The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-11
French MiIitaris7l

Hundreds of thousands of American work.
ers and farmers, and millions of the workers
and farmers of other counties were manned
and slaughtered in the imperialist wv ord War
in order to end the menace of mitarsm. This
is the fraud under which the workers of many
countries were dashed into the armies Of their
bosses.
The Communists of all countries, unlike the
Isocial-patriotic betrayers of the decrepit Sec
ond International did not fall for these snares
and delusions of the employing class and did
their best to turn the imperialist war for the
defense of capitalism into class war, social
revolution in behalf of the international work
ing class, the revolutionary proletariat.
Since the conclusion of the last capitalist in
fernal slaughter of the workingmen and poor
farmers, event after event has substantiated
the correctness of the Communist attitude and
practice towards capitalist wars. France, the
cradle of bourgeois, of capitalist democracy in
its pristine and purest form, the France which
was supposed to have been most endangered
by German militarism and for the security of
whose ruling class we became the best armed
capitalist anti-militarists yet SEEM is now the
worst example of capitalist miltarism. The
fact that the French government which pro-
claimed but yesterday in shrieks to the seventh
heaven, its hatred of militarism, is today the
most ardent militarist government under the
sum- affords the very best proof that all cap
italist wars are imperialist wars and that the
only task for the workers and farmers under
such conditions is to turn these wars of their
exploiters into one war along the whole front
against all the exploiters
The French ruling class maintains today a
bigger army than it did in 1914, before it sue
cessfully disposed of the menace of German
militarism The total strength of the French
army is today 785,924 men against 72O 900 of
ten years ago. There are in France today 3d.
900 commissioned and 10000 non-commis-
stoned officers. Five years after German mill
tarism was crushed by the combined pure"
democracies of Paris and Washington, of the
Quay d'Orsai and Wall Street, France has
2,450 generals more than it had when its
security was first challenged In 1914 the
total army expenditures of France totalled
1852, 100000 gold francs Allowing for the
depreciation of currency, one finds France still
burdened by the staggering sum of 1870, 000,-
900 paper francs being expended for the ma
terials of war. Except for the reserve of a. 900
airplanes and 1000 military airshps now in
service, France also has a huge supply of
civilian airplanes which can be of service in
making France the undisputed master of the
air
The case of French imperialism is typical of
the conduct of the peace-loving ruling classes
of the other allied capitalist countries that
were so panicky yesterday over the menace of
mllitarism. There is nothing and no one that
can end militarism except a complete destruc
ton of capitalist Imperialism of which militar
ism is only special violent form Militarism
and Imperialism are the twin strike-breaking
brothers OF capitalism The World War and
is aftermath have taught the workers of every
country that their salvation lies only in a de-
cisIve, crushing, irretrievable defeat of this
unholy trinity.