The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-07
From the First World War to the Second

which Great Britain appears as the third member
of the alliance.
In the postwar period, a gigantic struggle set
in between Britain and America Britain had got
rid of the commercial and naval competition Of i'm
perial Germany and had exchanged it for the far
more powerful competition of American imperial
ism, which emerged from the war as creditor of
the whole world. The Anglo American struggle for
world domination found expression in the struggle
for the settlement of the war debts for DONNA
ton Of Canada and Australia and the Far Eastern
and South American markets, and in the compe-
tton of naval ornaments. The development of
Anglo American relations in the past years has
brought the world to the brink of new war pre-
cipice.
Fascist Italy also is raging against the Yer
sailles Treaty. which awarded her too small share
of the booty More than once the two Latin sis
ter nations" have threatened to into collision
because France has stood as obstacle in the way
Of the Italian drive for expansion in the Mediter-
ranean, in North Africa and in the Balkans
With the advance of the Japanese troops the
struggle for the repartition of the world by
OF armed force was put concretely the order of
the day. Japanese imperialism seized Manchura
with It's 100000 inhabitants it commenced war
against China with aerial bombs and poison gases
it prepared the occupation of Mongolia and con-
onslaught against the Soviet Union The Japanese
attack has ushered in the new partition of China
and has led to an extraordinary intensificaton of
all the antagonisms in the Pacific. The question
OF Japanese-American war has assumed an acute
character. The preparation for decisive armed
struggle for domination in the Pacific constitutes
the basic content of Japanese-American relations
Great Britain also has been seriously hit by the
violent Japanese economic offensive in the whole
NJ
in the Pacific. Once more peace has become de-
pendent chance.
Fifteen years of so-called peace have passed
years which have been filled with the most intense
conflicts, dangers and preparations for war
Is years in which bitter trade wars have been
raging such as have always proved to be the fore
runners of armed conflicts.
The ending of the first world war did not bring
tranquility and peace to the wide masses of the
toilng people, either in the countries of the con-
querors or of the conquered. Britain sacrificed in
the war 100000 dead, twice as many wounded
f8,000000,000 expenditure, a tenfold increase
OF the national debt and the loss of 1000 ships
with tonnage of about 100000 And what was
the result? Great Britain, which went forward in
order to safeguard its world dominion against all
competition had to cede the first place in the world
market to the United States 1t Is true German
negemOny on Une continent OF Europe has been
broken, but in its place has come French hege-
mony with its serious air threat to the island king
dom. The proud structure of the British Empire is
marked by cracks and assures The British budget
deficit in 1892 amounted to fS700oO00 The
decline of the British Empire the proud victor of
the World War; was clearly expressed in its depar-
ture from the principle of free trade and the giving
up Of the gold standard At the end of the war,
millions of workers found themselves on the streets
and even today the factory gates have not opened
to them. The burden of taxation has mounted
steadily That the position of the victorious states
in Eastern and South Eastern Europe has been an
extremely desperate one in the postwar period, is
well known to all.
During these Is years there has been neither
tranquility peace. Bloody war has been fol-
lowed by armed peace. The struggle over the pre-
paraton of the second world war has developed
directly out CT the struggle over the liquidation of
the first world war. During these Is years. the i'm
perialists used the peace breathing space for
better preparation of war; of a second inter-
vention Under imperialism, war and peace are two
sides of the same medal.
10 be continued