72 
THE SOCIALISM OF TO-DAY. 
associations must recommence their race for capital, or must 
accept the money of capitalists.” 
Citizen Nicaise, and another working man, Citizen Masquin, 
who belonged to the “ Co-operative Society of Printers,” 
showed that the principal cause of the frequent mishaps 
encountered by these associations was the bad choice of 
managers. “ The prime cause of their ill success,” said the 
former, “is the inexperience of the associates and their in 
aptitude for business. Their great anxiety has always been to 
produce, without even knowing how the products were to be 
sold off. Hence the endless mistakes in the choice of 
managers. Generally the best workmen were chosen, which 
deprived the factory of useful hands, and confided to them a 
business for which they had none of the required qualities. 
“ The society is formed and the factory opened,” said Citizen 
Masquin, “ then the difficulties begin. A capable man is 
wanted as manager, but the capable men have already got 
situations, and it is in vain you offer them the same salaries ; 
they hesitate because they dread the responsibility, and are 
afraid that the business may not succeed. In many societies 
the first comer has been chosen, and they have smashed.” 
In this same congress the working men recognized and 
proclaimed a fact of experience, which is the death-blow to 
Lassalle’s great plan for social renovation, namely, that loans 
from the State are the ruin of working men’s associations. If 
it really only needed the few millions of pounds demanded by 
the German Socialist to transform all the working men into 
capitalists enjoying the integral product of their labour, where 
is the parliament that would not vote them gladly? Forty 
millions of pounds, nay, twice that sum, even without interest, 
would be little to accomplish this happy and peaceful revolu 
tion, which would avoid the risk of bloody and far more costly 
revolutions in the future ; but it is an established fact—money 
advanced by the State brings misfortune. 
In this same working men’s congress of 1876, the citizen 
Finance, a positivist and opponent of even the principle of co 
operation, showed, statistics in hand, that, of all the associa 
tions which were subsidized by the State in 1848, only one