Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1916-08-08
THE POPULAR SP|R-
It :. IN. I OLD ENGLAND

London, July 15.-Letter to the
Freeman Tribune from Ed. l.. Keen
United Press Correspondent: Some
Britons are born patriots, Other
achieve patriotism, and still Others
Yes, the paraphrase holds good al
the way through, but those who have
had patriotism thrust upon then
constitute very small minority Of
the British public.
Consumption is no criterion. There
were less than million eligibles left
to be conscripted. The majority Of
these would have volunteered If the
reasons why their services were re-
quired had been freely, frankly stat
ed. Lots of Britishers have relatives
in Missouri, some more skeptica
than others. The military powers
thought they couldn't take the Brit
ish public into their confidence with
out enlightening the Germans. "Youl
King and country need you," the,
said. That sufficed for five million
men; the others wanted details.
But this installment Of war ami
versary observations has to do prin'
cipally with those who have achiev'
ed patriotism, and it revolves largely
about a man named Ben Tillett-be
cause he is type.
Before the war Ben was self-prO
claimed international revolutionary
socialist For the period Of the wal
he is neither international, revolu
tionary nor socialistic. He is al
Briton. What he will be after TIL,
war, Ben says is his own business. 1
he weren't over military age, Ber
would be in the army. He is doins
his bit by preaching patriotism tt
those who haven't acquired it in full
measure.
Ben used to vie with Mrs. Pank
hurst for the doubtful distinction O
being Notwithstanding Of thu
British Empire. AS head of thu
Dockers' Union and organizer of thu
powerful Transport Workers FEEDER
alton, he had successfully engineered
some most disturbing strikes.
It was to the Tilletts and Pank
bursts Of England and the Easement!
of Ireland, that Germany looked fol
substantial aid. But mostly her cal
culations went wrong. Social ant
Industrial unrest in England didn'
mean pro-Germanism or anti-Brit
ishism when the empire became in
volved in outside difficulties.
There were serious labor dispute
in the early days-two Of them, big
involving the Welsh coal-miners ant
the Clyde ship workers. But in thes
there were other causes than lack o
patriotism. The strikers felt tina
they had been unduly exploited
Their sole demand was that they b
accorded reasonable share of tn
WAR profits from their labor. In bot
the big strikes, the men won.
This years disturbance on tn
Clyde was different 1t was obvious
/ y organized by men of pro-Germal
sympathies and most Britishers be
lieve, financed by Germans. The la
Dor leaders had no part in it; the
protested against it. The govern
ment sequestered the agitators an
killed the strike.
AS to the attitude Of British labo
generally toward the war: No fewe
than 100000 OF the five millio
volunteer soldiers were drawn fror
the working classes. But this is onl
part of the story.
The Tilletts of England, men VIII
previously had put the rights of OF
gained labor above everything elst
have surrendered their most cherish
ed principles. In the interest of TIL
Empire the trade unions have fol
feited for the period Of the war prat
J tically all they had succeeded in es
u tablishing through desperate an
bitter struggle. Their greatest SAT