Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1907-01-10
MaryvilIe, III.
.Sb1cfaIi 10 Me Nr7DS.

the New Year is being ushered in,
and it is time for good resolutions
and for thinking in a general way, and
while occupied in thought one occurred
to me which was this: You should
do more than you have done to cause
men to think, and | cast abou in my
mind for topic and this struck my
fancy for beginning; Patriotism.
What is itr'' No doubt some youth
who has been taught to revere this land
as the home of the free and the brave,
will, if he casts his eyes about him,
find it is the land of the tyrant and
the slave. 1t probably will check to a
certain degree that zeal which is at
fever heat, and is so adaptable to
youths.
Brothers, you are taught to believe
it is right for you to go out upon the
battle field and there raise your arm
and shoot down your fellowmen. You
say, "Oh, well, | am fighting for my
country. Yes, that is what is drilled
into you by a subsidized press, polite
ians, school teachers and even some
clergymen will tell you that if you are
killed in battle God, will not hold
you guilty of murder, even though you
kill many. Let's see if you have a
country before you take the fatal step
of joining the army Or militia. How
much land? How many mills? How
many factoriesy How many mines?
How many steel and iron plants? And
last but not least, how many railroads
4 do you own or are interested inn None.
Well, then where is your country and
what are you fighting for or contem-
plate fighting forY If you have coun-
try to fight for you must be owner in
that country, or at least must own
some property. There are two classes
represented in this country. One is
the owning class, or capitalist. The
other is the non-owner of wealth, or
creator of wealth, the worker, and as
he owns nothing but his labor power
and has to go into the labor markets
and compete for job What right
has such a man to join the organized
murderers and shoot down his fellow
men in the interest of the capitalist?
Greed, for this country belongs to the
capitalist and not you, as you believe.
1t is to the interest of the capitalist
class to make you think you have a
country to fight for, but you haven't.
Please bear this in mind. If you have
ever been in a strike no doubt you
have seen the injunction used to in
timidate You and force you to return
to work. If it is your country why al
low these injunctions to be served on
you or your class? And when the civ
il arm of the law fails to intimidate
and drive you back then will begin
reign of terror, created by the tools of
capitalism i'll the shape of detectives
or thugs, and the police, and constab-
ulary will also join in the melee, with
but one object in view, i. e., to force
you to submit to the tyrannies of the
capitalist. If it is your country why
don't you call halt to such atrocities?
Then as the courts and their bench
men fail to subdue you, they will
call to force you at the muzzle of
the gun and the point of the bayonet
those organized murderers which go
by the name of militia and soldiers,
but whose only business is to shoot
down their fellowmen in the interest
of capitalism. II it is your country
why don't you stop such red-handed
murder?
! Then again capitalism wants foreign
markets and lays conspiracy and in
veigles some foreign nation in war.
See those red handed murderers sail
across the Salt Pond, overioyed with
the privilege of shooting down their
brothers across the waters, in order
that capitalism may prosper on the
misery Of those on the other side of
the globe. Are those fellows fighting
for their country: No, they have no
country. They are slaves of the worst
type. If this is your country and that
of the working class why don't you
stop such wholesale slaughterY 1t is
because You and the balance of the
workers have no country. Therefore
You can't stop this Wholesale slaugh-
ter. The laboring class has been de
frauded ont Of their country through
the laws the capitalist or their tools
have made. and they represented both
/ Republican and Democratic parties
These parties are pledged to capital
ism, and they, in order to raise them
selves to power and self aggrandise-
ment, have stolen by legislation your
hirthright. That is your country
| True patriotism lies in teaching your
class how 10 regain their birthright
/ viz, their country Vote for Social
/ ism. Teach il and preach it. You
have nothing 10 lose but your chains
/ Nou have g world 10 gain.
THE CRANK
dent. Nashville, Tenn. Jan. :. Io0,.