LECTURE ON SOCIALISM.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2660, 19 May 1908, Page 5

LECTURE ON SOCIALISM.

Miss H. F. Powell of Ballarat, who is addressing meetings in various Otago and Southland centres under the auspices of the Political Labor League, delivered a lecture on " Socialism" in the Town Hall on Thursday evening last to a fairly large audience, Mr M. J. Gavin occupyin" the chair in the unavoidable absence of" the Mayor, Mr Jno. Edgar, senr. Miss Powell, who is a fluent and pleasing speaker, handled her subject in an admirable manner. She said that a good deal of misunderstanding existed regardin" Labour and Socialism, and the leaders of* anti-Socialism greatly misrepresented the cause. They preached that the Labour and Socialist party wished to bring about a system of society in which all were reduced to the same dead level and in which all shared alike —a state of society in which there was to be no discipline, where chaos was to prevail and where confusion worse confounded took the place of the present system of doing business. If this were the objective of the movement, then it would richly deserve all the censure and ridicule which its opponents attempted to pour upon it. So far from Socialism aiming at bringing about any such state, of affairs, it was at the present time the greatest movement and the greatest subject that had ever occupied the attention of mankind. Bather than its being an attempt to level all down, it was an effort to elevate humanity and to evolve a process whereby a"scientific readjustment might be brought about to improve the welfare of all by eliminating the element of cut-.throat competition which reduced the lives of men and women to a struggle for existence. Labor and Socialism were inseparably connected. The Labour movement had for its goal Socialism in its complete sense. The political Labour movement was the advancement of Trades Unionism which had first sought for the improvement of conditions by means of strikes and lock-outs with all their accompanying misery. The better way to attain the end was by the accomplishment of a political medium which should make the Union, requirements into law by the creation of a direct Parliar mentary Labor party. Socialism sought the crushing of all monopolies and the extension of the industrial and economic functions of the State and the municipality. It aimed at social production, social distribution, social ownership and social management. They already had the two former but in regard to the two latter, except in the case of railways, post and telegraph, gas, water supply and a few other such, individualism still held sway. People must not confuse social ownership and management with Government ownership and management. It was at last being realised that the struggle for food had all been on one side. The minority had governed the country in the past and done it badly. It was now determined to give the majority a chance. Their legislation might not be conducive to the aggregation of wealth in a few hands, but rather to the attainment of the means of living up to a decent standard of the whole community. That was the business of the Labor "party. The struggle for food would continue so long as the competitive system remained in force. After a question had been asked, Mr K. P. Anderson proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Miss Powell for her able and interesting address.