The Washington socialist., January 21, 1915, Image 1

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

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DEBS!
Hy WAI.TKK .If AN DAVIS
It it not hit craft nor creed,
It la not the winged word
That springs from his soul to his lips,
at need,
And, flying. Is felt and heard:
But something down in us all
That makes us respect the man
Who says unto great and small:
"You've a right to do what you can;
You've a right to preserve and keep
Such things as the gods gave you;
You've a right to your hours of sleep.
And the worth of the things you do.
You've a right to the million or dime
That your brain or your brawn has
won;
But not in the length of time,
In the light of the moon or sun.
Have you right to a thing
That you steal or wring
From me, or from any one."
NATURAL-BORN SLAVES
Masters Use Public Schools to Keep
Workers in Ignorance.
Aristotle, one of the greatest and
most humane philosophers of ancient
Greece, speaking of his fellow men,
said:
"The lower sort are by nature
slaves, and it is better for them, as
for all inferiors, that they should be
under the rule of a master. The use
made of slaves or of tame animals is
not very different, for both with their
bodies minister to the need of life.
It is clear then, that some men are by
nature free and others slaves, and
that for these latter slavery Is both
expedient and rignt."
An educator who would voice such
sentiments today would be regarded
as hopelessly at variance with the
spirit of our times. And yet this is
precisely the condition that the mass
of them are in today. Of all the fac
tors that keep the working class oc
cupying a position in society but little
above the tame animal, and serving
the masters of bread in exactly the
same capacity as the chattle slave in
the days of Aristotle, there is none
in the United States more efficient
than the public school. Of course, a
part of our education makes for effi
ficiency in production and by the
spreading of scientific knowledge
thereby so increases intelligence that
ancient superstitions are _ forced to
take to cover; yet the capitalistic
school was called into existence to
perpetuate the present system of ex
ploitation and bolster the unstable po
sition of the masters.
Poverty is the great crime of the
twentieth century, and the greatest
bulwark of poverty is ignorance. Ig
Will You Help Rivet the Chains?
Do you want to boost for the capi
talist class? Do you wish to fasten
tighter the manacles of wage slavery
upon the wrists of the workers? Then
there is one certain way to do it.
Neglect your own press, and invest
your occasional nickel in some Bull
Moose reform capitalist sheet. Or
knock your own pre««.
Watch for defects with a magnify
ing glass, while forgetting that what
ever be the shortcomings of the So
cialist press as a whole, it is the one
big factor that is undermining the
system of wage-slavery and exposing
the fallacies offered in defense of
capitalism.
We must turn upon this so-called
"civilization" the strong light of our
Socialist logic. We must treat it with
Your Birthday Remembrance!
1 year, $1; 6 months, 50c; 3 months, 25c ; 5 weeks, 10c.
"EACH ONE GET ONE"
Fifth Birthday Number
Cut out this blank and mail it, together will] the price of a
renewal, extension or new subscription, before Fel). 4th issue.
Name
Post Office
State
Amount New Renewal
Washington Socialist
! SOCIALIST EDUCATIONAL
BUREAU BEGINS WORK
FOR THE YEAR
Two yours ago the State Socialist
Educational Bureau was founded; with
J. 12. Sinclair nt Its head.
Comrade Sinclair resigned after the
work of thi- year was accomplished
. and J. M. Suiter was choosen to fill
tho^unexpired term. After the state
convention of 1914, Comrade Suitor
was continued as secretary of Iho
bureau.
Tho purpoßO of the bureau Is to
urge and aM the Socialists to partici
pate fn school elections in order to
elect Socialists to school boards and
I to place Socialist teachers in districts
where they are desired. The bureau
has been a great success. Through
its efforts scores of directors have
been elected to school boards, and
many revolutionary teachers have
been placed in good positions.
This year the bureau has begun with
renewed enthusiasm its campaign for
working-class control of the schools.
We bespeak for the bureau the hearty
support of all who have at heart the
continued progress of the working
class toward industrial freedom under
the co-operative commonwealth,
j _ .
NOTICE OF SCHOOL
ELECTION
I Saturday, March 6th, school dis
-1 tricts of the third class will hold their
annual elections for school directors.
j Locals are urged to take an active
. part in these elections, and Socialists
' in unorganized localities are request
' ed to try to place Socialists on school
boards. Results of the elections
! should be sent to the secretary of the
bureau as soon as it is possible to
■ do so.
