.G48 0°^ \» • .4 o . THE BALLOT BOX The policy of a nation is determined at the Ballot Box, not in the halls of Congress. BY KING C/GILLETTE, 'HOR OF THE HUMAN D^IFT." r:o»v,r -- t >5 N f \ 4S8 4 2 ^At/i ■ BROOKL1NE, MASS. Copyright, 18Q7, by King. C. Gillette. THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY PLATFORM. Resolved. — Progress and Humanity both demand the enactment of a National Government Em= ploy m en t Law, which shall become a per- manent and an integral part of the Con- stitutional Law of these United States. Said law to guarantee to the citizens of this Republic the opportunity to sell their labor to the government and to insure in payment therefor a sum not less than One Dollar and Fifty Cents per day of eight hours. THEREFORE Resolved. — That the Progressive Party vnll only amalgamate ivith such Party or Parties, and only support such candidates for Pres- ident, Vice-President and National Repre- sentative positions, as will advocate and de- mand the enactment of a National Govern^ ment Employment Law, ivhich will make it obligatory on the p art of the government to give employment to all of its citizens who may be in need of its bounty or protection, and guarantee in payment for such labor a sum not less than One Dollar and Fifty Cents for eight hours' work and thus in- sure the permanent prosperity and happiness of our people. THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY. The Progressive party is the party of the hour and has come into existence with a single purpose in view, and it hopes to see that purpose accomplished when the smoke of battle of our next presidential election has cleared away. It is composed of those who are tired and discouraged from deferred hope and who have lost faith and confidence in parties which are rich in promises but slow to cancel their obligations. The patience of the people is exhausted ; we now demand those rights which the Ballot Box alone can give, the opportunity to labor and the right to live. We do not ask for charity, we ask, as the majority have a right to ask, for the enactment of a radical, revolutionary and evolution- ary law which will make it obligatory on the part of the government to furnish employment to any of its citizens who may, by force of circumstances, be in need of its bounty or protection, and to guarantee in payment there- fore, a sum not less than one dollar and fifty cents per day of eight hours. To this end we appeal to every laboring man, every labor organization, and every citizen who loves his country and his fellow-men, to cast their votes for only such candidates and such party as will signify a determination to labor for the enactment of a Government Employment Law. It is not the purpose of such a law to draw labor from the industrial world — it is simply designed to absorb the overflow of labor. By so doing it would take away the ever present danger to those who are employed, and in consequence would raise wages. If a Government Employment Law should demand THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY an amount in excess of one dollar and fifty cents per day, the object of the law would be in a measure de- feated, as it would result in an unnecessary disturbance in the industrial field, for many who are now emploj^ed would then leave that employment to work for the government. This is not what is desired. We want to give work to those who are now idle, and if there are industries which pay less than one dollar and fifty cents for eight hours' work we want to compel them to raise the wages of such employees to one dollar and fifty cents or more. It should also be understood that one dollar and fifty- cents per day, as expressed by the proposed Govern- ment Employment Law, does not mean that all who would labor for the government would be obliged to work for one dollar and fifty cents per day. It means that one dollar and fifty cents per day would be the lowest price paid for labor by the government. The enactment of such a law would bring permanent and progressive prosperity to all our people, and to our country, and banish forever hard times and the curse of poverty. The platform is brief and to the point, and is addressed to all citizens without regard to creed, nation- ality, party affiliations, or position in the social or in- dustrial world. Let the light of the Progressive Party shine before men, so all may come within the circle of its radiance and truth. We will fight for humanity and point out the way to a higher and better civilization. A government that would stand back of every individual that was under its protection and give him employment in time of necessity. would he God's own government. Vote for a Government Employment Law. THE BALLOT BOX THE BALLOT BOX. TN these United States to-day, we stand face to face with a problem which demands and should receive the most thoughtful and careful consideration of every honest citizen. We should not jump at cou elusions or allow self-interest to swerve our judgment from the path of duty, that path being the greatest good to the greatest number. Let us reason together. On the one hand, we have a vast domain, limitless and boundless in its productive possibilities, which could, under favorable conditions of government, sup- port in luxury the population of the world. On the other hand, we have a population of only seventy million souls ; of these a large majority live from hand to mouth and in constant fear and dread of poverty, while mil- lions are forced by circumstances over which they have no control to remain in idleness and live on the charity of others, or starve. Why is it in this beautiful country of ours, which only needs the magic wand of intelligence to make it blossom like a rose and bring happiness and con- tentment to all, that millions are compelled to live in direst need ; and innocent children and heartbroken mothers are obliged to cry out in their distress and suffering, from want of the bare necessities of life ? Something is wrong, radically wrong, in the policy pursued, and in the management of governmental affaiis when such things can be. Individuals may differ in opinion, but the majority rules. Vote for a Government Employment Law. THE BALLOT BOX This condition of poverty is not of to-day or of yes- terday only, but has marched like a devastating