Montana labor news., 1934-09-13
DRIFTS AND RAISES
(This column contributed by Butte
Miners Union No. ID

the American LDerty League. among
the big shots in this league we find
Alfred Emmanuel Smith, who went
from the sidewalks of New York to
the top floor of the Empire State
Building and $4,000 a year. We also
find John w. Davis, attorney for the
House of Morgan; Nathan Miller, for
mer Governor of New York and now
attorney for U. S. Steel; James w.
Wadsworth, well and favorably known
to Big Business; and lreuee Dupont.
The Dupont fortune began when they
made gun-powder for Washington's
army during the American Revolt
tion. A big, lively war is always heart
ly approved by the Duponts.
These boys don't really mean that
they want to protect our liberties but
it sounds noble and lofty. What they
really want is the continued right OF
organized wealth to exploit the mass
of the people. That right has been
abridged, however slightly, by the New
Deal, and Wall Street is going to do
something about it. The organizers Of
the League should by all means include
Herbert Hoover because he and Al
Smith belong in the same camp from
now on.
The League ought to have tough
shedding in fact, it should be laughed
out of existence but that is not likely
to happen. We venture to predict that
by buying up enough newspapers, peri
odicals, radio stations and disgrunted
politicians, the League will be able to
build up a considerable body of pub
lie opinion u%nfriendly to the New Deal.
Election time is drawing near and
the A. c. M. papers have begun their
regular biennial farce. The Post will
help the Republicans to view with alarm
and the Standard will help the Demo-
Gratis to point with pride. And this
puerile hokum that would not deceive a
child is probably considered good bus
iness.
The Post gives considerable space to
the Republican critics of the Roosevelt
regime. They are calling it Socialism
and one even went so far as to call
it Communism. Shades of Lenin and
Debsl The New Deal is open to criti-
cism but by no stretch Of imagination
can it be called Socialism. On the
contrary, Mr.. Roosevelt has not gone
far enough to the left, has not yet cut
deep enough into the cancerous tissue
of the capitalist system. His spokes-
men have repeatedly assured business
men that their profits are safe. And
judging from dividend reports for 1884,
the corporations are struggling along
pretty well.
Socialism means the collective owner
ship and democratic management of
the natural resources and basic indus
tries. Production and distribution
would be carried on for the mutual
welfare of the whole people rather than
for the private profit of a few. Al
ways the criterion would be, what will
bring the most good, the greatest hap
piness to the greatest number.
Yes, indeed, the New Deal is a long
way from Socialism but let us fervently
hope it is headed in that direction.
The Senate investigation of the Traf-
fic in arms and munitions Of war will
uncover some pretty smelly deals and
that will be a good thing. The in
formed public has known for a long
time that the armament makers have
influenced the press, created war scaresi
maintained a big lobby in Washington
and bribed public officials. Right now
various French newspapers owned or
controlled by the munitions business,
raw about the Nazi danger to France
and oppose all disarmament proposals.
1t means big money to them.
But the wal makers have found a
champion right here in Butte. A re-
cent editorial in the Standard deplores
the publicity given to the munitions
probe and says we we're glad enough
TO have them in 1918. incidentally
the Anaconda Copper Co. paid around
$36,S00,0O0 in dividends in those same
years.
There have been lots of these investi-
cations and some of them have been
dropped when the trails began to lead
into high places. This one is in charge
of Sen. Gerald Nye and he will be as
hard to handle as B. K. Wheeler was
in the Teapot Dome Investigation.
How much ultimate good will come
from this arms probe depends on the
attitude of the American people. Time
after time, the inherent rotteness of the
capitalist system has been exposed &c
them. Capitalists use the press to fos-
ter a spirit Of rabid nationalism and
this spirit plays directly into the hands
of the war makers.
The world is just as far from peace
now as in 1914. There can be no peace
in a world of capitalist states, witt
each one striving to profit at the ex-
pense of the rest. Only in a worlC
brotherhood of Socialist States can th(
danger OF war be reduced to a mini.
mum. One nation in the world today
has offered to disarm completely if al
others would do likewise, and that ont
is Soviet Russia.
No doubt, President Roosevelt, him,
self, would like to see universal peace
but there must be other influences a
work. $238,000,000 of P. w. A. money
was set aside for naval building. Ado
that to the money that will be spent