Socialism in thought and action

Front matter

3 1924 032 590 246

The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text.

Preface

In the year 1900, a student would have searched American literature in vain for any adequate expression of socialism written hy a sjrmpathetic student of the subject in this country, and published by a non-socialist publishing house. ^ From that year until the outbreak of the European war, however, volume after volume issued from the press and, by the summer of 1914i, practically every phase of socialist theory and tactics had been carefully treated.

Since the first of August, 1914, revolutionary changes have taken place in the socialist movement and philosophy. In many countries socialist theory, for the first time, under the most difficult circumstances, has been brought face to face with reality, and the socialist movement has evolved from a small, minority group to a powerful factor in the life of the people.

The war has given a great impetus to the guild socialist idea, with its emphasis on producers' control of industry and its insistence on the development of personality as the ultimate goal of society. It has afforded world-wide publicity to the soviet form of the state, with its demand for occupational representation and its temporary " dictatorship of the proletariat." It has witnessed the de-

1 The most noteworthy book on socialism at that time was Socialism and Social Reform, by Professor Richard T. Ely, an opponent of socialism. There were also Bellamy's Utopian writings, Laurence Gronlund's Cooperative Commonwealth, pamphlet literature and a number of translations and importations.

PREFACE

velopment of the " revolutionary communism " of the Moscow International, — advocate of mass action and of the immediate transformation of industrial society. It has) changed the attitude of many groups of socialists toward international warfare and toward scores of other problems. These new tendencies have been noted in innumerable pamphlets written in dozens of languages. This, however, is the first attempt to deal with these recent developments within the pages of one volume.

" Socialism in Thought and Action " aims to do more than to record the recent progress of the movement. Students of socialism have generally agreed that any comprehensive treatment of this subject should involve a discussion of the socialist criticism of present day society, the socialist theory of economic development, the socialist conception of a future social state and the activities, achievements, and present status of the organized socialist movement in various countries of the world. These phases are here treated as fully as space will permit.

During the last few years it has been my privilege to address scores of college classes under the auspices of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, an educational organization formed " to promote an intelligent interest in socialism among college men and women." At these lectures certain weU defined objections to socialism were continually urged. This volume states the most important of these objections and the socialist's answer thereto.

I have tried in these pages to express the thought of the organized movement and of its acknowledged spokesmen, rather than to record my own point of view. I have also endeavored to avoid abstractions and to connect socialist theory with the concrete life of to-day.

It is my hope that the present volume may serve as a

PREFACE

textbook for college classes and other study groups and as a ready reference book for the thinkers and the doers who have come to realize that an intelligent understanding of this greatest mass movement of the twentieth century is absolutely essential to enlightened citizenship.

Among those to whom acknowledgments are due for suggestions I wish to express my indebtedness to Gregory Zilboorg, secretary of the Ministry of Labor under Kerensky, to Evans Clark and Alexander Trachtenberg for their helpful suggestions in regard to the chapter on " The Russian Revolution," and to Ludwig Lore and Traugott Boehme for their criticism of the chapter on " The German Revolution." Acknowledgment is due to Ordway Tead, Professor Paul H. Douglas and others f-or many helpful suggestions during the early stages of the manuscript.

I wish to convey my special thanks to Jessie W. Hughan and to Mary R. Sanford for their careful reading of practically the entire manuscript ?and for their invaluable suggestions.

Haeey W. Laidlek.

70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. City, December, 1919.

Contents

PAGE

Chapter I

The Sociaust Indictment : I. Economic and Human Wastes 9

Introduction: The Motive of Socialist Activity — Character of Socialist Indictment.

Waste) of Capitalism: Failure to Utilize Productive Forces — Diversion of Industry to Luxuries — Wastes in Manufacturing — Wastes in Agriculture — Social Losses in Natural Resources — Wastes in Advertising — Diversion of Productive Workers — Evaluation of Advertising — Traveling Salesmen — Wastes from Producer to Consumer.

