TANANA VALLEY SOCIALIST J
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, OCTOBER 15, 1912
By Eugene V. Debs.
The march of Socialism is the
most inspiring spectacle now to be
witnessed in the civilized world. The
invincible hosts of the revolution are
sweeping aside all the barriers in
the path of evolution and with giant
strides marching toward their goal.
There was a time when a Socialist
was considered a pariah and an out
cast. Today it is an honor, and the
Socialist commands the respect of all
a hose respect is worth having. The
eld politicians do not love Socialists,
nor do the great exploiting capital
ists. but in their hearts they respect
them. Xot only this, but the Social
ist movement is the only movement
-f which they stand' in fear.
The hired scribblers and the re
tainers of the master class are now
uttering their poisonous screeds in
• sin. The common people are com
;n_- to know the true meaning of
Socialism and they are -Hocking to
the standard of the Socialist party,
the only party that has a living is
sue in this campaign.
We are coming, we Socialists are.
all along the line. The Socialist party
presents an unbroken battle-line upon
which the sun of heaven never sets.
We are coming from the east and
oming from the west, we are
coming from the north, and we are
coming from the south, and we are
shouting with joy as we behold our
unvanquishable hosts of working peo
ple. honest producers, marshalled in
battle array, with ballots in their
hands, to vote out the rotten sys
tem that now curses humanity and
*o vote in the great commonwealth
of the people.
We are coming in the conquering
spirit of the social revolution. The
joy of the coming triumph is in our
hearts and our hands are clasped in
loyal comradeship as we proudly
march together toward the Socialist
republic of the world.
-SOPS OF CAPITALISM ARE ROT
TING FASTER !N ALASKA THAN
ANYWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.
The convention held in Fairbanks
recently by the old party servitors
must prove conclusively to the work
ers of Alaska that what Socialists
have contended for years, is now laid
' are before them in all its hideous
ness. When Socialists told the peo
ple day after day, month after
month, year after year., that Progres
sive. Independent. Republican, Dem
ocrat. Standpat, Insurgent and others
were different wings of the capitalist
class they were derided and were
not believed. After the Socialists
had won a victory or two however
and later won several vic
tories against a eombina
tion of several of the old parties
there was more credit given their
^utterances. if Ira's taken years ol
Jagitation in some places before the
^Socialist has become strong, arioufeh
Ho force the old parties to combine
With one little campaign we have
^accomplished this result in Alaska
-and especially ih this division. 11
is. worth..-while ..to look , o.v$r^.thi
combipatioij..and..observe, .what jSi
.-can. There you will see the typi
cal representatives of the army o1
.J parasites that live and fatten of]
the workers. There you will see
the labor fakir and the labor baiter
.the crinsdng politician., the politico
heeler and the gents fvho always
profess love for the worker, whr
were threatening one another wir!
fearful punishments, charging one an
other Jorgery-^aJl^r.^oow ,em
bracing one another in a great love
feast, because they see looming up
all around them the “Menace of So
cialism.The two greatest props
of capitalism, the Republican and
the Democrat parties are so rotten
and decayed, even in Alaska, that
the capitalist system has nothing to
support it and must fall like any
other mighty weight from which the
props have rotted under.
A. C. K.
A CASE IN POINT.
Capitalist papers call attention to
the fact that 50.000 farmers in Colo
rado and adjacent states faced great
loss during the harvest period be
j cause they couldn't get 20.000 men
| ro care for the growing crops. At
1 the same time this paper points otr
| that there were 20.000 idle men in
! Denver who couldn’t pay the fare to
! the harvest fields.
' This is only part of the situation.
The capitalist papers advertised the
! need of help, and more than five
' times as many workers as could crer
' employment went to the harvest
; fields, cutting each other's throats
: in bidding for jobs, and impoverish
ina themselves much worse than
, they were before. It illustratoc the
! way of the capitalist system. {
i If the government had control of
the great wheat fields and employed
' men in making roads, in redeeming
I iand. and in other public work, it
could immediately transfer to the
harvest fields sufficient help to meet
, the need without waste and without
impoverishing the toiler to tret him
there.
Tf the government conducted these
! things they would be self-supporting,
and the money deposited in govern
; ment hanks would be available for
use by the whole people, instead of
being available for use by the banks,
so it will become practical to do
this work, without waste ar.d with
justice to all.
FROM EUGENE V. DEBS OPENING
SPEECH.
The Socialist party being the po
litical expression of the rising work
ing class stands for the absolute
overthrow of the existing capitalist
system and for the reorganization
of society into an industrial and sc
c ial democracy.
This will mean an end to the pri
vate ownership of the means of
life; it will mean an end to wage
slavery; it will mean an end to the
army of the unemployed; it will mean
an end to the poverty of the masses,
the prostitution of womanhood, and
the murder of childhood.
It will mean the beginning of a
new era of civilization; the dawn of
a happier day for the children of
men. It will mean that this earth
is for those who inhabit it. and
wealth for those who produce it. It
will mean society organized upon a
co-operative basis, collectively own
ing the sources of wealth and the
means oL-production* and. producing
wealth to satisfy human wants and
not to, gorge a privileged few. It
will mean that there shaiT he work
for the workers and ‘that all shall
be workers, and it will also mean
that- there shall be leisure for the
workers and that all shall enjoy It.
1 tf “wtli' rtehf! fhat-wcfftrerP shat!*- be
‘ the --eomradea- ~and‘" equals* - of*-H»en.
sharing with them on equal terms
.; the opportunities as well as the re
sponsibilities ' and the benefits as
well as the burdens of civilized life.
