August 30, 1919.
THE COMMUNIST Page Five real instrument of oppression in the hands of the master class, The German capitalists have taken advantage of the pay.
and that it is used without any scruples whenever occasion chological moment to seek another alliance with the Italian demands. While it is necessary to organize into economic capitaliste. Obviously, such an alliance has two purposes: groups for the immediate struggle against the encroachments First, to break the iron ring which has been forged around of the capitalist class, it is also necessary to wage the struggle Germany by the Allies; second, to endanger English French for the conquest of the powers of state, in order that those hegemony upon the Mediterranean, in Northern Africa and powers may be used for the benefit of the working class; that Asia Minor. This alliance would spoil the well laid plans instrument of oppression must be wrested from the hands of the of the Entente and make the Hun. menace again. In ruling class and used as an instrument of emancipation in the the north, Germany is seeking an economical agreement with hands of the workers.
Soviet Russia and in the east she is trying to strengthen herself by unity with Austria. And yet these are only plans, but FOOL OR KNAVE?
the possibility of their being put into practice is such a menace that the Entente is already compelled to take defensive measIt is not often that we find prominent capitalists making ures.
such ignorant statements as that recently made by James Two steps are proposed by the spokesmen of Entente capiStillman, president of the National City Bank, New York.
talists to prevent this German Italian alliance. One would be In speaking of improvements he says: All the improveto help Italy in her present financial and economic crisis. The ments in industry by invention and the accumulation of capother would be to award to Italy such spoils in Africa and Asia ital, work for the benefit of labor. Of course, his making as the peace conference has at its disposal.
that statement is no that he himself believes it. One If the peace conference fails to take these steps it must risk who would accept that statement as true would have to be the German Italian alliance and the revival of German imignorant indeed even more so than a bank president or an perialism. If the peace conference takes the steps it will automobile manufacturer.
advert the German Italian alliance, but it will not insure the Anything more than a superficial examination of the facts world against war.
of the case will plainly demonstrate that improvements in inTo strengthen Italy will only place her in a position to be.
dustry do not work for the benefit of the working class. It stronger competitor in the imperialistic race. Her military syshas been a well known fact that improvements in produc tem will have to be built to maintain the colonies that have tion under capitalism have brought misery to the workers been awarded to her. fit condition to breed future wars.
everywhere. This was so during the earliest development of By the time the capitalists have finished the work of dithe capitalist system, and it is so today.
viding the spoils and the new spheres of influence have been With the introduction of machinery into the textile industries determined, war conditions will have again extended to the of England in the early days of capitalism the effect upon the entire capitalist world.
working class was horrible. The advent of machine producThere is only one way in which peace may be kept. That is tion first made itself felt in the world through the misery of to transform capitalist production into communist production.
the workers. If one doubts this let him read Gibbon InThere is only one road that leads to real peace and that is 80dustrial of England. The workers, because of the suffering cial revolution.
and ignorance, were led to the mistaken action of breaking the machinery. The phrase machine breakers, which designated the groups organized for that purpose, has become a MARRIAGE IN RUSSIA byword.
Again for the ten thousandth time a capitalistic reporter has Yor have conditions changed with the modern development been forced to admit that he could find no evidence proving of capitalism. Each new improvement in industry brings more the nationalization of women in Russia. It is hardly necessuffering for the working class. Piece work systems, more efsary to return to this subject as it is no longer a debatable ficient machinery, and so on, cheapen production and produce question. If it were not for the fact that certain ignorant more commodities with lees labor power, but this does not newspaper ediors keep harping on the subject we would debenefit the workers under capitalism. The effect is just the rote no further space to it. Driven on by their intense hatred opposite. Fewer workers are required to produce the same of any successes on the part of the working class, they continamount of commodities and the alternative generally is to ually rehash this malicious lic about the nationalization of Jay off some of the workers. Each worker produces more women in Russia. It will therefore not be out of place to wealth for the same amount of wages, consequently the ratio comment on the latest news that conies froin Russia.
of his robbery is increased. Nor are these all the evils that Isaac Don Levine, a special correspondent of the Chicago are brought upon the working class by improvements in capDaily News, writing from Russia, confesses that there is absoitalistic production. Through improved production the needs lutely no foundation for the tale. One of the questions that of the world market are more quickly supplied and consewas uppermost in his mind upon his arrival in Russia was to quently the periodical crises that occur in the capitalistic sysascertain the truthfulness of this story. He informs us that en come more frequently.
the people in Russia were very much surprised to find that The remedy is not to follow the lead of the early machine this story had been taken seriously by the world. The Rusbreakers by fighting against the development of production sians themselves refused to take it seriously and laughed at under capitalism. Fighting piece work systems, as does the him or anyone else who believed it. of will not solve the problem. The solution lies in He says, in reference to the origin of the tale: There was another direction. If we fight these improvements in proa humorous weekly in Petrograd. It was hostile to the Bolduction we place ourselves on a par with the stupid reactionary sheviki and to the Soviets. It had some clever writers on its machine breakers. We must take over the industries in the staff.
One of them, upon the promulgation of the Soviet dename of the working class and then the improvements will be cree simplifying marriage, conceived the idea of going a lita benefit to the workers. We will then produce for use and tle further and outlining a decree for the nationalization of the workers will consume the product.
wonen. This product of the fertile imagination of a clever Possibly James Stillman is ignorant of these facts. Poshumorist was duly carried abroad and translated and pubsibly his statement was handed out to be consumed by the lished in Great Britain as an authentic government proclaxullible workers who think that just because a man is a sucmation.
cessful capitalist only pearls of wisdom can drop from his Perhaps from the point of view of the old Russian order mouth. At any rate, when we compare his statement with the of life, the Soviet marriage decree was a startling novelty.
economic facts, we must conclude that Mr. Stillman is either a Bu: from the American point of view there was nothing radfool or aknave.
ical about it.
It is, of course, hopeless to expect that the pen valets of ihe THE WAY TO PEACE capitalists will repudiate their former statements on the mar.
European news persistently reports that the defeat of the riage question in Russia. The matter is not discussed here for Italian diplomats at Paris creates a fertile field for pro Ger that purpose. They will undoubtedly continue to publish their man agitation among the Italian capitalistx. The Italians have lies about the situation. The entire matter has been made so not received what they expected. They failed in their attempt ridiculous that some papers, such as the one quoted above, to secure supremacy over the Adriatic. They have occupied have been obliged to tell the truth about the matter. It will Albania, but their foothold ix inxecure. In Asia Minor they be noticed, however, that the truth is told in much more infind themselves in conflict with the ambitions of Greece, of conspicuous place in their paper than was given to the original France and England. By the time the spoils were divided lies. All of which proves the contention that we have long there was nothing left for them. Palancing up their account made that the capitalist proxy is the prostitute of the capitalist after the war, the Italians find themselves the Ioners.
class.