New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-19
u. S. Stand Anglers
Socialist Heads
Attitude on Stockholm Con.
ference Incomprehensible,
Says Dutch Leader
BY JAMES o'DoNNELL BENNETT

BY JAMES ODONNELL BENNETT
STOCKHOLM, Aug. 1s.-The refusal
of the United States to grant passports
to delegates to the international So
cialist conference at Stockholm for the
discussion OF peace terms has amazed
and disappointed the leaders Of the
movement Peter Jelles Troelstra,
member of the Second Chamber of Hol-
lands Stats General and Of the inter
national Socialistic bureaus executive
committee at The Hague, says:
THE attitude of the United States
on the question of passports is wholly
incomprehensible. Often one hears
governments. Very well. We do not
intend to make peace at this confer
ence. We only want from all of the
countries a representative party which
can, on account of it's international
connections, arrive at better under
standing than can the other parties
which stand more upon q national plat
form.
1--WE wish to try to remove the
hindrances in order to pave the way
for peace negotiations.
az read repeatedly that the making
of peace is q matter for the whole peo-
Pile The spirit among the nations has
been made absolutely unfit for peace,
but the intention of our conferences is
to bring the people back on the right
track. We intend that the parties rep
resented at our conferences shall go
home strengthened.
Germans Favor Own Government
What l mean by this is that the
tenders of the German majority So
cialists, for example, are good, but
their tactics are too conciliatory tow
ard their government, and we wish to
strengthen those tactics"
To the question of whether he
thought the conference would be held,
the Dutch statesman replied:
without any doubt, and with
Tscheidse as chairman and Brantirg
and Huysmans as vice-chairmen. II
will last fifteen days. There were only
two alternatives for the conference to
consider. One was to await the ar
rival of the Entente Socialists and the
other TO hold the conference on Sep
TENDER as planned, but with dele
gates from only Russia, the Central
Powers and the neutral nations.
"The Russians will arrive within a
few days, when we will discuss the
matter and see how we will act.
zone must not take the situation
tragically. The way to peace does not
follow a straight line, but goes up and
down. We cannot reach peace without
a fight"
Hjalmar Branting, leader of the Scan
dinavian Socialist Committee which is
arranging for the convention, also de-
nounces the stand taken by America
This decision is declaration OF
war against all preliminary peace work
and an assault on the peace longing
which has grown so strong" he says
/ "but the military forces alone cannot
! ond the war. 1t must be ended by
! inner work within the bound nations
/ and the Socialist is the natural bearer
\ of that work.
Peace Work to Continue
despite all of the refusals of pass.
ports, the peace work will continue in
1 the conference without working fol
any special group of belligerents. The
/ leaders have been accused sometimes
of being German agents, and at other
times OF being the agents of the En-
| tente, but internationalism goes on its
way and follows its ideals, which are
/ the ideals of humanity.
1.-THE refusal Of passports will lead
| to a rupture between the governments
concerned and the Socialist parties
which have decided that they will be
represented in the Stockholm confer
ence. The decision may lead TO far
! reaching consequences, which cannot
/ be foretold now.
"But of supreme Importance will be
/ the Entente Social Democrats confer
ence, to be held in London on August
| 2S.
at is more than doubtful whether
this passport refusal will not turn out
to be a grave political mistake. AS to
how it will affect the Stockholm con-
ference, the only certainty is that the
conference will not be abandoned"