the ragged trousered philanthropists-第47部分

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‘Come　on　'ere；'　cried　Philpot；　putting　his　hand　on　Owen's　shoulder。　‘Prove　that　money　is　the　cause　of　poverty。'

‘It's　one　thing　to　say　it　and　another　to　prove　it；'　sneered　Crass；　who　was　anxious　for　an　opportunity　to　produce　the　long…deferred　Obscurer　cutting。

‘Money　IS　the　real　cause　of　poverty；'　said　Owen。

‘Prove　it；'　repeated　Crass。

‘Money　is　the　cause　of　poverty　because　it　is　the　device　by　which　those　who　are　too　lazy　to　work　are　enabled　to　rob　the　workers　of　the　fruits　of　their　labours。'

‘Prove　it；'　said　Crass。

Owen　slowly　folded　up　the　piece　of　newspaper　he　had　been　reading　and　put　it　into　his　pocket。

‘All　right；'　he　replied。　　‘I'll　show　you　how　the　Great　Money　Trick　is　worked。'

Owen　opened　his　dinner　basket　and　took　from　it　two　slices　of　bread　but　as　these　were　not　sufficient；　he　requested　that　anyone　who　had　some　bread　left　would　give　it　to　him。　　They　gave　him　several　pieces；　which　he　placed　in　a　heap　on　a　clean　piece　of　paper；　and；　having　borrowed　the　pocket　knives　they　used　to　cut　and　eat　their　dinners　with　from　Easton；　Harlow　and　Philpot；　he　addressed　them　as　follows：

‘These　pieces　of　bread　represent　the　raw　materials　which　exist　naturally　in　and　on　the　earth　for　the　use　of　mankind；　they　were　not　made　by　any　human　being；　but　were　created　by　the　Great　Spirit　for　the　benefit　and　sustenance　of　all；　the　same　as　were　the　air　and　the　light　of　the　sun。'

‘You're　about　as　fair…speakin'　a　man　as　I've　met　for　some　time；'　said　Harlow；　winking　at　the　others。

‘Yes；　mate；'　said　Philpot。　　‘Anyone　would　agree　to　that　much！　It's　as　clear　as　mud。'

‘Now；'　continued　Owen；　‘I　am　a　capitalist；　or；　rather；　I　represent　the　landlord　and　capitalist　class。　　That　is　to　say；　all　these　raw　materials　belong　to　me。　　It　does　not　matter　for　our　present　argument　how　I　obtained　possession　of　them；　or　whether　I　have　any　real　right　to　them；　the　only　thing　that　matters　now　is　the　admitted　fact　that　all　the　raw　materials　which　are　necessary　for　the　production　of　the　necessaries　of　life　are　now　the　property　of　the　Landlord　and　Capitalist　class。　　I　am　that　class：　all　these　raw　materials　belong　to　me。'

‘Good　enough！'　agreed　Philpot。

‘Now　you　three　represent　the　Working　class：　you　have　nothing　…　and　for　my　part；　although　I　have　all　these　raw　materials；　they　are　of　no　use　to　me　…　what　need　is　…　the　things　that　can　be　made　out　of　these　raw　materials　by　Work：　but　as　I　am　too　lazy　to　work　myself；　I　have　invented　the　Money　Trick　to　make　you　work　FOR　me。　　But　first　I　must　explain　that　I　possess　something　else　beside　the　raw　materials。　　These　three　knives　represent　…　all　the　machinery　of　production；　the　factories；　tools；　railways；　and　so　forth；　without　which　the　necessaries　of　life　cannot　be　produced　in　abundance。　　And　these　three　coins'　…　taking　three　halfpennies　from　his　pocket　…　‘represent　my　Money　Capital。'

‘But　before　we　go　any　further；'　said　Owen；　interrupting　himself；　‘it　is　most　important　that　you　remember　that　I　am　not　supposed　to　be　merely　〃a〃　capitalist。　　I　represent　the　whole　Capitalist　Class。　　You　are　not　supposed　to　be　just　three　workers　…　you　represent　the　whole　Working　Class。'

‘All　right；　all　right；'　said　Crass；　impatiently；　‘we　all　understand　that。　　Git　on　with　it。'

Owen　proceeded　to　cut　up　one　of　the　slices　of　bread　into　a　number　of　little　square　blocks。

