Newspaper Page Text
in per copy, $1.00 per year.
Right of Free Speech
Denied the Workers
ByEmil Herman
In my experience as a Socialist pro
pagandist and organizer, since the mid
dle of March of this year, I have en
countered four cities in Western
Washington where freedom of speech
and peaceable assemblage Is restrict
ed or denied entirely.
They are Port Townsend, Port An
geles. Tacoma and Raymond.
I will take them up In the order men
tioned and give a brief outline of the
situation in each place.
In Port Townsend the use of the
streets for public meetings Is not re-!
stricted by ordinance, but by mob
violence. For several years past, each
time an open-air meeting has been ar
ranged for, Sam McGee, dealer In
wood and coal (who. by the way, has :
economic power to the extent that he
can 'go into the superior court of
Jefferson county and abuse the judge j
with unprintable ' language, without
fear of being cited for contempt) has
selected a dozen or so of hoodlums
from among the soldiers at Fort Wor-1
den and - as many anarchist-minded;
civilians as he could influence, pro
ceeded to get ". them drunk on cheap
"booze" and then used this valient
army of drunken hoodlums to beat
up the speaker, and all this without
Interference from (or perhaps with'
the connivance of) the police, who are
-supposed to protect people In the or-
I derly pursuit of their "legal" voca-,
tions.
;, A; In Port Angeles, since the strike of
three years ago, the lumber barons
dominate the burg completely and rule
. with an "iron hand." [ Here the use
of the streets for public speaking is
r prohibited by ordinance, and up to the '
.present time the organizations of la- i
-" bor, including the Socialist Party, have
not developed j sufficient strength, or
courage,—possibly, both—to challenge
the right of the city officials to abridge
Organize —Capitalism Has Failed
By Anna A. Maley .\
(Workers of America, you have been
loafing on the job. That you should
loaf on the capitalist job is under
standable, but that you should loaf
on your own job of organization is
criminal.
The price of power is organization.
The workers will never be worthy of
power until in the work of organiza
tion they learn how to wield it. .:
Capitalist management has failed.
If strikes and starvation, waste and
want are not proof of this, surely the
present war offers proof that no sane
man will question.
Invisible powers may be, and un
doubtedly are, forcing this war upon
the world. The fact remains, that
government is the agency through
which the Invisible powers function.
By order of government, peaceful
citizens, perforce become wanton
butchers.
By .order of government canons
belch, destruction reigns, blood flows.
No guns have yet spoken in Amer
ica, but the slower messengers of
death unemployment, and dear food,
are here.
Our government is the visible agent
of the powers that rule. What has It
done? It has appropriated certain
moneys to succor rich tourists strand
ed abroad. No worker stood in its
councils to say, "Stay, gentlemen. First
aid is needed at home. It may be that
our classes abroad stand in some dan
ger from the dogs of war. Our masses
at home stand in far greater danger of
the dogs of capitalism."
Our government has hastened to as
sume foreign shipping risks, that mas
ters of our bread may with security '
LECTURES FOR NEXT WEEK.
Carrie W. Allen:
Sun., 15th, Everett; Mon., 16th, Port
Angeles; Tues., 17th, Sequim; Wed,,
18th, Bremerton; Thurs., 19th, Silver
dale; Fri., 20th, Tacoma No. 6; Sat.,
21st, Midland; Sun., 22nd, Seattle, 2
p.m.; Tacoma No. 1, 8 p.m.
Em'il Herman:
Sun., 15th, Hidgefield; Mon., 16th,
La Center; Tues., 17th, Pine Grove;
Wed., 18th, Charter Oak; Thurs., 19th,
Battle Ground; Fri., 20th, Yacolt; Sat.,
21st, Brush Prairie; Sun., 22nd., Hazel
Dell, 2 p.m., Vancouver, 8 p.m.
Carl Ulonska:
Sun., 15th, North Yakima; Mon.,
NORTHWEST WORKER
the constitutional right of free speech
'and peaceable assemblage.
IN TACOMA.
In Tacoma, while the use of the streets
for speech-making has not been en
tirety denied, Ihe use thereof, so far
as the labor unions and the Socialist
Party are concerned, has been restrict
ed to the poorest corner In the city—
14th and Pacific avenue. And all done
] without protest or resistance from the
said labor unions and the Socialist
j Party.
IN RAYMOND.