plague through all the ages of the past. It is a disease of the body politic for which no remedy has ever been found. Every government, from its inception, has been inocu- lated with the virus of poverty, and all the crime and ills that follow in its wake, and, like many diseases, it runs its course and eventually destroys. We search down the long vista of ages for inspiration, for some precedent to guide our future actions, but like a fleeting mirage we see the rise and fall of government after government, civilization after civilization. Not one can be found which had within it the element of continuous life. With slight variation, they all have the same history ; birth in poverty, rise to comparative wealth and contentment, then the fatal stage of disease when power, wealth, greed, avarice and corruption are opposed to the struggling and starving masses. It is then that the disease of poverty grows apace. The finale is always the same ; internecine war destroys the body politic and from its putrid corpse another government has its birth. No civilization has ever had good times ; poverty and misery have always been an ever present curse since the beginning of history. Times cannot be good when a single human being is allowed to suffer for life's ne- cessities, or when the education of a single child is neglected. This government is fast approaching the last stage of disease. Truth, honor and justice are trampled in L«et every labor organization in this country unite on a Government Employment Law, and the law will be as good as enacted. THE BALLOT BOX the mire. Greed, avarice and oppression are en- throwned in the hearts of tyrants, and the puppets of wealth sit in the halls of justice, subservient to the mas- ters who have placed them there, and all municipal, state, and national legislative bodies are dominated and controlled by capital. The contention between the powerful few and the poverty-stricken many becomes more bitter with each passing } T ear. Capital is in the ascendant, and its power radiates from the White House and from the halls of Congress. In this lies the danger of the near future, for the time must surely come when the few must give an accounting to the many. Capital is drunk with success and power ; it has taken the bit between its teeth, and heeds not the yawning abyss which lies directly in its pathway. As matters are now drifting, every day sees these two mighty forces, Capital and Labor, further and fur- ther apart. Every day sees new strength added to their mutual hatred and distrust of each other; they have not the first interest in common ; they are natural enemies. Capital has wealth and power, and wants more. Labor is a slave to its necessity. To deliberately blind ourselves to these facts, or to cowardly brush them aside with impatience or without reason, is both suicidal and a crime. We must face the problem of Capital and Labor and we must solve it, else this government, like others, must be destroyed by internal disruption, the result of increasing oppression and poverty. Bribery is not confined to the direct purchase of votes. Bribery is any form of influence that has for a basis self-interest when opposed to the interest of the people. THE BALLOT BOX The problem is a plain one. Can we reconcile Capital and Labor on a basis of equity that will satisfy both ? Yes, we can. What is it Capital demands ? Simply the right to ac- cumulate and centralize capital and industry without limit and without interference. What is it Labor de- mands ? Simply the guaranteed opportunity to labor ; the means whereby to honestly earn their bread. We can give both what they demand by the enact- ment of a Government Employment Law. Such a law will guarantee work to the laboring man, and to Capital it will guarantee immunity from interference in the centralization of industry, for the cry of the masses against centralization and the consequent nar- rowing of the field of labor, under present conditions, would be overcome by the enactment of a Government Employment Law. Go to the Ballot Box : Capital and Labor : both vote for a Government Employment Law. If we desire to avoid internal conflict and have good times and per- manent prosperity, we must take a more radical step than the superficial repairing and tinkering of the pres- ent political machine, which has been going on at cross purposes between Republican and Democratic parties for the past twenty years, without any appreciable better- ing of the condition of the people. We must make a decided departure from present methods, we must inocu- late the whole political machine with common sense. We must make it impossible for a man to say I can- not get work. If we desire to create a demand for the Brains were given a man to use. If he does not use thein some one else will. Use your brains at the Ballot Box. THE BALLOT BOX products of industry, we must first provide work for the people, so they will have money with which to purchase. Is it not strange that the wealthy and governing class do not see that their prosperity depends entirely on the prosperity of the laboring class? If the laboring class cannot find employment, or are cut down in wages, they cannot purchase the goods manufactured by the capitalist. The demand for prod- ucts of industry must necessarily fall off in proportion as 1/ labor is restricted in any tvay in its power to purchase. Cannot the wealthy class see that they must be the losers, unless some means is devised whereby those who are thrown out of employment can be provided for so they can earn money ? Under existing conditions, hard times must necessa- rily grow harder from year to year ; there may be spurts of activity but they will not be permanent or lasting. Centralization is an economic law, and economy in pro- duction means nothing more or less than that less labor is required to produce a given amount of product. This means a continual restricting of the field of labor, and by this process every branch of business suffers and will continue to suffer until the people decide to adopt the only recourse — the enactment of a Government Em- ployment Law, which will absorb the overflow labor of the productive field. The laboring people probably comprise four-fifths of our adult population. If they are all employed and earning good wages (the more the