THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, r OCTOBER, 14, 1906.
,000000000005
P0"
5o'
'oooooo
FREE DISTRIBUTION OF TEXT BOOKS . . By jas. R. Forden
A Vigorous Protest by One Who Is Thoroughly
Familiar With the System.
36
OTmiHltUlMHIMIMmilUMIlllllllUlY'-s" llllll'"J4jnj
AN article In the Sunday Oregonian
for September 30 entitled "Favor
Free Books" attracted my at
tention. It says that educators of
Multnomah County are interesting
themselvts in the free text book bill
being proposed by Hon. J. W. Bever
idge for introduction at the next ses
sion of the Legislature and adds that
the general opinion seems to be favor
able to such a law. I hope that not
only the educators but patrons as well
Twill thoroughly Investigate this ques
tion before giving their support to
euch an important measure. From the
standpoint of ono who has been an
educator I want to record my protest
Bgalnst such a public dissemination of
Kree filth.
Free distribution of text books has
fcome advantages in securing the har
monious organization of the public
frhools of which that mentioned by
Superintendent Rigler is very pertinent
GOVERNMENT ROBBED BY RAILROADS . . By
SEE by The Oregonian, both as news
and editorially, that the State Grange
of Oregon proposes to take action
to secure reform In the postal depart
ment. This is well and timely.
Two years ago, when the advocates of
ithe present system held up the deficit In
the postal department as an argument
against Socialism the writer went to the
trouble of looking up the causes of the
xleflclt and published the chief ones In
ft letter to The Oregonian. Those same
fauses still exist today and I will repeat
them. Furthermore, the situation Is worse
today than then, for Postmaster-General
Cortelyou himself recently Issued an or
tfer forbidding the employes, either to
gether or Individually, to act in any
effort to improve their conditions. They
ere prohibited from petitioning Congress
or their Congressmen for better salaries
or more favorable conditions of work on
pain of being incontinently discharged.
Railway postal employes have been both
fined and suspended for criticising the
management of a road following a fatal
WHENCE
ECCLESIASTICS are public function
aries and as such are the legitimate
subjects of criticism. They have no
more right to expect to be exempt from
It than the illuminated magnates of the
Standard Ool. Both are In the business
of distributing light. And to this end I
elso hope to contribute in some slight
degree.
Preachers are commonly called pastors.
Pastor is Latin for shepherd. The peo
ple are undestood to be the sheep and
the pastor Is supposed to feed them on
admonitions, platitudes, exhortations, re
proofs, rebukes and other spiritual con
fections that he understands to be adapt
ed to the welfare of their souls.
In the Catholic churches the clergy are
called priests. The word priest is a con
traction of Presbyter, which is Greek for
Elder or old man. Senator Is Latin for
eld man. Among primitive people such as
the Greeks, Romans and American In
dians, the old men were supposed to be
wiser and more experienced in the affairs
of life than the young men or the chil
dren, hence we find senators In the state
and presbyters in the church. The old
man was not supposed to labor in the
field or shop. He was thought fit to be
Adviser, director and counsellor and en
titled to some respect.
Now all this Is changed. Our educa
tional facilities have become so effectual
SOCIALISM'S ONE DISTINCT MISSION . . , By J.
THE reading of the article "The
Earth and Its Fullness," pub
lished in your paper Septem
ber 16, will prove to any unpre
judiced, fair-minded reader that "Kam
Brado'' is trying to show the injustice
end moral wrong of owning and holding
from the people the natural resources as
Individual or private property and had
to quote recognized authority to sup
port his statements, regardless of his
personal views of God, the devil or John
F. Hogan.
As the limitation of most minds Is to
fne idea at a time I can not scatter to
deal with so many scrappy quotations as
he has labored to produce. Socialism is
contending for economic justice. Chris
tianity contends for social Justice. So
cialism ag a doctrine Is fundamentally
the same In' its teaching in Germany,
France. Italy, Austria, Spain. Russia
EARNEST
IT is a surprise utterly dumbfounding
to find one's self alive. That there is
such a thing as being, as reality, as
substance, as activity, as life, Is the su
premely startling and overwhelming fact.