In Raymond the forces of labor were
completely crushed,—during the strike
of several years ago,—by the use of
club and gun. and the wholesale depor
tation of strikers; and so completely
have they been cowed ever since that
)
the English-speaking Socialists are
afraid to even organize into a local of
the Socialist Party, let alone put up
'. a fight for the right to speak and pub
licly assemble on the streets of that
corporation-ridden burg.
SHALL WE FIGHT?
In view of the above, is it not per
: tinent to ask: Are even the Socialists
I still so obsessed with the slave
psychology that they will cringe un
i der the authority of the capitalist
class, and respect and obey their ev
ery wish when garbed in legal form?
' And, if so, how long will it be before
freedom of speech and peaceable as
semblage will be guaranteed on the
|streets of the above-mentioned cities?
Workers, especially Socialists,
arouse from your lethargy; get busy:
time is pressing; the message of the
Socialist Party is being listened to as
never before. The capitalist system
is disintegrating. Labor is about to
1 come into its own.
But we must prepare and organize
ourselves " arid that NOW. So again ' I
sayget busy; be a real Socialist; join
the Socialist Party, " and then go to
work as you never did before.
fatten by Europe's blood and tears
No workers' representative was by to
ask, "By whose permision exist the
Meat Trust and the Wheat Trust? By
what authority do they withhold from
America's workers the bread which
these workers have made?"
Yes, workers of America, you have
been loafing on the job. If this were
not true, your voices would now re
sound in every legislative hall.
You Wanted Something Now.
You have said, "Socialism's too slow.
I'll- vote the Progressive ticket ' and
get something now. Well, you have
found the Progressive administration
of New York fast enough—to close
down public work. And you've got
something now—but it isn't a job. You
did not "throw your vote away." You
used It to vote the whip of power into
your master's hand. Now, don't
whimper if he beats you with the
whip.
You Object to Party Discipline.
Again you have said, "I don't like
Socialist party discipline. I'll keep
my neck out of the party collar. I'll
be Independent." Possibly none of us
enjoy wearing the party collar, but
the Socialist has at least discrimina
tion enough to make a careful choice
of yokes. Socialist party discipline re
quires that you ' refrain from voting
any capitalist party ticket, that you
build your own house and stop piling
bricks on to the capitalist wall.
"Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanqulshable number —
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you—
Ye are many: they are few."
' ' —Shelley.
16th, Lower Nachez; Tues., 17th, Cow
iche; Wed., 18th, Selah; Thurs., 19th,
Thrall; Fri., 20th, Ellensburg; Sat.,
21st, Cle Elum; Sun., 22nd, 2 p.m.,
Roslyn.
AN EASY WAY TO HELP.
The easiest way to get the capital
ists to pay their share of our propa
ganda work is to patronize those who
advertise in The Northwest Worker,
and tell them about it. Then they'll
know we're alive and doing something.
Some of us aren't. Don't be one of
the dead ones.
The door of a physician should
never be closed. — V. Hugo.
DEVOTED TO THE INDUSTRIAL, POLITICAL, AND EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT OF THE WORKING-CLASS
My Views on the Proposed
Municipal Water System
by .i. m. baLthr,
Commissioner of Public Works
EDITORIAL NOTIO
Many of our subscribers are asking
about the proposed water ordinance.
They are undecided as to the way to
vote on the project. Comrade Salter,
as member of the city council, helped
trim* 'he ordinance, and Is therefore
familiar with it from Its Inception; ac
cordingly, wo have asked him to set
forth his views on the action the work
ing class should take on the proposed
water ordinance. .
On Juno 18th, 1912, the voters of
Everett, by an overwhelming majority
of 3,338 to 579, passed an ordinance
authorizing the city council to secure
data relative to a source of water sup
ply, to prepare plans for bringing
same to the city, and plans for a city
distributing system and appropriate
money to cover cost of preparing and
securing such data and plans. The
commissioners elected at the above
named date failed to carry out the pro
visions of this ordinance and for such
neglect and other failures to carry out
the will of the people were recalled in
July, 1914. The election which fol
lowed the recall placed Mr. Clay and
myself in the city council. One of the
first acts of the new council was to
take steps to carry out the provisions
of Ordinance No. 1409, passed June
18th, 1912.
After much deliberation and many
conferences, to which the public was
welcome, and prominent and repre
sentative citizens were Invited to at
tend, we brought forth the present or
dinance which we submit to the peo
ple of Everett " for their approval *or
rejection as they see fit.
Personally, I believe that under the
present capitalistic laws, "banking
rules, court rulings, etc., this is the
best that could have been prepared.
