The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-05-17

MILITARY category. simultaneously,
the War Department is methodically
building up the largest peace time"
army in the history of the nation.
On top of this, a wide movement has
been launched to organize labor
throughout the country on a military
basis.
Having accustomed themselves to
demagogic effusions from the White
House, millions of starving workers
can evince no surprise over the fact
that the war preparations are NOV
ing forward while Roosevelt is bleat-
ing about world peace" harmony
among nations" international CO.
operation" etc. One can take, for
example, the last public pronounce
ment of the President. Speaking
over the radio, he told the citizenry
that the first objective of the admin
ixtration is "a general reduction of
ornaments, through the removal of
fear of invasion and armed attack,
and, at the same time a reduction in
armament costs, in order to help in
the balancing of government budgets
and the reduction of taxation"
But at the moment he was giving
false assurances to his listeners, mis-
political and economic advisors were
busy drafting legislation TO foist
more taxes upon the shoulders of
the workers for the payment of ad-
ditional ornaments The question of
these ornaments will inevitably bob
up at the Geneva disarmament"
conference Thursday.
Giant Navy Program
AS things now stand, the Navy will
begin construction this year of thirty
20 destroyers, five cruisers, four sub
marines, and one airplane carrier.
The Navy Department has already
completed plans to spend $3.50, 900, 600
ON new battle craft. In addition,
Secretary Swanson calls for 119 more
war vessels. He wants eighty-nine
Cestroyers, twenty submarines, seven
cruisers and three aircraft carriers.
The cost of this work would
amount to more than billion dol
lars and the workers would be made
to pay for every cent of construction.
Should the Wall Street imperialists
go ahead with this program, Great
Britain would take up the naval race
by building ships totalling more than
10000 tonnage in order to maintain
parity Nor are these to be the only
projects to burden the workers. The
Government will place taxes upon
the masses Of the American people
af at least another billion dollars
within the next five years to pay the
costs of naval shore establishments.
AS has been already pointed out
N the columns of the Daily Worker.
The proposed saving in the naval
budget Of about $50 100000 is only a
GESTURE to mislead the American
masses. It will be saving only in
the form of tricky bookkeeping
sort of bookkeeping that is resorted
70 by the bankers when they prepare
20 close a bank and rob the deposit
prs of their last pennies.
The Navy is willing to reduce its
departmental budget knowing that
the cut will be more than counter
balanced with money from the three
and a half billion dollar public works
fund Secretary Swanson is TO re-
ceive more than $200,000,000 from
his fund-another sum which Roose-
velt has decided must be raised by
taxation of the workers and farmers.
1t is thus clear that when the
powers convene to discuss disarma-
ment, the United States, in view of
its huge military program, will not
be in position to ask any nation to
reduce ornaments. This conference,
as all proceeding ones, will simmer
down to a discussion as to whether
warships should carry siyteen-inch,
twelve-inch or six-inch guns. And
certainly the workers Of the world