6 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE December 7, 19 Chapters from My Diary 111 tia, to is on at By Leon Trotzky of the doubtless most engaging personalities in attempt to elucidate the causes of the catastrophe The Swiss Social Democracy. Gruetli. Einthe Swiss Social Democracy. What a disgrace, of the Socialist parties, as well as the modes of tracht. Frits Platten. My German Pamphlet: he said at these first meetings, that the workescape from the catastrophe. Platten undertook The War and the International. Socialist Append critical moment. But hope that they will yet ers should again have bent their backs in this the task of distributing the pamphlet, and saw ages to the General Staff.
show, before this war is over, that they know to it that several thousand copies were forwarded was alWISS Socialism is bound by ties of language also for themselves. And from Platten lips how die, not only in the service of others, but ready in France, and read with astonishment on the one hand to the Socialism of Germany these are not phrases. In 1905, when the Revolu that a German judge had sentenced me, in absenone of the French papers a telegram reportin and on the other to that of France. It was tion broke out in Russia, Fritz, then a young man entirely natural that the crisis in these two pow. of twenty, decided to take active part in it, jour phlet. must confess that the Hohenzollern erful Socialist parties should at once express neyed to Riga, fought in the first ranks, and acitself in Switzerland, enclosed as the quired at first hand a thorough acquaintance with have not shown undue haste in serving, did me judge, in thus sentencing me to a term which all sides by the fires of war. The struggle was mirrored all the more fiercely due to the fact the head of the general strike in Zurich, as one of patriotic fabricators and ideological snillers a favor that was quite valuable. To the socialthat the Swiss social patriots were naturally atits most determined and most influential leaders.
tracted by the contradictory centres of gravitaof tion, the German side and the French side. In Already in September, 1914, the Eintracht court, pronounced on me, will be a hard mit 10 this connection the following case of political Executive Committee worked out an aggressive crack when they turn their distinguished talents symmetry is rather characteristic. In the Swiss internationalist manifesto, and invited the lead in the direction of proving that nm at bottom Parliament there sit two deputies with identical ers of the party to a constituent meeting, at an ngent of the German (cncral Starr.
family names and identical Christian names; which was to defend the manifesto in a lecture. The French Customs, in their turn, held up the they are Johann Sieg, of Zurich, and Jean Sieg, of But the leaders. did not show up: they consi przekage of pamphlets that had been sent from Geneva. Both are social patriots, but Johann dered it too risky to take a definite position in Switzerland, and informed me that the pamphlets Sieg is an outright Germanophile, while Jean Sieg such a delicate question, prefering a passive wait would be confiscated lucause of their German is a still more outright Frantophile. Under these ing attitude, and limiting themselves to an acader original. One of my Russian friends informou circumstances the internationalist policy of the mic criticism of the patriotic extravagances Gustavellerve about this, and Gustavellerve that time still had his moments of opposition: dle ground of self preservation. The internation way, is the political mentality that is most freal position met with very general favor in the quently found in all the Socialista circles of the spirit, and in La Guerre Sociale, lerve pupper a satirical note directed against ranks of the party (and it was my privilege in neutral countries, the United States among them: the confiscation of this anti German pamphlet.
those days to attend many party meetings. but in fact it is more outspoken here than anywhere For this or for some other reason, the Custom: this was not the case in the party leadership. else. This was written about one month before delivered to me, a few days later, the package The support of the right national wing of the America entry into the war.
that they had held up.
party was clearly the Gruetli organization, that The Eintracht association almost unanimous It is hardly necessary to say that the German th of pamphlet as a secret this body was found to be the former pastor and served as a serious stimulus to the pull What is the relative proportion of conscidefender of the interests of the Pflueger, one of the party representatives in the opinion of the party.
Federal Parliament. If were the German Em At the Party Congress at Berne, to which refer ous misrepresentation and of chauvinistic fanat: peror, he declared at one of the party meetings, ence had been already made, an address on the ism in accusations of this type? It would not be in which the first dispute with respect to the war war was delivered by Judge Otto Lang. The tone easy to determine. At any rate, so much iy cerwas being carried on, also should have stood by of the lecture was that of a very moderate inter tain: Social patriotism debascs men morally and with drawn sword to oppose the Russian. nationalism, approaching the present position of mentally to such an extent that they are prevented Months later, Pflueger repeated the same sent Kautsky. But the attitude of the majority of the from seeing in a Socialist simply a Socialist ani ence at the Party Congress at Berne, but, unfort Congress was incomparably more determined nothing more. When two feudal serfs met on the unately for him, his eloquent oratory did not pro than that of the lecturer. In fact, in general, in road they would ask each other: Whose man duce the desired effect; there arose a great noise, the time of the war, the Swiss Party accomplished are you. belong to Sheremetyeff. And laughter, whistling, hisses, and the unhappy a swift maneuver to the left, with the result we belong to Bobrinsky. Evidently the feudal candidate for the post of German Emperor found that a considerable section of the Gruetli people notion of belonging to somebody is deeply anhimself unable to finish his speech.
