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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1916)
PAGE FOUR LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER SATURDAY, JULY 1, 1916. THE. FORUM THE SOCIALIST I'LATFOBM La Grande, July 1. (To the Edi tor). The La Grande Socialist local submits the following self-explained article for the perusal of Observer readers: If I Were President BY A IX AN L. BENSON (Socialist Candidate for President) Here is an article by Allan L. Ben son, Socialist candidate for president, that appears in the current issue of every wee would be gone, and o',!y their actual vulue as physical assets would re main. Whenever necessary, I would urge the application of the same prin ciple of government competition for the ascertainment of real values. 1 doubt, however, whether it iwould be necessary to make more than one demonstration. 1 We have been trying for many years to reduce the price of anthra cite coal, with the result that we have gained a number of legal "victories", while the price of coal has continued Jn pointing out why this article was to ascend. I would urge congress to i i. ,i;t.. f "tfvarv Woelf" acouire arid operate the coal .mines. published the editor of "Every Week1 has the following to say: acquire arid operate the coal .mines I would urge that the present owners "i o Mn-i,. nf wnv- vou nnd be paid in government bonds a sum I know something about Socialism, equivalent to the cost of reproducing But the question I have frequently their machinery and buildings. I asked myself is, "Suppose the Social- should not ho in favor of paying a ists were really to elect a president cent to anybody who may pretend to what specif ica'?ly would he do?' I own the coal in the ground. What no put the question up to Mr. Allan L. man made no man should be paid for. Benson, whom the Socialist Party has I nominated for the presidency, and his Government Farms and Farm Mach answed is here passed on to you. It) i inery is a good thing for an editor once in THE UNITED States Department a while to print an article, with every 0f Agriculture a few months ago is single paragraph of which he disa- sued a bulletin, the substance of grees. iwnicn was mat smau iarms couiu mn "Every Week's'' editor, however, be made to pay; thut considerable will be surprised to learn how many capital is required to make agriculture of his readers agree with many, if ( remunerative. We also .know that land not all of the paragraphs, appearing jn many states Is becoming so ex in the article which is as follows: I pensive-that farmers can not afford If I were President of the United to own it a fact that is proved by States. I would keen the country out of war over technicalities of international law as long as I had the the constant increase in the per centage of farms tilled by tenants. In Iowa, where land is exceedingly (power to get the country into war. high, the last census revealed an ac- But at the earnest moment i wouiu tual oss of bonulut on. 'try to divest myself of the power to r regard high-priced land in a na get the country Into war. The cp.Uon. a. great deal as physicians regard fan 61 whether a hatioh snail go to , high 'blood-pressure in a human body "war or remain at peace is too ol ten a!) a danger sign. I should, there determined by its foreign policies.- I 'fore, go energetically about it to re do not believe that any man snouio ( move the dangerwhich is, l ocneve, nave the power to determine whether .the private ownership of land for ex it national shall go to war or remain pUiitive purposes. I should urge the peace. I believe that the foreign pol- congress to enact a law under the icies of this government should be terms of which the government should .itin,l liu oppress: and that the ' immedintelv acquire, at the cost of people, by referendum, should have ' the buildings and farm machinery, the power to halt Congress. every larm owner, oy one inmviuuu. I believe that diplomacy should be and rented by another, and also every f i p iL. ftia rlnir- in.... wt u crti-nnriitinn transierrea nom uiu uk w w luim light; that the peopVs should be kept j j should not be in favor of disturb constuntly, promptly, and fully in-,j,1K by governmental purchase any formed as to the progress of their 'farrner who is tilling his own land, diplomatic affairs; and that even But j a0ther way I should try to Congress should be denied the ripnt ' disturb every farmer who is tilling -to make war, except to rcpcl actual own land. I should try to disturb invasion. I 'believe mat u we were iu n,m ly illustrating to mm now mucu attack any other nation, we snouia oo ibetter it would be to nave tne owner so only after a majority of the people snip of all farm lands lie in the gov had so voted, and that those who vot- lernment. I should urge the congress except in peace, I should immediately t() erel.t good, comfortable modem draft into the army. Inasmuch as bouses and barns on such tenant there can be for a nation no happiness fnrms as the government might ac except in peace, I should immediately ()uj,.u- j should urge that such farms uro-e the ueoule to place under their i, nnuinncd with all needed farm own control diplomacy and the war- ninchincry, and that of the best kind making power. Twenty Supreme Court Judges I Mhnnld let such farms be used upon the payment of a small sum annually to cover depreciation of buidlings and PEACE having been safeguarded in f arm machinery, i I should charge this manner, I should go about it to nothing for the use of the land. trv to make peace worth while for everybody in this country by prevent ing everybody from taking from any body any part of the value produced by his labor. In other words, I should urge Congress to get rid of the profit-taking capitalist class of acquir ing Bnd Operating, upon behalf of the people, the great industries and the great natural resources of the United States. If, the Congress were a So cialist Congress, it