better), there must be a large demand for all kinds of products, and this When you hear a nian gruinbliug about the injustice of his lot, ask him if he uses his brains when he votes. Vote for a Government Employment Law. io THE BALLOT BOX would keep farmers, mills and workshops busy, and all branches of industry would prosper. The people would have money to spend, and they would spend it. To arrive at this point necessitates the enactment of a law which will become a part of our constitutional government, and which will be a departure from all prece- dent ; a law which will not be a reflection of past failures, but an inspiration of the present which will separate the future from the past for all time ; a law which will de- stroy the disease of poverty, and dissipate forever from the mind the dread of want, with all its attendant worry and anxiety. We desire and demand a law which will give to our body politic a soul, which will endow it with continuous life and the attributes of justice. It is the duty of every father and mother to guide the footsteps of their children, and to distribute their love and favor equally among them. On this same just prin- ' ciple, the government, which stands in the relation of parent to its numerous subjects, should distribute equal- ly its love and favor among those who are dependent on ^its protection. When all else has failed, our government should be a refuge to which we all could turn in da} T s of adversity I and misfortune, knowing that there we could find em- ployment and by honest toil escape the sting of charity and the misery of want. A law which will abolish poverty must be a good law. A law which lessens crime must be a good law. A law which benefits all and injures none must be a good law. A law which insures prosperity and continuous progress must be a good law. Demand such a law. Vote for such a law. A Government Employment Law. THE BALLOT BOX Causes of Periodical Depression and Hard Times. In this country to-day, upwards of two million men are out of employment ; not from choice, but from ne- cessity. Our cities, towns, villages and farming dis- tricts are overcrowded with those who are seeking work. Go where you will, East, West, North, or South, and you will find this hollow-cheeked and hollow-eyed army of woe ; no food except what they beg or steal, no clothes that are fit to wear, and no place to lay their weary heads except under the vault of heaven, or on a bed of charity. It is a mistake to think these people unworthy, for most of them are honest and would be industrious did opportunity offer. The majority of these men are capable of doing laborious work ; many are skilled artisans ; and many have wives and children dependent on them for support. This vast army of men who can find no sale for their brawn and muscle is not growing less from year to year, but is being swelled to greater proportions by constant increase to its ranks. The causes which operate to throw these men out of employment are the very causes which one would sup- pose would accrue to the benefit of the people, and which undoubtedly would were our government founded on a scientific basis, in accord with progress. These causes are : — No argument against a Government Employment Law can affect the people's power and right to enact such a law if the majority demand it at the Ballot Box. Vote for a Government Employment L.aw. THE BALLOT BOX / First : The rapid centralization of all branches of industry, which results in a great saving in the use of manual labor in producing a given quantity of product. Second : The invention of labor-saving devices and machines, which not only reduces the amount of labor required to produce a given quantity of product, but in many instances it takes the place of skilled labor. Third: Is the reduction in wages in every branch of industry, because of the increasing number who are out of work ; those out of work being used as a lever to reduce the wages of those employed. Fourth ; The decrease in the consumption of materi- als in consequence of the reduced wages, and the ina- bility of those out of employment to purchase. The first cause given, the centralization of production, is most potent in results, and other causes are but trib- utary to this first cause. None but those who have given this subject careful study have any conception of the rapidity with which this evolution in methods of production and distribution is going forward, or how, with each passing year, it compounds in ratio in its progress toward a common focus. I do not wish to go into figures here, but would refer any of my readers to the government statistics to prove that there is no one necessary manufacturing business in the United States to-day that is divided into as many individual plants as it Avas twenty years ago. This not only shows that the number of individual plants does Charity is a noble virtue, but would it not be better to give the idle employment, rather than foster mendicancy and beggary ? Charity should be confined to orphans, the aged, the sick, and then it should not be called charity, but a Divine right. Vote for a Government Employment Law. / THE BALLOT BOX 13 not increase in proportion to increase of population, but it shows they are all centralizing, either \>y a process of enlargement of established plants instead of increase in number of plants, or hy combinations in the form of trusts or agreements, or by actual absorption one by y another by force of competition. In fact, every sepa- rate branch of industry is centralizing, and the time must follow when centralized industries will in turn be absorbed by one central power. The power that is di- recting this evolution is not man, but the natural law of economy in production. Individuals are but parts of a stupendous whole which is moving forward with irresistible force. Legislation in opposition would be as ineffective as Avould be a feather in stopping the onward flow of the Niagara Rapids ; all that man can do is to accept the inevitable and provide for those who are but victims of a natural law. In this centralization process, competition becomes more and more severe as different branches of business near a focus. The small capitalist is absorbed or falls by the wayside, and it resolves down to a battle of giants for final supremacy and control. In