The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-12-14
THE REAL ISSUE
(By P. \. Wiggins.l

Shall the people. the whole people,
own. control and manage the re-
sources of Nature and the instru-
ments OF production and distribution
or shall a class do so? This is the
| real issue, around which all other
political and ethical issues cluster.
Let all men take warning from the
past. That the plans of those great
aristocrats, (Lyeurgus, Numa, Solon
Plato, Aristole), failed because
they left the laborers out He re-
belled, and in his crude numeric
might broke them up and killed them.
He destroyed their governments at
last, and Is building a new era upon
their ruins.
Governments rise and fall, parties
come and go. The working class tolls
on, year in and out on this ragged
edge of poverty Many of them in
the actual grip of hunger, unorgan-
lied, ignorant, superstitious. While
on the other side is small, compact,
well-organiZed body of shrcwd, intel
ligent men in actual os;esSiOE of the
wealth of the world backed by the
prestige of Church and State, of art
and learning. The contest IS an ua-
equal one, and il is no woIde: that
spoilation and exploitation is the cr-
der of the day. But a great chaIse is
about to be made. A cnange for the
Letter. or possible for the worse.
Capitalism carries within the germ
of higher civiliZation-our present
society has an appearance of vigor and
vitality which seems to defy assault.
But If we put our ear TO the exhuber-
! ant life we can hear the slow rum
| blings of Death destroying it from
within. A splendid mantle covers our
civilization, but on looking more
closely we see that it has already lost
it's sheen: its brilliant colors are be-
ginning to fade, and ere long this
splendid. cloak will become the funer-
al shroud in which capitalistic society
is to sleep it's last. Capitalistic So
ciety has organized and developed in
dustry and commerce to a point of
perfection. That 4 small percentage
of people can and do produce all that
the entire population can consume.
This means that large percentage
must be idle part or all the time, but
how are these idle people to live they
can only do SO by living at the eX-
pense of otherS-capitalistic society
does not provide any other way. So
cialism would have the whole people
own. control and manage industry and
commerce. The people would then
provide employment at useful, pro-
ductive labor for everybody for suf-
ficent length of time to provide every
body with all the necessaries and COM
forts of life. That would mean short
hours OF labor for everybody. 1t
would mean plenty for all-all the
time.
There would be no under-consump-
tion because everybody would have
the opportunity to work and would
receive for this work all that he pro-
duced. There would be no over-pro-
duction. because people would own
what they produce. Socialism II the
only hope of the world. Socialism
says remove the cause of poverty and
it's effects will disappear. If YOU sleep
ing, moss-grown, Superstitious. igno-
! rant beast of burden. you working
slaves. will only arouse yourselves and
open your eyes to the light of Social
ism, life to you will cease to be the
| mockery it is now. Instead of as
| now. increasingly slavery to mafS rich
others-who work you for profits
Socialism sayS-to You workers, be-
| long all that your labor produces.