| LESSON XXXVII — Pools And Trusts ... Their
Long Heads ... Dupes Get Left |
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But do you See these Men all Bound by a Rope?
Yes, I see them.
Did the State Tie them this way?
No, they did it out of their own Long Heads. It is
what they call a Pool or a Trust. You see, when a Lot
of Works start up in a Land that has a Wall round it,
and they all make Goods of the Same Kind, the Land is
soon Full and Down goes the Price. So they all go in
to a Trust. They Join Hand in Hand as it were, and
Put Down the Wage of Those who Work for them, and cut
off the Flow of Goods, and keep up the Price.
It is a Great Scheme, is it not?
It is. And that is where poor Toil and his Mates
are made Dupes and get Left, though they Vote to
Build the Wall. Toil and his Like are Geese that the
Men with Long Heads pluck.
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Woodcut: A circle of nine large well-dressed men,
facing outward, with a rope connecting each to the men
on either side of him. |
monopoly
privilege
tariff
wages
prices
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LESSON XXXVIII —
Too Much Goods ... Such Bad Fix ... Yet Folks
Starve
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This Man has a Great Store of Goods, has he
not?
Yes, far More than he Likes to have. He is one of
the Trust Men, and he would like to Sell his Goods,
but can not do so, for the Land is Full.
Then why does he not Send them off in boats to
Strange Lands and Sell them?
He would be Glad to do so, but he cannot. They are
too Dear, as the Things they are made of have to Pay
a High Tax to Pass in through the Wall. And then, if
he Sold them in a far Land, he would have to take
Goods of that Land for his Pay, and then when he
brought those Goods home he would have to pay a High
Tax on them. So you see he is in a Bad Fix. And while
he Weeps that he has all these Goods piled up which
he can not Sell, the Poor cry out for such Goods but
can not Buy them, and are likely to Starve.
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Woodcut: On the right side, a family of three, with
hands outstretched. On the left, a man with a
handkerchief held to his face. In the middle and behind
him, a huge stack of boxes. One is labeled food,
another clothing. |
monopoly
tariff
free
trade
hunger
famine
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LESSON XXXIX
— Soup Is Good ... But We Want ...
Right To Work
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"The Poor ye have With You all the Time," said the
Lord, and Some seem to Think it would not be Right to
fix our Laws so that no Man need Beg who is fit to
Work and Wills to do so.
And so those who Think this will lend no Hand to
Mend the state of Things which we now have, by which
some grow Rich who Toil not nor Spin, and some are
like to Die though they would Fain get Work to
do.
But such folks have Kind Hearts, of course, and
they do not Fail to give Alms to the Poor, so that
they may be Kept in Life. They will give of their
Means that the Poor may have Soup, and they will send
them Coal when it is cold.
This is all Well, but it Falls Short. Let the Law
be Just. We do not ask a Dole, say the Poor; we ask,
as a Right, that we may Work, and to that end may go
on to the Land which God made for All Men.
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Woodcut: The scene is a soup kitchen. A sign says
"Free soup -- all welcome." At the left, a man carrying
a sign saying "Give us a chance to work." A woman
labeled "Charity" is inviting him to the table on which
a tureen and bowl of soup sit. |
poverty
charity
justice
philanthropy
unemployment
Alabama
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LESSON XL
— Pull Down Wall ... So Far Good ...
Make Rents High
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See these Men. They Smash the Wall!
That is Well. They know that Alms will not Cure
the Case of the Poor if kept up to the end of Time,
but will in fact make Bad Worse.
So these Men say, We must make the Law more Just
to All. But they do not Mean the Land Law; they are
quite in the Dark as to the True Cause of the
Ill.
They say, Let us have Free Trade. We must not Tax
all for the sole Good of the Few. Let us have Free
Trade -- that will make things Hum.
So they go to Work to tear down the Wall that was
built to keep out cheap Goods. This is all right. But
when it is Done, and great Crowds pour in, and things
do "Hum," it will just put up the Rent of Land, which
goes to the Purse of the Land Lord, and in the End
things will be just in the Same State with those who
Work.
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Woodcut: The tariff wall is being shattered by two
workers. Through the breaks in the wall, a huge crowd
of workers carrying bags are entering. |
charity
justice
trade
tariffs
immigration
population
increase
all
benefits ...