this life and death struggle, no quarter is given, and every means is resorted to to economize in the cost and output of product, and all these economies, when followed to their source, mean saving of manual labor, and one of the most potent factors in this struggle is the lowering of the scale of wages paid for labor. So this process not only throws numberless people out of employment, but u Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." You are but a straw in the whirlwind of progress. If you are fortunate, be chari- table to others. Vote for a Government Employment Law. i 4 THE BALLOT BOX it reduces the wages of those who remain and thus re- stricts the power of the laboring man to purchase. The employer is not to blame for these results while the battle is on, for he is struggling to live, and to do so must meet competition at all hazards. The advantage which any centralized power ma)- take of the working man in matter of wages, or of the public in demanding an exhorbitant price for product which they control, has no relation whatever with the operation of the natural law which is centralizing production and tends to nar- roAv the field of labor. Such unfair advantage is only taken, and can only be taken, after the battle is over and competition has ceased, and a product is in the con- trol of one company. This is a separate matter, and can only be regulated by separate legislative action. The effects of these economic processes which are shown in the vast and rapidly increasing army of un- employed is deplorable, but the blame for this should not be laid at the door of individuals who are but parts of the machine of production and distribution, but at the door of our central government which should see the necessity and provide for those who are thrown out of employment. Who could have believed at the beginning of the century, that the millions of tiny rivulets of wealth were all flowing in obedience to a natural law toward a common focus ? Years pass b}% the tiny rivulets have met and made many mighty streams. Another period In our daily walks we rub shoulder to shoulder with crime, poverty and want, — is it any wonder we become hardened to suffering, our sympathies become blunted and we look with indifference on the misery around us ? Go to the Ballot Box. Vote for a Government Employment taw. THE BALLOT BOX i $ has passed, the streams have met and the torrent of wealth sweeps onward, and now at the close of the nineteenth century, we look back : the tiny rivulets have disappeared ; the mighty streams are being ab- sorbed and are rapidly assuming the aspect of an inex- haustible and overpowering flood beyond the power of man to control, which is sweeping everything before it in its onward rush toward final centralization. The natural law of gravity in either the mental, phy- sical or material world, always chooses the path of least friction in arriving at given results, and compounds in power and velocity as it draws nearer its objective goal. This law is persistent and continuous and cannot be ab- i/ rogated by any law of man, and must continue in the physical and material world of production, until econ- omy in production and distribution is reduced to a sci- ence and the point of least friction in producing a given amount of product is attained ; that point being a cen- tral control. This result cannot be avoided: it is the logical sequence of evolution in the world of production. The very men who have within their grasp the greatest power and the most wealth cannot check centralization. The death of one, ten, or ten thousand millionaires would not effect the general result. The power that is carry- ing forward centralization is separate and apart from man ; they are but drifting particles in the onward rush of the flood, and some are more fortunate in the piloting of their craft than others. This irresistible power is Economic Natural Law. At the Ballot Box any law which the majority demands can be made constitutional. Remember this, and goto the Ballot Box determined to be one of a majority who will demand the enactment of a Govern- ment Employment Law. 1 6 THE BALLOT BOX _ The great danger of the near future lies in the non- recognition of this natural law ; without such recogni- tion the division of the people into two opposing armies of concentrated wealth and concentrated poverty must bring this Republic to a destructive climax. The wealthy and intelligent representative classes should be the ones, who, for their own safety, the safet} r of their children, and the safety of the nation, should direct legislation in a channel which will make provision for those who are deprived of the means of earning a livelihood. There is absolutely only one remedy. The government must absorb the overflow of labor in the productive field, and employ this overflow in forwarding public improvements. We must and will have a Government Employment Law. We demand it. Power of the Government. It is right that centralization of production and dis- tribution should continue, hut unless the government makes some provision while the process of centraliza- tion is going forward, so the people may be held to- gether hj a common bond of interest, history will again repeat itself and the disease now gradually separating the body politic will have its usual fatal termination. The only safeguard is a Government Employment Law such as promulgated and advocated by the Pro- gressive Party. The profits of CAPITAL would be greater under high wages than low wages, for there would be an increased demand and a larger con- sumption of products of labor. THE BALLOT BOX 17 It may be argued that it is not within the province of the government to provide work for those who can- / not get work elsewhere. The answer to this is : That it is within the province of the government to do the will of the people, whatever that w T ill ma}^ be. The people are the government, and the majority can abro- gate any statute law that may seem to them inimicable to the public good, or place any law upon the statute books that may seem to them in the interest of human- ity. Progress demands continual change in laws to meet the requirements of an advancing civilization. A Government Employment Law could easily be made a fact within four years, were the majority to so deter- mine. If it