and cold-hearted ruth- 
 lessness of this species of argument was pressed home to me in 
 a personal incident. While engaged in conversation with an 
 old woman of four score, she said, "Frank, I wish we had the 
 pictures of the three little ones that died." And I said, "Yes, 
 Mother, and after a while it will be so that people may not only 
 see the pictures of their loved ones but may also hear their 
 voices." 
 
 But capitalism laughs at our dear mother's fond memory of 
 fifty years and more. "What.! No profits in that!" Capitalism 
 does not hesitate to outrage all the tender and sympathetic ties 
 which people hold so dear and sacred. From its point of view 
 it is of but little consequence if in the past most people could 
 not afford, or could little afford to give attention to these things ; 
 but Socialism, on the contrary, will make the most ample pro- 
 vision for them. Under Socialism it need no longer be that all 
 the sacred tenderness of human nature, all those refined im- 
 pulses of the human breast, all that tends most to bring heaven 
 to earth, must be choked out. 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 18* 
 
 4. Around the Square. The tactics of the opposition to 
 Socialism is the most cowardly that could be imagined. It is a 
 continually running fight. It is substantially something like 
 this : A modern capitalistic stump orator mounts a box on the 
 corner of a great public square and, beginning with the assertion 
 that ' we have the best government in the world, expatiates 
 verbosely and grandiloquently upon the glories of our present 
 society, saying, among other things, that if one isn't happy it 
 is his own fault, he is lazy, etc., etc. 
 
 Hearing this a doughty Socialist elbows his way through 
 the crowd, mounts another box near by and does capitalism to 
 a finish. 
 
 When he is through the first orator, having fled at the 
 first charge, now starts up on the next corner, but with a changed 
 attitude. He now admits that capitalism is not what it ought 
 to be : In fact he admits all the Socialist said concerning the 
 rottenness of capitalism. He admits the necessity of reform 
 and says that something must be done and that quickly, or we 
 are liable to go to the dogs ; and then drawing himself up to his 
 full height and stretching forth his hand to suit the word, he 
 warns his hearers to "look out for the Socialist! Socialism is 
 dishonest ! Socialism is robbery ! Socialism is anarchism !" 
 
 Immediately our faithful Socialist works his way to this 
 corner, and mounting the box from which the first orator has 
 just retreated, now proceeds in a defense of Socialism and 
 completely demolishes the position of his antagonist who is now 
 heard on the next corner saying that Socialism is all right in 
 principle and would be a grand thing if we could only make it 
 work ; but that it can never be made to work ; that it is too 
 big a thing; is utterly impracticable. 
 
 Then he flees as our plodding Socialist appears and shows 
 up the impracticability of capitalism and the practicability of 
 Socialism in so glowing a light that the air is rent with cheer after 
 cheer as he proceeds to the next corner where his opponent is 
 telling the people that Socialism is bound to come and will be 
 a great blessing to the human race, but that they must be patient, 
 for that it will take time to bring about so great a change, and 
 charging them to be sure and have nothing to do with the 
 present Socialist Party ; that it is in bad hands, being made up 
 for the most part of laborites who are practically all anarchists. 
 
 This last as he flees on the approach of the Socialist, who 
 now proceeds in a telling manner to defend labor from all the 
 aspersions that have been hurled against it. He closes : and, 
 as he mops the perspiration from his face, there rings out from 
 the first corner through the stillness of the night this same voice, 
 saying, "Labor is all right. The Unions are all right. The only 
 trouble is that unionism is becoming ensnared by, and entangled 
 
190 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 with, the wicked and criminal doctrines of Socialism. Socialism 
 is dishonest ! Socialism is robbery ! Socialism is anarchy !" 
 
 Then the Socialist looks plagued. He says, "It makes me 
 tired. I don't see any use following that idiot any further." 
 
 5. The Test of a True Socialist. Many politicians there 
 be who will shed great crocodile tears and put up a great wail, 
 saying that "something must be done to relieve the miseries of 
 the oppressed ;" and that we are going to have "Socialism or 
 something like it." Heed them not; they are hypocrites and 
 seek to deceive you. 
 
 And there are many rich who have genuine sympathy for 
 the poor, (genuine as far as it goes) who would like to see the 
 poor made comfortable, but stumble at the word equality, and 
 go away sorrowful, for they have great possessions. 
 
 But he who would be a true Socialist must be ready to cast 
 all that he has in the Socialistic jack pot and take share and 
 share alike with other people. 
 
 6. How to Destroy Socialism. I have heard or read 
 something, somewhere, sometime, I do not now recall just what 
 nor where nor when, that suggests this thought : 
 
 Satan collects about him a number of his most trusted fol- 
 lowers and discourses to them as follows : "My most loyal 
 subjects ; I have called you together in order to consult with you 
 about a matter of the most stupendous importance to you as well 
 as to me, one in which the very foundations of this great king- 
 dom are seriously threatened. 
 
 Behold a new enemy has come down from heaven. Have 
 you not observed the spread of Socialism all over the whole face 
 of the earth ? A mere spark at first, it has become a great flame. 
 Already its adherents number their hosts by millions, and unless 
 something is done to stay its progress it must soon sweep the 
 earth. 
 
