14
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
FEBRUARY 18, 1904.
Th3 Robber Who Takes All v
It s a good sory. I'll tell it again,
with acknowledgements to Henry
George. . '
A traveler is wenumg nis way nome
ward. "His path is beset with high
waymen. One stops him, takts a part
of his valuables and sends him on.
Another repeats the process. So does
a third, a fourth, and -still others on
to the last! This last takes all that
is left, little or much. (
In the same way these robbers treat
all travelers .wno pass '.hat. way.
- Query: How can the travelers pro
tect themselves? By abolishing the
first robber, the second, the third, or
all of these?
:as the robber who take3 all that is left
is permitted to do business, so long
the traveler will reach jome as poor
as though all the robbers were left
unmolested. " .
- There you have the difference be
tween "bourgeois , public ownership"
or ' state capitalism," and socialism.
"Bourgeois public ownership" would
leave some of the ro!oers in full
swing. It would lake oer,,fcr exam-
'ple, city gas, water, and, perhaps,
.11 it 1.11. -i-M.Jl.. tt 1...4-
some uuiei jjiiuim uiuitico, uut
would leave c'ty land in .private
hands. Real estate men would then
advertise the superior advantages of
this, city over others; population
would pour in and up would go rents.
What you saved from yovr public
service monopolists you would lose
- 1 t Tt1. A,
to your land monopolists. - vvnai
would be gained?
What is true in the 'city is true in
the nation. To take over somf public
utilities and leave others in private
hands would be saving at one bung
hole while wasting at another .. per-
. haps all you savtd at first. So long
as a single necessity of life is left in
private hands so long "tne robber who
takes all that is left" can get in his
work, and your public ownership will
. . ' i .i - a n .1 .
prove appies oi duuuiu luimug tu
ashes on your lips. , -xWhat,
then, is necessary' to stop
the stealing?
The plundered classes, 1. e., the pro
a ducers, must conquer the powers of
irniiopnmoilf rTl 5w till" n mlist ' ffl.lt P
4TT i.1 ..HU!nn AIT
the necessities; of life, and operate
them collectively in the interest of. th
entire people. Nothing short of this
can possibly do the work. .
Ia this what socialism , stands foi ?
, It certainly, is.. - -
But after the producers ha?e-conV
downed the robbers, big and little,
r turned the rascals out and begun run-
ikim 1. , (nlnWAtif rP iYin Tim-
Mb - "
1 1 M YVVf 4 ll
HnPino- Pliiccoc whnf I n fin f . . Will 1L
' Iwj Tifipesaarv that all nrivate industrial
activity shall be. done awav, that the
' 'ornvoi'nmDiit" eViall run AT..T. 1 lift
. farms, ALL the shops, ALL tte stores,
ALL the theatres, ALL the schools,
and ALL the newspapers, and estab
lish such a system of universal "gov-
, ernmental bureaucracies", as Herbert
Spencer conceived, and described as
the "Coming Slavery," the bondage of
the individual to the crowd?
, Not a bit of it. In jumping out of
the frying pan wc don't want to. laud
in the fire. It's exactly because in
dividualistic radicals, as much op-
nnapH rn pxnlnitatinn and tvranuv as
any socialist oan be, think, that so
cialism stands for this,, .hat they fight
socialism as a gilded cage and a grave
of freedom.
They hate the tyranny of the capi--tahst
and landlord, but they drend
the tyranny of the majority. To es
cape the bosslsm of the plutocrats
the do not propose to substitute the
bossism of the bureaucrats.
Well, what are you talking about
now? You want to abolish the rob
ber who takes all that 4s left? Un
doubtedly. And this reoulres puullc collective
ownership, and democratic operation
and control of ev.ry necessity of lite?
lixactly.
And yet. you don't want the public
to wit and run all Industry and com
pel the capable workers to join the
civil service or ro to Jill! Emphat
ically not. On of these evils would
probably be a bad as the other.
