CONTENTdm
Pritchard, W.A.
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WESTERN CLARION OWNED AND CONTBOLLEE BY THE S. F. OF C. IN THE INTBBESTS OF THE WOBKINCt CLASS The Official Organ of the SOCIALIST PARTY OF e- CANADA ■ : • : ' . VANCOUVER, B.C., MARCH, 1916 PER YEAR &I.OO On January 27th 1916, John Reid, Socialist Organizer for Alberta and the Socialist Party of Canada's candidate for the Red Deer Electoral District for the Federal House, was sentenced to fifteen months imprisonment in the Lethbridge Penitentiary, on a charge of "sedition" by Justice Simmons. The Preliminary Hearing. In presenting the case at the Fall Assizes, before Justice McCarthy, the Public Prosecutor advanced a general charge of sedition which the COURT refused to accept, maintaining that the seditious statements should be specified, on the grounds that a man charged with -tfhef t should be told what the goods were that had been stolen. The Crown was ordered to amend the indictment and the Court was adjourned for four hours for this purgose. On re-assembling the Crown prosecutor stated he could not amend the indictment in the time allotted, as it would practically mean the setting out of the whole of the speeches. The case was set over to the next sitting of the January Assizes. At the trial recently ' l staged'' an alarming amount of corroborative evidence was forthcoming for the prosecution. The question arises:'" Since no copies of Reid's speeches were to hand last fall what was the evidence (?) upon which Reid was sent down, and from whence came it," The Evidence of the Prosecution's Witnesses. Several witnesses gave evidence for the Crown which bears apparently all the earmarks of careful schooling in lawyer's offices prior to the trial, since the phrases used by each witness about certain points are to all intents and purposes identical in form. That the chief witness, J. D. Skinner, "Justice of the Peace," and publisher was convicted the day following Reid's trial on a charge of criminal libel, the Judge advising that he resign his appointment as J. P., as soon as possible out of mere decency, is a. point that our readers are requested to give careful consideration to. R. L. Tennant, self-styled Christian Socialist, [acknowledged under oath, that his evidence was FIRST taken about six months after the speech was made, and, on the particular statements called seditious displayed a remarkably brilliant memory, yet, with respect to other portions of Reid's speech, his memory failed him, and he could not say what was said outside of those little portions which roused him. It is interesting to note that several of the witnesses for the prosecution were afflicted with a similarly constituted memory or lack ot it, and all could remember only those parts of the speech which could be called seditious because they were radically opposed to such statements and were, in consequence, aroused(!). Tennant and Gold gave evidence re Everts meeting, and Skinner re. Rocky Mountain House (two places approximately 40 miles apart) in precisely this cut-and-dried fashion. Further, we know that no word can be understood outside of its relation to other words as parts of a sentence and no sentence outside of the speech of which it forms a part. But the Crown witnesses admitted that they were not in the meetings all the time, one stating that he was in and out during the progress of fhe meeting. And we have always understood that, according to the British Constitution, the accused can take any part of the speech in order to show the precise meaning of the alleged seditious utterances! Another J>oint worthy of note is the manner in which the Court "butted in," on many occasions having more to say than either counsel. Heavy cross-examination of Reid was indulged in, not by Russell, the prosecutor,but by this most impartial (!) dispenser of British "jus tice." Reid's Evidence. One statement which Reid acknowledged as making, and upon which the Judge laid particular emphasis, was: "I went five thousand miles to fight for my king and country, and « came back five thousand miles and discovered the other fellow had the country and the king didn't wish to see me ."... . and that I came to this country . (Canada) within a year after the Boer war and saw on the boards in "Winnipeg notices of "Men wanted' and underneath 'No Englishmen need apply." In response to this statement repeated by Reid in Court the Judge as3ie& the question: "Where did you see that?" and the answer came "On the boards —the employment boards in Winnipeg." "Can you give us the street and number?" was the next query. "No," was the answerJjfThen the Judge's retort: "That is unfortunate." "But," declared Reid, "I can refer to the files of the 'Winnipeg- Free Press' of the spring of 1903." "Have you got it?" asked the judge. "No, I have not got them here," answered the accused. "That is unfortunate," was the enigmatical declaration. While the -prosecution witnesses were allowed to give what thy thought Reid had said at certain times, Reid was always asked for the paper from which he had quoted. Anyone conversant with conditioies in Canada during the Hast decade or so knows that the statement made by Reid was common knowledge, and 1'or a judge to expect a man to carry round the files of the "Winnipeg Free Press" in his vest pocket in order to substantiate a statement that e3rery worker who has "beat his way" through this country knows to be correct, is ludicrous in the extreme. Other items appear in the evidence along this line which leads irresistibly to the conclusion that the judge appeared in court with a definite bias against Reid, determined to "get" him, despite the legfl merits or demerits of the case. In dealing with alleged German atrocities of which the papers were full at that particular time, Reid stated in court that he contrasted these with British atrocities which had been vouched for by eminent public men and writers , directly quoting from C. H. Norman's letter to Blatehford which appeared in "The New Age" and was reprinted in the "Western Clarion" No. 766 under date Mar. 1, 1915, and quoted- from memory excerpts from Birrell's 'A Holocaust of Babes,' written respecting British cruelties in the Boer War, and also W. T. Stead's letter, written in the later days of 1900, in which he referred to the reports of officers about the way they were burning forms .... in South Africa. That a judge of the Supreme Court in Canada apparently allowed this to count for nothing in face of the THE WESTERN CLARION testimony given by Col. Morrison, who served under Kitchener in the Boer war, as to this precise matter, shows us a public man in high position either ignorant of, or else deliberately avoiding, the written evidence of a man of high military and public standing in Canada. Russell, the Crown counsel, having discovered what kind of papers Reid had in. his possession when on trial, asked for papers from which Reid had quoted'about certain matters, which he did not have in his possession then, but did not evince arty desire to use those papers which Reid did possess." mm "It is unfortunate," as the learned judge would say, that a man is not in possession of "the files of 'The Winnipeg'Free Press' for the year !:903, because he might have been able under such circumstances to give the authority for his statements, but when he has the authority with him for another statement it is delicately left unattended. The more important features of this trial are of course found in counsel's addresses to the jury, and the judge's summing up, which will be published in the next issue;JIn the meantime every one interested is requested to send in a vigorous "PROTEST" against the manner in which this travesty on "justice" was manufactured and executed. LOOK OUT FOR NEXT ISSUE. THE "CRIMES" OP WILFRID GRIBBLE AND JOHN REID. Wilfrid- Gribble and John Reid, members of the Socialist Party of Canada, well-known throughout the Dominion as lecturers on the Socialist philosophy, are both languishing in gaol convicted of sedition: a blanket crime of an unknown quantity: a disreputable and notorious exped- int: a "lettre de cachet" by means of which our ruling class vainly hope to stifle opinions and to stamp out criticism. So once again, will we never have done, we call to the attention of those workers who still labor under the delusion, that all men are equal before the law, to the contemptuous, brazen and discriminating use that is made of the coercive powers of the capitalist state. Gribble is serving two months in St. John jail for allegedly saying that kings were puppets, and John Reid in Alberta, reported to have said that this war was being waged for- commercial 'supremacy, received the barbarous sentence ^of fifteen months. But no such fate has befallen those bourgeoise, Henri Bourassa, Col. Lavergne and their followers who have been conducting a vigorous anti-recruiting campaign among the French-Canadians of Eastern Canada. Bourassa's activities are well- known, and as to Lavergne, the following excerpts from the Vancouver Province speak for themselves. "On the floor of the legislative House of Quebec, January 13th, in challenging tones and with taunting words, Col. Lavergne denounced Canada's participation in the war. In the midst of his speech he turned to the reporters and said: ' I am not afraid to have my words repeated anywhere, that every French-Canadian that enlists fails to do his duty, and I know that what I say is high treason .... They tell us that it is a question of defending liberty, but that is nothing less than a farce. If the Germans are persecutors, there are worse than Germans at our very gates. . I 'm not afraid to become a German subject. . . The Government dare not decree conscription, because revolution would at once break out, not in the Province of Quebec, but in the loyal Province of Ontario.' » Some^ few days later the "Province" reported that he had again followed up his former attack with another and that his speech was greeted with cheers and applause from crowded galleries, and the floor of the House. Also that his action was subsequently defended in the Dominion House at Ottawa by Paul E. Lamarche, member of Parliament