PIRATIANS BEGONE

Chapter 43

it necessary to add their facilities to the mailservice, in order to give the people the best means of communication.From this point the step was soon taken of assuming control of allthe telegraph and telephone lines, in the interest of lower prices andbetter service. This was attended with such good results that itwas thought wise to extend the conveniences of the mail in anotherdirection; and instead of carrying a few small parcels the governmenttook into its hands the entire express business, and it was not longbefore everybody conceded it to be a good move.

"At the same time, the municipal governments began to exhibit the samepaternal character. They first took control of the lighting and heatingfacilities, and this led in a short time to their furnishing the peoplewith fuel, which was generally brought from a distance, and which, inprivate hands, always had a way of going up in price at just the timewhen the poor people were obliged to buy it. For the sake of economy,also, the cities took possession of all street cars, cabs, andomnibuses.

"Affairs had reached this condition when the labor troubles became soserious, and this absorption of private business by the government wasso recent and was in general so satisfactory, that men could but thinkof it in connection with their efforts to solve the industrial problems.The time had now come when some radical measures must be adopted topreserve and extend civilization. The labor party were abusing theirpower still more in making bad laws, and strikes became more frequent,and were followed by rioting and bloodshed. At length the interruptionsto business occasioned by the irregularities in traveling becameunbearable. The public demanded better service, but the railroadcompanies were powerless to render it, being in the hands of theemployees, who at the slightest grievance would stop every wheel tillthe dispute was settled. The trouble generally started with one road andspread to the others by sympathy, and the result was just as disastrousto business whether the men gained their end or not.

"There had always been a party, although at times pretty feeble, infavor of government control of the entire transportation business. Thisparty now argued that that was the only thing that would cure theseevils, and they gained thereby many new adherents. When it wasconsidered that government ownership of the telegraph was working wellin spite of many adverse prophecies, the people began to entertainthe idea that it would perhaps be best to try the experiment withthe railroads, especially as it gave some promise of relief from thestrikes. To be sure, it would add to the government service immensenumbers of men, and increase a danger that had always been threatening,that of making too large a list of civil officers to be managed withoutgreat corruption.

"But now it was not long before a large majority of the people asked tohave the trial made, and soon all railroads, canals, and steamboats werein the hands of the general government. The employees were formed intoan army, with officers of all grades, and put under strict militarydiscipline. At the least show of insubordination a man was discharged,never to be reemployed, and although this caused some hardship inindividual cases at first, it put an effectual stop to the strikesand kept business moving. The best of the workmen had been among thestrongest advocates of national ownership, and as the movement gainedin favor no class were so satisfied with the change as the employeesthemselves. Work was steady, wages were regular, faithfulness andlength of service were rewarded, and the aged and feeble were retired onpensions.

"In this way peace had come in one department of labor, but war stillraged among the manufacturers and in the building and other trades. Theworkingmen literally held the reins in society, but did not know enoughto drive away from the rocks. Instead of taking advantage of shorterhours and higher wages to improve their minds and prepare themselvesfor a better condition, they were too apt to waste their energiesin denouncing the capitalists and in trying to force still greaterconcessions from their unwilling employers. They would loudly demandthat every ancient wrong endured by them should be redressed, and then,to show their idea of right, they would compel a builder, in the middleof a contract, where time was more precious than money, to givethem higher wages than had been agreed on; or they would boycott tobankruptcy a small shopkeeper who innocently bought goods that happenedto be made by non-union workmen.

"But do not imagine that the wrong was all on one side. Therewere employers who were unjust and cruel when they had the power,unreasonable in argument, and boorish and exasperating in their manners.Many seemed to think they were a different class of beings because theyhad more money than their workmen, and they resented the idea of thelatter rising above the station in which they were born. They raisedwages only when forced to do so, and considered any amount of profitmade out of their men perfectly legitimate. When want came they wouldgive in charity to the unfortunate ones that which really belonged tothem by right. These disagreeable qualities were not possessed alone bysuch as were employers. There was a class of rich people not engaged inbusiness, and although they had the greatest interest in the perpetuityof society as it was, many of them considered themselves as members ofa superior caste, and looked down with disdain upon the majority ofmankind, and the real masters of the situation, who had to work fortheir daily bread.

"It was against this class especially that anarchy was forging itsthunderbolt. The freedom of the press and freedom of speech gave thesocialist and anarchist the opportunity to promulgate their seditiousdoctrines, and they looked to the ignorant and depraved portions of thecommunity for adherents. By the successful risings of the people againstdespotic power the word 'revolution' had gained a certain nobility ofsound and meaning, and now these incendiaries employed it to mislead thecredulous. They promised an overturning by which all property and moneyshould become a common fund and be redistributed on a more equitablebasis, and it is perhaps not to be wondered at that some poor, ignorantones, seeing the vast inequalities in life, should be carried away withtheir arguments. The vision of a society where all should share alikeand live on the same scale of comfort was intoxicating. But the schemeof the anarchist was not based on love and a desire to promote truebrotherhood. Judging from the violent means proposed to bring aboutthe change, it seemed rather to be based on hate. In preaching theirdoctrine of personal license they were stealing the livery of freedom inwhich to serve their selfish lusts.