Today is the era of machinery. Technics are developing rapidly. Machines are becoming perfect, and their products are getting better and cheaper. Year after year more people can afford to buy cars, homes, musical instruments, and jewelry, all of which make life more pleasant. The things that were considered luxuries ten years ago have become necessities today. The greater the number of buyers, the better the general prosperity and the wealthier the country.

But into this harmonic symphony creeps a discordant note--the fact that there are four million unemployed and needy persons in the United States.

The perfected machines are crowding skilled tradesmen out of work. Their 2places are filled by untrained, unorganized, cheap laborers. Often the new machine, handled by a youngster, does the work of fifty men. Railroads and coal mines employ hundreds of thousands less men now than eight or ten years ago. The chain store takes the place of the small, independent stores, and the factories do away with the smaller industries..... The time of profit-making small farms went out with the candles and homemade soap. The ordinary American farmer's annual income is six hundred and forty-eight dollars. Many farmers try to find work in industrial centers, but opportunities are diminishing daily. The result is corruption and the growing number of gunmen.

Can an improvement be expected while production, transportation, and sales are the sources of private profiteering? This is the question that remains unanswered and which awaits a solution.

The capitalists are trying to solve this problem by reducing wages and 3introducing the five-day-work week. The white-collar wage slaves are also dissatisfied with their lot. They are trying to organize, too. As can be seen, the oft mentioned prosperity is not apparent at this time.

The experimentation in Soviet Russia is still in the experimental stage. They are developing their industry, educating their people generally. Possibly, when Bolshevism will be mature, it will be the ideal pattern for other countries to follow. Private ownership won't be replaced by state ownership in the United States, and socialism is not accepted here, as proved by the last presidential election. In 1920, Debs, the Socialist [party] presidential candidate, received 554,200 votes. Thomas, the most recent Socialist candidate, received less than 300,000 votes. The two dominating political parties--the Democratic and Republican--differ very slightly in their aims.....Probably they will unite sometime in the future. In this case an opposition party will be formed by the workers. At present 4there is no workers party in the United States.

Of the forty million workers in the United States, less than ten per cent are organized into unions--about three million. On the other hand, the capitalists are very well organized. They have political parties, trusts, chambers of commerce, industrial combines, federal reserve banks, etc.

Progress won't be halted. The example of the postal service is worth following. Mail is handled by the state. The only aim is to give the public cheap, fast, and good service.....If the aim of the postal service were to make profits, the cost of stamps would be several dollars instead of a few cents. If production, transportation, and sales were managed, not for the benefit of private profiteers, but for the benefit of mankind, most probably the cost of commodities could be paid in pennies instead of dollars. Then there would be enough time for self-cultivation. The gunman 5wouldn't be forced to murder. There would be no need for misrepresentation, misstatements in advertisements, or competition with inferior products. Swindling, stealing, and sin would be unnecessary and therefore would cease to exist.

Humanity is still in its infancy and has only five senses. In time it will grow mature and acquire more senses. Our descendants will be as far above us in intelligence as we are above the five-fingered fish that was the forefather of the monkey who was our sire. It is a promising thought that our descendants will be angelic beings.....