The labor advocate., August 31, 1912, Image 1

About The labor advocate. (Providence, R.I.) 1912-1915

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, F ‘ PRINTED and PUBLISHED
PUSLISHED IN THE ' : (E 5 PRINT =
| swrenEeTe oF THE ' YRADES[NONTZBUNEI)
. BOCIALIST PARTY OF i Sy :(‘[';-Tfi,
RHODE ISLAND T }‘ BY UNION LABOR
VOL. 1. NO. 1.
FREE PASS SPURNED
BY REP. JAMES P. REID
@,ole
A Story of the Last Session of the General Assembly, Which
3w in Order to Refresh the Memoryy’of the
There was considerable noise made
last year about the railroads giving the
legislators free passes. Not that there
was anything new about the legislators
receiving these passes. This had been
done for years, and it had come to be
regarded as one of the “perquisites” of
“the office. Of course, the fact that the
State of Rhode Island paid mileage to
all of the assemblymen didn’t enter
intd the question at all. That was
merely regarded as so much extra
salary, But there was something de
cidedly new in the idea of a legislator
refusing a free pass, and it remained
for the first Socialist ever elected to
the Rhode Island General Assembly to
bring‘ the free pass evil to the attention
of the public by indignantly spurning
the one which was offered to him. All
this happened several months ago, but
it is a good idea to refresh the memory
of the voters once in a while; there
fore we publish the following news
paper articles, which appeared at that
time:
Representative Declines Free Rail
road Pass.
Dr. James P. Reid, Socialist, who
will be seated to-morrow as Represen
tative from the Ninth Assembly Dis
trict, has refused the pass extended to
hin: by the New York, New Haven &
siartford Railroad Company, and, with
a letter plainly stating his position, has
returned it to the one in the law de
[partmcnt of the road who, it is said,
forwarded it to him,
The letter which Dr. Reid sent was
as follows:
“I herewith return to you the free
pass you took the liberty of mailing
me. If it was extended as a ‘courtesy’
I beg to inform you that I consider that
‘James P. Reid, member of Rhode Is
land Legislature,’ is entitled to no more
courtesy from corporations of the
character you represent than he was
previcus to his election. Tf it was
"sent with the intention of making me
partial to the interests of your corpora
tion, as opposed to the interests of the
people, when considering legislation
affecting the common carrier com
panies, I resent the imputation”—
Providence Bulletin, Jan. 1.
To Cut Out Free Passes
No member of the Rhode Island
Legislature, or any other paid officer
elected, or appointed, can receive a free
pass or other courtesy from public ser
vice corporations, by the provisions of
an act presented by Representative
Reid in the House of Representatives
this morning. Dr. Reid has returned
his pass to the New York, New Haven
& Hartford Railroad. His views on
the matter are expressed in the act,
which is as follows:
“Section 1. Any public service cor
poration offering or extending to a
member of the Rhode Island Legisla
ture, or any other paid public officer,
elected or appointed, a free pass or
other courtesy of that character that is
not offered to all other citizens of the
State shall be fined not less than $5OO
for each offence.
“Sec. 2. One-half of each fine im
posed for the violation of this act shall
go to the person who makes the com
plaint. ;
| “Sec. 3. This act shall take effect
¥ upon its rssage."
' “Has the gentleman any preference
as to the committee to consider it?”
. asked the Speaker when it was pre
. sented.
| “The Committee on Education,” re
i‘ sponded Dr. Reid, and there was a
broad smile—The Providence Journal
On March 26, when the free pass
oclause was under consideration in the
House, Representative Reid vigorously
condemned the giving of free passes,
saying in part as follows:
“This House is made up, to a great
degree, of members of the legal profes
sion. Not one of you would, if you
could prevent it, allow a man to serve
on a jury who had taken favors from
the party opposing your client. You
would claim that such a man would be
likely to show bias. Now you know
that a man that is riding free uron the
railroads is apt to lean toward leniency
instead of towards rigid righteousness
when the matter of making these rail
roads do their full duty comes before
this House in the form of compelling
legislation. No one has accused the
Rhode Island Lefslature of bein%
made up, in the whole or in pu? 0
angels. Most of us are not only falli
ble, but ‘fallable’ No one appreciates
better than a Socialist that you cannot
legislate morals into & man; but I
know that the cuttmr out of this free
pass clause will at least take away a
Pemptation, & temptation that, if it does
not divert steps away from, at least has
a tendency to make some walk wobbly
in the stn?ht and narrow rth when
anythin‘ affecting the New York, New
Haven & Hartford is on the tapis here.