‘These　represent　the　things　which　are　produced　by　labour；　aided　by　machinery；　from　the　raw　materials。　　We　will　suppose　that　three　of　these　blocks　represent　…　a　week's　work。　　We　will　suppose　that　a　week's　work　is　worth　…　one　pound：　and　we　will　suppose　that　each　of　these　ha'pennies　is　a　sovereign。　　We'd　be　able　to　do　the　trick　better　if　we　had　real　sovereigns；　but　I　forgot　to　bring　any　with　me。'

‘I'd　lend　you　some；'　said　Philpot；　regretfully；　‘but　I　left　me　purse　on　our　grand　pianner。'

As　by　a　strange　coincidence　nobody　happened　to　have　any　gold　with　them；　it　was　decided　to　make　shift　with　the　halfpence。

‘Now　this　is　the　way　the　trick　works　…'

‘Before　you　goes　on　with　it；'　interrupted　Philpot；　apprehensively；　‘don't　you　think　we'd　better　'ave　someone　to　keep　watch　at　the　gate　in　case　a　Slop　comes　along？　　We　don't　want　to　get　runned　in；　you　know。'

‘I　don'　think　there's　any　need　for　that；'　replied　Owen；　‘there's　only　one　slop　who'd　interfere　with　us　for　playing　this　game；　and　that's　Police　Constable　Socialism。'

‘Never　mind　about　Socialism；'　said　Crass；　irritably。　　‘Get　along　with　the　bloody　trick。'

Owen　now　addressed　himself　to　the　working　classes　as　represented　by　Philpot；　Harlow　and　Easton。

‘You　say　that　you　are　all　in　need　of　employment；　and　as　I　am　the　kind…hearted　capitalist　class　I　am　going　to　invest　all　my　money　in　various　industries；　so　as　to　give　you　Plenty　of　Work。　　I　shall　pay　each　of　you　one　pound　per　week；　and　a　week's　work　is　…　you　must　each　produce　three　of　these　square　blocks。　　For　doing　this　work　you　will　each　receive　your　wages；　the　money　will　be　your　own；　to　do　as　you　like　with；　and　the　things　you　produce　will　of　course　be　mine；　to　do　as　I　like　with。　　You　will　each　take　one　of　these　machines　and　as　soon　as　you　have　done　a　week's　work；　you　shall　have　your　money。'

The　Working　Classes　accordingly　set　to　work；　and　the　Capitalist　class　sat　down　and　watched　them。　　As　soon　as　they　had　finished；　they　passed　the　nine　little　blocks　to　Owen；　who　placed　them　on　a　piece　of　paper　by　his　side　and　paid　the　workers　their　wages。

‘These　blocks　represent　the　necessaries　of　life。　　You　can't　live　without　some　of　these　things；　but　as　they　belong　to　me；　you　will　have　to　buy　them　from　me：　my　price　for　these　blocks　is　…　one　pound　each。'

As　the　working　classes　were　in　need　of　the　necessaries　of　life　and　as　they　could　not　eat；　drink　or　wear　the　useless　money；　they　were　compelled　to　agree　to　the　kind　Capitalist's　terms。　　They　each　bought　back　and　at　once　consumed　one…third　of　the　produce　of　their　labour。　The　capitalist　class　also　devoured　two　of　the　square　blocks；　and　so　the　net　result　of　the　week's　work　was　that　the　kind　capitalist　had　consumed　two　pounds　worth　of　the　things　produced　by　the　labour　of　the　others；　and　reckoning　the　squares　at　their　market　value　of　one　pound　each；　he　had　more　than　doubled　his　capital；　for　he　still　possessed　the　three　pounds　in　money　and　in　addition　four　pounds　worth　of　goods。　　As　for　the　working　classes；　Philpot；　Harlow　and　Easton；　having　each　consumed　the　pound's　worth　of　necessaries　they　had　bought　with　their　wages；　they　were　again　in　precisely　the　same　condition　as　when　they　started　work　…　they　had　nothing。

This　process　was　repeated　several　times：　for　each　week's　work　the　producers　were　paid　their　wages。　　They　kept　on　working　and　spending　all　their　earnings。　　The　kind…hearted　capitalist　consumed　twice　as　much　as　any　one　of　them　and　his　pile　of　wealth　continually　increased。　In　a　little　while　…　reckoning　the　little　squares　at　their　market　value　of　one　pound　each　…　he　was　worth　about　one　hundred　pounds；　and　the　working　classes　were　still　in　the　same　condition　as　when　they　began；　and　were　still　tearing　into　their　work　as　if　their　lives　depended　upon　it。

