The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1915-06-18
WORLD WIDE
WAR TRUST
BY CLYDE H. TAVENNER

lueT0 are lTlChS Ill oil IIdueS. IL
the peoples of the several powers can
be melted to mutual distrust, suspi-
increased dividends for the stockhold-
ers of the war traffickers in each
country.
The several leading powers aim to
increase their naval strength in the
same proportion. If one of the powers
can be induced to take on an addi-
tional superdreadnaught, it is used as
an argument as to why the other lead
ing powers should do the same. 1t
works as an endless chain, with the
war burden ever and ever increasing
on the backs of the taxpayers of the
world.
If new design can be worked out,
that, too, means more grist for the
shipbuilders. 1t calls for the speedy
"scrapping" of the vessels already on
hand as "obsolete," "scrapping" mean
junk. So the life of the battleship is
ever lesSening.
Another trick in the trade of the
war traders which is obviously profit
able, otherwise it would not be con-
tinued, is the hiring of retired army
and navy officials and ex-members of
congress by the powder, armor, and
shipbuilding concerns. These ex-of-
ficials know the inner workings of the
military branches of the government,
know the personnel in an intimate
way, and by private conversation, by
correspondence, and in various ways
are in a position to obtain much use
full information. They know how to
go about things for results. Through
these ex-officials the war trust has
become thoroughly at home in Wash
ington.
How Governments Are worked"
There seems to be no limit to the
extremes to which the war traders
are willing to go for business.
Although scarcely believable, it is
the proven fact that British and Ger.
man war trusts many years ago actu
ally set about to represent to their
respective home governments that
their rivals were planning to build
and building great armadas of giant
fighting craft, which have since been
proven absolutely to have been fig
ments of the imagination pure and
simple. The same character Of cam
paigns has been going on between
France and Germany, between the
countries in the triple alliance and
the triple entente, and it is yet to be
established whether the United States
of America has not also been the vic
tim of similar brand of commercial
ism, in which patriotism is the means
and profit the end.
Misrepresentation as to the build
Misrepresentation a sto the build
ing programs of Great Britain and
Germany were carried on to such an
extent that the papers became full of
it, and the suspicion of the people to-
ward each other grew and grew. 1t
was inevitable that there could be but
one end to such proceedings, and that
end war.
Specific information, replete with
details, is available to show just how
the work was carried on.
Briefly, this is the story; Begin
ming in 1906, Mr.. H. H. Mulliner man.
aging director of the Coventry Ord
nance Co, of England one of the great
British war trafficking concerns, gave
himself to the work of propagating
the myth of a gigantic expansion of
Krupp's works in particular and Ger
man military acceleration in general.
An Underground Campaign
1t was an underground campaign,
DuJ SUBSEQUENT ielltIS anu SpSeSlicS
(Mulliner's communications to London
Times, Aug and 16, Sept, Fl, Dec
IA and II, 1909; Jan. l, 8, 6, 7, s, IL,
Is and IS, 1910, etc. indicate that
Mr. Mulliner's information" sent
first to the war office in May, 1906,
was passed on to the admiralty"
was discussed by them with several
outsiders" and then passed from
hand to hand so that hundreds have
read It,"
OF this information" it need only
be added that as soon as it became
public 1t was contradicted by Messrs.
Krupp, through Hon. John Leyland,
member of parliament in England and
other correspondents. After some
years it was practically admitted by