APPENDIX II MEMORANDUM ON WAR AIMS AGREED UPON AT THE INTER-ALLIED LABOUR AND SOCIALIST CON FERENCE, CENTRAL HALL, WESTMINSTER, LONDON, S. W., FEB- I. THE WAR The Conference declares that whatever may have been the cause of the outbreak of war, it is clear that the peoples of Europe, who are necessarily the chief sufferers from its horrors, had themselves no hand in it. The Conference sees no reason to depart from the following declaration unanimously agreed to at the Conference of the Socialist and Labour Parties of the Allied Nations on February 14th, 1915: "This Conference cannot ignore the profound general causes of the European conflict, itself a monstrous product of the antagonisms which tear asunder capitalist society and the aggressive policy of colonialism and imperialism, against which International Socialism has never ceased to fight, and in which every Government has its share of responsibility. “The invasion of Belgium and France by the German armies threatens the very existence of independent nationalities, and strikes a blow at all faith in treaties. In these circumstances a victory for German Imperialism would be the defeat and the destruction of democracy and liberty in Europe. The Socialists of Great Britain, Belgium, France, Italy,' and Russia do not pursue the political and economic crushing of Germany; they are not at war with the peoples, but only with the Governments by which they are oppressed. They demand that Belgium shall be liberated and compensated. They demand that the question of Poland shall be settled in accordance with the 'The word “Italy" was added February 24th, 1918, at the request of the Italian delegation. wishes of the Polish people, either in the sense of autonomy in the midst of another State, or in that of complete independence. They demand that throughout all Europe, from Alsace-Lorraine to the Balkans, those populations that have been annexed by force shall receive the right freely to dispose of themselves. "While inflexibly resolved to fight until victory is achieved to accomplish this task of liberation, the Socialists are none the less resolved to resist any attempt to transform this defensive war into a war of conquest, which would only prepare fresh conflicts, create new grievances, and subject various peoples ·more than ever to the double plague of armaments and war. "Convinced that they are remaining true to the principles of the International, the members of the Conference express the hope that the working classes of all the different countries, recognising the identity of their fundamental interests, will before long find themselves united again in their struggle against militarism and capitalist Imperialism. The victory of the Allied Powers must be a victory for popular liberty, for unity, independence, and autonomy of the nations in the peaceful Federation of the United States of Europe and the world.” 2. MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY Whatever may have been the objects for which the War was begun, the fundamental purpose of the Conference in supporting the continuance of the struggle is that the world may henceforth be made safe for Democracy. Of all the conditions of Peace none is so important to the peoples of the world as that there should be henceforth on earth no more War. Whoever triumphs, the peoples will have lost unless an international system is established which will prevent war. It would mean nothing to declare the right of peoples to self-determination if this right were left at the mercy of new violations, and was not protected by a Supernational Authority. That authority can be no other than the League of Nations, which not only all the present belligerents, but every other independent state, should be pressed to join. The constitution of such a League of Nations implies the immediate establishment of an International High Court, not only for the settlement of all disputes between states that are of justiciable nature, but also for prompt and effective mediation between states in other issues that vitally interest the power or honour of such states. It is also under the control of the League of Nations that the consultation of peoples for purposes of self-determination must be organised. This popular right can be vindicated only by popular vote. The League of Nations shall establish the procedure of international jurisdiction, fix the methods which will guarantee a free and genuine election, restore the political rights of individuals which violence and conquest may have injured, repress any attempt to use pressure or corruption, and prevent any subsequent reprisals. It will be also necessary to form an International Legislature in which the representatives of every civilised state would have their allotted share, and energetically push forward, step by step, the development of International Legislation agreed to by and definitely binding upon the several states. By a solemn agreement all the states and peoples consulted shall pledge themselves to submit every issue between two or more of them to arbitration as aforesaid. Refusal to accept arbitration or to submit to the settlement will imply deliberate aggression, and all the nations will necessarily have to make common cause, by using any and every means at their disposal, either economic or military, against any state or states refusing to submit to the arbitration award, or attempting to break