THE LABOR ENQUIRERS
M 8 LABOOB STREET.
J. B. BUCHANAN, Editor.
MeUl Organ of ~
“We will renew the times of truth, and jus-
Condensing in a fair, free commonwealth
eqndl righto.”
Y. Entered at the Denver postoffiee as second
elass matter. •
Tut. Labor Enquibeb is published every
Saturday. It will be devoted to the discus
sion of all subjects which tend to educate,
elevate and advance the laboring classes.
. Politically it will supportkonfy the friends
Ladvank-
Allcommunications mast be addressed to
’ The Labor Enquirer, 388 Larimer Street,
Denver Colorado.
The publisher of this paper is not respon
sible for the opinions of contributors. The
day. Contributions always welcome.
Ill* MW ■ "I'l'iw 'MIM. I'.' !«J
THE U. P. HOSPITAL OUTRAGE.
It is'jfretty knt Wntharthere
is a binding sitmited, at thtj eastern ex
tremity' of this city, known as Union
Pacific hospital ; bnt it is nit extensively
known how this building is maintained,
and tlfe ) sV?!e in whicliit is conducted
A committee of gentlemeAinterested un
dertook to investigate the institution one
day thfi'i’eefc, aid. Tna I xquirer has
also made some inquiries xn that connpq
tion, ana i*'h result orthese inquiries
preset sejbU®wigg,fecti. for the. con
sideration of its readers :
Aboßiiwoyfeimago the management
of the Upiop Pacific road instructed • its
pay roll officials to deduct eacii month
the sum of 50 cents Ham tne wages .of
each employe as a tax to he known as
“the hfrspltkl'fond. 1 ” This ids done with
out consulting the employes. At differ
ent points along the line of the road ar
rangements' ivh/fe made with'charitable
institutions, which maintain hospitals,
for the care of sick or disabled employes
of (jri
It was then| decided to erect a hospital
in Denver which should he built, main
tained.rad devoted to the housing of and
caring for indigent employes. It is with
this pladfe rh'particular that we have to
deal. . | In
The hospital was erected with tne
money taken from file employes In the
manner mentioned, above, and it is sar
castically spoken of as the property of
the employe; bit the title resterib the
Union Pacific company, A resident phy :
aidants employed by the manager of the
road, ataisatary Of SIOO per month. The
patients are cared for, fed and nursed, by
the Sisters of Charity, the company pay
ing the Sisters $4 per week for each pa
tient One can readily imagine the char
acter of the delicacies aTd comforts;
which can be "furnished a si ck man in
this country for the miserly stipend of $4
per week. j
Ike jfhicb visited the hos
; jntaljbund twpntwfive patients confined
there.at present jft grdat-irany of the
were interviewed, and it was
learned that the food furnished waa of
such a nature that few could eat it; the
water, during thq hottest weather,-- was
seldom iced;; the bedding was far irdm
neat and clean; -the medicine, (when
there was any), was uiferior and insuffi
cient, and comfort was a thing unknown.
When the patient complained of the
medicine he was told that it was the best
that the hospital could furnish, and, in
many cases friends have had to get pre
scriptions filled, at theif own expense, in
the. city. Patients 'with broken limbs
are not provided with the necessary ap
pliances for their com ort, bilt are left to
roll and toss in the most wretched dis
order.
No fault is found with the Attending
physician as he does a:l in his power to
make the patients comfortable, and those
who are at present confined in the build
ing speak in the highest terms of his
kindness. a
The force of nurses is inadequate, and
the patients arfe left for six o£ seven
hours alone —and sometimes all night—
but‘the Sisters are not so mtteh to blame
for this as is the company ; because it is
impossible to provide a full corps of
nurses where the pay is only 54 a week
foytaaeh patient. The only male nurse
was discharged recently, and now help
less men have to depsnd upon women
for all the attention stud assistance they
obtain.
The investigation revealed a score of
disagreeable evidences of the neglect and
cruelty to which the pt tients are victims,
but it is impossible to mention them all
here. > ••
So strong has the antipathy to this in
stitution grown amongst the employes
that there are only a few who will con
sent, when sick or disabled, ;o be taken
toftljisflibspital; and the few are those
have no other resources Bat the
assessment is collected invariably from
all who are upon tie pay roll of the
company. And if a man is laid off
during the month and re-engaged before
the next month the tax is levied twice,
or as often as he is re-eraployed.
In February last the tax was reduced
to 40 cents per month, but tint is taken
with a tyrannical hand.
