Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1907-09-05


at the Waldorf Astoria, as Lord Ro-
binson .Cruoe This is all that is
necessary. There is excitement among
the millionaire society bellies of the
American metropolis. Lord Robinson
Crusoe makes a satisfactory contract
with one Of these society bellies. Her
father puts up ten million dollars in
hard cash, and Mr.. Crusoe offsets it
with his lordship. The press comes
out with large headlines "Marriage of
Lord Robinson Crusoe TO Miss America
Millions. They sail today for her lord rs
estate, located in the heart Of the
Pacific" Mr.. and Mrs. Lord Robin.
son Crusoe find when they arrive home
that American workmen to the number
Of a thousand have anticipated them.
The ten million dollars are used to EN-.
ploy these workmen, and buy material
to build this new couple a nice little
"cottage by the sea-" after which
mines are opened, forests are felled,
land is rented or sold for notes bear.
ing ten per cent interest, a modern
town is built, and the lonely island of
Robinson Crusoe becomes a modern
American civilization, where one man
owns as much as the other ninety nine,
where the income of ten is equal to
the income of ninety, where fifty out
of the hundred own nothing, where
the land and machinery is owned by
the few, where the work is done by the
many who give the few four ffths of
their product for the privilege of us.
ing the machinery and the land. These
laborers organize, strike, get rise of
wages, pay more rent, higher prices for
the necessities of life that they have
created with the capitalist machine,
strike again, receive more wages, pay
more rent, higher price for their
living, strike again, pay more rent,
and SO on to the end of the chapter.
This picture is the true representa-.
tion Of the history and Of the present
conditions of the world of labor and
the war between capital and labor
Now, who will tell us, first, how much
of the products created by the laborers
using the machinery and the land own
ed by Lord Robinson Crusoe, and the
few others who have become lesser
capitalists, belongs TO the laborersi Z
l could answer my own question, but
/ will not on this occasion, but / will
leave you to solve that problem.
But 1 viii answer the next question,
"How can Labor obtain the full pro.
duet Of its labori Organized labor, or
the Unions, on the one side, are the
highest developments of labor. Organ
lied capital, or the trust, on the other
side, are the highest developments of
capital. Here they stand in battle
array. War is always a conflict of in
terests. Labor's interest, and capital Is
interest are Numerically opposed. 1t
is labor's interest to obtain all possible
of the product of their labor; it is ca.
pital's interest to retain all possible
of the product of labor for the use of
their machines. Labor comes forth
and demands four things. First, the
right to say how many hours shall con.
stitute a days work. Second, how
much work they shall turn out in that
time. Third, how much pay they shall
receive for the labor done, and fourth,
who the capitalist shall employ to do
that labor. Capital comes forth and
says: We, and not you, have the abb
solute right to say how many hours
shall make a days work, how much
work you shall do in that time, how
much we shall pay you for that work,
and who we shall employ to do our
own work. Thus, both capital and la
Dor claim the absolute right to the
same identical things. Thus arises the
conflict, the destructive war, between
these two elements Of society. Now,
which side is in the rightf When Ia
Dor makes such a demand Of capital,
it virtually says to capital, You have
no right to run your own business;
and If capital should acquiesce in the
demand Of labor, capital might as well
20 out of business. On the other hand,
give capital the right to dictate all Of
these demands that both claim, and la
Dor would be reduced to state of alb
iect slavery, and would bo forced to
give up the struggle, to maintain de-
cent life for themselves and for their
families.
SO IL is evident that these same de-