OCR Text |
Show 176 I77 W" twauw mum ployed. it is the heavy ta\' for war and war preparations that levi ‘ its toll upon all the necessities of life and increases the cost of living. And this in tttrn bear.s most heavily always and everywhere upon the workin‘cr classes. And this is not all. \\'lien war is declared and the lightingr begins it is not the rich nor the leisure class that go into the hat- tles. They stay at home. hire substitutes and play the game of capitalism that draws proiits ott‘ the anguish and agony that the workers .snt‘ter. [t is the common workingntan that must shoulder the musket and make the Weary inareh. it is the common workingman that must stand out under the silent stars and in the storm on sentinel ditty. It is the common workingman that must take the cold steel to his breast and writhe in anguish upon a lield dyed red with the blood of his comrades. It is the common workinginen. massed like huge projectiles hurled in murderous assault at each other, that become "lava contending with lightning and volcano eontending with earthquake'Y until the earth beneath them trembles with terror. It is the Common working class that must drink all the bitter dregs of all the blood. of all the tears. and of all the anguish of this vicious thing that we call war. And today the workers of the world are aware of it. They longr for peace. They struggle iur justice that ptaee may come. The socialist mt ‘einent oi the world is makingr an untiring‘ light a{ 'tiust militarism. Its representatives refuse at C\ ery occasion to vote for the expenses of military and naval armaments. They st { to demoeratize the army. They use each year with increasingr vigor and snecess the varied methods of action open to them to prevent the breakingr out of wars or to end them if they once are started. lly taking advantage of the weakness of governments when engaged in war. to press the demands of the working Class. they are sometimes able to force a cessation of hostility. Thus in many \‘cays the organized labor movement. inspired by lhc Purpose of peace. as socialism is, has. through mutual understanding and agreement. actually prevented war over and to assure peace and reestablish friendly relations between Eng- land and l'rance. The resolute standing of the socialist repre~ sentatives in the national parliaments of Germany and France during the Morocco crisis prevented war. "\Vith the stars above their heads. And the grass beneath their feet." .\nd yet the battleship goes forth to kill and to destroy: goes forth inscribed, "I hold the lightning. thunder is my breath. Monstrous I swim. swollen with death: All man's achievements Centered in me. The crown of his knowledge. l blast the sea." \‘(ar destroys govermnent and paralyzes industry. thus in the long: run destroyingr the opportunities {or labor and life.1 lt test impoverishes the people. it robs millions of men of the rit: years of their lives, it opens countless grayes where happy homes should be. It fills the world with widows and orphans. it drenches our fields with blood. bathes the world with tears, and fill; the world with hate. over again. An understandin;r arrived at between the English and the French trades unionists after the Fashoda crisis served The public demonstrations organized by the Italian and Austrian socialists who met in Switzerland warded off a conflict between those two nations. The vigorous intervention of workers of Sweden and Norway pre- vented a war in that case. Thus the Socialist movement, repre- sentint)r the working class in its various forms of organization, has at command the one overwhelming power by which war may be ended. And socialism teaches the working class steadily night and day, throughout the world, what war means to them. \\'ar is hell. ;\nd when it begins it is the working class that suffer its fiercest flames. Every good thing in the world is delayed, crippled. paralyzed on account of the tremendous expenditures, for war. One battleship Costs more money than it would cost to build homes for a thousand working people, or to lay out a score of parks where the poor in the crowded city could find a plaee to breathe the fresh air of God, The world lllh enough of anguish. enough of broken, bleeding hearts. enough ot tears. Let us turn away their 011T faces towards the light of peace. Let us wtpe |