Then whtre do you draw ihe line?
Nothing N cMr, If we wilt look
at th subject caitnly. lUad the lat
halt of the umiatist national platform
to Mart with, then rmietnher ttul
whllrt nxt! mean of prodmtlon are
!iftrUU' of life, others arw not.
Take. e. g,, the thintr .iliumts rjuaks
on "the brushes of tfSe artist. I ho pen
r,r th nuthor. and the tiultus In
which they work" (American Farmer,
mi rt,1-iun. Ari they UiPang of pro-
n..'n nt inurmi. If I. ft in iriv'.o
handt will thflr wnfrt Income lh
nd.hPiit who tike till that 1 kit? '
No. How wcr uih a thin islble?
llut If inch a thine houl4 happen
U need to Jo U to t'vat thc
productive means as we are now pro
posing to treat the railroads, oil trust,
and coal trust.
The point to grasp is that public,
"collective ownership, and operation is
demanded not as an" end, but as a
means to an end; nameiy, "increasing
the product and stopping exploita
tion." (Simon,.) The robber indus
tries must go; wealth must be multi
plied; collective ownership and opera
J ion by the producing classes must
accomplish this. This done, the in
diviuuatwho is hurting none, may em
ploy his time as he likes.
Ard how about the little shops
and stores and peanut stands? Are
they public liecesoities? If left in pri
vate hands will they reduce us to
oeggary?
Well, hardly, so long as the people
possess the ability, the wil1 aud the
intelligence to establish public de
partment stores and sell the same
things at cost. . " , .
But what will then oecome of the
little shops and stores?-
They will probably be run out and
their owners absorbed .n the public
Industries. But, if they can survive,
as many of them now qo survive be
side the great competitve department
stores, well and good. The fact of
their, survival will prove their fit
ness; and the customer can patronize
the public of private store at will,
just as now ie patronizes, at will,
the public school, college or univer
sity for education; and the postoftV-e
or express company for money orders.
And what of the farms?
Exactly the' same principle applies
here. The public enjoys the right to
engage in whatever agricu'tural ac
tivities it sees fit, and the private in
dividual ditto. The big b:nan7a farms,
the Scullie3, DalyTlmples and absen
tee landlords will probably be han
dled in exactly the same way as the
trust. Their property will be taken
over by the public, "with or without
compensation" as the majority, by
referendum vote, may decide. The
operations of. agricultural colleges;
experiment .stations and the United
States department of agriculture will
doubtless be widely, extended and
croducts will, as now. be furnished to
the people at cost or gratuitously.
Does this mean that all tne intie
80 s and IjSO's Will be confiscated as
soon as the socialists carry the coun
try? ; ' .;7 .:
Too slllv a Question to ask, you say?
Yet it is the failure of the socialists
to answer just such questions that
is keeping thousands of farmers out
of the socialist movement. . ;
I answer these little farmers: We
are not proposing to confiscate, one of
your farms. Whatever is done with
the land will be done by your consent
through refexendum vote. . . , , , ,
Valuable lands, as long as In pri
vate hands, should be subjected to
the exound rent tax. ' Lands of slight
value should be exempt from all taxj!
ation as in New Zealand.
W'ere I to advise the little farmeis
I should say: Take over tbt Scudy
lands, railroad lands, and alien-owned
lands quick. On getting hold of state
and national governments, supply the
state and nation with ample tunas,
and urge them to do their best m
agricultural lines.
While the "government" is getting
its hand in. I advise such ot you as
can, especially your young men with
agricultural training, to get into the
public agricultural service; and I ad
vise the rest of ou to stay on your
farms and see how the thing woiks
out.
Meanwhile. I advise you to make
the nmnlest use of the vast powers of
government to Improve your condi
tion where you are, and to mane lire
on the farm worth living.