for Nicolet. But where in this case are the informers and hounders into gaol of Gribble and Reid; does the game fly too high ? Ah! these be not common clay or working people. They be propertied people, so let us be correspondingly respectful and humble. '•*■ Si Their property instinct will keep them within the limit. No fear. 1 The character of the Nationalist leaders or their aims does not concern us, but the fate of Gribble and Reid does concern every one in the Socialist movement, or for that matter everyone who feels within him a loathing and hatred of oppression. "Is Sparta dead?" Buckle in his history of civilization in England relates that during George III. reign at the end of the 18th century when the country was in danger of falling into the hands of a tyranny, '' it was only saved by the bold spirit shown by the English juries, who during many years by their hostile verdicts, • resisted the proceedings of the government, and refused to sanction laws which the crown had proposed, and to which a timid and servile legislature had willingly consented.' To-day it is no longer the crown, but big business which is, though sub rosa, the tyranny that dictates to our legislators, but where are our stout hearted juries that will defy tyranny to-day? Wilfred Gribble and John Reid are well known and affectionately thought of by hundreds of thousands of working people in this Dominion, and we, the members of the Dominion Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of Canada do attest because of many years of personal contact and by frequent correspondence that we know that these two comrades of ours are men of lofty character; men possessed with an absorbing passion for progress and human welfare. But yet, in these our days, our decadent juries can think of nothing better than to hand such men over, bound hand and foot, to the mercy of the appointees of a notorious patronage system. In this, the 20th century, in the wide spaces of the last Great West, the ancient worm eaten shibboleth of the divine right of kings, and the narrow parochial patriotism of feudal Europe are galvanized into a ghastly semblance of activity. How incongruous! Friends, what a mockery! Shades of Coke, Lyttelton and Blackstone; the spiritual fathers of our jurisprudence! help us now! j Hear Erskine, one-time Lord Chan- THE WESTERN CLARION cell or of England, addressing a jury: I' A principle long established is that every man not intending to mislead, but seeking to enlighten others with what his own reason and conviction, however erroneously, have dictated to him as truth, may address himself, to the universal reason of a whole nation either upon the subject of government in general, or upon that of our own particular country; that he may analyze the principles of its constitution, point out its errors and defects, examine and publish its corruptions, Jwarn his fellow citizens against their ruinous consequences, and exert his whole faculties in pointing out the most advantageous changes in establishments which he considers to be radically defective or sliding from their object by abuse.'' "Otherwise how could the state have passed from stage to stage through reformation and revolution so as to arrive from barbarism to such a state of perfection as to preclude criticism." "In this manner" (to crush criticism) "power has reasoned in every age: government, in its own estimation, has been at all times a system of perfection." Nevertheless, your lordship, different opinions are held now, we have progressed—backwards. The Socialist Party of Canada conceiving itself as the party of the revolutionary working class whose historic mission, they hold, is to overthrow the capitalist system and to usher into being a more harmonious state of society, where classes shall be no more, realized, that their class were mentally imprisoned, as it were, by the incessant and laborious nature of their occupations; excluded from knowledge of fundamental truths and active principles lying hidden below the superficial appearances in society; considered that they could best forward the working class cause, by renouncing the temporary advantages of political expediency, and concentrated all their energies into educational work. Because of the nature of this work, its results may not be very apparent as yet, but we are confident that in the fullness of time it will bring forth a saving harvest. - This work we intend to carry on against any and all obstacles. Every Socialist platform is an open forum. Upon those platforms we are to be combatted, though we yet await defeat. But never can we be beaten by the dastardly expedient of a gaol. We have more and then more to say about the crimes of Wilfrid Gribble and Jock Reid. DOMINION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MARX, ENGELS AND THE SOCIALIST MOVEMENT. THE "great man".theory is not yet dead. Heroes, saviours, and martyrs are still lauded to the skies by admiring multitudes for their glorious deeds. With Carlyle, who held that history is nothing more than the biography of "great men," the pinnacle of hero-worship was probably reached. But still so long as the present social division romains in the ranks of human kind those of our fellow creatures whom favorable circumstances, natural ability, political advantages, and, in nuny cases, mere accident has placed in the limelight in any department of human activity can always be assured of a servile army of eulogists and admirers. To the literary hacks who express the aims and desires of their capitalist masters we of the Socialist movement are also guilty of this heinous crime of hero -worship J| They look at the Socialist Party in precisely the same manner as they look upon the various political factions that represent the different sections of the dominant class. They merely glance at the exterior of things. Any phenomenon that penetrates beneath the surface cannot possibly be understood by the hireling scribes of those who own the world's wealth. The Socialist, in their estimation, fervently worships his own little tin gods, and patron saints'. As Socrates, Mahommed, Christ, Confucious, Mill, Gladstone and other "great men" compel the admiration and veneration of various sections in religious, economic and political activity, so do the names of Marx and Engels, stand out apart from all others, to be hon- THE WEST OLARIO ored and revered by all students of the Socialist philosophy. That such should be the case is by no means wonderful when we consider the true nature of capitalist society itself. The accepted premise in the bourgeois philosophy that an "infinite, eternal, and unchangeable" being created not only the earth but also all manner of life to be found therein can only lead on to the equally ridiculous assumption that all great events, in the process of the world's history, are things accomplished by some "great" individual. Naturally, then, what applies in the confines of their own philosophy must also be applicable in trying to explain a movement they know nothing about. However, we of the Socialist school who have studied and understand the various forms through which human society has passed since man in an attempt to secure means of existence, and thwart the efforts of more powerful animals who sought to remove him from the scene of action, first found it necessary to organize in gens, phratries, curias, and trihes have our own opinions concerning the part which individuals have played. That the names of Marx and Engels have been closely associated with the Socialist movement since even earlier than the middle of the past century, no one acquainted the the facts will ever deny. Their works are today considered the most important of any in the long category of Socialist writers. But why?' Is it because of any reverential adoration, fear, or awe of these two teachers? Not so. It is the matter they contain that enhances their value. Were it not for the scientific explanation of modern society which thev ' have enunciated their names would have no weight among Socialist students. Such being the case let us brieflv review the relation-of Marx and Engels to the Socialist movement. Their names are associated in the historv of science with several important discoveries. These are the Materialist Conception of history,the Class Struggle, and surplus value. Impossible as it would be to adequately explain all that these three. titles embrace in one short essay, it would be, indeed, equally impossible to form a correct estimate of these two philosophers and economists with whom we are here concerned, without giving at least a synopsis of those principles which they have defined, and applied. When we state that Marx and Engels have discovered the materialist conception of history we doi|§not speak of this "discovery" in the same sense as we speak of a prospector finding a gold mine. It was not something they accidentally stumbled against. In reality it was not to a "discovery" that we owe this conception. It was nothing more or less than a practical knowledge of the inner workings of human society in the course of its development, that prompted Marx and Engels to enunciate their economic interpretation of events. Previous to their time the "great man" idea, and the "human nature" theory, held undisputed sway. All the historical writers from Herodotus and Pliny, down to Gibbon, Froisart, Guizot, and Clarendon found in the changing ideas of men the only reason for bringing about those great events with which history is replete. The German reformation, the French revolution, the English reform bills, the American civil war, are inseparably associated with the names of Luther, Napoleon, Russell, Gladstone and Lincoln. In such instances as they have hinted at the real reasons for those changes (and such instances are not few) it' has been the resul£ of accident rather than design. Man, with them, is the creator and not the creature of his environment. He has absolute control in the construction of his own historv. The conditions.in which he finds himself owe their existence to him. Man is, indeed, in their estimation, the compelling power in the universe, the supreme arbiter in all things. (To be