"War is Good for Business. Invest Your Son."

[Forward Notes by Chris Gupta <mbgupta@uwo.ca>: This book, written it the mid 1930's, is a must-read as it succinctly shows the real reason behind war and is every bit applicable today (adjusted to $ value) as it was then. It's such a clear demonstration of the exploitation of our vulnerabilities, not only in war, but in medicine, energy, etc. No education should be complete without it! The book is not very big and will only take a few minutes to read. Please read and pass it on.  Thanks ]

By Major General Smedley Butler
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/warisaracket16jan03.shtml
January 16, 2003

"...But don't forget -- the soldier paid part of the dollars and cents bill too. Up to and including the Spanish-American War, we had a prize system,  and soldiers and sailors fought for money. During the Civil War they were paid bonuses, in many instances, before they went into service. The government, or states, paid as high as $1,200 for an enlistment. In the Spanish-American War they gave prize money. When we captured any vessels, the soldiers all got their share -- at least, they were supposed to. Then it was found that we could reduce the cost of wars by taking all the prize money and keeping it, but conscripting [drafting] the soldier anyway. Then soldiers couldn't bargain for their labor, Everyone else could bargain, but the soldier couldn't.
 
 Napoleon once said, "All men are enamored of decorations . . . they positively hunger for them." So by developing the Napoleonic system -- the medal business -- the government learned it could get soldiers for less
 money, because the boys liked to be decorated. Until the Civil War there were no medals. Then the congressional Medal of Honor was handed out. It made enlistments easier. After the Civil War no new medals were issued until the Spanish-American War.
 
 In the World War, we used propaganda to make the boys accept conscription. They were made to feel ashamed if they didn't join the army.
 
 So vicious was this war propaganda that even God was brought into it. With few exceptions our clergymen joined in the clamor to kill, kill, kill. To kill the Germans. God is on our side . . . it is His will that the Germans  be killed.
 
 And in Germany, the good pastors called upon the Germans to kill the allies . . . to please the same God. That was a part of the general propaganda, built up to make people war conscious and murder conscious.
 
 Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the "war to end all wars." This was the "war to make the world safe for democracy." No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their
going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on which they were going to cross might be torpedoed by submarines built with United States patents. They were just told it was to be a "glorious adventure."
 
 Thus, having stuffed patriotism down their throats, it was decided to make them help pay for the war, too. So, we gave them the large salary of $30 a month.
 
 All they had to do for this munificent sum was to leave their dear ones behind, give up their jobs, lie in swampy trenches, eat canned willy (when they could get it) and kill and kill and kill . . . and be killed..."
 
 The small book is at:  http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html#c3