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In Things EBsential, UNITY In Things Doubtful, LIBERTY- In All Thing* FRATERNITY
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IS GOVERMENT
OWNERSHIP
SOCIALISM?
ißj l.uolla Yw ining)
"Well, you Socialists ought to
be satisfied, you've got the rail
roads, anyway," said a young WO
man to me when Railroad Director
General McAdoo took over the
control of the railroads. Thai
mear»3 government ownership fi
nally," she added, "and I don't
think it'll he n success, either,"
the latter delivered with a flash
of the eye and a vigorous nod
of the head. She continued,
■•Why. weren't the people glad
enough to have the corporations
build the railroads, and haven't
they made the country?" She
sank back in her chair and begSS
at her knitting with the air of
having settled the question for
all time.
"Yes," I laid, -it's trui'." In
an early .lay the people were glad
to have the railroads, and they
have made the country, no doobt
Of that."
It was an undertaking to build
the early railroads and the peo
ple, most of them thought noth
ing of the land given them in
grants. There was so much of
it. .1 have often heard my grand
father say, however, that he
knew it was a mistake to give the
land to the railroads and the day
would come when the people
would regret it. He lived to see
that day.
But that is past and gone, the
question now is government own
ership socialism?
It is not. It 13 not even so
cialistic. Government ownership
is a step toward Socialism, just
as is the trust which carried us
much nearer the Socialist repub
lic.
Socialism stands for the aboli
tion of the profit system and the
exploitation of the workers by un
paid labor. The worker i 3 now
robbed of over half of bis prod
uct. , Socialism involves giving
to the producer the equivalent of
the full value of his product.
Government Control Enriches
Stockholders
Mr. McAdoo expects to reim
burse stockholders of the rail
roads he has taken over on the,
basis f,f average profits of the
last three years, three very full
years by the way. The result
wjH be that Btockholderß will re
ceive in profits exactly the amount
they got before the government
took over the roads. These prof
its are guaranteed.
The litockhol.lers sit around tho
fire (they still have fires even
tho coal i 3 scarce) and eat up
the profits derived from the un
/••■ii'l labor of the railroad em
ployees, just as they did under
private control. And too, the en
tire nation i.s behind tho stock for
security, which ia better than
Mr. Morgan,
As for tho employees, their
position is Jess advantageous than
before. They may not be per
mitted to go on strike, perhaps
lot to organize. You are, nc:-'
quainted with the intimidating
measures directed ag'diml postal
employees. They cannot take part.
in politics or belong to a political
EVERETT, WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, MARCH 7. L9lB.
GEORGE klltkl'ATKH k
who will speak in
Everett. Sunday. .March 10th. at 2 I. M.
(iather at the Forum.
1612 CALIFORNIA STREET
■
i -ii ii
party. A postal employee sang
in a chorus of a political meeting
up North. He m dismissed
for delving into politics, tho he
participated merely M an enter
tainer. You might as well arrest
the pianist at a Pacifist meet
ing.
I was in France during tho gen
oral strike of the railway em
ployees. The strike was won when
Premier Briand mobilised the
strikers as soldiers and ordered
them back to work. If they had
refused they would have been shot
for treason. The railroads were
under the control of the govern
ment at that. It is well to un
derstand that the .strategic posi
tion of workers under government
ownership is Weak.
Well, is government ownership
a failure and arc Socialists to op
pose it? By no moan*?.
Government Ownership Step
Toward Socialism
Frederick Kntce!:< in his "Social
ism, Utopian and Scientific,"
rays government ownership is a
Ktep toward Socialism.
It's a forward step to wrest
the industries from private hands!
That step taken it will be com
paratively oa?y to introduce .So
cialism. And too, the psychologi
cal effect is good. The people
become accustomed to change,
each change making the next one
easier. The old try that "things
akvays have been thi.s way and
always will be" breaks down in
the lisrJ.i <-f experience. "We
have advanced from private own
ership to government ownership,
why not ;-:.unl U<r Socialism?"
tli" people will logically think.
Conditions Under Government
<)w nrr'hip
But the fact that government
ownership is not Socfa!i«m must
!>'• plain. Why, they have had
government ownership of rail-
rou<!s and many other utilities.
Government ownership is more
a! in the Uritish Isles than
anywhere else, where poverty is
terrbDe. We arc acquainted
with the advanrement of govern.
ownership in Germany,
where most of the expend
the state arc met from profits
tin- railroads. They have
nment owner hip in < Ihina
when the workers can live from
tnell of rat tails, we are told.
government ownership -
c Lhu workers arc most ex
ploited and has nothing to do
with Socialism.
Do not understand me to .say
that these people are exploited
I because of government ownership.
{ Not at all. They suffer be
cause the mean of life are in the
hands of the few for whom they
must slave for a bare existence.
The people of this country are
net na well off under the trusts
na they were under competition
und the hand tool. Hut we are
:>s>iter off i.i that Socialism has
| '•..oh brought nearer to us l>y the
trust. The trust Ims organized
industry ready for the workers
to elbow the boss out and take
possession. Government owner
ship brings the day of emancipa
tion nearer therefore wo hail it
wiih Reclaim, not its immediate j
but its ultmate effect.
