CONTENTdm
Pritchard, W.A.
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sH"CO£jg| tf^ ff* F^ft **% r~~" ^» ESTE The Official Organ of â¢ THE SOCIALIST PARTY OFICANADA No. 799 Vancouver, B. C, December, 1917 [Month 5c. To the ; ^Workers of Canada: We who address you have a policy distinct and different from that of any other party engaged in this election. As ' workingmen to workingmen we wish to point out certain facts with regard to conditions as they exist today. Hlpi Society as at present constituted is based upon thex ownership of the means of lifeâthe land, mills, mines, railroads, etc.âby the capitalist class, in consequence of which the* workers* by whose labor wealth alone is produced, are enslaved. There is, therefore ,an antagonism of interests between those who possess but do not produce, and those who produce and do not possess. This antagonism can be abolished only through the emancipation of the working class from the domination of the master class, by transforming the property of the master class into productive forces controlled and administered by the whole of society for the benefit of all. The machinery of the State, including the armed forcesâarmy navy,, police, judiciary, etc.âexists only to conserve the interest of the master class. The workers ,therefore, must organize outclass conscious lines for the purpose of capturing the powers of government, so that these forces may be converted from an instrument of oppression into the agent of emancipation. DOMINION ELECTION MANIFESTO Since all political parties are the expression of certain class interests, and as the interests of the workers is opposegU'to the interests of all sections of the master class, the party whose object is working class emancipation must be hostile to every other party. _The Socialist Party of Canada, therefore, enters this election cam-, paign for the purpose of giving expression to the war it must/ wage against all other political parties, whether alleged LABOR or avowed- by CAPITALIST. That was the position put forward by the party three years ago. And that position has been proven correct by every military and diplomatic manoeuvre since that time. However, the master class of this country>drunk with power, and evidently staking its chance on the workers mental density, is apparently attempting to fasten upon, our necks the yoke of military servitude. As to the need of this, from the masters standpoint, we need say no more, outside of drawing your attention to recent manifesto upon the matter. We are opposed to Conscription, not because Canada has not been allowed to arrange her own foreign policy (such a thing is inconceivable when we realize from what quarter she is controlled) nor yet because we imagine that a free (sic) people, fighting a fight for freedom should be allowed to voluntarily offer themselves; but because we object to being scientifically slaughtered in a fight in which working class interests are not involved. That is a position which is unassailable, and from that position we refuse to recede. Six hundred year sago the means for producing wealth were very crude, yet a man could produce "enough to keep his family and himself for a whole year by twelve week's labor. What vast strides have since been made in the means of producing wealth, and how many- times has the fertility of our toil been multiplied. Yet men like Campbell Banner- man and Lloyd George confessed some years ago that obout 30 per cent of the population of Britain lived in the grip of perpetual poverty. That is a wonderful state of affairs in an Empire about whose untold wealtTi we are now urged to wax so enthusiastic. And what has been the effect of the wonderful increase in the productivity of human labor. Has it raised those who work above that poverty line. It has not, and if you are only honest with yourself you know we speak the truth.. The workers are compelled to become the WAGE-SLAVES of* those who own the mines, mills, railroads, and other means of production. If the workers in the Middle Ages produced more than they required, m - .. THE WESTERN CLARION in their own fields* they could store it against a rainy day, leave it to rot in the fields, or take a layoff and produce less. Today* however, the wealth produced by the working class in excess of what is essential .to its own maintenance ,belongs to the master class. It accumulates until the world market becomes glutted an dthe warehouses are full, throws the workers out of jobs because there cannot be found any to buy the product of their toil and thus relieve the situation. Not only so; it brings a problem to the master class finding an outlet for their surplus goods and so the workers, from whom it has been extracted, are called upon to display their loyalty by shouldering a rifle for the purpose of shooting their fellow workers of other lands in order that a market may be located wherein this stolen wealth may be sold. We, therefore, call upon the workers of this Province to study the conditions of their own miserable existence, and realize the cause for the same.|||| To those who desire to register a protest against this system of exploitation, and go on record as being opposed to the continuation of wage- slavery, we say: Support at the polls, in the forthcoming election, the nominees of the Socialist Party of Canada. Dominion Executive Committee. : o:- FREEDOM! OBITUARY We regret to announce the death of Comrade Mrs. Christer, of Victoria, on Friday the 30th November. Comrade Mrs. Christer was connected with the Socialist movement in the Old Country, and in 1913 she joined the Local in Victoria, taking her place among the active workers in the movement there. Her death came unexpectedly, her husband being at the time in Winnipeg. The funeral was arranged by Local Victoria, and W. A. Pritchard officiated. The Reds who are acquainted with Comrade Christer will join with us in this expression of sympathy. ONE of the most amazing paradoxes to be found in modern civilization is the workers' belief that they are free. Every ex: perience points to the fact that they are quite the reverse. Their whole life, from childhood to the grave, is composed of actions most of which are either unpleasant, irksome, or revolting. As soon as he leaves school (that institution for turning the growing crop of wage slaves' children into serviceable material for industry) the actions of the young worker are determined, not by desire, but by stern necessity. The larder of his parents too often needs immediate replenishingâthe clothes of his younger brothers and sistersâaye, and of his parents too, require replacing. He must go to work. He has arrived at a stage of development when his energy is of sufficient strength to be of use in industry. He owns a commodity nowâ labor-power. He must sell it. From that moment the labol'-market has his destiny within its grasp. If industry is brisk perhaps a little latitude will be his, as to what kind of work he is able to get. The wages may be a little better than "last year," and the boss may not be quite so tyranical, but work he must. He sets the alarm at 5.30, not because he particularly relishes the biting air of a winter's morning, but because circumstances over which he has no control have ordered that the hum of industry shall begin at 7 a.m. At first'the youthful vendor of human energy may look upon the search for work as a kind of adventure.: The factories, or other places of industry he A'isits in quest of a buyer are so bigâso busy âso bewildering. But as the days roll by and he still finds himself jobless, the glamor of his new experience begins to wane. Egged on by his parents,who need what little support his meagre wages will afford, he continues on his daily round, to gether with other lads like himself on a similar mission. At last the memorable day arrives. He gets a job! 'Tis true the) wages are insignificant and the hours long, compared f|"with the drudgery of school, but, he thinks, he will soon "rise." Alas! for youthful hopes! (Once va wage-sla-i, janjd industry embraces himânot with the fond embrace of a mother but with the embrace of an angry* be^ar which crushes life itself from out its victimâhe has become the appendage of a machine. His speed must be its speed. Other boys have done itâ other boys, capable, willing, and anxious to do it, are outsidJ3âhe mustâand does. But at what cost? His youthful frame is strained to its utmost. His mind, dulled by the daily toil amidst the noise and dust of his surroundings becomes the mind of a wage slave, capable of thinking only of wo"rk or of the crudest recreations. Fretedom? Sure. Free to quit his jobâand starve. He must keep onâand toil, till the machine, through its owner; casts him off, and this it does at very frequent intervals. The products' of the factory in which h'e works belong to the owner of that factory, as a matter of course. Has that owner not put out his good money in raw material, machinery and wages? And, as capitalist must he not be recompensed for his investment? To profit by the ownership of his factory he must sell the product of his workers' toil and he doesâproviding there are buyers for it. This capitalist, too, considers himsielf free, but economic forces prove otherwise, for, will what he-may, there comes a time when the market will not absorb his goodsâthe orders dwindleâcompetition with his fellow capitalists brings prices tumblingâhe faces -actual lossâhe closes his works and thereby separates the workers from the means of productionâand incidentaly from their meal tickets. This dearth of buyers upon which follows stagnation of -â THE WESTERN CLARION II business, unemployment and misery, springs from causes that lie at the roots of capitalist society itself, and is clearly undesired by both capitalist and worker. The former suffering at least a loss of profit, perhaps ruin; the latter poverty, perhaps starvation. Under capitalism all products, and labor-power as well, take the form of commodities* They only change hands through the medium oi an exchangeâthrough buying and selling.