In the preamble to the Constitution of the Independent Workers of the World (I. W. W.) we find this statement: “The working class and the employing class have nothing in common. Between these two classes the struggle must go on, until the workmen of the world organize as a class, take possession of the earth and the machinery of production, and abolish the wage system. Our motto is—The abolition of the wage system.”
How foolish is the above statement that the working class and the employing class have nothing in common. The truth of the matter is that they have everything in common. Every employer—almost without exception—was once a workman. He was a successful workman, therefore he became more than a workman—he became an employer. Furthermore, workmen cannot exist without employment. Neither can employers exist without the workmen. They are not only each concerned in the welfare of the other; neither can exist without the other.
The following is another passage taken from the resolutions drawn up by the Bolshevists in which they say the general strike is their weapon of defense: “We will strike for a six hour day, then for a four hour day, then for a two hour day, with increased wages all the time, and then we will be strong enough to take everything and work no more.”
We wonder how any sensible man can believe such logic as this. Was it not Saint Paul who said that if any man would not work neither should he eat.
The Socialist party platform of 1912 declared in favor of the abolition of the United States Senate, the amendment of the Constitution of the United States by a majority vote of the people, the election of judges for short terms of office, the denial of the right of the U. S. Supreme Court to declare the acts of Congress void.
The following suggestions have been made by good, honest people who have their country's welfare at heart. Thus far the people as a whole have not advocated their adoption, but some of them may be made part of the Constitution in time to come.
a. The direct popular election of President and Vice President of the United States.
b. The adoption of the initiative, referendum, and recall in the National government.
c. Federal legislation governing both marriage and divorce throughout the Nation.
d. Federal jurisdiction over all cases affecting foreigners—for example in instances like the Italian riot in New Orleans, or in the Japanese problem on the Pacific coast.