Proposition No. 1 is for the pur
chase of the present waterworks.
Proposition No. 2 is to bring in a
PURE supply of water from Sultan
Basin.
Proposition No. 3 is for an investi
gation and report on the power possi
bilities.
WHO WROTE IT?
"Just to make It fit," the printer
dropped out the name of the author of
"The Brotherhood of Man," a poem
printed last week, and we are not sure
that we remember who sent It In.
Who wrote it? Let us know, and we
will yet credit the author. We never
steal premeditativelybut, oh! these
printers!
Patronize YOUR advertisers!
COUNTY SECTIONAL PICNIC
TO BE HELD AT THE
SMELTER PICNIC GROUNDS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 15
it. n\*!!_!_f !ft» h!_H!l **•"* from the Bcene of Eur °Pean slaughter, will give an hour's lecture on WAR,
its CAUSE AND CURE, commencing at two o'clock.
SPORTS of all kinds, commencing at 3 p.m.
J. M. SALTER, Commissioner of Everett's Public Works, will talk on VITAL QUESTIONS OF THE
day, commencing at 4.30 p.m.
COME EARLY REFRESHMENTS SPEND THE DAY
TAKE SMELTER CAR TO END OF LINE
PRIZES;; SPORTS:: PRIZES
The following merchants of Everett have given prizes for the sports. The winner, the prize
and the donator will be announced in next week's paper. Comrades {Catherine 11. Ilodgins and
Tillie Boeder hustled for the prizes.
Brodeck-Field Co. Dolson A Smith Murray Shoe Co.
Bachelder & Cornell Dean's Drug Store .- Owl Drug Store
Boston Clothing Co. Everett Music House Vienna Bakery
Curran Hardware Co. Ecklund Grocery Westberg's Grocery
City Drug Store High School Grocery Wonder Mercantile Co.
S. D. Clark Imperial Tea Co. Wetmore Bakery
Chris Culmbach I. X. L. Hardware White's Variety Store
Coast Grocery Co. Kamerman the Jeweller
EVERETT, WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1915.
After considering several sources,,
based on reports of competent engi-1
neers, Sultan Basin was selected as a
source of supply. I'luuh for bringing
said supply to the city, were prepared
by the engineering firm of Burns &
McDoimel, which project will cost
$600,000. General bonds to pay for
construction of this supply line must
be voted to build a pipe line from Sul
tan Basin to Everett. Besides, Uncle
Sam offers 45,000 acres of watershed
In tho Sultan Basin With unlimited
supply of PURE water r and 60,000
horse power free from i taxation or In
terest, charges. ' Uncle Sam will also
help us care for It without charge.
Ordinance No. 1409 provides that the
city council prepare plans for a city
distributing system. But it was deem
ed a more business-like proposition to
attempt to acquire the old : distribut
ing system and get a dangerous. com
petitor out of the field than to submit
plans at this time for a new distribut
ing system. The engineers after an
investigation brought in a report plac
ing the value of the old plant at $1,
--100,000. The proposed ordinance . pro
vides that the council f may purchase
or condemn at a price not to exceed
the above amount. Personally I be
lieve the figure Is too high and am not
in favor of offering that amount to
the water company. Would prefer to
acquire by condemnation/^"
Proposition No. 3 is ;an * important
one. It opens the way for -Everett to
secure an immense ; water < power.
When we consider that] it per cent, of
the available water power of the state
is in the hands of a monjO^yT'or^water
power : tnis*; th» im;v»i_jiiie<» of | this
project becomes significant.
A glance at the connection this elec
tion has with the ' capitalist system
may help to understand the fight is
waged against the proposed ordinance.
The basis of modern capitalism is
the capitalization of earning power.
Not only the present earning power
but the future producing capacity of
the workers to produce wealth is tak
en into consideration, i ■
Upon this present and ever-increas
ing producing power of the workers.
SPECIAL NOTICE TO PARTY
MEMBERS
A special order of business will take
place at the regular business meeting
of Local Everett No. 1, Friday evening,
August 13. The special order will be
the discussion of the water bond issue.
Members having data on the subject
should make It a point to be on hand
and give their views on the subject.
Socialists should be In a position to
vote intelligently on the issue. They
duo to modern machinery, greater ef
ficiency, Improved methods, new pro
cesses and rapidly growing population,
is based the vast amount of stocks,
bonds and other evidences of .corpor
ate wealth.
In the public utility field the fran
chise, is the basis of capitalization.
