the earth in general and of our country in particular.

Christianism as a religion has collapsed. It promised to secure to the
world peace and good will, but it has never had more of strife and hate.
The tremendous English-German (or if you prefer German-English) war was
a conflict at arms between the most outstanding among Christian nations
and it was solemnly alleged to have been fought for the high purpose of
ending such conflicts; but in reality it scattered the hot coals of war
throughout the world, several of which were fanned into blazing by its
so-called peace conference and others are ominously smouldering.

Americanism as a politics has collapsed. It promised a classless
government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people, but
has instead given a government of a class, by a class, for a class. This
class, comprising not more than one out of every ten of the population,
is the capitalist class, which owns the means and machines for the
production of the necessities of life and for their distribution, a
class which, as such, though bearing no necessary relationship to either
one of the branches of this business, yet realizes enormous profits from
both, profits which are wholly at the expense of the large class, at
least nine out of every ten, which does all the work connected with the
making of the machines and the operating of them.

This government was to make the country safe for democracy by securing
to it the privilege of free speech and free assemblage, the existence of
an independent press and the right of appeal for the redress of
grievances; but our fathers did not have any too much of these
liberties, we have had less and, if the competitive system for the
production and distribution of commodities for the profit of the small
owning class is to continue, our children are to have none.

Indeed, this is already true of the overwhelming majority, the working
class. Its representatives have little if any real part in the
government. They are completely subjected to the rule of the owning
class. There never has been a body, mind and soul destroying slavery
which equaled theirs, either as to the number of men, women and children
involved in it, or as to the degrees of misery to which it doomed its
victims.

Nor is the end yet. The world war certainly has taken American slavery
out of the frying pan into the fire rather than into the water.

American slaves appeal to their government as