The Ellensburg dawn. [volume] (Ellensburg, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1907-02-01
Y OIL NV.

backed by the government. that looks
like taking away ones right Of inde-
pendent accumulation of property that
wonld be contrary to human nature
and check on honest ambition"
Now, Bro. Cook, would suggest that
before you again attempt to discuss So
claItsm you purge Your Uranium of the
cobwebs and rubbish of superstition
and prejudice and then try to soak a
few facts into your alleged brain. First
see If you can't absorb the simple, but
important economic fact. that wealth is
the result of labor intelligently APP
piled to the elements of nature If you
are carrying around enough of ordi-
nary gray matter to fill the shell of a
/ peanut, you can do that. Now if you adj
nit that, to whom does all wealth be-
long? Nature furnishes the elements
| Of wealth free, the working man,
whether he thinks he owns his farm or
farm or not and sells his products on a
capitalistic market, subject to the ma
nipulations Of capitalistic spectators
and the toll of transportation compa.
MES or works for wages, directly APP
plies the labor. That being the case,
to whom does the product belong? OBJ
viously to the person who applies the
labor. There are just three ways of
acquiring wealth. You must earn it
by useful labor, beg it or steal it. And
right here | want to go on record as
saying that ii the socialist party can
succeed in putting check on hon
estl?l ambition" to beg and steal it
will have performed service of meal
culable value to the world at large.
work or no pay In the name of
all that is reasonable why should any
person who does not work expect to
receive pay: But right here is where
the shoe pnches. 1t is the work or no
pay that griuds. People who have been
ia the habit of living off the under paid
labor OF somebody else are 10th to give
up the snap" But if Mr.. Cook is in
fact a common laborer, l cannot ac
count for his aversion to the principle /
OF ompelling the parasites to get OIL
his back and earn an honest living. /.
That he has not the slightest apprecia- /
tion of the real benefits of education is
evident The idea that the world owes
the man whom it has educated Il living
is responsible for a swarm Of frauds;
fadirs and nearly all the educated inn
beetles. Education must be It's own
reward. but the educated man or Wo-
man is able to enjoy life enough better
than his or her less fortunate brother
or sister to pay we'll for its getting /
But aside from that he would have
choice of occupations, and would choose
that which suited his taste hest. II
there are any college professors who
would rather carry The hod at Tile same
wares. the schools Will be we'll rid OF
them. Capitalism is not and never has
been a rewarder of brain work Il IS
rawarder of todyism and prosecutor .
OF brains Socialism viii not prevent
people from owning private property |
That IS just what capitalism does. So
cialism will make easy to own beauti-
full homes. and will make the home a
citidel. 1t will protect the home By
protecting the family.
1t seems to be impossible for men of
Mr. Cooks calibre to rid themselves of
the idea that government is something
seperate and apart from the people.
This idea is a survival from the days Of
barbarism. Under capitalism every
man who works is the slave Of some
capitalistic master: and every ''inde
pendent" farmer must acknowledge
and pay tribute to hundreds Of them.
Every article he uses is social prod
uct and must p,as through from ten to
hundred hands before it is ready for
the market: and BY the time it reaches
the consumer 50 much has been added
in the way of profit that, in many cases
it costs the consumer ten times what
the actual producer received for 1t.
Under socialism, government VIII he
the people as a whole, through the mi
alive ana referendum Every man will
BE- hi, own employer and his own boss.
He will have an equal voice with every
other man in the management OF the
industries. lie viii be free to work or
starve and if he is able to work and
will not, he ought to stArve. | can see
no sense in workingmen growing hys'
terical over what may become Of the
accommodations OF capitalists. They
,(Coatinued on page 81