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
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Ag'ent
OITO.
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