The Washington socialist. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1914-1915, 1915-02-04

Peace Committee of Socialist Party
and May -Simons In
dulge in Hot Air.

uulRe Ill uOb AL
The week before last we published
an article on the third page of the
Washington Socialist, from the pen OF
cmrade May Wood -Simons. She es'
says to show that the position taken
by n majority OF the peace committee
OF the Socialist party was absurd and
Illogical In that they demand only
partial disarmament, la Roosevelt.
She demands that the capitalist gov
eminent be called upon by the Social
list party to surrender its war equip
ment toto. Says comrade Simons:
"The Socialist who takes the posi-
ton that Socialists must hold them
selves ready to fight war OF defense
must recall that every nation now at
war In Europe is to itB own mind
fighting war OF defense. Have they
not been told 80 by their respective
governing bodiesY What is the de-
finition OF n war OF defense? Even
Bobel found 1t difficult to say Just
what should be considered war OF
defense. II It needed anything to
make plain the twaddle that this talk
OF war OF offense and defense can
give rise to among Socialists the pres
ent war furnishes 1t, in which every
nation is crying. The blame Is yours
"The Socialist, then, who votes for
any armament at all will find himself
before long marching with this same
armament In a so-calIed war OF de.
Tense which 10 In fact largely = war
to destroy tho working class move
ment feared more than any outside
enemy by the reactionary govern
ments."
THE REAL ISSUE
"The Socialist, then. who votes for
any armament at all"-aye. there's the
rub. AS a matter OF fact 1.-THE Social
ist then" is not required to take a
choice between the vote-catching
twaddle Of the peace committee and
the Utopian demand OF comrade
; Wood-Simons for total disarmament
The editor of this paper declines to
accept either position.
To ask those who believe In the
capitalist system to discard the teeth
apd clowo ubioh ara ah,ol,taly pacau
sary to it's inevitable warfare, its very
existence, Ia like asking the ancient
lorder OF highwaymen to divest them.
selves of mask, gun, and bludgeen, OF
such a demand of the robber-barons OF
trade, one may well quote Mrs
Simons' own paragraph concerning
partial disarmament: to-wit, "as a
prominent professor OF geology used
to say to his class, Perfectly general
perfectly meaningless, and perfectly
absurd"
JUST ONE DEMAND
The Socialist party has Just one
. legitimate demand to make, and this
, demand is Of the workers, the victims
Of both industrial and politico-econ
, omic wars; we should demand moth
ing Of the shirkers: but we may make
, one demand Of the working-cIass, that
they unite, politically and industrially
, with view to overthrowing the dead
ly capitalist system of rapine, robbery
, and murder, and establishing In Its
place a cooperative commonwealth
under Industrial democracy. When we
demand this one essential, and are
strong enough to enforce this one de.
mand, teeth and claws, murder imple-
ments, forts, guns, will become JUNK.
automatically. Meanwhile, so long as
capitalism is desired by the majority
in this country, and elsewhere, that
majority would be idiotic to throw
away its murder equipment, as war
and capitalism are inseparabIe. HE
WHO VOTES FOR CAPITALISM
VOTES FOR WAR He deserves both.
ONE THING WE MIGHT DO
If we Just must NEEDLE with the
murderous capitalist machine; If we
simply can't be satisfied with the
simple task of destroying the machine
in toto, there remains just one thing
that we might reasonably do; we
might go on record to this effect:
In case of war between the capital
lists of the United States and the
capitalists of some other proft-mon-
gerng nation, we, the Socialists of the
United States, do hereby agree: that
we shall allow the said capitalists to
periodically do all the fighting and
dying for THEIR country; and we do
hereby offer this pledge to them, and
to one another, as Socialists, that we
Will under no circumstances take up