It seems Impossible but that absolute
nothingness should universally prevail.
But on the contrary personal conscious
ness confronts us with Its Illuminating
declarations.
Can any normally sane man believe that
something derives its being from nothing?
Then personal consciousness, which first
declares reality, therefore furthermore
SOCIALISM IS APPLIED CHRISTIANITY . . By C. S. Howard
MULINO, Or.. Oct. 8. (To the Editor.)
The article, "Socialism Denies
God." in your Issue of October 4. by
John F. Hogan, is so entirely wrong that
I beg space to set your readers right.
Your correspondent knows nothing about
Socialism, or he is deliberately attempt
ing to deceive them. He has quoted the
Faying of a few individuals as though
that was the whole Socialist principles.
Let us take up his objections and analyze
thm.
First Socialism is not logical unless it
denies the existence of God. If the Volks
Zeltung made such a statement, of which
Mr. Hogan will be required to furnish
to the question. His argument can be
met, however, under our present sys
tem without resorting to free text
books. Uniformity can be secured
through legislative action adopting
certain texts which will be the ones
the booksellers will care to handle.
At the opening of the school year and
at such other times as is necessary,
enough books can be transferred from
the retailers to the several school
buildings and there dispensed by some
one selected to do so with no more
expense and confusion than that of
the distribution of books owned by the
Board of Education.
The other plea that It will Increase
the attendance can be secured In a
better compulsory education law. So
far at the deserving poor are con
cerned a more sympathetic and effi
cient endeavor to supply their needs
will take care of this matter.
In East Saginaw, Mich., where free
text books and in fact all the neces
sary equipment of paper, pencils, etc..
wreck, and are now effectively muzzled
against future complaints by being sternly
reprimanded, fined $30 each and sus
pended, from their runs for ten days and
forbidden to make criticisms in future on
pain of discipline or dismissal.
We are still without parcels post or
postal savings banks.
When ohn WJannamaker was Postmaster-General
he was asked what were
the chief obstacles to the parcels post, to
which he very tersely replied: "The five
big express companies" Just as bankers
and money sharks are between the people
and postal savings banks?
Now, cdnccrnlng the robbing of the gov
ernment by the railroads: Railroads are
run for a profit. They must earn divi
dends first, last and always. Everything
else is secondary, even the public serv
ice. Vanderbilt once said, "The public
be damned," and that Is about the senti
ment of all railroad owners.
How the Government Is Robbed.
Senator Vilas, of Wisconsin, in a speech
THE SOURCE OF AUTHORITY .. By J. L. Jones
that a child when It graduates from the
publio school, knows more than all Its
ancestors ever heard of. And mere callow
youths can now be turned out of Kie theo
logical schools with diplomas to teach the
antique baldheads and doddering gray
beards how to walk In the fear of the
Lord and keep from getting too gay. We
have a right to be proud of our schools.
Our children can Instruct us In anything
from maneuvering a man of war to ad
ministering an episcopate.
But this is a digression. Let us stick
to the text. Ecclesiastics are also called
ministers. The word minister Is Latin
for servant. The ecclesiastic Is a servant
of God. He is also supposed to be a serv
ant of the people. The politicians are also
servants of the people that Is before
election. But afterwards their function
Is changed to that of pastor and they dex
terously perform the work of shearing
their flock, which is supposed to exist for
the express purpose of yielding up Its
wool In exchange for the Inestimable
privilege of being exhorted or governed.
Now there are differences In servants.
The kinds that take orders from us in
the kitchen or shop are to be carefully
distinguished from those who instruct us
from the . pulpit or those more exalted
ministers of state before whom we come
with our humble petitions, much in the
same manner as we approach the far
off gates of heaven and with the same
uncertainty of welcome or acceptance.
The whole relations of master and ser
vant, pastor and flock, politician and peo
England, North and South America and
Japan and China.
' While there may be many different
kinds of Individuals in their beliefs and
ideas of what Socialism Is. scientific or
modern socialism stands everywhere
where It Is taught for three distinct
principles:
First, collective or common ownership
of the means of production and dis
tribution. Second, the democratic organization
and administration of the same.
Third, the equal opportunity to enjoy
the benefits thereof.
