The Socialists held a National Convention at St. Louis, and drew up their declaration concerning the war.  They called it the most unjustifiable war in history, “a crime against the people of the United States”; they called on the workers of the country to oppose it, and pledged themselves “to the support of all mass movements in opposition to conscription”.  This was, of course, a serious step to take at such a time; the comrades realized it, and there were solemn gatherings to discuss the referendum, and not a little disagreement as to the wisdom of the declaration.  In the town of Hopeland, near which Jimmie was working, there was a local, and he had got himself transferred from Leesville, and paid up his back dues, and had his precious red card stamped up-to-date.  And now he would go in and listen to debates, just as exciting and just as bewildering as those he had heard at the outbreak of the war.

There were some who pointed out the precise meaning of those words, “all mass-movements in opposition to conscription.”  The leading dry-goods merchant of the town, he was a Socialist, declared that the words meant insurrection and mob violence, and the resolution would be adjudged a call to treason.  At which there leaped to his feet a Russian Jewish tailor, Rabin by name; his first name was Scholem, which means Peace, and he cried in great excitement:  “Vot business have ve Socialists vit such vords?  Ve might leaf dem to de enemy, vot?”

You might have thought you were in Leesville, listening to Comrade Stankewitz.  The only difference was that there were not many Germans in this town, and those few confined their discussions to Ireland and India.

Jimmie would hear the arguments, back and forth and back again, and his mind would be in greater confusion than ever.  He hated war as much as ever; but, on the other hand, he was learning to hate the Germans, too.  The American government, going to war, had been forced to assert itself, and the stores and billboards were covered with proclamations and picture-posters, and the newspapers were full of recitals of the crimes which Germany had committed against humanity.  Jimmie might refuse to read this “Wall Street dope”, as he called it, but the working-men with whom he was associating read it, and would fire it at him whenever they got into a controversy.  Also the daily events in the news dispatches—­the sinking of hospital-ships filled with wounded, the shelling of life-boats, the dragging away into slavery in coal-mines of Belgian children thirteen and fourteen years old!  How could any man fail to hate and to fear a government which committed such atrocities?  How could he remain untroubled at the thought that he might be assisting such a government to victory?