HX UC-NRLF ELfl GIFT OF f v 26 19!* Why I am a Socialist" EUGENE V. DEBS By Ten Los Angeles Y. P. S. L. Members and FRED D. WARREN SECOND EDITION "Why I Am A Socialist" WE STAND FOR EVERYTHING WHICH UPLIFTS, AND AGAINST EVERYTHING WHICH DEGRADES. Y. P. S. L. We dedicate this book to those who toil, Whose lives are given in the marts of men To children working in the reeking mine To sweatshop women, pent in fetid air. These thoughts we scatter broadcast to the world And ask they be considered, see with us And build the glory of a Better Day. The Authors. Edited and Published by S. S. Hahn Will L. Pollard .Los Angeles, Cal. Sept. 6, 1913. Copyright applied for. "BROTHERLY LOVE" By Eugene V. Debs. Precisely! "Our interests are one," exclaimed the fox, after devouring the goose. "Same here," ans- wered the hawk, with the feathers of the dove still clinging to his beak. "I'm with you," chipped the shark; and "I congratulate you upon your wise politi- cal economy," was the amen of the lion as the lamb's tail disappeared down the red lane. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. Every age has its problems. Beneath the calm ex- terior of any epoch there is a great commotion ; the forces of progression and retrogression are in con- stant deadlock, and from- this strife there arises the principles of the civilization that is to be. Progres- sion always conquers; the principle which does not expand and grow to meet the ever-changing demands of our race is soon cast aside, and the more liberal policy adopted by the world. Evolu- tion is the potent factor of civilization and race develop- m e n t. Evolution has changed man from an organism to a conscious be- ing; has developed society from barbar- ism to civilization ; and is destined to change the atrocious economic system of ours to a sarje or- der. If the above prin- ciples are recagmz'eoT ; : Wlr : L. POLLARD, Editor Y. P. S. L. News State Organizer as being fundamentally' "true; 'and' there seems to be no question as to their truth, any political or eco- nomic movement which bases its ideas on progres- sion, and the concrete precepts of evolution, must, of a necessity, appeal to the logical temperament of the thinking individual. Socialism is essentially progres- sive, it bases its entire program on evolution, and is scientific; therefore, I am a Socialist because I would be logical. My life has been spent in study. The pages of the world's history have ever been open before me, and in the quiet of solitude I have traced the develop- ment of mankind. It is said that history repeats itself, and bearing out this axiom I found that great empires developed, only to be absorbed by more powerful empires. I found that great phases of the world's history evolved into, and were swallowed up by still greater phases of civilization. Thus I saw that evo- lution controlled man and controlled empires. I found that the radical ideas of one age were destined to be the ruling ideas of the succeeding age, and I recognized the power of evolution in the development of governments as well as in the devleopment of man, thus I learned of economic determinism. I saw that all society was governed by this great force, that its entire tendency was for the betterment of the world, and I realized that when man recognized its influence, and worked in conjunction with it, that he was des- tined to succeed. I found that the tenets of Socialism were maintained by this determinism, and as I wished to battle for a cause which would aid humanity, I be-' came a Socialist. In this study of the world's history I found that through all time man has been enslaved by man. That society has sanctioned this enslavement, and my spirit revolted against society. In. my revolt I found that the Socialist program recognized this en- slavement as an evil ; that it further pointed out the cause for the existence of slavery, and showed how this great evil of mankind could be abolished. The teachings of Socialism showed that the present-day civilization divides the people of the world into classes, and that a man must work in harmony with 28S977 his class or die. I became class conscious, and recog- nizing Socialism as the interpreter of my class inter- ests, I adopted its principles. Thus, because it was opportune that I, a worker, should do so, I became a Socialist. But Socialism did more than point out the existence of slavery, and its result, the class struggle. It gave the reason why the thing existed, and offered to the world the remedy of the logician. Socialism said : slavery exists because man may profit from the physi- cal or mental energy of his fellow man, and it showed that this great profit came in the way of unearned in- crement, surplus value. It further showed that sur- plus value was divided into three parts, rent, inter- est, and profit, and explained how each of these parts caused misery for one class of society, the pro- ducers, and created luxury for the other class, the owners. Socialism demands that surplus value be abolished, and that the producer be given the full value of his toil. In this way, and only in this way, can society be purged of slavery and the class truggle. I am a humanitarian. The thought of slavery is ab- horrent, and my efforts shall ever be exerted in the movement which points out the way in which this great evil may be driven from our earth. Socialism offers the only solution of the problem, therefore it is natural that I declare myself in favor of the principles of Socialism. I learned many things in my study of social ques- 'tions. I learned that war, disease, poverty, misery, child slavery, prostitution, and starvation were out- growths of the present ruling system, were all trace- able to surplus value, and that Socialism was the only remedy for these conditions which struck at the root of the evil, surplus value. These great blots on the civilization of our age I wished to see erased, and since I found but one method which offered a logical way in which this could be accomplished, I became a Socialist. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. When a patient consults a physician, it is first ascer- 4 tained if the patient is really sick. Then the physi- cian looks for the cause of the illness. Having found the cause, he is in a position to prescribe a remedy. Thus, in examining the condition of the social body, it is first necessary to learn whether or not there is anything wrong; next, to learn the cause for such condition; and then, to consider a remedy. Every person of ordinary intelligence will admit that there is considerable room for improvement in the health of modern society. Crime and corruption are ever on the increase ; food is rotting in the fields and ware- houses, while human beings are starving; shelves and show windows are filled with clothing, while millions go in rags ; human beings are HYMAN LEVIN :"". denied a plac'e to lay, . Ex-Chairman their heads, while the world affords an abundance of shelter; children are being ground into dollars, while grown men, ready and able to work, starve for lack of an opportunity to earn a crust of bread ; idlers living in luxury, while the toilers are destitute; excessive wealth on the one hand producing degenerates, and excessive poverty on the other hand producing like re- sults. These, and a thousand other symptoms, readily demonstrate that there is something radically wrong with our so-called civilization, and that modern so- ciety is really sick. Having ascertained that there is a disease, the next step is to discover the cause. If you will diagnose the condition of modern society, you will find that the cause of a vast portion of present-day evils lies in the capitalistic system, with its corner-stones of rent, in- terest and profit. Officials are corrupted to fill the coffers of corporations with profits ; clothing is denied the naked, because they cannot satisfy the demand for profit, either for lack of an opportunity to earn anything, or because they are robbed of what they do earn. Food is destroyed to boost prices and in- crease profits; shelter is denied the lowly because they cannot pay the rent which goes to fill the coffers of the plutocrats; children take the places of men and women as their labor is the more profitable ; and the workers' lives are sacrificed to satisfy the whims and desires of the shirkers all this injustice is accom- plished through means of the triplets, rent, interest and profit. But the patient is not content with being told that he is sick, and being informed of the cause of his illness. What he wants is a remedy. It is no help to a drowning man to watch him sink and tell him he is sinking because he cannot swim. What he needs is a life line. And in analyzing the condition of the body politic, it should be our endeavor to suggest a remedy for such undesirable conditions as may be encountered. If, as we have seen, rent, interest and profit are the principal causes of the disease, the first step would be to eradicate these evils,, just as you would crush a parasite that was sucking your blood. Having abolished rent, interest and profit, those human para- sites who exploit the energy of their fellow men through these processes, will have to eat bread in the sweat of their own brow. All would be producers. With modern machinery and methods, the ability of the human race to produce all that is needed to supply the comforts and necessities of life is beyond question. The problem of production is solved. The problem of distribution is yet to be solved. When all become workers, this will become simple. The logical solution would be for each to receive the full social value of his efforts. Everyone would want what he produced. Who could ask for more? Who could affirm the justice of less? Such, in brief, is the meaning and object of Social- ism, a sane and simple solution for modern economic difficulties. The philosophy of Socialism diagnoses the eveils of our present capitalistic system, shows the causes of such evils and points the way to a more just, healthier, happier society, where all human be- ings may live and prosper in peace and plenty. Such a movement is worthy of the support of every think- ing, justice-loving man and woman. That is why I am a Socialist. That is why YOU should be a Socialist. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. It has been said that some people are born So- cialists, some acquire Socialism, and others have Socialism thrust upon them. I cannot analyze my own case, but I know it was not thrust upon me. It was not preached to me at home, nor have strenuous eco- nomic straits driven me to it. Neither did I wade through vol- umes of books on economics to acquire it. Most of my read- ing along this line has been done since I was attracted to Socialism. I am a Socialist because my ordinary every-day conscience tells me that a sys- tem which compels the worker to sell the greater portion of his waking hours to any individual, or i n d i v i d u a Is, is BERTHA L. MARTIN,' wrong. It tells me Dramatic Manager that such a system State Organizer does not differ, essentially, from slavery; that he who owns the means of life owns the life. The idea that a person who has spent several years, perhaps, in mastering a trade, in order to become a good producer, must go to the individual who owns the land or the machine and beg for an opportunity to produce, appears to me an absurd indignity. That the employer should retain two-thirds of the product, as compensation for his "superior intelligence," and pay the remaining one-third to the worker, in my mind cannot be termed "justice." The improvement in the machinery of production has failed to bring with it an improvement in the condition of the working class. Modern machinery calls for the employment of young, energetic men and women. Since the worker receives no more than enough to keep body and soul together, he cannot lay up money to keep him when the capitalist is through with him. The question of old age is therefore one of terror to the worker, and it seems to me that a system which fails to provide for this contingency is wholly inadequate. Under this system the children of the working class are deprived of the opportunity to secure an educa- tion. Many people think that, because we have public schools there is no excuse for failure to avail oneself of a common school education. How thoughtful ! Local observation in regard to young people leaving school to go to work, leads me to wonder hpw many throughout the country have found such a step necessary. According to the census of 1910, more than 2,000,- 000 children, between the ages of 10 and 15 years, found it necessary to forego the advantages of a com- mon school education, to go into the factories to earn their daily bread and help support the family. The last available statistics show that the esti- mated number of children in the United States was 24,239,820. The total number enrolled in public graded and high schools, was 17,506,170. Of this number, not more than 870,000 were in the high schools. 