The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1902-12-12
The Trust.
Correspondence

What is the trust? 1t is essentially
tool of production. Man is a tool
using animal The tool increases
the productivity of his labor. The in
telligence that led him to fashion the
first tool, caused him to improve it.
The rungs of the ladder up which
man climbs toward civilization are
the ever more perfect tools of repro
duction.
The tool is weapon against the
foe of the race-poverty. The trust
is that doubly developed instrument
OF. production which combines both
the highest individual and collective
development yet reached, as such, it
raises man to giants stature over
| nature. But this is not the whole
truth, it gives the tool owner
giants power over the toolless man.
While the tool is simple, all can at
tain it directly from nature, and
thus be the equal of all who have it.
| but when a tool has reached the final
| perfection of a Northrop loom, a
'Merganthaler typesetter or a West
inghouse electrical engine, none can
| conjure forth its equal out of ma
ture. The trust is the highest form
the productive tool can reach under
the private ownership of the machin-
cry Of production. Its gigantic pow
ers accrue to those who own it, to
all others it is a scourge.
With the appearance of a tool pri-
vately owned, and SO far developed
that it's creation by those without
was impossible, these ceased to be
qualified for competitive warfare,
/ and society became differentiated
into three hostile social classes:
First, the wage workers-the tool
less class, are compelled to sell their
labor power to live; second, the mid
die class, who, though armed with
tools of sufficient power to exclude
the toolless class, are unable to
compete with the more perfect tools
held by the class above them third,
the capital class, owning the tools
Ii,
can live in idle affluence upon prof
; it's" that is, the difference between
what their employees produce and the
wages paid them. The capitalist
class seeks to uphold the trust, in
order to maintain their class suprem-
acy. They try not truthfully to point
out the inevitableness of concentra-
ton, and advantage flowing there
from in increased production and
cheapness; they conceal, however
the trail f blood following the trust
by inundating the people with rosy
statistics gotten up to order, The
middle class, though ready to profit
by the dependence of the toolless
class, is against the trust, whose SUI
perior power is crushing it. II
chooses to see only the ravages OIL
the trust. 1t inveighs against mon
opoly, while it upholds capital; ig
norant of the contradiction implied
in such a position.
Lastly goaded into mental activity
by what it suffers from the capital
list class, and untrammeled by mid
die class interests, the class con
scious wage worker is pushed be
yond the conservatism of the for
mer, and the reactionary policy Of
the latter. It's class interests revea
to it the two leading features of the
' trusts-which includes all labor say
ing tools, when privately owned
the development of the tool, which
makes for progress; second. it's sys
tenn of private ownership, which
blocks progress. The wage workers
class interests make it alive to the
contradiction, and direct it to save
the good, and destroy the evil, b!
pushing on the revolutionary move
ment toward public ownership of thu
trusts.
The ladder up which mankint
climbs to civilization, the ever NOR
powerful tool of production, is tn
storm center around which the work
= ers' battle RACES.
The capital class interest, repre-
scented by the republican party. seek
to keep the powerful tools for thei
u exclusive use.
The middle class, represented b.
l. the democratic party, seeks to dow
them" thereby backing civilization.
The wage working class, repre-
scented by the social party, seeks t
it preserve them, and open them fre
}. to ALL