SOCIALISM.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1099, 21 September 1912, Page 3

SOCIALISM.

ADDRESS BY ALDERMAN

HARTLEY,

There was an attendance of between 90 and 100, including half-a-dozen ladies, at the Coronation Hall on Thursday evening, when Alderman Hartley, of Bradford, England, delivered an address on Socialism. His Worship the Mayor (A. J. Gibbs, Esq.,) occupied t he chair. In opening the speaker said that Socialism meant public ownership for the public good, which was the only way out of every difficulty met with' at present. At the present time there were two classes—those who owned property and those who owned nothing but their labour, winch was the means whereby over) bodylived. The only real solution of this was public ownership of all the means by which people lived. The people needed to get rid of the evil of robbing each other, tor that was what was at the root of the trouble of modern times. In Shakespeare’s time no reputable person would take interest on money —the “Merchant of Venice” showed that; and in Henry the Third’s reign it was a criminal of-

fence for any man to “corner” foodstuffs. In these days, provided he made enough money, he would be sent to the House of Lords ! Throughout the world at the present time the workers were ground down to the bare standard of living in the different countries. In New Zealand they had an Arbitration Court, which the speaker condemned. Its basis was wrong. Its whole inquiry was never as to how much the man wished to have; never how much they ought to have ; but how little they could do with ! The working class, as a class would have to unite. The workers produced the whole of the wealth, but under existing conditions the masters gave them a part of what wealth they created and retained the surplus. He gave instances in connection with mining companies where for every £$ paid to the workers the idle shareholders received £3 10s. In the case ot the Waihi mine the dividends were from £6 to 10s for every £$ paid to the miners. These were instancas of individual control for individual profit, the speaker contending that the true solution was collective control for the public good. As an instance of the success of public ownership he referred to Bradford, where the water supply and gas works had been taken over from the private companies—with marked advantages to the community. The gas works were bought by giving for each share. And in thirty years’ time the municipality had made a profit of one million pounds sterling from the gasworks, and yet had reduced the price of gas by one half! In the light of these facts, how could it be contended that private ownership was best ? The municipalisation of the tramways service was another experiment that had paid Bradford well and saved money to the people. It was admitted that public ownership of gasworks etc., had been beneficial and it it were wise to run gasworks in this way surely it would also be wise to apply the same principle to everything else. Mr Hartley contended that the time had come when collective ownership tor the public good must supersede private ownership for individual profit. In closing he referred to the Waihi strike. The Engiuedrivers’ Union there, he said, was a mere handful of men, but because its aims seemed to be what the mineowners liked the mineowuers were backing it. In effect, this handful of enginedrivers was trying to coerce 1600 men into being governed by the Court of Arbitration when they did not believe in it. At the conclusion of the address a number of questions were asked and answered, and on the motion of the Mayor the speaker was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his address, which was carried by acclamation.