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Show Making Tomorrows World :- By WJILTEJI W I LLIJfMS, LL.D. Dean of the School Journalism of the Unnenity of MUxiuri) SOCIALISM IN OUR TIME Melbourne, Australia. Aus-tralia. On the first pages of the morning newspa-pers newspa-pers in Melbourne Mel-bourne which newspapers follow fol-low the conservative conserva-tive British custom cus-tom of excluding news from first pages may be seen an advertisement adver-tisement with this opening sentence: sen-tence: "We will relieve re-lieve you of the worries of managing man-aging your own affairs." It is not, as might be expect- close to their dally work. They would soon lose their socialistic inclinations." inclina-tions." And the liberal prime minister of the commonwealth, Joseph Cook, remarked: "The pictures drawn of socialism would be beautiful if it were not for the black blotches on them. Against that kind of socialism the liberals are united." These expressions expres-sions of opinion from persons of widely wide-ly divergent political beliefs show the existence of socialistic sentiment in all parties in Australia. Bet ween them it is merely a question of degree. It is a curious p.-.n-.dox that the so-called so-called anti-socialists of the liberal party have enacted as much socialistic socialis-tic legislation, laws directly opposed to individualism, as the avowedly socialistic so-cialistic section of the Labor party when in control. Names do not frighten the Australian. lie is rather concerned as to results. Individual Initiative Lags. And what are the results? Generalization General-ization is dangerous. Certain results, however, are apparent. The working day of long hours Is passing away. There is less work and miore play in Australia than in any other civilized country. Private capital which finds better returns elsewhere does not rush to the island-continent. Individual initiative is not so keen. The average Australian leans against the wall or the fence or the lamp post. In material ma-terial affairs he leans on the government. govern-ment. The chief end of life to him is not business, but the chief end of business is life. Governments are instituted in-stituted among men, according to his view, not to preserve order and permit per-mit individual effort, but to give high rates of wages and establish holidays. There is much idealism in the growing grow-ing socialism of Australia but more materialism. It aims at larger leisure and greater pleasure. Play First, Then Work. "Will you describe the Australian as developing under your moderate socialism?" so-cialism?" I asked a distinguished colonial co-lonial author. "In what respect does he differ from his conservative British Brit-ish ancestors?" 2 "I will not do that," was the repfy, "hut I will tell you a story. An Englishman, Eng-lishman, discussing Australia, told o( a young official in Ms business house who was efficient and ambitious. This official aspired to be the head of the firm one day and allowed no other idea to engage his thoughts. It chanced that he was sent to Sydney, Australia, to a position of responsibility responsi-bility for his firm. He returned after five years. His outlook on life had entirely changed. As regards work he was as efficient, as quick, as re- ( liable. But his chief ideal now was to enjoy life; the headship of the firm took second place to that. He had acquired the Australian viewpoint." The story Illustrates the Australian's Aus-tralian's attitude toward work and play play first. And, under even moderate socialism, the tendency among Australians is to let the government gov-ernment do all the work we'll go play. He seeks socialism in our time with the hope and fond expectation that it will relieve from the worry and work of managing his own affairs. The anti-socialists insist that with socialism social-ism in full measure attained in Australia, Aus-tralia, the Australian commonwealth and citizen will have no affairs to manage. (Copyright, 1914, by Joseph B. Bowles.) One may send, for a shilling (24 cents), 16 words by telegraph as far as from New York to San Francisco, while for a penny (2 cents) one may talk five minutes through a public telephone from the street corners in the larger cities within the radius of the city, or suburban service. Few would change the telegraph or telephone tele-phone to private monopoly. Government Govern-ment aid to the settlement of land, to immigration, to the development of the "back blocks" or new country is I'enerally approved by leaders of all parties. Railroads Poorly Managed. As to the wisdom of complete nationalization na-tionalization of railways there is considerable con-siderable dispute, though the opponents oppo-nents of nationalization are apparently in a small minority. There are suggestions sug-gestions that private capital be encouraged en-couraged by grants of land or other bonuses to build lines of railway in the vast interior of Australia where the states have as yet been unwilling or unable to do so. Another suggestion sugges-tion is made that the state owned railways he, as in India, leased, under suitable restrictions, for operation to private companies. But neither suggestion sug-gestion has any considerable political support. The railway service is crude, its finances are muddled and it has followed in the development of the country, rather than, as in the United States, preceded and brought about this development. The "back blocks" have not as many votes as the suburbs su-burbs of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne Mel-bourne or the city wards. An apparent ap-parent improvement Is noticeable in the railway service and the general management shows betterment. The politician, through the pressure of an enlightened public opinion, is coming, though slowly, to regard the railway