- But in order to buy there must first have been a sale of something at least as valuable as the commodity to be bought. The purchasing power of the vast majority of the people is limited strictly to their wages, which are reduced by competition to a level determined by the bare necessities of life, whilst the development of machinery has no increased labor's productivity that only a small portion of industry's product is necessary to feed, clothe and shelter the working class. The balance cannot be consumed by the owners of the means of productionâcapitalists cannot personally consume millions of. tons of flour, steel rails and tobacco, neither can they wear mil-' lions of pairs of boots nor ride in countless Ford autos. They can consume unlimite6Ljf|values in the for mof luxuries, and they do, but in order to buy these, the commoner commodities, the production of which supplies them with their income, must first be sold. The wages of the working class only bnyr, a part, consequently a surplus gluts the market an.<! causes stagnai.or.,,, relieved only by re-investment in undeveloped countries, a dangerous t.Ki.gh necessary expedient, sin^e ||p development of "new" countries creates competitors hitherto non-existent, for a shrinking market. As the young wage-worker grows it becomes more and more apparent that the commodities he is able to withdraw from the market as a re- sjlt of spending his wages merely suffice to enable him to reappear on the morrow as a worker; that .the raw material upon which he work;1 functions only as an absorbant of his energy, and that tlie whole process constantly reproduces him || a v, orker and his boss as a capitalist. The years roll by. With manhood comes manhood's necessities. Ho gets a "home." His job becomes, f >'om that time on, all the more precious. The freedom to wander, in search of work, has lost its old significance and charm. An anchor is upon his life. The spectre of dismissal cbnstantly haunts him and raises thoughts not only of poverty and starvation for himself, but also of the maddening sight of a hungry wife' and children. Toil' he must! Work becomes his one obsessionâ overtime, or rather the few extra nickels it brings inâalmost a necessity. Free? Of course he is! Free to . workâwhen his masters need him. There can be no doubt, however, that he is free from many things. No wrinkles sear his brow as a result of the heavy responsibilities which the burden of industrial stewardship entail! No sleepless nights result from his activities "in society." No legal problems dog his death. Freedom, from comfort, from leisure, from art and, above all from property,_ is his inalienable right as a wage slave. The workers' belief in their so- called freedom, is however, not so strange after all, if the money factors which go to form his ideas are taken into consideration. Thoroughly imbued at school with a method of thought which seeks to explain human events by attributing them to genius and which endows mankind with a free will upon the nature of which depends the individual's success er failure, the worker started life ill-equipped to withstand the hollow platitudes of press and pulpit, patriot and politician. He starts, in fact, a mental slave. In the commercial struggle he sees capitalists crushed and reduced to the ranks of the proletariat, whilst some of the members of his class may be seen rise. The intervention of the contrast, as between equals, obscures the true relation between himself and his boss. Past history, what little he knows of it, seems to repeat ' The poor ye have always with ye. ' It is pleasant for him to consider himself free and the condition of his brain, made sluggish by long hours, toil, adultered and ill-cooked food, and lack of proper recreation, make apathy inevitable. Change, however, is the one certain law of nature. The quickly succeeding events, which characterise this age of machinery as the age of "progress," are having an effect. "Freedom" has been played up too much. "Democracy" has been stuffed down the workers' throats till its stink forces them to take notice and think about it. The time has come for a change in thought. The sooner the better. Ambrose Tree -:0 : THE REFORMATION (Continued from last issue). Such was the situation when Ti- zel appeared in Saxony with drums and -trumpets to sell indulgences. Luther objected, he appealed to the Elector of Saxony, protesting against the method used by Tizel. The Elector declined - to interfere publicly, but no doubt was accessor before the fact of Luther's challenge to Rome, nailed upon the door of Wittenburg Cathedral, that "scraps of paper" could absolve sins. The Pope saw nothing ominous in the act, lie regarded it as one of the frequent quarrels between monks of rival orders, and suggested that Luther would forget about it when he sobered up. However, northern Europe had been awaiting just such an act for some years ,and from an humble objector to the manner of selling indulgences Luther was forced into becoming the centre of the revolutionary storm. The atheist Pope had hesitated a fraction too loner. He I THE WESTERN CLARION ordered Luther to Rome and his works burned. Luther replied by burning the Papal Bull, j The Emperor Charles, later elected by the influence of Frederick, Elector of Saxony, returned from Spain, and Luther was summoned to appear before the Imperial Diet at Worms in 1521. He was given safe conduct* but the fate of John Huss, a century previous, had shown what trust could be put in such security. Then Pope John absolved Sigismund from his oath and Huss was burned. That is, the Pope ordered the Emperor obeyed. At Worms, Luther was adjudged guilty and ordered home until his twenty days safe conduct had elapsed. Many threats had-been made as to what would happen-were Luther harmed. The Papal power was still formidable; and few dared to openly oppose it. On his way to Wittenburg, Luther was kidnapped. At first it was charged to the Papacy, and"Luther was supposed to have been burned. Gradually* Europe became aware that he was safe in the castle of- Frederick. Some of the free cities had already repudiated Rome, ere Luther's hiding place was made known. But "the citizens of these free towns did not stop at Papal authority, they openly declared for Communism.., Weavers of cloth, miners of silver, headed the peasants war. Luther was in the forefront of the fight to subdue them, when he became famous. While he was in hiding at Wart- burg, they were banishing Catholicism from their midst. His translation of the Bible completed, he stepped into a world made safe for him by the courage and energy of men he immediately proceeded to betray. Thomas Munzer felt the weight of his power and jealousy. The revolt which Munzer headed in Thuringen and the many peasant uprisings which followed were stamped outby the Protestants with as much brutality as ever Rome was capable of. Profestantism was the religion of capitalism, because the Roman church was a fetter upori the devel opment of-the leading classes. Between the enlightened Pope Leo and the miserable fanatical monk Luther there was all the difference between the 16th and,the 12th century. Erasmus said wherever Luther appeared learning disappered. No one railed at Copernicius more bitterly than Luther. And the entire group of reformers from Henry VIII. down_ to John Knox were as fatal to liberty and enlightenment as any pope who ever launched a Papal Bull. If any one desired^roof that the 16th century Reformation was economic and not moral in character there is no need to go further than? the fact that Henry VIII. murdered several of his wives, Martin Luther murdered Thomas Munzer, John Calvin murdered Servetus, andMJohn Knox raved in a blind rage that the ungodly should be rooted from the earth. A precious bunch to reform any thin g- When the storm and fury of the Reformation had subsided, and the wealth of the church was safely garnered into the treasury of the landed and industrial classes, the Roman Church gradually regained almost all her lost flock- From being the supreme overlord of feudalism, however, she became the handmaid of capitalism, and for a second time the Bride of Christ became a strumpet. The material needs of capitalism being safeguarded, the moral and religious questions returned to their former channels. Cromwell in Ireland had nothing on the Inquisition, and the victims of Loiquemada were small and their fate merciful and just compared to the number of poor and forlorn oldf women who suffered under the charge of witchcraft. The moral of all this is that where there are slaves to be spoiled, anyonet interfering with the spoliation is liable to be hung, drawn and quartered, always, of course, in the interest of religion or morality or justice or freedom, or some other catch phrase best suited to the spirit of the times and the needs of the politically predominant. J H. THE WESTERN CLARION "SEVENTEEN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS MUST BE RAISED "Munsey's Magazine" for October States: H| "This great sum, of seventeen billions of dollars must be raised by the American people because it is ^ the only absolute insurance against the loss of everything we possess. It is insurance against "the loss of American armies in France; it is insurance no less against the loss of American capital at home, American l^bor at home, American families at home, American everything j at home. |ft| "Let the American armies in France fail, and not a dollar of American property at home will be secure from the Prussian monster; not an American job will be secure from the Prussian monster; not even the sanctity of an American wife, daughter, x>r sister will be se- [ cure from the Prussian monster." Now a possession which requires the vast premium of seventeen billions of dollars as insurance, must" indeed be very valuable. The American working clas is one of the most valuable pieces of property on top of this earth, so it is not to be wondered^at that they should be well protected, for would it not be a dire calamity if by some means their powers of production were harnessed by some captalistic monster other than American? For is it reasonable to suppose that the said "Prussian monster," "realizing the American slaves' extraordinary usefulness ( a regular gilt-edged investment) 'would let him remain in possession of his beloved job knowing h\u00C2§ productive capacity? Does the American worker,- or Canadian worker, possess anything, even a job? Not exactly, but lie possesses the power to labor at some- job or other when the employing class sees that it will be profitable to itself to allow him to do so. "Insurance against the loss of American capital!" Now, while the members of the working class are told that they are saving their dollars and fighting to secure their "jobs" from the Prusian monster, and also to make the world safe for democracy," here is seen the real motive for America's entrance into the conflict, viz., the protection of the monster at home, who, having lost some shiploads of commodities, via the submarine route, has, as a result of those untoward incidents," drafted the man power, in the forlorn hope of safeguarding his investments. And, lo! on top of all this cpmes the news of Canada's great Victory Loan! Together with the Military. Service Act! "On- do'ubtedly the loan jsdll be a huge success. "The Victoria Daily Colonist" says so.