Thames Williamson

“ In an important sense, this is the age of the propagandist, the crank reformer, and the subsidized newspaper, the age of the agitator who spreads lies through anonymous letters, unsigned posters, and irresponsible whisperings. The individual must be constantly on his guard against this flood; he must recognize that Public Opinion is often capricious, and that a sudden hysteria may inflict untold injury. The morality of a mob is inferior to the morality of the individuals composing the mob, because in a mob the sense of power is dominant and the sense of responsibility is suppressed. ”

“ Clearly, it is our duty to accept only such immigrants as show promise of becoming capable and efficient American citizens. It is also clearly our duty to accept even this type of immigrant only in such numbers as we can conveniently assimilate. We must not be selfish with America, but we should not be misled by the statement that anyone in Europe has a "right" to make his home in this country. Those who come to this country are personally benefited, no doubt, but unrestricted immigration may lower the tone of American life and permanently injure our social and political institutions. ”

“ On the other hand, the socialist places an undue emphasis upon the defects of the present system. The radical agitator too often overlooks the millions of happy, prosperous homes in this and other countries; he too often sees capitalism in terms of poverty, crises, unemployment, vice, disease, and extravagance.
Our age is not to be despaired of. An age of progress is always an age of adaptation and of adjustment, and it is precisely because American democracy is both a progressive ideal and a living, growing institution that it is confronted with problems. ”

“ THE SPIRIT OF PROGRESS.—Certainly one test of good government is the extent to which it renders the masses of the people happy and prosperous. American government has not yet exhausted the possibilities of helpfulness, but one of the chief aims of our political system is to encourage the individual in every pursuit which is legal and honorable. Lord Bryce has called America the land of Hope, because in spite of the defects of American government, a feeling of buoyancy and optimism is characteristic of our political institutions. ”

“ THE POWER OF THE INDIVIDUAL.—Measuring himself against more than a hundred million of his fellows, the average American citizen is likely to be overpowered by the apparent futility and powerlessness of his personal opinions. And yet the power of the nation is only the result of the combined influences of its individual citizens. All power is with the individual. However much the absolute monarchy may have suppressed the individual, in a democracy he can become a vital force in government. ”

“ Now, it is seriously to be questioned whether the most highly centralized government could effectively administer the innumerable activities of our complex industrial life. Upon what basis would land be distributed? How would individuals be apportioned among the various employments? Upon what basis would the wages of millions of workmen be determined? Could so mechanical an agency as government foresee future business conditions expertly enough to direct the productive forces of the nation effectively? ”

“ Socialism declares that the capitalist holds the laborer in virtual slavery, the laborer receiving only enough of the wealth created by him to enable him to keep alive, while the surplus of this wealth goes to the capitalist. The capitalist is thus a parasite who performs no useful task, but robs the laborers of the fruits of their industry. Marx did not regard profits as reward for business enterprise, but called them "plunder." Capitalism, according to this view, is a system of theft, involving "misery, oppression, slavery, degradation, and exploitation." ”

“ As a nation we are yet young, as a people we have scarcely begun the greatest experiment in democracy which the world has ever seen. Shall we endure, shall we attain to a half-success, shall we succeed gloriously?
Much depends upon the extent to which each of us assumes the responsibilities of citizenship. Those who have gone before us conquered a wilderness, expanded and preserved the Union. ”

“ THE QUESTION OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM.—It goes without saying that great inequalities in the distribution of wealth are undesirable. If any improvement is humanly possible, we ought not to rest content so long as millions of our citizens have too few of the good things of life, while others have much more than is necessary for comfort and happiness. The test of an economic system is whether or not it provides a good world to live in, and so long as large numbers of individuals have fewer necessities and comforts than it is possible to give them, our economic system must be considered defective. ”

