“And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.”—_Exodus_ 14:15.
THE purpose of the following pages is to present in compact form a series of articles on money and kindred subjects from the point of view of one who, realizing that a world-wide economic revolution is imminent, hopes that this revolution will be accomplished by reason and in peace, not by treason and violence—by book and ballot, not by bullet and bayonet. It is not intended to make a special plea for the doctrines of any particular school of economics, or of any political party. The object is rather to place in concrete the arguments and principles of many branches of Reform thought which, while widely divergent in respect of methods, have a common aim in the emancipation of industry.
The many elements which make up the great and growing army of Reform may be segregated into two divisions—individualists and collectivists. In the early history of this nation the men who had battled for its independence were similarly divided into two great parties—one advocating the centralization of power in the national government, the other demanding for each State sovereign independence. The flexibility of our Constitution is ascribed to the wisdom of the fathers, who sought out and adopted what was best in the ideas of both. So out of the apparently conflicting elements of the Reform movement will come the ultimate solution of economic problems.
The editor is in thorough accord with the collectivists, whether they be known as socialists, nationalists or co-operators, in so far as they advocate the public ownership of monopolies. The people should own and operate the railroads, the telegraph, the telephone, etc., as they already own the post-office. The people should also own and operate the street railroads, water-works, gas-works, electric light plants, etc. The notorious corruption of our law-making bodies is due almost wholly to their power to grant special privileges and to sell public franchises to private individuals or corporations. Legislative reform that ignores the cause of corruption is never remedial and seldom even palliative. Public ownership of natural monopolies will abolish the bribe-taker by making impossible the bribe-giver.