New-York tribune., 1918-02-25
MEMnER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Delusions

tlOn OF LABOR refused TO SEND delegateS)
has adopted programme which is said to
correspond in general to the declara-
tions of President Wilson and Premier
Lloyd George"
Nevertheless, the Conference voted to
send five delegates to the United States to
confer with representatives of American
democracy on the war situation, saying:
eff the Americans won't come to us
we must go to them
But why?
If the programme of the Inter-Allied
Labor Conference, representing labor and
socialism in Great Britain, France, Italy
and Belgium, corresponds to the dcclara-
tions of President Wilson and Premier
Lloyd George, why is it necessary or even
useful to send five delegates to confer
with the representatives of stiff Ameri-
can democracy?
The explanation is found in the speech
of Arthur Henderson, leader of the Eng
hsh Labor party He said:
Eve are convinced that this world con-
fct can be ended only in one of three
ways-the absolute predominance of all
'niitarism, the exhaustion of all the COM
batants, or by concilation. We believe
that sooner later the last of these
methods must be resorted to by all the
belligerents"
1t was silly, he added, for any one to
say that labor and socialism were fighting
The sword with an olive branch, for
"Nothing is further from the fact. We are
willing to negotiate with the enemy, but
not with an olive branch in our hands
while he clutches q sword in both of his
NO! Both sides must be prepared
to accept solution which will have for it's
main object the destruction of miltarism."
Their programme in general CORE
spends to the declaration of President
Wilson and Premier Lloyd George, vet
they are convinced that peace must como
By conciliaton, and delegates will be sent
to wrestle with the American labor de-
mocracy on the war situation,
The American labor democracy also sup
ports President Wilson and Premier Llovd
George. Then why must it be wrestled
with by these allied Laborites and Social
lists? Way, clearly, because it does not
sufficiently believe in peace by conciliation.
Only last week the Executive Council of
the American Federation of Labor. in
dorsing the Presidents war aims, said:
"The peace parleys between Russia and
Germany have shown the futility of diplo-
matte negotiations until Prussian rniltar
lists are convinced that they cannot super
impose their VIII on the rest of the world"
Now where?
AT first it is only bewildering. Then it
is reminiscent 1t reminds one of some
thing similar, or not very different, that
happened somewhere not long ago. What
was it?
All, yes. The Boshevi1i Change
peace by Cancellation" to "peace without
annexations or indemnties and it all
comes back at once
The Russian radicals, themselves weary
OF war and believing every one else to he
began with Kerensky to say this bewil-
derng thing: 'We will fight German
mllitarsm to the very end. But we Go
not think it viii be necessary. Let tho
enemies Of Germany restate their war
aims, to include the phrase peace without
annexations or indemnites, and the Ger
man people will rise and be free"
This was a fantasy born of war weari-
ness and idealism hopeessly mixed. It
became more and more intense and more
and more fantastic, and in the end it
delivered Russia to the Germans.
The Bolshevik thought, as the Inter
Allied Labor Conference now thinks. toat
is you might instantly level all the Hohen
zollern palaces to the ground by chord if
only you got the right vibration, so you
could move the German people by phrase,
be it only the right pnrase, into an ecstacy
which would compel them to lay down
their arms and como running forth crying
"Peace Peacel not for our advantage, not |