Daily Nomp Jithuatrial HorkerJ
Published Daily except Sunday
Ely Nome Mine Workers’ Union, No. 240, International Union of Mine,
Miil and Sin elter Workers.
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Entered as second class matter March 1, 1>11, at the poet office at
Home,• Alasta, under the Act of March t, 1S7I.
All changes in standing advertisements must reach this office at six
•’clock each evening to Insure insertion In the following issue.
Advertising rates made know* oa application.
"To secure to each laborer the whole product of his labor, or as
easily as possible. Is a worthy object of any good government.”—
Abraham Lincoln
Address all Communications to Dally Nome Industrial Worker,
Box 210 Nome, Alaska. Phone, Black 184.
t.ONSI Mi'TION AM) I’RODl ( TIO.V
A good many people hold that
society is victimzed at the
point of consumption. And if one
were to divide economists into two
ilasses today one could differentiate
7tifcfm in no better way than the
•school that believes in victimization
at the point of consumption and
.those who hold that the real victim
ization is performed at the point of
production.
The latter is the theory that Marx
advanced and which he has upheld
in controversy against all opponents
with complete success. But it is not
popular with the powerful classes
ami with educators who live, move
and have their being by the favor
of the powerful classes.
Quite a number of little reform
ers an- urging reforms which will
eliminate the robbery of consumers
anil especially is this true of that by
no means insignificant coterie of men
who have recently advanced a re
hash of tlie old time Tree silver argu
ments when asking for a more ex
tensive currency in the form of
treasury notes to farmers, secured by
collateral in the shape of first mort
gages on their farms. They have
erected the noble structure of their
fheir not wholly altruitu- agitation
ipon the premised contention that
the consumer is he who is robbed.
They point out that there is not
w.i.iiivy enough to go around. That
■when the farmers "get money" to
move their crops, they get no such
thing, that they get credit. And be
cause they have to pay the money
trust interest on this credit the
prices of commodities have to in
«luue this i ost of production and dis
tribution.
Their arguments are sound enougti
when dwelling upon Lite inadequacy
of the present currency and the in
evitable result of the concentration
of the power and wea'ilt in ti-i
hands of the few. But their de
mands being based upon a false as
..uniption. they are misled into a
policy of reform whit li w ould not
reform at all.
The production of wealth
posssesses on* i T\ fea
wealtli possesses on*- marked fea
ture. "an immense accumulation of
commodities’' as Marx forcibly points
out in the very first words of his
great analysis of the capitalist sy
tem. Inheient in such commodit es
is all wealth.
These commodities represent cer
tain values. Those values were
created by labor. A portion of that
value was returned to labor, in the
Kirm of wages.the rest is realized in
rent, in interest and in profit.
author has produced all that
wealth. But labor has only been re
quired to the extent of the payroll.
7»\*e the total wages paid in the
T? cited States and take the value of
ait the commodities created, sub
•stract one from the other and you
have the total which is haggled
about in the form of rent, in the
forwi of interest and in the
form of taxes and in the
form of profit. But that interest
that profit, those taxes, and that
rent oome.s from unpaid labor:val
ues is the total commodity world
which Marx called surplus value,
being created by labor over and
-above what labor was paid for pro
ducing them, in tlie form of wages.
Now there is a desperate hue and
«ry raised by one set of met: againts
tile other set of men because they
wymi «-x«*es.:ive interest. In cause they
a-rii-ex excessive profits, because
tlig-y demand too murh rent and be
tuanse too much taxes have to lie
That comes from the immense
ftairplns values and what ws see be
fore our eyes are a number of men
quarrelling over the amount to
which they are entitled in the
total mass ol wtalth created by
Sabor.
And so it is v hen the costs o.
living go up. the merchant is ac
cused of making too much profit,
the wholesaler of exacting too much
of his unearned increment, the
banker of usury and the govern
ment of being too strenuous in its
taxation.
Labor is not robbed at the point
of consumption. He gets enough to
live upon. That's his value under
capitalism; enough that he can
feed and > lotne himself and his fa
mily and make more laborers to take
his place. It is quite true that '.he
standard of living may vary an4
what will be all right for creating
and p producing further laborers in
one land may be wholly insufficient
in another, but in one and the other
wages will be paid accordingly. It
not labor can't live: labor dies out
and there are no more profit makers
to take their place.