were left high and dry, and were thus obliged to chored in the breasts of the social patriots. The The focus of the left wing was the organizatior form an independent reformist and social patriot interests of which general staff does he defend?
known as Eintracht, which was recruited alic party. In this fact, it may be mentioned by the The Romanoff master or the Hohenzollern master. most exclusively from among the foreigners: way, is another plain illustration of the extreme These people are beginning to lose the ability to Germans, Austrians, Russians, etc. of real Swissly profound gulf that separates social patriotism see that it is possible to be an enemy of all masSocialists in this organization, the most active from internationalism.
ters at once, to follow one own flag, and to feel was Fritz Platten, Secretary of the Executive My stay in Switzerland was, as far as was one self. to use Fritz Adler beautiful expresCommittee of the Party. He was of tall stature, concerned, taken up chiefly with my work on my sion a soldier in the cternal army of social revwith a frank, open face, an excellent popular ora pamphlet, written in German, entitled The Inolution.
tor, himself a proletarian by birth and by his ternational and the War. The pamphlet arose The latest number of the internationalist gazette.
mode of life, although was married to a Rus out of my diary, into which entered, during the Nachalo, arriving from Paris, brings the news that this sian student. Platten represents, in himself, one first few weeks, at first only for my own use, an former social democrat of the Second Duma has been dismissed even from the personnel of the not over fastidious social patriotic paper Prityy.
Alien Democracy in Russia few days ago reports reaching the United States By Gregory Weinstein cay a dispatch was published to the effect that the told of two coups etat which took place almost ticular in their choice of means, while fighting SocialAllies are marching toward Kiev. The fact that this simultaneously in two different parts of Russia Kiev dispatch canic on the heels of another dispatch telling ist Russia.
and Omsk. In the former case Hetman Skoropadsky alwut the coup etat in Kiev, shows that the coinci.
The Allied plan of liberating Russia by a simulgovernment was deposed, a government forced upon taneous attack on her both from the north and the dence of the two cvents was 110f merely accidental.
the Ukrainian people by the German imperialists; in Far East, has evidently failed. Both expeditions have Cienerally swaking, the Allies need their own men the latter case the Social Revolution Cadet coalition, made very little progress.
in Kiev and also in llkraina. But what are the cle.
bearing the high sounding name of a directorate The Archangel expedition, according to the latest Inents with what contact should clicclce in conder and one time having apparently the Allied sympathy war bulletins from the Murman front, hias brought form in exive belle lu filet the Holsheviki?
on its side, was put out of business.
nothing but great sacrifices and want to the invading Selt, it can be letrcan Skoropalacky wlu.
The coups have certain common characteristics. In troops. While in the Far East differences have arisen er immer well loy luis aan witli both cases the coups etat were led by the ex Czar among the Allies themselves. Besides, the Samara the hui. Junken llence, it has in Hy generals: in Kiev by General Denkine, in Oinsk by fa Omsk Vladivostok government has not justi lu inaker of the former (rar generals, wit the former commander of the Black Flee Admiral fied their expectations. Even the Czecho Slovaks, who las leren all the time operating in the south of Russi.
Kolchak. Moreover, the two coups, if we are to judge have been made so happy by being made a present of On the other hand, it has become necessary for the from the newspaper comments, were approved by intheir independence by the Allies, even they have Allics to cut the complicated Siberian knot, at any ternational Imperialism.
turned ingrate and want to return to their own coun cost. The Omsk directorate has become too complex, Should the latter assumption prove to be correcttry as soon as possible.
unworkabic and wliat is more important, an impotent and there is little doubt that such is the case we have Thus the plan had to be altered somewhat, some piece of machinery. It has become urgent before us a picture of a touching ion between the corrections had to be made. Probably such correc strong hand, a military dictator who could at least western democracies and the servants of Russian tions have been the coups etat of Kiev and Omsk. successfully grapple with the passive resistance offerCzarism. Indeed, there is nothing extraordinary in Undoubtedly, with the seizure of the Dardanelles ed by the Siberian population to intervention. And such a union. It would merely bring the Allied policy, the Allies will not fail to utilize the way thus made again the choice naturally falls on a military tool of as regards Russia, to its logical conclusion, and once open to the Black Sea ports, in order to attack Russia Czarism.
more prove that the exponents of democracy and from the south. News of the landing of Allied troops Are the Allies becoming practical politicians? Are self determination of nationalities are not very par in Odessa has already been reported, and the other they turning into restorers of the old despotic regime?
have a