Socialist Platform Promotes Municipal Ownership in Topeka
May 5 report from Garnett Kansas outlines a socialist convention reaffirming national and state platforms. The Topeka platform supports municipal ownership of public utilities to fund taxes by direct methods, public operation of monopolies, and democratic management. It urges expanded manual training, free textbooks, and reduced focus on commercialism, while addressing overcrowded schools and underpaid teachers. The wet or dry issue is framed as solvable by socialist methods that remove profits from liquor trade, and laborers would receive full value under socialism. Commentary from the Boston Traveler warns socialism is advancing, predicting eventual public ownership of essential services and government seizure of private assets.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Topeka
Adams quote on wage labor and freedom versus slavery
A quotation contrasts paid labor with slavery, arguing that money only buys life’s necessities and that the distinction between free men and slaves is artificial. The view presents labor as a form of servitude, equating wage earning to bondage and questioning true freedom.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Adams
Workers and Idlers in a Poetic Debate
A dramatic poem contrasts Workers and Idlers across themes of labor, industry, and social justice. It questions who labors to build society and who reaps profit, challenging the emotional and moral costs borne by workers in factories, rail, and hearth.
Municipal ownership praised in Chicago lighting record
The Chicago American argues for municipal ownership of utilities, citing a 1902 Chicago city electric lighting plant that saved taxpayers 283 612.89 versus private operation. It notes 4508 lamps, total operating cost 241 224.11, and private costs would exceed 524 837 paid by the city.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Hearst
Chicago American
Chicago
Saue
Lincoln's reply on choosing sides with the Lord
In a Vanguard piece, Franklin H. Wentworth recalls a delegation urging Lincoln to adopt their theology. They demanded zeal, but Lincoln replied that it matters more that we be on the Lord's side than that the Lord be on ours.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Franklin H. Wentworth
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln and the Lord's Side in Human Liberty
The speech extols Abraham Lincoln as a beacon for liberty and faith. It notes his independence from ridicule, his courage to walk with God, and his belief that emancipation was only a step toward true freedom. It frames Lincoln as a model who charged others to be on the Lord's side and labor for humanity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Abraham Lincoln
God
England
America
Abraham
Wage gaps spark debate on women workers in Minnesota
A Minnesota note cites Ohio Labor Commissioner Ratchford claiming women workers earn an average of 4.83 per week while living costs run 5.23. It highlights a 73.61 percent rise in Minnesota women wage earners over ten years, questioning if socialism would ruin the home as critics claim. The Union of Minneapolis remarks on outcomes of honest toil and rising urban pressures.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ratchford
Ohio
Minnesota
The
Union
Minneapolis, Minn
Senate in Special Session Costs and Comedy
The Lawrence Jefferson Gazette laments the costly spectacle of a special senate session that could have been avoided. It compares the delay and fuss to a poorly behaved child, noting taxpayers fund the shows while senators and families enjoy social niceties, leaving others to bear the bill.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States Senate
Lawrence Jefferson Gazette
Old Line Politician Promises Post Election Realities
A concise Union editorial questions working men who backed a veteran politician in the last election about the tangible benefits or goods delivered since the vote. The piece critiques complacency and invites readers to compare rhetoric with results.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
The
Union
Minneapolis
Minn
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