The Wisconsin Idea

Front matter

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Thanks to the movement for genuinely democratic popular government which Senator La Follette led to overwhelming victory in Wisconsin, that state has become literally a laboratory for wise experimental legislation aiming to secure the social and political betterment of the people as a whole. Nothing is easier than to demand, on the stump, or in essays and editorials, the abolition of injustice and the securing to each man of his rights. But actually to accomplish practical and effective work along the line of such utterances is so hard that the average public man, and average public writer, have not even attempted it; and unfortunately too many of the men in public life who have seemed to attempt it have contented themselves with enacting legislation which, just because it made believe to do so much, in reality accomplished very little.

But in Wisconsin there has been a successful effort to redeem the promises by performances, and to reduce theories into practice. In consequence legislative leaders and reformers pushing legislation in other states write by the hundred to the men in power in Wisconsin asking for information on what has been done. Mr. McCarthy, the chief of the Legislative Reference Library of the Free Library Commission, has written this book primarily to answer such inquiries. His purpose is to make the book of real service to good government, and this purpose, in my judgment, he has admirably fulfilled. It is a well reasoned and thoughtful exposition of how sane radicalism can be successfully applied in practice. His writings have nothing whatever in common with the mere hysterics out of which some well meaning, but not very efficient, radicals seem to get such curious mental satisfaction. Mr. McCarthy not only shows how Wisconsin has proceeded in specific instances to accomplish specific results, but he has so interwoven his studies of those separate results as to make the volume into a connected whole. Through his account of actual accomplishment in the field of political and industrial reform in Wisconsin, there runs a strain of philosophy that it would be well for every practical reformer to master. As Professor Simon N. Patten says: "Without means of attainment and measures of result an ideal becomes meaningless. The real idealist is a pragmatist and an economist. He demands measurable results and reaches them by means made available by economic efficiency. Only in this way is social progress possible." Mr. McCarthy's purpose is to impress not only every real reformer, but every capable politician, with the fact that the people are more concerned about "good works" than about "faith."

The Wisconsin reformers have accomplished the extraordinary results for which the whole nation owes them so much, primarily because they have not confined themselves to dreaming dreams and then to talking about them. They have had power to see the vision, of course; if they did not have in them the possibility of seeing visions, they could accomplish nothing; but they have tried to make their ideals realizable, and then they have tried, with an extraordinary measure of success, actually to realize them. As soon as they decided that a certain object was desirable they at once set to work practically to study how to develop the constructive machinery through which it could be achieved. This is not an easy attitude to maintain. Yet every true reformer must maintain it. The true reformer must ever work in the spirit, and with the purpose, of that greatest of all democratic reformers, Abraham Lincoln. Therefore he must make up his mind that like Abraham Lincoln he will be assailed on the one side by the reactionary, and on the other by that type of bubble reformer who is only anxious to go to extremes, and who always gets angry when he is asked what practical results he can show. Mr. McCarthy emphasizes the lesson that cheap clap-trap does not pay, and that the true reformer must study hard and work patiently.

Moreover, Mr. McCarthy deserves especial praise for realizing that there is no one patent remedy for getting universal reform. He shows that a real reform movement must have many lines of development. Reformers, if they are to do well, must look both backward and forward; must be bold and yet must exercise prudence and caution in all they do. They must never fear to advance, and yet they must carefully plan how to advance, before they make the effort. They must carefully plan how and what they are to construct before they tear down what exists. The people must be given full power to make their action effective, and at the same time the educational institutions of the commonwealth must be built up in such shape as to give the people the opportunity to learn how to use their power wisely. Nor must political reform stand by itself. It must accompany economic reform; and economic reform must have a twofold object; first to increase general prosperity, because unless there is such general prosperity no one will be well off; and, second, to secure a fair distribution of this prosperity, so that the man of the people shall share in it.

In short, this is a book which in my judgment every reformer, just at this time, should have in his hands. All through the Union we need to learn the Wisconsin lesson of scientific popular self-help, and of patient care in radical legislation. The American people have made up their minds that there is to be a change for the better in their political, their social, and their economic conditions; and the prime need of the present day is practically to develop the new machinery necessary for this new task. It is no easy matter actually to insure, instead of merely talking about, a measurable equality of opportunity for all men. It is no easy matter to make this Republic genuinely an industrial as well as a political democracy. It is no easy matter to secure justice for those who in the past have not received it, and at the same time to see that no injustice is meted out to others in the process. It is no easy matter to keep the balance level and make it evident that we have set our faces like flint against seeing this government turned into either government by a plutocracy, or government by a mob. It is no easy matter to give the public their proper control over corporations and big business, and yet to prevent abuse of that control. Wisconsin has achieved a really remarkable success along each and every one of those lines of difficult endeavor. It is a great feat, which deserves in all its details the careful study of every true reformer; and Mr. McCarthy in this volume makes such study possible.

