H. M. HYNDMAN ON THE SOCIALIST QUAKERISTS. THE GREATEST LIVING BRITISH SOCIALIST SAYS WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT THE TRADE UNION CONGRESS. What do the Pacifists Lack? Why, Common Sympathy.—The Workers Want a Genuine Peace.—How German Socialists iiuhl the Pass.— "Treachery" the Only Word For It.—"l Take Oil My Hat to Rosa Luxembourg."—A Straight Talk to I.L.P. Anti-Nationalists.—Who Says They're Socialists."—Keep Your Eye on Asquith and Grey. • It was certain that so soon as the n- They, with Legien and his trade unionvading German armies were being driv-' ists, > have done their utmost to proen back from the territories which they long and intensify the war. had occupied and to a large extent To me, as a follower of Karl Marx devastated, great efforts would be iQ political economy, and indebted to made by their friends to save the ag- German writers tor mugh of what 1 gressive Central Powers from complete know of history, the deliberate bedefeat and to obtain for them as fay- trayal of Socialism by practically the ourable peace terms as possible. whole party , cam* as a great snoefc. Strange as it may seem, extreme True, there is now a minority which | pacifists in Great Britain appear 10 declares, late in the day, for peace. But have little or no sympathy for Bel- the German Government knows weli gians, French and Serbians who have whom it is safe to leave at large, and suffered such terrible things by Imper- this same minority seems very sate no.v ial order from the highly disciplined "that the German General Staff knows and thoroughly educated German well that the Central Power* cannot hordes. hope to win. Even the horrors now being enacted Karl Liebknicht and Meyring, Rosa at Lille by the same agency do not at- Luxembourg and Clara Zetkin really tract their atention. Neither do they have attacked and denounced the Kaifeel in the least troubled about the ser, the Federal Council, and the milicrimes committed by the crews of Ger- tarist ja'ekbooters. They, of course, man submarines and Zeppelins. The are all in gaol. To them I take off my sinking of the Lusitania and the hat and haw low as worthy of the great drowning without warning of poor traditions of Socialism": men and working fishermen in the North Sea women whj from the very first have leave them quite cold. relentlessly opposed an abominable war The raids upon London and the East of aggression. With them, and their Coast towns, as well as the bombard- followers it is still possible for the ment of peaceful watering-places, seem workers of ail lands to unite. With to be for. iheni merely the natural in- the others such fraternity seems to ne cidents of legitimate warfare, thougn out of the question for a generation at these acts are one and all directly ib least. Scheidem&nn, Suderheim, Heine, violation of International Law as form- and Co. stand on the same plane s..s ulated by Germans themselves. the Kaiser, yon Falkeahayn, yon BissThat is a frame of mind which it Ts ing, and their fellow butchers. < _quite impossible for the overwhelming majority of Englishmen to understand. NO SURRENDER! We cannot rise to the height of "mag- . nanimity" that eagerly condones the The numbers.reckoned in the minoralmost unspeakable atrocities of Wit- ity vote on the recommendation of the - tenberg and Ruhleben, Attempts to Parliamentary Committee of the trade treat as comrades men guilty of sush unions that our enemies of the working terrible misdeeds are not only an insult class in Germany should be admitted* to all who are fighting at the front to- to discuss the terms of peace in conday, but a betrayal of the interests of gress before Belgium and France and humanity in the future. To overlook Serbia are cleared of the German armthese crimes now, and to shake hands ies—these numbers by no means repr-9-xw,ith. those who have committed them sent the real weakness of the pacifists. -is to encourage similar "frightfulness" A large proportion voted in opposition directly Prussianised Germany is ready