growing conservative
and sensible. But _most_ of these socialists are just a lazy bunch of
bums that try and see how much trouble they can stir up. They think that
just because they're too lazy to find an opening, that they got the
right to take the money away from the fellas that hustle around and make
good. Trouble with all these socialist guys is that they don't stop to
realize that you can't change human nature. They want to take away all
the rewards for initiative and enterprise, just as Sam Cannon was
saying. Do you s'pose I'd work my head off putting a proposition through
if there wasn't anything in it for me? Then, 'nother thing, about all
this submerged tenth--these 'People of the Abyss,' and all the rest: I
don't feel a darn bit sorry for them. They stick in London or New York
or wherever they are, and live on charity, and if you offered 'em a good
job they wouldn't take it. Why, look here! all through the Middle West
the farmers are just looking for men at three dollars a day, and for
hired girls, they'd give hired girls three and four dollars a week and a
good home. But do all these people go out and get the jobs? Not a bit of
it! They'd rather stay home and yelp about socialism and anarchism and
Lord knows what-all. 'Nother thing: I never could figger out what all
these socialists and I. W. W.'s, these 'I Won't Work's,' would do if we
_did_ divide up and hand all the industries over to them. I bet they'd
be the very first ones to kick for a return to the old conditions! I
tell you, it surprises me when a good, bright man like Jack London or
this fella, Upton Sinclair--they say he's a well-educated fella,
too--don't stop and realize these things."

"But--" said Una.

Then she stopped.

Her entire knowledge of socialism was comprised in the fact that Mamie
Magen believed in it, and that Walter Babson alternated between
socialism, anarchism, and a desire to own a large house in Westchester
and write poetry and be superior to the illiterate mass. So to the
economic spokesman for the Great American Business Man her answer was:

"But--"

"Then look here," said Mr. Schwirtz. "Take yourself. S'pose you like to
work eight hours a day? Course you don't. Neither do I. I always thought
I'd like to be a gentleman farmer and take it easy. But the good Lord
saw fit to stick us into these jobs, that's all we know about it; and we
do our work and don't howl about it like all these socialists and
radicals and other wi