The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-03-16
Lecture By George r. Kirkpatrick, of
New York, at the Stephenson Audi
torium, Charleston, West Virginia.
Thursday, March 2, 1911, 500
P. M.

| army when they are in rags Can.
plause).
Defend a foreign market-The
rhlah ruling class, the American
luilng class, the British ruling class
are uhltlns upon plan to exploit
the working class, to carry a great
class struggle, and they have armies
ana prepare mem for WARRIOR there
are going to be wars, all right!
Now, to get an idea of the vast
ness of this modern system, the vast
ness of the development of this bus
mess of 'butchery, as a great class
struggle, let us proceed to study for
example the cost of war. Militarism,
were the working men to realize how
much they are bled in order to pay
the deposit to keep up an armed
guard, the whole thing would go
down. (Applause).
Let me tell you what a soldier
is. soldier is a human boot with
which to kick the working class Cap
plause); the soldier is a boxing glove
with which to box the working class.
soldier is a tusk in the iron jaw
of the monster war; war is the whole
sale scientific suicide by the working
class, under militarism and indis-
trial rulers.
Now, then, in order that We may
realize how vast is this iron jaw,
how big this tusk in the modern sys-
tenn is, how big is this bloody iron
fist of the ruling class, let us study
wars-militarism.- cost of war.
What is a bayonet? A bayonet
is a stinger made by the working
class, sharpened by the working class
carefully polished by the working
class. and then jammed into the work
ing class, by the working class, for
the capitalist. cloud applause).
Let us study the dimensions of the
modern bayonet, with which the rul-
ing class skin the working class, and
open up new territory in which 20
exploit more workers.
Let us study for moment what
are the first expenses of war, the eX-
penses before the war-getting ready;
the expense during the war, and after
the war. A soldier ceases to pro-
duce wealth, continues to consume
wealth and actively destroys wealth.
What was Sherman's march to the
sea? There were ten thousand men
and women covering a strip from ten
to sixty miles wide. The soldiers
burned barns. houses, dragged peo-
pie, ,--children, wives. husbands, from
their homes, burned factories. des-
troyed townS,-a savage. christian
rage of barbarism. That is what it
was (applause).
7 say that advisedly. too. I am
from the north. and 1 know what it
was, but ! don't know as we'll as
those who lived in the path of Sher-
mans march But I lived in a south
hern home for a year, and the wife
| told me, that the soldiers drove them
from their house, then they carried
out the bed clothes, and rode their
horses up and down over their bed
clothes. That was war,-christian
war! Cloud 'applause).
Yes. soldiers continue to consume.
cease to produce and actively destroy.
| Perhaps we can get at it by tak1nS
sample Wharf.-The Amer lean Civil
War When I was at home on the
farm in Ohio. we had such a big
mortgage on our farm that that
seemed to be the biggest thing !
could imagine. And when We study
the cost of war it seems that the in
Icrease of the national debt is the
biggest thing; yet it is so much like
the case at home. Three billions ol
the national debt is not at all the
cost of the war. Five billions OF dl
rect expense to the south: Five BIZ
lions direct expense to the north
nearly three billions increase in the
national debt, several billions lnteres
on the national debt up to date, sew
i eral billions in pensions. and ye
there is one item that is rarely II
all mentioned by the textbook writ
ers. What is that? The direct los!
in labor to the south. in the soldier