The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 4, 1926, Page 9

a Coapactiis geod white terror {s the offspring of world capitalism. It is horror, mur- », der, torture and tragedy organized on @ mass scale. It has made out of the Balkans “the hell of Europe.” And if ‘we could substitute “white terror” for “tndustrial,”’ we could say with Marx that “the country with a more devel- oped white terror merely shows the one less developed the picture of its own future.” There are people, “slaves of the gen- eral inertia and mediocrity,” who will not believe that such savage and hell- ish barbarism is possible in our day. But, savage opression and wholesale mass murder are the methods of the international bourgeoisie fighting to ; Maintain its supremacy. The white terror, or fascism, is the socio-poiitical form of world capitalism since the war. People who are still accustomed to think of the world in terms of inde- pendent nationalities and of its econ- omy in terms of independent national development, fail to realize that the very powers that have blessed the world with “democracy” have also blessed it with the white terror; that “democracy” and fascist white terror are different sides of the same medal, different forms of the same capitalist domination, and that fascism, white terror, or open bourgeois dictatorship is becoming the dominant form of cap- italist rule, The white terror is more immediate, more violent, more bloodthirsty. And for that reason it is most dangerous te the international labor movement. Its activity in the Balkans has ‘re- vealed the true character. of interna- , tional reaction and the constant need for organized revolutionary action on the part of the world proletariat. “Nothing that has been said concern- ing. the terrorism exercised by the Bal- kan governments,” writes Barbusse, “is exaggerated. To those who ask: ‘Is it true?’ one can only reply: ‘The truth is worse.’” Barbusse, together with two other Frenchmen, went to the Balkans tc (Translation by Harrison George HE republic of Uruguay has finish- ed negotiations with the North American firm of Hallgarten and com- pany for a loan of $45,000,000, This loan comes to increase the external debt of Uruguay which, previous to it, mounted to $192,711,776.06. The conditions of the loan are found in the law with respect to it adopted at the beating bell of the legislative power. Article 1 of the said law auth- orizes the executive power to contract the loan in two series, one of $30,000,- 000 and another of $15,000,000. The figure at which the loan is made is 91.53. Article 2 establishes the half yearly form of payment, with an amortiza- tion fund of one per cent per annum accumulative. Article 3 is interesting enough to transcribe fully. It is as follows: “Both the capital and the interest of the bonds will be paid off without de- duction of any impost or other right that may exist at present or that the Uruguayan government or any other authority within the territory of Uru- guay might create.” Articles 4, 6 and 7 establish the end given to the funds and from where are to drawn the means for the first amortization. Article 5 establishes that, in case contracting another loan guaranteed by the state income, this loan must be given preference against the state income or another equiva- tent, The conditions noted, we will say that the loan was settled in a pre- unaccustomed to the heavy govern- mento ‘In the Hell of Europe” - An introduction to a series of articles on the White Terror in the Balkan States, beginning publication in the next issue of this magazine, written by Henri Barbusse. make a first-hand investigation of the conditions which were giving rise to repeated tales of indescribable horror. And the facts and figures which he has gathered, the scenes of torture and torment which he describes, the tragic and futile cries of helpless peas- ants and workers are the most puis- tories are closing, unemployment is in- creasing, and the police and military expenditures are absorbing most of the national budgets. All the Balkan countries are facing a serious eco- nomic crisis. In Bulgaria, where the peasant element is equal to four-fifths of the total population, industry has By V. Bissig sant indictment of fascist reaction and the most powerful plea to every Com- munist to work more intensely and more persistently to carry on more steadily his daily tasks and to defend the rising revolution against the bloody reaction of world capitalism. The class-conscious workers and peasants of the Balkans are being ruthlessly oppressed. In Jugo-Slavia, in Hungary, in Bulgaria and Roumania the contrast between the modern pal- aces of the nouveaux riches and the miserable quarters of the city and country proletariat is enormous, Fac- American Imperialism in been endangered since the war. Im- ports have increased, exports de- creased, and the budget has been con- fronted with a deficit. In Roumania money is lacking for agriculture; cred- its to the peasants have been cut down, and public instruction is almost non-existent, The former boyard feudalism has given place to a mod- ern Capitalist Tewaalisii Yétociously op- pressing the working class. In Jugo- Slavia the war budget has increased 227 million dinars and the ministry of social economy has been completely suppressed. By HOMER PEYROT carious time and with a haste wholly mental and bureaucratic apparatus of our country, A few days sufficed for its projec- tion, approbation and signing. The National Council of Administration, in order to liquidate the subject, even met on the morning of the 19th of April, a “national holiday” for the bourgeoisie. This haste was carried into the chamber of deputies, where a motion was made that it might be immediately considered while yet the chamber had not reached that point on its agenda, and where it was voted with the sole opposition of the two Communist deputies, It is needless to point out the de- pendence toward the Yankees that the loan sanctions. But we re-em- phasize that it is free from all impost, present and future. It is no longer for the “sovereign” government to de- cide imposts and taxations. The in- terests of the Yankee bankers are wholly safe from them, Another interesting aspect of the loan is the complete imperialist nature of Article 5. The external debt of Uruguay is owed to different coun- tries. The “consolidated debt”, for example, that amounts to $60,828,276, was contracted in England. But now the Yankees, with this Article 5, as- sure themselves the monopoly. For instance:: Suppose the govern- ment wishes to contract a new loan. It is certain that, indebted as the gov- ernment is, new guarantees will be de- manded, But then it must give se- curities to cover both the new loan and the present loan. On the other hand, if the new loan is contracted with the present loaners, this will not be necessary, The loan is in dollars and must be paid in dollars, At the emission of the first series, the dollar was equal to 97 Uruguayan centesimos, that is to say, at par. The strong economic po- sition of the United States makes it foreseen that as payments are made, the doHar will not decline, on the contrary it is very likely that it will rise. This will redound to the injury of the Uruguayan government, Then we observe the figure at which the loan was contracted (91.63); in ac cord with this the government will receive only $41,188,500, in place of the $45,000,000; while on the other hand the amount it must pay between interest and amortization, as- cends to a sum of from $91,000,000 to $92,000,000, for our ridiculous army, and the rest for public works. The character of these public works obliges their con- struction to be slow, which resul the country having sunk a great deal of money in them for a time, paying, however, interest at the rate of six per cent all this period. As can be seen, the conditions could not have been more ridiculous. But apart from all these circumstances, the loan ‘will have an effect to worsen the workers’ standard of living. With this loan the annual payment of inter- est and amortization of all external debts will amount to around 20,000,000 By A. LANDY All the Balkan countries are in the hands of parasitic governments, main- taining themselves by artificial means and utilizing the same instzuments and organs of repression: legal and military terror, police and fascist ac tivity. These reactionary govern- ments, supported by the big bour- geoisie, are waging war against the Balkan masses. In Roumania a sem- blance of parliamentarism is main- tained. In Bulgaria, Greece and Jugo- Slavia the ruling oligarchy has other means at-its disposal, “The Balkan elections,” - writes _Barbusse, ‘take place under the direct. pressure of tha gendarmes and the fascists and by the brutal intervention of the authori- ties.” - The so-called opposition par- ties.are in reality hypocritical and ser- vile supporters of fascism, as is evi- denced by the activity of the social- democrats in Hungary and in the Bal- kans, The Bulgarian church has called upon the people to help estab- lish order (or fascism). The reforms that have been undertaken are noth» ing but shams and dupery.. :Whereas; in all the Balkan countries, as welkas in Hungary, the powers have estab-. lished a law for “the safety of the state.” This law, which is essentially the same in Roumania, Bulgaria, Jugo- Slavia and Hungary, is the legal ex- pression of reactionary dictatorship. By virtue of these laws men and women have been condemned to death because they have harbored fugitives sought by the police without knowing that these fugitives were guilty or without this guilt ever having been established. A number of gendarmes in the Bal- kans is out of proportion to the popu- lation: 45,000 in Roumania, and 60,000 in Jugo-Slavia. There are said to be 40,000 ex-officers and soldiers of the counter-revolutionary Wrangel in the Balkans, constituting a violent agent of destruction and oppression. in thé hands of the reactionary governments, The nature of the crime these mercen- aries are hired to commit is of little importance to them as long as it is paid for and unpopular. Uruguay pesos, almost a half of the present total budget of the republic. Twenty million pesos yearly of legal graft that the working class of a country of 1,800,000 population wi have to pay. The first series of the loan, $30,000, 000, was bought, so we said, by Hail- garten and company at 91.53, and was resold wholly in North America on Wall Street market in a half an hour at more than 96. Which is to say that the bankers is that short lapse of time cleaned up a cool $1,500,000. The government press of Uruguay re- ceived this news joyfully, declaring that the incident was proof of the sol- vency of the country. In reality it is no more than a proof of the strong imperialist development of the United States. In conclusion, we reaffirm that the toan has worsened the economic sit- uation of the workers for the 34 years that it will run. And that, there- fore, the loan constitutes a battle won by Yankee capital against the prole- i z 2 ; : ‘ & eF bourgeoisie, therefore, triumphed, they are the stronger at present,