The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1917-02-01
REORGANIZATION

The result of the November election
has given rise to queries that nobody
seems able to answer with any great
satisfaction to themselves. That
something different from what we
have been doing, must be done goes
without saying. The slump in our
vote will have n physiological effect
on the masses who took some interest
in the late campaign. 1t seems to us
that the Party must bestir itself and
get out of the rut that we have been
driving so long in.
REORGANIZATION is what is
needed.
Most of US are, or We're, under the
impression that the working class
could be EDUCATED. With that in
mind we have sent our speakers into
every town and hamlet, our leaflets
into every city house and farm house.
Week in and week out, year in and
year out, we have delivered the mes
sage of emancipation from wage
slavery. Millions heard our message.
We were jubilant. We were expect
ant And then came the RESULT.
Almost crushing. The news was re-
ceived in silence. We were at a loss
how to account for it. We had work
ed hard. All through the years we
had been laughed at. We had been
fired from job after job. We had been
dubbed, jailed, hung and shot for
preaching the gospel of emancipa-
ton.
And now it seems that we must go
over the same field again, through the
same ordeals with probably the SAME
RESULT. If not with the same re-
suit then we must get our heads to-
gether to determine what is the mat
ter with our METHOD Of propagan-
da, and what is the matter with the
MAN AND WOMAN whom we strive
to reach with our propaganda.
After careful study WE have come
to this conclusion:
That we are wasting our efforts on
a great portion of the working class.
A great portion of that class are
dumb, sluggish, thick-headed brutes.
You cannot pound any intelligence
into them with a sledgehammer. They
were born and bred to work and
sleep. They are CONTENT in their
ignorance. They are SATISFIED to
wallow in the filth and slime of an
insipid existence. Thousands of years
of slavery has left its mark upon
them. They make good BREEDERS
and good WORK MULES, but outside
of that they are of no use except to
be exploited. That class of slave
CANNOT assimilate the Socialist
philosophy. We might just as well
talk to a brick wall. They are hope
less and we ought to recognize it.
On the other hand, we find people
who have benefited to some extent
from the continued AGITATION of
the Socialist party. Among these are
people in all walks of life. These
people are banding themselves to-
gether for their MUTUAL BENEFIT.
They have ORGANIZED with some
particular purpose in view NO MAT
TER what the purpose is, it shows
plainly that they have intelligence
that can be put to SOME USE. As
an organized body they are able to
have some weight in the GUIDANCE
Of movements that pertain to our So
cial life. AS farmers oranges, as
trade unions, as commercial bodies,
they are continually looking to ways
and means for lettering their condi-
ton. Socialism to even THESE is
incomprehensible. They are NOT
students. They are only a SHORT
distance removed from the thick
headed brutes we spoke Of above.
Their struggle for existence leaves
but little time for thought or study.
Once in a while an IDEA gets into
their heads which is hard to remove.
And these ideas APPEAR to them as
being the CAUSE for their poverty.
And that idea SPREADS. 1t is
merely an EFFECT Of the capitalist
method Of wealth production, but it
can be seen. And so the idea is taken
up by hundreds and eventually it is
taken up by the ORGANIZATION to
which they belong. And from then
on, it becomes the ONE AIM in the
lives Of those men to REMOVE THAT
EFFECT.
And we Socialists have stood by
and cried, 1T WON'T WORK." at
won't work." at won't work."
At times our WHOLE ENERGY
has been taken up with the work of
trying to prove with WORDS) that
this idea WON'T WORK out the way
the particular organization or indi-
vidual expects it to.
The heads Of the human family are
full Of IDEAS-that won't workout
we Socialists are the only ones who