â and it will need to he, for the Conscription Act does not seem to count. The Canuck may chip in his nickels, but he does not seem to worry about getting into khaki. By the way, why does a "country so financially sound as Canada or the-U. S. need to negotiate- loans ? It is rather significant that of three hundred and odd thousands who have registered (and heaven or hell knows how many unregistered) only twenty thousand, or there abouts are willing -to do any shooting or perform surgical operations on the enemy with a bayonet or bomb in blood soakett ^Europe. If Liberty Loans or Victory Bonds could save the situation, verily its salvation would be achieved, but the awkward part of it is that the situation is beyond the monster Prussian or otherwise. And while the henchmen of the ruling class are cutting all kinds of capers to befool the workers, the pace is begining to tell, and the slave is slowly but surely being awakened to a sense of his position, so that the persistent harping upon "security of jobs," â j world safe for democracy," etc., is beginning to pall, and a more tangible ..explanation is required. J Stevenson THE DUPED SLAVE difficult task it is indeed for the wage slave to break away from all the fetters and conventionalities of capitalism, when one stops to think that all the institutions under the sun to-day are but items in the sum total of a whole "Capitalism." The teacher who helps to mould the mind of the child, from bible lessons -to hero worship, is a step in the vast process of forming a slave psychology. From â the cradle we have been taught to revere the occupant of the pulpit, from whom comes a vast volume of words, abstractions by the square yard,., blended with myths, and enshrouded in metaphysical language that no /one can honestly grasp or understand. These snakes who seek to give the slaves spiritual guidance, that they may avert the tortures of hell, and find refuge in the atonement of blood, and the eternal home in the cloudlands,â providing they are meek and humble to their masters while they inhabit this celestial orb. Even now they herald from a thousand pulpits, the necessity and virtue of the slave going forth to the plains of Flanders and shedding his blood,âall that^a Jslave. cVin give. All morals and Christian capitalist ethics go by the board, when the parson's doughnuts are at stake. The greatest of all the influences at work to mislead the slave, is the venal press. It takes tlie psychology of a class-conscious slave to be able to jead between the lines'. The most noticeable feature,, is the alertness and cunning they display, tox shield the interests* of their class, and'perpetuate a system based on exploitation of the only useful class in society. When you meet a tired slave and engage him in conversation, all that hecan generally speak of is the job, and a 'vague smattering about the war, which he has borowed from some bourgeois writer, in some cheap publication. The law of surplus value, and the Material Con ception of History, is foreign to him. The mention of economics, and biology, evokes a pitying smile, when the work I' Socialism'' is mentioned, he braces himself up, and will go to great pains to show how unpractical it would be to divide up with the other fellow. i How true it is, that the greatest enemy -of anything that stands for progress and the inevitables-evolution, is the duped slave, of scissor- bill. All the ingenuity, the lackeys of our present system can invent, is brought to bear that the majority of tjie slave class may remain at variance with progress. Not being far- enough removed from savagery, and the conditions which* are not here, but are fast approaching, will alone, herald the dawn of a new era, '' The Co-operative Commonwealth.'' Hasten the day when priesthood, superstition and the intellectual prostitute shall be forever relegated to the scrapheap; -when the last form of human slavery shall have disappeared. D. MacPherson The Slave of the Farm Advance Orders Taken Now Per Copy 10c Per dozen 75c Per 100 $6.00 miPi^if . ^j^PP;- THE WESTEEN CLARION The Western Clarion ^cgapggj^. Published by the Socialist Party of Canada at the office of the Western Clarion, N.E. corner Pender Street and Dunlevy Ave., Vancouver, B. C. Subscription Bates: Per 20 issues 1.00 Per 10 issues 0.50 Bundle Bates:â3 cents per copy per issue. In making remittance by cheque, exchange must be added. Address all communications to Managing-Editor. "Western Clarion" office, N. E. cor. Pender and Dunlevy Ave., Vancouver, B. 0. Readers advising us of change of address-can only insure correct and prompt delivery by sending the old address along with the new. <f yor. receive this paper it is paid for. Job .the number before your . L name on the yellow label of your paper reads fiAfb your subscription O V _» expires with the next issue. In spite of the great advances made in intellectual power THE NEED and breadth of view OP STUDY since the introduction of common, or popular, education the average workingman is still incapable of using his reasoning powers in any critical or extended process of thought. We make this statement from personal observation. We do not mean, how- lever, that he does not possess the possibility of acquiring these powers. This is a point upon which we wish to be partcularly clear. What we mean to say is, that, in his pre sent state he is incapable of extended or critical thinking. It is necessary to make two qualifications to this statement. First, it applies to the workingman of average mentality. We can find minute gradations, from workingmen who are capable of delving into the most complex philosophical problems, down to those who cannot fasten their minds to any serious subject even for a minute. Secondly, it does not apply in all directions equally: For instance, a man may be capable of acute reasoning on a subject in which heh as been trained, while remaining helpless in other fields. THE WESTERN CLARION But regarding social questions, we find the mental possibilities of the average workingman to be far in excess of his present, development.' It is just as if we remarked that Jim Brown who possesses a good sized arm is incapable of lifting a~ 50R>. weight. The trouble with Jim is, not that he is lacking in the necessary muscular mechanism for lifting, but that his muscles are undeveloped. He has failed to give them proper exercise. This serves as an illustration. As a matter of fact, Jim, being a workingman, is probably stronger in the arms than in. the head. The next question to be considered is why the mental possibilities of the worker are beyond his present mental capabilities. The obvious answer is that he lacks mental, just as our friend Jim lacks physical training- He has not been trained to think keenly and logically on social questions. To verify this it is only necessary to ask him a few questions.. He wanders from one subject to another, like a butterfly. He cannot remember what he said five minutes ago and will often deny it if called to his attention. He contradicts himself. He gives expression to ideas wholly incompatible with each other. If you ask him why he thinks such and such a thing he "doesn't know," it just "seems that way-" His whole conversation shows that he has never given real serious thought to any social subject and that what ideas he has are badly confused. This is his mental condition. Now as to the reason. The avenues through which the worker gets his impressions and general mental training are under the control of the ruling class. The ruling class of any society dominates the ideas of that society. By this it is not meant that they can make people believe anything, though it is remarkable to what an extent they are able to carry this power.MJIowever, it has its limits. But on all these questions which are in any way obscure and which touch their interests, their power can be distinctly seen. They control almost all sources of information and effectually prevent knowledge which would be injurious to them from finding its way into, working class minds. Their system, however, is not water-tight. Some facts, indeed, leak out, but they are, usually buried beneath so much rubbish or sandwiched in between so many lies, that the average worker can make little use of them. With regard to his philosophical ideas it is the same- As a child, both in day-school and Sunday-school he is taught ruling class ideas. He is taught to look at all things from the ruling class viewpoint. The boy who'obeys his parents and later his employer and