THE MENACE OF SOCIALISM.

Evening Star, Issue 14784, 27 January 1912, Page 8

THE MENACE OF SOCIALISM.

TO THE F."'.TOr.. Sir, —When American in the socialistic- Press rail fsr "heroes" and "martyrs'' and "persons not afraid to die" to rid the world of •" enemies of organised Lihizit." it is not only a menace to La!>or itself, but a menace to the ideals of fwialisrr., dangerous as its ideals are. AsstLfning our ideal (from a socialistic point) is State control of shipping, coal mines, and industries generally, we imn-.t have credit and cash to earn - on and pay wages. Socialists have an idea that this can be done with paper money. Si present a trial is being made by hlr Fisher in Australia, and its weakness ir ; apparent from the start. They hawalready exceeded the statutory lirr.it of their paper note issue in proportion to the statutory amount of their gold reserve. What does this mean? Economic (exchange) danger. Onr prosperity depends on good seasons, phis exports exceeding imports, heesnso wo pay in kind. Assuming wo have a, bad season or two, with low prices, we cannot *~ay in kind : we then hivo to pay in gold. Hero lies the danger, because the whole of the bank n-'.>ie circulation is in the hands c{ iho Government, plus the gold, too. Another menace is the attempt t- r ' standardise the purchasing power of money by fixing in money a minimum wage, quite irrespective of the value of money and the fact that the value of n:n;:ev varies. Facts snob as these te;-;c;i i:s that the question of prices car not be considered by ourselves independent. Parliament overlooks the fact in thn legislation it passes—Conciliation and Arbitration Acts, as an instance. And to the credit of the thinkers who l".:d the waterside workers, they rerog'jiso the fact that standardising wages hv statutory legislation has proved failure. Whatever tnav be the Utopian aim of the socialistic dogma, it win never be attained bv and through overt acts of violence. The economist, as an economist, has knowledge of tbs pest. This knowledge teaches him of failure. The social knowledge of the immediate present is the province of the politician. —I am, etc.. F.M. January 27.