In the beginning, carping critics questioned the necessity for the existence of the Industrial Workers of the World.

It would be a waste of time and space to specify all of the sophistries that have been made to pass as argument by the opponents of the organization.

We have been derided as impracticable, immoral, unnecessary, unethical, dishonest and devoid of ability, knowledge, or any other attribute necessary to justify our existence.

Hundreds of pounds of paper and printer’s ink have been used to scatter vituperation and misrepresentation about the organization and its active members.

Thousands of dollars have been spent by the employers to defeat and disrupt the organization and prevent its growth among the workers employed in the various industries.

Detective agencies have used the I.W.W. as a bugaboo to scare indifferent employers into becoming clients.

Thousands of members have been jailed and many of them murdered in the effort to stop the progress of organization and education among the workers.

With ten years of history to our credit the need for the I.W.W. has been emphasized beyond the possibility of doubt in the minds of all who have given the labor problem careful study.

The form of the organization has provided to be in accord with the march of industrial progress. Its principles have proven sound, and its tactics have been demonstrated to be efficient.

Even in defeat these facts have been further emphasized. In every case where the workers have not been victorious the loss of the struggle has occurred not because the methods of the I.W.W. were faulty, but because the organization was not financially or numerically strong enough to generate the power required to apply the tactics needed to win the struggle; or, as in some cases, the workers involved were not educated up to the tactics advocated by the organization.

Driven from their former positions by the logic of events, the opponents of the organization now grudgingly admit that organization on the lines proposed by the I.W.W. is necessary – but – say these professed friends of the workers, it is not all-sufficient, it does not cover all the needs of the working class.

It is their claim now that the I.W.W. can only function to advance the shop interest of the workers. While it is admitted that this is an important that this is an important item we are reminded that there are other and, according to some, greater problems confronting the human race.

Social problems such as the care of the aged, the sick, insane, infirm and the criminal; general sanitation and hygiene; cultivation of art, literature, and the sciences; the development of education; the abolition of race and national antagonisms; the adjudication of disputes between individuals; the promotion of enterprises and inventions – in short, the whole gamut of human endeavor is cited to prove that the I.W.W. does not and cannot meet the requirements needed to usher in the new order of things.

Once again our critics, friendly and otherwise, are wrong.

Were these objections voiced only by the mouthpieces of the ruling class, their source would be sufficient answer to the allegations. When they are voiced and repeated by alleged revolutionists, radicals and semi-radicals they cause confusion and dissipate time, energy and resources that otherwise would be employed to bring about the abolition of the wage system.

In answer to our critics we assert that the shop question, so far as the workers are concerned, is THE important question, and furthermore it is the problem that must be solved before any solution of other questions is possible.

With the control of industry passing over into the hands of the workers organized on class lines, as proposed by the I.W.W., the care of the aged and sick in each worker’s family will be possible without the assistance of public institutions. The care of those who are without family connections will be arranged for by the industrial organization providing institutions that will readily care for the inmates.

In the care of the insane the industrial organization will take over the present day institutions and convert them from places of horror into establishments operated for the comfort and well being of the unfortunates placed therein. It is also to be noted in this connections that most of the insanity prevalent today comes from the unnatural conditions brought into existence as a result of the wage system. With the abolition of the wage system it will not require many generations before insanity will be a rare disease.

As most criminals, like the insane, are a byproduct of the wage system, it will only be necessary for the industrial organization to create an opportunity for employment for all, and the criminals will disappear from society. These derelicts who are a heritage from the present system will be provided for by taking over the penal institutions by the industrial organization and converting them into sanitariums for the treatment of members of the human race whose characters have been warped in the struggle for existence.

The problems of sanitation and hygiene will, for the most part, settle themselves as the organization of the workers is able to increase the income of the workers. When the organization is in possession of the required resources, the medical profession can and will be organized for the purpose of handling such matters on a comprehensive scale wherever necessary.

Only when the organized workers have obtained control of industry will it be possible for art and literature to reach their fullest and freest development. Then none will have to smother their talent or curb their pen in order to cater to a ruling class. The genius will be able to provide for his or her material wants by a few hours spent in productive labor and still have more time to devote to cultivating his or talents than they now have. The scientist will be able to follow his bent without having to fight starvation and the false scientists who are attempting to pervert science to the interest of a ruling class.

When the industrial organization is firmly intrenched in the industries the work of organizing and educating the educators on class lines will be taken up. As the educators are organized the educational problem of the future will begin to approach a solution.

The antagonisms between races and nations can only be abolished when the idea of class solidarity has been accepted by the workers. In the task of promoting that idea the I.W.W. is the only organization that is meeting the needs of the times.

Disputes between individuals and interests will for the most part disappear with the wage system. For such as arise the industrial organization can and will provide the necessary machinery to settle the same with as good or better results than any other institution.

With the organized workers in control of industry the inventive genius of the human race will be enabled to blossom forth as never before in the history of mankind.

The sum total of human wants may be summed up under five general heads: Food, clothing, shelter, education and amusement.

No one can gainsay that under existing conditions the workers’ access to these necessities depends entirely upon the power and efficiency of their organizations within the industries in which they are employed. Not alone as to its power to decide the hours, wages and conditions governing while at work, but also on the ability of the organization to provide an opportunity for all to be employed on terms that will gurantee them the wherewithal to procure these necessities.

Today the wage received determines what kind of shelter the worker will have; it determines the neighborhood where that shelter is located; it says what the quantity and quality of the food consumed by him and his family shall be; it sets the standard of the amusements that they can enjoy; and it says whether the children shall be well educated, poorly educated, or not at all.

If under the present system the workers’ organization within the industries is THE factor that determines the degree of physical comfort and mental relaxation for the worker, does it not follow that after the workers have secured control of industry their organization will provide them with all the necessary machinery to handle the problems of the new society? The conclusion is logically sound, and furthermore is demonstrating its correctness day by day.

For the workers the task is to secure control of industry. Organization on the lines of and with the principles of the I.W.W. is the only method that will accomplish that result.

Let us devote our entire time and energy to the upbuilding of an organization powerful enough to function in our interest, and its sufficiency is assured.

Organize! Educate! Build well the foundation of the new order, and the victory will be ours!

Transcribed by Juan Conatz