Here’s What the Socialists
Advocated Back in 1932
And you roail of .some of I ho planks
in fliolr parly plai form, wo aro Inclined to
bollo%’0 llial you will agroo Ilia! these*
planks have a very familiar sound today.
THERE was a time when many
people shuddered at mention
of the word "Socialism.”
Л
Socialist was generally looked
upon as an enemy to our form of
government. He was practically
ostracised. The platform of the
Socialist party was branded by
most folks as being revolutionary
and extremely dangerous.
Socialists were regarded as the
scum of politics. To label a person
as being a member of that party
was to label him as being un-
American.
Same as we look upon Commu¬
nists today.
The Socialist party has been ac¬
tive over a long period. Old-timers
clearly recall the campaigns that
used to be made by Eugene V.
Debs and other Socialist leaders.
But the party never got very far in
politics. They had candidates at all
of the national elections, but these
candidates ran far behind the Re¬
publican and Democratic stalwarts.
Socialism a terrible thing!
Today we don't hear very much
about Socialism. Because of this
fact we thought our readers might
like to know something about the
things that this crazy group of poli¬
ticians used to advocate about
twenty years ago. A friend of ours
in Charlotte last week sent us some
excerpts from "A Plan for Ameri¬
ca." the official campaign handbook
of the Socialist party in 1932. The
following information appeared on
pages 10-16. Read it and see how
silly it was. Democrats and Repub¬
licans alike called it absurd, ridicu¬
lous. impracticable and dangerous.
Read it carefully:
Unemployment and Labor
Legislation
1 . A Federal appropriation of five
billions for immediate relief for
those in need, to supplement State
and local appropriations.
2. A Federal appropriation of five
billions for public works and roads,
reforestation, slum clearance, and
decent homes for the workers, by
Federal Government, States, and
cities.
3. Legislation providing for the
acquisition of land, buildings and
equipment necessary to put the un¬
employed to work producing food,
fuel, and clothing, and for the erec¬
tion of houses for their own use.
4. The 6-hour and the 5-day week
without a reduction of wages.
5. A comprehensive and efficient
system of free public employment
agencies.
6. A compulsory system of un¬
employment compensation with
adequate benefits, based on contri¬
butions by the Government and by
employers.
7. Old-age pensions for men and
women 60 years of age and over.
8. Health and maternity insur¬
ance.
9. Improved system of work¬
men’s compensation and accident
insurance.
10. The abolition of child labor.
11. Government aid to farmers
and small-home owners to protect
them against mortgage foreclo¬
sures and a moratorium on sales
for nonpayment of taxes by desti¬
tute farmers and unemployed
workers.
12. Adequate minimum-wage
laws.
Banking
1. Socialization of our credit and
currency system, and the establish¬
ment of a unified banking system
with the complete governmental
acquisition of the Federal Reserve
banks.
Taxation
1. Steeply increased inheritance
taxes and income taxes on the
higher incomes and estates of both
corporations and individuals.
2. A constitutional amendment
authorizing the taxation of all
Government securities.
Agriculture
1. The reduction of tax burdens
by a shift from taxes on farm prop¬
erty to taxes on incomes, inheri¬
tances. excess profits, and other
similar forms of taxes.
2. Increased Federal and State
subsidies to road building and edu¬
cation and social service for rural
communities.
3. The creation of a Federal
marketing agency for the purchase
and marketing of agricultural
products.
4. The acquisition by bona lido
cooperative societies and by gov¬
ernmental agencies of grain eleva¬
tors. stockyards, packing-houses,
and warehouses, and the conduct of
these services on a nonprofit basis.
The encouragement of farmers' co¬
operative societies and of consum¬
ers’ cooperatives in the cities, with
a view of eliminating the middle¬
man.
5. The socialization of Federal-
land banks and the extension by
these banks of long-term credit to
farmers at low rates of interest.
6. Social insurance against losses
due to adverse weather conditions.
7. The creation of national, re¬
gional, and State land-utilization
boards for the purpose of discover¬
ing the best uses of the farming
land of the country in view of the
joint needs of agriculture, in¬
dustry. recreation, water supply,
reforestation, etc., and to prepare
the way for agricultural planning
on a national and. ultimately, on
a world scale.
And there you are, ladies and
gentlemen. All that is from the
platform of the Socialist party in
1932. Somehow or other it sounds
rather familiar, doesn’t it?
We said at the beginning of this
article that "today we don’t hear
very much about Socialism."
Which is true. There's no reason
why we should hear about it, be¬
cause it has practically been swal¬
lowed up by the Democratic party.
They have helped bring to pass
most of these items which you have
just read.
THE STATE. FCOPUABY 11. 1950
