The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-09-05
(Continuation)

At the same time Lenin criticized
those who tried to substitute the cues
ton of mass struggle against war by
individual acts like sabotage or the
individual refusal to undertake mill
tary service.
Not sabotaging the war, not in
dividual action, but mass propa-
ganda leading to the transforming
of the war into civil war"
He clearly foresaw the monstrous
system OF. authorization which the rul
ing classes are preparing today to in.
troduce in France 10 years after th(
commencement of the world war.
'Today the imperialist bour~
geoisie," he wrote, "is not only mir
tarizing the whole people, but also
the youth. tomorrow perhaps it will
begin to militarize the women
Vol. XIII, p. 1922.
And then he gives8the following ad
vice to the working class:
They will give you arms. Take
them and learn the art of war
thoroughly. This art is necessary
for proletarians, not in order to
be able to shoot against their broth
er workers in other lands, as is be-
ing done in the present war, and as
the traitors to socialism are advis-
ing you to do, but in order to fight
against the bourgeoisie of your own
country, to put an end to exploita-
ton, to poverty and wars, not by
pious wishes, but by a victory over
the bourgeoisie and by 'lisarma-
ment." (Lenin, Vol. XIII, p. 45D.
80 This is what Lenin wrote con-
corning wars between the imperialists
themselves.
What conclusions should the Com.
munist Parties draw from this in the
present situation?
O.-Bolshevism concentrates in
the struggle against war upon the
mass movement and the mass strug-
gle. Work among the masses, in the
factories in the trade unions, in the
country districts, in the army-this is
what Communists do prior to and dur
ing the war, this is the way to trans
form the war into civil war.
(2).-The extremely difficult con-
ditions in which the workers organi-
cations during the war have to work
(Lenin: instructions to the Hague
Delegation") make it obligatory fol-
the Communist Parties to be ready
for it at any moment. The Commun-
lists must commence the struggle
against war not for the first time
when it has already broken out, when
the governmental terror temporarily
enchains the masses, but above all
in the period of preparation for war
(3).--In steadily building up Sc.
cret apparatus for steadfast work
against war, both prior to and also
during the war, the Communist Par,
ties must not restrict themselves en-
tirely to conspirative work, but must
fight to secure liberty for their agi-
tation on the first possibility which
presents itself on the road to revolu.
tionary action, to lead the masses into
the streets for the struggle to trans
form the imperialist war into civil
war, for the seizure of power by the
proletariat, the overthrow of the
bourgeoisie and the establishment OF
the proletarian dictatorship.
4).-The Bolsheviks cannot raise the
whole problem of struggle against
war only as question of the "gen.
eral strike" A general strike which
does not end in armed rising is OF
itself not capable of rendering ar
imperialist war impossible. For the
successful accomplishment of a gen.
eral strike and rising, i.e., a civil war