Human Wastes: Unemployment — Causes of Unemployment — Industrial Accidents — Disease — Poverty and Disease — Increase in sickness — Summary.

CHAPTER II The Socialist Indictment: II. iNEauALiTT of

Wealth 31

Inequality of Wealth: The Wealthy — Wages — Standard of Living — Recent Changes — Effect on Family Life — In Small Cities — Effect on Marriage.

Effect of Capitalism on Ethical Life: Poverty Not Chief Evil — The Profit Motive — The Business Man and the Consumer — Business and the Worker — The Business Man and His Competitors — The Business Man and His Fellow Investors — The Business Class and Corruption ix

CONTENTS

PAOE

— Inequality and Personality — Effect on Victor — Crime and Social Evil — Intemperance — The Spirit of Democracy— Artists and Capitalism — Conclusion.

Chapter III

Socialist Theoey: I. Ecokomic Inteepeetation

AND Class Steuggle 50

THe Utopians: The Foi-eruiiners of Markian Socialists — Mistakes of Utopians — Marxian Socialism.

The Inevitability of Socialism: Development of Industry— Achievements of Modern Capitalism — Development of Crises — Concentration of Industry — ■ Decrease of Capitalist Class — Disappearance of Middle Class — Increasing Misery of the Workers — Increase in Class Antagonisms — Industrial Organization of Workers — Political Organization of Workers — Breakdown of Capitalism — Triumph of Proletariat.

The Economic Interpretation of History: Introductory — • Criticism of the Doctrine — Ethical Factors — Economic Forces in Antiquity — Economic Forces in Early American History — Economic Forces and the Revolution — Other Instances in American History — Economics and Ethics — Conclusion.

The Glass Struggle : Marx's Conception of Class Struggle— Explanation of Theory — Increasing Expensiveness of Machinery — Increased Usefulness of Worker — Education of Worker — Spirit of Solidarity — Political Power of Worker — Evolution of Capitalist — Outcome of Struggle— Criticism of Theory — Value of Class Consciousness — Fundamental Antagonisms — Conclusion.

Chapter IV

Socialist Theoey: II. Capitalist Developments

AND Theoey of Value 81

Concentration in Industry : Introductory — The Growth of the Corporation — The Increase of Large Scale Production — Growth of Combination — The Corporation and Concentration of Control — Concentration in Manufacture — Concentration in Natural Resources — Concentration in Public Utilities — Concentration in Finance — In Wholesale Trade — In Retail Trade — Persistence of Small Business — Concentration in Agriculture — Depen-

CONTENTS xi

FAQX

dence of Farmer — Increased Capital per Farm — Mortgaged Farms — Summary.

The Disappearance of the Middle Class: Explanation of Theory — Middle Class Incomes — Intellectual Proletariat vs. Middle Class — Middle Class Stockholders — The Corporation and the Middle Class — Psychology of Inactive Stockholders — The Increase of Small Business — Income of Farmers — The Farmer and Progressivism — The Small Storekeeper — Summary.

The Increasing Misery Theory: Marxian Prophecy — Better Physical Conditions — Misery a Psychic Condition

— Uncertainty of Livelihood — Summary.

Industrial Crises: Causes of Crises — Effect of Trusts on Crises — Mechanical Impossibility of Capitalism — Coming of Imperialism — Conclusion.

Theory of Value: Meaning of Labor Theory — Creation of Surplus Value — Misconception of Theory — Facts of Surplus Value — Is Private Capital Socially Advantageous ? — Summary.

CHAPTER V The Socialist Commonwealth 122

The Aims of Socialism: Fear Utopianism — Socialism and Private Property.

Extent of Collectivism, Under Socialism: Socially Necessary Industries — Handicraft Industry — Exploitation ' as a Criterion — Voluntary Cooperation.

Collectivism in Land: Opposed to Exploitation and Speculation — Agricultural Land.

Intellectual Production Under Socialism: Research and Education — Art — Voluntary Unions — Publications

— Summary.