I Any suggestions relating to the
school campaign should be sent jto
the-secretary, U M. Salter. 1901 Rain
ier avenue, r Everett, 'Wash.
I This matter will be brought before
! the state executive committee at its
I next meeting, January 24, 1915, with
! the hope that the whole state organi
zation will give support' to the
: bureau. i .
norance of the economic truths that
■A/ill forever abolish poverty is care
fully fostered In our public schools.
: Comrades, let is make a mighty on
slaught on ignorance; a victory that
will be an Inspiration to the rest of
the world. Let us begin our advance
' now. Capture the schools of the state
' and educate our children for a co
operative commonwealth; for an in
dustrial democracy Instead of a com
' petitive hell, and the Iron Heel of
• oligarchy.
the contempt, ridicule and criticism it
so well merits.
Will YOU, reader, help to do your
share? Yes? Then roll up your
sleeves and get, at least, one subscrip
tion for the Birthday Number.
The response to this plan in meet
ing with the most encouraging resultß.
Remember that no one else will do
anything for YOU. you must do it for
yourself.
"The world's life hangs on your right
hand!
Your strong right hand!
Your skilled right hand!
You hold the whole world in your
hand,
Bm to It what you do!
Or dark or light,
Or wrong or right,
The world is made by YOU!"
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS. YOU HAVE A WORLD TO WIN
DEBS IN THE FAMOUS GREEK THEATRE
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Wlhmi comrade Helm wiih making
his memorable campaign in California
in ttOt, the present writer MM editor
Of The World, a weekly paper owneil
hy Hrniich Oakland, but which func
tioned at that time as a state paper
Kepieseiitlmt the Socialist press, it
was OUT BOOd fortune to Inl soatoil in
th evuHt amphitheatre clone to the
■pWtkflTi OUT '<lene.
" A man 'at stands.
And jest holds out his two hands;
As warm a heart as ever heat
Betwixt here and the joilgmcnt seat."
Although It was a week day ufter
niioii mooting, between five and six
thousand people had laiil off work to
go hear the r.real orator of the social
revolution. It was a great meeting!
At the conclusion of Debs' splendid
speech, the president of the univer
sity. Dr. B. I Wheeler, came to our
comrade and warmly shook hand* with
him. congratulating him on his power
ful address. For this honest recogni
tion of true worth, Dr. Wheeler was
severely criticised by the reactionary
press, and a movement was started to
have him ousted from the university.
But the "movement" did not move
very far. "Academic freedom" has
not yet become so glaring a joke.
HOW DEBS JARRED
A DEVOUT DEMOCRAT
In the course of his stirring address,
comrade Debs took occasion to show
where the different capitaliHt parties
"stood," —and why they didn't move
forward. Commenting on the demo
cratic platform and principles, Debs
called attention to the fact, well un
derstood by all. Socialists, that the
"party of Jefferson" stands for an in
dividualism and competition in trade
which are out of harmony with mod
ern industrial development. Said Debs
on this point:
Centralization and co-operation
are the great forces of the age;
they are steadily paving the way
to the new social order that is
evolving.
At the beginning of this system
competition was the natural order
of things. Every man could com
pete upon equal terms with every
other. Every man could virtually
fin ploy himself, since work was
done with simple, cheap and prim
itive tools, and these as a rule
were owned and controlled by the
man who used them. Man is a
tool-using animal, and without
tools he is helpless, and soon re
lapses into savagery.
So when every man used the
tool by which he was living, com
petition was the natural order.
It was then a constructive prin
ciple, and It was properly said
that "competition is the life of
trade." Competition has run its
course since the machine took the
place of the hand tool. This
marks the greatest change in the
world's history. When the ma
chine supplanted the hand tool a
new principle was introduced.
This principle was co-operation in
stead of competition. When the
machine tool took the place of the
hand tool tho Individual worker
had to discard his little shop
where ho worked for himself and
where he lived the life of the In
dividualist on a low plane. He
had to desert his little shop, throw
aside his individual tool and be re
cruited into an army—a co-opera
tive industrial army. At this time
the small employer became the
capitalist as we understand him
today. It was at this point that the
modern capitalist was born and
the exploitation of the working
cliiKH began in its new form. In
this process the worker lost con
trol of the tools with which lie
worked. It was then that his
DR. MANNING'S QUACK
REMEDIES GIVEN FREE
Rotten Mass of Fallacies and Mis
representations Offered
the Gullible.