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LESSON XLI
— John Bull Wall .... Long Torn Down
.... Yet Has Poor
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Who is this?
This is the Old Gent Who rules half the World. His
name is John Bull, and he is a Fine Old Boy. He tore
down his Wall long ago, and Things did Hum with him
for a Time, there is No Doubt of that. He took the
Lead of all the Earth in Trade, and he Holds it
Yet.
But what of his Poor?
Why, he still has Poor in the Slums, and Things
grow Worse each Year with them. But he has Some far
more Rich, too, than he used to have -- some Who have
Gold they can not Count.
Why is this?
It is the same Old Song -- the same Sad Truth. A
Few Men own John Bull's Land, and the Rest have to
Pay them for the Boon of Life. So you see from this
that to Tear down the Wall is not All that must be
Done to put an End to the Bad State of Things we
speak of.
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Woodcut: There are three figures. On the left, a
large bag with legs and a hat, with a Pound sign,
labeled "The Classes." On the right, a seated beggar
with his hat out, labeled "The Masses" In the middle is
the fat man with hat and stick and his hands in his
pockets. |
poverty
land
land
concentration
wealth
concentration
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LESSON XLII
— John And Sam ... Both Have Poor ...
In Same Boat
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See the Boat and the Two Men in it! They are in
the Same Boat, are they not?
Yes, such is the Case. One is John Bull, and one
is Sam. They speak the same Tongue and are Good
Friends, I am glad to Tell you. But they Both find
the same Sad State of Things all Round them, though
John has an Old Small Land, and Sam has a New Wide
one. They see the Rich and the Poor side by side,
Trade Dull, Men out of Work, Some that Die for lack
of Food, and Some that go on Tramp, while the Rich
give Balls, and Drink Wine, and Feast, and have so
much Gold that they know not what to Do with it.
What is the Cause?
The Same in each Case. A few Men own the Land, and
take Toll of all the Rest.
Is this not Plain?
It is. And yet these two Wise Men do not seem to
See it.
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Woodcut: two men in a flat rowboat. The boat is
labeled "Landlord System" One man appears to be Uncle
Sam, and he is staring off in space while the other man
speaks to him, apparently telling him what he
wants. |
landlord
poverty
justice
land
monopoly
land
monopoly capitalism
wealth
concentration
poverty's
causes
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LESSON XLIII — Sam
Cute Chap .... John Hard Head .... Both Mere
Dupes
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See the Fat Man take a ride on a Team!
Yes. Sam may be a Cute, Sharp Chap, as no doubt he
is, and John has a Hard Head, as we all know -- but
it is Plain that both are Blind to the Fact that they
are the Dupes of the Law by which Land is held as if
it were a Thing men might "Own." The Land Lord rides
on the Backs of Both these smart Men, and they will
not be Free to Stand up Straight, and Breathe with
Ease till they have Thrown him Off. If just One Man
held the Land of John Bull, and but One held that of
Sam, the Thing would be Plain. But as there are quite
a Few who take the Fund which ought to go to the
State, they do not See it. And they still cry out,
"How Is it that we can not Stand up Straight?" The
One-Tax plan would make the Land Lord get off and go
to Work like the Rest of Us.
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Woodcut: Three figures, on land. The two men from
the previous scene are on their hands and knees, and A
larger man stands astride their backs, and holds the
reins which are in their mouths. |
ownership
landlord
injustice
land
monopoly
wealth
concentration
single
tax
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LESSON XLIV
— Fat Man Rich ... Owns Things Which
... State Should Hold
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My Child, to make the Point Clear, let us just
take all the Rich men of the Land and roll them in to
One big Fat Man; and then Take all the Poor and put
them in One Gaunt, Thin Wretch. Here we have the Fact
as it is this Day.
You say, if Men are Good, and if they have Care
and Thrift and do not Drink, they may Get On.
Yes, that is True: But Both these Men you see here
are the Same on those Points, and yet One has more
Gold than he can Use or Count, and One is in Want of
a Meal.
Did the Rich Man Earn this Gold?
No; it came from Land Rent, or from the Fact that
he Owns Things which Ought to be Held by the State
for the Use of All, or that the Law gives him a
Chance to get More for his Goods than he could get if
there was Free Trade.
