The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1916-03-09
Government Ownership
Will Not Solve Labor
Problems
CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT MUST
COME FIRST

mas ChllCu HlltHtlpi w tiiN '"NN '''''N
government ownership of public utili'
tics, under capitalism, Is not In ITSELF
any solution of I.abor's problems. So
long as the government iself re-
mains IN the control of the capitalist
class. the wage earning class Will be
forced to do the hard work for the
benefit of the trading class aud the
nutocracy combined, without any bet
ter working conditions or higher
wages than obtain under private own
ership and competition, or under prl'
yate monopoly. Not only do govern
ment wageslaves get smaller wages
under government ownership, but
they are forced to give up what NIUE
individual liberty OF action which, in
theory, at least they have as EN-
ployes of private corporations. inc
dcspotism exercised by the postal de-
partment of the nation is notorious
while the crushing out of democracy
and civil rights in government navy
wards is conspicuously in evidence at
Mare Island, California, at this time,
as reported by our Oakland cores
pondent last week.
The demand of many workers for
government ownership of railroads
and telegraph lines, etc, Is all right
as a step forward toward the ultd-
mate specialization of all public utili'
ties, including mines and factories
and mills. But no one need be de-
ceiyed into the belief that this for
ward step would be of any immediate
benefit to the men who build ana
operate railroads, as wage slaves
The capitalist government would
crush them down to the lowest pos
sible standard of living, as rapidly
as possible, so that the owning-class
could make more profits on their
shipments of merchandise. Labor
would be the goat, as always,
Says Mr.. Walsh, on this point:
Government ownership of rail-
roads is as sure to come as there IS
sure to be a more equitable distrl-
button Of wealth, and freedom, and
Justice for wage earners. But these
lines of progress must be kept sepa-
rate and distinct In Washington to-
day the government is paying street
cleaners $125 a day, from which they
must buy uniforms and pay for their
cleaning. Government ownership is
sound and right. But it will not of
itself solve the question of justice to
the wage earners. Even. under gov
eminent ownership, the employees
must have the right to organize and
act together, and even to strike"
notwithstanding the irrefutable
facts advanced by Mr. Walsh, it is
nevertheless imperative that the
working class should work for the So
cialization of all railroads, shops, fac
tories, mines, and lands needed for
the production of things socially nee
essary and comparatively produced,
SO long as one class owns the means
whereby another class lives, the class
that owns the land and machinery will
exploit to the limit the dispossessed
workers. He who owns the machine
owns the product. Let us have gov
eminent ownership of the things up
on which the masses are dependent
for a living, but meanwhile the
masses must see to it that they also
OWN THE GOVERNMENT. THEY
MUST THEMSELVES BE THE GOV
ERNMENT. So long as the wage
workers are content to vote the pow
er of life and death into the hands
of the owning-class, or their repre-
sentatives, just so long will they be
held in industrial slavery and de-
they vote for.
Voting merely for a fellow wage
slave will, on the other hand, never
get the worker anything worth while.
1t is not sufficient that the aspirant
to political office be a card man, or
q friend of labor" He must be also
a member of a Workingman's political
organization, financed and controlled
by the workers themselves for them
selves. Working-cla candidates on
capitalist-class tickets are not real
working-class representatives. One
cannot look out for the interests of
the bosses and the employees at one
and the same time. Labor organiza-
tons recognize this principle by not
allowing employers membership in
their unions Neither should they ex.
pect members of the employing class,
or their sympathizers, to represent
them, faithfully, politically The So
cialist party candidates alone are in
position to act as labOr's servants
having as they do a definite labor
platform to carry into effect, as pro