continued.') J. A. Met). L. B. BOUDIN'S "SOCIALISM AND WAR" REVIEWED. By J. Harrington. This book coming from the hands of so competent an exponent of Marxian philosophy will exert considerable influence upon the minds of Socialists wherever it is read; it is therefore to be regretted that Boudin did not consider it advisable to omit the last few pages of his final lecture from his book. Delivered as a lecture, in which form the book first took shape, su"h appeals to the audience's so-called finer feelings, might be excused, but to be revised in the quiet of the study .chamber; removed from mob excitement and the delirium of applause ; and then to be included in a book, furnishes one more example of the tenacity with which the gho vts of idealism haunt their early abodes, and defy reason to expunge, .them. With the exception^of this very objectionable feature, the -work should be read by every Socialist who desires to look upon current history from the viewpoint of historic materialism. And while a few errors of fact appear, they do not invalidate the interpretation of tfhe war and the causes which rallied the various nations into two contending camps. The opening lecture disposes very effectively of the reasons advanced by the opposing belligerents for their entry into the struggle, and also of those, who, professing to read events by aid of Marxian science, prove themselves true disciples of Carlyle, by presenting* Rothschild, _ Grey, or the Kaiser in'the act of moulding Capitalist economy to their own particular requirements. Among other delusions which disappear in the light of economic facts is that one which credits the Capitalist class with the degree of supreme daring and foresight: of setting the revolutionary elements of society to cutting each other's throats, and of doing it in such an ingenious manner as to baffle detection. Nay! as to be able to claim-that moral excellence demanded by Ca3sar of his wife; not only guiltless but above suspicion. The second lecture dealing with "The Economic Causes of the War," THE WESTERN CLARION is by far the most valuable in the series. The theory is here advanced that Capitalism in youth is bellicose, in early manhood peaceful, and industrious, and in old age becomes again warlike. The different stages occur in the process of economic development. Nationalism and patriotism are products of Capitalism; the Middle Ages saw Europe controlled by an international force. Its ruling class the Feudal Lords; having a common language and a common religion— Latin and Roman Catholicism. The slave class having a babel of tongues, no literature; and their master's Gods were their Gods. As Capitalism developed, these various peoples inhabiting distinct geographical territories, and speaking similar languages evolved into the modern nation. The boundaries usually being mountains, rivers and seas. Those groups having access to the ocean possessed a distinct economic advantage, and rapidly forged ahead. Those shut out jfrom th,e world's trade routes were heavily handicapped. Consequently an incessant st: ig- gle is seen in the early period of Capitalism for a foothold on the open sea. This essential secured, the nation settles down to the peaceful development of her industries. This orings us to the manufacture of textiles, and the famous -Manchester School of philosophy and economics; typical in the "let well enough alone" free trade policy of England; the classic land of Cap'talisiu. Selling shirts and high heeled shoes to the kings and queens of cannibal islands is not productive of ruinous competition, and oui* Capitalists are able to dispose of their goods fairly well without having^to perform machine gun operations upon either their competitors or their custc mers. In the race for markets only a few individuals get ousted. Tjhe pack being fairly well off, gaze with compassion upon the poor broken bankrupt; but feel no compunction to go to war on his account. Let well enough alone; freedom of trade mast not be interfered with. . But those backward nations cannot eternally bring up from the deep abysses of the earth, gold, diamonds, and rubies, without the assistance of machinery. To buy, they must sell. After the surface has been gleaned, railroads must be built, harbors and waterways developed; then the fat and greasy citizens awake to the fact that concerted national action is imperative to develop and hold new markets. In this stage, of Capitalism—the Iron Age—warlike proclivities again seize the various' industrial rivals. The doctrines of free trade, and let well enough alone, become discredited, and Imperialism becomes the great ideal. §i| Boudin analyzes these various phases with keen and searching logic, but not always with veracity. For instance, it is difficult to understand what he means by Imperialism, when he states that England only entered upon this new phase when Chamberlain's "Piccadilly Window" in the funny papers, announces Birmingham's entry into the British Government; and furthermore, when he states that in 1882 England was indifferent to the Imperial spirit, because she refused to take joint action iji South West Africa with Germany. Considering that England had her hands full in Egypt, Ireland and the Transvaal (and by the way, Sir Geo. Colley met with his final disaster at Majuba Hill in 1881; not in 1883) it is not surprising that she decided to leave South West Africa to Germany, and Portugal, for the moment. The Wolseley Campaign in Egypt, and the violation of the neutrality of the Suez Canal, notwithstanding the protests of De Lesseps; the sending to India of the Prince of Wales, and the creation, of an Imperial title for the British sovereign, Empress of India; the secret purchase and spectacular advertisement of the bankrupt Khedive of Egypt's Suez Canal shares by the British Government; were surely quite Imperialistic in character. Nor is Boudin quite in harmony with the facts when he states that England freely gave Heligoland away in 1890. True, she contemplated no immediate conflict with Germany, far from it. Having secured control of the Suez, thereby checkmating Russia's designs on India; withdrawn from the Tranvaal, settled in a way the Irish Land question, and its reign of terrer; she helped Germany quell a serious native revolt in Africa in 1889. And in 1890 arrived at an agreement over Victoria Nyanza; according to the terms of which she ceded a slowly disintegrating rock of red marl—Heligoland— and Germany on her part recognized a British Protectorate over Zanzibar, reserving certain rights. So free was this gift, that the Kaiser became tjie laughing stock of European diplomats, and Bismarck, lately dismissed, declared the deal showed more imagination than sound judgment. The Kiel Canal and reinforced concrete helped out the imagination end. "The Immediate Causes of the War" being the fourth lecture throws a flood of light upon the real issues which"1 lead to the disaster of August, 1914. There is seen the determined and. -continued efforts of the great powers to secure new fields of exploitation, and to prevent vland locked nations from obtaining commercially useful seaports. The large inland seas and oceans are prizes of untold value; access to which must be obtained at any price. The.Bagdad Railroad and its bearing on International Policy is extensively reviewed, and the diplomatic game, in some aspects clearly shown. The Balkan nations being the most backward industrially, as well as being politically weak, barred this' path. And Boudin positively asserts '' That the present war was declared, not on August 1st, 1914, but on October 7th, 1908, when Austria announced that she had annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina." The geographical limits of these annexed provinces and Novibazar form a strategic situation of immense importance to such an enterprise as the Bagdad Railroad. Complete control being necessary for the success of the venture. But Britain . checkmated Germanic diplomacy by establishing an independent principality at Koweit, on the Persian Gulf; care being taken that its independent rajler should look upon the Bagdad Railroad scheme from the. English point of view." Koweit being practically the only terminus to such a railroad, dominated by a hostile power kept the (Continued on page 8.) 6 THE WESTERN CLARION The Western Clarion FubUshed by the SociaUst Party of Canada at the office of the Western Clarion. 169 Georgia St. E. Vancouver, B. C. Subscription Bates t Per Year 1.00 Six Months 0.50 Foreign. Per Year $1.00 Bundle Sates: Five to Twenty 2 %c per copy, per issue. Over Twentyfive, 2c per copy, per issue. A change of address must be accompanied with Ten cents as it costs us that amount to make the necessary alterations in the mailing list. Advertising Hates on application. In making remittance by cheque, exchange must be added. Address all communication to A. Mcliean; Managing-Editor, 169 -Georgia St. E. Vancouver, B. C. If yoc receive this paper it is paid for. WHAT OF THE WOMEN? Employers in various districts speak in the highest terms of the capacity of women workers for repetition work, declaring that in certain lines the Scottish and Lancashire women surpass the men. England is on the eve of what may prove an almost revolutionary change in woman's life here. There will be hard work for them; good wages and practical independence. F. A. McKenzie, English correspondent in "Vancouver Province," Saturday, January 22nd, 1916. More than 25,000 women are now working satisfactorily on railways in France as porters, cleaners or agents. This is due to the war, of course, but it may indicate a coming industrial change of great consequence. In many ways the women are an improvement over the men; many will hold "their jobs after the men return, and the war may thus cause the invasion of an absolutely new industrial field by women workers.—Literary Digest, January 1st, 1916. Some of these dour Scots foremen an'd managers said weeks ago that women would "never do." Results have made them admit that they were wrong.