who is industrious, is set up as a model for him to copy, and he is led to suppose that if he cultivates the virtues of "honesty, loyalty," etc., he will surely "rise," and perhaps some day be president- Further, he is taught that when he sees a degraded or unfortunate man, it is a result of a lack of the virtues on the part of the unfortunate one. A child has little opportunity for verification; investigation, or study" The child is mentally helpless, and at the mercy of his elders. He is impelled to believe whatever he is taught. The ruling class take full advantage of the child's..mental'condition, and having political control they dictate what shall be taught in the schools. They proceed to make the child slave to their ideas, that they may later bind him with economic chains to their machines. There is never a suggestion that his teachers might be in error about anything. Everything is taught in a dogmatic fashion. Of course, a child cannot be taught correct philosophi- 1 J cal concepts. The child mind must go through a process of development during which time his teaching must be of a simplified character. But as he grows older his earlier concepts should be modified through teaching, to conform to the concepts of modern science. Is this done? By no means. It may be' done with regard to technical knowledge. But as regards religion, morals, social conditions, etc., everything possible is done to confirm in his mind the dogmatic- ideas which are suited to ruling class needs. For instance, he is taught to be honest. He is taught that if he works for another man he should be loyal and industrious. He is never told to watch sharply to see that his employer does not cheat or deceive him. On the contrary his employer and his j' superiors'' generally are held up as models of integrity and morality. We who know how the employing class sit at their business men's conferences and board meetings planning means whereby.to defeat labor on the industrial field, and how to keep labor^in ignorance so that it will go to the polls and re- ;endorse the capitalist regime, can give only one name to such educationâit is class education. Of course, as the child develops into a full grown workingman, he discovers some things, usually by bitter experience. He learns that all employers are not "honest." He learns that many, if not most of them, use despicable means in dealing with their employees..... Lies, threats and even murder are within their scope. But, alas and alack, he has been taught false conceptions so long that he cannot put a corect interpretation on these things. He can see that things are rotten. But he has always been taught to classify all men as either "good" or "bad," and to regard social conditions as a product of individual virtues or lack of them. And so he blames individuals. When he sees an employer hiring thugs to break up a strike he does not realize that it is because of class interests. He thinks it is because that particular employer is "bad" or "greedy." This concept is clearly reflected in the ideas of Trade Union men, when they speak of "fair" and "unfair" employers- Question'the average workingman and he will tell you that he knows the newspapers are "full of lies." Question him further and you will find that he reads nothing but these same lying newspapers. Moreover, he hasn 't an idea in his head that has come from ,any other source than these same newspapers. Of the laws governing social evolution, or the structure of capitalist society, he is as innocent as a newborn infant. There is only one answer to all this. Any workingman who is really interested in his own case, who wants to know his position in society and the future prospects of his class, must first of all cut himself clear from capitalist influence. He should prepare to abandon many or most of his present ideas, even those which he regards as fundamental. We do not mean by this" that he must necessarily alter all of his ideas. Mere radicalism does not make a socialist. But he must come to view things from a scientific standpoint, and this involves a radical change in his general conceptons. He must cease to measure things up as "good'.' or "bad," using his preconceived, or rather pre-taught, ideas as a basis. He must learn that the modern, the 20th century, view is to measure the goodness of things by their utility. And he will learn that the existence of master and slave classes in society is useful to the master class, but not to the slave class; then he will bend his energies to the establishment of a system of society in which classes will be eliminated. Most workingmen approach the subject of socialism with the belief that their own concept of fundamental principles is absolutely correct and that, therefore, they only need to hear what Socialism stands for and they will be able to decide as to its merits. But these same workingmen have been taught capit alist ideas all their lives, and they attempt to measure socialism by these standards. We are willing to agree that Socialism does not measure up well according to the capitalist standards. But if we continue to think and act according to ruling ciiis'> ideas, we will continue to live H wage-slave-.7. a,s the ruling class wants us to do Make a start by subscribing to and systematically reading:|f the j Western Clarion.'' L. B :o : EDITORIAL WISDOM EADING the average newspaper, we are apt to wonder how one small head could contain all the knowledge displayed in the editorials It's easy when you know how. The wise editor when in need of some special article of an exact and technical character, applys to the expert, who supplies the article at "the usual rates." The wise editor, of course, trims it to suit his masters purpose, if perchance it contains information which requires "editing." The expert who depends upon this kind of picking, generally a college professor, or retired army officer, does not object, he needs the money. At present the editors seem to be doing their ownw riting,âat least in Vancouverâand we~now marvel that one big head could be so devoid of real knowledge. The Vancouver "Province" of November 7th, had an editorial on fables. We are told that a great many people are acquainted with iEsop's Fables, but $ew know anything about iEsop. Considering the extent of Mr. editor's ignorance _on the subject we may take his word for it. He tells us _Esop's Fables "were first current about the sixth century, A.D-" Of course iEsop 'was supposed to have lived in the sixth century B.C., but cheap encyclopedias were ever unreliable. Following this stupid blunder he drags in "The Belly and the Members" fable, and proceeds to show that we should content our- â¢smmmw ^mhik^^^k^MM^Msk"' -"^^ii^pyspiPlSf 8 THE WESTERN OLARION THE WESTERN CLARION selves in that station of life most profitable to the master class. Concerning this,._amous^ fable our wise editor "finds it interesting to wonder" whether JEsop had derived the idea from St. Paul. A subject indeed to marvel at, seeing that Plutarch atributed the fable to Meneius Agrippa during a "general strike" in Rome some six centuries before St. Paul saw the light. of day, approximating to the supposed date of iEsops activity. The workers had departed from Rome and the idlers were having a hard time. Old Meneius - sprang the "Belly" story on the workers and we are told they were so impressed they, returned to feed the "Belly." It will be noted that the collection of fables under iEsop's name are partly moral, partly political. "The Belly and the Members" is essentially political. 2,500 years ago it may have served the aristo-- erratic paupers by inducing-Mthe workers to feed them (which I personally doubt) but today the slave requires more inducement to maintain our modern gilded pauperism- Howe ver, one fable we commend to the /"Province' 'editor concerns an ass that donned a lions skin and proved a. really effective lion until he opened his mouth. The moral states that an editorial sanctum santorum may conceal, but wild assertions will disclose ignorance. In. the November 20th issue of the "Province' our editor again displays his ability to distort history. He opens as follows: "When the Kaiser and his Junkers are forced to yield to the demands "of democracy, a period will be put to a struggle which has been going on here and there for seven centuries. This week will see the 703rd anniversary of that important occasion when the Archbishop of Canterbury and the charons of England met at St. Edmondsbury and raised the standard of revolt against the tyranny of King John." According to this the wickedness and tyranny of King John will be finally overcome "By subjugating the Kaiser. This is not what the editor means, although what he does mean is no more correct or sensible. That the great charter granted by King John has anything to do with modern events or in any way concerns capitalism is a fallacy which ignorant or designing "editors and educationists have tried to perpetuate. The revolt of the charons and ecclesiastics against King John was a reactionary movement. All over Europe cities favorably situated for manufacturing and mercantile enterprise were increasing in number and strength. These cities were \nan asset to the overlord in whose domain they happened to be located. It became the practice to grant them exceptional privileges, to secure their growth and allegiance. These privileges took the form of charters, and carried the right of civic administration. Very often the cities surrendered these charters owing to the administration being unable to enforde its will- Frequently they became so powerful they defied their overlord, and carried on a war of considerable proportion against him. The anarchy arising from this new factor in feudalism, a factor entirely foreign to its structure, called for an independent authority^Hlwhp could smooth over the difficulties; who could render judgment and en-* force it- Monarchy seemed most suited to this purpose, and kings were gradually becoming more