The Union Pacific employs about
18,0u0 men, on all its lines, ard this gives
them a monthly hospital fund' pf $7,200.
-‘-This sum ib unjustly arid,unlawfully ex
tracted from the employes fir the com
pany, and it opinion that
the company could be compelled to re
fund every cent it has thu3 extracted
from its employes. Whethei anv effort
to compel the managers to pay back the
enormous sum they iiave laken from
their employes will be made cannot now
be said ; but it is certaii that the men
Wjdf’JiOl much longer 6nbmibt9this sys-,
tpnMif-Hblfery. jForjso long ss the hos
«#iUl;iaW»iUciUdiupon its present plan,
the tax levied and collected b nothing
short of robbery.po*~' j -
Thb Exqcibe4 will have more to say
upon this subject at an early date. For
the present, it asks that portion of the
publiip wfjioh believes ip justice and hu
manity to consider the matter thought-
(???)
f sly »ne balfct
democratic convention for president as ,
Jhia paper goes to pnwg, and it i» riiffimlt.
to say what will be the result. Cleve
land is in the lead, hut it is more than
-lifcely-thnt« combination writ he funned
to defeat him. and will be successful. In
that event Bayard will probably be the
man. Bntler has not been placed in
nomination, and considerable wonder
has been expressed at his action, as it is
undoubtedly by his instructions that his
name is not on the board. Just what he
is driving at now and what tje will do
afijer,{he ooiveptipn it would be difficult
to gUesfc, but if he does not stand by the
nominations he has already accepted,
his name is “mud.”
“ The convention has adopted the regu
lation platform. It will receive attention
in a.future ibis paper..
Don’t forget tfce grand picpdc on the
twenty-seventh instant. Tickets $1;
ASSOCIATED LABOR DRESS.
In nearly every large ci(y tp ,the coun
try to-day there are papers devoted to
thq- cauae' of libor, and many of them
are superior publications ffpm the simple
■standpoint of journalism. Blit, as a con-
pf th£ particular field whicn
they occupy, their‘financial support, as a
rule; is liraitecLftberefore, they have not
had the facilities for obtaining the news
as promptly as those papers which are
baqked by the politicians, and corpora
tionists, with a telegraph service at their
command.' U 0*
It is, therefore,, a pleasure to announce
that the labor papers of several promi
nent cities have; formed an association,'
the object of Which is to. and
transmit, by special arrahgefoent, the
latest labor news in the various localities,
thereby not only presenting quick and
reliable reports, buff givibg news of a
character that is not to he found in the
telegraph columns of the capitalistic"
daily. 1 bioD 1
I am pleased to state that this paper
1 is the Rocky Mountain representative
of the afflociation, and its readers will
1 always,find the very lafest news con
cerning the working pedple of all sec-
V tions of the country within its columns.
' Mach credit is due to Mr. Kelly, editor
of the Pittsburg labor Herald, for the
success of this undertaking, as he origi
-1 nated the idea and devoted his energies
Ur working it up. '!! > ■
The Associated labor Press is now
1 composed of,the following papere: Pitts
burg Labor Herald, Pittsburg; John
Swinton’s Paper, New York, The Crafts
man, Washington; D. C.: Cincinnati
UnL nist, Cincinnati, Ohio; Sunday
1 Truth, Buffalo, New York; Labor Free
Press, Baltimore, Maryland; Labor En
quirer, Denver, Colorado. Several o.ther
cities will be added within a weet or
so, which will make the system of news
gathering almost complete.
I Everything is not working smoothly
[ at present, but there is no doubt but it
will in a very short time.
Get your tickets early for the grand
picnic which will be given on Sunday,
Juiy 27, by the Knights of Labor.
THE CURSE TO WOMEN,
i Mrs. Potter delivered a lecture in this
t city on last Sunday evening, in which
i she told some truths that are not fre
quently enunciated from the pulpit or
i lecture platform. She has not told the
s worst yet—she could not on a one eve
- ning’s lecture ; but there are some such
> striking points in her lecture that a por
tion of it is here given for the benefit of
those readers of this paper who think
; “everything is all fight:” ?