“ George proposed to use the single tax as an engine of social reform, that is to say, to apply it with the primary view of leveling the inequalities of wealth. Value due to improvements was to be exempt from taxation, so that land-owners might not be discouraged from making improvements on their land. On the other hand, it was proposed that the single tax take all of the income due to location and fertility. This, according to George, would "render it impossible for any man to exact from others a price for the privilege of using those bounties of Nature to which all men have an equal right." ”

“ Land is only one form of wealth, and it is unfair not to tax individuals who hold property in some other form. Some land value is indeed unearned, but there are other forms of unearned wealth, as, for example, monopoly gains and inherited property. Taxes ought to be levied upon these forms of unearned wealth, as well as upon the unearned income from land. It is desirable, too, to levy at least a light tax upon the propertyless classes, in order to encourage them to feel an interest in, and a sense of responsibility for, the conduct of their government. ”

“ Lord Bryce has pointed out that because democracy permits and encourages freedom of discussion, Public Opinion in a country like the United States becomes much more powerful than in less democratic countries.
And not only is Public Opinion more powerful in a democracy, but democracy is impossible without the regular exercise of a well- informed and sensible opinion by the majority of its citizens. Democracy emphasizes government by the people rather than government of the people. ”

“ Clearly we must spend vast sums on Negro education, if we are to expect marked improvement in the Negro's social and economic condition. We cannot expect the Negro to cease being a problem until he has been trained in the fundamentals of citizenship. "The inadequate provision for the education of the Negro," says the Southern University Race Commission, "is more than an injustice to him; it is an injury to the white man. The South cannot realize its destiny if one third of its population is undeveloped and inefficient." ”

“ It is time that political pessimists stopped blaming the party for the defects of party government, and time they began to see that the indifference and shortsightedness of the individual voter is at the bottom of the trouble. One of the greatest sources of corruption in American life is the knowledge of political bosses that many of their adherents will follow the party standard regardless of its platform and no matter what the character of its candidates. The party boss is given an opening when individuals neglect to perform their civic duties. ”

“ SOCIALISM WOULD DESTROY PERSONAL INITIATIVE.—One of the strongest arguments against socialism is that it would destroy personal initiative. Socialism runs counter to human nature by under- valuing the principle of self-interest. Economists are generally agreed that the abolition of the institution of private property would cause the ambition of the individual to slacken. In spite of its defects, it is the competitive system, with its promise of reward to the energetic and the capable, which is largely responsible for the miraculous prosperity of modern times. ”

“ If our voters are to regard the use of the ballot as a civic duty, we must rely largely upon civic education. Young people, soon to be voters, must be impressed with the responsibilities of democracy. They must be taught the vital importance of using the vote. In Belgium and Spain it is customary to penalize individuals for neglecting to vote, but the idea of compulsory voting is repugnant to the American spirit. ”

“ Every public official in the United States is either chosen directly by the people, or is chosen by agents who themselves have been selected at the polls. The right to vote is thus the right to share in the control of government. And not only are voters making rules and regulations for their own government, but they are governing those citizens to whom the suffrage has not been extended. It is because of this double responsibility resting upon the American voter that a fundamental problem of effective government is concerned with the suffrage. ”

“ Justice in industry implies that every individual shall receive precisely what he earns, no more, no less. If a monopolist secures unearned profits, there is injustice. If a laborer adds to the value of a product to the extent of five dollars, there is injustice if he receives less than five dollars in wages. Similarly, there is injustice if the laborer earns only four dollars, but receives five dollars. Wherever there is an unfair distribution of wealth, there is a double injustice: some individual gets a share of wealth which he did not earn and to which, therefore, he is not entitled ”

“ Nor should problems be looked upon as something to be ashamed of. Where life is dull and civilization static, there are relatively few problems; where life is progressive and civilization steadily advancing, problems are numerous and pressing. Problems imply adjustment, development, the desire for improvement and advancement. They are signs of progress, the growing pains of civilization. If we bear this in mind, we shall be in a fair position to see American democracy in true perspective, without undue distortion of our viewpoint, and without prejudice to our judgment. ”

