The Washington socialist. [volume], August 13, 1914, Image 1

About The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
SALTER IS ELECTED COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC WORKS!
BOSTROM BEATS THOMPSON BUT LOSES TO CLAY
Here are the Figures: Salter 3,103, Bostrom 2,281, Clay 3,173, Thompson 2,271
Watch Next Week's Issue for the Story of the Big Victory
The Washington Socialist
5c per copy, $1.00 per year.
TIME TO MAKE GOOD
(Ernest Untermann.)
Just after the organization of the I
new Progressive party, Mr. William
Allen White wrote a personal letter
to the editor of the American Maga
zine. A part of this letter was pub
lished in the November issue of that
magazine, under the "Pilgrim's Scrip."
In this letter, Mr. White declared
that Mr. Roosevelt was "a mere inci
dent to this new party"; that "Roose
velt is not the Progressive party";
that "the fighting men in the Progres
sive ranks of both parties are in this
thing and mean business and no man
on earth can divert them."
"The Progressive party is here to
stay as the definitely radical party of
this nation, and if any man tries to di
vert it to his personal ends, so much
the worse for that man. The Progres
sive party is here to stay and I am sat
isfied it is going to have a place, per
haps not a winning place, but definite
in American politics for the next thirty
years during a great stirring move
ment in our country, a movement to
change the environment of poverty so
that whatever of poverty is due to
environment may be removed. That
is the meaning and core of the whole
Progressive movement."
Thus wrote Mr. White in the sum
mer of 1912. Two years have passed
away since that time. We have had a
Progressive governor in California and
West Virginia, Progressive judges in
various states, Progressive congress
man in Washington. Working people,
struggling for their lives against "the i
environment of poverty," have been j
clubbed, shot, burned, jailed, fined,
boycotted and blacklisted. But the !
Progressive party, as an organization,
has not lifted one hand to speak and
act for the poor, although a few indi
viduals, powerless to change the
party's policy, have protested here and
there.
DOOM!
(By C. E. KliDe.)
Obviously the laboring people of the
world have reached a point where,
aft«r thousands upon thousands of j
years of continual evolution, they are ;
willing to give up all that they have i
attained, in the way of enlightenment,
freedom and democracy, and go back
to that intellectual stupor of a mede
ieval hell from which they have just
emerged. That their souls might
sleep in the deep oblivion of coma
(confusion of ignorance).
Incumbent with deceit, national
pride, false patriotism and all that is
born of the lelf-love and cupidity of
the ruling class, they have lost sight
of that beautiful picture of a higher
evolution, which science and philos
ophy has held up before them. Dem
onstrating in its rational way, that by
freedom of thought and action they
could obtain their emancipation, and
in the atmosphere of peace and lib
erty, transform this world of misery
Into a heaven of love and human joy.
But alas! the brute is not yet tamed,
and the man sleeps, as it were, in the
tomb of ignorance, while "Peace and
good will on earth to man" might
reign in the glory of its holy spirit.
War in all of its diabolical essence Is
burling the race to its eternal doom,
Coming! The Event of the Season. Watch for Date in Next Week's Issue!
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! YOU HAVE NOTHING T 0 LOBE BUT YOUR CHAINS. YOU HAVE A WORLD TO WIN.
The chief financier of the Progres- |
slve party is still George Perkins, the !
aspiring corporation man. Theodore
Roosevelt has made it known that any
one who wants to put Perkins out of ;
the Progressive party must put him \
out, also. In spite of all the emphatic
proclamations to the effect that the !
Progressives of the Empire State have
done just this very thing and have j
practically abdicated in favor of Stand
pat Republican bosses. Other Progres- j
sives in other states are preparing to
do the same thing. Governor Johnson
in California has gone on record, \
through the mouth of his principal !
sponsors, against the Universal Eight-
Hour law initiated by the Socialist
party. One of the most reactionary ma
chines of the Democratic party in
■ Louisiana has joined hands with the j
Progressives of that state. The Pro-1
gessives of Milwaukee and of the j
state of Wisconsin have long forgotten I
that they are supposed to be a part
of that "great stirring movement"
Which is destined to free the poor. .
Everywhere we see the leading Pro
gressives making their peace with the
system that creates poverty and with
i the bosses that benefit from the pov
erty of the masses. Nowhere has any
part of the Progressive party adopted
, an economic program that would make
ian end of the "environment of pov
\ erty."
Mr. Roosevelt is openly striving to
' fuse the Progressive party with the
i standpat Republicans and to become
:the presidential nominee of ttie United
Reactionaries. It is now time for Mr.