■ “Another cause of the social evil is the
; low wages paid for woman’s worK. Look
• Into the kitchens, the shops and the
i sewing rooms and see the pale faces of
the women working for a pittance to
I I give them,their daily bread. Even the
i j Sabbath is a wear, day of toil to them,
-for theif employers must have sumptuous
i dinners. Uhnstian women, God made
i the Sabbath for rest —sacred, holy rest —
I rest for your servants as well as you. Go
; into the cities and manufacturing , towns
and yoji wifi find a continual stream of
women coming and going to their toil,
i “A missionary in New York city found
’ a woman making two fine shirts for a
I quarter and two coarse shirts for 10 cents
f I and going after her work was done to
1 carry the products of her? toil to her
,
1 “When Moody and Saulqey were in
Chicago some eight years ago I was in
- the city, and when there I always went
3 to the Women’s Christian Temperance
- union meetings. That winter was an
i unasually severe one in Chicago. The
} union was doing a good work. Bible
s readers were appointed to go from house
i to house and ascertain what people were
> in want and what they chiefly stood in
f need. of. I asked them if they went to
s all the houses and they said they did,
, and I asked them if they went to houses
of prostitution, and they said yes they
1 did. They went to them just the same
i as to other places. They didn’t always’
know what the place, were when they
t went into them, but they soon found
3 out. They told me pf one woman they
. bad found —tire keeper of a house. She
- was a well-dteased, intelligent and fine
- looking woman. They were interested
t in her case and they! got_ down to this
- woman’s heart. : She said her husband
l had been a salaried clerk, not earning
1 very large wages, but compelled from his
s position to keep well-dressed. After a
i while he died and left the widow with
’ three children and an aged mother to
i care for. The woman endeavored to
• support all these between the little she
■ oouldget by parting with her furniture
, and working in a kitchen at $2 a week.
; Two dollars a week in Chicago with an
old mother and three children to look
after.
“She said : T got along as best I could
1 till almost the last piece of household
furniture was gone. I then went into
tliis boose. My mother and my chil
dren do not know it. Ido not mean that
f f & ■ .»# ;
ths? should. Th# liwpnp town. Tam
jjftbg thfcjo ketfp chil
dren from slit ying. They think lam
«agaged 4r « respeetobt* hasiaees.’
“What mean these labor strikes, these
riots, these mntterings and threatenings ?
TFls laßor and” capital struggling for
place. Labor straggling up from the
earth to assert its right, while capital
with haughty brow and arrogance of
power is crashing down labor. In this
struggle we find women wrestling with
fearful odds. Working in the same in
dustries with men, side by side With
them in stores and factories she must
occupy only the indifferent places and
get only a small pittance of salary. Is it
any wonder that in her distress she
sells her body for bread? It may do
now for the proud Pharisees to look
down upon her with scorn, but in another
world they .may find the publican and
harlot holding the higher place.”
Th* attention of the editor of this
paper has been called to the account
given by the daily press of the killing
by William Allen of Mr. Samson and the
verdict of the justice of the peace when
the matter was investigated (?) before
him. It is claimed by worthy neighbors
of both the murderer and the deceased
that the statements contained in the
daily papers were wholly incorrect, and
that the verdict of the justice was not at
all in accordance with the facts in the
case. Samson was on his own ground
when he was shot by Allen, and not
tresspassing, as was reported. The
verdict of the coroner’s jury was
“murder f but the justice of the peace
declared it “justifiable homicide.” The
people are familiar with the main facts
in the case, and it is needless to repeat
them here; but I desire to call the at
tention of the readers of this paper to
the fact that Samson was a poor man,
while his murderer is a man of wealth,
and tliis" fact explains the “justifiable
homicide” verdict. A man who has
plenty of money can commit any crime
and escape punishment from the admin
istrators of the law, bat a vagrant, with
out money or friends, gets the full ex
tent of the penalties. This is demon
strated every day of the world, and if
the honest working people cannot see it,
and are not drawing lessons from It,
they will have a sudden awakening some
of these days. All the thought I have
to offer to the victims of the ditch
monopolists of Jefferson county, or to
the robbed producers of any part of the
country, is that they will get justice when
they compel it, and not before.
The president sent to the senate for
confirmation on the fourth instant a
batch of nominations, among which'was
that of John Jarrett, of Pennsylvania,
for the position of commissioner of the
newly created bureau of labor statistics.
Though no definite information has
been received it is presumed that the
Benate has confirmed the nomination.
John Jarrett has been a prominent man
in labor organizations in the city of
Pittsburg, although during the past year
or so, he has been quiet on this head.
He was recommended for the position of
commissioner by a few, but the labor
papers of his own state did not support
him. Mayor Powderly was the almost
unanimous choice of the labor organiza
tions and journals of the country, but
there never has been much hope of his
nomination, because of the difference
between his political complexion and
that of the president, Mr. Jarrett has
the ability to properly conduct the
bureau, and there is little doubt that he
will do all that can be done under the
provisions governing his office.