and more powerful. While on the continent monarchy was slowly developing, in England it had already been established by right of conquest. Little more than a century had elapsed since the death of William the Conqueror, and between his successors and the Barons there was a constant struggle for the restriction of that absolute power wielded by William, which resulted from the position of the Normans in England immediately following the Conquest. When the Normans came to England they were already possessed of lands in France. | Henry II., father of King John, was overlord of Normandy by inheritance, and by marriage (with the divorced wife of Louis VII.) of the largest and richest districts in France. Henry reduced the barons, who had become all powerful during Stephen's weak reign, to subjection. Some idea of the-benefits accruing from a powerful monarchy may he had by comparing the reign of Stephen, when England was free, and the Barons supreme, with England subjected to the absolute rule of William the Conqueror. Under the latter the country developed in every direction, while tstagnation everywhere obtained under the former. The Barons and their retainers plundered everywhere, so that '' The earth bore no acorns; you might as well have tilled the sea, for the land was ruined by such deeds, and it was openly said that Christ and his saints slept." By the time King John came to the throne France had'developed to that unity which had been forced upori England by conquest ,over a century previous, and Philip Augustus the young French King, usurped those powers which social develop- sment was making possible for the monarchy. He determined to regain that part of France held by King John, and seized the opportunity afforded him through the murder of Prince Arthur by his uncle, the English king. John was .the vassel of Philip by virtue of land holdings in France, and was" summoned to appear before his overlord to stand trial for the murder of Arthur, who was also Philip's vassel- John declined to appear without a safe conduct, which was his privilege under feudal custom. This was refused, and John was quite illegally dispossessed of his lands in France. In the wars which folowed, the Barons of England refused to lend assistance in men or money, and while their King Was fighting in France, conspired to limit his power. This, then, is what our editor IT waxefe eloquent about While the nation was conducting a perfectly "legal and just war'> for land which "rightfully" belonged to "its monarch, these brave heros not only refused to stand for conscription of wealth or manhood, but raised the standard of revolt and forced their country to a shameful peace anddoss of territory. What subtle change has occurred in the moral texture of humanity, which makes patriots of 13th century slackers, while those of today are told they ought to have been smothered at birth. \nOf course we got the Magna Charta, from which all blessings are supposed to flow. As a matter of fact, all the blessings of that document were reaped by the Baronage, and church, and England experienced a period of anarchy and suffering alleviated temporarily when a monarch became powerful enough to hold them in check. Not, howv ever, until "social development had advanced sufficiently to enable the king to permanently subject the Barons and ecclesiastics, owing to the might of a powerful and aggressive merchant and industrial class was England enabled to make real headway. This ocurred in the sixteenth century. The Baronage had been almost exterminated by the Wars of the Roses, and those noble families which were flourishing were of recent origin, and owed their rise in most cases to the beauty and frailty of the^females of their line, generally their wives. The new monarchy which appeared with Henry IV., reached its complete expression in Henry VIII., and continued the Tudor dynasty. The capitalist class rendered supreme through the conquest of India and America and the subsequent exploitation of these countries, found under the Stuarts that the new monarchy had outlived its usefulness, and proceeded to destroy it, retaining just enough of royal pomp to advertise their wares and overawe their slaves, the wage workers. In this - development the provisions of the Magna Charta had no place,- in fact the only attempt made to give a democratic interpretation to that legal instrument was in 1258 at the Council jd Oxford, called by Simon de Montford, son of the Baron who lead the crusade against the Ambegenses. Our editor appears to think this was the first parliament, which is not true- De Montford was deserted by the Baronage because of his consorting with the burghers and he-and his adherents were blotted from the earth. Of this our editor sayest nought. Verily our daily press is a mine of misinformation, and a well "of distortion and lies. J H. : o : 1 SOCIALISM AND PACIFISM N the last twenty years, or for that period since "Socialism" has been "respectable," a certain brand of half-baked mystics and sentimental slobberers, crying for justice, humanity, brotherhood and the like,, have insisted that they were the leaders of thought in the new era. Like most otfier things which have been repeated often enough, their assertion has been accepted-by that section of the. people who are willing to accept any assertion without subjecting it to critical survey. By claiming the title Socialist they become Socialists in the public eye and their utterances are treated as the official Socialist stand upon any subject which they may care, to speak of. Pacifists have arisen during the course of this war from many quarters, and the pseudo Socialists have contributed their .share. Their wailings and weepings .have ascended until the phrase that "the Socialists are opposed to war" is accepted on all sides. This is not exactly the case. A contemporary in a recent arti cle states: "The chief conditions that invite war, then, are inherent in our present system of industry. % Indeed the business of* the world as carried on today is war, only it is veiled by certain conventions, too often by pretense and hypocrisy, and is transacted in general under the sanction of the law. When the conventional and peaceful means are insufficient to obtain the end sought, there is resort to arms. Armed warfare is only a phase of the general industrial warfare that prevails the world over- "So long as the economic interests of classes and nations are antagonistic there will be war. No demonstrations of its waste, no sentimental appeals for peace will prevent it. Not the spread of commerce, but the harmonization of economic interests is the remedy." This concise statement expresses the Socialist position in a nutshelK War is the only condition possible under capitalism. Whether it takes the form of an election, the bankrupting of a business rival,the struggle for a job, or the flight for a place on the bread line, it is fight, fight, FIGHT, from the cradle to the grave. It is unnecessary to elaborate the daily struggle for existence of the wage slave. The humiliating and degrading process of selling oneself to the employer, and the fight against the younger, abler man, to hold on to the only means of life which presents itself. -~ So long as the condition of capitalism obtains, this continuous war shall also obtain. The Socialist is at war every day against the ignorance of his fellow and will declare no armistice until the system based on such a condition is finally annihilated. We will declare no truce. Quick March! Hi 1 ^f^5^W?f^S - - -rr^^^^T^W^^?^ - n -.! - ' - â :â -.â -â .-.â â - -,.-._ . _â SSS95 10 THE WESTERN CLARION THE WESTERN CLARION 11 THE SLAVE OF THE FARM BY A. BUDDEN LETTER No. 4. My Dear E.,â The separation of the worker from his tools has been the historic mission of this great system of production; the continued gathering of them into factories and their continual improvement in productive power, have, while enlarging the stream of wealth in the form of commodities, also beggared the worker. The trick was easily turned in other branches of industry, but the turning of farming into an industry and the separation of the small owner from his tools of production took more time and skill. Yet it followed much the same course. Before the coming of great machinery, the artisan was a most important person. Today, when children and women, by pulling a lever or turning an electric switch, can duplicate in a fraction of the time used up by a craftsman, thaf'artisan has, perforce, to listen to the owner of the machine, the capitalist, and become his slave, for wages. On the farms of Western Canada, the same result has been achieved, but by slightly different methods. In the days of the crooked stick, the wooden plow, the harrow made from some untrimmed log, the cradle and the reaping hook, when cleaning grain was done by throwing it into the air on a breezy day, when the muzzled ox or unbroken pony threshed the grain, the incentive to separate the worker from his tool was not very great. The masters today are forced to own the machines because they who own the machine own the product, but in those days, since the product was almost wholly consumed by the producer, at least in Eastern Canada, capital had not much to lay hold of. In the year 1840. however, McCormick placed upon the market the first reaper, and a new era opened for farming. You will notice that as the spinning jenny "grew up" and became a great power loom, so its ownership changed hands, that it developed from a tool of production for use, into a machine of production for profit. So also the machinery of farming. One other thing: that as it grows larger and larger-, so does its very nature change. The forked stick was an individual tool, as was also the wooden plow, but the great modern plow is a strictly social product, a social tool. So also a point is reached where from being the property of an individual, it becomes the property of a Class. It becomesâcapital. Even the nature of the