Beiause men who consider them
selves radical and socialists and
what not lose themelves in the
| mazes of economic bewilderment
and accuse every factor of the
plundering, advocate government
ownership. elimination of the
middleman and goodness knows
what.all. they consequently mislead
the others into the mazes of some
vain political propaganda which
loads into nowhere.
It is in national crisis that the'
governments manifest instinctive
knowledge that this economic theo
ry of Marx is correct. They, for
example in many Kuropean belli
gerent corn tri* s. took control of
manufacture and of food, because
they felt that the reck
less pursuit of profits
would result in general social
disorders: labor would not get
enough to live upon and production
would be very seriously affected.
The main reason of the present
lin.e epidemic of strikes in America
is not due to any robbery at the
point of consumption, but to the
fact that the workers are not being
paid a sufficiency to live upon even
under the small standards admitted
up lor capitalism.
Furthermore the more the work
ers realize that they are the wealth
producers; that when they read of
the fabulous profits which this and
that concern has made since war be
gan. they know that those profits
came from their labor and the
labor of others. It is extremely
significant too, that notwithstand
ing these immense profits in indus
try the workers wages were subject
ed to no proportionate increase. And
it is the difference between the two
that will reach an approximation of
the difference between the purchas
ing power of wages paid and the
prices of commodities.
Another thing that a good many
arc puzzled over is the simple fact
that the prices of certain commo
dities finally reach consumers out
of all proportion to the prices paid
the producing owners. Take wheat
for example.
Vow all labor has a social value
and is necessary to a definite ex
tent in the various industries. If
production is diverted to an industry
beyond that certain extent and is
deflected from industries wherein
it is more socially necessary, the
values produced in the latter by
labor will rise in proportion to the
social necessity of that labor. Thus
when to non-productive industries
like powder manufacture, munitions,
war making, etc., much labor is
uselessly diverted, from social point
of view, they are so diverted De
cause of the profits to be derived
therefrom. But this leaves an in
sufficient production, say in agricu
ture, and in agriculture, the values
also increased in due proportion to
the values received for shells, armor
plate, explosives and the like. It
is in the final consumption of these
commodities however that these
values, each to each In its proper
I social relation, is realized and hence
| the rise before the much needed
I article reaches final consumption.
Hence the rise in the exchange
value of wheat, only after the cir
cumstances of the social need were
realized when it came to consump
tion.
Social need, which is the social
demand, varies from time to time
and with its varying aiso varies the
price, the expression approximate
ly only of the labor values contained
in an article. On the whole today
the vast accumulation of the com
modity gold is being exchanged for
other labor products of infinitely
greater soical need and accordingly
the purchasing power of gold shows
a large falling off.
But what we have to remember
is that the main question explains
itself not in a robbery at the point
of consumption but at the point of
production, for the haggling and the
agitation and the dissatisfaction
which is bruited abroad today is
only the rush for the spoils seized
i from labor by right of ownership,
i by right of exploitation, by right of
employment at a specified price.
Consequently from this it is self
evident that private ownership of
the means of production and distri
i bution, whereby the workers are
compelled to produce more for an
I other than that other pays him in
wages, is the secret of all :he diffi
culties inherent in the capitalit
economy.
The capitalist economy has filled
aV definite field of usefulness. N'o
longer does it serve. It is inade
quate at every point. Its complete
inadeq racy is seen in the fact that
a very small proportion of the popu
lation, probably two per c-nt own
approximately ninety per cent of its
wealth. Not all the rest are wealth
producers. To hear them agitate
and holler one might easily ima
gine that they were. But they are
agitating and crying out because of
the very elaborate and exceedingly
skilful means which the few real
wealthy men have devised by the
add of financial systems, currency
reforms, and other established sy
stems. to corral all of the surplus
value produced by labor. So the ■
farmer thinks he would be al right ,
if he did not have to pay such taxes,
so the middleman and wholesaler
says that the exorbitant profits of
the manufacturer, who blames it on
the raw material or labor, leave '
nothing for him.
Truly all wealth in capitalist so
rietv piesnts itself ns an immense
accumulation of commodities. And
that accumulation is an accumula
tion of values over and above what
j labor was paid for in the form of
wages for producing it.
WILL SOON MAKE
PUBLIC STEAMER LOSSES
LONDON', Aug. 8.—Explaining
that it has seemed advisable to con
fine actual losses at sea to the tonn
age totals per week and month, the.
Admiralty is now making ready to
throw off this censorship and make
public the names of those ships
which are sunk daily.
