New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-13
The Boycott on Stockholm

Secretary Lansing's refusal to grant
passports to American citizens wishing to
attend Socialist peace conferences in Stock
holm has been completely justified. There
has never been any excuse for American
participation in these conferences. They
have been obviously mere annexes to
Germany's dishonest peace diplomacy.
Through them the German government has
hoped to start discussions of peace terms
which might develop clashes among the
Entente powers.
The Teutonic delegates to these gath
erings are government agents first and
Marxists and pacifists afterward The
German and Austrian governments have
never stated their peace terms. They can
not state them without creating violent
dissension at home. They are not in the
least committed to proposals which the
Teutonic Socialists carry to Stockholm.
Those proposals will be repudiated when
ever and to whatever extent the two Kai
sers may think it to their advantage to
repudiate them. It is not Germany's pur-
pose to accept the principle of no annexa-
tons and no indemnities so long as she
believes she has the power to insist on
annexations and indemnities. The only
thing to which Germany will yield is force.
The sham peace terms which the German
Socialists offer at Stockholm represent
mere diplomatic window-dressing. They
will serve their end if Socialist delegates
who speak for Entente powers can be in
Guced to return home committed to advo
eating peace on the basis of illusory Ger
man promises.
The first Stockholm conference was
fiasco. No second one would have been
possible except for the fact that the Rus
sian Provisional Government seemed will
ing, until very recently, to stand spon-
sor for it. When the call for the second
gathering was issued the ultra-Socialistic
and pacifist elements were in the saddle
IL Petrograd. Now their power is waning.
a new Cabinet has been formed, more
militant in spirit and much more distrust
full of German peace propaganda Keren-
sky, as id interim dictator. is pledged to
continue the war. He has not thought it
advisable to prevent Russian Socialist dele
gates from going to Stockholm. But he
has officially assured the other Entente
powers that these delegates will 60 merely
as members of the international Socialist
organization, and that the proposals they
may make and the conclusions they may
assent to will not be binding in any way
on the Russian government.
The chief argument in favor Of sending
French and British delegates to the second
conference has been that such action was
due as a courtesy to the new Russian re-
gime. There are in France and Great
Britain, and in Italy as WELL strong So
cialist organizations, affiliated with the So
called Internationale. British labor lead
ers like Mr.. Henderson have urged partici-
patton in the conference for the purpose
of unifying the Socialist groups Of the
various Entente nations and unmasking
the German Socialists.
But the Henderson programme has been
wrecked by the publication of the Russian
governments semi-repudiation Of the con-
ference. He stands convicted, apparently,
Of having misled his own following as to
the real status of the Stockholm gathering
That gathering can now be hardly any
thing but a replica of the first conference
"a futile comedy. It's prestige is gone.
1t can no longer promote Germany's
ttealthy and perfidious peace diplomacy,
since the Allied governments are now one
in declaring its peace negotiations incon-
sequential and negligible.
What Great Britain and France may do
in the way Of boycotting the conference is
their affair. In each country there is a
considerable Socialist element which has
been Loyalty supporting the war and which
apparently desires 10 send spokesman TO
may be entitled to some consideration.
Here in the United States the situation is
entirely different. Our Socialists have not
been supporting the war. They have not
thrown in their lot with the nation. They
are pacifsts and anti-nationalists. Many
Of them are openly in sympathy with Ger
many. Many Of them are suspected Of
being German agents. They are entitled TO
no consideration whatever at the hands Of
the government. The presence at Stock
holm Of delegates representing the So
cialist party of the United States--an
agency Of pro-German propaganda--would
In itself be an intoerable scandal
The Socialist party here is an exotic.
II is a close corporation, in the control Of
naturalized citizens, mostly Of German az
citations, whose ideas are frankly un-
American. Unlike any other American po-
litical organization, the Socialist party
proper is a club, in which a member can
have no standing unless he pavg dues.