Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1912-02-09
WAR AND THE LABoRINo MAN
BY William E. Hence.

i've. Hitherto he has not been consult
ed about it. Theirs not to reason
why; Theirs but to do and die"
The term 'laboring man. must be
taken in it's broadcast sense, so as to
include everyone who performs pro-
ductive work, whether he uses his
Drawn or brain.
In the past few individuals of re-
Elective turn Of mind have discerned
and asserted the folly and crime of
warfare, but the great masses could
not be turned from views engender-
ed by primeval instinct and nurtured
by ignorance, tradition and habit.
Moreover, there existed formerly an
element which strongly influenced the
attitude of mankind toward this ques-
zion, namely the personal interest Of
the individual in warfare, the mater
lal gain which he could and did OBJ
tain by it, and this element must not
be underestimate.
When primeval man WIS in want of
food or clothing he took his ak and
neighbor, slew him and appropriated
lis cattle, his crops, his slaves and
sometimes his wives, provided the
aeighbOr did not prove a better fight
er. When hOrdeS or tribes were
formed they made such raids in a
body, but each victor shared in the
spoils. This element of gain was the
chief motive that sent the Celtic and
Teutonic tribes from Asia to the west
ern confines of Europe. The fertile
ands and wealthy cities of the Rom
an Empire, then in its decline, Offered
most tempting field for adventurous
raids; the victors took the lands, the
cattle and other belongings CT the
yanquished and each individual re-
,eiyed his share We find this ma
5erial interest at the bottom of the
.ncessant wars Waged during the MID.
lie Ages between kings and barons,
cities and countries. 1t was thinly
disguised in a cloak of religious fana-
ticism during the wars that devas-
tated Europe in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries
In all these ages to be soldier
was not only a most honorable but
also a most profitable occupation.
The vanquished were completely al
the mercy of the victors. Captives
were stripped of their belongings, an
if of high rank, held for ransom; the
dead on the field of battle We're de-
spoiled of arms, clothing, money and
Jewels; the Inhabitants of hostile
town and all their property became
the prey of the brutal soldiery
When In the year 1881, lilly had
taken the city of Magdeburg, his SOL
diers for several days, burned, robbed
and killed the defenseless inhabitants
Finally, some of the more humane
among his officers, disguised with tn
scenes of carnage, begged lilly to
put stop to it. His answer was
Come around again tomorrow, the
soldier is entitled to a reward for his
labor" In those days it was impos-
sible for a soldier to- obtain more
wealth in one day than the ordinary
tradesman or mechanic could accum-
ulate in lifetime. War was good
business venture for him.
AS a matter of fact wars We're
predatory and the individual soldier
could count on personal gains until
the beginning Of the nineteenth CEN
fury,
This condition of affairs no longer
exists for the ordinary soldier among
civilized nations, and in a limited de-
gree only for commanding officers
and statesmen, army contractors and
spectators.
But it is claimed that nations as
such are benefited by war and that
each citizen indirectly shares in those
benefits.
Let us see about that. How does
a nation profit by war? The only
tangible results Of wars during the
last centu y, with f4w exception s., HAY e
been the acquisition Of territory and
the collection of war indemnity.
The territorial gain is an imaginary
benefit, since it is no longer consid
cred proper to slaughter the inhab-
itants of the annexed territory and
to divide their private property. The
indemnity is used to pay the cost of
the war, and it is difficult to see how
any individual soldier or citizen re-
ceives any benefit thereby. AS
against this we must set off the loss
Of life and health and the disturb
ance of industry and commerce,
factor Of supreme Importance, for in