Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-10-27
THE VITAL ISSUE.
TOTALLY IGNORED BY THE
CAPITALIST PARTIES.
The Sham Issues of Free Trade and
Tariff The Old Parties Not
Equal to the Occasion.
The Only Issue Is
Emancipation.

The abolition of the wage system
is the only issue Of vital interest to
the people.
What does it matter to the toiler
-as long as he is reQuited only in
part for his toll; as slong as wages
are paid to him which are never the
whole of the value which he has
produced; as long as he is a com
petitor with the machine, which is
being constantly improved, this
labor saving instrument that con-
tributes to the number of the un-
employed; as long as wages and the
duration of employment depends
upon supply and demand--wnat
does it matter to the toiler whether
the industry in which he is engaged
in is protected or not? He is not a
partici pator in the advantages that
protection may afford; it is capital
alone that controls the machinery
and the means of distribution, that
controls the products Of labor when
offered in the market, and then har-
vests the advantages.
On the other hand how will you fare
if free trade be the condition. when
foreign "cheap labor" will be in addl-
tional competition with labor here ?
How in the name of common sense
are you benefited by either of these
conditions? But there is another
factor; the issues of both the old
parties in this election are not the
result of honest endeavor to meet
the requirements of the time made
necessary by reason of the progress
we are making in economic fields.
The creating of immense riches that
are rapidly accumulating because Of
the great creative forces at our dis
posal, this accumulation in few
hands, in the absence of a proper
system of distribution, is causing our
difficulties now. We are here con-
fronted with the abnormal condi-
tions that, while we are able to ere
ate greater riches than ever before
known in the history of the race, it
is not distributed in just proper
tions; thus the many are deprived
of what properly belongs to them,
and the few come into wrongful pos
session of it. The inequality of eco
nomic conditions thus created causes
abnormal social relations, and these
tend more and more to undermine
our political structure, the republic.
We wish to emphasize here that
labor is caused by our wants to sus-
stain life. Since there is an active
force in nature that makes no dis
tinction IN the conditions of exist
ence-all must crafty their wants
why should there be social condi-
tions in which some are enabled to
do this at the expense of others?
This is injustice, and we mean to
show how it may be rectifed. Who
ever exists must justify existence by
useful work; this is our conception
of the moral relation of the indi-
vidual to society.
In considering life, we must con-
slider the conditions which make life
possible. When we are put to the
task to adjust the conditions within
the bounds of our political union, we
must not lose sight of the fact that
by the very nature of our political
structure, a just relation between
man and man is a marked charac-
teristic, and this is intended to be
the basis of our social relations.
From this proposition our political
duties are deducted.
Let US measure the political par
ties as their records present them by
this standard. Let us see whether
they are honest enough and in pos
session of the requisite capacity for
this work.
Neither of these parties had really
a national issue up to the time when
Cleveland, in his last message to