to the motion of Thome and Jones out to begJßuher,,campaign of butchery and of loyalty to their own committee, and torture afresh. some of the rest because they wished to _„ show good feeling towards Gompers THE WORKERS' STAKE. and the American Federation ot Labour. This was the view of the matter vi>- I believe Thorne was perfectly right .Morously put by Will Thorne, Jack *hen he said that ninety-nine ot :f * Jones, M'jlerrell, Roberts and Wilkis every hundred of the people of this at the Irade Union Congress, when it country are against any surrender to was proposed that the trade unionists Germans of any class, either now <.r ' m ?oClausts °f tJle Allied Powers latter. More, lam confident that the T ,should meet the representatives of sim. Independent Labour Party has no iol-»-Jlar working-class bodies in German?, lowing in the country on these issues order to discuss with them, under which is worth"'consideration. | existing conditions, the terms of peace. If Messrs. Ramsay Mac Donald, W, ; n' e ™vo first-named speakers, it may C. Anderson, Jowett and others were A »©. observed, are themselves thorough- to resign their seats in the House rf g.oin §. Socialists of very many years' Commons and challenge re-election on t- standing while their loyalty to and their pacifist programme at the prestheir work for trade unionism has been one time, -yrhat chance would they ha/c * surpassed by none. of being returnedc," None at all, I -im -- lnis does not mean that they anj convinced. They entirely misrepresent those who agree with them are not the views of their constituents. Yet earnestly desirous of obtaining a satis- they owe the position which they hold tactory peace at the ealiest possible in the public eye and the criticism moment. The workers are suffering which gains them so n?nch advertiseiar more from the war, alike in the ment to tie fact that They are mem- - field and at home, than any other bers of , the House of Commons,c.ass.lhey have nothing to gain and 'and are thus ' able to pose as everything but the freedom of their vuicitig the opinions of a large number - country to lose by protracting hostili- of peorle. ties. But it is just this last consider- They thus lead the shrill but far * ation winch makes them refuse to vote Irom numerous section of anti-natiori- ,. lor any measure which may lead the alista.- Unpopular theories arc by no . enemy to imagine that they are weak- means always incorrect, as 1, at any . ening in their resolve. rat e 3 have good reason to hold. But I IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO th° f? U°wing resolution-the I.L.P. is BELIEVJON.THE GOOD FAITH OF «ss°ni™\ a "resolut.onary" partyI THE GERMAN NATION WHICE P^sed without opposition by the nde'HAS NEVER YET RFPTTmATirn TV1 P^dent Labour Party at its Easter ANYWAY THE DeSItiON OF fft^tt delegates, binds the , ITS RULERS AND STATESMEN ' M'P<S °f that group:~ ScwE- "Rn?^ N?v YnS L BE Nb That this conference is of opinion * Siwbv S?cPtd^SAS IT HAS Bhould that henceforth Social- . BEEN BY lIS TREATIES IN THE i s t parties should refuse support to every war entered into by any Gov- . How are terms to be-made with a ' ernm«nt +? , whatever the ostensible ob- , people which remains extent with * JeCt °? the war' n and f ven ]j f ch, a Kaiser, a Chancellor and a Forei-n V 1 nommally of a tensive Minister who t*lk in that fashion?" character. , tf™ ?russlan p e*ce « but a prepara- That resolution, I say, was carrwd n,f J /? er, Pr^ ssiamte war" T"th virtual unanimity by the I.L.P. Unfortunately the German Social Congress of delegates, and binds -,11 ' J?f?s* a*l, c Part£ -as Jones truly its members. , sola — uhe word is not too strong— .