- PROVIDENCE, R. 1., AUGUST 31, 1912,
“Calling this thing a ‘right’ instead
of a favor does not change things;
does not alter one iota the tendency to
influence. The fact remains that a
few geople are riding free; these few
are the ones that have the making of
the laws in their power. The mass of
the people pays all the bills, the free
passes included. They cry for decent
service, decent equipment and just
rates; but their servants, the Legisla
ture, with the salmon-colored pass be
fore their eyes, think the service looks
a:etty good, considering what it costs
eI,
“The argument of expense incident
on the attendance of legislators has
nothing to do with this question. |
fully appreciate this point. But this is
not the way to remedy that. Would
you justify the act ofy the boy who
stole from the till, and when caught
explained it by saying bhe believed his
pay was too small and he took this way
to bring it up where it should be?
Suppose he further said he knew his
boss would raise him if he demanded
it but this till tapping was quicker, Let’s
at least eliminate this feature. If you
want more pal. be men and demand it ;
but don’t take this pass method of
raising your income and then go to
your constituents and try to kid them
that it does not cost them anything.”
In conclusion, we print editorial
comment which appeared in two Provi
dence newspapers. The first is from
the Providence Journal: ;
“If any other member of the Assem
bly besides the Socialist has returned
his railroad pass to the New Haven
road, the columns of the Journal are
open to him. Meanwhile, the legisla
tors rest under the shame of accepting
favors from the Mellen system, the in
terest most affected by such a public
utilities commission as the majority
party is pledged to create, Not only
are they thus placing themselves under
obligations to this public service cor
poration, but they are also taking the
State's money for mileage. It is a
for public office. Such a shameful re
lationship between a railroad and a
legislature is forbidden in some States.
It ought to be forbidden here. The
New Haven management knows why
it thus extends favors. It is not giv
ing away something for nothing.”
The next ils from the Providence
Visitor of April 12, 1912, and needs no
comment. It speaks for itself:
“Keep your mileage, gentlemen; but
give us a pass.”
Providence Socialists Adopt City
Platform,
The Providence City Committee of
the Socialist Party has adopted the fol
lowing platform, which is respectfully
submitted to the voters of the city of
Providence:
The Socialists of Providence reaffirm
their allegiance to the national and
State platforms of the Socialist Party.
And in view of the fact that our
present city charter has become an
tiquated and an obstacle to further
progress, we demand the revision of
said charter to conform to the needs
of the city.
Believing that the municipality should
own and control all public utilities, we
demand that the city of Providence
shall at once carry out the following
program :
The maintenance of a public market
system OWNED AND OPERATED
by the city for the purpose of eliminat
ing the middleman and all other wastes,
and selling all products at cost of pur
chase and distribution.
The establishment of a municipal
station for the production of light,
heat and power for public and private
use on the same basis as our water
supply system; in the meantime we
urge the testing of the 1: and electric
meters by the same public officials and
on the same conditions as apply to all
other scales, weights and measures
used in trade.
The establishment of a municipal
ice plant, the same to be operated in
connection with the water department,
ice to be sold at cost of production and
distribution.
The establishment of a city fuel de
partment for the purchase and sale of
coal, wood, etc, for both public and
private use, to be handled without
profit.
We would urge as of immediate im
portance the building of public comfort
stations and an extension of our public
bath system,
That all efforts possible be made
to ensure an ample education to every
child, with d:gartments for health, in
cluding nourishment when needed.
We recommend the application of
our principles by the capitalist parties
in beginning the socialization of the
water front and ask that extension of
the system to the entire harbor.
No city work shall be let out under
contract, and union conditions and
ww. shall prevail in all departments.
e ogme the, granting or extending
by the City Council of any franchise.
Debs Accepts
Presidential
Nomination
In marked contrast to the notifica~
tion ceremonies practiced by the old
parties, the Socialist nominee has ac
cepted his nomination by simply in
forming the newspapers tl{at they were
at liberty to print his address of ac
ceptance, which he had sent them in
pr nted form.
No committee called on Debs and
there was an entire lack of ceremony
of any kind.
In his address Mr. Debs says: )
“The appeal of the Sccialist Party is
to all the useful people of the nation,
all who work with brain and muscle tc
produce the nation’s wealth and who
premotc its progress and conserve its
civilization. Only they who bear its
burdens may rightfully enjoy the bless
ings of civilized society. There are no
boundary lines to separate race from
race, sex from sex, or creed from
creed, in the Socialist Party. The
common rights of all are equally recog
nized.
