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37 May 1, 1921 THE WORKERS COUNCIL 36 THE WORKERS COUNCIL May 1, 1921 on recognition of their services they received the con As for the League of Nations, however, the gratulations of the Prime Minister.
United States shall have nothing to do with it. As The miners are determined to continue their it happens, in this case an election promise is acstrike in spite of their desertion. If their ranks hold tually being fulfilled. Only with the dissolution of firm, they will win the strike in the end, for many the League can America be sure of occupying a industries are already closing up throughout the position in accordance with her ideals. For the country. But whether they win or lose, the Triple League is not an instrument of peace, on the Alliance will not survive this final treason of their contrary, its purpose is oppression and the conleaders. Whatever happens, the Triple Alliance is tinuance of wars. Therefore, what the White doomed.
House desires is an Association of Powers. At The old line reactionary leaders must go. They which, however, is not hard to find. For if the this point the President withholds the real reason, have shown once too often that their loyalty goes out to the master class. The correctness of the posi League should continue to exist it would be partion of the Third International in demanding the ticularly difficult to gather in again all the nice exclusion of those leaders who have proven their gifts with which the great Allied Powers Eng.
unfitness to enter the ranks of the Communist In land, France, Italy and Japan presented one anternational because of their open treason or because other. Harding and his advisers want an Assoof their unreliability at a crisis, could not have been ciation of Powers instead of a League of Nademonstrated more forcibly. Cast out the traitors tions, because the League through its various exin the ranks of labor! They are the most dangerous ecutive and other committees undertook a division enemies of the working class.
of the spoils of war without consulting the United States. redistribution of these mandates, spheres of influence, colonies, territorial adjustTHE GREAT VIRTUE OF FRANKNESS ments, and whatever other terms there may be to characterize the plunder and booty of imperialistic Whatever complaints may be brought against war, can be enforced only by means of an entirely the Harding administration in years to come, that new organization of forces. Hence the demand for anybody will be able to accuse it of surrounding the unceremonious burial of the League and its reitself with a cloak of moral righteousness seems surrection under another name and with aims and the least probable. The honorable gentlemen who, purposes very similar in character to those of the since the 4th of March, have been holding sway in old concern, only nearer to our heart desire.
Washington are refreshingly frank, and if in these But the Hughes notes are even franker if any.
sad and dreary times we can find nothing else to rejoice at, surely we should turn somersaults of joy dent. In these notes the Allies are told in the most thing than the congressional message of the Presito think that the days of unctuous Wilsonian rhecandid and good natured manner in the world that toric belong definitely to the past.
America as one of the conquerors expects her full Harding messager to Congress and the first share of the booty very significant fact about diplomatic notes of Secretary Hughes reassured this diplomatic correspondence with the Allies is us on this score. The President evidently doesn that it coincides with the visit of Monsieur Viviani, believe in superfluous verbiage. Everybody knows sent to the United States by France ostensibly for what he thinks and what he is about. So why at the purpose of laying at the feet of Mr. Harding tempt philosophical dissertations or learned ethical and ourselves assurances of his country unlimessays? True, he is not, like his predecessor, so ited admiration and respect. With this ostensible generously endowed with the gift of language, but mission fulfilled, it is most probable that the the real reason for his abstinence is that he is wise courteous gentlemen soon got down to more tangenough not to consider the mass of the people as ible things, thus laying the foundations for a commore stupid than himself. Hence he declares very mon understanding, which found expression in the simply and openly, without any superfluous ideal note to Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan.
istic camouflage, that the United States will con Just what is implied in this understanding can clude only such a peace with Germany as shall as naturally be no more than a subject of conjecture sure the essential and desired advantages to Uncle in this age of open covenants openly arrived at.
Sam. There will not be any separate peace, even Nevertheless we may not be beside the mark in though it was as good as promised to the German assuming that France received assurances of a free voters by Viereck Co. who marshalled them into hand in Germany, and that in return France agreed the Harding camp. The Versailles peace of coercion to a redistribution of the mandates, etc. in which and violence will serve as a peace basis for Amer the United States should be treated with due ica as well as for the rest of the conquering nations, friendly regard.
even though, in their election campaign, the Re No other construction can be placed upon the publicans had for the purpose of catching votes Hughes note directed ostensibly against Japan, or gone out of their way to create the impression that against the transference to the Mikado of the manà Republican administration would never pledge date over the erstwhile German colony of Yap. It itself to such a thing. In short, as far as peace is means simply that the United States Government concerned, it now appears that the present adminis now serves notice on the governments of the Entration is bringing out the same old Wilsonian tente that it cannot and will not by any means be mare, only without the trappings of the great content with the situation as it stands today. This peacemaker himself.