8 Statistics compiled in 1908 showed that not more than one-third of the children who enter elementary schools ever finish them, and not more than one-half go beyond the fifth grade. Only about one-third of the small per cent who enter the high schools remain beyond the second year, and only one-sixth graduate. Can you account for the ignorance among the poorer classes? The inequality of opportunity in the economic sphere hinders the intellectual advance of the working class, and keeps them in subjection. This condition, of course, is not new. It was a similar proposition against which our fathers fought in the American Revolution. In this connection, Lincoln said: "Most governments have been based, practically, on a denial of the equal rights of man. Ours began by affirming these rights. They said, 'Some men are too ignorant and vicious to share in government/ 'Possibly so/ said we, 'and by your system you would always keep them ignorant and vicious. We propose to give all a chance ; and we expect the weak to grow stronger, the ignorant wiser and happier and better together/ ' The system of government should be made to har- monize with the new industrial conditions. That much musical and artistic talent is crushed and suppressed by the capitalist system cannot be doubted. Capitalism offers no encouragement to the development of the higher arts among the common people, and it is noticeable that the class whose chief ability lies in the accumulation of wealth supplies very little artistic genius. Every-day events preach the doctrine -of Socialism. For instance, such a news item as the following is by no means uncommon : "Mrs. - - delights Newport society with Novelty Monkey Dinner. Event Outshines Anything Recently Witnessed. $40,000 Expended. Two Genuine African Monkeys Guests of Honor, etc., etc/' On the same page you may read of the girls in a shirt-waist factory striking for a raise in wages to $6 a week. Socialism proposes to abilish extreme poverty and extreme wealth, the cause of nine-tenths of the crime, white-slavery, robbery, suicide, with which So- ciety is cursed. It seems perfectly reasonable that under a just system, crime would be reduced to a minimum. Socialism proposes a system of co-operation in place of individualism and competition. It proposes that the producer shall also be the owner. It proposes that the system shall be so re-adjusted that all may have an opportunity to work and receive the full social value of their product ; that every child may receive the best education that society can provide, and enjoy the influence of a decent home life. By the elimination of waste labor, it proposes to shorten the hours of toil so that the masses may have opportunity for intellectual and spiritual develop- ment. I am a Socialist because the Socialist Army is hope- ful, sincere, determined. It has declared war against the profit system, and its activities will never cease until the last vestige of the despised thing shall be eliminated from the face of the earth! WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. This is the age when Socialism is admittedly shak- ing the old foundations of society the world over, and penetrating our politics, science, art and literature; therefore, it is not an act of supererogation to confess that I am a Socialist. Socialism is the aspiration and determination of the producers to become masters of their own destiny; it is the greatest issue of international character be- fore the world today, and represents the next phase of civilization. It is destined to supplant capitalism, as capitalism took the place of feudalism that is why I am a Socialist. I am a Socialist because the fundamental principles 10 of Socialism are characterized as politically demo- cratic, as it aims to give all citizens equal political pow- er, without regard to sex (Socialists do not designate the fe- male sex as an ad- dendum to an archa- ic thorax), color, or creed ; and demands that all those things upon which the life of the people de- pends, must be so- cially owned and democratically man- aged, for the use of the common good, instead of for profit of a class, thereby caste and class may be ended. Industry, through the revolution worked by ma- chinery, has become a socialized work; the invention of machinery has effected a complete social change, and political power and economic conditions must ad- just themselves to this change. The twentieth cen- tury will no doubt witness this change the culmina- tion of capitalism, and the rise of Social Industrial Democracy that is why I am a Socialist. As a Socialist I indict the present system with the highest crime conceivable, because of the fact, that the multiplication of labor-saving machinery and im- proved methods in industry, which cheapened the cost of production ; and in spite of the continuous advance of man's power to utilize the forces of nature, to the extent that he is now able to surpass the production of wealth of preceding centuries, the results of the economic revolution has been almost wholly evil. The hundredfold increase in wealth, sufficient to provide food, clothing and shelter for our whole population, 11 S. S. HAHN, State Organizer Educational Manager has been distributed with such gross injustice that thousands are starving daily. The share of the pro- ducer grows ever less, while the prices of all the neces- sities of life steadily increase; this causes life to become a desperate battle for mere existence; and results in poverty, not in an arid desert, but in a garden of plenty. It is evident that this problem is one of unequal distribution, rather than of inadequate production ; one class is becoming poorer and poorer ; another class is becoming richer and richer; and disease and crime increase in exact ratio with the concentration of the wealth in the hands of the few. I say with the poet : "111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates and men decay." However, the scientific Socialists do not arraign individuals, nor contemplate the careers of the Mor- gans with an impulse of wrath, but regard them as incarnates of the system. Why berate those men who have simply carried the present competitive system to its logical conclusion? The all-absorbing question is, shall a few people own the earth, or shall all the people own it? Scientific Socialism condemns the system, and proposes to sweep away the hideous ex- tremes, misery side by side with wanton extravagance and colossal wealth. Socialism will lift the poor out of the economic mire of poverty, and the