Judge — April 1933 — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

x Pacifism rumbling with HE world is rumors of war. Every rumor implies the ultimate entry of United States into any war that starts. Japan stalks out of the League and rolls down upon China. Hitler’s dire power is af. firmed in Germany and Mussolini exults, The Russian bear stirs and grow All Europe seethes. Latin America boils over. India stands alert. the No large area in the world is sure of peac Most of the large areas are actively threatened with w And just as certainly the first bank moratorium in Michigan brought on the national moratorium, o any considerable war anywhere might spread to the American shor Stupid men, cynical men, self men, go to and fro saying that a fine, big war would end depression. So it would, and end everything else with it. You can end a man’s head- ache by chopping off his head. There is a vocal element in our population which is dangerous and inimical to the public welfare be- cause it wants and urges war. So before the ballyhoo set louder, put yourself on re against war. War with Japan, v in Europe, world war, any war, any where. This is no time for soft-spoken pacifism, for sweet, mild words about the brotherhood of man, for nice calculations about relative rmament, for hair aggression and need is for active, aggressive sistance to war, to all war and the causes of war. We must have a ifism—a fighting pacifism—the kind which feeble “keep-p type. exactly what we v Not mer conscientious objet s who refrain from war on perso! grounds, be- cause they have religiou ruples, or are squeamish about shooting at their fellow creatures, or are senti- mental about other peop! sons, Not a movement that is 98 per cent female, but a movement 98 per cent male. We want the courage and the persuasiveness of the women and we'll hi all the 3ut we need more the driving power of asculinity, men with h on their chests and blood in their eyes and steel in their souls, men who dare to hear the word “coward” and dare to fling it back in the teeth of the cowards who utter it. We want hard-headed, hi war resisters. The world has had a stomach-full of what used to be called “practical” people—people just practical enough to into the world war, just pr: enough to send our economic struc- ture crashing down, just practi enough to get 30,000,000 of the people of the world in a jam where they can’t earn their keep. We want now people who are practical enough to know that a great war would ruin nce that civilization has, that as former General von Schoen- aich of the Imperial German Army id at Amsterdam last summer, “If humanity must endure another war like the last, there will be nothing. left of what was once human culture but a miserable heap of ashes.” rd-boiled We well know that sooner or later we shall be listening goggle-eyed to the argument that monstrous injus- tice will be done somewhere in the world unless the United States oes in. It will be argued further that it is useless for a handful of us to put up our puny resistance, because the war will yo on anyw All this is specious and viciou If enough of us begin to resist war now, now to oppose with full vigor that makes for war—nationalisr imperialism, armaments and “pre- paredness”—then there will be 1 war. Yes, we are quite aware th. there probably won't be enough of us in time to stop Japan, to check Fascism, to batter down the wi spirit wherever it breaks out nest But if we don't start now, if we listen now to the doctrine of defeat when in God's name will there be enough of us. And who can tell? A mighty movement swelling up every corner of a weary world ju possibly could yain enough impetus even now to keep y hostilities within local boundarie & What must , therefore, from each individual is not the nega- tive technique of the conscientious objector, such as a declaration not to put on a uniform drafted, but the strong, positive, social decision to yet out and fight the forces that make for war. We hond nd need the man who will f. scorn and ostracism, go to prison if need be, for his integrity as an individual But we have greater need now for men and women who, for the inte: rity of society, and its preservation, will dare as much and fight to the end. o apology need be using the vocabula to recruit for pacifism. We who engage in war resistance are not afraid to fight. We like a fight. R.J.W. we made for y of militarisis