Who said what can labor do for itself?

Speech by Eugene V. Debs, June 16, 1918

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“Comrades, Friends and Fellow-Workers:-

“For this very cordial greeting, this very hearty reception, I thank you all with the fullest appreciation of y our interest in your devotion to the cause for which I am to speak to you this afternoon.  To speak for labor, to plead the cause of the men and women and children who toil, to serve the working class, has always been to me a high privi-lege, a duty of love.

“I have just returned from a visit from yonder (pointing to workhouse) where three of our most loyal com-rades are paying the penalty for their devotion to the cause of the working class.  They have come to realize, as many of us have, that it is extremely dangerous to exercise the con-stitutional right of free speech in a country fighting to make democracy safe for the world.  I realize in speaking to you this afternoon that there are certain limitations placed upon the right of free speech.  I must be extremely careful, prudent, as to what I say, and even more careful and prudent as to how I say it.  I may not be able to say all I think, but I am not going to say anything that I do not think.  And I would rather a thousand times be a free soul in jail than a sycophant or coward on the streets.  They may put those boys in jail and some of the rest of us in jail, but they cannot put the Socialist movement in jail.  Those prison bars separate their bodies from ours, but their souls are here this afternoon.  They are simply paying the penalty that all men have paid in all of the ages of history for standing erect and seeking to pave the way for better con-ditions for mankind.

“If it had not been for the men and women who, in the past, have had the moral courage to go to jail, we would still be in the jungles.

“This assembly is exceedingly good to look upon.  I wish it were possible to give you what you are giving me this afternoon.  What I say here amounts to but little.  What I see here is exceedingly important.  You workers here in Ohio, enlisted in the greatest cause ever organized in the interests of you class, are making history today in the face of threat-ening trouble of all kinds, history that is going to be read with profound interest by the coming generation.  There is but one thing that you have to be concerned about, and that is that you keep four-square with the principles of the international Socialistic movement.  It is only when you begin to compromise that trouble begins.  So far as I am concerned, it does not matter what others may say or think or do, as long as I am sure that I am right with myself and the cause.  

“There are so many who seek refuge in the popular side of a great question.  I am not of that number.  As a Socialist I have long since learned how to stand alone.

“For the last month I have been traveling over the Hoosier state, and let me say that in all my connections with the Socialist movement, I have never seen such enthusiasm, such unity of movement, such a promising outlook as there is today.  Notwithstanding the statement published by the capitalist press that our leaders had deserted, I wish to say for myself I never had very much faith in leaders anyway.  I am willing to be charged with almost anything rather than be charged with being a leader.  I am suspicious of leaders, especially all the intellectual file.  Give me the rank and file every day in the week.  Go to the City of Washington and consult the files there and you will find that the corporation lawyers, members of congress and misrepresentatives of the masses- - all of them claim that they have risen from the ranks.  I am so glad that I cannot make that claim for myself.  When I rise, it will be  

QUOTES

-Citizenship-
"I have no country to fight for: my country is the earth, and I am a citizen of the world."

-Community-
Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on the earth. I said then and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.

Now my friends, I am opposed to the system of society in which we live today, not because I lack the natural equipment to do for myself but because I am not satisfied to make myself comfortable knowing that there are thousands of my fellow men who suffer for the barest necessities of life. We were taught under the old ethic that man's business on this earth was to look out for himself. That was the ethic of the jungle; the ethic of the wild beast. Take care of yourself, no matter what may become of your fellow man. Thousands of years ago the question was asked; ''Am I my brother's keeper?'' That question has never yet been answered in a way that is satisfactory to civilized society. Yes, I am my brother's keeper. I am under a moral obligation to him that is inspired, not by any maudlin sentimentality but by the higher duty I owe myself. What would you think me if I were capable of seating myself at a table and gorging myself with food and saw about me the children of my fellow beings starving to death.

-Economy-
We want a system in which the worker shall get what he produces and the capitalist shall produce what he gets.

The economic owning class is always the political ruling class.

-Labor-
Ten thousand times has the labor movement stumbled and bruised itself. We have been enjoined by the courts, assaulted by thugs, charged by the militia, traduced by the press, frowned upon in public opinion, and deceived by politicians. 'But notwithstanding all this and all these, labor is today the most vital and potential power this planet has ever known, and its historic mission is as certain of ultimate realization as is the setting of the sun.

You have got to unite in the same labor union and in the same political party and strike and vote together, and the hour you do that, the world is yours.

What can Labor do for itself? The answer is not difficult. Labor can organize, it can unify; it can consolidate its forces. This done, it can demand and command.

-Volunteer-
It is when you have done your work honestly, when you have contributed your share to the common fund that you begin to live.

What was Eugene Debs quote?

Debs (1855 — 1926) "Years ago, I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth... While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free..."

What was Eugene V Debs known for?

Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States.