—Basil Clarke, London Daily Mirror. For the moment the screech of the militant has been drowned in the scream of shrapnel, and the reverberations of high explosive shells. A glance, however, at the above excerpts from the Press, will show that the noise has merely been stifled in one place to break out anew elsewhere, and the new aspect is to us in the revolutionary working class movement fraught with greater meaning than the melodramatic antics, of the suffragists during the past few years. Although superficially the demand of our womenfolks that they be allowed to play a larger share in the EDITORIAL PAGE industrial and political life of those states where the capitalist system prevails, appears to be a matter of equity and justice, or ^idiocy and tarradiddle, according to the viewpoint, the roots of the question are buried in the life process itself and the solution is supplied by little known biological and economic laws. To an understanding of sex- relationships, a knowledge of sex itself is a primary essential. Organic nature is palpably impermanent; the May-fly endures but for a day, the thread-worm for a week, the human animal for three score and ten years, and some birds for more ijhan a century^eEvery moment of these lives is filled with a two-fold action, one phase of which is constructive, the other destructive, and life is the outcome of the balance between them. The constructive process bioligists call anabolism, and the destructive katabolism. Where the constructive change predominates, for both of these forces act concurrently, certain characteristics present themselves "whijch we call femaleness, where the destructive action is the dominant one, maleness is the result. The characteristics of femaleness are, with few exceptions, passivity quiescence, conservatism, those of the male unrest and activity. In the face of these differences equality of the sexes is a senseless phrase; the savant and the simpleton have failed signally, notwithstanding the writing of many books and the spilling of much ink, to solve the sphinx-like riddlle "woman," because they sought for points of similarity between the lord of creation and the partner of his joys. These can no more be compared than a prohibitionist and a piece of mottled soap. Two hundred years ago Immanuel Kant recognised that they were neither halves nor equals, but complementary parts of one organism "man." In barbaric societies, when the Matriarchate was one of the most stable of institutions, the dividing and his helpmeet was exceedingly ane his helpmeet was exceedingly rigid, and but little change took place while chattel slavery and feudalism held sway. Since the advent of capitalism as a distinct social system, however, great changes have been accomplished, gradually in the beginning, but of late sweeping in character. Capitalism found woman engaged in the production of wealth in the home. All her labors were of a domestic nature. Cooking and baking, the curing of meats and preservation of other foodstuffs, brewing beer, spinning, weaving, and making clothes, all her varied activities were carried on beneath her own roof tree. Such had been the work of female man for countless ages; but now with the Cyclopean machinery of production, the methods of these other tim.es have become wasteful and extravagant, and the demand for cheap labor has shifted the location of woman's toil to the factory and the mill. The function of history is to explain things, and its true value does not lie in the vast accumulation of facts, but in relating them one to the other, and the materialist interpretation enables us to appreciate the underlying forces of historic movements such as this, where the things themselves only, are .apparent to others. The disturbance of the metabolic process, the male element of unrest and activity, induced in the female by the changed economic environment finds expression in the efforts of women to extend her industrial activities on the one hand, and the desire to achieve what she considers her political freedom, that is the franchise,on the other. This later phase of the question, the demand for votes, proves that the economic pressure is felt in both directions, the female slave of the machine seeking industrial expansion and the female owner forced to find political expression for her property. The editor of the "Glasgow Forward" in the issue of January 1st, quotes from a Scots legal journal to the effect that "notwithstanding any paper guarantees given," the Fac tory Acts would have to be scrapped for good and cheap female and child labor be the rule after the war. As the economic conditions are progressive, better machinery and cheaper labor being necessary in the competition for control of the world market, the Scots legal mind that evolved the foregoing 'bon mot' is apparently in good working order. Everything looks rosy from the revolutionary standpoint. Contact with the machine will compel the woman of the working class to sift out the Socialist philosophy, will wake her from the spell of religion, and other kindred influences, and make her line up with her brother, that the most cruel and merciless system of slavery the world has ever known may be wiped out of existence, and man and woman walk side by side, at last, free from economic bondage. W. B. CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES!" WHEN, in August, 1914, the the military minions of Kruppism swept across Luxent 'burg and Belgium, certain idealists who opined that this was the work of Prussian Junkerdom and not the action of willing people, who were, on that account not responsible, were immediately met with the retort that "a people had the government they deserved and were, therefore, responsible " Leaving aside the Congo atrocities ascribed to the late Leopold of Belgium by A. Conan Doyle, we see the government of Bulgaria throwing in its lot with the Teutonic alliance. Since many diplomatic negotiations had here been involved and because the Bulgarian government appeared (or so we were informed at one time) favorable to the Allies, we were told that Ferdinand and his retinue had compelled an unwilling people- to participate in war. Again, also, we can observe respecting Greece the same brilliant explanation of the action of a king not, consequently, openly oppose her TEE WE8TE2N OLABIOK who "had married a wife" and could militaristic relations of Potsdam. But tfhe "people" swayed by the rhetorical horse power of the eloquent Venizelos, displayed a glorious unanimity for the cause of "freedom," and, if they became involved as allies of the "iron fist," it would be because their rulers had dragged them into it. To such ridiculous inconsistencies are our masters forced to provide apologies for explanations with which to fol the common herd. Circumstances alter cases, and were the workers not.so confoundedly short on memory the pernicious deceit of the henchmen of capitalism would be at once apparent. W • At XT* MORE ENERGY WAN TED. "W E' has gone and we have come. In other words the "Editorial We" has evacuated his position temporarily to assume that of a travelling organizer, and is now engaged in the gratifying (?) task of converting the heathen in the green (sic) fields of the 'prairie provinces; We trust that his efforts to disseminate the gospel, of working class salvation will meet with success. If the results are not commensurate with the effort and outlay involved we feel satisfied that the case will not be chargeable to him. That several of us should have been assigned, to each have a finger in the serving of the editorial portion of our educational meal is not to be wondered at. Should any one of sus aspire to, and occupy, thje editorial chair as a permanent seat, we would very shortly be confronted with the problem of meals other than educational. That travesty of a meal known as "Coffee and Doughnuts" has no virtue to charm us. much though we love the working class. The freak that obtains pleasure from martyrdom in the interests of the dear workers should have this capacity for pleasure satiated forthwith We obtain our pleasure otherwise. "Circumstances determine cases" say the prophets. We thank the gods that we are not determined into the editorial seat permanently or we should be tempted to say some things that would undoubtedly injure our popularity. However, we have been determined there momentarily, or rather this fraction of "we" has been, and here we are. We could wish that upon a number of members of and adherents to the Party—circumstances should determine also a change of action. Perhaps we should say determine "action" rather than a change, for the majority seem quite guiltless of any action whatever May it not be that the arrival of this volunteer and amateur body of "we" shall constitute a factor in their environment that will induce action along lines badly needed? With all the gratuitous advertising that the terms "Socialist" and "Socialism" have been, and are, receiving, why this comparative stagnation in the class conscious of Canada as expressed in, and by, the Socialist Party of Canada? Can it possibly be,—whisper the question—that a number of the supporters of our class conscious.party have enlisted and gone to the war? Surely not! And yet we have heard of a few that have done so. Maybe there are more who, owing to conditions, are feeling like fighting somebody or something. What about putting a little more fight into the Class War. Or is capitalism a foe too insignificant; one over which YOU eonnot permit YOURSELF to become stirred ? Should YOU stir and flood the editorial sanctum with subs, and renewals WE will celebrate thereupon by a banquet to cost—we promise— not more than about say, up to twenty-five cents per plate. Rather a high figure for a strictly scientifically proletarian meal, but we feel that we should be liable to be overcome and apt to spread ourselves somewhat more than we ordinarily would do.lpl We might possibly send the bill to the executive, but such an act could only be determined by a response to these observations that would determine a decided softening of their 10 THE FUTILITY OF FATALISM. WHO was it first said "What's the use?" May an eternity of .