White and for "the fighting men in
! the Progressive ranks" of this "defl
' nitely radical party" to make good
i their boast and to show that the at
tempt to divert them from their course
will really be "so much the worse"
for Mr. Roosevelt.
SOME KIND WORDS.
To the Members of the City Central
Committee, S. P. of Everet:
Dear Comrades —We wish to con
: gratulate you on the splendid crowd
| of Socialists you brought to our place
! Sunday, August 9. In the past ten
yoars we have had thousands of visit
| ors spend the day at our Lake Stev
ens home, and we must say that we
■ never had a better, or as good a crowd,
j of well behaved, earnest, honest, good
; citizens visit us before. We desire to
bear testimony to the splendid control
Socialist parents of Everett have over
their children. Not a single instance
of damage to fruit trees, or anything
j else, was committed by Socialists, or
; their children. What little damage
i was done we have the antis to thank
j for. If we ever had any doubt of the
wisdom of aligning ourselves with the
Socialist party, the splendid body of
Socialists from Everett, Granite Palls,
Lochsloy, Hartford, Silvana and other
points who spent Sunday at our home,
would have forever removed any such
doubt. May the tribe increase Ih the
| prayer of yours for the Increase,
H. W. ILLMAN.
A. C. ILLMAN.
COMING! The event of the season.
1 Watch for date and particulars in
next week's Socialist.
EVERETT, WASHINGTON, TlllliSDA y, AIHM.'KT in, 1914.
DOCTOR TELLS CONVENTION
"HELL FIRE" PREACHERS
ARE FILLING THE INSANE
ASYLUMS.
"llcll fire" religions and preachers
' who hurl the fear of a brimstone ex-
I Ittenco at their congregations weront
taoked by Dr. Henry Munro, Omaha,
i Neb., in an address before the Na
tional convention of Alienists and
Neurologists, in Chicago last week.
Dr. Munro declared the pruinulga
| tion of "hell fire" doctrines is Increas
' ing the insanity rate. Much of the
church's hold on men and women, he
declared, is due to fear, and fear, he
said, is utterly destructive to both
mind and body.
"Fear, whether inspired by the
I preacher or the holdup man, has the
same result," said Dr. Munro. "It ar
rests the normal activity of every
body organ and cell. It kills.
"Under the existing educational and j
! religious training, a child is taught
: that his natural instincts are vile, low
1 and sinful. A conflict is thus eternal
ly going on between the acquired per- {
sonality and his instinctive prompt
ing, and he is unprepared to meet it."
ANTI-WAR IN GERMANY.
, |
Berliners Not All Standing by Kaiser.
Paris, Aug. 10. —A special to the
Figaro from Brussels says that two i
strangers who arrived from Berlin, I
which city they had left with some
difficulty, declared they had witnessed I
an agitation against the emperor in
the German capital. They said that in
the Avenue of Tilleuls they heard '
crief of "Down with the emperor!"
and "Down with the crown prince!"
The Belgian government has printed
and distributed among its soldiers de
scription of the designs of all uniforms
worn by French and English troops.
"WAR TAX" MAY
BE IMPOSED HERE
Low Import Revenue and Reduction
Caused by War May Necessi
tate New Method.
f
Washington, D. C, Aug. 10. —Gov-
ernment officials admitted here today
that a 'war tax" was inevitable. It
was expected that legislation. Includ
ing a stamp tax, would be enacted
soon to raise money to meet the de
ficit caused by the falling off of reve-
I nue from imports. The war, it was
said, had reduced the import revenue
at least one-third.
"There is no immediate necessity
i for emergency legislation," said Rep
resentative Underwood, the Demo
cratic majority leader, today, "as there
is a good surplus in the treasury.
Such legislation must be passed, how
ever, before the end of the present
session of congress. The government
could continue for several months
without feeling the effects of reduced
revenue from imports."
STAYING WITH THEM.
"Some of your constituents are dis
agreeing with you," said the trusted
lieutenant.
"Well, keep tab on them," replied !
Senator Sorghum; "when enough dls
agree with me to constitute a reliable
majority, I'm going to turn around and
agree with them."- Washington star.;
COMING! The event of the season.
Watch for date and particulars In
| next week's Socialist.
Let's Crow for
One, Anyhow
THE EMERGENCY BILL.
Washington, Aug. 10.—Only six
members voted against the "emerg
ency" currency bill last week when
| the Wilson administration at the re
[ quest of the Chemical National bank
and others of the big New York spec
ulative group forced through a $500,
--000,000 issue of U. s. notes. The pre
tense, in the v ords of Leader Under
wood, was tliat there would be a finan
cial panic "such as we have not known
before" if the bill did not pass.
Two hundred and thirty-one voted
for the bill, six against it and five,
afraid to vote either for or against,
answered "present."