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Woodcut: Two figures. On the left, a well dressed
fat man, holding a foilio saying "Land titles,
Franchises, Tariff favors." He is scowling at a beggar
to our right, who has his hat extended. |
privilege
poverty
unearned
increment
rent
ownership
possession
land
different from capital
tariffs
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LESSON XLV — Cows Must Starve ... Near
To Grass ... Barb Wire Fence
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Do you See all these Cows?
Yes, I See the Cows. See how their Eyes Stick Out.
They want Grass to Eat, and there is a great Field of
Grass close by.
Why do not the Cows go and Eat the Grass?
Ah! why not?
You may not see that Barb-Wire Fence, but the Cows
see it, and feel its Barbs. That is Why they Starve
in sight of Grass. That Fence is just like the Law
that keeps Men from the Land. No Man would Starve if
he could get to the Land to Work. But the Land is not
Free. It is Held, and you must Buy it or pay Rent for
it, or you can not Have the Use of it. If you can not
Pay you are then in the same Case as the Cows here,
and must Starve, if some Kind Man does not come and
Give you Food as an Alms.
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Woodcut: A field. Four thin cows on land which has
no grass, only rocks, looking across a barbed wire
fence to grassy pasture. |
hunger
enclosure
commons
famine
land
rent
charity
privatization
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LESSON XLVI — Rod
Strike Rock ... Drink For All ... Man Owns
Land
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You Know how God came to the Help of the Tribes He
led out of the Dark Land.
At one Place, the Good Book tells us, He sent them
Food which fell on the Ground, and each Man was Free
to pick up a Share.
If some Man had Held that Land on a Deed, that
Food would have been His, and All would have had to
Pay him for it. And you have Read how, when the Tribe
was in need of Drink, God told the Head Man to Strike
the Rock with his Rod, and when he did so a Stream
burst forth for the Use of All.
Just so is it Now. God gives us the Land, and if
we Strike the Land with the Rod of Toil, a Stream of
Wealth will come Forth. This God means Each One of us
to Use for his own Life.
But if the Rock in that Old Time had been Held by
some Big Man, he would have made them Pay him for the
Drinks.
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Woodcut: A man is in the middle of the scene. His
sash has the words "Title Deed." On the left, a sign in
the ground says "Manna for Sale." On the right, a
spring spraying water from a rock labeled "No
Trespassing on This Land." The sign next to it says
"Water for Sale." The man shrugs. |
manna
title
privatization
air-land-water
theft
land
as God's provisioning for all
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LESSON XLVII — Men
Want Work ... Land Needs Plow ... No More
Alms
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The good Man who was at the Head of a Town in the
West saw a great lot of Men who had no Work and were
so Poor they had to Live on Alms.
At the same time he saw a Great Deal of Land near
by that was not in Use. So he got Leave of Those who
Held the Deeds of the Land to let some of the Poor
Use it, and then he Gave them Spuds and set them to
Work.
You ask, How did it Turn out?
Why, each of the Men who got the Use of a Lot got
so much of a Crop for his Toil that he had no Need to
ask for Aid from the Town. Give Toil the Use of Land
and that is all you need Do.
But did not the Land Lords help?
Oh, yes, Much! They Got Out of the Way. The
One-Tax Plan would make Land Free to Toil.
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Woodcut: Two figures. The one on the left, a
thinnish man in tails and tophat, is holding open a
gate for a farmer to go out, carrying a shovel and a
bag of seed. |
single
tax
ending
poverty
charity
marginal
land
Robinson
Crusoe
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LESSON XLVIII
— Work The Thing ... Steam All Wrong
... Wild Men Wise
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What have we Here? Are these Wild Men?
They Look like it, do they not? They were once Men
who had come Up to a High State of Life, up to the
Point where We are now in this good Age and Land. But
they found that Things got in to such a Fix some how
that there was not Bread for All, and Work could not
be Found for those who were Out of Work.
Then they saw what a Bad Thing Steam was, and all
the Means that were used in Mills, and so forth, to
save Toil; so they went to Work and broke up all the
Belts and Wheels so that all Work must be done by
Hand. And in this way, by Force of the Truth they now
Saw, they were led Back, step by step, to the State
in which Man was in what we call the Dark Age; in
Short, they were once more Wild Men of the Woods.
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Woodcut: Four figures, which seem to represent
early man. Teepees in the background. They seem to be
hunter-gatherers, and they use simple tools. |
technological
progress
capital
civilization
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