Denver labor bulletin., 1918-06-15
THE COMING GERMAN PEACE DRIVE
By WILLIAM ENGLISH WALLING
OF the American Alliance for Labor and Democracy.


compromise peace"
So victory is impossible, and it will
not be worth much anyway! Further
we are to compromise with victorious
kaiserismi
On April % there is an article by
leading Socialist party of the cham
Der of deputies Sixte-Quenin, which
bitterly attacks those people who say
that eff Belgium was freed and AL
sace-Lorraine was given back to US
there would still be no sufficient rea-
son for stopping the war" What do
we care about Russia?
The same number contains a letter
from Camille Huysmans advocating
an international conference with
Scheidermann and his German Social
lists for the purpose of negotiation"
This letter was written after the in
terallied conference at London, which
advocated an international Socialist
conference not to be for "negotia-
! tions," but for the purpose of pre-
senting the minimum" peace terms
adopted by the interallied Socialists.
| AS Huysmans is the secretary of the
International bureau and was one of
the chief promoters of the resolutions
at London, his letter is confession
of the real underlying purposes of the
|
that purpose is understood by the
overwhelming majority of the advo-
Gates of the conference.
| The issue of April 81 condemns the
offer of the entente governments to
bring about a revolution in Austria
as follows:
This internal revolution in Aus
tria, supported by by the entente, ap-
pears to US doubly impossible. First,
because revolution which appeared
to be inspired and sustained by for
eigners would be disqualified from the
Austrian point of view. For the Aus
trian point of view exists for the
Austrian just as the French point of
view exists for the French"
The writer then proceeds to doubt
that the entente really wants revo-
luton in Austria for fear that it
spread to other countries. No demo-
crat can desire that in the midst of
a war against kaiserism the demo-
cratic governments of France, Eng
land and America should be over
turned, but far from being an evidence
of disloyalty on the part of these gov
ernments this feeling demonstrates
that they are sincere representatives
of international democracy-whil the
! advocates of revolutions in these coun-
, tries in the midst of war are the trail
| tors to internationalism.
In the issue of April 20 we read the
| following from Karl Kantsky: "If
the events in Russia are so impetuous
that they drag all the proletarian
masses of the west along with them,
then only will the elements injurious
to Socialism be conquered"
Here is a call for a revolution not
in Germany but in France, England,
Italy and Germany alike.
In the same issue occurs column
by Frossard showing that Albert
Thomas, the pro-war leader, like Sem
bat and Cachin, has travelled a long
way in the direction of the pacifsts.
The issue of the next day quotes Sem
bat to the effect that as soon as the
peace offer will be made to the allies
| and that this peace offer is to be well
coined.
A Quotation from Frossard.
Frossard writes: albert Thomas
reproaches US for having shown less
| interest in the Jugo-Slav question
We might reproach him in turn that
he shows more interest in the Bohe-
| milan than in the Irish question.
ut appears then from what Albert
Thomas writes that it is impossible
to pretend to solve all international
questions by the war. Nor is Albert
Thomas so far from US as might be
| thought. He no longer asks US to
continue the war until the vassal ma
tons are liberated. He writes on,
They do not ask that their independ
| ence should become a condition sine
quanon of raace, but simply that the
! entente should recognize their indie
pendence, not that the entente should
guarantee it, Here is a precious state
| ment. All that is asked now is that
a principle should be proclaimed
Doubtless the war will not realize it.
1t will not liberate all oppressed peo-
pies; Thomas wishes this to be def
| nitely understood. 1T is enough if the
entente will affirm the right of peo-
pies to dispose of themselves and
| when peace is re-established if So
cialism will continue to act in behalf
of the full realization of international
| independence and international jus.
tice.'
ave are almost in complete ac-
cord Indeed we have never said any
thing else. War never brings about
justice. War never solves anything.
War brings about war and not JUS
| tice. 1t opens an endless cycle of
anarchic violence. Only Socialism, by
realizing the justice among individ-
uals, can liberate peoples from servi-
tude.
Yesterday it was Cachin who
spoke with sympathy of compro-
mise peace. Today it is Thomas.
"If the war continues a little longer
our comrades of the right wing of the
party will forget altogether what they
have written upon the necessity Of
decisive military victory upon war