systems as nofi-polltical enterprises. The evils of the system have been largely due to hot-house politics. Socialism Partially In Force. "Socialists and Anti-Socialists In Australia," said W. M. Hughes, labor member of parliament and former attorney at-torney general, "have the most extraordinary ex-traordinary ideas of what socialism really is. It is not something to be brought about by act of parliament or by vote. It Is a growth just as a boy grows into a man. Socialism will come in Australia but by slow growth. Complete collectivism, when we get that far, will appear the most ordinary, natural and inevitable thing in the world for those who live under it. Many will think it a perfect system and others will object to it, but by all it will be regarded as perfectly natural. Socialism, which, as I understand under-stand it, means the substitution of ed, an advertisement of the policy and practise of an Australian government nor even of the advanced socialistic element in the Labor party. It is the business announcement of a company which acts as trustee, attorney and agent. It does represent, however, the drift of Australian political thought, as shown in vote, party platform plat-form and legislative enactment. For Australia is seeking to relieve the individual in-dividual from the worries of managing manag-ing his own affairs and turn this management man-agement over to the state or com-. monwealth government. That government, govern-ment, apparently, is regarded best which governs most. Paternalism of the State. To enumerate the enterprises in which the government of the commonwealth com-monwealth or of one or more of the Australian states has engaged, would be to supply a long catalogue. Private Pri-vate contract between employer and employe has been abolished as far as it affects a minimum wage. Arbitration Arbi-tration of industrial differences has been made compulsory. Collective bargaining by labor has been established estab-lished by statute. The trades union has been given preference. The right of society as a whole to interfere in private business has been recognized in the fundamental law. Engaged In Many Enterprises. In another direction, the right of the state, representing society as a whole, to engage in business of any kind is unquestioned. The railways are nationalized. Excepting a few miles of private lines run to coal mines or factories, all the Australian railways are owned and operated by the state. The same is true of many of the tramcar or street railway systems. sys-tems. The state of New South Wales, for example, owns and operates the - - W 5 ' f,), " , t , 4 A V Reaping Oats in Australia. - street car system of Sydney, its chief City. If the state of Missouri owned and operated the street car system of St. Louis or the state of Illinois the street car system of Chicago, the case would be a parallel one. The telegraph tele-graph and telephone lines are state-owned state-owned and state operated. The state lends money to farmers who wish to buy land or stock farms. It builds houses for workingmen to purchase on easy terms or rent. It aids miners In prospecting for and developing mineral properties. It gives boiriiJtes; and subsidies to manufacturers. It operates nurseries which supply trees and shrubs without cost. It owns and operates irrigation works, brick-making plants, abattoirs, meat-freezing works and engages in many other enterprises en-terprises ordinarily left to the initiative initia-tive cf private interests. The Australian Aus-tralian may borrow money from the state to buy a farm and stock it with sheep or cattle, he may ship his prod-uca prod-uca to the state market over a Etate rallwaj", have it slaughtered by state butchers, direct its sale by state telegraph, tele-graph, learn the results through a state telephone, as he sits in a state concert hall listening to an organ recital re-cital by a state organist. And the end is nt yet. Low Telegraph and Telephone Rates. As to some enterprises in which the Australian state has engaged there Is little or no difference of opinion. The telephone and telegraph service ftre regarded as properly in the hands of the government. The cheapness of this service, its comprehensiveness wd excelienco have commended it. co-operation for competition, will replace re-place individualism gradually but surely because it is the fittest to survive. sur-vive. The belief that socialism can be achieved by any coup, violent or peaceful, can only be entertained by those who fail utterly to understand not only what socialism is but' what those factors which make for change are. The Lambeth conference committee com-mittee wisely concluded that 'any system sys-tem of social reconstruction may be called socialism, which aims at uniting unit-ing labor and the instruments of labor la-bor (land and capital) whether by means of the state or the co-operation of the poor.' Modern socialism is here; less robust, less complex, less corrnrehensive, than it will be in the years to come, but it is here. Just as a boy is less robust than a man, and, in the sense that a boy is not a man, socialism is not here now and, in the sense that a boy is a man, socialism is. here in Australia now." All Parties Socialistic, j As to the progress toward a larger socialism, "it is our policy," said the secretary of the Sydney labor council, coun-cil, "to hold what we possess and strive for more. What the Sydney working people, for example, want just now is house room at a moderate renta and this can be secured only by the government building cottages wherever the workman may wish." And A. W. Pearse, editor of the Pastoral Pas-toral Review, able anti-socialist, said, a few minutes afterward: "The state should assist rural laborers to procure small areas in rural districts, where they can marry and rear families |