A lengthy communication from the
pen of Brother Whyte WiH be found in
this issue. It is an attempt to show that
the Greenhackers are in advance of
Socialists, but the fact is, the good points
in the article are based entirely upon
Socialism, and are not recognized or un
derstood by one greenliacker out of
ten thousand. The article presumes a
whole lot' of foolish things and asks a
dozen or so rediculous questions, which
all goes to show plainly that the writer
attempts to Criticise a doctrine in detail
which he knows little of. He is all right
so far as interest goes, but he entirely
forgets rent and profit, either of which
are greater curses than usury. I shall
probably have time to read the com
munication of Brother Whyte over care
fully and reply to it in the next issue of
The Enquirer ; but I will not draw so
heavily upon the limited space in the
paper—it will not be necessary. How
ever, I do not begrudge Mr. Whyte one
line of the space his article occupies in
this issue.
A great many letters are received at
this office from the coal canips of Fre
mont county, but the statements are so
conflicting that it is impossible to publish
them all—and some of them cannot be
1 used at all. If the coal miners of Fre
mont will thoroughly organize and come
to an understanding, they will find it
j much easier to obtain their rights, and
when the various writers from there
begin to agree in their statements, there
will be no difficulty in securing the co
operation of the organized workingmen
of other localities. So lone as there is
no organization and no understanding
the men will be pulling in different di
rections, and onlv bad results will follow.
This is intended in a friendly spirit, and
as a bit of advice. Unite, and be men
and brothers, and you can compel the
cold-blooded operators to do you justice,
men of Fremont.
• •
A dispatch dated July 5, says the gov
ernment of France has reconsidered its
decision to pardon Prince Krapotkine
and Louise Michel. While these two
patriots have not committed crimes
which entitle them to the extreme pun
ishment administered by the govern
ment, it is not probable that they will be
released while the agitation is so strong
against the corruption and injustice in
public affairs. The officials think it
.THE LABOR EJJQIXIRpR.,
would be unsafe for them to permit such
educators and organizers at Krapotkine
and Louise Michel to be at large with
the people in times like these.- Well,
the good work of agitation will go on
just as effectively with an occasional
leader in prison, as if they were out —
possibly more so, and a martyr or two
but adds fuel to the flames of the op
pressed people’s righteous indignation."
The day of retribution is fast approach
ing, though few see it or are willing' to
admit it.
The postal telegraph bill, which was
introduced and has been the care of
Senator Hill, of Colorado, during the
recent session of congress, has been
postponed by the senate until the second
Monday in December. It will then be
further-considered—perhaps. That por
tion of the bill providing that the gov
ernment shall buy or build telegraph
lines if amicable and economical ar
rangements cannot be made with the
managers of existing lines, is the target
of the opposition to the bill. That is
the best part of the bill.
The house ol representatives is agi
tating the question of reimbursing
Rutherford B. Hayes for his expendi
tures on the returning board of Louisi
ana, in 1877. This caps the climax.
Hayes and his pals hired a lot of dirty
thieving scoundrels to swindle Tilden
out of the office to which he was elected,
and now it is proposed that the people
pay the briber back. Keep it up; such
work but hastens the day of settlement
for the scoundrels who control public
affairs in this country.
Congress adjourned without passing
any measures for the relief of the pro
ducing masses. The only thing asked
by the workingmen which was accorded
was the creation of a bureau of labor
statistics. The bill to prohibit the im
portation of foreign labor under con
tract was postponed until December 11,
, next. i . .
CORRESPONDENCE.
. <r ■ i... .
GreenbacKlsm rerauj Socialism.
Editor Labor Enquirer.
EkadVille, July 7. —I had not the re
motest idea, when I penned my letter on
the “Hydra-Headed Monster of Finance,”
that I was at all laying myself amenable
to such a flagellation as I received at your
hands with your Socialist club, seeing
that I conceded all that you claimed for
it —Short of Revolution. There is ones
thing that I feel thankful for, and that is
that I have now discovered where I have
to look for the grievance of whieh So
cialists complain, viz., “the competitive
system of wages.” I take it for granted
that this is the major grievance of which
you complain. You seem to think that
the greenback theory does not and can
not reach this evil in the social body,
and hence to cure this there must, “by
the logic of events,” be a bloodless Revo
• lution, “if possibleand to bring about
. this bloodless Revolution, if possible,
you lose faith in the only weapon—the
■ ballot—by which this is possible of ac
. complishment. \ - »
Now, friend Joseph, if this is not su
perficiality, in reasoning would some one
tell us what it is ? And, as we are both
00-workers in the cause of humanity,
, you seem to think that I have stumbled
, upon one of the many tombstones of the
victims of the “competitive wage s.ys
, tem,” and not the poison, when I stum
, bled upon the greenback theory. And
, at the best you sav it is but a superficial,
, kind of half and half affair, and not in
any way to be regarded as the “head
half,” and to make sure that this is your
, meaning you say : “Too much is claimed
by the greenbackers, and like some other
. ‘reformers,’ they are superficial and do
f not grasp the whole question. Let us
i hope that they soon will.” . Now what
, is the whole question that greenbackers
. have failed to grasp ? Have they failed
Uto grasp the present anomolous state of
society? Have they failed to grasp any
one of the Socialistic questions of the
present age? If so, what are they ?
