The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1917-02-08

] Hi .NN NNO. 'lI aO t'''ll'N '''N ''N
|vcu worth looj,uw into before criti-
,jsirr il the way some Of our party
uonhcrs u.c doing. lG we are to
make fcht AGAINST this law, then
we must recognize the arguments put
Iup 10y those who are in favor of It.
| II IS no use betting the air and maxi
4 my believe that rs advocates know
nothing Of the dire results to the
working class that this law, according
TO some of our membership viii bring
about
Many former members of the So
ciahst Party, as was stated last week,
are in favor of the non partisan law
aud these declared their conversion to
luon-rartsan methods chiefly because
The destruction of the old political
parties would abolish the party pa
Ftiotism which was the chief stumb-
ling block to the acceptance Of So
cialist principles for the workers.
They point out that at present the
workers are divided between three or
four strong parties, and the employers
dictate nominations in each of these
parties, with the exception Of the So
cialist party They claim that the
adoption Of non partisan primary
would allow the concentration Of the
political power of the working class
on candidates representing their class
interests, with some hope of election,
and for the first time really show an
expression of the class struggle in
the polticnl field.
This explanation was made by the
farmers at their recent conference and
also by the labor union delegates to
the convention of the Washington
State Federation of Labor. This is
the only argument presented by these
bodies for the law. Their claim that
the Socialist Party was impotent in
the political field cannot be denied by
us. And their claim that the name
of the Socialist Party predudiced peo-
pie and made it extremely hard for
the party to get its propaganda read
and accepted has a great deal of truth
in it.
Now these facts cannot be over
looked and the hackers of this law may
be, and we think they are, conscien-
tious in their desire to throw the eX-
plotting class off their backs, but they
lack the moral courage to stand by
the Socialist party and fight to the
last ditch or TO change the policies
of the party so that there would be
absolutely no excuse for claiming the
Socialist party to be impotent.
If the Socialist Party is impotent
| it is not the fault of those who are in
I it as much as Of those who have drop
ped out of it. Sooner or later we all
arrive at the conclusion that the Party
is not functioning as it should and
then we look around for its weak
points. If after finding it's weak
points we decide to get out of it we
may be sure that it's policies will not
be altered. If we conclude that the
method of wealth production and dis
tribution in the United States is
wrong we will not be benefited by
packing up our buds and going to an
other country and the same applies
to those who have joined the Social
list Party and not found it what they
would have it. The only way to solve
the problem is to stay with the party
and make yourself felt and heard. A
gutter never got anybody anywhere
Now then. The non-partisan idea
has already taken a great hold and we
predict that should it ever go to the
voters for referendum that it will
carry. Whether it carries or not
should in no way hurt the Socialist
Party, providing, the Party adopts
new methods of political action by
adapting itself to present day condi-
tions. If by chance the Socialist Party
should elect 10 or IL representatives
to Olympia in 1918 the eyes of the
Washington voters would be upon
them and we have not the least doubt
but that their actions in the house
would receive the complete endorse
ment Of every working class organic
alton in the state. After that non
partisanism Or any other ism will in
no way retaId the growth Of the So
cialist Party.
The Socialist Party must take up
the cudgels of the organized farmers
and organized labor of this state. As
we stated last week these organiza-
lions are demanding measures that
are presumed to be beneficial to those
bodies, and the Socialist Party is
standing by and not offering any as
sistance in getting these measures en-
acted into law.
! We have absolutely nothing to loose