The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-08-13
The American Socialists i'm the First
Year of the World War


cialism known as the Berger group
were consistently occupied wi h
apologizing for the German social
democracy. In addition to Berger,
Mr.. Ernest Untermann devoted his
alleged "historical'i talents to trying
to prove that the majority group in
the German party was right and even
sank so low as to SANDER Karl .Lieb-
knecht by darkly limiting that he was
not exactly in his right mind, that he
was on the verge of imbecility, be-
cause he opposed the discipline that
the. renegades tried to impose upon
the rest of the party, thereby hoping
to silence any voice that might be
raised in behalf of the workers who
were being sacrificed as cannon
fodder and against the imperial gen.
eral staff.
On the staff of Berger's paper was
A. M. Simons, a pro-Britisher who
condemned the German socialists for
their support of the kaiser. but not
on revolutionary grounds. Never at
any time did any of the dissenters
from the Hillquit- Berger. policies
suggest revolutionary action against
the war. Simons handled the pro-
British propaganda on the Milwaukee
Leader while Untermann handled the
pro-German section of the thing
for time neutral" paper. While
Simons defended Arthur Henderson
and H. NJ. Hyndmann and the social
list lackeys of King George, Inter
mann praised Scheidemann and the
other vassals of Kaiser Bill. John
Spargo, one of the particular bright
and shining lights of the socialist
party leadership, who shared with
Hillquit the leadership of the party
in the East, was pro-British, but did
not become rabidly so until after the
United States officially got into the
war in 1917 and it became dangerous
to take any other than a patriotic
stand. Allen L. Benson, the presi-
Dental candidate in 1916, made a
pathetic spectacle as he roved up and
down the country talking about the
futile peace program" of the social
list party and advocated "referen-
dun vote of the people before war is
declared"
This utopian and absurd campaign
was based upon the "peace program
of the socialist party first proposed in
December, 1914, which included the
demand for a referendum before g
declaration of an offensive" war
Other leading demands included O.
no indemnities, (2) no transfer o.
territory except upon consent and by
vote of the people within the terri,
tory, (3) courts for the settlement oil
all disputes between nations and in.
ternational congresses, (4) an inter,
national police force, (5) national dis.
armament.
OUCH a peace is more deceptive
more poisonous than open and de-
liberate betrayal of the workers into
the hands of the imperialists, because
it is based upon the illusion thai
peace between capitalist nations is
possible and that capitalist nations
will agree to abandon their imperial.
list policies and substitute therefore
a peace without annexations or in.
IDENTITIES" 1t is precisely such in.
sipid pacifism that plays directly into
the hands of the secret diplomats OF
the imperialist powers who indulge
in the most frantic war preparations
under pacifist slogans.
TO speak of a democratic peace, OF
a peace without annexations or in
IDENTITIES, without at the same time
putting forth the demand that the
working class wage war against war
fight to turn the imperialist war into
revolutionary uprisings against the
capitalist governments is to indulge
in fantasies at best, and at the worst
plays into the hands of the war
mongers.
AS for national disarmament, he
who advocates such fallacious thing
thereby abandons the class struggle
and INDUCES in the utterly idiotic APP
peal to the imperialist bandits to dis
arm themselves when they can only
exist through creating ever more for.
midable forces and more devastating
instruments of destruction. There is
but one revolutionary attitude on ar
maments; that is to disarm the CAPT
talist class and arm the working
class. It is only after the proletariat
with arms in hand has been able tc
defeat the bourgeoisie that we car
speaks of universal disarmament.
NEXT ARTICLE: "The Official
Left Elements in the American So.
cial;St Party During the War;