The guardian., 1951-02-17

slavery. There was a day when
most men believed that progress
depended on war, that by war
and mainly by war had modern
men gained freedom, religion
and democracy. We believed
this because we were taught
this in our literature and sci.
ence, in church and school, on
platform and in newspapers. It
was always a lie and as war has
become universal and so hor-
rible and destructive that every
body recognizes 1t as murder,
gripping instantly and stark
death Of human culture. We
realize that there is scarce a
victory formerly claimed by war,
which mankind might not have
gained more cheaply and more
decently and even more COM
pletely by methods of peace. #
that was true in the past, it Is
so clear and undisputable today
that no sane being denies it.
And yet of all nations on earth
today the United States alone
wants war, prepares for war,
forces other nations to fight and
and asks you and me to iinpov-
erish ourselves, give up health
and schools, sacrifice our sons
and daughters to a 'jim-crow'
army and commit suicide for a
world war that nobody wants
but the rich Americans who
profit by it.
eff war were a matter of
careful study and grave deci-
sion, OF prayerful thought and
solemn deliberation we might
take its fearful outbreak as at
least no more than human err
ror, soon to be stopped by de-
cency and common sense. But
when did you ever vote for war?
You who have spent most Of
your lives in a fighting, murder
ing world, when did you ever
have a chance to decide this
matter Of manning and murder?
Neverl And you never will as
long as an executive Of his own
initiative can start a little
police action which costs the
lives and health of $4,000 AM
erican boys in order that big
business can interfere with the
governments of Asia.
of what are they in such
deathly fear? Have we been in
vaded? Has anyone dropped an
atom bomb on us? Have We
been impoverished or enslaved
by foreigners? Is our business
falling and are our million
aires disappearing? Has the rate
of profit gone down? Is our
machinery less cunning or our
natural resources destroyed by
strangers? Is there any sign
that the United States of AM
erica is victim or can be VIC
tim of any foreign country? No!
Then of what are we afraid and
why are we trying to guard
the earth from Pacific to At
Iantic and from the North to
the South Pole, unless it be from
ourselves?
"Our rulers are afraid of an
idea: tempted by a vision OF
power which this idea fights.
The power they crave long mis-
led and slaughtered the peoples
of Europe and Asia, and now in
sidiously creeps into our fever
mad heads, and that is imperi-
alism-world rule over the world.
once this was sought by black.
slavery: then it was made easy
by yellow coolies: then all less
er breeds without the law who
could furnish a white mans
burden and let him strut over
the world and lord it in Asia and
Africa and rule and rule world
without end forever and for
ever. That was the vision OF the
18th Century. The fever Of I'M
perialism caught the United
States as the 18th Century died
and we choked a few islands out
of dying Spain. But these were
but small change which whetted
our appetite. With the first
World war came the vision OF
an imperial United States as
successor of the empire on which
the sun already sets, we rushed
SO madly at the spoils left by
European empire that we
brought down our whole indus
trial system about our own ears.
concluded Next Week