Denver labor bulletin., 1918-03-30

on-German socialism and for inter-
nationalism and democracy have been
overwhelmed within the past few
months by a revival of Germanism
in it's pseudo socialist disguise.
This revival takes the form of a
new demand for an international So
cialist conference to bring an early
settlement of the war. 1t is an ulti-
matum issued by the German social
lists of all countries to world democ-
racy.
The Autocratic Ultimatum
Here is the ultimatum. Only the
socialists represent the people, the
tries do not represent the people any
more than do the governments of
other countries. The people must end
the war and only an international So
cialist conference can bring about this
result.
This line of reasoning brings us to
the very heart of the influence of Ger
man socialism and the damage it has
done and still promises to do. Un-
doubtedly an international conference
of the socialists of autocratic coun-
tries would be the only democratic
solution of the war-for these coun-
countries is precisely the reverse
There the governments-and only the
governments-repres the people
Any socialist delegation could repre-
sent only very small minority, and
would misrepresent the people In
fact, nothing could be more purely
autocratic than for a small group of
socialists to claim to represent a great
democratic nation.
Thus a process of reasoning which
is perfectly sound for Germany and
democratic for Germany becomes ut
terly illogical and autocratic for other
countries.
For the democratic nations to per-
NIT an international congress falsely
claiming to represent the people would
amount to an abdication on the part
of these governments of their peace
and war making functions. The only
conference which would be permissa-
bic or desirable would be one at
which the Teutonic delegates were
composed of genuine democratic revo-
lutionists, refugees and exiles who
ran the risk of the death penalty on
their return to their own countries
unless those countries actually do go
thru the democratic revolution that is
promised. But this is not the type
lne brlllsn ana french SOCIALISTS pro-
pose to negotiate with.
To permit an international socialist
conference of any other character
would not only be an abdication of
peace and war making functions, it
would be governmental suicide. For
the almost certain result would be
that the socialist factions which had
been permitted to proceed so far would
| threaten to use the general strike to
accomplish their purposes not only in
a settlement of the war on Bolshevik
principles but also in the overthrow
of governments at home.
Democracy. Be On Guard.
Let US not laugh at the idea of
an international general strike; we
laughed at the Bolsheviki at first,
and while they brought no good to
themselves they were able to do vast
harm to the world. The leading So
cialist factions of Russia, Germany,
Austria and Switzerland were repre-
sented at the third Zimmerwald con-
ference last September, and the Ital-
ian party would have sent represen-
tatives if its government had per-
mitted. This conference decided upon
an international general strike to end
the war. A very large part if not
majority of the advocates of the
Stockholm conference idea in the en-
tente countries have already endorsed
a general strike, and there is no
doubt whatever that nearly all will be
ready to endorse this world wide rev.
olution the moment the opportunity
seems to have arrived. With the ex-
ception of a very small minority the
socialists of the world are now di-
vided into two factions: the majority
which has been steadily pro-German
from the beginning of the war, and
the minority which has been persuaded
to accept a Germanic solution of the
war, the so-called status quo ante, by
Germany's military victories.
An international socialist confer
ence composed of such elements in
part publicly pledged to a general
strike and in part privately pledged
to it would be as grave a menace
to the democratic nations as was the
successful insurrection of Lenine and
Trotzky last November.
The only question is whether Amer
ica and the entente governments will
prove themselves so supine as did the
weak but well meaning government of
kerensky.