Recently a school teacher in the city of Washington, where this swaggering-bull-pup patriotism has been most effectively suggested, asked her school children: “What is patriotism?” She got the answer: “Killing Spaniards!” Thus have the little people been outraged with befouling suggestions that cheap race-hatred is patriotism. But the Church does not dare cry out, in defense of “these little ones”: “Stop that! You noisy betrayer! Cease pouring venom into the hearts of these helpless little children!” “With a hero at head and a nation Well gagged and well-drilled and well cowed, And a gospel of war and damnation, Has not an empire a right to be proud?”[290] Quite naturally no protest is made. The working man wonders why, The working woman wonders why, The children wonder why— Why do not the Christian emperors, and Christian kings, the Christian tsars and Christian presidents, the Christian Parliaments, congresses, diets and cabinets of the whole Christian world promptly call a world convention of the Christian rulers of the Christian world, and in this convention declare at once that never, never again, _under any circumstances_, shall there be a war between Christian nations? Yes, indeed, why not?[291] For this reason:—The Christian nations are capitalist nations managed for the capitalist class. Each great Christian nation knows that it must find a foreign market for the EMBARRASSINGLY LARGE SURPLUS of goods which its capitalists do not consume or invest and its working class is, by the wage-system, not permitted to consume. Each and all these nations know that this FOREIGN MARKET MUST BE FOUND OPENED AND PROTECTED—with Christian sword and cannon if need be—in order that the capitalists of these countries may make more profits. Indeed, when markets must thus be had, Christians, Jews, Mohammedans, Buddhists, Confucians—with lust for profits—trample down all things fine, sand-bag everything noble, spit in the face of every man of peace, and shout, “Stand back! Stand back! Bring on the cannon! Business is business! There is no sentiment in business! To hell with the mollycoddles! We are in business for _profits_!” With noble exceptions, at such times Christian preachers, priests, and bishops of the warring nations, with the swagger and pomp of cheap “fighting parsons,” step briskly to the front of the stage, consecrate the cannon, “bless” the sword, baptize the butcher, and, on both sides, with pious savagery scream to the “God of battles,” also to the “God of peace,” for victory “in this _righteous_ war,” for victory in this “armed _crusade for Christ_,” for victory in this “glorious effort to _advance His kingdom_,”—always, always, of course, some lofty name, some swelling phrase, to veil the huge and pious murder. Sacred wholesale assassinations—for the Peaceful Jesus’ sake!