[utile Sisyphus labor: rolling stones up hill, he his. Nay, on second thoughts, may he for ever be doing and accomplishing things without 3ver benefitting by his labor. No doubt he is dead,'but his damning spirit certainly goes marching on; a spirit of "cowardly giving way," which assuredly leads to social death; to such a condition of things as prevails in those age long stagnant social pools of Egypt, In- lia and China. ^p The prevalence of this lying paralytic philosophy may in part be due 11 the influence of the present world conflict, which, because of its magnitude, its immediateness, and its all engrossing nature, looms up so large that it impairs our historical sense and dulls the clearness of our perspective. In effect it appears to have produced an unhealthy condition ^vhere imagination predominates over understanding and as a consequence the weak minded go mad, or seek relief in dope, in religion and in bastard philosophies. The mad, we segregate, the dope fiend ostracize, the religionist, he is a fighter who may be combated, but the fatalist eludes us, for he neither deliberately attacks nor defends,but, insidiously, though perhaps unconsciously, he spreads the deadly germs of ineffectuality; like the typhoid carrier he exudes a polluting miasma wherever he goes. Phew! let us think about something healthy, insubordinate, revolutionary, and so may we amidst the movement and play of blind social forces, retain our respect for human powers. Though neither blind chance nor providential interference ever breaks the chain of cause and effect, yet, it is within this chain that men play their £arts. From being effects themselves they in turn become causes; moving and modifying forces Hjence it follows that allied together, working with intelligence for-a common purpose, they become forces of magnitude. In relation as to how we shall play that part, let us remember that THE WESTERN CLARION in the universe there is nothing fixed and immovable, all is plastic, subject to change, to modification: that of all categories the dialectic one of. action and reaction most truly describes natural and social processes. This dialectic or reciprocal process within that complexus of men we call society, has been the very means by which social progress has been made , not as some think, according to preconceived rules , plans, or designs, but on the contrary, by reason of frictions and struggles between its antagonistic elements. "The history of man is a history of class struggle." (Marx). Then, by the light of that, how do- we stand today? We find in present day society two classes with interests so fundamentally opposed, that there can be no peace until /the economic basis is removed which determines that one class shall dominate over the other. We Socialists desire the workers to earnestly study and consider the respective positons of the capitalist class: to consider their relations towards each other and upon what factors these relations are conditioned, and then, remembering that there m no effect without a cause, to survey the situation in the world today: and place- the bloody mess in Europe in relation to the perfecting of productive processes, the contracting markets and the increasing uncertainty, misery and discontent in working class life due to growing unemployment. Stated briefly and crudely the position is this, that on the one hand the capitalist class own and control the natural resources of the earth and the machinery of production, thus holding the whip over society, on the other hand, the working class owns nothing but their power to labor, and this they are compelled, in order to exist, to sell to the capitalists upon an over supplied competitive market. It is this economic relationship between capitalists and wage workers that is the rock upon which capitalism rests, and it is out of this relationship that the class struggle springs which will never cease until society itself owns and controls its means of life. Thus only, may we have freedom, not the name of it, but in reality; freedom from a shameful, and at the present high stage of social productivity, unnecessary slavery. But it can only be obtained by the force, of an enlightened, and therefore a revolutionary working class, whose function it is to sweep the present social forms into the limbo of the past. The present time is portentous as never before: old society, heavy with labor, is pregnant with a new and a better one; let us ease the hirth pangs. Therefore, now is the time to work; now is the time to prepare and equip ourselves for the struggle. The philosophy of "What's the use," leave it to senile dotards and reactionaries. Let us to the atta«k; so may Socialist activity modify and finally overcome, inertia, whose other name is ignorance. "Man is free, even were he born in chains," said Schiller, but he stands corrected by the proletarian philosopher, Dietzgen, who says "Man is born in chains, and must struggle for freedom." C. STEPHENSON. MAN AND THE IDEA OF GOD. MAN does not need the help of God physically. Nothing that man has ever done, or intended to do, indicates that he required the help of some outside agency. No power other than man himself and Nature has played any part in the achievements of the human race. The great ships which go down the seas linking up the farthest points of earth, the mighty railways, which for thousands of miles span the continents, are evidences of man's creative genius. Man tunnelled the earth, changed the river in its course, and hewed out the great canals of the world; he has explored the ocean bed in his submarine ships, conquered space with his flying machines, chained the lightning and harnessed the flood, using them as his obedient servants. From the farthest points of earth, his messages travel to and fro in the crackling flashes of the wireless machines. I Human labor built the Pyramids and the Panama Canal, the Sphinx and the skyscraper. Human labor built the steam engine, the electric motor, the hydraulic press and the flying machine. Human labor tills and irrigates the soil, reaps the harvest, builds the cities and maintains them. Man did all these things without the help of any God, without consulting the wishes of any God, subject only to his own economic needs. So shall man continue to build, progressing as his understanding of natural phenomena increases. Man does not need the aid of a divine being mentally. Nothing that man has ever thought of had any other than a material basis. Everything which the human brain has conceived is but the reflex of natural things. The triumphs of literature, painting and music are resultant upon the careful study of nature. The painter, when he paints those woodland scenes which so enrapture us, first woos Nature in her subtlest moods and then, upon his canvas, traces what his human eye can see, his finite mind can understand; or should he paint us mother ocean in her stillness or her anger, there at her feet in adoration, he watches her every movement, evey ripple, every surge, her ever heaving bosom, and then, upon his canvas seeks to trace his imitation. When the musician strikes his lyre and floods the earth with melody, he does not pick it from his brains nor yet receive it from some ethereal source, he seeks but to imitate the myriad sounds in nature, the warble of the bird, the sighing of the breeze, the gurgle of the brook, the swish of swaying trees or the bellow of the storm. He seeks to imitate the music nature stores. When the architect designs the bridge or house, he does not plan it to a divine idea, to the wish of .any God. Nothing that he has eVer planned or constructed was other than an imitation of natural things closely observed. The great bridges which to day span our rivers are simply a development of the tree which, when fallen across the water formed a narrow footpath for man and animals alike. The towering skyscrapers which we see in our American cities are a development of the mud hut. High land values, or economic necessity iforqed men to build these immense structures on narrow plots of land in order to keep within a certain money expenditure. Thus we see that in man's mental development, and what it has accomplished; God played no part and therefore was of no actual use. Man does not need the help of God morally. Nothing in our present morals or ethics indicates that they are fixed and unalterable. Morals are founded upon material facts, upon economic needs, and are constantly changing with each changing economic period. The morals of yesterday would not suit the needs of to-day, the morals of to-day will not suit the needs of to-morrow. As economic conditions change, so do the morals and ethics of the period change. If to-day a nation seemed in danger of depopulation, it would be moral and right to allow polygamy and illegitimacy, but immediately the balance was restored or a tendency to overpopulation shown, such a method of procedure would become wrong and therefore immoral. With private property came the commandment: "Thou shalt not steal, |' but stealing in a communistic community would be unknown, and the preacher who uttered such a con- mandment would be ridiculed for its utterance;© So it will be seen that what is right to day is wrong to-morrow, and what is right and wrong is determined by their relationship to human need. Carefully tracing out man's economic history, we find his moral conceptions changing with the changes of the methods in which he gets his means of subsistence Morals are not laid by some divine powers nor did divinity play any part in the morality of man. Man does not need the aid of God at all. God is simply a mythical conception of man's imagination, a latter day development of the primitive corpse worship of savages and barbarians, so with Darwin and Huxley, Spencer and^Dietzgen, Marx and Engels, we can cast God on the scrap heap and set out on the journey of human progress guided by the compass of economic determinism. ESPERO.. PROHIBITION. Revolutionary Socialists do not make a practice of dealing with reform measures, which is undoubtedly the correct attitude, but the question of prohibition being next to the war in interest these days, affords one a little mental recreation looked at from a revolutionary standpoint. Granted, "we should worry" as to the outcome of this latest farce, let us give