Look at the coal strike, the opinions that it calls forth, and
notice how respectability dances and hops from one foot to the
other when the RESPECTABLE shoe pinches and the RESPECTABLE
toe suffers.
A little while ago the man who spoke against trusts and general
monopolies of public necessities was called demagogue, socialist,
anarchist, inciter of the masses against the classes, and so on.
But along comes the Beef Trust and begins to punish even the
respectable "upper" classes. Double prices for food mean a
serious difference even in a very respectable income.
Then you have the respectabilities also suddenly developing signs
of demagogism, socialism and anarchy.
They want the tariff taken off of foodstuffs. They want the
managers of the Food Trust put in jail.
The Beef Trust teaches the nation one interesting lesson--namely,
that by excessive extortion the trusts will lose soon their
respectable friends and unite all of the people against them.
The Beef Trust also teaches that the language called socialistic
and anarchistic, when confined to working people, becomes
profound political economy when uttered by some
respectability with a pinched toe. ----
The Coal Trust is a later and even more radical national teacher.
The respectable individual who a short time ago could see no
difference between advocating Government ownership of national
resources and communism or thievery has seen a wonderful light
while gazing on his coal fire at Twelve Dollars a ton.
Judges on the bench, eminently respectable newspapers--by which
we mean those newspapers representing the interests of men who
think with their pockets--are expressing the most radical
out-and-out socialistic ideas.
One of the mildest suggestions made by these respectabilities is
that the Government should seize the coal mines and work them for
the benefit of the people, setting aside the preposterous claims
of the Coal Trust.
Papers like the Springfield Republican, the Philadelphia
Ledger and other solemn organs of antiquity are advocating,
without knowing it, ideas which mean inevitably universal
government ownership of monopolies.
The Coal Trust as a public educator is an undoubted success, more
of a success than it would like to be if it could understand the
nature of its teachings.
If the Government has a right to seize coal mines and work them
for the people, as respectability now declares, why has it not a
right to seize railroads, telegraphs and all the other great
industries whose value depends entirely upon the national
population? ----
Many men in this world hated their teachers while they were being
whipped in the old- fashioned way, but look back with gratitude
later on to those same teachers and those same whippings.
Our national teachers, the trusts, are severe teachers. Their
lessons are hard lessons, and they believe in very unpleasant
forms of corporal punishment--inflicting hunger and cold upon
their pupils.
This nation in time will look back with gratitude to the lessons
and to the whippings of the trusts.
The trusts are teaching us inevitably that competition is
antiquated; that organization is the real basis of industry.
They are teaching us that it is feasible and necessary for the
nation eventually to take possession of and manage its own
properties, industrial as well as others.