The daily Nome industrial worker., 1917-07-27
CANADA AND THE DRAFT.

The Canadians are patriots and view questions which come before them in a nationalistic light When they say they are fighting the war for democracy they believe it and they mean it. So when this draft law is proposed Canadian labor does not oppose it. Canadian labor is far too patriotic to do any such thing Canadian labor welcomes the draft and does not intend to offer any resistance to it. The idea of fomenting agitation against 1t would be abhorrently unpatriotlc. On the contrary they will aid it in every way and to strengthen the government they propose to make 1t thorough. They propose that there shall be no escape and no making fish of one and flesh of another. They say that the draft must be gen <;ral including labor, man power, also must it include wealth and money. And they propose to see it through. Isn't it a war for de mocracy and world liberty, they ask and wherefore should the govern ment stop at man power. But they know that governments are weak; that the influences of the monied power are manifested in every avenue of governmental activity; shat it is enormous the force that in dustrial interests can exert. so though the spirit of government may be willing, government action is weak to enforce needed policies and Labor, organized labor proposes To supplement governmental action with industrial action. It is pro- posed that the day the draft is en- forced that the workers refuse point blank to labor for private producers a day longer and they cease work in private plants until those plants are taken over by the nation for the
 
 ton. They propose that the leeches of industry that have been shoVlng up the profit mark until it reaches undreamt of records shall receive their quitetus and that the machine ry, the tools of production and dis tribution of supplies, necessaries of all kinds, clothing, food, fuel, muni- lions, metals-all of these become nationalized in tn" int0rc@t Of all the people so that the war may be forced to final victory
 They say that during the war, therefore, just as soon as the draft is passed, also will labor enforce a draft of it's own: the conscription of property, wealth, money. AS one labor paper puts it "To the thoughtful reader it will certainly be clear that if the whole power of the the nation is to be centered upon winning the war. then it logically follows that no part of the nation s power can be turned to the purpose of fattening the wallets of proht- hungry souls whose mission in life is not the winning of wars but the getting of something for nothing
 Surely logic unaEswerable is that conclusion What answer may be given the question as to the utility of men making millions from na tons need? Filling up dividend after dividend from the nations need ol food, of copper. of iron and steel of explosives. of clothing, of leather of wood. of ships. of machinery Has not, asks Canadian Labor, wltf patriotic voice, the nation not a' much need of these things as of the lives of men-ard if you draft tho lives of men, rightly we may no gainsay that. why then should no the property of men be also drafted Indeed, yes, this an unanswerahlt question unless one admits tha there is no reason whatever why property should not be conscripted Mr. Waters of the Canadian Fede ration of Labor of which he is Sec retary in a noble and patriotic man per thus explains the situation:
 The premier has pledged tha the whole power of the nation shal be concentrated on the task of win ming the war The whole power O the nation IS not limited to maj