4 THE WORKERS COUNCIL APRIL 1, 1921.
THE WORKERS COUNCIL APRIL 1, 1921.
must pay.
ity of an expression of public opinion has passed. planetary observer such a system of production It has been possible, in this great democracy of ours, would seem quite mad. It is the system we have, for a few men to place the entire nation in a posi however, and there is certainly no political intellition where war is inevitable, to adopt a course that gence at large in high places that holds out any can be maintained only by the abnegation of every hope of a better one.
free principle of government, under a regime of un The recent industrial slump has threatened the qualified autocratic reaction. Under the Constitution holy profits. The domestic consumer has grown Congress alone has the right to make war. But Mr. wary and a good proportion of our foreign markets Harding and his Cabinet without consulting Con have vanished while the European statesmen have gress have adopted a policy which will lead inexor been completing the ruin of Europe. Industrial ably to new hostilities, with Mexico, with Japan, stagnation has brought on a labor surplus here with England. The time will come when conflict and the masters of industry have been quick to heaped upon conflict, when injury added to injury, take advantage of it. Wages are being reduced will flare up into a new world war. Then the rulers in order that the great god Profit may be mainof these nations will once more come before their tained in the style to which he is accustomed.
peoples, to show how ruthless they have been at The maintenance of profit is not as simple as it tacked, how their inost sacred rights have been tram was before Mr. Wilson led us forth in the grand but pled upon. Mr. Harding and his cabinet will call expensive crusade to usher in a new world order.
upon Congress to declare war upon the enemy who Taxes are sky high. The war must be paid for.
has dared to invade the shrine of our liberties. They It must be paid for out of production, for there is will call upon the people to vote upon the ques no other way. Either profits must be sacrificed or tion of war or peace when it is too late to recede, the workers must be sacrificed. Since the profit when they, by their imperialistic marhin:itions, have mongers are the lords of industry, the worker piled up a conflagration that will threaten to consume the world. Congress will vote for war, because In the present situation the worker is in the there is no other alternative. And the men of the position of being the most easily replaceable part nation will once more give their lives that American of the industrial machine. This condition is common imperialism may live.
except in times of labor famine. It will continue to recur as long as the workers tolerate a leadership which accepts the economic creed of capitalism.
The Bitter Lesson It will continue as long as the workers are willing to serve capitalism as cannon fodder in war and While the pre war dollar still hovers about the factory fodder in peace.
50 cent level, the masters of industry are busily Only by class conscious organization can those reducing wages to the pre war point. Wholes: le who produce from their toil and sweat, out of their reductions of 10, 20, and 30 per cent are being an. suffering and starvation, all the wealth of the world, nounced throughout the country. In the less oruin be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and build ized industries crits of as high as fil) per cent are a new world of happiness and freedom. Only by being quietly put through. As usual, the lowest paid class sconscious organization can they cast from workers suffer from the largest comparative (uts. their shoulders the overwhelming dead weight of The packers not only announce a wave out of 121 profit. Only hy class conscious organization and per cent, affecting 200, 000 workers, but also the international solidarity can they escape the old replacing of the basic eight lour day by one of ten captivity, strike off the old chains. The present hours. This in spite of their agreement with the is a time of bitter education, but its lesson is plain.
workers to maintain the status quo util a year Can the workers fail to profit by it?
after a treaty of peare was signer with Germany.
From coast to coast the railroads are vigorously COMMUNIST RUSSIA setting about the task of lowering the standard of living of millions of men. Here also the lowest paid (Continued from Page 12)
workers must stand the brunt of the attack. Hun intrigues and blockades. It may take ten years, dreds of thousands of railroad laborers are being perhaps a generation. What of it! Russia is past reduced from to a day.
the most difficult period of transition from the capi.
This is a return to normale:y with a vengeance! talist state to a communist state, while other capi.
It is the real inaugural message to the American talist countries must still face the period of revoluworkers, though of course there was no hint of any. tion. Therefore let Russia lead the way. Let the thing of the sort in the pious platitndes emitted by American workers realize that Russia fight is their Mr. Harding in front of the Capitol.
fight, that Soviet Russia success is the success of These wage reductions are natural and inevitable the laboring people the world over! Hail Soviet in circumstances like the present under a system like Russia, the first Communist Republic, the land of, our own. The object of our economic system is to by and for the common people. We greet you, maintain profits. In our society, the purpose of a workers and peasants of Russia, who by your untold field of wheat is not to provide bread but to build sacrifices, by your determination and devotion, are up profits. The purpose of a clothing, industry transforming the Russia of black reaction, of the is not to provide clothes but to create dividends.
domination of a few, into a land of glorious promise The purpose of a railroad is not to transport people for all. Comrades in America, watch the bright and commodities, but to transport gold into the dawn in the East; you have but your chains to lose, pockets of the insiders. To a sane and impartial and a world to gain!
over the French chauvinist press has been vigorousRussia Triumph ly attacking England and lauding the United States.
