The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-02-22
Sit Tight!

Lenin in refuting the ''leftist" nonsense that
a declaration of war by a capitalist government
can be answered by general STRIKE" points
out that, at the moment of declaration OF war,
the capitalist government has used every possible
device to raise patriotic fever TO its highest point.
The Shanghai situation is loaded with dynam-
lite, and the current capitalist propaganda is
obviously aimed at preparing the American mas
SEES for war, by bringing up the possibility" Of
war; until great majority regard it as "inevit-
able" and from this go on TO accepting it in
reality when some special thing is pulled off to
provoke patriotic outburst on the part of the
professional patriots.
lingo propaganda of the Hearst press is posi-
lively nauseating, but it also has certain inter
est We refer to Floyd Gibbons side show way
of handling the war situation in Shanghai the
situation which means not only the tragedy of
death to countless thousands of Chinese workers,
but also the imperialist dismemberment of China
and on Soviet China and the Soviet Union.
On Feb. IT, Gibbons gives us a yarn OF
the danger to U. S. war vessels in Shanghai har-
Dor, through picturing what would happen if an
explosive mine should blow UP one of Americas
warships there. And he mentions this because,
says he, Chinese wants American to get into the
war on its side, and Japan wants America in
also, only on Japan's side. OF course, according
TO this lingo writer American imperialism wants
to stay out of it and is only an innocent by
stander.
But Gibbons goes on and tells how such p
thing as blown up ship of the U. S. Navy once
before forced" Ameria into war, the Span-
ish-American War. He refers to the explosion on
the battleshp Maine in Havana harbor, Feb. Is,
1898 when 1853 men of the Names crew we're
killed
pf( HtNr1C HCeC mot pll al
that explosion which was The excuse used by
American Imperialism TO declare war on Spain
and grab the control of the whole Caribbean sea,
including Cuba Haiti, Porto Rico, and to take
away the Philippine Islands from Spain, in what
might be called the maiden effort of Yankee
Imperialism for world expansion.
Gibbons "forgets" to add that the higher off
GERS of the Maine we're conveniently absent on
shore" when the explosion took place! Nor that
the ships armor plates we're blown OUTWARD
and not inward, which proves that the explosion
was from the inside of the ship and not from the
floating mine outsidel Nor does Gibbons say
that it was and it is the opinion of anyone who
knew the circumstances then, that the u S. i'm
perialists themselves had the Maine blown UP
in order to afford an excuse for war with Spain
and the seizure of Spain's coloniesi
1t is time that this provocation was again
brought to light, as at any moment some such
"a crime may be pulled off again, to give Amer
lean Imperialism excuse for headlong entry
into the war in China. Again the capitalists
press would whip up spasm of war sentiment
among the wealthy and again American workers
and small farmers would be launched into what
would be inevitably new and more bloody world
war than the last
SO we say, sit tight and expect such an event
whenever Wall Street thinks the time is opport-
une. But, don't sit so tight that you do nothing
about it. Mol fierce protest of the American
working class CAN stay the hard Of the crl-
ii r. ~" '',ftorsl Form AntiWar Committees
in your shop and factoriesl Demand hands off
revolutionary China and the Soviet Unionl De-
mand all war funds go to feed the unemployed
Act. and act at oncei The masses can defeat
the war makerv. -
- HtzlEagasSsYTA