The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-10-02
900 At Opening Session of u. S. AntiWar Congress
BarbuSse Calls For
United Fight War



rade. std
Henri Barbusse spoke his first
words of greeting into the micro
phone in low voice, his well mod
ulated French piercing to the lar
corners of the Arena. H. w. L. Dana
translated sentence for sentence as
he proceeded.
Comrades and friends I greet you
from. France-from your comrades IN
France"
Immediately Henri Barbusse be-
gan telling of his experience as
soldier in the World War and OF how
he came to realize the burning
shame and suffering which that war
meant to the workers of the world
81 was one Of the soldiers of the
trenches" Comrade Barbusse began.
st went there as a common soldier
among the volunteers. 1t was
through my experiences there that
came to know the horror and suffer-
ing which degrades and murders a
human being. In the midst Of war
lightning was launched upon us, but
lightning launched by men. And
always there was the hope that this
war would end-that all war would
end
"But there was no end and there
is no end. Last year at Amsterdam
we began a real fight against war,
because we had realized that no one
in the past had been fighting against
war We came to know the i'm
portance of being practical at that
Congress. We we're honest men and
we were sincere. We were not there
for verbiage, but for practical pur-
poses. We were all seeking a solu-
ton. But it was not to be found in
the programs of the pacifists and
idealists. Theirs was sentimental
solution--the solution of the past
a dream lost in the clouds. In that
there was no action toward reality.
Then there was the pacifism of
the League of Nations. And this is
a pacifism bound up in instruments
of imperialism, such as the Treaty Of
Versailles, which contain the seeds
of future wars. The Treaty of Ver-
sailles tried to eliminate the con-
quered and set the ground work for
French and British imperialism. The
League of Nations has not succeeded
in preventing war. There have been
q armed conflicts since Versailles.
This infamous treaty has been simply
a gathering of the imperialist aims
of its signatories.
1.-The disarmament conference has
been even more futile if such thing
be possible. And the methods of
these groups should fill US with dis
gust and anger. Under the cloak OF
internationalism they are really
seeking their own nationalist aims.
1--WE must attack the cause of war.
There is no other way. We must be
practical We must direct our at
tack at the roots of war. And the
cause of war is capitalism.
'Lenin said that war is nothing
more than the female mate of cap
italism.'
"And Jean Jaures summed up this
with the words, Capitalism contains
war as clouds contain lightning
There is another phase of our
problem which is at this very moment
burning itself intos the world. This
is fascism. Fascism is born Of cap
italism. And the war against cap
italism is identical with the war
against fascism. The struggle against
war and the struggle against fascism
go hand in hand. For fascism is war.
We must build a united movement
whose struggle is directed against
both in one.
"Fascism, born Of capitalism, Is de-
stroying capitalism. Fascism tries
to fool the middle classes by making
them drunk with ideals of national
ism. Its weapons are brutality, vio-
lence and force-from Italy to Ger
many. Others are in serious danger
of being deluded into similar meas
ures. Roman ROLAND says of fas-
cism that fascism has 40 different
masks. Sometimes it takes the mask
of democracy, sometimes the mask
of revolutionary movement, but al
ways behind the mask turks the face
of denlagogy.'
"But there is great factor on
the horizon, a new and alive fac
tor which is taking part in this
fight against this destroying evil
:. and that is the Soviet Union.
las came from the boat today /
was tremendously moved by the
greeting which received from that
splendid group of ex-service men.
During the World War these men
came to realize the fallacy Of fight
ing against German imperialism, be-
cause the imperialism of all coun-
tries was equally involved and at
fault.
There is one way of fighting war.
And this way must be the way of
our Congress. In place of a League
OF Nations, in place Of a disarma-
ment conference, we must create a
League OF Peoples and this League
must be created by the masses from
underneath. We must carry on our
fight with a united 'front.'"
With the last words of Henri
Barbusse came tremendous burst
OF cheering and Acknowledgement. AS
he turned and walked from the plat
form to journey across to speak to
the second group of delegates in
Mecca Temple, the voice of his com
rades and friends carried him on his
way.
3OBLESS DEMONSTRATION IN