After　a　while　the　rest　of　the　crowd　began　to　laugh；　and　their　merriment　increased　when　the　kind…hearted　capitalist；　just　after　having　sold　a　pound's　worth　of　necessaries　to　each　of　his　workers；　suddenly　took　their　tools　…　the　Machinery　of　Production　…　the　knives　away　from　them；　and　informed　them　that　as　owing　to　Over　Production　all　his　store…houses　were　glutted　with　the　necessaries　of　life；　he　had　decided　to　close　down　the　works。

‘Well；　and　wot　the　bloody　'ell　are　we　to　do　now？'　demanded　Philpot。

‘That's　not　my　business；'　replied　the　kind…hearted　capitalist。　　‘I've　paid　you　your　wages；　and　provided　you　with　Plenty　of　Work　for　a　long　time　past。　　I　have　no　more　work　for　you　to　do　at　present。　　Come　round　again　in　a　few　months'　time　and　I'll　see　what　I　can　do　for　you。'

‘But　what　about　the　necessaries　of　life？'　demanded　Harlow。　　‘We　must　have　something　to　eat。'

‘Of　course　you　must；'　replied　the　capitalist；　affably；　‘and　I　shall　be　very　pleased　to　sell　you　some。'

‘But　we　ain't　got　no　bloody　money！'

‘Well；　you　can't　expect　me　to　give　you　my　goods　for　nothing！　　You　didn't　work　for　me　for　nothing；　you　know。　　I　paid　you　for　your　work　and　you　should　have　saved　something：　you　should　have　been　thrifty　like　me。　　Look　how　I　have　got　on　by　being　thrifty！'

The　unemployed　looked　blankly　at　each　other；　but　the　rest　of　the　crowd　only　laughed；　and　then　the　three　unemployed　began　to　abuse　the　kind…hearted　Capitalist；　demanding　that　he　should　give　them　some　of　the　necessaries　of　life　that　he　had　piled　up　in　his　warehouses；　or　to　be　allowed　to　work　and　produce　some　more　for　their　own　needs；　and　even　threatened　to　take　some　of　the　things　by　force　if　he　did　not　comply　with　their　demands。　　But　the　kind…hearted　Capitalist　told　them　not　to　be　insolent；　and　spoke　to　them　about　honesty；　and　said　if　they　were　not　careful　he　would　have　their　faces　battered　in　for　them　by　the　police；　or　if　necessary　he　would　call　out　the　military　and　have　them　shot　down　like　dogs；　the　same　as　he　had　done　before　at　Featherstone　and　Belfast。

‘Of　course；'　continued　the　kind…hearted　capitalist；　‘if　it　were　not　for　foreign　competition　I　should　be　able　to　sell　these　things　that　you　have　made；　and　then　I　should　be　able　to　give　you　Plenty　of　Work　again：　but　until　I　have　sold　them　to　somebody　or　other；　or　until　I　have　used　them　myself；　you　will　have　to　remain　idle。'

‘Well；　this　takes　the　bloody　biskit；　don't　it？'　said　Harlow。

‘The　only　thing　as　I　can　see　for　it；'　said　Philpot　mournfully；　‘is　to　'ave　a　unemployed　procession。'

‘That's　the　idear；'　said　Harlow；　and　the　three　began　to　march　about　the　room　in　Indian　file；　singing：

　　　　　　　　‘We've　got　no　work　to　do…oo…oo'　　　　　　　　　We've　got　no　work　to　do…oo…oo！　　　　　　　　　Just　because　we've　been　workin'　a　dam　sight　too　hard；　　　　　　　　　Now　we've　got　no　work　to　do。'

As　they　marched　round；　the　crowd　jeered　at　them　and　made　offensive　remarks。　　Crass　said　that　anyone　could　see　that　they　were　a　lot　of　lazy；　drunken　loafers　who　had　never　done　a　fair　day's　work　in　their　lives　and　never　intended　to。

‘We　shan't　never　get　nothing　like　this；　you　know；'　said　Philpot。　‘Let's　try　the　religious　dodge。'

‘All　right；'　agreed　Harlow。　　‘What　shall　we　give