Pioneer

POLITICAL NOTES By F. W. Jowett, M.P. PAGE 2.

Great Demonstrations at Leicester- -Splendid Speeches by Macdonald and Snowden. Philip Tells Why Negotiations Are Refused, And Demands The Overthrow Of The Government-Macdonald And The Lichnowsky Revelations. LEICESTER, Saturday. Leicester. the city of shoes, and the return of J. R. Macdonald to the Hause of Commons, ife again the scene of the I.L.P. Easter Conference after seventeen years and though we have been assured by our Comrade Murvy that the move- ment, and, consequently, one would say, the delegation. is seven, or seventeen, or seventy times what it was in those infantile days of the movement, we have so far been swallowed into the life of the city without any perceptible effect on its normal life. This is very markedly differ- ent from last year, when somehow one knew that we were in Leeds, and one oonstantly ran into our fellows, and yet of the two Leeds is by far the larger city. Perhaps it is because we are split into finer units than we were then, for Lck-ester has the same peculiarity as Cardiff, it possesses more cafe's and hotels to the square mile of its centre than one would expect. That leads me to one observation on our South Walian delegation that is in marked contrast with the represen tat ion of Scotland, Lancashire and most of the Northern areas. These districts, acting on their tfcual practice, are herding so far as possible into the same hotels so that on meet- ing a Lancashire friend and going with him to meet a mutual acquaintance of the Palatinate, one runs into a little'colony the accent of which from passage to smoke-room leaves no doubt in anyone's mind as to the district represented and the same is true of other areas, Scotland in par- ticular. Personally, I regard this practice as a foolosh one, and trust that the Welsh dele- gates will continue their present practice of mingling in small groups of three, four and five delegates with the delegates from the whole ^jountry o'er. That way one comes into contact viit]) a w'ider sphere, brea,th a Piorp cosmopoli- tan atmosphere, and is enabled to check and mt-asure progress industrially, politically and organically, more interestingly and usefully than one can possibly do by founding colonies and rubbing shoulders with one's own localities during the whole of the off-time that Conference will allow. THE RECEPTION. I But to re-turn to the Conference so far as we have got to-day. After we had got in each dele- gate picked up his hotel--and here the arrange- ments made by the Leicester comrades has been admirable—we washed, lunched, diner, or tea'd and followed the usual practice of going to have a look at the hall wherein we shall be domiciled for the next three days. The de Montfort Hall is a fine structure that promises to house us well, and as Murvy proudly pointed out to-night it is a piece of Socialism in practice-it is a municipal hall. After tha.t we congregated in a pretty little white-enamelled hall—the Oriental Room of Winn's Cafe—for the reception, and here we mingled with the war horses of the movement, picked up old friends and made new ones during the intervals of speech-making, and song and music. Maedonald said a few words of apology for Snowden's absence to-night, and we had a fine opportunity of listening to Alderman Banton, whom the Leicester comrades hope to Mind to Parliament as Macdonald's co-represen- tative of the city at the next election. The AJ derm an is one of the "old hands," for he was a member when the I.L.P. conference came he-re 17 back, and if he spoke then so trenchant- ly as he did to-night, the wonder is that he has not long ago been placed among the green benches of the Party. But most of all was I delighted to run up against Dick Wallileaci. and Muriel, looking so well, he after his holiday so- journ in Swansea Goal, and she after her un- fortunate war-time experience of poking ptomaine poison out of a tin of tongue. It was good to take part in the lionising of Dick and to pass a cheery word with Muriel before shaking hands with Ivor Thomas, who is as volatile as a Weltib spring morning, and' as popular as a Victoria Oross hero at a boy Scouts' bun-fight. All the faces that we have been cheering as they gazed at us from the platforms of our halls during the past twelve months, are here, and everyone of them looks happy and homely. We have all forgotten for to-day the war and its ugly turm just now, but we shall be reminded of it early to-morrow morning when the Conference really begins with the Demonstration and meet- ing at the de Montfort Hall. We have heard much to-night of the atmos- phere of Leicester and its democrati c tradition, and we have been assured that it will be mani- fested unto us ere we leave the city. Personally, I strongly believe in this psychology of a town, and I have been brought up in the belief that after Merthyr only two or three centres in the nation could boast it,-and Leicester is one; but I doubt whether any town can demonstrate this subtle side of its innermost being to anyone who is but a passing visitor. Anyhow we shall see soon now, and I hope that atmosphere if it does manifest itself will serve as a stimulant to those who live in less happy surroundings.

