Stratford Central Secondary School - Collegian Yearbook (Stratford, Ontario Canada)

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COLLEGIAN, I9 3 0 Class-Conscious. They attack our Capitalistic System just as thor- ouglhly as do the Communists, but in an quieter, more logical, but equally as forcible a m.anner. The Fabians resort not to arms, sacrilege and consfication to gain their ends, but use every opportunity of educating the voting public to their way of thinking. In this way, by slowly building up public opinion, they have their reforms made law, by legal, democratic means, and with the good wishes of the citizens of the state. The Fabians intend to supersede Capitalism by Socialism grad- ually, and to place most of the machinery of Industry and Finance in the hands ofthe government. But they plan to do this only as fast as public opinion will allow it, and departments for the handling of the different industries can be organized and trained to carry on in the best interests of the State. The Fabians do not believe in the seizure of property. They hold that everything so taken by the government should be paid for. These Fabians agitate against war as a product of our Capitalistic and Imperialistic system but they attack it by public educa- tion. The Fabian Socialists work for great social changes. They wis'h the removal of slum districts and their replacement by model labouring class homes. 'They advocate old age and disability pensions. They urge the use of national cleanliness as a preventative for disease. The Fabians have many interesting plans for the distribution of wealth waiting to be tested by time and experiment. The Society of the Fabians is the greatest enemy of revolutionary Communism in England. It points to a new era of political and economic thought, rising, perhaps, to meet t-he demands of a civilization grown too complicated for Capital- istic management. These are not the only kinds of Socialism, but they represent the two main branches of Socialistic thought. There are many self-styled Communists who do not altogether adhere to the precepts of Lenin, and many varieties of the Fabian-type of theory, but these two systems are the most powerful in the world today and bot-h are products of a philosophical evolution. Personally, I am not a Socialist, but I am. a sympathetic observer and believer in the progress of Mankind. I be- lieve that our Capitalistic society will evolve gradually into a new era which will contain the good points of both Socialism and Capitalism. , This subject is growing more and more important because of the increasing unemployment problems which are harassing almost all the industrial nations of the world. Idle workers are discontented work- ers, and unless work is found for them they will become a real menace to the State. Some reforms must be undertaken, and some plan must be constructed to correct the evil tendencies of Capitalism. The differ- ent Socialisms are all attempts to advance our 'civilization or to sup- plant it by a better one, and the World may gain- much from their philosophies but as yet they are no panacea for all 1ts social ailments. -William J. Rae. Q1ri'xfifi4+::L ti! Q2 NL M ' .-IQ..

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COLLEGIAN, l930 use of force if necessary to accomplish their ends. Marx did not form- ulate this doctrine for the purpose of destroying Civilization. These were his ideas for improving Civilization. Marx, although a radical theorist, was a great mind, with a real knowledge of those things of which he writes. The Russian Soviet hold Marx as the great authority for their system, but all the acts of the Communists are not authorized by Marx's writings. But the Soviet is not a democratic organization. It is a middle course between anarchy and dictatorship. Any propaganda of the Soviet is designed to undermine all our democratic institutions, all our laws, and all the safeguards we have placed between us and the lawless. They wish to wrest our industries from us, and put them into the hands of men skilled in political propaganda rather than in finance and man- agement. This is what they have done in R.ussia. Russia is in the hands of the Communist Party, which supports the dictatorship of Stalin and the other heads of the Communists. The Communist Party does not represent three per cent. of the population of Russia. The Soviet is attempting to function as a national as well as an international force. The Communists, as most other socialists do, preach against the crime of war, in every country in which they have organizers or propa- gandists. But at the present time Russia has one of the largest armies in Europe, and is even training women to iight as military reserves. The Soviet, internationally, advocates that the Workers, in case of war be- tween two nations, should refuse to serve as soldiers, or to work in the factories, on both sides. In this way the two nations would be forced to retire from the war. The direct result of this, in most cases, would be revolution and civil war in the nations concerned, and possibly a Communist victory. But, in case of war with Russia, which is not im- possible, the Russians certainly would not stop work. While our men went to protect us from their national forces, the Communists in our midst would rise and by blowing up bridges and railways, and by des- troying our industrial plants, would literally stab their fellow citizens in the back. That is a greater crime than fighting to save your homes and political institutions from destruction. But when all this and much more has been written, the greatest indictment against the Soviet and the revolutionary theories of Marx and his school is that armed Revolution is not the way. A group of men cannot take over the industries of a country and run them econ- omically without a tremendous amount of training and study. Revolu- tion gives neither time nor opportunity for this training. Revolution puts the men best suited for the executive positions out of a job, or murders them. The result of this is chaos. In Russia today, twelve years after the Revolution, the people starve, for lack of managing ability in Russian industry. This movement, with its ideas of prole- tarian revolution, bloodshed and anarchy, is to be attacked whenever possible, and never be allowed to gain a foot-hold in any of the great nations of the world. The rapid growth and increasing influence of the international Communists, in Canada and elsewhere is a problem of the present and of the future. Those who now read this article may poss- ibly have to face it in the future, and either present some better system to the world, or perish in the change. The other great group, the Fabians, have their centre in England and England is the scene of all their activities. The Fabians put no faith in proletarian revolution, from them are heard no pleas to the -13-

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COLLEGIAN, I9 3 0 OUR S'CH'0LAfRS'I-HP WINNERS MARGARET WAUGH This year our school attained much greater distinction in carry- ing off scholarships than ever be- fore. These distinctions were brought to us through the bril- liant efforts of Margaret Waugh and John De Mille. Margaret Waugh deserves our heartiest congratulations, in that she was awarded three scholar- ships- the First Mary Mulock Scholarship in Classics Proficien- cy, the Flavelle Scholarship in Classics, and the First Carter Scholarship. These first two were given by the University of Toronto and Vlictoria College and were con- tested throughout the whole prov- ince. Still more credit is due Margaret because she did not de- cide to take up scholarship work until May, and thus she did not have the special preparation us- ually given scholarship students. She has been a most excellent student during her course in the collegiate, taking part in our in- tercollegiate debates, and coming to the fore in athletics as well. Margaret was on both the softball and basketball teams, and this last year she was captain of the Senior Basketball team. Altogether she was a most outstanding and faith- ful student throughout all the five years she was with us, and she was one who was well-liked and highly admired by her fellow- students. John De Mille, who won the Third Carter Scholarship, is not quite so well-known to us perhaps, as he came to the collegiate only last year from Oshawa. John, too, is a recognized athlete as he was a member of the Senior Rugby team and won the Senior Boys' championship on Field Day. We are extremely proud of both these students, and rightly so, for they have brought honour not only to themselves but to our school and city, they have shown us that academic work does not need to suffer neglect as a result of enter- ing athletics and we take this o pp o r t u n i t y of congratulat- ing them on their splendid success and we wish them luck as they 'continue their studies at Victoria College, Toronto. JOHN DE MILLE ..2 0...