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VOL XXXVti
EDITORIALS AND SHORT COMMENTS ON THINGS IN GENERAL.
A BACKWARD LOOK ATTBE GREATWAR.
ByThos. E. Watson.
Now that the President of the United States is ro
fveieg ovations in Europe, visiting tbe kings who
' being visited by them; basking
:re on our aide, and
radiance of popular enthusiasm manifested in
Ei Hhllng streets, in the theatres, and in the town halls;
secret consultations with the Fir 6 t Ministers
B:e ■e Allied countries and with delegations, from
to Englind. it is ft good time for us to look back
rot;r years that have passed since the summer
oM914, when tbe assassination of an Austrian prince,
by a Servian fanatic—maddened by the wrongs Inflict¬
ed by Roman Catholic Austria upon his Greek Catho¬
lic country—precipitated the Armageddon.
We ourselves were not concerned In this lamentable
episode, any more than European nations were concern¬
ed when Abraham Lincoln was murdered by the Roman
Catholic fanatics of Washington, on account of his
having warned ltomau Catholic France that Its array
must leave Mexico.^
Of course, we recall how piteously Servia begged for
peace and for arbitration; and we also remember that
our government did not back her up In either plea ;
President Wilson did not offer his friendly offices to
avert war, nor did he advise the quarrelling nations to
submit the question to The Hague tribunal, which had
been erected at great cost for that very purpose.
It is entirely possible that, had this government taken
( a decided stand at that time in favor of arbitration,
THE SWORD WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN DRAWN,
To have interposed the good offices of our govern¬
ment, in this spirit of the Peacemaker, would have been
strictly within the limits of our traditional policy.
Indeed, we could have gone further—we could have
protested in a formal, emphatic manner against Ger¬
many’s violation of the guarantiee neutrality of Bel¬
gium ; and if President Wilson had cabled instructions
to that effect to our Ambassador, Gerard,—who was on
the best of terms with the Kaiser—, it Is altogether
' r pSsfliS^!Wi:WE' 1 :li"'i th<> German- diplomats and
General Staff would have realized the possibility of
America entering the War against the Central Powers.
England pioposed arbitration; the Czar of Russia
proposed arbitration; the King of Servia proposed arbi¬
tration, but the President of the United States did not
lend to this proposition the tremendous weight of his
official sanction.
Who can be sure that the Germans would have per¬
sisted intheir perfldious and atrocious plans against
Belgium, if Wilson had spoken the right word at the
right time?
We all know that our government remained silent,
inactive, treating the European convulsion as a matter
f which was no concern of ours. President Wilson
,1 THAT WE HAD NOTHING To DO WITH THE
HIMSELF SAID
QUARRELS OF EpROPK.
; It was early in 1915 that the Lusitania was sent to
the bottom of the sear and 119 American citizens—
peaceably traveling the ocean highway— wero deliber¬
ately murdered by the German U-boat, which apparent¬
ly had its secret base ou the Ilomau Catholic coast of
Nevertheless, President Wilson remained, calm: he
continued to write “notes” to the German government:
he continued to receive la his official capacity and in
the friendliest, manner, the Kaiser’s ambassador,
Bernstorff; German outrages against neutral ves¬
sels were worse during 1915 and 1916 than they ever
became afterwards: but in spite of all this, our Am¬
bassador at Berlin—whose wife had accepted a mag¬
nificent diamond necklace from the hands of the
Kaiser—made ah official speech at an official banquet,
given by the Kaiser’s highest officials in Berlin, in
which he assured them that the friendly relations be¬
tween this government and Germany were never strong¬
er and better than they were then.
Note the date!
It was the latter part of January 1917.
Does it not seem almost unbelievable that oargovern
ment should have been officially pledging its continued
friendship to the Kasier’s government at so late a dale
as that, after ail those crimes upon the high seas,upon
Belgium, upon Northern France, • and upon the Ser¬
vians ?
Early in April, 1917, we were at war with this same
Kaiser; anti our President, who had been inaugurated
for a second term on the platform of “He kept 4s out
• of war”, plunged us into the War; and the same crowd
that Vvted for him as the Man of Peace, upheld him
vociferously as the Man of War.