products change. From products for use they become, with the enlargement of the machine, with the social production of the tool, social products for exchangeâ commodities So also changed the social standing of the dweller on the soil. From being the owner of a farm and number of hand tools, be becomes a slave harnessed to the social machinery, producing a great stream of wealth for masters he has never seen^wAnd here is the secret of the poverty of the Western farmer. As we pointed out, he never was an owner of means of productionâa peasant proprietor. Capital was ahead of him, and the laws of capitalist development go their way no matter who suffers. The farm slave himself cannot fail to notice that every new machine has this tendencyâto cover more ground in quicker time than heretofore, and to become larger and more expensive. We have mentioned commodities, and this brings us to the crux of the pamphlet. Why are tne machines growing ever larger? What is the reason for the continued effort 1o do the job quicker?J|j'What is a commodity? What do we mean by social production? To take the last first: The farm slave is not a producer of what are farm products. That is, he cannot do this alone, he "must have the aid of the^rest of the workers. Imagine starting to farm without a binder, a plow and a seed drill, think of laising hogs without parents, imagine building a shack without lumber (unless a sod den or a hole in the ground). Just stop and look at your binder and realize what it isâan embodiment of social labor. Imagine (if you can) how the whole of society bends itself to thl task of producin git. Even in its makeup are the farm products raised by some farmer elsewhere, that went to feed the workers who gave their toil to create it. Try to trace 4t back,, and you will lose yourself in.a maze of industry. Such l emote things as brick-making and tailoring are involved in its construction, for you know, the binder was built in a factory made of brick, and the worker had to be clothed. The farmer becomes a cog in the great machine of industry, no more important than the rest, no less so, all bending, however, to produce a stream of wealth they do not own. That is social production and, upon this fact, the Socialists base their demand for social ownership of those machines so necessary to- the life of society. This is the first requisite for a commodity; that it be a social product. Next, that it be produced for exchange or sale as in opposition to a product for use. Of course, this commodity must have a use value, but there is no farm slave bold enough to claim that he raises wheat today for the world's use, else would all the hungry be fed, and we know under this system of production, this is far from being the case. You and I did not figure on the amount we were raising according to the number of people it would feed, but how much money we should get from our masters for raising it. We went to work to raise wheat as we would go to work in a factory, to get money to buy other things, and just in the same manner does the capitalist who gets that wheat, look upon it solely as a means of increasing his wealth. He would just as soon cause to Be manufactured ladies' fans or monkeys' collars. It is all the same to him, so that there is a brisk demand. In old days the peasant packed his grain to the mill and brought it back flour, a product for use: Today the farm slave hauls his masters grain to the elevator, and sees it no more, neither does he trouble to enquire what becomes of it. He has had what he raised it for, the medium of exchangeâmoneyâand he is satisfied. A commodity, then, is an embodiment of social labor and raw material produced for exchange Now for the last question: Why are the machines getting larger and larger, and what is the meaning of the continued effort to do the work quicker? How shall we measure the value of a bushel of wheat? Why is it One Dollar or Sixty Cents, as the case may be? Upon what basis is this calculated? Quite lately the farm journals have given much of their space to discussing the cost of raising grain, and close scrutiny of this polemic reveals the fact that about $ 10.00 is the average cost of producing one acre of wheat. The Government blue books for Saskatchewan also added the weight of their authority to this testimony. Now just what does this mean? How shall we measure ten dollars ?_ What do those figures, impressed upon a gold disc or printed upon a piece of paper, convey to our minds. Let us follow this ten dollar gold ..piece to its source, remembering that the paper note is but a token. Ten dollars will be a certain weight in gold, and gold is found in the earth, but the centre of this globe may be of solid gold, and yet quite valueless if that which makes the ten dollar gold piece possible, cannot get at itâhuman labor. Gold must be dug, stamped, refined and milled; great machines built by labor are used in this process; men must work at these machines. Jn other words, labor and raw material must come together to produce this gold piece. How shall we find out what quantity of labor is required to dig up and refine and stamp a ten dollar gold pice? There is only one wayâin time. That is the only way labor can be measured. One cannot weigh it, nor use a yard stick. Let us suppose it takes ten hours to produce $ 10 in gold, then the fact that it cost $ 10 to produce an acre of wheat means that it takes ten hours of social time to do so. That is all. The value of the commodity wheat is measured by the average labor time it takes to raise a bushel. Now we see the reason, my dear E., why the tendency of machinery is toward bigness and swiftness, for every new machine that comes into use to get over the land quicker reduces the time necessary in production. In other words reduces the value of the product. It seems rather comicalâdoes it not?âthat the farm slave should expect a raise in prices, or at least that they remain stationary when the fates have decreed that his every effort shall be towards reducing the value of these commodities. For today, wheat, sausages, gold or corn plasters, are commoditiesâthings produced for sale, and in such a system the cheapest must win, for that is commodity law. There are other factors with which we shall deal in a future letter, but here we must mention the chief agent in the derangement of price. Now, price at bottom is value, but, because of the blind and unstable frenzy of production, price is driven high above or far below value. If the market is flooded, prices are down, if any particular commodity is scarce, prices are up, but an examination of prices over a period of years will disclose the fact that these wave crests and troughs on the ocean of production, act in the same manner as the salt sea waves. They return to a mean levelâvalue, the cost of production, which can only be measured in labor time. This is the most important point of all. Study it well, "SLAVE OF THE FARM." It is. of course, apparent, and goes without saying, that with the increasing bigness of the machine, grows also their costliness, and it is here that the farm slave meets his Waterloo. It is here that the ownership of the machine is proven, if at any place. We have seen that the measure of value is labor time, so>that the price of a binder offered at one hundred and eighty- five dollars ($185.00), means that you can get it for that amount of labor; that the farm slave must deliver to the company one hundred and eighty-five ($185.00), or somewhere in the neighborhood of one hundred hours of laborâbasing this labor on the average productivity of labor in generalâin exchange for this other commodity. Now, if instead of the binder we extend this to include all the machinery and power necessary to work the average farm (half a section), say $2 000,00 with the usual interest at eight or ten per cent, we have some notion of the burden he carries. These notes (the company prefers to do a credit business) extend over a number of years, in the case of large machines, to six years, so that in signing them the farm slave actually signs away a portion of his labor, in other words, so many weeks, hours, days of his life, in fact, this is a contract of bondage, and such iron laws did the robber gang indite before the West was opened up, that there is no escape therefrom. One hundred and eighty-five dollars ($185.00) of a certain length of life does not satisfy the vampire capital; the interest is a method of stealing a little more all the time. The larger the machinery grows, the longer must he toil to obtain it, until a point is reached, where the last vestige of independence drops off him, and he reaches the status of a wage slave, or at best, manager for a machine company. You know it is a common jest in the countryâif a cruel oneâthat a threshing machine is a "half a section on wheels.' Now, it will be objected that the farm slave pays for the machine at last, and so he does sometimes, but by that time, it is wornout, and he must get another, so that instead of the farmer being an owner or machinery, which is capital for him, the machine has become fixed capital for the machine companies, placed in a factory, whose rooftree is the sky. Another aspect of the case calls for attention: Let us remember that the essence of capital is that it brings profit to its owner. Now profit is something for nothing, made by buying labor power, and setting it to work upon machinery. For example, if I buy labor power at two dollars per day, and the slave whom I purchase, produces eight dollars worth of value, the profit will be six dollars, less other running expenses. You will see, my dear E., that it is quite impossible to make a profit out of yourself; that you cannot buy your own labor power, and set it to work to make a profit from your own hide. Since capital is the means of extracting profit from others, the idea that a farm slave is a capitalist meets with a fatal objection. Of course, profit cannot be made out of a machine either. If you