The total capitalization in the form
of stocks and bonds of public service
corporations amounts to over 25 bil
lion dollars. The only limit placed
is: How much gouging will the public
stand?
The beneficiaries of this form of
exploitation are keen and alert to pro
tect their holdings and through press,
magazines and politics manage to
maintain the game.
The widespread agitation for munici
pal ownership of public utilities is an
attempt to escape from this form of
bondage.
J At present 75 men control the light,
power, heat, water and street railways
of about 300 of our cities.
I Of the 25 billion dollars or more of
public utilities In the United States"
these men control a large part and are
out to gain control of it all. To pass
the ordinances now before the people
of Everett would mean that we had
served notice on the 75 men who form
as choice a nest of financial bucca
neers as ever strangled a municipality
that we would no longer submit to
paying tribute on our water, light, and
power. ■■. ■';.*.''■.
.As a Socialist I well know that mu
nicipal ownership does not solve the
problems of the workers.;
i 7, Give us heat, light,'. water and trans
portation free and our stomachs would
still cry for food and the chilly winds
and wintry rains would be decidedly
uncomfortable to us without clothes
and shelter.
The construction of the pipe line
would mean . employment to a large
number of Everett's working men.
Have no hesitation in saying that no
workingman can make a mistake In
voting for the three propositions sub
mitted by the city council.
J. M. SALTER.
MUNICIPAL WATER PLANT
PAYS BIG PROFIT
Sherboygan, Wis., Is a city of 26,500.
It is smaller than the city of Everett
yet it has its own water plant and has
netted the city $65,311.31 from July
1, 1914, to June 30, 1915, according
to reports just received.
can only do that by a thorough investi
gation. Friday evening we will Inves
tigate. Be there. /f-^,;
Workers Opposed to War
Says James Larkin
James Larkin, the "Fiery Cross" ora
tor of Ireland, who is known to Eng
lish employers as the "Mad Mullah of
Labor," may speak in Everett at an
early date. Arrangements are under
way to have him with us within the
next thiee weeks.
Larkin. who is Ireland's foremost
labor unionist, has been a thorn in
the side of the English militarists
since the war broke out. After spread
ing the propaganda against conscrip
tion in Ireland he came to the United
States, and during the last/eight
months has spoken at numerous Irish-
German meetings.
Labor Against War.
"The Irish unions do not believe In
war of any sort," Larkin declared to
day. "We hold that no nation has a
right to interfere in the destiny of
any other nation, except to help it to
progress Intellectually. We object to
the use of laboring men as tools to
shoot down any other man. We have
no quarrel with the Germans, any
more than we have with the English
individually. Our quarrel is with the
English government."
At the outbreak of hostilities in
Europe, Larkin issued a manifesto,
which was signed by all the Irish
trade unionists, declaring their utter
abhorrence of war and their determi
nation not to participate in it. -
Blames Allies.
"In this war the workingmen are be
ing used by both sides as tools," de
clares Larkin. "I believe that the Al
lies are absolutely in the wrong, and
personally I object to the British gov
ernment at all times. England has
been the bully of the world, and her
outcry against the German campaign
in Belgium is humbug. England has
WHAT IT MEANS TO 'BE A
"\-h ; . SOCIALIST
■ By Fannie M. Witherspoon
What does it mean that white,
scared children . slink to the mills;
that women drag unlovely bodies about
the streets to barter the one thing they
own; that jobless men give sheepish
thanks for charity's left-over? What
do the homes of Europe mean, mangled
by war, the fields teeming with rotting
flesh instead of ripening harvests?
They all mean that the world's way
of getting its daily bread is all wrong.
For some are feeding to gluttony while
the many are not feeding at all.
In such a world what is a Socialist?
Briefly, a human being, not a jellyfish.
His task is: To tell the people who
work, who are the people, that every
social misery is bred by poverty, and
that the cure for poverty has been
found. It is co-operative bread-getting
to replace private owning of the job
that is life. It is Socialism. o>£;s]:
To accomplish his task, a Socialist
must be an everlasting optimist. Com
placent folks —those who get on very
well themselveswill cry, "Black pes
simist !" because he sees what's wrong
and, tired of that, they will turn
about and laugh at him for a fool
dreamer. Let him show them that
nothing, not even the earth's surface,
has changed so much in the past as
this "human nature"; that it is being
changed every hour of every day! Do
not be afraid of dreams.
A true radical. Direct action is
good at times, but it's not radical.
Radical comes from a Latin word, "ra
dex," root. Radicals put moisture to
the roots of the tree. They don't ap
ply it direct to leaves and blossoms.
