Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library 10:2000 No24 $1/50P
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library 10:2000 No24 $1/50p AN ADDRESS TO THE ARMY (The Sheffield Anarchist, JULY 19th 1891) Fellow•workers • for fellow•workers you were during the threatened Gas Strike, it is well known that before you sold yourselves, and fellow•workers you accommodation was made for the soldiers, not only to may be after your term of servitude as soldiers has occupy the Gas Works, but also to “blackleg” against expired. We, the Anarchist•Communists of England, those on strike. Is this to continue? The answer lays being the English section of the Anarchist•Communist with you, largely. You who are the sons of workers, groups of the world, appeal to your manhood to listen you who have known the hard conditions of factory to us through this address, and to be careful before you life, you who when your services were no longer cast aside what is on the one hand an appeal and on the required by a boss were cast aside and forced (in most other a word of warning cases) to enlist or starve, are you to be the men to crush The world•wide struggle on the part of the others whom you left behind in factory, mine, field, or wage•workers against the tyranny of Capitalism is workshop, when they try to resist being slowly starved becoming so severe that recently, in various parts of to death? Nay, surely you will never butcher your own the world, the military have been used by our masters class like wolves eager for blood. Our fathers, mothers, in order to crush the rising aspirations of the people. In and kindred have, like many of yours, ended their days America, men, women and children have been shot in the workhouse, whilst we, and many of you, have down by the soldiery for daring to protest against the had to eke out a miserable existence as best we could. starvation wages paid to them. In France, Austria, And why? In order that an idle class of landlords and Italy, Spain, and Belgium the same thing has occurred. Capitalists may live in luxury and debauchery, whilst You may say, what has all this to do with me? Well, we work hard and starve. They are able to maintain stop and listen. Recently in Scotland, at Motherwell, at their power over us simply because they can hire you to Liverpool, at Southampton, Leeds and Bradford, the shoot us down if we should rebel to alter our services of the soldiery • in whose hands this may fall • conditions, paying you out of what has been wrung were utilized to put down the meetings of working men from the blood and sweat of your brethren. Need this and women, who were attempting to protest against the be? No, a thousand times no. There is land enough for miserable wages paid, and the horrible conditions under all to live upon; nature has endowed us with skill to be which many of them lived. able, not only to exist, but to The capitalists, in their We appeal to you in no idle live the lives of happy men, attempt by “blackleg” women and children. labour to crush the workers manner, we are in earnest; we ask We are striving to bring are, and ever have been, you to choose whom you will fight about a condition of society ready to use the soldiery in in which there shall be order to achieve their for and with. Shall it be for our neither slave nor master, damnable ends; only masters or with us? neither poor nor rich, where recently the soldiery in all shall be able to satisfy Maryborough, Australia, were made howling drunk their human desires, in a word we are striving for and then let out in the town, committing many brutal FREEDOM. Shall it be said that you • part of our class assaults, yet the workers were quiet even under these as you are • will aid in suppressing our noble efforts? circumstances and this is in one of our own colonies. Remember you also will have the battle of life to fight, Other governments in various parts of the world have that you will on the day of your discharge have to begin used soldiers as “blacklegs” to defeat the workers in the struggle for existence; what sympathy can you their attempt to better their position. The governing expect if today you use your weapons against those powers of England, made up of our masters as they who are fighting not only their battle but yours. Pause, are, and must necessarily be whilst they hold the means comrades, and on the words “Make ready, Fire!” shoot of life in their hands, are not one bit behind their the scoundrels who [order that] you murder the people. “co•thieves” the capitalists of other lands. Recently, continues over ANTIMILITARISM Continued from front dollar cheques, but sterling ones payable to ‘Kate You do your duty and We will do ours. We have put Sharpley Library’ are fine.] our hand to the plough and do not mean to turn back Pamphlets whether we achieve VICTORY or meet DEATH. We Two KSL pamphlets have been reprinted and are have nothing to lose but our chains, and we have a available for their original (cheap!) price of one pound each. We’ve also acquired some writings by the French world to gain. We, therefore are working for the anarchist geographer Elisee Reclus: see page 7 for the full destruction of private property, believing that the list of titles available from us. holding of land and capital by the community will be Rhona M. Hodgart Ethel MacDonald: Glasgow woman the best and safest way to obtain the greatest amount anarchist of happiness for you and all the human race. Ethel MacDonald was an anarchist comrade of Guy When, the people attempt to take back the wealth Aldred’s who travelled to Spain during the civil war, they have created, your services will be called in; worked as a radio announcer and was imprisoned by the THINK carefully, and decide on which side you will communists. This pamphlet tells her story. fight. Science has placed in our hands a weapon also 23 pages. £1 and we shall not hesitate to answer back when once Wilf McCartney Dare to be a Daniel! you have began the bloody work of our task• masters. McCartney helped organise a syndicalist catering workers We appeal to you in no idle manner, we are in earnest; union, which developed the stay•in•and•win (as opposed we ask you to choose whom you will fight for and to walk•out•and•starve) strike. with. Shall it be for our masters or with us? The 25 pages. 1•873605•52•0 £1 history of the world testifies to cases where the soldiery have joined the people against their rulers; let us hope that history will record that the soldiers of “Fight for Africa!” England stood beside the people and against the continued from p. 6 thieves who robbed them. We appeal to you to choose, Supported by the Industrial Socialist League, the and we warn you on the other hand that, come what strike by more than 2000 workers demands better will, we will not turn back. Every means we know of wages and opposes food exports, which many workers shall be used by us in our struggle, and if you are believe is contributing to the country’s high post•war against us, we can only look upon you as traitors to inflation rate. your class and enemies of mankind. We ask you again Although the strike does not win, it helps lay a to show your sympathy by joining the revolt of the basis for cooperation on the docks, and some years people, which may not be long coming. Whilst later, the Industrial Workers of Africa, the Industrial determined to resist force by force, we would rather and Commercial Union and several other black unions greet you as comrades than enemies. Our watchword merge to form the Industrial and Commercial Workers is “REVOLT! REVOLT!” what shall yours be? Union, or ICU. Several of our comrades are in your midst, will you Not a syndicalist union • the ICU is influenced answer their signal, or obey the commands of your more by nationalist and traditionalist ideologies than officers? Let us hope when our comrades cry anti•capitalism, and is run from above by a parasitic “REVOLT!” that your answer will thunder forth layer of petty bourgeois officials• the ICU still retains “Revolt! Revolt! against tyranny and robbery; hurrah some syndicalist colouring during its dramatic rise and for Anarchy and the Social Revolution.” fall in the 1920s. This colouring includes the goal of Taken from Sheffield Anarchist Volume 3, number One Big Union, and a constitution calling for 3 Winter 1984. “workers through their industrial organisations [to] take from the capitalist class the means of production, NEWS to be owned and controlled by the workers for the Readers in the Americas can contact the library via our benefit of all, instead of for the profit of a few.” new USA address: This must be reckoned part of the legacy of the KSL, PMB 820, 2425 Channing Way Industrial Workers of Africa, a revolutionary Berkeley CA 94704, USA syndicalist union fighting capitalism and racism in the heart of capitalist South Africa, at the height of A number of subs expire with this issue: indicated by colonialism in Africa. one red dot on your label. Two red dots shows you’re In its “glorious period,” between the 1880s and about to be given up as lost, so write soon! Subscriptions to the bulletin for a year (4 issues) are £3 1930s, revolutionary syndicalism was not just an (inland) or £5 (overseas).