Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-09-30

= the "up town" district in about io minutes S100,000 was raised to build him church in Paris. The same evening he drove down town to see tho bread line' in front of the Bow cry mission and there. that dreary' rainy November night, stood nun dreds of hungry men in line waiting for cup of coffee and piece or bread. He passed through the line. talking to the men and found out TOT himself that they were not there most of them-because they were lazy and incorporate but because they were deprived of the means of life- the right to work.
 And what of this unemployed problem? On page AZ, 18th Annual Labor Report, and this was about six years ago. Only 50.19 per cent Of the workers were employed all the time and 49.Sl per cent employed part of the time. The causes of this condi- ton, the large and increasing army of unemployed, have been told in our other articles, but the chief factor, the privately owned machine, that IS the machine that is not owned by the worker, is spoken of in the United States census reports, p l2S, vol q, in this way: "A factor that has had real tendency to lower the actual average earnings of the wage earner in many industries Is the displace- ment of the skilled operative by ma chinery, which permits the substitu- tion of comparatively unskilled ma- chine hand The tendency Is notice able in many lines of industry. It's effects are two fold, to reduce the number of employees producing the same, or an increased quantity of product, and, hence, to lower the to- tai wages of the group; and to reduce the average rate of wages because of | the lower degree of skill required ' And the census report gives many l illustrations of this factor operating in different trades where women and children are now performing work formerly done by skilled workmen. The opponent insists that wofkmen ought to take a flair share in the risks" When one considers the total number of men slaughtered in one year on the industrial battle field to- day, more than the number killed in any great battle of history, he will 1 find that the worker takes almost all the risk" He risks something far more precious than profits. He risks his life to help the other fellow to get the profits. In the construction of 1 the tremendous sky scrapers in New York the ambulance gong Is daily accompaniment to the babel of sounds and its insistent noise. silences only ] for moment the rattle of building, l the victim is borne away unheeded, crippled for life or ready to die, who knows or cares. Tn Pittsburg one year the coroner issued printed statement to the effect that his force of men could not handle the number of dead men killed in the great steel l mills in and around Pittsburg. He said the city must make searching investigation of such terrible
 wholesale killing. "Only another Hunk gone" the masters say, and the
 workers say It is the risk of in dustrial slavery-the risk of life. ' 1 But until socialism comes the work
 CT must continue to risk his life
 must continue to sell his labor to the
 men who own the means of life a, their price.
 Just word here about the increase of the functions of government by public ownership. It is true that public ownership of the means of transportat tion,4 etc, under this capi-
 talist system of production would in crease the functions of government
 for as. long as the privately owned trusts had their grip on the railrpads or land, or means of production, just
 so long would they be operated for
 graft as they are to-day. When the privately owned railroad trust gets 8
 tremendous graft on the publicly
 owned postoffices, the public schoo systems are not managed to the best
 advantage because of the privately
 owned land, the privately owned con.
 tracing firms, book publishers, fur. niture companies, etc. Before the
 benefits of collective ownership car be fully realized, we must have g
 complete change in the order of pro.
 duction and distribution, but before
 that time comes. the people must
 learn about the benefits of public
 ownership and cooperation by ex.
 perience. The experience is coming
 along in the progress of events to.
 ward socialism. as referred to in oul
 article called Pertinent Answers tt
 Pertinent Inquiries, that through
 the trusts themselves people are learning that it is better to cooper
 ate than to compete, but instead oi
 the nation being controlled by the trusts as it is to-day, the nation 1 (which, in America, means the whole
 people, ought to own the trusts. But
 again our upholder of the present
 capitalist system is worried about the
 'confiscation of property under so.
 cialism," fearing that some one may
 he robbed of his rights" It is g
 well known fact that the so-calle6 property rights" of man have al.
 ways been in changeable state. The story of the evolution of property
 fills volumes, and the evolution ha. taken place according to the changes of climate. conditions of existence
 and even in civilized lands many wars
 have occurred to gain possession oi property.