This first principle is now extant In
our postoffice, our common schools, our
publio libraries and public parks.
It Is an old trick to inveigle or seduce
Socialists into a religious discussion, so
much so that once in a while a new
convert with his enthusiasm is led Into a
heated discussion on the subject; there
SEEKING AFTER DIVINITY . By Rev.
declares, as it were with the same breath,
an eternally self-existent reality as the
Infinite source of all finite and inflnltesl
Vial forms.
And what is the difference between ab
solute death and nothing? There is no
difference. Yet the atoms and molecules
of matter when conceived of as some
thing entirely separate from the forms
of life which make use of them as their
receptacles and clothes, are in a state
of absolute death. What an absurdity
then Is the supposition that life origi
nated In matter! That which Is self ex
proof, it would be promptly repudiated
by all Socialist organizations.
Second It Is our duty to root out the
faith in God with all our zeal. This
statement by Liebknecht, as well as the
third by Sholl and the fourth by Karl
Marx, have been wrested from their sur
rounding passages and given a wrong
construction. Beyond question these men
were opposed to religion, but what kind
of religion? The kind that stands for
the sway of a corrupt and merciless
aristocracy that Is responsible for bloody
Sundays, and tells the working class (in
the midst of their terrible sufferings) to
be patient in this world and they will
reach heaven In the next; th kind, of
was tried the supplies were dispensed
from a central storeroom in the base
ment of the High School building,
which required the special services of
a clerk to keep the records of transfer
or exchange of supplies. Now from
the standpoint of organization this
sounds well, but to one who had the
opportunity to see the inner work
ings of the system it was exceedingly
repulsive.
It was the Intention to keep the old
books in fair condition of repair, but
a shortage of a certain text would un
avoidably occur, a hurry-up call from
some building would be sent in, or
the clerk would be negligent about dis
carding badly worn books, all of which"
would Inevitably result in the use of
books that ought to have been burned
years before. It was Impossible to
keep the stock clean and presentable.
Box after box of soiled books were
being constantly collected and dis
carded. The best argument I could
! put forth against such a system would
in the Senate February IS, 1S95. supplied
the following figures, among others:
The cost of building one of the railway
postoffice cars averages $3600.
The railroads charge the government a
certain rental for the use of these cars.
In addition to making the government pay
for the hauling of the cars.
According to the railroad figures sup
plied to Senator Vilas, the following ex
pense accompanies the operating of postal
cars for each year: .Light, $276 a year;
heating, $365 a year; repairs, $350 a year:
cleaning, $365 a year; total average cost
of maintaining each car In use, $1356.
It Is needless to point out the extrava
gance of these estimates. But let them
stand for the purpose of argument.
When Senator Vilas was speaking, It
was proposed to appropriate $3,250,000 to
be paid by the government for the renting
of postoffice cars during the ensuing year.
That amount was to be paid for 790 post
office cars 560 cars in use, 180 cars in re
serve, and B0 additional cars that might
become necessary.
According to the railroads' own figures,
the cost of maintaining and operating
these cars would be $R90,160. Take that
amount from the appropriation of $3,250,000
ple, need to be adjusted anew. How can
a person be master and servant at the
same time? How can he serve the people
If the people are expected to serve him?
Can he be Julius Caesar and Uriah Heep
at once? Which Is superior, the people
or the politician, the flock or the pastor,
the many that get sheared or the few that
do the clipping, the many that serve or
the few that rule?
This raises the fundamental question of
authority. The word clergy means chosen
ones. What are the conditions of the
chosen? Has the criminal a right to
choose his own Judge, who will decide
that he is an innocent and humble man?
have the profligate and vicious a right to
employ their own private priests, who
will remit their sins and exalt their vices
into virtues? Who can say that this 1s
not the common practice of the world,
as It has been in all ages that we know
of.
Let us go back and read a chapter of
history. In the year 1066 the Duke of
Normandy, at the head of an army of
adventurers, invaded England, defeated
and killed the Saxon king, took posses
sion of the country, divided the land
among his followers, and reduced the
Saxon population to a state of serfdom.
In which their descendants remain to this
day.
