The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-10-11
BY WILLIAM SIMONS,
Delegate of the Anti-Imperialist
League of the Amsterdam World
Congress Against War

against imperialist war and for the
defense of the Soviet Union? True,
your leaders are opposed to it, but
should that stop the necessary uni
fication of all proletarian forces for
an effective struggle against imper-
ialist war?
The World Congress Against I'M
perialist War was held at Amster-
dam, Holland, August 27-29. The
leaders of Second International and
of the Socialist Party of America
declared their opposition to this
Congress, They called upon all So.
cialists to boycott the Congress
preparations and the Congress it.
self, on the ground that it was
only Communist maneuver";
that Roman ROLAND, Henri Bar
busse, Theodore Dresser and scores
of other internationally known men
and women were mere puppets in a
Communist Punch and Judy show.
The New Leader echoed the state
ment of the leaders of the Second
International. The New York local
of the Socialist Party issued a sim
liar warning" in the New Leader.
Socialist Workers Came
But 291 workers, members of the
Second International, came as del
egates to Amsterdam, despite the
order of Fritz Adler of Austria,
Vandervelde of Belgium and Leon
Blum of France. Were these dele
gates Unanswered" by the wicked
Communists? Were they fooled
by them into doing something they
did not want to do, something not
in their interests, something not in
the interest of the working class?
In an article in lie Populaire,"
French Socialist paper, RenaudeI
one of the leaders of the Socialist
Party of France, "pitied" the poor
socialists who took part in the Am
sterdam Congress. But the Social
ist Party of France has not stopped
with mere pity. Recognizing the
growing influence of these socialist
delegates among their fellow social
lists who elected them, the Socialist
Party leaders are taking steps to
expel these revolutionary workers
from the Socialist Party of France.
Expulsion-for what? For having
taken part in the Amsterdam Con-
gress, for having dared to unite
with Communist workers, with nom
party workers, with intellectuals.
FIT COMPANY FOR
REVOLUTIONARY WORKERS
Was attendance at the Congress
a crime? There were 2,195 dele
gates at the Congress, of whom 1861
were workers, including Belgian
striking miners, Lancashire textile
strikers, revolutionary sailors from
the Italian navy, the leader of the
British naval mutiny at Invergor-
don, workers from the colonies.
And several hundred intellectuals.
some of the best known in the
world, among them Henri Barbusse
and Anderson Nexo. Many Com
munists, including those who stood
out against the last imperialist war
in 1914, the Japanese veteran, Sen
Katayama, and the dynamic Will
Muenzenberg. Should any revolu-
tionary Socialist worker be ashamed
to be in this gathering?
But the Adlers and Vanderveldes
know well that they cannot defend
their position before any gathering
of revolutionary workers. They can
not defend their action of 1914,
when they made common cause
with their national bourgeoisie, nor
can they defend their present ac-
ton, which is duplication of 1914.
The Fritz Adlers. the Vanderveldes,
the Hillquits and the Thomases, do
not wish to see the masses rallied
for a revolutionary struggle against
imperialist war, and for the defense
of the Soviet Union. Their propa-
ganda is aimed to keep the masses
from being united, to prevent that
Capitalization of workers unity
which alone can effectively put an
end to war.
The Socialist delegates to Amster-
dam are threatened with expulsion,
because they did not defend the
Socialist leaders from attack. What
does the Congress manifesto say
about these leaders? 1.-THE hostile
attitude adopted by the leaders of
the Socialist International towards
the present Congress confirms the
impression that they still maintain
tha
1914" Could the Socialist worker
delegates deny this? Is this not
true? Is it not proved by the de-
cisions of the congresses of the
Second International and of the
Amsterdam International Fedora
ton of Trade Unions? Is it not
proved by the day-to-day actions
of the Socialist leaders?
COCIALIST Workers:
y Your leaders, local national ard
international, are continuing, after
the Amsterdam Congress, to attack
it through the columns of the New
Leader. official S. P. organ. The
Congress manifesto indicates the
result of the three days delibera-
lions. The pledge contained in the
manifesto indicates clearly the ma
ture of the Congress. Can you sub
scribe to this pledge, Socialist work.
ers-the pledge taken voluntarily
by the 2,195 delegates?
WILL YOU NOT TAKE
THIS PLEDGE?
I'VE pledge that we will never
allow the formidable unity which
has been established here among
the exploited and victimized
masses to be broken up.
1--WE pledge to fight with all our
force and with all the means at