Industrial freedom. [volume] (Edison, Wash.) 1898-1???, 1899-05-06
JUST DISTRIBUTION.

After making the assertion that if
we had Just distribution Of wealth
q man need not work more than three
hours per day to secure the necessaries
of life, We were asked by a one-hoss
merchant, 'DO you propose to take
from me my hard earned wealth, and
give it to some lazy bum who wont
work."
In this question our friend displayed
much wisdom in regard to what it
takes to constitute a just distribution
of wealth. 1t is easy for those wise
acres to discover the injustice OF taking
the wealth from those who control it,
and giving it to some poor, lazy bum,
who wont work because he can't find
employment bnt they are not able to
detect any injustice in taking the
wealth from the poor laborcrs who
produce it and giving it to the capt.
alists who perform no labor. If it is
unjust to take the wealth from the
producer and give it to a poor bum
VINO wont work, why is it not also
unjust to take it from the producer
and give it to rich scamp who wont
work? Does it make the producers
burden lighter to have his earnings
in the hands of the plutocrat and
strengthen the letters that bind him
and his brothers than for them to be
used by some tramp?
| believe that is is estimated that an
average days labor in the g. S. pro-
duces about 50 of wealth and the av-
erage wage is 75cts. per day. SO out
of every SO produced, $S25 are TAX
en- from the producer and given to the
rich capitalist who controls the means
of production Where is the Justice?
The men who do the labor receive but
one tenth of the wealth they create.
If there is no justice in taking the
wealth from the capitalist and giving
it back to the man who created it,
then where is even the shadow of con-
sistency in taking 1t from the producer
and giving it to the idle rich? No, not
giving it to them, but letting them
steal it in the name of business
We are not wanting to take the i'll
gotten gains of the rich and give them
to the poor, but we want to stoptak-
ing the earnings of the poor and Civ
ing them to the rich. We want to
abolish the system that suffers the
capitalist to enslave the laborer and
rob him of the wealth he creates.
1t is not their plundered property
we ask for but the means Of produc-
ton and distribution. To these we
are justly entitled for the land is the
common heritage of all and we have
made the machinery. They have not
invented 4 screw or driven a nail, ami
while they claim to have paid for it,
the truth IS they have only handed
back q fragment of the wealth we
have created. II they viii give us pos
session Of our inheritance (the land)
and turn over to us the tools we have
made, we can soon supply our wants
without drawing ON their boarded
wealth
All wealth belongs to the men who
perform the labor and they should
provide those who cannot work with
the nccessarics Of life, each bearing
his share Of the burden Every per-
son would labor according to lis abil-
ity and receive according to his wants
and he that wont work neither will
he eat.
But under the present competitive
system it is impossible to have a lust
distribution Of wealth and scarcely
ANYTHING else that is just Wecannot
follow the teachings Of Christ while
we live in a government ruled bv
Mammon. And this system cannot
be remcdied, All attempts to revise
1t is but putting new cloth TO an old
garment and the rent is mabe worse.
The entire competitive system mast
pass away and the cooperative COM
monw,ealth take its place. May we
see the change