The emancipation of the working
| ". , ' . class must be the class-conscious work
. |.| of the working class.-K A Rl* MARX
NO. 7.
% ..........................................__.........”‘5 «i®
• __ .
Editor “New Times,’’
Minneapolis.
The other eveting I was billed to be
bate .a single taxer on the subject of
» Single Tax vs. Socialism, and knowing
full well the extraordinary claims the
adherents of this hoary old “back to the
potato-patch” theory make for their all
cure nostrum—or, as some of them say,
that it is at least a “step in the right
direction, ’ ’ I wrote a letter t o Comrade
J. H. Burrough, editor of “The Western
Clarion,” in Vancouver, where single
tax has already for three years shed its
benign influence and received in reply
the enclosed letter. Thinking this sub
ject may be of some interest to your
readers, I am enclosing the same with
the request that }-ou give it space in your
paper.
Yours fraternally,
A. O. Devoid.
Vancouver, B. C., Oct. 1, 1913.
A. O. Devoid,
209 19th Ave. S.,
Minneapolis.
Dear Comrade : Yours of the 26th r.lt.
to hand, with enquiry as to the ejects of
single tav in this province.
It is not general over the province.
The most conspicuous example of its op
cration is here in Vancouver. Vicioria al
so, I believe, has adopted" it, but pro
vincial taxation is not based on those
principles.
The single tax system has been in op
eration In Vancouver for three years, fol
lowing upon the election to the
mayorality of L. D. Taylor, an ad
herent of Henry George. Taxes on im
provements were exempted and levied
on land values. Henry George, Jr., visit
ed the city and later delivered a speech
in the Washington House of Represent
atives to the effect that unemployment
was unknown in the city -and prosperity
rampant as the direct result of the app
lication of single tax.
As a matter of fact, nothing could be
further from the truth. It is true that a
building boom has taken place here since
the application of the theory, but the
same boom has taken place in other
places where it was not applied, and at
the present time most of the buildings
erected in the last three years (office
buildings, blocks of them) are half empty
some with 200 or 300 rooms liavivg but a
dozen tenants. This is generally true, I
believe, of the cities of the Pacific coast
and flatly contradicts any pretensions of
the single taxers that its application is a
remedy for present evils. The law that
governs the production and exchange of
commodities operates without reference
to^the application of the principle of
single tax. After three years o f i t Van
couver is now experiencing, and has ex
perienced for the last twelve months, the
worst period of stagnation and unemploy -
(Continued on page 2)
ARCADE
TAILORING
Sec. Avenue opps. The Pirate
Suits sponged & pressed
only$l. Furs repaired at
short notice, and lew prices.
Subscribe for The Alaska Socialist.
That the Alaska Legislature is “up a
stump’ ’ is evident from the developments
of the past few days. This is nothing
new to the Socialist, who knows that a
home rule bill which is a good thing for
the capitalist is a had thing for the work
ing man, their interests being diametric
ally opposed. The Alaska Home Rule
hill is full of, good things for the capital
ists and therefor full of bad things for
the workingmen. It was recognized by
the Socialists as soon as it was passed as
I a typical piece of capitalist legislation
i
evidently enacted for the,purpose of
occupying the minds of the prolet
a .t while they were being skinned by
ige skinners.
Last Oct., during the Legislative cam
paign, a circular letter was sent around
to tile voters from tine headquarters of
the non-partisan ticket soliciting votes
and promising all kind of good things if
their ticket was elected, but bad things
if the Socialists were elected. The lqtter
is as follows :
‘ 'NON-PARTISAN-LEGISLATIVE
TICKET
Lourthj Division
Candidates.
SENATORS. Dan Sutherland, Henry
Roden.
REPRESENTATIVES. William TI
Burns, Dan Driscoll, J, J. Mullaley, E.
B. Collins,
Campaign. Committee. Theo. Kettleson,
Charles Thomson, George M. Smith, K.
\Y. Griffin.
F. B. McDonald, Secretary,
Fairbanks, Alaska, Oct. 29, 1912.
Mr. Voter:
Oil Tuesday, November 5th, the voters
of Alaska will have the privilege of el
ecting the members of the first legislat
ure of Alaska. Two Senators and four
Representatives will be elected from the
Fourth Division, and we should elect
men of character and ability-, who are
capable of enacting laws that will be of
benefit to Alaska, and a t the same time
meet with the approval of Congress.
Make a careful comparison of the can
didates offered by the t w o tickets now
in the field, and see if you do not agree
with us, that the Non-Partisan Ticket
supplies the candidates who can accom
plish the most good by enacting laws fcr
Alaska, and in obtaining favors - from
Congress.
The candidates on the Ncn-Fartisan
Ticket are well and favorably known
throughout the Fourth Division. They
are honest, competent, and trustworthy;
and can be depended on to use their best
efforts to enact such laws as will be of
greatest benefit to Alaska.
The Socialist party may demand, and
demand, but the people of Alaska will
never receive any favors from Congress
while we have members of that party i n
our Legislature.
j Don’t throw away your vote by casting
it for an independent candidate who lias
not the slighest chance of election.
Don’t scratch a candidate on the Nou
Partisan Ticket—vote it straight.,,
The privilege that the Non-Partisans
refer to is not a privilege from the Soc
alist view point. It is true that our an
cestors did_ not have the right to vote.
And the fact that we have the right to
! vote is not proof that it is a privilege but
a right wrested from the ruling class af
ter centuries of agitation and revolution.
