rrasj
Published Weekly in The Interest Of The WprkingfClass.
52=
NO. 47.
FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, April 11, 19iS
r"
Yol. 1
% . i 1
The Socialist mayor .of Star
City, West Virginia, fyas be-m de
dared ineligible to ho(d off5. : s. I’
a decisioti handed down ' by
judge of the Monongalia 'C.>.
Court; in the Russianized l&ate
West Virginia, the decision :
the Socialist City Councfl Of Sbu
City thkt the Socialist M'- o'f-t
elect, Jdhn F. Higgins was ’lia
ble to hoik the office to \vb' h
was elected, was reversed.
honorab!<?'(?) court declared th
Mayor Higgins did not have t:
property ciualifications neces?
to hold office, which qre' tlr
candidate shall have beer
ed and haw : '.axes ■
or more of real e- •
a! property.
; * Mr. Hig; ivate li
brary asses . vand al
though a single rme,i...,}parding
with his mother, the court arbi
trarily decided that it wag fami
ly library, therefore unafssessa
fcle, and declared Mr. Higgins in
eligible fob the office of mayor.
Following this miscarriage of
justice, th<? tity council umuih
mo 'sly decided to instruct t.,:e
city ait rney and Co'. C. W. Kra
I mer to carry the case to the Su
: preme court of Appeals.
Ip the Meantime the working
clasps of this section of Russian
ized’ West Virginia is wondering
if-the capita ist class iea)ly ‘be
lieves in thfe toajoriiy and
; \Vliether they can 'ever' ‘be sure
tliat a Socialist official fevdh after
nfeing 'regularly ' ‘elected ca"
'• vrvfe. They Y/dbder if the hench
'iic’Vof capitalism wilt not al.vaye
j liave some technicality that thej
•-.sn usfe' to unseat Apy Socialist
ho they may think is dahg'eh
■ )'4s.
The class conscious Socialist
’■'ou’ever has no doubts for in
: his mind flashes the declaration
of principles of the Socialist Par
;'f America to wit: -
order to maintain their
r eil their fellow men, the
U-. ' '.lists must keep ‘in their
; pu. '•! organs of the pulolic pow
ifev public mind and public 'con
’s- i ;uce. 'They control the dom
inant parties and’ through them,
the elected public officiate. They
select the executives! ‘bribe the
I legislatures arid corrupt’' the
courts of justice. They own aha
M
Being a study in capitali
& t ill*
zation ana qie correct use of
words, as well as a confes
,
sion of faith.
x
I am not a democratbecause
the democratic party is not
democratic.
I am not a republican be
cause the republican party is
not republican,
I am not a progressive be
cause u e progressive party
is not progressive,
I am a Socialist because the
Socialist Party is democratic,
is republican, is progressive
and is Socialistic; and I am
a democrat, a republican, a
progressive and a socialist.
Can the
Bureau Meet
As the days pass, and the hope
lessnes of their task appears to
' e greater and greater, even So
cialists and Pacifists may incline
to become weary in well-doing.
I'o that temptation we mast
not succumb.. The immediate
i .eed is to reforge the links in the
broken chain of internationalism.
The most hopeful movement set
on foot since the beginning of
the war is the summoning of an
international conference of wo
•1. t * . ‘ ‘
men at the Hague in April.
If the women of the bell'.ger
(Continued on last page.)
censofcChe pr&ss, Iney aomi
nate fhi?1 Sdhcatf'onal ftVstitptifJhF.
They .ew/Hhis dou n ir f ftol j ti cal) y
and intellectually111 Jjhst as th^ty
own it industrially.'* the Socia
lists of Russianized West Virgi
nia, home of the drum head
trials and the land where many
martyrs of the working class
'dep the peaceful sleep of
death, Remembering these prin
ciple s dd not wonder that a work
ing-tnarieleited by workingmen,
te prevented fron) holding office
by a trump; i up technicality.
'■'Shall the Majority rule? We
do not know.
