The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-09-11
UNITE


~ 'h'hhN f''h'iANA''
Meeting a man the other day. we
got TO talking about conditions and
after a while / pinohed him down to
admitting the need of social change. f
Continuing | asked him If he was a
member of any of the labor organiza-
tons working towards that end He.
said mo" Don't you know that there
is an organization known as the So
cialist party. alhich openly proclaims
its program of hostility towards the
present system and which makes plain
through its propaganda of the neces-
sity of those suffering from present
economic pressure banding themselves
together with the object in view of
capturing the-powers of government,
or gaining political power?
The reason for this is that in all
labor disputes, be it wages or hours of
labor, conditions which have become
unbearable orr the recognition of the
right to organize, government-or
force, call it what you will-city, state
or national, Continually defends the
few-who own-against the many
who produce and own only their
human energy which they must sell in
order to live Government certainly is
a strong agent-in keeping labor which
is men, women and children, down
and at arms length from their product.
why should | join the Socialist
party" he exclaimed. | have no
vote, That is one of the strongest
reasons, our friends, for joining, You
have just proclaimed your helpless
ness, your lack of weapons with which
to fight back. Without a weapon and
alone, what must man or woman do
who finds himself in that fix? Why,
just what mens and women have been
forced to do for ages for mutual
strength and protection. They must
join together cement, adhere, hold
fast, mix, unite. There you have it,
Unite, workers, unite" Find our
common need--food, clothing, shelter;
Oul COllllllOll SOoil JliC oCNullIg VI
these things for alls And upon these
needs. aims, desires, aspirations, let us
unite" forgetting in the working to-
ward this greatest of all freedoms,
Lpatty d'ffa- neeularitias ard
characteristic shortcomings.
In the heat of the work, in the
struggle and fire which emenates from
each as they bring their share, be it
great or small, which goes toward the
shaping and perfecting of this weapon,
organization, which each has declared
for when they joined themselves to-
gether in their common pledge.
Can't you see, friend, that alone you
can do nothing? Wishing for thing
does not bring the desired result. No;
you and l must work and in an era
Of cooperative collective effort it is
folly for a man or woman to struggle
alone.
Workers Must Organize.
| This change, you say, is needed, but
there are members of our own class
who would fight you bitterly at pro-
posing such thing. Why not aid
/ those who are attacking prejudice,
fear, superstition and the other ele-
ments of distrust? These must be
cleared away so that in the minds of
men and women a revolution will take
place.
Clearly they will see the wonderful
changes that have taken place in the
mechanical world, all aids to wealth
production. They will see the social
means by which men and women
work; they will see the vast social
product, the result of the labor of
thousands of pairs of hands and heads
Following that product, they discover
that it is not redistributed among those
who produced it, but is turned aside
Golfers of a few, who bring nothing of
rservice, only opening their rapacious
maws which are never satisfied
though satiated, surfeited, over aud
over with the products of our heads
and hands And the cry arises: this
is social injustice for a few to private
ly own that which the many produce
If we have wealth socially made then
it should be socially owned and priv
ate ownership must go The greatest
good to the greatest number. And
you hold back, friend, because you
The A. d. S. and the Penslar Medi-
cines are very popular at the Pioneer
Drug Store.