112 113 THE CLASS STRUGGLE be recognized by the whole revolutionary democracy and to whom the Pro visional Government could hand over its authority without a struggle; Therefore, the Menshevik Fraction calls upon the Congress to recognize officially the absolute necessity of an amicable settlement of the crisis thus produced, by forming a government composed of representatives of all the democratic elements; and the Menshevik Internationalists, with this purpose in view, offer the Congress to appoint a delegation to consult with the other organs of democracy and with all the socialistic parties.
And, until the results of the work of this delegation shall become apparent, the Menshevist Internationalist Fraction proposes to the Congress that it discontinue its labors.
Current Affairs The Peace Negotiations To very many people the course of the peace negotiations at Brest Litowsk must have come as a complete surprise. This is particularly true of the Socialists of this country. For at least six months before the beginning of these negotiations the organs of public opinion representing the dominant faction of the Socialist party of this coutry have been assuring us that Germany had accepted the peace terms of the Russian Revolution. In these efforts to persuade us that Russia and Germany were in full accord on the subject of peace terms, the spokesmen of the dominant faction of the Socialist party were ably seconded by their antipodes extremes do meet the pro war element of the Socialist movement of this country, whose spokesmen, the eminent Mr. Walling in the lead, went the regulars one better by assuring all who would listen that the Russian peace terms were in fact made in Germany. And now come Von Kuehlmann and Trotzky and haggle for weeks over terms about which they had been in agreement all along and threaten to break off negotiations because of differences of opinion which did not exist. Isn it exasperating?
But the Socialists are not the only ones who have good cause to complain of the unaccountable pig headedness of the delegates assembled at Brest Litowsk. There are our so called liberals, for instance. For months, and in some cases for years, they have been clamoring for a negotiated peace with the emphasis on negotiated. To them there was magic in negotia tion, no matter who negotiated or under what circumstances.
Conference was therefore their watchword. You just get the representatives of the belligerent countries around the green table and a just peace is sure to result. And here are the Germans and Russians assembled at the green table for a month and a half with no peace in sight and not a chance in a million for a just peace. Truly astounding!
To those, however, who have eyes to see and no axes to grind the negotiations are running their normal course. That Von