“The infallible test of a political
party is the private ownership of the
FUGENE V. DEBS.
source of wealth and the means of life
Apply that test to the Republican,
Democratic and Progressive Parties
and upon that basic, fundamental issue
you will find them essentially one and
the same. They differ accord);ng to the
conflicting interests of -the privileged
clalses, but at bottom they are alike
and stand for capitalist class rule and
working -lass slavery.
“The new Progressive Party is a
party of progressive capitalism, It is
lavishly financed and shrewdly adver
tised. But it stands for the rule of
capitalism all the same.
“When the owners of the trusts
finance a party to put themselves out of
business; when tKey ‘turn over their
wealth to the people from whom they
stole it and go 1o work and make an
honest living, it will be time enough to
consider the merits of the Roosevelt
Progressive Party.
“One_question is sufficient to deter
mine the true status of all these parties.
Do they want the workers to own the
tools they work with, control their own
jobs, and secure to themselves the
wealth they produce? Certainly not.
That is utterly ridiculous and impossible
from their point of view.
“It is vain to hope for material relief
under the prevailing system of capital
ism. All the reforms that are proposed
by the three capitalist parties, even if
carried out in l‘food faith, would still
leave the wor ni class in industrial
slavery. The working class will never
be emancipated by the grace of the cap
italist class, but only by overthrowing
that class. , i A
“The power to emancipate itself is
inherent in the working class and this
power must be developed throu%h sound
education and_applied through sound
organization. It is as foolish and self
destructive for the worldn? men to turn
to Republican, Democratic and Pro
gressive parties on election day as it
would be for them to turn to the Man
ufacturers’ Association and the Citi
zens’ Alliance when they are striking
against starvation n?u
: “c.%iim“:'oo is mok l?gt‘:)lin:}z to its
impending m. e s por
tend the mviuble breakdo:;n 3{ the
m 'o ‘“' scon
tent has seized D'& masses. They
must indeed be mf who do not hear
ISa
m H. Fassel
Makes a Hit In
Woonsocket
Samuel H. Fassel, Socialist Party
ndidate for Govetnor of Rhode Is
nd, spoke in Cold Spring Park,
oonsocket, last Sunday afternoon.
gene F. Morrissey called the meet
‘ fto order and introduced Mr. Fas
, who spoke for an hour and a
uvarter, and answered questions for
fabout fifteen minutes. An audience
of between two and three hundred
eople listened attentively to the
speaker, and a collection of $3.75 was
taken up by the members of the party.
| Mr. Fassel said: “The Socialist
>arty has the most members of any
Political party in this country. It has
140,000 members.
The people who vote the old party
ickets really have no voice in the
omination of the candidates whom
they vote for; while the Socialist
rty candidates and platforms must
e ratified by the rank and file of the
organization.
~ “The U. S. Post Office Department
3s the greatest trust in this country.
t maintains a post office in every
wn in the United States and
les - all e mail-of this great
country. It does practically the same
kind of business as the express com
panies do, but it has never paid a divi
dend and the rates have been the same
for the last 15 or 20 years, while the
express companies have been raising
their rates continually. Of course,
the Post Office Department is not
managed on strictly Socialistic lines,
but it demonstrates he value of co
operation, It is operated for the use
and benefit of the people, while the
express 'companies are run to make
dividends for the stockholders.
“Another example of what the
people can do is the Panama Canal.
The Government of this country has
invested $15,000,000 to build that
ditch. Why can’t we run the rail
roads?
“All progressive planks in the old
party and Bull Moqse platform have
heen advocated by the Socialist Party
for years. The Socialist preached the
initiative referendum and right of re
fta'l.l fifteen years ago and are still at
It.
When his ‘discourse was finished,
he was asked what Dr. Reid had done
in the State House for the working
people. He said Dr. Reid introduced
a resolution two days after the ses
sion was opened, asking that the al
lowance to the Factory Inspection
Commission be reduced from $16,000
to o 8 cents, as that commission was
not doing anything. Inside of a week
after that, they had two cases in
court and were prosecuting two firms
undc: the child labor laws. Reid in
troduced a bill for an appropriation
to the Moose society to build a sani
tariam for consumptives, which was
passed, as was also a bill to increase
the payment to a widow whose hus
band was killed while employed by
the State. The amount was increased
from $2OOO to $4OOO.
