cannon at which employers could laugh. If the employer knew
absolutely that the men could not strike, he might offer any terms
he pleased. In wage bargaining the men would not stand on a level
footing, but be bound and gagged.

"If, then, the government takes away, or seriously restricts, the
right of the men to strike, isn't it bound to step into the breach
and readjust the balance between them and the employer, by
compelling the employer to pay them fair wages? There can be no
free bargaining if it is known that at a certain point the
government will intervene on one side. Must it not, then, also be
known that at a certain point the government will intervene on the
other side and compel payment of adequate wages?

"Mr. Churchill carries his puzzle only that far. On our own account
we add, How far will that leave us from regulation of wages as well
as of rates by the government, and how far will that leave us from
government ownership?"[76]

In a word, Mr. Churchill's remedy for the evils of "State Socialism" is
more "State Socialism"--and undoubtedly there is an inevitable trend in
that direction. But the government railway strikes of France, Austria,
Italy, Hungary, and other countries ought to show him that his remedy,
advantageous as it may be from many standpoints, is scarcely to be
considered even as a first step towards the solution of the labor
problem. As long as capitalists continue to control government, "State
Socialism," on the contrary, makes the strike more necessary, more
decisive, and invaluable, not only to employees, but to every class that
suffers from the government or the economic system it supports.

The most representative of American Socialists, Eugene V. Debs, has
given us an excellent characterization of this movement as it appears to
most Socialists.

"Successful leaders are wise enough to follow the people. For
instance, the following paragraph is to the point:--

"'Ultimately I believe that this control of corporations should
undoubtedly, directly or indirectly, extend to dealing with all
questions connected with their treatment of their employees,
including the wages, the hours of labor, and the like.'

"And what Socialist made himself ridiculous by such a foolish
utterance? No Socialist at all; only a paragraph from his latest
article on the trusts by