Tile circular letter above tells of the
| ability of the gentlemen on the Non-I’ar
i tisan Ticket, and while we believe they
| have all the ability that is claimed for
them in their respective callings law
making is evidently not the business lor
which they are best fitted, even from.a
capitalist point of view.
Where are all the favors that were tq
be handed out to the people of Alaska ?
“We will never receive any . favors
while we have Socialists in our Legis
lature” said the Non- Partisans. Well
there were no Socialists in the Legislat
ure and yet the favors .are not forthcom
ing for those who expected them.
The voters were also told not to throw
away their votes, but many of the voters
can now see that their votes have brought
such poor results that they might as well
have been thrown away.
National Office of tiie
SOCIALIST PARTY
Comrades :
Again we are called upon to
take up the defense of our striking broth
ers. Outrages have hardly ceased in
West Virginia before a new cry is raised
by starving and freezing men, women
and children in the rich copper mine
region of Michigan,
The men are on strike for better living
conditions,
It isj conceded that the' demands
of the men are just. The con
ci ousness of a just cause has given the
strikers the courage to fight withou
violence,' nothwithstanding every effort
has been made t o trick them into a sit
uation where a massacre can be given
the color of justification. Women and
girls have been assaulted; men have
been shot, going about their peaceful
purstits. Vet the ranks are unyielding
in spite of the approaching cold.
^jlf they are not aided, many will per
ish,, and they may be defeated, and
the whole American", L,abor r Movement.
This is an attempt to destroy the West
ern Federation of Miners, one of the
WHAT ABOUT YOUR EYES
Oq you cot thick they need attention ?
We test them free of charge and will
guarantee-bar work on fitting glasses.
Red Cross Dmg Store.
The RexaSf' Store.
FAIRBANKS ALASKA
most radical and militant labor organiz
ations in the country.,The Federation is
one of the strong Socialistic organizations
and as such should receive the full sup
port of Socialists.
To this end your Executive Committee
has ordered this call for help. Collect
funds, hold mass meetings, use every in
fluence, both collective and individual,
to help in this time of great need.
WALTER LAXFERSIEK
Executive Secretary.
If you are a worker you need
THE ALASKA SOCIALIST
subscribe for it $5.00 per year
The First Coat
ever rsade in Fairbanks now
On Exhibition
j HARRS THE TMR
Now open for business
FIRST AVENUE Opps. NORDALE
Repairing, pressing & cleaning.
All kinds of furs remodeled,
Ladies and Gents.
ALL WORK GUARAXTEED
Phone 113 B
LOOKING FOE THE PIE
COUNTER ON OCT. !5th, 1912.
On Oct. 15th, 1912, President Taft
added 40,00U more names to the classifi
ed Civil Service. Of this number, 32,000
are in the Fourth class of postmasters.
This class of men have been largely
chosen by the Postmaster General and
the Post Office inspectors. It is this or
der that President Wilson is being asked
to revoke, which in fairness to all the
people should he done. Why any life
time office should ever b e created i n a
republic, under any party, i t i s hard to
reason. It is just as easy to elect all the
marshalls, judges, postmasters and col
lectors by districts as it is to elect U. S.
Senators. We have in the U. S. 67 Dis
trict Courts appointed during good be
I havior. When the fathers of the country
: expelled monarchy from the land they
| did not expel all monarchical institutions
They left one. That one i s the Federal
j Courts of which Jefferson spoke as fob
1 lows : . . . ‘ ‘they will prove to be the
| miners and sappers of the peoples’ liber
i ties. ’ ’ Jefferson could see that with the
Federal judge appointed, instead of hav
ing democracy the government would
j drift towards an autocracy,
President Wilson is demanding of Con
gress a law to choose the president and
vice-president by the primary. Why not
the Supreme Court judges?
The Federal employers act, as now de
; dared by the Supreme Court to be, in all
. respects, constitutional, ought to precede
the following for the coming year 1914.
90, 001) men are to be injured on the
railroads of the United States and 10,00(7
killed. That is as sure to happen as the
, orderly operation cf the planets them
selves. Under existing law less than one
third of these victims will receive some
i $15,000,000 with .their lawyers to pay.
The proposed Compensation Act expects
to appoint a justice of the U. S. courts
. who shall have the right to fix the am
ount of the compensation to be paid an
injured employe. Me has the right to
change the amount after lie has fixed it.
And also the right to. change the a
niourit that may be fixed by the court.
He also has the power to increase-o r"
diminish the amount after it has been
fixed even bp- the Supreme Court. If this
act passes the railroads have scored one.
C. J. Fairbanks.
Now that the Session of the Grand Jury
is almost finished Ben Friss will again
open his lunch counter at Friss1 Coffee
House Front Street., which he had to
close on account of having Been drawn to
serve as a Grand juror, Mr. Friss had
Been hard at work during the summer
months, tearing down the old structure
he formerly occupied, which liad become'
obsolete, and erecting a new structure
in its place, and was barely opened when
he was drawn on the jury, and as he
could not attend to both jobs he decided
to close down until the Grand jury had
finished its labors.
All kinds of lunches, pastry, pies, tea
cakes coffee, cocoa, chocolate, furnished
rooms, and baths will be had at prices
that will suit the workers. Also all the
latest magazines and periodicals, both
Socialist and capitalist are on hand in
the large and commodious sitting room
where the workers can enjoy them at
their leisure.
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