The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-03-14

PARIS, March Al am a very
old man and aloof from many things,
but look out from my retreat upon
the world. and it seems to me very
black.
Capitalism has emerged from war
stronger than ever. Militarism has
grown, instead Of shrunk.
Ny own country OF France, even
the mass OF it's people, Is the most
militaristic in the world. War ana
war-spirit' are now in it's bones. and
one sees the devastating result in the
foreign policy of our government, IN
the military missions and ALLIANCES
the secret activities Of our agents
abroad. the encouragement OF oeih-
cose peoples and allies.
1t seems to me that the present IN
employment and financial crises arc
not so much natural as artitciai, that
they are but another maneuver OK
capitalism to strengthen user, 10
wear down and destroy its enemies,
to rivet the chains of the workers yet
more securely upon them.
Unemployment, one can see, Is not
hurting the rich, secure and living at
ease on the immense profts they nave
made out. of the war. But IL ls
clever weapon to employ against the
poor, to grind them down into the
dust, to drive them in despair into
premature revolt, the plans to COM
bat and destroy which are already
fully prepared.
Faced with this tremendous enemy
of reaction and capitalism, the Social
list parties of the world are hopelessly
unprepared New weapons are neces-
sary in this unequal battle, and the
familiar tactics of the old Labor par
ties and Socialists, with their coura-
geous but futile. parliamentarism'
their resolutions and protests. are
l,outgrown and obsolete.
The old French Socialist party was
killed by the war and the Tours con-
gress merely buried it. j am sorry
for Leon Blum and Longuet and my
other friends OF the dissident right
wing of the old party, who VIII go
on fghting a gallant but hopeless
battle for independence, but in the
end must inevitably be engulfed by
the Socialist Republicans in the
French Chamber of Deputies in Bloc
des Gauches.
The present prosecutions Of the
Communists do not appear TO me 10
be very serious campaign by the
French government against the rev.
dictionary elements in the country.
1ney are pfODdDly only a.
SOP to the right wing OF the
chamber. without whose support the
governments majority would be ex-
ceedingly precarious. The real bat
| tie will come later.
| Although the new Communist party
| in France is not definitely anti-par-
Humanitarian, and indeed regards par
| liamentary action as useful within
| certain limits, / can only think we
have reached in France the end or
the parliamentary epoch for revolu-
| tionsry purposes.
Y | have alweys thought that parlia-
mentarism corrupted and weakened
Socialist action, and during the life
of Juares. who was perhaps the
greatest of parliamentary Socialists
had many lively discussions with
| him on this question.
| When j asked him how the Social
| list member OF the Chamber OF
Deputies proposed to combat certain
government measure, he would reply,
I'VE shall vote against the budget
And / invariably retorted, But IN
spite of you it will be passed. ana
then where is the value OF your
vote" Or. on another occasion,
would point out to him that the So
cialist vote merely deprived one cap
| italist government of majority IN
| order to give II to another.
We are governed today by the IN
Vulnerable hosts of men who made
money out of the war. The militarists
and the reactionaries Will grow more
insensate, in their militarism ana
their reaction until the time comes
when they find the fruits OF their
victory bitter in their mouth.