Little was a strong opponent of capitalism after witnessing many late 19th and early 20th-century American businessmen use unscrupulous methods to get rich. As a result, he also opposed World War I, which many believed to be a "rich man's war and a poor man's fight." While General Secretary-Treasurer William Haywood and members of the General Executive Board shared Little's opinions about the war, they disagreed about whether to create anti-war agitation. When the United States joined the war in April 1917, Ralph Chaplin, the editor of the Industrial Workers of the World's newspaper, "Solidarity", claimed that opposing the draft would destroy the union through government repression. Other Board members argued that organized labor would not have the power to stop the war until more workers were organized, and the union should continue to focus on organizing workers at the point of production, even if their actions might incidentally impede the war effort.