The Butte daily bulletin., 1919-06-07


pie, he scans the pages of history in
order to obtain the solution. Not in
deed, the history of kings and gener-
ais, of popes and bishops, gloritied,
by the average historian as the MAX
ers of history, but the history of the
common people, the life struggles of
the masses.
Having acquired that knowledge.
he has the keynote to the situation.
He knows why Napoleon. a Caesar,
a Bismarck or a William the II ar
rived at certain time; he knows
why a Bruno, Coperncus, a New
ton, Noltaire was inevitably des-
tined to appear; he knows that when
certain economic changes take place
it brings in it's march, individuals
capable of fulfilling functions that
the change demands.
The student recognizes that the
makers of all history are the methods
and processes of production and dis
tribution at given period. on that
economic foundation all other human
institutions are builded. State and
church, school and press, costumes
and moral code, all pyramids upon
that broad structure. The savage
CuHUlDd1 GdlS uullldll ileSn dHu Cl'll-
sidered it ethical, until change in
process of production, had made his
victim more profitable as a slave,
put to work, and in his mind it be-
came immoral to eat human flesh.
A reversion to early communism pro-
duced a Jesus, with His idealistic
teachings and the prevailing slave
state of the powerful Roman empire,
~ T,t1, ,h, l,
with it's teachings of submission to a
ruling class ordained by God.
The feudal regime, merely a mod
ification of chattle-slavery, a reform,
in part, made necessary, in order to
lllay in some measure the continu-
Gus uprisings and struggles of the
slaves, made no great change neces
sary in the political state and a re-
ligion was still necessary that would
draw the pictures of hell and damna
tiOn in eternity as punishment for
the rebellious slave. But evolution
is now going in direction of fun
damental change in the whole meth
DDS of life, a process of production
and distribution terminating way
back in chattel-slavery. evoluting,
| slowly gaining power, drawing near
y
apex, and behold capitalism on its
way with its need for science in
ventiOns and progress, and a Bruno,
a Copernicus, Columbus, New
! ton appears. Feudalism rooted in
the possession of land and serfs and
it's economic reflex, state wherein
Roman Catholicism, fighting every
attempt at change, and by virtue of
it's powerful organization, and the
| fear it had engendered in the masses,
tyranniZed over kings and feudal
lords, who allied with the rising cap
talist class and it's needs, produced
a Martin Luther, a Henry the Eighth,
a John Calvin, a religion allowing
capitalism free scope for develop
ment; a religion, that while adhering
as vigorously as Roman Catholicism
in it's teaching of eternal damnation
to the rebellous slave, it contrived
| to reconcile, the biblical teachings
with the teachings of science, and
hence made possible the study of nat
ural laws, and the application of nat
ural forces to industry and COM
merce; an elasticity, the Catholic
! church, in self defense, did not dare
!, permit. The church prosecuted un-
mercifully all heretics, and as re-
suit, the northern European coun-
tries, where Professionalism was insti-
tuted, made capitalist development
speedier and earlier than in the
south, Notwithstanding the greater
riches and milder climate of that
portion. Indeed, in France and
Spain, the capitalists became athe-
lists, despairing at rising religious
institution, conforming with their in
terest short of abolishing Roman
Catholicism, root and branch, and
| Voltaire, with his virulent onslaught
on the Bible and it's teachings, was
the result, and when the capitalists
later recanted, it was merely be-
cause of apprehension of the power
of the workers, and capitalism S need
of religious teaching, that would
fill the slaves with the dread of the
hereafter, coupled with the relentine
of the church, in its persecution OF
agencies, favoring capitalist develop,
ment.
The casual reader wonders why
this relation of seemly extraneous
matter in explaining the l. w. w. po
sition, regarding political ballotbos
action. 1t must be understood thai
the !. w. w adheres strictly to the
MARKHAM teachings of the Materials
tic conception of history. A brief
description is necessary in order tc
prove the contention of that teach
ing as established by history as wei
as our present day experience. Hav
ing once established the fact, that al
institutions, including the politica
state, has it's existence in the mode
of production. the keynote to the !
w. W. teachings is in our possession
! When the workers are in control Of
the industrial structure they are il
control Of all the institutions buildeC
on that foundation. When you dis
turb and undermine the foundation
of a building, you cause the collapse
, of walls, ceiling, roof and all tha
clings to them. The demolition i
complete.
The political state is surely men
ace to the workers, with it's police
it's soldiers, it's courts, it's schoo. ed
ucation, etc. 1t cannot, however, b.
destroyed simply by voting for it
destruction, even if granted that tn
necessary majority was won. TIL
ballot was given to the workers il