. *
Strange, isn’t it? In January, friends: in April
foes!
But the point is this: where do we now find our¬
selves?
The War was the excuse for the tyranny of high
prices: when will that tyranny cease?
The German Kaiser laid down his crown, vacated
his throne, fled into Holland, and left the German
peole to create a government according to their own
notions; but have the American Trusts laid down their
erqy.jp>, vacated their thrones, leeviug us free to ad-
^ ♦
f y -Jm T __' '4 -
PRICE $2.00 PER YEAR
just our markets accordingl^he natural laws of'tup
ply and demand?
The laborer sees his wages advanoe, so fan as,dol¬
lars and cents are concerned; but do not tbe high
prices maintained by Big Busimssg rob the labored of
this seeming afdvance in wages?” SOcidid £
If a dollar will not now buy any more than
before the War, what’s the advantage of being
the dollar?
Measured in what it will buy, it remains 50c. I
As to the cotton growers of tbe South, no one «c’an
estimate what their losses have been ; and, when the
cotton grower loses, nearly all Southern business
droops.
Never before have we known such a time, when cot¬
ton seed could not be sold ; Cotton Itself could not he
marketed for the cost of production.
I venture to,say that 99 out of every 100 men were
sincere in believing that the close of the War would
mean at least 50e cotton: I know I was one who hvjd
and expressed that opinion.
During the campaign which ended with the election;
of November 1918, President Wilson said to the Dftcie
planters, in substance—
"I am your servant: I implore you to votq against
those Congressmen who have not bowed humbly toViiv
Gessler cap aud kissed my Papal slipper: I beg you to
elect men who publicly declare that they have no
minds of their own, and who will go to counting the
stars when I assert that neon-day is midnight.
‘■•I am your servant and you needn’t,, worry abaut
prlce-flxlug on your cotton !” a
Bang 1 Cotton went to 36 cents.
Then, after the elections were over, and the So®h
had bowed to the cap and had kissed the slipper, Pr»i
deilt Wilson said — II
‘•It may become necessary to fix thepriceofcottois” 1
Bang ! Down went the price to 2G cents ! ! !
They tell us the War is over, that our vast army in
Europe occupies German territory, making it impos¬
sible tor Germany to renew the War.
The German battleships aud the wicked U-boats
have ail sundered. , 1...
,
Germany has been forced to release every prisoner
that she took from our kings and our presidents.
Consequently, the matter of peacemaking is a mere
question of thrashing out details; and the irreslstablo
Woodrow Wilson has gone to Ewope to tell mankind
how to behave, and how to settle those details.
Nothing remain certain, excepting those very things
that we had expected to get rid of at tfyeend of the War.
We ir.a e enormous sacrifices—in life and money- to
win the War: fathers and mothers gave up splendid
sons, and millions ot men and women gave their money
to buy bonds, stamps, and to finance wav-charities;
many gave who needed the money for home use.
We expected to see our armies disbanded, after the
War: we expected those of our hoys who had survived,
to come home, after the War: we expected Big Busi¬
ness to lower its prices, after the War ; we expected to
see free speech and free press restored, after the War:
we expected tosse the Southern farmer reap a reason
able harvest where lie had labored so hard and so
long, after the War: we expected cheerfulness, buejv
ancy, confidence, and prosperity to radiatethroughout
all the classes of our people, after the War.
These expectations of ou s have not been realised—
WHY ? T
Let me remind you, that, if this country 13 ever to
be saved, you will have to use your ballot more inde¬
pendently.
You will have to do your own thinking, more
INTELLIGENTLY.
You will have to act like a man conscious of your
right terhave your say-so tn the law making and in the
government of your country.
You have got to do this, and you have got to do it
soon.
As through » glass dimly, I see the coming together
of monopolies and militarism, throughout the world,
to hold down and to rob THE PRODUCERS of wealth.
Behind the non-pi iducing monopolies, arlstocries,
Specially. Privileged and Roman Gatholic Autociacies,
I SEE THE MASSING OF ARMIES.
