Scott County Kicker

Very few, if any, can grasp the magnitude of the war now raging in different parts of the world—in Europe, Asia and Africa. One-third of the fighting force of the world is now under arms, another third is preparing to butt in, and how soon the remaining third will get mixed up in it, no one can tell.

It is a capitalist war—a war of conquest—and capitalism is international. The capitalists of the United States have investments in all of the so-called civilized nations of the globe, and it would be remarkable if somebody did not tramp on their toes in an upheaval of such magnitude.

Do you ever stop to think of the size of this world slaughter? We speak glibly of a country, say for instance, like England going to war. Do you know what that means? Hardly.

It doesn't mean the little island on the other side of the Atlantic ocean which is not as large, by half, as the state of Texas. When you speak of England in war, you must include Canada with a population as large as the United States. You must include India, with a population nearly three times that of the United States. And you must include Australia, New Zealand and other colonies under the British flag.

So it is, to a lesser degree, with Germany, France, Russia and other 'parties of the first part' to this great world slaughter. There is Africa which the powers have divided up among themselves. We, too, at the command of 'Providence,' went into the grabbing business and have on our hands the Philippine Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, Panama, Cuba, Porto Rico and other mole-hills in the oceans that we must protect for the Sugar and Tobacco Trusts and Big Biz.

And if we keep out of the scrap—well, I don't see how we can, since we sailed out into world politics and became a 'world power.' Had we remained at home and attended to our own knittin', we could rest easy. But that was impossible. Capitalism must expand and new territory and new markets be sought.

Besides the natural causes that will likely involve us in the mess, congress seems to be doing its best to prevent our escape. Big Biz has been stumped because this country has no ships in which to transport our products; and ships of the war nations would not dare risk going to sea. Hence congress has passed an act authorizing foreign ships to sail under the protection of the United States.

As I see it, that is about as quick a way as possible to get into trouble. These ships would register here and sail under John's flag. Suppose, then, that a French ship, loaded with supplies for the French, should be given clearance papers under our flag. Suppose this ship should meet a German fighting machine in mid-ocean! What do you suppose would happen?

There would be our flag insulted again because we stuck it where it had no business. Signs of this country getting into the mess are multiplying every day. And there are indications that we will be hurled into it before there is time to protest—as was the case in Europe. It is reported from Washington that Bryan has ordered all Americans in Europe to come home. That looks very suspicious, and the following dispatch appears even a little alarming:

Washington, Aug. 29.—President Wilson has sent word to the administration leaders of the U. S. senate to keep all members of that body in Washington in order to be prepared for emergency legislation. One of the chief purposes of holding the senate together is to be prepared for legislation touching upon the situation in the ORIENT, where war between Japan and Germany may revolve around the PHILLIPINES.

So you see what it may cost to be a 'world power.' Those islands we are holding in the Pacific ocean have already cost us thousands of lives and millions of dollars, and we have no more use for them than a child has for a bomb. But our capitalists want them, and so we must hold them. And the working class furnish the lives and the millions of dollars to hold them, while the plutes rake in the dividends.

The trouble with this country is that the large majority of the people imagine there is very much in a name, and that a republic is necessarily less despotic than a monarchy. But they are just deceived. Under capitalism it does not matter whether the chief ruler is called a president, a king, a czar or an emperor—it is capital that rules all of the time.

When, some twenty years ago, we began to spread out and grab foreign territory, we ventured on the dangerous sea of imperialism. And while Bryan ranted and the Democratic platform declared vigorously against it in 1900, yet not a whimper of opposition has escaped the Democracy since they were given control.

To bolster up our imperialistic tendencies the Dick military law was slipped through congress. This did away with the state militia, authorized the national guard, and made every able-bodied male citizen of military age subject to the call of the president to fight at home or abroad.

We are told that the people rule here. Did the people ever declare for any such law as that? The great mass of people have no more to do with making the laws in this country than they have in Russia. But they are made to think they have because they are given the ballot.