give one hundred and eighty-five dollars Hg 12 THE WESTERN CLARION ($185.00) for a machine, one hundred and eighty-five dollars ($185.00) only .will that machine transfer to the product when it is used up. In numberless cases, however, in the West, it does not get used up, the capitalists taking it back from the slave who was working it, before that time. In fact it would i>eem that those who owned all these privileges, and were nias- MANITOBA MISCELLANEA There is an old saying in Scotland which runs as follows: "It's an ill wind that blaws neabody guid,' j and when I read the following clipping from "Southern Reporter," of Oct* 25th, 1917, it just struck me that it would be a bum war^that nobody profited by: "Mr. Conway Lewis, solicitor, Swansea, received_Jntimation from the Home Office, in response to a petition, that Edgar Smith, ship's carpentez*, convicted of a wilful murder at the Old Bailey on October 18, 1899, and sentenced to death which was subsequently commuted to penal servitude for life, is to be released on condition that he works in a shipbuilding yard." w ^P w Another clipping from the same paper will be of interest to many of our readers: "Private Victor Grayson, ex-M.P. for Colne Valley, was-wounded during last week's offensive, and is nojv in hospital." I kind of wonder if Winnie's winning ways changed Victor's ideas or whether it was R. B.'s lucid or lurid articles on Britain for the British, or Jerusalem for the Irish, that made him bleed for (his?) country> The following clipping was part of an editorial from the "Free Press Bull (etui)" of November 4th, 1917: That "Capitalistic War." In the queer minds of some queerer persons there still lingers a trace of the mutilated theory that this is a "capitalistic war.'" In other words, that the capitalists of Great Britain, France, the United States, j Russia, Italy, Roumania, Portugal, Serbia, Montenegro, Belgium,Japan, Brazil, and several more, have found I --%mm ters of all things, were also master of the farm slave and all that appertains thereto. It is remarkable (is it not?) that those old ideas we spoke of in a former letter hang so tightly, but patience, my dear E., a rumble of revolt runs through their ranks. Let us hope it takes the right direction. (To be continued-) THE WESTERN CLARION DOMINION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE IS it necessary to band together to lick the German capitalists. It is almost too much to believe. It is just as well to remember when someone is preaching this doctrine that he is likely one of those chaps who told us in the past that there couldn't be a war with Germany. The Cferman' Socialists would not allow it. His opinion is probably not worth any more today than it was then." # # # Then on the same page a little further on we find culled from another paper controlled by the same bunch the following gem: | Hit German Trade (From the LondoJi Daily *Mail) :'The government should at once take in hand the preparation of a bill attacking Germany economically and commercially. The mere suggestion of such an attack has produced alarm in the Fatherland. So long, however, as aur measures are vague and are not embodied in law they will not alarm the militarists or seriously, shake German credit. The moment definifeness and precision are given to them the Germans will believe that tlie British government is in real earnest./' That in conjunction with the following excerpt from a speech by J. Annan Bryce, M. P., in England, jtaken from the May 18th, 1917, is- ,-sue of the New York "Journal of Commerce," is well worth any reader pasting in his scrap book for future reference. The clipping reads as follows: "It seemed to be assumed by some well meaning people that when peace was declared there would be an end of economic war also, and they deprecated any measures tending to perpetrate it. It was forgotten that the war had been as much for commercial and industrial, "as for ,mili- tary domination, and that there had been no more 'enthusiastic advocates of it than the heads of the great German industries and financial establishments. "It was forgotten that the military war was only the complement of the economic war which had started half a century ago with the £200,000,000 indemnity robbed from France, with the object of dominating the trade of the world. . The economic war would be renewed by Germany more savagely and more unscrupulously than ever, if she could. It must be their aim to use every means to defeat her. They were urged by the Government to capture Germany's trade, but were Wereft by the Government of the first essentialâmoney.'' * # 1 The Winnipeg Local has started an open Forum every Tuesday-evening at which discussions are opened by outsiders. Hugh Laidlaw and Israel Tessler have both given addressesâboth of them are exrmem- bers of the Party.â Laidlaw is a strong upholder of the Political Class Struggle, maintaining the struggle on the economic field is merely a commodity struggle. He put up the most powerful case for his side we have heard. Tessler gave a lecture on "The Russian Situation," ancj. had a fund of information the capitalist press has not yet given forth. Therte are so many local members who put the trade "union movement before Socialist propaganda, and who do nothing around the local but pay. dues that our Sunday meetings may also have to be turned into open Forum^. That this warning niay wake them up a little is the hope of Pat. 1 Laws are the official messages from the master class to the workers. When the master class want tov tell the workers that, they are going to do something to them ,they write a law.||§ When they . want to stop the workers from doing anything they write a law. The workers never write haws for themselves or anyone else. The main object of most laws is to protect the master class and hold on to the machinery of protection. The laws are worded to prevent the workers making any attempt to gain a hold on the machinery of production under threat of a penalty. The workers think that the laws are made,' to protect them. The workers are mistaken. Only the workers, who possess 'practically nothing, suffer by the law. All workers possess practically nothing. Hlpl At all times the master class are faced by enemies. In times of so- called peace the master and worker face each other as enemies, each trying to get a larger share of what the worker has produced. The master fljass being able to .make laws, does so to protect themselves from the working class.,Most of the laws are based on the ten commandments, which have a strange way of stating Thou shalt not. In times of war, when sections of the master class face each other in a trial of might* the masters of the opposing nations get real busy writing laws, to the worker, * insisting that the workers do the fighting in order to preserve the master's hold over them and help them keep off the other fellow. Funny, isn't it? W S. Convened in the office of the Secretary, 4th Novemlkr, 1917, at 2 p.m. Present | J. Shepherd, J. M. Jenkins, J. Kavanagh,' J. G. Morgan,^ and the Secretary. Chairman, J. GL, Morgan. Correspondenceâ"A. P.. McCabeâ Simoon Sound; M. P. Aune, Fernie; T. B. oberts, Silverton; A- Goodwin, Trail; A. Wilson, Kimberley; H. Bolingbroke, Greenwood; G. Bloomfield, Kamloops; Jas. A. Moir, Silverton, B. C.; Alberta P. E. p; A. A. Cronk, Craigmyle; Marjroie F. Robinson, Bowden; B. E. Polinkas, Whiting; Chas. Hedstrom, Erskine, Alberta,- Local Winnipeg; Alex. Paterson, Winnipeg, Man.; Local St. Catherines; McConnell and Ferguson, London; Viola Wood, Thames- ford,; H. J. Smith, Toronto; S. Feig- elman, Montreal; Local Montreal, 'P. Q.; P. Taylor, Sidney Mines, N. S.; flj F. Chevilliot, Detroit j J. A. McDonald, Seattle j A. ~"S. McPhee, Mont. HI Application for membership :: A. P. McCabe, Smithers, B. CâAdmitted. Financial Report Western Clarion Receiptsâ Subs $18.50 Bundle (St. Cats.) 90 $19.40 C. M. F 25 $19.65 Expendituresâ Printing No. 798 (in full")....$63.00 Wagf s ...:... 15.00 -78.00 D E. C. Receiptsâ Literature 8.95 Stamps 15.00 Buttons and Supplies .... 1.55 Balance of funds from Local Kimberley No. 87 (Defunct) 7.75 $33.25 Expenditureâ Wages ....: 1 $ 2.00 Miscellaneous 15.70 $17.70 DOMINION EVVECUTIVE COMMITTEE Convened in the office of the Secretary, 18th November, 1917, at 2 pm. Present: J. Harrington, J. Shepherd, W. A. Pritchard, J. G. Morgan, and the Secretary. Chairman: J. G. Morgan- Minutes of the previous meeting adopted as read. CorrespondenceâF. W. Moorfe, Cumberland; W. Healy, Quatsino; Gladys Keown, Victoria; Local Victoria ; W. Mulholland, Michel, B.C.; * Alberta P. E. C. (3); E. S. Fiala, Deering, Alta.; W- Searle; Russ- borough, Sask.; John Burton, Aber- nethy, Sask.; A. Wheeley Cantrill, Calder, Sask.; Leo Schoor, Winni-" peg, Man.; Local Winnipeg; J. gmith, Winnipeg; Alex. Paterson, Winnipeg; B. Ainsley, St. Catherines, Ont:7» Local St. Catherines; F. A. Strond, Toronto; H. Schwartz, Elmira-, Ont-; Local Ottawa; A. E. Skey, Montreal, P.Q.; Miss C. Cribb, New Waterford, N. S.; A. S. McPhee, Buttle, Mont.; "The Blast," New York; D. Alexander, Detroit; C. M. O'Brien, Rochester; James Donald, Kasaan, Alaska; C. Luff. Moved and seconded (Harrington- ..Pritchard) that we notify Ottawa of our official candidates for the purpose of the overseas polling.âCarried. Moved and seconded (Shepherd- Harrington) that we destroy the stock- of "What is Socialism," by Hardenburg, because of its unscientific nature.âCarried. 14 THE WESTERN CLARION THE WESTERN CLARION Financial Report Western Clarion Receipts: Subs $29.35 Directory and Bundles 24.18 C. M. F. 15.00 $68.53 Expenditure: Wages I $15.00 Sundries ._§5'.70 $20.70 D E. C. Receipts: Iiiterature) -19.75 Stamps 3-00 Supplies 60 $23.35 Expenditure: Postage $1.50 Janitor m 3.00 $4.50 :0: HERE AND NOW Local Winnipeg No. 3....7 17 0 Local Victoria, No. 2 7 1 0 Local Vancouver No. 1-3 4 8 Local St. Cats. No. 30....4 0 0 J. F. Maguire 3 0 0 P. J. Hunt 3 0 0 W. Menzies 2 1 0 C. M. O'B.. 2 0 0 W. Bikes 2 0 0 E. Moberg . 