The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-05-02
Labor and Capital Not Friends,
He Tells Workers.
THEY KEEP MAY DAY,
TOilers Hold Big Celebration at
Garfield Park.
Rev. Mr.. Sheldon Delivers Strong
Address on Peace.

throughout Garfield park Sunday aft
| ernoon. over a century ago the peo-
pie of Paris played this tune as they
| thundered against the stronghold of
the Bourbons. Today the Socialist
party is using it as it storms the gates
of capitalism.
Sunday was May day-day of days
! with the followers of Marx. Between
two and three thousand laboring peo-
ple-men, women and children-rep
resenting the toiIers of Topeka, turned
out to attend the celebration. to pic
] mic and to listen to the doctrines OF
/ the new order. The celebration was
given under the auspices of the Social
| list club of this city. Manv who are
members of the party and many who
| are not were present. To those who
do not wear the button the party
workers devoted their time handing
out books. papers and speeches relat-
| ing to Socialistic ideas.
| One of the features of the day was
| the speech of c. B. Hoffman of Enter
prise, Kan. Mr.. Hoffman is one of the
| rich men of this state and an ardent
tor. He uses no fowery expressions,
but he can speak. He uses plain,
| straight from the shoulder style and
drives his arguments home every time.
| Mr.. Hoffman compared the two Sys-
| tems-capitalism and Socialism.
The speaker declared that capital
ism was to blame for poverty, drunk
enness, prostitution. misery, idleness
and crime. He pointed out that under
the present system men were forever
fighting one another, that they were
doing their best to ruin others in order
that they might pile up wealth. Ac-
cording to Mr.. Hoffman the world was
given by God. to all men and not to
class of men. He declared that land
owners did not make the land. that
they had nothing to do with its i'm
xyo1 For
money can not improve anything, Ia
Dor being the only agency of advance
ment or progress. He wanted to know
by what right rent is collected from
one class by another class. for some
thing or on something the one class
did not create. The speaker contended |
that under Socialism such a condition |
would not be- Mr.. Hoffman asked by |
worker live in poverty stricken |
abode while he himself resides in a |
palace.
Labor and Capital Not Friends.
'All this talk about capital and la
Dor working together and being
friends is rot" declared Mr.. Hoffman. |
Capital and labor are not friends |
never were and never will be. The la |
borer is the enemy of the capitalist
and it is right and proper that he
should be such. Capital and labor have |
nothing in common. One is not neces- |
sary to the other. Not by any means.
Labor is necessary to capital, but CAPT
tai is not necessary to labor. Capital
creates nothing. man may think
great plans and have money but if he
can not secure labor to work them out |
he will never realize them. Laborers |
are like bees they create the honey
and then the master takes 1T away,
leaving just enough to keep them alive
for another days toll. But there is a
way to change all this. Not by bullets,
but by ballots. Let the laboring men
unite. Let them go to the polls and
by voting the Socialist ticket overturn
the system of capitalism, which owns
the government and rules the nation.
We hear a great deal about capital and
labor working together. An empty
phrase. Capital and labor do not work
together. Labor works for capital and
will continue to do until the present |
system is overthrow.
Let the People Own Something.
1.-THE city CT Topeka put down side
walks and pavements. 1t improved it's
streets. Why? In order that the
whole people might enjoy them.
would like to know why the city then
turned over the streets to a private
corporation in order that the corpora
ton might make money off the people
by operating a street car system? The
poor man and beggar. What right has
a private corporation TO collect tribute
from the people when that corpora
ton lives only because it possesses
own and operate street railways and
all public service corporations. Capital
operates street railways and railroads
because it paws. 1 wonder why. the
capitalists do not go into the peniten-
tiary business. Perhaps it would not
pay.
SOCIALISM will win because it is
right. Good old Missouri will ask her
people to pass on measure next fall
which if passed will make it possible
for the state to employ laborers at
good wages. IF Missouri enacts this
law she will take foremost place in
the rank of progressive common
wealths. Socialism will win because it
is truth. 1t Will beat the present sys-
etm because the 1aboring people will
soon awaken to the fact that it is their
only salvation. Under it they will
have a chance to rise. Today under
ca pitalism they have none. The labor
ing people as a class can never be any
thing under the rule of money. One or
two may escape the poverty and misery
of their class and rise to high posi-
ton, but labor as a class will ever be
tafism out and itself into power
Rev. Mfr. Sheldon Speaks.
Rev. c. NJ. Sheldon. author of 'In
His Steps and one of the prominent
ministers of Topeka, was another
speaker. He delivered an able ad-
of Socialism-peace. steps in the
Worlds Progress" was his subject and
he handled it well. Starting with the
man of the early ages, the minister
showed the progress of the human
race, from the dead ages until the
present day. He told of the forming
of families, clans, settlements and
states. Of how man first fought every
other man until his mind gradually
grasped the idea that men were put
upon earth to promote peace and to be
of service, one to another.
DIR. Sheldon is strongly opposed to
armies and navies. In commenting