Page:Solomon Abramovich Lozovsky - The World's Trade Union Movement (1924).pdf/51

 Rh 132 billion gold marks. In this manner the final sum of reparations, besides all kinds of deliveries and economic concessions, was brought down to that "small" but, in fact, gigantic contribution.

What have the leaders of the Amsterdam International been doing at a time when these colossal demands were being drawn, demanding from Germany more than she could ever pay? Considering the question of reparations they always brought forward the idea that it is, of course, necessary to pay, in a somewhat decent manner, through the League of Nations, respecting all the "rights" and jurisdictional forms. But the Amsterdamers never went further than the phraseology of "international rights."

We see that to this sore and vital question of present day international politics, to the question which is now dividing the whole world, bringing about conflicts between countries, bringing about the destruction of all Central Europe, to this question the Amsterdam International approached and is still approaching from the Allied point of view, and is demanding that the German workers shall rebuild all that was destroyed by German imperialism. At the same time the Amsterdamers perfectly knew that reparations means for the Germans a further enslavement of the German workers and worsening the conditions of the working masses of Germany.

Judging by this question we can understand the position that this International has in the present day struggle of the working class. I will say more, if all the literature about the Amsterdam International would disappear, or we might say, would burn up, the future historian about one or two hundred years later would be able to judge the position of the Amsterdam International in this epoch of dissolution of capitalism, which we are living through, by its resolution on reparations.

The next question is the problem of disarmament. It is known that the war was conducted for the sake of destroying "Militarism." The government leaders of Europe and America promised that as soon as Prussian militarism would be broken, they would begin disarmament, and the people would be relieved of all those military obligations which existed before and after the war. This myth about disarmament and the possibility of disarmament under capitalist society was spread by reformists of all kinds. The role of the reformists during the war was to ennoble all dishonorable motives which the bourgeoisie of every country had.

It seemed that with the victory of the Allies came the time for disarmament, The reformist leaders of the trade union and socialist movement, which for a couple of years had been repeating the pacifist