k 
 
 Social Evolution 
 
 OR 
 
 Socialism Made Easy 
 
 WORKERS SCHOOL LIBRARY 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY JAGER 
 
 fn v'ry £ £ A/ 'f< : ; 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE VANGUARD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION 
 187 Broadway, New York 
 
gjINCE tke publication of tins pampklet, 
 July 5tk, 1916, tke sale exceeded one- 
 tkousand copies per week. Tke writer is 
 kigkely pleased witk tke reception given 
 to kis work and is most greatful to tke 
 Comrades for tkeir kind assistance in 
 bringing tkis pampklet to tke attention 
 of tke public. 
 
 HENRY JAGER. 
 
Social Evolution 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY JAGER 
 
 Lecture delivered for the American 
 Periodical Syndicate, under tlie 
 Auspices of the People’s Fo rum, 
 February 13th, 1916, Albany, N. Y* 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 THE VANGUARD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION 
 187 Broadway, New York 
 
MAR 2 2 1954 
 
 By 
 
 Henry Jager 
 
 I 
 
 Evolution— -did you ever hear that word before ? 
 
 Yes, you probably heard it in connection with monkeys and the 
 missing link. 
 
 But Evolution is a universal law. Though first applied by Darwin 
 to the physical development of man from lower forms of life, it is 
 equally applicable to every phase of Nature. 
 
 Evolution is at work in your own mind which has grown from a 
 state of nothingness at birth to your present well-equipped thinking 
 machine. Evolution is at work on the earth changing rock into 
 soil, soil into fruits and fruits into life and plenty for man. Evo- 
 lution is at work in the realm of thought giving school-boys a fund 
 of knowledge not even possessed by the most learned a century 
 ago. 
 
 The law of Evolution is the law of change. 
 
 There is one phase of Evolution in which we Socialists are very 
 much interested and with which you non-Socialists should get bet- 
 ter acquainted — the economic evolution of society. If you are one 
 of those individuals who believes that the earth always was as it is, 
 that man did not develop from lower forms of life, that the economic 
 conditions under which we are living always existed as they are 
 now, then this little pamphlet is not intended for you. If you are 
 such an individual you should first read Darwin’s Origin of Species, 
 Geikie’s Geology, and Morgan’s Ancient Society and within the 
 leisurely confines of those learned volumes you will be convinced 
 that Evolution is a universal law, inevitable in its results, inexorable 
 in its consequences. But if your mind already grasps the meaning 
 of Evolution, then we crave the indulgence of your attention to the 
 end, in the hope that if there is revealed to you the possibility of a 
 better day to come, you will delve further into the study of Social- 
 
 ism. 
 
 3 
 
II 
 
 Living as we have been for the past few centuries under the 
 capitalist regime we are apt to forget that capitalism is not the 
 first form of society but that it is a development from more primitive 
 forms of community life. Capitalism is an outgrowth of Feudalism 
 and historical data are not lacking to show that Feudalism in turn 
 may trace its blue-blood ancestry back to the days when automobiles, 
 submarines, 42 centimetre guns and clothes were unknown. 
 
 The reason why Feudalism gave way to Capitalism will bear care- 
 ful analysis because in it the careful student will see the reason why 
 Capitalism is bound to succumb to Socialism. 
 
 Feudalism was slavery under a more euphonious name, just as we 
 still delight in calling ourselves free and independent. Feudalism 
 had its lord and serf — the lord was master, the serf was slave. The 
 serf tilled the soil and gave everything he produced to his lord who 
 in turn, however, permitted the serf to live and even at times to die 
 on the “honored” field of battle. Not only the product of the serf’s 
 labor but also the product of the serf’s love belonged to the lord, for 
 the most outrageous incident of Feudalism which makes our blood 
 boil even at the present time was the “right of the first night” on the 
 marriage of a serf’s daughter, and still not so different from the view 
 of some of our present day bosses who do not hesitate at the de- 
 bauchery of their employees. 
 
 Feudalism, of course, depended on the might, on the strong-arm, 
 on the bravery and daring of the lord, and on the weakness, humility, 
 fear and ignorance of the serf. But men were meant for freedom, 
 not for bondage and as soon as the means by which freedom could be 
 attained presented themselves, Feudalism died. 
 
 Our good old friend, Evolution, presented them with the means. 
 First was the discovery of the art of printing which slowly began to 
 have its effect in the dissemination of knowledge where only illiteracy 
 had previously prevailed — and knowledge is power. Knowledge 
 naturally made people think, so that with the invention of gun-pow- 
 der they quickly realized that the armor-sheathed lord was as vulner- 
 able as his weakest serf. The discovery of the mariner’s compass 
 was the final blow, for now the sea had lost its terror and with the 
 finding of new lands and continents the desire for freedom and indi- 
 vidual growth became stronger than the already weakened fealty 
 which fettered the serf to his master. 
 
 4 
 
Ill 
 
 The new regime that was ushered in was Capitalism. Capitalism 
 as a child was, like all children, full of promise, but now in its old 
 age it is like all of us, fit only for the grave. Again the inexorable 
 law of Evolution. Capitalism at the beginning naturally made won- 
 derful progress. Feudalism meant slavery and submission. The new 
 regime meant freedom, the possibility for growth and free competi- 
 tion. The restraints which had for centuries held back the natural 
 development of man’s intelligence were suddenly released and all the 
 stored up genius of the ages found vent in a most marvelous develop- 
 ment in every phase of life. 
 
 Literature, music and art saw one of the most productive periods 
 in history and the practical pursuits of men were likewise not neglect- 
 ed. Everywhere artisan’s guilds were formed for the teaching of 
 various trades and real craftsmen were developed who carved their 
 souls into the furniture and who bound their books with the spirit of 
 love. It is interesting to note that those were the only days of real 
 manufacture — which really means “Made by hand” — and the ex- 
 amples of the art of the cabinetmaker, the silversmith and the book- 
 binder still preserved for us are the envy of the present “machine- 
 made” century. 
 
 In reviewing the development of capitalism in this country, we 
 find that at the beginning land was easily obtainable. The tools with 
 which the land was worked were simple, mostly hand-made (“manu- 
 factured” in the real sense of the word) and easily acquired. If one 
 was healthy and willing to work there was no difficulty in finding 
 something to do. Owning the land and the tools with which to work 
 it, he became master of the situation. Since everyone was able to 
 acquire land and to own the tools of production, free competition 
 actually prevailed. Up to this time with few exceptions man was 
 his own employer and employee. 
 
 IV 
 
 But the law of Evolution was already at work in this new form of 
 society as it had been under Feudalism. The primitive tool of our 
 forefathers became the more highly developed machine of the pres- 
 ent generation. The locomotive took the place of the wheel-barrow, 
 the steamship displaced the sailboat and instead of the continued 
 growth of the individual craftsmen we find corporations monopolis- 
 ing every industry. 
 
 5 
 
What does this change signify? It means that With the introduc- 
 tion of modern machinery classes have been created — the machine- 
 owning class and the machine-owned class. Let us stray from the 
 subject a moment. Suppose Jess Willard were to say to a ten year 
 old boy, “Let’s fight for the championship.” You would treat such 
 a remark as a joke, wouldn’t you ? A fight between the trained pugi- 
 list and the weak little chap is out of the question. As the fighter 
 stands in relation to the boy, so does the machine owner stand in re- 
 lation to the non-owner. Without the machine you can work but you 
 cannot compete. You cannot compete with your wheelbarrow 
 against the locomotive; with your sailboat against the steamship; 
 with your mere brain and muscle against the gigantic wealth and in- 
 fluence of the corporation. 
 
 Competition between the workers and the capitalists is a thing of 
 the past. The only competition the worker knows is the competition 
 for a job. If you own the means of production you can dictate to 
 those who do not. You say to John, “If you want to live you must 
 work. If you want to work you must use the modern efficient ma- 
 chine or you stand no chance in the selling market. If you must use 
 the machine and you can’t own it, you are naturally compelled to 
 use mine. Therefore I own the only means by which you can live.” 
 There are still many farmers, tailors, blacksmiths, shoemakers and 
 other artisans that own their own tools of production but they are 
 the passing relics of an age gone by. The modern machine-owning 
 corporation says, “We acknowledge that you are an American citizen. 
 We are willing to let you fight for this country. We are willing to 
 say many nice things about you but one thing must be clearly under- 
 stood and that is that either you work without our modern machine 
 and we’ll starve you by underselling or you have the other choice of 
 working with our machine and supporting us. In other words you 
 must consent to let us live by the sweat of your brow.” 
 
 Here you have the two classes — one owns the machinery to work 
 with but does not have to work, the other must work but does not 
 own the machinery with which to work. The owner is the Capitalist, 
 the non-owner is the worker. These classes are the natural develop- 
 ment of the capitalist form of society. The Socialists did not create 
 capitalism and therefore cannot be justly accused of having created 
 classes. * 
 
 That this class-division of society has resulted in injustice is the 
 reason why the Socialists indict Capitalism. The working class lives 
 
on wages ; the capitalist class lives on profit. Wages and profit both 
 come from the same source — both are the product of labor. When 
 a commodity has been produced, the initial expense is deducted and 
 the remainder, i. e., the value that labor has embodied into it is di- 
 vided between the worker and the capitalist. One of these shares 
 labor receives as its wages ; the other share also produced by labor 
 is retained by the capitalist class for its profit. 
 
 Since wages and profit are both the product of labor and since this 
 product is divided between the capitalist class and the working class, 
 it is an undeniable fact that the capitalist class receives something 
 which it has not produced. Having received it for so long a time 
 without objection from those who have been paying it, the capitalist 
 class has come to regard profit as one of its prerogatives. Capitalism 
 therefore stands committed to this division of labor’s product. The 
 capitalist is always ready and willing to divide with the working 
 class that which the working class alone produces but like the 
 proverbial thief who always shouts “Stop thief,” the Capitalist al- 
 ways accuses the Socialist of wanting to divide with the hope that 
 the uninformed worker will fear Socialism. 
 
 Let us examine this question of division from another angle. Al- 
 most daily we hear of strikes or lockouts in various industries. What 
 does a strike or lockout signify ? It means a clash between the work- 
 ing class and the capitalist class. What is this clash about? It is 
 due either to an attempt on the part of the capitalist class to reduce 
 wages or of the working class to obtain higher wages. In other 
 words these two classes are constantly contending with each other — 
 one to receive a larger portion of the wealth which it produces and 
 the other to prevent the producer from getting it. 
 
 I read a joke some time ago which graphically illustrates the ever 
 present attitude of the Capitalist class towards the worker. A work- 
 ingman entered the office of his employer and asked for an increase 
 in wages. “I must have more money,” he said, “because I am get- 
 ting married.” The answer was, “I’m very sorry, I was just going 
 to call you in to tell you that I must reduce your wages because I 
 must buy my wife a new car.” The Capitalist well knew that when 
 wages go down his profits go up and when wages go up his profits 
 go down. 
 
 If wages and profit are represented by an apple and the working 
 class were to get three-quarters of the apple, the Capitalist class 
 would only get one-quarter. If the Capitalist class received three- 
 
 7 
 
mm 
 
 \ , . Vf 
 
 ■ quarters, the working class necessarily could not receive more than 1 
 one-quarter. But since it is to the interest of both classes to get 
 more and more of that apple, a constant struggle necessarily exists. 
 This struggle must continue to exist as long as Capitalism exists. 
 As long as one class of people insist on getting something that they 
 are not entitled to, insist on living by the labor of another class, so 
 long will that struggle continue. 
 
 This class struggle is not a national or racial one — it is a world 
 economic struggle. The tyranny of Russia, the classicism of Italy, 
 the gaiety of France, the philosophy of Germany, the democracy of 
 England and the freedom of America, different though they be in 
 their national ideals, are nevertheless all enlisted under the flag of 
 Capitalism and wherever that flag flies, there theclass struggle exists. 
 No phrases, no epigrams, no prayers and no sermons can abolish this 
 class struggle. It is a problem bom of economic facts and economic 
 change alone can eradicate the evil. 
 
 V 
 
 There is another phase of Socialism that I wish to dwell upon for 
 a moment. It is this: Capitalism lives upon the exploitation of 
 
 labor. 
 
 An illustration which is not new but very effective will show 
 how this is accomplished. Assume, for instance, that I am a capital- 
 ist. I have a certain amount of wealth ; I want to eat the best food ; 
 wear the finest clothing ; reside in the finest location and when I die 
 I want to be able to leave all that I have to my heirs. In other words, 
 
 I want to eat the pie and still have it. 
 
 This, at first, sounds like a Chinese puzzle. On close inspection it 
 is found merely to be the capitalist method of doing business. I go 
 into the labor market and there I meet John. I ask him, “J°lm, are 
 you looking for a job ? (What I really mean is not whether John is 
 looking for a job, but whether John is willing to sell himself to me.) 
 “Yes,” says John, “how much do you want per day ?” “One dollar.” 
 “All right, John, you may start work for me tomorrow.” John 
 works a day, produces a pair of shoes, hands them to me and I give 
 him $1. John now says, “Will you sell me a pair of shoes ?” “Sure,” 
 say I. “How much are they ?” “Three dollars a pair.” “I haven’t 
 got that amount,” says John. “Well then, you can’t have the shoes.” 
 On the second day John works again, produces another pair of shoes. 
 
 8 
 
mm. i W‘ $ 
 
 A'’’r . ' * '■? / 
 
 'fends them to me and receives another dollar. Now I have two 
 $airs of shoes and John has $2. Again John tries to buy a pair of 
 shoes but again he is unable to do so because he only has $2. On 
 tfee third day John produces another pair of shoes, hands them to me 
 amd receives another dollar. Again John* tries to buy the pair of 
 shoes and this time he succeeds because he hands back to me the $3 
 which I had previously given. 
 
 John goes home and begins to think it over. “I have worked 
 three days,” he thinks to himself, “and have earned $3 and produced 
 three pairs of shoes. My three days are gone, never to return ; my $3 
 are gone, but I have one pair of shoes.” I, on the other hand, look at 
 the problem from a different angle. I take out my pencil and do 
 some figuring. I find that one pair of shoes is equal to the cost of 
 the raw material, rent, gas, fuel and other expenses. I put that pair 
 of shoes aside. I think of the $3 I have given John but I remind 
 •isyself that John gave me the $3 back. I still have another pair of 
 shoes-—' Where did I get them ? I did no work, all the money that I 
 invested I have back again, even the $3 I gave John and yet I have 
 a pair of shoes. It stands to reason that this extra pair of shoes came 
 from no other source but labor. It was John who cut the leather, 
 who stitched the leather, who shaped the shoe, who did in fact all the 
 "work, but it is I, the capitalist, who is enjoying the fruits of John’s 
 toil. 
 
 So you see the capitalist need not work at all ; he can eat the pie 
 and still have it. In fact very often the pie grows larger and larger 
 the more that the capitalist eats of it. It is easy to see, why the 
 capitalist’s pie never grows less, when our attention is called to it. 
 The only difficult problem the Socialists have confronting them is to 
 get people who for years and years have been taught that the capi- 
 talist is supporting them to see that the facts really point the other 
 way ; that they are really supporting the capitalist. 
 
 I recall an incident in Middletown, New York, while addressing 
 :an audience. Someone in the crowd interposed, “You Socialists al- 
 ways run down the capitalist. Where would all of us be if the capi- 
 talists did not support us ?” I looked at him for a moment and ask- 
 ed him what he worked at. He said he was a tinsmith. “How 
 ■many hours do you work a day?” “Ten hours.” “You are foolish, 
 my dear sir,” I said. He became indignant and told me that the 
 Socialists always insult people. Here I offered to convince him. 
 
 9 
 
“If I were in your place,” I said, “I would go to a picnic and have 
 a good time or to the opera and hear Caruso or take in the best 
 theatrical performance in town or play football) baseball, basket 
 ball or golf, or read a little Shakespeare, Browning, or Tennyson, if 
 so inclined. What's the use of working when the capitalists support 
 you?" He saw the point and concluded that the Socialists were not 
 such wicked fellows after all. 
 
 There was a time when people believed that the sun travels around 
 the earth from East to West; their vision belied the facts. It took 
 years and years before they were convinced that the earth revolves 
 on its axis from West to East. The same applies to the lack of 
 economic knowledge on the part of the working class today. The 
 working man puts out his hand on Saturday and receives $10 or $15 
 wages. “Ah, what a fine boss I have.” He takes this sum as if it 
 were a gift, forgetting that all day Monday, Tuesday and the rest 
 of the week he is piling up wealth for his “benefactor” while at the 
 end of the week Mr. Benefactor returns a small portion of that 
 wealth. The fact is that it is the worker who extends credit to the 
 capitalist all week and for his services he is exploited in the bargain. 
 
 VI 
 
 But our good old friend Evolution has never gone to sleep. He 
 has been at work on our economic well being all these years. Feudal- 
 ism with its Slavery and lack of ambition was not to his liking. So 
 Feudalism disappeared. Competitive Capitalism was an improve- 
 ment, but competition meant economic waste and inefficiency' ; and as 
 soon as science and invention blazed the way for the machine 
 wonders of the present day, competition disappeared, industries were 
 organized on monopolistic lines and a developed capitalism arose 
 with the trust as the lord and the workingman as the serf. And 
 now you turn to your good old friend Evolution and ask him “Is this 
 what you have brought us to? Is this the promised land of Eden? 
 You have freed us from our Feudal lord and have substituted the 
 shackles of Capitalism.” But old man Evolution smiles and says: 
 “Patience.” 
 
 That the corporation or trust is a necessary outgrowth of com- 
 petitive Capitalism and is also a necessary stepping stone to Social- 
 ism was always maintained by the Socialists. We all remember the 
 days of Bryanism. In those days every trust was going to be smash- 
 
 10 
 
ed and many smashers were there. Bryan smashed a trust in every 
 speech; Roosevelt smashed a .trust in every interview; Hearst 
 smashed a trust in every special edition of his newspapers. The 
 lone Socialist stood on the street corner, an unknown quantity, and 
 he alone knew that the trust could not be smashed. Oh ! for the 
 wasted millions of words, and the wasted millions of dollars, and the 
 wasted years of bluff! 
 
 The trusts are still with us, stronger than ever, more numerous 
 than ever and all are now convinced that the Socialist was and is 
 right. Had Bryan studied Socialism instead of the merits of grape 
 juice, had Roosevelt spent less time with wild jaguars and more time 
 with Karl Marx, had Hearst been less voluble and more sincere, had 
 we, the common people, been a public trained to weigh and consider 
 the economic problems confronting the country, those wasted years 
 of bluff would have been saved to civilization. The notion of most 
 people that the things that are, always have been and because they 
 are, are right, is costly and expensive. 
 
 Feudalism evolved into a system of individual production, but in- 
 dividual production is no longer with us no matter how hard 
 we may wish it to be. Individual production has already developed 
 into industrial institutions employing hundreds of thousands of 
 people. Despite this social or collective mode of production, some 
 of us still dream of the past and think that the days of individualism 
 are still- with us. 
 
 We are no longer living as separate individuals. We could not if 
 we would and we would not if we could go back to those days. Take 
 our newspapers for an example. Men in China, Japan and every- 
 where are busy daily reporting events to New York. The machinery 
 on which the newspapers are printed come from every part of the 
 globe. The pulp of Norway and the timber of Canada are enlisted 
 in making the paper itself. Thousands of people, hundreds of in- 
 dustries and every part of the globe contribute a share in the final 
 product. This newspaper, although privately owned, depends for 
 its production upon the collective or socialized effort. Progress 
 could not continue without collective production. 
 
 This transition from competitive Capitalism to corporationized 
 Capitalism has necessarily brought with it all the evils of monopoly. 
 When the employer employs five men, each one producing for ex- 
 ample $2 of wealth per day, the employer retains $1 from each or 
 
 11 . 
 
r 
 
 i 
 
 the total of $5, each of the employees receiving the other dollar. If 
 each employee spent the dollar earned each day and the employer 
 his $5, the whole product would be consumed. Today, when a 
 capitalist employs 100,000 people and makes a dollar out of each one 
 per day, the worker can only buy the other dollar’s worth or one-half 
 of what he really produces. It stands to reason that he cannot buy 
 the total amount he actually contributed to the market because out 
 of the $2 so contributed, he has received only $1, the other dollar 
 going to the capitalist. The capitalist, however, while he may be 
 able to consume $1,000 or $2,000, or even $5,000 worth of wealth 
 per day, still has merchandise to the extent of $95,000 per day un- 
 consumed. 
 
 What becomes of this accumulated merchandise? The worker 
 cannot buy it and the capitalist does not need it. The warehouses 
 become over-crowded and still there is no purchaser in sight. The 
 cry goes up that the market is suffering from over-production. One 
 would imagine that if there was an over-production that the pro- 
 ducers of wealth would have two pairs of shoes instead of one ; two 
 suits of clothes instead of one ; that they would have enough food to 
 make all happy. In short that no one would worry and plenty would 
 prevail. This is not the case, however. What really happens is that 
 the shoemaker is told his services are no longer necessary. He has 
 produced too many shoes and therefore is rewarded with loss of 
 work. The tailor has produced too much clothing, therefore he is 
 to have no clothes and so on all along the line. 
 
 It is not a case of over-production. The disease is really under- 
 consumption; yet in spite of this under-consumption the shoemaker 
 can look into the store windows and see the shoes that would save 
 him from his shivering cold, the tailor may see the clothes that he 
 should be wearing but cannot buy and the workers in general can 
 look into the empty tenements they have built but do not own. 
 
 Here we realize that the worker is not out of employment because 
 he is lazy or has bad habits or is disobedient; he is out of work 
 simply because in our present form of society we produce not for 
 consumption but for sale. Then everyone realises that something 
 must be done. The workers are beginning to get restless ; they can- 
 not pay rent; they cannot pay the butcher; they cannot pay the 
 grocer; starvation stares them in the face. For a time false pride 
 keeps them from talking of their poverty but this pride soon gives 
 
 12 
 
way to necessity. Agitators get busy ; the newspapers are compelled 
 to admit more and more of the facts ; workers begin to congregate 
 on the highways, and some of them even begin to make threats ; they 
 begin to learn that there is something wrong with a system that can- 
 not even exploit the masses steadily ; they look at the factories that 
 are shut up and at the mills that are shut down ; they see the small 
 capitalist — his wealth absorbed by the bigger capitalists — bankrupted 
 and thrown into the ranks of labor ; the army of unemployed grows 
 larger and larger until the capitalists themselves begin to fear; the 
 cry of charity goes up and charity is handed down; the capitalist 
 who robbed wholesale now makes restitution on the basis of retail. 
 
 The workers begin to ask questions. If this happens in the days 
 of Cleveland, the Republicans blame the Democrats; if it happens 
 in the days of Roosevelt, the Democrats blame the Republicans. 
 Should we however, search for the truth we could readily see that 
 the crisis is neither Democratic nor Republican but capitalistic. 
 
 We could see that in Russia, under the Czar, in Germany under 
 the Emperor, in England under the King and in America under the 
 President, all alike and at the same time are suffering from the same 
 symptoms. The crisis is international in its scope and is ever-recur- 
 ring. You cannot rid yourself of these symptoms without first 
 getting rid of the cause. 
 
 After the crisis is over our capitalists get busy to find a remedy 
 in order to prevent a repetition. They argue that since the crisis was 
 due to the overcrowding of our home markets — with the wealth 
 stolen from labor — it must naturally follow that if we could only 
 capture some foreign market as an outlet for this surplus wealth it 
 would bring relief. 
 
 A decision is reached, and secretly or openly an attempt to capture 
 some market is made. Of course a modern nation cannot enter into 
 a war for conquest ; so a pretext is generally resorted to and war is 
 entered into on the ground of “defence.” 
 
 If we look across the ocean and see the countless millions en- 
 gaged in battle and think of the lives that are lost, the thousands 
 maimed for life and the anguish of the bereaved, isn't it fair to ask 
 ourselves whether Karl Marx was not correct after all in his formu- 
 lation of the materialist conception of history when he laid down 
 this social law: “Production of the means to support human life 
 and the exchange of things produced is the basis of all social struc- 
 
 13 
 
tures ; in every form of society the manner in which wealth is dis- 
 tributed and the inhabitants divided into classes or orders is de- 
 pendent upon what is produced, how it is produced and how the 
 products are exchanged.” 
 
 When we think of Catholic arrayed against Catholic, Protestant 
 against Protestant and Jew against Jew, may we not ask whether 
 Marx after all was not correct when he pointed out that the economic 
 factor is the determining factor and that all idealism, all morality, 
 ethics and religion succumb to the economic conditions of the times ? 
 
 The man who hasn't studied the materialist conception of history, 
 looks aghast at the struggle now raging in Europe and tries to find 
 a cause for the gigantic war in some frivolous incident such as the 
 murder of a crown prince or the violation of a paper treaty. The 
 fact is that the roots of war are deeper laid than is apparent on the 
 surface. It was caused by economic conditions. Germany had to 
 have more markets and protect the markets it controlled. England, 
 France and Russia were in the same position and the war in Europe 
 was necessitated by commercialism. 
 
 But war will not solve the problem. The solution of the problem 
 lies solely in the abolition of Capitalism. Remove the cause of the 
 disease and all the attendant evils of poverty, crime and war will 
 cease. 
 
 VII 
 
 The Socialist maintains that society is constantly in the process 
 of evolution. That Feudalism preceded competitive Capitalism; that 
 competitive Capitalism preceded corporate Capitalism and that cor- 
 porate Capitalism is the immediate predecessor to the Socialist 
 regime. 
 
 The Socialist philosophy does not condemn Feudalism or Capital- 
 ism for having come into existence any more than other scientists 
 condemn the ape for its shortcomings. 
 
 We realize that every form of society preceding our own was a 
 necessary step in the economic development of mankind and was 
 essential to its future development into Socialism. Private owner- 
 ship and private control of the means of production, transportation 
 and distribution, are already admitted by our capitalist government 
 to have out-lived its usefulness and this admission presages the early 
 death of the capitalist regime. 
 
 14 
 
When Dick Croker was questioned as to how he made his money 
 he answered in Tammany style, “That’s my private business.” Ev- 
 olution, however, has been at work since Croker retired from the 
 arena. Today the government calls upon the Rockefellers, the Mor- 
 gans and the Camegies to answer the same question and instead of 
 the brazen defiance of Croker, a trip to Europe is their only escape. 
 It is already recognized that the interests of the people are superior 
 to those of the individual. Social control over the means of produc- 
 tion, transportation and distribution is becoming a factor. The step 
 from social control to social ownership is but a short one. Capital- 
 ism is already tottering to its grave although some of the capitalists 
 are still unaware of its impending death. I am quite certain that you 
 and I shall attend the requiem mass. 
 
 We are organizing for the overthrow of Capitalism along two 
 lines. First, politically into the various political districts of the 
 country so as to be able to nominate candidates for the various of- 
 fices. In this way we are able to come before the masses pointing 
 out the evils that exist, showing them the cause and remedy and 
 asking them to register their vote for Socialism, thereby using the 
 political organization for propaganda purposes and for a test of the 
 revolutionary atmosphere which we have created. 
 
 Secondly, we promote the industrial organization of labor. His- 
 tory has taught us that the emancipation of chattel slavery was not 
 brought about by the mere question of abstract justice but was the 
 result of a long drawn out bloody conflict. Putting two and two 
 together we believe that it is just barely possible that although the 
 majority of the people may be in favor of the abolition of the pri- 
 vate ownership of the means of production, transportation and dis- 
 tribution, the capitalist may nevertheless feel very inconvenient about 
 accommodating us by turning over the property to the American 
 people and therefore we are organizing the might to back up our 
 right and this might is the industrial organization of labor. The in- 
 dustrial organization is formed by the workers in the shop, in the fac- 
 tory, in the mine, in the mill, on the railroad, as they work. Each 
 shop is organized into an industrial unit and these units in similar 
 industries are in turn organized into larger organizations. These 
 industrial organizations are drilled and trained in the tenets of 
 Socialism. When we have elected our own representatives and can 
 change our laws so as to establish the industrial republic, if the capi* 
 talist should then dare to violate the laws, we will be ready to enter 
 
 15 
 
those factories, mills, mines, and railroads, take possession of them: 
 and operate them as we are now operating them; but instead ©f 
 rendering our accounts as we are now doing to the capitalist our ac- 
 counts will be rendered to the Headquarters of the Industrial Re- 
 public. There the men will have the facts and the figures of the 
 wealth produced and it will be to our interest to see to it that each, 
 worker receives as near as the human mind can figure it out, the Ml 
 social value of his product. 
 
 In such a society every machine, instead of being a curse, as it has 
 been under Capitalism, will become a blessing, for it will aid in the 
 reduction of the hours of labor; there will be no cause for war* be- 
 cause there will be no stolen property to dispose of ; there will be ne- 
 over-production or under-consumption because each will receive his 
 full share contributed. 
 
 Socialism, if it will accomplish anything will beyond all doubt 
 wipe out the one great evil of our present day civilization — involun- 
 tary poverty. 
 
 Socialism will establish a form of society under which no one will 
 live by the sweat of the brow of another, under which competition, 
 mean, rank, competition will no longer exist; under which every 
 man will have ample time for spiritual relaxation and for the de- 
 velopment of the sciences, literature and art and for the first time m 
 the history of the human race, will there truly be a condition in whida. 
 there will be “Peace on earth and good-will towards man.” 
 
 16 
 
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