The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-09-06


Second World Congress we laid down
the fundamental lines of the national
question. How is it that we are again
obliged to place it on the agenda? All
those attending this Congress will ask
themselves if it is not because of the
events which have happened since the
Second Congress. Comrades, this is
not so. On the contrary, the entire
trend and development of events in
Europe and in the colonies show us
the correctness Of the lines laid down
at the Second International Congress.
Lately, we have witnessed a very
rapid growth of the national and revo-
lutionary movements in all colonial
countries. l have only to remind you
of the strike of Bombay Textile work
ers which lasted several months and,
as you all know, had very sanguin-
airy ending, to give you a clear idea
OF the magnitude of the revolutionary
movement in the colonial countries.
India not so long ago was also the
scene of tremendous outburst of
national indignation among the peas
ant population of the Nakhba prov
ince, where in connection with the
dismissal of one of the Rajahs, bloody
collisions took place between the
population and the troops. If time
permitted, l could go on citing you
scores of similar cases in the colonies.
In Europe, in countries with power
full national minorities, we witness a
growing acuteness of national con-
flicts. The Versailles Peace Treaty
and the series of peace" treaties
which followed have Balkanized Cen
trail Europe. In place of large en-
pires with uniformly economic sys-
tenn, they created conglomeration of
national groupings by the establish
ment of so-called national States.
Countries which formerly knew moth
ing of national OPPRESSION, as for in
stance, Germany, now have a national
question. The occupation of the
Ruhr is an example of this. This
phenomenon is one of the most char
acteristic symptoms of capitalist dis
interrogation. 1t is to this system of
parcelling-out and Remembering Eu-
rope that we must look for the source
of the permanent economic crisis
which the economic system of the
world is now experiencing. The i'm
perialist cliques, on the ruins of Aus
tria and Germany, have created new
typically polgot states which are con-
vulsed by internal national collisions
l will substantiate my statements by
giving you few figures on the ma
tionaI composition of these new
States. Let us take for instance a
national State like Yugo-Slavia
Prior to the war there were 5000, 900
Serbs in Serbia. At present the popu-
lation of Yugo-Slavia is 1850, 900. Out
of this number only $4,000 42.2 per
cent, are Serbs. The remainder of
the. population is international in its
composition. In the present Yugo-
Slavia there are about 2,8OO, 900 Croats,
1877 per cent of the entire population;
$4,000 Slovenes, per cent; about
100000 Serbo-Croat Moslems, SO per
cent; 100000 Macedonians, per cent;
100000 Germans, per cent; 100000
Hungarians, per cent; and 650.0O0
OF other nationalities, SIS per cent
This is typical example of ma
tionaP' State.
Let us take another example
Czecho-Slovakia, which presents a
similar picture. The present popula-
ton of Czecho-Slovakia amounts to
13,500,000 Of which 100000 are
Czechs representing 44.4 per cent of
the total population. The Czecho-
>Slovakian State has annexed indus
trial districts employed in the textile,
mining, and glass-making industries
with a purely German population of
100000, representing 27.4 per cent
Of the population of the Czech State.
There are also 2. 0OO. 900 Sloyaks. 14.8