SOCIALISM.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8511, 16 August 1907, Page 5

SOCIALISM.

<To±he Editor.) Sir,—Life is too short for mc to reply to every Socialistic enthusiast who chooses to air his lack of knowledge in the Press, but as Mr W. Marcus Jones .has put his name to his letter which appeared in your issue of the August 7th, I will reply to it. Practically there is nothing in Mr Jones" letter except rambling platitudes displaying complete ignorance of Nature's Jaws. Nature makes nothing equal, neither in size, colour, weight, strength nor power. The rotten structure of Socialism rests on the (ignorant) belief that man can make laws that will cause all of a particular country to be equal. Such laws are bound to break down because they are not founded on Nature's first principles. Nature demands pverything whether inanimate or animate, vegetable or animal, shall do work. Work in the vegetable and animal kingdom has to commence at the very entrance of life, and each plant and eaeh animal has its own particular work to perform. Thrift is also one of Nature's laws. Th.e potato stores up food for a fresh season; the bees gather honey and keep a portion in reserve for winter use; and so on throughout all Nature. The Socialist dxes not want to do work; his motto may be expressed in these lines:—

"I am one of the ould sort of Bradies, My turn does not lie to hard work; But I'm fond of my pipe and the ladies, And I'd make a moat illigant Turk."

Statesmen will tax luxuries such as quoted by Mr Jones, "diamond dog collars," and the proceeds devoted to help those poor unfortunates who have fallen behind in the race of life. Our Liberal Government, supported by the Hogg and Hornsbyites of the House, propose to let in motor cars free! Comment is needless. Mr Jones makes an unfortunate reference to the high price of living in this country. That is quite true, and has been brought about by the present Socialise Government and the Trade Unionists. The bushman, the sawmill hands, the carpenters, painters, plumbers, etc., all through the means of production and distribution of dwellings, food and clothing; and now that - these trade unionists have raised the price 50 per cent, there is a howl of indignation all through the colony, but strange to say not against the small sections of the community, who, through the Arbitration Court, have brought about this state of things. So far, all the Socialistic legislation of this "Dominion" has only heaped up taxes on poor struggling workers outside of the trade unions and even these are scotched. Mr Jones asks one practical question, which lam pleased to answer. He asks:—"lf State or Municipal Socialism does not cater for the people better than private enterprise?" My reply is most certainly not. The thousands of public money that has absolutely been thrown away on or in connection with our railways is notorious. Mr Hogan, M.H.R. for Wanganui -a Government surpporter —slated the Government heavily for their mismanagement of the Government Workshops at Aramoho, vide p. 87, Hansard, 1907. Rotn-ua is a Goernment township, and a sum approaching £IO,OOO was wasted on a drainage system which was never used, and the pipes were afterwards taken up and others put down. I could fill your paper with illustrations and examples of the waste of public money by the State on their Socialistic attempts at catering for the people. Socialists are mostly weakminded theorists, who have not the grasp of mind to seize the facts of a case; they ignore such reports as that issued by the Royal Commission on local taxation, 1901, England. The harbour boards gasworks and trams, worked and financed by municipalities in England and Wales, show a loss of £5,486,945 annually, which has to be borne by the poor, deluded ratepayers, who have thus been saddled with these works by the Socialists. There is no getting past these figures; which declare in language understood by all except ignorant, Socialistic enthusiasts, that neither State nor municipalities can carry on any works or industries so well, and so cheaply and so beneficial to ratepayers and workers generally as private enterprise, which allows those who work "to get the full fruits of their labour."—l am, etc., GEORGE WILKS. East Tamaki, Auckland.