The workers of Russia (The Bolsbeviki) are Merci¬
lessly MRssaereu by the troops of aristocracy in the
Ukraine, in Finland, and in Siberia.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The farmers of France who have endured so much,
whose fields havebeen laid waste, whose homes have
been destroyed, whose daughters were brutally out¬
raged, whose suns shed their blood like water to save
Paris; and whose patient, heroic toll furnished food
and wine to the soldiers that won on the Marne and at
Verdun—the farmers of France, I say, asked to be rep¬
resented at the Peace Conference, and were rebuffed !
What does it mean ?
The despotic Pope asked to be heard, and his demand
was immediately honored : nis autocracy will exert
tremendous influence over the Peace terms, while not
a single Protestant church will be remotely
recognized.
Yet we all know that the creed of Protestantism is
the essenco of democracy, and that Calvin, Luther,
Knox and other dauntless leaders of the Reformation
HARLEM, CE0RCIA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 1919.
7H0S. E. WATSON.
laid the foundation of modern self-governing states.
To those pioneer Protestants, we owe whatever is
left toas of free speech, free press, free ballot, people’s
rule, secular schools, and liberty of conscience.
Every one of these pearls of democracy was won
with patriotic blood, Against thte Roman Catho¬
lic Autocracy, which strove desperately to prevent
the progress and liberation of mankind.
All honest students of history know this; and they
know that the unaltered, fundamental law of (he papal
autocracy I* at drably enmity to the frincipi.es
of democracy.
Why, then, is this papish autocracy heard so defer¬
entially at the Peace Conferences? and why is it that
our President goes to Borne to figuratively kiss the
Pope's toe?
What does it mean?
“To make the world safe for democracy,’’ was the
cry: but in what way does democracy gain dominion,
when the press Is censored, everywhere; when the
people are permitted to read nothing which has not
been approved by the hireling wiiters of Hoover’s
•‘bureau ” of Creel’s “bureau”, of Tumulty’s “bureau”
>f McAdoo’s “bureau”, of the Trusts' ‘ibureau’’ of the
Pope’s, “bureau”, and of President Wilson’s “bureau’’?
How can democracy be made srfe by our six K'ngs,
our Tories of Great Britain, our aristocrats of France,
Italy. Belgium, Greece, H«d Germany?
How can the world be made safe for democracy by
surrendering it to an Italian clerical autocracy, in
which Italian cardinals, self-perpetuating, are sworn
to always elect an Italian for Pope?
This Italian Pope, claims despotic control over the
whole world, his autocratic bishops and other hierarchs
renerence him as God-on-earth ; lie savagely denounces
the very existence of democracy, of free litera¬
ture, of free education and Tree thought; and he has
ever been the surest support of Kings, Emperors, and
Aristocracies.
WHY WE ENTERED THE WAR.
Inasmuch as we are now. supposed to bo getting
0Ut ° f thc VV llr > « 13 ,' vel1 ,, to1 ,. ' 1,11 ... ° ! 113 10 , hllV0 *
c ' u ' iU duuorsUUHhiig ij wiry we Relit inUT.iL
From my reading of tbe Prostitute Press—lay
and “religious”—1 am enabled to present to you
tbe various motives which actuated our Govern¬
ment,
(1) We entered the Wav because “there is such
a thing as being too proud and too right to fight
(2) Because European quarrels and wars were
no concern of ours ;
(3) Because we re-elected Woodrow Wilson on
the platform of non-interference with the Euro¬
pean mess, aud “He kept us out of War” ;
(4) Because the Lusitania was sunk in April
1915, we declared war in A pril 1917, thus proving
to mankind that we coukl hold our temper two
years; the King of France, than
(5) Because more
125 years ago, slapped at England which had de¬
spoiled France of her vast possessions in India,
Oceauica, and Canada: we owed France a huge
debt for this French tit-for-tut at England, al¬
though we had been made war on by France in
1798. and bad chased a French army out of
Mexico in 1867.
Young LaFayctte had gallantly volunteered to
aid our Revolutionary ancestors, and therefore
we had to conscript millions of Americans to “pay
the debt.”
