Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1904-12-14
THE FARMER
AND SOCIALISM
CONTINUED from last week. }

ourselves from this degrading and
intolerable slavery1 1t cannot be
done under the present capitalist
system, for the whole basis of that
system is wage slavery and the rob-
berry of the many by the few through
profit, interest and rent.
The merchant calls it profit,
And he winks the other eye;
The banker calls it interest,
And he heaves a cheerful sigh;
The landlord calls it rent,
As he tucks it in his bag;
But the honest old burglar,
He simply calls it swag."
1t is the aim of Socialism to abol-
ish the entire capitalist system and
substitute therefor the system of CO.
operation by the whole people So
cialists recognize the fact that the
great struggle of all the ages has
been to make power and authority
responsible to the people; in other
words, it has been struggle for
democracy. We have succeeded in
this to a considerable extent in the
matter of politics and religion but
are still in the clutches of an intol-
erable industrial despotism.
1t is the mission of Socialism to
overthrow once for all this last
stronghold of slavery and oppres-
sion, and to substitute in its place
complete industrial democracy.
Industrial despotism is maintained,
as all despotisms have been main
tanned, through the possession by
one class of the political powers of
the state and the use of that power
by such possessing class to keep
other classes in subsection for the
purpose of robbing and enslaving
them. 1t has been found, therefore,
that all history has been made up of
series of class struggles between a
ruling class and ruled and oppressed
class. The process has gone on
until there are now practically only
two classes left-a small capitalist
class growing rapidly smaller, and a
working, or producing class, COM
prising the great bulk of the people.
These two classes are now lined up
in desperate struggle for the mas
terry.
As the working class is now the
only socially useful and necessary
class with power to at once over
throw the capitalist class-which
has become a socially useless and
dangerous class-just as soon as the
working class recognizes its true
class interests, it is certain that the
capitalist class is about to be over
thrown and disappear, becoming alb
sorbed in the working class, thus
abolishing all class distinctions
which have heretofore caused all the
discords, despotisms. crimes and
miseries that have afflicted the
human race.
This is in accordance with natu-
raj laws and is therefore inevitable,
and it marks the end of the last
struggle of man with man" with all
its vast array of miseries, mischiefs
and enormous wastes of energy.
Thomas Jefferson said that no
body of men had ever been found
outside the whole body of the peo-
pie that when entrusted with power
had not abused it. Recognizing
this to be true, the Socialists pro-
pose to take the monopoly of the
means of production and distribu-
ton out of the hands Of private, ir-
responsible persons and corpora
i;ons where it now is, and where it
will always be under any capital st
system, and put it Under The con-
troll and management 9f the whole
people where il Iightfully belongs.
This will make necessary the col
lective ownership of the land. for
ests, mines, quarries, mills, factor
lee railwavs canals steamboats