Democratic Management Under Socialism: Insistence on Democratic Management — Differences in Details — Selection of Officers — Conclusion.

Assignment of Tasks Under Socialism: Variety of Suggestions — F'or the Disagreeable Work — Revolutionize Present Method — Principle of Remuneration Under Socialism: Principle of Equality — Principle of Needs

— Compensation According to Deeds — Full Product of Toil — Inequality Assists in Assignment — Money Under Socialism.

The Nature of the State: The Class State — Characteristics of Socialist State — Coercion — Decentralization

— The Soviet Idea — The National Guildsmen and the State — Organization by Function — State Sovereignty — Conflict Regarding Transition Stage — Summary.

xii CONTENTS

FAQS

Religion Under Socialism: Attitude of Socialists — The Church and Democracy — Neutrality — Theism and Economic Determinism — Conclusion.

The Family Under Socialism: Criticism — Relation to Private Property — Finer Type of Family.

Transition to Socialism: History of Controversy — Tactics of the Extremist Left — Dictatorship of Proletariat — Tactics of Moderate Socialists — Transition State

— Rapidity of Socialization — Conflict of Views.

CHAPTER VI Guild Socialism and Syndicalism 170

Guild Socialism : Origin of Theory — Composition of Movement — The Wage System — State Ovifnership and Guild Management — Organization of Consumers — Details of Democratic Management — Selection of Officers — Safeguarding the Consumer — Contribution of Guildsmen

— Socialists and Guildsmen — Conclusion. Syndicalism: Introductory — The Class Struggle — Direct Action — Sabotage — Struggle Against the State — Patriotism — The Militant Minority — The Syndicalist Ideal — Socialists vs. Syndicalists.

CHAPTER VII Tendencies Towabd Socialism 187

The Corporation: Lessons from Corporation.

Social Reforms: Extent of Labor Legislation — Criticism of Reforms — Advantage of Reforms.

Voluntary Cooperation: Origin of Cooperation — From Retail to Wholesale — On the Continent — Contribution of Movement.

Public Ownership: Extent of Ownership — Education and Health — Limitations of Government Ownership — A Step Toward Industrial Democracy — Centralization not a Necessary Accompaniment.

The Labor Union: Extent of Trade Unionism — Criticism of Organized Labor — Toward Socialism.

Democratic Management: Advance Since 1914 — Other Tendencies.

CHAPTER VIII Objections to Socialism 207

Introduction: Narrowing of Objections.

Incentive: Basis of Criticism — Inefficiency of Present

CONTENTS xiii

VAOE

System — Greater Incentive for Average Worker — Material Incentives — Incentives and the Administrator — The Professions — In the Cooperative and Publicly Owned Industries— Administrators in Private Concerns — Type of Administrator Under Socialism — Creative Work — Evils of Profit Incentive — Is Government Ownership Inefficient?— Government Ownership vs. Socialism — Comparison Between Private and Government Ownership — Importance of Human Element.

Accumulation of Capital: Profit Motive Under Capitalism — Incentive to Improve Under Socialism — Accumulation in Cooperative and Public Industries — Conclusion.

Fixing of Prices: Criticism of Socialist Plan — Prices and Social Welfare — Price-Fixing Body — At Present Arbitrary Price Fixing. ,

Political Corruption: Criticism — Big Business and Political Corruption — The Giving of Contracts — Corruption and Political Patronage — Disappearance of Political Boss — Conclusion.

Socialism and Overpopulation: The Malthusian Theory— Malthusian Doctrine and Present-day Tendencies — Fear of Race Suicide — Increase of Population Under Socialism — Question of Parental Responsibility — State Control — The New Type of Woman — Summary.