A certain Dr. Manning abused the
privileges of the High school audi
torium liist night with an* hour and a
half of the most putrid mats of glar
ing fallacies and either deliberate or
ignorant misrepresentations of facts
BVHRBTT. WASHINGTON. THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, KM*
economic dopelidiineo began; It
has been intensll'yinr, from that
time ilown to the present.
ECONOMIC CLASSES
Another very Important change
took place; there began the dlvl
■iOD of modern society Into
two dletlnol opposing economic
classes: the class of 100 l owners
and (lie class of 1001-nnerti. Up to
this time the employer had him
self heen the working man. Then
he became the exploiter, and jour
neymen no longer worked side by
Hide with the worker! but became
the owner of the. machine and the
oppressor of the labor power,
This development Is about com
plete A large number of the
smaller capitalists are struggling
In vain for their existence.
Can You Prevent Socialism?
Can you prevent Si dullmn? Can
you hiis|)i'ikl the law of gravita
tion? Can you prevent the rivers
from finding their way to the
sea? Capitalism under which we
li<re evolved from feudalism, So
clalism Ih evolving from capital-
Ism. Why the fallen capitalists
are the chief propagMJUvta for the
Socialists' movement! Every time
Rockefeller puts ono of you Fit
•tie fellows out of business he
furnishes us with a recruit. You
only change as you are compelled
to change. As long as you thrive
in capitalism you are a capitalist
—you are opposed to change.
You are not even open to convic
tion. You would no* even enter
tain a suggestion. Now then, I
am here to say that even if you
are getting along in capitalism
you are not living. You are en
> gaging in a fierce, remorseless
and savage warfare „ Competition
that was a constructive principle
has become a destructive prin
ciple. If you are a capitalist and
you are competing against other
capitalists you are trying to put
them out of business. This is the
basis of your alleged Christianity.
After you try all week to strangle
your competitor and put hid Wife
and children on the street, you go
to church on Sunday to be told
that you must love your fellow
men as yourself. How much can
you love the man you are trying
to devour? How much can he
love you?
HE WANTED TO KNOW
DEBS TOLD HIM
And so Debs continued to show the
more or less bourgeois crowd present
as to just "where they were at," until
a leading democrat, from Oakland, a
lawyer, jumped up from his seat and
asked permission to put several ques
tions for Debs to answer. Contrary
to the methods of old party candi
dates, comrade Debs cheerfully grant
ed the questions. Our note book
shows the following:
ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION
Mr. Jones: "If you find the con
stitution of the United States stands
in the way of carrying out the Social
istic plan, how will you get around
it?"
"That is easy. In tho Bimplest
manner possible. We Will not be
bound by a constitution adopted a
century and a half ago to begin with.
When Socialism comes into power we
Will cease being governed by the dead.
When Socialism comes into power we
are going to abolish absolutely the
capitalistic state. We are going to
•übitltuta for the government: of men
the domination of things. I am not
certain whether we will have a su
preme court at all. Ninety-nine per
cent of the litigation that, is in pro
gress is traceable directly or Indi
rectly to the private ownership of the
sources and means of life!"
and principles that ever insulted the
intelligence of an Everett audience.
The editor of this paper called him to
account for his stupid or malicious
misrepresentation of Marx, and chal
lenged him to debate with a represen
tative of the Socialist party. The
"doctor" declined and "beat it" off
the stage.
"There are thousands hacking at
branches of evil, to one who is strik
ing at the root." —Henry Thoreau.
Mr. Joneß: "I want to ask one
more question I am here Reeking
light. Inasmuch as the constitution
urn i come from the people as the
sovereign power, must there not first
l" ;i chnnge of the constitution before
there can become a Socialistic ad
ministration of the government?"
SOCIALISM A REVOLUTION
"In answer to the gentleman's ques
tion I haVo, to Hay that the Socialist
movement expresses the spirit and
pufpoM of the, stave.ry revolution, and
revolutions make very short work of
existing institutions. Now the gentle
man must bear in mind that it is not
any reform work we are seeking to
inaugurate—we are not going to
patch up the existing system. We are
going to abolish it entirely, and if
the constitution stands in the way we
will wipe that out. I do not in the
least doubt that when the Socialist
party sweeps into power it will be
cotifronted by very grave problems.
