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Show 172 173 liyen our peace conferences have lit't‘ll in min. The t‘epi'tv. Sentatiyes oi nations go away I‘t‘out the t"tll|-t‘l‘t'llt‘t'\ to tind their countries rushing into the liloodiest of wars. \\'t* hayr- lwen holding peaet eontereuees for the l:i~»t si\ti ~i\ \t'.‘tt\_ 'l'wenlys three international peace conferences lime so liar heeu held. and Wt 140mm mum .‘Tl during 111mg yeai‘s there haie heeu countless "Mix and the liloothest oi hattles. and a most territic destruction ot Me and property. In spite of all the appeals for peace. In spite of the universal desire growing erer stronger and deeper in the heart of humanity for peace on earth. the burden and tin t-iit'st oi militarism grows st ‘adily. llere in Attitriea. partieularh within the last t\ w years, the rush ot our nation in preparation tor war has heen astound, in}; .llurit .1 the last lew ye: *- the l‘illlt'tl States of \met‘ira has appropriated more money J'or military niea~ttre~~ oi rariou: kinds than any other nation on earth. ('ettxtin rei>rt-seutatiyes of the army and umy, like congressman ('aptain llohsou, have lteen makingr a systematic and thorouelugoinq‘ campaign among-the people of the western states with the purpose of enormously inerea ' f: the nary. (tn practically all of the (,'li:tttt.'ttttpt:t plat- forms for years this agitation has heen carried on. .\nd the whole purpise frankly stated in all of lltt's‘t' lectures and agitation has been to get the people to urge their reprt st'tttiati\‘es in congress to \ote tor larger approln'iatious for the urn); 'lihrt'me‘h the press and other means of puhlic agitation an effort has tetn made to create an increasing military spirit among the people. l‘rizes have heen ot‘i'ered {or military drills, llaq» Tahiti}: occasions in the puhlie schools hare stimulated the spirit (n- militarism, and it is now eyen [l]"r1)'t>\‘<l that ritle, t 1. ills he made a part of the puhlie school courses. In Congress we liztye \\itnes<ed the steady inert-use in the demands for appropriations for military purposes. Last year the appropriativns for these jjttrttiisesil‘ut‘ wars expected and for wars pasts.Q ,ooo.ooo was appropriated by the United States (i7 tare". .\ud this in spite of the fact that those who were cl norin': for more money for the nary were only given the >tttalle>t part of what they insisted was ahsolutely essential in order to put America on a proper "p *ace basis}Y So that in spite of all our teachin't' N all ottr moral inlluencc and all our peace conferences, we are in the midst of the most belligerent spirit the world has eyer seen This pl *adinev. this effort to educate the people rightly. this influence. of our l"ace Conference is good: it is necessary. "'0 join you most heartily in all you are doing in this liner lint we tell you frankly that unless to this is added the readjustment of the economic basis upon which society rests. \\:tr and the prepara< tion for var will go steadily forward in spite of its all. Until the cause of war is removed. the curse itself will continue. we cannot have peace on earth until we shall lllH e estah~ lished justice: industrial. economic and norlrlsnide. .\nd we. ought not to try to secure the one without the other. .\ POLITICAL l'I".\l'II I'H\\'lil{ llut there is a much more direct and Viral force in the socialist movement that is making for peace and. indeed. that will at last make war not only unnecessary hut impossihle. This is its political and economic power. Nine million men have ruled the socialist ticket in the world. And this. of course, doe‘ not repre- sent anything like its full political power. since so many of the working classes in various countries are disl'ranehised. .\1 least thirty million human souls are marshalled under its lianuers in the various countries, thus constituting at once the greatest political organization in the world today. and. in fact. the e ‘ 'atest political organization in human history. Nor does the movement lack in the expression of its poner in the parliamentary bodies of the \rorl l. l-‘our hundred and seventy socialists. are sittingr today in the national parliament» of the world. In some of the parliaments the numher is sutlicient to exercise a very decided influence in the legislation of the nation. There are ninety socialists in the national parliament of \us- tria. seventy-six in the national parliament of l"r1tltt‘<‘, eightyslite in Finland. forty-three in Germany. forty-four in Italy. tliirtydii'e in England‘ a strong group in Norw \3 Sweden. Belgium. In fact, in nearly erery one of the great lauropean nations, socialism is a political force of the most decided power and influence. And when it is understood that the whole political force hack of these representatiyes in the national parliaments stands to a |