The Daily News. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12. INDUSTRIAL AMERICA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8000, 12 December 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12. INDUSTRIAL AMERICA.

A few Jays jgo President Boosevelt, in his message to the Supreme Parliament of the United States of America, is reputed to have "einphasv.c the evil of over capitalisation. 1 How re'il thin evil is has b?cn vividly pourti.iytd by one of A uerica's most bri'liant journalists (Mr Jack London), in his recently publish' 1 book " War of the Classes." According to this writer America is fast approaching a crisis in her industrial affairs. While that country was still in the stage of development, tlie abler and more ambitious members of the working-class were constantly climbing into the ranks of the capitalists. By so doing they reinforced capitalism, and at the same time deprived labour of its spokesmen and leaders. " Now-a-days an immense volume of surplus capital roams for investment, and nips in the bud the patient effort of the embryo capitalist to rise through increment from small beginnings. The gateway of opportunity after opportunity has been closed, and closed for all time. Kockfeller has shut the gate on oil, the American Tobacco Company on tobacco, and Carnegie on steel. These gates will not re-open, and before them pause thousands of ambitious young men to read the placard 'No Thoroughfare.' Day by day still more gates are shut to the ambitions young men as they continue to be born. It is these young men who, denied the opportunity of rising from the working class through these avenues, preach 'revolt' to the working class." * * * *

Not only does this " Trust " concentration of capital and management in a few hands have the result of checking ambition, but it is giving to the struggle between capital and labour the .aspect of a class war. The Socialist Party, which at the last Presidcntal election [wiled nearly half a million votes, has, we are told, completely captured the labour organisations. Its aim is to make every trade union a centre of political agitation, and to beat the capitalists at their own game of capturing the instruments of government, thus bringui" poiicc, military, State Legislatures, even Congress itself, under the influence of Labour, instead of as at present under that of Capital. " The leaders, with the carelessness of fatalists, do not hesitate for an instant to publish their intentions to the world. With the political machinery once in their hands they will eonfisuate—with or without remuneration—all the possessions of the capitalist class which are used in the production and distribution of tho necessaries and luxu ies of life.

Ix short, they intend t) destroy present day society, which they contend is run in the interests of another class, and to construct from the materials a new society to be run in their interests. Already this policy has taken definite shape in tho boycotting of the militia (National Guards, more or less volunteers), on the ground that its chief uso has buen to suppress strike movements and intimidate Labour in the interests of Capital. Mr London gives ii-si.ioee after instance of Trade Unions demanding this boycott of the militia by the'r members, and avers that it is no longer a ipiestion of whether this class struggle really exists, but rather, wdiat will be the outcome. He leaves his own question unanswered, being content to give some hints of the probable development. He maintains that the success of the Trust is ,u,itself uu education in Ijiocialisui.

" The Trust, organises industiy on an enormous labour saving scale, and nbolishes childish wasteful competition," and when the leaders of the Trust have " thoroughly organised production and got everything running smoothly," it will be very easy for the Socialist to eliminate the profits now held by Capital by stepping in and having the thing run for himself. Tn other words, the way to the nationalisation of everything he desires is to bo through the Trust. • * * *

Contrary to the general idea of t America as a conntiy whore the sup l ply of manufactures for home con c sumption has not nearly reachi 1 its limit, Mr London seems almost to in- j fer that the scope in this dii- ;tion is i lessening so rapidly as to make it ' impossible for the joint product of capital and labour to be expansible to ' the point at which the claims of ! both parties can be satisfu 1. There i is no altruism in his delineation of American industrial life. In his ex- 1 posure of the methods of Capital and ' Labour he takes it for granted that ' they struggle with each other to get , the utmost they can of the limited ' spoil, and he imputes neither praise nor blame to either. In short, \, reduction has reached its limits, and nothing remains either to Capital or Labour but to struggle for the product. If this judgment of American 'ndustrial life is correct, it is little wonder that the President sees fit to utter a warning against the " evils of over-capitalisation,'' if, as Mr London asserts, that must mean the birring of ambition to the many for the aggrandisement of the few. Gloomy indeed is the outlook for any country which is engaged in a gigantic class struggle without any inspiring ideal of human welfare or human conduct apart from the possession of material : wealth. * * * * Is our own country, though of course I on an infinitely smaller scale than is i the casein America, there are potentialities which have in them the possibility of loading to such industrial strife as has been referred to in this article, and we have at the same time the most democratic Parliament of . the day, dominated by an overwhelming majority of professedly aggressive members. Will Mr Seddou use 1 his present great opportunity to pievent, as far as legislation can, the . growth of " T; lists " in this country ? ' If he succeeds in doing this he will add immeasurably to his reputation as a statesman who has dared to look t ahead.