2 0 0 J. F. Knorr 1 2 0 James Pollock 2 0 0 J. Schuneman 1 . 1 0 V. Prescott 0 2 1 Singles, $âO. Vvanson, A. R. Sinclair, J- C. Pilgrim, S. Clenit'ents, Ray Perritt, H. Noakes, Tolleff Rob- ley, J. Klein, J. H. Greaves, A. W. Cantrill, H. Schwartz, G. MaeCal- lum, Miss C. Cribb, S. Arrowsmith, Kenneth Paterson, J. Bone, W. Searle, J. F. Stott, Local Montreal, A. E- Skey. 5câL. M. Beardsley, A. A. Cronlr Total of 98 new readers. Winnipeg Local have started a sub. rustling campaign and are setting a fast pace. How about some of the other locals betting started. LITERATURE FOR SALE BY Dominion Executive Committee j 401 Pender Street Eâ Vancouver, B. C. Capital, Vols. I., II., III. (Marx) | $2.00 Ancient Lowly, Vols. I, II. (Ward) $2.00 Ancient Society (Morgan) $1.50 History of the Commune of 1871 (Lissigaray) $1.00 Essays one the Materialistic Conception (Labriola) ....$1.00 Marxian Economics (Unterman) $1.00 Socialism and Modern Science (Ferri) $1.00 Physical Basis of Mind and Morals (Fitch) | $1.00 Industrial History of England (Gibbons) $1.00 Positive Outcome of Philosophy (Deitzgen) $1.00 Landmarks of Scientific Socialism (Engels) $1.00 The Theoretical System of Karl Marx (Boudin) $1.00 An Introduction to Sociology (Lewis) $t|" $1.00 Savage Survivals (Moore) $1.00 History of Great American Fortunes, Vols. I., II., III. (Myers) ..|| $1.50 History of Canadian Wealth (Myers) $1.50 Evolution, Social and Organic (Lewis $ .50 Germs of Minds in Plants-(France) $ .50 Feuerbach (Engels) $ .50 Communist Manifesto (Marx and Engels) â...-. $ .50 The Law of Biogenesis (Moore) $ .50 The Right.to be Lazy, and Other Studies (Lafargue) ....$ .50 Revolution and Counter Revolution (Marx) $ .50 Science and Revolution (Unterman) $ .50 The Evolution of Man (Boelsche) $ .50 Vital Problems in Social Evolution (Lewis) $ .50 Socialism ,its Growth and Outcome (Morris and Bax) $ .50 History of Politics (Jenks) $ .50 Socialism, Utopian and Scientific (Hfngels) $ .50 Eighteenth Brumaire (Marx) $ .50 PRICES INCLUDE POSTAGE each â â¢ â¢â¢ â¢â¢ )â¢ 5> â¢â¢ -â¢ SEND YOUR rintin TO THE Western Clarion Socialist Party Directory DOMINION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Socialist Party of Canada, meets every alternate Monday 8 p.m., Socialist Hall, N.E. cor. Pender and Dunlevy, Vancouver, B. CâW. B. Mitchell, Secretary. BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCIAL Executive Committee, Socialist Party of Canada, mets same as above. ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. â Secretary, John F. Maguire, Box 785, Edmonton. Phone 4803. NEW BRUNSWICK PROVINCIAL EX- ECUTIVE COMMITTEE.âA Taylor, Secretary, East St. John, N. B. For Party literature and information on organization matters, etc., write to above address. LOCAL ALHAMBRA, No. 74 (Alta.) S. P. of C.âP: O. Peterson, Secretary, Horse'guards, Alta. LOCAL CALGARY, No. 86 (Alta.), S. P. of C.âBusiness meeting every Tuesday, 8 p.m. Economic class Thursday and Sunday ar 8 p.m. Headquarters, 220â8th Ave. E. Secretary, H.'Clifford Morgan, Suite 49, Thomas Block. LOCAL CLAYTON, No. 83 (B.C.)) S. P. | of C. âJohn T. Dempster, Secretary, Clayton, B. C. LOCAL CRAWFORD BAY, No. 72 (B.C.), S. P. of CâJ. E. McGregor, Secretary Crawford Bay, B. C. LOCAL CUMBERLAND, B. C, No. 70.â Business metings every first and third Sunday in the month, at 10:30 a.m., Economic classes every Monday and Friday, at 7 p.m., in the Socialist Hall opposite P. O. Regular Propaganda meetings at every opportunity. C. Walker, Box 181, corresponding and' financial secretary. LOCAL ECKVILLE, No. 58 (Alta.), S. P. of C.âJ. F. Knorr, Secretary, Eek- ville, Alta. >|f|| LOCAL ENDERBY, No. 65, S. P. of Câ Business metings first Sunday in each month at 2:30 p.m. Propaganda third Sunday in each month at 2:30 p.m., in the . Theatre, Main St., Everybody welcome. J. Pilkington, Secretary, R. R. No. 4, Armstrong, B. C. LOCAL EDMONTON No. 1, S. P. of Câ Free reading room and headquarters Room 5, Bellamy Blk. Propaganda meeting every Sunday in the Bijou Theatre, First St., at 8 p.m. Business meetings every Tuesday at 8 p.m. J. Slater, organizer. E. H. Flegg, secretary, P. O. Box 785. LOCAL ERSKINE, No. 32 (Alta), S. P. of C.âA. A. McNeill, Secretary, Erskine, Alta. igll LOCAL FERNIE, S. P. of C, hold edu- cational meetings in the Socialist Hall every Sunday at 7. Business meetings third Sunday in each month, 7:30 p.m. Economic class every Sunday afternoon at 2:30. Oscar Erickson, Secretary, Box 505. LOCAL ROSSLAND, No. 25, S. P. of C. âMeets in Miners' Hall every change Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Will Jones, Box 125, Secretary. LOCAL FERGUSON FLATS, No. 85 (Alta),âO. L. Fuller, Secretary, Ferguson Flats, Alta. LOCAL KINDERSLEY, No. 10 (Sask.) S. P. of CâW. K. Bryce, Secretary, Collins, Sashk. LOCAL LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., No. 13, S. P. of C.âMeets every Sunday at 3:30 p.m., in Miners' Hall. Secretary, W. Shaw, 624â14th St., S. Wm. Devoy ; Organiser. MEDICINE HAT (Lettish) Local S. P. of ' C. Meets first Sunday in the month at 528 C Princess Ave., J. R. Kalnin, Secretary. LOCAL MARKERVILLE, No. 31 (Alta.), S. P. of CâS. E. Baldwin, Secretary, Markerville, Alta. LOCAL MONTREAL, No. 1, S. P. of Câ Address all enquiries to P, O. Box 253, Station B, Montreal, P. Q. LOCAL FLOWERDALE, No. 71 (Alta.), S. P. of CâMrs. J. R. Macdonald, Secretary, Richdale, Alta. LOCAL SUNDIAL, No. 70 (Alta), S. P. of C.âMrs. A. Thorburn, Secretary, Sundial, Alta. LOCAL SILVER LEAF, No. 101 (Alta.) S. P. of C.âEd. Haugen, Secretary, Baraca, P. O. Alta. LOCAL ST. CATHERINES, No. 30 (Ont.) S. P. of C.âD. Thompson, Secretary, 34 William Street LOCAL ST. JOHN, N. B., No. 1, S. P. of C.âVisiting Comrades welcomed. Secretary, Stanford E. White, 24 Main St. LOCAL TRAIL, No. 37 (B.C.(, S. P. of C. âD. Wilson, Secretary, Box 531. LOCAL TRAVERS, No. 55 (Alta.), S. P. ofC.âW. A. Brown, Secretary, Travers, P. O., Alta. LOCAL VANCOUVER, No. 1, S. P. of C. âBusiness meeting every Tuesday evening, 401 Pender St. E. Propaganda meeting at the Rex Theatre every Sunday, 8 p.m. Secretary, J. Kavanagh. VANCOUVER LETTISH LOCAL No. 58, S. P. of C.âBusiness meeeting every first Sunday of the month and propaganda meeting every third Sunday at 11 a.m. Open to everybody, at Socialist Hall, N.E. cor. Pender and Dunlevy. Secretary, R. Amat, Box 667. LOCAL VANCOUVER, B. C, No. 45, Fin- nish. Meets every second and fourth Wednesdays in the month at 2215 Pender St. East, Ovia Lind, Secretary. LOCAL VICTORIA, No. 2, S. P. of Câ Headquarters and Reading Room, 1424 Government St., Room 8. Business meetings every second and fourth Tuesday in the month. Secretary, J. Stevenson, 1424 Government St. LOCAL WINNIPEG, No. 3, S. P. of Câ Business meetings every Sunday 11 a.m. Economic Class every Mondav 8 p.m. Headquarters, Room 4â328 Smith St. Organiser, W. Ashton. Secretary, Leo. Sehoor. LOCAL OTTAWA, No.-8 (Ont.) S. P. of C.âSecretary, A. G. McCallum, 276 Laurier Ave. THE WESTERN- CLARION PLATFO ' -Socialist Party of Canada We, the Socialist Party of Canada, affirm our allegiance to, and support of, the principles and program of the revolutionary working class. Labor, applied to natural resources, produces all wealth. The present economic system is based upon capitalist ownership of the means of production, consequently, all the products of labor belong to the capitalist class. The capitalist is therefore master; the worker a slave. So long as the capitalist class remains in possession of the reins of government all the powers of the State will be used to protect and defend Its property rights in the means of wealth production and its control of the product of labor. The capitalist system give to the capitalist an ever-swelling stream of profits, and to the worker, an ever-increasing measure of misery and degradation. The interest of the working class lies in setting itself free from j capitalist exploitation by the abolition of the wage, system, under which this exploitation, at the point of production, is cloaked. To accomplish" this necessitates the transformation of capitalist property in the means of wealth production into socially controlled economic forces. The irrepressible conflict of interest between the capitalist and the worker necessarily expresses itself as a struggle for political supremacy. This is the Class Struggle. Therefore, we call all workers to organize under the baiter of the Socialist Party of Canada, with the object of conquering the political powers, for the purpose of setting up and enforcing the economic program of the working class, as follows: 1. The transformation, as rapidly as possible, of capitalist property in the means of wealth production (natural resources, factories, mills, railroads, etc.) into collective means of pro-* duction. The organization and management of industry by the working class. The establishment, as speedily as possible, of production for use instead of production for profit. 2. 3. Socialist Party of Canada^ MANIFESTO j With introduction written specially by the author of the original. Whole work revised and re-cast. 0 --â HH W&m Now Ready. J|$6.00 PER 100, EXPRESSAGE PAID. '" | PAMPHLETS Issued by the DOMINION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (Prices include Express Charges) (3) WAGE-WORKER AND FARMER (Pilkington) PriceâPer 100, $5.'50; Per Dozen, 70 cents; per Copy, 10 cents. VANCOUVER COCAL NO. 1 HEADQUARTERS SOCIALIST HALL, N.E. cor. PENDER & DUNLEVY, VANCOUVER Economics, Philosophy, History, Biology, etc., etc. The best works o nthe above subjects by the greatest writers of the last century: Marx, Engels, Dietzgen, Labriola, Lafargue, Darwin > Huxley, Benjamin Kidd, and many others. Most of the works in this Library cannot be found in any other in the city, not even in the Carnegie Library. Membership per annum: Fifty cents. Vancouver Local No. 1 S. P. of C. EVERY SUNDAY, 8^ m. REX THEATRE, Ifastings Street. Boost the Clarion m 1
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