New Britain herald., 1915-12-11
The Socialists and Preparedness.
Waterbury Republican,


 One never can tell when he is fur nishing ammunition for some one who isn't neutral. Yesterday the New l pleased to be most hilarious about some of the passages in President Will sons message. The socialists saw in 1 his words some most desirable quota tions from their propanganda. After pointing out a few of these The Call concludes as follows:
 we have praised the president for his frankness on more than one point But the gem remains to be quoted and this time, we suspect, the frank ness is careless, rather than interna- tional. Discussing the project for the continental army, he says:
 Tt would depend upon the patri- otic feeling of the younger men of the country whether they responded to such a call to service or not. It would depend upon the patriotic spirit of the employers of the country whether they made it possible for the younger men in their employ to re- spond under favorable conditions or not I, for one, do not doubt the pa triotic devotion either of our young mon or of those who give them em-
 
 and protection they would in fact en- list
 ''That is worth putting in every socialists pocket scrapbook for ready reference. Whatever else he has said CT left unsaid, we may be gratful to President Wilson for giving the weight of his authority to three statements which socialists have long been mak- ing:
 First, that it is the wage-workers that have to do the fighting, if there is fighting to be done; that what the employers contribute is their gacious permission for workingmen to leave the shop and go to the battlefield;
 'Second, that the wage-workers are not free agents under the present sys- tenn; that they cannot do what their feelings dictate unless their employers make it possible for them; and,
 Third, that if wageworkers enlist fer military service, they do it, not for their own benefit, but for the benefit of the master class
 It is true that the words quoted by The Call are a part of President Will sons message, but it is also true that his "frankness is careless rather than intentional" for he never suspected H'dt SuSli use WOuld De Hlduo them,
 The young men who serve the coun- try in the army or the navy are not serving the capitalists. the employers of the countrq, especially, whether or not President Wilson saw fit to draw their attention to the value of a strong army and navy in times of trouble The soldier and the sailors have all ways been the defenders of the homes of the country, and whether they serve king or republic. it is the home that is defended by the army, in war; and the, home that is destroyed if the army fails. It is true perhaps ] that the first shots from the vessels ! of a hostile fleet directed at New York i city would bring down the towers of !! great skyscrapers, which are them l selves monuments to the success of | an individual, or a single corporation i under the "capitalist system'' but the 1 loss of life in the densley populated i east side, and the socialists would be ! the first to complain of the lack of 1 adequate protection of the homes i should such a catastrophe occur Mod 1 ecn welfare Ce1rlaildS skilled armies 1 and skilled navies not for the protec- i tion of property but especially for the protection of life; not to defend i the banks but to defend the homes.