Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell (read novel full TXT) 📖

money in the Post Office Savings Bank. The

Socialists could steal that for a start; and as for the mines and land

and factories, they can all be took from the owners by force.’

 

`There will be no need for force and no need to steal anything from

anybody.’

 

`And there’s another thing I objects to,’ said Crass. `And that’s all

this ‘ere talk about hignorance: wot about all the money wots spent

every year for edication?’

 

`You should rather say - “What about all the money that’s wasted every

year on education?” What can be more brutal and senseless than trying

to “educate” a poor little, hungry, ill-clad child? Such so-called

“instruction” is like the seed in the parable of the Sower, which fell

on stony ground and withered away because it had no depth of earth;

and even in those cases where it does take root and grow, it becomes

like the seed that fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked

it, and it bore no fruit.

 

`The majority of us forget in a year or two all that we learnt at

school because the conditions of our lives are such as to destroy all

inclination for culture or refinement. We must see that the children

are properly clothed and fed and that they are not made to get up in

the middle of the night to go to work for several hours before they go

to school. We must make it illegal for any greedy, heartless

profit-hunter to hire them and make them labour for several hours in

the evening after school, or all day and till nearly midnight on

Saturday. We must first see that our children are cared for, as well

as the children of savage races, before we can expect a proper return

for the money that we spend on education.’

 

`I don’t mind admitting that this ‘ere scheme of national ownership

and industries is all right if it could only be done,’ said Harlow,

`but at present, all the land, railways and factories, belongs to

private capitalists; they can’t be bought without money, and you say

you ain’t goin’ to take ‘em away by force, so I should like to know

how the bloody ‘ell you are goin’ to get ‘em?’

 

`We certainly don’t propose to buy them with money, for the simple

reason that there is not sufficient money in existence to pay for them.

 

`If all the gold and silver money in the World were gathered together

into one heap, it would scarcely be sufficient to buy all the private

property in England. The people who own all these things now never

really paid for them with money - they obtained possession of them by

means of the “Money Trick” which Owen explained to us some time ago.’

 

`They obtained possession of them by usin’ their brain,’ said Crass.

`Exactly,’ replied the lecturer. `They tell us themselves that that

is how they got them away from us; they call their profits the “wages

of intelligence”. Whilst we have been working, they have been using

their intelligence in order to obtain possession of the things we have

created. The time has now arrived for us to use our intelligence in

order to get back the things they have robbed us of, aid to prevent

them from robbing us any more. As for how it is to be done, we might

copy the methods that they have found so successful.’

 

`Oh, then you DO mean to rob them after all,’ cried Slyme,

triumphantly. `If it’s true that they robbed the workers, and if

we’re to adopt the same method then we’ll be robbers too!’

 

`When a thief is caught having in his possession the property of

others it is not robbery to take the things away from him and to

restore them to their rightful owners,’ retorted Barrington.

 

`I can’t allow this ‘ere disorder to go on no longer,’ shouted

Philpot, banging the table with the plumber’s hammer as several men

began talking at the same time.

 

`There will be plenty of tuneropperty for questions and opposition at

the hend of the horation, when the pulpit will be throwed open to

anyone as likes to debate the question. I now calls upon the

professor to proceed with the second part of the horation: and anyone

wot interrupts will get a lick under the ear-‘ole with this’ - waving

the hammer - `and the body will be chucked out of the bloody winder.’

 

Loud cheers greeted this announcement. It was still raining heavily,

so they thought they might as well pass the time listening to

Barrington as in any other way.

 

`A large part of the land may be got back in the same way as it was

taken from us. The ancestors of the present holders obtained

possession of it by simply passing Acts of Enclosure: the nation

should regain possession of those lands by passing Acts of Resumption.

And with regard to the other land, the present holders should be

allowed to retain possession of it during their lives and then it

should revert to the State, to be used for the benefit of all.

Britain should belong to the British people, not to a few selfish

individuals. As for the railways, they have already been nationalized

in some other countries, and what other countries can do we can do

also. In New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Germany, Belgium,

Italy, Japan and some other countries some of the railways are already

the property of the State. As for the method by which we can obtain

possession of them, the difficulty is not to discover a method, but

rather to decide which of many methods we shall adopt. One method

would be to simply pass an Act declaring that as it was contrary to

the public interest that they should be owned by private individuals,

the railways would henceforth be the property of the nation. All

railways servants, managers and officials would continue in their

employment; the only difference being that they would now be in the

employ of the State. As to the shareholders -‘

 

`They could all be knocked on the ‘ead, I suppose,’ interrupted Crass.

