The Daily Worker

Two Recent Meetings of the Yellow International

By P. FRIEDLANDER (Berlin)

Two Conferences of the Second International have been held in London: On Feb. 8 and 9 there was a "Four Countries' Conference," and on Feb. 11 and 12 a session of the Executive of the Second International.

Government Socialists.

The Four Countries Conference was a gathering of government socialists. MacDonald took the chair. The Conference was participated in by leaders of the English, French, German and Belgian socialist parties. It resembled in character one of the customary ministerial conferences of these countries.

A veil of secret diplomacy was spread over it. No report was issued on the debates, but merely an empty communique. According to this, "the problems of reparations and of the inter-allied debts, as also the question of the evacuation of the Rhine country" have been "examined," and the result of this examination is stated (precisely in the manner of the ministerial communique) to be that the social democratic statesmen "have unanimously agreed on the attitude to be adopted in the present circumstances."

At the same time attention is drawn to the "general principles" laid down at former Four Countries Conferences, and also at the last, which was held in Luxemburg. This last reference is clear enough. For, as subsequently became known, at the Four Countries' Conference held at Luxemburg the socialists, including the Germans, agreed on a decision in which the question of the evacuation of the Rhine country was bound up with financial payments in return on the part of Germany.

They have therefore proved themselves to be the auxiliary troops of the imperialists.

Support of Own Imperialists.

The practical policy pursued by the socialist leaders in the different countries, where they have stuck to their bourgeoisie, through thick and thin, has only served to emphasize this. The actual meaning of the London Conference is, therefore, solely that the social imperialists mutually leave one another a free hand to support the imperialist policy of their bourgeoisie, and thereby secure first of all the welding together of the war bloc against the Soviet Union.

The Four Countries' Conference was followed by the session of the Executive of the Second International. Its object was to furnish suitable accompanying music to the policy of the imperialist powers in the present period. A recent fresh appeal to the League of Nations aided them in this purpose. To the ex-prime minister, MacDonald, even this slight attempt at cloaking the imperialist policy of the Second International, customary as it is on the occasion of Executive meetings, appeared superfluous. Hence he demonstratively absented himself, although it took place in London.

Fake Disarmament.

The question of disarmament was dealt with by the Dutch representative Albarda (in order to save the allies of the imperialist great powers from embarrassment the report is delivered by a Dutchman!) and a telegram to the Secretariat of the League of Nations resolved upon, in which the expectation is expressed "that the Preparatory Disarmament Commission of the League of Nations will speedily bring its labors to a successful conclusion."

In view of the obvious collapse of the efforts of the Disarmament Commission and the postponement of its meeting, as stigmatized in the eyes of the whole world by Comrade Litvinov in a letter to the president of the Disarmament Commission, Loudon, at the time of the Lugano Conference, this expectation on the part of the heroes of the Second International bears the stamp of absurdity on the face of it, and is characteristic of the mendacity of their policy in the struggle against imperialism.

In order to do something further, a "program of action" was also decided upon. This included, among other things, an appeal to the socialist parties, likewise to send the above telegram to the Disarmament Commission. Further, the "drawing up of a joint plan of action in favor of disarmament, in touch with the Trade Union International." These cloaking over "plans" and "actions" of the Second International are only too familiar to us.