The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-09-09
Speech of ROBT. MINOR
At Workers Party Convention.
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the rear" Now let us look at the
mobilization of the front-that is,
the direct military preparations. We
find that the budgets, the amounts
of money given to military prepare
tions, are almost double since the
war of 1914 to 1918. If we have even
the slightest inkling of understand
ing history, we know that that
doesn't mean peace. We find that
these budgets are not only nearly
double, but they are rapidly increas-
ing. We find race for the building
of further war machinery. In France
today, in time of peace, the indus
tries are humming in the production
of war material. We find very pecu
liar development in the technical
means of warfare. For instance, you
know how, in the course of develop
ment of industrial machinery, the
labor is transferred from the hand
of man to the machine so that the
proportion of capital invested in ma
chinery becomes larger and larger in
proportion to the amount Of capital
invested in wages-that is, in the
hiring of labor. A curiously similar
development, although the compari-
son is not, of course, an exact one,
is to be found in the development
of war technique. Fewer men, rela-
lively speaking, and more machines.
The number of machine guns in the
modern army in proportion to the
number of men, the power Of the
guns, the size and power of airplanes,
the greater weight of explosives
which they will carry-all such things
are showing upheard-of development
There are now being built one man
tanks, small tanks each containing
one man, so that a whole army Of
men, each individual soldier enclosed
in separate steel tank, can sweep
across an enormous field of territory.
The development of throwing
material, materials by which great
armies can be burnt up with one dis
charge of chemical substance. Ac-
cording to the most serious informa-
ton, even that which we had thought
short time ago was mere night
mare or fancy-the development of
disease-germ warfare-is actually be-
ing undertaken in laboratories of Eu-
ropean military departments.
So, comrades, in this coming war
we will have change of technique,
change of the composition of the
combatant bodies, and, in short, a
change all around in the conditions,
political, social, military and tech
nical, under which we must work.
This requires a change of tactics on
the part of every Communist Party,
or rather an adaptation of the revolu-
tionary tactics to the new situation
In passing, let me remark that the
development of the technical means,
especially the airplane warfare, means
certain obliteration of the differences
between the front and rear, so that
the actual blood-spilling of warfare
will occur not alone at the front line,
but throughout every inch of terri
tory of belligerent nations. Many
lessons are to be drawn. As it is
obvious that under such circum-
stances as have described, with the
militarization of the workers in the
factories, then the workers organ
izations will have an even bigger role,
and even more important, a some
what different role, in the develop
ment of our movement. More i'm
portant than ever before becomes the
trade union work of the Communist
Party.
There has been a preparation for
this coming war along the lines of
propaganda. There has been a prep
aration of the propaganda ma
chinery. The theological phase of the
fighting has to be and has been care
fully considered by the capitalist
powers. It is curiouslY interesting to
note that this phenomenon means
first of all that the leading cadres
of the Social Democratic parties have
become conscious parts of the war
machinery of the capitalists. The de-
velopment of the theological appar-
atus has gone so far that it is almost
when we look at the evil
dence. For instance, we find there
is whole field of literature. So
called socialist publications, through
out the world, including America, 4
which are intensively at work in
justifying war between imperialist
nations. In justifying war between
imperialist nations, these reformists,
up to that point, are merely doing
the same thing the Social Democrats
did in 1914. But there are further
developments. There Is wide prop
agation of what they call the theory
of ultra Imperialism" A develop
ment of Imperialism which brings
about. not war danger, not an ag-
gressive imperialism. but sort Of
benevolent. pacific imperialism. We
find that being spread in the Social
Democratic press in all of the world.
They are cultivating the illusion of a
pacifist epoch inst ut this time, while
these same Social Democrats are ~
laborating in the preparation for the
war. We find the Social Democrats
today praising the League of Ma
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