■ Pray give us the whole question, and if
we have failed to grasp any part of it,
then we shall be ready, 1 have no doubt,
to make amends. / But it can be clearly
shown that the greenback theory not
only embraces all that is claimed by So
cialists, but, as I said, goes beyond it and
digs down deeper and finds notonlv the
• “victims" of the “competitive wage sys
tem.” as such, but finds below them the
power which made the “competitive
wage system” possible. Then what be
comes of your half of the affair? Which
end does it represent? And, as you have
appealed to Cesar, to Cesar let us take
the subject—i. e. to history. And what
has history to say in the matter?
There will be no use in going beyond
the Christian epoch for our demonstra
tions. What do we find? Rome—or
more properly —the mistress of the then
known world, in all her splendor, with
her legions of soldiers, her armies of arti
sans, all her Industries taxed to their ut
most extent in keeping pace with con
sumption. And if we can form a fair
estimate from profane as well as sacred
history, they were comparatively happy
and contented, and above all, they had a
circulating medium of $1,800,000,000 or
<t>39 pet capita, when work's of internal
improvements were carried on, not by
corporations of capitalists for individual
gain, but by the state for the general
good. And right at this timesprang into
existence the financial system of the
present day—so far as Europe was and is
concerned up to the present time—and
which the greenbackers are striving
might and main to destroy in America.
Now witness the effect of its pernicious
effects. In order to clearly see it, it will
be necessary to formulate it as follows:
When Christ was born, amount in
circulation ....SI ,800,000,000
A. D. 14, amount In circulation, 1,790,000,000
A. D. 230, “ “ “ 909,000,000
A. D. 410, “ “ “ 5*7,000,000
A. D. 692, “ “ “ 156,000,000
A. D. 806, “ “ 168,000,000
And Sir Archibald Allison, in his “His
tory of Europe,” tells us: “That as a
; » i, 1 ' *
necessary consequence of so prodigious a i
contractipn of the currency, without any i
proportional diminution in the members i
or transactions of mankind, debts and ■>
taxes which were measured in the old
standard became so overwhelming that
the - national industry was ruined. Agri
culture disappeared and was succeeded
by pasturage in the fields.” From the
report of the silver commission, forty
fourth congress, page forty-nine, we
gather the following: “By the end of
the fifteenth century the currency had
shrunk to less than 200,000,000. During
this period a most extradrdinary and
baneful change took place in the condi
tion of the world.' Population dwindled
and commerce, art, wealth and freedom;
disappeared. The people were reduced
by poverty and misery to the most de
grading Conditions Of serfdom and
slavery. The disintegration of society
was almost complete. The conditions of
life were so hard that individual selfish
ness was the only thing consistent with
the instinct of self-preservation, all
public spirit, all generous efuotions, all
noble aspirations of man shriveled and
disappeared, as the volume of money
shrunk and as prices fell. History re
cords no such disastrous transition as
that from the Roman Empire to the
Dark Ages. Various explanations have
been given of the entire breaking down
of the frame-work of society, hut it was
certainly coincident with a shrinkage in
the volume of money, which was also
without historical parallel. The crumb
ling of institutions kept even step and
pace with the shrinkage in the stock of
monev and the falling of prices. All
other than these last attendant circum
stances have occurred in.other historical
periods unaccompanied and unfollowed
by any such mighty disasters.”' I have
quoted these two to show the power of a
financial policy upon a people. I could
quote many more of the same kind.
Now the vuestion comes up, was it the
“competitive wage system” that caused
all this ruin among the people, or was it
the “financial system” that made the
competitive wages possible—that system
that was hidden back of the wage sys
tem? And if so, then where is the
charge true that the greenbacker is only
a “superficial reformer ?” The green
backer not only wants to shatter this
system to atoms, but along with it all its
“concomitant evils,” as stated in my last.