This Norman conquest, as It is called,
is one of the great epochs, or turning
points. In history. Guns and bowle knives
were yet unknown, but the Norman Duke
was handy with a club and long bow.
fore at conventions held by Socialists
they have had to declare themselves that
on religion as on marriage Socialism
has no special teaching.
The Social-Democrats of Germany In
their Gotha programme of 1875 declared!
religion to be a private concern.
Whether I accept the Bible version as
set forth In Genesis or accept the evolu
tionary theory of creation Socialism has
no concern nor does it interfere with
my freedom to believe In anything I
want to. It Is solely concerned that I
shall In common with all humanity have
my industrial freedom the same as I
now enjoy religious, intellectual and poli
tical freedom:
All I need to believe to be accepted
as a Socialist is that I recognize the
class struggle and that labor produces
all wealth and Is entitled to the full
product of its labor.
There are individual Socialists who
istent Is life! Matter, which, in itself.
Is in a state of death. Is not the self-existent
thing. To befleve so is equivalent
to believing that something can come
from nothing.
Personal consciousness also declares the
existence of an infinite variety of things.'
And Is It not a fact that there is a dif
ference between any two things some
thing by which the one Is distinguished
from the other? Are any two things in
all the universe precisely the same? None
but the Idiotically inclined would so af
firm. And yet, to give this emphasis to
religion that repudiates Its own professed
doctrines (when promulgated by Social
ists) and agrees with anarchists that
all the sins of the world are to be laid
at the door of individuals; that kind
of religion that meets the honest at
tempts of Socialists and others to edu
cate the people to a proper understand
ing of economic conditions with the end
in view of making the world better, with
a contemptuous shrug of the shoulders.
Karl Marx had never seen any real
Christianity practiced, and consequently
was against the sham that passed as
such, and rightly so.
To prove that Socialism is not contrary
pale into Insignificance beside a con
signment of these worn-out books
after a year's use, to the Portland City
Hall for public Inspection; covers gone
or hanging; half the leaves torn
loose; many missing; the remainder
dog-eared: dirty. greasy, thumb
marked, pencil checked. Ink be-spat-tered,
questionable quotations inter
lined; the whole so foul-smelling and
filthy as to be a serious menace to
the health and self respect of every
child and teacher in the schoolroom.
"Without another argument, the one of
health alone ought to be sufficient. In
this day of wise sanitary measures for
the prevention of infectious diseases
among our school children, in the use of
individual drinking cups, the exchange df
the slate for the sanitary pencil pad.
constant oversight of the health officers
and what not. It seems like the idle
thoughts of an idle fellow to even sug
gest the adoption of such a pernicious
practice Into our far from hygienic school
management. 'Tis true the teacher and
and you find that the railroads were paid
by the Government $2,314,840 for the use
of the cars for one year.)
To build those cars ontrlght cost only,
$2,765,060, so that, after deducting a suffi
cient amount to renew the cars and keep
them in order, the railroads steal from
the Government in one year practically
the total cost of building the cars. In
addition, the Government pays an extra
vagantly high rate for hauling all these
cars.
Things have been getting' worse In
stead of better since Vilas made his
speech. For the fiscal year ended June
SO, 1901, the Government paid to the
railroad companies for the use of
postoffice cars as rental,. Independent
of too hauling of the . cars $4,G3S,
234. 03: 765 cars were used. Thus, as
rental for each car. the Government
paid an average of $6063.05.
To build a mall car costs $3500; the
outside limit as fixed by the railroads
of the cost of maintaining and operat
ing the car in use is $1356 a total of
$4856 for building a car and keeping
It In order for a year.
Therefore, the Government paid the
railroads for each car per year the
In fact, he was an all-round bacl man, and
his followers were as jovial and joyous
a train of cavaliers as ever adopted the
noble profession of Elitting throats or
sacking towns.
William himself was born outside of
wedlock, but this sin was forgotten and
forgiven. The whole aggregation, dukes,
counts, barons and squires were all of a
kind. There was not a crime on the
calendar they would not commit for pleas
ure or profit. Murdering their own rela
tives and assassinating intimate friends
were pastimes frequently Indulged In.
