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The Up-To-Date Primer: By J. W. Bengough Designed for use in Schools, Colleges, Universities and other Seats of Learning Lessons 1-12 | Lessons 13-24 | Lessons 25-36 | Lessons 37-48 | Lessons 49-60 | Lessons 61-70 Lessons 1 through 12 |
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| Lesson I | ||
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We meet some of the characters.
So a few multi-syllabic words have crept in. |
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| LESSON II. — This is my pet cat | ||
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Here is a man who Begs. Why does he not Work? He would, but he Can not get a Job. Can he not Go on the Land ? No; for a Fat Man Owns it, and this is the [Landlord] Hat he holds out for Rent. It is a great Scheme. See the Rat. It does no Work, but just Feeds on our Goods and is a Pest we would fain be Rid of. See the Cat. Can the Cat run? You bet. She will Kill the Rat. Then we will take the [bag of money] out of the Hat and put it in the [Public Till] and stop the Fat Man's game. |
Woodcut: At the top of the page "This is my pet cat" written in very neat script, followed by a drawing of a sitting cat. From its collar dangles a disk with the letters "ST." Within the paragraph below are seven drawings: * A tall thin man, begging, with his hat in his
hand. |
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LESSON III — Pike Owns Stream ... Perch Must Pay .... Or Get Out |
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What is it? It is a Fish. It has a Name. The Name is Pike. It is a big Fish and can Bite. See its Teeth. Can a Fish live on the Land? No, it will die on Land. But see, the small Fish is on the Land. Will the small Fish die? Yes, it will. Why does it go on Land, then? The Pike drove it to the Land. The small Fish is a Perch. Is not the Pike a bad Fish to do so ill a deed? It is, but you must not say so. Do you not see that the Pike owns the Stream, and so has a right to get Rent for the use of the Stream from the Perch? But the Perch can not pay, and so has to get out. The Pike means no ill, but Biz is Biz. But should it be the Law that a Pike may own a Stream? Ah, now you have hit it. No, it should not. Such a law is bad — for Perch. |
Woodcut: A stream, with a large menacing fish lurking below the surface, and a smaller one, struggling on the bank. |
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LESSON IV — Crow Owns Air .... Jay Must Work .... Keep Crow Fat |
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See the Bird! It is a black Bird, is it not? They call it a Crow. It is a fat Crow, but it does not Work. How, then, does it keep so Fat? Do you not See the Small Bird? Yes, I see it. Well, that is a Jay. It has to Work and find Grub for the Crow, so the Crow may sit on the tree all day and have a Good Time. But is not the Jay a Jay in truth to do so? So you may think, but the poor Jay does not do this for Fun. Oh, no! You See, the Crow owns the Air, and will not let the Jay use it but on these Terms: the Jay must pay Rent or he can not fly nor sit on a Rock, so you see the Fix he is in. Poor Jay! Yes, he is Poor, but the Crow is Fat. What a soft Snap the Crow has, to be sure! It is a Fine Thing to own the Air, is it not? |
Woodcut: A crow, standing on a tree branch. From his mouth dangles a sign saying "Air to Rent." A smaller bird is flying by. |
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LESSON V —Rose In Pot .... Will Not Live .... Imp Owns Light |
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What is This? Do you not See what it is? No, it is so Dark I can not See what it is. Well, I will tell you. It is a Rose in a Pot. But I do not see the Rose nor the Pot; it is all Black and Dark. Quite so, my Dear, but do you know why it is Dark? No, I do not; but a Rose can not live in the Dark, can it? No, it can not. That is just where the Trick comes in. You see, there is an Imp who Owns the Light, and he says the Rose must pay him for its use or he will shut it off and let the Rose die. Well, the Rose can not Pay, and so the Light is shut off. That is how it is that you do not see the Rose when you look. Poor Rose! Bad Imp! No, do not say Bad, he Owns the Light, you know, and that makes it quite the Right thing. I hope you see the Point. |
Woodcut: This woodcut is a frame entirely in black, with a small impish character near the upper right corner |
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LESSON VI — Poor Slave Bows .... Man Owns Him .... Holds The Whip |
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See the poor Slave and the Man with the Whip. Will he Hit the Slave? It would be just like him to do so. Is he not a bad Man to beat the poor Slave? Oh, no; don't you see he Owns the Slave and may do with him as he will? The Law says a Man may Own a Slave, and that ends it. But it is a bad law for the Slave, is it not? Yes. It is not nice to be a Slave. You must Work, and you get no Wage. But the Slave gets his Keep, does he not? Yes, the Man that owns him must give him Food and take care of him. So it is not such a bad Thing when you come to see it like that. I know lots of Men that would be glad to Work for their Keep right here in this Town, where we don't have Slaves at all. They would not be so likely to Starve as they are now, though they are Free. |
Woodcut: four figures; two have whips and are using them on the other two | |
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LESSON VII — This Not Slave .... Oh Dear No .... Man Owns Land |
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Is this a Slave, too? No, we do not call this a Slave. The Law has now set the Slave free. But does not the Man with the Plug Hat own the Man with the Bare Head? No, he does not Own him. All men are Born Free in this good Land, you know. Then why does the small Man kneel down to the big Man, and say he will Work for him for a Wage that will just get him a Bite to eat and a Roof for his Head? Is not that the Talk of a Slave? It is Like it, my dear, but he is a Free Man, as I have told you. The big Man does not own Him, but he Owns the Land, and as the Man can not live if he does not Work, and as he can not work if he has not the Use of the Land, he is just like the Fish out of the Stream, or the Jay who must use the Air, or the Rose that needs the Light. See? |