is within the province of the government (that is the people) to hire a President, a Vice-President, Cabinet officers, Senators, Representatives, to carry on a postal business, etc., the people (that is the govern- ment) can also hire those who are out of work and can- not get work elsewhere. It is only carrying out the same idea into a necessary channel. To do this, the government can project such public works as may be sufficient to absorb those in need of its bounty or pro- tection. Taxation is the means now resorted to by the govern- ment to carry on its legislative functions. The same method of taxation extended could be made to bring in sufficient revenue to meet all the demands of the labor- Few people realize the power of a single ballot. It may be the balance of power which heralds a turning point in history, it may forge the links of slavery, or open the door to freedom. Think well before you go to the Ballot Box. THE BALLOT BOX ing class and give to our countiy vast and needed im- provements. If the government does not legislate so as to provide work for the unemploj-ed, what is going to be done with this increasing army of idle people ? No legislative tin- kering can keep pace with centralization, which is flying as straight as an arrow to a predetermined focus and continually changing methods of production and dis- tribution, and contracting the field of labor. Those who live by labor are a vast majority of our population. By labor I do not mean only those who wield the pick and shovel, but all those who work with either hand or brain, for a stipulated sum by day, week, or month, upon which they are dependent for life's ne- cessities. This great majority have it in their power, at the Ballot Box, to direct the policy of this nation, and could, at the next presidential election, sweep every State from Maine to California, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the British Provinces, on a platform which would demand the enactment of a dollar and fifty cents per day Government Employment Law. Let no other question cloud the horizon. Let it stand alone like the beacon which guides the ship safely through the narrow channel into the broad and peace- ful harbor beyond. All labor is a tax upon production, and all 6uch tax is an honest tax, for we get its equivalent iu return. The highest form of taxation upon the people as a whole is the support in idleness of those who cannot get work — here we pay a direct tax and get no equivalent return. Go to the Ballot Box. Vote for a Government Employment L,aw. THE BALLOT BOX 19 Government Employment Law. A Government Employment Law such as advo- cated by the Progressive Party would make it obliga- tory on the part of the United States Government to give employment to an}' of its citizens upon demand, and pay for such labor a sum not less than one dollar and fifty cents per day of eight hours. A citizen being under- stood to mean and apply to only those male members of our community who had arrived at the lawful age to vote. Such a law would act as a regulator of wages and of the supply of and demand for labor, and in these re- gards would be as sensitive as is the barometer in not- ing atmospheric changes. Under a Government Employment Law those who would be thrown out of employment by reason of over- production in any branch of the industrial field would be immediately absorbed by the government, and any increasing demand for labor in any branch of industry would draw its supply from those in the government employ. It can be readily understood that under this law one dollar and fifty cents per day of eight hours would be the lowest price paid for adult labor, and that all indus- trial employers would be compelled to pay this price or upwards in order to draw from the government supply. Such a law would guarantee to all our citizens the opportunity to labor, and raise the wages of every man, At the Ballot Box is waged a continuous civil war. To sell your conviction is to become a deserter, a renegade. Go to the Ballot Box free from shackles. 20 THE BALLOT BOX woman and child who is compelled to work, in every branch of industry. Such a law would banish poverty from our midst, and wipe out disease and millions of crimes of which poverty, deprivation and want are the active causes. Under such a law, hard times would disappear; pros- perity would be assured ; the opportunity for work would be guaranteed ; and the people could look with favor and equanimity upon the rapid centralization of industries, for this law would not in any way retard the natural law of economy, which is the power that is forc- ing centralization. Competition and struggle for su- premacy would continue as of yore, the only difference being that the lowest round of the ladder would be one dollar and fifty cents per day guaranteed, instead of poverty and misery. The government would have recognized the cause of hard times and poverty and applied the remedy. Such a law, while lifting the masses out of the depths of poverty, would in exact proportion increase the pros- perity and wealth of every plane of society. You can- not benefit the poor without benefiting the rich. Such a law would clip the claws of t} T rannical em- ployers, who take advantage of the necessities of the poor, in their competition for employment, to grind them down to starvation wages. Such a law would take away the depressing load of care, anxiety and worry, that weighs down the heart and Charity is a virtue. But the self-respecting and honest man does not ask for charity. He wants work so he may he independent and look the whole world in the face and say, " I earn my bread and my right to live." Go to the Ballot Box. Demand a Government Employment Law. THE BALLOT BOX makes cowards of men and woman when they try to read their future or the future of their children. Such a law would give an impetus to education and the advancement of civilization. Every individual would be benefited, and our Republic would rise to a height of intelligence, power, wealth and prosperity such as has never been dreamed of by the most Utopian of theorists. Such a law would give an impetus to every produc- tive industry. Farm products would be in greatly in- creased demand. Manufacturing establishments would be running full and overtime, and railroads would be taxed beyond