THE SOCIALIST PRESS,
G. B. HENRY. EDITOR AND PUB USHER
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fMXX_*_
Sa'miday, Jon. 23
THAT FRANCHISE
Well, the Telephone Franchise is granted and the
only thing that the people who opposed the granting to
the company of what is virtually an exclusive right is to
make it a question on which all candidates for the next
Council must declare themselves. Even if we grant the
fact that, we do get some important advantages from the
company in return foe what is (and there is no getting
away from it) a virtually exclusive right to do business,
there is no denying the fact that we ai*e paying exorbitant
rates for our telephone system. Look at the advertise
ments in any of the Coast papers. You will see,,onr rates
m 3..any cases cut in three and four* Take the Hot Springs
system. No party phone except on the creeks. The
charge for residence phones is $5.00; business phones,
$10. Subscribers get for the price of their monthly sub
scription the right to the use of the whole system. The
pi ice paid by a non-subscriber to or from American creek
is $2.00; all other creeks $1.00 It must be remembered
that the Hot Springs company has a many times smaller
number of phones and proportionately its upkeep costs
far more than our system; yet, ndte the differertce in the
rates. We sure want to elect councilhien who will bind
themselves to revise the telephoiie Dates fcmd revise them
downward.
WHY WE ARE SLAVES'.
By Flora L Foremans
The very first thing a baby
is ever taught is to “mind.”
He is not treated as a
rational being susceptible to
reasoning. His fingers are!
slapped for “meddling”-]
that is for trying to find out;
things. He is told-“Baby
musn’t no, no.” He lives in
a world of negatives, where
he is denied all things and
whatever hi* hands succeed j
in grasping is taken from
them by force, the little,1
eager questioning mind is!
rebuffed at every effort it ;
makes to obtain knowledge,
and is riven back into itself l
until the wonder’of it all is
that he can rise above it all
and educate himself suffi
ciently to get along in this
t^psy turvy world of ours the
first ten years of his life. *
He immitates all he sees.
How proud we are when he
apes our better actions—and
how ready we are to punish
him tor copying our rude
and unKind acts.
When he adopts our own
tactics, to obtain what he
desires, then We punish him
and make him rebellious be
cause he KNOWS we are
assuming privileges that are
denied to him. The sense
of justice is large in the
child mind. Note his indig
nant exclamation, “That!
isn't fair!” When we out
rage that sentiment and then'
cram it down him “by main
strength and awkaVdness,”'
we are guilty of greater
crime1'? than we have ever
mentioned to ourselves.
By and by the child goe*
to public school, that tread
mill of social equalization, I
where he learns all over
again the lesson of how to
mind what is told him. He
is started out from home
with this admonition ringing
In his ears and the female
who takes charge of him at
the school-house door is usu
ally a person who sets “order
and government above all
other essentials!” In fact her
is frequently told —if he
dares question her decree—
“Because I said so. That's
reason enough for YOU.”
And the weary years go on.
The ruler in his small world
is ap autocrat that would
put Czar Nicholas to shame.
He is “required” —compelled
— urged — punished — and
wheedled into doing all sorts
of tasks that he never can set
any sense in doing. No ont
ever takes any trouble to
explain why these thing'
must be done, and he is
passed along through school
life in this unhappy and re
sentful frame of mind until he
finally rebels, or economic con
ditions drive him out of school
life into life’s school to solve the
problems of “fried holes and
flops” for himself, tie re the
spur o effort is of little different
nature. He s rives to please the
boss and hold his job. He re
members his early training in
how to “mind” and puts it intc
practice as faithfully as he can
He is cringing and servile. II<
comes early and works late, ant
always he strives to please b\
subjecting his will to others, bj
acknowledging authority.
■And over all this bossism o!
home and school and business,
is set the Church to scare him in
to a panic by threats of eterna’
punishment; add the law to de
prive him of his much vaunted
“liberty.” EVen as a child he
is told if he doesn’t mind, God
won’t love him; and San a Claus
won’t Bring him any Christmas
gift; and the policeman will lock
him up in jail; and the bogie
man will get him; and the bat
man will cut off his ears; and e
lot more such senseless trash cal
culated to send shivers of fright
chasing each other up and dowi
his spine.
I say again home and school
and church and business anc
state all combine Vo teach u;
servility and fear, from cradh
to grave. Is it any wonder the
as a nation we are a lot of slaves
and cowards? Slaves to public
opinion, to superstition, to the
boss, to any ar.d every old ihin^
that asserts authority over oui
actions. And then when comes
the time that we hear Libert}
preached to us from the streeti
corner or the press - the place
where love of liberty should
have grown strong in our lives
is all overgrown with weeds, and
nothing is there to respond, and
we bow our heads and pass on
and perhaps we fear arid revile
the “agitator.”
If parents and teachers had
half as much understanding as
chey expect from children if
ny of them would ever say to
childhood—“Com* let us reason
together; let us do right and be
fair because we know and choose
to do it; let us govern ourselves
and live generously.”—0, if we
could only see that our future is
in the hands of these children
then we would wake up and DO
something!
THE HUMAN JUNGLE.
By Ida Crouch-Haslett.
Tie proposed International
Conference of Socialists con
'ronts the hardest problem that
die historic wQrking class has
ever met. Will the working
■lass hold the key to the future,
>r will it prove that it is yet in
idequate to the task of human
izing society and banishing the
jungle law?
The war has upstetthe socialist
novement of Europe and there
nay in probabi it# be Soihte hard
feelings existing between the
locialists of the warring coun
ties, from which international'
^implications can arise, that will
imbarass the actions of the dele
gates, especially if radical steps 1
ire to he formulated. Also, the
lelegates will facte the danger of
the international policemen.
We do not know what will b£
the 6'utfcoVne of the Vvar, but we
on this side of the ocean must he
in a position to advance the
cause at the first opportunity,
and \Ve m'dst let it be krlown;
should a revolutibh break out ill
Germany, that there is going to
be no repetition of the Paris
Commune.
As the future is obscure, sd
far as the socialist movement is
concerned, and as there are pos
sibil tiesdf working class upris
ings in Eutnne, it is highly im
portant than an International
Convention take action-. Should
revolution break out there wid
be heavy finances required, and
(Continued on Page 3)
Are You One Of The
Socialists who Says
“Yes I a*il a socialist—Seen one for many years—always vote
lie ticket— but Ido not belong to file onganizMlon.v If yarn arc
n tfuit class, you should get out of it The only Socialists ti nt
ouct are the ones that pay tboir
'ittle 25 cent dues per month, and
in tire work of the party orgtiui
'.afckai. These are the fellows tmat
i e making the Socialist Tarty the
reat force for the common got*l in
tnerics. The capitalist c'ass won’t
nance our party and we don’t
•ant them to. Its the twenty-five
cents per month horn Hfc Bvousands
of real Socialists that keep the
wheels of the organization goi >g.
Come on iii atid find out how we
run things. You wiH hate iiist as
much to say as another. We liavfc
made it easy for you to take the
'first s.ep—below is a coupon which
you Bi.ould
Out Out, Tear Off And Mail Today
1V> N. U. King, Fait banka, M L. We.taarik,
Olearr City.
I tm convinced U»t I should be anaembv of tint cwfiltiisa#!y0*
iww*ont- twni »on»e one to tak« my application.
KtOM
Adirvae.
! • ,
1 »*4 fe * *frw
You Can save Bis Money on
Your Winter Clothing If
_ ■. YOU WILL BUY AT
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