Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1905-03-08
An Open Letter to
The Independent

Editor Helena Independent:
Dear Sir; Some time ago / re-
ceived from friend in Helena, a
copy of the Independent of January
I6 with a marked editorial under the
caption, A Call of the Wild"
As it is partly truth, and partly
error or deliberate falsehood-I will
be charitable and say it is the fromer
and may therefore mislead the un.
wary, in the name of justice and fair
play, | demand, for others and my
self therein misrepresented, space in
the Independent for reply to the
same. Failing this, shall be com
PEELED to expose the editor of the
Independent as deliberate spreader
of falsehood and deception.
| would have answered this letter
sooner, but had not yet received the
manifesto therein mentioned. | now
call on the independent to publish
this letter or that manifesto or stand
convicted of deliberate deception.
/ shall pass over the implied in
suit to Jack London in the title,
considering only the contents.
"One of the fundamental Difficult.
ties of unionism is inability to con-
slider conditions apart from men or
classes of men,"
The editor of the Independent
may possibly have heard of reduc-
tion ad absurdum" which comes in
quite handy here. We will assume
that the unions consider conditions
apart from men or classes of men,"
Why2 Because they hire to con
ditions" and not to men or classes
of men"-absurdl They hire to
men or classes of men and not to
conditions, therefore they should
consider men or classes of men"
and not conditions"
The only conditions | can find
apart from men or classes of men"
are natural conditions, and, as the
capitalist has already considered
these and fixed his prices and his
workingmen's wages accordingly, it
is unnecessary for us to consider
these; all we need to consider is how
much he takes from us above the
cost of production. II the editor
means eliminate conditions it is alb
surd. 1t is evident he does not
speak of the farmers, whose employ
ment is regulated by climatic con-
ditions for they are not organized.
Do the great industries stop for
rains, SHOWS, shines or blows1 OF
course not, they run night and day,
regardless of weather, till they have
produced more than the workers can
buy with their wages, when they are
closed down by men or classes of
men," the capitalist owners.
"It Grade unionism) will berate
employers with never thought of
the essential laws of economy, OF
supply and demand, of trade equlib-
rum which govern employees.
This was true of the old trade
unionism, and is yet true ofthe pure
and simple" unions, but the new un-
ionism, the only kind the editor of
the independent fears enough to take
notice of, berates no employer ex-
cept as he upholds this system that
is essentially a producer of masters
and slaves. knowing full well that he
must be what he is or be himself re-
duced to the ranks of the workers
to wage slavery. And these laws OF
economy of supply and demand, that
the Socialists have at last forced the
acknowledgment of even out of the
editor of the Independent, are just
what the new unionism is built on.
Mind the editor says that these laws
govern" employees. The definition
of govern Isl That power that one