The Socialist and labor star. [volume] (Huntington, W. Va.) 1911-1915, 1914-04-17
Solving The GnaWing
Question Of Want

fered while others lived?
We Socialists put it to you as a
common sense affirmation that your
time can come now, if you and all
others like you will join in a political
effort to make it come.
Need Never Want Again.
We promise that if you will give US
power you need never want again for
work, OF for the products Of work. If
the people, through their government,
own the trusts and other great indus
tries, why should anybody ever agar
want for work? Thenceforward the
great plants would ever be open. Nc
factory door would be closed so long
as there was a demand for the product
Of that factory.
But we promise you more. We pro-
mise you that if you will give us pow
err we will give you not only the con-
tinuous opportunity to work, but we
will give you continuous freedom
from robbery. Nothing is simpler
than to work without being robbed.
All that is necessary is to enable the
worker to go to work without walking
into robbers clutches. No one can
now go to work without walking into
the clutches of many robbers. When
a man goes to work for the steel trust
he walks into the clutches of everyone
who owns stocks and bonds of the
steal trust. When man goes to work
for a railway company, he walks into
the clutches of every robber who owns
the stocks or the bonds of that rail-
way. In other words the stock and
bond holders of these industries, by
virtue of their control of the machin-
cry involved, have It in their power to
say whether the worker shall work OF
not work. They say he shall not work
unless they can make profit upon his
labor. The worker cannot hagge too
long, because he must work or starve.
Therefore he comes to terms. He
walks into tie clutches Of those who
want to rob INN Of part of what he
produces. He consents to work for
only part of what he produces.
Robbery, Not Business.
That is robbery. You may call it
business, but it is still robbery. Under
Socialism there would be no such rob
berry, because goods would not be pro-
duced for profit. Goods would be pro-
duced only because the people wanted
them. Whatever the people wanted
would be produced, not in niggardly
volume, but in abundance.
Do you doubt any of these state
ments? How can you doubt them?
We have the men. We have the ma
terials. The only trouble is that they
are kept apart. They are kept apart
because few men control things and
will not allow men and material to
come together unless it means a pro
fit for these few men in control. We
Socialists propose to put them togeth-
CT. If they were put together, how
much longer do YOU believe the people
would have to shiver in winter for
lack of wooden clothing?
Bring Men and Material Together.
No other party except the Socialist
rarty purposes to put men and mater
ial together. Every other party ex-
cept the Socialist party proposes that
a small class of men shall continue to
own all of the great industries and
machinery while the great classes
continue to be robbed as the price of
its use. Every other party except the
Socialist party proposes that a small
body of men shall continue to graft off
the rest by wringing profits from
them. No other party except the So
cialist party puts the people above
profits.