Is not the competitive system of wages
one of them ? If not, Will some one tell
us; where it has or can take its origin
from? If anyone attempts to do so out
- side of the financial theory, I for one
shall be most.happy to see the result of
their researches. And when they can
conclusively prove that the present state
of society, with its many monstrosities,
takes its rise outside of and independent
of the financial theory, then I shall* be
willing to admit the charge as true, but
not till then.
I said that I was with you—short of
Revolution; I say so now; and in this
connection let me ask you, was your
; great French prototype of 1789-99 a
bloodless Revolution, or was it the oppo
site ? I say your great French prototype
■ for this reason : All of the most' pro
nounced Socialists make use of French
words, such as “proletariat,” “bourgeois,”
etc. Now, if they make themselves bet
ter understood with such phraseology,
all right; I don’t object; I understand it
perfectly. But how will some view the
(following (without the explanation
- offered): “The Revolution of the prole
• tariat * * is the only way from op-
I pression to deliverance.”—Most’s speech.
, The Explanation—“ The war of the poor
i against the rich.” And if all your teach
i ing cannot bring on a Revolution, pray
• how much will the above retard it ? It
l is my turn how to become critic; you
' know time about is fair play—and that,
top, without seeking any advantage,
i “The education Of adults which then will
; be possible, must not be neglected or
i postponed. Truth and knowledge must
be taught in all churches, where no
r priestly cant will be tolerated.”—Most’s
speech. Now, the question is, what is
; truth and knowledge? Will, we accept
1 as truth or knowledge, evolution as
taught bv Darwin and Huxlev,
, or the wave theory of sound as taught by J
Tyndall, Holmholty and Meyers? And,
as for priestly cant, your French proto
types thoilght Sunday, as taught by the
priests of those days, “cant,” and they
ushered in their Revolution without a
Sunday in it at all, and how long have
they kept away from this cant? And,
further, if I can understand anything,
may I ask, under the new reign of Com
munism, how are affairs to be conducted,
unless by ballot, the instrument whiett
you are so anxious to throw aside at
present as of little or no use in correct
ing or redressing present evils?. We
have always to remember that even after
the Commune becomes possible, there
will be no angels raised then no more
than now, and abuses will creep into the
socialbody. Now, how are they to be
corrected, unless by the peer using the
ballot? If not the ballot—what ?
You say, “If greenbackism is ahead of
Socialism, then 1 have had all of my
reading for nothing.” Ido not like to
be too severe on you, friend Joseph, but
in this case I really must say that you
have, and if you will only begin again
and try and find out what makes the
competitive system of wages possible.
Then and not till then can there be any
show for Socialism b iing on a par with
greenbackism. But .you think you have
made your strongest point when you say,
“If Whyte is a Socialist, then what are
the thousands of men who go beyond his
doctrine, and say that if the government
has nothing—that everything belongs to
individuals—what does its order to pay
‘one dollar’s worth’amount, to ?” You
proceed to answer this in the following
way : “Under the present system the
government sanctions private ownership
of its rightful property, and the Social
ists propose to abrogate the private own
ership, and vest the title in the Social
istic commonwealth.” Now I take it
that this is the best and most conclusive i
i"? -■ : ~r ’ —
answer Sotialifm has to offer for the
solution to vouf own question. If
then the way I look at it, it presents this
anomoly: That while you admit that
the government is the rightful owner of
the land, or any other thing, such a ships
of war, fortresses, or even the District of
Columbia,"etc., under your plan you
change the private ownership over to
the “Socialist commonwealth,” thus shut
ting out the possibility of individual
ownership of land or anything else.
Now, really and in fact this "seems to me
to conflict with the first principle or
fundamental law of Socialism, “which is
the largest right to the individual, with
out encroaching upon his neighbor's
rigljt,”‘ and in the main your plan is only
changing the ownership from the “gov
ernment” to the “Socialistic common
wealth.” Now-let me ask yon who is to
govern this commonwealth? Is each
one to have a share in it, or are we to
delegate this power, as at present, to a
central body, or will it be to men or
women who will represent us in the
commonwealth? How will they be
elected ? How shall they be paid ?
Where shall thev meet to formulate and
promulgate the laws for the good of the
Socialistic commonwealth ? And if thev
said we will pay “a dollar’s worth” what
would it amount to, if thjy had not the
taxing prerogative attached to their, de
crees' or embodied in the fundamental
law, for the well being of the whole ?
