xxxiil] LITERARY WORK, ETC., 1887-1905 223 



and all of them. They will therefore be guilty of folly as well as crime if 

 they much longer permit their rulers to drill them into armies, and force 

 them to invade, and rob, and kill each other. 



The people are always better than their rulers. But the rulers have 

 power, wealth, tradition, and the insatiable love of conquest and of 

 governing others against their will. It is, then, in the People alone that I 

 have any hope for the future of Humanity. 



Alfred R. Wallace. 



In 1904 I wrote a short letter on the "Inefficiency of 

 Strikes" for the Labour Annual, and a rather long one to 

 the Clarion, suggesting a policy for socialists in opposition 

 to continued military expenditure as advocated by Robert 

 Blatchford ; but this was, I fear, too much advanced even for 

 the readers of this very advanced paper, since no one came 

 forward in my support. I feel sure, however, that there are 

 many who, when it is clearly put before them, will approve 

 of the policy I have sketched out, since it is merely one of 

 justice and consideration for nations as well as for individuals 

 — of adopting the same rules of right and wrong in the one 

 case as in the other. The letter may be termed — 



A SUBSTITUTE FOR MILITARISM. 



I will first say a few words on the, to me, extraordinary statement that, 

 though fifty years of continuously increasing expenditure on our national 

 defences has resulted in " an inadequate and imperfect * outcome, and 

 what a military writer in the July Nineteenth Century called " our pitiable 

 military situation," yet, only give to our rulers unlimited money and con- 

 scription, and our defences will instantly become "adequate and efficient." 

 With all respect, this seems to me nothing less than pure delusion. One 

 Government after another has had a free hand to reform our military and 

 naval forces, and all have utterly failed. They have wasted countless 

 millions with no adequate result. And now we are asked to give them 

 more millions to waste, and the very same body of official rulers and 

 organizers and titled officers will suddenly be imbued with wisdom, un- 

 selfishness, and economy, and all will be well. Our defences, as by a 

 miracle, will become " adequate and efficient." For what has to be done 

 must be done at once. Germany, we are told, is ready ; we are not. 

 Therefore the money and the men must be given to the Government now. 

 To any such proposal I venture to hope that, by an overwhelming 

 majority, the Socialist and Labour parties will reply in the now historic 

 words : u Never again." 



But this is only preliminary. We will now come to the real issue. 



