The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1917-01-11
WAR BRINGS US.
PROSPERITY, BUT
PRICES HIT POOR
America Feeding, Clothing and
MunitiOning World While
Own Citizens Suffer.

The American people are feeding,
clothing and supplying the world and
starving themselves to DEATH
These words might be written
across the official summary just is
sued by the United States bureau of
foreign and domestic commerce, COW
ering the figures of exports and i'm
ports from and to the United States.
During October, 1916, FOR which the
! statictics are now available, the gen.
tlemen who own the food supply. the
tools. the machinery. the land. and
everything else in America. shipped
abroad commodities valued at $780,
soc, 900.
u S. Exports Double
Nearly $500, 100000 worth of food,
clothing and other commodities in a
single month: This was 46 per cent
more than the record for the same
month Of the preceding year. Octo-
ber, 1875. In other words, exports
have nearly doubled this October over
last. This total was $50 per cent in
excess Of the exports for October,
1914.
For the IL months ended October,
1916, the total exports reached the
enormous value Of $5,l28, 100000. This
staggering sum is quite beyond the
human imagination.
Gold Pours Into the United States
The month of October showed a
net gold movement Of $90,50O,O0O,
and the II months period ending in
October, showed a net inward gold
movement of $469, 100000, or 1924
400 less than the net balance of trade
against the United States.
Every Wheel is spinning; every fac
tory is humming; every worker who
wants to get job can get it now if
ever. Wages are higher than ever
The European war has erected an
| artifilial tariff wall" around the in
dustries of Ameriia, higher and
stronger than Mckinley ever dream
ed of. We are effectually protect
ed" from the "pauper labor of Eu-
rope" because the pauper labor of
Europe is shooting itself to death in
the trenches, and what part of it is
not shooting is busy "a hours a day
making shells and bombs for it's
brothers to shoot.
And yet, under these conditions OF
unprecedented prosperity" labor is
starving to death Men and women
are working as they never worked be-
fore, and getting wages they never
dreamed of before, and with it all
they can OF possibly make both ends
meet!
But Prices Go Up
The truth is that the sending out
of the country of millions and mil
lions of dollars worth more of COM
modities than are coming in; and the
great influx of gold, have had nc
other effect than to send prices sky
high.
We have placed in the hands of a
few capitalist masters the right to
say whether or not we shall eat. And
they say we shall not eat unless we
pay their price!
No
They own our jobs, they own oul
food, they own our means of trans
portation, distribution and manufac
ture; they even own or control the
very land from which is grown OIL
taken the raw material for all the
things the people need.
There is only one solution for the
high cost of living and that is for the
people to take possession of the land
tools, machinery and means of pro.
duction and distribution.
There is only one possible relief
in the absence of a complete solu.
ton, and that is for the people
through their government, to inter
vene and take control of as much OF
the machinery of production and dis
tribution as can be taken in an emer
gency such as the present.