THE INTERESTS OF DEMOCRACY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12194, 18 December 1917, Page 5

THE INTERESTS OF DEMOCRACY.

TO THE 2DITOK. Sir, —Because the mental and manual workers form the bulk of the population of tin- countries at war, L maintain llr-' they have an undeniable right to s;I~e their delegates and request the Gevcrn menus to facilitate their attendance ;■:' an international peace conference. <"■!•'*' that, it is the .duty of the Govern merit--.. either to do the will of the -peopl? or resign. The excuse for the existence of Governments at all is that they nay do tho will of the people. The proposed peace terms drawn up by such conference would surely be" on a more jt st basis than any. devised by the political representatives of the money power, who would-bo swayed mostly, if not entirely, by huge financial interests, which, ignoring the■"interests of the great masses of the people would, as usual, predominate. Then there are the post-war ; problems to be dealt' with, the irreat-esi. of which is the reconstruction of society in all countries upon a just and equitable basis, so as to end war for over. ■ Of the present basis of society wo.have had more than enough- It must be ended or mended. ■ Rather than continue the existing order of things it would be-better for humanity 1 o revert to the original, nomndio state of tho human species, .for they would at least- have, their freedom and independence and bo able to live the i.atural life of man- Everything considered, tho savages enjoy greater blessings than most people in so-called civilised communities. This is only a sham civilisation. If our communities are to continue we want a ieal civilisation in which everything "will bo don© for the .good of humanity as a whole, instead of for the enrichment and satisfaction of tho insane vanity of the antisocial ioxv, who rob and enslave the many and create the conditions responsible for bloody warfare. (liven economic justice in every country, it would bo impossible for capital to accumulate in few hands. There would be a splendid market within each country for all products, because the people would have more money to spend on such products';' the present, unholy scramble for markets would cease, and with it most —probably all—of the engines of human destruction : and capital, being in the hands of the many r.nd not- in vast accumulations in the possession of the few, there would be no export of capital to other countries for the polo purpose of exploiting iho natives of those countries. The export of capital is now one of the most fruitful causes of war. Economic injust'<-<> lies at the bottom of modern wars. To lean on the Churches for salvation from this state of things is to lean on a broken reed. The people must savo themselves by securing political control and ushering in a just econom'c ssstom. This will never be done by the present ruling classes, who lack the vision' and the capacity to govern wisely and well. Proof of this is found in the fact that the devil'sh. chaotic state of the world is.due to their criminal greed and deafness to the clarion call of justice. They have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Therefore 1 say that the land-ess, exploited and badgered people everyuloro, if they have learnt the lesson of the war, must grasp "with an iron . hand the reins of government through? rut the world if they would save themselves from the nnti-social forces which own mi.] control their lives and shape. their destinies.- '..."".- The workers have been repeatedly told that they are fVditincr. for "free-. dom and jir-fiee." They want it wii'ii'l tlie- countrv as well as between nations. It will be dangerous to disappnni; ihem. Thev will not forcrei that w-I'i'e thev are being most callously i obVd and w'H have to pav interest on the proceeds of the robbery which have ho<-'ii p'iir:oi : eal!v loaned to the Goyern•uont, thev'ar" told that "the country. i'j nro-'ju-roiis.'' Yes, the propertied and moneyed classes arestr king-lv prosperous, bur not the wealth producersu,r ,;r,,t;| v £;,,. latter are not '•;' the country." The*' don't count—never bav-- eounf.rd. Tin v only exist to bo on-v'd ii'iou bv tjio crafty who o'vn the count rv and con-'■-i-J ilie r.av'ianicnt.nrv ninrionett"S. In conc'ii'--ion. lot the worker 1 -' demand deit tit. v be represented bv their own ,i,-.|.-.,y.,i„ s :t i j| m pe;ve conference, so ( h'>< i.li,-. interests of humanitv at large "ball roceVe paramount consideration. ''he-.* rniKt, as already indicated, resohitelv take s'-'-'O'S to -promote their own. economic wlfare if they want neither to be humliur'fT'vl and shackled nor vork"d and b'r-d to death. It is up to ihem to be thorouchlv well prepared to rent into newer at the first opnor-• tnnitv men who have -f ho courage «ind hone'.fy and the knnwVfo >■-, Ivi'i-r about, oron;. rei'«;nin for the wdfaro and happiness of ilie pcviplo.-—l. am, (•to., LOOK AHEAD