A Victory for Liberty

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 April 1915, Page 2

A Victory for Liberty

i THE SOCIALISTIC VIEW OF Till. ) WAR. About 40 woll-known Socialists, representative ol the movement in .England, France, Belgium, and Russia, I met in conference on Sunday. 14th February under the presidency ol Mr. Keir Hardie, M. P., in the hall of the British Tin Smelters' and Kindred Trades' l.nion, and passed resolutionbearing 011 the war, it« causes, it? effect oil international Socialism, and the policy to be advocated ivlien peace is secured. Tile first resolution described the conflict as a 'product of the antagonisms which tear asunder capitalist society and ol the policy of Colonial dependencies and aggressive Imperialism." It expressed the view that "Victory for German Imperialism would lie the defeat and the destruction of democracy and liberty in Europe The Socialists of Great Britain and Belgium, trance and Russia do not pur sue the political and economic crushing of Germany: they arc not at war with the peoples of Germany and Austria, but only with the Governments ol those countries by which they are oppressed. They demand that Bel gium shall be liberated and compensated, they desire that the question of Poland should lie settled in accordance with the wishes of the l'olish l people, oitlier in the sense of autonomy, in the midst of another State, or in that of complete independence. While inflexibly resolved to fight until victorv >s achieved, the .Socialists are none the less resolved to resist any attempt to transform tin's defensive war into a war oi conquest. The. victory of the Allied Powers must be a victory for popular liberty, for unity, independence, and autonomy oT the nations in the j>eacel'»l Federation of the United States of liurope and the World." The second resolution stated that:— On the conclusion o? the war tho working el asses of all the industrial countries miwt unite in order to suppress secret diplomacy, to put an end to the interests of militarism and those "1 the armament makes, and establish some international authority to [ settle points of difference among' nations by compulsory conciliation and a rbitration." The third was a protest "against the arrest of the Deputies of the Duma, against the suppression of Russian Socialist newspaper* and the condemnation of their editors, as well as against the oppression of Finns, Jews, and Russian and German Poles "