THE SOCIALIST PRESS
Published Weekly In The Interest Of The Working-C lass.
mm\ ... ' r>- 11
No. 4i.
FAIRBANKS* ALASKA, Feb. 20, 1915.
Vol. 1
>
Every shot fired at wor-1
kers on strike is a sliot fired j
at you. Every drop of blood
shed in the cause of labor is
blood shed for. you. Every
life lost in the struggle of
toil has been martyred that
you and yours might live.
It was thought that capi
talism had done its worst at
the massacre of the women
and babes at Ludlow, Color
ado. The conservative, cap
italist N. Y. Tribune tells us
that we are mistaken.
The Tribune declares that
the slaughter of the striking
fertilizer w tinkers at Chrome,
N. J., just a few day§ ago
was, “Worse than the Lud
low battle in the Colorado
strike.”
But a few hours after the
Chicago police had turned
their guns on a parade of
jobless men and women, pro
testing against their hunger]
and nakedness, a gang of i
hired gunmen, assassins no
less 1 gained, turn loose a
hail of deadly bullets on a
gathering of striking work
ers at Chrome, N. J.
All escaped bodily injury
in murderous attack at Chi
cago. But 22 were sent tc
jail. Not so easily did the
workers escape the penally
for asserting their rights at
Chrome, N. J. There one
striker till martyr to the
cause of labor, four were fa
tally wounded.eleven others
less seriously injured.
The ink had haadly dried
on the U. S. Supreme Court
decision upholding the asses
sing of $252,130 in damages
against the 200 Danbury,
Conn., members of the Hat
ters Union, when the courts
of Arkansas levied hires of;
$500 ttnd $1,000 and jail sen-1
fences -mem* 1
bers of the United Mine wot
keis of America, growing
out of the miners’ strike in
that state. Among the Ar
kansas miners who thus suf
fered the wrath of capitalist
law was Fred Holt, recent
Socialist candidate for Cover
nor of Oklahoma. In the
meantime the struggle in
Eastern Ohio rages cn,
The master class has sei
zed this hour to more secure
ly fasten the chains of wage
slavery upon the limbs ol
toil. Millions of Workers are
jobless, seeking work, and'
the masH*s are using them I
to 1 down the wage scale
and make worse the condi
tions of those w'ho still have
Jots.
The terrors of unemploy
ment are only beginning to
make themselves felt. More
dead will fall on the battle
fields of industry tomorrow
or next week. More will be
wounded. More will be im
prisoned. No' one can tell
where or at what hour the
masters will strike next.
It may then be your turn.
You may be the next victim.
When the public would-be
(continued on last page.)
Rahkand File
Coming Our Way
Leaders of the progressive par
ty are going back into the repub
Moan camp where the loaves and
fishes abound but the rank and
file are going forward in the So
cia'ist movement. The leaders
will find they have a very small
following to lead bact.
French Socialists
The Socialists in the French
parliament are demanding a. less
rigid censorship. They call on
the government to furnish news
as fully as possible, to respect
public opinion and preserve the
iiberty of the press.
No Doubt
About It
The appointment of Chief De
puty Clarke to be Clerk of the
Court, leaves no doubt in the
minds of anybody as to which
wing o: the democratic party is |
in the saddle, afanyralei ; !•'■
The P urpose Of Socialism
Written for The Socialist Press by Carl D. Thompson Article 13.
SOCIALIST PARIY ON THE INHERITANCE TAX. Article XV.
In the political demands of the [ the “extension” of the ir heri- The Socialist party demands i
national platform of the Socialist
Party is the following on the sub
ject of the inheritance tax:
The Socialist Party demands
the extension of inheritance tax
es, graduated in proportion to
the value of the estate and to
nearness of next of kin the pro
ceeds of such tax to be employed
in the socialization of industry.
The specific demand here is
for the extension of the inheri
tance taxes. We already have a
sort of inheritance tax in most
of the states but they do not gc
far enough. The percentages art
too low. They do not sufficient y
tax the greater fortunes.
In this respect as in many oth
rs, cur laws favor the rich and
burden the poo.rer and middle
classes. Burdens of taxation
should be apportioned according
to the ability of the taxpayers.
Small inheritances might be tax
ed very lightly or exempted en
tirely, while the larger the inher
itance the greater should be the
percentage it pays. And this pre
gression should v*t scop at S50<‘
COO fortunet. t‘ *1. i -
crease ull the •
if* ■ . • ; f' '■
tance tax it should be made s<
heavy on the vast fortunes thai
are bequeathed that it would ac
tually discourage'their accumula
tion. Let the percentages go up
from 5 per cent on tho $500,000
inheritances to 10 per cent on
the million dollar ihheritances
and 20 per cent on the five mil
lion dollar inheritances, and on
up to 50 per cent or more on the
vaster sums.
That kind of inheritance tax
would count. It would accomplish
many things. It will be a felt of
course.
Then, too, another principle
should be applied here. The per
centage of the tax on the inheri
tance should increase as the dis
tance of the relation inheriting
't.f i •£
increases. And the reason i's ob
vious. The more distant the re
lation the less they have had to
do with the creation or even ac
| cumulation of the wea th; and
! therefore the less they are enti
1 tied to any share of it—the more
! clearly it is an unearned income.
1 he Illinois .-late Socialist plr
plalform i.> still more definite
fit;So ii..- demands o;
Modification of the law of this
state with referance to inheri
tance and wills, limiting inheri
tance exclusively to heirs and the
amount which direct and tohate
ral heirs may receive as follows:
Widows not to exceed $100,000,
direct heirs not to exceed $50,000
collateral heirs not to exceed $25
000 all the remainder of the de
ceased’s estate to become the
property of the state.
Here is a proposal to take all
of the estate above $100,000 for j
the widow, all above $50,000 to
direct heirs, and all above $25,
0C0 to col ateral hers.
At first thought this may seem
extreme. But really what widow
needs more than $100,000? What
son or daughter could not strug
gle along oh §80,000? And is it
at all likely ihrt either have con
tributed more than thst amount
to the fortunes they thus inherit.
The only reason for wanting
more would be that they wish to
live luxuriously, if not wantonly,
m money that someone e’se has
arned - on incomes drawn out
• r * .. ;ife and labor of tnepo ’e
" it b" ge.
Are Mad
As Hatters
IIa\ ing found oat. who own Ihd
courts in this country those Dan
bury fellows are as mad as hat -
ters. It took ten years for the
court to get up nerve to render
that decision, but after the reac
tionary election of last fall the
court must liavfe feit that it would
be safe in doing anything.
His Spare Time.
President Wilson will uow
spend his spare' moments forget
ting that there was a one term
plank- in the platform on which
he was elected.'
__ , s.}
Socialists In Okio
Increase W ages'
In carrying out their policy of
increasing wages for the city
workers, the Hamilton, Ohio, So
cialis's have extended their poli
cy of $2.50 minimum wage of S
hours per day to the city library.
• his practica’dy brings a’i the
employees of the city under the
increased wage and S-hour policy