the question a few minutes thought. First of all, when any such act as this is staged on the platform of life, we inquisitive economists look around to see who reaps the benefit. It stands to reason that when a slave's intellect is clouded through the too liberal use of liquor, his day's output of labor power will not be up to the standard. This-being unde- batable, the next thing we see is that by keeping the slave sober we get more energy from his hide, and, besides this, we have cut out one of his little pleasures in life, thus reducing his cost of living, so that we are now able to screw down one more notch and reduce his wages. \ , Here, then, we have two ways in which prohibition will greatly enhance the dividend hunters' chances. First by the fact that that the slaves are now sober all day and produce more, and secondly, that money which he spent in drink was not used to re-produce lasting energy so that his wage can be safely cut that amount. No wOnder prohibition sweeps in, for besides this view of the situation, we can look at it from the druggists point of view, as their's will be a rich harvest selling liquor on "doctor's prescriptions,'' which, by the way, will probably enhance the price very considerably, so that Mr. Druggist will get the saloon keeper's hugs profit besides his own, which will undoubtedly be added somewhat heavily. j|- i$gB&\ ^^p We may not worry much, as stated at the beginning of this article, and about the only way we Revolution- ists can take an interest in it is on account of the extra propaganda which can be carried on by us among those who were heretofore too much taken up with the '' call to the bar." Prohibition may, or may not, .be all rot, it matters not, there is so much force behind it that the Liquor interests look small in comparison and, as it will undoubtedly be existent in our neighborhood before many months, we may as well look around and see how it will help us to educate the slaves to their position in human society. When beer, or whisky, is as easily obtainable as water, as it may be under different social conditions, there will then be no drunkeness or abuse of liquor any more than there is' an over-consumption of water to-day. F. L. "OUR RIGHTS." TOGETHER ^with the destruction of churches, palaces and dwelling-houses—the shattering of human bodies—all inevitable phenomena of the conflict in Europe, is the shattering of some delusions held by the working Class, and which are being dissipated as a result of the conditions .engendered by the progress of the war. One of the most cherished delusions held by the workers resident in the British Empire, and one that is being rudely shattered, is that of the "right of free speech." As a matter of fact this "right" disappears with alarming rapidity whenever free speech is contrary to the interests of the master class, whose interests are, at the present time, sheltered from the bitter winds of adverse criticism by the mantle of patriotism, which has always been in favor as a refuge by every pirate who desired his operations to remain unquestioned. Free speech, so-called, does not always conflict with patriotism. As a matter of fact it is considered admirable to be unpatriotic whenever the act of piracy in which a nation may be engaged is not to the financial advancement of the major portion of the master class of /that country. THE WESTERN CLARION During the South African War of 1899—02 Lloyd George—now a patriot of patriots—was loud in his denunciations of the "Jingoists who had forced the country into such an unjust war." f|i In fact he narrowly escaped being mobbed after making a speech in Birmingham, a munitions of war centre and the home of "our Joe" Chamberlain, the " statesman ?" who put the match to the South African bonfire. Wi Lloyd George was not arrested, however, nor were any of the numerous "pro-Boer" agitators who Were speaking up and down the country. Freedom of speech was practically unlimited because 'denunciation of the war and the policy that led up to it, was to the interest of that section of the British master class represented by .the Liberal party. They were being compelled to contribute to an undertaking from which they could obtain no financial advantage. The war in Europe is, however, another story. The interests of the entire master class of Great Britain lies in the successful conclusion for them. Successful to the extent that they may be able to dominate the master class of Europe and consequently the trade routes of the world. That is the objective, whatever the result may be remains to be seen. The fact that a few millions of slaves are killed, disabled, or driven insane is but a side issue. Because of that our so-called "right" of free speech" becomes restricted to speaking in favor of a continuation of the slaughter now in progress. Criticism of the war from a working class standpoint is followed by arrest for using seditious language. Two members of the S. P. of C. are now in jail for daring to express the working class view of this and other wars. It is not even safe to argue with the recruiting sergeants who importune one at every corner. Such is our boasted freedom! Such restrictions do not apply to all members of the community however, for we find Lieut.-Col. Armand Lavergne, M. P. for some constituency in Quebec, making most unpatriotic speeches, and though some of the solons in editorial chairs throughout the Dominion send up a wail of anguish he is not arrested. It would be bad policy to arrest him because of the anti-imperial sentiment prevalent in Quebec, and also because Lavergne voiced the sentiments of those Canadian capitalists who are likely to lose instead of gain by the prosecution of the war. Reid and Gribble voiced the ideas of the working class, who gain nothing but lose everything by fighting the battles of their masters. There is only one war in which the worker has any interest—the class war—the end of which will mean freedom. Real freedom! Not free speech,,or free meals for school children, but freedom from slavery. Freedom to individually enjoy those things which the world's workers have collectively produced. . J. KAVANAGH. WHY THE LIGHT OF TRUTH SHOULD BE EXTINGUISHED. . There recently appeared a new weekly devoted to matters of interest to those who patronise the Cinema. Its title is. "Film Flashes," and one of the flashes'that ilium, inated its first number is reproduced below. It is worth noting as a manifestation of the class war; as one of the methods employed by the master class to suppress anything that would tend to enlighten the Workers. The cutting follows: "We should regret to see exhibitors give much prominence to the new Metro, picture, "The Bigger Manf recently exhibited at a trade show at the Shafts- bury Pavilion. "The Bigger Man" introduces the highly controversial subject of Capital and Labour, and shows a fight in progress between Strikers and Strikebreakers, which culminates in the appearance of a large body of troops under orders to fire on the mob. .It is obvious at a time like this it would be very unwise, if not dangerous, to awaken thoughts of the old and bitter strife of past years, and we sincerely hope that the Ruffells will reconsider their attitude in regard to the release of this picture. Many of the scenes, which are intended to contrast the great gulf existing between the master and man are overdrawn, and although these things may portray American labor life correctly enough, they are happily not true in regard to this country. (Italics mine.) Choice isn't it. In these days it is "very unwise, if not dangerous," to comment too freely upon the doings of our masters. (I believe it is considered treason even to whisper to your next door neighbor that you always preferred Kiel butter to British wagon fat.) Else the writer would dearly like to quote from a few other sources: material is never wanting with which to confute the case for capitalism. Further than this the writer makes no comment, preferring to leave it to thinking readers to provide their own. May Field, in Socialist Standard Comrades:— clear to you. St. John Jail, 16th January, 1916. Editor Clarion: Comrade,—Try to find space for this letter to all members and supporters of the Party. I "want to make my position I am "remanded for sentence," and fully anticipate a heavy one. This, however, does not depress me in the slightest degree, as the splendid comradeship of the St. John' comrades alone is sufficient compensation for the inconvenience I am being subjected to, to say nothing of the comradeship of you all. I am no martyr and do not wish to pose' as such. I am just a fighter who has happened to be hit somewhat hard. What I really want to texl you, however, is that I was not guilty of "melodramatic blood and thunder," notwithstanding the official iiiuendo in the "Clarion, but my crime was the same as Reid's—straigh Socialist propaganda. I am a member of the Socialist Party o*f Canada, for, although Toronto Local refused to accept my dues owing to my disagreement with the D. E. C, St. John' Local accepts me as a member. I shall remain a member of the Socialist Party of Canada in jail or out of it, so long as any of its Locals will have me and so long as the Party stands for the principles it has stood for. I am sorry, deeply sorry, that O'Brien has left the Party; I tihnk it bad judgment on his part, and am sure he is a loss to the Party, as his ability is pronounced and his honesty beyond mention. This-is not to say that we cannot do without O'Brien, for we can do without any one man, or without any group of men who happen to be in the Party, but it is still a loss to us when a man like O'Brien is driven from the Party by the insinuation of others or withdraws because of his own pique or because of both,:|f||| For myself, I am at present caged by the capitalist class, but refused to be muzzled There were some official remarks in the last "Clarion" I have seen (I have no copy in jail with me) to the effect that no one could object to our propagandists taking any platform so long as they made their position clear. That's just the point. I can truthfully say that I have never failed to do so wherever I have been, either