CHAPTER IX Socialism and Intebnationalism (1848-1914) . . 247

History of International Action: Beginnings of Internationalism — Concerning the Franco-Prussian Socialists of Germany — The Second International — During the Russian-Japanese War — The Socialist Achievements ■ — Causes of War — The General Strike — Bebel on the General Strike — Jaurfes' Reply — The Resolutions at Stuttgart — The Copenhagen Congress of 1910 — The General Strike Again — The Morocco Crises of 1911 — The Balkan Situation — The German Military Budget of 1913 — The Taxation Bill — Presentation of Vote — The French Socialists and the General Strike — Opposition to Strike — Summary.

Immediately Before the Outbreak of War: Meeting of xiv CONTENTS

International Bureau — The Brussels Meeting — Jaurfes' Last Appeal — In Austria and Hungary — The German Socialists — Belgian and French Socialists — Great Britain — In Russia — Italy — Other Countries.

Immediately After the Outbreak of War: The Belgian Socialists — In France — The English Socialists — The British Labor Party — Germany — Russia — Other Countries — Summary.

CHAPTER X Towards the New International 283

The International During the War: Early Conferences — The Zimmerwald Conference — The Stockholm Conference — Results of the Questionniare — Refusal of Passports — The Spring of 1918 Inter- Allied Socialist and Labor Conference — For Labor Representation.

The Berne Conference: Representation at the Conference — Responsibility for the War — League of Peoples

— Warning by MacDonald — For Complete Disarmament— Territorial Adjustments — Defense of British Labor — The Labor Charter • — The Resolution on Russia

— Summary — The Lucerne Conference.

The Communist International: Groups Represented — The Manifesto — Who Will Control the Economic Life? The Rights of Small Nationalities — Parliamentary Democracy vs. The Soviet — Weakness of Second International — Conclusion.

Chapter XI

Through the March Revolution: Causes of Discontent — Beginnings of the March Revolution — Cossacks Encourage Revolutionists — Emergency of Workmen's Councils— The Abdication of the Czar.

Russia Under the Provisional Government: The First Provisional Government — Political Nature of March Revolution — Discontent with Provisional Government — Parties in Control — Congress of Soviets — The Resignation of Miliukov — The Military Situation — The New Coalition Government — The Land Problem — The Discussion of Peace and All Power to the Soviet — The July Days — July Outbreaks — Kerensky Becomes Premier —

CONTENTS xvii

Militarist Stand — Unrepresented at Berne — The General Strike — Spain: Attitude Toward War — The Strike of 1917 — The Socialist Victories — Further Suppressions — Portugal — The Balkans: Servia — Roumania — Bulgaria — Greece — First Socialist Premier in Finland — The White Terror — Mannerheim Prime Minister — Socialist Successes — Poland — Bohemia — Jugo-slav Parties — Summary.

CHAPTER XIV

Amekica AND Other Lands : Since 1914 . . . 464!

The United States: Feature of Movement — For Mediation and Embargo — Call for International Conference

— The Neutral Conference Proposal — The Mexican Crisis — The 1916 Campaign — The St. Louis Platform

— The 1917 Elections — Social Democratic League — The National Party — The 1918 Elections — The Nonpartisan League — The League Idea Spreads — The Nonpartisan Program — The Local Labor Parties — Rewarding Labor's Friends — Formation of Labor Parties — The National Labor Party — The Socialist Party and the Labor Party — The Left Wing Movement — Impetus to Movement — Dissensions in Movement — Birth of Communist Labor Party — Formation of Communist Party — Activities of Socialist Party — The Party Manifesto — Trial of Debs — Other Socialist Leaders — Summary.

Canada: The "One Big Union" — The Winnipeg Strike.

South America: Introductory — General Strike in Buenos Aires — Pan-American Socialist Conference — Strikes in Other Countries — Mexico.

CHAPTER XV

The Socialist Movement Before 1914! .... 482

The International: The "League of the Just" — Formation of First International — The Second International— The International Conferences.

Germany: Organization of Party — The Anti-Socialist Laws — Increase in Vote.

France: Organization of Movement — Controversies of the Nineties — Recent Growth.