I have not the least doubt that it
will solve them all. These same
questions were asked Lincoln and the
man who led in the movement against
chattel slavery and they were asked
in the spirit of anxiousness. All sorts
of theories were advanced, all kinds
of explanations were made, but men
like Phillips and Garrison and others
of that time said: 'These are all sec
ondary questions—the one supreme
issue is that of chattel slavery. We
are going to wipe that out and we
will trust the rest.'
SOCIALISTS DO NOT WORRY
"The Socialist movement says: 'We
do not care anything about what lies
beyond. We do know that wage slav
ery is a crime, and we do know that
at certain times the workers produce
more than their masters can sell they
are idie by thousands' There are
millions of tramps the products of
capitalism in this country. Our jails
and penitentiaries are crowded with
them. There are 800,000 fallen wom
en in the United States. Under the
capitalistic system prostitution is a
fixed factor. Four millions of chil
dren are working, and if there is a
crime that should bring to the cheek
of capitalistic society the crimson of
shame, it is child labor. And woman!
Uufler this" system, if she is the
daughter of toil we know that
she is an economic menial. We know,
too, that she is a political nonentity.
She is speechless, so far as citizen
ship is concerned.
ABOLITION OF WAGE SLAVERY
THE ISSUE
"At the bottom of all this lies wage
slavery. We do not care anything
about the minor questions they are
asking; what we have our minds cen
tered upon is wage slavery, and when
we have swept into power politically,
as we are going to do, just as sure as
I stand in your presence, capitalism
will fall, never to rise again. We
will transfer the title of overseer from
the Rockefellers, the Goulds and the
Vanderbiltß to the people in their col
lective capacity. Industry will be or
ganized upon a co-operative basis. We
will take possession of the social
means of production—in other words,
we workers will employ ourselves.
The chief function of the caiptalistic
government is to keep the worker in
subjection. That is why—
"[ have just been notified that my
train is about to leave and I must
stop. But I hope, my friends, to be
able to return here sometime in the
not far distant future and finish this
speech in Berkeley.
"And now let me say, you can hast
en this change, or retard it if you
will, but it is coming just as sure as
the rivers find their way to the sea.
It is coming- and nothing in the world
can stop it. How soon it oomes lies
principally with you."
REAL SOURCE OF RICHES
Success (by law of competition), sig
nifies always so much victory over
your neighbor as to obtain the direc
tion of his work and take the profits
of it. Tlila is the real source of all
great riches. —Huskin.
Gorky says, "In order to triumph in
the struggle for existence one ought
to have much'wisaoin, or the heart of
ft beast."
PEACE ON EARTH
By EUGENE V. DEBS
(The hundred daily, papers of the
Scripps League embraced in the
i Newspaper Enterprise Association re
cently asked "the fifty most repre
sentative persons in the United States
to give their opinion—to tell in what
way they think we Americans can be
of most service in bringing back peace
on earth and good will toward men."
The following is Eugene V. Debs' con
tribution to the symposium):
There never has been "peace on
earth and good will toward men," and
we shall have to go forward and not
backward to realize that ideal. Civi
lization is still in a primitive, rudi
mentary state. It has taken countless
ages to bring us from the brute, the
cave-man and the savage to where we
arc today. The development has been
painfully slow, but steady, and will
continue to the farthest stretches of
time.
"Thou shalt not kill," is now the
law. But it apples only to individ
uals—not yet to nations. To slay yourj
neighbor is murder, unless you are in
uniform. But when the nation slays
its neighbors and the killings amount
into the thousands, it is not murder,
but patriotism to be proud of, glorify
and rejoice over.
When shall peace come to earth?
When the brute and savage shall have
died in us and we have become hu
man. In a word, peace will come to
earth when humanity has been hu
manized, civilization civilized, and
Christianity Christianized.
WAR HAD TO COME
The war in Europe is a crime
against civilization, but it had to come.
It did noc come by chance. Every
war has its cause. Modern wars are
between rival nations for commercial
. supremacy.
It is of little use to cry out against
I war while we tolerate a social sys
tem that breeds war.
Capitalism makes war inevitable.
Capitalist nations not only exploit
their workers, but ruthlessly invade,
plunder and ravage one another. The
profit system is responsible for it all.
Abolish that, establish industrial de
mocracy, produce for use, and the in
centive to war vanishes. Until then
men may talk about "peace on earth,"
but it will be a myth—or sarcasm.
But there is no cause for despair.