their capacity to carry and distribute the increased product. Stocks, bonds, railroads and industrial securities would rapidly appreciate in value in consequence of increased earnings and dividends. Business of every description would forge ahead with perfect confidence in future permanent prosperity. Nearly all would find employment in the industrial field at more than one dollar and fifty cents per day, and the government would find but few who would avail themselves of the provisions under the Government Employment Law. It would remain a part of con- stitutional law as a protector of the individual and a regulator of wages, and as such would answer the pur- pose for which it was enacted. Why should such a law do all this ? For this reason : No nation can be permanently progressive and prosper- ous and attain great intellectual ability, wealth and At the Ballot Box the laboring man has the same power as the mil- lionaire. There they can right every wrong. There they can demand and receive their birthright of freedom. Demand the enactment of a Government Employment Law. THE BALLOT BOX power, unless the laboring class of that nation, who comprise the intelligent working parts of the machinery of production, can participate in such advancement and such prosperity. If the wealth and advancement of one class is attained at the expense of the misery and pov- erty of the workers, if one is going up and the other going down in the scale of prosperity, there must come a time when the climax will be reached ; the burden will be more than the poor can bear. You must oil the working parts of a machine if } t ou want them to wear well and run smooth and without friction, and in this particular case, the oil that is required is a guaranteed opportunity to labor, with good pa}^. This can be permanently assured by a Government Employment Law which will guarantee one dollar and fifty cents per day of eight hours. The Effects of Inability to get Work. A man employed and earning money is a supporter of industries. Idle, he and his family become a tax upon the community. Employed, he is independent and self-respecting. Idle, he is'a coward, a mendicant, an object of charity and a charge upon others. He loses his self-respect. Want and poverty develop his animal nature, and he becomes an ever present danger, a menace to lav/ and order and possibly a criminal. We have millions of such idle people huddled together in dark and filthy tenements, where every manner of dis- Honesty and justice would raise a nation to the stars ; avarice and oppression will drag it through the mire. Vote for honesty. Vote for justice. Vote for a Government Employ- ment Law. THE BALLOT BOX 23 ease and crime finds a fertile soil. Is it to be marveled at that crime is one of the most flourishing industries of societ}^? Could it be otherwise? The cause lies in. the body politic. The cure lies in the Ballot Box. Vote for a Government Employment Law. To bring the matter more clearly to the mind of the reader, let us imagine a community of one thousand men and their families, and say that only nine out of every ten men are employed. What is the result? The nine hundred men who have work must neces- sarily support the one hundred men who are idle, also their families, else these one hundred men and their families would starve. This is therefore, of necessity, a tax upon those who are employed. It must follow that the nine hundred men who have employment must feel insecure in their positions as long as there are one-tenth of their number idle, waiting for any opportunity to obtain work. For this reason they are slaves ; they have lost their independence, and as a result will work for less than they would if labor were a scarce commodity and in brisk demand. The idle one hundred have the power to bring the whole com- munity to a condition of poverty. First, because the employer can use those who arb idle as a lever to force down the wages of those who are employed. Second, because idleness fosters in the community a spirit of mendicancy and dependence on others, and gives a working basis for crime and immorality. Under a compulsory Government Employment Law, and a high- wage system, the consumption of material would he much greater than now, and the profits of capital would he proportionately greater. 24 THE BALLOT BOX Now we will take this same community of one thou- sand men and their families, and say the}^ pass a law whereby the government is empowered to tax the people by levying a tax on articles of consumption sufficient to bring in a revenue that will emplo} r all those who are in need of work and who cannot find work in the regu- lar industrial channels. What is the result? The people, instead of supporting one-tenth of their number in idleness by charitable taxation, and receiving no return for their money, now tax the community as a whole by levying a government tax, and with the money thus obtained they set these idle people to work on public improvements. By this means the ever threat- ening danger to the individual and to the community has been removed. Now instead of labor seeking work and constituting a lever against those employed, work is seeking labor. Labor has become a scarce commodity. A spirit of independence and freedom such as has never been experienced, pervades the whole community. They have put a soul into the body politic that becomes the protector of the individual. Wages take an upward turn, everybody is earning money and doing well. They begin to wear better clothes, want better food, and can pay for clean and healthful homes. To supply these wants creates an increased demand for labor, and labor being scarce wages go up. As the people become better circumstanced they will tax them- selves to give their children better educational oppor- tunities, and will build better schools. They will pat- During a presidential campaign promises are very elastic. There seems to be no limit to their gorgeous extent. Did anyone ever detect any honesty in such promises? Don't depend on promises. See that the men you vote for are pledged to a Government Employment Law. THE BALLOT BOX 25 ronize art and advance continuously toward a higher plane of intelligence and refinement. Poverty would disappear, beggars would be unknown, and charity would resolve itself to the legitimate care