The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915, 1915-02-04
AN ANSWER THAT WAS NOT
PUBLISHED
shipley Replies to r. P. Wood S
Tribune Letter

replying to Mr. Crosby. This second
Shlpley, but the editor of the "Tri- |
bune" neglected to give 1t space. We
wonder why? Maybe our readers can
guess the correct answer in terms of
economic determinsm." Anyhow
not to be suppressed, we publish the
letter in our own press. Here's where
we put one over on the would-be sup
pressors Of working-class philosophy
THE REPLY
Editor Morning Tribune:
In your issue of January 30 Mr..
Richard p. Wood replies to an article
which appeared in the last issue of
the Washington Socialist, dealing with
his approval of DR.. Manning's High
school lecture on "Why People Are
Hungry" Mr.. Wood states that he
cannot quite see the relevancy" Of
the attempt made to discredit" him.
AS the author of the article referred
to, | beg leave to answer Mr.. Wood
through your columns.
First of all, the article was written
merely for the purpose Of discrediting
the views expressed by Mr.. Wood. Mr.
Wood represents a certain class in
society who are willing, upon the least
provocation, to offer gratituous in
suits to all those who refuse to be
misled as to the cause of poverty
among the vast majority of the worlds
wealth producers. Knowing as we do
that the average wages paid in the
manufacturing industries of the United
States in 1909, was 1913, While the
value of the product per worker was
s3,125, we refuse to believe that the
J workers are poor because of what
they spend, and insist upon it that
they are, as class. poor because Of
what they don't get.
In reply to this incontrovertible
statement, Mr.. Wood came back al
Mrs. Crosby with his "venomous" ex
posture of some hopeless pessimists
who, because they have no desire fol-
honest labor, pose as God-sent leaders
to guide their fellows to the promised
land"
Aside from the fact that this langu
age can scarcely be called "a message
of good will and endeavor in the in
terests of real happiness and mutua
: progress l wish, again, to call atten
ton to the fact that, as Mrs. Crosby
4 asserted, DR.. Manning's high schoo
lecture was a capitalist-class lecture
in that it deliberately sought to prove
that the poverty of the working class
as class, was due to their expendi
= lures, and not to their miserable in
comes of from four to six hundred dol
lars a year.
In supporting thesis of this char
acter, Mr.. Wood is taking sides with
the minority who wax rich, not be
cause of what they save, but because
of what they exploit from the workers
= -robbing them of the surplus values
they create, and holding down thei1
: standard of living through ownership
OF their means of living, and the con
r sequent competition for jobs among
: the tooless, landless workers.
And the percentage of this exploita
ton, Mr.. Wood, grows steadily higher
despite Dr. Manning's untrue state
ment that the workers are better of
b. today than at any previous time in
I their history. In 1S49 the owners OF
the workers. means of self-support
I were glad to be able to extract an
average product per worker to the
value of 1912, leaving a difference be-
} tween wages paid and value of pro
} duct of $685.. By 1859 this difference
between value of product and amount
J of average wages had risen to $1,150;
/ by 1899, to $2,013, and in 1909 this
, difference between wages paid and
, value of product was $2,606, instead of
1868, as in 1S49. If the average wages
was higher, it was far from being in
creased in proportion to the average
value of product per worker, or in
proportion to increasing profit per
worker. The average worker got
then, and gets now, Just what he re-
ceived for his labor since the down
of so-eaiIed civilization; namely, his
existence cost, his bare living as a
tame work animal.
To hide this original robbery of the
workers through this disguised form
of slavery known as the wages system,
or capitalist system, is the business
of such men as DR.. Manning; and if
you, Mr. Wood, see fit to join in with
DIR, Manning as coadjutor in this rob-
berry you need not complain if you
are attacked on the same grounds that
Dr. Manning himself is attacked.
Socialist Alderman blight, of Mime
apolis, has been holding regular meet