The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915, 1915-03-25
Ultimate Interests Of Farmers
and Wage-SIaveS Identical
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL
STATUS OF THE FARMER
BY JOHN NJ. POWERS
Marcus. Wash.)

ps WYNN W. ~ W 1i,s
Marcus, Wash.)
To the Editor of The Washington So
cialist:
The questions dealt with on page4,
in your issue of February 20, under
the title Interesting Questions"
especially the question relative to the
farmer and his status in the class
struggle deserve more than passing
notice,
While | agree with you in your
classification of the farmer as pro-
fit monger, because he has produce to
sell at price higher than he paid the
farm laborer for producing it, or more
properly helping to produce it, l do
not quite agree that the farmers pro-
fits would be greater, if farm machin-
cry, groceries, etc, were cheaper, and
/ will add taxes to the list, with the
assertion that: Whether taxes are
high or low generally speaking,
makes no material difference to the
farmers as a class. 1t is conceded by
all well informed students of eco
Monies, that the wage earners as
class get only sufficient wages to
meet their economic necessities. i. e.,
to secure enough food, ETC., to keep
themselves in wealth producing con-
dition, and to propagate more slaves.
Now, while the farmer is not a wage
slave in the strict sense of the term,
he most certainly is a land slave, and
the economic law above referred to
applies TO him just as much as it does
to the wage slave.
Therefor disagree with you, when
you imply that the farmers interests
are in lower prices for what he buys,
and higher prices for what he sells,
the farmer in buying and selling is in
an entirely different position to that
of the merchant, or any others in the
true profit mongering class. On the
contrary, he is in the same position
as the wage slave, i. e., he has moth
ing to say about the price of his pro-
duct when he sells it and also nothing
to say about the price of such neces-
sites as he is compelled to purchase
from the manufacturer or dealer
The farmer is as much at the mercy
of the four vampires interest, rent,
profit, and the state as the wage earn
er is, and it is to his interest to abol-
ish these things.
OF course he will not admit the
above, but neither will the wage slave
admit it, in fact both resent any pro-
pag&nda in that direction neverthe-
less the facts are not altered.
l do not pretend to law down any
course of tactics to my comrades in
this great educational movement, i.
believe that the time of those desir-
ing to reach the ultimate goal, would
be better employed, in trying to bring
the farmers to realization of what
his interests really are, than in split
ting hairs, trying to segregate the
farmers from the workers, and place
them in the capitalist class. l will
say for the benefit of those that may
read this that l do not deal with the
farmers in this matter as individuals,
but as a whole.
You have said that "the question
is too complex to treat of fully" and
agreeing with you on that l will not
attempt it, but will conclude with
saying: The desire on the part of GER
tain wage-slayes to place the farmer
in the capitalist class does not result
from an intelligent understanding of
the class struggle, but is species of
craft-consciousness, compounded with
little scissor-billites.
Our friend Bill Scissors is a very
superficial thinker, he sees a foreign
er with a job, and at once cries out
"driVe out the foreigners" he thinks
the foreigner is the cause of his own
unemployment.
The fellow that blames the farmer
for any part of present conditions is
pretty much like Compensate or like
Bill Scissors himself. The real Gull
prit gets away with the swag, while
the fight between the workers, as to
their religions, nationalities, and
crafts goes on