Industrial Workers of the World

The basis of industrial unionism is the Class Struggle. The only justification for the I.W.W. is the fact that we, of the working class, are engaged in a war, of an organised capitalist class against an organised working class.

It cannot be denied that society today is divided into two economic classes. Even newspaper editors, politicians and other persons who hold up their hands in horror at the doctrines of the class war admit it in their everyday life.

Tory, Liberal, and even so-called Labor editors, preach for the capitalists; the clerics preach to the working class, contentment: "Be satisfied with your lot, that it has pleased God to call you." But we of the working class deny the right of anyone to call us to slavery, to long hours, to low wages, to war, to unemployment, to adulterated food, and our sisters to prostitution.

The politicians of all parties admit that there is a class war, when they assure us that arbitration is the best method of settling industrial disputes. But we industrial unionists are not ocncerned with settling disputes but with winning them.

The Class War does not mean a personal antagonism, but an age-long dispute over the management of all industries. The master class want the industries, the means of life all over the world to be run and managed in the interests of the capitalist class. The miliitant members of the working class agitate and organise the toilers of all creeds, colour, and countries, to seize all industries and manage them in the interests of the worker.

In the great class struggle the capitalists rely to win upon an ignorant, servile, and disorganised working class. The wage slaves rely to win uppon an intelligent, rebelious and organised working class. The master class endeaver to starve the bodies and stunt the souls of their slaves, to mislead them with false ideals, and at all costs to keep them from the science, art and culture of the world.

Has an arbitration award ever laid down that every workers child shall have education? or have the chance of studying one at least one of the concrete sciences or of becoming proficient in one of the fine art? Or would the arbitration unionists have the courage to domand these absolute necessities of a full life ?

In the class war the hope of the bosses is many craft unions; The hope of the slaves is one big industrial union - the I.W.W.

The motive of the capitalists is the subjection of the working class. The motive and historical misssion of the working class is a social re-organisation.

We of the I.W.W. are grimly determined to do away with commercial wars. Today hired bosses (the petty officers of the capitalist army) are placed over us in the mill, mine and factory; in the future, the workers will elect their own bosses. All along the line we will have to challenge the master class form of civilisation, and the historical institutions - the law, the State, the Church.

Always and everywhere the ruling class will use superstition, ignorane and physial violence against our demands. Always and everywhere the slaves will have to use science, education and sabotage to win in the class war. The true working class organisation of Revolutionary International Industrial Unionism is doing more than any other factor in our present civilisation to teach the workers the biology of the oneness of life.

"Tis the final conflict
Let each take his place,
The industrial union
Shall be the human race."

M. Sawtell Direct Action 15 March 1915