A young fellow asked what the
“cops” were there for and Mr. Fassel
said he was not their to discuss that
question. After he left the stump,
Mr. Morrissey sajid he would tell why
the police were present. “The police
are here to protect you and me and
all the rest of the free American who
are here, and that is one of their
duties.”
Mr. Morrissey spoke of the Labor
Day Picnic which the Socialists of
Woonsocket are to hold in Merrill's
Grove, Park Avenue.
the mutterings of the approaching
storm, Povert{. high pric::; unem
ployment, child slavery, despread
misery and haggard want in a land
bursting with abundance; prostitution
and insanity, suicide and crime, these
in solemn numbers tell the tnr'k: story
of capitalism’s saturnalia of blood and
tears and shame as its end draws near.
“It is to abolish this monstrous sm-.
tem and the mise? and crime wh
flows from it in a direful and threaten
ing stream that the Socialist Party was
organized and now makes its appeal to
the intelligence and conscience of the
people. Social reorganization is the
imperative demand of this world-wide
revolutionary movement.”
DYNAMITE[ WITNESS
COMMITS SUICIDE
Tragic Ending of One Chapter in Dynamite Probe,—De
tails of Conspiracy Now Being Brought to Light.—A
Dastardly Plot. :
An echo of the recent Lawrence
textile strike was heard Tuesday in
the news of the death of Ernest Pit
man, head of the E. W. Pitman Com
pany, one of the largest mill con
struction companies in New England.
Pitman was found a suicide at his
home, where, it is said, he had shot
himself.
Pitman was recently sub-poenaed
to appear before the session of the
Suffolk County Grand Jury to testify
regarding the planting of dynamite
to discredit strikers during the Law
rence strike last winter. John J.
Breen, School Commissioner at Law
rence and prominent in Suffolk county
politics, was found guilty and fined
$5OO for planting dynamite. Breen
testified before the Grand Jury and
Pitman’s summons followed.
Breen, it was learned, had made his
dynamite plant in the hope that the
blame for it would be fastened upon
the striking mill operatives. He cal
culated correctly, for shortly after
the plant came to light a number of
strikers were arrested and thrown
into jail, suspected of a crime of
which they were totally innocent. The
capitalist press .of the nation spread
the news of the discovered dynamite
plant broadcast, strongly intimating
that it was the work of the strikers.
But when it came to light that a high
ly respected and “respectable” mem
ber of Lawrence was the dynamite
planter and that he was guilty of the
dastardly attempt to discredit the
rebellion ‘of the 20,000 mill slaves
against exploitation, the “best” peo
ple of Lawrence were very much
Socialists Elected in Ireland
By John M. O’Neil.
“Three Socialists have been elected to
the Dublin City Council, one of them
being Jim Larkin, editor of the Irish
Worker, and one of the foremost So
cialists of Ireland.
“Larkin was one of the leaders of the
recent strike of the transport workers,
which tied up the entire trade of the
British Isles. He, together with James
Connolly, former editor of the Harp,
is now building up a strong labor move
ment in the Emerald Isle.
“Two years ago Connolly left the
United States and began publishing the
Harp in Dublin. Since that time he
has succeeded in uniting the scattered
forces of the Socialists into }he Inde
pendent Labor Party. : !
“Larkin is the man who was de
nounced by the Bishop of Sligo, when
he visited that town recently on a tour
of organization, The Bishop requested
all members of the church to refrain
from attending Larkin’s lectures be
cause he was a Socialist. The result
was one of the largest Socialist meet
ings ever held in Ireland. ’
“Dublin, being a seaport town, has a
large number of people who are con
nected in some manner or other with
the transportation industry, and when
Larkin and four other members of the
Transport Workers’ Union wefe nomi
nated for Councilmen, a hot fight was
started, resulting in the election of the
three.
“When it was announced that Larkin
had won, the workers went wild and
carried him on their shoulders to the
union headquarters, where he delivered
a speech on ‘The Workers, Who Are
Now the Top Dog.’
“Larkin’s victory is considered as
noteworthy, as he was subjected to
much persecution on the part of the
Irish and English steamship capitalists,
and suffered a term of imprisonment as
a result of a well planned conspiracy
for alleged violation of a section of the
Britisht Trade Union Act.” ,
The people of Ireland, that is, the
class who work, have been in bondage
for centuries, the im‘poverished of Ire
land have been God-fearing people, and
no one can dispute but that the poor of
Ireland have been faithful to their re
ligious creed and loyal to the church.
But, regardless of their fidelity to
creed and loyalty to church, they have
been “crowned with thorns” and borne
their cross to the summit of Calvary.
