Strike bulletin. (Clinton, Ill.) 1913-1915, 1913-11-18
The Wage Slave.

Try pr. Howard y ,iihbsb
The average American w"tkngmsn does not
Ike the term wag. slave applied to himself
lie much prefers 10 b. told In the language Of
the Fourth of 1ulS orator that this is great and
h". and glorious republic. wh.t- IN. American
.agl" -efsams .NerN Tine Mark Hanna pufs salt
upon his tail. wh.fe the early bird catches the
worm. hut thr Early worm g.ts caught every
um.. where every man is king. though he Is
walking around upon hl~ uppers and don't know
where every man can ha'" all IN" work h. wants
At n. N.ty highest wages paid In the ciyilised
world That Is What Mark Hanna said a tn.
Merchants club dinner in it"ston a few months
since. aud that Is just the Kind III tsffy that the
American w"rkingman likes aud II long as he
likes 1t. don't blame tn. politicians for giving
II to him. But in spite of his likes and dislikes
~" fat remains thai our present wage system 10
a slav. system. pure and simple The capitalist
class Is the master class. tn. working class Is
the rlaN. class, whether willing at know edge
II or not What Is slavery IL does not consist
In tn. color of u mans skin. II does not consist
in any accident of race OF nationality. In the
word, of Horace greeley slavery Is a condition
In which human being exists "a convent
ence Tor other human beings II possesses two
essential features subjecton and exploitation that
and the OF that man by tn. other man for
his own interes, and profit. Wherever th.s. two
features exist You will find "a form OF slavery
and they do exist under our present wage system
as they did under feudalism and chattel slavery
stance The essential features of slavery. the d.
vision OF society into economic extremes. an own
OF the product OF the depe ndent class by the
ing class. these are common 10 all The corner
stone of chattel slavery was the private owner
ship OF the slave himself. The corner stone Of
f.udslism the ownership of the soil upon
which the serf depended. The corner stone Of
capt. alism Is the private ownership OF the ma
chin.ry of production upon which the wage work
Of today depend. All these forms Of subjec
tiun and ownership rest in their final analysis
upon brute force. slave therefore without a
soldier. mast.rship without militarism is an Inn
possibility The antipathy of the labor movement
tn. military l. deep seated aud well grounded
The changes from chatt.l slavery to serfdom
and from serfdom TO our present wage system
mad. by tn. master class in its own inter-
ests by these changes the owning class has
shifted from its own shoulders under tn. sp.ctous
plea of greater freedom. the responsibility Of TAX
ing care Of its slaves. while II has all the time
retained the essential features Of siavery-dep.nd
ence and exploitation.
The actual abolition Of slavery 10 the mission
Of the working class alone We boast here at the
North that our fathers abolished chsttel slavery
generation axe. but they didn't do ANY such
ihing | do question in the slightest degree
the honesty and sincerity of the and women
Of the old abolition movement. l do not question
In the slightest degre. the heroism and patriotism
Of the who fought the civil War. They
thought II was war of human freedom strug
gle human liberty. All credi, and all glory
to tn. and women who would thus sacrifice"
and struggle for ideal. though its attainment
rev ealed to w.. did Wendell Phillips. that
h only Dead Sea Apple in their hands.
They actually accompli shed what the master class
has been doing from time immemorisl They
cha nged the form of slavery 10 meet the needs Of
economic development the substance OF slavery
sttll remains North and South. upon black and
white alike II Nnu inclined To question this
statement GO to the cotton mills OF Georgia Ala
bams. North and south Carolina. where there are
than $4,000 little whit. children from to