“Why, he is certainly not a slave.”
“How about a clerk in the postoffice department, for instance? Is he not in the same position as a member of the Industrial Army?”
“No. It is a similar service, but he serves his government and country.”
“What is your business, Charlie?”
“Accountant for the Waumkeag Cotton Manufacturing Company.”
“What are your wages?”
“Eighty dollars per month.”
“How many hours a day do you work?”
“Ten hours.”
“Is it slavery to work ten hours a day for a private corporation, for eighty dollars per month, and not own any interest in the corporation? Remember that the Co-opolitan Association pays one hundred dollars per month and requires only seven hours’ work per day at the most. Then every minute’s work in the competitive system is for private persons, while in the co-operative system it is for the public good.”