Russia and Finland: During the Nineteenth Century

— Formation of Social Democracy — After the 1905 Revolution — Before the War — Finland — Strength of Movement.

xviii CONTENTS

PAOS

Auitria and Hungary: Development of Austrian Movement — Composition of Movement — Hungary.

England: The Social Democratic Federation — Formation of Independent Labor Party — The British Labor Party — Achievements of Labor Before the War — The Fabian Society — Other Socialist Groups.

Italy: Beginnings of Party — The Party Split — Extension of Franchise.

Belgium and HolUmd: Triple Character of Belgian Movement — Fight for Suffrage — Pre-War Strength — Holland.

Scandinavian Countries: Denmark — Norway — Sweden.

Other European Cov/ntriea: Switzerland — Spain — • Portugal — Servia — Rumania — Greece.

The United States and Canada: Formation of Socialist Labor Party — Split in S. L. P. — Western Movement — Birth of Socialist Party — Increase of Strength — Educational Work — Canada.

Latin America: Argentina — Brazil, Chili, Uruguay — Porto Rico — Cuba — Mexico and Yucatan.

Australasia, Africa, Asia: Development of Australian Labor Party — For " White Australia " — Labor in Parlia^ ment — New Zealand — South Africa — Asia.

Introduction

On July 29, 1914!, the day after Austria declared war against Servia, I attended the great " guerre a la guerre," ("war against war") meeting of the International Socialists in Brussels. That afternoon socialist leaders from all over Europe had gathered in la Maison du Peuple, the headquarters of the triple alliance of labor, socialism and cooperation, to determine the fate of the International Socialist Congress scheduled for Vienna on August 23. Socialists of all lands had been looking forward to this congress with great eagerness, for here they had planned to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first International and here they expected to see staged the greatest of all debates on the procedure of the socialist movement in case of threatened war. The delegates in Brussels had decided to transfer the meeting place of the congress from Vienna to Paris, to change the date froJii August 23 to August 9, and to make the problem: of war the chief subject on the agenda. .^^t^'

That night, before many thousands*^oi workers who crowded the Royal Theater, the leaders of international socialism urged the workers of Europe to stand firm against the onrushing avalanche of war. And after the meeting, with cries of guerre a la guerre, a has la guerre, with the ringing words of the Marseillaise and the Internationale — " the International Party shall be the human race," — the great gathering marched down the Boulevard du Jardin Botamqwe, down past the Gare du "Nord and finally dispersed in the stillness of the night.

2 INTRODUCTION

The next day I lunched with the French Deputy, Jean Longuet, the grandson of Marx. He had been trying to get into communication with Paris. He was told that it would take hours before he could obtain telephone connections with that city, while telegrams and letters were being held up by the thousands. The last group of delegates to the Brussels conference left that day for their respective countries to assist in stemming the tide of war. All were looking forward to intimate exchanges of plans before the Paris Congress and to a concerted program at that gathering that would force their governments to preserve the peace. The French socialists, a few days before, had already gone on record in favor of a general strike in case of threatened war, provided the socialists of the Central Powers pledged themselves to the same line of action, but only in such case. They hoped to secure an agreement at Paris. This might save the situation.

But their hopes were in vain. As lightning from the sky, the war descended. After the Brussels gathering, it was practically impossible for the socialists of more than two or three countries to get into communication with each other. And within a few days the " comrades " of the various couhtries of Europe were pitted in battle against one another.

" The International is dead," " socialism is destroyed," were heard on all sides. But hardly had the word been spoken than other forces were let loose out of the flame of war destined to render socialism a far greater power than ever before.

Socialists for years had centered their attacks against the wastes of competition. Their arguments received scant attention. Then came the war. Millions of men were taken from normal industrial life and sent to the

INTRODUCTION 3

front, to war industries. Vast amounts of property were destroyed. More economical methods of production and distribution must be devised in order that those remaining in industry might be enabled to supply suflBcient necessities to the community. Forced by the exigencies of the case, many in all belligerent lands who had formerly scoffed at the inefficiency of collectivism, instinctively turned to collective control as the best method of reducing waste and exploitation. As a result, the railroads, shipping, telegraph, telephone, mining, food, ammunition, housing and innumerable other industries were placed under government control in various countries. In England, according to the economist John A. Hobson, the war advanced state socialism by half a century.

