The Saint Paul globe., 1900-01-15
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Section ST. Paul. of the Socialist Labor
party, gave the first of a series of lee
lures yesterday afternoon at Assembly
hall. There are fifteen addresses to be
delivered between now and April 29, and
Fight of the speakers in the list are not
members Of, nor do they indorse, the So
eialist Labor party.
At Yesterdays meeting Mr.. Henry Carr
ing presided and introduced Mr.. w. B..
Hammond, of Minneapolis, who spoke on
The Aim Of the Social Labor Party
In opening his address Mr. Hammond
said that he had been requested to say
few words concerning a certain editorial
|nxase1 1.wing G. ty paper upon the question:
why Does Cold Stay Abroad?'' The
speaker said that, while 1t was claimed
that foreign countries owed America some
3, ,5Q0,000,000, this was only a 1gurative
way of saying that some European cap
)tafists owed some American capitalists
This enormous amount Of money. The
people could not possibly be interested
In the. matter one way or the other. 1t
was money loaned abroad by few rich
men In the United States for the. express
purpose Of making themselves richer.
Mr. Hammond then directed his at
tention to the main topic of. his discus
bion, and said that he was pleased to
see that Section st. Paul had reinstated
Itself and was exhibiting great earnest
ness in prosecuting the work of the
propaganda. To succeed work was neces-
Eary. The aim of the Social Labor party
was to establish a reign Of absolute po-
litical justice, not only for the masses
but for the classes as well. Although 1t
was a movement inaugurated by the
working people for their own benefit, the
fesGlts of success would be for the bet
terplent of the capitalists. This the
speaker illustrated by the fall Of slavery
in the South. He had heard people down
there say that the abolition of human
slavery had been good thing, although
It had deprived the South of great wealth.
Under socialism the present classes would
be compelled to admit as much.
1tFwas the privilege Of The present work
Ing cgassess-to seii5ey@ eqeal opportunities
for pleasure and the comforts of life with
the present capitalists The words"oppor-
tuhityYs he 'tised atlvfsedy Socialism was
not aimed at any, Individual or class of
people, ,It4wasi mot necessary to enter
snto ANY elaborate details to prove that
something was wrong In the existing
Etate of government. The evidence of the
Fact wss all around. Overproduction was
q great evil Why should people go.with-
out food because there was q giut In the
market? Why should people be compelled
to go without clothes because there had
been an oyerpFoduction of garments
manufactured, and there was no more
work fer them at garment making where
by they could earn money with which to
purchase clothes? Why the oft-recurring
banics? There was one about due now
Probably the Republican party would
manage to stave it off until after election,
put it would certainly be along within the
fear.
I'VE cannot said Mr. Hammond,
s'blindly apply g remedy until we know
the nature of disease. Politicians don't
know what is the trouble. They rush
about from one thing to another, now the
tariff, now the currency question, and
then the trusts, but can never locate tie
seat of the trouble. Over In Germany
they have done better Prof GrundIand
has said that a German, on discovering
that his system of government is wrong,
will Immediately seek to change il. An
Englishman or d Yankee will stop and
inquire, what are you going to give us
that is better? Now. why has the Amer
lean allowed the European to get the
better of him in the advancement of
socialism, te.
The evil lies, the speaker said, in the
sudden changes which have occurred in
the systems of manufacture. There are
three factors in the production of any
Years ago a man with his tools Of trade
was Independent. If he lost his job he
could set up a shop and manufacture
for himself. Now all was different Ma
chinery had separated trade into mani
fold divisions. A blacksmith. by hand
work could produce, say fifty shoes a
day A machine will make 5000. The
shoes on a woman's feet go through lU2
hands in their manufacture. 1t was now
impossible for individuals to compete in
such work with vast systems OF capital
ization. But we could never go back to
the old times. We must face conditions
as. they are. And we must take from
capital the machines invented by labor
and apply their use for the benefit of the
masses-the real owners.
Commissioner Carroll D. Wright had
said that labor received but 171a per cent
of what 1t earned. The rest went to the
capitalist to support him in idleness.
Labor must reclaim its own and receive
the other S21s per cent, its Just dues, less
the cost. of distribution, which was very
small If capitalist could make money
off mans labor, he would hire him. He
would exploit the workingman so long as
there was anything in 1t for him. Other
wise he would not. Labor had been
robbed and despoiled of its own for hum
6reds of years. If a man lost a horse by
O. thief, no matter how many hands the
horse had passed through whenever the
man could locate the animal he could