Word: epics
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...Southern California, a prime hot house for odd schemes, EPIC received its full share of attention from Theosophists, spiritualists, vegetarians. Populists, Single Taxers, Rosicrucians, crackpots, faddists and cultists of every sort. But it would not have survived a season had it not also made a strong appeal to California's desperate 425,000 unemployed and their 800,000 dependents. EPIC clubs sprang up overnight until by last week they numbered 1,000. And Upton Sinclair found himself a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Governor. "I found I was not getting anywhere as a Socialist," explained...
...result of his Eastern junket, word was spread through the Democracy that genial Mr. Sinclair could be "handled." Told off to do the handling in California were Messrs. McAdoo and Creel. At the Democratic State Convention the party platform failed to mention the name EPIC, made no commitments as to the Sinclair proposals for land colonies, scrip, bond issues, high income taxes or pensions. EPIC was emasculated save for pledges to put the unemployed to work at productive labor, enabling them to produce what they could consume; to put the State's credit and resources behind cooperative self-help...
Immediate Epic. Left to his own poliical devices, Nominee Sinclair began a behind-the-hand campaign to assure his loyal following that EPIC was still there. He brought out another pamphlet called Immediate Epic. Still intact on the back cover was original EPIC...
Aware that his CAM bond issue was hopeless at this time, Nominee Sinclair proposed, instead, to levy a tax on industrial corporations and utilities to raise ''$5,000,000 or $10,000,000" to prime his EPIC pump. He proposed to go to a man with an idle dress factory, for example, rent his plant for tax-receivable paper for three years, retaining the executives at their old salaries. Unemployed would be put to work making dresses for other unemployed, who would in turn be set to work as soon as possible in other factories...
After three years the State was to vote on EPIC's retention. If the vote was favorable the hired factories would be bought outright by the State. That it would be favorable, Mr. Sinclair had no doubt, since he believes Depression will then be as bad as ever and ''workers would soon be clamoring to enter our system...