THE  SOCIALISM  OF  TO-DAY.

I  14
pass  book.  Five  years  afterwards,  in  1871,  out  of  10,671  pupils,
the  number  of  pass-books  was  8000,  and  since  then  the  proportion ­
  has  increased.
This  may  be  the  beginning  of  a  transformation  in  the  social
situation.  Once  the  working  man  attains  to  the  possession  of
capital,  he  becomes  immediately  converted  to  ideas  of  order,
and  the  enemy  of  any  revolutionary  movement  which  might
take  away  from  him  his  hardly  won  savings.  This  result  can
only  be  arrived  at  by  teaching  him  thrift  from  his  childhood,  so
that  he  may  form  the  habit  of  saving.  Afterwards,  when  he
has  acquired  the  habit  of  useless  or  harmful  spending,  better
counsels  will  remain  without  fruit  The  only  capital  that  will
be  preserved  is  that  which  the  labourer  has  himself  created.
It  is  in  vain  to  make  loans  to  working  men,  as  Lassalle  demanded ­
  should  be  done,  or  as  the  German  Emperor,  under
I  the  inspiration  of  Prince  Bismarck,  actually  did;  they  would  be
soon  swallowed  up,  because  the  aptitude  for  making  a  good  use
thereof  would  be  wanting.  He  alone  who  knows  how  to  create
capital  will  be  in  a  position  to  manage,  preserve,  and  increase
it.  The  working  men’s  societies,  to  which  the  French  Government, ­
  in  1848,  made  advances,  soon  collapsed.  The  only  ones
‘  ^  that  can  maintain  themselves  are  those  which,  like  the  pioneers
of  Rochdale,  have  formed  their  own  capital  by  means  of  order  ■
and  economy.  The  system  of  school  saving,  as  may  be  seen  ,
in  the  reports  of  M.  de  Malarce,  has  been  introduced  into
T  '  many  towns  in  different  countries,  and  notably  in  France.  I
ÿ  it  can  be  made  general,  the  benefits  which  will  result  from  h  '
are  incalculable.  What  is  most  distressing,  when  one  considers  ¡
the  condition  of  the  labouring  classes,  is  not  so  much  the  in*
'  sufficiency  of  wages,  as  the  bad  use  which  is  too  often  made  o
1  them.  An  increase  in  remuneration  results,  for  the  most  part,  j
'  in  merely  increasing  the  amount  spent  in  drink,  and  thus  io  |
further  degrading  the  workman.  It  is  in  vain  to  preach  -
economy  to  grown  men.  Thrift  is  a  virtue  of  habit,  and  it  1®  I
,  I  ;•  from  childhood  that  it  must  be  inculcated.  j
L  '  Through  the  initiation  of  M.  Laurent,  there  were  also
established  at  Ghent  working  men’s  clubs,  where  the  factory  1
‘  operatives  could  assemble  to  listen  to  debates,  to  go  throug  j