The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915, 1914-12-24
PEACE ON EARTH,
GOOD WILL TO MEN

For almost two thousand years this
message has been preached among a
large portion of the human race, 1t
has been repeated each recurring De-
cember from an almost countless null,
titude of pulpits 1t has been made
the theme of millions of songs,
stories essays, editorials, and preach
ments OF every description.
Tomorrow it will sound once more
from millions of platforms and choir
lofts, and look out from millions upon
millions of printed pages.
Yet that message will go forth into
world with more instruments for the
killing of men than that world has
ever known before. More and larger
ships for warfare are floating upon the
ocean that it ever carried before.
Larger armies, with more perfect ma
chimes of death, are tramplng the
earth than ever shook it in previous
years.
The war and naval budgets of the
Christian" nations are larger than
ever before, and many times larger
than those OF the "heathen" nations
For this neither Christ nor Christian
ity are to blame But neither has
been capable of erecting a different
society upon the industrial founda-
ton than that foundation itself pro
duced.
Wherever the law of tooth and claw
prevails in industry. the preaching Of
love and brotherhood will not duh
the tooth nor clip the claw Where
men live by preying upon one another
they cannot be made perfect by pray
ing for each other
Where power and preferment de-
pend upon the possibility of plunder,
the preaching of philanthropy viii not
avail, since those who heed the
preaching will fail as plunderers and
be eliminated as unfit"
SO it is that the Christmas season
seems like something Of a mockery to
those who see beneath the hollow
shell of things. That one day should
be set aside in the entire year for
peace and good will is a most striking
commentary on the remainder Of the
year That the forced and CONNER
cialized expressions of fellowship on
that day should be considered so re-
markable as to attract universal at
tention speaks volumes for the rela-
tionships OF mankind on the other
264 days
That special days should be set
aside for enjoyment presupposes that
the other days are days of pain and
discomfort, and that the happiness of
the special days comes largely be-
cause of relief from pain, and not be
cause Of positive pleasure.
The Socialist knows that you can
not base peace and good will upon in
dustrial warfare and exploitation He
knows that You cannot have one day
of happiness in the midst of a year
Of sorrow
Therefore the Socialist seeks to lay
an Industrial foundation where the
incentive will be for peace and CO.
operation, and not for war and plum
der Toward a society based upon
that foundation our present society is
tending, and this largely in spite of
the conscious efforts of those who
compose it, The Socialist works con
sciously and intelligently to that end.
He demands that the workers, who
are the only portion Of present So
ciety who can cooperate in peace and
good will without endangering their
existence, should join to hasten the
passing of the present society and the
coming Of the time when it will be
to the interest of all to join in CO.
operative production and in common
possession Of the product
Then peace could reign on earth and
good viii exist between men, not once
a year for a few hours, but all the
year
All that is good in the Christmas
spirit all that is best in Christianity. |
can be realized only on the basis of
an industrial society such as Social
ism demands