The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists [80]
year in return for being allowed to retain possession of that part of England which was presented - in addition to his salary - to one of His Grace's very remote ancestors, for his services at the battle of Commissariat - in the Netherlands.
`The Duke of Southward is another instance,' continued Owen. `He "owns" miles of the country we speak of as "ours". Much of his part consists of confiscated monastery lands which were stolen from the owners by King Henry VIII and presented to the ancestors of the present Duke.
`Whether it was right or wrong that these parts of our country should ever have been given to those people - the question whether those ancestor persons were really deserving cases or not - is a thing we need not trouble ourselves about now. But the present holders are certainly not deserving people. They do not even take the trouble to pretend they are. They have done nothing and they do nothing to justify their possession of these "estates" as they call them. And in my opinion no man who is in his right mind can really think it's just that these people should be allowed to prey upon their fellow men as they are doing now. Or that it is right that their children should be allowed to continue to prey upon our children for ever! The thousands of people on those estates work and live in poverty in order that these three men and their families may enjoy leisure and luxury. Just think of the absurdity of it!' continued Owen, pointing to the drawings. `All those people allowing themselves to be overworked and bullied and starved and robbed by this little crowd here!'
Observing signs of a renewal of the storm of protests, Owen hurriedly concluded:
`Whether it's right or wrong, you can't deny that the fact that this small minority possesses nearly all the land of the country is one of the principal causes of the poverty of the majority.'
`Well, that seems true enough,' said Easton, slowly. `The rent's the biggest item a workin' man's got to pay. When you're out of work and you can't afford other things, you goes without 'em, but the rent 'as to be paid whether you're workin' or not.'
`Yes, that's enough,' said Harlow impatiently; `but you gets value for yer money: you can't expect to get a 'ouse for nothing.'
`Suppose we admits as it's wrong, just for the sake of argyment,' said Crass in a jeering tone. `Wot then? Wot about it? 'Ow's it agoin' to be altered.'
`Yes!' cried Harlow triumphantly. `That's the bloody question! 'Ow's it goin' to be altered? It can't be done!'
There was a general murmur of satisfaction. Nearly everyone seemed very pleased to think that the existing state of things could not possibly be altered.
`Whether it can be altered or not, whether it's right or wrong, landlordism is one of the causes of poverty,' Owen repeated. `Poverty is not caused by men and women getting married; it's not caused by machinery; it's not caused by "over-production"; it's not caused by drink or laziness; and it's not caused by "over-population". It's caused by Private Monopoly. That is the present system. They have monopolized everything that it is possible to monopolize; they have got the whole earth, the minerals in the earth and the streams that water the earth. The only reason they have not monopolized the daylight and the air is that it is not possible to do it. If it were possible to construct huge gasometers and to draw together and compress within them the whole of the atmosphere, it would have been done long ago, and we should have been compelled to work for them in order to get money to buy air to breathe. And if that seemingly impossible thing were accomplished tomorrow, you would see thousands of people dying for want of air - or of the money to buy it - even as now thousands are dying for want of the other necessities of life. You would see people going about gasping for breath, and telling each other that the likes of them could not expect to have air to breathe unless the had the money to pay for it. Most of you here, for instance, would think and say
`The Duke of Southward is another instance,' continued Owen. `He "owns" miles of the country we speak of as "ours". Much of his part consists of confiscated monastery lands which were stolen from the owners by King Henry VIII and presented to the ancestors of the present Duke.
`Whether it was right or wrong that these parts of our country should ever have been given to those people - the question whether those ancestor persons were really deserving cases or not - is a thing we need not trouble ourselves about now. But the present holders are certainly not deserving people. They do not even take the trouble to pretend they are. They have done nothing and they do nothing to justify their possession of these "estates" as they call them. And in my opinion no man who is in his right mind can really think it's just that these people should be allowed to prey upon their fellow men as they are doing now. Or that it is right that their children should be allowed to continue to prey upon our children for ever! The thousands of people on those estates work and live in poverty in order that these three men and their families may enjoy leisure and luxury. Just think of the absurdity of it!' continued Owen, pointing to the drawings. `All those people allowing themselves to be overworked and bullied and starved and robbed by this little crowd here!'
Observing signs of a renewal of the storm of protests, Owen hurriedly concluded:
`Whether it's right or wrong, you can't deny that the fact that this small minority possesses nearly all the land of the country is one of the principal causes of the poverty of the majority.'
`Well, that seems true enough,' said Easton, slowly. `The rent's the biggest item a workin' man's got to pay. When you're out of work and you can't afford other things, you goes without 'em, but the rent 'as to be paid whether you're workin' or not.'
`Yes, that's enough,' said Harlow impatiently; `but you gets value for yer money: you can't expect to get a 'ouse for nothing.'
`Suppose we admits as it's wrong, just for the sake of argyment,' said Crass in a jeering tone. `Wot then? Wot about it? 'Ow's it agoin' to be altered.'
`Yes!' cried Harlow triumphantly. `That's the bloody question! 'Ow's it goin' to be altered? It can't be done!'
There was a general murmur of satisfaction. Nearly everyone seemed very pleased to think that the existing state of things could not possibly be altered.
`Whether it can be altered or not, whether it's right or wrong, landlordism is one of the causes of poverty,' Owen repeated. `Poverty is not caused by men and women getting married; it's not caused by machinery; it's not caused by "over-production"; it's not caused by drink or laziness; and it's not caused by "over-population". It's caused by Private Monopoly. That is the present system. They have monopolized everything that it is possible to monopolize; they have got the whole earth, the minerals in the earth and the streams that water the earth. The only reason they have not monopolized the daylight and the air is that it is not possible to do it. If it were possible to construct huge gasometers and to draw together and compress within them the whole of the atmosphere, it would have been done long ago, and we should have been compelled to work for them in order to get money to buy air to breathe. And if that seemingly impossible thing were accomplished tomorrow, you would see thousands of people dying for want of air - or of the money to buy it - even as now thousands are dying for want of the other necessities of life. You would see people going about gasping for breath, and telling each other that the likes of them could not expect to have air to breathe unless the had the money to pay for it. Most of you here, for instance, would think and say