Nappanee High School - Napanet Yearbook (Nappanee, IN)

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6 umr S rialifitir ahnirirs By FORREST DEFREES K'lALISM. the means by which the social condition of mankind are to lx bettered. Is a much misunderstood subject. To the average mind a socialist is a man who wants all the wealth of the world divided into as many equal parts as there are Individuals and then to be distributed among them, and who would have yon hobo” sunning himself down by the railroad track to receive as much and be on equal terms with the man who built up the great railroad system. Thlslsa mistaken idea. Those who think this, know nothing whatever of the principles of socialism. The idea of the modern socialist. Eugene Debhs, for example. Is that the government should own all the natural resources and all other utilities: that all members of the government should lie employed by It and should receive the profits from their labors Instead of some trust magnate, who by some bold stroke of luck or on account of some clever scheming has gotten control over some God-given resource that we are all supposed to enjoy and is now trying to get rich by It. while the fellow who does the work is living in poverty. The earnings of the government would therefore, be paid out in higher wages and a cheaper cost of the necessities of life would ensue. Thus the man who does the work would receive the profit. The goods to be distributed would come direct from the government factories and the other resources to the government stores, which would get rid of paying large profits to gold seeking manufacturers and large commissions to wholesale and retail houses. The goods would be shipped on railroads owned by the government and not on those whose owners are trying to increase their private fortune at the expense of the consumer. In this way the government would be conducted on the plan of a great manufacturing plant. Men with ability would rise to till the responsible places and would t)e recompensed according to their ability: merit would lx the only judge of a man. Society is sorely in need of a change for the better. The man who has only labor for sale in good times and in bad times, is the last to prosper and the first to suffer. This was illustrated in the last financial unrest. Shops were shut down and wages dec Teased all to the disadvantage of the man who labors. l)ld the cost of living decrease? No! It went on at tlie same rate regardless of those working on starvation wages or those entirely out of work. This Is not a square deal for the laboring man. Labor Is the foundation of our civilization. Take away labor, what Is left? There will be shops, railroads, farms and other industries but no one to run them. Labor is necessary. We cannot all be capitalists. Why then, if lalwr is indispensable.should those who latior not enjoy the fruits of their labor? They should, and they will do so. Legislatures are bought and sold for private gain. Justice is almost a matter of money. The man who has money and enough of it, almost always wins the case in court. Men with money are sometimes even acquitted of murder. We are charged exorbitant prices for freight and express, especially if goods are transferred from one of the many companies to another. There are a great many objections to tills proposed system of the modern socialist; the greatest being that it gives a much greater chance for political graft, and that dishonest and incapable men would receive responsible positions. This cannot be possible because politics will then mean more to a man: it will be a matter of business with him and responsible men will be elected to office. Caueases. conventions, and elections will be business meetings as between members of a firm or company. Capable men will be elected to government offices as are required to do the intricate pieces of work in other lines of industry. Another great objection Is that it will destroy personal ambition and individuality. This cannot be so, because every man will be working and striving for more responsible positions: and he will also know that the harder he works, the better he does his work, the more it will benefit him, and not only him but the entire community. Socialism is making more rapid progress than we are aware of. Daily we are receiving mail on a system founded on socialistic principles: that is. our government mail service. In our town. Nappanee. our light and water plants are founded on the same principles. These are successful institutions; we are proud of them and they are admired by other cities. Our Public School system is another example. There are many other institutions founded on socialistic principles and they are successful. If this is so. then the government might be successful in taking under its control all the industries. The time is coming when this will coine to pass. It cannot come at one bound, but must come step by step. The people must be educated to it. They must be made to see the benefits derived from It and also the moral right of such a system. When they do, then the revolution will come. This Is the socialist's view of conditions and his remedy for them. If this Is the one. time alone will tell. The number of socialists are increasing rapidly and If they should become a majority, they will apply this system as a remedy. But it will be many years, if ever, before this change shall come, because the greatest men in our great nation and in the world take a more conservative view of the question.