the world's covenant of peace. But the sincere acceptance of the rules and decisions of the Supernational Authority implies the complete democratisation in all countries; the removal of all the arbitrary powers who until now have assumed the right of choosing between peace and war; the maintenance or creation of legislatures elected by and intended to express the sovereign right of the people; the suppression of secret diplomacy, to be replaced by the conduct of foreign policy under the control of popular legislatures, and the publication of all treaties, which must never be in contravention of the stipulations of the League of Nations, with the absolute responsibility of the Government, and more particularly of the Foreign Minister, of each country to its Legislature. Only such a policy will enforce the frank abandonment of every form of Imperialism. When based on universal democracy, in a world in which effective international guarantees against aggression have been secured, the League of Nations as will achieve the complete suppression of force as the means of settling international differences. The League of Nations, in order to prepare for the concerted abolition of compulsory military service in all countries, must first take steps for the prohibition of fresh armaments on land and sea, and for the common limitation of the existing armaments by which all the peoples are already overburdened; as well as the control of war manufactures and the enforcement of such agreements as may be agreed to thereupon. The state must undertake such manufactures themselves, so entirely to abolish profit-making armament firms, whose pecuniary interest lies always in the war scares and progressive competition in the preparation for war. The nations, being armed solely for self-defence and for such action as the League of Nations may ask them to take in defence of international right, will be left free, under international control, either to create a voluntarily recruited force or to organise the nation for defence without professional armies for long terms of military service. To give effect to the above principles, the Conference declares that the rules upon which the League of Nations will be founded must be included in the Treaty of Peace, and will henceforward become the basis of the settlement of differences. In that spirit the Conference expresses its agreement with the propositions put forward by President Wilson in his last message: ist. That each part of the final settlement must be based upon the essential justice of that particular case and upon such adjustments as are most likely to bring a peace that will be permanent; 2nd. That peoples and provinces are not to be bartered about from sovereignty to sovereignty as if they were chattels and pawns in a game, even the great game now for ever discredited of the balance of power; but that 3rd. Every territorial settlement involved in this War must be made in the interest and for the benefit of the populations concerned, and not as a part of any mere adjustment or compromise of claims among rival states; and 4th. That all well-defined national aspirations shall be accorded the utmost satisfaction that can be accorded them without introducing new or perpetuating old elements of discord and antagonism that would be likely in time to break the peace of Europe, and consequently of the world. 3. TERRITORIAL QUESTIONS The Conference considers that the proclamation of principles of international law accepted by all nations, and the substitution of a regular procedure for the forceful acts by which states calling themselves sovereign have hitherto adjusted their differences-in short, the establishment of a League of Nations-gives an entirely new aspect to territorial problems. The old diplomacy and the yearnings after domination by states, or even by peoples, which during the whole of the 19th century have taken advantage of and corrupted the aspirations of nationalities, have brought Europe to a condition of anarchy and disorder which have led inevitably to the present catastrophe. The Conference declares it to be the duty of the Labour and Socialist Movement to suppress without hesitation the Imperialist designs in the various States which, even in this war, have led one Government after another to seek, by the triumph of military force, to acquire either new territories or economic advantages. The establishment of a system of international law, and the guarantees afforded by a League of Nations, ought to remove the last excuse for those strategic protections which nations have hitherto felt bound to require. It is the supreme principle of the right of each people to determine its own destiny that must now decide what steps should be taken by way of restitution or reparation, and whatever territorial readjustments may be found to be necessary at the close of the present War. The Conference accordingly emphasises the importance to the Labour and Socialist Movement of a clear and exact definition of what is meant by the right of each people to determine its own destiny. Neither unity of race nor identity of language can be regarded as affording more than a presumption in favour of federation or unification. During the 19th century theories of this kind have so often served as a cloak for aggression that the International cannot but seek to prevent any recurrence of such an evil. Any adjustments of boundaries |