YOUR PAY ENVELOPE BY JOHN R. MEADER EDITOR OF “THE COMMON CAUSE” [Illustration] NEW YORK THE DEVIN-ADAIR COMPANY 437 FIFTH AVENUE 1914 COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY THE DEVIN-ADAIR COMPANY [Illustration] CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE PROBLEM STATED 1 II. WHAT SOCIALISM IS AND ISN’T 9 III. THE WORKER’S WAGE 19 IV. HOW THE “ROBBING” IS DONE 32 V. YOUR OWN PAY ENVELOPE 41 VI. YOU “WAGE SLAVES”! 54 VII. YOUR BOSS UNDER SOCIALISM 67 VIII. SOME MORE “EQUALITY” 77 IX. A FEW “MINOR DETAILS” 87 X. LABOR’S FULL PRODUCT 101 XI. IS WRETCHEDNESS INCREASING? 116 XII. THE CLASS STRUGGLE 133 XIII. SHALL WE TAKE IT OR PAY FOR IT? 144 XIV. THE REVOLUTION 160 XV. WHAT WE ARE PROMISED 173 XVI. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE WORLD? 189 XVII. THE REMEDY 200 YOUR PAY ENVELOPE CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM STATED Dear Mr. Smith, I am glad that you have asked me if the soap-box orator told the truth when he said that all the arguments against Socialism are either “lies” or “foolish misrepresentations.” The soap-box orator wants you to believe that all the wise men in this world are Socialists, and that those who do not accept the teachings of Karl Marx are either ignoramuses or wicked men. You tell me that your “common sense” teaches you that “there are two sides to every question.” This statement shows that you are an honest and a practical man. You say that you are a worker, a trade unionist, a Christian--all of which means that you are a good citizen. These frank statements are the best introduction you could offer. It is this kind of man who insists upon having “facts,” and who is not likely to be carried away by theories--even by plausible theories. He insists upon knowing that there are plenty of “facts” to back up the theories before he accepts them. Hence, I am going to write to you at some length--to you and to all the rest of the John Smiths. In these letters I shall express myself as simply and as clearly as possible. I shall give you plenty of facts--“the hardest of hard facts”--and a mass of cold, logical reasons that cannot fail to appeal to “robust common sense” and the “love of fair play.” As you have said, there are two sides to every question, and the question of Socialism is no exception to this rule. The reason that the soap-box orator attracts so large a crowd is because he tells the people who listen to him a lot of things which they know are true.