The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-10-23
Socialism Will Pre-
serve the Home.
iRefutes Peter Collins
Other Statement.
Other State

rsSOC1al1Sm attacks inc Sducllly VI
smarriage and would disrupt the
home"
Reply: Probably one of the
worst indictments that can be
drought against Capitalism is
containd in the above charge
against Socialism. Let US consid-
er q. few facts. One million di-
yorces have been granted in this
country in the last ten years under
|NCapitalism. Two million married
swomen are wageearners in our
factories and department stores.
Iook over the records OF our d.
Fyorce courts and you will be sur
prised what a large percentage are
based upon wife desertion and In
Temperance. A young husband is
Sout of work. He is unable to Sc
cure a job for a few weeks. Hv
becomes discouraged, deserts his
Family or takes to drink. Both of
these results can be charged
against the profit system. When
it is PROFITABLE to employ Ia
Dor, capital gives it job. When 1t
is NOT profitable, labor is fired or
lar don.
Frances willard. after years of
experience in temperance work,
gave it as her opinion, THAT pow
erty was more the cause of tntem-
perance than was intemperance
the cause OF poverty" Standing
up before the National Convention
at Buffalo, of the w. G. T. u. she
declared her conversion to the
cause of Socialism, and uttered
these memorable words: ut is
Gods way out of the Wilderness
into the Promised Land. Would
that wre- young again that I
might give my life to its cause"
Thousands of young men remain
single because of the low wages
paid labor, the high cost of living
and the uncertainty of continuous
employment. Wives and children
are compelled to take their places
in the factories beside the father,
. in order that their home shall not
be brokenSup-
Women marry to secure home
and support. The econ onlic stress
of the battle for bread feeds the
great army of prostitution. that
horrifies and appalls. Is such a.
system protection OF the sanctt-
ty OF marriage or the home?
VI. Statement by Mr.. Collins:
seThe way to improve labor condt-
lions is to pay higher wages"
Reply: In every line OF PRO
duction an incrase of the labor.
cost Is followed by an increase OF
the selling price of the commodity
involved. Higher wages alone will
not solve the problem. The great
mass OF producers make up the
great mass of consumers as well.
Along with higher wages there.
must come an intelligent plan BY
which the cost of living must be
kept stationary or reduced. Other
wise an Increased wage, accompa-
MED by an increase In the selling
price of the article involved, will
mean no more of food. clothing
and shelter for labor than 1t could
secure before.
Il is this feature Of the profit
system that makes it impossible
for Union Labor to solve our eco
monte problems, unless they adopt
Socialism. Labor Unions DO
help and can help in many useful
ways. But the only scientific
standard, by which the. prosperity
OF any community of wage-earners
can be measured, is by the purch-
asing power OF the wages paid Ia
Dor.
KGTIuIJ au - -
vearslago there was strike in the
anthracite coal regions. Six weeks
the miners laid down their picks
and shoyels. When they took
them up again they had received
an Increase in wages amounting to
ak millions,of dollars.
When the owners of the coal
met after the strike to fix the SELL
ing price, they advanced it not
only enough to cover the six mil-
lions increase of labor cost. but
added eight millions OF additional
profit for thmselves. And the
urion plumber, bricklayer, car
penter. machinist and every other
union and non-union worker. who
burned anthracite coal. paid for
both increases.
p. s. Tomorrow we answersthe
charge Socialism is opposed to-
religion and a belief In Cod !"
made by Peter Collins.