THE SOCIALIST PRESS
Published Weekly In The Interest Of The Working-Class.
NO. 46.
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, April 3, 1915
Vol. 1
1 • i
TOWN OF FAIRBANKS
_i
SAMPLE BALLOT.
For Councilmen
Vote For Seven Only
Mark Thus—X—Before the Name
Voted For,
(School election held Wednesday April 7.)
Vote For One Only.
Mark Thus—X -Before the Name
Voted for.
\ Gillette, L. R.
J Knowiton, Philip A.
x| TAIPALE, m.
Vote For The Names
„ That You See
The X In Front 0(.
AND NO OTHERS
t **
-JS
One Socialist 'is running for
member of the’City Council
NT. It. King, Another Socialist in
running'for school directoi IvI.
Taipalc. They should receive the
Lilli vote of the party, and the
people of Fairbanks generally
can well afford to join' with us
in electing them, for the/ are
both goo;1 men. f o far as the re
mainder of the ticket is concern
ed, we have no interest as a par
ty. This was decided at the last
meeting of the Socialise Local
when a ’resolution was 1 passed
which committed the entire mem
bership to vote feu the Socialist
candidates and none other. But
j as the difference 1 ctween the tic
i Icets in the trek! is sc marked, wo
car,not as good citizens fail to
consider the candidates.
The ministerial party, with its
■ 1’u tkket in the held, stands
I
j for drastic measu res and the e
i limination of the saloon.
I As this would mean a reduced
revenue of some ft'18,000 a year
I
for the city, ar.d as the defieien.
cy would have to be made up bv
taxing city property, the city
j can hardly afford to elect such a
jaounci! ' the experience would
lb: too expensive The Citizens’
| party ms a ticket composed of
! business then and others who
have had experience in running
* the- city and at any rate know
| how to run it economically and
; therefore as far as our good wish
ea ;.'o the latter ticket has them
! V/hile we Socialists e a rn we
believe with sound reason that
the only way in which the world
will be bettered is when a suui
cient number cf workers vote to
acquire, and do acquire the con
trol of the means of product:*, n
and distribution; still we cannot
help as intelligent human beings
a mild interest as to who will
j occupy the seats of the mighty
I for the coming year. Of tour e
| the people that profess to see a
great need of regeneration in
| our council promise to work won
dvrs if they are c'ccLtd. They
are going to get quick action on
the fire and police departments.
What in our opinion lias hurt
the chances of the reformers
more than anything else is the
;act that they have allied them
selves wnh a person with the
reputation of Mr. Gillette. Very
many voters have expressed them
selves as beir.tr opposed to the
refoiuers’ ticket solely on ac
count of the presence on the tic
ket of Mr. Gillette.
Another thing that will hurt
the chances of fr.e ticket is the
fact that some cr its su; porters
have been injudicious enough to
intimate that in the event of
their election Mr. Gillette w ill
be iven the refusal of cither
the office of City Attorney or Ci
ty Magistrate. Now there may
be and probably are people who
dislike the prssent incumbents
of these offices/' but anyone who
wants to replace either of them
with Mr. Gillette Well, there’s
something the matter with his
think box.
1
The wor d war can have only
one tffect upon the Socialist
movement of the world, and that
is to strengthen it immensely.
Social Democracy within a
few years will have the maicrity
of the German people behind it.
1 hen will follow the overthrow .
of the Hohcnzcllern dynasty,
the abolition of the feudal aris
tocracy, and the cstablishme: t
of a democratic republic in Ger
many, not necessari! y a Socialist
republic, but anyway a common
wealth much more democratic
than ours. /1 the European re
publics v. iil naturally gravitate
into a United States of Europe.
This will happen thpough the
Socialist party which will emerge
as the greatest politico.! facto:
of Europe.
Written for The Socialist Press by Carl D. Thompson
Article 21.
Private ownership of railroads ,
i is the most gigantic system oi
plunder that ever existed. In
the first place the people of this'
nation, by excessive and some
times fraudulent land grants, bo|
nuses and bonds, gav« the rail
roads enough to build the whole -
systems entire. Then followed
the' construction frauds, mail
frhuds «nd a whole train'of plan
dering processes known only to
the masters of high finance.
Today the railroads plunder
the workers by low wages; long
hours and impossible burdens.
They plunder the people by ex*]
cessive rates. Every article of
food we eat, of clothes we wear,
and everything we use costs
more because of the excessive
railroad rates.
The railroads cost the people
of this country $3,171,000,000
every year, which means $158,50
of every family for the raiboads
alone -one-quarter of the entire
cost of living of an average fam
ily.
And yet they are about to raise
their rates Not satisfied with
their enormous profits, they still
seek more. A no they will p ic.
For fifty years, oar politician
anJ statesmen have told us that'
the railroad problem could be ea
sily solved and vvoui 1 be solved
by “regulation.” let to this
day not one problem has beer,
solved by that method.
Meanwhile, nearly every im
portant nation on earth has es
tablished public ownership of
r-ilroads, and found it a satisfac
tory solution of the prob'em. Ox
the seventy eight nations in the
-vorbl today, all but nine own all
(continued on last P^gu*)