in the States or Canada, and I will continue to do so when I again have the chance to take the soap box or platform, which will probably not be for some time. In conclusion, let me say that if I do receive a long sentence, my wife, because of her wish and my own, will still take the road for purposes of propaganda, and will speak to any audience that can be gathered by anyone anywhere. ||i|| She was going in my company as an auxiliary speaker, but if I am unable to go, will do her best alone. I ask for her the most comradely consideration from you all, feeling sure that I do not ask that in vain from the manly men and womenly women of the Socialist movement in Canada. If my sentence is a jail one, I shall still be able to do a little propaganda by writing, but if I am sent to the penitentiary I shall be silenced entirely while there, but I can safely rely on a warm comradely welcome when I come out, and that knowledge will be a great reason for cheerfulness while enduring the hospitality of the powers that be. Comradely greetings to all from your comrade in revolt, WILFRID GRIBBLE. THE WESTERN CLARION Editor, Clarion: Dear Comrade: It is with regret that I write you these few lines, but we would like them inserted in the columns of the next issue of the "Clarion," of the death of one of our young comrades, Eddie McMillan, who met his death in one of the coal mines in Bear Creek, Montana. Comrade McMillan was one of a great many who have been forced off this isjand for having had the courage to oppose a portion of the master class industrially and the whole class politically. I might say that he was one whom w© were expecting great things from. For, although only in his 24th year, he had assimilated a great portion of the Socialist philosophy, and was also very fluent n his expression, and had the grit to express his ideas, regardless of the consequences. I should also state that his body was transferred to Cumberland and laid beside his brother, who died fiye years ago, and the ceremony was performed by members of his own class, ' minus the broadcloth. Now Mr. Editor, I hope you find room for this short note in our paper, and expect to see the "Clarion" oftener than I have done of late. Where are all the Reds? Have they gone mad with the rest of the world? I remain, yours still in revolt, JOS. STATLOR,. . Cumberland, B. C. 13 Editor Clarion:— At our meeting of Rossland Local No. 25 S. P. of C. on Jan. 9th the following action re Gribble's communication regarding the Dominion Executive Committee's stand of reorganizers of the S. P. of C. As it has come to our notice for some time past considerable arguments have ensued-through our organizers speaking for other parties other than the S. P. of C. and where as we as a revolutionary party have no time to assist these reform elements of so called Socialist Parties who are in direct opposition to our party and whom our position is opposed to them at every opportunity on or off the platform. Therefore we entirely agree with the Dominion Executive Committee on their stand re the letter sent to Comrade Gribble and the action to govern other organizers of the S. P. of C. in the future. Yours in revolt E. CAMPBELL, Secy. LOCAL TORONTO, S. P. of C. ANNIVERSARY OF PARIS COMMUNE CELEBRATION will be held in LECTURE HALL, FORUM BUILDING . Yonge and Gerrard Streets* on MARCH 16th. Music, Light Refreshments and Impromptu Programme. Tickets, 25c, apply Room 25^ Forum Building. Propaganda Meeting Vancouver Local No. 1 S. P. of C. EVERY SUNDAY, 8 p.m. REX THEATRE, Hastings Strret SUNDAY, MARCH 19th, LECTURE ON "History of Paris Commune of 1871,' by J. Harrington PAMPHLETS Issued by the DOMINION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (Prices include Express Charges) (3) WAGE-WORGER AND FARMER ||| (Pilkington) Price—Per 100, $4.50; Per Dozen, 55 cents; per Copy, 10 cents (6)|| WHAT IS SOCIALISM? (Hardenburg) Price—Per 100, $5.50; Per Dozen, 70 cents; per Copy, 10 cents 14 THE WESTERN CLARION m DOMINION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Convened at office of secretary, Jan. 25th, 1916, at 9 p.m. Present: Smith, Bennett, Karme, Steph enson, Jenkins, and the Secretary. Chairman, Smith. A. Karme seated as delegate from Local Vancouver N. 45' (Finnish!). Minutes of previous meeting read' and adopted. Correspondence: Local Springwater, Sask.; Local Markerville, Alta.; A. Harris, Sardis, B. C, Harry E. Smith, Seven Persons, Alta.; W. Erwin, San Diego, Cal.; Local Gibsons Landing, B. C; W. A. Pritchard Richdale Alta.; Local Winnipeg; H. W. Watts, Everett, Wash.; Geo. Davis, San Francisco, Cal.;. A. J. McCallum, Ottawa (2): "The Milwaukee Leader," Wilwaukee, Wis;. Wm. Seaile, Russborough, Sask.; Local Victoria; Oscar Erickson, Fernie, B. C; Samuel Clements, Spokane, Wash.; S. Major, Toronto, Ont. Communication from W. A. Pritchard re. boost for fortnightly issue of "The Western Clarion" was discussed, and the following motion carried unanimously: ■Motion;: Bennett-SJtephenson1. That this communication be filed. Adjournment.. , Convened at office of Secretary, Feb. 1st, 1916, at 9 p.m. Present: McDonald, Jenkins, Bennett, Smith, Stephenson, and the Secretary. Chairman, McDonald. Minutes of previous meting read and adopted. Correspondence: Local Roseland; Local Travers, Alta,; H. W. Pearce, Brandon; John F. Maguire, Edmonton, Alta.; John Christopher, Fort Pitt, Sask.; Geo. Schott, Dahlby, Sask.; Orgr. Connor Coleman, Alta.; C. H. Pearson, Turbine, Ont.; C. McKenidlrick, Indian Head Sask.; W. C. Currey, San Francisco, Cal. Canadian Facts Publishing Co., Toronto Ont.; Edwin Hangen, Baraca, Alta. New Review, New York City; W. A. Pritchard (2), Dowker, Alta.; Local Rose- mount, Montreal;, S. P. N. A. Toronto; Bird, McDonald and Ross, City; Quebec P. E. C, Montreal; W. Gribble, St. John, N. B.; Local St John, N B.; R A. Fillmore, Burton, N. B.; Local Edmonton (night letter). Secretary was instructed to send for copy of "Socialism and War" by L. B. Boudin, to the "New Review" so that we might be able to review it. Also to notify Ontario and Ouebec P. E. C. that from now on they were to act as the P. E. C. for the Province of Quebec only, and thle D. E. C. will furnish supplies direct to Ontario Locals, pending the formation of an executive for that Province. Adjournment. Convened at of ice of Secretary, Feb. 8t>h, 1916, at 9 p.m. Present: Bennett, Stephenson. Smith, Harrington Karme, and the Secretary. Chairman, Bennett. Minutes of previous meeting read and adopted. Correspondence: H. W. Watts, Everett, Wash.; G. Alley, Regina, Sask,; W. A. Pritchard, Richdlale, Alta.; Cigar Makers' Union, Philadelphia; Jos. Naylor, Cumberland, B. C; C. M. OIBrien, Buffalo, N. Y.; "System," Chicago;, Local Vancouver No 45 (Finnish); Local Toronto; Local Vancouver No. 1; A. Peterson, Winnipeg; S. P. of N. A., Toronto Adjournment Convened at office of Secretary, Feb. i5th, 1916, at 9 p.m Present: Smith, McDonald*, Jenkins, Bennett, Harrington, Stephenson, Org. Connor, and the Secretary. Present: Smith Chairman, Smith'. 'Minutes of previous meeting read and adopted. I Correspondence: Chief Press Censor. Ottawa (2); Lex Book Agency, Indianapolis, I rod.; Local Nelson, B C.; G. R. Dafoe, Brockville, Ont.; S. P, of N, A., Toronto; Chas. Effenberger, Botha,-Alta.; C H. Lake, Stewart, B. C.;. Local Fernie, B. C; W. Davenport, Detroit, Mich.; Local Ottawa No 8 (2), Alberta P. E C,. Edmonton; O. I. Giarde, Abbots- ford, B. C; A G. McCallum, Ottawa; N. Baker, Winnipeg, Man.; W A Pritchard, Stettler, Alta. (2); Moses Baritz, Winnipeg, Man On motion Jenkins—Harrington, Mc Lean, Bennett, and Stephenson were appointed Bdlitorial Board for the "Western Clarion." In response to request from W. A. Pritchard as to opinion of D. E. C. re. action of Alberta P. E. C. regarding Reid Case, we agree with same, providing, our position is not compromised. Apart from a night lettergram appearing in last issue of Clarion no further reference to conclusions of Reid case have been forwarded to this office. Convened at office of Secretary, Feb. 22nd, 1916, at 9 p.m. Present: Bennett, McDonald, Harrington, Smith, Stephlenson, Jenkins, Org. Connor and the Secretary. Chairman Bennett. Minutes of previous meeting read and adopted. Correspondence: W. A. Pritchard (3), and night letter, Edmonton, Alta.; Local Edmonton; J. J. McDonald, Venice, Cal.; Local Alhambra, No. 74, Horse- p-uards, Alta.; Local Winnipeg} Morris Ouls, Anselmo, Ajta.; Geo. Rossiter, Toronto; Upton Sinclair, Coronada, Cal.; New Review, New York City; D. Kruzich, Great Falls, Mont.; Local St. Johro, N., B.; (Local Ottawa? iMessrs, Stureis and Walton Co., New York; L. Buckthorpe, Great Falls, Mont.; Chief Press Censor (2), Ottawa. Moved and seconded, McLean—McDonald, that next meting of D. E. C. be held on Thursday the second of March, at 8 p.m., thereaftjer evetr'y alternate Thursday. Carried. Adjournment. , NOTICE. In the Clarion financial report of the last issue W. A. Pritchard (4 weeks) $44.00, ought to be:—(2 weeks) $22.00, and A. McLean, $11.00, ought to be struck out. However, the report appearing below rectifies the last one, Financial Report. Dominion Executive Comittee. Receipts. Buttons: Local Alhambra No. 74$ 3.25 Stamps: Quebec P. E. C 10.00 Literature: Harry E. Smith 1.10 C. Schott ,... .50 §|p C. ;H. Pearson 1 00 C. M. O'Brien 1.00 W. Davenport 2.00 R. Parsons 20 James Carson 50 Morris Cruls 40 I 6.70 Supplies: Local St. John.. 3.00 Local Fernie 5.00 8.00 $27.95 Expenses. Sundries: Literature Supplies $ .90 Mailing, Stamps, etc 6.40 Bill $7-30 Western Clarion. Receipts. Suhs $3t,75 Directory: Alberta P. E. C. (on credit) 15 Local Vancouver No. 1 . .1.00 Local Gibson's Landing. .2.00 Local Fernie 5.00 Local Winnipeg 2.00 Local St. John .. .p 3.00 Lobal Nelson .... iH'.. .3.00 16.15 Bundles: Local Vancouver No. 1 I 4.00 Local Edmonton 4.00 Local St. John 60 Local Gibson's Landing.. .40 Local Winnipeg 4.00 S. P. Branch News Stand . .0.25 A. iHar/is '1.50 W. K. Bryce 3.00 C. H. Lake 1.80 19.55 Adverts. Jenk's Pool Room 1.00 C. M. F.: Local Vancouver No. 1 (asst.) . .Jit;.;..... 