The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 20, 1924, Page 9

By T. J. O)FLAHERTY In the year 1867 a group of Amer- icans chartered a ship to carry them on a pleasure excursion to Europe and the Holy Land, and Mark Twain’s famous book, “The Innocents Abroad,” one of his best literary productions, was a description of the tour and the great humorist’s impression of the places visited by the “innocents.” Again the innocents are abroad, this time not to “see” Europe but to “save” it. And the impossibility of saving Europe by the methods em- ployed by our modern innocents, sug- gested the title for this article. The modern innocents who-have set out to save Europe and rebuild its shattered constitution are the bank- ers and finance capitalists of America. By the time they.are thru with Eu- rope, that once healthy continent will have either passed thru the under- taking parlor or a revolution. ses When a patriotic Serbian fired a bullet into the noble anatomy of the Archduke Frederick Joseph of Austria in 1914, causing that gentleman to make a hasty tho involuntary exit from a then smiling world, Europe was in a fairly satisfaetory state of health and its ruling class was quite conceited, and looked on the shirt- sleeved aristocrats of America with ill-concealed contempt. Most of the American millionaires were of the Jiggs type, made immortal by Mac- Manus in “Bringing Up Father.” They did not have much of a family tree. If there ever was such an heirloom, it is likely that some indigent ances- tor had to chop it up for kindling wood, when making a fire to cook his breakfast preparatory to setting out to dig a ditch or lay track on a railroad bed. - But the shot that killed the archduke was heard round the world and before the echo returned to its base, there was a different story to tell, Many of the kings of Europe who made wars just to keep from getting bored, found themselves thronefess and some of them headless. They started something that they were not able to finish. Instead they got finish- ed. The bullet that killed the archduke did not really cause the world war, tho it would appear that it was an agreed signal like shooting off a blank cartridge in a hundred yards dash. Hardly had the smoke from the ex- plosion cleared away before Austria, Germany, Russia, England, and other more or less consequential countries were mobilizing their troops and getting ready to shoot each other but the monarchs never expected that by the time the battle was over the ex-navvies of the United States who graduated into bankers, capitalists and manufacturers would be on top and the titled rulers of Europe would be very much at the bottom. But it came to pass. se Now, it happened that Europe tho apparently healthy was on the verge of a breakdown in 1914. The kings were getting unnecessary and _ the capitalists barely tolerated them for decorative purposes and because the “PACIFIST” IMPERIALISM (Continued from preceding page.) ing classes who are accustomed to sweets. In the last analysis this concerns not only Germany and France, but also Great Britain. Yes, even Great Britain will have to prepare for the same fate. In spite of what we often hear about the harmonious relations between America and England, of the Anglo-Saxon bloc, “Anglo-Saxon capi- tal,” “Anglo-Saxon policy,” we are told that the most dangerous world antag- ‘onisms lie between American and, Japan. This opinion, however, comes from those who do not understand th affairs of the world. The fundamen- tal world antagonism is running along the line of interests of the United States and Great Britain. And this fact will become more and more pronownced as time moves along. Masses were impressed by kings. Every time a king’s concubine had a child or king’s daughter was sold: to another king’s son the papers made quite a fuss about it, the priests dwelt on the affection in which. the royal families were held by God and when the masses grumbled too much, the Little Father would warble a pro- mise and say that he would right those wrongs which some misguided servants of his inflicted on the people. The kings were tolerated rather than needed. Most of them were gouty and rheumatic if not worse. Those of them who had the use of their limbs were frequenting the watering places and setting up in business as bathing beauty judges. A few of the mon- archs, notably the Emperor of Ger- many and the Emperor of Austria held on to their dignity, as best they could. So also did the Czar of Rus- sia. The poor fellow did not live long to enjoy it. That however is another story. ; The real power in 1914 was in the ‘hands of the capitalists. In countries like Germany, Russia and Austria, vestiges of the feudal order remained, 80 the Kaiser with his “Me Und Gott” a in the form of wages, the rest going] bread and land. to the capitalists in the form of pro- fits. The capitalists sold what they could of the accumulated wealth, but as every capitalist country was pro- ducing more wealth than their own population could consume, they were competing for foreign markets. Final- ly they went to war to settle the question. For four years they battled. Eu- rope was divided into . two armed camps and when it appeared that the Central Empires were about to win, the American capitalists who had bet their money on the Allies stepped in on the side of their investments and helped to snatch victory from the mouth of defeat... The Central Em- pires and their allies were vanquish- ed. Demiocracy was saved! The war to end war was over! There would never be another! So the masses were told by the prophet Woodrow Wilson, who was the spokesman of the House of Morgan when this country entered the war. But a funny thing happened. At first it looked good but a little later not so good. One of the crowned heads that was in on the ground floor MELANCHOLY By Oskar Kanehl. And those, who living still, are so: The one is longing from dark cell for light, Which behind grates tells him a lie of liberty. Perhaps already happler, who in the neighbor-cell Is running against stone-wall with the madness-skull. The rest are working-animals. Straps are cutting them deep in the flesh. They don’t more feel it. They don’t feel the whip upon the bony back. They don’t feel the wounds upon the naked foot. They devour every fodder from the master’s crib. France | Their faith chokes —it doesn’t disturb them. —it doesn’t provoke them. Knowledge dies. Sense extorted. Farther no more. Although—then rather— Slowly we are murdered. made quite a hit in social circles in the early, days of the war. *** & Simple minded people and others not so simple minded held that the eause of the war was the hatred of Emperor William of Germany toward England because Queen Victoria once sneered at his withered arm. Others professed to believe that the crazy prophet Nietszche with his superman philosophy was the cause of it and that the great blond beasts from the Thuringian forests were setting out to rule the world. The socialists (who afterwards become known as Commu- nists) held that it was a war between rival groups of capitalist nations for The socialists (who afterwards became lackeys of the bourgeoisie) held that every country in which the socialists found themselves, was fight- ing a war of defense and they felt it their duty to fight for the fatherland. The priests felt the same about it and they asked their God to bring victory to their country. At the same time other priests in enemy contries “made similar requests on the same God. You can readly understand that he only thing he could do was to let them fight it out. They did. -* * i The workers of Europe had labored long and arduously creating wealth, a small part of which ‘went to them * foreign markets and new. territories. was in a most awkward position. The Joyless already long ago, now also without will. ‘ In illness, dirt and disgust of treachery. Hunger strangles revolution. The fists fall and the hate becomes tired. The hope-spark of their eyes goes out. The hunter-poet’s strophe hits upon deaf ears. Look your exploiters’ cynical luxury! Do you hear raging the soldiery’s victor-sneer? On gas-cock hangs the hollow look. Only this last class-pride is awake: On pavement trickles our blood. —tTranslated by Paul Acel. when the European war started found himself non persona grata with his people, after he had killed several millions of them playing tag with his royal cousin the Kaiser. While the two Czars were enjoying this game of kings, none of them suffered as much as a scratch. But the Kaiser had better generals than the Czar and his capitalists were more efficient, so they produced more bullets than the Czar’s capitalists with the result that the Czar lost more soldiers and got lick- ed. Instead of sympathising with the Little Father in his misfortune as they were taught by their priests, the Russian workers and peasants and the soldiers at the front simply said: “Here is where the Czar gets his and we get ours” and they hiked with long swinging strides back to the rear of the front and the Czar took a fast train to the Crimea where he thot he was safe. But he was only for a while. ; Socialists and capitalists got to- gether with the intention of forming a government and bluffing the people of Russia with fine promises until the strom blew over but they were caught in the act by the Russian Bolsheviks, who shouted to the workers and peas- ants: “These rascals are only.-agents of the Czar in disguise. They will murder you and starve you even as the Little Father did. They want. to continue the war in the interests of the Allied capitalists. You want peace Go and take what belongs to you.” Soon Kerensky and his gang were in flight and are now doing mind reading stunts and other tricks to amuse the jaded bourgeoisie of England and America. The Bolsheviki seized power in Russia and are still in the saddle, making good time. That was the little thing that spoiled the game and made the capitalists who were yet in the fight, begin to furrow their brows. “Suppose our workers and peasants follow the Russian example” they said. They did not, however because for one thing they had no Lenin revolutionists in these count- ries and for another their rulers were wiser and more powerful than the Czar and his lieutenants. a But to make a long story short the war finally ended with Europe very, very sick. The capitalist system over- exerted itself. It came very near draw- ing its last breath. In fact a little kick from the European working class boot would have saved the world a lot of subsequent bloodshed and mis- ery. But the social democrats saved the system temporarily and it is still tottering along. But peace has its terrors even as war and peace brot Europe no relief. Capitalism could not provide employ- ment for the workers. The continent was impoverished. Millions were out of work. Rebellions and revolutions became the order of the day. Amer- ica, the young capitalist giant of the West, loaned billions of dollars to Europe during the war. America grew rich at Europe’s expense. We mean the capitalists of America. They had gold in their vaults until they threat- ened to burst and didn’t know what to do with it. Soviet Russia was to them like a red rag to a wild bull. They made. war on it. All the capitalists countries in Europe joined in the fight. Japan chifned in. It was all to no avail. The Soviet republic beat off all its enemies and insisted on surviving. Then some of capitalists of Eurepe decided to make the best of a bad -| bargain and recognized Soviet Russia. They would sup with the devil for the sake of trade. Still the United States held aloof. It would not recognize Soviet Russia because there was a dictatorship of the proletariat there, ‘tho it did recognize the black shirt dictatorship of the Italian Fascist chief, Mussolini. Things were going from bad to worse in Europe. Germany stood trembling on the brink of a revolu- tion. A revolution in Germany weuld set the fashion in the rest of Eu- rope. The American capitalists finally decided it was up to them to “save” Europe for themselves and from a revolution, so the “innocents” were sent abroad to do the job. e*# Europe owes the capitalists of the United States billions of dollars and they have no money with which to pay their debts. In order to win the war for democracy and civilization France and England needed money so they borrowed from the United States. When the war for democracy was won American wanted its money back. Europe simply said “search me.” Secretary of State Hughes scratched his whiskers and got an idea. The way to get this thing straightened out was to place Europe in the hands of & receivership composed of efficient American bankers who would run it along the lines of the Standard Oil and Steel trusts. The plan was to make Germany pay the reparations to the Allies im- posed upon her by the Peace of Ver- sailles. When the Allies received these preparations from Germany they would then turn over the billions they owed to the United States. i Three great men were selected to do the job. Dawes, Young and Rob- inson. These bankers went to Eu- rope and prescribed for the patient. They went over Germany and come to the conclusion. that hundreds of millions of dollars could be taken out of the bodies of the German workers every year. In order to start the bleeding process, the German capital- ists must have a gold loan, the Ger- man paper money being very good (Continued on page 7.) ee odern Innocents Abroad | |