Theodore Roosevelt.

Preface

PREFACE

In my capacity as legislative librarian for over ten years in the state of Wisconsin, I have been constantly in touch with the legislation of this state, which now seems to be attracting some little attention throughout the country. The legislative reference department has been besieged by newspaper writers who come here to use the files and records. The recent magazines have contained considerable literature relating to the constructive nature of this legislation. Every day this department is called upon to answer many questions concerning particular laws or underlying principles. Our time has been taken up to such an extent that it has been deemed wise, after a great deal of deliberation and perplexity as to what should be done with the increasing volume of correspondence, to set down a few notes about these laws, and the philosophy upon which they are built as I see it. In doing so I am aware of my limitations. I have done the work hurriedly, without due care as to literary standards. Also, I have been handicapped to some degree because I have been working in this department for the legislators and have taken no part in active politics.

In the actual toil and drudgery of the legislative session—in a clerical capacity—I have tried gladly to carry out the will of the men of genius and power who composed the Wisconsin legislature. Working under the direction of the legislature, a large part of this legislation, indeed the principal part of it, was constructed in some connection with the department of which I have been chief. Because of my duties as librarian of the legislative reference department and as a member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin, I can say truly that I have had opportunities to see events in this state perhaps from a different standpoint than any other man. If I show a certain spirit now and then which may seem to cloud my judgment as to certain matters herein contained, I crave the reader's pardon on the score that I, a wandering student, seeking knowledge, came knocking at the gates of the great University of Wisconsin, and it took me in, filled me with inspiration, and when I left its doors the kindly people of the state stretched out welcoming hands and gave me a man's work to do.

Without the collaboration of my assistant, Miss Ono Mary Imhoff, these rough notes could not have been put together. She has also prepared the short bibliography which may be found in the Appendix and which will show the inquirer how and where to obtain particular laws or documents.

The Reason for It

The Reason for it

The reason for the Wisconsin legislative program is not hard to find. There is really but one cause and it presents but one problem, which is basic to all others, and no advancement of human welfare or progress of civilization can take place until a solution is found.

The problem is one with which the whole American people is grappling. It presents no particular mystery nor is it difficult to understand.

Take up any newspaper. What are the headlines?—Monopoly—Trusts—Trusts and the tariff—High cost of living—Predatory wealth.

Pick up a President’s message. Can there be any doubt about it? Always the same—something strong and oppressive, almost unreachable, in some way entangled with courts, lawyers and litigation—always having the power to attain its object—always possessing Force.

Force? How can these things have Force? Have they armies, guns or the attributes of those who usually possess force? If not, how can they oppress?

Suppose when you went to buy food the man who had it asked you ten dollars when it was worth only one, and putting a gun at your head made you give him the other nine dollars. Would the contracting parties be on equal footing? One of the parties added Force to the contract to make it favorable to him. Suppose he did not make use of the gun and yet you could not buy the food from any other man, because he had a monopoly and you would be obliged to give him the other nine dollars. Would he not be doing the same thing, adding force to contract? The only difference is that one time he used a gun and the other time monopoly. Wealth would concentrate quickly in your community, would it not—and Force also?

Suppose that this condition existed almost universally and that certain people possessed natural monopoly in oil, iron, coal and the necessities of life, and others possessed artificial monopoly in franchises, transportation facilities, patents, etc.,—is there any doubt that the problem is the same, and the cause of it—unequal conditions of contract?

The remedy? It is easy to say "equalize the conditions between these two," but how can it be done? Everything in life is unequal but it is inequality that makes men strive. Can you put a penalty on sturdiness, intelligence or efficiency? How big must be the force and how great the inequality? A herd philosophy of absolute equality is foreign to our genius.

A remedy based upon a philosophy of "the weak to live and the strong to die” obviously cannot serve our pur- pose. History and the common experience of life teach us that adversity has its place in the success of a nation. A man, a plant or a nation cannot be kept in a mollycoddle stage and develop true virility. Pain and strong winds are the friends of nations, as of men.

