The Hawaiian gazette., 1917-01-02
London Denied
Soldier Canard In
EpisiIe To Friend

just after his departure from the
Islands last summer, Jack London once
again was called upon to nail the
canard that attributes to him the state
ment that "being soldier is the i low.
est aim in life, The letter from Jack
London denying this statement and the
letter attributed to him in which milf
tary life Is attacked are nov being
used by navy recruiting officers as cir.
culars. The letter attributed to Lon.
don by those seeking to misrepresent
the army and navy follows:
PtYoung Men The, lowest aim in
your life is to become a soldier. The
good soldier never tries to idistinenisk
right from wrong He never Thinks
never reasons; he only obeys. If he
is ordered to FIRE on his fellow citi.
Gems, on his friends, on his neighbors,
on his relatives, he obeys without hest.
tation. II he is ordered 10 fire down n
crowded street when the poor are
clamoring for bread, he obeys. and
sees the gray hairs of age stained with
red and the life tide gushing from the
breasts Of women, feeling neither re-
morse nor sympathy. II he is ordered
of as firing squad to execute hero
or benefactor, he fires without hesita.
tion, though he knows the bullets will
pierce the noblest heart that ever beat
in human breast.
4 "a good soldier il blind, heartless,
soulless, murderous machine. He Is
- = n a
brutes only kill in self defense. All
that is human in him, all that is divine
in him, all that constitutes the man
has been sworn away when he took
the enlistment roll. His mind, his con.
science, aye, his very soul, are in keep.
ing Of his officer.
"No man can fall lower than a sol.
dier--it is depth beneath which we
cannot go. Keep the boys out of the
army. 1t is hell
"Down with the army and navy. We
don't need killing institutions. We
need life-giving institutions.
JACK LONDoN.n
Here is London g answer:
"Glen Ellen, California,
IKE. t ta p August 5, 1916:
''Lieut. James d. Wilson,
Navy Recruiting Station,
minneapolis, Minnesota.
Z" Dear Mr.. Wilson: - @
elm reply to yours of June %, 1916:
~ have just returned from Hawaii,
last night, hence you will understand
my delay in replying IS d
I'm reply to your inquiry / will
state that never wrote line of this
Il =. n
yearsI have been denying the author
ship of it, in England, in the United
States, everywhere, by personal letter,
by interview, by telegraph and by ca
BILE. There is scarcely mail that
comes to me which does not bring me
letter like yours, wanting to know
whether or not I wrote the canard. As
far as I can trace the history of this, il
Was originally published and circulated
in Germany, and later on was brought
over to the United States, translated
and circulated with my name attached.
And from there IL has spread over the
rest Of the world. All you have to do
is to read my books and newspaper
work to find that for the newspapers /
have done only war correspondence and
and that in my books I
am hailed BY the critics as the father
Of red blood fiction.
"My opinion is that IL behooves a
country or nation like the United
states to maintain reasonable pre-.
paredness for defense against any
country or nation that at any time may
60 out upon the way of war to carve
earth space for itself out Of weaker
and unprepared nations. . Il
tThe dressed fleas which you gave
Mrs. London in Vera Cruz are a source
Of wonder and amusement to our
friends to whom we show them. a..
g Remember nae to Captain Beach
and Doctor Dessez when you see them.
r". Sincerely yours, Ill.,.
.'.- -.' "JACK LONDON"