Mexico is a republic with a constitution more 'liberal' than ours, and you see what happened there. The ruling class controlled the sources of information and education, and the ballot is of little value to one who is ignorant and misinformed. He doesn't know how to use it, and generally makes the worst use of it for himself.

The first step toward despotism is the muzzling of the press. Most people imagine that we have freedom of the press in this country. But that is a joke. The press of this country is as completely shackled as in any country of Europe. While we haven't got the official censor, yet we have something just as good—or better. The interests that own everything else also own the newspapers, and nothing is permitted to appear that is harmful to Big Biz.

Of course the party organs hammer the trusts with padded gloves, and tell you how the government is going after them. But these organs are always careful never to touch a vital spot, nor to give you any real information. In other words, it is their business to pull the wool over your eyes.

Just now these papers are catering to public sentiment and appear to deplore the situation in Europe. But how soon they will face about and begin fanning the flames of war cannot be foretold. Signs of this are already appearing. The Chicago Tribune is one of the most powerful organs of the Plunderbund. In a recent editorial the Tribune says:

'In China we are committed to the policy of the open door and the maintenance of China's integrity. In the Philippines we still have responsibilities. In the Pacific we have a future—we trust and believe a future of peace—which is as much a charge for us to keep in our day as was this present we enjoy a charge which our forbears kept with blood and sacrifice. We were given the torch. Are we afraid to defend it and bear it on? Shall we hand them down the legacy of a sword we'd dared not draw?'

'The growth and progress of the American people are not yet ended. We already are realizing that nations, like individuals, cannot live to themselves alone. We already are feeling the necessity of foreign relations and of new markets. At the moment the air is full of exhortations to put our flag on the sea, to begin a sweeping trade invasion of foreign fields, to spread a network of financial ties over the world.

'Are we childish enough to think we can do all this without multiplying and complicating our responsibilities? Are we so blind to the lessons of the present and so ignorant of the lessons of the past that we can cherish an illusion that, confronted by our commercial imperialism, our rivals will not fight us with every weapon available, every economic weapon, every political weapon, AND EVEN AT FINAL NEED EVERY WEAPON OF MILITARY FORCE.'

The situation is extremely dangerous. Capitalism is on the eve of collapse all over the world, and in its effort to continue its existence, is ready to drag to ruin all peoples and all advancement. This is the immediate threat.

Of course beyond that is glorious possibility as well. The world will sicken of war. Autocracy will condemn itself. Capitalism is committing suicide. Just beyond the terrific crisis lies the beginning of the Co-operative Commonwealth.

Socialists have everything to hope for, and are the only people on the earth who can see light in the darkness.

We may congratulate ourselves on the tremendous sentiment that is already developing against war and against autocracy in industry. It is coming by leaps. The nations will be forced to Socialism in order to save themselves and civilization.

A HARD KNOCK.

I have known of Socialism being held responsible for a great many very bad things, but it remained for the editor of the Hayti Critic to say the meanest thing about it. He says Wilson and Bryan are Socialists. 'You do not call it Socialism,' says this editor who once thought he was a Socialist and admits that he changed his mind for financial reasons, 'and the gentlemen at the capitol do not call it by that name, but it is.' 'Socialism is not coming—it is here,' he says, and goes on:

'Two years ago Mr. Roosevelt took from the socialist platform twenty-three of its planks and made his own house of them. Two years ago the democratic platform adopted some of the socialist planks and nailed them down good and strong in their platform. But before this time, the republican party, always alive to the future of the party, except in a few instances, took up a socialist measure and passed the parcel-post bill. The Socialist party demanded the government ownership of banks, and the democratic party gave us the regional banks, just about the same thing. The socialist party demanded that the government own the railways, and the democratic party authorized the building of a railway in Alaska. The socialist party advocated the government ownership and supervision of rivers, canals and harbors, and Mr. Roosevelt had his congress start the Panama Canal. The socialist party favor the government ownership of the steamboats and the ships that sail the seas, and President has recommended that we spend twenty-five million dollars for ships to carry our products to foreign markets. We are in socialism, but you have not thought it.'