The Socialist knows that sap rises
from the root up! Moral: Don't be
too big for any job. Plan to convert
the world, but take those anti-war
pamphlets upstairs into your own tene
ment. Show the woman next door
why her man is out of a job, while her
baby girl sells chewing-gum on the
street, and don't forget to tell her
what her own vote has to do with
the matter.
Educate, organize! The words don't
thrill, but the result does; that indus
trial democracy of free men and
women!
Finally, while you are burrowing
down and going slow, don't fail to do
it just as fast as you can. Babies
are dying now in sweated slums; riv
ers of Europe are running today, not
water, but precious human blood.
To dream, to uproot, to replant, to
—never quit. That's to be a Socialist.
No. 240
always interfered with the develop
ment of small nationalities. For ev
ery crime the Germans have commit
ted in Belgium, England has com
mitted one hundred in Ireland. For
every church destroyed ,by Germany
in Belgium, England has destroyed an
equal number in Ireland in times of
peace."
Scores Home Rule
Larkin asserts that the so-called
home rule in Ireland is a fraud. ,
"There is no home rule there,", he
-ays with conviction. "The ! present
law simply intends jj to set up after
the war a mutual admiration society
in Dublin. The majority of the peo
ple in Ulster are in favor of total sep
aration from England, and they decline
to acknowledge the right of any gov
ernment to separate Ireland into two
parts." •'■'■' "' '.' '■;';.;'; J'7AA\A
Larkin first sprang into prominence
in his home country las j one of the
organizers of the newer industrial
unions of Ireland, which were formed
at a time when the average wage of
all workers in that country was but
$2 a week. ...
Suffers Imprisonment.
In 1913 when the great lockout oc
curred In Ireland, Larkin was tried
for sedition and sent to Jail. The
British unions took up his case and '
threatened a general strike unless he
was released. . Finally .after _ seven
teen days of imprisonment, the British
government yielded and set him free.
;,: The whole working * population'-.' of
Dublin was locked out during the in- '
dustrial crisis, which continued; for \
eight months. During the lockout the
British unions donated $500,000 4 and
the Australian unions $50,000 to the
support of the Irish workers. - • ' ;
-— ' ' ■
WE l\ MUST A ORGANIZE ; THE J
BOYS AND GIRLS
....... . , ! ■':*;;?:
. ' ■ ~ :
C', '■ ' '" ' ' ■'"..'. aa-aAA
Jj*?ii' -By Marvin Sanford ,"' '
One of the most important of our
tasks of the present Is the , organiza
tion of the young, for It is the rising
generation, the boys and girls, youths
and maidens of today, ; who are de
stined to put the Socialist program in- '
to effect. The old timers in the move
ment are passing off the stage, and
more and more the younger .' element
will have to bear the responsibility.
The elderly people of today are the
hardest to reach with the Socialist'
message. , Old heads are not easily
susceptible to new ideas. Most of
our opponents are men who live in the
past, and have their ideas, • though
they, too, may be ancient, unalterably
fixed. Most of our newer converts are
men and women on the bright side of
forty, who have yet much ahead of
them, hope for the future, enthusiasm
for right. Inspired by the love of jus
tice and opportunity, the vision of a
new life, the young and energetic con
vert is spurred on to . intelligently
grapple with the problem of industrial
control. ■ '-.'■■"■ ■''.'( JiA77777
, Comrades, bring your sons and
daughters into the Socialist movement
through the young people's organiza
tion, thus laying the foundation for a
powerful movement In the days that
are coming. i,v;S
The young people are here. The
field is fruitful. Let us work among
those who hold in their hand the des
tinies of the coming revolution.
Fathers and mothers, compare for a
moment the young ones who are being
filled with the ideals of plutocracy,
the superstitions of by-gone ages, and
the doctrines of the standpatter, with
the young rebels who are absorbing
the proletarian ideals, the philosophy
of Socialism, the spirit of the rebel,
and an understanding of the world and
its ways. Ask yourself, "Which is of
the most value to the society of the
future?" Then, "Which shall MINE
BE?"
..-.,■ - -, ----- '.-Si-H;
Socialism is industrial democracy.
It would put an end to the irrespons
ible control of economic Interests, and
substitute popular self-government in
the industrial, as well as in the politi
cal world.— H. Vail.
:
Let no man fear the name of "So
cialism." The movement of the work
ing-class for justice by any other
name would be as terrible.—Father
William Barry.
