Securing the Peace
Margaret Bateman
[Reprinted from the Henry George News, May,
1945]
Margaret E. Bateman,
Director of International Headquarters of the Henry George School,
spoke over Station WLIB on Saturday, May 5th, on the San Francisco
Conference. This was one of a series of brief Calks, sponsored by
WLIB, given each day during the Conference. Other speakers on these
programs have been Sir Norman Angell, William Agar, Edward L.
Bernays, Clark Eichelberger, Norman Thomas, and Dr. Lin Yu Tang.
Miss Bateman stressed the importance of dealing with causes, rather
than effects, in planning for a permanent peace. Her talk follows in
full.
Now that Victory is near, what are we going to do with it? Men and
women who are taking part in the San Francisco Conference must realize
that no matter how lofty their ideals may be, these victories of the
United Nations will either sweep the world forward to permanent
heights of great advancement or to the depths of ruin. As President
Truman said: "If we do not want to die together in war, we must
learn to live together in peace." The- question is how to learn
to live together. This is a serious question which concerns every one
of us.
The delegates at San Francisco could find the answer to most of their
problems right in San Francisco. They would find in the public
libraries there and in their own countries, translated into their own
languages, a book which was written sixty-six years ago in San
Francisco. In this book they would discover the basic causes of war.
The author of this book became known as The Prophet of San Francisco.
In the light of present day events he was indeed a prophet. His name
was Henry George. The book referred to is Progress and Poverty.
Henry George pointed out that there must be a common cause for the
upheavals of our world society. He saw that political manipulation of
artificial controls did not alleviate the distress that was
accumulating everywhere in the world
that countries with large
standing armies were unsafe, and that little countries with no armies
would be the victims of war. He saw the same potential difficulties in
countries ruled by kings, in those ruled by dictators, and in those
countries where political power was said to be in the hands of the
people. Henry George saw the potentialities of war in countries
operating under high tariffs, and in other countries where trade was
free. He recognized that beneath the sign of war and distress in every
country there was a common cause.
"Henry George found that oppression was made possible through
the system of land tenure and that this one thing is common to all
countries. After the last war the ex-Kaiser, although banished in
disgrace from his country, was still the largest landowner in Germany.
He continued to 'benefit from 240,000 acres of German territory, which
he claimed as his own. Twenty years later the German people were
clamoring for Lebensaum. Living-space owned by their ex-Kaiser and his
former noblemen was available to the people only on terms that left
these people destitute. It is a well known fact that the landowners of
Germany are also the military power. They are the ones to bring for
ward men such as Hitler to protect their interests and increase their
special privileges, even though it means plunging the whole world into
war. Henry George recognized this land system as a fundamental cause
of world chaos.
The same situation prevailed in Italy, where fifteen Italian families
owned one and a half million acres of land. To maintain this land
monopoly Mussolini was projected into power.
It is easy to express great hopes of this conference. I have great
hopes. I believe strongly in the sincerity of those who are planning
for world peace; but ultimately we must be prepared to deal with
causes instead of effects. Hitler's death and Mussolini's death, will
not destroy the causes that gave such men as these the power to drag
the whole world down with them.
The tragedy of war has come to many of us twice in our lifetime. We
must learn the cause and apply the cure of social maladjustments which
lead to war. The San Francisco Conference is arousing our
determination to do so. The Prophet of San Francisco warned us that: "Unless
its foundations be laid in Justice the social structure cannot stand."
If all members of the San Francisco Conference would seriously
consider the proposals of Henry George they would understand exactly
how the foundations of the social structure can be laid in Justice for
all nations, large and small. They would not fear inflation or
immigration or mass unemployment. They would know that in a world
society where a correct economic system was in effect these questions
would not present fearsome difficulties.
The principles pointed out by Henry George are Eternal Truths. They
are the basic foundations of Justice. If the San Francisco Conference
is to mean anything to the permanent peace of the world, its
foundations must be those presented by an American who believed in the
American way of; equal opportunity for all and special privilege for
none.
This is history's first Universal Conference. It is vital for us to
investigate every angle of the conference and especially the Truths
which our own American Henry George made clear in his masterpiece,
Progress and Poverty.
Each one of us may appoint himself a delegate of the San Francisco
Conference. We can learn the principles upon which a world society can
be a peaceful society. We can discover the causes of war, and we can
understand the principles of peace.
When everyone knows these principles and acts upon them we shall have
permanent peace. Henry George said: "Let no man imagine that he
has no influence. Whoever he may be and wherever he may be placed, the
man who thinks becomes a light and a power".
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