MILWAUKEE SOCIALISM.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 216, 11 September 1911, Page 7

MILWAUKEE SOCIALISM.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—l do not think it is fair for you to condemn Socialism because the " fw.rce " being played at Milwaukee in the name, of Socialism is a failure. It is acknowledged by all thinking people that when the people "collectively" own the land and "collectively" own the machinery and tools worked upon the land and "use" both land and machinery for the benefit of the whole people, we then have Socialism. At Milwaukee the people do not own the land, or the machinery and have no legal power to "use" machinery, or land, or enter into municipal trading of any sort, .Tlie only thing that has happened in Milwaukee is that a section of the people, calling themselves Socialists, have taken possession of the machinery of taxation instead of the machinery used to create wealth—or labour products. If the Labour party get control of the taxing machine here, and turn out the Liberal Government, it would not be fair to say that Socialism is a failure if the Labour party fails to improve things. Even it they do improve things it could not bo said that Socialism was successful, simply because it would not be Socialism, while wealth is produced individually on land owned individually by machinery privately owned. The only thing socialistic in Milwaukee is the name of the party having the power to levy and etc.,

(To the Editor.) . Sir -The nigantic failure of Socialism In iStouk » to»» tf 3Woo,l>co.,te should prove warning to t!iu pcopk of Ne°v Zol«nd. In the Sydney Bom.m one Sunday I heard a coloured n,ang,v •i very trood definition of Socialism. I believe in Socialism," he sakl "because 1 have nothing, and never will have anjtliin' T , for the simple reason that I have not ."sufficient brains to make or save money; my neighbour, who has all these qualities, and is a hard-working, fiuga man, will have to divide with me, and when I have run through my share wo ■will divide again, and of course repeat tlio experiment until I have ruined hun. Some years ago Socialism was very strong "with a certain class of people in Australia, so they proposed to form a special settlement of their own, and show the sceptical public what they could do, and I thought this a very good idea at the time. They proposed to form a model settlement, and, with this object in view, a large tract of ground was acquired in Paraguay, South America,; a vessel called the Royal Tar was chartered, and, under the leadership of a Mr. Lane, about 200 men and women went on a voyage to the new settlement. Before they°got half-way to their destination they started to' quarrel among themselves, and it was stated that stand-up fights took place aboard the Royal Tar. At any rate, within two years, this model party of Socialists, or what was left of them,-implored the Government to send a boat and bring them back to Australia. An ounce is worth a ton of theoretical talk. Paraguay is a splendid country in every respect, so I am given to understand; and men who are not afraid of work, and who possess a little common sense, can succeed there. I may say the Royal Tar shortly after her return from Paraguay was bought by 'ilr. J. .T. Craig, and ran .into a scow down the harbour, and sank off Rangitoto. I got into conversation with a returned Paraguay Socialist one day. The account he gave me of how things were carried on there beggars description. He said he very soon had enough of it and gave the whole tiling "tho chuck."—l am etc., [BRITISH WORKMAN".