Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

NOTEBOOK “ξ”

(“XI”)

PRESS EXCERPTS

L’Echo de Paris, October 13, 1914;

“The Junius Article”, in connection with Jouhaux’s conversation with Legien.

...“What a lesson—if only our trade-unionists were prepared to take advantage of it—is afforded by this conversation of M. Jouhaux, secretary of the General Confederation of Labour, with the German socialist deputy, Herr Legien, on July 24 last, and at Brussels!—The date and place are symbolic. ‘What do you intend to do to avoid war?’ asked M. Jouhaux. ‘Have you decided to take action? For our part, we are ready to respond.’ And he adds: ‘Though the questions were put several times, Legien made no reply. We left Brussels convinced that we would have to abandon our confidence in the good will of the German organisations.’ What conclusion does he draw from this disappointment? I continue to quote his text: ‘We shall draw up an indictment to remind everyone that the sole means of assuring firm and lasting international relations is everywhere to take identical action for peace against war.’ The latest developments have shown him that such joint action is not possible. He considers that an accident and continues to cherish a utopia, the very thought of which makes one shudder. What would have happened if Herr Legien had been a less honest man and had promised his naïve questioner assistance which later would not have been forthcoming?” But let us not think of catastrophes which have not happened. And Junius goes on to lecture M. Jouhaux:

“People of the type of M. Jouhaux accept, and rightly, the existence of class, or rather occupational, interests.... But they fail to notice one thing, namely, that an occupation exists only within a country. Before belonging to a class, the worker or peasant, just like the bourgeois, belongs to a nation.... Consequently, if the workman belongs to a country before belonging to a class, the country’s interest takes precedence over that of the class. The whole error of international trade unionism lies in not recognising this subordination, which is in the very nature of things. It is not a question of failure to accept class interests. It is a question of putting them in their right place.... The false dogmas of internationalism did not stand up for a single hour against the evidence of national necessity.... We only ask of them [the trade unionists] to understand the lesson of this war and, when considering their class interests, to do so in context with the national interest. Then we shall be able to reach agreement.” Junius. (End of article.)

Volksrecht, No. 241, October 16, 1914.

W. “What the War Has Cost.”

War costs:

First two months of war,
all belligerent states—6,250 million francs.

“The next eight weeks of war will cost twice as much”....

Leroy-Beaulieu—in l’Humanité—estimates the cost at 1,000 million a month for each of the five big states; seven months: 5 ✕ 7 = 35 + 15 small states and neutrals. Σ = 50,000 million.

Clerics on the war:

The curé Babut (French) drew up a projet de déclaration (which he sent to German priests):

“The undersigned, Christians of Germany, Great Britain, Austria, France, Russia, Belgium, and Serbia, moved and distressed by the conflict which is ravaging and ensanguining Europe, declare:

“1° Being deeply attached to their respective countries, they do not wish to do or say anything that would not be consistent with the sincere and ardent patriotism that animates them,

“2° but at the same time they cannot forget or deny that God is the God of all nations and the Father of all people, that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of all; that He commanded his people to regard and love one another as brothers, and that for the evangelical faith, as St. Paul declares, there are no Jews and Greeks, barbarians and Scythians—and, consequently, there are no Germans and French, Austrians and Russians, but Christ is everything in all people.

“In consequence, they pledge themselves, in the sight of and with the help of God, to banish from their hearts all hate of those whom they are now compelled to call their enemies, and to do good to them if the opportunity occurs; to use all their influence to ensure that the war is waged with as much humanity as possible, that the victor, whoever he may be, does not abuse his power, and that the persons and rights of the weak shall be respected; to continue to love with a fraternal love their brothers in the faith, whatever their nationality, to pray to God on behalf of all victims of the war without exception, and insistently to implore Him soon to cause the horrors of war to be succeeded by the blessings of a just and final peace, and to make the unfortunate and cruel events which we are witnessing help the advent of His divine Kingdom.”

(Journal de Genève, October 17, 1914.)

This letter was written on August 4, 1914. It was sent by M. Babut, the venerable pastor of Nimes, to Herr Dryander, the German court chaplain in Berlin.

Dryander replied, with a long letter, dated September 15, 1914, and signed by himself and two other clerics (Lahusen and Axenfeld)—(Journal de Genève, October 18, 1914):

...“we fully agree with propositions 1 and 2. They are part of the patrimony common to all Christians. Patriotism and Christianity are not mutually exclusive, on the contrary, they presuppose each other”...

the remainder, however, we accept in principle, but we cannot sign it, not wanting to give occasion, even the most remote, for it to be thought that Germany is not waging the war in accordance with the principles of humanity, etc. We (the letter says) did not want war, we are a peaceful people, etc., etc. The aggressors are the British and the others, etc., etc.

N.B. Volksrecht (1914) No. 239 (“Towards Eternal Peace”) and No. 242 (Bernstein).

Frankfurter Zeitung (1914) No. 291 (second morning edition), October 20 (Scheidemann in favour of the war).