The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-05-25
BY Gordon Nye.
(From New York Call.)

Nf rom New \ Ork Call.
Have you ever stood before the
large colorcd posters the government
| puts out to induce young, inexper-
fenced men to enlist in the army?
They are prepared by the best ar
lists, and are as allurinS as good
drawing and modern lithographing
can make them. You almost wish
| that you were one of Uncle Sam s
soldier boys.
Under palm trees, whose swaying
leaves shine like a million crystals
in the mellow sunlight. you see pic
| tured number of officers seated at
table engaged in the pleasant task
of reading the seasons best sellers.
Just why they are at that particular
spot and seated at the table is a Sc
cret that will always remain with
the Sphinx. Off to the right in the
picture stands beatutfful horse and
more officers. who are gazing out in
to the highly colored haze yelling
the sea.
AS you look out over that majcs
tic. infinite blue sea your eye is
strained. your senses daZed. your
mind wanders. you feel an emotion
deep and thrilling and you are borne
away into infinitudc
Yes. sir, the posters are so sub
lime, so imaginative, so peaceful and
soul satisfying. that you are seized
with an overpowerinG desire to rush
to the nearest recruiting station and
demand that you be sent to the
Never-Nevcr land portrayed on the
posters.
But not all of us can be Influenced
by 'Sky blue and pink" posters. so
(, II, !,
DDS just good to induce the "out-
of-work' man to enlist
He advertiscs in the classified col
umns of the daily newspapers. He
knows that thousands. aye tens of
til Ousands. of the unemployed scan
the help column every day. With
bitter satire he asks: What wages
are you working for? How. much
have you left in your pockets after
board. lodging. clothing and other
necessarics are paid for? Join the
service and see the world. We fur
nish board. lodging. clothing, med
, ical attendants. medicine, baths,
| light and the advantages of school.
libraries. gymuasiums. etc.
Just what the etc. means VIC do
not know. but is it's as good as the
| rest. it is surely worth taking in big
doses.
He also promises you a steady job
for thirty years aud Il pension each
month after that. Golly, that looks
good,
Yes. our dignificd Uncle Samuel
las adopted the cIap-trap methods
of the advertiser to get men, He
| taunts the wage slave with his under
pay Hnd misery and says to the
worker, Look at my generosity.
| Join my service. treat you better
than your employer does. You will
| be blessed beyond the common lot of
| men,"
This sarcasm INDUCED in by the
| government is humiliating confes-
| sion of the utter rortenneSs of our
ipresent-day industrial conditions
The question that worries IA great
many people is why the government
does not tell the truth about the
| army. The officials are in possession
of all the facts. They know all
about army life and its effect upon
the men. Why these lying adver-
tisemcnts and Turing posters? Why?
| One of the big reasons is that this
is really a government of the capi-
talist class. by the capitalist class
for the capitalist class. They need
a big army to retain their ruling po-
sition. and If they told the truth no.
| body but degenerates and weakling gs
: would enlist.
| With improved machinery, where
] by productinn is increased a hun
dredfold. our patriotic capitalist
class is constantly in need of new
| markets. In order to keep its fac
tories running the surplus goods the
workers create must be sold in for
leign countries. The capitalists o
Japan, England and Germany alsc
want markets for their goods.
For that reason the workingmer
of all nations are invited by the rul
ing capitalist class to join the arm,
and the navy.
They need you to kill one anothe
in order to create a demand for the
surplus goods you produce and need
but cant buy. If a war is necessar,
to get rid of the surplus, the capital