Page:Jean Jaurès socialist and humanitarian 1917.djvu/98

 grew, and in 1900, a split occurred at the Conference of Lyons when a large part of the Guesdists broke away. In 1901 the party called the Socialistes Revolutionnaires followed them and these two sections formed "Le Parti Socialiste de France." Another body called "Le Parti Socialiste Français " was formed under the leadership of Jaurès, Briand, Viviani and others.

It was during this time that Jaurès and his friends were joining in the attack on the Romish Church with which the 20th century opened. It has been said that this attack was made and carried forward to a successful issue by a small group of determined men and that there was at no time any widespread demand for it in the country. Yet it is certain that the struggle, liable as it was to excite the deepest emotions and to rouse the bitterest feelings, could not have ended in such a complete defeat for the Church if the general atmosphere had not been sympathetic to its aims.

It is true that the Church, and particularly the Head of the Church, made every possible mistake. The Pope gave his foes all the openings they required, and the loyalty of some French Catholics to him must at times have been strained to breaking point. It had become evident as a result of the revelations that had followed the Dreyfus case that the power of the Catholic orders, and especially that of the Jesuits had