 

`Or go to the workhouse,’ said Slyme.

 

`Or to ‘ell,’ suggested the man behind the moat.

 

`- The State would continue to pay to the shareholders the same

dividends they had received on an average for, say, the previous three

years. These payments would be continued to the present shareholders

for life, or the payments might be limited to a stated number of years

and the shares would be made non-transferable, like the railway

tickets of today. As for the factories, shops, and other means of

production and distribution, the State must adopt the same methods of

doing business as the present owners. I mean that even as the big

Trusts and companies are crushing - by competition - the individual

workers and small traders, so the State should crush the trusts by

competition. It is surely justifiable for the State to do for the

benefit of the whole people that which the capitalists are already

doing for the profit of a few shareholders. The first step in this

direction will be the establishment of Retail Stores for the purpose

of supplying all national and municipal employees with the necessaries

of life at the lowest possible prices. At first the Administration

will purchase these things from the private manufacturers, in such

large quantities that it will be able to obtain them at the very

cheapest rate, and as there will be no heavy rents to pay for showy

shops, and no advertising expenses, and as the object of the

Administration will be not to make profit, but to supply its workmen

and officials with goods at the lowest price, they will be able to

sell them much cheaper than the profit-making private stores.

 

`The National Service Retail Stores will be for the benefit of only

those in the public service; and gold, silver or copper money will not

be accepted in payment for the things sold. At first, all public

servants will continue to be paid in metal money, but those who desire

it will be paid all or part of their wages in paper money of the same

nominal value, which will be accepted in payment for their purchases

at the National Stores and at the National Hotels, Restaurants and

other places which will be established for the convenience of those in

the State service. The money will resemble bank-notes. It will be

made of a special very strong paper, and will be of all value, from a

penny to a pound.

 

`As the National Service Stores will sell practically everything that

could be obtained elsewhere, and as twenty shillings in paper money

will be able to purchase much more at the stores than twenty shillings

of metal money would purchase anywhere else, it will not be long

before nearly all public servants will prefer to be paid in paper

money. As far as paying the salaries and wages of most of its

officials and workmen is concerned, the Administration will not then

have any need of metal money. But it will require metal money to pay

the private manufacturers who supply the goods sold in the National

Stores. But - all these things are made by labour; so in order to

avoid having to pay metal money for them, the State will now commence

to employ productive labour. All the public land suitable for the

purpose will be put into cultivation and State factories will be

established for manufacturing food, boots, clothing, furniture and all

other necessaries and comforts of life. All those who are out of

employment and willing to work, will be given employment on these

farms and in these factories. In order that the men employed shall

not have to work unpleasantly hard, and that their hours of labour may

be as short as possible - at first, say, eight hours per day - and

also to make sure that the greatest possible quantity of everything

shall be produced, these factories and farms will be equipped with the

most up-to-date and efficient labour-saving machinery. The people

employed in the farms and factories will be paid with paper money…

The commodities they produce will go to replenish the stocks of the

National Service Stores, where the workers will be able to purchase

with their paper money everything they need.

 

`As we shall employ the greatest possible number of labour-saving

machines, and adopt the most scientific methods in our farms and

factories, the quantities of goods we shall be able to produce will be

so enormous that we shall be able to pay our workers very high wages -

in paper money - and we shall be able to sell our produce so cheaply,

that all public servants will be able to enjoy abundance of

everything.

 

`When the workers who are being exploited and sweated by the private

capitalists realize how much worse off they are than the workers in

the employ of the State, they will come and ask to be allowed to work

for the State, and also, for paper money. That will mean that the

State Army of Productive Workers will be continually increasing in

numbers. More State factories will be built, more land will be put

into cultivation. Men will be given employment making bricks,

woodwork, paints, glass, wallpapers and all kinds of building

materials and others will be set to work building - on State land -

beautiful houses, which will be let to those employed in the service

of the State. The rent will be paid with paper money.

 

`State fishing fleets will be established and the quantities of

commodities of all kinds produced will be so great that the