There was not an honest man among the
lot. Though some were better than
others. By an honest man I mean one
who earned his living honestly. None of
them did that. They fought for a living
as prizefighters do now. They kept the
property of those they killed for there
was no way for the dead to recover. A
man could not earn a living honestly and
be a nobleman or even a gentleman. It
was a disgrace to labor with any tool
but a weapon of war. Farmers were
called boors, working men were villains,
varlets, pigs, slaves, dogs, and were
clubbed or killed with as little compunc
tion as If they were dumb' animals.
Yet these men who treated the slaves
so cruelly were gallant knights, honor
able gentlemen, noblemen, as they sup
posed, and were intensely and devoutly
religious in their way. Their bishops
fought in the front of the battle. Cruci
fixes were kept as convenient as swords,
are atheists as well as Catholics, Bud
dhists as well as Protestants: there
are Socialists among Chinese, who are
believers In Confucius, etc., etc.
There Is no single doctrine outside
of Christianity that has such a hetero
geneous race of believers and none
that is making more marvelous growth
among all races of people. Now, while
all evangelical churches have one com
mon belief in that Christ is divine and
the Son of God, I believe that Is their
one and only fundamentally common
belief to make them Christians. Frem
this basic belief they divide them
selves Into sects upon different creeds
that separate them into many different
churches.
Now. with this Socialism has nothing
whatever to do. but is solely concerned
with a positive and constructive pro
gramme of education, notwithstanding
the antagonism and opposition of the
this very simple and self-evident fact Is
thoroughly justified because of the im
plied 'denial of It in the religious logic of
that rapidly growing number who aspire
to make themselves Identical with the
Infinite and divine.
The primary or fundamental difference
or distinction between any two forms of
life is to be found in the qualities of those
two lives. Every form of life Is unique
because of Its unique quality of being.
Is there not a difference of some kind
between the eternally self-existent life
and any one of the finite forms of life
that has been created by it? The self
existent is in itself an organized unit in
to real religion or denies God "I will
make some quotations.
The ethics of Socialism and the ethics
of Christianity are identical. Encyclo
pedia Brltannlca.
What the Socialist desires is that the
corporation of humanity should control
all production. It eliminates the motives
of a selfish life: it enacts into our every
day life Christ's gospel. Nothing else
will do It. It Is the very marrow of
Christ's gospel: it is Christianity ap
plied. Frances Willard.
- Socialism is simply applied Christianity;
the golden rule In every-day life. Pro
fessor Ely.
Some may hold that only science
every one connected with the school is
expected to look out for the unclean
books, the careless pupil, the dirty hands
and the diseased child, but with the
greatest watchfulness some and often all
of these dangerous elements continually
manifest themselves unobserved. Who
will confidently declare that, with free
books, none of them will enter homes
infected with germs of contagious dis
ease, or that the probability of Infection
will be materially lessened? Will such a
system diminish the spread of the "white
plague"? Until our oversight of the
health and dally habits of the home life
of our school children is much more
stringent and effective, no one can intel
ligently answer In the affirmative. As
well talk of a public wash cloth and face
towel, a public wardrobe for the thinly
clad, as to put into law the require
ment, or even permission, that clean,
healthy , children accept on the opening
day of the school year several books
whose condition and former ownership
may cast a shadow on their whole lives.
Charles Pye
total cost of building the car, the cost
of maintaining it, and $1207.05 addi
tional. Every year the railroads get back
from the Government the entire cost
of every car, the entire cost of main
taining and operating them, $1207.05
besides, and the regular scale for car
rying the malls, as the law provides
an extravagantly high rate over
and above all the rest. Individual
railroads fare better than others.
Take, for example, the New York
Central Railroad, which owned one of
New York State's Representatives in
the United States Senate, Mr. Depew,
ind controlled the other, Mr. Piatt,
through his express company.
The New York Central carries the
Goveramcnt mails on the routes from
New York to Buffalo. In 1901 the
Government paid the New York Cen
tral $230,038.60" for the use of 22 cars.
Therefore the Government paid to the
New York Central for one year $10,
456.07 for each car.
