Show SOCIALISM TESTED IT is claimed that it can be shown by mathematical argument that the members of a given community possessed of th the average intelligence skill and commonly found in civilized countries could not only live comfortably fort ably but become wealthy by working half as many hours per day as is now done by the laboring classes provided that an ideal social system prevailed in it under existing circumstances ot ances life consists largely in a contest between different classes of men as the employer and laborer laborer the mer chant and customer the manufacturer and dealer the producer and cor con sum er cr supplant this contest by co opera tion let one class help instead of hinder the other and let there be a common and united eff effort ort on the part of all and in the same direction and it is claimed the community adopting such a system would rapidly acquire wealth be able to greatly reduce the hours of toil and enjoy a corresponding increase of time and means for intellectual tel improvement and general pleasure and recreation these doctrines have been more or less faintly recognized in different portions of the world ever e ver since recorded that thai the followers of the savior had all things in common but not until recent years have they been advocated with any considerable degree of aggressiveness gressi veness in some form or other generally more or less di distorted ster ted the truths of this theory are now being made to do service as a framework for the vague and impracticable conceptions of socialistic teachers who arbor are or pretend to be anxious to ameliorate the condition of mankind and aad who have sufficient tient intelligence to partially comprehend the principles upon which their desires might be accomplished but an experiment recently made demonstrates that a principle is lacking in the plans of socialists which is vitally essential to their successful operation within the last two years year a colony of that class have sec secured ureda a tract of Is land ad on the coast of the gulf of california and settled upon it intending to live upon the plan of hav having ingall all things in common the leader of the movement was a man named A E K owen and his bis followers came from various states of the union but disaster has overtaken the enterprise A great deal of money has been sunk bank the colonists find themselves bordering on starvation and recent advices advises intimate that there was danger of a fight breaking out among them owen is condemned in unmeasured terms and his followers tel lowers deplore having ever had anything to do with him or his scheme A similar failure though not so disastrous was the result of the socialistic enterprise at vineland N J some twelve years ago and like movements baving similar endings started in various parts of the united states within the last two decades might be cited the principle to which we have alluded as lacking in them all is a religious faith strung strong enough to constitute a controlling cont roling influence over the whole course of the lives of all who participate in an attempt to establish such a system as that above spoken of there must be such a thorough li subjugation of selfishness as can toe be effected only by strong religious and moral convictions and sentiments As further proof of this it can be shown that the only experiment a at living upon the communist ie plan that have been attended with any degree of success have been among communities who have displayed deep reli religious ous convictions and fervor as the shakers it may be predicted with reasonable certainty that failure if not disaster and bloodshed will attend every attempt that may be made by the socialistic cia listic theorists of the day to establish the system of their utopian dreams among peoples or communities woo are so destitute of religious faith and its restraining influences as are the masses of mankind at the present time lime |