The moment we begin to equalize the conditions of men we are on dangerous ground. The fierce fight of competition must remain; the adventurous spirit in fearless attack against great odds is the very soul of the spirit of our people.

Civilization has not arisen under the hot sun where nature seems too kind. It has its chief seat where the elements and the stubborn soil force men to use their might; and sheer necessity makes great men and great countries; but again too much ice and snow stunts life and ambition; the Esquimaux builds nothing but a snow hut. A temperate zone in business, in which men may live, work and develop the best that is in them for themselves and for all, must be created and carefully protected. There is a limit to free play. As John Stuart Mill said:—

"Energy and self-dependence are, however, liable to be impaired by the absence of help, as well as by its excess. It is even more fatal to exertion to have no hope of succeeding by it than to be assured of succeeding without it."

But can a legislature, even if it were perfect, justly say whether gas should be ninety or ninety-five cents? During a crowded legislative session how can it determine and put into law a schedule of prices for oil and coal or of railroad rates? Even if this were possible, are we not basing all on the presumption that the legislature is willing and ready to do our will? It is not so simple as this; as an editorial in the Chicago Tribune, commenting on recent events in the state of Illinois, expresses it:

"Before the corporation robber can be suppressed it will be necessary to suppress the corporation incendiary who supports him and the political jackpotter who plays into the hands of both."

It is not so easy to get regulation from the legislature as it may seem. The people who possess Force use it in this connection as freely as they use it elsewhere, and the legislative machinery is not yet so complete that it always follows the wishes of the people.

The judges? Can we turn to them? Well, the Man in the Street looks dubious when you ask him. This matter of contract in relation to monopoly has somehow been strangely muddled in the courts; we are still looking in vain for any real relief from that quarter. The truth is, that the judges are like the legislators; even if they are clear-brained and brave enough, how can they fix the price of gas at ninety instead of ninety-five cents? What means have they for studying carefully every cog in the great machinery of commerce? They were not constituted for this duty, and as umpires can scarcely assume control of a legislative and administrative problem. Americans do not want their judges to be legislators.

Yet a frenzy of judicial remedy seems to have seized us. We have all selected our favorite "trust busters," and the newspapers are full of stories of the deeds of these mighty men. The street corner orator yells "Bust them," "Dissolve them," "Imprison them."

Professor R. T. Ely, in his book on trusts, quotes newspaper headings of twenty years ago as follows:—

"Black Eye for the Trusts—Important Decision handed down in Chicago."

"The Standard Oil Trust has resolved upon dissolution."

"Pools are hit Hard—United States Supreme Court Upholds Sherman Act—Decision is a Surprise—Virtually Declares all Traffic Agreements Illegal—Competition will be Open—Managers greatly Concerned."

"Trusts in a Panic—Tobacco Combine Makes the First Important Surrender, etc."

"Trusts Busted—Far-reaching Effects of the Supreme Court Decision."

Familiar friends these, are they not?

As Professor Ely says:—

"Comment on these utterances of the press is scarcely necessary to-day. If there is any serious student of our economic life who believes that anything substantial has been gained by all the laws passed against trusts, by all the newspaper editorials which have thus far been penned, by all the sermons which have been preached against them, by all the speeches of politicians denounc- ing them, this authority has yet to be heard from. Forms and names have been changed in some instances, but the dreaded work of vast aggregation of capital has gone on practically as heretofore. The writer does not hesitate to affirm it as his opinion that efforts along lines which have been followed in the past will be equally fruitless in the future.

But the man who has Force is the employer of men and women. Little homes and villages and the happiness of thousands depend upon him. After all, he is in our midst; he is a part of us and we cannot "tear him to pieces," "dissolve him," or "bust him." Would stopping the railroad or closing the electric light plant be of any benefit to us? The remedy must be complex and varied. The evils considered here are as old as the world and inherent wherever human frailty meets human strength. They are involved in every human attribute, and no rule of thumb or cut and dried theory can affect them wholly or completely.

However, there is a difference between a mountain and a molehill, and the great and glaring wrongs can be righted. Relieve the individual from even a little unjust force and he will do the rest. As long as he knows how to fight, is not complacent, nor overwhelmingly handicapped, the result will never be in doubt.

No plan can be made which will be successful, even temporarily, unless we probe for sound basic ideas. If this problem of concentrated wealth and power is world wide and world old, let us try to view it in its right rela- tions, in order that our plan for the future may not topple over because its base is not sufficiently broad.