of orphans, the sick and disabled, and the aged and infirm. And why would this be so ? Simply because the people had sense enough to tax the community as a whole, suffi- cient to employ the surplus labor of society, thereby making them producers and self-supporting instead of keeping them in idleness by taxation of those who were employed. And this is the most simple solution of the problem which is to-day demanding the whole attention of our people. To enact a law which will guarantee to all the opportunity to labor, and which will make one dollar and fifty cents per day the lowest plane of society instead of poverty. Such a law in five years would make this Republic the envy of every nation in the world, and the peer of any civilization of history. For what is true of a community of one thousand families would be also true of a great nation such as ours. With millions of able-bodied men and women idle, think for a moment, and try to realize what the daily and yearly loss must be to the nation. Each and every one of these idle people are capable of producing some- thing; something equivalent to what they consume, and more that would add to their wealth and the wealth of the nation. Now, we are not only losing what they might produce, but we are taxing the labor of those High wages would not mean a proportionate increase in cost of products of labor, neither would it mean a falling off in profits of capital. Both labor and capital would reap a distinct and permanent gain under a Government Employment Law. 26 THE BALLOT BOX who are employed, to keep them from starving while they live in forced idleness. Imagine all these idle people employed ; all with honestly earned dollars in their pockets. Could there be such a thing as depression in business ? such a thing as hard times ? such a thing as poverty ? No, impossible. On the one hand, millions out of work pitted against each other and against those who have employment, in a mad struggle for work anol for bread. Is it any wonder that wages olrop, that men lose courage, and crime nourishes? On the other hand, a Government Employment Law, no one idle who needs or desires employment, labor at a premium anol capital bidding for labor. Would wages fall, under these conolitions? Would there be any motive for the numerous crimes that are now committeol because of poverty anol want ? Go to the Ballot Box. If we have no precedent to go' by for the enactment of a Government Employ= ment Law in the history of other governments, it is time we took the bull by the horns and make a prece- olent for other nations to follow. It is only \>y striking out into unexploreol regions that discoveries can be made and progress maintained. The emplojmient of the men who are now idle woulol give the required impetus to production. It would put money in the hands of these people to spend, anol this woulol immeoliately create a demand. To meet this demand woulol necessitate the employment in the The man who stoops to hribe his fellow men by material payment or by a dishonest expression of opinion that springs from self-in- terest, is a criminal of the lowest type, for he robs struggling humanity for his own aggrandizement. THE BALLOT BOX 27 mills and workshops of all the women who are now idle. This would give these women money, and in the purchase of necessities they would again stimulate de- mand. To meet this increased demand would require more labor in every avenue of trade, and this would continue until the employer would be obliged to draw from the government supply, which could only be done by bidding higher than the government dollar and fifty cents per day price which would be established by law. This scarcity of labor in the market would raise the price of labor along the whole line of industries, and but a short time would lapse after the law went into effect before the government would be obliged to bid above one dollar and fifty cents per day for common labor in order to complete necessary public improvements. Go to the Ballot Box. Demand a national Govern- ment Employment Law. There is no precedent to guide you. No nation has ever been born that made the wise provision of protection of its individual sub- jects against the disease of poveiiw, and the crimes and misery that follow in its wake. Public Improvements, Good Roads, etc., etc. How will the government employ those who cannot get work elsewhere ? The work laid out by the govern- ment for this purpose should be widely scattered, the same as the people are widely scattered. It should not The raising of wages does not raise the cost of products for con- sumption in proportion. Vote for a Government Employment law. / / 28 THE BALLOT BOX be necessary for a man in one State to go to another to find employment. In all of our large cities and towns government work should be always open to those out of employment, but the improvement of our public highways between our large cities and towns, and the laying out and construction of new ones, would be the work that would be most far reaching and practicable in the utilization of surplus labor. Good roads are needed all over this country- They should connect every city, town and village, and form a continuous and direct line between any two points. These roads should not be made hurriedly at the expense of being done poorly. They should be made firm, smooth and durable, and capable of withstanding con- tinuous and hard usage, and be in reality a lasting and a permanent improvement. This work should not be projected from one point, but simultaneously at all large centers of population, and be extended out from these centers until they became a connected network and the whole country was covered. Trees should be planted at intervals throughout their entire length, and other means resorted to, to make them attractive and beautiful. Between large cities and towns so called trunk lines of good roads should be fifty feet wide or upwards, while no road should be laid out of a less width than twenty- five feet. In the forwarding of such a work, which would take many years to complete, the laborer could find employment in any State, in almost an}^ city or town wherever he might be. A man who would sell his vote should be banished from the society of honest men. He not only robs himself of his birthright, but he robs his