The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1909-05-06
LETTERS FROM READERS.

Our friend Uncle Isaac advises Socialists to
read up and get posted. To him the advice is
just as good and perhaps if taken would help
him to conceal his lack of knowledge of that
question. His first question shows that he knows
nothing of it and has never looked into it for his
question is answered in almost any book in the
library on that subject but will answer it.
Socialism means equality to all men or women
equal opportunity. the full value of what they
produce to be the pay for their 1abor-to buy
things for what it costs to produce them, which
includes shipping and handling them. When
the divideupages" of long ago are spoken of
as socialistic the writer has no knowledge of the
word. Socialists are sick and tired of dividing
up and seeing others do the same. They are the
few who realize that they have to divide up their
wages or the value of their productions every
time they buy or sell either labor or the products
OF 1t. You have to produce value above your
wages in order to be hired and to sell your pro-
ducts below their value SO as to make room for
someone else to get part of the value you produce
called profit. In buying you pay all the way
from two to ten times the actual value of pre-
duction, shipping and handling and there is
where you divide UP the second time.
No class wishes machinery more rapid adj
vance or the advance of labor saving devices more
progress than do the Socialists. If they had
their way it would be much farther along than it
is now but they would make it a benefit to the
workmen and the people as we'll as to the owner.
AS the case stands when a machine produces
two or twenty times the work of one mans labor,
generally our wages are put below that of the
former workmen and the other men are let go to
learn new work or starve. The price of the goods
produced are cut down very little if any and
| only the owners of the machines are benefited.
II these same machines had been run on social
| lstlc principles. the men would have their time
| divided up and all keep on working at the same
price as before. Then they would be benefited
! by the machine. But this can't be done under a
| profit system any more than could profit be made
| ON another mans products under the Socialistic
system. These machines and factories would
! have to be owned by the people, which is or
is supposed to be the government.
| This is the first time ever knew that the beg
gars OF this country were made so by the wealth
given them. There must have been lot of it to
spread the disease it is now spread Maybe
| that is what causes these foreigners who are
shipped over here by the corporations to live in
shackS and on grub that a good dog wouldn't
| live on.
| Read Upton Sinclairs book, The Jungle -
| President Roosevelt and congress tried to find
lies III it but gave up when their investigators
| reported things worse than he had said and even
| UNIT to be published. If you do want to find out
about this go to the plain truth and don't stand
| Off in corner arguing against imaginary faults
Who gets the benefit of these large profits on
| machinery? The consumer pays it all. The
| workmen do not share it-only the manufacturer
and then the agent But he has to pay about
half OF the retail price for the machine he sells
leaving him profit of fifty per cent at the least
and the manufacturer more than one hundred
per cent.
| What is the of profit? People would have
no use for money if they could have what it viii
buy withoutit. Of what use is a hoard of any
thing If 1t is more than one can use? 1t is only
the dog in the manger act over again. Profit is
OF value only to those who don't produce and
why should the producer provide for them?
What is the good of all this surplus labor, Of
advertising competition, and adulteration with
Misrepresentation? All this could be done away
with II products were sold for what it costs te
produce and deliver them to the consumer ant
the producer full value for what he produced. L
would require far less labor to supply the com
forts and pleasures of life and more and better
products to all with plenty labor for ALL
! Government ownership is one main principl,
OF Socialism and If the resources of production
and distribution were all owned by the govern
inent and products put on the market for wha
1t cost to produce them the decrease in pric,
would be about as great as it was in the cost O
mail service At one time it cost from ten t.
twenty-five cents to send letter over the United
States but since the government carries the mai
1t costs two cents and if they didn't have to pay
the railroads the highest price for every day.
mail carried by them the price of postage would
| be even less than two cents. You don't see an,
fcompet1t1on III stamps or any big advertisements
OF them but stamps are easily found and Away.
good. a I'M