The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-06-19

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THE WORLD WAR.

Surprise, even to many radicals, who had
equently quoted the decisions of the Second In
irrational, in which its coming was predicted.
many had lulled themselves into the belief that
q labor movement could prevent war. In any
Use, the parties were unprepaFed for the war,
I'd yielded to the terrorism of the governments.
he imperia1ists had matters organized so clev-
ly that they could in every country claim that
ley were defending the country" and that the
lemy was "imperialistic." Lenin had not ex.
ected much from the reformists But even to
imNR heir open betrayal was a surprise. They had
sceI led the decision of the international So
a1i# Congress In which the vote for the war
edits was forbidden and the method of fighting
gainst the war alluded to the Paris Commune
nd the Russian revolution Of 1905, which could
lean only revolutionary fight against war.
But when the betrayal Of the war socialists be
anne certain, Lenin did not delay. He showed
ow the international decisions condemned the
raitors When opportunism and chauvinism
aimed the upper hand in the biggest parties then
be Second International ceased to exist. There
aust be new International" And Lenin began
Preparations for it
The war found him in Galicia, Austria, and he
arrested as an enemy-especially since the
endarmes suspected his agrarian statistics to
e spy reports. He-was, however, released on the
recommendation of Victor Adler, and settled in
Iwitzerland. There followed difficult times. The
utchery went on and lower and more despicable
ecame the betrayal of the socialists" 1t took
ONE time before the proletarian opposition to the
arty leaders could be organized. But Lenin was
ot disheartened. With Zinoviev and other COM
ades he started fight. Their time articles
re published many of them in English, in the
election called. Against the Current" Lenin
himself has said that without knowing these
icles the revolutionary workers cannot under
tand the development of the international revO-
utionary ideas before 1917. Lenin also wrote
Ii book, imperialism, the Latest Stage of Cap
t sm." The Russian central committee pub
is ID a manifesto and theses about the war and
he attitude of the various parties. The Boil
he Tx Duma fraction fulfilled it's duty and was
subsequently sent to Siberia. With them went
COmrade Kamenev, who was sent from abroad to
10 party work in Russia as the representative of
he central committee. In the publications of
he Lenin institute in Moscow, the letters of
Lenin to comrades abroad are published. Com
.ades KOllOntai and Shlyapniakov were at that
lime in the Scandinavian countries and transmit
ed correspondence from Switzerland to Russia
Lenin also sought connections with the opposition
movement in all countries in order to organize
them In 1915 there was held the International
Womens Conference in Berne and the thinner
valid conference in September.
rom Switzerland, with the searchlight of his
IT icism he viewed the various tendencies in the
world. he analysed socialimperialists, social
patriots, social-chauvinists, and especially the
Kautskian centrists. To the statement of Kaut-
sky, that one question is concrete: the victory or
defeat Of ones own country Lenin answers:
'That is true if socialism and the class struggle
are not taken into consideration. But if they
are 1t is not true Another question is also prac-
teal; either to perish in the slave-owners' war
as helpless slave, or to perish in attempts to
fraternize with the slaves with the purpose of
slavery. This is the really practical
question"
Comrade Krupskaya tells in her memoirs, how
they lived in workers family in an old house
in Zurich. The neighborhood was really inter
national: in one room there was the wife of Ger
man baker at the 'front.' in another an Austrian
actor family There was no chauvinism and the