“Commerce and conquest have always been the main causes of war. Back of most slogans of strife has ever been the commercial watchword—‘trade follows the flag.’” As illustrations of wars due to economic causes, _The World_ mentions the wars of Venice and Genoa, The Crusades, our French-and-Indian-War, the American Revolutionary War, and the American Civil War. General Fred D. Grant, of the United States Army, threw this into the teeth of the lard-and-tallow magnates:[19] “It is your statesmen and your people that create wars. First the people become irritated, generally through some commercial transaction. The statesmen then take hold of the matter and they compromise, or try to, if the nations are nearly equal. If they are not nearly equal the stronger one slaps the weaker one in the face and the soldier is then called in to settle the matter.” War _tightens the grip_ of the industrial ruling class on the working class at home and all over the world. War—mark this—war absolutely concentrates public attention upon _one thing_, the war, the events of the battlefield. This gives the crafty capitalists a _perfect opportunity to sneak_, to do things in the dark, while the people are “not looking,” opportunity to slip into city council chambers, state legislatures and national legislatures, and there get “good things”—charters, contracts, franchises and other profitable privileges. * * * * * Here is the substance of the matter: Under capitalism the worker’s _consuming_ power is _arbitrarily restricted_. Under a CLASS-labor system the worker’s life is always arbitrarily repressed, the worker is FORCED TO PRODUCE MORE THAN HE IS PERMITTED TO CONSUME, leaving a SURPLUS for the ruling class. Under chattel slavery, of course, the slave’s life was arbitrarily restricted by his master. The chattel slave was a human animal used to produce his “keep”—_and a surplus_. Of course you see that—don’t you? Under serfdom the serf’s life was arbitrarily restricted by his landlord-and-master. The serf was a human animal used to produce his “keep”—_and a surplus_. That’s easy to see, isn’t it? And now under capitalism the _wage_-earner’s life is arbitrarily restricted, limited, by his employer-master who allows the wage-earner a reward called _wages_. The wage-earner is used as a human animal to produce his “keep”—a living for himself and his family—_and a surplus_. NOTICE: _wages_ will not buy _plenty_ of excellent food. _Wages_ will not buy _plenty_ of good clothing. _Wages_ will not buy _plenty_ of thoroughly good shelter. _Wages_ will not buy _plenty_ of high-grade furniture. Though the wage-earner is able and willing to produce and does produce all these things abundantly, yet his wages will not permit him to _consume_ these things abundantly. _Wages_ will _not_ buy as much value as wage-paid labor produces. Thus there is a surplus.