Woodcut: a fat man, with tophat, cane, cigar and topcoat, expounding. A thin man, his hat next to him on the sand, is on his knees, begging him with hands in a position of prayer. | |
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LESSON VIII — Man Lost Right .... Fruits Of Toil .... Life And Land |
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How came Men to make such a bad Plan as we now have? I will tell you. At first the Land of the World was Free to All, and each Man had the Right to the Fruit of his Toil. When there was a War, the Side that came off Best brought home great Crowds of their Foes. These, if not put to Death, were kept as Slaves, as a kind boon. But the Men who held the Slaves had to Feed them, and they soon saw it was best to Own the Land, and so they took the Land and the Slave was made a Serf: Then, as time went on, the Wage plan came to be, and the Serf gave Way to the Wage Slave. As Bond Slave, Serf, or Wage Slave, the Fruits of the Man's toil went to him who was the Boss. You see, the Rights Man lost in the War are still lost. The Boss still Owns the Land, and we have the Wage Slave with us this day. |
Woodcut: Three figures. The left one is wearing chains on his hands, and is labeled "bond slave." The middle one carries a pick and is facing a pile of rocks. He is labeled "serf." The right one is handing over a bag labeled "$" and "Land Rent," and is labeled "Wage Slave." | |
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LESSON IX — God Made Men .... Each Owns Self .... Hence May Work |
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Who Owns the Man? God, who made him, Owns him, but he gives Man a Free Will. Man has a Right to Life, and to be Free, and to seek Joy in this world. So he has a Right to that which he needs that he may Live. He must have Air or he will die; he must have the Light of the Sun or he can not live, and he must have Food and Clothes, and a Roof for his head. So he must have Right to use Land or he can have none of these Things. Nor can he be Free if he must Pay for the use of the things God has made by which he must Live; and he can not find Joy in this life if he is not Free, or if he must keep his Nose to the Wheel of Toil from the day he comes in to the World to the day he dies. Man does not live just for Bread; he Needs a chance to Train his Mind as God meant he should. |
Woodcut: The drawing has a grave on the left and a cradle on the right, and in between, a poor fellow with his nose held to the grindstone. The grindstone is labeled "Toil." He looks very similar to the fellow on the right, the Wage Slave, in the preceding woodcut. | |
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LESSON X — Men Are Free .... And Also E-qual .... Right To Chance |
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Are all Men of the same Size? No, some are Tall, some are Short; some Fat, some Slim. Can they all be made of the same Size? By no Means. Are they all the same in Mind? No; some are Smart and some Dull, nor can they be made the same in mind, try how you will. Then how is it you say all Men are born Free and E-qual — Is it not Bosh to talk in such a way? No, my Child, it is not Bosh, if you have due care as to what you Mean by the Words. We mean by Free that Men are born with a Right to Life, and by E-qual that they are born with a Right to an E-qual Chance to use those Things that they need to keep Life in them. These Things are all in the word Land. The One-tax plan will make a way for Man to get the use of the Land, with no call to pay a Land Lord, and so it will make Men Free and E-qual in the right Sense. |
Woodcut: This drawing has nine men of varying sizes and shapes. All seem to be well dressed, moderately properous professionals. Most are talking with each other, though one seems to be solitary. | |
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LESSON XI — Work Makes Wealth .... Man Gets Fat .... Though Don't Toil |
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But look at these Two! Are they not both Men? They are. Yet one is Fat and Rich, and one is Lean and Poor! How comes this? It must be that the Fat one has a will to Work, and so by his Toil on the Land gets all the Good Things he needs, while the Lean one will not Work and so must needs Starve and go in Rags. So it would seem, my Child; but things are not as they seem. The Fat Man here does not Work at all, and the Thin Man would fain Work for his Food, but can not get Work to do. Is this not Queer? Yes, it is Queer. But it will be Plain when I tell you that the Fat Man owns the Land, and lives on the Land Rent. Can a Man own Land as he may own a Thing which the hand of Man may make? Yes, and that is the Law we must Mend if we would Cure the Deep Ills we see. |
Woodcut: Two men, on the left a beggar, perhaps elderly, with hat in hand, being sent away by a fat prosperous man., | |
| LESSON XII — Man Owns Hat .... Can Make Same .... Can't Make Land | ||
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What is this? It is a Hat. Is it a plug Hat? No, it is just a Hat. Feel it, my Child, for it may be Felt. Does the Man own the Hat? Yes, it is his. But how do you know it is his? Why may a man own a Hat if he may not own Land? Well, you see, Man may make a Hat, or he may buy one from the Man who has made it, and pay him for it. So when he has paid for it or made it, it is his Own. He may then Wear it, or Hide it, or Burn it, or Lend it, or Rent it out. If he puts it out of Use he does no harm to Men, for a new Hat can be made in its place. But a Man can not Make a piece of Land, nor can he Buy it from God who made it, and if he puts it out of Use he does Harm to Men, and so he may not own Land in the same way that he owns a Hat. |
Woodcut: A Hat, sitting brim up. It is fairly tall and its top is a bit rounded. It is similar to what the fat man is wearing in the previous woodcut. | |
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Lessons 1-12 | Lessons 13-24 | Lessons 25-36 | Lessons 37-48 | Lessons 49-60 | Lessons 61-70
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