Debs: His Life, Writings and Speeches, with a Department of AppreciationsDebs, Eugene V. (Eugene Victor)
History
Debs: His Life, Writings and Speeches, with a Department of Appreciations
Debs, Eugene V. (Eugene Victor)
Socialism -- United States; Socialist Party (U.S.)
“The issue is Socialism vs. Capitalism. I am for Socialism because I am
for humanity. We have been cursed with the reign of gold long enough.
Money constitutes no proper basis of civilization. The time has come to
regenerate society—we are on the eve of a universal change.”
When the A. R. U. held its convention at Chicago in June, 1897, he and
its members favored political action, and the Social Democratic party
was organized June 21, 1897, and this was the beginning of what is now
known as the Socialist party of America.
GOVERNMENT BY INJUNCTION.
The year 1894 marks a great historical change in the attitude of
laborers towards government, for it was during that memorable strike
that the now famous injunction was used to cripple the efforts of the
workers to improve their condition by the lawful methods of the general
strike. The late and now great (?) Cleveland, in spite of the
traditional fealty of the Democratic party to state sovereignty, over
the protests of Governor Altgeld of Illinois, who declared that the
state was amply able to protect life and property in its territory, sent
Federal troops into Chicago and disorder followed, and the strike was
lost and, as stated, its leader thrown into prison.
Government by injunction is today the “slogan” of both old parties, and
their hypocritical utterances as to this issue are convincing the
American working people that with the army as a police force government
by corporations has taken the place of government by the people and the
farmers exploited by the packers’ and elevator and railroad interests,
the miner snubbed everywhere by the coal barons and the vast and
increasing army of the unemployed, young and outcast old men are now
thinking in terms of political strike, rather than in terms of boycott
and idle protest.
The hours of work are now short enough to the workers, and far too short
to provide food, shelter and clothing for themselves and families in the
midst of industrial stagnation, caused by exhausting the purchasing
power of the producers of wealth through the blind greed of those who
claim the right to take unto themselves the earth and its exhaustless
resources for abundantly supplying the needs of all.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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