The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1918-10-18

between CnOSe forces IN human so
ciety which, on the one side, are
, trying to drag humanity back to the
level of the beast and impose a gov
ernment on the whole world, based
on the principle that few men are
chosen by divine right, to rule all
of the rest of the human race by
force and exploit them as slaves and
serfs, keeping them in utter sub
lection; and on the other, that stand
for civilization, progress, better
things for the whole human race,
democracy-as exemplified by our
own government in the Declaration Of
Independence, which says that "all
men are created equal" that they are
endowed by their Creator with GER
tain inalienable rights, that amongst
these are "life, liberty and the pur-
suit of happiness; that all govern
ments derive their just powers from
the consent of the governed" that
no man is good enough to govern
and rule another man, except with
that mans consent-all of the gov
ernments in the world which stand
for giving the people the right to
live their lives in their own way
and work out their own destiny and
make what of progress the develop
ment of their own intelligence will
enable them to.
There can be no compromise be-
tween those forces-when the strug-
gle is ended, one of them will be
utterly crushed. Civilization can
not make a compromise with the
Beast. We must fight on until the
military autocracy of the central |
powers has been exterminated to the
last vestge.
In this struggle we must furnish |
the men to fight in the trenches and |
on the ships, in the air, and under
the sea. We must furnish the army
of civilians, experts, mechanics and
labor to keep them equipped to the
highest standard of efficiency to
fight extensively and defensively, un-
til this war will have been won.
The men on the firing line will be
utterly useless (they will have been
unless those who are not
privileged to fight, who remain at
home in civil life, do the work neces-
sary to furnish every particle of that
equipment and supplies and transport
them to them.
We must not only do the work
necessary to do this, but we must
also furnish our Government with the /
money with which to pay for all of
the labor and material and trans I
portation necessary, and we who do {
this, even if we do all that it lies ]
in our power to do, can do but very |
little indeed as compared with what {
the men are doing and giving who {
are on the firing line.
They are leaving home just on the J
Threshold of their entrance into real 6
everything that is dear |
behind them, and every opportunity
that men have to get the desirable
5hings in life for themselves and |
heir loved ones-they are leaving t
t all to cross the sea and fight. I
They are suffering every conceiv- c
able hardship-every kind of disease, t
and injury, and dying as well.
The least we who remain at home /
an do is to do all, everything we can !
give the last atom of material and {
moral assistance and support that is t
n US to them. We, whom they are
fighting and dying for, G
Who live under a government wherein q
We have voice and vote in every c
hing that that government is, and h
n everything that it does-who have v
he power within us, when we can t
onvince a majority that we are p
ight-to right every wrong that we -
uffer from and curb every would il
e autocrat there is amongst us
o even change the government it V
elf in any manner we see fit in a b
ountry which has higher standards
wages for working men-higher t,
tandards of living-more of pleas p
re, greater opportunities for educa- d
on-more of rights and liberties n
nd greater possibilities for the fu- p
IRE, and a better country to live 81
| than any other that has been
nown to humanity since the begin
ing of time. n
We have more to lose in the event 81
were possible for us to fail than a
ave any other human beings in B
ne world, and we have more at