That Is . to say, each year it pays
the original cost of building the car,
and the total cost of maintaining the
car twice over.
and. if their sins were duly shriven by
a priest these pious soldiers of fortune
would dance as gaily to their death as to
their dinner. t
Now these cavaliers, or cutthroats,
whichever you please to call them, were
the ancestors and founders of present
European ancestry and royalty. Most of
the land In England belongs to their de
scendants to this day. Their titles were
written in blood a,nd have been perpetu
ated by frequent applications of the same
Indelible ink.
Yet this was all done in the name o'l
religion. The Pope of Rome sanctioned
William's expedition and congratulated
him on his success In bringing England
Into the true fold. The Saxons were
cleared out of church and state; Norman
bishops and priests were appointed.
Saxony were not allowed to officiate un
less they apostatized, turned against
their own people and acknowledged the
divine right of Norman supremacy.
Thus the whole transaction was con
summated in the name of God and for
his especial glory. The churches were
compelled to teach that the whole opera
tion was divinely ordained and also to
pray for the King and the orders of no
bility under him.
The King thus became the source of
authority, the origin of law and the
fountain-head of religion. For the Saxons
to try to recover their own was not only
treason against the state, but heresy
H. Fairbrook
Catholic Church. the Protestant
churches, many newspapers, and also
many so-called economic and political
organizations.
It is a well-known fact that Robert
Ingersoll was a great Republican ora
tor and a pronounced and open
atheist, but this did not cause the
Catholic archbishop, the Methodist
bishop, the Episcopalian bishop, the
presbyter, etc.. of Republican princi
ples and beliefs to denounce Ingersoll
or Republicanism, and why?
Well, that would be another subject
which cannot be exploited here, but is
pertinent, in view of the continuous
and at" times violent denunciation of
Socialism by the church and not de
nunciation of the church by Socialism.
"But you Socialists would Introduce
community of women." screams the
whole bourgeois in chorus.
The bourgeois sees in his wife a
Mr. Vrooman
the sense that a man Is an organized unit
notwithstanding there is within him In
numerable cells. The infinite one abides
In Ms own unique state of being and
therefore has his own distinctive quality
of love. The word divine represents God's
own distinctive and absolutely unique
quality of love. It is an adjective which
designates primarily a distinction. It
helps us to think definitely of the infinite
one. '
Persons who are claiming divinity for
themselves, and who are ambitious to
become infinite, are seeing confused out
lines of things as in a fog. There is a
strange kind of an entanglement In their
teaches Socialism, but I am free to be
lieve that both science and the Bible
teach it. Rev. George W. Woodby.
To us Socialism Is the political and
economic prbgramme of Jesus. Rev. Carl
D. Thompson.
Atheism is no more a part of Socialism
than It is of radicalism or liberalism.
Christ's teachings are often said to be
Socialistic. It Is not Socialistic, but it
is Communistic, and Communism 1? the
most advanced form of the policy known
as Socialism. Robert Blatchford.
The law of economic determinism,
discovered and analyzed by Karl Marx,
Is. stated as follows: "The economic con
dition of a people at any given period
I
Chairman Beach is right in his feai
that children would use free bonks reck
lessly. It fosters wasteful, careless hab
its in the children. It is an Important
part of the child's education that he own
and care for his own books. Mr. Wltten-.
berg hit the nail on the head. We are
not seeking paternalism, but a harmoni
ous unity out of Individual self-dependence
and pride In one's own honest effort
toward self-eupport. Nothing develops
self-respect and a high moral regard for
the belongings of others as the realization
by a boy or girl that he Is responsible
for his small betbngings. What a proud
child on the first morning to school when
It takes Its own books In hand and real
izes that they are all Its own How Jeal
ous the children become of their own
books, pencil pads, etc.! With what ex
treme nicety they care for them when
encouraged In their ambition to own
something of their own. One of the
strongest arguments for the manual arts
In the school curriculum is the cultiva
tion of this worthy ambition to secure
Excessive Pay for Carrying the Mails Explains the
Deficit in the Postal Department.
And at the end of the year the rail
road still owns the car.
In addition the railroad company re
ceived from the Government $1.2SS.
080 for transporting the malls, under
the regular weight schedule, between
New York and Buffalo.