This must be plain to anyone who thinks
at all, If all of the property belonged
to the Socialistic commonwealth, then
how is the government of such common
wealth to be carried on without the tax
ing power residing in the government, as
at present ? This is in answer to those
“who go further than Whyte goes,” who
believe the government has nothing and
therefore “its order for one dollar’s worth
amounts to nothing.” Can they now see
the point 7
And here, again, greenbackism is far
ahead of Socialism, for while the one can
only see the ruinous effect of the com
petitive wage system, the other not only
sees this, but sees what causes such a,
state of affairs to have its being. And.
not only that, but it points to a “peacea
ble” solution by destroying the power
which capital has over Mbor, by using
the “ballot” in place of the “bullet
and, moreover, the placing in the Social
istic commonwealth all the property in
contradistinction to the private individ
ual,"is, if I can believe Herbert Spencer,
evolution going backwards. He says:
“From the remotest part which science
can fathom up to the novelties of yester
day, an essential trait of evolntion has
been the transformation of the homoge
neous into the heterogeneous. * * A.t
the same time that evolution D a change
from the homogeneous to the heteroge
neous it is a change from the indefinite
to the definite. Along with an advance
ment from simplicity to complexity,
there is an advance from confusion to
older. * * Development, no matter
of what kind, exhibits not only a multi
plication of unlike parts, bu , an increase
in the distinctness with which these
parts are marked off from one another.”
—Herbert Spencer’s First Prmcinles,
pages 859 and 362. Now if this is true,
that evolution does not and cannot go
backward, or, in other words, from the
! heterogeneous to the homogeneous, from
th)e definite to the indefinite, from com
plexity to simplicity, how does yonr
theory of Socialism stand this test of
Herbert Spencer’s ?
It does seem to me that, from individ
ualism to Communism, from private
property to Socialistic commonwealth
ism, from the definite to the indefinite,
is, in my view, going backward. I look
ujlon the present state of society as com
plexity, and, in my view of the case, the
ballot in the hands of the intelligent
toilers is all-sufficient for the correction
of all of the many evils which afflict
thtem. And the first evil to be eradi
cated from the' social body is the evil of
the Money Power,
I have written thus full as I have no
wish to 1 go back to the subject of Social
ism again. Yours in the Cause,
D. McK. Whyte.
HOW TO ORGANIZE.
——
The Most Honest System of Organiza
tion Ever Presented to the
People. '
Enquirer : The Rocky Mountain Di
vision Executive of the I. W, A. desire
the publication of the following: article
on organization. It fully explains the
International system of connected
groups; j -Saint! o—ll.
Let us suppose that you, my reader,
have been giving a little attention to the
sayings and doings of the ,lahor . men,
that you have read and'thought suffi
ciently on the subject to have a pretty
good general idea of their principles and
aims, and that yoh find yourself more or
slesS in accord with them ; that still you
entertain some objections and difficulties
and your mind is in a condition of doubt
and uncertainty. Now, lei ns suppose
you have among your acquaintances two
or three persons similarly disposed, and
that you invite them to meet you ex
pressly to talk over the subject. Suppose
that, as a result of your first meeting,
you are all sufficiently interested to wish
to meet for the same purpose again and
again, sometimes in the apartments of
one and sometimes in those of the others.
Finally yon meet regularly—say once a
week—and from two hr three your num
bers have increased to half a dozen or
more. In the meantime you have ob
tained for youreelvei and have read and
discussed together, or passed from one to
another, some labor literature. Perhaps,
also, you have thrown yourselves into
intercourse with some v-ell-informed
labor advocate.
Now, my reader, I will venture to say
thatthe desire which you first had to
study the subject for your own sake, will
‘ ; -y ' ‘ j .t • .. ■ •,
have expanded by this time into a desire
to spread your views everywhere within
the circle of your influence, and the same
desire will animate your companions.
Suppose, then, that each of you while re
taining your organization as a little club
—a “group”—should make himself the
starting-point or nucleus of just such an
other club or “group,” composed of per
sons perhaps living in his immediate
neighborhood, or associated in business,
ore in some other way. The formation
of these secondary dubs or groups, and
their development, will be easier than
that of the first, as each will have the
advantage .of an intelligent teacher.
You see that in a very short time instead
of one you will have eight little clubs or
groups, each having a thread of commu
nication with the first one, which will
continue to hold its regular meetings.
Within another short period these eight
clubs —meeting, perhaps, in different
wards or suburbs of a city, or in little
centers of rural population—Will, each in
like manner make of its members the
nucles of other groups or clubs, and each
of these again of still others; and so on
ad infinitum.
