The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-05-28
BEFORE AND AFTER
THE OUTBREAK OF
IMPERIALIST WAR
By SAM DON

minute. to rain forth death and de-
struction. In this situation the work
ing class must display the greatest
watchfulness and activity to be-
come the decisive factor in defeat
inc the imperiahst war plans.
The bosses follow a two-fold
strategy with one aim in mind,
namely, on the one hand with pacl-
fist phrases to lull the watchfulness
OF the workers and at the same
time create war atmosphere to
mobilize so-called public opinion
Tor war.
1t is well, therefore, to remember
the words of Lenin with regard to
war:
ut must be definitely explained
how great is the secrecy sur
rounding the policy of war 80. 1t
must be explained over and over
again in a thoroughly concrete
manner how the situation wss
during the last war and as to
the reason why the situation :
oould not be otherwise"
At the very moment when Japan
began its invasion of Aanclluria,
General Ely declared. we seldom
see wars on the horizon. We get
embroiled over night" Is the gem
tral really so stupid and ignorant
10 believe that ne seldom see Tars?
Of course not! What is the purpose
then of making sIch statement?
The answer is clcsr-To cgeate the
IDEA that war is unthinkable end
tius lull tie warchfulness Of the
workers. lie says, You SGT en-
broiled over night" What is the
meaning of this statement? Simply
to create the idea that the enemy
forced war uLen us and now that
war unexpectedly" is on, there is
nothing left to be done, but to de-
fend the country.
You see, the wei meaning" gen.
erals and imperialists have such
great difficulty in seeing war 49,.
at time when they spent billions
on preparations for war, at time
when we are in the midst of wal
against the Chinese people, II the
midst of growing war against he
Soviet Union. Such statements are
made at time when we are SO
close to the outbreak ii a new world
war, that the thick layers of paci-
fist phrases cannot save the COM
plete fiasco of the Geneva disarma-
ment conference, and when the war
clouds thicken on the horizon. The
imperialistS are consciously prepar-
ing for war as way out of the pres
ent crisis. The whole development of
capitalism leads to imperialist wars.
We do not just get embroiled in
them over night, general, as. you
know it yourself.
The lessons of the last world war
cannot be forgotten, particularly re-
Numbering the treachery and paci-
fism of the Second Socialist Inter-
national as imperialist implements
for the mobilization of the masses
for war. Americas entry into the
last world war is a good example of
how pacifism is used in preparing
for war. Take the whole pacifist
campaign of Wilson. His election
slogan was: HE kept us out of the
war" But the little truth which the
capitalists allowed to leak out in
connection with their preparations
for the last war shed a great deal
of light on the past and present
war preparations. Take the state
ment of Wilson which he made 40
days before Americas entry into
the world war He said:
81 am not now proposing or
contemplating war. The American
people do not desire it. Our de-
sire is not different from theirs
Is it not obvious that Wilson, the
great humanitarian, was lying. But
precisely because the American
workers did not desire war it was
necessary to use such pacifist
phrases and then to take them by
surprise. Just to give one fact which
shows that Wilson was consciously
lying. The American ambassador to
London, Ambassador Page, sent a