 And do you know what this means? Ah, my dear demons, 
 it is not alone for myself that I am concerned, but when I look 
 upon you I am deeply moved for your sakes. My heart is filled 
 with sorrow and sadness when I reflect that if this great enemy 
 is not checked, the time must soon come when, as we stalk about 
 amid the nocturnal shades and in the dark places of earth, you 
 shall no more be permitted the inestimable pleasure of beholding 
 the innumerable scenes of poverty, squalor, misery and degrada- 
 tion which now furnish you such intense satisfaction ; no more 
 shall mingle in the rapturous orgies of the intoxicating bowl, 
 and no more dance with demoniacal delight on the gory field, 
 wallowing in the blood of its mangled victims, mocking the 
 groans of the dying and laughing hysterically at the indescrib- 
 able scenes of carnage and ruin/ 
 
 Upon this there was a confused clamor mingled with many 
 
MISCELLANEOUS 191 
 
 hisses and a great wail which ceased instantly at a signal from 
 the throne, when his majesty again spoke in measured tones 
 which indicated somewhat of reproof, saying: 
 
 "It has never been any part of the policy of this kingdom 
 to give up in despair until every device of devilish ingenuity 
 has been resorted to. I confess that I have been put to my 
 wit's end in trying to determine what is the best to do in the 
 present case and I have called you together because I realize 
 that in the multitude of counsel there is wisdom, and because 
 I remember what effective service some of you have rendered 
 in the past by your discreet advice. And now let us put away 
 all excitement, all haste, and let us call our wits about us and, 
 after careful consideration, let each one who has somewhat to 
 offer rise and speak." 
 
 After a short pause a monstrous, ill-looking old fiend arose, 
 and with a sinister grin on his savage and wrinkled counte- 
 nance said, "Send me. I will go out among men and enlist every 
 opponent of Socialism in a great army that shall encompass the 
 earth ; and I will make a great slaughter over all the face of 
 the earth, which shall not cease so long as there is a single 
 Socialist left alive." 
 
 And then, with murderous and vindictive frown upon his 
 face he resumed his seat. Whereupon there was a great shout, 
 which, when it had subsided, was succeeded by the following 
 from the throne : 
 
 "My most valiant and renowned fiend : I cannot but be 
 filled with admiration at thy old time, wonted, vindictive deter- 
 mination. It is with the greatest satisfaction that I recall thy 
 valiant service during the centuries past ; how thou didst stir 
 up men to butcher and destroy each other; but alas! those 
 palmy days are gone, gone never more to return, I fear. Gladly 
 woulil I adopt the plan thou dost propose, but it will no longer 
 work. Sad as it is to us, we cannot evade the conclusion that 
 a change has come about among the people of earth. With all 
 their selfishness and other faults by which we reap so great satis- 
 faction, there is now more of sympathy and less of fierceness. 
 Men are not so bloodthirsty as in those grand old days of 
 yore. If thou shouldst essay to do as thou hast said, before one- 
 thousandth part were slain public sympathy would turn the tide ; 
 the number of our enemies would be greatly multiplied and our 
 cause would be lost. The plan thou dost propose was all right 
 in its day, but times have changed. We must now seek a plan 
 that is more up to date." 
 
 To this there was a general assent, in which, however, a 
 considerable degree of dejection was apparent. After a little 
 pause another fiend arose and spoke as follows : 
 
 "I would go among the men of earth and by eloquence and 
 
192 ANALYSIS OF SOCIALISM 
 
 specious argument would seek to stay the onward sweep of 
 Socialism. I would exhaust all the arts of oratory and sophistry 
 to convince them that Socialism is impracticable and that if it 
 could be made successful it would be but a scheme of whole- 
 sale robbery." 
 
 And then warming up with his subject, his countenance 
 beaming with intelligence and an appearance of honesty and 
 candor, he launched into a tirade of eloquence which fairly shook 
 the walls. And again there was a great shout and long continued 
 cheering. 
 
 When this had subsided his majesty spoke as follows: 
 "There was a time when the methods thou proposest were 
 very successful in the grand work of deceiving men, but Social- 
 ism has already been sowing the seeds of truth, and the light 
 that is springing up is more than we are able to cope with. We 
 must look for some other plan." 
 
 After a long while a little fiend arose and said: 
 "I would go and sow the seeds of discord, I would tell those 
 Christians who are favorable to Socialism that the present 
 Socialist Party is made up of atheists, infidels, anarchists and, 
 in fact, the riff-raff of society : and I would stir up the spirit oi 
 proscription* till half the members were read out of the party." 
 At this his majesty arose and, stretching forth his sceptre, 
 said : "Go, my little fiend, go ! Go out upon the earth, and my 
 most Beelzebubic blessings go with thee ! If thou art success- 
 ful, as I hope thou mayst be, my kingdom may endure for a 
 thousand years to come/' 
 
lOOm-12,' 48 (8796s) 
 
YB 07799 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY