TRANSFERRED TO 1 L R LIBRARY. dJorneU InioerHttg ffithrarg JItlfaca, ISlm $a);k BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1891 THE LIBRARY OF THE NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924000167613 LABOR and REVOLT LABOR and REVOLT BY STANLEY J^ROST ;AtJTHOE OF "Germany's New Was agaqisx Auebica," etc NEW YORK E. P. BUTTON AND CO. 681 FIFTH AVENUE Copyright, 1920, by E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY AM righta reierved (\So'&^^\ Printed in (he Vnited States of America This book is dedicated to the memory of my brother |Cw»»itant (Elct»elan& Cahg ^vast and is written in the hope that it may contribute in some measure to the preservation and advancement of the American Liberties for which he gave his life. Property of MARTIN P. CATHERWOOD LIBRARY NEW mi STATE SCHOOL INDUSTRIAL AS4D LABOR RELATIOttS Cornell University ACKNOWLEDGMENT My most grateful acknowledgments are due to Marie de Montalvo, at whose suggestion this book was written, and whose criticism and assistance have been invaluable. I wish also tp ex- press my profound thanks to officials of the Lusk Coimnittee, of various branches of the government services of the United States and Canada, to friends in the labor movement, and to others whose help has made it possible to gather the facts presented. The Author. CONTENTS PART I A GIANT IN UPHEAVAL CHAPTER I BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE PAGE Civilization again faces an old enemy — The historic mirage of Communism — Its beauty, weakness and danger — Its ally, the religion of loot — Bolshevisnj and its dis- guises — Class-wars of the past: the Helots, Spartacus, the Jacobin period of the French Revolution — The Paris Commune — The contagion of Jacobinism in America — Other outbreaks of discontent here — The sure ebb of each flood — Problems that remain 3 CHAPTER II OUR NEW, BLIND RULER New era coming in America — Labor Giant to dominate it — His power already apparent — His strength, weaknesses and appetite — His blindness and gullibility — His con- fusion of ideas — ^Wealth and money — ^What constitutes the cost of living — ^the rising standards — his demand for "the whole product" — Conflicting interests and equal rights , 23 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER III FUNDAMENTALS OF UNBEST fAGB Aspiration in the present unrest-^Immediate causes of the outburst: war and its ^^fter effects, opportunities during reconstruction, high cost of living, swollen profits of blood-money, desperation at forced lowering of stand- ard of living, curtailment of free speech, the example of Russia — Surface indications that seems to make dis- content unreasonable and the deeper facts : living stand- ards still too low, ingrained fears not met, the sense of injustice, the wider outlook and ambitions 41 CHAPTER IV THE giant's pockets PICKED The bitterness of Labor, its fear and distrust of employers — Their complication of the crisis — Their share of blame : — long-standing abuses and exploitation, broken prom- ises, manipulation of piece work prices, use of Negroes as strike-breakers, abuses that laws have stopped — The conspiracy for re-action against unionism, collective bargaining, the living wage and Labor's right to know the facts of industry — The false cry of "Bol- shevism" — ^Labor's real struggle against the Reds 58 CHAPTER V THE GROWING AUTOCRAT Labor shortage gives power to Labor — Immigration, its in- jury to Labor, its abuse by Capital, the chance of its being renewed — Co-ordination gives Labor a bigger club — Dominance of industry almost certain — ^Labor's growing power in politics — Small importance of the Labor Party — The borrowed Anti-Saloon League method, its strength and limitations — Political control by Labor to cement the industrial autocracy n CONTENTS ix PART II THE WRECKERS CHAPTER VI THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND PAGB Germans help stir unrest — The sham of German Socialism and its dominance of American Radicalism — The pro- Germanism of the Socialists — Their war record — The interlocking of Radicalism and obstruction of the War — The German corruption funds — ^The poison that came through Russia — Soviet "ambassador" here a German — The German motive and the pretense of her weakness and reformation 95 CHAPTER VII DECOYS — AND LOOT Safety first for Red propaganda — Varied beliefs unite for mischief only — Some differences as to method — The three classes of revolutionaries: Socialists, Syndicalists, Anarchists — The various Red aims: abolition of all au- thority, of God, of morals, of race distinction, of ad- vantages from brains or training — Political parties be- come propaganda agencies — The anti-Americanism of the Socialist Party — The Socialist Labor Party — The Labor Party— The Industrial Workers of the World — The Camouflage of Revolution — The real purpose 117 CHAPTER VIII THE EE-BIRTH OF OLD ERRORS Substituting laziness for unemployment; an historical ex- periment — ^The need of spurs to industriousness — The- ories that have been disproved still preached by Ameri- can Reds — Excessive price fixing, fiat money, division of 141 CONTENTS property, government ownership, under-valuation of brains — ^How Socialist economic theories failed in Bel- giiun — ^How Socialist political theories failed in Ger- ^ many CHAPTER IX THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS The similarity in class-revolutions — Tests of revolutionary idealism — The failures: of political freedom and equal- ity, of popular rule, of equality of reward, of freedom for labor, of free speech, of a higher status for women — The results of these failures — The inevitableness of the Terror — Terrorism as a dogma — Plans for the Terror in America — The White Terror — Class-revolution in full flower 158 PART III UNLEASHING THE WHIRLWIND CHAPTER X THE RED BORERS The resurrection of Revolution — ^New idea behind new hope — Long failure in America — The challenge to conservative labor — Gompers' position — The sudden change in Red strategy — The steel strike and the uncovering of the , "borers from within" — Great success of the new method — ^Hope of bringing on Revolution through it 175 CHAPTER XI THE SEEPING POISON Pacifists as a field for Red propaganda — The kind of appeal used — Penetration of reform organizations through paci- CONTENTS xi PAGE fist aid— Attempts to use these to cultivate unrest — Ex- ploitation of educators, of the pulpit, of rich and idle women — The interlocking directorate of Radicalism — Penetration into government services 190 CHAPTER XII THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER Suppression of free speech for Revolution, and how it aided the Reds — ^Allies it brought them — Suppression more apparent than real — Dangers of suppression and its small effect — Red propaganda by word of mouth — The army of lecturers — Revolutionary training schools— The great periodical press — The pamphlet press — The use of for- eign languages — The "liberal" press— The mutual sup- port of all Red propaganda — The cost of the work — The men behind it — Propaganda made in Petrograd. . . . 198 CHAPTER XIII THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES The Red attack on the "'capitalistic press" — Grounds for this and reasons for those grounds — Some Red lies: about history, about economic conditions, about Labor's suffering, about American "tyranny," about the war, about current events — The flood of lies about the suc- cess of the Russian Soviets — Suppression of all news unfavorable to the Red propaganda— A Socialist tells the truth about the Red press 212 CHAPTER XIV THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY The Red Challenge to the theory and practice of Democ- racy—What the Reds mean by "rule of the people" — Radical Labor far from a majority — Revolution's plans xu CONTENTS to use force— the Red bludgeon; industrial unionism, the sympathetic strike, the "burglar" strike, sabotage, the political strike, the general strike — The contempt of public sufiEering— The demand for Revolution by slaughter 229 CHAPTER XV THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS The Red appeal to idealism— and to greed— Incitement to theft, to irresponsibility— Exploitation of real wrongs and efforts to create new ones — Stirring up of lawless- ness—Stirring up of hatreds— Efforts to stimulate Negro unrest; plan of campaign, the radical Negro press, sex equality, incitement to race riot and reprisals — The culti- vation of aliens and national disunity, the foreign lan- guage press — Schools of Revolution — Labor their vic- tim — Opposition to all reform — The line between Red and Radical — The strategy of the Reds: strikes, panic, and misery to bring on Revolution , 2S7 PART IV THE SUICIDE OF PROSPERITY CHAPTER XVI THE GIANT WAVERING Organized Labor staggers under Red attack— Uncertainty as to degree of success of the "borers" — The geography of labor-radicalism — American Federation of Labor on defensive — Revolts among the unions — Measures taken against radicals — 'Counter-attack by the Labor press — Conservative leaders' hands forced — The steel and coal strikes — ^Labor as the first line of defense against Bol- shevism — Its need of immediate support 281 CONTENTS xiii CHAPTER XVII TYING THE HANDS ON INDUSTRY FACE The change in Detroit — ^Effects of Red campaign on Labor: increase in strikes, growth of arrogance, unwillingness to arbitrate, excessive demands, increased lawlessness, breaking of agreements, refusal to accept responsibility — Political threats — Disregard of public rights — The Labor Party — Civil service strikes a challenge to Democ- racy — The impossibility of divided loyalty 293 CHAPTER XVIII THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS The Red drive to lower production — Some simple economic laws defied — The myth of "over-production" — ^Labor's reduction of prosperity by strikes, by excessive wage demands by too short hours, by slacking^The "just-so- much-work-to-be-done" fallacy — The cost of slacking since the war — ^Who foots the bills — The "vicious circle" of increasing costs — ^AU progress scotched — The social and economic failure of Australian Labor 310 CHAPTER XIX SQUANDERING OUR INHERITANCE Soap-box financing; the Red's vision — ^What Labor receives from its product — Burdens it must always carry; dis- tribution, replacement of machinery, enlargement of in- dustrial plant, experiments — "Hoarded wealth" really at work — ^How wealth is distributed nbw — Labor could not increase its share more than one-fourth — ^Excess wages would "eat up the fat" of social accumulation and bring bankruptcy — The sure victory of mathematics over theory 332 xiv CONTENTS PART V THE DANGER AND THE HOPE CHAPTER XX THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY PAGE The spreading panic— Talk of "fighting it out"— Democ- racy's defenses: prosperity, lack of classes, individual- ism, the fundamental conflict between Labor and the farmers, the reserve corps in the Appalachians, the power of counter organization, the "white collar" re- serves of labor power, the increasing power of women, the strength of the majority, the final resource of force — ^The weaknesses of Democracy: our powers not self-starting, ignorance wide-spread, the Negro, the alien, irresolution and cowardice /in government — The fundamental strength 349 CHAPTER XXI THE RED DANGER The optimism of the Reds — The ever-receding revolution — The real number of revolutionaries — ^Greatest danger in effect on Labor — The menace of the general strike — How society can meet it — The British organization — The Winnipeg organization — The weaknesses of Revolu- tion: disunity, poor leadership, ingrowing distrust, emo- tional effect of defeats — The possibility of a sudden conflagration 370 CHAPTER XXII THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK The lack of nutrition in owl's milk — ^Labor demands that must be met — ^Labor's political power, its menace and cure — The hope of increased prosperity — Changes in CONTENTS XV PAGE distribution not enough — Means of swelling produc- tion — The price of industrial security — Democracy in industry— The margin of time 380 CHAPTER XXIII PROGRESS UNDER PRESSURE A plea for the Reds; evils that lead to Revolution an inr heritance of centuries — ^An excuse for the "intellectual" zealots — ^The great purpose and meaning behind Labor's errors — ^The wide need of education and counter-propa- ganda — The price of security more complete civiliza- tion — No need to fear result — Final outcome certain to be Progress 397 PART I A GIANT IN UPHEAVAL CHAPTER I BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE Civilization again faces an old enemy — ^The historic mirage of Communism — Its beauty, weakness and danger — Its ally, the religion of loot — Bolshevism and its disguises — Class- wars of the past, the Helots, Spartacus, the Jacobin period of the French Revolution, the Paris Commune — The con- tagion of Jacobinism in America — Other outbreaks of dis- content here — The sure ebb of each flood — Problems that remain. The close of the first year after the signing of the armistice with Germany saw signals of distress flying from every political and industrial masthead in the United States. The simultaneous onslaught of Revo- lution and Labor, which many people believed to be a single movement, had brought a large part of the country to the verge of hysteria. The nation had wanted, and had expected, to be able to rest from its exertions during the war, to heal its sores, and re- establish its comforts. Instead it had to turn to battle with unexpected and little understood enemies, and at the same time to attempt a sudden solution of in- dustrial problems which had been optimistically shoved into the background through many years. The result was confusion of thought and action, hesitation, vacillation, almost panic. Vague, menacing 3 A LABOR AND REVOLT shapes filled the air atid distorted the vision of many who should have been able to see clearly and ready to lead. Real damage was being done and real menaces were arising, and the real and the fancied became in- extricably entangled. Yet by that time it had become possible to form a just and reasonable estimate of the menace — or the two menaces, for that of Labor is largely distinct from that of Revolution in spite of many seeming similar- ities. It had become possible, too, to see through the dangers the great and real good which they may bring, and will bring if they are intelligently met. The forces behind the. two attacks, their aims, their methods, and their chances of success, all had become sufficiently well defined for fair appraisal. UNREST A CHRONIC AILMENT First in any such appraisal starids the fact that the menace of this acute and general unrest, though al- most new to America and presenting many new fea- tures, is in fact as old as history. Every form of society has had its human wreckage — ^men and women who have failed to win success, failed even to win ordinary comfort and safety from the struggle that is life. Some have been, and are to- day, simple misfits ; some are lazy, unruly, incompetent or unstable. The lot of all these has always been — and is to-day, the unhappy one of the failure: to hunger and freeze, and know only from envy those things BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE 5 which make life pleasant. And since the lack of a clear and honest vision is common, these must needs blame the world, and not themselves. Before their eyes and also those of a certain type of idealists, generously touched by misery but unfitted to attempt its cure, there has floated through all his- tory the mirage of a time when the strong and success- ful- should carry the weak and unfit, when law should wipe out the difference between man and man, when society should take on the burdens that now rest on each man's or woman's shoulders and there should be no more inequality and no more want. This mirage of Communism, this dream of Utopia, has been the ideal upon which has been built every radical revolu- tionary scheme for centuries. Bolshevism is, for to-day at least, the extreme of Socialistic Communism. Anarchism is a kind of Com- munism without laws. Syndicalism is an anarchy of communes. Take out the Communism and Revolu- tion has nothing left to fight for. Yet history is full of the failures of Communism; some tragic, some comic, air complete. It has been tried from all angles, from every point of view, by persuasion, by fraud and by force, and always its his- tory has been the same — its supporters have fallen away and have fallen out among themselves and the thing has ended for a time. But its promises are so great for certain types of minds, that always there are new prophets of the old error arising and trying to entice or drive men into it. 6 LABOR AND REVOLT There is much of beauty in the communist ideal. There is only one objection to it — ^the story of its thousand failures. THE WOLF INSIDE THE SHEEP's CLOTHING But behind this idealism is a thing utterly different, yet as old. It is another vision — a. vision of a time when the weak should rule the strong, when the im- provident and shiftless should seize the goods of the prudent and the industrious, when there should be, for the dreamers, a life without work and without respon- sibilities, duties or burden. This is the other vision that is seen to-day, as always, by many. Thus we have a religion of loot, a dogma of piracy, a philosophy of ignorance and misrule triumphant- — at best a creed of utter irresponsibility. It tells the "have-nots" to seize all from the "haves"; women and life and opportunity as well as property ; it teaches hatred and cruelty and bloodlust as the keys to "broth- erhood" ; it sanctifies every manner of force and vio- lence, and makes no call on its disciples for any virtues other than voracity and ruthlessness. Yet it hides behind the words and formulae of the idealists, steals their dogma and phrases, and can claim their support and use them till it has gained strength enough to throw off its mask — of which they are a part. This is the spirit of Bolshevism — a mixed, incon- gruous, inconsistent spirit. Technically "Bolshevism" BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE 7 is a slang name, like "Bull Moose," for the extreme radical wing of the Russian socialist groups, and is only a small part of the day's revolutionary menace. But practically, since Bolshevist leaders are the present incarnation of this age-old combination of plunder and idealism, the name has come to represent to the world the whole spirit of Red Social Revolution, of class hatred and of greed, whether or not that hatred and greed give formal allegiance to the flag of Bol- shevism. ALLIES OF THE WOLF-PACK Neither Communism nor Bolshevism would be dan- gerous, however, if they had to stand alone. But at recurring times and in various places, they have had powerful help from the outside. Misrule, exploita- tion, tyranny in all its forms, the ever-reaching greed and heartlessness of those who have held power — ^these have been their allies. They have often and again driven great masses into such conditions of life that misery turned to desperation, and sufferers became for a time the supporters of the born Bolshevists. This was true of France in 1789, it was true of Russia in 1917. Bolshevism has had other allies as well. It can, under the sheep's clothing of its idealistic partners, appeal powerfully to the spirits of reform and of ambition which are shared by all good men. Reform and ambition must always fight, aiid often they fight 8 LABOR AND REVOLT against terribly unfair handicaps and grow weary in the struggle. To them Bolshevism whispers its vision of perfection at a stroke, of the destruction of every evil and every handicap at a blow and in a bundle; or it merely promises help to attain the ends which reform and ambition have already set. It need not be too explicit nor too scrupulous in its promises, if only it can for a moment substitute violent revolution for reasoned progress. MODERN WOLVES TRUE TO BREED The outbreak with which Civilization is fighting to- day differs in no important aspect from those of the past. Not all who have joined in it wish to go to extremes, and, as has been said, not all admit alle- giance to Bolshevism in name. But all are agreed on the first steps toward Bolshevism, and since that is to-day the clearest, best defined. and most vigorous of the revolutionary movements, it may fairly be taken as having given the keynote to the present outbreak. Here are the principles of to-day's Revolution, taken from the Constitution of the Soviet Republic: To fight everywhere and without sparing their strength for the complete power of the working classes. ... In order to put an end to every ill that oppresses humanity and in order to secure to labor all the rights belonging to it, we recognize that it is necessary to destroy the existing social structure, which rests upon private property. ... BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE 9 Lenin, the greatest of the Bolshevists, says: "The proletarian state is the apparatus by which the prole- tariat suppresses the bourgeoisie." And, as showing the unity with Communism — "the workers in various countries have gone over to Communism and Bolshev- ism." In his use of the words "proletarians" and "bourgeoisie" it may be assumed that Lenin, trained in the school of Karl Marx, founder of modern Social- ism, follows Marx's definition: "By bourgeoisie is meant the class of modern Capitalists, owners of means of social production, and employers of wage- labor. By proletariat, the class of modern wage-labor- ers who, having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live." Thus the object of Revolution, stripped of jargon, is clear: The wage workers are to be inspired through class-hatred to class-war, are to seize all wealth, and rule the world, excluding all but them- selves from any share in power. It is often stated that Bolshevism is a foreign product, too foreign to American spirit and tempera- ment to be a danger here. But it is already a danger and it is not wholly foreign. Its formulator was Daniel de Leon, a Venezuelan of Spanish family, for years a member of the Columbia law school faculty. His teachings have transformed the philosophy of Marx from a political theory to a violent revolutionary scheme. Moreover the essence of Bolshevism, in all important particulars, is found coloring all American 10 LABOR AND REVOLT Radicalism. Even the comparatively moderate Social- ist Party declares that "ours is a dying social order," that there must be "a complete transformation of Cap- italist society," and that "the main struggle of the masses is to secure control of these basic institutions." Starting from these principles, mild only in com- parison with some others, and less mild in actual intent than in their careful and ultra-diplomatic phrasing, Radicalism goes to every extreme in America to-day. Agitation is sweeping the country, and such occur- rences as the strikes in Seattle, Winnipeg, and Boston, and those of the miners and steel workers show that our whole social fabric is torn, that every principle of our Democracy is challenged. Yet this challenge is new only in America, and even here it differs from previous outbursts more in name and methods than in anything else. BOLSHEVISM BESIDE THE PYRAMIDS For Bolshevism is old. Go back 3500 years, to about the time when David ruled in Jerusalem, and we find Bolshevism — not under that name, of course^ — in Egypt. Here is a picture drawn by a priest, Apoui, about 1500 B. C: Serfs and laborers, released from control, will thrust ciat their masters. They will hang gold, lapis-luzmli, carnelian, malachite, around the necks of their wives, while princesses will be thrown into the street. The son of a man of stand- ing will no longer be preferred to him who is the son of one BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE ii of no rank. Temples will no longer be respected. The books of the sanctuary will be taken away and the mysterious shrines will be unveiled. The Archives will be opened and the titles to property stolen. Violence will rule in all places. He who lacked bread has now a granary and his larder is full with what lately belonged to another. . . . The beggar woman who had no other mirror than the water now paints her eyes before a joeautiful looking glass. . . . The laborer without one serf is master of hundreds of servants. The fields will no longer be cultivated. Each man will say: "What is the use of it? Do we know what is going to happen to the land?" Terrible epidemics will break out, which will attack all classes alike. The plague will lay hold. . . . There will be bloodshed everywhere. The rich will lament, the poor will rejoice and cities will say, "Let us drive out the powerful from amongst us." The explusion will not take place without violence, and civil war will desolate. ... Together with this picture of Bolshevism when the Sphinx was young, we may put a dozen others. There were the frequent revolts of Sparta's underlings, the Helots. There was Spartacus, who led what was prac- tically a strike against the Roman government — 6000 of his followers were hanged along the road from Rome to Capua. There was Martinique, where Tous- saint L'Ouverture led the Negro slaves in a revolt that was completely successful, and has condemned the beautiful island to a hideous savagery ever since. But most important and most recent and clear are the French parallels, the Jacobin period of the French 12 LABOR AND REVOLT Revolution, and the Commune of 187 1. In the first, from the fall of the King to the execution of Robes- pierre, the Revolution was out from under the control of the middle classes, who began and ended it, and was dominated by the proletariat, or by what went under that name, the riff-raff of the nation gathered in Paris. This period was marked by the seizure of property, the attacks on the church and on religion, the attempt to finance the nation on paper, the confis- cation of grain from the peasants for the benefit of the cities, the controlling of elections by force and fraud, the suppression of free speech and the press, secrecy of government, attempts to fix prices on food and clothing, want, misery and finally the Terror. It was marked by almost every excess that characterizes Bolshevism to-day. The Paris Commune went along the same path, so far as its brief life gave it time. So high an authority as Prince Peter Kropotkin, the great anarchist leader, declared in 1908 that the French revolutionary writers "were imbued with the ideas which are the very essence of modern socialism." He accuses the middle classes, who restored order after the Terror, and brought France back to sanity and prosperity, of "adroitly betraying the revolution." CONTAGION ALWAYS CROSSES THE OCEAN America always, as to-day, has had her share in these disturbances. Whatever excitement may be flourish- BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE 13 ing abroad finds its echo here, and in addition we de- velop troubles of our own. Between them there is hardly a doctrine being preached from a soap-box in Madison Square or from a stump in the Oregon woods that hsts not been heard before by American ears. In some ways the modern attack is the more mild. Most violent of these earlier American outbursts was that which paralleled the Jacobin rule in France. "Citizen" Genet came to America in 1793, with the red cap of Jacobin liberty at the masthead of his ship, and started a campaign to induce America to join France in war on Britain. He was received with im- mense acclaim and when Washington stood firm against his demands cities, states and classes seemed to vie with one another in howling against the president, and threatening the overturn of our government. Every excess of the Terror became the subject of tremendous approval from press, pulpit and platform. There were demands that a reign of terror on the French model should be started here, and that the guillotine should be fed with "bourgeoisie, capitalist and stock-jobber." The torch for the homes of wealth and the dagger for conservative — ^that is, law-abiding — officials, were openly demanded. When Washing- ton issued his proclamation of neutrality between France and Britain he dared not use the word "neu- trality," having been assured by Jefferson, the great advocate of equality, that the country would not en- dure it. The Jacobin contagion in America swept away 14 LABOR AND REVOLT every obstacle to its progress. Genet's journey about the country was one long triumph. He was received by governors and mayors, planters and business men, while the "proletariat" gathered in throngs around the banqueting halls and shrieked itself hoarse. In Philadelphia and throughout the country Jacobin clubs professing the principles pf government which correspond to those of Russia in 19 19, were formed by the score. So strong was the sentiment that a French warship in the harbor of Philadelphia seized a British ship, and released her only when it became evident that President Washington was about to take forcible action. Everywhere the laws of neutrality were over- stepped. In Baltimore two privateers were fitted out to prey on British shipping, and when Washington or- dered them back the local authorities sent his orders in vessels so slow that there was no chance of their being delivered. When Gideon Hanfield, an Amer- ican, was caught serving on a French privateer, a Phil- adelphia jury acquitted him, and the verdict was cheered in the streets. In the Carolinas a scheme was broached for invading Florida and ousting the Span- iards, with whom France happened to be at war, and in Kentucky an expedition was planned to float down the Mississippi and seize New Orleans. The Jacobin economic theories had their fling on this side, too. A Pittsburgh club adopted resolutions demanding that every holder of securities in joint stock companies in America should immediately be BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE 15 guillotined, because their owning stock proved that they had more money than they needed to live on. An incident of the agitation was the "Whiskey Rebellion" in Pennsylvania and parts of, Maryland and Virginia. It was started for the purpose of resisting a small Federal tax on liquor, and grew to such pro- portions before it faded away, that Edmund Randolph of Virginia declared it was the beginning of the end of the Republic, and Washington started to send armed forces under General Lee to conquer it SAME accusations; same phrases This outburst reached its height in 1795, Just after the ratification of a treaty with Britain. It was charged that Minister Jay, the president and the sena- tors who voted for the treaty had all been bought with "British gold" — a phrase we have heard recently. It was further charged that the treaty was the work of the aristocrats and stock-jobbers, who hoped by it to prevent the new "international fraternity of the people." As the last phrase suggests, much of the cant of that day was the same as our own, so that even the lan- guage of Bolshevism is not new. We find throughout the propaganda of the Red agitation of 1793-5 — ^o*" propaganda was used then as now, though it had not yet been given the name by which we call it — such phrases as these: "the new internationalism," "unity of the people of all nations," "antiquated and crum- i6 LABOR AND REVOLT bling methods of a rotten society," and ''brotherhood of men and the destruction of all Governments, aristo- crats and capitalists." But the excitement subsided even more quickly than it had grown when America learned the truth about the defeat and vanishing of the Jacobin-Bolshevism of France. Genet did not dare return to France, where under the new government the guillotine he had praised so passionately waited to give him its personal attention. He married a daughter of Governor De Witt Clinton of New York, settled down as a farmer, and later helped improve the breed of sheep and lent his eloquence to the work of getting the Erie canal started. By a strange coincidence his great-grandson was the first man killed in France in 191 7 under the Atnerican flag. Brockholst Livingston, leader of a Jacobin riot against Hamilton in New York, became a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. In Philadelphia the Rittenhouses, the Sergeants and the Biddies, all of whom had been active among the reds, returned to support of the political system for which their names stand to this day. Thus passed America's worst attack of Radicalism and many of its leaders became the most conservative of citizens. There is further comfort for those who are over-alarmed by the dangers of 1920 in the fact that in using this particular key of the past to "un- lock the future's portals" there is no stain of blood to be found on it. The American Reds of 1794 took it all out in words. BOLSHEVISM. A PERIODIC MIRAGE 17 America's home-grown unrest These were not, however, the only semi-Bolshevistic disturbances in America's early history. The record of the home-grown troubles dates back to the first half- century of settlement, when what was known as Bacon's Rebellion broke out in Virginia. The cause of the poor man against the rich had a great part in this brave attempt to end the notorious theft and ex- tortion of Berkeley's reign. With this went the same attacks on property that we hear to-day, and Bacon's followers were accused of being "a lawless rabble poisoned by communistic notions." Another period of excitement came in Jefferson's administration, in the early years of the past century. The fears felt then were greater than any that have yet been expressed for our immediate future. In his "History of the United States," Henry Adams de- clares that "a sense of a coming crisis overhung these wise and virtuous men like the gloom of death." He was referring to such men as Rufus King, Cabot, Pickering, Ames, and even Hamilton. "Scores of clergymen in the pulpit," he continues, "numberless politicians in Congress, had made no other use of their leisure than to point out step by step every succeeding stage of the coming decline. The catastrophe was no longer far away, it was actually about them, they touched and felt it at every moment of their lives. Society held together merely because it knew not what else to do." There was a violent attack 18 LABOR AND REVOLT on the courts, which were assailed — ^how familiar it sounds! — as "corrupt," "irresponsible to the people" and "creatures of the aristocrats." LABOR QUESTION BORN IN 1829 The Labor Question, as well as Revolution, had come into prominence by 1829, when another period of unrest set in, and many problems and demands which we are accustomed to consider new came to the front at that time. Conditions in the industrial field were such as would cause horror throughout the whole country to-day, and there was widespread misery. This brought out not only demands for reform, but those other demands which Radicals always take such opportunities to put forth. Among those which were made were the entirely modern ones of "abolition of wage slavery," "the right to the soil" and "the aboli- tion of monopolies." A Labor Party was formed by workingmen in New York in 1829, and Henry George and the expropria- tion of land were both anticipated in the opening para- graph of its platform: "The appropriation of the soil of the state to private and exclusive possession is emi- nently and barbarously unjust." In Article 3 "the hereditary transmission of wealth" is declared a cause of poverty, distress and misery, and inequitable — a proposition that one of our best informed writers re- cently said was one of. the few really new things in the present agitation. BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE 19 In 1832 labor delegates from six states attended a convention in Boston at which the "evils of monopoly" were declaimed against, and "corporations" were at- tacked. There were many strikes, labor unions were prosecuted in the courts for conspiracy against Capi- tal, and the labor leaders assailed the courts in terms differing in no way from those we hear at present. Boycotting, picketing, and even a movement manifest- ing every symptom of the sympathetic strike, were all tried. There was another outburst of Bolshevism about the time of the Civil War, when W. H. Silvis founded the "National Workingman's Union" to obtain "com- mon ownersl^ip of all lands and instruments of labor" through the ballot "or, if not, by sterner means." This claimed 600,000 members when at the height of its power in 1870, but the horrors of the Paris Commune reacted here, and it faded rapidly, giving way to less radical organizations. Chief of these was the Knights of Labor, a secret order that admitted workers of all trades, with a plat- form that was radical but far from revolutionary. This grew between 1874 and 1886 to a strength of above a million but was invaded by the Reds, and divided, a small fraction going to the Socialists, and the majority into the ranks of the crafts unions in the American Federation of Labor, which inherited its power. 20 LABOR AND REVOLT QUICK EBB OF THE RED TIDES These instances might be multipUed, but a few are enough to show that the present crisis presents much that is in common, and little that is not, with earlier disturbances which came, grew menacing, and were successfully passed without revolution or permanent ills and with ultimately great benefits. They should not be taken as minimizing in any way the dangers which confront civilization to-day, but they surely do offer a comfort and an antidote to panic, for each has been succeeded by a period of calm and prosperity, and every attempt at Social Revolution either here or abroad has passed — often indeed not without blood and dust and terrible costs — but always without a tithe of the disasters that have been feared and even predicted by men who seemed wise and farsighted. Already the Bolshevist agitation that swept Europe in the wake of Lenin's success seems to be subsiding, too. In Germany Carl Legien, head of a federated union of 6,500,000 members, declared as early as Sep- tember, 19 19, only six months after the Spartacan riots all over the country, that the crisis was past and that German workmen were settling down to increase production, and to make the best of conditions with- out further important disturbance. In both France and Britain the fall of 1919 brought a definite recovery from the violent agitations and grave unrest of the ratmmer. There is as much reassurance for America in this contemporary history as in that which is older. BOLSHEVISM, A PERIODIC MIRAGE 21 PROGRESS THE BEST MEDICINE Not that the problems of social readjustment and the demand for greater returns and better conditions for the workers vanish. It is simply that the attempt to solve them all through violent Revolution gives way to a saner view, and men of all classes unite to find the answers in careful thought through co-opera- tion and good-will. If those methods should fail — if good-will and co-operation do not presently bring such results as to assure the masses of the workers that there is more than a vague hope of betterment for them, the danger of violence will return in greatly in- creased measure. Those problems of justice to Labor have hardly changed in the past thirty years. During all that time men of vision have understood clearly the crisis that was coming. It was in the late '80s that E. B. Box, in closing his work on philosophy, made this com- ment: The student, as he lays down this little volume, shomld he by chance take up a newspaper, will inevitably light on accounts of great strikes, of armaments, of the struggle for colonies called imperial expansion, of vast popular revolu- tionary movements, etc., all of which point to one thing, when followed out in all their bearings — the steady approach of the great class struggle. Let him ponder on this, and bethink himself of the part even he, or his children, may be forced to take in the resolution of that great living contra- diction — the contradiction between individual and society^ expressed in what we term Modern Civilization. 22 LABOR AND REVOLT This problem, evolutionary if it is not to be revolu- tionary, will remain with us when the Red agitation has spent itself. For it is no less true that each of these great eras of unrest has passed without the de- struction of Society that so many have feared, than it is that each has brought important alterations in the machinery of Civilization which we now recognize as good. For the present generation the great questions that face us in the era upon which we are now entering are not only what these changes are to be, but with how little cost and how little dislocation of the machinery tipon which our comforts depend they may be accomplished. The answer will depend largely on the attitude, on the sanity and fairness, of a power which has long been felt a little below the surface of our lives. It is only now emerging into full consciousness and has not yet attained its full strength — ^the power of the Labor Giant. CHAPTER II OUR NEW, BLIND RULER New era coming in America— Labor Giant to dominate it — His power already apparent — His strength, weaknesses and appetite — His blindness and gullibility — His confusion of ideas — ^Wealth and money — What constitutes the cost of living — The rising standards — His demand for the "whole product" — Conflicting interest and equal rights. An era, in the history of the world or of any coun- try, is marked by two things: a ruling power and a ruling purpose. The appearance of these two things from among the many powers and purposes which combine and struggle in any society— their emergence from obscurity into dominance — always is accom- panied by fundamental changes. Either the power or the purpose may sometimes show itself without the other, though usually both pass on and off the stage together. But always, in the confused scene which is contemporary history to all of us, the coming and going of both are so befogged with struggles and with the dust of conflicts that we can hardly guess what is taking place till the results reveal the process. There have been three such eras in the history of the United States. The first may be called that of the nation-builders: the men who won our independence, 23 24 LABOR AND REVOLT forged the union, and pushed our frontiers to the Golden Gate. Even before this era passed there came on the stage the giant figure of King Cotton, and for years, through this Giant, the South ruled. Its pur- pose was the preservation and extension of slavery. While this era was passing in the blood and smoke of the Civil War a new one appeared — ^that of Industrial- ism, and for decades the nation was dominated by the captains of industry, while its whole purpose was directed to building and organizing our vast produc- tive system. That era, too, was ending when the World War began, and men everywhere recognized that we stood on the verge of a new one, though there was no agreement who would rule, or what would be the purpose of the coming years. The hasty developments of the war, little as they affected the fundamentals of American life, neverthe- less have thrown a light on the situation which makes it easy to-day to see both the new ruler and the new purpose. Perhaps the purpose should come first, for it already had begun to rise out of the haze of politics and agitation long before the power of the new ruler became clear. ABOLITION OF POVERTY THE GOAL The purpose of the era now opening will be the establishment of a greater material equality and the working out of such social changes" as will assure the great majority, if not all of our people, that they are OUR NEW, BLIND RULER 25 getting the full share of wealth to which their work and their abilities entitle them and in every case enough for sane and healthful livelihood. The new ruler, the power that will decide every question, that will be deferred to on every hand, and that will guide the working out of this purpose, will be-^it already is— the Labor Giant. We have seen this new power, though it is only a fifth organized, is in conflict, within itself, and is without a clear or far- thought programme — already we have seen it take con- trol of our Congress and force the hand of the Presi- dent when the railroad brotherhoods presented the de- mands which were enacted in the Adamson law. We have seen it dictate war policies, compel tremendous governmental activities and bring the power of the administration at Washington as an ally to help it drive bargains on its own terms with employers who a few years ago were supreme. THE DEMAND FOR A PLASTER SAINT Its strength is increasing fast. There is resentment against this, of course, partly because it is new, but for other reasons too. For it means minority rule. It is almost wholly selfish. It is, so far, short sighted and opportunist. And undoubtedly its threats to Con- gress and the President have been undiplomatic. Yet — ^look back over our three past eras. Each ruler, the pioneer, the slave power and "Wall Street" was a minority. Each forced the hand of the govern- 26 LABOR AND REVOLT ment by threats. Each worked for selfish purposes. Each seized for its own advantage all the riches of the nation on which it could lay its hands. Yet out of each there came, though sometimes at high cost, progress and prosperity and greater good for the nation, as a whole. As for Labor's open threats against the government — ^America has a traditional liking for shirt-sleeve diplomacy, and in spite of all the storms of denuncia- tion that were loosed at the railway men's perform- ance, the nation seems to have been in general as will- ing to have labor leaders sitting in the House gallery, as it was to have Senators called to a private wire from Wall street to take orders from Big Business. We Americans do not like to bother too much with our government, so long as it does not bother us too much. We know we are ruled by a minority, and we do not seem to care greatly what that minority may be, so long as it behaves even fairly well. The Labor Giant is perhaps a little more simply human in his faults and virtues and weaknesses and strengths than were our late overlords, the Industrial Captains. He comes to the throne at a time of pecu- liar stress and danger, and his reign will be beset with pitfalls. It is to portray him, to map some of these dangers that he may lead us into, and especially to show the great effort that is now being made by the revolutionary enemies of civilization to exploit his power for the destruction of our whole society, with OUR NEW, BLIND RULER 27 its mental as well as physical wealth and heritages, that this book is written. The book is necessarily limited largely to the eco- nomic aspects of the situation. There is not space enough in a single volume to discuss the possible spir- itual and cultural advantiages which might be gained, even though the economic structure were weakened, or to attempt to weigh the relative values of prosperity and of moral growth. But since there must be pros- perity before there can be any wide cultural, if not spiritual, development, there is every reason for giving the most careful attention to the economic factors. A BLIND AND HUNGRY GIANT Labor's besetting sin, like that of all rulers — indeed, like that of all of us — is selfishness. He intends to feather his own nest, and the rest of the world will come out second best. The world, however, has lived through this kind of thing ever since history began, and though each new phase causes panic at first, the necessary adjustments have always been made without disaster. America can afford any reasonable price. Certainly the selfishnesses and blunders of our past rulers, which have been many, have not been able to check progress for long, and there is little reason to fear the faults of the new ruler. With two exceptions: In the first place, it has so happened that our for- mer rulers' greed could not pass the point which would 28 LABOR AND REVOLT threaten the material basis of Civilization, the exist- ence and efficiency of our machinery of production. They could not swallow all they could take, and though they inflicted injustice and misery, the bulk df their loot has remained a heritage to the nation, and is used by the nation to-day. This is not true of Labor, That Giant can swallow all he can get, the whole structure of Civilization, as well as its product, and leave nothing. In the second place the Labor Giant is a blind crea- ture, easily confused and poorly taught. Society, which means all of us, must share the blame for this, and if he goes wrong, pay a heavy penalty. Because he is thus, a battle is now going on for a new exploita- tion of Labor, for rule over the new ruler, which holds the utmost menace to all that America has stood for. For behind Labor's vast bulk, and hidden in his garments, goading him to excesses and seeking to make him its tool for the overthrow of all that' Amer- icanism means, stands the bloody-handed form of Red Revolution. REDS CLOUD THOUGHT WITH WORDS The Labor Giant is not alone in this confusion and uncertainty, for society has been thrown into disorder by the Reds' attack and does not measure the danger, gauge its direction, nor recognize its friends or its enemies with anything like accuracy. The skillful prop- aganda put out by the Reds, the easy going laziness OUR NEW, BLIND RULER 29 which has refused to face the problem till it became acute, and the employers' fear of laying their cards on the table and squarely meeting the challenge of Labor's demands in the past few years, have left a confusion of thought and a confusion of language which make it difficult to reach a solid foundation anywhere. Through all the modern discussions run such terms as "production," "wealth," "capital" and "labor," yet it is hard to find two persons who will agree on what any one of them means, or on what its function is. This is a distinct advantage to those who are planting the seeds of disorder. The success of the Red propa- ganda hangs largely on shiftiness and evasion. Those of the agitators who are intelligent enough to think clearly — and many are merely tools of an unseen and highly intelligent power behind — find it easier to make these shifts and evasions if they are permitted to use language which means different things to different men. THE MIRAGE OF FIAT WEALTH First of these confusions, perhaps, if anything can be first in such a welter, is the belief that wealth is money, cash — that somehow, by adding more to the amount of money in the country we shall all be better off; that dollars, rather than clothing and machinery and food and shelter and artistry can measure pros- perity. Even the great depreciation in the value of money in the last few years has failed to clear this 30 LABOR AND REVOLT misconception, though we have seen our standard change till it is as if we had tried to measure miles with a ruler only six inches to the foot. This is the mirage of printed money — ^the old, old idea that a bank, or a government, or somebody or something can actually create wealth off-hand. It has been a favorite delusion with mankind ever since John Law first invented printed currency, tried to build an empire out of paper, and bankrupted half Europe in the famous Mississippi Bubble. Here in America we have seen it in the "shin-plas- ters" that preceded the Civil War; after that war in the demands of the "greenbackers" — grandfathers of to-day's Non-Partisan Leaguers — later in thp Free Sil- ver craze, and it is now revived as the basis of the most hare-brained revolutionary economics, and given as the answer to all the practical objections that may be raised against them. The theory is so simple! A dollar is worth so much. Let us double the number of dollars and we will all be twice as well off! The printing press can do it! This is the first of the revolutionary smoke-screens. It is a good one, and it has blinded many fairly intelli- gent men. It is doing so still. But the laws of eco- nomics, which decree that there can be no wealth that is not produced in sweat and labor, are working, and what we to-day call the high cost of living is nothing more than the practical application of the very prin- OUR NEW, BLIND RULER 31 ciple of the "fifty-cent dollar" for which Bryan pled so eloquently. Surely there is no longer need to argue that wealth is not money but things — products, improvements, machinery, food and clothing, the means of life and health and comfort and inspiration and of more pro- duction, and that money is merely a very elastic and untrustworthy yardstick with which they can, in a way, be measured. "cost of living" a scrambled problem With this confusion, and a part of it, has come the misunderstanding as to what constitutes the cost of living. It has been generally recognized that the at- tempt to measure it in dollars was misleading, and almost equally misleading has been the effort to esti- mate it in percentages. . The trouble has been, of course, that the only measure used was money — either the cheap and slippery-valued dollar of to-day, or the much more expensive dollar of 1914. The real cost of living is the amount of work that is necessary to obtain the means of a given standard of livelihood. It is a matter of labor measured against purchasing power. On this real cost the government issues no figures, though economists, by a system of weighing Eind calculation arrive at estimates which are approxi- mately accurate. No such figures are available for the years of the World War, but there are indications that they will 32 LABOR AND REVOLT show an actual decrease, instead of a rise, in the real cost of living for workers even during that period; will show that men actually do live better for the same amount of work. For the United States, as a whole, according to statistics compiled by Professor Willford Isbell King in his "Wealth and Income of the People of the United States," the average wage for each person em- ployed increased in purchasing power from an index value of 147 to 401 between 1850 and 1910. This means that a day's work in 1910 would buy more than two and one-half times as much as in 1850; in other words, that the cost of living has decreased three- fifths, so that in 1910 the real cost — ^the cost in work — was only 40 per cent of what it was in 1850. In fact, this is a process that has gone on through all time. There has been a steady and violent decrease in the value of money, though an irregular one, so that measured by a silver or gold money standard there has been a tremendous increase in living cost. Yet, in fact, in real cost, the labor-price of a living has decreased as steadily and as violently. Stephen Leacock, of McGill University, estimates that the aver- age worker to-day produces from thirty to forty times as much as before the era of industrialism. He doubts that the worker's share has increased in anything like proportion, though there are statistics which seem to show that he is wrong and that the worker's share has increased relatively as well. But whatever may be the fact as to that, it is clear that the worker is now OUR NEW, BLIND RULER 33 getting many times as much, in the way of living, as he did half a century ago. Workers, especially, will deny this. They feel the pinch of making ends meet as sharply as ever, and they see the size of their grocery and milk and rent bills in- creasing by jumps. Often, indeed, when the wages of one section of workers lag behind the rest, that section ' for a time will be faced by a rising cost and there was a slight general rise between 1890 and 1910, the reasons for which will be discussed later. But the fact is clearly proven that, for the average man, the real cost of living has shown a steady and great decrease throughout all time, and that there has never been any actual increase for more than a few years. DISEASE IS HEALTH IN DISGUISE The cause of Labor's complaints lies in the rising standard of living, a very different thing. That standard has risen faster than the c6st of living has fallen. This is the cause of many and bitter com- plaints from employers, who see in it extravagiance and wastefulness. Yet it is one of the most healthful of diseases, so to speak, in that it is the spur that keeps men at work, and makes their work better and better. It has been suggested already that the men who are directing the Bolshevist agitation like to be able to use words and formulae that will mean different things to different men. They have several such, and perhaps 34 LABOR AND REVOLT the most valuable, for them, is their formula that "Labor shall have all the wealth it produces." This is the basis of the demands, not only of the Bolsl^evists, but of the many varieties of semi-Bol- shevist agitators, that Labor should take over the full control of industry and that it should seize all accumu- lated wealth. It is the basis of their charge that any wealth not in labor's hands has been stolen through "exploitation." It is a formula which when employed to inflame ignorant and simple men, becomes convinc- ing and effective in influencing them to wild resent- ment and prepares them to use any violence to regain what they consider their own. Yet it is a formula which if Labor's share in production is fairly meas- ured — ^and that share is far less than the whole — states only the simplest justice. The forms under which this demand appears are legion, and it runs all through the revolutionary propa- ganda directed toward Labor. In its simplest form it is this: "Labor alone produces wealth, labor alone should have it." Often there is added the formula, "without rent, interest or profits" — known in the socialistic jargon as "the three rents." It was first stated by Marx, who modified it by his doctrine that each individual's receipts should be those of "average social labor" rather than of his own work, but most propagandists omit the modification. Here are three examples of it in modern propa- ganda, taken at random from a mass: OUR NEW, BLIND RULER 35 The working ciass is the only useful class that is neces- sary to society . . . until the working class is able to take possession and control the machinery, premises and material of production right from the capitalists' hands, and use that control to distribute the, product entirely among the workers. (From "The One Big Union Bulletin," April 25, 1919.) The purpose of socialism is "the self-employment of all who are willing to do useful work — ^by means of their joint ownership of the things the workers must collectively use in production, each to receive the value of his labor undimin- ished by rent, interest or profits. (From "The Slander of the Toilers," by George R. Kirkpatrick.) British capitalists in 1913 had twenty billions of dollars invested outside the British Isles. . . . Twenty .billions of machinery and resources owned by capitalists of one coun- try ; served by workers on foreign soil — slaves to the absentee landlords who reap where they have not sowed. While these twenty billions and other billions like them remain, the world cannot be free! (From "Twenty Billions," an article by Scott Nearing, published in many radical papers.) There has been no single idea used with more deadly effect by the revolutionary propagandists. Yet its meaning is so uncertain that twenty men hearing it can get as many different impressions. DOES SWEAT MEASURE ALL LABOR What, in the first place, is "labor" ? To the Oregon woodsman or the Finnish miner "labor" is work with the hEinds — to them brain-work, invention, executive direction, selling, are not "labor." To them the for- mula means that the manual worker, and he only. 36 LABOR AND REVOLT should get all wealth. Many better educated radicals will defend this view, but will modify it to admit that "Labor," having all the product, will then have to hire brains, as Capital now hires them. Yet, if "Labor" be defined to include all the usefulness that comes from ability and training, and the Socialistic definition that Capital is "hoarded labor" be accepted, what is there in the formula that makes it a possible basis for revo- lutionary agitation or the disruption of society? For under those definitions brains and Capital are both producers, and entitled to reward. The first part of the radical formula, that Labor produces all wealth, denies any share in production to Capital. There is less difEculty in defining Capital: "those products of man's efforts used in the further production of wealth" has been generally agreed upon. The average worker accepts without question the idea that he is the sole producer. It has the merit of self- flattery, and he can, besides, see that without his own efforts the machine he controls would be useless. THE PRODUCTIVE VALUE OF TOOLS Yet there is much to be said for Capital as a pro- ducer. Even when it is admitted that many of the great accumulations of wealth have no adequate basis in service rendered, the question of their share in pro- duction — ^not of their moral or ethical right to exist — is not touched. In fact, while the Labor is essential, and could maintain itself alone, and while Capital, OUR NEW, BLIND RULER 37 reduced to its working clothes of machinery and tools would be useless without Labor to manipulate them, it is still true that Capital multiplies the productive power of labor almost beyond computation. Prof. Leacock's estimate that production has been increased thirty to forty times gives the credit to machinery, which means Capital. In many cases the multiple is much greater. A single turret lathe, for instance, will turn out many hundred times the num- ber of finished pieces that the best mechanic could pro- duce with chisel and file. Revolution loves to speak of the capitalist as a coupon-clippen, and absentee landlord, someone far away who draws money toward the earning of which he has contributed nothing. The abuses of Capital are beyond denial, and this picture is often partly true. Yet the coupon-clipper is always represented in what is produced. The New England spinster with a few bonds of some railroad is represented by the locomo- tive, or the little piece of track for which her money paid. Another capitalist has provided a loom, or a machine tool, or some other means of production, which has multiplied the results of some worker's efforts. Is not the thrift that gathered money together worthy of some reward? The world so far has offered no assured return for any effort so high as that which comes as the result of saving and of making tools. Any one may prove this for himself very easily by 38 LABOR AND REVOLT attempting to drive a nail without a hammer, or to make a garden without a hoe ! In spite of all the abuses which have arisen under Capitalism, it is by such thrift, and its translation into means of increased production, that the greater part of our vast industrial structure has been built up. That there have been exploitation of labor and thefts and extortion on the part of capitalists does not detract from the tremendous service that Capital has done society, and still does. Capital is, in truth, the stor- age battery of Civilization, a trust fund that cashes sight drafts to meet the needs of society. Another term that occurs in the revolutionary for- mula is "product." Here definition almost completely fails. What is a product? Or, more properly at what point has the production of any article been com- pleted? Is it when that thing leaves the factory, or when it is delivered to your home ? On the answer to this question will depend the reward that Radicalism claims for Labor. To the agitator working his for- mula into men's minds as a seed for Revolution, the "product" is the selling price, and the worker should get it all. Yet a product is of no actual value till it reaches the consumer, and labor must share with some- one else all the cost that comes between factory and destination. So much discussion has been given to these defini- tions because without an understanding of the parts that Labor, Capital and production play in modern society no just estimate can be made of the fairness of OUR NEW, BLIND RULER 39 the complaints o£ either Labor or the Reds, or of their demands. The whole problem and its solution hang upon the relationship between those factors. America often turns to Abraham Lincoln in the assurance that she will find wisdom concerning the problems that perplex her. His words on this ques- tion of Labor and Capital are worth remembering: Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital and deserves much the higher consideration. But he also said: Capital has its rights which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is and prob- ably always will be a relation between capital and labor producing mutual benefits. And on the whole subject which is now being agi- tated as a ground for Revolution, he said to a com- mittee of workingmen in New York on March 24, 1864: The strongest bond of human sympathy, outside of the family relation, should be the one uniting aiU working peo- ple of all nations, and tongues and kindreds. Nor should this fead to a war upon property or the owners of property. Property is the fruit of labor; property. is desirable; prop- erty is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is a just encouragement to industry and enterprise. 40 LABOR AND REVOLT Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of an- other, but let him work diligently and build one for him- self, thus by example assuring, that his own shall be safe from violence when built. It is along the line of these principles that justice in industry must be sought. CHAPTER III FUNDAMENTALS OF UNREST Aspiration in the present discontent — Immediate causes of the outburst : war and its after effects, opportunities during reconstruction, high cost of living, swollen profits of blood- money, unequal wage increases, desperation at forced lower- ing of living standar- 3, curtailment of free speech, the example of Russia — Surface indications that seem to make discontent unreasonable — The deeper facts: living standards Still too low, ingrained fears not met, the sense of injustice, the wider outlook and ambitions. There is a spiritual quality in the present unrest, especially among American workers, that gives to it much of the significance of the Protestant Reforma- tion, of the long English struggles for liberty, of the American Revolution of 1776 and of the great French Revolution. There is abroad a widespread feeling that the time has come for another long stride toward the end of inequality. It is perhaps because Labor- — real Labor, and not the screaming propagandists who claim to speak for it — is inapt at speech that this spiritual quality has been so little recognized. Labor has had to express itself in economic terms of wages and hours and shop committees, as the American Revolution expressed itself in fighting a penny tax on tea. 41 42 LABOR AND REVOLT, But behind this is a far deeper thing and no one who is much in contact with Labor, and who has the sym- pathy to feel below the surface things that are not seen, can fail to know it. This is the strength of the present awakening of the Labor Giant-:-and the weak- ness. It is one of those fundamental impulses that must be satisfied. And it will be. But because Labor is half -blind, because it does not quite know what it wants nor at all how to get it, and because it lacks education and the power of construc- tive criticism. Labor is often misled by the promise- spouting agitators of Revolution, which seek to use it as their tool. This spiritual unrest is a far bigger thing than Labor. We have seen it for years in other fields; in the rebellion against accepted forms, forms which have in many ways become standardized, cramped and re- strictive, «een it in music and painting and poetry and other arts. It has appeared in political experiments and in reUgious upheavals. In the case of Labor its deep significance, back of the tactical demands for wages and hours, is for a greater equality in social and spiritual things, for inde- pendence from the control and domination of other men, for freedom to live and develop in one's own way, for recognition by all society of personal dignity and value — in short, that Labor, and this means each laborer, shall cease to be considered a "commodity" and be acknowledged a man. This is far from being the only cause of unrest, but FUNDAMENTALS OF UNREST 43 it is so important, so fundamental, that no one can begin to understand the present situation who does not see all events affecting Labor as a part of the spir- itual unrest, whatever their appearance may be. Greed and laziness and irresponsibility are there, too, and in large measure, taking every advantage of the camou- flage and opportunity that aspiration affords. But no matter what mistakes or what clumsy statements or what wild and exaggerated claims may be made, this is the thing that gives color and courage to the pur- poses of the great mass of American workers, and this will bring them back to sanity and stability in the end, even though it be only after many vagaries. This aspiration, of course, is nothing new. It has existed throughout history, among ever-growing numbers, and it will continue so long as there is health and life in society. There are many things which have combined to bring it to a crisis at this particular time, and which will keep it acute till considerable progress has been made. THE WHOLE WORLD "sHELL-SHOCKED" Chief, of course, are the war and its after-effects. The whole world is tired, worn, nerve shocked, and Labor no less than the rest of us. There have been over-strain, many disappointed hopes, much loss and friction and irritation, the reaction from the folly of some of the extreme promises made in the propaganda put out to keep the world keyed to the war-pitch, and 44 LABOR AND REVOLT all the effects of high prices, big profits made by some employers, and opportunities for class and personal gain offered by the general dislocation of society and of industry. A director of a state labor department thus sums up the situation: War tends to throw almost all individuals in a nation out of their settled rut of mental habits. The restlessness and lack of restraint which so results in the industrial world naturally leads not only to changes of occupation, but by the very fact that the mass of workingmen are "out of the rut" makes them more easily influenced and handled by those in authority in the labor ranks — men who have been waiting for just such an opportunity. Second, the restrain- ing powers of the employer become weakened in time of war. The legal maxim that "in times of war the laws are silent" is as applicable to industrial laws as to political laws. The employe feels free to do more as he chooses. As a result he may become a potential or actual agitator, or even a striker. In fact,- one of the leading factors in bringing the tension to the present pitch is that Labor sees in the after-war conditions opportunities to achieve things which it has long desired. It has been much blamed for pushing its campaign at this particular time, ac- cused of selfishness, of sacrificing the good of the nation to its own ends, and of attempting to make cap; ital out of the public misfortune. FUNDAMENTALS OF UNRESt 45 THE GIANT EDUCATED IN MISERY All this is true. Yet the Labor Giant has much of humane justice on its side. Through long years he has had to fight for all he got. During the war he made real sacrifices in setting aside the much greater opportunities that were then offered for his own ad- vancement. He sees no sign that anyone intends to recompense him in any important way for those sac- rifices. He knows, in a bitter way which other people cannot hope to realize, that the things he is fighting for involve the very structure of homes, the health and future of wives and children, his own safety in every way. And he knows, too, that it may be many years before another such opportunity as the present one returns. Many of his demands are unreasonable and must be fought, but only those with a fundamental lack of understanding or lack of humanity can find it in their hearts to add rancor to the struggle. One of the things that has affected him most has been the high cost of living. There was no way of determining with any accuracy whether or not wage increases met the increased costs and a natural preju- dice made men feel more pinched than they really were. Another thing that stimulated labor disturbance was the knowledge that many employers were making enormous profits. In a great shipyard strike this was frankly given as one of the reasons for going out — 46 LABOR AND REVOLT the workers intended to have a share of the "melon." The sudden appearance of "war millionaires," of whom some two thousand were added to the Federal tax lists between 1917 and 1919, supported the belief. And it was in line with another complaint — ^that there was widespread and conscience-less profiteering. No denials, even by official investigators, could con- vince Labor that most of the increase in prices was not due to excessive profit-making by merchants of all classes. Resentment flamed high and in many cases it was fully justified. But not in all. Every man had to have more money as prices went up, and this jus- tified his taking increased profits, if he depended on profits, as fully as labor's increased wage was justified. THE UNIVERSAL GAME OF GRAB There was much nonsense talked on the subject, of course. Price raising in itself is not profiteering, which may well be defined as taking advantage of un- usual conditions to force prices beyond what a fair return for services rendei'ed justifies.^ This practice of charging "all the traffic will bear" is one that is always violently denounced by the victim, but as con- stantly defended by those who practice it, usually on the ground of poor times past or to come. So the farmer who holds back his produce or who burns his cotton, and the workman who takes advantage of un- settled conditions or great need to get a higher wage than his product earns, are as truly profiteers as the FUNDAMENTALS OF UNREST 47 men who force up the prices of milk and bread. Thus we have workers denouncing farmers and farmers de- nouncing workers, and there is much justice and much misunderstanding in both accusations. That profiteering is an ancient evil, naturally, Is no comfort to the man who suffers from it, and both dur- ing the war and since there have been millions of workers whose pay did not keep pace with their in- creased outgo, so that there was an actual decrease in their living standards. Here is a description of the lives of these people, given by one of the best of the labor leaders, Marsden G. Scott: I In millions of homes the standard of living did not increase, for the very good reason that the contents of the pay en- velope were inadequate to meet the increased prices de- manded by the profiteers. One cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip, and the inevitable result was that pre-war standards of living were reduced. Old clothes were patched, old dresses were mended, old shoes were sent to the cobbler, infrequent amusements were dispensed with, all the little luxuries were abandoned, every household economy was exercised, and even then the prob- lem of trying to make both ends meet became a hopeless daily tragedy, a heart-breaking, never ending nightmare from which there was no escape. The world will never know the full extent of the sacrifices that have been made by the wives and children in the homes of the wage earners of America in the past four years. Many interesting articles have appeared in newspapers and periodicals in which the wages paid to some shipyard worker or munitions employe were set forth. There was human interest in the story of the brawny riveter who drew down fabulous sums in the 48 LABOR AND REVOLT cost-plus shipyard. But no one cared to read of the struggles, the sacrifices and the poverty in the home of the mechanic working for a pre-war wage. Yet somehow these men scraped together the price of a few thrift stamps or war-savings certificates. God only knows how some of them managed to pay the weekly installments on the Liberty Bonds for which they subscribed. But they did it — only to be forced to part with them at the Shylock's discount later on. This picture is in no way exaggerated as a descrip- tion of the lives in millions of homes, and not alone those of the laboring classes. For the great numbers of clerks and office helpers the average increase in wages till the end of 1919 was only a little over 25 per cent, while the cost of living went up to about 80 per cent. For civil servants, policemen, firemen, mail- carriers, and the like, the increase in wages provided by the various governments averaged even less. All these millions suffered from a cutting of their stand- ard of living as much as a third. Finally, and to cap the climax, very shortly after the war ended there were many threats to reduce wages, and in perhaps a fifth of America's factories cuts were actually made or attempted. All this helped drive Labor to fight THE HORROR OF IMPOVERISHING POVERTY It would be almost impossible to overstate the pow- erful effect for discontent, even for desperation, that is created by such a forced lowering of the standard of living. It is bad enough with the well-to-do. Even FUNDAMENTALS OF UNREST 49 when the privation does not extend to food or clothing or shelter or any necessity of life, there is a loss of social standing, of respectability, of position, that is galling beyond measure. Does anyone think this is less for the man making $1000 a year than for him who has been making $5000 or $50,000 ? With the workers there must be added often actual privation, insufficient food, shoddy clothing, loss of amusements, risk of health for wife and his children, and cutting off of chances for education and therefore tor future advancement of the little ones. Against this any man will fight, and will be backed by his wife to the utmost. If their struggles often take unwise and regrettable forms, who shall blame them? One more thing has helped irritate labor almost beyond endurance and this has been the curtailment of freedom of speech, the irritant being not so much the law itself as the way in which its enforcement has been twisted by some officials in sympathy with reac- tionary employers. Labor has felt, and often justly, that it was not only treated unfairly, but that it was being denied the very right to complain, to ask for re- dress, or to discuss means of betterment. It has believed that it was intelligent enough to be trusted to listen to even the wildest anti-American propaganda, and decide for itself. It resented being protected, if that were the object of the law, almost as much as it resented being repressed. A final stimulus was the example of Russia. Not all workers by any means are deceived about what is so LABOR AND REVOLT going on there, but hundreds of thousands are. Their deep distrust of the "capitaUstic press" has made them impervious to the facts when published. They see in Russia a country ruled by folk like themselves, and with all the social and political and economic restric- tions which gall the workers here, subject to their own orders. All these are the immediate causes which have brought the unrest to white-heat just at this time. To many they seem trivial, or at least transient. These people expect that the trouble will subside shortly, and believe old conditions will return. They point out that Labor was never better ofif, either in America or in any other country, and feel that agitation and strikes in such circumstances are foolish, if not unpatriotic and practically criminal. Many would be glad to have them made crimes by law. STATISTICS VERSUS NEEDS The statistics of the situation support their view. Labor never was better off. The increase in the aver- age wage-earner's income from $204 in 1850 to $507 in 1910, and of purchasing power from 147 to 401 have already been mentioned. During the same period such figures as are available indicate an increase of more than 50 per cent in the average wealth of the the poorest classes. Finally: in America the poorest 65 per cent of the population, which includes prac- tically all the manual workers, is more than 100 per FUNDAMENTALS OF UNREST ji cent better off than those in any other country, tne fig- ures, according to Professor King, being : Wisconsin in igoo (taken as a typical American state) , lOO; Prus- sia in 1908, 40; France in 1909, 49; United Kingdom in 1909, 35. Moreover, the difference between the wealth of this class and that of the richer people is much less in America than in the countries named. A FULLER DINNER-PAIL In spite of Labor's denials, all the figures available indicate that Labor has not suffered, as a whole, from the increase in the cost of living since 19 14. No statis- tics on this subject are conclusive, but a careful com- pilation was completed in the fall of 1919 by the National Industrial Conference Board, which has established a reputation for fair and accurate work along this line. These figures cover the changes in four and a half years up to October i, 1919. During that period the cost of living increase is put at 61.3 per cent, and the increase of earnings by trades as follows: Metal, 74 per cent; boots and shoes, 82 per cent; wool, 88 per cent; paper, 89 per cent; silk, 97 per cent; cotton, 106 per cent; chemicals, 11 1 per cent, and rubber, 1 12 per cent. At the same time the profits of the great industrial corporations have fallen off from 10 per cent in 19 14 to 7 per cent in 1918, according to figures by one of the confidential business information bureaus. Professor King shows 52 LABOR AND REVOLT that labor's percentage of the national income rose from 35.8 per cent in 1850 to 46.9 per cent in 1910. Thus it seems clear that in America Labor is getting more than anywhere else, a larger and an increasing proportion and has the means for a better standard of living, in spite of the price advances. AN INCREASED POWER In the realm of organization, too, great advances have been made recently. The increase of more than 1500,000 in the membership of the American Federa- tion of Labor in the year 1918-1919 shows this in figures. But it tells only part of the story. Through- out the war, very few cases of industrial dispute were handled by the War Labor Board in which the workers were not granted full freedom to organize, in addi- tion to wage increases and shorter hours. This aid to Labor from the government finally culminated in the remarkable declaration by the Board that every worker has a right to a "living wage" — a principle that is in- disputable on any humane or decent ground, but that is so in conflict with all our economic theories and practice as to be almost revolutionary, SPECTERS STILL AT LABOR'S SHOULDER But those who argue from these statistics that Labor's continued agitation is unreasoning, revolu- tionary, wrong-headed, criminal or even hysterical, FUNDAMENTALS OF UNREST 53 have overlooked the most vital factors in the situation. For, in spite of all the advances that have been made, Labor is still far below a living wage, is still far from security, and far from having equal opportunity for the advancement of its children. In his report on the standard of living in America, Royal Meeker, Commissioner of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics declares that "American families are not fully nourished until their yearly income reaches $1800." This is for a man, wife and three children. Yet a report on factory employment in New York state, for about the same time, showed that the average yearly earning for the state was $1154.40, and the highest was $1743.04. Thus even the highest are just below the standard of efficiency. This does not mean, of course, that these people are starving, but it does mean that the mother or children or both must earn if there is to be a decent standard of living, and when mother or children work for wages there can be no question that the home life is greatly impaired, and the children's future is coined to pay for the daily living. LIVING ON babies' LIVES What this means in another way is shown by the figures comparing the death rate of babies with the incomes of the fathers: the relation between them is direct and absolute. With the father's income below $450 the rate is 168 per thousand; between $500 and 54 LABOR AND REVOLT $550 it is 134; at $850 it drops to 109, while when it is over $1050 it is ^4. Thus many of the workers, even under to-day's improved conditions, are Uterally fighting for their babies' Hves ! Nor does Labor yet get an income that makes the worker able to provide against the rainy day — against sickness, unemployment, death or the many misfor- tunes which may come upon him through no fault of his own. Under all this agitation, behind the talk of' wages and hours, is the underlying fear of hunger, cold and sickness — fear which to many of us has be- come a dim phantom, but which to the average Amer- ican worker, even to-day, is a grim specter at his very shoulder. The very fact that Labor has won higher standards is also inevitably an incentive to further struggle and to new demands. Complete contentment is a bovine quality, and so far as can be seen, becomes less and less with every step of progress. It has become a truism that discontent is always highest in times of prosperity, and this is not wholly caused by the fact that Labor then has better resources for battle. With better food and shelter come more energy and more ambition. Education, giving a clearer view of bless- ings out of reach, is another spur. This explains also the apparent paradox that unrest is most vigorous in the better paid classes of workers. Finally come those factors in unrest which are con- nected with Labor's defensive and offensive power. Labor, finding little help from society at large in its FUNDAMENTALS OF UNREST cr struggles against those employers who are unfair and oppressive, has become its own defender through or- ganization. The opposition of employers to labor organization and to collective bargaining is a constant irritant, and when, as often happens, the employer un- fairly invokes the governmental powers or even armed force to prevent it. Labor's resentment is great and just. AGITATION WILL BE ETERNAL For all these things : security of employment, wages that will insure a decent living, opportunity for his children's advancement, security against misfortune, hours that will leave him something of life beside work, and the right to organize and bargain collec- tively to obtain and insure his winnings — for all these Labor will continue to fight, and would have fought if there had been no war and no revolutionary agitation. Demands will increase as opportunity offers, and the worker learns more and more clearly -what he wants. Those who attempt to lay all the blame for the present crisis on the World War, or on the Revolution, t)r expect to see a return to "normal" conditions within any brief time, have utterly failed to understand the life and heart of American Labor. Nor does there seem to have been any great prog- ress made toward a solution of the difficulties. Some- one has compiled a list of 84 sure-cures for social unrest, and they are being added to daily. The War S6 LABOR AND REVOLT Labor Board's only contribution toward constructive thought was the declaration in favor of a living wage, and it apparently has had nothing to offer as to methods of determining what should be a living wage, or how money shall be found to pay it. There are many ^experiments being tried with profit-sharing, bonuses, shop committees, shop stewards, and so forth, but all are still in the experimental stage, and if any of them holds the secret of the panacea it has not yet been made manifest. BATTLING IN A WHIRLWIND The result has been the great outbreak of strikes, increasing five hundred per cent in five months during the summer of 1919, and finally involving the whole nation through the great steel and coal walkouts. The majority of these strikes have been won, higher wages and other labor factors have each contributed their quota to the cost of living. New strikes have fol- lowed, new rises in prices, and so the circle has broadened. In the resulting tension the original issue has finally been lost sight of, and opinion has centered on finding some way to stop the whirlwind. Everybody involved blames all the others, and the only possible means of reaching a truce — the establishment of some means of adjudicating and enforcing on both Labor and Capital justice in industrial disputes— ^is rejected by both with jeers. FUNDAMENTALS OF UNREST 57 Finally we have some of the most conservative brotherhoods, those of the railway men, recognizing that the strike-raise-pay-raise-prices method is getting them nowhere, and jumping to the theories of the British guild syndicalists, while the head of the Steel Tfust advocates a method of organization that closely resembles that of the I. W. W. ! Meanwhile word cornes from Australia that the reform movement started there twenty years ago under Labor control has "run out," as other reform movements have done from the beginning of time, and has not brought a solution. The general public stands bewildered. So does much of the Labor world. CHAPTER IV THE giant's pockets PICKED The bitterness of Labor, its fear and distrust of employers — Their complication of the crisis — Their share of blame — Long-standing abuses and exploitation — Broken promises — Manipulation of piece work prices — ^Use of Negroes as strike breakers — ^Abuses that the laws have stopped — The conspiracy for reaction against unionism, collective bar- gaining, the living wage and Labor's right to know the facts of business — The false cry of "Bolshevism" — Labor's real struggle against the Reds. No one can go far in any study of the present un- rest without being deeply impressed by the extreme bitterness which marks the attitude of both employers and employes, especially the latter. There are not a few of them who contemplate with complacency the possibility of seeing in America some such horror as has overwhelmed the employing classes of Russia, and many more would take pleasure in almost any misfor- tune less than death that might overtake those from whom they draw tjieir pay. There exist, too, distrust so widespread that it may be said to involve the whole of Labor, and a fea^r and dislike amounting very nearly to hatred for the era- ploying class as a whole. This attitude has come to be so taken for granted 58 THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 59 that few persons give it the weight they should. Yet it is more than dangerous to slight it, since while it remains there is little hope of reaching any stable or satisfactory condition. It is equally dangerous, as well as unfair, to ascribe it either to ignorance or to natural depravity. American workmen are much like other Americans, and so deep and bitter a feeling could not have grown up unless there was much cause for it. Progress toward industrial peace is impossible un- less the employer joins the worker to bring about a better feeling. It is in their contact that the friction arises and though on the surface Labor alone is taking the aggressive there can be no intelligent discussion of the situation which does not includ©^ consideration of the extent to which the employer is to blame for this friction. If a harness galls it is both foolish and cruel to belabor the horse that wears it for being restive. EMPLOYER TESTIFIES AGAINST HIS CLASS What is it that Labor demands from the employer, the lack of which has given rise to all this rancor? There can be no better authority than an employer who has not had a strike in 35 years, and who has been called in as mediator in some three hundred labor disputes without a single instance of failure to avert a strike. He is H. B. Endicott, senior member of the Endicott- Johnson Company, shoe manufacturers, and he says: 6o LABOR AND REVOLT The worker . . . wants a fair deal in his individual job. He wants good working conditions, good wages, and a good home. He doesn't care two cents about anything else con- nected with the-shop. Once he is assured that his employer is doing the honest thing by him, his mind is at ease so far as labor troubles are concerned. That assurance, how- ever, must come from the man higher up. No one can claim that Labor has had any such treatment as this from most employers. Many, it is true, have been fair; yet the whole history of labor legislation in this country has been the forced abolish- ing by law of one kind of abuse after another in the factories. In fact, the schemes for shop committees, shop stewards, and the entire agitation for "industrial democracy" are due to the need of having information as well as power to force fairness by employers toward employes and would never have appeared had it not been for the abuses. Now that these schemes have beai evolved, it is likely that workers will demand them, even where they may not be needed, in order to protect themselves against those unfair employers who are always to be found — ^just as political democracy has been developed as a protection against political tyranny which is only occasional. But industrial democracy, if it takes the form of putting workers at the head of industry an^ eliminat- ing those who are trained to be at its head, is likely to be as inefficient as political democracy has been and no more effective in preventing abuse. In fact, except THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 6i with the actual revolutionaries, the belief that they can run industry better than the employers do has no ex- istence among American workers. Mr. Endicott adds to his statements his conviction that the worker really does not want to share in the management of shops. BIG PROFIT ON KINDLINESS The fact that labor troubles have been avoided by those employers who have taken pains to show per- sonal interest in their employes seems to justify Mr. Endieott's conviction. One employer of my acquaint- ance has almost equaled Mr. Endieott's record, and at the same time has actually been able to hire his work- ers at something like ten per cent below the market rate. He has maintained a personal contact, cared for the men in sickness, taken pains to see that employ- ment was as permanent as possible and to find places for the men who have become too old for the heavier work, sent a few of the most promising sons of em- ployes to college and taken his whole force of some 2500 on an excursion to Niagara Falls, the Mammoth Cave or some such place, every year. The whole has cost him far less than his saving on wages, without counting the value of the freedom from strikes, small labor turnover and assurance of peace in his factory. While the fairness of offering these advantages in place of higher wages i,gopen to question, his employes all know the situation aiwTeel 62 LABOR AND REVOLT that the comfort and security they enjoy on their jobs are worth the difference in actual money. Some of the abuses and exploitations from which Labor has suffered are so well known that they barely need mentioning. Most of them have been or are being ended by law: such are child labor, excessive night work and unhealthful work, long hours (there was a time when most factories in America ran twelve Iiours a day) ; lack of safety appliances around dan- gerous machinery ; lack of decent sanitation and light- ing, and the conditions that brought on the needless "occupational diseases." NO MONOPOLY ON BAD FAITH But others are not so well known. There is much and just complaint of violation of contracts by Labor, but the employers have been equally at fault along this line. One of the most recent instances was that of a big railroad which so re-arranged hours following an arbitration award, that the employes lost all the benefits of the nominal gains they had made. Another was that of a street railway company which refused to pay the amounts held back from wages pending arbi- tration. The cases in which agreements not to dis- criminate against union men have been violated are so many that they might almost be considered the rule — and Labor does so consider them. More often than not the employer manages to keep wilhin the letter of THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 63 the contract, while violating Its spirit, but it cannot be said that this in any way mitigates the ofifense. A very common method of mulcting Labor has been the manipulation of piece work prices, and this is di- rectly responsible for the strict limitation of output which Labor voluntarily imposes on itself. An in- stance of how this works will explain, if it does not justify, this attitude. TYPICAL CAPITALISTIC THEFT A big shop which was engaged in the manufacture of electric dynamos and paid for the work by the piece, had a sudden call for a large number of dynamos of a certain type. The foreman knew that the workers were limiting themselves to an amount of work that would pay them all about the same at the end of the week — that is, the better men were doing no more work than the slowest could accomplish easily. So he called in the men, explained the situation to them, and promised that if they would forget their rules, and each man do as much as he could, there would be no cut made in the amount paid for that job. The men agreed, and the result was more than to double the output for the shop. The foreman kept his word and did not cut the price on that job. But within three weeks the price had been cut on every other type of dynamo made, and the type that was not cut was discontinued ! The manage- ment had secured data, from the way the men worked, 64 LABOR AND REVOLT which enabled it to estimate very accurately just how much the best men could do if pushed, and the new prices were so fixed that these men were rather driven to make their earnings the same as they had been be- fore. The slower men were left with less than a decent wage, no matter how hard they worked. It is cases like this, which might be multiplied in- definitely, that have led Labor to limit production. It does not believe that, if it should work harder and better, it would be permitted to get any share of the results. CAPITALIZING RACE PREJUDICE Another widespread policy of employers, especially in the South, but in an increasing degree in the North as well, has been the use of Negroes both to keep wages down and to fight unionization. "It is a good result of race prejudice," one Southern employer said, "that the Negro helps us to beat the union. We can pay him lower wages, he will not stick to his union, even if the whites will let him join, arid so long as he is to be had we are comparatively safe on all the lines of work that he can do." The race riots in industrial centers like East St. Louis, may fairly be charged, in large measure, to this policy. The lack of humane consideration, to say nothing worse, shown in th« immediate displacing of men who have passed their most active years, has been another THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 65 powerful breeder of discontent and hatred among the very men who would, if well treated, be the most con- servative element in Labor and the best defense of the employer against hot-headed youth. It has been added to by equal callousness in dealing with the men who have been displaced by new machinery. PETTY LARCENY FROM WORKERS A peculiar and brutal efficiency is given to the oppressive power of those employers whose plants are outside thp large cities, most notably the mines and steel plants. There the employe is more definitely and directly dependent on the single employer than in the city. In these circumstances have grown up such abuses as the "company store," where the worker has been forced to buy all his supplies at prices so scien- tifically exorbitant that they left him little of his pay, and the "company houses," where he pays an extor- tionate rental for squalor, and is liable to eviction the moment he "makes trouble." The use of eviction in a labor war was reported as recently as September, 1919, when the Associated Press carried the news that dispossess notices had been served on steel mill employes at Brackenridge and Sharesville, Pa. Eviction in such cases usually means that the worker, his family and their belongings are all thrown into the street in a town where only the em- ployer can provide shelter. The lumber camps are even worse, though the suf- 66 LABOR AND REVOLT ferers there are men without families. Here is the picture drawn by Mayor Ole Hanson of Seattle, the man who beat down the semi-revolutionary strike in that city in the spring of 19 19: The trouble (the Seattle strike) started with the em- ployers in the lumber camps. The men were vilely treated ; two camps out of three were denounced by the Government as unfit for human beings, when war compelled the Gov- ernment to take an interest in the workers. The men packed their vermin-infested blankets from camp to camp. They lived under disgraceful, unhealthy condi- tions. In the periods between work no one would receive the poor men, or check their dreadful "packs" or cash their pay- checks except the proprietor of the basement saloon. The worst kind of saloon was the only place for these men to go. They knew no other home. And no human being took the trouble to /seek them out ex«pt the I. W. W. agitator. No one else knew that they were alive or cared what became of them. In the lumber camps the I. W. W. literature was the only thing they had to read. Do you wonder that the I. W. W. teachings became their Bible ? They did not know, what I know, that the I. W. W. is in no sense a labor organization; that it does not seek to help labor; but seeks to make industry of all kinds and government of all kinds impossible, by making it impossible for the employer to do business on any basis whatever. It may be added that both the blacklist and the boy- cott, of which employers now complain with such bit- terness, were invented by employers as weapons against Labor. The whole situation was summed up by nine of the leading industrial engineers of the country in a letter THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 67 which they sent to the abortive industrial conference summoned by the President in Washington in Octo- ber, 1919. They said: The prevalent unrest in industry results from a system which permits the acquisition of wealth for which no ade- quate service has been rendered and tolerates special privi- lege, with the resulting exploitation of men, women and children. Great powers have been used arbitrarily and autocrSttically to extract unmerited profit or compensation by both capital and labor. These are the conditions in a large part of industry to-day. They are employers' contributions to unrest, to the possibility of revolution. NEW ATTEMPT TO ENSLAVE LABOR But they are not all. There is going on in Amer- ica to-day a powerful reactionary movement among employers, which has gathered up formidable forces. These employers hope to take advantage of the present situation to crush Organized Labor, to stop the "fool- ishness" about workers' rights, to restore the old day when the employers' power was supreme, and he "could run his business to suit himself." Not all American employers, by any means, are in sympathy with this. Probably the greater number, and certainly a fast increasing proportion, have ac- cepted the principle of a community of interest with Labor, and are doiiig their best to live up to it. The 68' LABOR AND REVOLT cleavage between the two is so sharp that many em- ployers are using quite as much breath in denouncing each other as in condemning Labor. But they are not bringing their discussion into the open. Something of the situation, however, from the in- side, may be gathered from the reports sent out to business men by one of the big secret information services. Its director is frankly on the side of those who believe that American Capital can find its best allies against extreme Radicalism and Revolution in the tried leaders of conservative Organized Labor. In April, 19 19, he sent out this: The large scale efforts now being made by employers rep- resenting large interests to block trade unionism deserve condemnation, not only from the standpoint of rights but as a business policy. If the effort were not so determined, if it did not represent big combinations of employers, and if it were not part of a long-devised plan, we should pass it over without remark. As things are the effort constitutes a gigantic mistake on the part of our employing interests." Three months later, in June, he had this to say: Advices from confidential sources indicate a concerted effort on the part of powerful interests to drive unionism out of American industry. Opponents of the unions also contend that the union can be outflanked by plans which contemplate doing through other agencies all and more than the unions can dp. This is a concrete expression of a de- termination formed during the war to stand what could not be avoided to "win the war" and then show the unions THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 69 where they got off. The proponents of these ideas are assur- ing employers that the days of unionism are numbered. HOPE TO MAKE WORKERS DEFENSELESS These employers are fighting four things, all of which Labor now considers vital. Foremost of these is the right to organize, and with it goes the right to collective bargaining. These two factors are worth looking into a little, since they are the cause of more labor trouble than anything except hours and wages, and have been for years the center of conflict. Labor considers the right to organize vital and fun- damental. It feels that without organization the worker and the fair-minded employer are jalike com- pletely at the mercy of the worst employer, and that from organization have come whatever strength Labor shows in the industrial field, and whatever gains it has m?ide. It feels that the worker who is not a union man is a traitor, and it was for this reason that it so long pushed the demand, now somewhat relaxed, for the "closed shop," where none but union men are em- ployed. Moreover, it believes it has a legal and moral right to organize. Curiously enough it was not a worker, but Theo- dore Roosevelt, who best stated the unionists' creed: If I were a factory employe, a workingman on the rail- roads, or a wage earner of any sort, I would undoubtedly join the union of my trade. If I disapproved of the policy 70 LABOR AND REVOLT of that union I would join to fight that policy; if the union leaders were dishonest, I would join in order to put them out. I believe in the union and I believe that all men who are benefited by the union are morally bound to help to the extent of their power in the common interests advanced by the union. The last sentence, of course, refers to non-union men whose wages and conditions of work have been improved ihrough union activities. The union undoubtedly interferes with the employ- er's freedom of action. It forces up wages, increases troubles at the plant, prevents the unhampered dis- charge of men, maintains on the job men who have passed the peak of their efficiency and often limits production. For all these reasons it is violently opposed. But with the union, as with many other things, em- ployers often change with experience. In England, where the unions are about four times as strong as in America, employers now desire their workers to be organized. Even here many employers, who are not under "closed shop" agreements, nevertheless ask new employes to join the union, as they believe it makes for better feeling and consequently better work. LABOR S RIGHT TO HIRE COUNSEL The right to "collective bargaining" is almost in- separable from unionism. It has now come to be gen- erally recognized when the labor organization does not THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 71 attempt to use "outside representatives" who are not shop employes. This apparent concession is more show than reality; since practically no unions are lim- ited to a single factory and the workers' representa- tives are usually officials of the central organization. The fight against collective bargaining is at present centered on the question whether the officers of the national unions do in fact represent the union of any particular shop and on the employer's demand that the representatives must be chosen from among his em- ployes. On the first point — it was on this point that the great steel strike was brought on — it is evident that any organization represents at least a part of the em- ployes, and as such is entitled to a proportionate share of consideration. On the second point, which really means the repre- sentation of the men in conference with the employer by union officers of higher rank than those of the shop local, it may be pointed out that the employer often has counsel or employes whom he pays to represent him at such conferences, and that the union official appearing is really no more than a paid employe of the workers. The length to which employers are going in fighting collective bargaining was shown in the President's abortive conference, which nine employ- ers, out of forty-five members present, broke up rather than accept the principle in a form which was accept- able to Labor and to all the other members. 72 LABOR AND REVOLT PROFITS AT workers' EXPENSE The principle of the "living wage" is the third of the things against which the employers are concen- trating their attacks. This is the idea that human life is more important than business, and that a business which cannot support its workers in decency has no right to exist, or at least has no right to. exist at the cost of the workers. It lays down the rule that the payment of a fair wage shall be a basic charge against the business, as is the cost of materials, and that profits must be sought above that point. Employers invoke against it the law of supply and demand, and argue that they cannot pay more than the business will yield. The weakness of their argu- ment is that they may not know themselves just what the business mil yield, though they know what it does produce. The same argument was used against grow- ing public indignation in the fight to keep the sweat- shops running and the result has proved that the busi- nesses involved were all able to continue. In this case, at least, what looked like the law of supply and demand has been amended by legislative action. There is another weakness in the employers' posi- tion in fighting this and all other demands where the question of the profitableness of the in^iu^try is raised, particularly since so many employers have fought Labor with equal determination on every other point. The workers simply do not believe what the employer says. And certainly the employer who for years has THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 73 been insisting that his business was his own, and that he would "tolerate no interference from Labor," is in an awkward place when, in response to his plea that Labor's demands make it impossible for him to operate at a profit, he is told that this is also entirely his own business, and that Labor is not interested in it. Even if it were, it would not take his word for the facts. It has been lied to too often. STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN IGNORANCE Thus the fourth principle against which employers are fighting is Labor's right to go behind the employ- er's word as to the facts about the industry for which it works. Labor has demanded this for years, be- lieving that these facts, if revealed, would give it asrgu- ments for higher wages. To-day, when the demands of Labor are at last cutting seriously into profits, and even threatening the existence of some businesses, there is a very general rush by employers to tell Labor as much of these facts as the employer thinks it well for Labor to know. Labor is not satisfied with this. It wants to get at all the facts, as a right. Particularly it wants to know the facts about costs of production, and their rela- tion to wages. Ex-President Taft recently declared "Labor has got to be given the right to discuss shop conditions and to meet on equal footing with the em- ployers. They have got to be given the right to talk 74 LABOR AND REVOLT, efficiency and production and — ^yes, they have even got to be given the right to talk costs." IS JUSTICE BOLSHEVIK? There is one more count against Capital: the at- tempt by many employers to shelter their personal interests under the cloaJj of patriotism, to yell, "Bol- shevism" at every labor disturbance, and to induce public officials over whom they may have "influence" to treat the workers like rebels. The use of the police- man's club and the Espionage Act against men who are as far from desiring revolution as is the employer, have set the edge on the^class hatred of thousands of workers. The ^.ttitude of many employers seems to be that of Representative Dewalt, who when Glenn E. Plumb was discussing reforms before a Congressional investigating committee, asked where he stopped. "Where graft and privilege cease," replied Plumb and Dewalt asked : "Isn't this leading to Socialism ?" Fortunately Socialists have no monopoly of the efforts to end graft and privilege, but too many em- ployers give the impression that they cannot see the difference. The reaction on Labor of all these forms of unfair- ness, callousness and exploitation is not confined to increasing hatred. It shows directly and immediately in the handling of labor troubles, and is a positive help to the Red agitators. THE GIANT'S POCKETS PICKED 75 EHPLOYERS' HELP TO THE REDS There were two big strikes in an Ohio city in the summer of 1919. In this city the Central Labor Union is, as is usual, under the control of conserva- tive American Federation of Labor men, and is fight- ing Bolshevism among workers. The first strike was called in a factory which the Federation had never unionized, and was started and managed by the L W. W. The Central kept its hands off in public, but privately it fought the strike. Its own men broke up strike meetings and mauled I. W. W. leaders, driv- ing many of them from the city. The strike failed within a month, and the I. W. W. members were glad to return to work on any terms whatever. For weeks thereafter not a Red agitator showed himself. Later a strike started in another big factory, and again the Reds were prominent. The Central Labor Union had started to adopt the same tactics that it had used with such success before, when the city's Cham- ber of Commerce, seeing the division in the labor ranks, believed an opportunity had come to attack and rout all Organized Labor. It came out with full page advertisements which struck at almost every demand and every principle of unionism, and declared that the A. F. of L. leaders were secretly supporting the Reds. In the face of such an attack, which threatened their prestige and their whole control over their men, the Central Union officials could do nothing but come to the support of the strikers. This they did, with a 76 LABOR AND REVOLT double success, for they not only won the strike, but succeeded in taking credit for it away from the I. W. W. But the net result of the interference of the reac- tionary employers was the factory's loss of the strike and the vanishing of an opportunity for the Central Union leaders to teach the I. W. W. a second and probably conclusive lesson. As it was, Soviets were being organized before the strike was a week old. Labor, as a whole, recognizes that employers are not entirely to blame for many of the evils and abuses that have been enumerated; it understands how great the pressure of competition may be. But it does not, , and we cannot, fairly charge all these things to that pressure. So a considerable part of the blame ror the hatreds and injuries which offer so fertile a field for the agi- tator of Revolution must be charged to ignorance, meanness, selfishness, cruelty and arrogance on the part of a large proportion of employers. CHAPTER V THE GROWING AUTOCRAT Labor shortage gives Labor power — Immigration; its injury to Labor, its abuse by Capital — ^Little chance of its being re- newed — Co-ordination gives Labor a bigger club — dominance of industry almost certain — ^Labor's growing power in poli- ■ tics — Small importance of the Labor Party — The borrowed Anti-Saloon League method — Its strength and limitations — Political control by Labor to cement the industrial autocracy. The law of supply and demand, which has been playing heartbreaking tricks on the whole world since 1914, has finally turned against American employers, so far as labor is concerned. The reserve labor supply is now quite gone. It had been a blessing to managers of enterprise and was never quite exhausted, since even in the best of times about 8 per cent of our avail- able labor was linemployed. Labor now no longer needs to seek work, and obey the wishes of him who has it to give. Labor is now sought, and its whole position in its fight for better conditions is immeasur- ably strengthened. The change in the relations between Capital and Labor which this one fact has brought about is so vital that it alone is enough to account for many of the events and attitudes pf the present tension. Per- haps it is just because it is so obvious that it is so 77 78 LABOR AND REVOLT frequently overlooked, and explanations for the change are sought in the mysterious influences of mob psychology and nerve-strain. Those things are involved, and so are the long-standing causes of im- rest which have been cited, but this labor shortage is the big, concrete fact which has changed the whole face of the industrial battlefield. The shortage probably amounts already in America to nearly five million workers — somewhere near a fifth of all the wage earners who would have been here if there had been no war. It is still increasing, and will become more and more noticeable as our in- dustrial machine attempts to speed up to full load. It is so large that there is a possibility that the problem of unemplo3Tnent will not reappear for years except for short periods or in particular places, since even in the worst times there have seldom been more than 15 per cent of the workers out of employment, and the present shortage goes beyond that figure. There are three important causes of the shortage. NO ONE TO FILL DEAD SOLDIERS* SHOES First is the actual loss of man-power in the war. America's loss, compared to that of the rest of the world, was exceedingly small; not over a hundred thousand. But there must be added for many years the hundreds of thousands who must man our in- creased army and navy. The total war losses of the civilized nations, however, counting both dead and THE GROWING AUTOCRAT 79 disabled, are near fourteen million able bodied men. America is not freed from the effect of this loss, although the victims did not happen to be our citi- zens, because communication between continents is so easy that the whole world labor supply tends to equal- ize quickly. This tendency is, in fact, showing in the second of the reasons of the shortage — ^the stopping of immigra- tion. Meanwhile Labor in Europe finds itself in the same position as in America regarding supply and demand. Its use of that advantage to increase its welfare is watched, envied and imitated here. The stopping of immigration by the war accounts for by far the greater part of our labor shortage. For some time before 1914 there had been a balance of travel of nearly a million a year in favor of America, and most of the million were workers, a steady, cheap and tractable asset for employers. That supply was cut off almost short. In the five years following the outbreak of the war the total was 1,172,679, as against 5,174,701 for the five preceding years, a short- age of a' little more than four million. Finally as a third factor in the shortage, there has been a silent but large stream flowing away from our shores, a stream greater than the incoming one for the first time in history. It is estimated that for the five years a little more than a million have gone and few of those are likely to return. There are many reasons for this: the desire of natives of the newly freed nations to share the opportunities which they expect 8o LABOR AND REVOLT freedom at home to bring; the hope that future con- ditions in Europe will increase the chances of pros- perity for all workers there; the heaVy increase of taxes and living costs here ; and finally prohibition. "bull market" for labor The result of this shortage is that Capital must now bid for workers; and to a very large extent, and an extent hitherto utterly unknown, must yield to Labor's wishes. If the men in his own shops depart, there is little hope of an employer's replacing them. The effect is seen in the great proportion of strikes which the men are winning, and even more in the far larger number of cases in which the threat to strike has been enough to bring compliance with their demands. These are facts^ a situation. The question is how long the condition will last. That question can be answered only by looking to the chances for a tre- mendous immigration — an immigration numerous enough to make good the losses of the past five years, in addition to meeting current needs. There is no other present hope in si^ht, though there is the possi- bility of an increased birth rate if labor prosperity continues long enough, and there are the possible sup- plies that might be found among the Southern Ne- groes. Neither is very encouraging. There is also an increasing employment of women in industry, but the most optimistic can hardly hope that this will fill any large part of the five million shortage, especially THE GROWING AUTOCRAT 8i since the five million were mostly men engaged in the heaviest and dirtiest work. Any real relief must be imported. Yet the first move of the government affecting immigration after the war was to pass a law extend- ing for a year the war-time restrictions on the en- trance of aliens into this country. The understanding in Washington was that this extension might be re- peated indefinitely, until world conditions had settled enough so that legislation could be adopted with some hope that it would be both wise and permanent. THE IMPORTATION OF POVERTY When the time comes for the consideration of that legislation it is certain that the Labor Giant, and powerful allies with him, will oppose any action which will permit the old and almost unrestricted stream of cheap foreign workers to flow again through Ellis Island. The Giant has for many years recognized a deadly enemy in the immigrant, and statistics seem to prove his charge that the foreigner has definitely in- creased America's unemployment and with his cheaper living standard has cut down the American wage. In his "Wealth and Income of the People of the United States," Professor King shows that Labor has lost in two ways in its prosperity, since 1890. In the first place the share that Labor has been receiving out of the total selling value of the goods it produces has decreased during that time from 53.5 per cent to 46.9 82 LABOR AND REVOLT per cent. This means that Labor got back about 13 per cent less of what it produced in 1910 than twenty years eariier. In the second place, although the amount of profits made in trade and industry had increased steadily, both in face value and in purchasing power. Dr. King's figures show that Labor's wages had not increased in purchasing power between 1900 and 1910, and that there had been practically no increase for six- teen years. Both of these things he ascribes to the undercutting of American labor by immigrants who were per- mitted to continue coming/ in after the population of this country reached a density where the law of di- minishing returns began to work. He says : The oncoming host is made up mainly of unskilled' laborers. This means that the brunt of the burden of their support will fall not upon the property owner, not upon the technical expert, but upon him who is least able to bear it — the common laborer of the United States. By this invading army, then, the American workingman is despoiled of his heritage. . . . The low standard of the Old World tends to force itself upon the New and turn back the tide of progress. The evidence indicates that all the entrenchments of Organized Labor, all the legislation in favor of the work- ing class, all our new inventions, have failed to prevent the invaders from forcing down the commodity wages of Ameri- can labor. Labor will use every power it can invoke to see that this does not happen again. Against Labor's opposition must be counted the fact THE GROWING AUTOCRAT 83 that the employers, who before the war carefully and scientifically stimulated the stream of cheap labor, will do so again if permitted. The question will simply offer one more point of friction between employer and employe, to be fought out in the political arena. BOT.SHEVISM COMES IN THE STEERAGE Labor has powerful allies in its fight. Arrayed with it will be all those who believe that American lifp and culture are in danger of being overwhelmed by the alien tide, and more especially those who are alarmed at the spread of Revolution by aliens. So many and so well-distributed are these allies that even Capital's natural desire for immigration is being greatly modi- fied, and many men of wealth will throw their influ- ence against the foreigner. Organized Labor, of course, is taking full advan- tage of this fear of Revolution to push its fight against the immigrant. It is pointing out that it was the first to fight the alien flood. Frank Morrison, secre- tary of the American Federation of Labor, declared recently that restriction of immigration was the rem- edy for bomb-throwing: For years the trades union movement has urged the re- striction of immigration but the workers have been opposed by steamship companies, the steel trust and' other employers of labor who stimulated immigration. Many of these immi- grants were herded in large cities and other industrial centers. They were encouraged to use their own language 84 LABOR AND REVOLT and to perpetuate traditions of their mother country. At election time they were voted en bloc, and if they would organize a trade union, or suspend work to stop exploitation, they were enjoined, clubbed and jailed. What can Ameri- canism mean to those people ? . . . This country is now reap- ing the result of its immigration policy — or lack of policy — during all these years. From all this it becomes clear that the restrictions on immigration will hardly cease within many years, if at all, and that the labor shortage, and Labor's re- sulting dominance in the industrial field, will continue in some degree for a period that cannot now be measured. Capital will have to make the best of it. MORE WEIGHT IN LABOR S FIST But it is not alone in the shortage of labor that the growing industrial strength of the workers is to be found. The agitation during many years for increased co-operation between various labor groups, for using the united strength of all for the good of each, has begun to bear fruit. This is seen chiefly in the movement for the "one big union" (which is the stock in trade of the I. W. W. but has an appeal to Labor that does not neces- sarily involve revolution), in the development of the sympathetic strike, and in the increased grouping of individual crafts under trade councils. One example of these is the Metal Trades Council, which represents more than two score individual unions, and negotiates THE GROWING AUTOCRAT 85 wage scales and hours in many cases on behalf of all that are affected. Even beyond this there is a tendency to alliance between trade unions that are less closely related in interests. A notable instance of this was the attempt to negotiate treaties between the miners, the steel workers, the marine transport workers and the rail- road brotherhoods, under which all would have thrown their whole strength behind the demands of each. Such an alliance would involve more than a million men and would have the whole transportation and indus- trial system of the country so completely at its mercy that there would be almost no hope that anything less than the full power of the Federal Government could resist its wishes. Between these two forces — the shortage of labor and the power to paralyze by a single action far greater portions of industry than ever before — ^there can be hardly a doubt that Labor will have almost un- limited control over industry up to the point of making any industry impossible; more power than anyone would have dared predict even five years ago. The effect on the whole economic system will be almost anything Labor cares to make it. LABOR AS A POLITICAL "bOSS" There is another great field outside of industry, which immediately and directly affects our national life : politics. In that, too, the power of Labor is being 86 LABOR AND REVOLT. felt more definitely of late. We have seen the chiefs of the railway brotherhoods lay down the law to Con- gress ; we have seen labor officials consulted, and their advice eagerly taken, in every phase of war activity except the handling of the forces actually under arms: in production, in transportation, in food, and fuel and other regulations for conservation ; in conscription and the exemptions from it, in regard to ship-building— and so on down the list. We have seen the financial world in panic lest Congress dare not refuse the rail- waymen's demand that the whole rail system be turned over to them under the Plumb plan. Surely, Labor's hand lies heavy on the Government. It has become a political proverb that Labor's vote cannot be "delivered." Yet the one thing that poli- ticians can read most clearly is election returns, and when we find them courting Labor, it must be because they have seen something in those returns that has impressed them. It is not the political organizations of Labor, the labor parties, that carry weight. These have failed to poll more than a few thousand votes, not a feather- weight in the political scale. Labor has learned another political method, and one that promises far more even than it has yet performed, which is much. The Giant has taken a lesson from the Anti-Saloon League, which by joining to its morality a quite unregenerate craftiness, solved the problem of making a minority, that was nevertheless cohesive and determined, felt in politics—solved it so successfully THE GROWING AUTOCRAT 87 that that minority has driven Congress and most of our state legislatures to do its bidding, sometimes in direct opposition to the wishes of the states as shown by referendum. THE FINE ART OF BALANCING POWER It has solved this problem by working on the weak- est point in the machinery of representative govern- ment, the election of officials by majority vote. The American political system has this obvious feature — that in nine elections out of ten, the winner is voted for by only a few more voters than is the loser. Thus his election is actually in the power of the handful who make up, not all, but half the difference between his vote and that of the next nearest man. A simple illustration shows this: Let it be assumed that in a town of a hundred voters, the mayor is elected by a vote of 54 Democrats to 46 Republicans. The change, then, of five votes, would elect the Republican, 51-49. This is entirely obvious. But the result is not. It is this: Any man, any organization, any opinion, that can control those five votes only, can dictate the result of the election for the entire hundred voters. That man, organization or opinion can get from either can- date whatever the candidate is willing to pay for suc- cess. Candidates have been known to pay well, and chances are very good that someone will be willing to meet the price demanded — and will be elected. 88 LABOR AND REVOLT If he fails to keep his pledges, the same power can see that he is beaten next time. By the time a few such lessons as this have been set before the politicians they are likely to become pleasantly tractable. This is the practical basis of politics that has made it possible for America to be ruled by minorities. Our "bosses" have understood it thoroughly, the "inter- ests" have used it when necessary — ^though they pre- ferred direct pressure by other means on officials ; the "liquor power" profited by it, for a time, and finally the Anti-Saloon League formulated it into an avowed policy and swept the country. There is only one possible antidote for it: the scheme ceases to work as soon as another minority block, of equal size, and voting determinedly against the first one, is formed. Then the two balance, and some other minority swings the control. It is this political lesson that Labor has learned and is putting into practice. As a result it is getting pledges — ^understandings, rather, for they are seldom written — from candidates of both parties. Then it can vote comfortably along party lines, or in any other way it wishes, assured that whoever wins its interest will be protected. But if any official fails to consider its demands it can drop all other interests and vote solidly against him. So far as Labor will do this, and so long as it can continue doing it, it will control politics — ^until the time comes when voters are aroused against it in num- THE GROWING AUTOCRAT 89 bers equal to its own and equally willing to ignore any other interests for the sake of beating it. Unless Labor itself shall make serious mistakes, that time seems far off, for party alignment, private friendship or personal interest control the majority of men and women in political matters, while Labor has been taught, through long years of discipline and much bitter experience, the wisdom of submerging these considerations for the general good of the class. Labor has not wholly learned to use this weapon, but it is learning fast. Its leaders understand it thoroughly, though they are not advertising their understanding, and. they are beginning to put it into practice. This understanding is one of the reasons for their objection to the labor party scheme, since the more men they can keep in their swinging block, the greater its power will be. How tremendous this power is can be understood when it is remembered that a change of 5000 votes would have beaten most of the representatives now in Congress ; that a million and a quarter votes, properly distributed, could unseat almost every man there ; that a change of a million would have reversed all but two presidential elections. And the American Federation of Labor alone has about 3,500,000 members. WIRES THAT RUN TO ONE LABOR TEMPLE How this plan is working where it is being tried, is shown in a city of some 150,000 in a Middle Western 90 LABOR AND REVOLT State. A big strike recently drew attention to the political situation there, because the police were quite frankly favoring the strikers. An investigation showed that, through the system of "understanding" with candidates, and without any "poUtical activity," Labor in that city could be sure of the complaisance of the mayor and his appointed cabinet, of two-thirds majority in the city council, of the school board, and also, incidentally, of three members of the state legislature and two representa- tives in Congress-^in all of about three-quarters of all the public officials for whom the city voted. The shirt-sleeved magnate at the Labor Temple may not rule the city, but he gets what he wants. He says that Labor is not in politics, and doesn't want to be! This kind of thing will be extended until we see Labor directly and definitely controUing legislatures and Congress, as we have seen the Anti-Saloon League do it, and as we felt, rather than saw, the big indus- trial barons doing it a decade ago. And this political dominance of Labor will last until it kills itself, until by over-reaching and exploiting the nation as a whole, by injustice and oppression, as the money power be- came unjust and oppressive, it stirs up the sluggish forces of general opinion to its own destruction. When that time will come, if ever, depends on the Labor Giant himself. Labor's power has not yet reached its zenith. It may be some years before it is fully felt. But, unless THE GROWING AUTOCRAT 91 there comes one of the great fimdamental changes which occasionally overtake society, it may be counted certain that Labor, the Giant that has so long been the nation's servant, will for a time become its master, ruling both in industry and in politics, and quite naturally using both for its own good first. The Giant comes to power ,with both grievances and desires — grievances that are largely just and that have given him a bitter resentment that may flame out into reprisals; with desires that are also in the main just but that are necessarily selfish and in many ways dangerously short-sighted. He comes without any definite or well-thought-out plan for obtaining those desires, with a tendency to ignore the advice Of men familiar with the larger problems because he has been taught to consider these men his enemies, and with comparatively little, as he sees it, to lose by experiment. The greatest experiment would be Revolution. And this is being constantly urged. The same forces which throughout history have sought by every means to overthrow society are urging him on ; the forces which hope from the ruins to get, some plunder, some Utopia. They have never yet succeeded in holding control, but they have more than once won it for a time, and always at frightful cost. How far will they succeed in America? PART 11 THE WRECKERS CHAPTER VI THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND Germans help stir unrest — The sham of German Socialism and its dominance over American Radicalism — The pro-German- ism of the Socialists — Their war record — Thfe interlocking of Radicalism and obstruction of the war — The German corruption funds — The poison that came through Russia — — Soviet "ambassador" here a German — The German motive and the pretense of her weakness and reformation. A NEW Gerttian organization, successor to the Ger- man-American Alliance of "kultured" memory, whose charter was revoked by Congress because of dis- loyalty, was caught inspiring and aiding the class- war plotters in the disturbances at Gary, Indiana, dur- ing the steel strike. An officer of General Wood's staiif testified before a Senate committee of inquiry that it had flaunted the German flag, and circulated radical and revolutionary pamphlets published in Ger- man, Russian and Hungarian. This organization is the German-American Citizens' League ; it was started in Chicago within a few weeks after the signing of the armistice, and has many local branches, of which that at Gary is one. It is more than a coincidence that the Military In- telligence Division of the War Department, the divi- 95 96 LABOR AND REVOLT sion which during the war devoted itself to spy- hunting and to fighting the German propaganda and plots in America, should now be centering a large part of its energy on watching the Reds, for allied with them is our late open and still secret enemy — ^the Hun. There has always been a strong German tinge to Radicalism in America. This is to be expected, since the German mind, which operates as in a vacuum, un- troubled by the limitations which facts and conditions impose, is the natural father of theoretic Radicalism, and the natural enemy of the practical reasoning which underlies Americanism. To the German and the Radical, for example, liberty is an abstract thing, to be viewed in the light of pure logic, and worked out into beautiful theories. To the American liberty must be conditioned by the rights of others, and thereupon pure logic, Teutonism and Radicalism depart together. "kultur" the mother of socialism A far more tangible German influence on Ameri- can Radicalism has come from the fact that the American Socialist Party is a direct outgrowth of German thought, was founded by Germans and has always been completely under the domination of the German socialist leaders. Thus American Socialism, and to a large extent most of the other Radical move- ments which are outgrowths of Socialism, shared the faults and the hypocrisy of the German cult — ^the same cult of which the leaders became the Kaiser's THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND 97 jackals for the betrayal of their fellow-Socialists in Russia, and which but for the courage and foresight of real Socialists in America and the Allied coun- tries, would have attempted another betrayal at the Stockholm conference in 191 7; the same leaders who are even now betraying their own followers by the erection of a sham democracy in Germany, under cover of which the old imperialist, militarist rulers are fast gathering their power for an attempt to re- store the monarchy. Radicalism in America, then, was more than ready to help Germany when the war broke out, and it was through the Radicals that many of the most success- ful German agents and propagandists operated. The sudden increase in the membership of the Socialist Party during the war was largely due to this, and thousands who joined it then made small secret that they were in no way Socialists, but found the name a valuable cover for disloyal activities. Throughout the war and since the Socialist Party as a party, and in spite of the opposition of some members, has at every point taken the position Ger- many desired. It has never taken any other. Every policy it has adopted or advocated has been to Ger- many's advantage ; it has advocated and adopted noth- ing that would have aided Germany's enemies. No denials of pro-Germanism by the Socialist leaders make it possible to believe that this is merely a long series of coincidences. It is probable that few members of the party, and still fewer of the workers 98 LABOR AND REVOLT at whom the party, together with other Radical bodies, is now aiming its propaganda, have any idea of the extent to which the Socialist leaders are identified with the German cause. American workers as a whole, by an overwhelming majority, were intensely loyal dur- ing the war, and would be the first to distrust the offerings of the Reds, if they understood whence they came. It may therefore be worth, while to check up the evidence on this point. HOW SOCIALISTS HELPED THE HUN 1. The Socialist Party in August, 1914, while the rape of Belgium was still going on, and just as it was becoming clear that it would take the entire strength of civilization to save the world, issued a demand through its National Committee on Immediate Action that the government prohibit the exportation of arms, food or money. This was exactly what Germany wished. It would have insured German victory in the first months of the war. The party reiterated that demand from time to time, and early in 1917 Victor L. Berger declared in his paper that "the war would have been won by Germany two years ago if there had been an embargo on exports." 2. Official delegates were sent by the party to represent it both at the peace demonstration organ- ized by Ambassador Dumba in New York, and at the National Peace Congress, which cheered* the news o£ sinking of an American ship by a German submarine! THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND 99 The delegates to the latter meeting were withdrawn, however, following protests from non-Germans in the party. 3. The National Committee indorsed Germany's programme of "no annexations and no indemnities," and Morris Hillquit, the party's candidate for mayor of New York, declared that this would hot permit payment for damages actually done to Belgium. When John Spargo attempted to have the definition changed to permit reparation to Belgium he did not get a single supporting vote. 4. The party, when this country finally declared war, adopted a platform declaring that the working- man could have no interest in the war, that he should oppose it with all possible strength, and that no So- cialist was justified in taking arms on behalf of America. 5. Party leaders joined the disloyal movements that were carried on to obstruct the war, the raising of the army, the sale of Liberty Bonds and the punish- ment of sedition. Nowhere has it been possible to find, in any of the many proclamations and resolutions of the party, or in the speeches or writings of any of its leaders ex- cept among that patriotic group who seceded follow- ing the adoption of the disloyal platform, a single word of condemnation of any of the Hun's deeds. The eloquent silence of the Socialists has been as pro- German as their speech and actions. 100 LABOR AND REVOLT OTHER REDS AID WAR OBSTRUCTION But it is significant that not alone in the Socialist Party have the relations between Disloyalty and Radicalism been of the closest. Leaders of the Reds of all varieties joined in opposition to the war. In a list of 125 officials of pacifist, obstructionist and dis- loyal organizations, none of them openly pro-German, 87 are members of Radical bodies, or have given pub- lic support to Radical propaganda. All have been active in public. There is another group of men and women, who were used by Von Papen and Boy-Ed, the German propaganda chiefs here, who are now agitating Bol- shevism. Their names have never come before the public, and while this is being written evidence of the activities of some of them is awaiting action by grand juries. NEW USE OF BERNSTORFF's CORRUPTION FUNDS Proof of German backing for class-war propaganda in America is appearing also from another quarter. Germany, it is known, has large funds available for secret use abroad. A credit of 25,000,000 marks, for which no accounting would be asked, and which it was understood was to be used for propaganda in foreign cotmtries, was given to Count von Brockdorff- Rantzau by the "democratic" and supposedly re- formed German National Assembly in the spring of 1919. THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND loi There were many millions of the secret funds in Count von Bernstorff's charge still unused when he left America in February of 1917. Part of these he sent to German consuls and secret agents in South American countries, part were put in charge of trusted men in this coimtry. The government has been unable to get legal proof such as would warrant the seizure of these funds, but the secret services have located and watched a large part of them. These funds are now being put to use, and those which were sent out of the country are being returned, according to evidence gathered by the New York State Legislative Committee to Investigate Sedi- tious Activities in the State of New York, commonly known as the "Lusk Committee." There has been no corresponding outbreak of open pro-German propaganda, however. At the same time evidence is accumulating from many sources that the Reds have at their disposal almost unlimited funds. In the minds of government agents who are in touch with Red activities, the only question remaining is whether the German funds are big enough to account for the immense amounts the Reds are spending. THE HUN-SOVIET ALLIANCE The support that the Hun gave to the Bolshevist in Russia is well known. Lenin and his apologists have declared that they would have accepted aid from any quarter, and that there is and has jDeen no co- I02 LABOR AND REVOLT operation with Germany in repayment for that aid. The Radicals here, and there are not a few, who will admit that they are getting German assistance, make the same apology — ^an apology which holds good only if its maker believes that his own country is a worse enemy than is the Hun. Another proof of the purpose of the Germans, if not of the Bolshevists, is seen in the constant influx of German men and money into Russia to-day. This might be possible without the active connivance of the Soviet leaders, though that does not seem likely. The hope of the Germans is clear and openly avowed. It is a German domination of Russia that shall over- whelm the new, small states of Eastern Europe and forge an empire that can again bid for world ruler- ship in arms and in industry, backed by 250,000,000 men and women instead of 90,000,000. HUNS AND REDS IN IRELAND The Hun-Soviet alliance has shown itself with par- ticular vividness in the subversion of the Irish Sinn- Fein to distinctly Red purposes. The corruption of this organization, which started among patriotic Irishmen for patriotic purposes and is still believed by many to have kept that character, has been told in detail by Richard Dawson in "Red Terror and Green." It was begun by the Germans even before the war, through Sir Roger Casement. When the Germans failed the Sinn Fein leaders THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND 103 quickly and easily transferred their allegiance to Bolshevism. To-day we find the movement using the terrorist methods of Bolshevism, dominated by the revolutionary Irish labor unions, appealing for help to the revolutionary elements all over the world, and with its leaders openly advocating Bolshevism and going as missionaries of Bolshevism to other coun- tries. James Larkin, one of the biggest of these leaders, has been convicted in New York for criminal anarchy. The Bolshevik purpose to spread its propaganda throughout the world has been ofHcially advertised by it, and its activity has been detected in many places in America, The Swiss police have even discovered a counterfeiting plant where bogus American money was being manufactured by Bolsheviki, apparently with the purpose of financing their campaign here, as they have financed campaigns in European countries, on counterfeit money of the governments they attack. It is therefore significant that the "ambassador" of the Soviet government to America is a German, claim- ing Russian naturalization, on papers issued by a consul of that government while the "ambassador" was in America. This man, Ludwig C. A. K. Mar- tens, was registered in Britain in 1914 as a German alien. He came to America shortly. Late in I9i7> after the Bolshevist revolution had overthrown Kerensky, he wrote his sister in Denmark to get Rus- sian citizenship papers for him from the Russian consul. She replied that she had done so, and he 104 LABOR AND REVOLT forthwith claimed Russian citizenship, and later re- ceived his appointment as "ambassador," but it was not till January of 1919 that his citizenship papers came. They were dated October, 19 18. This is the revolutionary Bernstorff, who, accord- ing to Attorney General Charles D. Newton of New York State "maintains a direct connection between the Bolshevists in Russia and the Radicals in the United States." Mr. Newton adds that his duties include "furnishing legal aid to Radicals charged with viola- tion of the Espionage act, co-operation with the vari- ous Socialist organizations in the accomplishment of industrial unrest, dissemination of Radical literature extolling Bolshevist rule in Russia, furnishing radical speakers for meetings of extremists held to protest against the imprisonment of I. W. W. associates, main- tenance of a correspondence bureau by which every radical of note in the United States was kept in touch with the progress of revolutionary propaganda, and the distribution of the appeals of Lenin and Trotsky to the extremists of America." Martens himself has admitted that he is in continu- ous secret communication with Moscow and receives large amounts of money through underground channels. AMERICAN REDS TAKE LENIN's ORDERS His purposes here are revealed in documents seized from Bolshevik messengers at Riga, and published in THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND 105 The New York Times. One, directed at large to American Reds, establishes the relation between these Reds and the Bolshevists by warning the Reds that "the Embassy and Comrade Martens are not subordi- nate to any organization. Organizations are advised to work in full contact with the Embassy, which is responsible only to the All Russian Central Committee of Soviets." Another document gives at great length the plans for fomenting rebellion in America and is signed by Bukharin, Chief of the Executive Committee Bureau of the Communist Internationale. It demands the or- ganization, in Moscow, of an American party to be composed of the Socialist Propaganda League, the "Left Wing" Socialists (now the Communist Party), the extremer elements of the Socialist Labor Party, and the I. W. W. It urges the fomenting of strikes, the cultivation of unrest, agitation over the cost of living, and the arming of the workers — all activities which as will be shown are being vigorously carried out by the Reds here. Further than this, the Lusk Committee has obtained proof that among the I. W. W. agitators are many trained in Russia and sent here for propaganda work. At Gary evidence was found connecting the agitators directly with the Russian propaganda. And William Phillips, assistant secretary of state, has declared offi- cially that the Bolshevists "have availed themselves of every opportunity to initiate in the United States a io6 LABOR AND REVOLT propaganda aimed to bring about the forcible over- throw of our present form of government." German or Russian, whatever master or masters he serves, Martens has worked effectively. Such is the evidence of the German alliance with those who are seeking the overthrow of our govern- ment — an alliance in thorough accord with the tradi- tions of German policy as we learned to know it in the war, an alliance that is no less an attack upon a peace- ful nation than were ,her torpedoings of our merchant ships and the firing on our women and children in open boats. REVOLUTION AS A SPECULATION To complete a case on trial in our courts, it is usu- ally necessary to show that the person accused had some motive for the crime alleged, and it will be asked what Germany's purpose can be in spending millions to weaken if not to overthrow our government, what benefit she can hope to obtain. It became evident by the fall of 1919 that those who had been warning us that Germany was not crushed by the war were entirely right. The rioting in Ger- many which filled the earlier months of 1919 ended suddenly after the signing of the peace treaty, and proof appeared that the new "reformed" German gov- ernment had instigated the Spartacan disturbances and then suppressed them for their effect on the Peace Conference. In fact, Brockdorff-Rantzau inadvert' THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND 107 ently admitted as much when he declared that Ger- many could "dam the Bolshevist flood, or could re- lease it." The threat of Bolshevism in Germany proved to have been only one more of the shams against which we are never quite enough on our guard. Another sham that became evident soon was that of her starvation. American observers who had been in Germany since the armistice united in declaring that they found little more than the normal amount of un- der-nourishment, little of the excessive privation that was so widely advertised by the Germans when they were asking us for food. The home-grown propa- ganda had filled Germany itself with stories of such misery, but their scene was always located in some other part of the country. It was the same with cloth- ing and with most of the other supplies which Ger- many has been telling us she lacked. There was short- age, but no famine. And the new German "democracy"! Brockdorff- Rantzau and Bernstorff, whom America knows, were again at the head of great affairs there, men who were utterly identified with the old regime, and are utterly opposed to all that the new one is supposed to stand for. That was not accident. The most violent propa- gandists of the new freedom were men like Wolff, head of the news bureau which bears his name, and a constant vehicle for the propaganda of the old rulers. That was not accident, either. io8 LABOR AND REVOLT THE GERMAN STILL A HUN Under this "reformed" German government the conquest of the Baltic provinces was attempted, and the soldiers who were fighting there still took oath to the Kaiser! The army in the field, a German army with German officers, numbered 300,000, three times as much as the armistice terms permitted. Incident- ally, it revealed German generals making a common cause with Russians — and the expansion of Germany to the east, through Russia, is the dream which has come to take the place of that of the Pan-Germanists. Nor was the spirit of the Germans in any way altered. The old worship of force was still there. The old arrogance, the old ambition, were all present. Hardly a word of repentance had come from all her millions. She had been beaten, and accepted the fact. Further, nothing. So it is clear that the Germany with which we must deal, and whose policies we must watch, is one crip- pled, certainly, but far from crushed. It is evident, too, that in this Germany, whatever face may be put on affairs, the old crowd is still in control, having merely shifted the Kaiser and his retinue from the stage and put on the Social Democratic puppets. America knows what dummy directors are, it should recognize the trick easily. Germany is like a young man who has plunged heavily and lost, but is still strong and resourceful. Her first ambition is to "get back in the game." She THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND 109 has already done what she can at home. The German was hard at work even before the Allied countries had come any where near to resuming normal operations. And he is working on a very definite and long-thought out programme, a programme that was prepared to the last detail while the war was going on, and was put into motion even before the armistice was signed. NEW SCHEME FOR WORLD CONQUEST It is a programme aiming at the conquest of the world through commercial means, and through a sys- tem of deception, bribery, cleverness and force that in all respects matches the German war policies. It is a programme that will make use of militarism, as of old, if the time and circumstances become favorable, and preparations are being made for that, too. But the new conquest aimed at does not depend on the army. One typical instance of the German preparation for trade conquest is that in the chemical and dye trust. The importance of this industry cannot be overstated. It is the producer of high-explosives ; and the beauti- ful colors which the Germans are now trying to sell us are literally a by-product of the manufacture of death for American and Allied soldiers, each tinted with American blood ! Throughout the early part of the war the Hun used his control over vital medicines in an attempt to force concessions in America, and actually killed hundreds here by refusing drugs on which their lives depended. Now this trust, whicb no LABOR AND REVOLT doubled its capital during the war, has again doubled it, and is reaching out for a grip on the world through which the German can enforce commercial dominion of the earth. The effects of this new campaign appeared in other parts of the world, as well as in America. Within six months of the armistice, and before the peace treaty was completed, a German propaganda was under way for the recovery of Alsace-Lorraine — ^not that it was hoped to get any immediate action, but that the ques- tion nright be kept open, especially in American minds, for future trouble. In July of 1919 German Com- munists appeared suddenly in Denmark and attempted to organize a strike of harvest hands at the critical time, thus ruining the harvest and giving Germany a high-priced market for her exportable foods. The Baltic adventure, aiming at the exploitation of Russia, has already been mentioried. Germany's great army camouflaged More menacing yet were the means which were used to evade the provision of the peace treaty against a great army. Full evidence of these has been presented in France. In the Reichswehr (Imperial Army) of 100,000 men, which the peace treaty permits, there were in November, 1919, more than 50,000 former non-commissioned officers, and the organization was that of a skeleton force, to which hundreds of thou- sands could be added at an hour's notice. To provide THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND ni these Germany had organized the Zeit-FreiwilUge (Temporary Volunteers) who were called up once a week for drill and target practice. They answered the call in field uniform ! Then there was that Volkswehr (People's Army) of the "revolution," turned into the Einwohnerwehr (Citizen's Army), a sort of national guard. All these peaceful Huns kept their arms at home. Finally there were some 800,000 men still reg- ularly under arms — ^the 300,000 who were with von der Goltz in the Baltic and about 500,000 undemobil- ized "depot troops." Foch declared late in 19 19, that Germany could mobilize a million men instantly. All over the country, moreover, monarchist propa- ganda went on unchecked, especially among the sol- diers. The government made no effort to restrain it nor to curb the activity of the militarists. The offi- cers, who were comparatively modest in behavior while the peace treaty was being negotiated, and seldom appeared in uniform, resumed their old habiliments and arrogance. Everywhere the grip of the military- imperialists on the country became more open. At the same time official Germany had broken out with an epidemic of books. Memoirs, apologies, his- tories, revelations, appeared in a flood. Germany itself paid very little attention to these — ^they were propaganda, intended for foreign consumption, and the Germans recognized it. "2 LABOR AND REVOLT AN OCTOPUS WITH TEN MILLION TENTACLES Again, Germany was making all preparations for a "peaceful invasion" of many countries. Her exiled sons were one of her greatest strengths during the World War, and a constant menace to all other nations. Before it began they were the very founda- tion of the wonderful foreign trade she had built up. Their loyalty to her, even to the third and fourth gen- eration, their unscrupulousness, their industry and their amenability to orders from Wilhelmstrasse made them an army of occupation on foreign soil. The notorious Delbrueck law enabled them through per- jury to remain German subjects while obtaining by fraudulent naturalization the color and the power and protection of citizenship in the invaded countries. It had been predicted that as a result of the losses of man-power in the war, Germany would be obliged to stop emigration ; that she would need every man to restore her industries. ' But she does not. In the first place no invading army looted her fac- tories or ruined her mines, and her industries are far less badly disorganized than those of any other coun- try involved in the war except America. ^ In the second place she still has vast collections of stolen machinery and equipment from Belgium and northern France, while those countries are crippled by her deliberate destruction of their industrial ma- chinery. THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND 113 In the third place she has learned to make use of her women in a way which no other civilized country- has attempted. Finally, she is already imposing on her workers hours of labor that increase the possible use of this machinery by from 25 to 50 per cent. Many of them are working twelve hours a day without protest. So Germany can spare men and is actually aiding and encouraging emigration. She has established a government bureau which not only will help her men get abroad but will keep in touch with them there, aid them to get established and see that they remain loyal. Careful preparations for this were made even dur- ing the war; the Allied prison camps became schools for teaching to the German prisoners the languages of \ the countries they were destined to invade, and the technique of the trade or profession they were to take with them. Germany's new army of invasion will come thoroughly organized and equipped. In this army, especially, are many trained agitators of Bol- shevism or of lesser revolutionary doctrines, for Ger- many is prepared to offer to every man just as much Radicalism as he will absorb. American diplomatic officers have warned against the revolutionary menace of the invasion, and it was because of this warning that the law continuing the war barriers against aliens was passed. Our State Department believes that nearly ten million Germans alone — ^not counting Austrians — are preparing to join the invasion, and that millions of them will come to 114 LABOR AND REVOLT the United States and to the South American coun- tries where the German colonies already entrenched almost caused rebellion during the war. There is in- formation that 250,000 in particular are to go to Mex- ico to manufacture the munitions of war which the peace treaty forbids Germany to make at home ! The government itself is making every effort to lead the bulk of them toward Russia in furtherance of the plan to dominate that country and its vast re- sources. Thus Germany is preparing both for trade conquest and for revenge. She is gathering soldiers and com- mercial forces, she is already at work to sap the national strength of all other countries, so that when the next test comes, whether on the battlefield or in trade, her well-knit and perfectly obedient subjects shall be confronted in their fight only with disorgan- ized resistance. AMERICA THE INTENDED VICTIM The fact that these millions of the German invaders are being directed by their government toward Amer- ica is no accident. Germany is sure of finding allies here. The loyalty of many German-Americans to the Fatherland reappeared with startling suddenness and amazing shamelessness almost the moment the armis- tice was signed. Great gatherings in most of our larger cities proclaimed this loyalty openly; German- ophile organizations sprang into being overnight. The THE HUN IN THE BACKGROUND iig German immigrant who comes here will find the road smoothed for him. Important, too, is the fact that Germany expects America to be her best future customer. There is less bitterness toward the Hun here than in Europe; there is also far more money to be had. Finally, in any future contest, of arms or of com- merce, the United States will be Germany's most dan- gerous foe. It was our resources and our men that finally turned the tide against the Hun, and the Hun has not forgotten. He had counted on our unity being weakened by the Germans already here, but they were not enough to serve his ends. He will be better prepared next time. For all these things, for the accomplishment of his whole programme both in America and the rest of the world, every industrial or social disturbance here, every step toward revolution, will help the Hun. If our industry is dislocated we will not only buy more from him but will be also a less dangerous trade competitor. If our morale is undermined we will be the more easily affected by his propaganda. If we become disunited, crippled, at war with our- selves, we will offer the less resistance if his next at- tack should be launched against us, or less aid if it be hurled at our allies. It is only to be expected that an uncrushed Ger- many, unregenerate and with all the old ambitions and the old immorality, should use to-day as she has used 116 LABOR AND REVOLT before every dishonorable means to undermine Amer- ica, and that to accomplish this she should join with the Reds to make war both upon our prosperity, our stability and our government. She has motive, will- ingness and means to join with Bolshevism against us. The startling thing is that so many Americans should help this attack. So behind the specter of Revolution stands the world's enemy— the Hun; only a little disguised, and still the same creature that the world has learned to fear and hate. He stands there hoping that the mil- lions he is spending to help push America to destruc- tion will be like the few cents that the wrecker spends on the false lights that lure vessels upon the rocks, and that from the wreck he will profit hugely. CHAPTER VII DECOYS — ^AND LOOT Safety first for Red propaganda— Varied beliefs unite for mis- chief only — Some differences as to method — The three classes of revolutionists; Socialists, Syndicalists, Anarchists — The various Red aims: abolition of all authority, of God, of morals, of race distinction, of advantages from brain or training—- Political parties become propaganda agencies — The anti-Americanism of the Socialist Party — The Socialist Labor Party—The Labor Party — Industrial Workers of the World — The camouflage of Revolution — The real purpose. Revolutionary propaganda in America has been under a serious handicap ever since the passage of the Espionage Act, and especially since the amendment of the Act on May i6, 1918. The enemies of America of all kinds, if they wish to keep out of jail, as all save a few sincere zealots like Roger N. Baldwin and Eugene V. Debs have most fervently wished to do, have had to moderate their utterances or disguise them with double meanings. The only exceptions are in the violent anonymous pamphlets and hand-bills which appear from time to time, and there is much evidence to connect these with men and women whose signed writings are far less inflammatory. Any study of the purposes of the Reds, as set forth in their propaganda, must be undertaken with this limi- 117 ii8 LABOR AND REVOLT tation constantly in mind. It must never be forgotten that the writers wrote with the threat of a cell hang- ing over them, that often^ the real meanings are hidden under all kinds of camouflage, and that innuendo and suggestion are constantly used to convey to sympa- thetic readers ideas which the authors dare not state openly. Examples of this are the use of the expression "mass action," which may mean strikes, but usually, in the revolutionary jargon, means armed revolt ; the use of "expropriation" to cover confiscation of property — in other words plain theft, of "the dictatorship of the proletariat" to mean the exclusion by force of all classes but the workers from the government and from the suffrage, and in the I. W. W. propaganda of the word "scratching" to mean sabotage. RED FLAG UNITES MANY SCRAMBLED AIMS The Red aims on the surface are diverse and al- most irreconcilable. There are Reds who advocate no government at all, and Reds who want every indi- vidual act regulated ; Reds who would abolish machin- ery as a hindrance to freedom, and Reds who would turn the whole world into a machine; Reds whose writings show that they hope to establish an earthly heaven, and Reds whose inspiration is the hope of loot. But the Reds have agreed that "it is more important to emphasize oiir points of agreement than those points on which we disagree" ("Freedom," June, 1919), and DECOYS— AND LOOT 119 have reached a working understanding on an imme- diate aim, leaving the adjustment of differences till that aim had been achieved. That aim is, of course, class revolution: the over- throw of the government of the United States, the seizure of all property in the name of the workers, the establishment of a "dictatorship of the proletariat," the destruction of the whole organization of society as it now exists, and the construction of a new form of society which will insure "real freedom" and "real equality." It is only when details of the new form of society are taken up, that serious differences among the Reds begin to arise. . All use the same terms "equality" and "freedom" — ^but no two factions agree as to just what they mean. An immediate though minor difference arises re- garding how to bring about the Revolution. Marx, father of Socialism, laid down the rule that it was the duty of the proletariat to bring about this result by "any means" in their power, and practically all Reds agree to this. Historically there have been two general schools of thought among them as to means : that of "the propa- ganda," and that of "direct action" — education and force. Quite recently a new method has been added to "direct action" and it has for the time taken the forefront in America — revolution by strike. "Some day there'll be a general strike that will start in some city" a Red leader said to me recently. "It l2o' LABOR AND REVOLT will spread from place to place till it covers the whole country. On the day that that strike covers the country all the governments will just go on the scrip heap, won't they? There won't be any use for them because labor will rule." i It was not till the summer of 1919 that the Reds in any significant numbers turned toward actual, armed rebellion. Probably not more than a small per- centage of them, and those not among the leaders, be- lieve that the time will be ripe for this for some years, at least for many months. America was omitted from Lenin's grandiose scheme for world-revolution on No- vember 7, 19 19, and it may be assumed that the infor- mation sent him regarding what is possible in America necessarily must include every encouragement there may be for hope of immediate success. Nevertheless, the leaders demand violence as a means of propaganda and within one forty-eight-hour period in the same month for which he scheduled the world revolution, there were a series of anarchistic bomb outrages in the steel towns, the seizure of a quantity of arms and am- munition in the West Virginia coal fields, and an ad- mission on the part of Communist leaders in New York that they planned the organization of "Red Guards" on the Russian model, and under orders of Lenin. During the steel strike there was a wide belief on the part of aliens that they were to rise in arms and seize the mills. When the class-revolution is accomplished — "peace- fully if possible"— ^there is further agreement among DECOYS— AND LOOT 121 the Reds on one thing more: none but workers shall have any power in the new society. Some say "workers with hand or brain," but there are many who deny the value of brain labor. As to excluding all but "workers," however, all are agreed, though most put it in the phrase "dictatorship of the proletariat." Lenin defines this as "a mode of conducting the business of the state without the bourgeoisie and against the bourgeoisie. . . . Since we are engaged in the task of overthrowing the bourgeoisie, only fools or traitors will insist on the formal equality of the bourgeoisie." The American Re'ds are a little chary of defining the phrase. LOOT AND LICENSE WANTED Beyond this comes the babel of conflicting opinion. It would be amusing but unprofitable to follow its de- tails. Every point is at issue, and each Red can prove to his own satisfaction — and to that of most people — that the theories and programmes of all the other Reds are impracticable and hopeless. In general, however, in America the Reds in following out their quest for "equality and freedom" come in some manner to the following conclusions: I. There shall be no authority, of man over man, or of God over man. "It is a struggle against . . . authority in all forms," said Roger N. Baldwin when convicted of re- fusing war service. IM LABOR AND REVOLT "One oi the instruments for the obscuring of the consciousness of the people is the belief in God and the devil, etc., in short — religion," writes Bykharin in "The Qass Struggle." "We shall also understand why the Communist Party is so resolutely opposed to religion. . . . God is he who is great and strong and rick How else is God glorified? As the, 'Lord.' What is a Lord? A 'lord' is a master and the opposite of 'slave,' etc. 2. There shall he no conscience, no morals, no ethics, except those of class and personal interest. "Industrial Socialism" says: Class interest is the basis of class ethics. . . . An indi- vidual, or nation or a class will finally come to think that right which is to his material advantage. . . . When the •worker comes to know this truth he acts accordingly. He retains absolutely no respect for the "property-rights" of the profit-takers. He will use any weapon which will win his fight. . . . He knows that whatever action advances the in- terest of the working class is right. August Strindberg, reprinted in "The Class Struggle" says: It is possible that morality is not so dreadfully moral, as it is an invention of the upper classes, for their own im- moral purposes, to keep down the lower class! 3. There shdll he no racial distinction of any kind, in property, in opportunity, or in sex relationships. Some of the anarchist colonies in America have at- DECOYS— AND LOOT 123 tempted to put this last into effect, till stopped by the rebellion of some of their women members against sex relationship with Negroes. Anarchists, of course, oppose any form of marriage ceremony. 4. There shall be no advantage to anyone from brains, training, industry or good behavior. Of course, advantages from property are abolished along with property. Says Lenin: The principles of the Paris Commune and of any pro- letarian rule . . . demand the reduction of salaries to the standard of remuneration of the average worker. Says "The Forge" : The Educated Class! Wtiat is this so-called Educated Class to-day? Was it the Educated Class that set Europe afire and then drowned the conflagration in human blood? Are they the most intelligent representatives of the Edu- cated Class who gibber their outworn phrases over the "Peace Table" in Paris to-day, while they draw up the conditions on which the next war will be declared — if they remain in power. Is it the Educated Class that calmly watches starvation and death carry off its slaves by the millions to an early grave sooner than give them a little more of the product of their toil ? Undoubtedly. They and none other. Then, from a social viewpoint, of what avail is their education, their Science of Death, their Arts of Mass Murder? Away with them. The proposition of equality of income involves that of preventing reward for being industrious or thrifty. 124^ LABOR AND REVOLT though the Reds are quite careful not to state it. The matter of behavior is covered under morals. During the early days of the Russian Revolution Radicalism in America was quite insistent on the abolition of all government except that of shop Soviets — the practical elimination of any central power. Lenin, however, has admitted that the working of Bolshevism requires an "iron hand" and a "higher dis- cipline of the toilers" than under Capitalism even, and Anarchist-Communist schemes Iiave now been per- mitted to slide into the background. Such, in brief, is the Revolution as it is dressed to-day. This outline of its plans will hardly be chal- lenged as being on the whole untrue, though, as has been said, there are many variations from it — ^Rad- icalism is extremely individualistic. Each of the quo- tations given is typical, and each might be multiplied a hundred — a. thousand times — from the current Red propaganda. The attainment of Revolution was until recently hoped for through political action, so far as the major- ity of American Radicals were concerned. In this they followed the practice of the German Majority Social- ists — ^the Parliamentarians — who worked through the regular government machinery, and pushed a pro- gramme that was nothing more than rather advanced reform, whatever the ultimate goal may have been. The American Socialist Party followed this practice, not on the ground that violent revolution was in any way wrongful, but in the belief that it would be unsuc- DECOYS-AND LOOT 125 cessful. The party counted its success by the occa- sional winning of some office, and measured its strength by election returns. With the new hope of an actual revolution within measurable time a new spirit has come over all the Radical parties. Political action has become distinctly secondary and their first interest is to act as agencies for the propaganda of Revolution. In the resolutions adopted by the Socialist Party at the St. Louis con- vention — the same convention that voted to oppose the efforts of America in the World War, it said : "The social revolution, not political office, is the aim and end of the Socialist Party." And the Socialist Party is the mildest of the revolutionary organizations ! The "Left Wing," now the Communist Party, in its manifesto declares: It must carry on its political campaigns, not merely as a means of electing officials to political office, as in the past, but as a year-round educational campaign to arouse the workers to class-conscious economic and political action and to keep alive the burning ideal of revolution in the hearts of the people. SOCIALISTS GIVE POLITICAL POWER TO ALIENS How little the Socialist Party is a political party, and how completely a revolutionary organization, is shown by its rules. Its members need not be voters, they need not even be citizens. All its measures are decided by majority vote of the members, so that it is 126 LABOR AND REVOLT entirely possible for the party, or for any local Social- ist organization to be dominated — ^to have policies and vote controlled — ^by aliens. This in itself removes it from the class of political organizations. When it does succeed in electing a member to office, he is required to follow in all official actions the in- structions of the party organization in the district he represents, that organization including the aliens, of course. Finally, no member of the party is permitted to vote for any other than the Socialist Party nominee, and if there is no nominee, he is not permitted to vote. These rules are so utterly opposed to all American ideals that they have driven away, rather than at- tracted, Americans who were in some degree in sym- pathy with the reforms the party advocates. Party leaders have recognized this, yet have made no change in the machinery or rules. , They have preferred to accept the heavy political handicap rather than to weaken the efficiency of their mechanism for propa- ganda and Revolution. A well-disciplined, obedient machine, dependable even if small, was more valuable to them than greater numbers would have been, or would be, if those numbers were not wholly sub- servient or were in any way given to the American habit of individual thought. Socialism, as advocated by this party, abandoned the ideal of patriotism, and became revolutionary, rather than evolutionary, when the radical wing cap- tured the St. Louis convention, in April, 191 7. The report it then adopted, said: DECOYS— AND LOOT 127 As against the false doctrine of national patriotism we uphold the idea of international working-class solidarity. . . . The working class of the United Staes has no quarrel with the working class of Germany or any other country. The party platform offers a programme "designed to assist in the passing of this bankrupt system of cap- italism, not as a final substitute for it. . . . Any pro- gramme that leaves industry, finance, transportation and natural resources in the hands of exploiting groups will perpetuate the causes of international discord and lead to another world tragedy. The main struggle of the masses is to secure control of these basic institu- tions." RADICALISM THAT CAME FROM FRANCE Nearly equal to the Socialists in numerical strength are the Syndicalists. The name is taken from the French syndicat, meaning merely trade union, but should in no way be confused with trade unionism in America. They demand that wealth, productive and distributive, be taken over by the various trades unions, and it excludes from industrial power all capitalists and the state. Syndicalists do not contemplate having any central authority and expect industry to be carried on by agreement between groups of workers. They believe all non-producers useless, and hold that there can be nothing but armed truce between Labor and Capital. Society, under their plans, would be what might be 128 LABOR AND REVOLT called an anarchy of communes. The Plumb plan of the railway brotherhood is a step in this direction,^ though not necessarily revolutionary. The political party representing this group is the Socialist Labor Party, small in number, but exceed- ingly active in propaganda. It publishes papers in six languages. It does not, at present, advocate violence, but it calls on the workers "to organize themselves into a revolutionary, political organization under the banner of the Socialist Labor Party, and to organize themselves likewise upon the industrial field into a revolutionary industrial union in keeping with their political aims." The recent growth of the English guild movement, with a distinctly Syndicalist programme, and the suc- cess of some of the English political strikes or strike threats, have greatly strengthened the propaganda of the Socialist Labor Party, which depends largely on the strike, as a political weapon, to accomplish Revo- lution. It is interesting to note that for many years the party was dominated by Daniel de Leon, the father of the Bolshevist theory. The labor organization sponsored by the party, and professing identical prin- ciples, is the W. I. I. U. — ^Workers' International In- dustrial Union. A great part of its activity is directed against the crafts labor unions and the American Fed- eration of Labor. DECOYS— AND LOOT 129 revolution's strongest arm A child of the Socialist Labor Party, though un- loved by its parent, is the I. W. W., the Industrial Workers of the World, to give it its full name. It is the most numerous and dangerous of all the revolu- tionary organizations to-day, though it has only be- come so within the war period, after many vicissitudes and failures. Its methods and purposes are outlined by Vincent St. John in his "The I. W. W., Its History, Structure and Methods." They are worth quoting at some length : As a revolutionary organization the Industrial Workers of the World aims to use any and all tactics that will get the result sought with the least expenditure of time and energy. The tactics used are determined solely by the power of the organization to make good in their use. The question of "right" and "wrong" does not concern us. No terms made with an employer are final. All peace, so long as the wage system lasts, is but an armed truce. . . . Failing to force concession from the employers by the strike, work is resumed and "sabotage" is used to force the employers to concede the demands of the workers. The great progress made in machine production results in an ever-increasing army of unemployed. To counteract this the I. W. W. aims to establish the shorter working day, and to slow up the working pace, thus compelling the employ- ment of more and more workers. . . . Interference by the Government is resented by open violation of the Govern- ment's orders. ... In short, the I. W. W. advocates the use 130 LABOR AND REVOLT of "Militant Direct Action" tactics to the full extent of our power to make good. An offshoot of the I. W. W. in principle if not in fact, is the One Big Union, of which little has been heard in the East. It was formed early in 1919 by Canadian seceders from the American Federation of Labor, and spread like wildfire through the Canadian • west, and then down across the border into our own northwest. In theory and practice it follows the I. W. W. ANARCHISM : LIBERTY RUN WILD The third and last great current of revolutionary thought and purpose is Anarchism. There is no pre- cise definition of the term, as there are literally scores of variants. According to Emma Goldman, its lead- ing exponent in America (until deported late in 19 19), it is "the philosophy of a new social order based on liberty unrestricted by man-made laws ; the theory that all forms of government rest on violence and are therefore wrong and harmful as well as unnecessary." The variants of Anarchist doctrine are so wide and numerous that no precise definition of it is possible. Many of its adherents are not only harmless but ex- ceedingly valjiable citizens, while others are extremely dangerous. In contrast with most Reds, whose theoretical beliefs indicate the extent to which they menace the community. Anarchists must be judged DECOYS— AND LOOT 131 entirely in the methods they advocate, and not al; all on their philosophical beliefs. Anarchist principles forbid the formation of a polit- ical party, but because they are opposed to the state, many Anarchists support internationalism, and be- cause they oppose property, they support the idea of a proletarian revolution. The Russian groups of Anarchists in America have caused most of the recent attempts at violence, such as the use of bombs, and have put out the most in- flammatory propaganda, though Anarchism itself does not of necessity involve any direct action. Many An- archists, headed by Emma Goldman herself, have joined the Syndicalist movement, because it is, as she says, "the economic expression of Anarchism." Her propaganda on that subject makes the aim of Labor agitation the injury of the employer more than the benefit of the workers! All three of these currents of Radical thought have united in the demand for the overthrow of the gov- ernment, on the common platform of internationalism and a class-war, and finally on the propaganda to de- fend Bolshevism and to encourage its establishment in this country. Even I. W. Ws.^ once barred, are now back in the Socialist Party. The support the Reds give Bolshevism differs in de- gree and in frankness, but it is a common hall mark of all the revolutionary activity. It is this, more than any other thing, that shows how complete is the breaking away of the American Radicals from the tradition of 132 LABOR AND REVOLT peaceful conversion of the majority of Americans to their beliefs. The Soviet form of government, which they advocate, is not in itself horrible, though it is apparently unsuccessful. In its behalf fairly reason- able arguments may be advanced. Its principle is the choice of legislative representatives by industrial groups — that is by Soviets, which are shop or profes- sional unions — ^rather than by geographical divisions, and the absolute control of the executive and the judi- ciary by the legislative power. BOLSHEVISM: IN PRACTICE But it is not in the theory of Soviet as against terri- torial representation that the menace lies. It is in the practice of Bolshevism, which the Radicals unite in defending no less than they do the theory. That prac- tice has appeared in full in Russia, and, however much the Reds' apologists here may deny that the theory and practice necessarily go together, the Russian leaders are under no such delusion, rujr do they either seek to excuse the practice or see need of excuses. The statements of Lenin, the "proletarian dictator" are quite clear on that subject. In his "Letter to American Workingmen," he said : The class struggle in revolutionary times has always in- evitably taken on the form of civil war, and civil war is unthinkable without the worst kind of destruction, without terror and limitations of form of democracy in the interests DECOYS— AND LOOT 133 of the war. One must be a sickly sentimentalist not to be able to see, to understand and to appreciate this necessity. Terror, destruction, limitations of democracy — ^that is Bolshevism in practice. That is the kind of revolu- tion on which Radicalism in America is now united. THE HYPOCRISY OF But this is not all of Bolshevism, as expounded by Lenin. His plan hits at every trace of government by the people, at the whole basis of self-rule toward which all progress has been tending for centuries. Here is the report of Arthur BuUard, an American Socialist who writes from a personal acquaintance with the Bol- shevist Dictator and his doctrines: Lenin is frankly and outspokenly anti-democratic. On this subject he became heated. He, objects to both the theory and practice of majority rule. The mass of the people, he argues, have been too debased by capitalist oppression to know what is good for them. Long hours of labor have robbed them of any chance to acquire general culture or to understand their own position and needs. And they are too ill-nourished to have the energy to struggle, too terrorized by the fear of losing their jobs to revolt. He spoke hope- lessly, with marked disdain, of the "lethargic mass." The capitalist will always be able to fool the majority. He saw no hope of progress if one waited for democratic action by the masses. Toward democracy in action he was even more bitter. What, he demanded vehemently, had it accomplished for the workers in France, Britain or America? Lenin pins his faith on the "enlightened, militant minority," "the elite of the proletariat." He is frankly for a "minority 134 LABOR AND REVOLT revolution." Of course he maintained that the "lethargic imass" would benefit by his projects and in the end rally to them. But he does not expect them to initiate anything. Revolution for, but not by, the people is his ideal. The ethical teachings of the day, Lenin argued, have been imposed on us-^— like our property laws — ^by the possessing class. Lenin repudiated all allegiance to what most people call "moral obligations." For him the only good is that which hurries on the emancipation of the working class. This is Bolshevism as it is, as personified in its great- est leader: not only violence, terror and destruction, but revolution by a minority, imposing itself on the majority of the nation, overthrowing not only the gov- ernment but all ideals and all morality, a new autoc- racy. Bolshevism in Russia simmers down to this, stripped of all the camouflage of idealistic verbiage; Lenin thinks he will be a better autocrat than the Czar. Of course this would not be hard to do. The point is that if he succeeds in doing it, as everyone must hope he will, it will be by the denial of the very principles which he and Bolshevism are trying to force upon America and the rest of the world. To establish a similar rule there is urged terror and bloodshed and destruction, even in America. SAFETY FIRST FOR AMERICAN REDS American revolutionaries at present are not quite so frank, however. They praise and defend Bolshevism —they do not exactly advocate it openly, except in DECOYS— AND LOOT 135 rare instances. Partly this is because they are temper- ing their programme to the more conservative minds they are trying to seduce. Partly it is fear of the law — safety first. There is a recent change, for instance, in the published views of William Z. Foster. In his "Red Book," printed about 1914, he said: The thieves at present in control of industry must be stripped of their booty. . . . This social organization will be a revolution. . . . The Syndicalist sees in the state only an instrument of oppression. ... In modern society, as in all ages, might is right. The end justifies the means. Foster has now got inside Organized Labor. Since doing it he has published another pamphlet, "Trade Unionism — the Road to Freedom." In this he shows a different choice of language: It is idle to say that the trades unions will rest content with anything short of complete emancipation. For they are as insatiable as the veriest revolutionary union. The degree of their conquests is limited only by their power. Too much weight should not be given to such slogans as "A fair day's pay for a fair day's work" and "The interests of capital and labor are identical." They are for foreign consumption. Their purpose is to deceive and disarm the opposition. Foster's friend John Margolis, an I. W. W. attor- ney, is a little franker. "I welcome the feeling of unrest; I favor all strikes," he declared. 136 LABOR AND REVOLT Many of the agitators, like "Mother" Jones at Gary, are more frank, and are urging bloodshed. A FEW HONEST AGITATORS The most honest, however, of the Revolutionaries are the I. W. W. and their close allies, the One Big Union leaders. The following which has appeared in the publications of both organizations and is here quoted from The Internationalist Socialist Review, sets forth their creed: Right never did prevail, and never will, without the aid of might. The New Morality says: Damn interest! Damn profits! Damn rent! Damn agreements ! We've damned well enough to do to look after our own damned selves and our families. And whatever is calculated to help ourselyes and our class is moral, good and pure. What injures our class is immoral. The power must be taken away from the policeman's club. How? Anyhow. Why? Because it hurts our class and is therefore immoral. So we must spike the guns and turn them around. How? Anyhow, becamse it hurts our class and is immoral. DECOYS— AND LOOT 137 Don't strike for more than you have a right to demand. You have a right to demand all you have the power to enforce. These are the aims of Bolshevism — ^the methods by which they are to be won have appeared in their very statement: by "any and all means," by "mass action," by means "to be determined in each country according to conditions existing at the critical moment" ; "to take over industry is a positive act and a revolutionary one and folded arms (the general strike) will not accom- plish it." Peaceful means are put forward for propa- ganda purposes with those whose stomachs turn at the idea of slaughter; violent means are understood as the final method if necessary. In carrying out this violence, also, the extent to which it must go is clear — it is to destroy society. "The bourgeoisie state must be completely destroyed" ; "Revolution is on the wing . . . devastating and de- stro)ring, and creating and achieving." All our institutions, all our ideals, our morals, our ethics, our conscience, our God — all are to be wiped out for the benefit of the Revolution! Yet in all this there is a possibility of real nobility of purpose. The Utopia which some of the revolu- tionaries see might be worth the whole cost, at least the cost in property and lives, if it would be won. The world has paid big prices for its progress before this, and later generations, even the generations that paid the price, have thought the gain more than worth while. If that Utopia should be realized 138 LABOR AND REVOLT THE BAIT AND THE HOOK But all this is not the real Revolution — it is the cover only, the propaganda put out to draw converts, the decoy for the game, the bait. How many of the revolutionary agitators believe in it cannot be guessed. Undoubtedly the majority of them do. But not all. The real sources of the Red agitation cannot be told in full. The American government, like all other gov- ernments, is. watching with anxious c?.re, and many of the facts which it knows, and which others in touch with the situation also know, cannot be revealed until they are brought out in court. Earlier publicity would only add to the difficulties the secret services must sur-r mount in fighting and recovering the whole conspiracy. This much may be said: Behind the various Red organizations, behind their different policies and pro- grammes, behind the confusion and clamor that is in reality a means of reaching as many differing types of minds as possible, stands a central, unseen power, directing and supporting the whole. From it come funds for each of the Red activities, funds which appear mysteriously when needed and always in sufficient amount. Through this central power Red agitators also ap- pear where they may be useful. If any unrest breaks out in which they have not had a hand they are soon there to exploit it to the utmost. This power is well served, moreover, and usually the Reds are there be- DECOYS— AND LOOT 139 fore the slightest hint of coming trouble has appeared on the surface. The Red agitation in America is not a spontaneous thing, arising from discontent caused by deep griev- ances of real tyranny. It is a cultivated, organized, inspired, well-financed, carefully directed conspiracy. It does not strike at random. It is by no accident that Reds of all shades have suddenly turned as one to new policies. There are Reds who are not under its control, of course. Those who sent the bombs broad- cast over the country in the Spring of 19 19 were out- siders. But the great mass of the Reds, the thousands who are busily working together, are all part of the same army. REAL AIM OF THE RED CONSPIRACY That army aims at no small conquest, it will not be turned aside by any minor defeat. The deportation of a few hundred men and women will affect it not at all. Its work will continue so long as there is any chance that by it America can be injured. The men behind this conspiracy do not expect Utopia. They see in the Revolution one great and immediate advantage for themselves, the weakening, perhaps the destruction of America and of all civiliza- tion but their own ; a weakening that will permit them to carry out schernes of conquest, whether in commerce or by arms, that would be impossible against a strong and prosperous world. 140 LABOR AND REVOLT For this they are willing to destroy and to kill, and it matters nothing to them if the tools they use, the workers they are pretending to help, are broken in the process. There is another class of leaders, of whom Lenin is the chief, who are allied with this conspiracy for their own ends and who also have no delusions about the nile of the masses. They believe with Lenin that the masses must be guided — and that they can be guided by themselves. Lenin believes that he will rule the people for their good. Probably most others of his type believe this too, for it is seldom that a man will tell himself that he wants power only for its own sake, that he will use it only for his own enrichment. He may include these uses for his power — ^but to keep their own respect most men must make themselves be- lieve that they will repay in some form. Who would not find it easy to believe they are doing good if the belief will bring them such opportunities for ambition and for plunder as have come to Lenin and Trotsky? So the Revolution, the desperate adventure that would stake all that Civilization has won in twenty thousand years upon the hope of a universal panacea "to put an end to every ill that oppresses humanity," this Revolution is itself being exploited. It is being exploited by a conspiracy which, under no delusion of a panacea, aims only at destruction for the benefit it may bring to the conspirators, and by men who, de- luded or not, are seeking power for themselves and not for the masses. CHAPTER VIII THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS Substituting laziness for unemployment; an historical experi- ment — The need of spurs to industriousness — ^Lenin learns by experience — Theories that have been disproved still preached by American Reds : excessive price fixing, fiat money, division of property, government ownership, under- valuation of brains — ^How Socialist economic theories failed in Belgium — How Socialist political theories failed in Germany. When, in 1790, the people first ruled in France and thousands were out of employment in and around Paris because of the dislocations caused by the Revo- lution, the Assembly proclaimed that it was the duty of the state to assure comfortable living for all its citi- zens. In furtherance of this duty, it ordered the open- ing of worksh6ps, under government control and sup- ported by government funds, where any citizen could find work. No shaky popular government can stint on the wages paid its employes, so those offered were the highest in France — 20 sous a day. The workers flocked to those shops and stayed. Those that were out of work came, of course, but thousands left less well paid jobs for the high government wages. No one ever quit, and, of course, no one could be dis- charged — such governments do not disdiarge voters. 141 142 LABOR AND REVOLT By October Paris had 19,000 on its rolls; Toulon, where the same thing was done, 11,000; Amiens 15,000, and the Seine-Oise department 41,000. Con- sidering the meager industrial development of those days, it is probable that the majority of French in- dustrial workers were on the government payroll. But few worked for their pay. Even after the gov- ernment ordered piece-work — which it failed to en- force — not more than a quarter of those on the rolls ever appeared at work, and these did little. The work laid out was along the lines of the modern cure for unemployment by governments and consisted of use- less earthworks outside Paris. By the next spring Paris was paying 31,000 men, as peasants had begun to flock to the shops, and by July, 1771, there were 40,000. No more work than before was being done, ho\Vever. Then the government lost patience and ordered the closing of the shops. But this was more easily said than done. The "leaders of the people," Danton, Marat, and Desmoulins, started a super-revolution, and some six thousand of the "workers" gathered on the Champs de Mars in a demonstration, threatening the Assembly. The government finally had to order out the National Guard, and the "workers" fled after a dozen had been killed. JUST GOOD intentions! There was a considerable and well-received agitation in America for the same kind of thing recently — for THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS 143 government jobs for men out of employment. It could hardly be called even Radical. It was based on a real need, for there were hundreds of thousands out of work. It was intended to meet one of the most serious weaknesses of our present industrial system: that there is no certainty that a man able and willing to work can find employment. This little incident in Paris, so covered in the rush of great events that most histories do not even men- tion it, shows what might have happened if the plan had been tried — it is a clear-cut example of the re- sults of well-meant but inexpert tampering with the laws of economics and of psychology. The Frenchmen who tried the experiment demon- strated a very simple thing: that men will not, work except to satisfy some need, and that when all the needs they have are met there is no impulse to labor. The corollary to that is equally simple: that until some other need than economic necessity is developed , in mankind, it is not safe, economically, to remove that necessity, since very few of us will work for anything but material prosperity, in our present stage of civi- lization. This may be seen in less degree in the in- efficiency of the work done in "safe" government jobs the world over. This incident and its lesson are important in that they strike at the whole basis of modern revolutionary theory, for the avowed aim of the Revolution is "to abolish poverty"; in other words to assure economic support, to remove need. That seems a very humane 144 LABOR AND REVOLT thing to do, but It is dear that if it is done by revolu- tion — assuming it is possible for revolution to do it — it will in itself defeat the Revolution, by depriving it of workers. The change can come with safety no faster than altruistic and unselfish motives for work spread among mankind. THE EXPERIMENT BROUGHT DOWN TO DATE It may be objected that this Parisian experiment was tried 130 years ago, and that humanity has ad- vanced since then. There are more recent experi- ments. Up to the breaking out of the World War the most successful practical Socialism was being carried on in Belgium by the great co-operative society there. It had communal production along with a minimum wage, insurance, and other safeguards against eco- nomic need. But its directors discovered that in their factories the product was often so small that the min- imum wage left a loss, so the Socialists themselves found it necessary to provide that there should be a minimum product before even the minimum wage was paid. "We could not," it was explained, "allow a given wage to all kinds of work and with all kinds of workmen. Some will trifle, gossip, waste their own time and that of others. Some men care more for the saloon, and some girls more for flirting and prinking than for their work. We are still too imper- fect to apply such a rule without modifications and THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS 14s exceptions. We must require a minimum product because they all have a minimimi of wants to be satis- fied." ("The Social Unrest," John Graham Brooks.) So Belgium's experiment supports that of France. There is evidence even nearer. Soviet Russia is the complete modern expression of all that Revolution stands for. There, if anywhere, we should find that the freedom of the worker, given through the re- moval of economic compulsion, has produced the un- compelled joy in labor which the Reds are promising us. Yet Lenin, in his "The Soviets at Work" says: The introduction of obligatory labor service should be started immediately. . . . We have introduced labor control as a law, but it is barely beginning to be realized, or even to penetrate the consciousness of the proletarian masses. Economic improvement depends on higher discipline of the toilers. We must introduce in Russia the study and the teaching of the Taylor system (even organized labor has opposed this in America). We must . . . require the use of com- pulsion so that the slogan of the dictatorship of the prole- tariat should not be weakened by the practice of a too mild proletarian government. Thus in Paris in 1791, in Belgium in 19 14, and iii Russia in 19 19 Revolution failed in its fundamental principle — ^the removal of the compulsion to work. When the compulsion stopped, work stopped also; the Revolution could support itself only by abandoning its principle and driving men to labor by force of some kind. 146 LABOR AND REVOLT RE-INCARNATION OF FAILURES This is only one of the many lessons in history on the working out of Red theories. Few of the details of their panacea for "all the ills that oppress humanity" have not been experimented upon in that great labora- tory. The laws of the universe are harsh in many ways, and impose heavy penalties, and men have tried again and again to alter them. Yet in the Red propa- ganda to-day many theories find re-birth that have been tried and have failed. The Revolution to-day centers against economics, and the first of the economic laws which it attacks is that of supply and demand. The Revolution pro- poses to fix wages, fix prices, fix profits, to impose a fixed and stable relation between the three, to insure food and clothing at reasonable prices, to abolish economic law by legislation. This has always been one of the greatest promises and attempted performances of Revolution. During the French Revolution all prices, including that of labor, were fixed by the "law of the maximum." In- cidentally, labor unions were forbidden because they tried to interfere with it. In time this law became stablized on the basis that the price on goods should not exceed 33%. above the price in 1790, and that on labor 50%. It was also provided that the manu- facturer, the distributor and the retailer could each make a 5% profit. There were special fixed prices on grain and bread. ^ THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS 147 The rise in the cost of liviflg soon defeated the law, however. By February, 1793, wages had risen from 15 to 40 sous a day (166% instead of 50%) beef had gone from 8 to' 20 (i667o instead of 33%). Bread was held to three sous by government order,^ and by the fact that the government had provided 30,000,000 francs worth to be sold in Paris at half price. But even at these profiteer prices food was not to be had — the farmers would not sell at the fixed price, and demanded payment in proportion to the real value of their products. There followed seizure and forced sale at the legal prices. When the supplies in the cities were exhausted armed forces were sent into the country, to seize the peasants' food. As a result in the following year the peasants did not plant more than they could hide — many were ruined by the seizures and could plant nothing — and the famine was worse than ever. It was at its height when the counter- revolution came. In several French cities price fixing had been tried previously. Strassbourg in 1791 fixed the price of the 6-pound loaf at 12 sous. Within a month the re- fusal of the farmers to bring in grain had driven its price from 19 to 30 livres a sack. The same round was gone through in Russia in the first two years of the revolution. There were fixed prices, refusal of the farmers to sell, seizures, and finally refusal to produce. By November, 1919, bread was selling in Moscow for the equivalent of $37.50 a loaf and butter I4S LABOR AND REVOLT at $150 a pound ! The Revolution has disproved itself — ^production ceases when the product cannot be sold for a fair price, and the law of supply and demand is avenged. HOW REDS MANUFACTURE BUSINESS PROSTRATION The price of goods under a Red government is com- plicated by another revolutionary theory put into prac- tice — the theory that value can be created by the sim- ple process of printing money. The Reds have always seen in the printing press a means of stopping all gaps in their economic structure. If there is not enough produced to pay the wages guaranteed — print money. If there is a deficit in government operation — print more money. If the abolition of wealth also abolishes taxes and leaves the government bankrupt — print still more money. The French Revolutionists called their paper money assignats. They put behind these all the power of the state and all its credit. The punishment for pass- ing them below par was at first a twenty-year im- prisonment, and when this proved ineffective, death. Yet by August, 1793, the value of the assignats had fallen to six francs paper for one of silver! Shortly after this the people were forced to exchange all their gold and silver for paper — all they could not hide — and their was no measure of the value of the paper left. Outside France it was utterly worthless. It has been the same in Russia. The printing press THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS 149 has been working overtime, and the value of the Bol- shevist roubles has fallen even faster than the presses turned. Within a year after the Revolution came to power there had ceased to be an exchange quotation for them in any money market in the world, though there was still a certain value left in the paper put out by the Czar and even in that of the Kerensky govern- ment. By the end of 19 19 it cost more to print a rouble note than that note was worth. During the brief Bolshevik government of Bela Kun in Buda- pesth, even the "whil^e money" printed lavishly by the Revolutionaries had become worthless, and the coun- try fell back on barter. Thus a second economic law, that of "sound money," successfully defies the revolutionists. ' FORTUNES MADE BY REVOLUTION The French Revolution did not attempt any equal division of property — its efforts were limited to tak- ing from the rich. Land was given to the peasants, as in Russia, and that was the one economic change that became permanent, as it seems likely to be in Russia. But the French Revolution did demonstrate one thing about property in such times: if many rich were beggared, many new fortunes were made; there was a redistribution, but no more equality than before. In Russia the process has hardly gone far enough for appraisal, but it is clear that in spite of the attempted division of wealth the people are not only no better ISO LABOR AND REVOLT off, but that the bad management, clumsiness and leveling of ability have made them far worse off than ever before. Government ownership and operation are urged by many Radicals both for economy and to produce con- tentment among the workers. America had a sample of that on its railroads and telegraph lines during the war, though even that has not been enough to moder- ate the Reds' demands. The cost of this experiment is problematical, but is estimated at around two billion dollars, what with running deficit and run-down pla^it. The railroad workers have never been more discon- tented. The lesson America learned from the failure of the government ownership experiments in the days before the Civil War, when a dozen states plunged and lost in railways and canals, lasted America two generations and the new lesson will not be forgotten soon. The world is full of similar demonstrations. The Russian Revolution already has given evidence on the Red plan of doing away with experienced ex-, ecutives — ^with brains. Lenin has had to get them, and pay them salaries which naturally produced a vio- lent protest from the Bolsheviks who had taken the agitators' promises at face value. He has apologized, and argues that it is a temporary expedient, though his private belief in the lack of ability of the masses,, already quoted, shows the hypocrisy of this argument. So Russia to-day presents the spectacle of the old bosses, at the old jobs, with the old salaries, and with THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS 151 Red Guard detachments to insure that there are no labor troubles! Both the French Revolution and the Paris Com- mune of 1 87 1 experimented with turning the factories over to the workers, and in both cases the experi- ments failed long before the counter-revolution came to give an excuse for their failure. In short, wherever the Reds' economic theories have been tried they have failed. More, they have brought on want instead of prosperity, misery instead of hap- piness, complete economic paralysis. Russia is going back to capitalism — ^mostly Ger- man capitalism. Concessions are being granted for railway, mining and forestry development on terms that induce capitalists to take the tremendous risks in- volved in dealing with the Soviet government. With these, and with the abandonment of "democratic con- trol of industry" and with compulsory labor, the start toward some measure of prosperity is being made. Except for the fact that the peasants have the land, already there is little left in Russia of the economic revolution. SOCIALISM BECOMES A TRUST Moreover, wherever the Radicals have come into contact with practical affairs short of revolution, their theories have gone by the board, and they have come down to obedience to the same economic laws that gov- IS2 LABOR AND REVOLT ern the world, and on the poHtical side to a progrdmme of reform only a little in advance of the general pro- gressive sentiment of the day. This is bitterly de- nounced by their comrades who are still dwelling in the realm of theory. The Belgium Co-operative Society has been men- tioned. It was begun by Socialists who held all the doctrinaire formulae: "the laborer shall have the whole product of his toil," "interest is theft," "to every man according to his needs, and from each according to his ability," "work by the day should replace piece work," and "machinery must not be permitted to dis- place labor." But in the Belgium Socialist-Co-operative works all these theories vanished before the compulsion of ex- perience. The "minimum product" required is noth- ing but piece work ; their factories had as much of the best labor-saving machinery as they could afford; there were factories in which women worked ten hours, and factories in which men worked only eight; the wage scale varied for different reasons and often on the basis of the market price of the product; tof course the "overhead" and "selling" expenses were deducted before the worker got his "total product," higher salaries were paid for managerial ability and paid, too, to Socialist comrades; the middleman was found to be not only necessary but worthy of his profit; interest was paid to the Socialist members themselves to encourage thrift and induce investment in the society funds ; and finally leaders in the move- THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS 153 ment admitted that the wage system, or something very like it, would never be abolished! Socialism at work simply could not remain Social- ism. In fact, in Belgium, it became a trust, and was fought as such by the small competitors whose ruin it threatened! So much discussion has been given to the economic failures of revolutionary theory because it is on these very things that the revolutionary agitation centers, particularly in America. There is a record of equal emphasis in the political field. « THE TAMING OF THE RED HUNS The great Socialist political experiment, correspond- ing to that of Belgium in the economic field, was made in Germany. That in France was less important, both in extent of time and the amount of power that was won by the Socialists, but it worked in the same way. When German Socialists began to win parliamen- tary representation, about 1870, the theories held were much the same as those which are being shouted to-day over America. It was believed that the time was ripe for the social crisis and the triumph of the workers, that the end would come within a few years, before the close of the nineteenth century. The party leaders agreed that the change could not come peaceably, but must be by violence, and that the war was one of the international proletariat against all capital. Marx's teachings that as capitalism advanced wages would IS4 LABOR AND REVOLT lessen and the worker would sink lower and lower, and also that industries, including farming and retail trade, would fall into fewer and fewer hands, were accepted implicitly. Finally there was a strong belief in missionary Atheism, a duty to "root out faith in God." It was an integral part of the Socialistic dogma. By the end of the nineteenth century— rthe date set by Bebel for the completion of the Revolution — every one of these tenets had been dropped or so modified that it was hardly to be recognized. The first compromise with existing society — and compromise with society is the great treason to the Revolutionists — came on the last question listed, that of Atheism. By 1891 the German Socialists had learned that religion was a thing too deeply rooted in the human soul for them to tear out, and the Protokol adopted that year at Halle declares it is a thing that must be left to every man's conscience. Since then they have gone further yet and among the leaders are many who have come to admit that Marx's whole basis of economic materialism is untrue. A second compromise with theory came over the matter of the socialization of farm lands. Germany is full of small farmers, and, Marx to the contrary notwithstanding, they did not disappear as capitalism advanced; neither did the great farms which he pre- dicted prove successful. The German Socialists learned first that it was poor tactics to outrage the land hunger of the peasants, and second that the basis THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS 155 of their theory was wrong. Social ownership of land went into the discard with missionary Atheism. Third came the realization that Capitalism had de- veloped more than two classes — ^proletarians and ex- ploiters. The "petty bourgeoisie," the small traders, small manufacturers and professional men increased in a way that was most disturbing to the Marxian zealot during the last decades of the century. Middle class incomes were increasing, instead of decreasing as Marx had predicted. It became necessary, politically, for the proletariat to ally itself with the middle classes if it would hope for success. This meant the aban- donment of the "class-struggle" and the adoption of the far less thrilling programme of reform by parlia- mentary methods. The German Socialists did it, and ceased to be revo- lutionary in any real sense. It has seemed unwise to take the time and space here to cite in detail the statements of the German leaders which have marked this change of heart on their part. This has been done in full in Brook's "The Social Unrest." The denunciations of the Revolu- tionaries who, never having been in touch with prac- tical affairs, still hold to the old theories, are proof in abundance of the Germans' defection. To-day the German Majority Socialists are, in gen- eral, about in the same mental state as the progressive wing of the Republican party. Lenin, as a true prophet of Revolution, calls them "despicable servants of the Kaiser and the bourgeoisie," "traitors to Social- IS6 LABOR AND REVOLT ism," "agents of the bourgeoisie within the labor movements," "people without ideas, without character, without politics, without honor — a. living embodiment of Philistine confusion," "advocates of bourgeoisie democracy." ABOLISHING GOD AND MARRIAGE There are other revolutionary ideas on which his- tory has given a verdict. The French Revolution tried to abolish God, by decree, but the decree was revoked within four months. The Revolution, the Paris Com- mune, and the Soviets have leveled their guns on marriage, and have succeeded only in making prostitu- tion a little more open. The Paris Commune tried government by committee — Soviets — and gave it up after varying the experiment half a dozen ways. France twice and Russia once have abolished army discipline, and have come back to a discipline so sav- age that it has revolted the most hardened officers of the imperialistic mercenary armies. Both France and Russia promised their people peace; France was at war for twenty-five years after the Revolution, Russia has been engaged in wars of conquest as well as of defense. Every revolution, started in the name of brotherhood, has had its Terror. The soils of Russia, Finland, Hungary are still wet with blood. Revolution, given power and opportunity, does not work. Its promises fail, its hopes turn to despair. Reforms it sometimes has brought, but reforms are THE REBIRTH OF OLD ERRORS 157 anathema to it, and they come most often without its terrible aid. This is written large across the face of history, and the leaders of Revolution can read, have read that writing. Yet they come to-day to America with the same bankrupt promises and the same blasted hopes. CHAPTER IX THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS The similarity in class revolutions — Tests of revolutionarjr ideal- ism — The failures of political freedom and equality, of popular rule, of equality of reward, of freedom for Labor, of freedom of speech, of a higher status for women — The results of these failures — The inevitableness of the Red Terror— Terrorism as a dogma — Plans for the Terror in America — The White Terror — Class Revolution in full flower. There is in all class revolutions a striking similarity in methods, procedure and phenomena which arrests attention — a similarity so great as to suggest that they follow some natural law, some inevitable path that takes them by the same means to the same end. Al- though they start from dififering causes and are beset by varying circumstances, nevertheless they are so alike that the history of one, with changes of names and dates, might be taken for the history of each. The study of these methods and phenomena pro- vides a measure of the sincerity, stability, workable- ness and practical reactions of Revolutionary ideal- ism, as the results of those revolutions do of revolu- tionary economic theories. These ideals, as has been shown, center in equality and freedom. The two 158 THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS 159 necessarily interlock, and from them the Revolutionary propaganda derives its promises of the sharing of all wealth, the abolition of political and economic author- ity, complete openness of discussion and untrammel^ thought, equality of opportunity and of reward, a new and higher conscience, a better status for women and a spontaneous emotional and sex life. The working out of these ideals may best be seen in the French and Russian class revolutions. In the others they have not had time for such complete de- velopment, but in each, so far as it has gone, the course taken and the results have been the same. FREEDOM FOR ONE CLASS ONLY The denial that even modem democracies provide any real equality, and the promise to attain it through the Revolution, is one of the fundamental features of the Red propaganda. With it goes political freedom. Yet it becomes clear at the very start that this equality and freedom are limited by the Revolution to its sup- porters. In the French Revolution "aristocrats" were from the first excluded from the franchise, in Russia the fact of laboring is a necessary qualification for voting. In both countries the definitions applying to the excluded classes were broadly interpreted, so that in practice a large part, and the most intelligent part, of the population had no share in the freedom, such as it was. i6o LABOR AND REVOLT HOW THE FIRST TERROR WAS ELECTED This freedom has been small. The leaders always soon have found themselves deserted by their follow- ers, and imable to hold control of even the restricted classes that were permitted to vote. The election of August 26, 1791, may be taken as typical of those of the Revolution in France. For days before it the ex- treme revolutionaries ranged through Paris, arresting men of the moderate parties, or driving them from the city. In Lyons and Orleans there were massacres of moderates. On the night before the election there were 3,000 more arrests in Paris alone, and 60,000 armed proletarians, many drawn from the country, swept the city. They were at the polls next day. It was thus that the authors of the Terror were elected. Russia has no general elections, but chooses its rep- resentatives through the Soviet. This has been con- trolled with equal ease. Testimony before the com- mittee of the U. S. Senate that investigated Bol- shevism showed that in scores of cases armed men from the Central Soviet had appeared in cities or prov- inces, thrown out those elected by the local Soviets, and demanded new elections, installed creatures of their own, or seized the power themselves. "The constitution of the Soviet Republic" says Lenin, "repudiates the hypocrisy of the formal equality of all human beings. . . . Only fools or traitors will insist on the formal equality of the bourgeoise." This is Revolutionary political freedom and equality. THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS i6i NOT EVEN EQUALITY IN LOOTING Then there is equality of possession, and the Revo- lution in fact does always take away from those who have. The stolen wealth goes, too, to men who were poor. In the French Revolution it went to two classes, the looters and the agitators. Few looted enough to become rich for long, and no fortunes were founded in that way, but many of the agitators did acquire wealth, and kept it, laying the foundations of some of the very fortunes against which Socialism rails to-day. In Russia, too, the looters have been busy, and have stolen much, on the admission of the Soviet chiefs. Their stealings have shared the fate of other wealth in Russia, and vanished in the general misery. This working out of the "expropriation of the ex- propriators," as the Revolutionists describe the process ; this division of wealth according to strength to seize, is well enough understood by not a few of the Reds, and the idealistic language used becomes nothing but a cover for their greed of loot. But sometimes the mask slips. This is from the "New Solidarity": Wo tiger ever made laws to protect the deer from his rapacity. No bandit ever made laws to protect the traveler from robbery. No banker ever made laws to protect the tenant from the usury of the banker-landlords. Each takes because of his strength that which he desires and leaves to moralists the work of theorizing on the beatitudes of law. i62 LABOR ANEJ REVOLT Equality of reward? Leaders sharing the fare and the lodging of laborers and working only for the re- ward of applause and satisfaction in duty well done? It has been said that the Parisian agitators got rich. Danton voiced their creed : "We have made the Revo- lution and we intend to be paid for it." The leaders of the Commune of 1871 had lived sumptuously dur- ing the seige while the people starved, and when they saw the end nearing such "idealists" as Bugout, Endes and Urbain used their power to collect ready money. They were caught trying to escape with it. The Soviets provide that their chiefs, even Lenin and Trotsky, shall draw only the pay of a common soldier — 600 roubles a month in the earlier days of the Revolution. Yet they live in palaces, have motors waiting for pleasure as well as for business, eat dainties in the midst of the famine of their followers. Also they have sent millions to the Scandinavian banks — there is one report of a shipment of 30,000,000 roubles, about $15,000,000, in gold. Nor has there ever been an accounting for a fund of some four or five millions which was in Russian Revolutionary hands in Germany when the World War broke. NO FREEDOM TO LOAF Then there is freedom of labor. This includes se- curity of employment. The first result of the Revolu- tion has been to release the workers, and it has pro- duced always an epidemic of laziness, a natural enough THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS 163 sequence to such propaganda as this: "The work- ing class got into the habit of work. It now finds it hard to give up the bad habit, even though only a little work is necessary" and " 'the less work the better,' is the motto which the workers must set themselves." The Revolution in practice, however, abandons all talk of freedom of labor, as has been shown. Lenin says: To-day the same revolution — and indeed in the interest of Socialism — demands the absolute submission of the masses to the single will of those who direct the labor process. (The italics are his.) NO FREEDOM FOR AGITATION The world has resounded with the clamors of the Reds against the curtailment of freedom of speech and of the press during the war. Many who are not Reds believe there has been much to justify their protests. The fact that Bolshevism does not grant the rights which its followers claim for themselves argues noth- ing against the justice of the Reds' demands. But it does indicate what may be expected under their rule. In the French Revolution the suppression of the opposition press was gradual. At first only "aristo- cratic" organs were banned, then the more moderate of the Revolutionary papers and writers fell into dis- favor, and during the final horror 6i the Terror the guillotine was used to enforce a complete censorship against all but the most rabid. i64 LABOR AND REVOLT Under the Paris Commune thirty-four papers were suppressed in a single day. In Russia, too, the beginnings of the restrictions were moderate. At first the only requirement was that all papers should publish the Soviet decrees. Soon a censorship on "counter-revolutionary propaganda" was introduced. This was followed by the suppression of single papers, together with a flanking movement, intended to force all but the Soviet-owned papers out of business, in a decree forbidding them to publish ad- vertisements. This failed to work, and wholesale suppressions of all papers not in thorough sympathy with the Bolshevists began. By July, 19 18, eight months after the Bolshevists won power, the suppres- sion was complete. Suppression of discussion, of as- sembly and of speech followed about the same course. EQUAL DEBASEMENT FOR WOMEN Another of the things in which the Reds' promises has been tested in practice is their treatment of women. The demand for absolute equality of both sexes is basic in the Red creeds, their promises on the subject are explicit. The official attitude of the Revo- lution on this subject may be considered the statement of Marx in the "Communist Manifesto": Boturgeois marriage is, in reality a system of wives in common, and thus at the most, what the Communists might possibly be reproached with is that they desire to produce, in substitution for a hypocritically concealed, an openly THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS 165 legalized community of women. For the rest it is evident that the abolition of the present system of production must bring with it the abolition of the community of women springing from that system, that is of prostitution both public and private. Marx's argument for the abolition of the family, and the public, as opposed to private, education of children, of which this is the climax, is too .long to quote in full. Turning to the actual treatment of women under Revolutionary or extreme Radical systems, we find that in Australia, where the Labor power is complete, women do not get "equal pay for equal work," that their hours and working conditions are not protected any more fully than under "capitalistic" control, and that there is a distinct injury to their health under the industrial system there, which is particularly notice- able with girls just entering womanhood. Again, in the Socialist factories of Belgium, women did not get equal pay, and in many cases their hours were longer than those of men who also worked under Socialist control. Most striking is the example of Russia. Whether or not the "socialization of women," or "community of women" as Marx calls it, was actually attempted, women did find suffering and misery instead of im- provement. The amount of assault and abuse which the Russian women suffered was possibly no greater than it would have been in any other country where police authority suddenly disappeared, but it was i66 LABOR AND REVOLT extreme. Certainly there was "equality" in the sense that no consideration was shown to women of any class. The attempt to take children away from home influences is part of the Soviet law. Finally, the Soviet ordered women drafted for army service on the same basis as men, though not for use on the fighting front. Such is the status the Reds give woman — siich the fulfillment of their promises. ^d so on. The Revolution's idealism fails to stand, as its theories fail. Freedom works out to irresponsibility, and force must be used if the social machinery is to be kept running. Equality does not work at all, either with the people or the leaders. In the last analysis the power rests with the strong — not with the many — with the "armed proletariat" which is never more than a small part of even the whole proletariat, and power is wielded by those who can buy or persuade the loy- alty of this part of a part of the nation. WHEN TERROR IS THE ONLY HOPE So the crumbling of the strength of the Revolution begins as soon as it wins power. The intellectuals quickly see the destruction of idealism in Revolution triumphant. The masses starve, and the loot dwindles. There are attempts to purchase loyalty by gifts of free bread, then comes control of elections by force and fraud to hold the dictators in power. But trickery THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS 167 and stolen votes cannot long give despots a feeling of security, when every trick diminishes the number of their supporters. So the Terror is launched. It was only after nearly three years that the French Revolution reached this point, the Commune reached it in three months; the Soviet in six, and in Finland and Hungary the leaders started the Terror the in- stant they had power. It has always been common in civil wars for the victors to proscribe and execute numbers of the lead- ers of the vanquished. But it has remained for the Bolshevists, past and present, to carry on a progres- sive proscription, which finally reached into their own ranks. So inevitable is the Terror in the class-war revolu- tions that Red leaders have come to regard it as neces- sary and right. Lenin defends it by citing the wars which occur under the other forms of government, which he declares will cease under Bolshevism. He sets their losses off against those of Terrorism. His followers in America plan to use it from the start to establish their rule, and the following programme was actually worked out for use in an American city by the Reds: All city officials to be slaughtered. All persons not in sympathy with the revolution to be banished. All banks to be seized and the funds distributed among the reds. i68 LABOR AND REVOLT Marriage to be abolished. Women to become common property. Churches to be destroyed. Atheism to take the place of religion. Capitalists to be killed, and their property to become the basis of economic communism. There comes a time, in all such revolutions, when the Terror breeds desperation, and reaction follows. Here, for the first time, comes a divergetice in tiie records of Revolution. In France the reaction from the Terror overthrew the Revolution, opened the door for Napoleon, and destroyed many of the real gains for personal liberty which had been won in the pre- ceding years. The rulers of the Terror had foreseen the catastrophe, and Robespierre was trying to prepare a return to sanity when he was overthrown. His death marked the end of the proletarian phase of the Revo- lution. In Russia the leaders have had more success. They have checked the Terror, and by the abandon- ment of revolutionary principles all along the line are bringing a turn toward prosperity, which may be in" time to save them from violent overthrow. THE BEAST BRED OF THE TERROR In every case except that of Russia the Revolu- tionary cycle has not ended without a "White Terror," an orgy of reprisals and of slaughter inflicted by the counter-revolutionists when they regain power. France, both in the Revolution and in the Commune, THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS 169 felt it, Finland felt it, and Hungary In Russia, wherever the Soviet forces have been driven out, its victims have died. Though shorter, it is no less mur- derous than the Red Terror ; in the Commune and in Finland those who died by the White Terror out- numbered ten to one those who died by the Red, and the slayers in both cases were largely mobs formed of the proletariat the Revolution had been supposed to save! This, too, must be reckoned as an almost certain part of the cost of Revolution through class-war. It is even less possible to condone it than the Red Terror, for it is perpetrated in revenge and not in defense, and by those who, coming from the better classes, cannot claim the allowances that must be accorded to misery and ignorance. But a part of the blame for it, too, must go back to those who unleash the horrors of class-war. The whole record shows this kind of warfare is a thing which, once started, will always go to the point where flesh and blood can endure no more. The "moderates" are left behind early in its progress, and the very hopes they have helped to foster, because of the impossibility of their fulfillment, drive it from extreme to greater extremes. "The Revolution" becomes a dogma, it de- mands everything, devours everything, permits every- thing to its votaries. It can neither be checked nor controlled. The discontent which must be cultivated if the Revolution is to be started escapes the manage- ment of its authors: the hopes which have been excited 17° LABOR AND REVOLT grow even while they are being disappointed. Sus- picion turns against the men who bred it in the people. Revolution, preached as a cure, becomes a habit REVOLUTION IN FULL FLOWER Here is a creed which marks Revolution in full flower. It is a proclamation issued by Collot d'Herbois, an emissary sent by the Committee of Public Safety in Pai-is in 1793 to Lyons, which pre- ferred a different kind of freedom from that then being enforced by the guillotine in the capital. It is his appeal to the people of Lyons to continue the Revolution, and it succeeded to the .extent of causing the deaths of some 6,000 men and women: Everything is allowed to those who act in sympathy with the Revolution; you were oppressed, you must annihiliate your oppressors; the Republic will have none but free men on its soil and it is determined to extirpate all others; thirst for righteous vengeance is your imperative duty; if you are patriots you will recognize your friends and bring all others to prison, whence they will carry their own heads to the scaffold. Whoever possesses more than is necessary to his existence must give it up to pay the cost of the war and the Revolu- tion; all superfluity is a patent and insolent violation of the rights of the people; more especially seize all clothes, shirts and shoes which may be useful for the army, and above all things let the so-called precious metals, wherever you can find them, pour into the treasury. Finally remember that the Republican has no other god but his country, no worship but that of freedom, no morals but those of nature, and use THE PRICE OF RED SUCCESS 171 all your power to overthrow every kind of fanaticism forever." The failures of Revolution measure its cost. They are, they have been in every class-war, misery and starvation, vast destruction of property, death and Terror, and the suppression of every form of liberty and freedom. Every Revolution has swept away in the space of months the heritage of centuries and none has brought a tithe of its promises. THE COST OF REVOLUTION IN AMERICA This chapter has dealt only with failures and costs, yet for all these, history accounts the French Revolu- tion glorious, and the world the gainer by it. It gave land to the peasant, and an ideal to the world. The Russian Revolution, too, has given land to the peas- ants and it, too, may add to our ideals. It is worth noting that in both countries the good that remains was accomplished in the early periods of the revolu- tions — in the periods before the class-war was launched. But it is just possible that in neither case could the good have been saved without all the horrors that followed. But we are facing a demand for Revolution in America. It would cost more here than it has in either France or Russia, both because our prosperity, which would be wrecked, is greater, and because our liberties, which would be destroyed, are broader. America has never counted either property or life of more value 172 LABOR AND REVOLT than progress, but she has counted her liberties sacred above all things. Those very liberties guarantee her means of progress without violence or class-war. The costs of Revolution are staggering. America is asked to abandon her orderly advance and to pay those costs, her wealth and her liberties, not for any new idealism, nor for reasoned progress, but for a new adventure with ideals and with theories that have been tested again and again, and that history, so far as it can be read, and practical reasoning as well, prove impossible. PART III UNLEASHING THE WHIRLWIND CHAPTER X THE RED BORERS The resurrection of Revolution — New idea behind new hope — Long failure in America — ^The challenge to conservative Organized Labor — Gompers' position — The sudden change in Red strategy — The steel strike and the uncovering of the "borers from within"— Great success of the new method — Hope of bringing on Revolution through it. When the American Reds, at the close of the World War, suddenly abandoned the slow programme of Revolution by education, they were inspired not only by new hope, but by a new idea. The educa- tional programme had been adopted largely, if not solely, because of the belief that there was no hope of success by violence — ^by "direct action." The new idea in Revolution gave that hope. It was no hare-brained, fanatic scheme of tenement plotters but a programme based on a carefully planned use of known conditions. It offered more than hope— it of- fered a reasonable chance of success. The factors on which this chance hung were very simple. The arch-Reds whose brains direct the Revo- lution had only to make the connection between them. They saw in Russia a small faction — less than eight per cent of the nation — seize and hold control. That 175 176 LABOR AND REVOLT faction was the class of industrial workers. The Reds saw in America the same class disaffected, restless, apparently almost ripe for an outburst. Here, more- over, that class was more than thrice as strong in num- bers as in Russia, and a dozen times as strong in in- telligence, organization and political and industrial power. Finally, in America far more than in Russia, the whole life of the nation depended literally on Labor, for our machinery of living had become so complicated that even a slight disarrangement carried terrifying dangers. The opportunity was plain; if American Labor could be turned to Revolution success seemed sure. In the years before the war several experiments had been tried by Reds in the use of direct revolutionary action through Labor, but all hajd failed to do more than local and temporary damage. Excepting the occasional Anarchist groups and their activities, the most important of these experiments were based on the teachings and leadership of Daniel De Leon, the founder of Bolshevism. The Socialist/Labor Party, the first vehicle of his activities, has never been able to number thirty thou- sand votes in the United States. Out of it grew the Industrial Workers of the World (I. W. W.). But till the war came, this, too, was almost a negligible thing. At one time half a dozen powerful labor unions were in some degree affiliated with it, but hy 1914 most of them had dropped away, its followers had been expelled from the Socialist Party, and it THE RED BORERS 177 probably did not have 10,000 members with dues paid, though it claimed many more. THE RED PLAN TO SEDUCE LABOR The whole policy of the Radicals at this time was to stay outside the ranks of Organized Labor, to wean the workers away from it if possible, and to fight it to the utmost. The failure of this policy and of the I. W. W. plan in general was expressed in November, 1914, by William Z. Foster, an active I. W. W. worker, in a letter published in the I. W. W. organ "Solidarity": I am satisfied from my observations that the only way for the I. W. W. to have the workers adopt the principles of revolutionary unionism — which I take ie its mission — is to give up the attempt to create a new labor movement, turn itself into a propaganda league, get into the Organized Labor movement, and by building up better fighting machines within these old unions than those possessed by our re- actionary enemies, revolutionize the unions, even as our French syndicalist fellow-workers have so successfully done iwith theirs, It was obvious, before mid-surrimer of 1919, that the Reds had abandoned their plan of keeping outside Organized Labor and had definitely begun an attack designed to use that Giant as the means of bringing on the Revolution. First in scattering instances, then in a flood, came news items telling of Red agitators foment- ing labor troubles, and aggravating those that broke 178 LABOR AND REVOLT out without their aid. They did not abandon their outside attack, but used either or both as the case served. The first of these radical-labor disturbances was the great semi-revolutionary strike in Seattle, which failed so conspicuously. Another attempt was made in Winnipeg and missed seizing control of the city and provincial governments by the narrowest of margins. A similar attempt in Toronto died in birth, and the plans for Omaha broke down on the eve of the day set. At the same time there was an outbreak of sym- pathetic strikes, and much talk of general strikes. But the results of these wefe not encouraging, and this phase of the movement gave way to another. By Fall there had ceased, almost, to be talk of Revo- lution. Yet the Jleds were still at work among the laborers. And in almost every disturbance that in- volved Labor the Reds were heard from. The new phase centered on an attempt to win con- trol of the American Federation of Labor. ORGANIZED LABOR OPPOSES DESTINATION The Federation is not, and never has been, in any degree revolutionary. Its quarrel with Capital has been over the division of the profits of industry, its criticism of the government has been based on charges that Capital has been permitted to take too large a share of those profits. It believes in the Capitalist sys- tem of industry, believes in our democratic form of THE RED BORERS 179 government, and believes that far deeper than the quarrel over profits is the common interest of both Capital and Labor, of all involved in industry, to make that industry prosperous, so that there may be profits to quarrel over. Whatever the changes to which some of its leaders may look forward in industry, they know that these must come by evolution, after careful experiment. While they set no limit to their hopes, their actions are always strictly limited to the direct possibilities of the individual situation. Further, they believe in good faith as the cornerstone of relations between men, and hold contracts sacred. This attitude has been stated repeatedly by Samuel Gompers, who has been Organized Labor's leader for a generation: Omf movement is of a constractive nature. I would not turn over, if I could with my hands, our system of govern- ment to replace it by a fanciful notioned, already outlined, patented idea of a panacea for all the ills of mankind. I think I am possessed of that knowledge and understanding that the course of the human family is one of growth and development, and that ultra-revolution brings reaction in its wake. And again: I am opposed, as is Organized Labor of America, to any destructive policy. There is nothing that is worth while maintaining that I would aid or abet in destroying. Our policy, our work, our method, our ideas and our ideals ai to build, to construct, to grow, to help in the develop- i8o LABOR AND REVOLT ment of the highest and best in the human family; to make to-day a better day than yesterday, to make to-morrow and to-morrow's to-morrow each a better d^ay th^n the one that has gone before. That evolutionary process of progress and development is the basis for the opportunity for freedom, justice and democracy. That is the constructive policy of progress. If that policy of the American labor movement is opposed and success- fully opposed then our work, our activities and our move- inent will be sent to destruction. In regard to the relations with Capital he has said: Speaking for Organized Labor, I want to say that not one man or woman of the millions in our ranks wants a con- flict with Capital. Wars always are disastrous — always create havoc. Peaceful conditions in the industrial world — that is our hope and our aim. We want to establish the best possible relations with Capital, under the same condi- tions that existed in the war days when a solid, unbreak- able front in our industrial army at home was absolutely vital to the success of our military forces. But though Labor wants peace, it will sacrifice that yearn- ing if any effort is made by industrial autocracy in this coun- try to menace the rights and the freedom of the working class of America. Fair play,, fair dealing and the right to live decently from the toil of our daily labors — ^that is what we ask. It isn't much — and it should be granted ungrudg- ingly by Capital. If it isn't — and if Capital intends to oppress Labor and take from it the sweets that Labor has earned and won in the world war — then Labor must resist — ^and will resist — ^to the utmost of its power. The Revolution challenges this position by the THE RED BORERS i8i promise to secure at one blow all that Labor can dream of winning in centuries. LENIN LEADS ATTACK ON LABOR It is natural that Lenin, chief of the Bolshevists, should sound the key for this challenge. In his "A New Letter to the Workers of Europe and America" he speaks of "traitors to Socialism, such as Samuel Gompers, Webb, Renaudel and Vandervelde. Here we have that upper stratum of the working class which has been bought by the bourgeoisie, and which we, the Bolsheviks, . . . used to call 'the agents of the bour- geoisie within the labor movement,' and which in America is more appropriately designated by an ex- pression that is magnificent in its expressiveness and striking truthfulness, 'labor lieutenants of the cap- italist class.' " Evidently Lenin — Bolshevism — recognizes enemies in Mr. Gompers and the Federation. In its attack on the American Federation of Labor the Revolution specifically urges the abandonment of the Federation's method of unionization by trades or crafts, in favor of the "one big union," uniting all workers of whatever craft — a method far less flexible for industrial progress, and far more powerful for class-evolution by force. i82 LABOR AND REVOLT REDS REVOLT AGAINST SKILL Besides the revolt against the sane position, of the federation, the Revolutionaries are revolting also against its recognition of skill as a thing of value. This is one of the reasons for the attack on craft unionism, and is based on the typically Bolshevist idea that there shall be no higher reward for skilled than for unskilled labor — "perfect equality." The craft unions, being composed chiefly of men skilled in the same trade, are declared an "aristocracy." A final challenge to the Federation is made by the open sentiment of alienism. The American Federa- tion of Labor is accused of trying to keep American advantages for Americans, of excluding the foreigner from the skilled and better paid trades. The Federa- tion would hardly deny the charge, and there are signs of a split in the Labor ra,nks along these lines. The New York Cdl, a Socialist daily, has declared that this cleavage is inevitable. It boasts that the alien laborer has been the chief leader of strikes and instigator of industrial unrest. Until the recent change in tactics the challenge of tile Radicals to the Federation took the form of rival organizations outside its ranks, and claiming to repre- sent the workers. Such are the I. W. W. and the W. I. I. U. (which are not properly labor unions at all, but revolutionary organizations), and more recently the One Big Union. There have been also a consider- able number of unions so radical, chiefly syndicalist, THE RED BORERS 183 that they have refused to affiliate with the Federation. There are 140 of these listed, the biggest being the lAmalgamated Clothing Workers of America. "peaceful penetration" by reds The steel strike of 19 19 is best worth studying of all these that show the methods employed in the new Red policy of working in and through Labor, for it presents many features which may fairly be called typ- ical of the whole campaign. The justice of the strike is not brought in question here. From the point of view of Organized Labor there was every reason for attempting to form a union in the steel industry, and to force the recognition of that union. This has long been an ambition of the labor leaders and the Federation definitely started the campaign at its 19 17 convention. A committee was appointed to open headquarters in Pittsburgh. It is the methods of this committee, and particularly those adopted in the closing months before the crisis, and of the strike itself, that show the hand of the Reds. The guiding spirit of that committee was the Wil- liam Z. Foster, ex-I. W. W. man, whose belief that Radicalism could work best from inside Organized Labor has already been quoted. He himself took his own advice, and was soon affiliated with the A. F. of L. Nominally subordinate on the committee, he actu- ally controlled it. John Margolis, counsel for the L W. W., defined i84 LABOR AND REVOLT Foster's position, in his testimony before the committee of the U. S. Senate that investigated the strike. "Foster is a borer from within," he declared. Under Foster's guidance the work of organization was concentrated on the aliens in the industry. Whence these men got the assurances that were given them has not been proved, but many of them believed — ^they were told — that the strike was a prelude to a revolution like Russia's, that they would seize and own the steel plants, and that they would soon control the government. The personnel of the organizing staff was of the Reddest. The testimony of Labor itself is conclusive on that. The Pittsburgh Labor World printed a letter from James E. Morgan, a roller in a Yotmgs- town mill, in which he listed twenty-three of the strike agitators as men with "transcontinental records." "Some of these men are noted I. W. W.'s," he writes, "and are outspoken Bolshevists. These men have not fooled the English speaking mill workers in this valley, and we will soon show Mr. Foster what we think of a strike movement that he or any other Red controls." STRIKE BECOMES A RED DEMONSTRATION The I. W. W. and the Russian Workers' Union, an even more frankly Bolshevist organization, got behind the strike. In Gary, pamphlets urging the workers to seize the city were circulated, and subsequent raids by THE RED BORERS 185 Federal officers found firearms in quantities, as well as the most incendiary literature. Major General Wood declared the foreign-born Reds were entirely to blame for the disorders which it required regular troops to put down. Anarchist groups appeared well supplied with money, and helped make all the trouble possible. In short, the steel strike became very largely a Red demonstration. Contrary to the intention of the Fed- eration leaders, Foster used methods which are foreign to their whole spirit and tradition. But since they themselves had started the work of unionizing, he was able to force their hands throughout. It is an open secret that they were not displeased with the failure of the strike, and Foster's consequent loss of influence. The steel strike is only one instance. The same methods of forcing the hands of conservative and tried union leaders were used in bringing on the great coal miners' strike. "Borers from within" worked their way into influential places, thien put before the men a programme so alluring that the old officials dared not oppose it. The American Coal Miner, the union paper, however, warned the men: Down underneath all of this class-arraignment you will find the insidious doctrine of the Bolshevist, and other cults and isms. They have been picked up body and boots from European soil and transplanted in the hope that they will grow. We want none of it. Capital, with mighty few ex- ceptions, has long recognized the importance of labor and labor has recognized the importance of capital — each being interdependent. 186 LABOR] AND REVOLT Another strike with Red provocation was that of the dock workers in New York, where 100,000 men, inflamed by I. W. W. agitators, walked out in defi- ance of union orders. A second instance in New York was in the bricklayers' union, where the Radicals got control and forced the breaking of the contract with the employers. A third was in the pressmen's union, where the Radicals brought on a strike in violation of agreement, and of orders from the international offi- cers, which resulted in the revoking of their charter. In Chicago Simon O'Donnell, president of the Build- ing Trades Council, complained publicly of the I. W. W. activity and estimated that the Reds were recruit- ing a hundred men a day. The Seattle strike was brought on only after the Radicals had gained com- plete control, though the unions stayed inside the Fed- eration. In Winnipeg the unions seceded from the Federation before starting their revolutionary strike. The list might be ^ extended almost indefinitely. Everywhere the Radicals are now boring, getting in- side Organized Labor, and making trouble. Through all this the Radicals are doing more than merely to urge strikes; to dislocate industry. They are also urging the most extreme demands, demands which it is impossible for employers to meet, and therefore certain to cause trouble. Such an instance is that in the coal strike, where a reduction of working hours to thirty a week, and an increase of sixty per cent in pay were demanded at the same time, not as a basis for negotiation, but as an ultimatum. The ex- THE RED BORERS 187 tensive breaking of contracts under Red influence has already been cited. MISSIONARIES OF DISRUPTION Another evidence of the plan of the Reds to get control of Organized Labor appears in the rather sud- den prominence in the labor movement of many men and women who are Radicals, but have never been manual workers. A full list of these would fill many pages. Following are some of the more prominent. None of them, so far as can be learned, has ever been a wage earner: Benjamin Shiplakofif, a Socialist, organizer of the clothing workers. Jacob Panken, also a Socialist, an organizer in the same trade. Max Pine, Socialist, active in the United Hebrew Trades. Arturo Giovannitti, Syndicalist, active in many strikes. Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Syndicalist, I. W. W., gen- eral strike agitator. Joseph Schlossberg, Socialist, active in clothing trades. Vincent St. John, I. W. W. leader, labor agitator. Kate Richards O'Hare, Communist, general agi- tator. Of those who, while not directly connected with any labor organization, have been active in carrying on i88 LABOR AND REVOLT Radical agitation there may be mentioned: John Reed, Communist and Bolshevik apologist; Santeri Nuorteva, representative of the Russian Soviet Gov- ernment; Hugh Solomon, and certain lawyers; Bertha Mailly of the Rand School, and Crystal and Max Eastman. The full list would include hundreds of names. The success of these people has been phenomenal. 'Out of seventy strikes called recently," John Mar- golis (I. W. W.) boasted on October 19, 1919, "sixty- two have been unauthorized by the A. F. of L. This would indicate a pronounced state of unrest and dis- satisfaction." Or of successful agitation. LABOR LEADER LIFTS THE CURTAIN Perhaps the most startling revelation and confirma- tion of the Red leaders' purposes was given by James P. Holland, president of the New York State Federa- tion of Labor, when on the witness stand before the Lusk Committee in New York City. He said that there had been a good deal of violent talk at the meet- ings of the Central Federated Union of New York, and named one labor official, James J. Bagley of the Pressmen's Assistants' Union, as particularly rabid. "He would favor any £orm of government that would overthrow the United States Government," said Mr. Holland. "He preached not alone to overthrow the government, but to smash up the printing presses." "Have you ever heard anyone express determination THE RED BORERS 189 to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat ?" was asked. "That has been preached, and is being preached every day, so far as some of the radical organizations are concerned. The method of the Radicals has been to send agitators to industrial centers whenever a legitimate strike has been called, with the idea of preaching sedition and the overthrow of the govern- ment. . . . Every one of the Socialist papers claim that they own the labor movement." "Overthrow the government" — "claim that they own the labor movement." That is the key to the rev- olutionary agitation in America to-day. They have abandoned the slow methods of education, abandoned the wish for reform, abandoned the hope even of Revo- lution by the conversion of a majority of Americans to it, abandoned peaceful methods. They have turned to Labor, whose coming power they see with perfect clearness, and are definitely and skillfully prodding it to Revolution. This is the plan which gives them a chance of success, which makes the present Red campaign a real menace. CHAPTER XI THE SEEPING POISON Pacifists as a field for Red propaganda — The kind of appeal used — Penetration of reform organizations through jpacifist ai4 — ^Attempts to use these to cultivate unrest — Exploitation of educators, of the pulpit, of rich and idle women — The interlocking directoraate of Radicalism — Penetration into government services. When a few Reds found their way into the organ- izations that opposed America's entry into the war and increasing numbers joined them in the obstructionist bodies that tried to hamper us in the conflict they came into contact with a class of people who had hitherto been outside the range of their influence. These were the religious and sentimental pacifists who made up a large part of these bodies. Much could be said in behalf of people of these types. They are utterly sincere, they felt with a vicari- ous sensitiveness all — and perhaps a little more than all — of the horrors of war, they are intellectualized to the point where force has come to them to seem unreal and ineffective and ideas the only important power in the world. They were prepared to suffer, and were made to suffer, for their adherence to their convic- tions. That their activities were harmful, that they igo THE SEEPING POISON 191 obstructed progress and made the victory of right and of civilization more difficult, does not necessarily de- tract from their character — only from their co-ordina- tion with and understanding of the facts of existence. The astute Red leaders were quick to see that these people, by the very nature of their outlook upon life, offered a fertile field for their propaganda, and they promptly focused attention on them. The "parlor Red" has always existed, but those who were more or less in this class before the war had mostly deserted the Radicals when the latters' lack of patriotism be- came apparent. Thus men like Stokes, Walling, Spargo, and Bohn were among the most active work- ers for Allied victory, and their connection with the Reds seems permanently broken. Their patriotism left the ranks of the "intellectuals" among the Reds thin indeed, and the latter were rejoiced and spurred by this pacifist field for recruiting. SUGARED POISON FOR IDEALISTS The appeal which can be made by extreme Radical- ism to people of thfe type of mind is great. The Revo- lution preaches high ideals of brotherhood and peace, ideals to which any humane man or woman must sub- scribe. It can point truthfully to many abuses and to much misery in the world as it exists to-day. It prom- ises an assured cure for these evils on the basis of those ideals. What more is needed to convince people whose sympathies are acute, whose whole mental atti- I9a LABOR AND REVOLT tude leads them to consider ideas superior to facts and who are unable to put a, practical check on the process of pure logic? Most people of this class are active in reform work of various kinds, and in himianitarian movements. Working on them, with considerable success, the Reds wormed their way into these reform and philanthropic organizations, which afforded a still wider field for their propaganda. There is hardly a society or asso- ciation in th^ United States which might in any way be twisted to serve the ends of Revolution into whith the Reds have not crept. Once inside these bodies, many of which are of great value, the Reds seek to transform into destruc- tive activity what was originally sane criticism of present conditions and to change reform into Revolu- tion. They attempt to join the hands of all those who feel that they have any kind of a grievance or cause of complaint against society into a coalition for the de- struction of the world, simply because society has not yet conquered every evil. BORERS INTO PHILANTHROPY A list of the Red forces made in the summer of 19 1 9 indicates the success which their tactics have won. The activities of the Reds were too wide to make the list complete, as it was desired to know the full record of each man or woman considered. For the purpose then, only the Reds operating in and THE SEEPING POISON 193 around New York were taken, and only officers of the war-obstructionist activities. It was found that 86 Radicals had been officers in these organizations, of whom 18 classed as Socialists, 20 as S)mdicalists, 19 as Bolshevists, 9 as Anarchists, and 20 as general agi- tators of direct action, many of these being I. W. W.'s. The connections of these 86 Radicals were carefully traced. As was natural most of them led into the anti- war organizations: 4 were straight pacifists, 36 had been connected with active war obstruction, 63 were members of the peace-at-any-price societies, and 13 of the group of women's peace societies that grew out of the Ford peace trip. The penetration into organizations in no way con- nected with the war, but having possibilities of foment- ing unrest, is more startling. Sixteen had worked their way into political groups that were simply "lib- eral" — not in any way revolutionary; 32 had joined the societies engaged in attempting to make this coun- try take up the burden of trying to free Ireland, India, and Egypt from British rule; 21 were in organizations working with or for the Negro, only one (strangely enough) had joined a birth control society; 42 were in the group which is trying to exploit Organized Labor, and not many of these were or ever had been workers. In all there were 228 memberships in various or- ganizations held by these 86 people. There were 44 different organizations involved, so that they averaged 194 LABOR AND REVOLT five Radicals each in their membership, and many of the Radicals held offices. In the years just before the world war there was much discussion of the "inter-locking directorates" of Wall Street, and America, learned the tremendous pos- sibilities of evil which such a co-ordination of power holds. Here we find the Reds in a similar "inter- locking directorate," with equal menace, and one that is reaching out to corrupt and use innocent people. cat's paws for the revolution This intellectual propaganda of the Reds has shown its effect through three main classes of people. First, perhaps, by reason of their influence, should be placed the educators. The stress of the war re- vealed an alarming amount of intellectual dry-rot in our colleges and universities. Combined with the habit our students had for many years of going to Germany, where they were subjected to the poisonous teachings dispensed by the Kaiser's highly corrupted educational system, is the "academic point of view" that the professorial mind is so likely to develop. There were literally hundreds of instructors who were converts to "kultur" or to the pacifism which it taught as a means of making its militarism more certain of success. It was easy to turn into Radicalism the anti- Americanism which the war developed in these people. A second and allied class has been the preachers, similarly infected by the intellectual currents of Ger- THE SEEPING POISON 195 man origin, similarly easy to turn against America, and guilty moreover of a vast ignorance of industrial and political conditions and problems. The third class is that described by John Reed, the "Left Wing" Socialist, as "wealthy women in New York who have nothing to do with their money except something like that" — ^financing Radical propaganda. They are hardly dangerous, as the money would come from other sources if they refused to supply it. WARRING REDS BECOME FRIENDS Another advantage which came to the Reds through their joint anti-war activities was an acquaintance with one another. As has been said. Radicalism in Amer- ica before the war wasted most of its strength in internecine fights. Now, with its formerly disagreeing members better acquainted, and through the help of such agencies as the Rand School and the National Conference of Radical, Labor and Socialist Move- ments, it is working in close harmony. The "interlocking directorate" which operates through these agencies includes all the Radical groups. Out of the 86 radicals discussed above, and consider- ing not only direct affiliations, but cases where public support for and sympathy with a movement has been shown by Reds who are connected by membership with some other organization, there were present in the National Conference 16, of whom two were Syndical- ists, 8 Socialists, 3 Bolshevists and 2 Anarchists. Cpn- 196 LABOR AND REVOLT nected with the Rand School, as members, lecturers or contributors, there were 20 of the group of 86, 6 Syn- dicalists, 13 Socialists, 7 "direct actionists," 6 Bol- shevists and one Anarchist. Through this co-ordination we find the Radicals supporting one another in every activity, as was just indicated in the fact that some of the Radicals must now be listed as connected with two different bodies of thought. The Socialists are supporting and defending Bolshevists, and Bolshevists Anarchists, and Anar- chists Syndicalists, and all the I. W. W. DISLOYALTY UNITES ALL "iSHS" And it will be recalled the listings of Radicals just given all go back to disloyal activities. There is a real and provable communion between disloyalty and So- cialism, between disloyalty and "liberalism"; between disloyalty and Anarchism, Bolshevism, Revolution of every kind, and there are relations from these not only to disloyalty — anti-Americanism — ^but from one to an- other in every possible permutation and combinations. Another infiltration of the Reds has been into the bureaus of the United States government. Few of those who have succeeded in getting these places are openly extremists — ^their menace lies in the fact of the co-ordination and mutual support given one another by the various classes of Reds, and of the control and influence which the gigantic revolutionary conspiracy exercises over even the unknowing among the Rad- THE SEEPING POISON 197 icals. How great this penetration has been has not yet been revealed: it has been charged that there are or have been Radicals in the Federal Trade Commission, the War Labor Board, the Bureau of Information (Creel Bureau) and even in the Military Intelligence. It is clear, then, that the forces of Revolution are using all possible means, and penetrating into all pos- sible organizations that may help them in any way— they are drawing into a gigantic confederation all the agencies of unrest or discontent, and are reaching out to subvert many organizations which are centers neither of unrest nor of discontent. There is not to- day, so far as can be learned, a single conspiracy against America which is not in touch with all other conspiracies, or in which the Reds do not have a voice and an influence. It is no guerrilla warfare that is being waged against America, against American labor. It is part of an- other World War. CHAPTER XII THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER Suppression of "free speech for revolution"— How it aided Reds — Allies it brought them — Results more apparent th^n real — Dangers of suppression and its small effect — Red propa- ganda by word of mouth— The army of lecturers— Revolu- tionary training schools — The great periodical press — The pamphlet press — ^The use of foreign languages — ^The "liberal" press — The mutual support of all Red propagandists — The cost of the propaganda — The men behind it — ^Propaganda made in Fetrograd. The limits put on free speech for the Revolution and for pro-German propaganda have furnished the Reds with one of their best and most effective weapons ever since the Espionage Act was passed. They have been able to appeal with high success to the traditional American spirit of complete tolerance, as well as to the Constitution, and they have made thousands be- lieve that the law was a sign of fear on the part of the government, as well as of tyranny. Anyone who visited Hyde Park in London, of an evening before the war or since will remember the blazing sign of British complacency and assurance which it offered: from one to a dozen wild Reds de- claiming against everything British, demanding violent revolution, at times even advising the assassination 19S THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER 199 of the King, while two stoUd "bobbies" protected each Red from any danger that the crowd might feel like showing. Nor were the bobbies' jobs always a sine- cure ! British freedom to advocate murder was main- tained at some cost ! Madison Square, with its soap-box Radicals, never saw anything quite so impressive, perhaps because the New York police left the Reds to defend themselves if need arose and there were occasional instances of violent popular criticism. The Reds are far from being the only people who, in these days of multiplied censorships, have regretted the passing of this com- placency and waited hopefully for its return. "official" liars aid the reds Nor has the Red propaganda been the only one which has! aided the Red cause. The "ofificial" news that has gone along with the ofificial censorships, and the misleading propaganda that has been put out by our own government as well as those of foreign coun- tries, have shaken the none too robust faith that the general public had in government and official state- ments, and left the way open for the Reds to spread their doctrines without effective opposition. For many of us the war has destroyed the strength of any propaganda as a weapon, because we have learned to distrust almost all that we read, or at least to discriminate sharply as to news sources. America swallowed the German propaganda which was spread 200 LABOR AND REVOLT /' here for years, because it was secret and we were un- suspecting. That will hardly happen again until after a time of complete immunity, wh/n the lesson will have been forgotten. But with the class of people to whom the Reds most wish to appeal the lesson has been only half learned — ^they distrust the government, and the daily press, but still swallow the Red poison. The task of the Red in America is not yet to direct and organize discontent — ^there is too little of it to meet his need — ^but to create it. For this pui'pose propaganda is, of course, the only weapon, as con- spiracy and organization will be in a later stage of the attempt. The Red and the Hun made their propa- ganda so effective, and its assistance to the national enemy was so evident, that it is little wonder that a government harassed with the sudden details of a great war should have preferred the effort at suppres- sion to the much more laborious attempt to meet that propaganda on its own ground. But the suppression, in spite of the drastic wording of the law, has been more apparent than real so far as the Revolution is concerned. The Reds have modified their language somewhat, and a very few of them have been sent to jail, but as one comes to realize how vast and powerful their campaign has been, doubts rise as to whether any real hindrance has been put in their way. On the other hand, the aid that suppression has been to them, and the dangers that it brings, have been clear. The "martyrdom" of men like the humane and THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER 201 much-loved Debs, and of religious idealists like Roger N. Baldwin, have been themes that have helped stir a thousand audiences to the indignation which is the Revolutionists' best ally. Thousands of other people, moreover, and people not otherwise in sympathy with the Reds, have resented the government's invasion of rights that they consider sacred. These have brought to the support of the Red agitators a force of public opinion to which they were by no means entitled. THE SMALL VALUE OF SUPPRESSING SYMPTOMS As a result of the war experience it would seem clear that suppression will have no real effect in stay- ing Revolution, now or in the future, for more than a little time. The Red propaganda must be based on injuries and grievances, either real or fancied, and it can be met only by removing the real grievances, and by counter-propaganda and education to show the truth about those that are fancied. The suppression of such symptoms as the red flag, for example, is not even a step toward a solution. And as has been shown in the case of The Communist suppression merely forces secret publication, and gives the propaganda a much wider interest and appeal than it would have otherwise. The Communist, now under official ban, has a far larger circulation than ever before. To meet the Red propaganda by education and the removal of the real grievances is no light undertaking. That propaganda has grown to propor- 302 LABOR AND REVOLT tions which few in the country realize eyefi yet, and it is working in many ways, and with niuch cleverness as well as persistence. Since it is at present the chief form of revolutionary activity, it is worth examining at some length. Most insidious, and least easily measured, is the propaganda that is carried on by word of mouth. It is impossible to estimate the extent of this. One recent guess was that the I. W. W. alone had 15,000 mis- sionaries, who were on its payroll, in the territory west of the Mississippi. Another was that in the country, as a whole, there are 50,000 alien agitators, mostly German and Russian. One thing is certain — there has hardly been a labor disturbance of any kind, since the signing of the armistice, at which Radical agitators have not been in evidence. THE RED POISON GAS ATTACK The open propaganda at least can be gauged, and it is staggering in its extent. First come the lecturers. Setting aside the street- corner orators, there are about 100 radical meetings held daily in and around New York City alone ; some- thing like 1,400 in this country, as a whole. New York averages about fifty of the soap-box speakers beside. It is safe to say that there are not less than 2,000 radical speeches a day m^de in this country! If the audiences average only 25 each, that means that THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER 203 there are 5,000,000 Americans reached daily by the Red propaganda. Backing up and supporting this lecture propaganda, the Reds maintain schools, which are training hun- dreds for the platform. The Rand School, in New York, for example, in the summer of 19 19, headed its list of summer school courses with "Method of Using Social Facts" and "Control of Public Opinion." It even maintains a correspondence school, and has prom- ised to open a "high school" for youngsters. Its teachers include many of the most prominent radicals in the country. It has received with approval Gold- man, Berkman, and people of that stripe. A minor extension of this idea are the Sunday schools which are being conducted by the Reds in more than fifty cities. In these they begin inculcating the principles of Revolution into children as young as five and six years old. THE RED PRESS ALL THINGS TO THE MEN Most vigorous of all the Red propaganaa agencies, however, is its press. In extent, in power, in variety, and in activity, it is a thing to draw admiration and wonder. Its adaptations are infinite — there is no shading of revolutionary opinion that is not reached, no class of reader that is not courted. It is all things to all men — but it always gently or violently insinuates the idea of Revolution. It is impossible to state definitely the number of 204 LABOR AND REVOLT papers under Red control because of these shadings of position taken. Excluding all that are not frankly revolutionary in tone, there were 328 printed in this country in 19 19 and 144 printed abroad and regularly sent here for distribution. If the varying shades of semi-Red sentiment be included, the nuniber is nearly 2,000. Among the publications are dailies, weeklies and monthlies; there are some that compete with our best magazines in typography and finish, and some that out-yellow the yellowest of the dailies and appeal to the very lowest of those who can read at all. It is notable of them all, however, that they show evidences of brains and training in the writing and editing ; there are fewer misspelled words, fewer grammatical errors, fewer blunders of any kind, than in the average city daily. The crudest of them are far from being the product of ignorance. The circulation of these publications runs, for the open Reds alone, to about three million. In New York City it is above 800,000. Of course, there is some over-lapping in this, as dailies and weeklies go to the same subscriber in many cases, but it is probable, on the usual circulation estimate of five readers to every paper printed, that something like 8,000,000 persons in America are reached by the Red press. If the semi- Reds be included, the number would be doubled, at least. Fully half of the Red press is in foreign languages, though most of the "official" organs of the various Radical organizations are, of course, printed in Eng- THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER 205 lish. Probably the largest section of the foreign-lan- guage Revolutionary press is Yiddish, with German next, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Spanish, French, Swedish, Finnish and a dozen other languages in- cluded. The I. W. W. alone prints papers in nine languages. Along with this periodical press goes a tremendous volume of pamphlet propaganda. It is impossible to estimate it with any accuracy, though more than 2,000 different pamphlets have been listed. The circulation of some of these has run into the millions — that of Lenin's "Letter to American Workingmen" is be- lieved to have passed the five million mark. These are all put out at prices which will hardly pay the cost of printing, when there is any price asked, and they are a regular part of the equipment of the Red speakers, and even more of the "borers." THE PINK-SPOTTED "lIBERAl" PRESS There is one rather large class of publications, and certainly an important one, that can scarcely be classed as Red, and that yet must not be passed over in con- sidering the revolutionary propaganda, because of the "aid and comfort" it is giving to the Reds. This is the class of "Liberal" magazines, running all the way from The Liberator, which is almost pure Red, to high-class "intellectual" weeklies, which would indig- nantly deny that they are in any way rosy with Revolution. 2o6 LABOR AND REVOLT Yet the Red press is constantly copying from them, and reprinting articles they have published. An arti- cle in The New York Call for instance begins, "We owe so much to The New Republic these days," and in a single issue of The Rebel Worker — Organ of Revolutionary Unionism, are quotations at length from The Nation and The Dial, next to a mass of I. W. W. propaganda. Certainly some of these publications show a tolerance of the Revolutionary movements that verges on sympathy. A most striking feature of this published propa- ganda, in the present stage of its development, is the marked mutual sympathy and support that it shows, and the common defense that it brings to all Revolu- tionary or Labor lawlessness and rioting, to all revo- lutionary activity of any kind, to disloyalty, defiance of the Espionage Act, conscientious objectors, and especially to Bolshevism. Its united opposition to any measure to curb Revolution, such as the deportation of alien agitators or bomb plotters, is equally marked. The principle on which the Red writers work is that of Roger Baldwin: "I believe that all parts of the radical movement serve the common end." STRONG ANTIPATHY TO JAILS Another notable characteristic of the Red papers is their almost unanimous antipathy to jails. Those in- stitutions seem to have been agreed upon as a symbol THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER 207 of the "tyranny" of modern society. The Anarchist Soviet Bulletin has this advice to the workers: First make known that as soon as you are organized strongly enough into your Soviets, yow are going to open the door of every Jail in the country. You will frfee NOT ONLY the political victims of capitalism, whose vain striving for betterment of conditions is their only crime! For remember, the real criminals are not in the jail houses! "An International Holy Day, The Drama of Chi- cago, May I, 1886" (the date of the beginning of the movement that culminated in the Haymarket bomb outrages) put out by the I. W. W. says: Revolt against capital and power; burn the codes of law, destroj- the jails, barracks, take all 'riches." The New Solidarity, an I. W. W. organ, and many other Red papers as well, show this antipathy in a cartoon which shows a mighty fist, made up of a host of workers, smashing a building marked "jails." The workers carry banners some of which read: "Open the jails," "release all class-war prisoners," "solidarity is our strength," "withdraw from Russia," and "down with autocracy." There is no need of dwelling on the conditions that such a general jail delivery would cause. MILLIONS SPENT IN CULTIVATION OF DISORDER Such are the methods, the extent and some of the characteristics of the Red propaganda. Behind it is 2o8 LABOR AND REVOLT a financial support that appears to be unlimited. The I. W. W. recently made pubUc a statement that the cost in March, 1919, of eight of its publications was $16,099.67, and the statement was intended to com- bat charges that it was spending large sums. If this can be taken as a fair average of the 471 Red publica- tions circulated in America, the total for the month would be around $950,000 and for a year $11,400,000 — ^no small amount. It is, secret service men believe, far below the actual total. Whatever that total may be, there must be added the cost of the millions of pamphlets, of the paid agita- tors and their expenses, of the lecturers, and of the big bureaus which the revolutionaries maintain in all important cities. Each of these figures will be in the millions. The Revolutionary budget is a heavy one. THE ITCH FOR HEROICS Among the writers who maintain this propaganda are some of the cleverest men and women in America, as their work abundantly testifies. So' clever are they that their very ability casts some doubt on the actual menace that lies behind the wide circulation of their writings — people of all kinds like to read clever things whether they agree with them or not. Most of these writers have been drawn from the "white collar" classes into the workingman's movement, and have never held any other tool than a pen. < Many of them are doubtless sincere. THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER 209 But to some the Revolution is an adventure; they like to think that they are running big risks, which they are not. If any of the leading radical editors have been put in jail, or suffered any other serious personal inconvenience, it has been rather carefully concealed. Several have been tried, but the courts have found that they had been careful to observe the "safety first" motto. Yet they resent any 'suggestion that they are not heroes. One of them, in particular, seemed rather pleased at an article in a "capitalistic paper" which ac- cused him of disloyalty, revolutionary agitation, and various other sins. Yet he was quite bitter over a hint that he was in no personal danger. There are, however, a full dozen eager prosecuting attorneys who can give witness that every word he has written has been inside the law — just inside sometimes, but always safe. PROFIT IN BEING RED To some propagandists, too, there is immediate profit in Revolution. There is Scott Nearing, whose dismissal from the University of Pennsylvania for extreme Radicalism caused such a furor a few years ago. He was an instructor there, not a professor, and as academic salaries go, was probably drawing about $2,000 a year, perhaps $2,500. Yet evidence found in the Rand School, when it was raided by New York officials, showed that during a single month he re- 210 LABOR AND REVOLT received through it approximately $6io, which would come to $7,320 a year, a balance over teaching of from $4,820 to $5,320, There is profit in being Red! One of the powers behind the propaganda has been definitely exposed by the Lusk Committee in New York. It is Petrograd. "Ambassador" Martens has admitted that his bureau was the cover for a large and important part of the agitation, and that it i$ aimed directly at immediate revolution. What funds he had have not been shown, but members of his staff have declared that the Soviet Republic was pre- pared to deposit $200,000,000 to guarantee its com- mercial transactions. The Soviet propaganda appro- priation for 1918 was' 300,000,000 roubles ($150,- 000,000). With this fund available, and the foment- ing of Revolution throughout the world an acknowl- edged part of the Soviet's ambition, it seems obvious that the Martens bureau is well backed. Much of the literature it circulates was actually printed in Russia, in English and aimed at American readers. Two ship loads of such literature were seized in transit, but tons of it has reached this country. It will be remembered, also, that in an earlier chap- ter, it was shown that large parts of the millions avail- able in America for German government use are get- ting into Revolutionary hands. WANTED — PRINTED ANTIDOTES FOR RED POISON The Hun, the Bolshevist, cleverness, profit, sincere convictions too, combine to make the Red propaganda THE VOICE OF THE SEDUCER 211 a mighty weapon. It can be met only by the correc- tion of evils and by a counter-propaganda of equal power and extent. There has been much talk about the counter-propaganda and about education to coun- teract the Red poison, but all that has been done so far can be told in very few words. It is, compared to the thing it has to fight, practi- cally nothing. CHAPTER XIII THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES The Red attack on the "capitalistic press"— Grounds for this, and reasons for those grounds — Some Red lies about his- tory, about economic condition, about Labor's sufferings, about American tyranny, about the war, about current events — The flood of lies about the success of the Russian Soviets — Suppression of all news unfavorable to the Red propaganda— A Socialist tells the truth about the Red press. "The newspapers are mankind's greatest curse, freedom's greatest menace; the greatest obstacle in the path of human happiness, love and universal brotherhood." (From The Voice in the Wilderness.) "Never in the world's history has there been witnessed such a gigantic, organized, systematic, malign campaign of falsehood as that to which the world has been treated dur- ing the last eighteen months, with particular reference to the Soviet Republic of Russia." (Algernon Lee, in a speech at Madison Square Garden, June 17, 1919.) "The Chicago kept press . . . just as susceptible to the influence of big business, and therefore just as wnfair." (From the Fargo, N. D., Citisen's Union.') These three quotations, taken at random from a hundred, which might as easily have been ten thou- sand, are typical of the attitude of the Reds both in their press and on the platform, to the "capitalistic press." Their propaganda is full of such attacks, THEiCAMPAIGN OF LIES 213 and their virulence and vigor seem at first a little sur- prising. The object of them, however, becomes evident on consideration. For if the readers and hearers of the Red propaganda believed at all in the ordinary news- papers, if they even believed their statements worth considering, the Red propaganda would be quite use- less. The statements of fact, far more than the argu- ments that appear in the daily press, are deadly to the Revolutionary campaign. The Reds in their attack also have the same motive as that which lies behind the shyster lawyer's trick of abusing his opponent's attorney — a. poor case. ^ There are grounds enough for the attack on the press. Every issue of every paper is full of misstate- ments, as no one realizes more keenly than one who has spent years of rather strenuous effort trying to insure the greatest possible accuracy in news reports. TROUBLES OF THE NEWSPAPERS It is impossible, under the conditions of publishing a newspaper, that it should be otherwise. The papers have only a few hours in which to gather their reports, they often have within that time to compile some kind of an account of events which it may later take the courts weeks or months to determine accurately, they have to trust for much of their information to people outside the profession, untrained observers at the best, sometimes prejudiced or partial, and occa- 214 LABOR AND REVOLT sionally personally interested or actually liars. The information must further be handled by reporters who, however honest, have the usual human weaknesses. Further, the newspapers, especially in recent years, have had to contend with a flood of propaganda, all interested, most of it partial, and much of it untruth- ful. Every newspaper is constantly beset with highly paid and exceedingly clever agents of various interests who both openly and secretly are trying to worm their partisan and partial accounts into print. Sometimes they succeed. Finally the daily press has to bear the burden of a great deal of careless reading on the part of its sub- scribers. The qualifications, the explanations, the "alibis" which the reporters and the editors are con- stantly inserting into the stories are overlooked, and the paper is blamed for lies told by public or private men, and distinctly stated in the papers to have come from such sources. In spite of all the handicaps under which the papers work, it is seldom indeed that a flat statement is made which is in error. The editors are exceedingly cau- tious, rather too much than too little cautious, before publishing on the authority of the paper itself, with- out specification as to the origin of the statement or the source of the information, any alleged fact what- soever. The misstatements and errors are there, but in nine cases out of ten, they are statements made by some other agency than the paper itself and only THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES 215 quoted by the paper. Every precaution would be taken by the papers in defense against libel and on behalf of reputation, even if there were no honesty whatever among newspapermen. There was a time when the best of our papers dis- torted and twisted much of the news to bring it into line with policies which they were supporting. That time has passed, though there are certain papers against which the charge will still lie. They are neither the most important nor, as it happens, the most "capi- talistic." Allowances being made for personal preju- dices in the reporters and editors, for ignorance and lack of understanding, my own experience in working both on and against some of the biggest papers in America has convinced ™e that there is not one news- paperman in a hundred who is not honest, and not one story in a hundred that is not written and pub- lished on the basis of honesty, if not of intelligence. WHAT THE PAPERS "dARE NOT PRINT" One of the constant charges of the Reds is that the "capitalistic papers" dare not print such and such Revolutionary news, yet I have never known of a case where that was true. One evening in a group which included several extreme Radicals from a meeting at which Red speakers had held forth, startling news was brought out — Bolshevist rioting in northern Italy. Several of the Radicals declared, "Your capitalistic press would never dare to print that." ai6 LABOR AND REVOLT When I said that this piece of news already had been printed and that it was two days old, they would not believe me. It was only by getting copies \of the papers that I proved my point. Not a single New [York paper, morning or evening, had failed to pub- lish the story. Incidentally, it afterward turned out to have been grossly exaggerated. I have yet to find in any of the Red publications a single authentic state- ment, or one at all well supported, that has been sup- pressed by the "capitalistic" papers. Moreover, few Radicals read the "capitalistic" papers to verify their own statements concerning them. This explanation has been perhaps unduly long be- cause of a very general failure to understand the rea- sons for the errors and misstatements, which in spite of the utmost care, probably always will appear in the daily papers. THE REDS SHODDY STOCK IN TRADE These errors, at any rate, are a great, asset to the Reds. Let us look, now, at some of the reasons why they find it so necessary to abuse their opponents' attorneys. The reasons appear when we consider the statements made in the Red propaganda. Such an examination can take notice of only a few, so the examples have been selected to cover as wide a field as possible. Since the whole Revolutionary theory is based on the "eco- THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES 217 nomic interpretation of history" historical statements may come first. The Rev. Irwin St. John Tucker is a "moderate" Radical. In his lecture on "The American Idea" we find this: The Thirteen Colonies were settled by wretched white slaves; by kidnapped and indentured paupers; by convicts, and by all the human misery that could be swept together out of the slums of England and dumped on these shores. . . . Shades of Miles Standish and John Winthrop, of Peter Stuyvesant and William Penn, of Captain, John Smith, George Somers, James Moore and John Sevier ! A little later Mr. Tucker says: No life of Lincoln is complete or deals with him in his tr«ie significance to the world which does not show him as, in very fact, one of the Founders of International Socialism ! He establishes this remarkable statement by a series of entirely accurate quotations from Lincoln's speeches and writings. What he does not quote are Lincoln's statements on behalf of Capital such as "Capital has its rights which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is and probably always will be a relation between Capital and Labor producing mutual benefit" — a statement hardly com- patible with Socialism ! In another lecture Mr. Tucker, by a system of in- genious reasoning, reaches the conclusion that the ai8' LABOR AND REVOLT Christians were persecuted by the Jews because "Paul was preaching a religion which would have disrupted the great International Credit System. ... It would unsettle business. . . ." He ignores the small facts that the persecutions started long before Paul was converted, and that whatever Paul's financial schemes may have been, they could hardly have led to the cruci- fixion of Christ! RED statements; the facts Turning to the statements made about modern con- ditions, there are certain asseverations that are in the nature of stock argiunents with the Reds. For in- stance there are these: In the United States 30,000,000 people work for other people, to whom they yield more than two-thirds of their product for the privilege of working. ("Industrial Social- ism," by Haywood and Bohn.) The worker ... is robbed of the major part of his product. ("Reform or Revolution," by Karl Dannenberg.) Government statistics show that the average man, woman and child makes from $2000 to $3000 worth of things a year; that is they produce from $2000 to $3000 worth of wealth every year. Their wages average about $500 a year. ("Why Catholic Workers Should Be Social- ists," by Mary E. Marcy.) The facts, as shown by Professor King, in "The Wealth and Income of the People of the United States," are: In 1910 the value of the product of THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES 219 persons engaged in manufacturing averaged $849, in transportation $1,661, in mining $1,191, in agriculture $392. Thus the highest comes far short of the low- est figure given above. The average wage was $509, which is stated correctly. Of this product, in 1910, the wage earner got 46.9%, far more than the one- third given above. This share has run as high as 53-5%. or more than half. Then there are statements like these: Measured by the food, clothing and shelter the worker can buy with his wages, which is the only true way to meas- ure an income, wages have gone down at least fifty per cent in this time (the last fifteen years). ("Industrial Social- ism.") There are several millions of men and women in the United States who are out of work to-day. ("Why Catholic Workers Should Be Socialists.") Again the facts: In 1890 the average purchasing power of the average wage was $350 (using the 1900 prices as a standard), in 1900 it was $410 and in 1910 it was $401, far from a 50% decrease anywhere. The highest unemployment of wage earners in this country at all recently was in 1893, when it ran to 15%. There were then about 20,000,000 wage earners, so that the total out of work was about 3,000,000. That number has never been reached since. Since 1914 the high- est unemployment was during demobilization in 1919, and ran to about 5% of 27,000,000 workers, or 1,350,- 000. Possibly that is "several million." Of course 220 LABOR AND REVOLT there were millions who did not work because tHey did not wish nor need to. When James P. Holland, president of the New York State Federation of Labor, was examined in a Lusk Committee hearing in New York City, he was asked whether there was any actual "starving proletariat" among the New York workers. He said there was not. He added that it was the custom for the Reds to say that there was. "They would preach that if there was a house full of food alongside of them," he added. It is probably needless to comment on other state- ments. Here are a few more that may stand on their own merits, as samples of the stock-in-trade of Red propaganda: Morgan and his associates on Wall Street use the gov- ernment as a tool to serve their ends. ... Of course every- body knows that rich offenders purchase this "justice" while poor offenders get it presented to them. ("Industrial Social- ism.") Why did the American plutocracy desire to crush Ger- many? Was it to destroy despotism there? The idea is preposterous. . . . They want to see German industry crushed, however, and since the Kaiser and his group repre- sented German business in its most highly developed form, the Kaiser was the object of their wrath. ("The Great Mad- ness," by Scott Nearing.) During the war everything un-American (which means not profitable to Wall Street) was stigmatized as German propaganda. ("Socialism Imperiled," by W. A. Domingo.) This bitter, organized persecution (of anti-war Radicals) was not due to anti-war activities of the I. W. W. It was THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES 221 due to the favorable opportunity offered to business inter- ests by the war to crush their greatest foes at home. ("Per- secution of the Radical Labor Movement," by the National Civil Liberties Bureaa.) The prosecutions and persecutions of the I. W. W. — the open, bare-faced shameless crushing of a great labor organ- ization by the capitalistic class. . . . (John Reed in "The Communist.") Self-determination of all nationalities was written into the principles of diplomacy by the Russian Revolution. (Irwin St. John Tucker.) However, when actually within reach of their much coveted prize, when within arm's length of Paris, the Ger- man offensive halted, and then, after some dickering and dallying, the German emissaries concluded the aforemen- tioned armistice and the undefeated German battalions turned right-about-face, and, leaving, as a magnanimous victor, all the fruits of their- victory behind — marched home. ("The Revolution in Germany," by Karl Dannenberg.) He wanted to prove that it was the Bolshevists in Germany who stopped the war. The Germans and Austrians were never guilty of pogroms, of uncalled-for massacres of defenseless men, women and children. (Dr. William J. Robinson's "Credo.") The whole Red propaganda is literally salted with statements like tjiese. Each might be multiplied a thousand times. RED news; and the facts Turning now to contemporary events: A Red parade was broken up by the New York police on October 7, 1919, because the paraders refused to get 223 LABOR AND REVOLT a license. Several people were clubbed, and one woman, though uninjured, became hysterical. No one was hurt badly enough to require an ambulance. Yet in dozens of Red papers throughout the country were statements that several people had been killed, one putting the number at sixteen, and another printing a pitiful story of a child dying in a tenement after having been trampled by a policeman's — a "cossack's" — Ahorse ! Of a different nature was the "atrocity" arranged during the steel strike, in which the body of a woman who was shot during a riot was mutilated to "prove" that she had been shot in the back, and could not, there- fore, have been attacking the police. Different in another way was the story, carried in practically all the Red papers in the summer of 1919, of a British plot to make America a British colony. This was based on a document "found" near 500 Madi- son Avenue, New York, the address of Sir William Wiseman, head of the British secret service in Amer- ica. It is apparently a satire, exceedingly clever in spots. It "revealed" schemes to change the school books to favor the British, change "The Star Spangled Banner" for "America," so as to teach us the tune of "God Save the King," to install Britons in American pulpits, control Labor through Mr. Gompers, and finally to form the League of Nations as a means of bringing America under British rule. The cost of "converting an American into a colonist" was put at THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES 223 fifty-three cents. Yet this amusing document was treated as a serious revelation of secret history! The Winnipeg strike reports are a typical sample of this kind of "news." Setting aside lurid descriptions of brutalities by the police against the strikers — ^the police were in full sympathy with the strikers, and there were no such brutalities — here is a flat statement taken from The Industrial Banner: The great bulk of the great war veterans in the strike- bound city are solidly behind the unions. This was demon- strated at a summoned meeting of the Great War Veterans' Association on the evening before the great parade of the labor veterans, who turned out in thousands and marched in the strike procession. This meeting was the largest ever held in the history of the association, and it is claimed that 6,000 of its members were in the parade. The procession worked up by the big interests' Citizens' Committee was only about half as long as the one marshaled by the strike committee, and proved such a fizzle that Mayor Gray for- bade any more parades to be held. I was in Winnipeg. The veterans' meeting was a big one, it was addressed by Mayor Gray, and more than 2,000 ^veterans volunteered for special guard duty against the strikers! There were about 1,200 men in the strikers' parade; about 2,500 in that of the "loyal" veterans next day. The order against more parades followed attempts by the strikers to break up the "loyal" veterans' ranks. Finally, when the police were discharged, as in Boston later, for refusal to put loyalty to the government ahead of loyalty to the 224 LABOR AND REVOLT unions, it was veterans who took their places. The fire companies, the street cars, the auto transport sys- tem, all run to help break the strike, were all manned by veterans. If there was any one thing clearly dem- onstrated in Winnipeg it was that the majority of veterans were against the strike. It would not hav& been beaten without their help. RETOUCHING THE SOVIET'S RECORD Most unbounded have been the statements about Russia, which, if the Red propaganda were to suc- ceed, must be painted as a land of great happiness under the Soviet rule; a realization of all the hopes of the under-dog. Here are a few of these state- ments, all taken from a single pamphlet, Albert Rhys Williams' "The Bolsheviks and the Soviets." "This has made the peasants very happy and glad to support the Soviets." Mme. Breshkovsky and a dozen others have testified that the peasants are held under Soviet control by force. "After a tinu many factories titrned out more prod- ucts than before." One such factory has been re- ported. It was a "government factory," full of graft before the Revolution. In others, when production in- creased, it was after Soviet management had been abandoned, and the "single will" described by Lenin had been put in control. "It (the Soviet) has saved hundreds of thousands of Apiericcm lives, some say 500,000; others say more. THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES 225 Because it did all it could to bring about the great revolution in Germany and Austria which, in turn, suddenly brought about the end of the Great War." No comment is necessary on this statement. "Are Socialists the only ones who believe in the Soviets? No," and he cites among others Raymond Robins. Colonel Robins has said of the Soviet: "I know the beast . . . the actual scope and power and menace there is in it. I believe that its decree of workmens' control will destroy production in Russia. I believe that its class theory makes in the end for the class terror and the destruction of life and property without regard to right. I believe that its materialistic programme challenges the Christian conscience of the world." "No one says that there were more than 40,000 killed in the first year of the revolution, and many of these were Bolsheviks who were killed in defending the Soviet against unlawful attacks." The Soviet has officially "estimated" that there were 78,000 of its citizen-enemies killed in the first year. This does not include those who starved to death. "Hcts not the Soviet government made general chaos and disorder in Russia? On the contrary, it has saved the country from those evils." Russia was hungry when the Bolshevist rule began, now it starves. Bread in Moscow (November, 1919) was selling at $37.50 a loaf. Its cities are depopulated, its workers are vagrants; the farms are unproductive, and famine stalks in the land. 226 LABOR AND REVOLT "The Bolshevik leaders are the most honest and most sacrificing men in the world." Lenin is the chief. His attitude has already been shown. "The average Russian workman far better under- stands all economic and social questions than does the average so-called educated American" Is any com- ment necessary? WHAT THE REDS DARE NOT PRINT Such are the willful falsehoods — ^not to use the shorter and uglier word — in the Red propaganda. Equally important are the omissions from all the Red papers and speeches and pamphlets of the true facts about Russia. One looks in vain for statements of these things: That in Russia the factory workers have five times the voting power of the farmers. Revolution here is trying to get the support of the farmers ! That in Russia a strike is a crime. That at Moscow the Russian language has almost disappeared, and that Yiddish, Magyar, German, Chinese and Lettish are more frequently used. That the backbone of the Red Army is made up of Letts and Chinese. John Ward, a British labor leader, recently returned from Russia and declared that "when revolution starts you go back to the jungle, whether you want to or not." He told of wells filled with dead, and said that the British Radical papers which called criticism of THE CAMPAIGN OF LIES 827 Bolshevism an "attack on democracy" did not want to study the facts. I have seen no account of his state- ments in any Radical paper. The Eighth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevists) passed the following decree, which also has escaped my attention if any Red paper has printed it: The whole community of workers will now be subjected to a precise calculation of their performance; and expert estimates of this production of the workers, both as indi- viduals and also in groups, will be made. We herewith announce that in the future every worker and employe who falls below ' his established norm, or is guilty of atiy infraction of working discipline, will be placed ' in a lower category, or excluded from the factory altogether. "Placed in a lower category" is the Bolshevist euphonism for "get less to eat." This kind of prac- tical working of Bolshevism is not what the American Reds want the American workers to hear about. THE VERDICT OF AN HONEST SOCIALIST J. G. Phelps-Stokes is a Socialist, an idealist. His testimony on the question of the comparative honesty of the "capitalistic" and the Red press is explicit, and is worth quoting: I read with regularity or great frequency besides The Times and The Nation, such pro-Bolshevist papers as The Call, The Revolutionary Age, The Communist, The Rebel- 228 LABOR AND REVOLT Worker, The New York Socialist, etc. Each paper, of course, receives through its own channels some news not received by the others. But on the whole I find vastly more pro-Bolshevist Russian news in the columns of The Times than in all the others put together; whereas The Nation and all the other pro-Bolshevist papers (except occasionally The Call) publish nothing "on the other side" or that could in the opinion of the editors discredit in any way the Bol- shevist contentions. . . . I might go on by the hour quoting Bolshevist authorities exclusively, citing many scores and even hundreds of similar "vital truths" about the Bolshevist regime that have been as accessible to the editors of your "liberal" papers as to me, but which your "liberal" papers have most shamefully re- fused to take note of or to present for the consideration or the attention of their readers. This is the basis of the Revolutionary propaganda in America — a campaign of lies. This is the reason for their attacks on the "capitalistic press," — ^that it ex- poses their lies. These lies are a necessary foundation for a revolutionary crusade, and Revolution cannot live if the truth be told. The Reds' unanimous falsehoods and their equally unanimous suppression of the truth prove this to be their own conviction. CHAPTER XIV THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY The Red challenge to the theory and practice of Democracy^ What the Reds mean by "rule of the people" — Radical Labor far from a majority — Revolution's plan to use force — The Red bludgeon: industrial unionism, the sympathetic strike, the "burglar" strike, sabotage, the political strike, the general strike — The contempt of public suffering— The de- mand for Revolution by slaughter. We Americans spend so much time and find so much pleasure in criticising our government and "viewing with alarm" that we have hardly seen any- thing unusual in the attacks made upon Democracy by the Revolution. The faults of our Democracy are continually dinned into our ears by battalions of writers and speakers, as well as by one another. So in the face of the challenge of the Revolution, it may be well to spend a moment in considering some of the achievements of this Democracy which the Revolution would destroy. Democracy has made America the most prosperous country in the world. It has not only permitted the building up of the greatest fortunes; it has enabled the working class as a whole to live from two to three times as comfortably as those of the same occupations in any other country. If it has not abolished poverty, 229 230 LABOR AND REVOLT it has reduced it to far narrower limits than are to be found elsewhere. Democracy has come nearer, also, to giving equality between man and man than has any other form of government. It has prevented fixed classes, has left the way for advancement so open that it was recently shown that of twenty-six railroad officials in this coun- try whose salaries are $50,000 a year or above, all but two had started at the bottom and on day wages. If it does not yet give all its people enough aid in grasping opportunity, at least it has closed no door. Democracy has made possible rule by the people, whenever the people wish to use their power. The very complaints about the lack of ability among our officials proves this, for those officials represent the masses — ^the average — rather than the educated or moneyed classes. The complaints of reformers that they are unable to get desirable laws enacted proves in another way that the power lies with the people, for the great majority of reform failures come because the people are not interested. Even the cases where corruption has defeated laws that were obviously needed are hardly exceptions, for no man who wants to stay in politics will vote contrary to a strong public sentiment among his constituents. Money cannot buy an election where the voters are really aroused. We blcime Democracy for many things that are in fact due to indifference among ourselves. So Democracy, with all its faults and ftiilures, has given us more of prosperity, more of freedom, and THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 231 more of political and social equality than any other form of government has given to its citizens. "by the people" or by a class? Lincoln's definition of Democracy has never been equaled: "a government of the people, by the people and for the people." It has already been shown how- little of Democracy remains when Revolution is in power. We have seen in France in 1793 and in Russia in 19 19 a part of the proletariat, which is a part of the people, rule by force. In Russia Lenin rules that part. So there is, through Revolution "government of the people, by a dictator," for what? For a class, at best. The Revolution, however, makes use of many shib- boleths of Democracy. "Rule of the people," "equal- ity," "freedom" — these words are constantly on its tongue. "Industrial democracy" has been added re- cently. The Revolution is trying to persuade America that its programme is in line with the ideals we all hold : that it will bring merely fulfillment of the things toward which we have been working: that it, and it only, is genuinely democratic. To find the real attitude of the Revolution toward Democracy, however, we have only to tear away the camouflage of these phrases — for they are camou- flage. Marx, in "The Communist Manifesto" gave the true key note : The bourgeois state is nothing less than a machine for 232 LABOR AND REVOLT the oppression of one class by another, and that no less in a democratic republic than under a monarchy. This flat challenge, contradicting all the Reds' pro- tests that the Revolution is but the fulfillment of Democratic ideals, is maintained by all Reds td-day, however they conceal it. But many of them voice it openly, trusting to their rhetoric about "equality" and "freedom" to blind those who believe in popular rule. "Industrial Socialism," for example, sums up the whole Red argument : Under Socialism the government of the nation will be an industrial government, a shop government. . . . The workers might as well take a cannon left over from the revolution, run it on the street car track and pretend that it was an up-to-date electric car, as to try to make over the present government of the United States into a Socialist govern- ment. . . . The working class, to be free, must rule Society. An article by Lenin, printed in "The Class Strug- gle" of New York, apparently with approval, states even more brutally the purpose of the Revolution for class-war and class-rule, both, of course, utterly anti- Deniocratic. Lenin wrote this in reply to a book by Kautsky, a Socialist who argued that the revolution should not take place till a majority wished it. He says: The exploiters have always been only a small minority of the population. (Page 14 of Kautsky's book "The Dictatorship of the Proletariat.") THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 233 This is an undeniable fact. What conclusion must be drawn from this fact? It is possible to arrive at the Marx- ian, Socialist conclusion; in that case the relation of the exploited to the exploiters must be taken as a basis. It is possible to arrive at the liberal-bourgeois-democratic con- clusion; then the relation of the majority to the minority must be taken as the basis. If the Marxian conclusion is to be drawn, there can be but one logical process of reasening; the exploiters form the state and a democracy in such a state must function abso- lutely as the weapon of the rule of this, the exploiting class, subjecting the exploited to its rule. Therefore a democratic state, as long as there are exploiters who dominate the ma- jority composed of the exploited, will become a democracy for the exploiters. By the same process a state of the exploited must com- pletely differ from such a state, it must be a democracy for the exploited and express itself in the oppression of the ex- ploiters. But the oppression of a class means that this class is not equal, that it is put outside "democracy." If the liberal-bourgeois conclusion be drawn, then it must be said: the majority decides, the minority obeys. The dis- obedient will be punished. Then there can be no question of the class character of the state generally, or especially of the "pure democratic" state ; it is out of the question, because majority is majority. A f)ound of meat is a pound of meat — the well-known standpoint of Shakespeare's Shylock. THE "shackles" OF DEMOCRACY The attitude of the Revolution toward our Amer- ican Democracy in particular is even more illuminat- ing as to the Red hatred of Democratic government. "We want to make this a superior drive for the com- 234 LABOR AND REVOLT rades who are shackled with American Democracy," says Martin B. Heisler, SociaHst Party organizer, in a letter to "Comrade" Nuorteva of the Soviet Bureau. "We have in the United States Government, in spite of all its democratic forms, the most ruthless, brutal government upon the face of the earth," said Dennis E. Batt to a Madison Square Garden audience. The "Luckkataistelu" (Class Struggle) is published in Fin- nish by I. W. W.'s. It said to the Finns (May, 1919) : Here in this country the capitalistic bureaucracy and their tools still have in the name of justice and patriotism an im- perialistic power to rule. Here, for instance, the members of the working class may be doomed to death without any reason whatever. Here thousands of workers can be sent from the cities to the desert by any copper or other trust if the workingmen of the above mentioned trusts demand enough pay to be able to exist somehow. . . . Here, noth- ing matters, the meetings of the proletariat may be dis- pelled, their halls destroyed, their property burned and robbed. Here the members of the proletariat may be treated indiscriminately, clubbed, blackjacked, shot, hanged, tarred and feathered and transported in secret trains to secret servi- tude under the whips of the tyrants. Another I. W. W. pamphlet, "An International Holy Day, the Drama of Chicago, May i, 1886," says: America is the land of political freedom, and nowhere are there so many starving, beaten, downtrodden poor; nowhere is the workingman so dependent on Capital as here. America is a free country for the rich; yes, but for the THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 235 workingman she is like all other cowntfies — a land of slavery and oppression. Almost every Red publication, almost every Red speech, will present statements like these; some more violent and some less, but in the same spirit and be- lief: Democracy, the rule of all the people, is wrong in theory, is tyrannous iii practice: Democracy must give way to class rule. THE reds' rainbow MAJORITY But Americanism has a principle even deeper than its belief in the Democratic form of government. This is the belief in rule by a majority of all citizens— the practical method of showing "the consent of the gov- erned." So deep is this belief that it is likely there would be no vigorous resistance to Socialism if it came by majority vote. The article by Lenin, just quoted, shows that he makes no pretense of desiring majority rule, but most of the Reds in America at- tempt to salve their demand for class-dictatorship by declaring that the working-class is actually a majority. Setting aside the fact that they are unwilling to have this tested at the polls, and the further fact that they would exclude from any political influence all but the workers (both positions being un-Democratic) , their claim is worth examining. The proposition that the working class constitutes a majority is a thing which cannot be settled definitely in the present unsatisfactory state of statistical infor- 236 LABOR AND REVOLT mation, especially because the definitron of "worker" is capable of almost indefinite expansion or contrac- tion. But if by "worker" be meant wage earner, as it actually does mean in the understanding of the masses to whom Revolution is preached, it is more than doubt- ful whether the "workers" are in the majority. There were, in 1910, according to the census, 38,167,236 persons gainfully employed in the United States, constituting 81.3 per cent of all males over ten years of age, and 23.4 per cent of all females. Of these about 20,000,000 were wage earners. There were 18,000,000 on salaries, in business, in profes- sions, or in occupations like farming, where they were their own employers. This would give the wage workers a majority of about 2,000,000 over the other classes of earners. But there were about 7,500,000 males over ten years not gainfully employed — boys in schools, men living on their incomes, and those beyond the age of work. A part of these will fall into the wage- earning classes, but since the children of salaried, professional and commercial men are much longer in completing their education, it is likely that the vast majority of this 7,500,000 will not come into the wage class, and that therefore the wage workers are slightly in the minority. There is a further discount from the size of the wage group from the fact that in this group, far more than in any other, more than one person in a family is likely to work. There has been one recent, tiny but perhaps signifi- THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 237 /Cant, indication regarding this. The labor organiza- tion in the Winnipeg strike was practically perfect, and only a minute minority of the wage workers did not join the general walkout. Following its failure, the city political campaign was made to hinge on that issue, and Mayor Gray, upon whom the resentment of the workers concentrated, was re-elected by about 3000 votes. Yet Winnipeg is predominantly an in- dustrial city, and the strike leaders claimed most em- phatically that they had a majority of the people with them. If this was a fair test it would seem clear that the wage earners do not constitute a majority of the people even in industrial America, and in the country districts and the small towns the majority must always be heavily against them. MOST WORKERS BEYOND REDS' REACH But if the workers are in the majority it is by a narrow margin. For the purposes of "proletarian rule," for the class-struggle, the actual labor strength that could be gathered in any conceivable circum- stances would fall far short of majority. In the first place it is generally conceded by labor leaders, and feared by the Reds that the great bulk of Negroes in America, of whom something like 5,000,000 are wage workers, will always remain out- side the organizations, no matter how great the efforts made to bring them in. Both race prejudice and tem- 238 LABOR AND REVOLT peramental differences have made them uncomfortable in the unions. In the second place, there is a large class of well- paid wage workers, and these almost entirely of American birth and traditions, who will not join even the conservative labor unions, much less those of Rev- olutionary aims. This was demonstrated in the steel strike, when the aristocracy of the mills, the skilled rollers and millmen, refused to have anything to do with the union. There are also some 4,000,000 wage earners in do- mestic service, and while the organization of these has been attempted, it seems unlikely that it will ever be- come at all complete. Finally, the Revolutionists themselves admit that there will always be "considerable numbers of the working class who would join the bourgeoisie out of a perverted sense of patriotism." Thus from what would be at most a scanty majority for working class rule, must be deducted the bulk of the Negroes, many of the better class workers, most domestic servants, and all those with a "perverted sense of patriotism," which means any patriotism at all — altogether a good half of the wage earners. It is clear that "working class rule," in America at least, would be a rule of a small minority. But even this is not the full extent of the anti- democratic, or anti-majority, scheme of the Revolu- tionists. It has been shown that their idea is to con- trol Organized Labor, and that they believe they can THE RAPE OF DEOMCRACY 239 bring about Revolution as soon as this is done. Now Organized Labor in America is only about 20 per cent of the total wage workers. The American Federation of Labor on April 30, 1919, had a membership of 3,260,208 ; there were perhaps 400,000 in the railway brotherhoods, not affiliated with the Federation, 200,000 in other non-affiliated labor unions, and if the L W. W. and W. L I. U. be counted as labor unions something less than 1,000,000 more in these, a total that with all allowances will not exceed five millions. The number of wage workers in 1910, it will be re- membered, was 20,000,000, it is much greater now, so that Organized Labor will barely make up a fifth of the whole. It is through this minority of a minority that the Reds hope to rule. REDS AIM AT RULE BY ONE IN 37 Even more— for their scheme it is not necessary to convert the whole even of Organized Labor. Labor has been well educated and trained in the "solidarity," which is one of the watchwords of the Revolution, and the Reds believe with much justification that as soon as their converts are numerous enough to control the official action of the unions, whether by majority vote or other means, they will be able to rule and use the Labor Giant's whole strength. Thus on present fig- ures a control of fewer than three million workers, properly distributed inside the unions, would give 240 LABOR AND REVOLT them the lever they seek — three million to control and rule a hundred and ten million ! So the Revolution itself makes a dear denial of its own claim that it seeks "rule of the people," the more perfect fulfillment of Democracy. It excludes a great part of the nation from any share in power, it rejects all forms for learning the wishes of the people as a whole, it repudiates majority rule, and it hopes to win and hold power through fewer than one in thirty- seven in our population. It was shown in an earlier chapter that minority control almost certainly would make itself felt by Labor — ^not Revolution — through politics, by taking advantage of the power which any well organized body always can have under our form of government. While such a control might be regrettable, and might be unwisely used, it is nevertheless perfectly legiti- mate. It can be curbed at any moment that an equal body of citizens becomes determined in opposition, and it is far from Revolutionary. That, however, is not at all the plan of the Reds. It could be too easily defeated; the weapons used could be as readily employed by the opponents of Revolu- tion — in short, successful Revolution by this means would have to depend on conversion of a majority of the citizens, and the orderly processes of Democracy. However far the continued organization and "rev- olutionary education" of Labor may go, that is, how- ever much the Reds may succeed in increasing the size of the body through which they exercise power, THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 241 they have no hope of attaining any such strength in any period of time within the range of human vision. ONLY HOPE IN ^DIRECT ACTION" There is only one means of creating and supporting a permanent minority rule. That is Force. To Force, then, the Reds turn ; must turn if they hope to win. Here again is a difference of opinion , regarding methods. Probably the greater number of Reds be- lieve that victory will be possible without violence, through industrial "direct action" by the workers. A smaller but powerful faction believes that in the first crisis violence will be necessary. It agrees, however, that industrial action should be used in the present stage of the attempt at Revolution. So there is no dis- agreement about the immediate programme. The demand for industrial action was first stated by Daniel De Leon. He said : The ballot is a weapon of civilization; the ballot is a weapon that no revoltiitionary movement of our times may ignore except at its own peril; the Socialist ballot is the emblem of right. For that very reason the Socialist bal- lot is Weaker than woman's tears. Tamer than sleep, fonder than ignorance. Less valiant than the virgin in the night. And skilless as unpracticed infancy, unless it is backed up by the Might to enforce it. That re- qaisite might is summed up in the industrial organization of the working class. 243 LABOR AND REVOLT The meaning of "might through industrial organ- ization" is dear enough; it is the employment by the organized workers of their industrial power to force Revolution; its theory is summed up in the I. W. W. slogan: Every strike is a small revolution and a dress re- hearsal FOR THE BIG ONE. This method of Revolution, of course, depends wholly upon the control of the labor unions, "these so all-important and indispensable levers of the pro- letarian revolution." For this purpose the craft unions, such as make up the American Federation of Labor, are almost useless, and the Reds with one accord therefore support and demand the organiza- tion of the "industrial union," the "one big union." This principle has already been defined, but since it is the basis of the immediate revolutionary plan, it may be well to review its features. A UNION TO THROTTLE THE WORLD Industrial unionism, according to an article which has been published in many Red papers, and which is here quoted from "The One Big Union Bulletin," is "the proposition that all wage workers come together in 'organization according to industry'; the grouping of the workers in each of the big divisions c^f industry, as a whole, into local, national and international indus- THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 243 trial unions, all to be interlocked, dovetailed, welded into one big union of all wage workers; a big union bent on aggressively forging ahead and compelling shorter hours, more wages and better conditions in and out of the workshop and as each advance is made holding on grimly to the fresh gain with the determina- tion to push still farther forward — gaining strength from each victory and learning by every temporary set-back — ^until the working class is able to take pos- session and control of the machinery, premises and materials of production right from the capitalists' hands, and use that control to distribute the product entirely amongst the workers." The weakness of this scheme for securing imme- diate economic advantage is obvious, especially for skilled workers. They are to be included in the same unions with the unskilled, to have no power to nego- tiate on the basis of their higher training and pro- ductivity, and are certain to be submerged. This has already become apparent in Australia. But the advantage of the one big union for Revolu- tionary purposes, and for a weapon against industry and the state are equally obvious. It welds the entire working class — that can be organized — into a single body, and places the control of this immense force in the hands of a few leaders: Each industrial dispute can call to its support not only the whole strength of Organized Labor in its industry, or its city, but liter- ally, of the entire world. And this whole vast organ- ism can, at the nod of these leaders, be launched in 244 LABOR AND REVOLT a gigantic offensive against any part of society, or any nation or the world. The Red leaders plan to use this power for several purposes short of the final revolution. The first of thes,e is the improvement of the condition of the work- ers, the forcing of wages and hours demanded, by the use of the entire power, or so much of it as may be necessary, to support each individual quarrel. Says the Preamble of the I. W. W. Manifesto: The interest of the working class (can be) upheld only by an organization formed in such a way that all its mem- bers in any one industry, or in all indastries if necessary, cease work whenever a strike or lockout is on in any one department thereof, thus making an injury to one an injury to all. PLAN TO MULTIPLY LABOR TROUBLES Translated Into non-revolutionary language this means that whenever a labor quarrel arises, other workers whose rights and interests are not affected shall also strike. This will inflict all the injuries of in- dustrial warfare not only upon employers who have no share in the original dispute and no power to affect its settlement but also on the general public which has done nothing and can do nothing. When this punish- ment of society should be inflicted, and how wide and violent it should be, would be decided, of course, by the Red leaders. This is the principle of the sympathetic strike, based THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 245 on the "solidarity of the workers," on class-conscious- ness, and is the idea that is being vigorously incul- cated at present by the Red agitators among the work- ers, since it must be the foundation of all other action. It was on this basis that Seattle was tied up in a quar- rel of the ship-yard workers; and Winnipeg in behalf of a few metal trades employes, on this basis that efforts were made to stop all industry in Omaha be- cause of a dispute in the stock yards, in Pittsburgh over the steel strike, and in Boston when the policemen went out. The idea presented to the union members in each case was that their united strength could gain for the men actually involved in the quarrel conces- sions which the power of the individual union could not force. DAMAGE FOR ITS OWN SAKE The second method of use of the industrial union planned by the Reds is in what has been called the "burglar strike": a strike intended not to benefit the workers, but solely to "weaken Capital." Its theory is stated by Grover H. Perry, in "The Revolutionary I. W. W.," as follows: We will demand more and more wages from employers. We will demand and enforce shorter and shorter hours. As we gain these demands we are diminishing the profits of the bosses. We are taking away their power. We are gaining the power for ourselves. All the time we become more dis- ciplined. We become self-confident. We realize that with- 246 LABOR AND REVOLT out owr labor no wealth can be produced. We fold our arms. The mills close. Industry is at a standstill. We then make our proposition to our former bosses. "The O. B. U. Bulletin" says: If we go on strike we must strike quickly, suddenly and certainly. Don't give the boss time to think or prepare plans. He might get the better of us and that would be bad for us and immoral. Strike when he has a big order to fill. That will hurt him more and us less, and that is moral. . Tie up the industries in town, all the industries in all the towns, in the whole country, in the whole world if necessary. The strike will end quicker, and we will starve less, and that's good for us and therefore moral. Closely allied with the "burglar strike" is the I. W. W. practice of sabotage. This is described by Robert Hunter in "Violence and the Labor Move- ment," dedicated to Eugene V. Debs: If a strike is lost, and the workers return only to break the machines, spoil the products, and generally disorganize a factory, that is sabotage. The idea of sabotage is that any dissatisfied workman shall undertake to break the machine and spoil the product of the machine in order to render the conduct of industry unprofitable, if not actually impossible. It may range all the way from the machine obstruction or destruction to d}mamiting, train wrecking and arson. The best defense of this use comes from the brilliant Emma Goldman: Sabotage has been decried as criminal, even by so-called revolutionary Socialists. Of course, if you believe that THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 247 property, which excludes the producer from its use, is justi- fiable, then sabotage is indeed a crime. But unless a Socialist continues under the influence of our bourgeois morality — a morality which enables the few to monopolize the earth at the expense of the many — he cannot consistently maintain that capitalistic property is inviolable. Sabotage undermines this form of private possession. Can it therefore be con- sidered criminal? On the contrary, it is ethical in the best sense, since it helps society to get rid of its worst foe, the most detrimental factor of social life. • It is hardly necessary to point out the viciousness of this scheme. It is worse than steaUng, for it is merely destruction. It involves taking an employer's pay, and then doing him injury instead of good. It does more than weaken the particular employer attacked, for it diminishes by just so much the amount of goods which all in the world must share, thus raising prices and increasing poverty. If the employers' property had all been won unfairly — and it has not been so won in most cases — ^there would still be no shred of justifi- cation for destroying it, unless it were actually being used against society. Practically all active capital is busy in the service of society, however excessive may be the usury that some capitalists exact, and to destroy any part of it is to weaken and rob society. Yet the Revolution justifies this, and justifies it in the pious hope of making America another Russia! STRIKES TO OVERRULE ELECTIONS More important and dangerous than either the sym- pathetic or the "burglar'* strike, in that it hits directly 248 LABOR AND REVOLT at the foundations of Democracy, is a form of direct action new to America — ^the political strike. Its theory is that the power of the tremendous strike possible un- der industrial unionism to injure the nation as a whole (or indeed of whatever power any labor body can exert through a strike) is to be used to enforce the wishes of Labor or a part of Labor against those of the nation in political matters. The purpose of the Reds to use this is shown in an editorial from The Class Struggle, organ of the Left Wing, and signed "F," presumably by ^Louis Friana, a "Left Wing" leader and one of the editors of the magazine. He says: In those two strikes (Seattle and Bwtte) there was mani- fest that primitive initial mass-action which, when develop- ing into the final revolutionary form, becomes the dynamic method of the proletariat for the conquest of power. . . . Out of these strikes the Socialist must develop larger action, must marshal and direct the proletariat for the conquest of power. . . . The political strike is new to American Labor. But it is indispensable. It must come. It is the function of the left-wing Socialist to develop an intense propaganda in favor of this method of struggle, to develop out of the strikes of the proletariat the concept and the action of the mass-strike." The possible uses of the political strike for minor- ity control, and for Revolutionary purppses generally, are startling. Under its theory any group of workers may use their power to prevent the carrying out of any public policy which they do not approve. Dock work- THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 249 ers, by a strike against the tariff, could paralyze its operation, or by striking against a foreign war could make it almost impossible to move troops or supplies. An instance of their use of this power, in an excellent cause, however, was the refusal of the British Sea- men's Union to permit the sailing of the Radical British leaders to the Stockholm conference — a refusal which was made good against the protests of the gov- ernment — ^by calling a strike on every vessel on which the delegates might take passage. Under this policy it would be possible for the rail- way brotherhoods to tie up air transportation because of their disapproval of intervention in Mexico, or for the miners to freeze the country if they were dissat- isfied with the Federal Bank Act. Not only possible, but for believers in the political strike entirely jus- tifiable. THE reds' big bertha — ^THE GENERAL STRIKE Combining the features of all these methods is the final "peaceful" Revolutionary weapon — the general strike. Its scope, according to Emma Goldman, is the universal "stoppage of work, the cessation of labor." It is both political and industrial, and it aims to throw the whole power of all Labor against society on the point at issue — and finally to force the "socialization of industry" and the "proletarian dictatorship." It need not, however, wait till all the workers are ready for it, but according to Miss Goldman, "initiated 250 LABOR AND REVOLT by one determined organization, by one industry or by a small, conscious minority among the workers, it be- comes the industrial cry of 'stop thief,' which is soon taken up by many other industries, spreading like wild- fire in a very short time." Thus we may have general strikes covering an in- dustry, a city, or a state, before the final day comes when a "strike, starting in some one city, will spread to all the others, and on the day that it ties up the whole country the regular governments wiH go on the scrap heap, because the workers will rule." The efforts of workers to rule through the general strike were shown both in Seattle, where the strike committee offered to take over the municipal frjictions during the strike, and in Winnipeg, where they actu- ally seized governmental power, and issued orders to the city's employes. America has had a taste of what such a strike would mean in the soft-coal miners' walk-out, and has seen Congress wilt before the threat of a general strike on the railroads, when it passed the Adamson law. Yet there is still a very inadequate understanding of the weight that would be behind the blow of this Red bludgeon, should it once be swung against society and the nation. "Paralysis of industry" is a phrase that covers the possibility of more horrors than the world has known since the days of continent-wide famines. It means the stopping of all trains, all shipping, all mails, all wire communication, all newspapers, all street car transportation, all buying and selling, the closing of THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 251 all stores, the shutting down of the city water-works and the leaving of the streets uncleaned — all this in addition to the tremendous losses that would follow the closing down of all factories, losses to be measured not in money alone, but in a shortage of manufactured goods like that which sent prices soaring and brought discomfort and even misery to millions during the World War. PROGRESS BY STARVATION But most of all it means starvation. No food could reach the millions in the great cities through the ordi- nary means of transportation — and those cities are at all times within a few days of starvation — if they were once left to their own resources. It means no milk for the babies — ^the beginning of starvation for them within a single twenty-four hour period. The infant death rate actually went up in Winnipeg, the one city where the general strike has been effective, and the efforts by the strike committee to provide for the workers' children, without permitting milk to reach the little ones of non-strikers, were desperate. It is starvation, more than any other one thing, upon which the Reds rely to make the general strike effec- tive, and it is openly discussed in their propaganda. In Russia starvation is one of the weapons used to destroy the bourgeoisie, the laws specifically limiting the amount of food they may have to a quantity far too low to sustain life. 2S2 LABOR AND REVOLT "What will happen," asks an unsigned Revolution- ary article which has made the rounds of the Red press, "if Labor withholds its power to produce ?" It answers itself : Capitalists, priests, politicians, press hirelings, thugs, slug- gers, hangmen, policemen and all creeping and crawling things that suck the blood of the common working man would die of starvation. "One of the objections of politicians to the general strike," says Emma Goldman, meaning by "politicians" Socialists who favor political methods, "is that the workers would also suffer for the necessaries of life. In the first place, the workers are past masters in going hungry ; secondly, it is certain that a General Strike is surer of prompt settlement than an ordinary strike." She also says: If . . . the "innocent public" has not enough feeling of solidarity to insist that these men should get enough to live on, the public has forfeited the sympathy of the strikers and must take the consequences. The injury to the "innocent public," to the thousands or millions who can have no influence in the settle- ment of a general strike except as the sight of their suffering affects those whom the revolutionists happen to be attacking, is an accepted thing by the Reds. An THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 253 O. B. U. leader put the situation even more bluntly than Miss Goldman does, in a conversation. "We don't owe those people anything," he de- clared. "They have never done anything to help the working man against Capital. They ought to be will- ing to suffer in a fight for principle, like this, anyhow. And even if they're not willing, they've got to. The Allies made millions suffer in a capitalistic war, and everybody around here, except the class-conscious workers, approved. The principle in a general strike is the same, but with all the justice on our side. Our fight is worth all the suffering it may cause." This is the "peaceful" weapon the Red leaders would substitute for a violent revolution, if possible. It is a weapon of tremendous power, and one which, even if it should not succeed, would cause loss, misery and if prolonged, death almost as widespread and quite as certainly, as armed revolt. FINALLY — SLAUGHTER Behind this menace stands the threat of the ultimate embodiment of force — slaughter. To some Reds it is a thing to be desired and worked for; to all it is the final resource if other devices fail. J. Helborg, an organizer for the Soviet, complained to his chief of Finns, who "are of the invertebrate type, waiting for the bloodless revolution." Not all the Reds are "invertebrate." Following are a few of 2S4 LABOR AND REVOLT the things they have said in the face of the Espionage act and the danger of prosecution: There is only one thing to do. take over the STATE. Are the members of your local prepared to take over and conduct wisely and well the affairs of your town and country? Are you ready to meet the militia when the powers of the state and courts are against you? . . . Look over the enclosed samples of our courses in "Elements of Socialism" which will cost you only $i per member in a class of six or more. (From a circular letter of the Rand' School.) Industrial unionism alone cannot perform the revolution- ary act of the seizure of the power of the state, since under the conditions of Capitalism it is impossible to organize the whole working class, or an overwhelming majority, into in- dustrial unions. (From the Manifesto of the Left Wing.) A general strike of "folded arms" can accomplish only one thing, the cessation of industry, but that in itself is not sufficient, nor what the I. W. W. is striving for. ... To take over industry is a positive act, and a revolutionary one, and "folded arms" will not accomplish the aim in view. (From Freedom, June, 1919.) Nations make war in order to add to their possessions. . . , A class will fight to the death with another class over profits or wages. In war killing'people and burning cities is thought to be a patriotic work. If successful it is considered to be right and fine. When the worker, either through experience or a study of Socialism, comes to know this truth, he acts accordingly. He retains absolutely no respect for the property "rights" of the profit-takers. He will use any weapon that will win his fight. He knows that the present laws of property are made by and for the capitalists. Therefore he does not hesitate to break them. He knows that whatever action THE RAPE OF DEMOCRACY 2SS advances the interests of the working class is right, because it will save the workers from destruction and death. (From Industrial Socialism.) We cannot expect, and we do not expect anything but a fight, and i very nasty fight, from the capitalistic class. We know, after having studied the proposition, that there is only one thing that the capitalistic class of this or any other country understands, there is just one argument that they can listen to — and that is power. (Dennis E. Batt in a speech in Madison Square Garden.) In order to throw over the rule of the tyrants we must use weapons of the most modern invention, as it would be ridiculous to try to destroy a first class battleship with a row- boat. . . . We must then join actively our fighting com- rades of Europe. . . . Let us attack with the ferocity of a tiger, from all sides, our torturer-capitalism with every available weapon. (From The, Class Struggle; Finnish I. W. W.) "The Left Wing" hopes that the proletariat will con- quer its enemy, the capitalistic class, with as little bloodshed as possible. (From The New York Communist.) The United States is in the grip of a bloody revolution. Thousand of workers are slaughtered by machine guns in New York City ! Washington is on fire ! Industry is at a standstill and thousands of workers are starving ! The gov- ernment is using the most brutal and repressive measures to put down the revolution ! Disorganization, crime, chaos, rape, murder and arson are the order of the day — the in- evitable results of social revolution ! The above is what we inay expect to see on the front pages of what few newspapers survive the upheaval. . . . It is not yet too late to avoid this trouble and sanguinary strike . . . provided that the I. W. W. is allowed to carry out its programme of organizing and educating the workers for the purpose of taking control of, and operating industry. 2S6 LABOR AND REVOLT and giving to those who work the full social value of their labor. (From The Rebel Worker, I. W. W.) In other words, this is what will happen unless the I. W. W. is given free rein ! These are the answers that the Revolution itself makes to its own claims that it is really democratic, that it wishes rule of the people, equality, and freedom, and that it will bring these things. The answers are clear. The Revolution, on its own statements, seeks class rule, minority rule, won and held by force, and by force alone. CHAPTER XV THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS The Red appeal to idealism and to greed — Incitement to theft — To irresponsibility — Exploitation of real wrongs and efforts to create new ones — Stirring up lawlessness — Stirring up hatreds — Efforts to stimulate Negro unrest — Plan of cam- paign, Radical Negro press, sex equality, incitement to race riot and reprisal — The cultivation of aliens and national disunity — The foreign language press — Schools of Revolu- tion — ^Labor their victim — Opposition to all reform — ^the line between Red and Radical — The strategy of the Reds : strikes, panic and misery, to bring on Revolution. Could there be an appeal more stirring to the best that is in a man than this? Bowed and humiliated as you are, by you despised ever so much, your mothers, wives and sisters forced to lives of shame, your children stunted and starved, you hold in these two hands of yours the power to save not only yourself, your mothers, wives and sisters and your children, but the whole human race. The world lies in the hollow of your dirty, blacked, horny right hand — save it!" For the sake of your wives, mothers, and children, save the world! How? By Revolution, of course, for this is an I. W. W. appeal! 257 2S8 LABOR AND REVOLT] The whole Revolution, in its campaign, makes a strong demand upon idealism, atad a strong bid for its support. Brotherhood, freedom, a better life and bet- ter living, all to follow the class-war! The working class, through secwring freedom for itself, will liberate the race. Socialism Will free not only the slave but the slave-driver and the slave-owner. . . . Peace and brotherhood will come with freedom. Thus beautifully ends "Industrial Socialism," one of whose authors is William D. Ha)rwood, head of the I. W. W. Up with the immediate demand of the international work- ing-class: A peace based on the abolition of capitalist pro- duction and the inauguration of the Universal Brotherhood of Man — ^the Socialist Commonwealth. So says Dannenberg in "Reform or Revolution." It is so all along the line: the Revolution will abol- ish crime, for crimes are caused by Capitalism; the Revolution will abolish poverty, for poverty is caused by Capitalism; the Revolution will abolish war, for war is caused by capitalistic rivalries ; the Revolution will end all jealousies, all hardships, all injustice, all enmities, all wrong. It demands nothing except a new and narrow class loyalty, instead of loyalty to country to religion or to morality — and it promises saviorhood. THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS as9 RAPINE IN THE GARMENTS OF IDEALISM But the Revolution has another appeal, that it uses almost in the same breath with this, to idealism. "Ex- propriation" is its keynote — ^the seizure of property. "It is yours, take it," it tells the workers, though the appeal to greed of loot is usually dressed in some such semi-idealistic form as this: We have fed you all for a thousand years, And you hail us still unfed, Though there's never a dollar of all your wealth But marks the workers' dead. We have yielded our best to give you rest. And you lie on a crimson wool; For if blood be the price of all your wealth. Good God, we ha' paid it in full. The Finnish Class Struggle goes farther. It publishes a story entitled "The Theft," the moral of which is to encourage stealing. It tells of an immi- grant of good family, brought up in the "old mo- rality," who after two years in America learned that "the entire community is founded on stealing." So he stole a pocketbook from a rich farmer. The story concludes: The following night from the small country station a well dressed man boards the train. He eats a plentiful dinner in the dining car, and tips the waiter generously: After that he retires to a quiet nook to enjoy a good cigar. He smiles behind the smoke and nods his head as if taking 26o LABOR AND REVOLT leave of something that others cannot see. Bat we know that this man is taking leave of the honesty of the old view- point which does not fit into the frame of the new con- viction of the world. So idealism is in the revolution — ^but also loot. And irresponsibility, too. "The individual who is vigilant enough to combat the one harmless appearing demand on him is the one who is fitted for freedom," says Elizabeth Byrne in "The Modern School." This irresponsibility is a lure that runs strongly through the Revolutionary propa- ganda — it is called "freedom." Freedom from all de- mands, from duty to country, or benefactors, or wives and children (through community of women and state care of babies) from the need of assuring even your own support. And laziness also hears a whisper — shorter and shorter hours, "a third of the present working time," "there is no reason why a man should work more than ten hours in a week or two months in a year." So the Revolution offers all things to all men and to all women; ideals to the idealist, but whatever baser things are wanted by the baser natured — ^loot, lust, laziness and license. THE PLANTING OF DISCONTENT Of course, this kind of appeal is far from enough to cause Revolution. Mankind, as a whole, is far too decent. The strongest motive, as has been seen THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS 261 through all their activities, must necessarily be discon- tent. Wrongs, real or fancied, are exploited: so are profiteering, which is both, legal "oppression," whether in the courts or in the defense of property or lives against riot; inequality of all kinds — every- thing that can be turned to use. But all of these motives together are not enough, and the Reds themselves recognize this. "Only a tiny fraction of our 110,000,000 people are ready for any social change," declared James Oneal, a member of the National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party, after his return from Europe. "Here in America we have no vast hordes stricken with famine, made desperate by the war and ready for working class control. . . . There is no great peas- antry made desperate by their sufferings and ready to unite with mutinous soldiers and city workers. . . . The overwhelming masses of the workers have not been touched by Socialist education." The Reds have opened another phase of their cam- paign, therefore, and attempt to cultivate discontent where none exists and to create fictitious wrongs. Part of this attempt is in urging Labor to bad faith with employers, a course sure to bring reprisals and injury to the laborers, and much is in stimulating de- sires and demands that cannot be fulfilled. But its main effort is toward lawlessness, toward actions which will bring the Reds' dupes into violent contact with the law, and give ground for the repeated dia- tribes against the government, its police, its courts, 262 LABOR AND REVOLT and its jails, with which the Red propaganda is filled. One incitement to lawlessness was quoted above, in the story intended as an encouragement to stealing. Here is another: A rioting mob is the one and only possible means for organizing a fight in the every day, as well as in these last open and decisive, blood-battles between the capitalists and the working classes. ("Luckkataistelu.") Not that the agitators themselves risk their own skins in any riot. "They are always clever enough to say, 'You ought to go out and fight.' They do not say, 'We will lead you.' They don't do that. They are not game enough," remarked President Holland of the New York State Federation of Labor, a man who has been in the thick of the labor fight against Revolution. HATRED THE REAL SPIRIT OF REVOLT All these things, the real, the imagined or the cre- ated causes of discontent, are turned by the Reds in a single direction, and one far more likely to work toward their goal of violent Revolution than is any idealism. This spur to revolt is hatred. All their lan- guage is couched to stimulate it. The death of men in a mine accident is "social murder" due to "profit- taking" any making of profits, interest or rent is "robbery"; the word "starvation" appears over and over again in a country where actual starvation is THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS 263 almost unknown, and the standard of living is the highest in the world; and we are constantly being shown pictures of workers' wives and daughters driven to prostitution by poverty. So resentment, hatred, the desire for revenge, are added to the "ideals" to which Revolution makes its appeal. Moreover there are two weak spots in the Amer- ican social structure, two points at which serious danger of appalling evil at hand or to come is so ap- parent that the problems they present are constantly receiving the most careful thought and delicate han- dling from American statesmen and social workers. At these the Reds strike — strike not to heal but to inflame. RACE-WAR TO SUPPORT CLASS-WAR The first of these is the Negro question. There are many reasons why anyone engaged sincerely in the task of uplifting society, as the Revolutionaries claim to be, should deal with this question. Its solution, even In theory, has defied the best thought that could be given it. In the meanwhile the treatment of the Negro has been such as to give the agitators a very real basis for exploiting discontent. Their tirades about injustice, inequality, oppression, even robbery, come far nearer being true in the case of the Negro than in any other. Only too often they are utterly true. There are parts of this country where the Negro has fewer rights than 264' LABOR AND REVOLT J a mule — less protection from the law; for the burning alive of a mule by a crowd of "leading citizens" of any state whatever would produce a wave of indignation that would sweep the country and insure punishment of every man who shared in it, while a Negro may be burned in several states, almost without comment, and entirely without punishment. But this is not the real reason for the sudden Red solicitude for the Negro. The Reds themselves allege two reasons: first, tiiat Negroes have often been used as strike breakers, and that the presence of so large an unorganized and perhaps tmorganizable body of labor in the country threatens the success of the in- dustrial union scheme ; second, that when iiie Revolu- tion starts, the Negroes may be armed and used to suppress the revolt of the white workers! There is another reason, not stated, but apparent from the whole tenor and method of the Red agitation among the Negroes — ^the knowledge that any intensification of the race question, and disturbance of the already tense and unstable conditions in the South, will make Revolution easier. It was in the hope of provoking race war that the German propaganda was carried to the Negro by emissaries who sneaked across the Mexican border, promising the blacks everything from free land to white wives' and urging revolt. This propaganda of race war has been taken over by the Reds, and is now being pushed, largely by Negroes, but with Red backing. THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS 265 THE SEED OF RACE OUTBREAKS An outline' of methods which should be employed by Radicals among the blacks was found in the files of the Rand School, when it was raided by agents of the Lusk Committee. It was signed by W. A. Domingo, & West Indian Negro, and a leader in the race agita- tion. He wrote: First: They must unequivocally condemn all forms of in- jiastice practiced against Negroes, and encouch same in their declarations of principles and platforms, and Socialist officials and legislators must embrace every opportunity to make public denouncement of lynchings, etc. Second: They must give the Negro more prominence in their discussions, whether by speech or by publications rela- tive to injustice in America. Third: They must seek to attract Negroes to their meet- ings and to induce them to become members of their or- ganizations. Fourth: Those who are members of labor unions must work for the repeal of all racially discriminatory practices in their organizations, and endeavor to gain the admission of Negroes into them on terms of equality. Fifth: They must have specially prepared propaganda showing Negroes how they as a group are likely to benefit and improve their social and economic status by any radical change in the present economic system. Sixth : Radical Negro publications must be supported finan- cially even if subventions have to be made to them. Seventh : Radical white speakers must be instructed to try and reach Negro audiences, while competent paid Negro speakers must be kept touring the country spreading radical propaganda. 266 LABOR AND REVOLT* The propaganda, he goes on, "should aim to change the race-conscious Negro into a class-conscious worker. In supporting radical Negro publications financially white Radicals will be making their best investment. . . . Let Negro ministers and news- papers preach Socialism and the Negro race will be converted to it." He speaks of Negro preachers as "the most parasitical of all celestial navigators." This document, the Rand School secretary declared, had been ordered sent back to the writer, on the ground that it was not suitable for.publication. If it was ever intended for publication, this is likely, since so frank a revelation of such plans would hardly be suitable from the Red point of view. At any rate, the programme is being carried out, in bulk and in detail. HEARTS THAT BLEED TO ORDER Except for members of the I. W. W., the Radicals' hearts have not been stirred by the Negroes' affairs and wrongs till recently. Now the Radical press is ablaze with them. Every lynching, every riot, every- thing that is or can be twisted into an injustice to the Negro is "played up" in the yellowest style. When- ever there are Negroes within reach the Red agitators take pains to say a few words for them. The work inside the labor tinions is being pushed. A Radical Negro press has sprung up and spread, until there is hardly a city without such a publication; THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS 267 there are dailies, weeklies and monthlies. Prominent among these are The Negro World, of which Do- mingo is editor, The Messenger, which carries the headline, "A New Crowd— A New Negro," and The Crusader, founded in October, 1918, but "The Maga- zine Nearly Every Negro Reads." The Messenger may be taken as typical of them. In a single number it contained the following articles : "Japan and the Race Issue," "The Break-up of the A. F. of L.," "Radical Renegades," "The March of Soviet Government," "How Germans Treated Negro Soldiers" (which contains the statement that "the countrymen with whom the black men were fighting and for whose/ liberty they were dying, treated them worse than the enemy whose duty it was to kill the Negro soldiers, and whom the Negroes were killing), "New Leadership for the Negro," "The League of White Capitalistic Governments," "The Negro, a Menace to Radicalism," "We Want More Bolshevik Patriotism," etc. A PROMISE OF WHITE WOMEN The publications of the white Radicals, in addition to all the forms of propaganda that might be expected, give grounds to their Negro readers for believing that all Reds even want social equality in sex matters — as some Anarchists do. The Liberator, for instance, edited by Max Eastman and successor to his piebald 268 LABOR AND REVOLT magazine The Masses, which was suppressed far disloyalty, publishes the following poem by a Negro: THE BARRIER I must not gaze at them, although Your eyes are dawning day; I must not watch you as you go Your sun-illumined way ; I hear but I must never heed The fascinating note Which fluting like a river reed Comes from vour trembling throat; I must not see upon your face - Love's softly glowing spark ; For there's the barrier of race. You're fair and I am dark. BLACKS URGED TO RIOT The Spoken propaganda of the agitators is a little more frank than that which is published since it is always possible to claim that one has been misquoted, in case the government inquires. Messrs. Randolph and Owen, editors of The Messenger, spoke in Bos- ton in July, 1919, and according to The Boston Chronicle, a Negro paper: They will accept no compromise. They will be free, not half free. Their advice to Negroes is to strike when it is necessary to do so for their economic interest. To stop lynching they suggest force against the lynchers. One hun- THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS 269 dred well armed Negroes can stop a lynching anywhere, they say. Their whole programme is epitomized in the one word — FIGHT ! . . . Never before have we heard two young men presenting a cause to their people — a cause so near to their hearts, so calmly, so dispassionately, and so logically. "Within the next few months," declared Marcus Garvey, a New York Negro at a public meeting there on August 26, 19 19, "our organization will be in such a condition that if there is a lynching in the South and a white man cannot be held to account down there, the button will be pushed here, and a white man in New York will be lynched. . . . The Negro shed his blood in the great war, and the same blood will continue to be sacrificed until we get the rights we demand." So the Revolution tries to add the horrors of race- war to those of class- war! WORK FOR NATIONAL DISUNITY The second weak spot in our American structure at which the Reds strike is only less dangerous — the un- Araericanized alien. The campaign of national dis- unity which they are carrying on is, unlike the rather forced agitation among the Negroes, entirely natural to the Radicals, both from their personal connections and their theory. The alien origin of the revolution- ary doctrines, the enemy-alien domination of Amer- ican Socialism, the fact that the Socialist Party here has always been composed largely of those of German birth, and the anti-patriotic, international character 270 LABOR AND REVOLT of the form of society for which they are working, cotnbine to make the cultivation of disunity most con- genial to them. The situation in this country, moreover, is pecu- liarly advantageous for that campaign. Except pos- sibly Canada, no nation has so large a percentage of aliens and alien-born within its borders. Practically all of the newcomers are from countries where op- pression and injustice drove them forth — Russian Jews, Hungarians, Slavs of many types, all with an inbred resentrhent against society. Many of the earlier immigrants, too, like the Irish, still have nationalistic resentments which can be used. There is also the great body of Teutonic origin smarting under the castigation which the disloyalty of many of their number earned during the World War, and with little love for the country that helped vanquish their "Vaterland." It is a most fallow field for Revolutionary cultivatioiL This has not been lacking, though the appeal has not been made to the alien, as an alien, in the direct way in which Negro support has been sought. But the agitators, as in the steel strike, have found in the alien their readiest, sometimes their only, convert. The re- sult has been that high labor leaders estimate that along the Atlantic Coast at least 85 per cent of the Radical strength among the workers lies with un-nat- uralized aliens, and that of the remaining 15 per cent about half is foreign-born. The charge of alien blood cannot be made in the West, however, for Radicalism there has made its way among thousands of native THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS 271 bom ]*k!mericans. But for the country, as a whole, it may safely be said that nearly 75 per cent of the Revo- lutionaries are un-Americanized. FIGHT AGAINST AMERICANIZATION The first and most obvious evidence of the campaign for disunity is to be found in the foreign language press of the Reds. More than half of their publica- tions are in some other language than English, Of the "official" I. W. W. publications, for example, four are in English, the others being in Spanish, Russian, Italian, Swedish, Yiddish, Bulgarian, Hungarian and Finnish. The value of the foreign-language press as a quarantine against Americanism is recognized by Reds. Domingo, in that article which was "not suit- able for publication," discusses the differences between propaganda among Negroes and Jews, and remarks that "Jews have a distinctive language press which acts as a kind of a screen against strictly 'national' ideas." The fight which the Reds make against the Amer- icanization of the aliens through their constant attacks on everything American has been indicated in the dis- cussion of the anti-American attitude of Radicalism, but there is one more quotation that is worth giving. It is from The International Weekly, and was pub- lished in Seattle shortly before the Revolutionary strike there: The rosy promise of "Freedom for all, forever" is dis- 272 LABOR AND REVOLT pelled before the reality of the bankruptcy of capitalism. The world may now be safe for democracy of the soup- house variety, but that is small consolation to the people who have slaved and sacrificed for some vague thing which they believed wowld guarantee happiness and prosperity for them. When again the flabby-brained and loose-lipped orators of the capitalistic class come before the workers with their rosy promise, they will hear the shout: Ye are liars! Your Democracy is a lie ! Your Freedom is a lie! Your Prosperity is a lie! Your Equality is a lie! Your Humanity is a lie! Your Liberty is a lie! Your Religion is a lie! Your Eternal Justice is a lie! Your God is a lie! Everything you praise, all that you eulogize and adore, is a lie! The Reds' action toward the alien is as definite on the negative side as on the positive. "Have you ever heard any of the leaders of these radical movements urge their hearers to become citi- zens?" Mr. Holland was asked when he was on the witness stand before the Lusk Committee. He has heard some hundreds of Radical speeches. "Never in all my experience," he replied. In short, the Red hopes to make Revolution easiei: by preventing the Americanization of the new arrivals, and making them into a lever against the nation that has sheltered them. THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS 173 EDUCATION IN REVOLUTION For this campaign of hatred", discontent, race preju- dice and disunity, this cultivation of chaos — ^the Reds are already holding schools of Revolution. The Rand School, with its correspondence courses in Socialism, and its class-room teachings by Red leaders, has been described. There is a similar one in Chicago. The system by which New York's East Side was able to send to Russia the thousands of Jews who have been BO tremendous a factor in the Soviet misgovernment has never been unearthed, but these thousands went as if in response to an expected call, and took their places as if prepared for them in advance. Greatest of all these schools are the Revolutionary strikes- which have been cited — Seattle, Winnipeg, Toronto, Omaha, Lawrence, Butte and others. "We are trying them out," a Red Leader said dur- ing one of them. "We may fail here, of course, we really expect to, but we are learning all the time, and some day we'll put it over. We have to study all the problems of feeding the workers and not the bour- geoisie, of taking over the government functions, and of controlling industry. We can only learn by experi- ence, and these are our schools." In these strikes Labor is the Red's victim. Few of the workers, comparatively few even of the leaders, dream that they are taking part in a Revolutionary attempt. The Reds offer some pretext that will appeal to the ordinary motives that actuate the union man. 274 LABOR AND REVOLT make some attacks on the old-line labor officials to convince the workers that the new leaders are more truly interested in their welfare, give some impossible promises of gains to be made, make some fervid appeals to class sympathy — and the Revolutionary school is in session. Of course the victimized workers suffer. The hid- den power which provides funds for these Red schools wastes no money, and financial help does not come to the individual worker till he can prove to the strike leaders that his own savings are exhausted. He suffers, too, with the rest of the city, in lack of food, and all the other hardships of the strike. So Labor pays for its own "education" in Revolu- tion. The schools of Revolution are as merciless and as vicious an exploitation of the worker, for purposes he cannot understand and would not approve, as any of which Capitalism has been guilty. REFORM DEADLY TO REVOLUTION Onei more feature of the Revolution deserves a moment's attention: its fear and hatred of reform, and denunciation of reforms and reformers. "Down with reform, palliation and compromise!" shrieks Karl Dannenberg, of the Socialist Labor Party. Joy Lovestone, writing in The Communist, says: Why do capitalists grant reforms? There are two rea- sons. First, in order to stifle the ever-increasing class- consciowsness of the workers. ... By granting certain THE CULTIVATION OF CHAOS 275 "improvements" the capitalist hides the class nature of the present system of production. . . . There is another reason for the capitalists' granting "improvements" in the workers' conditions. The only use the capitalist has for the prole- tariat is exploitation. But to be capable of exploitation the workers must exist. . . . Their investigators have made ex- tensive studies proving that efficiency can be increased by shorter hours, and "improvements" in working conditions. The improved methods of production and business organiza- tion intensify the degree of exploitation. Hence capitalism can well stand "reform" — or change of tactics in its exploita- tion of the working class. Morris Zucker, another of the Communists, is even more frank: The experiences of the past few years have brought home to us many vital and important lessons. Foremost among them is the one great lesson that the advocacy of immediate demands of social reformism is not only incompatible with the mission of a revolutionary movement, but is destructive of the movement itself. Reform, the Reds have learned, weakens the Revo- lutionary movement, because it makes the workers more contented, and diminishes unrest. Therefore reform must be opposed ! No benefits to the workers are worth weighing against the progress of the Revolution! So we have here a final check on the sincerity of the Reds and the genuineness of their protestations that the welfare of the laboring classes is the object of their mission; we have them directly fighting the one immediate and certain method of accomplishing the things for which they profess to stand. 276 LABOR AND REVOLT So perfect Is this check that it fairly marks the line between Liberalism and Revolution — a line often diffi- cult to draw in these days of chameleon-tinted beliefs. The Liberal, however Radical he may be, however extensive the changes he wishes to bring about in the structure of society, cannot be classed as a Revolution- ist or as dangerous to society, so long as the method on which he depends for accomplishing those changes is reform, after thorough discussion and in gradual stages. The true Revolutionist, on the other hand, is he who, for the sake of the vague and dangerous benefits of rule by the least intelligent class of society, for the sake of an experiment of which the only sure results are savagery, opportunity for loot and for the exer- cise of vast power by new, untrained and untried leaders, would loose all the horrors of that class-war which means that "you go back to the jungle, whether you want to or not." The true Revolutionist demands a class-war. that will end, in the words of Marx's Communist Manifesto, "either in a revolutionary re- constitution of society at large, or the common ruin of the contending classes." THE "back to the JUNGLE" CAMPAIGN With all these details in mind, it now becomes pos- sible to see the Revplutionary campaign as a whole, its purposes, V its methods and its strategy. We have seen that there is in America a vast propa- THE CULTIVATION OF C^AOS 277 ganda, splendidly organized, heavily financed, and backed by those forces which fought civilization dur- ing war, and by men who have great stakes to win and little to lose, as well as by many well-meaning dreamers. This propaganda is demanding Revolu- tion, but without any real or constructive programme for the carrying out of the promises it makes, with no agreement even on the vague outlines of the society it hopes to erect on the ruins of ours, It opposes all immediate and sane progress by reform, which would actually bring in time all that is valuable in its de- mands without the tremendous risk and cost that class-war would involve. Wherever the Revolution's fundamental theories have been tried, they have brought slaughter, destruction, oppression and misery and few or none of -the promised benefits. We have found the Revolutionary propaganda appealing in one breath both to idealism and to sav- agery, to the highest and the lowest in man. Its hatred of Democracy is open. It plays upon ignorance with gigantic promises, vague visions, half-truths, flat lies and the revival of disproved and exploded theories. It knows and admits that there are now no conditions in this country which would justify or bring about Revolution, and no possibility that what evils there are could provoke revolt within any time inside the range of prophecy. So it turns to the creation of fictitious discontents, seeks to inflame every element that can help to weaken, disorganize apd disrupt our society, invpkes hatred and urges riot. It cultivates chaos. 278 LABOR AND REVOLT We have seen, too, the Revolution working upon Labor, in the hope that through industrial power a small minority may bring about the cataclysm which the great majority opposes and fears; aiming at suc- cess through the crippling of our industrial machinery and its final overthrow by means of a cessation of labor that would in itself cause untold horrors, and that would be backed by arms and enforced by blood- shed. It has wormed a secret way into the unions, there to stir up trouble and malcontent, regardless alike of justice or of the useless injuries its machinations bring upon the workers themselves, and it is already practicing revolt in Revolutionary strikes, in which Labor, largely an unconscious victim, is paying a heavy price to the new exploitation, THE STRATEGY OF DESTRUCTION This then, either openly stated or clearly seen in action, is the strategy of the Revolution: Strikes, both as schools of revolution and to destroy prosperity, till they so weaken Capital that they produce Paralysis of industry, a panic, which, with its shut- down of mills, stopping of wages and general turmoil will create Widespread misery, bring to a crisis the existing dis- content and unrest, due to the faults of existing society and more to the incitements of the Reds, and so provide a sufficient backing for The Revolution ! PART IV THE SUICIDE OF PROSPERITY CHAPTER XVI THE GIANT WAVERING Organized Labor staggers under Red attack — Uncertainty as to degree of success of the "borers" — The geography of Labor Radicalism — ^American Federation of Labor on defensive — Revolts among unions — Measures taken against radicals — Counter-attack by the labor press — Conservative leaders' hands forced — The steel and coal strikes — Labor as the first line of defense against Bolshevism — Its need of immediate support. Samuel Gompers, president of the American Fed- eration of Labor, in discussing its leadership of the great steel strike late in 19 19, said that the Federation officers in immediate charge were impressed with "the fact that if the strike were discountenanced or dis- approved, the organizers of the I. W. W. and the Bol- sheviki were on the ground and anxious and willing to take charge of the strike." So these officers "had no alternative but to help lead the strike in something like the American concept of right and peace." In that single utterance Mr. Gompers revealed the whole situation in Organized Labor in America under the attack of the Revolutionaries — the danger Or- ganized Labor feels, its method of meeting that danger, and the result. For the Red policy of "boring 281 282 LABOR AND REVOLT from within" Organized Labor has produced alarming results. The policy has been to work on the rank and file of the men, letting the leaders alone till their power is undermined, but bringing the rank and file to defiance of the officials whenever possible. This is the more easily done because in the unions, as in all organiza- tions of the kind, the older and more conservative men are likely to spend their evenings at home, making it possible to control the union policies through a com- paratively few younger and less responsible men. The fact that many employers have made a practice of dis- charging men when they grow old — and so conserva- tive — ^has helped make this easy. As a result there have come the hundreds of strikes which have not been authorized by' the union authorities and a high union official declares that there was not one of the kind for which I. W. W. "borers" were not in large degree responsible. It should never be overlooked that in this boring the agitators are very careful to avoid any suggestion of revolution, at least until their victims are far ad- vanced in discontent. The agitators emphasize and in- flame every evil which the workers suffer, spread lies about economic conditions to justify unreasonable demands and as the basis for false or exaggerated charges of oppression and exploitation, undermine the confidence of the men in their tried leaders and in every way foster resentment and malcontent. All this can be done without the worker suspecting that he is THE GIANT WAVERING 283 being made a tool In a revolutionary plot, and as a result thousands if not millions of workers are mis- led and are playing the game of the Reds without any suspicion that they are doing more than fight for their just rights. MAGGOTS AT THE CORE OF UNIONISM How far this boring has gone can only be guessed. Secret service men estimate that there are 200,000 to 300,000 I. W. Ws. out of 900,000 members, inside the labor unions of New York State alone, not advertis- ing their membership yet, but ready to swing the unions to Revolution when the I. W. W. leaders say the word. Yet the strength of the I. W. W. is really in the 'West. Altogether it is estimated that the I. W. W. would, on a test, have control of something like a hundred unions. There can be no question that the secret Radical campaign has greatly undermined the power of the old and tried leaders in almost all the unions of the Federation, and that a dangerous ex- plosion has been prepared. An interesting feature of the revolt against the Fed- eration is its geographical distribution. In general the farther West one goes, the more Radical does he find labor. In New York and New England the Reds are almost entirely aliens, and except in the unions which are composed mostly of foreigners, such as the Amalgamated Clothing Workers (which is almost entirely Jewish) they have not won control. In the 384 LABOR AND REVOLT mining regions of the AUeghanies there is a more Radical tendency but there again the old line leaders have been able to keep their grip. It is in Chicago that the first large scale successful revolt is seen. There the Central Federated Union, representing all the labor bodies of the city, but to a great extent under the control of the numerous stockyards employes — mostly alien, again — gave up its Federation charter and organized a Labor Party in opposition to the Fed- eration policy of keeping out of politics. From Chicago westward the Radical power in- creases rapidly. In Omaha it was only by themarrow- est of margins that the conservatives were able to pre- vent the general strike demanded by the Radicals. In the Dakotas the Radicals are in the saddle, in Nevada and other mining states the I. W. W. agents have fre- quently stampeded the miners' unions. On the Coast, as in Seattle, Radicalism has won the support of large numbers of workers who are entirely American in blood. It is on the Coast that the One Big Union was started, chiefly to supplement the I. W. W., some- what discredited by its record. DEFENSIVE FIGHT A LOSING ONE The Federation as a body has met this attack so far only by defensive measures and by resistance, leaving the counter-attack to individual officers. The various campaigns to unseat Gompers and swing the control of the whole Federation "toward the left" or toward THE GIANT WAVERING 285 extreme Radicalism, have been handled off the floor of the annual conventions. There has been no real test of power, but the old leaders have held their places. Nor has there been much nominal weakening of the old-line policies of the organization, though conces- sions have been made in such matters as endorsement of the Plumb plan. for giving the railway brotherhoods control of the roads, and the grant of charters to police unions and other organizations of civil servants. Even under the heavy pressure that was being exerted in 1919, however, the convention forbade state and central labor bodies to call general strikes, refused to endorse a labor political party, and •specified that the civil service unions should not strike except on the utmost provocation, and never in sympathy with othei; strikes. A more direct fight against the Radicals has been carried on by Federation officials personally, and by the rank and file of Organized Labor. In Pittsburgh, for example, the conservatives rallied at the threat of a general strike in sympathy with the steel strikers, and blocked the scheme. The same thing was done in Toronto. In Johnstown, Pa., during the steel strike, steel workers themselves forced Radical organizers to leave the city. More remarkable was the action of the Electro- typers Union in New York. There the pressman struck in violation of orders, and under very bright Red leadership. The international' officers of the union of which this was a local revoked the local charter, out- 286 LABOR AND REVOLT lawing the Strike. Presently one of the big magazine firms made terms with the strikers, but as a result their electrotyper?, who are far from revolutionary, struck and refused to return to work until the pressmen had submitted to the control of the Federation. They took the entirely correct tactical position that the striking pressmen, being ouside the Federation, were "scabs." Their real feeling was one of joy that they had a chance to strike a blow against the R.eds. The outlawing of local unions which have gone Bol- shevik and struck contrary to orders has become com- mon in several of the big international unions and has had a most salutary effect. In two big New York strikes the rebels were soon reduced to good behavior, and returned to the unions to keep their contracts. T. V. O'Connor, the president of the Longshoremen's Union, and the winner in such a fight, set forth the principles on which it was made: The whole structure of collective bargaining rests upon the principle of collective responsibility and collective good faith. Once these are destroyed nothing remains. Or- ganized Labor's enemies from without have ceased to be formidable. Organized Labor's enemies from within, by reducing its contracts to scraps of paper, threaten to anni- hilate everything it has achieved. LABOR PRESS LEADS COUNTER-ATTACK Most direct and vigorous of all has been the counter^ attack from the conservative labor press. Several THE GIANT WAVERING 287 quotations showing this counter-attack have already been given — they could be multiplied indefinitely. As an example of how well this work is being done it may be worth while to give a few excerpts from a single monthly, The American Labor World, organ of the New York printing trades, in which Radicalism has been particularly troublesome. When it was announced that Arthur Henderson, the British labor-politician, was coming to aid the American Labor Party, this magazine published an article headed "Henderson Coming to America. It will require all his time to explain some of the queries put to him in this article." Among the queries were: Will Henderson explain the 'part he and his little clique at the head of the Labor Party played in trying to win the war for Germany? Will he explain his indefatigable attempts to meet with the enemy while the war was in progress? Will Henderson explain Stockholm, will he explain Zim- merwald, will he explain Berne? Another article is headed "O. B. U. be Damned" and said: We desire to go on record as unalterably opposed to the one big union plan. . . . All thinking union men despise it. . . . We detest certain isms — exempli gratia: Bolshevism, I. W. Wism, radicalism, sovietism, or any other ism that reflects upon the one hundred per cent Americanism that we have preached and practiced. ... If the one big union is to triumph on its merits and if it plans to ultimately 288 LABOR AND REVOLT sHpersede the American Federation of Labor, the millennium will have arrived and departed before it triumphs. In a full page editorial headed "Let's Get Together Against the Red Flag of Bolshevism," it says : The red flag never has been and never virill be other than the emblem of destruction. Not content with spreading suffering, privation, famine, and death through the Euro- pean nations the Bolshevist leaders are directing their pernicious efforts toward America. In nearly every great industrial center in this country to-day the insidious propa- ganda of anarchy is being spread through the subtile methods employed by the Bolshevist. If they should succeed in gaining a hold America would be threatened with a fate similar to that of Russia. The antidote for Bolshevism is Americanism. No man can be an American and a Bolshevist at the same time. The red flag and the Star Spangled Banner never can be unfurled from the same staff. American Labor should heed the red flag, and "stop, look and listen." It strikes at the very fundament of Labor's existence. If can mean only' idleness and starvation. LEADERS HAVE ONLY CHOICE OF EVILS In Spite of all efforts, however, the radical element is constantly forcing the hands of the leaders to policies which are against their will and judgment, as Gompers practically admitted in the statement with which this chapter opens, and as many of the leaders will admit privately, with strong language. They see the folly of many of the policies to which the Labor THE GIANT WAVERING 289 Giant is tending as clearly as anyone does, but they are captains with unruly lieutenants, and they must either lead where their followers demand, or givei place to someone less wise, someone who would inflame instead of restraining the rank and file. How this works is shown in the case of the bitumin- ous coal miners' strike. The United Mine Workers of America, which is the official title of the organiza- tion, has long been a Radical union. For some years jt dropped out of the American Federation of Labor and was affiliated with the I. W. W., but it returned about 19 14. Its members are predominantly socialist, too, including many aliens, and it offered a fertile field for the cultivation of Bolshevist sentiment. Its experience with the I. W. W., however, had given the more conservative leaders an advantage, and its presidents in the last three years have been Frank P. White, who resigned to enter the U. S. Fuel Ad- ministration, Frank J. Hayes, who broke down under the strain of the fight against the extremists, and John L. Lewis acting in Hayes' absence. All are of the conservative faction. But opposed to them, at the head of the Radicals, has been Frank J. Farring- ton, and he has supported his campaign for control by urging the men to extreme demands for shorter hours and higher pay.. It finally seemed evident to the con- servatives that they were on the verge of defeat, and adopted Farrington's programme as a means of hold- ing power. When the strike became imminent, the same dilemma 290 LABOR AND REVOLT came before the officials of the Federation, If they failed to support the strike, regardless of the extrava- gance of the demands — which included a thirty-hour working week and a 60% increase of pay, making a total of 172% increase over the 1914 scale — ^they ran the risk of seeing one of the most powerful of the unions, with some three-quarters of a miUion mem- bers, secede from the Federation. They faced, too, the probability that the strike would go on, an3rway, but under Red instead of conservative leadership. The Federation officials chose to support the strike. Bolshevism, then, the propaganda of Revolution, is having a powerful effect on American Labor, and conservative leaders are fighting a battle in which they are steadily losing ground. Both inside and outside the Federation of Labor the Radicals are gaining strength rapidly and the time seems alarmingly near when they will be able to throw off the mask, oust the present leadership, and take control. LEADERS ASK FOR REINFORCEMENTS The alternative to a tremendous victory for Revolu- tion is to maintain the conservative Labor leadership. The leaders have appealed for help both to the public and to the employers, appealed particularly against the campaign of reaction and the attempt to destroy unionism, which was described in the chapter "Giants' Pockets Picked." They are anxious to co-operate with Capital against the Bolshevik and the I. W. W. THE GIANT WAVERING 391 Mr. Gompers repeats this appeal in an article pub- lished in McClure's Magazine: It is a question of dealing with such ^ movement as rep- resented by the American trade unions — the American Federation of Labor — or dealing with a body of irresponsi- bles and irreconcilables. If we are not on the right track then those who represent the wildest orgy of destruction with no consideration of the rights of individuals will come to the front. . . . The American Labor movement ... is rational, natural, orderly and yet insistent that the rights to which the workers are entitled shall be fully recognized. . . . If society stands like a stone wall against that concept, as a united body against that presentation of thought and ideas, no one knows with what we may have to contend later. The Union, the oldest Labor paper in the country, speaks for many: It is the duty of the employer to co-operate with the forces of right in the Labor ranks in combating this evil that we call Socialism — which becomes Bolshevism or Com- munism or I. W. Wism when it matures. . . . He owes a duty to his men to prevent them from being debauched by the contaminating influence of the Socialist in the shops. There are a large number of employers who are doing their best to resppnd to this appeal. MORE WEAPONS NEEDED THAN KIND WORDS ! "The conditions are favorable for employers, if they are wise enough, to bring about a labor-capital 292 LABOR AND REVOLT alliance for the preservation of the old landmarks in industry," Roger Babson, head of a bureau giving con- fidential information to business men, so advised his clients, following the 1919 convention of the A, F. of L. The publication of shop-papers, which reply to the arguments of the Reds, is becoming common, and there are hundreds of them now being printed. A definite and fairly well directed counter-propaganda is under way. But this is not the only support that the conserva- tive labor leaders need, if they are to win the fight against Bolshevism: and in this fight they constitute the first line of defense for America. To hold their power and their places they must be able to show re- sults — to show that unionism as they have made it is getting for the American workers the things which he fundamentally demands, to which he has a funda- mental right, a fair wage and fair treatment. How well the first line of defense can hold will depend on the extent to which employers co-operate in rnaking certain that the labor leaders do this — ^that is on the extent to which employers grant fair treat- ment, pay fair wages, and justify the wages they pay by facts and figures that Labor can trust and understand. CHAPTER XVII TYING THE HANDS OF INDUSTRY The_ change in Detroit — Effects of Red campaign on Labor : increase in strikes, growth of arrogance, unwillingness to arbitrate, excessive demands, increased lawlessness, break- ing of agreements, refusal to accept responsibility — Political threats — Disregard of public rights — The Labor Party — Civil service strikes a challenge to Democracy — ^The impos- sibility of divided loyalty. Detroit, in the years of its tremendous expansion just before the war, was a city of joy for workers and of peace with them. Especially after the great Ford plant set the pace with its $5-a-day schedule, wages were high. Work was always plentiful, labor was in demand, and there were almost no labor troubles worth consideration. The Radicalism of the northern end of the state, the mining region, met with no sym- pathy among the prosperous workers of the city. The Socialists who foregathered in the German sections were of the mild, evolutionary type, and were not dan- gerous. To-day wages are still high, work is still more plen- tiful, but a great change has come over the workers. At one time recently there were going on in the city forty-tv/o strikes involving more than a hundred men each. The Socialist Party in the fall of 1919 was 293 294 LABOR AND REVOLT compelled to expel the Michigan "Socialists" for going over to Bolshevism. In the unions, according to Samuel Gompers, "the alteration in Detroit conditions has been amazing, not to say sinister and threatening." "It is a fierce form of Radical I. W. W. teaching and preaching akin to the revolutionary Socialism of the continent of Europe" he goes on, "rather than the parlor Socialist of the London Fabian society. It is a Socialism born of class division and' class antagonism and the hatred of all superiority, either mental, moral or physical." Here, in miniature, epitomized in a single city,, are the results of the Red propaganda. With variations, similar conditions are to be found throughout the country: unrest, labor troubles, "fierce Radicalism." It is impossible to tell just how much of this is directly due to the Radical campaign, how much is accounted for by the Reds' exploiting of spontaneous discontent, and how much would have arisen without their aid, but a study of the labor troubles that have come since the signing of the armistice will at least give some measure of the success the revolutionary programme is having. STRIKE THERMOMETER SHOWS FEVER HEAT Most noticeable has been the increase in strikes. There are no exact statistics kept on these, even by the U. S. Government, and the best current estimate is that furnished by one of the big, confidential information TYING THE gANDS OF INDUSTRY 295 agencies of big business. According to this agency the number of strikes which were in effect on any one day jumped from an average of 74 for the last two weeks in March, 19 19, the date when demobilization and the unemployment it caused were practically over, to 364 in the last two weeks in July — an increase of 500% in four months. This, too, came at a time when there was almost no unemployment, and when wages were rising faster than the cost of living. SYMPTOMS OF SERIOUS NERVOUS DISORDER This great increase in labor troubles, one of the most serious the country has ever seen, was marked by a new attitude on the part of Labor, and a new spirit ; an arrogance, a feeling of power to enforce almost any demand it might choose to make, and a tendency to make demands that were often unreasonable, and were sometimes so startling as to be expired only on the theory that the unions were following the I. W. W. advice and seeking chiefly to "cripple capitalism." One of the features of this spirit was a marked de- crease in the willingness of the workers to arbitrate, or, if arbitration were acceptable on some points, to make flat conditions on others. This was most not- able in the case of the soft-coal miners, who submitted a flat demand respecting both hours and wages, and left their officials no choice for negotiation or any modification of these. A similar attitude was seen in the strike of the pressmen in New York, where they 296 LABOR AND REVOLT offered to arbitrate wages, but refused to discuss their demands for shorter hours. The information agency referred to reported 30 cases of arbitration of strikes during the last quarter of 1918, 18 during the first quarter of 1919, 8 in the second quarter, and only 4 in the third, in spite of the five-fold increase in the number of strikes — a decrease of nearly 97% in willingness to accept a "judicial verdict. About 60% of all these strikes involved de- mands for wage increases. It has been shown that, according to the best statistics, the average rise in wages has more than met the increased cost of living, the excess margin for wages being from 10 to nearly 100%. In spite of this demands for greatly inflated pay continued unabated. In railways, steel mills, and mines, the workers asked and threatened to enforce increases out of proportion to their pre- vious standard of living. The demand for "shorter and shorter hours," in the language of the Revolutionary propaganda, was an- other feature of the agitation. This demand should, under normal conditions, appear in 20 to 25% of the strikes, but after the great strike wave started it was involved in 34%. A part of these were to enforce the eight-hour day, but nearly half were for a 44- and many for a 40-hour week, while the miners demanded a week of 30 hours. TYING THE HANDS OF INDUSTRY 297 OFFICIALS NO LONGER LEAD BUT ARE DRIVEN It has not been the leaders of Labor who have been urging these demands. Throughout the country, as has been shown, the leaders have been constantly spurred by demands from the rank and file — the men among whom the Red agitators are working — for wages and conditions that the leaders did not feel jus- tified in asking, and still less in attempting to enforce. In some cases, as in the mine strike, the leaders yielded to the drive from the rear, and led the fights with what grace they could. In others they attempted to forbid the strike, and were over-ridden. Another feature of the strike wave, and a symptom that has shown itself in many other ways, has been an increasing tendency on the part of Labor to defy the laws, to break agreements, and to refuse to accept re- sponsibility — all in accord with the Red teachings. One of the most frequently exhibited forms of this tendency has been in the rejection of arbitration awards, after the arbitration had been accepted. The longshoremen's strike in New York was a noticeable example of this, and the miners refused to abide by the award of the Federal Fuel Commission as to wages. HEADS LABOR WINS ; TAILS EVERYONE LOSES More important, because it involves as fundamental a principle and reaches through all sections of Organ- ized Labor, has been the refusal to accept responsibility for the great and growing power which the unions are 298 < LABOR AND REVOLT exercising, and the resentment with which the demand for such responsibihty has been met. It has appeared in many forms. In the Plumb plan for the operation of the railroads by the unions there was a provision that the workers should get a proportion of any profits their management might bring, but none for their .sharing any losses which might follow mismanage- ment; the public was expected to pay those. Demands for a modificatioii of the plan in this regard were rejected. The movement for ihaking the unions responsible for their exercise of the great power to inflict indus- trial injury on their employers or on the public has centered in the proposal for the incorporation of labor bodies. At present they are not incorporated, their funds are immune to court action — the railway broth- erhoods boasted that they coul^ raise $10,000,000 to push through the Plumb plan — and there is almost no recourse for any damage they may do, however wan- ton or lawless. They are specifically exempted by the Cla3rton Act from any prosecution under the Sherman Anti-Trust Law. They are the one great power in America that is almost entirely free from legal control. Yet not a single labor leader of prominence has been found to urge that such control would be justified in any way, and even Samuel Gompers, usually quick to advocate the rights of society at large, has violently opposed it ; this at the very time that Labor is seeking and getting power that approaches domination over the industries and in the politics of the nation. TYING THE HANDS OF INDUSTRY 299 Moreover, the suggestion that without incorporation the unions should be brought within reach of the law in the matter of strikes vitally affecting the public welfare, such as those tying up mines or transporta- tion, has been bitterly opposed by the highest labor leaders, even of the conservative type. Not only that : Timothy Shea, president of the Brotherhood of Loco- motive Firemen and Enginemen, warned Congress that the members of that union would disobey such a law, and Samuel Gompers endorsed his stand. William iH. Johnston, president of the International Association of Machinists, the second largest union in the Federa- tion of Labor, went farther, if possible, and declared that "direct action,"" at least to the extent of a general strike by his union, and probably by all the other 112 unions in the Federation, would be called if such a law were passed. HOW MALCONTENTS PULL THE STRINGS The extent to which the Revolutionary campaign has induced this attitude may be seen by a glance at the conditions in Australia, where under almost com- plete labor control of the government, anti-strike legis- lation is on the statute books, and is constantly disre- garded by the unions. In his book on "Australian Social Development," Dr. Clarence H. Northcott says: The paradox, therefore, presents itself that strikes are more numerous but less violent (than before the labor era). The paradox is intensified by the fact that the states which 300 LABOR AND REVOLT have made the greatest provision for the settlement of industrial disputes are those which have the most strikes. These states have also penal provisions against strikes. The arbitration courts may punish a union which strikes by canceling its registration, by canceling the award under which it is working, or by canceling or suspending preference (in employment) to members of the union. A monetary fine up to a maximum of £1000 may be imposed upon an industrial union, and each individual is subjected to a penalty with a maximum of £50. Individuals are fined regularly and systematically for taking part in strikes, and the maxi- mum penalties have been imposed alike on organizations and on individuals. Strikes are, therefore, at the best, an ingrained bad habit; at the worst, instances of lawlessness strangely out of place in an advanced democracy. He discusses the conviction of the workers that they have a right to strike, declares that this does not jus- tify the great frequency of walkouts, and resumes: But another factor enters in to condition the frequency of disputes. Moderate trade-unionists calculate that up to 40% of the members of most unions are men holding ex- treme views on the present social system. They are desirous of overthrowing it as speedily as possible, and will tolerate nothing that will support or conserve Capitalism. Hence the most trivial matters are seized on as excuses for the dislocation of industry. So here we have, in a labor commonwealth, the unions themselves violating their own laws under the influence of the Reds. And in America we have Labor leaders threatening the breaking of a law even before it is passed, and threatening also the use of the strike TYING THE HANDS OF INDUSTRY 301 as a political weapon — a distinctly Red means of argu- ment — ^against the legally expressed will of the nation. The use of the political strike has been discussed un- der the chapter dealing with the Reds' proposed means of Revolution. Its appearance as a weapon employed by Organized Labor has followed hard upon the Reds' advocacy. Examples have been set in Europe. In this country so far there have been threats only. THREATS AGAINST MAJORITY RULE The most open of these was that made by the Penn- sylvania Federation of Labor, under the leadership of James H. Maurer, a Radical, of a general strike to force a special session of the legislature. The Federa- tion accused public officials of "executive autocracy and judicial anarchy'' in their dealings with steel strike agitators, and wanted the legislature called to impeach and remove them. It was voted to call a general strike in case the Governor refused to obey. It was a dis- tinct bid for political dictatorship through unionized labor minorities. It should be noted that such action is contrary to the by-laws of the American Federation of Labor, which authorizes the withdrawal of the charter of any central labor body that calls such 'a strike. The threat of a general railway strike to force the adoption of the Plumb plan was also in line with Revolutionary tactics, though the plan itself could not be called revolutionary. Its proper classification is 302 LABOR AND REVOLT under the heading of "Guild Socialism," which is now a Radical fad in England, and which provides for operation of industries by the workers. The Plumb plan, however, was not Socialism, since it contem- plated payment to the security holders of the roads, instead of seizure, which is the first measure of the Socialist economic programme. public's eights and welfare ignored Another attitude which Labor has taken recently and which has a distinctly Red tinge is an increasing disregard of the rights and comfort of the public. The refusal to recognize these and indifference to the suffering which would be inflicted characterized the biggest of the strikes following the war; steel, coal, longshoremen and the railway threats. It is shown, too, in another way; Commissioner Lynch, of the New York State Industrial Commission, and a former Labor leader, in speaking on the proposition of having boards of conciliation composed of representatives of employers, employes and the public, declared: , I think that a committee of employers and employes should work out this problem. I have not much faith in this question of the representatives of the public, and I think many organizations of wage earners are going to look askance on this representation of the public, because they found in so many instances that after all it was a larger representation of the other side of the controversy. TYING THE HANDS OF INDUSTRY 303 ATTEMPT TO FORM A LABOR PARTY Another and distinctly Revolutionary element in the United States is found in the labor unions which, be- cause of Radicalism, have refused to join the Amer- ican Federation of Labor, or have seceded from it. Largest of these is the Amalgamated Association of Garment Workers, under the leadership of Sidney Hillman, a Socialist. The penetration of Radicalism into the Federation bodies, and the revolt from it of whole sections of the country, have already been dis- cussed. Much of this tevolt has centered in the new Labor Party, and its platform, while not violently Revolutionary, has nevertheless enough tinge of Red doctrines to be of deep interest. The preamble of the party in New York uses much of the Red jargon: We must insure that there is to be built up fi social order based not on fighting but on fraternity, not on competitive struggle for the means of bare life but on deliberately planned co-operation in production and distribution by and for all who participate with hand or brain; not on an in- equality of riches but on a systematic approach toward a healthy equality of material circumstances for every person born into the world. There should be no subject nations, subject races, subject colonies, subject classes or subject sex. The platform of the Chicago Labor Party, which polled 50,000 votes in its first campaign, makes the fol- lowing demands: 1. Unqualified right of Labor to organize. 2. Democratic control of industry for the common good of those who work with hand or brain, ai;id the elimination 304 LABOR AND REVOLT of autocratic domination either by selfish private interests or/ bureaucratic government. 3. A 44-hour week, and a minimum wage assuring the worker and his family "health, comfort, a competence for old age, ample recreation and the opportunity for good citizenship." 4. Abolition of tmemployment through furnishing of work by the government. 5. Complete sex equality. 6. Reduction of the cost of living. 7. Democratization of education by the participation in control of Organized Labor and organized teachers. 8. Government life insurance. 9. Government seizure of all inheritances above $100,000, a direct capital tax on all who have gained by the war, a stiffening of the graduated income tax, profits from gov- ernment owned utilities to reduce taxation, a new system of land taxation to stimulate progress. 10. Public ownership and operation of railways, steam- ships, stockyards, grain elevators, terminal markets, telegraphs, telephones, and all public utilities; the national- ization of all basic natural resources such as mines, water power, etc., and the "repatriation" of large holdings. 11. Complete freedom of speech and movement and the liberation of all prisoners convicted of championing Labor and its rights. 12. Representation of Labor, in proportion to its strength, in the government in all ways. 13. Representation of Labor in the control of the army, navy, at the peace conference, etc. 14. An international league of workers to "enforce the destruction of militarism, autocracy and economic imperial- ism through the world, and to bring about world-wide disarmament and open diplomacy, to the end that there shall be no more kings and no more wars." TYING THE HANDS OF INDUSTRY 305 CLASS-LOYALTY UNDERMINES PATRIOTISM Perhaps the most anti-American feature of the 1919 strike wave was the number of walkouts by unions of civil servants, which culminated in the Boston police affair, with its sequence of crime and disorder. With them went a great movement for the organization of unions of the police, firemen, teachers and other civil servants. This, as we have seen, has been one of the important parts of the Radical programme, it is demanded even in the mild Socialist Party platform, and the possi- bility of calling from their posts these servants of the public, of substituting for their loyalty to the people a loyalty to unionism, or to the labor class, would be- come a most powerful weapon in the hands of the Red leaders, should they get the control of Labor which they are seeking. It would be the final evil of the general strike, and would paralyze at the start the first defense against social disorder — the police. The evils of such a strike were only too fully demonstrated in Boston, where theft, riot, assault, and even murder were rampant when the city was left without its usual guardians. In many ways there was much excuse, if not justi- fication, for the civil servants. It seems customary for governments to fix high rates of pay when establishing their service but to change them exceedingly tardily to meet new conditions. In the great increase in the cost of living during the war the government employes 3o6 LABOR AND REVOLT suffered severely, and there was a most callous disre- gard of their needs by legislative bodies of all kinds. One result was a serious difficulty in recruiting them, and a heavy resignation which lowered the standard of service. Another result was the organization of unions and strikes. There could be no question of the justice of the demands for higher pay. The question was whether there could be any justification for endanger- ing public peace and safety and violating the oaths under which the public servants took office. On this the country — except the Reds who see no duty owed to the public — gave the only possible answer when its attention was focused by the Boston strike. There the issue was not wages, but organization and affilia- tion with the American Federation of Labor in prepa- ration for wage demands. LEADERS IN BOTH PARTIES SPEAK OUT President Wilson denounced that strike as "a crime against civilization," and telegraphed the Boston police commissioner : I am as desirous as you are of dealing with the police force in the most just and generous way, but I think that any association of th^ police force of the Capital City, or of any other great city, whose object is to bring pressure upon the public or the community such as will endanger the public peace or embarrass the maintenance of order, should in no case be countenanced or permitted. TYING THE HANDS OF INDUSTRY 307 Elihu Root summed up the Boston issue: Now what does the police strike in Boston mean? It means that the men who have been employed and taken their oaths to maintain order and suppress crime, as the servants of all the people, are refusing to perform that solemn duty, unless they are permitted to ally themselves, affiliate themselves, become members of a great organization which contains, perhaps, three per cent of the people. Now, if that is done, that is the end, except for a revolution. Government cannot be maintained unless it is empowered to Mse force. The American Federation of Labor, though long importuned to accept police and other civil service unions, held out against the pressure till its 1919 con- vention. Its officers recognized the Revolutionary character of the plan, and the danger that it might per- mit the use of the civil servants to cripple the govern- ment against Revolution. But in 1919 the pressure became too strong, and charters were granted under conditions which, it was hoped, would remove the danger. "When the pohcemen accept charters from the American Federation of Labor," President Goihpers explained, "it is with the distinct understanding that strike action will not be resorted to, and no obliga- tion is assumed which in any way conflicts with their oath of office." Yet the Federation supported the Boston strikers. 3(^ LABOR AND REVOLT ENLISTING FIRE TO AID A STRIKE Another instance of a strike of civil servants, though it attracted less attention because obscured in a larger issue, was that of the firemen in Winnipeg. In the general strike there the strike committee or- dered the police to remain at their posts, and they did so until discharged by the city for refusing to sign agreements not to desert their duty. But the firemen were called out and to increase the danger of fire hazard the strike committee ordered the workers in the city waterworks, who also stayed on under strike instructions, to reduce the water pressure. It was im- possible to get 20 pounds pressure at the hydrants — not a quarter enough for effective work against fires. Prompt action by the citizens prevented a catas- trophe. A volunteer fire department was organized, mostly from returned soldiers, and it took over the fire houses barely in time. Volunteer engineers were also sent to the waterworks, and they ousted the semi- strikers, and restored the water pressure to normal. Within 48 hours there occurred one of the worst fires in the history of the city, and one which, if there had been no organized force to fight it, would almost cer- tainly have destroyed a quarter of the place. The strikers' hopes in the situation were shown by the fact that the number of legitimate fire-alarms more than doubled in the first 24 hours after the volunteers went on duty, and that there were nearly 500 false alarms, intended to disorganize the system. TYING THE HANDS OF INDUSTRY 309 Such have been the more prominent aspects of American Labor activity in which the pressu^-e of the Red agitation appears. Certainly they do not show that American Labor has become Revolutionary. But as certainly they show that the Revolutionary poison is at work among the unions, and is producing results. Along a dozen lines Labor is moving in the way that the Revolution would have it, it is showing a degeneracy in morale and an overweening assertive- ness that fit in well with the Red^' plans. Even its best and wisest leaders are being driven with the rest. And there are spots where the Revolution has broken through into open and dangerous sores. CHAPTER XVIII THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS The Red drive to lower production — Some simple economic laws defined — The myth of "over-production" — Labor's re- duction of prosperity by strikes, by excessive wage increases, by too short hours, by slacking — The "just-so-much-work- to-be-done" fallacy — The cost of slacking since the war — Who foots the bill — The "vicious cincle" of increasing costs — All progress scotched — The social and economic failure of Australian labor. The Revolution, as has been shown, has been preach- ing to Labor the world over certain economic doc- trines : that Labor does not get more than a small part of its share of what it produces, that it is entitled to the whole product, that it owes no duty to employers or to society, that the "exploiters" enjoy a vast stolen income at the workers' expense, that far less work than is done would Idc more than enough if the product were fairly distributed, and that there is practically no limit to what Labor might enjoy if it could enforce such a fair distribution. With this has gone the Revo- lutionary programme of "crippling Capitalism" by economic action: strikes, sabotage, slowing down of production, and large wage and time demands. Each of these teachings, it will be noted, if followed to its logical conclusion, will lead the worker to pro- 310 THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 311 duce less. If he is earning more than he gets, he can fairly work less; if he owes no duty to anyone, he can loaf as he pleases; if others are fattening on his work, surely he will do less; if he wants to strike at his enemies, again he will do less work. Thus the whole tendency of the economic teachings ol the Red campaign is to diminish production. Since the division of the product of industry re- mains nearly constant, whether it is fair or not, this proposition is^self-evident: that the amount that goes to the workers depends absolutely on the amount they produce. Certainly there can be no division of noth- ing; no one can divide — or even steal — what does not exist, and no Revolutionary or Utopian state of society can provide either food, clothing, shelter, or any other economic good thing that has not been produced by labor. There is no possible exception to this law. There is only one factor that may modify its effect for a time. This factor is that if it is possible to draw upon the nation's reserve of accumulated wealth, the full effect of a shortage of production will not be felt till that reserve is exhausted. The present bearings of this factor will be considered in the next chapter. This one is confined to the immediate relaition of Labor and of Revolution to production under the present indus- trial system. 3IZ LABOR AND REVOLT HOW LAZINESS CHECKS PROSPERITY Since there can be no outgo without an equal in- come, whether in products, wages in payment for products, or any other thing, there are certain rules which apply unavoidably to the relations between Cap- ital, Labor and production. These rules are simply true; they may or may not be unjust, and they are certainly highly displeasing to many individuals, but no denunciation or evasion will change them or their effect. They are so simple that it would be needless to state them if they were not being constantly over- looked or defied in the flood of Revolutionary — and some of the Labor — discussions. The first of these rules is that the less there is produced, the less there will be to distribute. The second is that the only economic justifica- tion of higher wages is a higher production unless our whole system of distribution is changed, and as will be shown, no possible change would mod- ify this rule more than a very little. The third is that any curtailment of production must inevitably bring a curtailment of the amount that can be distributed — that is, it destroys prosperity. Special conditions af- fecting particular groups of people may enable them to escape direct penalties for the violation of these laws by forcing the burden on other parts of society, but society, as a whole, has to pay for every breach of every one of them. Professor Willf ord Isbell King, in his book on "The THE high: cost of laziness 313 Wealth and Income of the People of the United States," points this out forcibly: The grim fact remains that the quantity of goods turned out absolutely limits the income of Labor, and that no reform will bring universal prosperity which is not based funda- mentally on increasing the national income. After all, the classical economists were right in emphasizing the side of production in contradistinction to that of distribution. Na- ture refuses to give up her bounty except in return for efforts expended. Demands for higher wages have never yet unlocked her store-houses. Dr. King's work shows, as was pointed out in an earlier chapter, that whatever the exploitation by Cap- ital has been, conditions in America have given Labor a growing proportion of our tremendously increased production. So there can be no question that Labor will have a very definite share in whatever prosperity, or lack of prosperity, our industrial organization may produce. "over-production" a dishonest myth There is no real danger of over-production, in spite of the frequent use of that term as a cover and excuse for economic misjudgments and wrongs. The whole world is still poor, and poorer to-day as a result of the staggering losses of the war. In 19 14, the latest year for which figures are available, the per capita value of economic goods intheUnitedStateswasonly$i3i8.ii. The average consumption of goods had only reached 314 LABOR AND REVOLT $359 ill 1910. The per capita value of active capital in 1910 was only $521. For England, the richest country in the world, the total per capita wealth was estimated before the war at no more than $1565. These figures show how little fear there need be of producing more than the world needs, if only the dis- tribution of earnings be such that those who need can buy. Moreover, as mankind advances iii civilization, wants increase ^t least as rapidly as the means of satis- fying them ; elaborations and refinements are more and more demanded, and quality is far more expensive than quantity as a factor in production. It may be possible that there is now some place where all the primal needs have been met, though that is not likely, and for most of mankind there is still a big margin of actual want to be supplied. But even after all. want is wiped out there will remain to be met the great inexhaustible demands for education, refine- ment, and a little luxury. One of the Labor leaders recently declared that every worker was entitled to a "flivver," and was widely derided for the extravagance of the idea. But he was entirely right — every worker is entitled not only to a car, but to a piano and silk underwear if he wants them, provided only that the worker gives back a product of equal value, that is, that he earn them and does not try to conjure them out of nothing, like rab- bits from a magician's hat. Certainly there will always be room for more production till he gets them, and many things besides. THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 315 There is one more deduction to be made from the economic law that there can be no distribution of nothing ; every destruction or waste of products means just so much taken from the general prosperity. Every machine that is wrecked, every building that is de- stroyed, every pound of materials that is ruined, every ounce of food that is allowed to spoil, must be paid for by the whole community. However much the in- dividual owner may suffer from the loss, the great economic fact is that there is So much less wealth to be shared, to be used or made productive. It is with these simple and fundamental facts in mind that the effect upon our present welfare of the agitation which the Revolution is conducting among the workers must be studied. It is obvious that the effect will be shown in decreased production, that the cost of the Red agitation will be found in the losses due to industrial unrest. Not all of this unrest, of course, can be charged to the Reds, and the many com- plicated factors involved make it impossible to esti- mate their proportion. But the Reds' share is large, they are doing all they can to increase it, and they would gladly claim more than their just due. HOW STRIKE LOSSES PILE UP First and most important of the losses caused by unrest are those from strikes. The Department of Labor estimates strike losses between January i and October i, 1919, at $100,000,000. This is probably 3i6 LABOR AND REVOLT grossly below the fact, but there are no accurate sta- tistics available. There are certain indications, how- ever, and the best of them is found in the loss in coal production. In the briefer period between April 21 and August 24, 19 19, the loss in bituminous coal pro- duction due to strikes was 92,000,000 tons, and that in anthracite coal 39,761,000 tons, a total of 131,761,000 tons. If this loss be figured at only a dollar a ton — who does not wish it could? — the Department's total estimate has already been exceeded by one-third, and that in a single industry. During most of this period there were something like 250 strikes going on every day. Whatever the exact figures of the loss were, they were staggering. But this is merely the loss in production — ^not the whole strike loss. The loss in wages, under the aver- age distribution now prevailing, was over 46 per cent of this total. This is a loss that is made up some- where — since the workers affected have to live — either in higher wages following the strike, and consequent higher prices, in a reduction of union savings funds, or in actual suffering. The fact must be constantly borne in mind that however any loss may be shifted, it remains a loss — it cannot be made good out of ^nothing. A third form of loss due to strikes is that of mate- rials. Millions of dollars worth of precious food rotted on New York wharves during the longshore- men's strike. Other millions of dollars wcfrth of steel was ruined in the furnaces when the workers quit. In THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 317 almost every strike there are such losses — often there is actual destruction. Finally every strike causes injury to other indus- tries. The finished products of one industry are often the raw materials of others, and when these products are cut ofiE the secondary industry must shut down. Coal is notably such a product: there is hardly an in- dustry that can move without it. Those 131,761,000 missing tons of coal — not counting the vast loss of production in the big strike in the fall of 1919 — each marked a lowering of production, a decrease in the amount to be shared, a lessening of wages paid, an increase in prices. Lack of steel products caused the laying off of men in a hundred industries. Even a little flurry of a railroad strike in California, hardly noticed in the East, shut down or put on part time something like 400 factories. Strike costs roll up like a snowball ! The effect on prices of the wage increases granted to Labor is too obvious to 'heed much discussion. Some labor leaders have denied that such increased wages had any effect on prices, but no one has attempted to explain from what other source than the public's pockets the money could be drawn, in view of the power of the manufacturer to pass along all costs to the consumer. And, as has been shown, those wage increases, according to the best information available, have outrun the rising cost of living. 3i8 LABOR AND REVOLT THE COST OF SHORTER HOURS The shortening of the hours of labor is a thing that has had a more powerful influence than is generally recognized. It has been widely argued that production is increased by shorter hours and there is much evidence to indicate that shorter hours can, or should, increase the output in many industries. The whole question of the amount turned out by any group of workers is so complicated with the details of attitude toward work, morale and so forth, that no figures yet compiled can be considered as settling the debate. It may appear, when the evidence is all in, that eight hours' work pro- duces more than either a longer or a shorter day. Available figures, however, do prove conclusively that recent shortening of hours has almost invariably meant lower production. This is in line with common sense. Much of our production to-day is from workers who are so literally geared to machinery that they are almost a part of it. Their speed must be its speed, and niachinery cannot safely be hurried beyond a certain pomt. After that point is reached, no possible increase in the efficiency of the worker can increase its production. With many machines comparatively little strain is put on the at- tending worker even at full speed. It is inevitable that in any industry that depends on such machines the cutting off of an hour from the working time — after the hours have been reduced to the point where there is no excessive fatigue — reduces the product by just THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 319 so much. So the much-abused employer has shown himself willing to sacrifice profits for the sake of his workers' welfare in many cases. A careful survey of the effect of shorter hours has been made by the National Industrial Conference Board, of Boston. This survey covered the years 1918-1919 for some 800 firms in the metal, boot and shoe, cotton, wool and silk, trades. A reduction of hours was found in about 65 per cent of the firms can- vassed, and they employed altogether a little more than 300,000 workers. This survey showed that only 3.2 per cent of the firms which had shortened hours had increased pro- duction, that 19.9 per cent had niaintained it, and that 76.9 per cent had lost. Of the workers involved, 4.6 per cent had increased production, 14.4 per cent had kept even and 81 per cent had lost. So it is evident that these 300,000 workers were actually contributing a smaller amount to society — ^were producing less, and were entitled to a' smaller return — ^after the shortening of the hours. In fact, the workers have received less, for the eco- nomic laws have been self-enforcing. The decrease in production has sent prices upward, and the worker's buying power — the real measure of his share in pros- perity — has , decreased. Professor King points this out: During the last fifteen years the rising money wages have served to hide from the working man the fact that the shortening of his hours of labor was resulting in a decrease 320 LABOR AND REVOLT in the power of his daily wages to buy the commodities desired. He estimates a decline in buying power of wages between 1896 and 1912, of 8% for men and 10% for women. This loss, of course, has been shared, by all the rest of the nation, as well as by Labor. In spite of these facts, perhaps in ignorance of them, 34% of the strikes of which data are available in the 19 19 strike wave were based on demands for shorter hours. Most of them were won and thus another heavy cost was loaded on the shoulders of Labor, as well as of society, as a whole. There are many good reasons outside the economic field for the shortening of hours, but unless production is kept up society has to pay for them, and is paying for them, in a loss of prosperity. THE COST OF UNDER-WORK It would not be difficult to keep up production, in fact to increase it more than enough to offset both higher wages and shorter hours. The output of Amer- ican workers to-day is far, very far, below what it might be. It would require no change in the industrial machinery, no over-strain on the workers, no evil of any kind, to bring an increase in production — in pros- perity — of something like fifty per cent. , The foremost reason for this is the deliberate re- striction of production by Labor, the greatest eco- THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 3?.i nomic sin with which Labor can fairly be charged. Not all the blame for this, however, lies at Labor's door, for as was shown in an earlier chapter, the un- fairness of many employers forced Labor to some such policy in self-defense. Labor, however, can be justly blamed for restricting production where no need of defense existed, and for teaching restriction as a thing desirable in itself. This teaching has been based on a fundamental eco- nomic error, the belief that there is "just so much work to be done." The complications of our industrial sys- tem, which make it impossible for most workers to see the use to which their product is put, or to trace the involved routes by which benefit from it returns to them, have made- it hard to remove this error. Put one of these workers in his own shop, or on his own farm, and he sees instantly that there is a direct return for all work done, and that there is no limit to the amount of work that may be done profitably. But put him at a lathe or her at a loom, and the product seems to be merely a contribution to an ocean-like infinitude of materials, without cause or effect. It is easy, then, for such a worker to believe that the demand for pro- duction is fixed by some invisible power, and that when the demand is met there will be no more work. Often he cannot see that the increased wages he will get for increasing his product will permit him to draw more out of the great reservoir, and so make room for more production, and more wages, for some other worker. 322 LABOR AND REVOLT PAYING HIGH FOR SELF-SACRIFICE This "just-so-much-work-to-be-done" fallacy has played a big part in keeping all the world poorer. It has caused a public opinion among the workers which has shackled production at every turn. Many workers have believed, and have made their fellows act on their belief, that when a man earned more than was abso- lutely needful for himself, he was keeping some other man from work. They have believed that if a man worked overtime, or worked more rapidly than others, he was "hogging" the share that should go to men who were out of work. They have believed that the short- ening of hours would result in providing work for the unemployed. As a result in American industry in general, the pace of work is set for the slowest and least competent man who can hold his place at all, and production is limited to the amount necessary to pay him living wages. Too much cannot be said for the spirit of the speedier men who have sacrificed themselves in this slowing down and consequent loss of earnings. Wrong headed and foolish the sacrifice may have been, but it was a glorious, often an heroic, folly. For a man whose earnings are barely at the subsistence line and whose powers are fully equal to pushing them far above it and to providing comfort and luxury — for such a man to limit his earnings in the belief that by so doing he is making it possible for less fortunate men to live at all, is sacrifice and public Spirit beyond praise. It is noth- THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 323 ing less than tragedy that this very sacrifice should not only have impoverished the man who made it, but in- jured those he was seeking to help, who would have been called to labor in some far-off convolution of the great industrial mechanism to supply the demands his increased earnings would have caused. And what shall be said of the employers — ^thousands of them — whose treatment of their workers was such as to make them believe that by some hook or crook the employer would find means to filch from them whatever they might produce beyond enough to leave them bare provision against the most grinding need? CAMOUFLAGE FOR STRIKE LOSSES This theory that there is just so much work to be done is used, too, by labor agitators to hide the losses due to strikes. "Don't you worry about the wages you aren't get- ting," these agitators have told thousands of audiences of strikers. "You'll get it all back. The work has all got to be done, hasn't it? What's the difference whether you get the money now or next month? If we win you'll get more pay for doing the same work, anyhow." ' Of course the more intelligent labor leaders have long known that this plea was a fallacy, and that the more a man earns the better for everyone. The best of them have been trying to make the rank and file see this, and others had a convincing lesson in the dem- 324 LABOR AND REVOLT onstration of the relation between production and spending capacity which the war offered. The leaders, however, have had little success in rooting out the evil, compared to the total number of workers affected, though the best of the unions are now almost free from it. It is, of course, carefully cultivated by the Reds. REDS ENCOURAGE INTENSIVE SLACKING This old sin of Labor's, which has been the heaviest drag upon American prosperity, has been vastly in- creased since the war and the intensive Red agitation. This added slacking has been so important that its effect on prices has probably been as powerful as the increase in wages. Its effect in retarding prosperity has been even greater. It is so extensive that it gives the color of a sardonic joke to Labor's demand for collective bargaining. The worker, in such a bargain nowadays, knows what he is getting. The employer cannot tell within a wide margin how much labor he will receive for the money he bargains to pay. The new intensive slacking is largely due, both di- rectly and indirectly, to the Red agitation. Directly, in that the preaching of the Reds all leads toward loaf- ing. Indirectly, since it is well recognized by students of the psychology of industrial efficiency that any gen- eral unrest or agitation, such as the Revolutionary campaign, is a great and definite hindrance to pro- duction. THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 325 How important the effect of this new slacking has been can only be estimated. In a survey of industrial centers in the summer of 19 19, The New York Tribune found that bank officials, on their knowledge of industrial conditions, were unanimous in the state- ment that there had been a sharp decline in the output per man per hour between 1914 and 19 19, in spite of increased wages. Some estimated the loss at 45 per cent, none lower than 20 per cent, and the average at about 35 per cent. On this point the Bache Review said: High costs to-day, to a great percentage of such cases, are due to the fact that Labor, while receiving very large wages in many directions, is much less efficient compared with what it was before the war. In some cases, where the output has been checked up, it has been shown that labor is turning out only 60% of normal. If we can ever get labor up to 100% we shall have such an increased production as will tilt the scale of prices steadily downward. The U. S. Cast Iron Pipe and Foundry Co., report- ing on conditions for 19 18, told its stockholders: With a large percentage their wages were not earned. Yours was quite the usual experience, to wit: high wages made for inefficiency. As is well understood there can be no objection to high wages if earne^. The measure lies in the value of things produced in relation to other things. A SUM IN ARITHMETIC How these various factors of loss work out in in- creasing the prices of products, may be shown by a 326 LABOR AND REVOLT simple, hypothetical example. The cost of anything, when it leaves the factory, is the total of the amounts spent for raw materials, for labor, and for what the accountants call "overhead." This last includes the expenses of management, light, heat, power, bookkeep- ing, and the vast amount of miscellaneous labor that cares for the factory and serves the producing forces. Its proportion to other costs varies in different fac- tories according to the accoimting system used, but it always bears a direct and constant relation to the wage cost, as it is itself made up to a big extent of wages of employees not directly engaged in production. Assume as an illustration that when the war opened in 1914 a certain factory product was costing $30; $10 each for labor, materials, and overhead. If we take average Increases, there must be added 75% to the cost of both raw materials and wages, making each item $17.50. If there has been, also a "slacking" in effort by labor of 35%, the cost of this must be figured at that proportion of the labor cost — ^$6.12, making the total labor cost $23.73. The overhead, still 100% of the labor cost, is thus also $23.73, much of it, of course, being for wages. So the total cost of the article has become $64.85, an increase of 1 16%, as against the 75% wage increase. It is no wonder that Labor complains that prices rise more than enough to pay the increased wages — they have to ! THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 327 COSTS, COSTS, AND YET MORE COSTS ! All these things bring added costs with them. There is the cost of idle machinery; the result is the same whether a plant be shut down or manned by men who make those machines yield only half their proper pro- duction. A factory is a heavy investment, and such items as interest on the money put into it, insurance, protection, taxes and general expenses continue whether the plant is at full capacity or at none. Ulti- mately they must all be figured into the cost of the product, hig or little, that has been turned out. There is the direct effect on other industries. That of strikes has been discussed. But since to a large extent each industry is the producer of raw materials for another, the increased costs in each are passed ahead and of necessity swelled as they pass. AND THE PUBLIC PAYS! Every one of these costs must be paid by the con- sumer whether he be wage earner or capitalist. Every cost has to come from somewhere and that place is always the pocket of the fineil buyer. The process may be affected a little, but only a little, by the curtailment of profits. The great bulk is a cost to the consumer — to society — ^that can neither be evaded nor long de- layed. The greater part both of the cost and the payment for the cost comes back on the wage earner. It is he 328 LABOR AND REVOLT who gets the benefit, receiving more money for a smaller return. He it is who pays, giving out more money for a smaller purchase. In the creaking of the industrial machinery as it readjusts itself to these changes there are always some groups which suffer more than others, as the salaried workers have suf- fered in recent years, but in the long run these things balance on a, basis of values. If there were no curtailment of production, and the matter were simply one of price, the performance would be that of the Dutch women who maintain them- selves by washing one anothers' clothes.' Although wages increase, both labor cost and the cost of slacking force up prices, and in the end Labor is no better off. So there comes a new demand for higher pay, and the whole round of increased prices starts over again. Thus is created the notorious "vicious circle" of rising prices, with worker, middleman, carrier and retailer all trying to climb over each others' shoulders. The circle does not end until something breaks — a panic. EVERY FORM OF PROGRESS CHECKED But the effect of the restriction of production on the whole progress of society is incalculable. The suicide that is brought about is social and cultural as well as economic, for the cultural advance of any large part of the people of a nation must rest on general pros- perity. It is economic welfare only that gives room and scope for the cultivation of all the benefits of THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 329 leisure, education and recreation — things that are im- possible till the primal wants are satisfied. Before passing from the subject of the effect of labor policies upon prosperity it may be well to make a brief survey of conditions that have come about in Australia, where policies almost identical with those now demanded here have almost reached fruition. The facts used here are taken from Dr. Clarence H. Northcott's "Australian Social Development." AUSTRALIA A PROPHETIC MIRROR In Australia Labor's domination is practically com- plete. Its views have been enacted into law, its leaders are the controlling officials. Labor is up to 40 per cent radical — Australia shows the fullest development of the one big union idea. Dr. Northcott finds that under Labor control the policies we have been discussing prevail. Skill is dis- credited, and there is a marked tendency toward equal- ity of pay for skilled and unskilled labor; there is opposition to any system that would measure pay by the amount produced: there is restriction of the labor supply ; there is a growth of laziness, of arrogance, of hatred; there is an increase in strikes in spite of the laws. The result has been excessive increase in the cost of living, due, he believes, not so much to higher wages as to slacking and lack of efficiency, and the wages have failed to keep pace with this rising price 330 LABOR AND REVOLT level in actual purchasing power, so that the worker is worse off than when Labor control began. "Instead of realizing the national purpose with a minimum of loss of time and energy," Dr. Northcott declares "it has produced a wasteful and bitter class struggle, whereip social energy and political activity are consumed, and whereby advance is hindered." Not all the failures that he finds are economic. The promises of Labor, both there and here, are not ful- filled when power comes. There is no better work done for the state than for the capitalist; women do not get equal pay for equal work ; there is no sense of duty to the public, and the people are the direct vic- tims of many of the strikes; the labor movement makes no use of the development of social sciences, but advances according to whim or passion; the time gained from work is used in amusement and not in culture ; the Labor government has not made adequate provision for public health, there is a scarcity of play- grounds for the cities' children, and factory conditions are below standard, while hours of work are arranged without adequate regard for sex or age. The result is poor health, particularly for girls just entering woman- hood. Finally the reform movement of the labor ele- ment has "run out"; "a movement built up through solidarity of action and the fullest respect for democ- racy has become distrustful of leaders, intolerant of freedom of opinion, and has developed the caucus sys- tem into control by a series of cliques." Such is the crop of the conditions which Labor is THE HIGH COST OF LAZINESS 331 sowing in American industry; a crop poisonous alike to Labor and to all prosperity. The danger sigrial of high and fast rising prices, instead of stopping the career toward economic suicide, has served as a red rag to a bull, and is spurring the worker to greater and greater disaster. To this fend the Revolution is helping mightily, and since disaster is its hope, it is mightily pleased. CHAPTER XIX SQUANDERING OUR INHERITANCE Soap-box financing, the Red's vision — ^What Labor receives for its product — Burdens it must always carry: distribution, replacement of machinery, enlargement of industrial plant, experiments — "Hoarded wealth" at work — How wealth is now distributed — Labor could not increase its share more than a fourth — Excess wage would "eat up the fag' of social accumulation and bring bankruptcy — The sure" vic- tory of mathematics over theory. There is a peculiar kind of financing that centers in New York City, in front of the Metropolitan build- ing, at the corner of Madison Square — a. very comfort- ing and stimulating kind of financing. The passer-by there almost any evening if he will stop and listen, will hear the whole world made prosperous by a series of "ifs." // labor gets its full share, and if every idler Is forced to work, and if all the people who now live on the sweat of the toilers' brow in "idleness" by buying and selling things "in idleness" and by managing things, are also forced to work, then everybody will live in luxury, and nobody will have to work much ! So runs the soap-box scheme — sometimes the indi- vidual income to be received under it is high, some- 332 SQUANDERING OUR INHERITANCE 333 times higher; it has been as low as $5,000 a year, and as high as $25,000. It is a beautiful picture that the Revolution thus holds before the American worker; before men earn- ing on an average not over $800 a year — ^the 19 10 census put the figure at $509, but there has been a big increase since. Not all of the Reds are foolish enough to indulge in $25,000 flights of fancy, but all agree on the general outlines. The Reds also paint another picture — ^that of a vast store of "hoarded wealth," sweated out of the workers, and treasured by the capitalists, a hoard that will be the workers' when once they get control, "expropriate the expropriators" and make a "fair and equal" division. It was shown in the preceding chapter that the Reds and much of Organized Labor are doing their best to decrease the store of wealth and the amount to be divided and are steadily forcing higher the expense of living for themselves and everybody else. But the question whether Labor is getting a fair proportion of the wealth it produces was excluded. So was one of the deductions that logically follows the economic law that there can be no division of nothing, to wit: that if the workers succeed in getting as wages more than they produce there will be a deficit in the national economy that will lead the country straight for bank- ruptcy. It will mean a continued drain from the pre- viously accumulated national wealth. In the light of this fact must be considered the share that Labor now gets, the share it might possibly re- 334 LABOR AND REVOLT ceive, the "living wage," and the results that will fol- low if the wage average outruns production value. WHEN THE HANDS REBEL AGAINST THE BODY It must be admitted that the first part of the funda- mental proposition is true, in one sense of the words: "Labor is the sole producer." Labor feeds, clothes, warms, transports and serves society, and its sweat is on everything we buy. It is to society as the hands are to the body. The Reds would have the hands rebel, claiming that they are the only part of the national body that should be fed and clothed, and that if necessary to insure having the whole to themselves, they should destroy the rest of the body. There was a fable written once about the rebellion of the mem- bers against the belly, but the Reds do not believe in that kind of fable. Labor to-day actually does get less than half of what it produces. The other half is absorbed by the "three rents" of revolutionary jargon — rent, interest and profits. All these the Revolution would abolish. They are the "burden on labors' shoulders." Let us look at that burden a moment, and get the meaning behind the "three rents." WHAT THE BODY DOES FOR THE HANDS In our complex economic structure, very little indeed is produced at the point where it is consumed, or by the man from whom the consumer will finally buy it. lSQUANDERING our inheritance 33S Ninety per cent of Labor's products have to pass through various hands before they are at a place where they become useful to anyone. The distribution forms what is known as "business" or trade — ^the people who carry it on are known to the economists as "entrepreneurs," men in business for themselves. Farm owners are included in this class. Thus "profit" to which the Reds object is their pay for making the distribution. It is actually a part of the cost of production. Upon "interest" fall other great burdens. It has to replace the machinery which becomes worn out, or out-dated in the factories, and this is a most expensive matter. While the life of different kinds of machinery varies exceedingly, none of it lasts forever, and it is customary for big concerns to figure as the amount to be set aside yearly iot this replacement five to ten per cent of the total investment in the plant. This means that America practically buys itself an entirely new industrial machine — a new suit of economic clothes — about every fifteen years. "Interest" pays for this. "Interest" also has to pay for expansion of busi- ness. The workers speak of the "machines made by our own hands" as turning out profit for the capitalist. It is a true picture — ^but the capitalist supported the worker while he made those machines. Between 1850 and 1904, according to the figures given by Professor King, the money value of the economic goods possessed by the people of America increased from $7,135,780,000 to $107,104,212,000, an average of 336 LABOR AND REVOLT $1,850,000,000 a year. Between 1900 and 1904 the increase was much more rapid — ^$4,646,000,000 a year. This mostly has gone into the working plant of the nation and has corrie out of "mterest." Interest and profits together bear several other ex- penses: the cost of the experiments which society makes before taking any important new step, the cost of philanthropy, much of the cost of education. It is they, too, that run the risks. Capital opens mines that may not pay, builds railroads in undeveloped territory, markets new products which may or may not be bought; carries the great reserve supplies of goods without which the nation would live literally from hand to mouth, and risks having them spoil on its hands or lose value before they can be sold. In times of panic it is capital and business that go through bankruptcy, and suffer the heaviest loss of income. Wages are far less subject to fluctuation, far better protected against occasional stress, than are either in- terest or profits. "hoarded wealth" is hard at work And the "hoarded wealth," where is it? That four and a half billion added investment every year gives the answer. It is at work. It is engines and trucks, and machinery and cows and flat cars, and steamships and farmhouses and spinning mills. The minute it stops work it becomes either old iron or, if alive, a hay- constuning liability. The amount invested in "per- sonal" things, the real "hoarded wealth," is almost SQUANDERING OUR INHERITANCE 337 trivial by comparison. It is a very rich man whose personal possessions would equal the cost of a loco- motive, many "capitalists" could not sell their clothes — even their wives' clothes — and house furnishings for the price of a flat-car. The hoarded wealth of the Red dreams is just a little more than that in the pot at the rainbow's end — enough to make a few men rich, but not enough to make a,ny important difference if divided among millions. It may be argued that no matter how important capital's contribution is, its funds have been stolen from the workers, and its property should belong to them. It is true that much of the wealth is in the hands of men who can show no adequate service to the nation to account for it — ^much of it, on the other hand, is the result of thrift, enterprise or other real service. It is also true that all the needs of society would be as well met if the workers would tax their income to take care of all these burdens, instead of having them passed, at a price, through the hands of capital. The point is that by some means or other these needs must be met if the nation, if society, is to con- tinue to advance, if it is not to fall backward. The modern systerti, imperfect as it is, does meet these vital needs. The labor agitators, and even more the Reds, have no room in their theory, their plans, nor, as will be shown shortly, in their practices, for these all-important services, "Labor should have the whole product" is the end of their proposition. 338 LABOR AND REVOLT If it ever does, unless it has learned far more than to-day about saving, society and civilization^ will stop short. A COMPARISON OF POCKET BOOKS The present distribution of the national income of which Labor and the Reds complain so bitterly accord- ing to the latest figures, which are of those of 1910, gives to employes 46.9% of the total, to rent 8.8%, to profits — ^the "entrepreneur" — ^27.5% and to inter- est, which carries replacement and progress, 16.8%. The fluctuations of these figures are interesting. Wages jumped from 35.8% in 1850 to 48.6% in 1870 and reached their highest point in 1890 — ^just before the big tide of immigration set in — 53-5%. Interest was 12.5% in 1850 and has fluctuated irregularly; its highest share was 18.6% in 1880. Rent has been almost stable, varying between 6.9% in 1870 and the 8.8% of 1910, which figure was also reached in i860. Profits have fluctuated most; they were highest in 1850 at 44.0% and had dropped to 31.6% in 1870, since when they have been: 21.3% in 1880; 24.6% in 1890, and 30.o7o in 1900. Translated into the terms of individual income, these figures mean that employes averaged $509 each in 1910, and the "entrepreneurs" — the men who work for themselves and make "profits" — $899. There is no "capitalist class" in America, the Reds to the con- trary notwithstanding, since every man who has a dollar in a savings bank is a capitalist, and the "inter- SQUANDERING OUR INHERITANCE 339 est" share of the national income is thus distributed too widely to permit averages. It is the same with the "rent" slice. The only other statistical figure that throws much light on the situation is that for buying. The estimated consumption of goods in America in 1910 averaged $359 per capita — ^less than labor's earn- ings, an indication that an even distribution would not greatly add to the worker's purchasing power. THE STAKE OF THE BATTLE How much of this 53.1% of the nation's annual income, now paid to classes other than productive labor, could be diverted to increase the wage earners' share without destroying the whole national economic machine? On the answer to that question must de- pend the judgment on Labor's demands. Professor King has studied the question carefully. He figures that it would be possible to seize the entire rent charge, 8.8%. It would also be possible to take from the profits slice about one-fourth or $225 — bringing this share down to $674, but hardly to reduce it to the exact level of wages, since business does have to carry risks, and on the whole business men are and must be more intelligent than laboring men as a rule. "Interest cannot be decreased without resulting in a loss of saving," he says, "hence the interest bill could scarcely be lessened without destructive effects to the capital supply of our country, thus ruining our industries." Even if this were taken away from the capitalists it would have to be spent in maintaining 340 LABOR AND REVOLT and expending our economic machinery, and the worker would not get it. His conclusion is this: It would seem improbable that, with oar present national productive power, any feasible system of distribution could increase the average earner's income in purchasing power by more than one- fourth; and this is an extreme rather than a moderate estimate. While such a change might or might not be desirable, it would, at least, work no revolution in the condition of employes of the United States. So that after all, if Professor King's figures are correct — and he comes from the University of Wis- consin which is not given to bias in favor of Capital- ism — ^the utmost that could come from the Revolution (if it worked) would be an addition of orte-quarter to the workers' earnings. Many workers since the war started have won increases far greater than that, both absolutely and in purchasing power. It certainly would be, as he says, no revolutionary change. If this were done, it should be noted, wages and profits would differ little — $636 against $674. IF INDUSTRY TURNS CANNIBAL This, then, is the utmost margin on which Labor has to work in its efforts to increase wages if it is not to begin destroying the industrial system. If it takes more than that margin disaster will be directly ahead, for we shall have to pay wages by letting our farms and our railways and our factories run down^^ SQUANDERING OUR INHERITANCE 341 become less productive and more expensive to operate. If Labor should, as the Reds demand, get the whole product we could expect our industrial machine to be worn out and obsolete in twenty years at the most. The whole of the inheritance from the previous gen- erations, the great store of our saving, our legacy to the future, all would be destroyed. This process is already going on in England. Mark Sullivan, in an article in Collier's Weekly, describes how it is working: Labor is using its power to pay itself high wages. But these wages for the present are coming out of borrowed money. Great Britain is still borrowing and still spending filmost as much as she borrowed and spent while the war was on. When the borrowing is over, Labor, being in control of the government, will continue to pay itself high wages. With the borrowing stopped, the money will come out of high taxation, out of capital levies. That, of course, will be merely a process of using up the nation's accumulated capital. It will be living on the fat. When that ends English Labor and the English nation will be in a very bad way. When that crisis comes Labor will have to face the strain. It is possible that Labor, under that strain, may go back to the old system of low wages and hard living condition. If it does not there will be no other alternative for England except wholesale emigration to places where there are more advantageous economic conditions. Russia's economic suicide The process is complete in Russia, or nearly so, on the admission of the Bolsheviks themselves. Na- tional Economy, a Soviet publication, declares that 342 LABOR AND REVOLT "Russia lived on the reserves, gradually destroying them and distributing them among the population, without any prospects for the increase and improve- ment of the work, and this cannot continue much longer." The paper frankly states that the deteriora- tion of the discipline of Labor is the chief cause of the distress of the nation — ^not the Allied blockade as the Reds here charge. It declares that the country must return to the wage system, the first thing which was abolished by the Revolution, and not only that, but to a wage system based on piece work and the premium system. That is the end of "equality." Lenin even demands the Taylor efficiency system which American Labor rejects as oppressive. And Isvestia, organ of the Central Soviet, urges that the shops be put under discipline as strict as the army, and with the same penalties. In fact, this has been done already in many factories. So the Bolshevists themselves now recognize that the major cause of the bankruptcy of Russia and of her hideous distress is the squandering of the capital, of the inheritance of the past. The Soviet has found that wealth it seized was far less than it expected, that it was quickly dissipated, and that production, and production on the capitalistic basis of exploitation that will force the workers to work, is the only hope of salvation. What could be seized in America would be far greater in money value but probably not much greater in its power to support life without work. SQUANDERING OUR INHERITANCE 343 The best argument that can be offered for not molesting the Soviet government is that it shall have full time to demonstrate to the world the fallacies of the whole theory on which it was based, and for which it has steeped the country in blood. HOW TO BREED POVERTY There are certain other evils which seem certain to follow overpay of Labor, though in comparison with this immense disaster they are slight. The most important of these is the danger that would come if the wage increased faster than the standard of living. Many experiences the world over have shown that there is a direct relationship between living standard, income and the birthrate. The major- ity of mankind have just as many children as they can possibly support on the income they get, at the stand- ard they demand. If the income be increased, then, without a higher standard, there will be ahigher birth rate but no greater comfort. So that if absolute equality were,^enforced on the basis of America's present production and the fam- ily income of all were put at the average of about $1500 it would shortly come about that those whose standard is now low would have multiplied up to the low-standard margin of their income and would be as poverty-stricken as ever. Meanwhile the whole of so- ciety would have suffered from the lack of education, leisure and culture which would have been imposed 344 LABOR AND REVOLT upon it and there would be no less poverty nor dis- content. AID AND COMFORT TO BUSINESS RIVALS Another evil is that the driving up of prices in America endangers our foreign trade just at the time when the results of the war have put it in our power to take commercial leadership of the world with all its advantages. The American Chamber of Commerce in London reported in November, 1919, six months after the American strike wave started, that British trade was benefiting noticeably by our troubles. As British Labor settles down — and it is being implored by its more intelligent leaders to do so — the benefit will be greater. More important, because of Germany's vast plans for world-dominion through commerce, is the advan- tage that we are giving our late enemy. What those plans are and what the German aid to Reds in Amer- ica in furtherance of them is, have been shown. In Germany to-day Labor is seeing the need of produc- tion and saving and we have the amazing spectacle of organizations of workers demanding a ten hour day, instead of eight, and asking t}iat these hours be made statutory for the whole of Germany. German compe- tition will be hard to meet at best; if these workers have their way, and American Labor has its way, there can be no question which nation will win industrial supremacy. SQUANDERING OUR INHERITANCE 345 LABOR ONLY CAN MAKE "LIVING WAGe" POSSIBLE With the great social demand ot the day, that for a "living wage," there can be no quarrel by any man or women of even decently humane instincts. We are not paying a living wage now, and it is more than doubtful whether the one-fourth increase which seems possible would pay it. In other words, America cannot afford to pay a living wage, unless we are to take the road to bankruptcy — on our present amount of pro- duction. It is Labor itself, far more than any other factor, that limits production. So we have labor in the posi- tion of putting a high and just value on the human factor in production, but at the same time destroying the only basis on which that high value can be main- tained. It is told of William Jennings Bryan that once when discussing the theory of evolution, he said, "I prefer not to believe in such an unpleasant doctrine," and of Charles Francis Train that when he objected to some truth he would write it on a blackboard, erase it and say, "See, it no longer exists." There is no record that evolution or facts were affected by the attitude of these eminent men. Nor can all the denunciations of all the Reds in the world, nor of all the labor agi- tators, beat the laws of mathematics and of ecbnomics. Wealth, to be distributed, must be produced, and the spending of more wealth than is produced means bank- 346 LABOR AND REVOLT ruptcy, the squandering of the inheritance of civiliza- tion. HOW MUCH IS A DEAD GOOSE WORTH? It has been pointed out that Labor in America is coming into a position of control. It will be able prac- tically to fix its own wages, as British labor has done. Can it curb its appetite? Or will it increase its pro- duction to feed its desires? Unless it maintains the balance between the two the results of its rule will be worse for the country, and worse for Labor itself, than any Capitalistic exploitation has been or could be, for the Capitalists have saved and have kept the ma- chinery going and have financed progress, while Labor, tyrned greedy, could devour the whole basis of civil- ization in a few years. Russia has done it in two ! This is what the Red seeks. If next year, or ten years from now, the country comes to bankruptcy or the verge of bankruptcy, if Labor then has killed and eaten the goose because her eggs were not big enough, the Reds believe that Revolution then will be assured, that the misery and hardship and disappointed ignor- ance of that time will carry the workers to armed revolt. That is the real danger from the Red campaign among American workers to-day. Labor finds it easy to listen to Madison Square financiers, and to play, for what it thinks is its own benefit, the game of the Reds. PART V THE DANGER AND THE HOPE CHAPTER XX THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY The spreading panic— Talk of "fighting it out"— Democracy's defenses: prosperity, lack of classes, individualism, the fundamental conflict between Labor and the farmers, the reserve corp? in the Appalachians, the povi^er of counter- organization, the "white collar" reserves of labor-power, the increasing power of women, the power of the majority, the final resource of force — The weaknesses of Democracy : our power not self-starting, ignorance wide-spread, the Negro, the alien, irresolution and cowardice in government — Fun- damental strength. The end of the first year of the intensive cultivation of trouble in America by the Reds and by Labor re- sulted in a crop of distress that thoroughly alarmed the nation. The President called conferences which conferred and separated with more or less hard feeling. Legislative bodies investigated and reported. Grand juries also investigated. Press and pulpit fulminated. Officials issued warnings. And in the big building up on the hill in Washington Senator Myers revealed to his colleagues a vision of a Soviet republic conquering America in time to avoid the necessity of a presiden- tial campaign in 1920. There were a few activities which were more con- crete. Raids on Red headquarters netted much infor- mation and many prisoners. There were numberless 349 3SO LABOR AND REVOLT indictments and a few trials. There was ostentatious mobilizing of troops in various places, and unostenta- tious demobilizing of the same troops. Once or twice these troops did something, and then there was talk of investigation. Finally, after many delays, there was a considerable deportatioij, of alien Reds. Most serious, there were the cases of mob law, of rioting and dis- order which in America so frequently accompany the other symptoms of public distress and confusion. All this was on the surface. Under it was a genuine panic. Many public officials did not know what should be done, what the nation wanted done, or what could be done. Business men were even more alarmed. The labor troubles made it uncertain what the cost of pro- duction would be at any future time, and manufactur- ers were wary of taking contracts at any fixed price. This slowed down the whole machinery of production. There was a general fear that Labor had secured a weapon which was irresistible, and the danger of sur- render to such demands as those of the coal miners forced Attorney General Palmer to warn the public against being "stampeded by threats of lack of coal into concessions which will insure unreasonably high prices in commodities for at least three years to come." The situation was at its worst when the President's first conference met and disagreed in November, just a year after the armistice. "Black November" many business men called it: the steel strike was still on, the coal strike was starting, and the railway brotherhood officials held in their hands the authorization for a THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 351 strike to force the adoption of the Plumb plan. All three were menaces with a distinct revolutionary color, and the three together involved the whole basic struc- ture of industry. BUSINESS SEES A BOGIE-MAN When the conference gathered in Washington there was an undercurrent of talk that was not megaphoned on the platform, a current of real opinion that was far more a measure of the temper of the men there than were their speeches. "Why try to compromise any more?" ran this talk. "Labor is out for power and full control, perhaps for Revolution. The mask is off. The issue is clear. It is not a struggle between Capital and Labor, but be- tween the United States and the American Federation of Labor, backed by the Reds. Why not have a finish fight right now, and then get back to business?" This may have been good logic, but some of its al- leged facts were wrong and it would have been very poor tactics. It would have done just the thing that the Reds are hoping for — brought on a state of dis- pute and disorder and unrest that would make the best possible soil for the sprouting of their carefully planted seeds of Revolution. It is reported here to show the highly nervous state into which the country was getting. 352 LABOR AND REVOLT "never bet against AMERICA'" One of the things that helped make J. Pierpont Morgan great and rich was his motto: "Never bet against the future of America." He always refused to take the "bear" side of transactions, and his position at the time of his death testified to the soundness of his faith. The people who were seeing Soviets and the Terror just around the corner were forgetting those solid factors in American civilization which are so assured that we are as prone to ignore them as we are the air we breathe, but are our bulwark against Revo- lution and destruction, however serious and expensive our civic sicknesses may be. It is impossible to obtain a clear and just idea of the actual menaces of the pres- ent situation without having these strengths of ours constantly in mind. First of all is our prosperity. Even the troubles of the war and of the agitation that followed it have affected that very little. Labor's increased comfort has been shown. There was no increase in business failures: there was no decrease in consumption, in spite of the high prices ; the savings accounts swelled. Prosperity is not good soil for Revolution. Men do not take desperate chances unless they are desperate, and American Labor is far from that. It is only the very bottom that has nothing to lose and everything to gain by Revolution. The great body of Labor has mtich to lose; it seeks to gain only what it can gain THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 353 without risking its present possessions and prosperity. The real damage it may do will be that of error, and not of intent. Second is the fact that there are no classes in Amer- ica in the sense in which the Old World knows them. Our capitalists are practically all workers, and hard workers; to a tremendous extent our workers are capitalists in greater or less degree — ^there are 200,000 stockholders, for example, in the Pennsylvania rail- way, the majority of them employes. There is a shifting from one economic level to another which prevents any real development of the class-conscious- ness which is the foundation of Red hopes. The Reds themselves will testify to this, with bitter- ness. " It is astonishing how naive Americans are," Emma Goldman complains. "The average American is the very last to learn of the modern means and tac- tics employed in the great struggles of his day." The Radicals who testified before the Overman committee of the U. S. Senate declared that in class-conscious- ness and "economic awareness" the American prole- tariat was far more ignorant than the illiterate Rus- sians : which means that Americans do not agree with the Reds and the Reds are discouraged. A third strength is in American individualism, a sturdy growth that has many weaknesses but that rises up to fight any attempt at the excessive organization and subordination of Marxian Socialism and infinitely prefers the chances of a free-for-all fight, if assured of reasonable rules, to the certainty of stall-fed pros- 3S4 LABOR AND REVOLT perity. It is both the cause and the product of Democ- racy ; it is also one of its strongest safeguards. WHEN SCYTHE AND HAMMER CLASH Coming to the more personal forces which stand be- tween America and Revolution or Labor control, the first is the farmers. Labor has been making many bids for co-operation with the farmers, and the Non- partisan League has seemed to move toward it, but the agreements are superficial, and will remain so. The efforts of the open Reds in that direction have fallen quite flat. There are fundamental differences between the farmers and Labor which the agitators are trying to overlook, but which will not be ignored. In the first place, the farmer is the living answer to the Reds' false axiom that Labor is the sole producer, and the one vital factor in the national life. We might live with- out all that wage-labor produces, but not without food. In the second place the interests of the farmer and the laborer are directly opposed; the worker wants cheap food and high prices for manufactures that will make high wages possible; the farmer wants cheap manu- factures and high prices for food. Finally the farmer is an embodied appetite for land and for his private and personal ownership thereof, and any attempt to put into effect the Red scheme for "socialization" of the farms will bring the embattled THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 355 farmer out with his shotgun even more quickly than did the British invasion of Concord. The Labor agitation has shown all this clearly. The farmers of the country have attacked Radicalism and the recent Labor demands in mass and in detail. Oliver Wilson, master of the National Grange, de- nounced "radicalism, nationalization and anarchy," demanded immigration laws to keep out un-American people who brought revolutionary ideas, and opposed Labor's demand for shorter hours. The Farmers' National Congress lumped Capital, Labor and Revolu- tion in its denunciations for attempts to override Americanism and the rights of the people. The Inter- national Farm Congress specifically demanded that Labor cease agitation for shorter hours or higher pay. if by any chance Labor and the farmers should find themselves in the same organization, their conflicting demands can be counted on to prevent effective action of any kind. There would hardly be enough of the nation left to be worth exploiting. Most important is the fact that the farmers consti- tute the largest single group in America. Labor and much of the rest of the country are very likely to for- get this, but the politicians never do. The farmers' demands upon politics are few and simple, and they do not interfere with the running of the rest of the coun- try. But what they do demand they get — the repeal of daylight saving, for instance, simply because it dis- turbed the habits of their cows. It has been pointed out that Labor will control the politics of the country 3S6 LABOR AND REVOLT to a great degree, but that control will always be lim- ited by the interests of the farmer. There is a dead- line there that no political party or faction dares cross. MOUNTAIN-GROWN, FOOL-PROOF PATRIOTISM Another great group, of which probably most of the Reds have never heard, is that of the hillmen of the Appalachians, the so-called "mountain whites." These lank and poorly dressed survivals of the frontier are the most highly individualistic people in America; they have a flaming patriotism which is fool-proof, and they are a solidly "American" stock — English, Scotch-Irish and Huguenot. Mostly farmers, owners of sterile but cherished hillsides, self-reliant to an amazing degree, they can be counted on to fight with any means in their power any Revolutionary ten^ dencies. And they have several means. There are nearly eight million of them, a not inconsiderable number in an election. They are capable and vigorous workers when they care to be. They dislike and distrust all "furriners," beginning with their neighbors of the lowlands and mounting in increasing stages to a pity- ing contempt of the occasional aliens who have in- vaded their fastnesses. They resent discipline but furnished the best snipers and stalkers of the Amer- ican Expeditionary Force. It was they who. In the Civil War, rallied to the flag in such strength that they gave the North a wedge into THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 357 the heart of the Confederacy, held Kentucky in the Union and put that state's full quota into the Federal army in spite of the immense numbers who' went South to join Lee; it was they who, "jayhawking" from their cliffs, brought to a tragic failure the grandiose attempt to shove a Rebel army north through West Virginia to Pittsburgh and Buffalo and cut the North in two. Their sons are scattering now to the north and west, a powerful offset to the alien flood and a sure reliance against any attempt upon the government. ' The Scotch have a saying that "it is ill takin' the breeks aff a hielan' man" and the American high- lander will give many "ill" hours to whomsoever at- tempts to expropriate his land, his flag or his patriotism. THE UNTRIED RESOURCES OF THE MAJORITY In addition to these resources there is inherent in any society a power of counter-organization against such minority attempts as that of the Reds or of Labor. This power has never been measured because it has never been fully roused. We in America have hardly tried it ; our organizations outside business and politics are mostly more or less glorified debating so- cieties, making no demands on their members and having little power. What can be done was shown a little by the American Protective League, thrown to- gether during the war, which was a tremendous if un- 3S8 LABOR AND REVOLT official aid to the government in fighting disloyalty, conspiracy and German propaganda. Yet it did not number more than 300,000 members, arid a hundred times that number could be mobilized if ever the men- ace to our Democracy should be seen to be imminent. ANTI-REVOLUTIONARY VALUE OF WHITE COLLARS A part of this strength is the industrial resource that lies in the "white collar" or "silk stocking" portions of society. The Revolution and Labor declare that if those who are now working should cease, these people would starve and freeze. That is more than doubtful. Wearers of white collars are on the average better equipped intellectually than are manual workers, they are of reasonable health and strength, a majority of them are within a generation or two of manual labor, and many of them actually have made their living by it. They like to live, and would be able to do a great deal toward preventing starvation for themselves and their dependents if the need arose. The skill of even the average trained worker is not very difficult to acquire, except in a few trades like those of watch making" and lithography. During the war thousands of "white-collar" men were turned into competent workers in short order. In the shipyards it was found that an average of only thirty days was required to bring the recruits up to the usual skillful- ness, and that the cost of the training was less than that of replacement by the customary method of ad- THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 359 vertising and paying fees to employment agencies. Such recruits, of course, would never be able to put our industries on a normal basis, but they would surely bridge the gap between starvation and security. THE PETTIcbAT BARRIER TO STARVATION There must also be counted as a resource the new power which our women are exercising in politics and business. Woman is naturally conservative, in spite of the apparent evidence to the contrary offered by the National Woman's Party and some of the Red agi- tators. Give a woman a child and her willingness to experiment with anything that affects its safety dis- appears. If there is any difference to be found between the votes of women and those of men, it will be on the side of safety in the women's vote. In business, too, women form a powerful reserve and would be able in case of emergency to take over much of the work of the "white collars" discussed above, freeing them for heavier tasks. Only in case of a final appeal to force would her power be small, and there she will hardly be needed. WHEN PUBLIC OPINION SPURS THE LAW AH these resources of society, it will be noted, are outside those great powers which are exercised by the government: law and force. There is a very real power in a majority, unorganized and inarticulate though it often is, that arms the courts and the mill- 36o LABOR AND REVOLT tary beyond their "legal" strength. The Reds, and to some extent Labor, fear and hate these forces, and with reason. I found a leading and active Socialist in despair one day during the closing period of the war. He felt that the power of tyranny had triumphed, that the people were doomed to eternal slavery, that Socialism was dying. Why? Because about a score of agitators in a dozen cities had been arrested! The party was disorganized, he said, and he was thinking of becom- ing a Non-Partisan Leaguer, or of joining the Labor Party. For him, for the time being, the Revolution was quite dead. If a few arrests can make such a difference, the vitality of the movement is not strojig. But that is beside the point, which is that arrests actually can im- pede the Revolution greatly. In general, so far, the power of the courts has been invoked very little. It will be used more as public opinion becomes aroused, for American courts have the peculiarity that they deal not so much in abstract justice as in the inter- pretation of the attitude of the people. The immense power of our juries assures that. Unpopular laws are a dead letter, and a way is often found for inflicting punishment that stretches the law greatly, when public fear or resentment demands it. IF MACHINE-GUNS ARBITRATE Finally comes armed force, the ultimate arbiter. Regrettable as it may be, the fact is that in the last THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 361 analysis all security of society still rests on the sol- dier's bayonet and the policeman's club. We have recently had the World War, and a much smaller but equally clear illustration, the Boston police strike, to demonstrate the two. When President Wilson said that he always "hoped the man with the best argument would win," he was expressing a sentiment that has not yet made itself secure in civilization. If the man with the best argument does win, as he usually does, it is because he is able to convince the largest number of people, and bring force to back his reasoning. T'hus the idea gives strength to the arm — but the arm does the work! There fortunately has been little appeal to force. No one who realizes the terrible engines which mod- ern science has given to the soldiery, who can visualize the results of their use upon such a help- less mob as the workers would be in the first stages of any class war, can hope for anything but that force never will be employed, either because of the hysteria of the workers or of panic-stricken or brutal officials. Rifles, machine guns, aeroplanes armed with bombs that would produce a hideous nausea as well as bombs that would scatter death, armored cars — all these have been held in readiness in some of our recent internal disturbances. For the Reds or for Labor to invite their use would be a ghastly suicide; for officials to use them without utter need would be cowardly and inhu- man crime. Against them there can be no stand ex- cept by equal force, and this neither the Reds nor 362 LABOR AND REVOLT Labor can command. To them the vital justice behind unrest can make no appeal, while the folly that seeks redress by force will meet terrible punishment. For- tunately America has little need to fear that they will be used against the desires of the nation. Whenever throughout history the class-war has made a successful start, it has been at a time of dis- affection in the army. * In France in 1791 only the Swiss Guards stood by the throne; when some years later Napoleon fired a cannon the class war ended and the way for his dictatorship was opened. In the Com- mune of 1871 there were 300,000 revolutionary militia in Paris, as against 12,000 regulars. In Russia it was through the soldiers and sailors that both the bour- geois and the Bolshevist revolutions came. Our army, both regular and militia, must be corrupted be- fore the Revolution here can start. The chance of corrupting our regular army is negligible, and the militia slight, partly because the "proletariat's" fear of the militia has kept workers out of its ranks and left it almost entirely to the "bourgeoisie." PATRIOTISM BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TR3NCHES In this matter, too, must be considered the attitude of the veterans of the World War, some four million men who, almost alone in the nation, are skilled in arms. The Reds have made a great effort to reach them, through the "Workers, Soldiers' and Sailors' Soviets" scheme, but have had almost no success. THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 363 Such Red propaganda during the war fell flat, affect- ing only a few thousand of the millions. Reds who were drafted, even, failed to learn what they might have of military skill because of their refusal to perform soldierly duties. Finally, the outrages upon veterans by Reds, at Centralia, Wash., and elsewhere, have destroyed the last hope of sympathy with Revo- lution, and the ex-fighters are everywhere to be found in the forefront of the anti-Red activities. It is different with Labor. Many workers went into the American army, and served gloriously. They con- stitute a power to be respected if the test should ever come between Labor, not revolutionary, and the state. But even so they are a small part of the veteran force, both because part of Labor was slow in supporting the war, and because so many workers in the essential in- dustries were exempted. All in all, the force at society's command would be overwhelmingly, pulverizingly against either the Reds or Labor (if Labor should by any possibility challenge this power) if the test of arms should ever come. time's soothing hand In all things, too, time is at present working strongly in behalf of security. It will be many years before the full effects of the war have worn off, and prices will probably never return to their pre-war level. But with each succeeding year prices will drop, and prosperity will increase. It was nearly fifteen years 364 LABOR AND REVOLT after the Napoleonic war before the period of recov- ery was completed, and more than ten years after our own Civil War. The best business statisticians are unable to hazard a guess on how long the present period will last, but as we advance through it the causes of unrest will steadily diminish, and the worn nerves and wild hopes which the war brought will re- turn toward normal. The greatest danger point in this period will be the time of the almost-inevitable industrial panic, like that of 1873. Such a period has so far always followed great wars. THE PERILS OF OVER-SLEEPING This is the armament of civilization against the forces which threaten it. It is overwhelming — if used. But it is not self -starting nor self-acting, and until called into play by the positive direction of society, little or none of it is effective. There can be Httle doubt that society will awaken and use it before the final catastrophe comes, but there remains the possi- bility, if not the probability, of terrible costs, before the awakening. Heavy industrial losses, disorder, vio- lence, destruction, death, have already resulted from the Red agitation and its effect on Labor. They will continue in greater or less degree. So the factors must also be reckoned which weaken civilization, pre- vent the use of the powers at its disposal and permit these injuries. THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 365 DOUBLE-EDGED IGNORANCE First must be listed ignorance. There is dense ignorance, complete failure to understand American- ism, in the host of foreigners. They are the easiest possible prey to any exploitation, utterly unable to test by any means the statements made to tihem. There is less ignorance, but almost as dangerous, among the bulk of the workers. Our schooling is to blame for this; it has given them a smattering of many things, including some plain lies about history and more inexcusable suppressions of facts which the text-book writers thought discreditable or immoral. Most of the lies have been found out and have under- mined the rest of the teaching and the average worker is not equipped to-day for any far-sightedness or even correct appraisal of current events. Enlightened self- ishness would serve as a check to the worker's hunger; half-enlightened he sees nothing to do but grab. Not less menacing is the ignorance among the well- to-do and educated groups. It is of the same kind as that of Marie Antoinette, who said, "If the people have no bread, why don't they eat cake?" The trials, the dangers, the sufferings of the people outside their circle of acquaintance are unintelligible to these folk, and their conduct a mystery. Nor have they a better grasp of the economic situation than have the work- ers. They, too, have been grabbing, and the nation has paid in its panics for their greed. Because they have more present power than the 366 LABOR AND REVOLT workers their ignorance is doubly dangerous. They are likely to be stampeded into panic by disturbances which are real enough, but need by no means be un- nerving. Once shaken from the security of ignor- ance, they cannot judge any other security, and be- come hystericaL It is from them that the danger of foolish and brutal reprisals upon the workers will come, if the situation grows much worse. Their terror may cost far more, in case of an attempted revolution, or even in case of grave labor troubles, than would the outbreak themselves. TWO IMPORTED WEAKNESSES There are the Negroes, something of an asset and much of a liability. They are a great but unskilled labor reserve, though the attempts made to draw them to Northern factories have already done much damage in the South, But to use them even in labor troubles is of doubtful value because of the rancor it would cause; to use them to suppress revolt as the Reds say they expect, would be as ridiculous as it would be needless. Meanwhile their presence, with its danger of race antagonism and riot, is a constant weakness. A far greater danger is in the alien and the alien- minded descendants of unassimilated immigrants. There are some eleven million of the former, and none knows how many of the latter, though we had a star- tling revelation during the war of the resistance made by the Teuton to Americanization. THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 367 The menace from them is two-fold. In the first place, they are the group that is most easily reached and exploited by the Reds, the most ignorant, the most bitter against society, the most excitable. Without them to-day the Red menace would be almost microscopic. But they also are a steady and terrific drag upon that prosperity which is the best of all cures for unrest and revolution. And the drag is not only the hun- dreds of millions of dollars that they take or send abroad every year, it is their levy on the wage funds which should go to American workers. It is impos- sible that this nation should ever abolish poverty in its own homes when it opens its door to all the hungry and helpless of the world, and shares with them the food and raiment belonging to its own people. To meet this alien danger the deportation of a few Reds, however much it may aid in checking their propaganda, is of small importance. But as has been said, Labor fully sees this menace and there is every likelihood that the dam the war erected against the incoming tide will stay in place. WEAKNESS THAT TURNS TO STRENGTH Then there remain the weaknesses which are as fundamental to a democracy as its strengths; irreso- lution, divided counsels, political cowardice. With all the speeches and investigations and reports on the Red menace, Congress talked for two years about new laws, but passed none. For more than a year our pub- 368 LABOR AND REVOLT lie machinery seemed powerless — it did not get into action. Someone has defined a politician as "a man who finds out which way the crowd is going, and then runs with loi^d whoops in that direction." This is a libel on our politicians as a class, yet it expresses a situation in our politics which is inevitable. If our representa- tives are to represent us ,they must first know what we want, and that often involves waiting till we find out ourselves. We do not tolerate that they should be real leaders, deciding in advance of public opinion. An American must be a politician before he can become a statesman, and the necessity of administering affairs with one eye, at least, always on the popular state of mind, often produces an appearance of cowardice that is hardly justified by the fact. This very attitude of our politicians will be an asset the moment the country, as a whole, has decided what shall be done with and to the Reds, and what shall be the attitude toward Labor. In fact, action need not wait for the whole country: when the farmers have decided, they will tell their Congressmen about it, and then we shall have action instead of speeches, and laws instead of exhortations. The action and the laws may or may not be wise, but they will involve imnje- diate and painful consequences alike to Red agitators and over-grasping labor leaders. In spite of its obvious weaknesses, the strength of Democracy has proved an amazing thing throughout history, and a stumbling block to pure logic, on which THE ARMAMENT OF DEMOCRACY 369 many near-wise men have broken their shins. Tiny Greece subduing the Orient, tinier, Rome, conquering the world, microscopic Switzerland defying her pow- erful neighbors through centuries of aggression; these things stand out as miracles. The centralized state, the weapon swung with a single mighty hand, should by all reason be the great instrument of power ; against it the disorganized, hesitating, nose-counting Democracy should not be able to stand. Yet it does, and will. Those who see in the present challenge, whether from Labor or from Revolution, a menace greater than America can meet, are forgetting the might of the commonwealth that shelters us. CHAPTER XXI THE RED DANGER The optimism of the Reds — The ever-receding Revolution— The real number of the revolutionists — Greatest danger in effect on Labor — The menace of the general strike — How society can meet it — The British organization — The Winnipeg citizens' organization — The weaknesses of revolution: dis- unity, poor leadership, ingrowing distrust, emotional effect of defeats — The possibility of a sudden conflagration. There is a pleasing and persistent optimism about some of the Reds that defies experience. To them the Revolution is always just around the corner. "The irrestible onward march of the proletariat," "the immanence of freedom," "the immediate fulfillment of the destiny of the workers" — ^phrases like these have real meaning to them. There were no less than eight different movements during 1919, which, to these hopeful souls, were to usher in the great change. There was the Seattle strike, then the Winnipeg strike, then the general strike in behalf of Mooney, then the European gen- eral strike in behalf of Russia, which was to spread to this country; then the Omaha strike which did not occur, then the steel and the coal strikes and finally Lenin's general European revolt on November 7. 370 THE RED DANGER 371 Each was to be the spark that would start the con- flagration. Most of the Reds had private hopes of their own besides. One New York enthusiast in April predicted a Soviet government in Albany by July. Others, espe- cially of the Communist party, expected great things when their strength was demonstrated at the Novem- ber election. All were hopeful of revolutions in Europe, at least, and ever-advancing dates were set for the proletarian revolts in Italy, France, Spain-r- particularly Spain, and Britain. The dates for these events are even now being whispered in inner circles, but they are different dates from those current three months ago, and they will change again between the time this is Written and the time it is read. There is a time honored story, once in general use among spell-binders who wished to disparage the strength of their opponents, but lately dropping out of employment. It concerns a farmer who offered to sell to a hotel a thousand pairs of frogs' legs. When he finally delivered only six, he explained that he had estimated the population of his dewpond by the noise ! It would seem that the ranidian songsters must esti- mate their own numbers in much the same way, for when the Communist party, after much disturbance and a revolution inside the Revolution, finally got their noses counted at an election in Buffalo, there were fewer than 500 of them. Even they reluctantly admitted that the government was unshaken by this demonstration, but their hopes are not abated. 372 LABOR AND REVOLT THE VAGUE CENSUS OF DISCONTENT What is the real strength of the Revolution? It is hard to estimate. The Socialists have polled nearly 150,000 votes in a New York election, and some 590,000 in the national election in 19 16, but this was under the war stress, when malcontents of all kinds, and especially pro-Germans, were voting under the Socialist emblem. The Socialist Labor vote has never reached 30,000. On the other hand, the great proportion of Revolutionaries in America who are aliens, do not show in votes. A better means of measurement is in the member- ship of the revolutionary organizations. The Social- ists claim about 300,000; the I. W. W. a million, the Socialist Labor Party and the Communists only a few score thousand each. There are over-lappings among these and considerable inflation. It is doubtful if the actual enrollment of Reds in America touches the mil- lion mark. But, on the other hand, there are many sympathizers with Revolution who have not joined any of these or- ganizations, either from prudential or economic rea- sons, and there are many more who soon would join if they saw the movement gather strength. With them must be counted, if an actual revolt ever starts, all the dregs of the population who would join in the hope that disorder and violence would give them a chance for license, rape and pillage. Altogether, a well-informed intelligence ofificer estimates that the THE RED DANGER 373 Revolution might muster some five millions, but this is merely a guess, and he said he would be surprised if it could be proved correct within a million. Five million people, if we accept this guess, even though they number but one in twenty-two of our population, make a formidable force, and one that could provoke all kinds of trouble. But, as has been shown, the actual danger of armed revolt, of revolt that could seize and hold for more than a few hours, a city, a state, or the nation, is negligible. Hideous bloodshed and great destruction might be provoked, and may be, but not Revolutiom Of course, no body which is so largely alien can wield any great power in politics, though the Social- ists continue to elect an occasional Congressman, and carry an occasional city. The real danger from the Revolution, as it exists to-day, is in its effect on Labor, and its operation through Labor for "direct action" industrially, cul- minating in the general strike. Great mischief has been done already, both in sabotage which is almost beyond reach of the law and in strikes which are en- tirely legal, however unjustified. The important men- ace is in the general strike, in a city, an industry or the nation. society's undefended flank Here the Revolution would attack a most vulner- able spot. The machinery of industry and of the sup- 374 LABOR AND REVOLT port of society has become so complex, so involved, that even a minor disarrangement \is serious. Each of us now depends so wholly on others for comfort and life itself, that if the channels can be choked for even a few hours great suffering will follow. If the Revolution can win the support of Labor, the stoppage cannot be prevented. No power can force men to worki If the danger comes it must be handled and met in some other way. The resources of society listed in the preceding chapter show that this can be done if those resources are called into action promptly and efficiently. The power of counter-organization and the labor reserves in the "white collar" groups can meet the strain if they are used. Britain showed how this could be done in the 1919 railway strike. The organizations formed for war service were remobilized, motor trucks were pressed into service, volunteers manned the throttles and the switches, and traffic moved — if not as usual, kt least well enough to prevent starvation and avoid disaster, and finally to break the strike. It was a per- fect demonstration of the latent power of society to care for itself. A similar demonstration, on a minor scale, was given in Winnipeg during the strike there. For about six weeks there was hardly a "worker" who turned over his hand in that city. All the fundamental duties of safety, food, communication and sanitation fell on the "white collars." They not only did the work but did it well, in some cases better than before, though THE RED DANGER 375 at the cost of the complete stoppage of their own activities. They did it through organization. A Citizens' Com- mittee of One Thousand was formed as soon as the strike was called, and its directors were in session practically 24 hours a day. To them all citizens re- ported, and through them all duties were assigned. They gathered the city's motor cars, inventoried its food, registered its manhood, and met all emergencies. Business men swept the streets and gathered garbage while their wives plugged the telephone switchboards. Bankers delivered groceries. Editors set their own type. Every automobile became a public vehicle. Hotel managers and owners stood behind their own desks and carried bags for their guests. All the city services, including the mail, were handled. The city suffered, but it did not starve. Whether a great American city could meet such a situation so well is doubtful, not because of lack of resources, but because of lack of organization to bring these resources into play. It would take a tremendous system of auto-trucks to supply New York, for ex- ample. The thing is possible — automobiles supplied the great army in Verdun with everything needful during the months of the German assault — but behind it there must be a great and efficient management. New York's stored supplies would hardly last a week, her milk would give out within 48 hours. The ability of the city to meet the emergency would be measured in that time. It is hardly to be hoped that officials 376 LABOR AND REVOLT could move so quickly, and in Winnipeg it was lEe citizens, and not the officials, who saved the city. The general strike, then, remains one of the forms of Revolutionary menace against which America has prepared no adequate defense, but can prepare one. revolution's own weaknesses The growth of revolutionary spirit in the future is beyond prophecy. Everything that tends to discon- tent and unrest will aid it. Everything that tends to prosperity and security will help render it impotent. In the meanwhile there are certain weaknesses in- herent in the Revolutionary movement, which are in themselves a strong factor in favor of society. - First of these is its disunity. This is inevitable from the very nature of the minds that turn to Socialism and Anarchism. The disagreements which have been pushed into the background in the hope of immediate victory through unity are likely to break out at any moment; some have appeared already. The history of Radicalism in America is one long story of schisms in the organizations formed. It dates practically from 1872, when the International General Council, the controlling body of the International Working Peoples' Association, was transferred to New York from Europe at the suggestion of Karl Marx. In 1877 there was a split, and the Socialist Labor Party was founded. The International fell into the hands of the Anarchists. In 1881 a new association, the In- THE RED DANGER 377 temational Workmen's Association, was founded. The weakness of the^ movement is shown by the presi- dential vote in 1896, when the Social Democratic Party, the only Socialist party in the field, polled only 36,564 votes. In 1897 Debs founded the Social De- mocracy of America. In 1898 this party split, and the Social Democratic Party, the present Socialist Party, was formed. In 1905 the Industrial Workers of the World split off from the Social Democratic Party, and in 1919 the Communist Party split from the Socialist Party. And these are only the major schisms. Another weakness is in leadership. The Revolution counts the support of many clever men, and some strong ones, but of few who have that saving sense of balance which marks the true leader. Among the "in- tellectuals" there is in general a mental inability to grapple with facts, an optimism and a depression that are both extreme, and that destroy judgment. More than a few of them have been failures in handling their personal affairs. DISTRUST A Frankenstein's monster Moreover, the Revolutionary propaganda itself de- stroys faith in leadership. It must breed distrust of all men, and this reacts on its strength. Too often there are breaches of faith by men whom the Reds themselves trusted — ^the I. W. W. recently has been convulsed over charges regarding the alleged enrich- ment of some of its officers at the expense of the gen- 378 LABOR AND REVOLT eral treasury — and these throw suspicion upon all other leaders. Even the Reds, too, are capable of learning by ex- perience. The inevitable failures of most of the "schools of Revolution" in the Red strikes lose re-, cruits and weaken the organizations in the end. It will be a long time before there is another general strike in Winnipeg. The effect of that defeat went far toward checking similar demonstrations which had been planned for other cities. In the Michigan copper country, the scene just be- fore the war of a terrific struggle between the I. W. W. and Capital, the Reds in the present agitation have been driven out by the workers themselves, and-there has been less labor trouble than in any other section of the state. The disease, like yellow fever, produces its own serum, giving immunity from a second attack. BUT IF All these weaknesses must be discounted if the Revo- lution should once become a going concern. Then the contagion would spread," a^ in other countries, and sanity and prudence would be swept aside. All shades of belief would gather about the party which was in control, there would be no checking up of the leader- ship, past lessons would be forgotten. The forces that would be unleashed in such a time cannot be calcu- lated. To them the only answer would be force, and great force. THE RED DANGER 379 "We are perfectly safe here — ^unless something breaks," a state labor commissioner writes. "Then, with all reverence, God only knows what will happen. Anything might!" What, then, is the menace of the Revolution? Certain trouble, past, present and to come ; disorder, violence and serious loss. But of actual and complete success of making America a Russia, practically none at present, unless through weakness and cowardice armed revolt should somewhere be permitted to make a start that would unloose chaos. The future depends on the justice and prosperity the nation can compass, and chiefly on the Labor organiza- tions. CHAPTER XXII THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK The lack of nutrition in owl's milk — ^Labor demands that must be met — Labor's political power, its menace and the cure — The hope of increased prosperity — Changes in distribution not enough — Means of swelling production — ^The price of in- dustrial security — Democracy in industry — The margin of time. A CERTAIN labor agitator was holding forth on the need of high wages and short hours to a small and meek audience in the smoking compartment of a Pull- man running out of Washington one evening. Labor must have both, he said, and suggestions that Labor should increase production were met with a fine and lofty scorn. After some time a person who appeared to be a stock farmer rose from his corner, knocked the dottle from his pipe, and pointed the stem at the orator, "More pay and less work," he growled. "You fel- lows are aiming to live on owl's milk. It won't be long till you're all hootin'. Neither you nor anybody else can live on what ain't there." The farmer's simple simile tells the danger that lies behind the Labor Giant's attitude to-day, as previous chapters have tried to show. 380 THE LABOR-ALARM-CLCOK 381 That attitude contains the germs of infinite dis- aster. What are the chances of these germs sprouting, of that disaster taking place? What effects may we expect from Labor's growing power? What re- sources exist to meet the demands for shorter hours, higher wages? What hope is there that Labor itself will curb its appetite? In short, what is the prob- ability of the nation's escaping the bankruptcy toward which too high wages and too little production would drive it? The real menace of Revolution in the future will depend on the answers to these questions. It has been seen that Labor is not revolutionary to-day, that it is in fact the first of the forces that are opposing Revo- lution. But it has been seen also that if, at some future time, the economic miseries of bankruptcy fall upon America, whether or not it is through Labor's fault, the dam will break. And it will break, too, if at any time Labor loses the hope of steady and fairly rapid improvement in its condition under our present system. Labor must gain steadily but not too fast, if we would not have it turn to the Red panacea sooner or later. VITAL NEED OF MORE PROSPERITY Practically every demand that Labor makes to-day involves in the end higher wages. Profit shar- ing, political power, various forms of collective bar- gaining, demands for a share of the control of the in- 382 LABOR AND REVOLT dustrial plants, the Plumb schemes, even shorter hours — all are based on the hope that through them Labor will be more prosperous. The influence from the Rev- olution that can be traced most definitely in Labor's attitude is the belief that wages should be much higher than they possibly can be. There is no question that wages are high, that they will be higher, and most important, that they must remain high. Labor will not go back to a lower standard of living without a fight of justified despera- tion. Labor cannot be asked to bear the weight of the war cost, and of the financial blundering that went with it, by sacrificing itself, its wives and children in the period while the inflation is leaking out of the business situation. Labor must have its share of the general prosperity which has brought on the orgy of spending in which America is now indulging. To re- fuse this to Labor would be neither just nor safe. Moreover the demand for a "living wage" , for the most unskilled worker has come to stay, however long it may take us to realize it; the demand for a wage that will "insure the sustenance of the worker and his family in health and reasonable comfort." What ex- cuse can there be for an industry that does not serve the public enough to be able to support its workers de- cently? "" THE DILEMMA OF INDUSTRY But with all this the deadline on wages must be maintained; they must not be permitted to pass the THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK 383 point where they can be paid from Labor's fair share of its product. This then is the dilemma in which American industry finds itself : that for justice, safety and humanity it is required to pay wages which are be- yond its present power. It is this that is causing the alarm among employers, and among the more far- sighted of the general public. This alarm is increased by the fear that Labor's growing power in industry, and particularly in poli- tics, will give it the means of enforcing any demands, however unreasonable and destructive. Labor so far has been blind, at best short-sighted, and has used its power to force up wages and curtail production without regard to the general welfare, or the danger of ultimate catastrophe. There seems little hope that Labor itself will show enough self-restraint to insure the future. POWER WILL FORCE RESPONSIBILITY Labor's growing political power need not be taken too seriously, however. It can and will be met under the methods already provided in our system of govern- ment as soon as the nation comes to a realization of danger, and there are rumblings indicating that this realization is coming fast. The big strikes of 1919 went far toward alarming the nation, and Labor, how- ever powerful a minority it may be, cannot resist the majority when the majority is aroused. Such laws will be passed as may seem necessary, and with them the danger will diminish. 384 LABOR AND REVOLT There is a limit to the power of law. It cannot compel a man to work, and hence it has been argued, it cannot prevent strikes. It would be almost impos- sible to arrest hundreds of thousands of men, and if they were imprisoned they would still not be working, and the strike would be as effective as ever. But in fact the power of arrest often has stopped strikes, or prevented them, and other powers of the government can be called upon for aid. During the coal miners' strike there were not less than half a dozen instances of men returning to work when the leaders were ar- rested. The New York express teamsters wilted before a threat to man their wagons with soldier-drivers. So even the limitation on the power of the law is not complete. The proposal that Congress protect the public against Labor aggression naturally raised a storm of protest from Labor itself. The plan was declared un- constitutional, an invasion of freedom, and what not. Yet the same arguments were shouted when the pro- posal for the regulation of combinations of Capital was first made. Labor, too, will have to submit in the end, as Capital did. Neither the Constitution nor freedom have ever, in the belief of America, given any man or body of men a right to exploit or coerce the general public. This is what Labor claims, though Labor itself helped us teach Capital that there is no Constitutional right to take the public by the throat. It may safely be predicted, too, that Labor will be forced to accept legal responsibility for its acts. It THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK 385 would be unthinkable that a corporation should claim the right, and should actually have and use the power, to inflict great damage on the public and on indi- viduals, and yet should demand complete exemption from the law, from any possibility that it might have to pay for unlawful damage or suffer for injury it caused to the public. It will, in time, be as unthink- able that a union should claim such a right. SUPREME RIGHTS OF THE PUBLIC There are certain very large bodies of workers which in time will be forced to accept the principle which has been applied in law to the great public utilities — that the public interest comes first. They cannot be perpjitted to strike. These groups include policemen, firemen, postal employes, and other civil servants whose jobs are actually a public trust. With them there will probably be classed the workers on transportation systems, on public utilities like the tele- phone and telegraph and lighting services, and in in- dustries like that of coal mining. All these workers serve the public far more than they serve individual employer. America has decided that Capital so em- ployed must accept certain responsibilities and it will not permanently exempt Labor which is similarly em- ployed. Another form of the exercise of Labor power which an awakened public opinion will not tolerate is the political strike, the misuse of the strike power to force public or governmental action, such as the strike the 386 LABOR AND REVOLT railway brotherhoods threatened on behalf of the Plumb plan. It is obviously intolerable in a democ- racy. Many good lawyers believe that such strikes can be reached under the law as it now stands, the law against criminal conspiracy which so often has been successfully invoked against combinations of Capital which gouged the public without violating any specific statute. To meet the injustice which may be inflicted by refusal of the right to strike — and that possibility is very serious, as recent treatment of civil servants proves — ^there will have to be constructed some special machinery through which the workers so handicapped can be certain of fair play. That machinery has not yet been invented, and in proportion to the success which is made in insuring its prompt action and fair- ness, will be the willingness with which Labor accepts restrictions on its power. Labor will help in con- structing that machinery, and it is one of the problems of the immediate future in which Labor's fitness for power will be severely tested. So the power which Labor will exercise in our gov- ernment need not be greatly feared. 'America has seen many minority powers dominant, and will doubt- less see others. Each has been guilty of sins, each has contributed some good, we have prospered and grown under them all. Labor probably will be neither the best nor the worst of them, and our lumbering political machinery provides the means for a cure if Labor's sins become excessive. THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK 387 THE DANGER OF BANKRUPTCY The economic danger will remain, the danger that Labor's demands will be such that if they are granted they will bring bankruptcy, and if they are refused they will bring Revolution. There are obviously two ways of meeting this danger, by inducing Labor to reduce its demands, or by increasing our prosperity — our production — ^to the point where those demands can be satisfied, at least measurably. Of the first possibility it should be remarked that Joshua is the only man on record who made the sun stand still. Labor's demands are in their essence just, normal, fundamental and healthful — ^in many ways they are an alarm-clock, giving notice of serious ills in our industrial system which must be corrected. It it in the expression of those demands, in too great haste and too great greed, in short-sightedness and lack of education, that the trouble lies. There is every possibility of modifying this expression, limiting the immediate aims, if fairness and honesty be brought along with the facts into conferences with Labor. But it may be assumed that Labor's demands always, and very properly, will crowd and hurry industry to- ward greater progress. The real defense against Labor unrest, now and always, will be in this economic progress, which means in steadily increased production. There is little possibility of relief through changes 388 LABOR AND REVOLT in our system of distribution of wealth. Such changes must come, and are coming, but they are and must be, too slow to aid much in the immediate crisis. As has been shown, too, when they are all made, the result will be too slight to meet the demands. SMALL EFFECT OF GREAT INJUSTICES The changes to be made in distribution are, in fact, far more important for the effect they will have on the beliefs and spirit of Labor, than they can pos- sibly be in cash results. Our distribution is now prob- ably the worst in the world — certainly nowhere do fortunes grow with such startling suddenness. Yet proof that this fact, however serious, is not vital is seen in the balancing fact that Labor here is from two to five times as prosperous as in other countries. In one thing only does it seem likely that much is to be accomplished by an attack on wealth, and even this will produce more in the way of the attainment of Democracy and in progress toward equality of opportunity than in cash benefits to Labor. That is in the limitation of inheritances by law in such a way that there can be no transmission of industrial power. The inheritance of priestly, military and political power has been gradually eliminated, and Labor has at least the force of successful analogy behind its de- mand that it should not be possible for a man who has not earned it to rule the destinies of thousands through his inherited control over their work. THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK 389 THE widow's cruse — PRODUCTION So all the possibilities from better distribution are inadequate to the need. Not so with the possibilities of increased production ; they are almost infinite. The last fifty years have seen our average prosperity more than doubled — the next can as easily see it quadrupled. The same forces which have been at work for us in the past half century will remain at their tasks, and in increasing our economic welfare they will outweigh ten-fold any possible reforms in distribution. Something of their possibilities may be judged from the past. We have not yet begun to use the latent resources of the Taylor system, for instance — the system that by gauging the strength of men to their tasks multiplied their power. At Bethlehem, follow- ing Taylor's experiments, ten different types of shovels were substituted for the single one that had been in use, each of the new ones calculated to lift just 21 pounds of the material in which it was to be used. The result was that 120 men did the work of 500. His study and elimination of waste motions enabled 30 masons to outstrip 100. Here alone is a method that when generally used will increase Labor's earning far above anything that could be gained from absolutely equal distribution. Nor have we begun to employ the resources of modern psychology. There is limitless waste from the square pegs in round holes, and science is begin- ning to tell us how to select human pegs. Barely 390 LABOR AND REVOLT enough of this has been done to show what lies beyond. Such tests were applied in a shop where 120 girls were rolling ball bearings ox\ the backs of their hands and picking out the defective ones with a magnet. As a result of careful weeding 35 girls did all the work, with two-thirds greater accuracy, in shorter hours and at more than double wages. These tests also found what the abilities of the other girls were and set them at work which in the end made all more pros- perous. There is, too, the greater efficiency which comes with prosperity, with the chances given the worker to release his suppressed ambitions and desires, with the waning of the economic fears which have made the lives of workers a nightmare, with the better food and shelter and recuperative amusements. The very fact that there is discussion as to whether or not shorter hours increase production testifies to the power of these gains in producing further gains. There are also great advantage to be won from more efficient management. Incalculable time is now lost in all but the best shops through faulty routing of work, delays in sending up material to the machines, and similar errors. There has been a great wave of reform in these matters, but the results have not yet reached a quarter of what they might. Finally there are the physical sciences. A student in a laboratory learns how to make tungsten ductile, and the electric light bill of the world is cut two- thirds. An engineer develops a system of controlling THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK 391 all brakes on a long train from the engine, and the speed of our traffic is doubled. We can no more guess what the next ten years can bring forth than our ancestors could have foreseen the locomotive or the telephone. Yet there can be no doubt that the future is as full of inventions as the past, and that each will contribute its share toward our prosperity, and thus toward our safety against dangerous agitation. SETTING LABOR FREE TO WORK Chief of all the factors that can enable us to in- crease production, however, is Labor itself, and here, as has been shown. Labor itself stands squarely in the way. But Labor's stand is based upon a series of historic and present injustices which go far toward excusing, if they do not quite justify its stand. To induce Labor to change its attitude America must pay a price, and it may well be called the price of industrial security. It is easily stated and almost impossible of complete attainment and is this: Labor should be assured that it will receive, always and of right, its fair share of all that it produces. It is to this end that industrial reforms should be aimed, for if this is even approximated we may ex- pect from Labor such an increase in its turn-out as will give to it and to all of us prosperity and to spare. Labor trouble would drop to a minor annoyance, and the danger of class-revolution would vanish utterly. 392 LABOR AND REVOLT To secure this, it need not be said, is a colossal task. Much may be done by the individual employer, espe- cially toward decreasing resentment, but no real solu- tion can come in this way, since however desirous an employer may be of justice to the workers, he is handicapped by competition with others who are quite sure to have no scruples. If he cannot meet them he must go out of business, and if he does meet them, usually, he cannot be just and much Jess generous. None of the various schemes which have been at- tempted for assuring Lafcor its share have been en- tirely successful. Profit-sharing seemed to promise much, but it has been found that Labor comes to con- sider its annual slice of profits a part of its contract wages, and that when a lean year forces a reduction of that slice it protests as at a cut in wages. More- over, and this is fundamental, it imposes on the worker a share of the losses of bad management, over which he has no control, and gives benefits or losses depending on his luck in working for a prosperous firm. Nor does the worker trust the employer's state- ments of the facts. The bonus system has done better in stimulating production, but it has been impossible to give it a fair test so far, since Labor holds to its attitude that stimulation of any kind results in decreasing the amount of work left for others to do, and that fast work is a kind of class-treason. THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK 393 DANGERS IN LABOR-CAPITAL ALLIANCE The sharing by Labor in the actual control of the industry in which it works is now coming to the front and has great possibiUties but it has hardly been tried, and indeed before there can be any great hope in co-management both Labor and employer need much education, if not a re-birth. Moreover, unless this brings increased production it will become only a form of joint robbery of the public, and therefore a pur- chase of present industrial peace at the price of future disaster. In fact it is no answer to the present .problem when Capital and Labor get together and pacifically agree to fleece the public. We have seen a good deal of that. The situation in one great industry, where prices have risen far beyond those in any other, re- flects such a "community of interest." The electro- typers in New York recently took such complete con- trol of their employers that they actually dictated a new scale of prices to customers, and pocketed the proceeds. The danger of such a solution in the coal trade, following the miners' strike, was so great as to cause the resignation of Dr. Garfield, the Federal Fuel Administrator, who saw no possible outcome other than the further exploitation of the public. This form of solution simply gives one body of workers an advantage over all the others, and reduces the chances of a final successful adjustment. 394 LABOR AND REVOLT POSSIBILITIES OF A SOLUTION It seems, however, that it is along the line o£ joint control that this solution is most likely to be foutid, since with all its dangers it will give to Labor not only- assurance of sharing fairly in the product, but also that independence and self-respect which are neces- sary to met the spiritual qualities underlying the present unrest. It was foreseen nearly three-quarters of a century ago by John Stuart Mill, when he wrote: The form of association, however, which, if mankind con- tinues to improve, must be expected in the end to pro- dominate, is not that which can exist between a capitalist as chief and work-people without a voice in the management, but the association of the laborers themselves on terms of equality, collectively owning the capital with which they carry on their operations and working under managers selected and removable by themselves. That we are still far from this goal has not de- tracted an iota from the force of this prediction. Whatever the solution or solutions may be, what- ever system may be devised that will give Labor the assurances under which it will produce as much in- stead of as little as it can, they will have to be backed by legislation in order to assure equal conditions for all employers, and equal work for given pay. Here again will come a constructive programme which Labor, through its legislative and political power, will have a hand in shaping, and in which its leadership will be tried. THE LABOR ALARM-CLOCK 395 Fortunately there is time for the solution of these problems, though recent troubles prove how expen- sive each day's delay is, and will be. The great dangers from Labor's attitude, however, are of slow growth; unless there is actual Revolution it will require many years for the most grasping of policies to reduce the resources of America to the vanishing point, and those years are available for the sane-and just working out of the necessary reforms — ^those reforms which the Revolution so intelligently fears. TEMPORARY DEFENSES ARE AMPLE While all these slow-moving changes are coming about society always has as an immediate defense the same safeguards against undue Labor aggression that it has against Revolution — organization and force. The former is the orderly and democratic offset to the power oi labor organization, whether in industry or politics. We have to-day organizations to repre- sent many interests — there are more than seventy such bodies, each with its particular desires and fears, with headquarters at Washington to influence legislation. But there is none for the greatest group of all — the consuming public. It depends for its service on the chance and often uninformed spirit of officials. If it could make its need and demands known these offi- cials would listen most attentively; and of its own power it can protect the public against possible misuse of power by Labor. 396 LABOR AND REVOLT For the use of force against Labor there is seldom excuse. It is a terrible and temporary expedient, tiding over a crisis at enormous cost, for it cures nothing and teaches nothing, and leaves a wake of hatred and fear that will in time collect from society a heavy bill. The dangers from the labor movement, then, are three: over-power, over-pay and under-production. And the chief of these is under-production. For the first there are adequate safeguards, it must be met, but need not be feared. The second and third need the same cure, an increase in production. Both are al- ready upon us, but the full bill for their evil con- sequences will be slow in coming, and we have time and means for a cure before it falls due. If, however, we fail of that cure, we must then face all the evils that we and that Labor now feats and more: the danger of national bankruptcy and of a Revolution of desperation. CHAPTER XXIII PROGRESS UNDER PRESSURE A plea for the Reds — ^Evils that lead to Revolution an inherit- ance of centuries — ^An excuse for the "intellectual zealots" — The great purpose and movement behind Labor's errors — The wide need of education and counter-propaganda — The price of security more complete civilization — No need to fear result — Final outcome certain to be progress. I CANNOT bear to close this book without saying a vrord in behalf of those against whom it is directed — my friends and enemies, the Reds. Dangerous they all are, and many rabid, yet it is impossible to know them without coming to the realization that they are themselves a symptom of social disorder and not the real ailment of Civilization. Vicious as their form of protest is, deadly as the cure they propose, they nevertheless show a real sickness which needs real remedy. They must be checked, by force if neces- sary, but to suppress them without listening to their complaints would not only be unjust, it would leave a seed pregnant with future disaster. To see the Revolution in America as it really is, to get the understanding which will enable us to reach its roots, we must look beyond the surface that shows here, back to the desolate peasant hovels and the 397 398 LABOR AND REVOLT festering slums of Europe. It is there that the Revo- lution is born of masses of human beings starving, freezing, ground to fragments, desperate. If in America we do not find it suffering these things, yet it does suffer even here, and its sufferings are seen through minds dwarfed and twisted by the ages of oppression, and obsessed with the fears which those ages have made instinct. Such minds cannot truly weigh causes and effects, they cannot discern remedies. To such minds any theory that offers salvation to all the world they know and safety to themselves, becomes religion. And who can blame them if, when they see here as great ostenta- tion of wealth as that which ground their fathers, and are splashed in the gutters as their fathers were with the mud thrown by the wheels of riches, they transfer to America the hatreds and rancors of their birth places ? "The masses," sneered Renan, "do not count; they are a mere bulk of raw material out of which, drop by drop, the essence is extracted." "The people, sir," declared Hamilton, "the people is a great beast." We have learned better now, but such these Reds* fathers were considered, and as such they were treated. Even in America most of them lack the wit to reach out and take the opportunities offered, and so here they still suffer, partly through our fault, but chiefly through their own. Or rather through that of their fathers, who brought into the world more children than they could provide PROGRESS UNDER PRESSURE 399 for and overcrowded the scanty table which Civiliza- tion spreads. Our fathers did not teach them better — but ours, too, knew no better. So the attempt to fix blame must go back and back, and is valueless. These people are here, and if it be said that there is no reason why we should inherit the ills of Europe, the fact remains that we undertook that burden, however heedlessly, when we opened the doors to its refugees. These people are here, they have suffered and suffer still. Fight and condemn them we must, for their sakes as well as our own, but there is no justification for hatred in our fighting. "intellectuals" in misfit education Even for the "intellectuals" there is something to be said. Many of them are the children of these un- fortunates, rushed mechanically through our schools, and now mentally dressed in an education that fits neither their emotions nor their instincts ; immigrants still, with their vocabulary swollen and their under- standing unchanged. Among them, too, are some Americans. A few are adventurers, either disregarding the truth, or not car- ing what truth is, but seeking excitement, notoriety, license. For them, for those who preach disruption for pay and for the hidden conspirators, there can be neither sympathy nor pity, and the deeper acquaintance with them grows, the deeper must be our detestation. But they are the minority. There are many others 40O LABOR AND REVOLT who are making hea'^ sacrifices without thought of self, who are of the stuff of which martyrs are made, zealots. These are people of deep sympathy and warm emotions — sympathy and emotions which are so deep and quick that they leave no time nor place for thought and judgment. To them the evils of to-day seem greater than they are, and the remedjring of them easier than a dream. They have dwelt so long with ideas that they cannot distinguish fact from thought; to them thoughts have the weight of truth, and facts can be argued out of existence. They have a sort of intellectual myopia, an emotional hypersemia. THE HIGH MISSION OF LABOR No plea should be necessary in behalf of Labor, for this book has been quite worthless if it has not shown that Labor is voicing demands which are based on justice, economic truth and high aspiration. Its move- ment is one of the big constructive and progressive forces of society, it must be governed, instructed and perhaps curbed ; but whoever would stop it is attempt- ing to deny to American citizens the right to progress, to ambition and to prosperity. Nor can there be any turning back of the movement for more than a brief time. Even in Australia, where the failures of labor government are becoming ap- parent and are generally recognized, there is no talk on either side of attempting retreat. Whatever the difficulties and danger along the forward path, they PROGRESS UNDER PRESSURE 401 must be faced, and if they lead even to revolutionary- changes in our social machinery — what then? The world has had many revolutions in its time; we in America are the beneficiaries of half a dozen. The results of revolution have been good except only when revolution has unloosed the horrors of the class-war. Barring that abomination we could doubtless stand another revolution and might be the better for it. ENLIGHTENMENT THE GREATEST NEED To cure the ignorance of the Reds and the excesses of Labor, and to guide us all in the progress which must eliminate the ills of which they complain, there remains that fundamental need and resource of De- mocracy — education. The wide recognition of this need is one of the most hopeful of contemporary signs. An education based on facts and truth alone, without bluff or pretense, will be a prompt specific. Under it even Socialism may become nothing more than an advance guard of progress, making experi- ments from which we shall all benefit, either in learn- ing new paths or in marking dangers. Such a campaign of education cannot be too broad. It must not only reach the children, and not only the alien; it must reach Capital and Labor and the gen- eral public. Labor must learn that it is being ex- ploited by the Revolution: Capital that its own ex- ploiters of Labor are its worst enemies, each more dangerous than a score of agitators. We must all 402 LABOR AND REVOLT learn the ■ fundamental laws of economics, the basic need of production and the pitfalls of social cure-alls, as we are learning the laws of health and the danger of panaceas. I have seen a man ride up to a way- side store, buy a bottle of patented liniment, rub half the contents on his horse's swollen shoulder, and drink the rest! Too many of us are still hoping that we may find the cure for all kinds of social ills in the same bottle. This education must include, too, the careful watch- ing and frank answering of propaganda, both that of the Hun and that of the Red. The country is afloat with it, and far too much of the counter-propa- ganda now being carried on fails to meet the argu- ments made. Perhaps some of it is afraid to, for there are certain true charges brought in the Red propaganda, charges which cannot be answered ex- cept by repentance and reform. To the Reds, and largely to Labor, failure to answer any charge is a confession of guilt; lying about it is even worse, and the man who in fighting such propaganda varies from the utter truth, either by distortion or suppression, is the Reds' best ally, for he undermines in a moment the work of a hundred honest fighters. There will always be those who oppose popular education — they are now fortunately few in America — on the ground that it breeds discontent, increases the demands of Labor, makes troubles. Doubtless it does, because increased knowledge has so far carried with it only too often an understanding of the unfair- PROGRESS UNDER PRESSURE 403 ness and injustice which have been permitted. But workers, even Revolutionaries, are much like folks, and when they know the full facts, and know that they know them, they may be counted upon to deal as justly as any can. There will always be attempts to get a little more than the fair share, but that is not a fault copyrighted by Labor, and such attempts are without force and without danger. THE NATION S BALANCE-SHEET To conclude : The dangers which America actually faces, both from Labor and from the Revolution, are very great and very real. From the Revolution itself disorder, violence, de- struction, but not Revolution in fact. The chance of that is so slight that those who urge revolt are guilty of a folly that can only be suicidal. From Labor waste, slacking, greediness, abuses of new-found power, but nothing that cannot be handled if with the intelligence which both sides must bring to the problems there goes an understanding desire to achieve justice, and when the understanding falls short, to bridge the gap with generosity. NO CURE EXCEPT MORE CIVILIZATION For the ills that spur both Labor and the Reds there is no panacea; the remedies are slow and prosaic — work, saving, experiment, reform. "The world's only 404 LABOR AND REVOLT salvation is work," declares Clemenceau, and that is the immediate need — ^but for the farther future the other elements are equally necessary. "We are still uncivilized in providing the machinery for industrial justice," Charles Evans Hughes told one of his audiences. The price of permanent security for the future, then, is the assurance of industrial justice — of more civilization. And with the assurance must go the knowledge on which the workers can base accurate judgment that it is justice they are getting. The ■ formula is easy to state— its working out will be the problem for our best brains for a generation. In the meanwhile the preachers of panic may be assured that America will not die of fear. General Sherman complained that he had "suffered from many disasters, most of which never happened." And America has taken the lesson of that epigram to heart only too well. It is much more likely to fail to fore- see those dangers that are immanent. To fear the result of the present unrest is to show a basic distrust of Democracy, for our Democracy is founded on the idea of fundamental and equal justice to all, and its whole development has been in the working out of that idea into practical uses. It is in proportion as we have failed to reach our ideal that our present troubles have come upon us, and as our failures are corrected the troubles will vanish. There can be no doubt of the result. It will bring great advances in justice, in equality, in security, and PROGRESS UNDER PRESSURE 405 in the spreading of that culture and refinement for which prosperity must be the foundation. For such things America can well afford the price of present distress and danger, were they far more acute than they are. We, or at most our children, will have cause to be thankful for the agitations which have driven us from contented lethargy to new achieve- ments in civilization. THE ESCSk Date Due f. nn "J. 4««e«f«f^ l\\!MrfT 1-M0..U^ BRODART. INC. Cat, No, 23 233 F rinted in U S A HD 8076.F9 ™" ""'^'■'"V Library iiiLabor and revolt /