7.00 Local Ottawa (asst) ... .1.00 Samuel Clements ... Jff. .2.00 iWmi Sieaile- .4.00 James Richards ..1.00 Per S. Earp 1.00 16.00 $13445 Expenses. Cambie Printing Co. (777) $52.25 Rent (2 months) 17.00 Sundries: Mailing, Expressage, etc. 6.45 $7570 GRIBBLE DEFENSE FUND. Amount as acknowledged in Feb. issue H .:J§r. $50.20 Gibson's- Landing Local No. 49.. 2.00 Bdlmonton Local No. 1 J§: 7.00 A; H. Grewer, St. Catharine's, Ont. 1.00 Bob Walker, Cumberland, B. C... 3.00 Muskat (Win.) collected Halifax.|| 8.00 N. Nicolaef, Morningside, Alta... 1.25 Fejix W. Cusick, Stettler, Alta. .. 5.40 G. R. Dafoe (collected) Brockville 7.00 Markerville Local No. 31 7.00 Clarence V. Hoar, Denver, Colorada 2.00 C. Effenberger, Botha, Alta M 4.00 Vancouver Local No. 1 3.85 Roy Devore (collected) Caroline Alta , 3.25 W. T. Grieves (coll.) Rossland, B. C. 4.50 H. Christians, per W A. P 2.00 $111.45 8" '% MERE AND NOW. $ 50c 25c W. A. Pritchard 34 5 I G. Alley 3 o o J. J. McDonald p| .300 W. K. Bryce -®^a ° ° John Peacock 2 o o Local Vancouver No. 1 20 o Geo. Rossiter • •|||lg»&' 120 Orgr. Knight :|g 130 H. Vindeg Jfe-r. ipti o John Barton ■ *W? I I o C. M. O'Brien 1 1 o Socialist Party Directory 51 13 1 Singles:—Dollar subs., L. Buckthorpe, John F. McCay, Ralph Parsons, C. E. Strandberg, A. Gilbert, G. R. Dafoe, James Carson, J. Richards, John White, A Paterson, John F Maguire Fiftv cent subs.: F. Penrose, B.-Harvey, H. J. Cave, T. Connor. Twenty-five cent subs.:0. G. Giarde, Geo. Jackson, J. Christopher. Eighty-three new readers. Keep at it comrades. The future looks good for the movement. donations to the alberta & Saskatchewan organization fund. B. E. Polinkas, Whitla 5.00 Markerville Local, per S. E. Baldwins.oo S. B. Lee, Red Raven (Dickson) 1.50 J. A. Kinney, Bdlmonton ||ri.oo Alhambra^..Local, per P. O. Peterson 5:00 $17.50 Previously acknowledged.. 7.50 $25.00 REID DEFENCE FUND (Re-opened.) Per Chas. Springford Jas. Whitbread, Lloydminster..... $5.00- Ohas. Springfordi, Marwayne 1.00 Fred Salmon, Blackfoot 1.00 (Mrs. Hitchcox, Edmonton 2.00 Alhambra Local, per P. O. Peterson 5.00 $14.00 Send all donations to S. I. Johnson Knight, Box 785, Edmonton, Alta. TO SUBSCRIBERS. From time to time the Post Office Department send us notices to the effect that Mr. *s paper has not been called for, or present address unknown, or refused, etc., and we must immediately take their names off the mailing list, or be subject to penalty according to law. Anyone changing their address might notify us right away and be sure of getting their paper. Otherwise we cannot be responsible for non-delivery of same. Contributors are hereby notified that matter for publication should be at this office not later than the 24th of the current month. Otherwise we cannot guarantee its publication. LOCAL VANCOUVEB No. 1, S. F. of C. Business meeting every Tuesday evening. Economic Class every Sunday at 3 p.m., Education Class every Wednesday at 8 p.m. Dialectics class every Friday at 8 p.m., at Headquarters, 169 Georgia St., E., W. Bennett, Secretary. VANCOUVEB LETTISH LOCAL No. 58, S. P. of C.—Business meeting every first Sunday of the month, and propaganda meeting every third Sunday at 2 p.m. Open to everybody at Finn Hall, 2215 Pender E. Secretary, R. Amat, Box 667. LOCAL VANCOUVEB, B. C, No. 45, Finnish. Meets every second and fourth Wednesdays in the month at 2215 Pender St. East, Ovia Lind, Secretary. LOCAL GIBSON'S LANDING, B. C. No. 49 S. P. C. Meets first and third Sundays of each month in Socialist Hall. S. Dib_ ley, Secretary, Gibson's Heights, Howe Sound, B. C. LOCAL EDMONTON No. 1. S. F. of C.— Free reading room and headquarters at 715 Second St. Propaganda meetings every Sunday in the Bijou Theatre, First St., at 8 p.m. Business meetings every Tuesdav at 8 p.m. L. Buckthorpe, organizer, P. O. Box 1682. H. H. Somers, retary, P. O. Box 1682; Phone 5495. LOCAL ENDERBY No. 65, S. F. Of C, Business meetings 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 LETHBRIDGE, ALTA,, No. 13, S. P. of C.—Meets every Sunday at 3:30 p. m. m Miners' Hall; Secretary, W. Shaw 624-14th St, S. Wm. Devoy, Organizer. LOCAL NO. 1 WINNIPEG, S. P. OF C.— Club and Reading Room, 5 Home Bank Building. Main Stieet. Business meetings every Friday at 8 P.M. Propaganda meetings every Sunday at 7.45 P.M. in Globe Theatre, Portage Ave. Literature Agent R. C. McCutheon, Secretary, R."j Johns, 1484 Ross Ave. LOCAL MONTREAL N. 1. S. F. Of C— Headquarters, 178 Dorchester St. West, Open every evening. N. M. Leech, Sec. retary, Box 148, Sta. B. LOCAL TORONTO No. 1, S. F. of C— Propaganda meeting, Sunday 8 P.M.' in Forum Bldg. Yonge & Gerrard. All communications to be sent to W. H. Can- fiels, corresponding and recording secretary, 340 Victoria St. Geo Rossiter, fin. sect. 25 Tiverton Ave. LOCAL GLACE BAT, N. S., No. 1, S. F. of C.—Headquarters Commercial St., open every evening. Business and propaganda meeting every Sunday at 3 p.m. Harold G. Ross, Secretary, Box 505. LOCAL SANDON, B. C. No. 36, S. F. of C.—Meets every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Sandon Miners' Union Hall. Communications to be addressed Drawer K., Sandon, B. C. Sam Busch TAILOR Cleaning, Pressing, Repairing. 409 Vernon Drive City LOCAL NELSON, S. F. of C, MEETS every Friday at 8 p.m., in Miners' Hall Nelson, B. C, I. A. Austin, Secretary. DOMINION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Socialist Party of Canada meets every alternate Thursday 8 p.m., 169 Georgia St., E. Vancouver, B. C.—W. A. Pritchard, Secretary. BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCIAL Executive Committee, Socialist Party of Canada, meets same as above. ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN FRO- VINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Secretary, Mrs. S. I. Jonson Knight, Box 785, Edmonton. Phone 4803. MANITOBA PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE : Invites all scientinc Socialists in the province to become affiliated with the Party. If unable to form a Local in your district you can become a member at large. For any information or literature apply to the Secretary, Alex. Paterson, Suite 5, Asquith Block, Furby St., Winnipeg. NOVA SCOTIA PROVINCIAL ^EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, Socialist Party of Canada, meets every second and fourth Sundays in the Cape Breton office of the Party, Commercial Street, Glace Bay, N. S. Dan Cochrane, Secretary, Box 491, Glace Bay, N. S. NEW BRUNSWICK PROVINCIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.—A. Taylor Secretary, East St. John, N. B. For Party literature and information on organisation matters, etc., write to above address. LOCAL FERNIE, S. P. of C, hold educational meetings in the Socialist Hall, every Sunday at 7:00. Business meetings third Sunday in each month, 7:30 p.m. Economic class every Sundaj' afternoon at 2:30. Oscar Erickson, Secretary, Box 505; Organizer, A. Goodwin. LOCAL ROSSLAND, No. 25, S. P. of C, meets in Miners' Hall every change Sunday at 7:30 p.m. E. Campbell Secretary, Box 54. LOCAL VICTORIA, No. 2, S. P. of C, Headquarters and Reading Room 1424 Government St., Room 8 Business meetings every second and fourth Tuesday in the month. Secretary, Fred Harman, 1424 Government St. LOCAL CUMBERLAND, B. C, No. 70. Businesse meetings 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. Secretary, H. Walker. LOCAL ST. JOHN, N. B., No 1, S. P. of C. Visiting Comrades welcomed. Secretary, Stanford E. White, 24 Main St. 5H5SSH5HSH5H5H5H5H5iSH5i5H5H5H5H5H5H5i £5HS25E5H5E5E5H5H5ES25E5E5E5H5H5H5E/;2i TT7 LOCALS would remit on A JL accounts regularly half the anxiety now felt at headquarters would disappear. 5E5H5E5H5Z5E5H5E5ESH5ESZ5E5HSE5HSH5E5T i5S525ESHreSE5E5E5H5H5E525H5H5E5H5H5H5 m 16 THE WESTERN CLARION PLAfTfFO R M Socialist Party of Canada 'We, the Socialist Party of Canada, affirm our allegiance to, and support ofV the principles and program of the revolutionary working class. Labor, applied to natural resources, produced 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 jail 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. fe|| 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. ifc|;3 ^S The interest of the working class lies - in setting itself free from 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 Class Struggle. Therefore, we call all workers to organize under the banner of the Socialist Party of Canada, with the object of conquering the political powers,v 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- production. 2. The organization and management of industry by the working class. 3. The establishment, as speedily as possible, of production for use instead of production for profit. WHEN the bunch | drink they go to the Main Hotel (Cor. Georgia and Main) Reduced Rates Light, Airy Rooms. Central Position See Jenks! MAIN HOTEL Pool Room (cor. Georgia Viaduct and .Main St.) Light, well Ventilated Room Best Tables in the City. Berber Shop inconnection, "Billy Bennett in attendance. MANIFESTO OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF CANADA. Fourth (Revised) Edition, with a Preface by D. O. McKenzie Cash orders for the above _are requested, in order to obviate delay in publication. Will be put on the press when orders to the value of $60 have been received.. ■ p .the number before your IL name on the yellow label of your paper reads *7»n your subscription / / " expires with the next issue. RENEW AT ONCE. VANCOUVER LOCAL NO 1 LENDING; LIBRARY HEADQUARTERS AVENUE THEATRE BUILDING Economics, Philosophy, History, Biology, etc., etc. The best works on the above subjects by the greatest writers of the last century: Marx, Engels, Dietzgen, Labriola, La- farque, 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. W. MORRIS Now Ready I Wage WorRer 4 Farmer 1 By J. Pilkington PER 100, $4.50; PER DOZEN 55 CENTS; PER COPY. 10 CENTS Express oharges included. 3^PByW^wynftiytf>py_c ?WS^ IfflSHWIfflMJIW!!'^ miflSSH UiESffiSEPtZSBSO mf
missing April 1916 edition
Newspapers
Vancouver (B.C.)
AN .W3
English
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Vancouver, B.C. : The Socialist Party of Canada
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BC Historical Newspapers
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Western Clarion
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