State socialism is not the democratic socialism toward which the socialists are striving. Socialists desire democratic control of socially necessary industries as well as public ownership. They insist that the industrial system that regards labor as a commodity and that lavishes unearned wealth upon the few, be abolished. However, they do not ignore the importance of this war-collectivism, which in many countries has smashed forever the old individualism and which is definitely shifting the ground of debate from that of individualism versus socialism to that of bureaucratic state socialism versus democratic socialism.

The war concentrated attention also on the evils of bureaucratic control. As a reaction against that control are found the recent development of the industrial councils and the shop stewards' movement of England, the growing popularity of guild socialism and the increased representation of labor on the boards of many public in-

4 INTRODUCTION

dustries. Thus, democratic management in industry — a tenet of the socialist philosophy — is gradually evolving under our very eyes.

Furthermore, the war witnessed the development of the power and social purposefulness of the labor and socialist movements. During the stress and strain of war, Russia passed from black autocracy to a soviet republic; Hungary followed suit, only to be forced back into a temporary Hapsburg control by grace of Allied arms ; Germany and Austria bade farewell to their strong monarchical governments and ushered in republics presided over by Majority socialists, and pressed increasingly by the demands of the masses for complete socialization of industry. In Great Britain, the British Labor Party ended the war the chief opposition party in Parliament, bent on a complete reconstruction of the present industrial order, with the labor movement on its industrial side ever more unified, ever more militant. In fact, in every nation where capitalism, had obtained a foothold, the struggle of the masses for ihdustrial democracy, for socialism, during this peyiod gained increased momentum, while within the socialist movement a significant shift was evidenced in almost every country toward a more radical position than that held prior to the war.

The development of the trade union, cooperative and feminist movements during the war, the bringing of many of the reactionary peasants of Europe face to face with modern industry, the impetus given to the study of the causes of war and the necessity, following the coming of peace, of a fundamental program of readjustment if the problems of unemployment, of housing, of the high cost of living, are to be met with any adequacy, are among the

INTRODUCTION 5

other factors which will inevitably turn increasing attention in the near future to the socialist program.

The war has likewise given encouragement to certain forces of reaction throughout the world. It has whetted the appetite of " big business " for the exploitation of undeveloped countries and for the adoption by their governments of a program of imperialism. It has temporarily strengthened the military machine, led to the sweeping aside of civil rights, accelerated the concentration of industries, amassed huge fortunes in the hands of a few and given unheard of powers to political bureaucrats. A reaction after the war against all of these conservative forces and a belief that only through a proletarian movement with a socialist vision can the evil effects of these tendencies be checked might well serve also to rally the forces of democracy in the future to the support of socialism.

PART I SOCIALIST THOUGHT

Chapter I

THE SOCIALIST INDICTMENT: I. ECONOMIC AND HUMAN WASTES

The Motive of Socialist Activity — The belief that socialism is destined to constitute the next step in industrial evolution has sustained the modem socialist in his struggle against present conditions. The passionate devotion of millions of men and women to the socialist cause, however, can be accounted for primarily by the profound conviction that socialism would eradicate the burning evils of modern civilization and usher in an era of equality of opportunity and of genuine brotherhood. No group of social thinkers has done more telling work than have the socialists in analyzing and exposing present-day evils.

Character of Socialist Indictment The indictment

of the socialists has differed widely from that of numerous other critics. Socialists have never sought to caU again into being " the good old days of the past." To the extent that they have consistently followed their philosophy, they have refused to attribute fundamental social ills to the activities of " malefactors of great wealth " or to " the innate wickedness of human nature."

