Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1904-05-04

its national convention Will be fairly
representative of the various elements
which make up the exploited class
of our population. Every state and
territory in the union has now one
or more locals paying dues to the
national, state or territorial organi-
cations. This will assure MS a con-
vention made up Of delegates from
shop, mine, Office, factory and farm
and at least would seem to carry
with it the assurance that our declar-
alton of principles and purposes will
be broad enough to cover the whole
industrial class. 1t goes without
saying that there will be differences
of opinion, sharp antagonisms, dis
cussions galore, and that out OF 1t
all will come clearer statement OF
the position of the party on ques-
tions which confront us. i do not
care to discuss all of the propositions
submitted, and will conhne my opin-
ion to one or two. Being farmer,
the attitude of the convention to-
ward my wing of the industrial class
appeals to me more strongly than
anything else. 1 shall favor with
earnestness such definition of our
position as will include the farmer
in our program. He belongs to and
is a part of the working class, but
he is not proletarian, and the word
by no stretch of the imagination can
be made to include him We are
not, however, dealing with diction-
aries. but with capitalism, and the
capitalist process includes the far
mer in its list of victims, and has
directed as much of its attention to
his exploitation as to the strictly
wage working class. The method
is different, but the process is none
the less complete.
On the broad ground of revolu-
tionary principles. the conquest OF
political power by the working class
through a political party built along
class lines, with which to abolish the
capitalist system and establish the
cooperative commonwealth, we have
a declaration sufficient to include
the exploited of farm or factory. II
we are to stop here, we need moth
ing more in the way of defining our
attitude toward the trade unionist,
the negro, or the farmer. Such Q
declaration is all inclusive, and ir
the early period of the movemen
nothing more was needed. We have
however, passed the first stage o
our growth, and have reached tn,
point where the utopian must CONE
down out of the skies and the pre-
destination" Socialist face immedi
ate details. We are beginning Il
capture municipalities, and thi
brings up the question Of what ma.
asocialist administration do in cit!
or town whose citizens are iimite,
in what they may or may not do b.
the state legislaturel Usually thes
governmental subdivisions arc linn
tied by charters, differing in tn
several states and territories. Ques
tions of municipal ownership @
light, gas, water. abolition OF tn
contract system, hours OF labor
conduct of schools. taxation, etc.
confront Socialist municipal ad
ministration, and in my judgmen
should not entire into or become
part of National Socialist platform
but should be left to a municip:
committee, whose function shall b
to examine the laws of the differn
states and territories, determir
what it is possible to do and thu
outline a working program for SON
thing like uniform action. Whe
Socialist administrations assum
control of cities and towns the
become employers of labor, an
here we touch the question of unio
and nonunion labor, what use v
will make of police powers in strike
with all of which we must deal. A