If faith in God and loyalty to church
would ultimatel{ establish a reign of
justice, then the people of Ireland
should be living ina fundise.
But the Irish people, like the people
of other nations, are slowly but surely
making the discovery that faith in re
ligious creeds and dogmas will not
solve the labor problemh which is the
greatest problem of all the ages,
Thougfi the Bishop of Sligo issued his
clerical denunciation against a labor
editor whose voice and pen were dedi
cated to the cause of the opxreued, yet
this Bishop, with all the influences ex
ercised by the church, could not keep
his followers from listening to the mes
sage of Larkin nor keep them from
g:;ipg him in the City Council of
in,
ONE CENT-80 CENTS PER YEAR.
shocked. The capitalist press was
similarly affected, besides being dis
appointed because they were frus
trated in what appeared to be an ex
cellent opportunity to fulminate
against strikes and labor.
It is the mill officials of Boston
who are behind the prosecution of
Ettor and Giovannitti, the leaders of
the great Lawrence textile strike, and
the attempt to railroad them to the
electric chair on an absolutely un
founded charge of accessories before
the fact to a murder which was com
mitted while they were at least two
miles away from the scene of its per
petration,
These mill officials, who were de
prived of considerable of their profits
because of the successful termination
of the textile strike at Lawrence, due
largely to the leadership of Ettor and
Giovannitti, are uow arleged to have
been associated with the dynamite
plant there. It is even alleged that
they arranged the whole miserable
scheme in the privacy of their Bos
ton headquarters,
The purpose of the plant was the
same as is the motive behind the
prosecution of Ettor and Giovannitti,
to destroy the organization of the
Lawrence textile workers and pre
vent the spread of similar organiza
tions to other sections of the New
England States. To accomplish this
end, the capitalists of New England
have acted with characteristic un
scrupulousness and cowardice. They
sounded the depths of human infamy
in the premeditated effort to fix the
blame for dynamite planting on their
exploited mill slaves and they are
now attempting to deal labor a death
blow in the insidious prosecution of
Ettor and Giovannitti which is just
as flagrant a frame-up as the dyna
mite has proven to be,.
The mandates of clerical dignitaries
of the church do not command the Sub
missive obedience of days gone by, for
the victims of oppression are beginning
to realize that men who yearn for lib
erty must strike the blow, even though
their struggle for justice does not meet
with the approval of the modern disci
ples of Christ—Miners' Magazine.
The Attorney General of Oklahoma
has rendered an opinion that those en
titled to vote and ?ailinz to register be
fore the August election in that State
will he deprived of the privilege of reg
istering later. Comrade Thomas W.
Woodrow has written him a letter call
ing attention to the injustice of this,
saying: “The law requiring registra
tion was not intended to deprive legal
electors from exercising their constitu
tional right to vote. %herefore. those
who, for any cause, did not register
during the period of registration should
have an opportunity to register at any
time prior to or on the day of election,
and if that opportunity is not afforded
they should be allowed to cast their
vote without registering.” That is
sound doctrine,
Woonsocket Comrade Gives Sam-
Well, Sam-Mule, while you are
away, the ard-hit-er of your noise
paper has published an account of a
meeting held by the Socialists in that
park where the Spring gives Cold
drinks. Being that you are away, your
ard-hit-er, Mr. Kux-Munnell, has had
no one to restrain him and has actually
said that there were between two and
three hundred people at this meeting.
The fact is, Mr., Mudson, that this
gathering was made up almost entirely
of women and children, and they con
tributed $3.75 to the collection for the
Socialist campaign fund.
It is generally understood that there
was a repeater from the “Squall” pres
ent during the entire meeting, and he
must have collapsed when he saw the
way his report had been slaughtered by
the ard-hit-er of your abuse-paper.
Speaking about the Socialist nomina
tion papers, Sam-Mule, it seems to us
that if the City Clerk has not fot time
to do the Ci? Clerk’s work, it would
be advisable for him to stop trying to
ride both the Police Commission horse
and th;-l City Clerk bon'eooa: the ug:
ime. a pre
riding the City Clerk hose and if this
keeps him busy, he ought nat to try to
bie legal adviser to the Police Commis
’ oi'\lhother suggestion, Mr, Mudson, is
that the Secretary and Clerk to the
Police Commission be cémbined in one
job and one more of our ambitious
young townsmen be given a chance to
earn a living. It does not seem r’::
that one man should held all the j
. WOONSOCKET.
Mule Some Advice.