They have endeavored to evaluate capitalism rather than to indulge in wholesale condemnation, and have freely contended that the present economic order is a distinct advance over former industrial systems. Few more impressive testimonials to the achievements of capitalism have, in fact, been written than that of Marx and Engels in The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848. The capitalist class, they held in part,

" during its rule of scarce one hundred years has created more massive and more colossal produotive forces than have all preceding generations together. Subjection of nature's forces to man, machinery, application of chemistry to industry and agriculture, steam-navigation, railways, electric telegraphs, clearing of whole continents for cultivation, canalization of rivers, whole populations conjured out of the ground — what earlier century has even a presentiment that such productive forces slumbered in the lap of social labor.? "^

Socialists do not necessarily base their advocacy of a new social order on the ground that the lot of the workers is becoming absolutely worse.^ They do believe, however, that capitalism is failing properly to utilize the marvelous productive forces at its command; that the hand and brain workers are sharing but inadequately in the increased productivity of modern industry ; that capitalism retards the development of individuality among the masses of mankind and that, having largely performed its social function and outgrown its usefulness, it should yield to a more scientific and equitable industrial order than at present exists.

1 Communist Manifesto, published by Socialist Literature Co., N. Y., 1913, p. 19.

2 See discussion in Ch. IV under " Increasing Misery."

WASTES IN PRODUCTION 11

WASTES OF CAPITALISM

Failure to Utilize Productive Forces. — There are many counts in the socialist indictment. One of the chief of these is that capitalism involves enormous wastes in material and in men, both in the realm of production and in that of distribution. Under capitalism, a lamentably small percentage of workers engaged in gainful occupations are actually employed as direct producers of essential commodities.^ This was illustrated during the war, when tens of thousands engaged in non-essential industries were transferred by government order into other occupations with little stoppage of wealth production.

Many of the goods produced for profit, furthermore, have but little merit. " Twenty per cent, of the wMterial used hy the British woolen and worsted industries . . . consists of shoddy." * " Sham, shoddy and make-believe — these are erected in the form of houses, sewn up in the form of suits, packed in tins to mock children as food, made the sole occupation of millions of quite honest people." '

In the realm of food production. Dr. Lewis B. Allyn recently declared that between eight and fifteen per cent, of the foods sold were debased,® ■^

3 See Chiozzo Money, in Socialism and the Great State, edited by Wells and others, p. 79.

* Wells and others, op. cit., p. 85.

5 Money, Riches and Poverty, p. 247.

- Harris, Cooperation The Hope of the Consumer, p. 34. Among the useless or harmful occupations cited a few years ago, prior to the Pure Food Law, by social investigators — many of these occupations still continuing until today — are the dressing up of caUcoes with paste, tallow, china clay and size, the freshening of peas with copper salts, the filling of cherries with glucose and crimsoning them with aniline, the concocting of lemon essence out of coal-tar dyes, the supplying of alum baking powder with pulverized rock, the adulteration of milk with formaldehyde, the touching up of tea

Diversion of Industry to Luxuries — A large amount of labor also goes into the production of expensive luxuries and personal services which afford comparatively little additional happiness to their recipients, while diverting the energies of thousands from the production of the necessities of life for the many. Witness, for instance, the vast army of menial servants, lackeys, chauffeurs, caterers, governesses, private tutors, grooms, makers of expensive dresses, furniture and houses, and shopkeepers who cater solely to the peculiar tastes of the rich. The outlay of energy and money for lavish fetes with their expensive menus, singers and vaudeville performers, their dazzling electrical decorations and expensive cotillion favors ; the outlay for luxurious winter homes on Fifth Avenue and at Palm Beach, and for summer homes in Newport and the Adirondacks, for yachts and autos and studs of horses, and for an endless variety of other luxuries, — constitutes an enormous social waste in j)roductive effort.^

with graphite, the selling of Brazilian peaberry for Mocha coffee. (See Ghent, Mass and Class, pp. 180-193, Rauschenbusch, Christianity and the Social Crisis, p. 269.)