(0) President Wilson told the Parisians—anc!
“mankind”—that we entered the War, because
of German outrages on Northern France ; and
ibis statement is just as truthful as the others ;
(7) Ye entered the War to abolish the Euro¬
pean “balance of power,” and to substitute a
League of Nations. This London statement is
also true—as much so as the others.
(8) We entered the War make the world
safe for democracy and to everlastingly insure
free speech, free press, home rule, and Protestant
principles.
Never, never must any one suspect that the
Roman Church and 'the Insatiable. Corporations forced
us into the War — NEVER ! T. E. VV.
Present Clubbing Rales are in force until Feb. Is*.
Send in one or more clubs this month and help
build this paper, dubbins: rates are published
elsewhere in tiiis issue.
ISSUED WEEKLY
WHY DON’T THEY LET YOU KNOW THE
TRUTH?
After we had recovered from our mental attack
of being “too proud to tight”, and had dismiss¬
ed from office a Secretary of War, named Lindley
M. Garrison, became of 1m belief in “ Pirparedness ”,
and bad re-elected a President who had “kept us
out of war,” m changed nvr minds immediately after
kissing the Bible for the second term.
This being a free country, we had a right to
change our minds;'and of course those crack-’
brained folks who didn’t change their minds when
we changed ours, were sinfully unpatriotic, and
richly deserved it in the neck—and that’s where
they got it.
Among other things, we adopted a number of
foreign words and phrases; and the patriots who
wore reputed to be the most thorough were those
who most frequently used the greatest number of
these imported verbal beverages—such as “Over
the Top,” “Dougbovs,” “Yanks,” “Poilus,”
“Bodies,” “Huns,” “Drives,” and “Camouflage.”
This latter word ran throng 1 the conn ry faster
than the “Flu. > ’ Nobody could talk, write, pub¬
lish, or think, without tangling himself ap with
the lovely now imported word, “camouflage. ft
The fact that our language expresses the same
meaning in such terms as “disguise,” “conceal,”
“mask” &c. made no difference : we had to say
“■camouflage” or we were not in the parade at all.
In old times, a-hidden battery was described as
“masked ’ : in this War, the masked battery AY a 3
“c a tn ou fl aged. ” ASMBOkk yokteMt
,„,In old times, a diplomatic liar used falsehoods
to conceal his real thought*: in this War, he
merely enveloped his secret purpose in "ctondv
‘ " vi \ ' i v *
Don’t understand me to imimiate that Presi¬
dent Wilson would resort to camouflage; I am
not. quite ready to he shot for high treason.
• Wilson’s official bootlicks never conceal their
meaning in a cloud of virtuous speechilyiug, nor
would any Wilsonian editor do such ti thing.
Wilson always tells the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth ; and his Cabinet does
the same thing: also his henchmen in Congress,
in the newspapers, in the “publicity ’ Bureaus et
cetera.
Nobody is using camouflage. Nevertheless,
your conscripted sons are located in Northern
Russia, near the Arctic Circle, not to ' njfeke as¬
tronomical observations ot the Aurora Borealis,
but to thoot down the Russian peasants,
That’s queer, isn’t, it ?
We did not say that Russia sank the Lusitania,
outraged Belgium, offended Cardinal Merrier,
shelled ancient Catholic cathedrals, and jovially
drank the wine which priests had ’^transubstu' i
tinted” into the. blood of Christ. ^
No: it was the Hon who had do^pilHhis ; and,
after waiting two years, and spitting on our mail¬
ed fists, as it were, we crossed over against the Jinn.
How comes it, then, that our gallant bugs arc now
reddening, the snows of Northern Russia wltit the
blood of Russians ? l
Four million young soldiers of Russia gave
their lives to stop tbe rush of the Huns 4n Paris
and on the English Channel ; and they did this
while Woodrow Wilson was still mouthing about
being too right toNight, and about the War being
none of our business.
But at present we are waging war upon the
Russians, ami our War-Lords at Washington are
(continued on face two!
NO. 16.