^the whole international working-class AVHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN? movement at the beginning of tli^ar. THAT ENGLISH, FRENCH, AND *-3Sobody accuses them of pecuniary cor- BELGIAN SOCIALISTS, TO SAY . ruption. But they were over-mastered NOTHING OF OTHERS. SHOULD J by the national greed for territorial ex- ALLOW THE JUNKERPHIL GERpansion and militarist domination. MAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATS TO Ihey could not have prevented war. RIDE ROUGH-SHOD OVER THEM That I- knew and proclaimed aloud IN-ANY WAY THEY PLEASE WITH- - when warning my countrymen -for OUT RESISTANCE, niany a long year against the.German menace. But they could at least have That is not Socialism of any school, played the game and voted against or It is only a SHAM RELIGION OF ,have abstained from voting for the HUMANITY. , War Credits. * This •without an y personal risk Jo There are not ten thousand men themselves. They preferred to, wreck and women in the country who would - the whole of the great'organisation of agree with it. We have opposed Gerwhich they formed a part. They out- many because German victory must Junkered the Junkers, whom they had- mean the ruin of Democracy and just denounced, in their infuriate zeat Socialism in Europe for many a long for German aggression and day. That our pacifists are seemingly TTn?v ojnDTOrnßTi .-r T ™ quite prepared to welcome. TDEAT q N °' tWe is no dan Ser to a S^»ine M4^™n i^S ?rr§E^D^ P 10 Peace from tlles« anti-national Quaker--vfrToiv m^ArTSS t^ E, -Ofr- ists- The > 7 amo"n^ a" told, to very \ICTOR\ IN A MOST INFAMOUS little. The danger, in my opinion, l A~'" ' comes from another and much more "Haa.se and Muller, who in Brussels serious/l uarter- T + ha.t quarter is our and Paris had pledged themselves t-! pveseni Goverilment ltselfhrPthdrpn y I'J r€nch' and '^"ssian ' THE VERY SAME MEN WHO ~n S«r im«,S! + i overl|? ai: d ever^ TRICKED AND BETRAYED US UNSchefdemTn taZ PREPABED INTO WAR ARE STILL Xosf-? win^ol S r ; idt lheim ', /em-, IN POSITIONS WHICH WILL ENv* fu ' • ■, -r oster»* oster» a*d the rest ABLE THEM TO TRICK A.ND B^ ' tn^^'^T^ 811^1914-, 1111" US INTO 1 PRUsIIANITS - in tins Ac.y day have never ceased to PEACE ! back up the German Government in its worst crimes: and Hamsch, in-jis There is a growing feeling that this --letter to the '\onvaerts.' does but ex- may be done. I find it wherever I «r O . 3 press their considered opinion of the Underground propaganda and V » »malbst # booty with which they, as rep- trigues in this sense are proceedinoreso.n&tives of German Socml Demo- more vigorously than ever A very .. Jratio Jingoism, will be satisfied. well-known American Socialist, now " . Hls nypoc"*lo".l Pvrt™<x of conserv- resident at Geneva, warns me th-it ins to Helguim her independence and never vcre German agents so active as Msselr-governmonfc while? puffin? her un- they arc to-day, and active in favour of -derliermnn-control .« worthy of 'p> a pro-German peaco. He himself \ brethren who are n,imod above. Whnt afraid of the result, though, as he suononest mani of any class can evor again ported the Zimmerveld Socinlists' Conshako hnnd«; or co-owrnt? with men gross, he is certainly not opposed to '""«--n V^t 11"5 sacrificed nil to which any fair terms of settlement \\ ilnolra L• JiKnoclit. nnd Beliel. Sinp-.. ?r. Aver. .MottMer. v-itfc the thousands ASQUITH, GUEY (WTTH HTAI behind them, devoted their lives? TTAT,DAJNTF/>. O-REWR HVTTH HTM ROBERT CECILS ARE THE POLTTHE GREAT BETRAYAL. CTANS WHO WFTHOFT A.\ TV pirp. ERENDUM WHATEVER TO THE Many :inrl jrnerous as werp tlm mil PEOPLE OF THE UNITED TCF\OhiUos wlu'fli OormsiTiß had VnarTe in 'n- DO]\[ AND THE COr.ONTTF^. HAV'-'. •'-t.nnitit-ional Sorialism. nobody l-»pfor» SF.rrRED TO- 'TT-n^TSF.T.vii'e; TR^ the wjir cnuld liavo expected irom TH'fJHT TO SPEAK FOR. TTIF tbeai such wholesale treachery as this. WHOLE EMPIRE. THOUGH THEY
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19161128.2.23.1
Bibliographic details
Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 16824, 28 November 1916, Page 5
Word Count
1,934Page 5 Advertisements Column 1 Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LX, Issue 16824, 28 November 1916, Page 5
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the Wanganui Chronicle. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.