rich out of the mire of luxury that is why I am a Socialist. Socialism tends to add brilliancy to any brain, in- stead of mutilating, and will alleviate all the unneces- sary sorrow and agony in human life. I am a Socialist because Socialism will not stimu- late the incentive to steal ; will not exalt the money grubber and starve poets ; will not commercialize and degrade art ; will not break up the home and drive the women to prostitution and the children into the fac- tories. Socialism will establish equality of oppor- tunity and will protect the good, the beautiful and true. Under Socialism each producer will receive the full product of his labor. The Socialist party represents the political power 13 of the producing class, and stands uncompromisingly for the overthrow of the existing rotten system, and the interest of that class is its vital principle. As a member of the Socialist Party, I declare that the capi- talist system has outgrown its historical functions, and has become utterly incapable of meeting the prob- lems now confronting society, and I resent with great indignation such an unmitigated, greed-cursed, ugly, slimy system. It is not a question of changing the places of the classes, but of destroying class rule once and for all ; not craving supremacy for any faction of society, but seeking to establish social paramoutcy through legis- lative action that is why I am a Socialist. With the elimination of class supremacy, Social- ism will abolish devastating wars, by reason of amal- gamating the various nations under the adopted RED FLAG, the flag which appeals to the fraternal feeling, the common humanity and the parental love of all nations. This means, in the political sense, that the black, white, yellow, pink and green producers are alike, and all have blood of the same color that is why I am a Socialist. Socialism is an applied science. It is in itself only another word for sociology; the science of the con- stitution, phenomena and development of society, and has for its end the elevation of the masses to a civic dignity, and that, therefore, the principal care is for moral and intellectual cultivation. Socialism is coming with lightning rapidity; the people are marching with ranks unbroken and a un- animity of purpose which has grown steadily since the overthrow of feudalism. The great majority of the labor movement of the world is permeated with the principles of Socialism ; men and women are advanc- ing in a solid phalanx, and with ever increasing en- thusiasm, to the conquest of economic and political rights. They are approaching a stage of society in which for the first time in the history of the world, the producers shall rule and all shall be producers, and thereby ruler and slave, poverty and crime, vice, and the coining of children's blood into dividends, 14 shall pass from the earth ; a society in which the na- tion will own the means of production and distribu- tion which will be operated co-operatively by the De- mocracy. I am a Socialist, and hail its philosophy because I have profound faith in the ultimate realization of hu- man brotherhood, and know of nothing better as a means to an end, and as an uplift for humanity. In place of armories, battleships, war, shirkers, classes and races hostile to each other, Socialism will substi- tute school houses, homes, peace, workers, and broth- erhood respectively that is why I am a Socialist. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. To be a Socialist is to be, first, a believer in Social- ism, a contemplated state of society wherein compe- tition must give way to co-operation, and second, to be a builder in society. To tell why I am a believer would be to tell what Socialism is, a long story, better told by others. To be "a builder in society" is about as clear as to say "a. builder in a city." It may mean carpenter, mason, architect, painter or plumber. To tell why I am a So- cialist is to explain why I am a "build- er," what kind of a builder, and what 1 hope to build. When the build- ings on a city square become antiquated, and no longer meet the demands of the community, they are removed, brick by brick and timber by timber, to make way for something new. No beam is removed until that which it supports is first dis- posed of. As a result, surrounding business is undis- GORDON WHITNALL Chairman turbed by dangerous collapses and unnecessary ob- structions. While the process of orderly destruction is going on, plans are made, and sections constructed for the building that is to take the place of the old. Fre- quently provision is made for the future enlarging of the new structure, and the foundation and equipments are gauged accordingly. Everything possible is done to provide for the present and future needs of the building and its occupants. As the ground is cleared the foundation is laid; the skeleton framework raised; the fireproofing done; the partitions placed, and the finishing completed. A new structure has risen from the old, and no one has been inconvenienced during the process. Gradually, as change follows change, a new city is built, and no one can point to "The date the change took place." Society changes its form in much the same manner. As the gradual substitution of old buildings by new will eventually make a new town, so the consistent replacing of old social institutions by new will, in time, reconstruct society along Socialistic lines. A certain amount of caution is required, however, lest some "timber" be pried loose before the institutions it supports are first removed. To overlook this may result in damage to "other buildings" in which we must "live" until the new is constructed. As the old are removed, the more difficult task of providing the new is before us. We must determine wherein the old was deficient, and provide against this deficiency in the new. We must look into the future and build to meet the coming needs. We must build so as not to interfere with neighboring structures, or they with us. We must do collectively what individ- uals do today. In the backwoods, architecture plays a small part in life. A sharp ax and a good eye meet all demands. In the city it becomes more of a science as conges- tion and other city problems arise. Social institu- tions, likewise, become more pronounced and clearly defined in the metropolis. It is, therefore, in the, city that the greatest strides are .to be made. 16 The important work in connection with the bring- ing about of the co-operative commonwealth is to clearly outline what changes are at. present desirable, and to take advantage of every opportunity to make them. It is necessary to build a section at a time, bearing in mind always our complete structure. It is not an easy task at best, and nothing but a common understanding of the goal to be reached would make it possible. Unity of purpose is essential. Method of proceedure is a detail. Socialists have this unity of purpose. I have my method of proceedure. I am a Socialist, not because I "believe," but because I want to DO, and with the co-operation of thousands of others who want TO DO, there is much hope of coming to some understanding of how to proceed in order to make this earth of ours more fit to live on. It is to co-operate with my kind in bringing about the co-operative commonwealth, which we mutually desire, that I pool my efforts with theirs in the organ- ized effort for betterment of the world the Socialist movement. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. Why am I a Socialist? Ah, why! Why 'does the grass grow? Why do the birds sing? Why is the sea filled with eternal unrest? Can you analyze the fragrance of the rose, the mystery of love, the charm of exquisite music? Then why do you ask me to analyze, to explain the great passion of my soul? For that is what Socialism is to me, the great passion of my soul ! My being pulsates with it, my heart throbs with it, my soul has been transfigured by it. It has awakened me to a new life ! If it were taken from me I might continue to exist, but I could no longer live. Only by working for it can I find peace. Do you think that I could be happy knowing the misery and the tragedy of this system if I saw no hope ahead, if it were not for Socialism? How I detest this Capitalist System : a system which blights love and crushes beauty, which grinds out the li of millions of little children, which turns 17 to ashes and their hearts to dust, and forces women to sacrifice their all for bread. When I think upon these things my soul grows sad, and it is filled with an agony that grips me with greater sorrow than the haunting melody of exquisite Ruth Coward, Lecturer music, or the remembrance of a love that is gone forever. A dumb unuterable misery that almost drives me mad. I could not bear it, I could not endure it if it were not for the great hope that Socialism brings me. The hope of the New Day that shall break in glorious beauty over the entire world, trans- figuring it with light. A few years ago my soul was very sad, for I was not a Socialist at least I did not know that I was a Socialist. And then, to the little inland village where I lived came a stranger. His hair was frosted by the snows of many winters, his heart was melolwed by the sun of many summers. He brought to me the great message of Socialism. It was through him that I became a worker, however small, in the great cause; a bearer, however humble, of the great mes- sage. Words cannot express how I love and revere this glorious comrade. I write his name with deep reverence and love, Comrade R. A. Maynard, a man among men, a soul among souls. He has been the guiding star and the inspiration of hundreds of human souls. The light that he has shed upon my life has trans- figured it with love, with a great race love, a love for every soul that lives upon the earth. The world is my field, socialism is my religion ; to work for it is my joy, to carry its tidings to my fellow men, that is my life ! Life can yield me nothing dearer than the right to work for the cause I love, for the cause that I know is right. For the cause that shall emancipate all humanity and make true happiness possible. It is the only hope and the only salvation of the human race. Through it alone can the sorrow and misery of the present system be dispelled. It alone can usher in the New Day. And when the New Day has flooded the world with its light, life will become a thing of beauty and a joy. There shall be no poverty, overwork or un- employment. No man shall eat bread in the sweat of another's brow. Swords shall be beaten into plow- shares. Peace shall reign, and plenty shall be upon the earth. The material needs of man shall be sup- plied, and the spiritual and intellectual needs as well. Education shall be for all. Everyone will have leisure for the joy and the beauty of life. Manhood shall 19 be unbound, womanhood shall be exalted, childhood shall be made free. A human race shall dwell upon this earth as far superior to the race that now inhabit? it as we are superior to the prehistoric cave men; a human race pure, noble, free; a human race normal and beautiful; a human race that shall be truly HUMAN ! 'These things shall be A loftier race Than e'er the world has known shall rise With flower of freedom in their souls And light of science in their eyes." WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. I am a Socialist because I am a human being; I have eyes to see with, ears to hear with, and a heart which feels for the suffering on every side of me. There is a rebellion of my whole being against our present capitalist system ; a system that is the cause of all the suffering and injustice of the world today, and because of this I am a Socialist. It was as a boy of 14 that I first heard the word Socialist or Socialism mentioned, and it was then that I began to realize the cause of all- the poverty, misery and crime which one sees an\d hears on every hand. My father took me to a meet- ing held in the Court House at Prescott, Arizona, in 1903. The speaker was Benjamine Wilson, a brother of J. Stitt GEORGE E. REESLUND, Wilson, ex-Mayor of Manager Athletic Department Berkeley, Cal. I remember distinctly the impression he made on my young mind ; his arguments were very 20 plain and simple. One part of his speech that inn pressed itself on my mind was this : there are two classes in society today which are diametrically op- posed to each other; the capitalist class and the work- ing class. The capitalist class, owning the machinery of production and distribution which the working class must use to make a living. It is to the interest of the capitalists to secure labor at as low a price, and to work their laborers as many hours as possible, and it is to the interest of the workers to secure as large a price for their toil, and to work as few hours as possible. Thus the interests of the two classes are opposed, and as long as the present system lasts we will have strikes, lockouts and blacklists with the usual misery and strife acocmpanying. For instance, a man builds a shoe factory, he installs