Montana labor news., 1934-05-03
INDICATIONS POINT TO MINI: LOCKOUT SATURDAY
FORTUNE OF NOR
GAN BUILT ON
WAR GRAFT

NEW YORK-(FP)-Some of the
great fortunes of the world have been
built on making and selling arms at
huge profits to nations in wartime.
But it is a bit of a shock to find
that the House of Morgan got its start
by buying useless carbines from the
government at SO apiece and selling
them back at $22 apiece. The fact
that the soldiers shot off their W
thumbs with the guns adds a human
touch to the story, as does the fact
that John Pierpont Morgan was in his
early twenties, just the right age for
soldering, at the time.
The story is told in Merchants of
Death, by H. C. Englebrecht and F.
C. Hanighen (Dodd-Mead, $3.50, with
many others just as startling. The au-
thors tell how Morgan afterward pa
triotically started the Navy League
and in fact, the whole book might be
called Making Patriotism Pay.
Iron, Blood and Profits by George
Seldes (Harpers) also published April
%, joins in flashing the international
munitions ring. Both books show that
the munitions makers deliberately
arouse patriotic ferver among the peo-
pie of rival nations so as to bring
threats of war and thus help business.
Seldes' book, written with the verve
of a trained newshound, exposes the
treason Of the ring, tells how they sell
munitions to enemy nations in the
midst of war, how they Control a
large part of the world press" how
they prolonged the World War two
years, and how they peddle the Sc
crets of one army to it's enemies.
Merchants of Death keeps a bit more
dignified tone and will be tremendous
ly impressive to the reader who lodges
propaganda as a plague. Here is a
carefully documented book with every
debatable statement backed by a quo
tation of its source. Here is a pic
ture of the armor made in Americas
Carnegie steel plant under a German
patent to be used by Russia. Nor is
there lack of humor. The story of
Bannerman, secondhand merchant of
death, with his religious ferver for
selling lots of munitions so that peace
shall reign on earth, and the climax
where he is "hastening the glad time
by selling cannon balls to heal the
SICK" surely is humor of the highest
type.
The revolt against munitions
ufacturers and war makers Of all
stripes is bound to be increased by the
publication of these two books, first
in what is reputed to be a long list of
such volumes speeding through the
publishers presses. Already we have
seen thousands Of college students
strike against war, a great survey is
being conducted among the thousands
of preachers of the country to deter
mine the churches attitude toward
war, and anti-war groups report their
numbers growing as the danger of war
looms ever greater.
"There never has been such a rush
to arm as the world now sees without
war following closely on its heels, "
the cynics say truly. But there has
never been so complete an understand
ing possible of those who Turk behind
the scenes and pull the strings which
make war, the optimists answer.
The ~2O-year-old Morgans have so
far succeeded in staying out of the
ranks themselves while they made for
tunes on selling rotten guns to other
boys. These two books will make it a
bit less easy next time, though.