Page:Scott Nearing - World Labor Unity (1926).pdf/21

 In the industrial and economic field the capitalists of all countries are forming their united front—a united front for the exploitation of workers all over the world. The workers in the meantime remain divided, and in some countries are formed into antagonistic groups. Instead of being employed in the task of defence against capitalist aggression they are plunged into bitter quarrels and dissensions.

In nearly every country, in consequence of the growing power of the capitalist class and the lack of unity among the workers, advantages gained in the direction of reduced hours of labour and increased wages have been lost. Where the eight-hour day has not been abolished it is imperilled. In many industries the hours of labour have once more reverted to nine, ten, or even more hours per day. …

Through the economic paralysis of Europe caused by the world war, millions of workers are unemployed and with their families are being driven into the depths of despair, starvation, and degradation. Wages, never sufficient to maintain a decent standard of life for the workers, have been reduced by 20 per cent, 30 per cent, and in some cases over 40 per cent. The standard of living in many countries is now below pre-war level.

The hope of better times which existed among the workers shortly after the great world war and which they were led by unscrupulous politicians to believe would be the result of their enormous sacrifices, has now disappeared and given place to despair. The pledges of politicians and the promises of capitalists during the war and directly after it have been cynically repudiated. The blind faith that inspired the workers to fight for their respective Governments in the universal catastrophe in which millions of their class were killed and maimed has been shattered. After the greatest sacrifices and the severest sufferings, they are now faced with little prospect of a better life for the workers.

Already it would appear that a new war, more terrible, more monstrous than anything known hitherto, is being prepared. New weapons of destruction are being devised; the chemists and scientific thinkers of European countries are devoting their knowledge and skill to the task of inventing new weapons of torture and destruction for use not only against the soldier but also against the civilian. In the meantime so-called disarmament conferences are merely en-