Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-07-18

grants, of oil fields, coal mines, gold
mines, iron, silver, copper lands, etc.
These are the important objects and
the small farms would be last if ever
to be taken over. This has been un-
derstood and distinctly stated by all
the socialist writer's. (See Karl Kautr
sky "Social Revolution" PIP. l58-J63.
Also "American Farmer by A. w.
Simons p. 200). Thus the average
farmer has nothing to lose, and every
thing to gain by Socialism.
SOCIALISM TINE PROGRAM FOR AL
WORKING CLASSES.
II. The next line of argument for
the union of the industrial and the
agricultural working classes for So
cialism is this, viz: Socialism being
. program which will emsnelpste sIl
working classes, Is program in which
both wage sarners and farm workers
can unite, and without such . union Of
forces victory Is impossible
If every person engaged in agricul-
ture could be induced to act together
with his class. there would be less than
40 per cent of the voting strength Of
the country. And if every wage Garner
could be induced to act together with
his class there would be abe ut 25 per
cent of the voting strength Of the
country. Neither can win alone. And
indeed the utmost combined strength
of both will need to be augmented by
accessions from other classes in order
to win the victory.
The leaders of the Populist move
ment understood these facts and did
their utmost to secure the union of the
labor element In the Peoples Party.
In this they failed almost entirely.
They failed because their philosophy
did not go to the roots of social
wrongs. Failing in that it became q
sort of middle class philosophy which
sought to better conditions but not to
abolish wrongs. For example the
Populist philosophy demanded "that
rates of interest be reduced to the level
OF average net profits in productive
industries" Senator PETER in "Mis-
sion of the Populist party.") The
Populists did not perceive that both
interest and profit were unearned in
comes and should therefore both be
entirely abolished. This is . vital
difference between Socialism and Pop
ulism. The Populist party demanded
free silver, etc as an improved money
system. They did not perceive that
all wealth is created by labor: that
therefore there can be no basis of
value except labor and that labor and
q certificate of labor alone should be
the basis of q money system and that
therefore the present money system
should be entirely abolished. In short
Populism did not grasp the general
law of surplus value, an unearned in
come Like so many others it declared
that "wealth belongs to him who
creates it" But how to secure to each
laborer the full product of his toll the
Populists did not understand. To
catch the labor vote they Inserted an
eight hour demand when they (the
farmers J were doubtless working from
II to Is. But they did not see that
the real demand of the wage Garner as
we'll as of the farmer should be "the
full products of their labor" And
that in order to secure this all "a.
earned incomes must b abolished.
And that unearned incomes arise in
three distlnct forms, viz, ~ interest,
~ profit and (3) economic rent; that
these must be abolished; that the
only way to abolish unearned incomes
is to take away from the capitalist
class the power by which they secure
them. This power is the private owner
ship OF the elemental sources of wealth
and the material means of production
And distribution. And finally the
leaders of the Populist movement did
not understand the historical siqnifi-
cance OF the class struggle. They did
not see that the emancipation of labor
depended upon the creation Of class
consciousness On the part of those who
labor to meet the class conscious unity
of the capitalist powers. They the, g.
fore began at the outset course of
compromise and political trading that
finally resulted In fusion with the
Democratic party and the practical
disappearance of their movement.
These were fatal weaknesses in the
Populist philosophy. No permanent
alignment of the laboring classes could
be formed upon such basis. But tho
Socialist philosophy stands clear and
positive upon every one OF these
points. It guarantees In its victory
to every man Who tolls whether on the
farm orin factory, mine, or railway
.