Government is letting them know that it means to make good the idealistic bungling of the former 200, would net him at least 250 to 300. Instead, administration, that it will sooner stand by Ger to his utter surprise, his landlord informed him, many and thus deprive both France and Great (after learning that he wished to go north. that Britain of the most valuable part of their booty, his debt was not 200, but 700. He offered to take than allow itself even at this late date to be denied his horse, etc. as a 300 payment towards the total its place at the imperialistic swill barrel. And debt and then threatened to prosecute the negro France, who has but a single aim, a single real should he attempt to leave without paying the ballonging, namely to squeeze Germany against the ance of 400. Thus the landlords prey upon the wall until she howls, readily assented, since it ap ignorance and helplessness of the negro tenants.
peared that the cost of the redistribution was to be white lumber mill laborer in central South borne by Japan. But Japan is naturally not nearly Carolina in 1914, after quite a long period of unemso eager to be sacrificed. And so she informs Wash ployment, wished to move from one county to anington that she regrets both deeply and sincerely other where he could get a job at from 30 to 35 that she is not in a position to comply with the cents per hour. 20 to 23 per week. In order to wishes of America, since the Supreme Council and do so without being prosecuted and jailed, he first not Japan had made the division, so that it was nad to get the company for which he could work not in her power to concede to Uncle Sam desires. to buy his debt at the general store (commisBut that another story.
sary) of the company for which he had been workOur point is just this: The United States are no ing previously; and in addition he had to get the longer in the business of bringing democracy or new concern to advance him sufficient money to pay any other idealistic goods to Europe. America is it the charge for moving him to its plant. Having going in for sterner stuff, she is going to deal no funds, he was compelled to secure provisions, now in colonies, mandates, territories, spheres of etc. at the commissary of the new concern influence, and other negotiable papers. In other credit. All in all he started off with the new conwords, the Wilsonian period of hypocrisy and cern deeply in debt and under agreement to work it make believe is at an end. Under the Harding adoff. The debt was collected through the method of ministration business will be business, with a capi deducting the amount from his pay each week. The tal B, and we intend to be as frank and as brutal laborer could neither read nor write, could not about it as will be necessary in order to make the keep accounts, and while conscious of being entire world get the meaning of that.
charged some 25 per cent more for the food and clothes, etc. he bought on credit as well as being America will have them all know that she intends charged at least 15 per cent additional on the henceforth to make an open show of her imperialamount of his debt, he was helpless and forced to istic predatory lusts, without shame, without false accept the conditions of the company. This pracmodesty. The big stick is to stand in a glass case tice is the common experience of cotton mill hands, no longer. The feet, the army, our territory must household servants, lumber jacks, and, in fact, of be expanded. Our future, like that of Germany all common laborers. Sometimes it is practised some time ago, lies upon the seas out on the openly and illegally as in the case of Williams, but Pacific, and as for Japan she knows just what to 1sually it is done under the cloak of the law which make of it.
the propertied classes have thrust upon the ignorant But America working class does not. The and non voting tenants and laborers.
more the pity.
The practice of peonage is not, as some newspaper accounts would have us think, unusual and PEONAGE exceptional. It is quite a general custom, known to the business men, bankers, lawyers, doctors, The John Williams case in Atlanta is a dra preachers, editors, teachers, etc. of the South. It matic example of the beastly practices of peonage is practised by the white property owners against that have prevailed in the South for many genera the propertyless whites as well as against the tions. By peonage is meant the system of landpropertyless blacks. What is scarcely ever known lords and capitalists employing debtors as laborers or recognized is that there are many negro landthrough keeping them in practical servitude until lords and capitalists in the South practising peonthey have worked out their debts. An example or age against members of their own race, and in many two may make this clear.
instances against members of the white race as In the fall of 1916, a negro farmer in Early well.
County, Georgia, wished to go to New Jersey. The practice of peonage is not purely nor even He figured that, according to his accounts, he owed fundamentally racial. It is primarily economic.
his landlord something less than 200 for provi The existence of the white and black races, living sions: clothing, etc. sold him on credit during the side by side, in the South merely furnishes the opyear. The boll weavel had that year destroyed his portunity for the propertied classes (both black cotton cror, although he had some corn to help and white) to cover over the real issue, confuse the make up for the cotton loss, a horse (which had minds of the white and black workers, and create cost him some 200. and some household effects. dissension as far as possible, to their self destrucHe desired that his landlord purchase these things tion; and meanwhile they, the landlords and capifrom him after having given the half of his crop for talists, enrich themselves from the labor of both rent. He thought the sale of his crop, horse, house races.
hold goods, etc. after paying his debt of some The power to practice peonage and enslave the