mentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress declared itself in favor of whole-hearted support of the war.

In October, the representatives of the Labor Party in Parliament defended their position in favor of war, which had been decided on as early as August 5th and 6th, a policy which caused a split between the majority branch led by Henderson and the minority led by Ramsay MacDonald, who led the Independent Labor Party in its anti-war policy, a policy in which it was supported only by the Left Wings of the other Labor and Socialist organizations. In fact, the anti-war influence of Socialism in Great Britain was negligible.

The Socialist Party in Italy was the only national group among the belligerents which adhered consistently throughout the war and after to its pre-war policy of uncompromising opposition to war and opposition to national interests as superior to international class interests and sympathy.

BERNE SOCIALIST CONFERENCE

Early in February (2/2/19) an International Socialist Conference met at Berne, Switzerland, called by the International Socialist Bureau, as part of the Second International. Twenty-five countries were represented by ninety delegates. Its program did not satisfy either the conservative or the revolutionary extremes. The American Federation of Labor and the Social Democratic League of America refused to attend because of its anticipated revolutionary and pacifist tendencies. At the other end the Communists kept from it because they considered it unfriendly to Bolshevism, to direct action, and to extreme internationalism. Therefore, the Socialist parties of Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United States, as well as other Communist groups, such as the Balkan groups, refused to send delegates.

Among the more prominent delegates who did attend were: Kunfi for Hungary; Troelstra, for Holland; Longuet, Renaudel, Cachin, Loriot and Thomas, for France; Adler for Hungary; MacDonald, J. H. Thomas and Henderson for Great Britain; Kautsky, Haase, and Eisner, for Germany; Huysmans, for Belgium.

The pervading spirit of the Conference was the spirit of nationalism. Some anxiety was in the air concerning the meeting and relations between the German and French delegates. The question of the responsibility for the war had to be discussed and was the question most likely to cause angry disputes. The

German delegates were willing to acknowledge, to a certain extent, the responsibility of their government, and the Congress refrained from any extreme imputation of guilt in Germany. The acknowledgment of Germany's guilt by Eisner, the Bavarian Premier, provoked a storm of protest from other German delegates and was, undoubtedly, the reason for his assassination on his return to Munich. The text of the resolution that was passed is as follows:

"The Conference at Berne acknowledges that the question of the immediate responsibility of the war has been made clear, through the discussion and through the declaration of the German majority, stating the revolutionary spirit of new Germany and its entire separation from the old system, which was responsible for the war. In welcoming the German revolution and the development of democratic and Socialist institutions which it involves, the conference sees the way clear for the common work of the International." The other principal topics for the Conference were the League of Nations, territorial readjustments, the Labor Charter and the Russian situation. The Labor Charter is given fully elsewhere and was, apparently, the model that was followed later by the American Federation of Labor at the Washington Conference. It is also closely connected with the section on labor passed by the Peace Conference in Paris, to which the Berne Conference appealed. In regard to territorial adjustments the resolution passed favored the self-determination of peoples, elections or plebiscites, in disputed territories, the protection of nationalities forming a minority or a majority in a country, the protection of vital economic interests by the League, the increasing of the rights of subject populations in the colonies in the matter of free self-determination through the founding of schools, the granting of local autonomy, freedom of speech and press, etc.

The Conference expressed its decided adherence to a democratic League of Nations of a popular character which should abolish standing armies and establish a free trade with international control of commercial thoroughfares.

It was reckoned that the delegates present at this Conference from Great Britain, France, Holland, Germany, Austria, the Baltic Provinces, the Ukraine, and other parts of old Russia, represented at least 50,000,000 people. The Belgian Socialists sent no delegates because they refused to meet the Socialists of the Central Powers until the latter had confessed their guilt.

The resolution on Russia led to an acrimonious discussion, because, while hailing the political revolutions in Russia and elsewhere, it criticized the idea of dictatorship of the proletariat and the oppression of free speech and free press, because creating "conditions which might accurately be described as a transition from one form of tyranny to another. Liberty, democracy, and freedom must be their steady and unchangeable goal. The revolution that did not establish liberty was not a revolution towards Socialism, and was not a revolution which Socialists ought to make themselves responsible for, nor should it allow the outside bourgeois reaction to impose upon them responsibility."

The minority that fought against this resolution was headed by Longuet and Adler.

7

CHAPTER XIII

Reports and Documents

1. The Berne Conference.

2. Charter of Labor of the Berne Conference. 3. The Lucerne Conference.

4. Clauses for insertion in the treaty of peace.

Document No. 1

The following ample summary of both the Berne and the Lucerne conferences of the Second International are quoted from The American Labor Year Book for 1919-1920, pp. 308-311.

"THE BERNE CONFERENCE

"The International Socialist Conference held at Berne February 2-9, 1919, was called together at the initiative of the International Socialist Bureau. Hjalmar Branting, of Sweden, presided at the Conference. Among those who actively participated in the discussions were Kautsky, Haase, Eisner, Muller, Janson and Wells, Germany; Adler, Austria; MacDonald, Bunning, Ethel Snowden, J. H. Thomas, MacGuirk, Shirkie, and Henderson, Great Britain; Longuet, Renaudel, Milhaud, Cachin, Thomas, Mistral, Loriot, Verfeuil, France; Huysmans, Belgium; Troelstra, Holland; O'Brien, Ireland; Kunfi, Hungary; Justo and de Tomasso, Argentina; Locker, Palestine. In addition there were present delegates from Alsace-Lorraine, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Lettland, Georgia, Esthonia, Russia, Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Armenia, Spain and Canada, making altogether twenty-five countries represented with ninety delegates in attendance.

Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Roumania, Serbia, and the Communist groups of other countries refused to send delegates to the Conference. Delegates from the American Socialist Party could not come in time for the Conference, while those of Australia and Ukrania arrived too late to attend the meetings.

"The resolutions which were taken up at the Conference dealt with the following matters:

"(a) Responsibility for the War.-After an extended discussion on the subject, it was decided to leave the question for decision at the next international congress when there should be a larger representation and when more material Iwould be available on this issue.

"(b) League of Nations.- Favoring that the League aims to prevent future wars; to abolish all standing armies and bring about disarmament; that it should create an international court of mediation and arbitration; that it should use economic weapons to enforce its decisions; that it should protect the small nationalities; that it should provide for free trade among nations and that it should secure the enforcement of the International Labor Charter adopted by this Conference.

"(c) Territorial Question.-Advocating self-determination of nationalities and against annexations and economic and political spheres of influence.

(d) Democracy and Dictatorship.-A spirited discussion ensued on this momentous question brought about by experiences of the Russian revolution. The majority of the committee proposed a resolution in which it was claimed that democracy with various constitutional guarantees provides opportunities for Socialist work. Longuet and Adler, who were members of the committee, brought in a minority report in which they charged those favoring the resolution with working against unity in the International. They claimed that the forces who were responsible for the disruption in the International and who have supported their respective governments during the war, are anxious to attack the revolutionary Socialist elements in various countries, particularly in Russia, which attacks may be utilized against them by the bourgeoisie. The Conference adopted a resolution which also provided for the sending of a mission to Russia and placing the subject of Bolshevism on the agenda of the next international congress. The resolution, which expressed the sentiment of the majority of the conference, contained the following:

"As a result of recent events, the Conference desires to make the constructive character of the Socialist program absolutely clear to all. Socialization consists in the methodical development of different branches of economic activity under the control of democracy. The arbitrary taking over of a few undertakings by small groups of men is not Socialism, it is nothing less than capitalism with a large number of shareholders.

"Since in the opinion of the Conference the effective development of Socialism is only possible under demo