Every schoolboy knows that nations apparently have a childhood, a strong youth and a gradual coming of age and decay. In the youthful period, caste and wealth are not prominent. The fighting man of a Saxon horde or a Daniel Boone is respected and self-sufficient. A man is rated as a man. After a tribe has been settled for a hundred years, we find that a few seem to be in the lead, having land, wealth and power, while others seem to be gradually drifting downward in the scale. Finally, a few hundred years later, we find conditions such as exist in Russia, with concentrated wealth, caste and power on one hand and extreme poverty on the other. As John Boyle O'Reilly once said:—

"A small class in every country has taken possession of property and government, and makes laws for its own safety and the security of its plunder, educating the masses, generation after generation into the belief that this condition is the natural order and the law of God. By long training and submission the people everywhere have come to regard the assumption of the rulers and owners as the law of right and common sense, and their own blind instincts, which tell them that all men ought to have a plenteous living on this rich earth, as the promptings of evil and disorder."

If this has been the course of history, are there not lessons to be learned? Is there not some way of keeping history from repeating itself? Is there not some means by which we can maintain the youth of the nation, keep poverty at a minimum, and wealth, caste and privilege from commanding, conquering and finally destroying the nation?

Let us look at this crude diagram. Perhaps it will show how far-reaching the remedy must be.

In the diagram to the left, marked Stage 1, you will notice the word Wealth at the top and the word Poverty

at the bottom; between these two extremes is a square representing the American people in 1850. It represents a time in America when the great monopolies had not been formed; when Force in contract did not exist to the extent that it does to-day; there was plenty, and it was not necessary to use force. Was there not free land, oil, minerals, etc.? Wherein lay the advantage of monopoly?

To the right of this is Stage 2, which is intended to represent conditions in 1912. A small rectangle will be seen directly under the heading Wealth. This shows the change that has taken place. One per cent of the people now possess over fifty per cent of the wealth. Yet the strong, independent American spirit is still evident in the class represented halfway between Wealth and Poverty; notice the other small rectangle at the bottom—the very poor. Does any one maintain that this picture is untrue? Some might consider the rectangle representing the very poor too small, but for our purpose—to illustrate the basic conditions of society in relation to the Wisconsin idea—it will serve very well.

On the extreme right is Stage 3. It needs no comment. The sad history of many a country can be pictured by that little diagram because concentrated wealth means power, caste, privilege, corruption and decay of every ideal, whether of manhood, morals or patriotism. Are not the crumbled remains of what were once prosperous cities scattered in the waste places of the earth sufficient proof of all this? We need not exaggerate this picture, and we cannot.

With these diagrams before us the question with which we are concerned is, are we following the same path? Will the slow grind of a hundred years or more lead to the inevitable decay which seems to come to all nations? Are the seeds sown and the causes for decay already with us? Are the corrupting influences of the concentrated wealth of to-day to continue, adding force to force while government and individuals are swept under, until Stage 3 comes into existence? Since the American revolution, throughout the world, and particularly in Europe, there has been such an advance in the science of government and economics, in education and general intelligence, that we are tempted to hope that history may not repeat itself. If that hope is justified, it will be due to the new economic philosophy everywhere guiding the lives of men and nations in the old countries.

When one sees Germany, once a country of poor peasants, shot over by every conquering swashbuckler, transformed by the might of intelligence, noble philosophy and keen foresight into a shining example for the rest of the world, we feel certain that our own country cannot long remain indifferent. The world is being aroused by her enthusiasm. England with her crowded cities—poverty and discontent stalking everywhere—is profiting by Germany's experience, and, guided by her wise Chancellor Lloyd George, is determined to use similar devices to obtain the same results.

While in America Stage 2 has been gradually approaching Stage 3, in Germany, Stage 3 of one hundred and fifty years ago has gradually approached Stage 2—yes, even Stage 1.

Let us consider one of the ancient cities now deserted and buried. It was, after all, a beehive, and the cause of its decay was a very simple one—the drones shirked while the workers bore the burdens; the drones increased and the workers bore more burdens, and so it continued until the workers could bear no more; they became dulled, disheartened and discontented, and the pauper and the proletariat appeared. The drones would do no work, and soon the whole structure came tumbling down, to lie covered with the sands of the desert. Selfish power, bad government and oppression brought about its ruin. Why? Because men forgot that prosperity exists for the benefit of the human being and for no other purpose. If prosperity does not uplift the mass of human beings, it is not true prosperity, however it may be counterfeited by a grand show of fair cities or the glories of its riches.