The Municipal Election de
velojoed fhe'fact ttiat [he'So
yj ***/ ^ ( !^m J'
cialisjt Party is wei| able to
stand aldiie. Since the for
mation of the Socialist Party
tho^e wfto hav£ managed the
Socialist campaign have al
1 , I• \T
ways been foolish enough to
flirt with the reformers,' on
one occasion being ill-advised
enough to cast their vote for
a reform candidate. This
time oher councils prevailed
wih tlie result^hat our can
didate polled more votes
than last' year, even hough
some Socialists (?) abstained
from voting. On fhe Coast,
he Socialists elected by a sub
stantial majority, Comrade
Gan 1$’to tVie school boarcl
at '^al(5ez, they0also elkctedf
onemaii ’to ' ihe^Council. In
Gibbon where we are not
organized,, the " Socialist'
hold the balance of power in
the new council0 ’"l''
Other ‘places' in Alaska,
where there will rad/uUed
ly be'ah improver ' .'in the
Socialist Vote,''have u -t yet
heard iftom.1
lTlie conclusions to ue dedu
ced from 'the reef'n t election
is, ihat the A'hsk" Socialist
h .
has fou: d » as has his com
rode,' un '-.:,. that reformers
ai’i »i„. delaying the game.
Carl p. Thompson
• ‘ • r,r
Article
Congress is having a hard time
trying '.o find ways of making up
the deficit in public revenue due
tP'the war l6Visid without taxing
the rich. It is seeking in all di
rections for pew sources of rev
enue. Yet it overlooks certain
most obvious and adequate' rpsn«
sures.
For ^ample, q properly ap
plied income tax wouldP net the
government at least 1200,000,000
instead of ?70,OQQ,000. But a
capitalistic congress, is afraid to
raise the tax on the big incomes.
Again, a properly adiusted in
heritance tax would net the gov
ernment even more than an in
come tax. But a capitalistic
congress does not and we pre
sume simply could not, enact
.. v
such a law.
Again a proper amendment pi
the postal' savings bank’ law
would help. Our present rules
O . . P -V t. I
and regulations havo limited ant
. > * ilrt’ v
tied them down. No one can de
, * v < j (i > ’
posit mere tnan SjjlOO at a time o:
i more than ?500 in all. Am
[ ui - ■ - ■
I wovst of all, the money, whei
I - • : ' v
' Deposited, mun .immediately be
| >•' n ! Ur1' r
transferred to private banks,
Now, if Congress*'really would '
do sorfietbing with the post
savings banks it would solve sev
erai of our great problems. But
of coqfse it would cut in pn prl
III* ‘ .
vote pnterpfiae—itipightput the
j)jg .finked opt of j^sipess.
propose, (1) toppmpye alt
reat' idtiphs as £o |h« amounts
tb'p L V ■t-.v" be 1‘ deposited; (2) to
>.y i'O u itv...
pi . hi checkipg accounts,
sofa' iie postal banks may
■ v ■ , actically all the purposes
i. • ; ■ ple'V bank. And (3) to in
i ht
funds in public utilities
| hi | ..atuiai resources that are
to oe owned and operated by the
! government.
And finally there is a tremen
dous source of revenue not suffl
■') "li * 'i '
ciently developed and in many ca
s:s not touched at ajl in the in.
creasing land values of our cities
states and the nation at large. A
properly adjusted taxation of
• land values would take for pub
I lie purl oses the full increment in
land values These are values
l
created by society at large anu
by every right belong to society.
In several large cities, inc'iud
i .g Nsw Yorlc*, Philadelphia, Bos
top, Seattle and Houston, a sepa
t '’ait . an, - l:
rate valuation ha been made for
years in such manner that we
are jible to compute the exact a-,
mount of thjs' increment in'land
if •.;» i .'•* ,r.
va ueseach year t he increase
. i’.crea^
m land values alone.haa been as
iV 4 ts :A
high as $140,000,000 in New
•; . ■, -jj, O »\ n, ;»
York City in a single year (1904
to 1905) ?16,000,000 per year ir.
Boston, $19,500,000 in Philadel
phia. This will give a slight idea
of the great possibilities for pub
lic revenue to a government that
is really determined to es tablish
economic justice and is not a
fraid to attack and finally des
■i • i ’» i i; *
troy unearned incomes.
It is needless to say that a So
i | - II) 4 \ '5 * 1
ciahst administration would at
. On .■ t »:* * n
once begin the application of all
.»»> t .. . • ■' • ■
these measures
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