The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1917-01-11
WHAT ARE WE GOING
no DO ABOUT II?

After reading the glittering and
voluble diagnoses of the Socialist
party by one who puts no value on
the ballot as weapon of self pro
lection, and to whom "Any Iegisa-
tive program is meaningless" So
alists might be discouraged unless
they reflect that one to whom any
Legislative program is meaningless is
not competent to diagnose the case of
a sick political party. His diagnosis
of the case is equally incompetent
He says; "Unless something new
happens (and new things do not hap
penn we must fade away from the
Times picture screen. The lesson
Of fifty years of Socialist agitation
and education is not that the ballot
in the hands of the wage slave is a
useful weapon nor dangerous to the
bourgeois; but rather that the slaves
are slow to learn to think and act
for themselves; because thousands Of
years of slavery and teaching Of
master class ethics has almost elm
mated from the mind of the slave the
last spark of the spirit Of rebellion.
One who advises the eve have no
use for political state" only proves
that he does not understand the
meaning Of terms: Government, even
democracy, implies organized pow
er-power to govern. Government
without power is the philosophy of
Anarchism in nutshell, and useless
as a law without a penalty. The pow
ers of government are always eXcr-
cised in the economic interests Of
those who are in control of the gov
eminent. That is the platitude
worthy of Bryan or a Roosevelt,
but we cannot get the wage slaves
to understand that simple truth and
act upon it. That is why they march
proudly, they don't "wobble" to the
polls and vote power and authority
into the hands of their masters. By
the ballots of the wage workers the
masters are masters LEGALLY
with our consent. That is lots Of
comfort and encouragement to the
masters. 1t is the wage slaves con-
sent to their own slavery put in writ
ing. Our anti-political comrades sell
dom advise against voting for indus
trial despotism. They waste all of
their logic trying to prove the fulfil
ity off voting for industrial freedom,
when the poor workers do not seem
to need that advice. Owe are not ex-
plotted in Congress-" we are told. By
the same logic we conclude that we
are not exploited by the Mayor and
Sheriffs whom we elect in Everett
for instance, and Socialist school
teachers are exploited in the school
room at the point of production, and
not by the school boards whom we
elect.
From one big union," we are adj
vised, and that will scare Capitalism
to death, and then we will have In
dustrial Democracy. But if they still
keep on voting for industrial despot-
ism, they will no doubt get what they
vote for. 1t is so easy to foretell
what the wage workers could or
would do If. | never saw nor
heard of political Socialist" who
was not just as anxious to have his
fellow slaves form one big union as
he is to have them unite in one big
party. Whenever the poor dupes be-
come intelligent enough to form one
big union they will know enough to
vote against industrial despotism and
vice versa, when they know enough to
vote for industrial freedom they will
know enough to form one big union:
and it would be very unwise for us
to ignore or be Indifferent to ethics.
| trust there are not many Socialists
who are ready to lie down as a party
and be good politically.
After all is said, we cannot get
away from the fact that what they
need is education. l know of nothing
better under the sun than for the So
cialists to keep it up-AGITATE and
EDUCATE.
H. L. BAKER.