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The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, February 08, 1917, LAST EDITION, Image 23

Image and text provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1917-02-08/ed-1/seq-23/

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tion, which serves as a guide to a
candidate's principles., merely a list
of names which tell nothing. This
tends 10 put personalities over issues,
but is this a desirable result? Of
course, we may vote for good candi
dates, but-the term good varies with
theuser and may be applied to any
ope, from Hinky Dink to Jake Loeb
' and Jimmie Simpson.
The real tendency of non-partisan-ism
is to destroy any open rallying
point for the workers on the political
field and to send them against the
forces of capital as free and indepen
dent as the worker who deals indi
vidually with capital on the econom
ic field. Capital profits by non-par-tisanism.
It is already thoroughly
organized economically and by its
economic power it can tout its pet
candidates through the trust press
more effectually under non-partisan-ism
than before, while the latter veils
its activities, and makes it easier to
elect another set of tools when one
set is discredited.
Consequently by destroying the
unifying power of the party and by
exalting personalities over issues,
non-partisanism renders ,the work
ers' political power worthless, as in
dividual organizing renders his eco
nomic power worthless. It is the
open shop of politics. Kellam Fos
ter, 9832 Charles St ,
DRAFT THE PLUTES' MONEY.
-rQf all the insulting proposals .sub
mitted to our government that re1
cently presented by the Maryland
League for National Defense is the
most brazen, if newspaper reports of
its contents are true.
The brave men, leading citizens of
the state, so we are informed, want
9 universal compulsory military serv
ict at once, but until such a system
is established want the proper au
thorities given power to drift into
the ranks of the regular army a suffi
cient number "of men to police the
Mexican, border. Do they expect to
be drafted? No, not a single one of
them proposes to sacrifice his valu
able hide in army service. Perish
the thought! What good is wealth
unless it can purchase its owner ex
emption from these unpleasant du
ties of life?
Who then is to be drafted? Why,
you and I, and the rest of the com
mon herd who from time immemor
ial have furnished the cannon fodder.
We are to go down and face the dead
ly heat, the sickness or the chance
"of bullets on the Mexican border.
You see, these eminent citizens are
against the use of the militia down
there. Of course, a few months ago
they were yelling their heads off to
have the militia called. Well, they
were drafted into service and the
first touch they got of military life
showed up their caliber. It always
has been great fun overawing com
mon working dubs on strike and us
ing them for target practice.
Besides, there was the glory of full
dress parade and all the social dis
tinction that a snobbish, middle-class
public delights in. Of the real hard
ship, of war, a garrison or routine
guard duty, they had no experience
nor wished any. Regardless of their
feelings, they were harshly torn
from their, loved ones and their jobs
and hurried In unlovely railroad
coaches to the front. Oh, how angry
these Marylanders are over the rich
men, or sons of the rich, ortheir im
portant servitors who are thus doing
police duty, who ought never to be
called upon for military service away
from home except as a last resort.
This illustrates just what the Influ
ential backers of universal military
service want They want the com
mon people to do the fighting in the
ranks, while they sit back and boss
the machine or continue at their or
dinary business of making hay while
the sun shines. If we are to have
universal military service let us draft
every one into the service and see
that those who expect to benefit
most contribute most. Put the
wealthy into the trenches, let them,
. ' iiMya

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