Poor's Manual gives the PennsyN
vanla Railroad's own figures for 1900
as to Its earnings." On passengers the
railroad earns a small fraction over.
2 cents per mile per passenger. " On
freight It earns a little less than a
third of a cent a mile per ton.
The Government, however, pays all
the railroads, including the Pennsyl
vania, an average of $12.13 per mile.
In Oilier Lands.
The United States Government pays
every year to the railroads $38,000,000
for carrying the malls and for the use
of cars.
In France the railroads carry the
malls free. In return for their grants
of right of way.
In Switzerland all railroads are
government property.
In Germany and Austria all rail
roads must carry one mall car free.
Criticism of Ecclesiastics and Public Functionaries;
No Change in the Shepherds or Sheep.
against the church and rebellion against
God.
Now I am not setting this forth as an
attack upon the church by any means.
It was Just as if one Indian had killed
another and carried off his squaw. The
church stands in the same relation to the
state that the wife does to the hushand.
The Church of England was compelled to
transfer her loyalty and love from a
Saxon savage to a Norman tyrant. She
had a new lord and master thrust forcibly
upon her outraged affections. What could
she do?
Now let us get back home and trace
the correspondence. Names have changed
and words are spelled differently, but the
Normans still possess the stolen prop
erty and the Saxons still plod round In
heavy cowhide boots.
Farmers are not now called boom, but
they are called clodhoppers. A working
man Is -called by all the old names and a
lot of new ones. The laziness of the
wqrklngman Is still one of the perennial
themes of the pulpit and one of the great
est troubles of the rich. If the man
won't work at all they call him a hobo
and put him on the chain-gang. If he Is
too anxious to work and steals his neigh
bor's Job he is called a scab and is likely
to be murdered. If he quits work all the
names In the dictionary, besides injunc
tions and bullets, are fired at him.
But there's not so much In the mattpr
of a man's calling as in the manner of
This Is Economic Justice, and Religion Has No
Place in the New World-Wide Movement.
mere instrument of production. He
hears that the Instruments of produc
tion are to be exploited In common,
and, naturally, can come to no other
conclusion than that the lot of being
common to all will likewise fall to
women.
He has not even a Husplclon that
the real point aimed at Is to do away
with the status of women as mere In
struments of production.
For the rest, nothing is more ridic
ulous than the virtuous Indignation of
our bourgeois at the community of
women, which, they pretend, is to be
openly and officially established by
the Socialists.
The Socialists have no need to In
troduce community of women; it has
existed almost from time immemorial.
I quote from New York Independent,
August 30. 1906:-
This extraordinary editorial note ap
Personal Consciousness Declarers an Eternal Reality
As the Infinite Source of All Finite Forms.
thoughts. If It were not for a partially
redeeming Innocence, that usually accom
panies It, this assertion of a man's being
able to become clivlne and infinite would
be blasphemous presumption.
It Is vital to the logic of our thoughts
in this connection to observe that the
difference that exists between two things
does not necessarily cause the two things
to be separated. Two things are dif
ferent even when they are connected. The
reader will observe a difference between
himself and his right arm but the two
are not separated. There Is the con
nection of relationship even between the
two most distantly separated molecules of
Clackamas County's Socialist Secretary Quotes Un
prejudiced Writers and Reformers on Subject.
dominates all other conditions." Now,
If religion Is a product of the economics,
or the way In which the people get their
material necessities, for Socialists to at
tack it would be to repudiate their own
law, or to say that it could be changed
without changing the economics. Now in
conclusion I will say that the statement
that free lovs and the abolishing of mar
riage Is a part of the Socialist programme
Is a fabrication pure and simple, as no
Socialist document ever advocated such
a thing. In the light of the above 1
think your readers will agree that It
would be as foolish for Socialists to
waste their time and energy In attempt
ing to prove the nonexistence of God as
possession through Individual effort.
With free textbooks, the child thinks:
"It's not mine: what's the use?" And this
tendency reflects Itself in his wasteful
habits and disregard for property rights
in after-life.