In metropolitan papers, this is
| taken to indicate that the losses
! must he showing a considerable fall
ing off when the government del -
! berately sets itself in favor of this
later policy.
Last week the fiugures published
| show one of the smallest totals since
last March and displays a marked
| improvement.
I
LABOR UNREST OCCASIONS
CONCERN WASHINGTON 0. C.
WASHINGTON'. D. Aug. 8.—
The frequency of labor strikes anil
the continued agitation for higher
wages to meet the higher costs of
living is occasioning still much eon
I cent in administration circles.
The copper production is seriously
hampered by these failure of men
an 1 bosses to reach an understand
ing and especially ir. Arizona has
RELIABLE TAILOR SHOP.
Pront St. 8 doors west of Alaska
Bank.
We do tke best
CLEANING
PRESSING
ALTERING *
REPAIRING
Ladles and Gentlemens Clothes.
the decline been marked. The
struggle in Butte still goes on with
little hope ot a settlement and the
indications are that worse may yet
happen in the general unrest that is
now observable throughout all in
dustrial circles.
FOB SALE CHEAP.
Two 4 H. P. Boilers.
One 12 H. P. Boiler.
One 10 H. P. Boiler.
Two 6 II. P. Boiler.
DARLING & DEAN CO,
******!
WATER
IMK.AN & \VKSTKNHAVEIt
Formerly A. I>. I’oteet. g;
l'HONE KE1) 124. 1
WATER
*!• *|« »*« ^ *1* *1* *1* *1*1
+ *
+
+
+
+
+
4
4*
*
+
4
4*
4*
4
4* D. E. Crowley *
4* 4*
4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*4*'
S. S. Standard
Sails every SIX I)AVS to
DIME ANI) WAY POINTS
weather permitting
From Snake River.
CHAS WECKMAN.
_
Why worry
About wash day
THAT’S OUR BUSINESS.
Satisfaction Guaranteed.
BOSTON
STEAM LAUNDRY
444 Front St. Phone Main 53
INDEPENDENT
MEAT MARKET
W. B. Webb prop. Phone M.IB
BOARD OFTRADE
Restaurant
and
LUNCH ROOM
George Modini,
Proprietor
*
ALASKA STEAMSHIP GO.
S. S. VICTORIA
LEAVE SEATTLE: LEAVE NOME:
\ ia Seward, Valdez and Cordova
Without Additional Charge.
AUG. 1. ' AUG. 13.
SEPTEMBER 2 SEPTEMBER 14.
SAILING SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
R. A. Carroll, Agent, Nome
irrrTyTtTrririnnrnrrT-ra i
From Nome
August31th.
&\From Seattle
August 18th.
SEPTEMBER 28.
OCTOBER 20.
SEPTEMBER 15.
OCTOBER 13.
RIGHT RESERVED TO CHANGE THIS SCHEDULE.
PACIFIC STEAMSHIP CO.
ALASKA L. & C. CO.
AGENTS
At Dock.
F. J. O’CONNOR,
Commercial Agent.
Front St. and Steadman Ave.
Charles L. Ross
Milling, Lumber, Contractor
HAVING TAKEN OVER THE FREIGHTING & TRANSFER
BUSINESS OF W. STEIGELMAIER AND OF LEO KENT,
FREIGHT ORDERS AND TRANSFER CONTRACTS WILL RE
CEIVE PROMPT ATTENTION.
3RD AND B STREET. PHONE BLACK 162.
The Rose Candy! Store And f
Arctic Bakery |
Agency for Augustine & Kyer Chocolates and Bonbons.
The Quality of our Home-Made Candies and Nome Dairy Ice j
Cream speaks for itself. Bread. Pastry and good Lunches.
SUNDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS FRESH WHIPPED CREAM 1
PUFFS.
CHANGE IN COAL PRICES.
On Aug. loth, Wellington Coal will he $23.00 j>er ton in yard.
On and after September 25th, Wellington Coal will be $25.00 pr
ton in yard. Briquets will continue at $18.00 per ton in yard.
We are experiencing great difficulty in securing anthracite
coal for winter use and cannot guarantee having any quantity
on band.
Alaska Lighterage Comercial Co.
THE NOME INDUSTRIAL WORKER
is prepared to handle
all kinds of
JOB PRINTING
Let us figure on your
work. Call up Black
134 or call at
THE INDUSTRIAL WORKER OFFICE