“ Socialists look upon the state only as an agency for benefiting particular groups of individuals. The emphasis of political socialism upon class struggle, the frank admissions of the I.W.W. that they seek to suppress all but the laboring class, and the establishment by the bolshevists of a dictatorship of the proletariat, all these facts indicate that socialists seek the welfare of particular groups rather than the welfare of the general public.
But class legislation is repugnant to the principles of American democracy. We believe in government by the masses and for the masses ”

“ SOCIALISM CLAIMS TOO MUCH.—Socialism often appeals strongly to people who are unable to distinguish between plans which are realizable and promises which cannot be fulfilled. For example, socialism promises greatly to increase the productive power of the nation, to shorten the hours of labor, and to insure a just distribution of wealth. These reforms, it is claimed, would be accompanied by the elimination of unemployment, poverty, vice, and attendant evils. It is maintained that socialism would encourage a higher moral tone and a healthier and more vigorous social life than now exist. ”

“ We must not only see that a man gets as much as he produces, no more, no less, but we must make it possible for every individual actually to produce or earn enough to support himself decently or comfortably. This, in essence, is the distinction between the socialist and the liberalist, i.e. he who accepts the democratic program of industrial reform: the socialist would practice injustice and invite economic ruin in a vain effort to eliminate poverty; the liberalist seeks the abolition of poverty without violating either justice or economic law. ”

“ HESITANCY IN ATTACKING THE PROBLEM.—The American people have been singularly backward about grappling with the problem of fitting ten million Negro citizens into the fabric of American democracy. One explanation of this backwardness is that until recently many have believed that the Negro would die out under freedom. This expectation has not been realized, for while the Negro population is increasing less rapidly than is the white population, it is nevertheless increasing. The Negro is not dying out. ”

“ When public officials neglect their duties, a thousand discerning men are ready to shout the fact from the housetops. Though the majority party secures control of government, the minority is never idle. Rather, it is constantly watching, waiting, marshaling opinion against the majority, calling public attention to the mistakes of their opponents, and agitating for a change of administration. ”

“ They oppose our Constitution and its fundamental guarantees of personal liberty, individual rights, and private property. They seek revolution, not in order to secure justice for the masses, but in order to place the laboring class in complete power in industry and government. They announce their intention of continuing the class struggle "until the working class is able to take possession and control of the machinery, premises, and materials of production right from the capitalists' hands, and to use that control to distribute the product of industry entirely among the workers." ”

“ He may abandon his job when he chooses, and remain idle as long as he chooses, or is able. He is repressed by no paternalistic government, embarrassed by no feudal system. He is part and parcel of the competitive system, guiding his own actions and accepting responsibility for them. To a large extent, the employer is similarly free to hire or discharge men as he sees fit, to initiate a new business, or to withdraw from business altogether. In every case the individual is free, so far as legal restrictions are concerned, to use his money as he chooses. ”

“ THE CHECK AND BALANCE SYSTEM SECURES STABILITY.—American government is not only strong, it is stable. This stability is due chiefly to the admirable way in which different governmental agents are balanced against one another. The check and balance system renders us safe from the danger of anarchy, for though ultimate control is vested in the people, sufficient powers are entrusted to the governmental mechanism to protect it against popular passion. ”

“ By subdividing their labor more and more minutely, and by each specializing in the particular type of work which he could do best, men found that their total output could be greatly increased. This complex division of labor, made possible by the use of water and steam power to run machines and to move vehicles of transportation, reduced the difficulty of getting a good living, that it constituted a veritable revolution in industry. Indeed, this change is known in history as the Industrial Revolution. ”

“ Three hundred years ago most of the commodities in daily use were made, either in the home and by the family members, or by small groups of artisans working together under relatively simple conditions. To-day production is a vast and complicated process. To the eye of the untrained observer a great mass of factories, farms, railroads, mills, machines, ships, and busy laborers appears without order and, often, without purpose. The task immediately before us is to analyze this mass, and to point out the nature of the various factors which contribute to the productive power of a community. ”