Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1914-09-03

Just as the people of the United
States finished congratulating them
selves on bein goutside the war zone,
a heavy fire was opened on their
kitchens by General High Prices. This
was quickly followed by a general
advance of the cost of living and an
assault on the standard of existence
of the workers of this country.
L This world is to Osmall for one-half
the people to start killing each other
without some fatalities among limo
cent bystanders.
This attack has caused a frantic cry
or heavy artillery to be sent to Wash
ington. The cry is justified. 1t is a
real danger. 1t may easily cost more
lives than will be lost in any Euro
pean battle. Too little food in the
human body is as deadly as too
much lead. The national government
could give relief If it would There
is plenty of food, a superfluity of cot
ton, abundance of leather, coal, iron
Of everything needed to satisfy hui
man wants. There is an oversupply of
The first shot from the Washington
battery sounds. suspiciously as if it
were fired from flint-lock instead of
a machine gun. It is proposal that
a law be- enacted fixing maximum
prices.
This plan was given up by all civil
lied nations about 200 years ago. 1t
was blank shot when it was fired
at the. s'regraters" and "forestallers"
of the Middle Ages. It will hardly
serve to drive off the batallions or
disable the siege guns Of modern
monopoly.
One step has been suggested which
is a move, even If not wholly salts
factory one, in the right direction.
This is the proposal that the national
government should take over the dis
tribution of goods. This would wipe
out some of the billions of dollars
that are now wasted in the sense1ess
struggles of competitive sellers, and a
little of the exorbitant profit that is
confiscated by those who have been
| able establish a monopoly.
So great has been the spread of
Socialist thought that in every crisis
there is an instant appeal for com
| mon action through the government.
| So, in this crisis the national gov
eminent is asked to undertake the
operation of ships to restore the mer-
chant marine, the marketing Of cot
ton to save the bankers who have ad-
vanced money ON the cotton crops, to
print billions of money to save the
wise financiers from bankruptcy, and,
in general, to extend helping hand
wherever the forces Of private capital
ism are crumb1ing.
Suppose that the national govern
ment and the various state govern
ments were really to exercise their
powers in this crisis for the benefit
Of the great mass of workers. Sup
pose these governments should seize
the millions Of acres of land which
the railroads stole from the people
through tricky land grants and are
now holding out of use, and the mil
lions of other acres everywhere that
are held out of use for speculation.
Suppose that these things, the
sources of wealth, should be seized
instead of the wealth after it has been
produced Then suppose that the ma
tional and state governments should
make use of the thousands of agricul-
tural experts that these governments
NOW employ and use them to organize
the millions of unemployed workers
for the production of food and the raw
materials for clothing.
Then suppose that these same gov
ernments should either seize such fac
tories as are now standing idle, or
build such new ones as might be
needed and finish the process. Of pro
duction, and distribute the goods pro