, i_
. SOCIALISM THE ISSUE.
i’j" In his letter'of acceptance, just is
i sued. President Taft devotes nearly
. his entire attention to popular un
■ rest and what he terms “the menace
Li oi Socialism.
■' i
WHY A WORKINGMAN IN ALASKA
SHOULD VOTE THE.SO
CIALIST TICKET
In the first place: What is Social
ism? Socialism: According to Web
ster's Dictionary, familiarly known to
every American reader, is defined.
“As a theory of societj which advo
cates a more precise orderly and
harmonious arrangement of the social
relations of mankind than that which
has hitherto prevailed.”
According to the Standard Diction
ary: "Socialism is a theory of civil
party that aims to secure the recon
struction of society, and a more
equitable distribution of the product':
of labor through the- public collec
tive ownership of land and capital,
and the public collective manage
ment of all industries. Its Motto is
"EVERYONE ACCORDING TO HIS
DEEDS.”
According to the Encyclopedia
Britanica. "Ethics of Socialism, an !
the Ethics of Christianity are iden
tical. The general tendency is to
regard socialistic, any interference
undertaken by society in behalf ot
the poor. In general, it may be de
: scribed as the movement which seeks
I by economic changes to destroy the
l existing inequalities of the social
! conditions.”
According to Palgraves’ Dictionary
of Political Economy:
“Socialism implies that the indi
viduals who make up society should,
in their collective capacity possess
all the instruments of production, and
thus prevent the evils arising from
the present industrial system. It re
quires that the process of produc
tions and distributions should be reg
ulated. NOT by competition with
self-interest for the moving princi
ples. BUT by society as a whole for
the good of society.”
Socialism today might well be de
fined as: “A universal uprising of the
wealth producers of the world against
the master class, the drones and the
parasites.”
I have examined some sixteen or
eighteen standard authorities, nation
al and international on the definition
of the word Socialism, and for brev
ity have selected the above. But no
where can I find a Father Donnelly
definition of Socialism, or anything
approaching to it. None of these
authorities have discovered that So
cialism contemplates the destruc
tion of the home, the introduction of
free love, or free lust. The rev
erend gentleman from London, sure
ly overlooks considerable. That is
the destruction of the English home
under capitalism. When he states
| “that one out of every five that dies
! in London is buried in the potter’s
i field.” It is safe to say that the
! British homes are pretty well de
: stroyed at present, and if he would
j examine the United States census
! for the year 1900 he would find that
I the vast majority of Americans are
I now homeless. Socialism is born of
oppression and is the party of the
| disinherited. Mr. Donnelly would do
i well to furnish the people of Alaska
I some data as to how many priests
r preachers are buried in the pot
er’s field, in London or elsewhere,
'he Socialist party’s political plat
erm declares emphatically “Tha+
Socialism is primarily an economic
nd political movement. It has n-"1
oncern with matters of religious be
ief.” It is a bread and butter oro; -
isition and nothing more. It is eo
erned with the affairs of this world.
Xot with those of the next, and we
resent all efforts of religious inter
meddling by any sect or denpmina
tion. There are many things out
sid^ of religion that the Alaskan
voter is concerned with, such as
“food, clothing and shelter." the pro
tection of their lives while working
in the mines, and the collection of
their wages. If London had sent
the workingmen of Alaska some
English genius to tell them how to
collect the $60rt.ooo worth of unpaid
time checks that are carried around
in the pockets of the workingmen of
the Tanana valley, it would be of
much more benefit fo their hungry
bodies, and they could w. !! afford to
take chances on their souls.
Alaska has recently been granted a
territorial form of government with very
limited power, and is about to elect
its first legislature, and »t behoove
the workingmen of Alaska to see to
it that their class shall he represent
ed in that legislature and secure
laws more favorable to them and
their class than any heretofore en
acted. Workingmen must emanci
pate themselves from their present
industrial bondage, the master or
his hirelings never will. The So
cialist party at the last delegate
election, on its first appearance in
, the political field in Alaska, polled
31 per cent, of the vote of the
Fourth Judicial division. When tli°
returns were announced, lo and be
held! What happened? The X. C.
mouthpiece was out with an editorial
counseling a fusion, of all other par
ties as a necessity to defeat Social
ism. and of course the lesser lights
as usual followed the advice, and
it has resulted in one of the most
unholy alliances yet entered into in
Alaska. “The Tribund.” They have
discovered that what Alaska needs in
its first legislature is conservative
legislators. That is such men as
will use their efforts to continue the
present order of things. A conserva
tive is a fellow that will do the least
I possible to change the existing order
and hold the job. Conservatism has
always been the millstone tied to the
i neck of proeress. But Socialism has
, compelled the hypocrite to unmask
and discontinue the sham battle
they have successfully conducted for
many years. The lion and the lamb
have now lain down together. All their
past grievances have now been set
tled. and we now have a Repo.-Demo.
j Wicko. combination aga'nst the So
cialist that brings very forcibly to
our minds, the truth of the editorial
published in the Fairbanks Times
on the morning after the delegate
election. “Barnum Was Right.”
Delegate Wickersham at the Audi
torium a few days since told his
hearers that he had fulfilled all the
promises he had made to the peo
ple of Alaska before his election a?
their delegate, and selected a beau
1 tiful epitaph to be inscribed on his
tombstone when he had crossed the
great divide by the people of Alaska.
But if the workingmen of Alaska
were asked to select an appropriate
epitaph for him. I think it would
read sornethine like. “Bunco Jim.
the man of words, hut not of fields.
Workingmen should ask themselves
a fpv.- serious questions in order to
determine the merits of or.r delegate
and his service *o there while irt
( congress. What is the' condition of