Representative Lindberg, who is a
near-Socialist, exposed the scheme in
these words: "It is rather strange
that congress acts so quickly to help
out the speculators in emergencies,
when neither the farmers nor the
wage-earners can secure legislation,
however urgent it may be, if it is op
posed by the same interests that seek
this legislation. Our finances are on
a wrong basis. I have so stated many
times here. The very fact that the
bill Is demanded proves It. But this
bill would not correct the financial
system. The system as it is promotes
j speculation, and every few years
speculators get into a tight place by
reason of complications of one kind
and other. Nine times out of ten it is
of their own creation. In 1907 we had
a panic, when all the natural condi
tions were the very best for good
times. It was of Wall street creation.
"The farmers, wage-workers, small
er business interests, and Home of the
larger business interests that wen
not under the wings of the money
trust magnates, were the losers. Now
we have a foreign war scare, which is
assuming immense magnitude, so we
are again asked to aid the speculators.
Already they have been buying stocks
In quantities which they had previous
ly sold to Euroue. They have used
the deposits that the plain people have
in the banks to make purchases. They
use that money, the people's deposits,
to send abroad for the stocks. It is
paid in gold. Now they wish $500,
--000,000 and more of United States
notes to be issued to pay the deposit
ors if the depositors demand cash; and
if they do not, then for the re-enforce
ment, of further speculation."
Comrade Mrs. Etta Beers of Bryn
Mawr was a pleasant caller at the
Washington Socialist office last Thurs
day and left us a subscription to re
member her by. Come again, comrade.
The income tax has developed about
the only important crop failure of the
j ear. Washington star.
THEY'RE SPENDING QUAR
TER MILLION—THIS IS THE
BIG WHY.
(From the Spokane Press.)
The StopLook-Listen League is
spending more than $250,000 to kill
the terra initiative bills known as the
"Seven Sisters."
Where is the money coming from,
and why?
Conceived In mystery, it is now
known definitely, however, that Ed.
Sims of Port Townsend is the direct-
Ing genius behind the league.
Yes, it's the same Ed Sims who was
the standpat whip and floor leader for
the reactionary forces in the house
last session.
And it's Ed Sims who raised the
false alarm cry that it will cost a
tremendous lot of money to pass the
"Seven Sisters" and that it's a mighty
expensive experiment to legislate di
rectly by the votes of the people.
First, the Stop-Look-Listeners said it
would cost $300,000. then $500,000,
then a million, and now they're shout
ing it will cost two millions.
Will it cost the state a single penny
more, Mr. Sims, to pass those meas
ures than to defeat them? No, not
one red cent.
And here is another point, and a
more important one. Granted for the
sake of argument that it will cost a
lot of money to adopt the initiative
measures, who is to blame?
You, Mr. Sims, are to blame, you
and the standpat machine which
Speaker Taylor and you controlled in
the last session are to blame.
These are not new measures which
the people are to vote on and which
have the endorsement of the State
Federation of Labor, the Farmers'
Grange, dnd the Direct Legislation
league.
They were up in the last session of
the legislature. They came to your
rules committee, Mr. Sims, and what
did you do?
You buried most of them without
letting the legislature take a vote.
You pigeonholed them in committees.
Had you given them a fair chance
in the legislature, there would not have
been any need for this great big ex
pense that you pretend is bothering
you.
It is only a pretense, anyhow, Mr.
Sims, and you Stop-Look-Listeners.
You are spending more money to de
feat these bills than your proportion
ate taxes would amount to on account
of the cost of placing the initiative
measures on the ballot.
The meat in the cocoanut is not
your public sprited Interest to save
the taxpayers any money, because you
will not save them any, no matter if
the "Seven Sisters" win or lose.
Your chief concern, Mr. Sims, is to
kill the fish bill, which will make you,
as head of a big fish company, pay the
same rate of taxes that others pay for
their property. That's where the col
ored gent in your case is hidden, Mr.
Sims.
NOTICE!
Next week's issue of the Washing
ton Socialist will contain the an
nouncement of the biggest event of
the season. Something that will in
terest every Socialist in Snohomish
county. It will be the first big step
toward carrying Snohomish county for
Socialism.
Bhe FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON LETTER.
(Socialist Party Press Service.)
Washington, D. C. Aug. 10, 1914.—
Five men, appointed by the president
of the United States, with no popular
right of recall hanging over their
heads, are to be the supreme court of
business morality. That is the sub
stance of the federal trade commission
bill, just adopted by the senate.
Some 400,000 corporations, and a
large number of firms and individuals,
are to be subject to trial before this
commission if they Indulge in "unfair
competition." Just what "unfair"
competition may be Is to be practic
ally determined by the commission.