The Russo British trade pact marks the first serious With the signing of the Russo British trade pact, break in the entente.
to be followed by a peace treaty with Poland, the Incidentally it leaves the United States in a huRussian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic enters miliating position. Here too we have a critical unupon a new stage of progress. After three and a employment problem. The capitalists have found half years of isolation it has now won its right to bankrupt Europe a dead market for our goods. The recognition as a Sovereign State. After three and continental chauvinist governments are willing to a half years of battle against a hostile world in buy, but they want to borrow money with which to arms eager to maintain the old order of greed and pay, and their assets are not easily discernible to grab, Soviet Russia unaided has beaten off her en the naked eye. Russia, the greatest market in the emies and forced them to come to terms with her. world today, has been offering us preferential treatAgainst Soviet Russia invasions failed, and starva ment for her trade since there first appeared a postion blackades failed, and lying propaganda failed, sibility that the Russian blockade would be opened.
and internal plotters and hired assassins failed. At But the Wilson administration chose to spurn the times it seemed that only by a miracle could free offers and deport the Russian trade representatives.
Russia survive, for czarism and the ineffective trans From any point of view the policy. was imbecilic.
ition governments had left nothing but chaos and It was cleverly fostered by anti Russian propaganda starvation. The survival is indeed a miracle of emanating from London, which our provincial poliheroism. The triumph of the Russian workers and ticians and our narrow minded capitalists swalpeasants is the most notable event of modern times. lowed, lock, stock and barrel. While British statesNot altruism certainly, but hard reality, led the men were perfecting their agreements with Krassin Imperial British Government to sign a trade treaty and British traders were eagerly making their ar.
with Soviet Russia on equal terms, to pledge itself rangements in Moscow itself through their accredto the lifting of the blockade and to co operate with ited agents, British diplomats were cleverly dissemRussian trade processes. It is the primary business inating for American consumption propaganda that of the British Government, in its foreign policy, to no self respecting nation could have any dealings look after British trade. For many months Ger with Russia. It was a slick game, and it worked.
many has been diligently cultivating the Russian Britain has handsomely won from Uncle Sam the market. Seven great orders for locomotives and first round in the struggle for markets.
locomotive parts alone have been placed in Germany The signing of the trade pact follows a month by the Russian Commissariat of Ways and Com of the wildest sort of anti Russian propaganda, emmunications. German manufacturers, starved for anating mostly from French sources. As soon as markets, have rushed ahead on these orders. In Krassin final negotiations began in London, the the matter of locomotive parts they are three months French propaganda factory at Helsingfors began to ahead on deliveries. Their locomotives began to announce the immanent overthrow of the Soviet arrive in Russia some weeks ago. If British states Government. French and Finnish intrigues manmen permitted this most promising market to slip aged to give color to the propaganda by stirring away from them, the realistic British traders would up a little counter revolutionary tempest at Kronliquidate the power of Lloyd George Co. in stadt, which was announced as in progress, in the short order. Thus it has happened that the Russian reactionist press in Paris, some days before it acemigrés in London and the little band of former tually occurred. Anti Soviet uprisings were reported Russian diplomats without a country have of late all over Russia, and in the so called news the been finding Downing Street not at home when they streets of Moscow and Petrograd ran with blood, called. Britain idle factories and Britain army while Lenin was packing his trunks to flee. It is now of unemployed were the first consideration in Brit plain that all these wildcat reports were sheer inish politics. The Russian market was a necessity ventions. The trouble was confined to Kronstadt, if Britain was to pull itself out of a nasty economic and is being gradually liquidated, the delay being hole. The attraction of Moscow proved irresistible, caused by the desire of the Soviet authorities to let the old fashioned Tories and imperialists rail as avoid bloodshed, even the blood of the poor dupes they would.
of French imperialism. It is interesting to note in In concluding the pact, the Lloyd George Gov connection with the Kronstadt affair the persistent ernment scored doubly. It scored over its chief im reports that food has been furnished to the rioters perialist rival, France, and its chief economic rival, by a counter revolutionary propagandist organizathe United States.
tion calling itself the American Red Cross. That is The entente with France has for some time been good news for the British traders. showing signs of wear and tear. The recent occu Thus Soviet Russia enters a new era. The blockpation of the Rhine Valley was obviously not alto ade is ended. The imperialist thieves are divided gether to the liking of the British Government, and in counsels. more normal life can be assumed and has caused a further strain on Anglo French rela a great era of construction looms ahead. The Rustions. England has no particular reason at present sian workers can now set about their task of buildto welcome a greater France that may grow into an ing a civilization that will be a model for the uncomfortable neighbor. England wants above all whole world, a model in human happiness, in human things peace and quiet and trade, and France pres right, in human freedom. The dreams of the little ent policy of intrigue and bluff has been keeping man in the Kremlin can move towards splendid all Europe and part of Asia in a turmoil. More realization.