Meeting of the Wage Slaves in South Bend
By Albert Parsons
The Alarm October 15, 1884

SOUTH BEND, Ind., contains the three largest wagon, plow, and sewing-machine factories in America, besides several smaller establishments, giving employment and subsistence to a population of 20,000 persons. The Studebakers, Ollivers, Singers, and other capitalistic czars who own this town have so completely subjugated their wage-slaves to the despotism of private capital that no person dares belong to a labor organization, and if suspected of being connected with such is at once discharged On going to this town last week it was not surprising to find that no one would identify themselves or be known as having anything to do with arousing and organizing the laborers. Two thousand copies of the following hand-bill were distributed on Wednesday:

"Workingmen's mass-meeting, Thursday, September 24, at 7:30 p.m., in front of Court-House. Subject: "Low Wages, Hard Times, and No Work. What Shall We Do?" Every workingman and woman in South Bend should attend. The Committee."

At the time appointed over 1,000 men and women had gathered in response to the call. Mr. Frank Avery, of Mishawauka, acted as Chairman, and introduced A.R. Parsons, of Chicago. Mr. Parsons stepped forward and began distributing among the audience copies of Victor Hugo's "Message to the Rich and Poor."

The speaker then said that no doubt his hearers had often read about the Anarchists, Communists, and Socialists. To-night they could see and hear one and judge for themselves of the merits of Socialism. The speaker said that Socialism declared the rich to be "devils bred in hell, and dogs with hearts of stone," because their "paradise is made out of the hells of the poor;" and Socialism proclaimed that "not to be a slave was to dare and do." The slavery of labor to capital was as complete in South Bend as anywhere else. Men of families were working for 80 cents per day, and hundreds were walking the streets unable to find any employment at all. The slavery of labor was seen in the fact that wage-workers were compelled to do ten hours' work for three hours' pay, and their only choice was between such a condition of labor or compulsory idleness, which meant no bread at all. Low wages and no work created hard times, and "hard times" was created by the private -property system, which deprived the people of their inalienable right to the free use of all the means of life.

Shakespeare had Shylock say: "You do take my life when you take the means whereby I live" and this is precisely what every capitalist has done; they have made capital private property, and thus deprived the workers of the means of life and the right to live. The Czar of Russia possessed no more despotic power than that which the propertied class exercise over the propertyless. Every capitalist could and did discharge from employment the worker or workers who complained of the unfair, and unjust, and cruel, and oppressive conditions under which they were forced to labor. The power to withhold bread and doom the workers to a life of misery, hunger, and death was possessed and exercised by the capitalistic czars of South Bend, as everywhere else. The right to live carried with it the right to the free use of all the means of life, and those who were denied that right were the bondsmen and slaves of those who do. The capitalistic system of labor had divided the people into classes, and had rendered the natural law, the solidarity of interests among the people, an impossibility. This system had created masters and slaves, rulers and ruled, robbers and robbed. In South Bend Olliver, of the plow works, who performed no labor at all, received an income of $1,500 clear profit each day, while his 1,000 wage-slaves did ten hours' work each and received for each day's work in wages a sum that was equivalent to three hours' work. What became of the other seven hours? Olliver got it, and this was what made his $1,500 per day. If the men struck against these terms they were discharged and made to suffer the pangs of hunger and want. Such was the power which the private-property system conferred upon the owners of capital. Studebaker, and Singer, and all the other property beasts could and did exercise the same despotic power. Where, then, is the boasted liberty of the American wage-worker? In what does their freedom consist? They enjoyed the right to be wage-slaves; or, striking and refusing to be such, they were free to starve!

Last January in South Bend the workers struck against starvation wages, and, driven to desperation and madness, they sought to destroy those who were enslaving and destroying them. What did the property class do? They had the military and police called out to arrest and shoot their rebellious wage-slaves. The Grand Army of the Republic, which, twenty-five years ago, drew its sword to liberate the black chattel slave from bondage, came to South Bend, and with gleaming bayonets and flashing swords riveted the chains of slavery upon wage-laborers and compelled them to submit to the dictation of the property beasts.

[Great sensation. The crowd pressed nearer the speaker, and on the outskirts the cry went up - "That's a lie, and the Grand Army will make you answer for it." On every hand the workmen shouted: "It is the truth, and if you harm the speaker it will be you, and not him, that will dangle on a rope from a tree limb."]

After order was restored the speaker continued, and showed that the United States army was now employed in Wyoming Territory against strikers; that the military was employed in East Saginaw, Mich.; in Cleveland, O.; in Lemont, Ill. in fact, it was employed wherever the capitalists called for it to subjugate their wage-slaves, who were in revolt against oppression and slavery. The speaker said that economy, industry, and sobriety were three virtues which capitalists never practiced; that there could be no overproduction of food when people perished from hunger, or overproduction of houses and clothing when the great mass of the people were without homes and clothed in rags. Crime, disease, ignorance, insanity, suicide, and all the ills which afflict the people result from enforced artificial poverty; and this poverty was created by the private ownership of the means of life capital. It was such a condition of affairs that was absolutely certain to finally create the social revolution. The workers would be driven by necessity to revolt and overthrow the power of those who were growing rich and thriving upon their misery. Voting, strikes, arbitration, etc., were of no use. Those who deprived the workers of the wealth they created, and held them by laws and the bayonet in subjection, would never heed the logic of anything but force physical force the only argument that tyrants ever could or would listen to. The law the statute law the Government, was the creation of the privileged class a class that lived without working and became rich by depriving the workers. It was the law which had made the land private property; had done the same thing with machinery, the means of transportation and communication. The law the statute law had made private property of all the means of life, dooming the wage-workers to a life of hereditary servitude to the privileged class. Could we, who suffer from it, be expected to uphold "law and order," the instrumentality by which we were deprived of our right to life, to liberty, and happiness? Workingmen and women of South Bend, prepare for the inevitable. Join your comrades of Chicago and elsewhere. All over the world a similar condition of affairs exists, and a storm is brewing which will break forth ere long and destroy forever the right of man to govern, exploit, and enslave his fellow-man. Agitate, organize, revolt!

The above was, in substance, the speech of Mr. Parsons. Throughout he was cheered enthusiastically by the workingmen, but from the labor robbers present he was frequently interrupted with threats and sneers. After the meeting an attempt was made upon the sidewalk, while going to his lodging-house, to assault the speaker, but it was prevented by the workingmen who accompanied him home.