Senator Cummins of lowa, Progres
sive Republican and chief promoter of
the bill In a Democratic senate, de
clared throughout the contest over the
measure that "unfair competition"
was more easily defined than was "re
straint of trade," the evil which the
Sherman anti-trust act is supposed to
be eradicating. Senator Cummins
was challenged by old-fashioned stand
pat Republicans to say how rapidly
the new commision would bring com
petitive business under full "moral" re
straint. He could not answer.
One of the Western Democrats,
Thomas of Colorado, running for re
election in a state that is radical this
year, ridiculed the attempt to make
competition "fair."
Public Ownership If Necessary.
"I protest against the mention of
the interstate commerce here as an
example of successful regulation, and
as a model for regulating competitive
business generally," he said. "The
interstate commerce commission has
merely tried, and has failed, to regu
late the transportation interests of the
country. Nothing will succeed but
complete control, and if control means
public ownership, so be it."
Senator Lane of Oregon, whose
daughter is a Socialist soapboxer, re
marked that he was not sure "whether
this Is part of a devilish attempt to
delay for another ten years a sane so
lution of the control of capital, or
whether it was the blind,- foolish
stumbling of men who did not know
what to do."
By a vote of 3 to 35 the senate ap
proved the Cummins amendment to
the bill, providing that the federal
courts shall review the decisions of
the commission only on points of law,
and not on general issues of fact.
The Democrats on the committee on
interstate commerce had agreed on the
Pomerene amendment, which would
have allowed the federal courts to
start any trial all over again if the
concern involved was dissatisfied with
punishment at the commission's hands.
"Staggered" and "Amazed."
A feature of the debate was the op
position made by such standpat sena
tors as Brendegee of Connecticut,
Weeks of Massachusetts and Colt of
Rhode Island, who were "disgusted,"
"amazed," and "staggered" at the idea
of giving to five government appoint
ees the right to interfere with every
business enterprise in the country.
They saw, what the Democrats did
j not, that the commission would fail
to enforce "fairness," but they feared
that popular clamor, such as that
aroused by the New Haven expose
would operate through the commis
sion to wreck some of the most com
manding business enterprises in the
No. 188.
country. Accordingly they poured
upon it their bitterest invective, In
the hope of getting pledges that when
the commission should be established
there should be no baiting of Wall
street.
The fact that the Democrats in
charge of the bill approved the Pom
erene amendment indicates that the
administration wished to reassure big
business. There will be no sharp rad
icalism in the rulings of this business
morality tribunal. One-sided competi
tion will stay on the job. Monopoly
will be discovered and reproved only
after long and painstaking inquiry, and
not until the profits of monopoly have
been safely stowed away. In short,
the bunco game will continue.
It is significant that when Cummins
proposed an amendment to empower
the commission to enforce a rule
against the ownership of stock in one
corporation by another corporation in
the same line of business, it was de
feated by the Democrats and standpat
Republicans, 16 to 38. The Democrats
are going to have that work taken care
of by the federal courts, which is to
say, the United States supreme court.
They do not want it hurried by any
commissioners who might be sympa
thetic with public opinion.
The Clayton anti-trust bill and the
Rayburn bill, authorizing the inter
state commerce commission to regu
late the issuance of stocks and bonds
by railroads, are next on the program.
Their value to the logical evolution of
our industrial civilization may be
gauged by the trade commission act.
LONDON AND COLORADO.
Take three-fourths of the newspa
pers of the United States and you will
find that they have expressed much
more horror over the mutilation of a
picture by a militant suffragist in Lon
don than over the burning to death of
women and children in Colorado.
Here is a cold fact to which no at
tention whatever has been paid, and
yet it is a symptom of a condition of
the utmost importance to every citi
zen.
For what do you suppose is the rea
son for this strange indifference to
murder and savagery in the United
States?
Even when we learned of the little
children trapped by the white Apaches
of Colorado, thrusting up their hands
in their attempts to escape until their
hands were burned from their wrists,
few of our editors seemed to care.
We have established in this country
a crime known as "accessory before
the fact" —useful for the conviction of
labor agitators and other persons un
desirable. How about accessory after
the fact? —Pearson's Magazine.
DEBATE!
Arrangements are being made for a
debate to take place Friday, August
| 21 between Dr. I. A. Lucas of Seattle
and John DeQuer, recently state or
ganizer of Idaho. As this announce
ment came in late, we are obliged to
defer giving details until next week.
Watch for further announcements.
Now that the colonel has indorsed
I Perkins, Perkins will keep on Indors
ing for the colonel. —Columbia State.