Thea. ua soon as it Is wise to do so,
I advise the bulk of you to turn your
arms over to the "government" when,
instead of having to work fourteen or
sixteen hours a day for n poor living,
ou can. on nerhar five or six Hour
a day, enjoy a good living.
Some of vou however, will want to
Hlay out of the public service Just as
pome now want to stay out. bo long
na by Maying out you are Injuring no
one. vou have a perfect right to fctay
out a long a you please.
But what we want now I to Ktopino
mealing. Thh done, there will be
pUnty of time t deide whether or
not w nhalt all Jolu the civil rvhe.
Of on thing r'st fttired. we nlmll
not forte ourae'vp to Jmn It nor t"r
mil anyone ! to font u to do no.
TllOM4 UI.MKU Wll.U
Pti"U-nt American Foetal t Cotlcae,
Wichita. Km., and ,Hpcr try-Trcas-urer
SovUlUt Party of Kum.
TWELVE REASONS
WHY YOU SHOULD USE
HfGHIEiST AWARtJ
TO
WHISKHX
' G?Srt Vl
6i
1 "v
1898, at
Transmississippi X International;
: exposition,
OMAHA.U.5.Ai
The Only Whiskey Sold With
$1,000.00 Guarantee of Ab
solute Purity
Never Sold in Bulk
a
Is Gaining in Popularity Over All
- Other Whiskies
v
1st -BE1CAUSE it 'is a happy combination of best qualities of ALL, without tha
fault of one. -
2nd BECAUSE it lurpasses in delicacy and mellowness of flavor anything and
everything heretofore put on the market.
3rd- BECAUSE it appeals equally to the fancy of the connisseuer as well as to
the delicate taste and stomach of women and invalids.
4th BECAUSE its superior quality, taste and purity make it the favorite of the
prfyiclaa, of the family, at the bar, as well as on the side-board.
5th BECAUSE it supplants and excels all other whiskeys for making a hot
Scotch, a hot toddy, ofa high ball.
Gth BECAUSE it is the only Malt Whiskey offered by its bona fide distiller; is
never sold in bulk, but only under the distiller's bottling and labels.
7th BECAU3E it is distilled at one of the largest distilleries in the country,
whose trade-mark is the best guarantee of high quality.
8th BECAUSE it is the only whiskey sold under a substantial guarantee of pur
ity, offering $1,000 oo to anyone who can detect in the same any impurk
ties or artificial coloring, flavoring, oto.
9th BECAUSE it is properly distilled from the very choicest materials, and
never sold until fully matured in government bonded warehouses.
10th BECAUSE it is Bold entirely upon its merits, without the aid of fabulous
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11th BECAUSE it is ottered not as a patent nostrum claiming to cure all incura
ble diseases, but for what it U worth a first-class tonic, a rational Btimu
lant. and a concentrated food of the hiirhest possible value
BECAUSE it w gold at a small legitimate profit, warranted by its manu.
facture and tale in extraordinary quantities by a distillery paying over three
million dollars annually for internal revenue tax alone. ,
12th-
Jiine ArmMrons, Torman, Mich.,
not now taking any populist parr
and rrqurAt4 that samples be sent him
'or examination. He It fitting I titer,
talc J la the wiral of popuUira.
Willow Springs Distillery
Capacity 15,000 Gallons per Day.
DUtltler of (lolden Sheaf Pure My and Uotrrbon Whiskey and
lLUR'S I:AQLU GIN
thai whatsvir you buy undr the trarle mark of
rcGtriGlllDGr !Urt t'u and th Willow Hprlngs Distillery U
, guaranteed to be flrtctflfs in erery rrpt'ct.
k f that unficrupuloun dabrs will iniarlably recummend omthinij
j I CO "i11""1 a el of betUr," simply becay-e tit; make more profit oa
theothsr.
r of dfalert who r ay their cUrkt a social eommUsion to
LJeWcire work ft rroHUbU snbitituUs. Ioit on llcr't Malt and
; T you will be sure of what yuu gU
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