This is the system of organization
adopted by the International. Bear in
mind that it is for educational purposes
only.
Up to this point, it will be seen, that
this method of organization is very sim
ple and quite natural; it is also free from
any expense for halls and advertising,
and no constitution or by-laws or other
ormality is at all necessary. The time
usually spent in society meetings in what
is called “regular business” is entirely
saved. As the meetings are quite in
formal, and probably held near the home
of each member, there will be no incon
venience in attending them. Another
advantage is—and this is an advantage
that belongs only to very small associa
tions —namelv, that as each club will
probably be composed of persons of
about the same class and habits and
quite familiar with each other, there will
be no timidity about the expression oi
individual opinion;, instead of-half a
dozen talkers and fifty listeners, every
one will be a talker and every one a
listener, and of coarse all will be thereby
more interested and become more intel
ligent, and a real friendship will be
likely to spring up between thetp. The
reciprocity of thought will produce that
effect. Another important advance is,
that there will be little likelihood of any
one member assuming such authority as
to become a “boss,” a self-constituted in
carnation of the society, making in its
name all sorts of arrangements, bargains
and compromises. Nearly all the pres
ent political associations are pestered
and damaged by such ambitious or un
principled individuals, and it is an evil oi
, the first magnitude.
Each man is a member of one group
which is under the chairmanship of its
, organizer. He is a simple mem be# here
. but if he desires himself to become an
. organizer he can do so by going out and
, organizing a group of his own. -
Among the chief objects of the Inter
national is the ascertaining of the indi
vidual opinions of each of the members
■ upon all questions of interest, Each
, member is expected to forward his views
and thoughts and all information he ob
tains to headquarters.
In this way, if every sympathizing
reader of this article will set to work, it
will be readily seen how quickly and
successfully—supposing the ideas to be
. correct and the time ripe for them—the
j party may spread, like the ganglions of
the nervous system .throughout the whole .
of this broad land, preparing public
opinion, in advance of the crisis, for the
new social order, and thus serving not
only to mitigate the violence of the
transition, but also to make the outcome
of the new system of society more sure
and satisfactory.
And, be it observed, that with this
system there will be no necessity foratiy
centralized authority or arbitrary regula
tion. Every little group will be inde
pendent and self-regulating, and will
have the benefit of connection through
its first member or founder with a group
older than itself, and will thus be kept
informed of the general movement of
thought and the progress of . the party
elsewhere.
But the chief beauty of the plan is
that a course of education has been
mapped out and excellent text books
provided, and that these are placed in
the hands of the various groups, who
forming themselves thus into classes are
enabled, in an extremely short time, to
perfectly familiarize themselves with the
fundamental principles of true social sci
ence. '
Following this course comes a scientfie
and comprehensive course of chemistry.
In brief, tne producers are scientifically
elevated from the condition of ignorant
slaves to the position of intelligent free
men, prepared to act as leaders- in the
great social revolution, whose birth
throes are already-agitating the world.
Secret, mysterious, world-wide, quietly
honey-combing society, the I. \V. A.
.offers to daring and devoted men and
women of earth, the sole practical meanß
of releasing the wealth-producers from
the shackles of tyranny. It does not
fear betrayal since its system of organi
2;ation prevents the possibility of treason.
It does not fear suppression, because it
has millions of members, as well quali
fied as the leaders to assume direction
should those now at the head be re
moved.
It does not fear failure because it
knows its own power and strength, and
the justice and truth of its cause.
Suppose that you call together eight of
your friends some evening this coming
week at your own home. Read them
this article, then form yourselves into a
group according to the above plan. Then
forward an account of your meeting to
the Division Secretary. You will then
receive proper documents and each man
oil the group can go out and organize a
group of his own and so on. Let us take,
stiy a limit of three months, to perfect
each group. If you alone should follow
out the plan, what would be the result ?
Let us see: In the first series of groups
there wouldbe yourself and eight others,
9; in the second series, 72; in the third
series, 648; in the fourth series, 5,832
That is to say the ball thus set in motion
by you alone would within one year or
ganize effectively nearly 6,000 men.
It is worx of this kind that has under
mined all the thrones of Europe, and
which in but a few years more will make
American workmen ready te clasp hands
with their brothers in other lands, 'to
topple to its flail, the whole mighty incu
bus of wrong that now threatens the
whole world with death and desolation.
[Address Division Secretary and en
close in an envelope directed to the
editor of this paper.]
\