Government ownership ia not
Hociali»m but rather points the
way to the day when the workers
shall receive the full value of
the product of their toil,
Ho to answer the littlo lady 1
began with, "Yen, on the whole
we Socialists are fairly well satis
fied."
UV oujrlit to be, everything is
coming our way.
< iolden Drip < ol lee.
Inim-i il Tea Co., 1 107 llewitl \>e
KIRKPATRICK AT
EAST STANDWOOD
To the Comrades and readers
of till' Co-operative News of
Northern Snohomish, Skagit and
Whutcom counties; You will have
a change to hear ';•■". 11. Kirk
patrlck at East Stanwood, Mon
'lay night at 8:30 p. m , March
llth, nt the P. U. Hall.
JA< <•(! SETTRE,
Secretary E« I .( nwood Local.
LABOR
NEWS
B-HOI it SYSTEM PAYB
DALLAS, Tex.—An increased
efficiency of the Dallas police <!<■
partment is ;i retail of the eight
hour system, inaugurated the
first of the year, is the opinion
of official! of this city. It is
planned to extend the system to
other employe! of the depart
ment.
BOYCOTT THE TOWN
SPOKANE. The- I. W. W. have
boycotted St. Marys, Ma. ami will
-p'ii'l no money there because a
member of the I. W. W. is held
in juil there according to the
local headquarters of the 01.
zation. St. Mary's is a lumber
town. It recently closed the
I. W. W. hall there.
STATE WILL NOT RELAX
WOMKVS X-HOI X I \\\
OLYMI'IA -Almost every day
Labor Commissioner Younger Is
appealed to by employers of one
Industry or another to permit
the women to work for more than
eight hours a day, the limit fixed
by law, declaring an emergency
of some kind exists.
The latest ■ plea is to permit
Ofk nine hours in
■tead of the eiuht fixed by law
SO they can invest the earnings'
from the extra hour In thrift
itampt. but the government has
declared there is no occasion for
any letting down of the ban
around women and child woj
and state >■, fuses to permit any
relaxation.
Commi tioner Younger says at
I'"' pie. ,■■,! time there is no
shortage of women workers or
of common laborei .-. Thei •,•
and women to work
buJ th< i
labo ■ : -i Ij] .
THE 8-HOUR DAY
I lie hour day \\ km t1 ■
principal demand made l>\ the
I. \Y. \V. in their fijjht as
the lumber barons of Ore on '
\o\N the K<>\ . .
has nteped in over the head-, ol
ihe empli m I nted the
Wobblj demands. The ordei ol
hi, however, al
Onlj I lie i I -.|i| vi c
no other in
Al lust, it «iil be for the
duration <>i' the « ar. Thei
be no lei up \<- the < mn|
': lit hour lnitiati\ c me
on account of this "order."
which i» voluntarily riwn ma) be
withdrawn at the convenience or
whim of the giver.
I lie elii|il')\ ,i -, \\ i|| no (I
point to the granting of the!
Number 371.
MOONEY MEETING
IN EVERETT
W. D. Patteron, of San Fran
cisco, spoke last Sunday at a
meeting in the liedmen's Hall,
that filled every available seat.
Comrade W. J. Fortson presided
while Patterson gave an elucidat
ing sketch of the frame-up rase.i
in Frisco, in which the profiteer
ing employe-era attempted, and
are still attempting, to throttle
organized labor and to put out of
the way such labor leaders as
they cannot make tools of.
A collection was tak<:n for the
fund of the International Work
cth' Defeni a League, which netted
the ran of 987 M.
The last appeal that can be tak
en in the courts has been decided
adversely to Moonejr; and the
only hope .left for Mooney's life
is executive clemency. A pen
oral .strike may be called to force
the California Oligarchy to. come
to terms. They seem to hawe no
respect for justice or humanity;
but they DO have some respect
for Force, which is one of their
OWB Lesser Dieties.
CO-OPS IN CLEVELAND
CLEVELAND—Co-operation U
making great progress in Cleve
land, Ohio. At present there
are four co-operative organiza
tions, The Workiiyjmen'a Co-op
erative Co., with two stores; The
Slovenian Co-operative Co.; The
Cleveland Co-operative Bakery
Co.; and the Co-operators Co.
The first organization started bus
iness in 1912 and has been paying
1 per cent rebate to its stock
holders on their purchases since
that time, as well as 4 per cent
interest on the stock issued. The
Slovenian Co-operative Co. has
been doing business far four
years. It has allowed its earn
ings to accumulate during that
; eriod, adding the profits to the
value of the stock. The stock
which was sold at |20 por share
is now worth $59.00, which shows
a profit of nearly 100 per cent
on its capita] during the four
years of operation. The co-op
, erative bakery began business
learly in November. It is turn
ing ■ thousand loavi
: biscuits weekly.
ockholders. The
■-■ " I . has no store,
, but has an automobile delivery
• of the
direct
lers. Its
amou o I per m
AH of t!, hoots
I hei
the
lives.
loita
shorter work daj by the govern
and try to induce people to
down on the general eight
itation. To make the
r day sure in tho lumber
try, and tn extend it to
other employments where it is
. badly needed, it *\i!l be
Bary to put it into law. \ti
for the Bight-Hour Day In
itiative Measure, No. 30.
