the nation, to organize it, to support it in a struggle which will be and which must be relentless, he had need of the help of all, and most particularly, perhaps, of those who feared for the emancipation of the proletariat and humanity, and dreaded the formidable oppression of despotism. He knew that in all grave hours, in 1793 as in 1870, it was in these men, these Socialists, these revolutionists, that the nation placed its confidence.

Spontaneously, without waiting any other demonstration of the popular will, he has appealed to our party. Our party has replied, "Here!"

Above all, comrades, the presence of our friends in the government will furnish for all the guarantee that republican democracy is ready to struggle to the end.

How many times has our great Jaurès, foreseeing even a preliminary French reversal under an attack of superior numbers, insisted upon the necessity of this struggle? He would have wished for France to be prepared in every detail. But no matter what this stubborn resistance costs, it is our duty to organize it, and, further, upon it depends the common success of our allies. Our friends will urge forward the nation to this resistance.

To-day, as yesterday, after the first tests, as in the enthusiasm of mobilization, we know we are struggling not only for the existence of the country, not only for the greatness of France, but for liberty, for the republic, for civilization.

We are struggling that the world, freed from the stifling oppression of imperialism and from the atrocities of war, may finally enjoy peace in respecting the rights of all. (Our italics.)

Particularly remarkable was the acceptance of one of these Cabinet positions by Jules Guesde, one of the world's leading Marxists and an ardent opponent of all coalition with non-Socialist Ministries-in times of peace. Yet his statement at this time was even stronger than that of the party. He said:

I go into the Cabinet as an envoy of my party, not to govern, but to fight. If I were younger I would have shouldered a gun. But as my age does not permit me to do this,

I will nevertheless face the enemy and defend the cause of humanity.

I am confident of final victory, and without hesitation as to its subsequent rôle in France, the party will never deviate from the line of conduct laid out.

France has been attacked, and she will have no more ardent defenders than the workmen's party.

The solidarity of workmen does not shut out the right to defend themselves against traitor workmen. Nor does international solidarity exclude the right of one nation to defend itself against a government which is traitor to the peace of Europe.

We have the evidence of Joseph Steiner, writing in the official weekly of the German Party (Die Neue Zeit), that the entrance of Guesde and Sembat into the Cabinet met the approval of practically all the Socialists and labor unionists of France.

It is generally known that the government after the defeats in Belgium and northern France, reconstituted itself as a government of national defense, and that the Socialist Party of France delegated two of its members to enter into this government, Comrades Sembat and Guesde. It should be emphasized at this point that this delegation from the party was never conceived of as a political coalition, but from the first was limited to the object which the government had given as the basis of its existence, the defense of the country. Nowhere has any opposition worth mentioning arisen against this participation either within the party or among the unions. Jouhaux, the Secretary of the Confederation of Labor, even went so far as to offer his services to the government for the projected tour of propaganda, for the strengthening of the resistance against the invading enemy.

We may add to this statement that not only did all the Socialist and labor union leaders rally to the support of the war, but the same was true also of all the famous intellectual leaders among the French Socialists, such as Anatole France, who went so far as to write a letter offering his services to the Minister of War.

CHAPTER XIV

BELGIUM

THE Belgian Socialists cast half a million votes though under the unequal suffrage laws they secure only 40 of the 186 deputies of the Belgian parliament. Ten years ago their vote was only a little over 300,000.

On August 3d the Council of the Socialist organization, the Belgian Labor Party, decided to abandon the anti-war demonstrations above referred to (see Chapter IX) and resolved to issue a manifesto to Socialist workmen, in which it was declared that by exercising the legitimate right of self-defense they were fighting against barbarism and for political liberty and democracy.

The Council also decided that the Socialist Party in the Chamber should vote the necessary war credits. The following is the manifesto:

To the People: The European War is declared.

In a few days, a few hours perhaps, millions of men who ask only to live in peace will be dragged without their consent into the most appalling of butcheries by treaties to which they have not agreed, by a decision with which they had nothing to do.

The Social Democracy bears no responsibility in this disaster.

It shrank from nothing to warn the people, to prevent the folly of armaments, to drive back the catastrophe which will strike all European communities.

But to-day the harm is done, and by the fatality of events one thought dominates us: that soon, perhaps, we shall have to direct our efforts to stopping the invasion of our territory. We do so with all the more ardent hearts in that in de

fending the neutrality and even the existence of our country against militarist barbarism we shall be conscious of serving the cause of democracy and of political liberty in Europe.

Our comrades who are called to the colors will show how Socialist workers can conduct themselves in the face of danger. But whatever the circumstances in which they find themselves, we ask them never to forget, among the horrors they will see perpetrated, that they belong to the Workers' International, and that they must be fraternal and humane as far as is compatible with their legitimate individual defense and that of the country.

Our readers will notice from the documents in Part IV that this action of the Belgian Socialists has received very little adverse criticism anywhere. What criticism has arisen has been confined to individuals, even in Germany. Indeed, approval has been generally expressed or implied, including that of the majority of German Socialists, and with only one important exception, that of the Socialists of Russia.

The position taken by the Belgian Socialists was further defined by their acceptance of a place in the Ministry a few days after the declaration of war. After a few weeks the new Minister, Émile Vandervelde, went on a mission to Great Britain and America, where he made several brief statements to the Socialists and the general public. On account of the official and diplomatic character of his mission these statements vary considerably, so we are forced to give several of them in whole or in part. As they discuss the war in a general way they are closely related to the documents in Part IV, but they are still more valuable in aiding in the understanding of the original position of the Belgian Socialists. Isolated these statements might give a false impression of Vandervelde's attitude; taken all together it is probable that they give a correct impression of his position and that of the majority of Belgian Socialists.

Vandervelde has an exceptionally high rank among the world's Socialists, as he is Chairman of the International Socialist Bureau.

We give brief citations from five statements, each dealing with a new point and helping to define his attitude as a whole:

IS IT A WAR AGAINST MILITARISM?

(Interview in Justice, London)

I consider the war, on the Allies' side, is a great fight against militarism. We did not wish for war; it was forced upon us by the violation of our neutrality. That was why I joined the Belgian Ministry, now a ministry for national defense, and that is the reason why Sembat and Guesde have entered the new French Cabinet. It will interest our English comrades to know that the French Government is distributing from aëroplanes the manifesto of the French and Belgian Socialists to the German people (see Chapter XIII); and that the Russian Embassy has conveyed a message from me to the Socialist members of the Russian Duma (see Chapter XXV). The spirit of the Belgian soldiers, who are Socialists, was strikingly manifested in the defense of Liège. They greeted the oncoming of the German attack by singing the "International." In the fighting line I have been warmly greeted by our comrades. That which is particularly odious in the violation of Belgian territory by the armies of the Kaiser is not so much the violation itself as the policy of terrorism and brutality which has been pursued throughout, and which seems to have no other object than that of vengeance on the Belgians because they have defended the territory and barred the way against the invading hosts.

SOCIALISM IS AT STAKE

(The Nation, London)

In Belgium, as in France, the entire democracy, without exception and without reserve, have rallied round the government with the firm conviction that in the present struggle the whole future of Liberalism and Socialism in Europe is at stake. Until the very last moment we, along with our friends