fellow-men in their struggle for happiness and liberty. Vote honestly. Go to the Ballot Box with a clear conscience. THE BALLOT BOX 29 The next question, where is the money to come from to pay for this ? This money should be secured by direct taxation, to be levied upon those articles of con- / sumption which are most universally used, with sufficient import duty put on like foreign products to offset this v internal tax and protect the laborer, producer, and manufacturer. The money secured by such internal taxation could readily be brought up to a sufficient amount to employ all those who are now idle. The public, while being taxed on one hand, would be receiving- great public improve- ments on the other, and all the idle people would be thus absorbed. This would create an increased demand that would soon start up all branches of industry. From the very day that the Government Employment Law went into effect, the doom of poverty and hard times would be sealed forever. If the government so desired, it could inaugurate a toll system on all the government roads, and with the rapid increase in use of bicycles, motor carriages, etc., V it would be reasonable to suppose that a small tax per , mile for all who made use of these highways would soon pay for their construction. But direct taxation is the most feasible and practicable. By direct taxation we can always regulate the amount of income required by the government to employ those who cannot find em- ployment elsewhere. Direct taxation by the government, under a Qovern= ment Employment Law, would be a blessing in dis- If all those who would be benefited by a Government Employment Law would read this pamphlet, it would be read by seventy-five million people in the United States. 3 o THE BALLOT BOX guise to both rich and poor, and the higher the tax the better off would be the community, provided the money so collected was honestly expended in the employment of those who are idle, for the money so collected would come back like bread cast upon the waters. It would maintain an equilibrium in the supply of and demand for labor. It would put money in the hands of those who are now idle and create an increased demand for products of industry. It would raise wages, and above all would forever abolish poverty. This government would be the first in the world to take this upward step in the evolution of man to a higher plane of civili- zation. We have in the United States a population of about seventy-five millions. If each one were taxed on an average of two cents per day, it would give us a revenue of one million five hundred thousand dollars per day. This tax could be raised by taxing a few of the most uni- versally consumed articles, and need not be excessive on any one article. The result of such a tax would give a revenue sufficient to more than absorb the overflow of labor from the productive field, and hy bringing about a scarcity in the labor market would increase wages at least fifty per cent. So, although labor would be taxed to employ labor, it would be the gainer by a large ma- jority. All the money collected would be expended in employ- ing men. It would all go into public improvements that would be for the benefit of the whole people. It would all go into the pockets of laborers, and the} r in turn A man can belong to any political party and still beUeve in and work for a Government Employment L,aw. THE BALLOT BOX 31 would spend it for such articles of the productive in- dustries as they and their families required. No one would starve, no one could be in actual need if such a law was a part of our Constitution. Vote for a Government Employment Law. If a million idle men are given employment at one dollar and fifty cents per day each, are the benefits derived by the people limited to only the expenditure of this million and a half dollars by this million men ? No — for when they spend this million and a half dol- lars they purchase something that requires labor to pro- duce. In other words, this million and a half dollars will purchase what represents practically one million and a half dollars' worth of labor ; therefore, it will employ a million and a half dollars' worth of labor on the farm, on the ranch, in the workshops, or in other places where labor is employed to produce the necessities of life. The benefit does not end here, for these people who thus find employment on account of increased demand made by the purchase of products by the million men, in turn get paid for their labor, and in turn become purchasers of products of consumption ; and to meet this increased demand requires the employment of oth- ers, and this continues ad infinitum. But just as soon as you begin to throw people out of employment, from any cause, the exact contrary effect is produced. You immediately begin to curtail the de- mand for products. This throws others out of employ- ment, and there is a further curtailment to demand, and A Government Employment L«aw would greatly increase the circula- tion of every newspaper in America, for the people would then have more money to purchase papers with. Work for a Government Em- ployment Law. 32 THE BALLOT BOX this continues until the mills and factories shut down : railroads do not earn dividends ; farmers can find no mar- ket for their produce ; prices fall; and the market is glut- ted; not really because there is an actual over-production, for the people need all these products as much as they ever did, but because the people have no money with which to purchase the necessities of life. What is the remedy for this? There is one, and only one, and that is the enactment of a Government Employment Law which will always maintain an equilibrium in the labor market, and which will always guarantee employment. Under such a law there could be no such thing as hard times ; no such thing as periods of depression ; no such thing as poverty. Vote for a Government Employment Law. If every person who reads this pamphlet will write for ten copies of the BaUot Box and distribute them among his friends, we can edu- cate the whole people before the next presidential election, and we will have a Government Employment Law, 3^ a?** o V *** "Viols' ^ •^H^« ^ ^* «? ^ c p5°* iOt, w ^ . . °^ 'o V o e-4 ° AN ? 3 c ■&** '^d* LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 027 293 274 8