Indeed, if there is a magnificent building built in any city which is not, either directly or indirectly, for the purpose of improving the opportunities and increasing the happiness of all the manhood of the country, it is built for no purpose, and were better not in existence.

This the German knows. This the American, secure still in the mighty phrases of the Declaration of Independence, glorying in the tarnished grandeur of the Constitution, boasting of his riches and the power and might of his material things, has not yet discovered.

Our civilization, with its wealth and prosperity, must be made to exist for its true purposes—the betterment, the efficiency and the welfare of each individual. The Germans have shown us the way; we need not adopt all their methods, but we will do well to accept their philosophy, for there is no patent on it. America must cope with this new devastating influence of wealth sanely and successfully so that greater prosperity and more equitable distribution of its benefits under just laws will result.

A German prince of the olden time awoke one morning and found that he had no money. He sent for his treasurer, who, in answer to his demand, declared that there was none, that war, robbery, famine and injustice had done their work too well. Alarmed by this reply the prince asked the treasurer what could be done about it, to which he replied: "My lord, we cannot collect taxes unless the farms produce; the farms will not produce unless the farmer works them intelligently; he cannot do that unless he receives a fair profit, protection and an opportunity to live like a man rather than a beast. Give me a portion of the realm; let me keep peace and do justice, and the farmer will produce more and will pay you more taxes." The prince was convinced and gave him what he asked. The treasurer drove out the cheating rascals who had acted as judges; he punished the drunken soldier; he protected the weak against the strong; he imprisoned the usurer and dismissed the tax farmer; he provided markets and exchanges which were honest; he invested heavily in roads and bridges; but best of all he taught the Man. He made a better man, a more efficient machine; he taught him how to be a better farmer; in short, he did what our efficiency expert, Mr. Taylor, does to-day in a great factory. To accomplish this he did not hesitate because of expense, yet the investment was good, and after a time the prince received more taxes while more happiness and prosperity came into the land.

This story and that of the ruined city are one, and the problem they reveal is our problem. It is possible that their solution may be ours. With all these digressions in mind, let us return to our diagram. Let us consider the problems which would confront a business efficiency expert. Let us suppose that we are working with him and put down the questions which come to our minds. They may help us in reaching a solution.

How did Stage 1 become Stage 2? To find this out we must consider what is represented-by the thin line beneath wealth.

Who are our richest men? Are they not the men who have made use of that Force in contract which comes from monopoly, artificial or natural? The long list of oil magnates, railroad kings, etc., certainly seems to prove it.

Could they have won without Force? Perhaps the strong and intelligent might have done so—very slowly, to be sure—but the concentration of wealth would not have been so great.

Are there not bankers, members of the stock exchanges and middlemen? Yes, but are they not all entangled with Force? Do they not manipulate that mysterious Force in contract? Are not the powers of credit and monopoly practically one?

Would it not be well to keep that thin line beneath wealth in Stage 2 from growing? Can it be accomplished?

Why not demand that when monopoly of any kind exists, it shall be restricted to a reasonable gain? Why not say that it shall not discriminate unjustly nor use its great power against the public welfare? If monopolies possess such Force that one man cannot compete with them, why not let the state—all men combined—control them? Why not oppose Force by Force? Is there any other way? When business affects the interests of all, is it not something more than a private matter for the concern of a private individual?

Why not take by taxation some of that wealth acquired by Force? Why allow idle sons and daughters to waste this wealth; why not tax them by graduated income, inheritance and increment taxes, so that they bear a burden proportionate to their strength, in order that the burden of maintaining the state shall not fall so heavily on the poor? Will this be permitted? Will not that same dreaded Force terrorize our legislators? They are but human, with business interests and families to support.

Why not make public the affairs of monopolies, so that they cannot buy the votes of electors or legislators? Why not limit the power of wealth in elections? It cannot buy the whole people, can it? If not, why not make our legislators directly responsible to us so that we may watch them? Why not simplify the whole machinery of nomination and election so that we are certain to elect the men we want—men of honesty and strength?

But do not the trusts defy our laws after we have passed them? Who is powerful enough to enforce them for us? The courts? Theoretically, yes, but practically, do we not need something nearer to the legislators—a strong right arm of the legislature? Should we not have a vigilant servant who, with the help of trained experts wily enough to cope with every turn, will relentlessly administer and enforce? Should not this servant be a friend of the poorest citizen, a friend to whom in unfair dealings he may turn and receive justice quickly and surely?