IS SOCIALISM POSSIBLE?

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81896, 29 November 1906, Page 2

IS SOCIALISM POSSIBLE?

(To the Editor.) Sir, —There is a phase in your loading ardcle on Saturday, 17th in6t., aiat 1 would like to touch on, and that is the objection of the union man io anybody learning- his trade,. You say tuat "the old-timel system of .giving a mat/c a helping hand petered out under the new system, which makes a man see in qverybody who learns a trade a possible, rival." Yes; that is sj under tuc new. system, to a certain extent, owing to the introduction of machinery, where, in the boot trade, f w c.vani.p.e. a dozen men will handle a booi,, wt'«reii.s -when 1 was a boy one mau had to do a" the work. But look at ti ie pit from which we have been d u g! Formerly we were at the mercy of evury employer and boss. Our souls were not our own. W'e dared not answer back, no matter j 10 \v great was the insult. Not -jf, ycry long ago historically under u ie old system ill England, every law* w'as under the domination of tfr l 6 L or d (J f the Manor, liut there c am e a time when one brave man objected, to the imazejment of hi s lord, and 1 think he deserves as mU ch fame as Luther, '■v' 10 bught,W le w hole Roman Church 011 principif it '.vas always a matte'C jf astu nishment to diu man who rates t | lO word ''Socialism" as to the A'ay the workingman, like Oliver T v 'i' jt, is always asking for more. Car , you wonder, when you read that 0 a tes and Co., of cotton fame, made /er three! million profit last year; • and in the same breath we aro told that twelve million folk are on_ the verge of starvation in Christian England Our own local N<Av Zealand Sugar Company makes a profit of uvcv a hundred thousand pounds, which goes into the pockets of a few Shareholders, while we consumers still pay the same old price. Undcv Socialism these things would be impossible, as the element of profit for the lew would not pertain, seeing that the Government would be careful of the welfare of the whole of the people. If this does not. take place soon, then the sooner we do as they formerly did, viz., kill off all the : unfit the better it will be for us. We cannot take up a paper without being told that pauperism is on the increase, ditto lunacy, ditto crime of all sorts. Also, we we so given to tliu pursuit of pleasure that we wun't pay our just debts, and, 011 top of Uiat, the tew amongst us who arc fit t<j have luJ'gc' families won't bieed a race j who are fit to cope Svith destiny. Those u8 w h° see them mount up year by year with no prospect of abatement. AH business is becoming robbery, inasmuch as every man is trying to get his aval s_ custom by cutting prices, or 15 gambling with the object of getting something {„•■ nothing. If ';ve go to law, the ■ ■ wyer gets all the sugar. If w'e , sick thei doctor must have, his s -I of flesh. If we get married, poirriL w i)ay tli(j p arS3ll . if we die heV oll ' l bury US 0n Way ' U T 1 i L"1 unless we ar e very respectlfcss—wc 1, . n suci(;ty , \ Vc are I r-p'rl" with difficulties on every hedged , present system, and to Sol. U "'" r asrtfPsnr! h- brought into the world. it, as N contended, we arc pvogr-ssmg moral y then all we Socialists ask for is the extension of the Mlitimcnt 01 unselfishness by wlucn a" weL-«-n-ulated families are governed from the familv to the community. It not, whv not,'pray? The clement of peed will have to be weeded out, .which, if vour statement, "That man wi 1 have t 1 reformed from his hoots up. bo true, will lake a long time. But we are n:>t hopeless, inasmuch as llii-'n- is the germ working in a few of the uiisolfi'h minds Mint «|me time in the far future men ',vill wake up to the fact that it pays better to love than to hate.—l am, etc..