﻿T-Bone Slim Slim Says: The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg Died

Undoubtedly the industrial overlords are penitent because they killed the goose that laid the golden egg— but that doesn’t bring the goose back. All their protestations that they will never, never do it again is just so much blithering poppy-cock. Their intentions may be the very best in the world, but they must go by the board because their profit system is basically wrong.
A thief in jail will promise by all the hair in Allah’s beard that never again, so long as he lives, will he lay his fingers on another’s valuables— but just so soon as he gets out of jail he is confronted with the artificial realities of life, and his neighbor’s ice-box takes on a “come hither” appeal—and first thing we know he is back before the magistrate swearing his morals skidded, and he did it all for the wife and kiddies.
No, there is no reformation of industrial autocrats. Their habits are too strong.
We have prided ourselves in the past on our powers to recuperate from each successive plundering, and it is true, we have recovered from many and grievous assaults. But it seems so ridiculous to sweat and steam and starve to repair the damages of industrial greed, day after day, year after year, repeatedly, without end, generation after generation.
Why not take stock and quit dealing with results? Why not get at the cause of our discomfort? And, by the way, one we do away with the cause, there will be no results to take up our time.
Decentralization of autocracy in ‘76 into an industrial oligarchy of better than two million overlords of today, accomplished no departure from the time-honored custom of raiding labor’s treasury.
Autocracy will not prosper. Strikes to the right of us, strikes to the left of us, cannot be laughed off. They are not wasted effort. They are exercises in the better things to come.
One thing is certain: The stronger the workers are organized, the lower the exploiter drags his ears. The exploiters are organized in a corporate body of some two million industrial beneficiaries of the looting—but we can bring up 50 million workers!—T-B-S.