The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1919-02-27
THE PEOPLES FORUM.
SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION
THE CHANGING ORDER.

themselves on TOBIAS been brought
about by the successful termination OF
the closing war. 1t only remains to
work out the details with firm and un-
flnching purpose. Everything that we
fought for is not vet realized, for it
takes time and patience to clear up
such confusion as results from any war
and especially from such long and
! great war as this one. But if there
are to be no more wars. then the whole
world must change; the whole world
must right the wrongs that have been
| growing for ages. There must be an
| adjustment of the relations between
capital and labor: the man of money
must begin to see that the wage-earn-
er is a human being like himself and
entitled, as well as he, to a share in the
profits that result from the combination
of capital and labor.
In the past, things were different.
The capitalist felt that, without his
MONEY!. labor could do little or nothing.
He did not stop to consider that it was
equally true that his money needed
labor to make it good And 80 he
thought and acted as if all the profits
! belonged to him and the laborer should
get only what was barely sufficient for
life. In some cases, where the supply
| of wage-earners was greater than the
demand, the employer cut the wages
still more and paid less than a living
wage. All this came from the old prin-
ciple, untrue, unjust and cruel as it
was,-that the supply of men should
regulate the wages paid, and not the
ability of the employee.
The outcome of this attitude on the
part of the moneyed classes was that
the workingman felt the necessity for
organization, for the formation of
unions such as we have today. to pro-
tect him from the employer who held
the power almost of life and death over
| himself and his family and who could.
and only to often did, deprive him of
any share IN the profits of his own labor
beyond the barest necessities. Where
the workingman was unorganized, the
! manufacturer, the corporation, the
trust could and usually did, take advan-
tage of this fact to keep wages down
to minimum and to lay men off when
ever and for whatever time they felt 1t
profitable to do so, without regard to
the hardship that might result to the
workmen. Gradually this bad feeling
has grown into class hatred which is
greater menace to this country than
Germany ever was, tho she was bad
enough. BolshevIsm has fed on this
and has become more widespread in our
| own land than most people imagine
The guilt for this belongs to capital,
not to labor. Unless the chasm be-
tween the moneyed and the working
classes is filled up or bridge with real
understanding and mutual appreciation
based on principles that will be Just to
both and not oppressive of the worker
to the enormously exorbtant profit of
the capitalist then trouble is bonnd to
come of it.
But the order is changing. The pro-
gram of reconstruction for this country.
tho differing with the different bodies,
religious and political, that are pushing
1t towards execution, leans decidedly
in that direction. Prominent churches.
farseeing leaders in the country and
some of the labor organizations or,
rather. strong parties in them, are sup
porting this program energetically.
President Wilson's principles will ap-
prove it for in fighting for the rights of
! small and oppressed nations and for the
rights of the people against the tyranny
of autocrats, he necessarily declares in
| favor of the oppressed within the ma
ton against the claims of the auto
Gratis of industry.
The change must be brought about
peacefully. Such measures as whole
sale and causeless strikes will not ac-
complish anything. They serve only to
destroy, not to construct, What Boil
shevik reconstruction means can be
seen by looking at Russia. We must
not have our streets dyed red like those
of Petrograd; we must not have every
civilized form of government torn to
pieces and reign of terror and blood
shed set up in its place Yet this is
what Bolshevik propaganda is urging.
Nor must we have such scenes as that
which recently threatened untold suf-
fering in Seattle and would spread like
wildfire over the whole country wher-
ever there are industrial centers. The
thing to be done is to stand shoulder to
shoulder with the men and organlza-
lions that are working to bring into
reality this social readjustment, deter
mined that the wage Garner is no longer
to be mere tool of the men higher up,
but sharer in the profits which those