Never In our National history has there
ben gmater need for an education that
fhould teach Its prospective citizens that
public property Is not for spoliation in
the hands of those fortunate enough to
lay melr hands upon It. We learn to ap
preciate the value of a friendship, the
pleasures of ownership, the exultation In
victory, through the realization of hav
ing done something that requires the giv
ing of self In their attainment. Free
books to school children will develop no
such traits, but. on the other hand, will
stultify any ambition in this direction.
Let there be a law providing uniform
textbooks, but keep the vicious practice
of depending upon the publio treasury to
supply our every need out of It.
Portland, Oct. 4.
The British Parliament, like our own
National Congress, consists largely of
men owned by the railroads. But they
have, some shame over there, and, al
though the British mail service In
cludes the parcels post, and does the
work of our express companies, the
government pays to the railroads for
all of Its carrying, including thi3
enormous parcel express business,
only one-ninth of the amount which
our Government pays the railroads for
carrying of pure mail matter.
The railroads overcharge the Gov
ernment for carrying the mails. The
postal department knows it; Congress
knows it: the Senators know it; the
Cabinet knows it; the President knows
It. Then why Is It not stopped? Echo
answers in capital letters Why? Go
ask the lobby 1 nthe hire of the cor
porations. And the principal aid to
effective work by the Grange can be
obtained by a knowledge of the work
of thl.i lobby.
Under socialism these things, and
all the fraud and most of the crime
with which the papers teem could
not and would not happen.
Woodstock, Oct. 4.
it. The ecclesiastic who Is called of God
takes breakfast leisurely at 8 o'clock and
does not do much between meals but
study and converse and visit with the
brethren and sisters.
But the modern villain is called fiercely
and Imperatively by a mill whistle and he
has to hike out at 5 o'clock In the morn
ing and get a hump on htm. He is not
hired for his conversational ability nor
his good looks. He has to grunt and
sweat and strain his muscles, disable his
back and dislocate his kidneys, and yet
come up in time smiling and cheerful
and ask. "Is there anything more I can
do for you?"
And the ecclesiastics preach the tame
gospel as in the days of the Norman In
vader. They teach the villain to be con
tented with his lot and admonish him
against covetousness because God In his
inscrutable wisdom has blessed him with
poverty and his superiors with wealth.
They perform their double part with
skill. They are ministers to the rich and
serve them. They know their owner'3
crib and they absolutely must earn their
wages. But they are pastors to the poor.
They assist in shearing them. They
throw theological chaff In their eyes.
They feed them on husks and cons, glit
tering generalities and wormy apples.
Verily they have their reward, and their
works do follow them.
Corvallls, Oct. 6.
pears In one of the most Independent pa
pers of Its class, the Catholic Citizen, of
Milwaukee:
"At Milwaukee the past week there
came before the Board of Aldermen a
question of granting licenses to 11 noto
rious saloons, most of which are virtual
ly temples of 'free love.'
"Singular to relate, all of the 12 Social
ist Aldermen vot(d against licensing these
places; and. sad to say, all the Catholic
Aldermen.- except one. voted to license
these temples of free love. Evidently It
is a condition and not a theory that con
fronts us."
We offer no comment except to say
that It concerns those whom it concerns.
I might cite that every transient
rooming-house in every large city Is a
rendezvous for the exercise of "free
love." and In view of the action taken
In Milwaukee and other places you
can readi'.y know that John F. Hogan
needs to come again.
Portland, Oct. 4.
matter In the universe. There is no such
thing as absolute separation of two
objects but there Is invariably some dif
ference between them. Hence, although
there is so great a difference between a
finite man and God that the highest flights
of .our Imagination can bring us relative
ly not so near to comprehending It as the
flights of a bird bring it close to the
sun. yet. nevertheless we are not sep
arateel from God but on the contrary,
closely and vitally and Intimately con
nected with him by the various ties of
tender relationship revealed In his writ
ten word.
Portland. October 6.
It would be to attempt to prove that
dragons live on Mars or Jupiter.
CLAUDE S. HOWARD,
Secretary1 of the Clackamas County
Socialists.
Then He Left.
Puck.
Miss Gaysett (.after every other
means has failed) I've named my new
saddle horse after you. Mr. Ankerd.
Mr. Ankerd Hah Ah deuced flat
tered really
Miss Gaysett Yes: It's so dreadfully
hard to make him go.