TROUBLE FOR "CONTRACT"
BRIDGE TENDERS
The bridge tenders on the Everett
avenue bridge are in more trouble
again. They evidently are sick of
the job. It appears that Mr. Kelley
promised 6116 ot them at least a house
in which to live. But the house he
was to have was the property of one'
of the former tenders. Last week1
the bridge was held up 40 minutes.
The tenders had the matter brought
before the council, and Commissioner i
Salter was ordered to get a load of!
scrap iron with which to balance the'
bridge.
Engineer Hoover thoroughly ex
amined the bridge and found the
allignment perfect. The bridge was
opened by hand, and by motor sev
eral times. No evidence was found
that it was out of balance.
Commissioner Salter's appointees
had no trouble in operating the bridge.
But the "majority" took the bridge
from Salter's control.
The politicians of Everett would
rather ruin the bridge than have it!
Hear Debs Sunday!
A FINAL WORD!
The Debs Meeting
PLACE—EVERETT THEATRE.
TlME—Sunday afternoon, January 24th.
Ticket office and doors of theatre will open at 1 p. m.
Lecture commences at 2:30 sharp.
SEATS— Regular seats 25c each; reserved seats 50c. Only 200
reserved seats. Each ticket is good for one year's subscription to the
Rip-Saw, fill out the post card attached to the ticket and send to the
Rip-Saw, St. Louis, Mo. Cards will be collected at meeting.
Socialists having Debs tickets for sale should settle for same at
the ticket office of the theatre. DO NOT NEGLECT THIS.
All Debs workers are asked to be on hand promptly at 1 p. m.
BE THERE! COME EARLY! DON'T CROWD! JUST BE
THERE! That's all.
The world is awaking and we are ap
proaching the sunrise.
We cannot stop the European war. ■
We can and will intervene when the
time comes and do all in our power
to restore peace. To end the war pre
maturely, were that possible, , would
simply mean another and perhaps
even a bloodier catastrophe.
Let us show the ' people '. the true
cause of war. Let us arouse a senti
ment against war. Let us teach the
children to abhor war.
WHAT SOCIALISTS SAID
FORTY YEARS AGO
More than forty years ago the So
cialists of Europe declared:
"We are against all wars, and es
pecially against dynastic wars. With
sincerest regret do we accept the un
avoidable ' evils jof a defensive war,
and we demand that the recurrence of
such a social calamity be j made Im
possible for all time to come by vest
ing in "the people themselves the
power, to decide over war and peace."
The proposition is here made to put
an end to war by democratizing war.
In all the history of the /.world ; the
people have never declared a war.
A constitutional ' amendment ~■ pro
viding that no war shall be declared
except by a vote of the people, and
that, as Allan Benson has suggested,
if war is declared they ,who; voted
for it shall be the first to go to the
front, would put an end ,to war for
ever in this country.
Women Will Help Abolish War
Woman, although the most vital •
factor in war and. its ■ most keenly .
suffering victim, has always been con
temputuously ignored •when; war I has
been declared. Give woman the bal
lot on equal terms with, man in every
state of this union and a ■' mighty I adr
vance will; have V Jjgp ifiade, tWftni .
driving " the * horrible scourge "of war "
from the face of the earth.
The earth is filled with its bounties,
there is light in every brain and good
in every heart; let us rejoice that we
live at a time when old wrongs are
being uprooted and new; rights being
proclaimed; when : the night is pass- .
ing and the better day is dawning
when all shall join rapturously in the
divine anthem—
"PEACE ON , EARTH AND GOOD
WILL TOWARD , MEN.";. /:; ft &i
' SCHOOL BOARD NEGLECTS
TO PROTECT CHILDREN
; Anything endangering life or health
! near srimni buildings in the city, has
' heretofore FeSfctsivfld prompt attention
r from the school board.
The city engineer has always been
' | freely called upon to remedy any de-
Mfect that was inimical to the welfare
L of the pupils of our schools.
For several months a most danger
; our condition has existed near the
'! Jackson school. A deep unfilled
■ | sewer that during heavy rains fills to
' overflowing, varying in depth from 2
to 10 feet, flows dangerously near the
school house. Several parents have
made complaint but not a word from
the board.
Some people are ungenerous enough
to connect the facts that Mr. Miley,
who, as a contractor, is Interested in
the construction of the trunk sewer,
is also a member of the school board.
perfectly operated under a Socialist
commissioner.
No. 211.