to pass a law that will make being a man unnecessary, to do
away with sin by framing a world in which it would be worthless to do
right because it would be impossible to do wrong. It is a philosophy of
helplessness, which, even if it succeeds in helplessly carrying its
helplessness out--in doing away with suffering, for instance--can only
do it by bringing to pass a man not alive enough to be capable of
suffering, and putting him in a world where suffering and joy alike
would be a bore to him.

But the main importance of Socialism in this connection lies in the fact
that it does not confine itself to sociology. It has become a complete
philosophy of life, and can be seen penetrating with its subtle satire
on human nature almost everything about us. We have the cash register to
educate our clerks into pure and honest character, and the souls of
conductors can be seen being nurtured, mile after mile, by
fare-recorders. Corporations buy consciences by the gross. They are hung
over the door of every street car. Consciences are worked by pulling a
strap. Liverymen have cyclometres to help customers to tell the truth,
and the Australian ballot is invented to help men to be manly enough to
vote the way they think. And when, in the course of human events, we
came to the essentially moral and spiritual reform of a woman's right to
dress in good taste--that is, appropriately for what she is doing, what
did we proceed to do to bring it about? Conventions were held year after
year, and over and over, to get women to dress as they wanted to; dress
reform associations were founded, syndicates of courage were established
all over the land--all in vain; and finally,--Heaven help us!--how was
this great moral and spiritual reform accomplished? By an invention of
two wheels, one in front of the other. It was brought about by the Pope
Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut in two short years.

Everything is brought about by manufacturing companies. It is the
socialist spirit; the idea that, if we can only find it, there is some
machine that can surely be invented that will take the place of men: not
only of hands and feet, but of all the old-fashioned and lumbering
virtues, courage, patience, vision, common sense, and religion itself,
out of which they are made.

But we depend upon machinery not only for the things that we want, but
for the brains with which we decide what we want. If a man wants to know
what he thinks, he start