would be but a matter of form to make the suggest ion. If the Supreme Court of the United States were, as it is, a capital ist court, it would undoubtedly, if it Imfl nn omiortunitv. declare' such legislation to he unconstitutional. If it were a capitalist court, I should try Wffiripnrv Not the Only Thing I BELIEVE that such freedom of movement wou'd take away some of the drudgery of farm life. I believe it would do the California farmer good to farm in New York for a while, and I believe it would do tne incw York farmer good to farm in Califor nia for a while. Something might or might not be lost in efficiency. But efficiency is not the only thing in this world that is worth while. J he enjoy ment of life is worth something. I should not be in favor of com pelling the farmer who operates his own fnrm to sell it to the government. But my constant purpose would be to illustrato the advantages to oe deriv ed by operating farms owned by the In mnkp sure that it had no such on-iTr.," i oitnc m-linvo fivprvthincr from portunity. I would suggest to the bouses to hoes were supplied by the Congress that it increase the court , E0Vcrnmimt. My ideal would be a from nine to twenty, and would farm owne by the United States nominate eleven Socialist lawyers to j ,,0V(n,ment for every citizen of the complete the court and outvote trle , United States who might wish to other nine. J operate one and every f arm in the There is nothing sacred auout me country owned ly tne government. number nine as applied to this court. j should work toward this ideal be lli the beginning, it was composed of lt.aus0 t delieve that agriculture must seven to eight. The court had decided ever be the foundation of our pros adversely to the administration in the perity; that capital is necessary to so-called "Iegal Tender Cases," and muke it "pay", and that the small the extra judge was added to enable farmer, operating upon the competi Grant to appoint n man who would tjve ,ba8j8) can llot often accumulate reverse the court's decision, which ho , the necea!mry capital. Moreover, I be idid. But, while we should have re-1 lieve tnnt everybody in this country frwctoble authority for increasing the.ghou(i havc y,,, rirHt to a iv court to get our decisions, we should !jjlf, by np4iyjnK his labor to the soil, use such measures only temporarily. Wo have here enough land to support As quickly as a constitutional amend- in comfort ten times our present ment cou'l te put tnrougn tne amve .population. Only the law prevents us legislatures, we should take from the lf rom uamK jt; therefore, I would court its usurped power to pass upon cnnncc the law. the constitutionality or acts ot con- j s,ould pnv little or no attention grcss. I say "usurped lKscau.se the ; to tho foreign commerce of th constitution gives the court no suun irnjtp states. I should pay every at could throw me upon my back at any moment, as well as any other man or body of men connected with the administration of the government. I should urge that the people oe given the power, to recall, at any moment, any and every public servant. I should urge that the people be given the right, by direct ballot, to enact and repeal laws. I believe in the dem ocratic, both in politics and in in dustry. Either the people have the absolute right to rule everything con nected with the government, or they have a right to rule nothing. Instead of building battleships, I should try to get rid of things that bring battleships into use. I should urge congress to abandon all of our colonial possessions and back up on to this continent where we belong, and where, if attacked, we should be strongest in defense. I would take no chance of having to wage a war 8000 miles away from home. Monroe Doctrine Should ' Be Aban doned I SHOULD abandon the Monroe Doctrine at tho earliest possible moment. It was enacted to safeguard our peace, but it has become one of the greatest menaces to our peace. It has become little more than a fuse hanging from our window. Any passer-by can light it. It takes from us and gives to others tho power to say whether we shall remain at peace. We might ultimately have war if some European nation should colonize South America; but we should surely have instant war if we- should try to prevent it. I am not aware that it would be a much greater undertaking to bring an army from Europe to the United States than from South Amer ica to the United States, and there fore I do not believe that keeping European governments out of South America adds anything to our secur ity. Moreover, I am not so attached to the Mexicans that I believe we should have fared worse if the French had remained in Mexicc vhcn .. they went in under Napoleon III. I concede the right ot all peoples to self-government; in fact, I assert it. It would le morally wrong for any nation to try to force its government upon any other people. But no nation can wisely undertake to stop all the .moral wrongs that are taking place in the world. I believe we should safe guard our own peace, and let the rest of the world get along as best it can. Nationally speaking, the Don Quixote role does not appeal to me. I-iet us cease wronging other nations as we wronged Panama, for instance, when President Roosevelt "took" the Canal Zone before we trouble ourselves too much about preventing other na tions from wronging South and Cen tral Americans. Preparedness for Defense Only i BELIEVE 1 have indicated a number of ways in which a Socialist government could diminish the likeli hood of war, the most important of which is the removal of competition with other governments for the world's markets. A nation interested only in domestic production and con sumption need not concern itself with exports and is therefore in less dan ger of attack. Still, such a nation might be attacked. Some capitalist nation might wish to destroy the object lesson to human ity that we should be giving on this side of the Atlantic. I should toe