The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-11-09

session of capital, for which the.
tneSer worked and in no way earn,
/ ed
BY means of this system which
economists call the capitalist system
10 per cent of our population is nov
la non-owninS, wage working and
tenant class.
So long as the system lasts capital
Will continue to concentrate into
fewer and fewer hands and the pow.
erty and dependence of the masses
Will increase.
+ The farmers status is this, wheth-
Ter he be Il renter. or owner and works
his farm:
he raises raw material.
/ The capitalist class buys his raw
product at a price fixed by agree
ment, among the buyers. The capt.
talists ship it over their privately
owned railroads to their privately
owned factories. Here they make il
ready for consumption and ship 1t
| back over their railroads and sell il
through their wholesale houses. 4
The farmers 6 cent hog goes
through these agencies and comes
out of 80 cent bacon.
His cent beef is turned into
| 20 cent steak
His 10 cent cotton comes out 40
cent mercerized silk
His COW hides get back IN SO to
Sc shoes, often with paper soles
His L cent wool reaches him III
$40 blankets.
His 80 cent wheat is~bought back
in SO flour, minus the bran and
! shorts, and when brought in the
| form of bread-the weight of a bush !:
ell of wheat costs 81.
| What do the farmers need2
The tenant farmers need, first,
! land that they may work without
| paying rent.
Some of the Socialist state plat
! forms have proposed that the state
buy the land of the landlorcN and
! lease it to the tenants. permitting
| the rent over and above the intert<t
cost TO apply on the purchase price,
This is & timely proposition and
| VIII work i'll such states as Okla
honla. where the land is cheap, bur
productive. 1t will not apply to ali
states. for in some OF them, such as
Iowa, Illinois. Kansas, and Nebraska.
| interest, even at I or per cent, is
| higher than rent.
It mas also been proposed to levy
graduated tax on rented land, es-
pecially that held by aliens, ana
thus force down it's price and make
1T possible to buy it. This is slow
| method. but has some merit.
| Something of greater value than
all these is the conservation. and re-
clamation of all land subject to irri-
CATION or drainage.
! There are millions OF. acres of ir-
figlDle land and the government once
| IN the hands OF the Socialists, or by
the men in Washington to force ac-
ton, could build storage reservoirs,
supply water at cost, and BY. extend
ing loans and allowing long time,
| furnish homes for millions of Deo-
pie. This would relieve the strain
! and so reduce tenantry that the price
OF land would decrease in value The
same :''l!c could be applied to swamp
land. of which there is much in the
South.
! High priced land to the tenant
class is positive curse. If land
, goes on increasing in value It'll soon
come to pass that only Their may
own the land, just as only the rich
ay own railroads. banks and depart;
| ncnt stores.
And now comes the best PROPOSE
sition of all. \ Socialist government
VIII provide the farmers witt. col
lcctively owned markets. Once the
Socialists get in power they MI take
eva the taiiroads, the warehouses,
the I.ills. packing houses. tie steel,
oil. coal. tanks and other me al: or
production and distribution
This will end high prices or ii;
least roller! and graft. i..is viii
benefit all farmers, either tenants or
farm owners operating their owl.
farms. The farmer will thus get his
products to market at cost and be
able to buy his necessities at tho
labor cost Of production and distri-
button.
While in a sense this will be gov
eminent ownership, yet it must be
understood that it includes demo-
cratic management, which means
that the people Will elect all officials
and control them by the recall
The workers will elect their own
overseers, regulate the hours of SER
vice and determine the sanitation
safety and working conditions.
AS machinery develops and it be-
comes possible to raise the STAPLE
Ia