machinery and has everything complete, a nice large building fitted up with the finest machinery will stand a hundred years, but would be worthless without human labor to run the machines, turning the raw product into the fin- ished article. He did not build the factory for the purpose of giving work to needy workers or to supply shoes for needy people ; the factory was built for the purpose of making a profit, and to make a profit the owner must secure his laborers at less than what they produce : for example, if a worker produces 12 pairs of shoes in a day he does not receive the value of 12 shoes, but gets the value of say six shoes, so as to leave a profit to the owner. This is true of every private enterprise, and the worker receiving wages equal to the value of six shoes, when he actually produces to the value of 12 shoes, or what- ever the commodity happens to be, can purchase only the. value of 6 shoes, thus leaving a surplus to the factory owner. This surplus can be disposed of for' a time by the non-producing class, and by shipping to the foreign markets, but foreign markets are becoming scarcer, and through the introduction of modern machinery this surplus is getting larger. The warehouses become full of surplus, and the industries are forced to curtail production ; a portion, or perhaps 21 I o o CO 1 s d CO the whole force is laid off. Immediately their pur- chasing power is diminished to practically nothing. The retailer is first to feel the effects, he cancels his orders to the wholesalers, and they likewise cancel orders to the factory; industrial stagnation sets in, money is scarce, the banks, being compelled to meet the demands of their idle depositors, are forced to the wall this results in a panic. These panics are bound to come at regular intervals, and as the wealth is con- centrated more and more into the hands of a few, and production is carried on with less waste energy and more modern machinery is installed, these panics will become more frequent. The only solution for this problem of panics, with their consequent misery and hardship, is the Socialist solution of collective own- ership and democratic management of all the things which the people depend on collectively, and the pri- vate ownership of those things which they depend on privately. Socialism, in my opinion, is the only sal- vation for the toiling masses; if it were not for the Socialist Party, and the Socialist Movement, the Capitalist Class would become bolder and bolder; legislation would be passed strengthening their hold upon the workers, the military would soon supersede the civil power, and an oligarchy of wealth would be enthroned which would rule with an iron hand. The picture painted by Jack London in his book "The Iron Heel" would become a realty; the workers, driven to desperation, would start a world-wide rebellion which would wipe civilization from the earth. If the rich but realized the outcome of their mad scramble for wealth, they too would see that Socialism is the only salvation for our present-day civilization, and would help to bring the masses to an understanding of the co-operative commonwealth. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. The Socialist party offers the only practical and efficient remedy for the present incompetent and wasteful chaos; therefore I am a Socialist. Anyone, 23 with the least intelligence can see the faults of the present system of government, but the people who see t h i fe incompetency are divided into many classes. There are those who see the evil, yet fail to note its significance. They are like the person who is so engrossed in his thoughts, that though his eyes see, his mind compre- hends nothing o f what is happening about him. Second- ly, there are those who see and under-- stand, but say that such conditions have always been, therefore they al- ways will be. These remind me ' of the ignoramuses who sneer at every new invention, say- ing, "I never saw anything like it, so I just know it won't work." These people never progress, but stick in the same rut as long as they live, ever sinking deeper into the mire, and all the time trying to pull others in with them. Thirdly, and lastly, there are those people who see the oppression all around them and immediately start looking for the causes, the ulti- mate results and possible preventatives. Almost all of this group, are in the Socialist Party. The rest are on the way. They are progressives in the strictest sense of the word. There are several questions which seem inevitable when one sees the striking contrasts in our boasted land of the free, When one sees the hovels of the MILDRED TRAVIS, Librarian producer of wealth, and the veritable palaces of the idler, is it not possible that he will ask himself the question, "Is it just?" "How comes it, that the man who works at the hardest kind of toil receives barely enough to keep him alive, while the non-producer re- ceives much more than he can possibly consume?"' How can such questions be answered? It requires investigation and clear thinking to ferret out the cause, but when one finds it, everything can be explained so simply that a child can understand it. The doctrines of Socialism, and the manner in which they have been accepted by the people, remind me of Christianity and its progress. Socialism is, in itself applied Christianity. It is the economic phil- osophy of that greatest of martyrs, Christ. His fol- lowers were first ridiculed, then persecuted, and finally the religious part of their teachings accepted. Now, the economic portion, Socialism, is in the stage of persecution, and not many years hence will come the great revolution, when man will break his chains and gain his well-earned freedom. The Socialist philosophy proposes an ideal system of government. It has been Man's goal ever since the first savage tribe was formed, and the fiercest man made the chieftain. The members of the tribe united their strength for protection from their common enemy, the wild beasts. That was the first coopera- tion. In the future, all peoples will be united for the mutual welfare of the race. Being somewhat of an idealist, and much addicted to day-dreams, I have many times pictured, in my mind's eye this future civilization. It is a beautiful picture and if you will bear with me I shall endeavor to give it to you. In the first place, everyone works. As everyone works, no one labors more than three or four hours per day, the time depending upon the kind of work, the rest . of the time is devoted to study, recreation and travel. All schools, universities and colleges are free and accessible; therefore, every- one is well educated. Travel is considered an essen- tial part of very child's training. The very highest value is placed on the fine arts, which soar ever higher 25 and higher. Every home shows taste and individual- ity in its construction, and even the factories are ex- amples of beautiful architecture. All industries are democratically owned and operated. Noise and dirt .are absent. The huge smokestack has been discarded. The never ceasing waves have been enslaved by Man, and furnish power to drive his trains and his ships, to plow his fields and run his mills, to light and heat his home and cook his food. Even the solar rays have been subjected and are utilized as power. The realization of this dream is promised in the Socialist philosophy, therefore, I am a Socialist. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. In the history of the human race, there is not one great discovery, achievement or invention which the great mass of the people did not proclaim as impos- sible. The person, or persons, carrying on the pio- neer work were often abused and always called dreamers. Columbus struggled for years before he found anyone who would help him. Stevenson and his locomotive were laughed at and jeered. When Fulton was steaming up the Hudson people were still saying that his boat was impracti- cal. If you ask an ar- chitect who is de- signing a fourteen- story building how he knows that it will stand, he will point to one twelve stories high and will say that they are the same, but allow- ances have been made for the extra NATHAN BUCHOLTZ weight in the higher Local Organizer 26 building. Ask the builder of a two-story building the same question, and he will point to a shack across the street and will say that the one is an improve- ment upon the other. Ask the Socialist how he knows that Socialism is possible and he will trace the development of the present system, and show that it is but a step to the co-operative commonwealth. Socialism is not a fig- ment from the brains of a Marx or an Engels ; it is a system founded on evolution. The growth of the human race can be traced through its various stages; barbarism, feudalism and capitalism. If one had told the feudal knight that the time would come when the affairs of the nation would be managed by a popular vote, he would have thought his informer a fit subject for the insane asylum. The change from one state to another has been gradual. It is impossible to pick a certain day and say that on this day barbarism ceased and feudalism held full sway. Evolution, change through growth, is slow, but none the less sure. Let us trace the development of capitalism to the present day, and let us show that Socialism is the next stage in human progress. With the invention of the steam engine and labor- saving machinery, the small individual producer and tool owner was forced, either to combine with sev- eral other producers and form a company, in order to purchase machinery, or to work for these com- panies on a wage scale. They who tried to compete with their hand labor, were forced to give in; they could not produce as cheaply as could the company with its machinery. Machines became more complex and costly, and in order to make them pay it was necessary to centralize the industry and produce in enormous quantities. These companies expanded and formed corporations which built great plants, equip- ping them with machinery which bewilders the brain. With increased production competition was keen for a while, then the managers and owners of these corpora- tions began to see the folly of fighting one against the 27 other, when it was so much easier to combine, and thus control prices. This they did, and we have the trust as a result. These enormous organizations, with their large machinery can, and are, producing cheaper than could any small factory. If one tries to compete against them they sell goods for less than cost, until the competitor consolidates with them, or is destroyed. These are the conditions of affairs today. The trust form of organization is perfect, but it is used to benefit the few person who are in control. Nothing is cared for the people whom they employ. They are consid- ered a part of the machine, a machine whose work is to produce dividends. Should a machine be invented which would produce twice as much as the one it displaces, will the workers who handle it receive twice as much pay, or are their hours shortened proportion- ately? No! Half the men are discharged, and per- haps, if the machine is simplified, boys or girls are employed. Thus, the machine, at the present time, tends to become a curse instead of a blessing. These industries are wholly managed by employees men working on a salary basis. Any one having enough money can invest in a corporation and draw dividends. Thus a person may invest in a building company and not know the difference between a bun- galow and a dog's kennel. Rockefeller might die to- morrow, but the Standard Oil Company would con- tinue business in the same manner as at present. The Socialist says that the trust has solved the problem of production. The workers already man- age these industries. Let us now own them and we will have Socialism, since Socialism is Democratic control and ownership of all things socially used. It is not only practicable, but it is inevitable. It is the next step of evolution. Let us produce for use and not for profit. Those who work should receive the full social value of what they produce. If machinery increases production, the hours of labor should be reduced; then, and only then, will machinery be a blessing. Under Socialism no man will be able to live off the dividends produced by another's labor ; poverty will 28 be abolished, and peace and happiness will reign upon the earth. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. The working class has been, is, and will be ex- ploited as long as the present unjust and evil system of society prevails. I, being a member of the working class, have been, am, and will be exploited as long as capitalism continues. Under the present system Mammon is supreme. Conscience, virtue, mother- hood, maidenhood, childhood, and sweet innocence are sacrificed on the altar of this omnipo- tent God, and the smoke of groaning victims only serves to sharpen his aug- ust appetite. Loud mouthed re- formers, few earnest, many selfish and hypocritical, have time without num- ber endeavored to wipe out crime, mis- ery, degradation, and the white slave traf- fic, and the result is, that this land of the free and the home SIG SHAINMAN of the brave, has overcrowded jails and brothel- houses galore. The reformers are not successful be- cause they do not strike at the root of crime, which is a child of poverty, while poverty . is, in turn a child of the present unequal system of production and distribution. I claim that no murderer murders for the joy he finds in killing, and that the robber has little delight in his hazardous profession. We are all victims of environment. The incentive to go wrong under this system is ever before us, and if we refuse to fall the whip of hunger is ever on our backs ; thus are created the Jean Valjeans whom society so ardently perse- 29 cutes through life. There is no reason why men, women, and children should go hungry. Mother Earth is bountiful. There is plenty of the necessaries and comforts of life for every human being. With the modern machines of production the peo- ple can produce more than they can consume. The only reason that poverty stalks in the land is because we have not learned to keep the things we produce, but turn them over to the parasite class, known as the capitalist class, and styled by themselves as the "better" element in society. I am ardently opposed to a system where few live in luxury and debauchery at the expense of the many; where the men who do no useful work give monkey dinners and poodle dog suppers, while we, the working class, the producers, live in squalor. The few live in mansions, we live in hovels. Our daughters are used by them as ser- vants, and our sons as lackeys. Their dogs are taken care of, but our children are forced, through economic conditions, to roam the highways and by-ways in search of a few pennies with which to buy bread. They abuse us, insult us, mock us, and laugh us to scorn in their subsidized press, while our children gather in the harvest for them. They grow more arro- gant, more powerful every day, and when we ask for more bread they give us bullets. It is to change this condition that I am a Socialist. Our sons are filled with false patriotism, and are fooled by Fourth of July oratory, or are forced, by economic conditions, to become soldiers, sailors and militiamen, and are taught the noble art of man- slaughter; and when the workers strike, the masters send out the sons of the workers and order them to shoot, and shoot straight, at fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers. War is raging in this bourgeois ridden world, and many are the fields of battle that are strewn with the corpses of the working class, a feast for the birds of prey. I am opposed to war and that is why I am a Socialist. Socialism is a scientific edu- cational movement which aims to do away with ex- ploitation of man by man, through the mediums of rent profit and interest. It aims to abolish exploita- tion, thereby abolishing poverty, tlir source of crime, ignorance and misery. The white slave traffic will only be solved when Socialism rules the world. This is why I am a Socialist. Socialism will do away with this vale of tears ; it will emancipate the wage slaves, and will give every one the full social value of his toil. War, misery, poverty, degradation, and prostitution will be a thing of the past, under Socialism. Social- ism will bring an era of peace and happiness, and so I am a Socialist. WHY I AM A SOCIALIST. I became a Socialist shortly after I discovered that there were a great many things in this world that I wanted and could not get. I experienced my first feelings of rebellion against things as they are, when it became necessary for me to quit school that I might earn a few dollars to eke out the family in- come. During my early boyhood days I cher- ished a burning ambi- tion for an education. I had dreams of going away to college and later, attending a uni- versity. As the years passed, and the struggle for existence became more terrible, this dream of a university education faded into a dim memory. At that time I was very orthodox in my religious and political views and therefore I was quite confident that in some myste- rious way God had or- dained that this thing FRED D. WARREN, Editor Appeal to Reason I wanted a college education should not come into 31 my life. I pandered over this question until it began to glimmer through my consciousness that there was no good and valid reason why a boy should be denied an education. All that was required was first the determination on the part of the boy, and I had that determination. College buildings were erected by labor, and there was plenty of labor for that purpose. School books were likewise made by labor, I knew that there were plenty of labor to make books, and teachers there were in countless numbers. I then began to search for the cause of my inability to realize my ambition. This led to a study of polit- ical questions and industrial problems from a new viewpoint. About this time I met a miner, an Irishman, who had seen the rough side of life in many a fierce strug- gle, which had left their scars upon his body. His mind, however, was keen and active. He took pains to explain to me the workings of the industrial system. 'There is no reason, my boy/' he said to me: "Why you should not go to college save this : For gen- erations your ancestors produced wealth which they did not get." This was a new thought to me. My folks were not wealthy in truth we had scarcely enough to provide food and clothes and to pay the rent. Still, my father and his father, and my mother's father and his father before him, had all been hard workers. They had been noted for their industry and thrift. My investigation led to an understanding of how the wage system operates. A man is paid $1.00 for producing $2.00 worth of wealth. With his wage he buys the neces- sities of life. I could see that under this arrangement he could never buy all that he made. Then I understood the game of capitalist robbery. From that time my evolution* was rapid. I became a subscriber to the Appeal to Reason. This cleared up many of the mysteries. I became enthusi- astic in support of the Appeal so enthusiastic that I was invited by Comrade Wayland to join the Appeal's staff. For fifteen years I have been doing my best to put the Appeal in the hands of those, who like me, know instinc- tively that there is something radically wrong. They await only the magic word of the Socialist agitator to start them on the right track. 32 Ten Cent: Copy 078 IS u