in favor of welcoming such invaders, if they should come, with anchored mines that could be exploded with e'ectricity from shore, with sub marines, and with land fortifications. A thousand submarines would cost no more than a few dreadnoughts, yet, if they were stationed at con venient points along our coasts, transports would hardly venture near. Anchored mines are the things along the German coast that have long kept the British navy away. Great Britain does not trv to remove them with her mine-sweepers. German submarines and land guns prevent. Believing as I do in defense, but not in aggression. I should advocate weapons that are best for defense but worthless for aggression. Such are anchored mines, coast submarines, and land fortifica tions. I should not expect to do all of these things in a minute. Yet it is not so big a task as it seems. Ger many, France and Great Britain have taken over the control of many of their greatest industries in the last twenty months, and, in addition, have played their several parts in a tre mendous war. l ncneve a socialist administration in four years should make this country the wonder, the admiration, and the envy of the world. tent ion to the domestic consumption of the United States. I should pro ceed upon the theory that, in so far as material things can conduce to power, nnd the court for years after its creation claimed no such power. Congress Should Operate Uuilronds INASMUCH as transportation lics!tiur happiness, we are made happy, nt the bottom of our industrial and not by what we ship nbrond. but by social system, I should urge congress, wlint we consume nt home. We have first, to acquire and operate the rail- jn this country every important raw roads. I should be in favor of buying tlaterial that we require. I wou'd the railroads nnd paying in govern-1 put the energy of this government ment bonds what it would actually back of the task of developing our cost to reproduce them. I would supr- j nationnl resources to the full measure gest. that the bonds bo drawn to run t,f 0ur needs. I would have the govern fifty ye:irs, and that from the earn- rnent become n gigantic houscbuidler. ings of the roads 2 per cent of the R jjieantie furniture manufacturer, a face value of the bonds be taken every . pip-antic food producer a gigantic year and placed in a sinking fund for,mnker and distributor of everything their redemption nt maturity. I material that is neccessary to life nnd I should advise that all of the great happiness. So long as there was an industries and nil of our great natural .unfulfilled need that a factory could resources be acquired in tho same f j, I would have the government manner by paying in long-term gov-,,uj m()ro factories. I should con crnment bonds. If there were deter-'aider it a reflection upon my ad mined for instance say by the Beef ministration nnd upon the Socialist Trust that th1? ( cost of reproducing . party if, after the enactment of our its plant was some fabulous figure, , program, there were in America n I should urge congress to pet nt the hungry child, nn involuntarily idle exact facts 'by entering the packing lnnn, or n woman working for ton bupinest in competition with the trust dollnrs n week. and selling ment at cost. A govern- I would hae the government in ment plant half the size of the trust's dnstriallv big, but I would hnve the would squeeze out the trust. The ex- people politically bigger. I should jploitive value of the trust's properties urge Inws under which the people GEMS FROM THE BIBLE. For behold, the day Cometh, that shall burn as nn oven; nnd all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and tho day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Iord of hosts, thnt it shall leave them neither root nor branch. nut unto you that tear my name, sha'l the Sun of righteousness arise with healing m his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wick ed: for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the dav that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Ktmember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for ull Israel, with the stat utes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet lcfore the coming of the great and dreadful day of the I-ord; And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, nnd the heart of the children to their faters, lest 1 came and smite the earth with a cursee. CHICHESTER S PILLS '"in "mi 1 11 K1I4VR. V'X I TvJ Ti.ft no other. Buy of ynnr " pMIINII HIIANI IMLI.M, f. SOLD BY DRIGGISTS EVERVHHLRJE STOP PAYING RENT Don't give up that $10, $15, or $20 every month and . ( have nothing to show for it. Put it in a house and lot. We Will Sell You a House For That Rent Money Or we will sell you a lot and build you a house on such easy terms you'll hardly miss the money We Will Do More If you buy your lot from us, we will furnish you with a ' " design for the house and complete plans and specifications for building it ABSOLUTELY WITHOUT COST TO YOU CALL AND SEE US Wm. Miller & 115 Depot St. La Grande, Ore. " Roadster 193 1 . ,JfiA7ZUd.. NMIkW i.i'.SSB'ilB.'IWi -;! swsiSrotasaSikMElii 1 1 A Complete Car in Every Particular And It's a Car You Will Be Proiid to Own It's the first complete car at anywhere near so low a price. It stands out alone boldly unapproached a power ful five-passenger touring car complete for only $615. - Note that word "complete." That means Electric Starter, Electric Lights, Electric Horn, Magnetic Speedometer in fact, every necessary item. Nothing is lacking. There are no extras to buy. Note that it is not a small car. The wheelbase is 104 inches. The tires are four-inch size many cars costing more have smaller tires. And it is a perfect beauty snappy, stylish, speedy. In every way it's a car you will be proud to own and ride in. No wonder there's a rush to possess the car the world has been waiting for. Don't delay see us at once and talk it over. Car E, ILvens Ag'ent OITO. ' i