THE OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE. I MACDONALD'S GREAT SPEECH AT MORN.) ING DEMONSTRATION. I THE GERMAN MEMORANDUM & ITS USE. LEICESTER, Sunday. After a night or torrential rains, the opening morning of the Conference broke clear, rout chilly. By nine o'clock the delegates were begin- lung to make an appearance oh the streets in m search of Sunday papers, instead of the multi- tude of vendors they were faced with peaceful i pickets, sent out by the Newsagents Union, who displayed posters pointing out that there was in- dustrial strife in the retail department of the Sunday paper trade. A goodly number of per- sons refrained from spending their pennies owing to this; but an equally goodly number found their desire to know what the papers contained stronger than their' sympathy for the vendors, and the black-legs" throve. By half-past nine, however, we had other matters to think of for we were organised along with the Lei- cester comrades and their Sunday School-a really strong one—and accompanied by two bands, and with the banners of two trade unions—including the Boot and Shoe Operatives —and a large number of written bannerettes we paraded the town, bringing up finally at the magnificent de Montfort Hall, with its fine sur- roundings, and spacious light interior, capable of seating upwards of 5,000 souls. And we all but filled it, floor and gallery, with a gathering that enthused with truly Welsh fervour to the speeches that came from our leaders. The recep- tion accorded Macdonald was the finest I have even seen, and that given to Dick Wallhead when he followed him was scarcely one whit be- hind. It has been a glorious morning. THE CHAIRMAN OPENS. Our Chairman was Comrade Murvy, who did splendidly from the chair, though it must have momentarily damaged his popularity when, at the outset, he announced that owing to the state of things in the country it had been decided to cut out the dance from Monday night's social programme. Still we are here on business first, and* the. disappointment was quickly downed. Mr. Murvy read a very peculiar letter from Rowland Hill, President of the Leicester I.L.P., in which that gentleman in. expressing his re- gret for his inability to be present and join in the fight, complained bitterly of official perse- eutiofl--the reason for which he did not reveal, nor was it elucidated from the platform. A cheerier message was that of fraternal greetings sent by the Garment Workers' Trade Union from their general conference sitting in Manchester. TOM RICHARDSON'S SPEECH. Tom Richardson was the first national speaker put up, and a right royal welcome he had. He began by reminding us that this was our fourth Easter Conference held under the s hadow of the greatest war that history had re- corded, and touched lightly but feelingly upon the present military situation. We, he said, were not going to exploit that situation for poli- tical purposes, still .he wanted to say that no- thing had happened in Europe either militarilly, politically or diplomatically that had weakened in the least our faith in the righteousness of the attitude that the I.L.P. took up during the first terrible days of this awful war. (Cheers.) Further, whoever else had failed the nations, all helligerent alike, and, in some measure, the neutrals also, in this great crisis, it was not the soldier and it was not the sailor. No, it had been the so-called statesmen and diplomats! (Cheers.) In our effort to avoid further sacrifice, and save the salvage of all that was best in the nation's traditions and character, we of the 1.1,.P. were going to make our appeal to Demos, above and beyond our faithless politicians and statesmen. (Cheers.) The time had more than arrived when in the interests of all that was best in our national life, and in the rela-tionsiiips between nations we of the British nation niusffc ovolvo some. semblance of statesmanship that would be equal to the emer- gencies through which we in common with other civilisations, were passing. Therefore, he ap- pealed to evei-y man and woman to bring all the pressure they could command to bear upon Par- liament, and to hasten the day when we should have a new Government and new leaders. (Cheers.) A new Government which would, at least, be some approach to a true reflex of the considered judgment of the best minds in the country. (Cheers.) MACDONALD'S GREAT EFFORT. Hut the speech of the day was unquestionably that of J. R. Macdonald, whom I have never heard to such good effect as when lie here ad- dressed his own people. Indeed, after such a re- ception as he had, I should have been bitterly disappointed had he not eclipsed himself. Beginning in quiet Controlled tones he said There is a grip upon all our hearts this morn- ing, a grip that will remain so long as the trans- actions known as the Great War last. For days we have been opening our newspapers almost afraid to read them. A battle has been raging which in its proportions and in prowess puts away far in the background all those old battles of heroes -of which our my thologists speak. In order to get a real imaginative grip of that fight you have to read some of the cantos of Milton's Paradise Lost where archangels fought with God himself, and the hills were torn up and flung as missiles at the enemy. And what we have felt—we of the common people— every time that the postman's foot came down the street was that the knock on our door might be the announcement that the darkness of death was settin)g by our firesides, and we have seen in our imaginations our sons and our brothers out in that Hell, with hot faces fanned and cooled by the wings of the angel of death. And yet tile meanness, the iniquity, the shallow- ness of thought, and the bankruptcy of intelli- gence of some of our opponents have;actually led them to tell us that we cared nothing about that. We are told that we were asking you to come to our Easter Conference TO quarrel and to degrade the nation. ("No!"). The degradation is theirs, not ours! (Cheerci.) My friends, if I prefer to be here this morning and to come back into this hall to-night it is because I know that there are in France this day those who know that the I.L.P. is meeting in Leicester—(cheers)—and amidst all that soul-racking, all that heart- crushing experience their thoughts and their prayers are with us to-<la^. (Cheers.) I wish we, as well as the great ones of the earth, could send a message to thn,>»* men. (Cheers.) We are the people who begat them, we are the people who will live wi uh them when they oome back, we are the people at whose firesides they will sit, we are the people who—calling them by their Christian names—will testify that we be- long to the same family fraternity as they them- selves. OUR PEOPLE. I "On these occasions one feels all particulars to be hateful, repulsive and abominable, yet, my friends, feeling that as we do, who is more en- titled to sorrow with these men, to go to their widows and orphans and holding out our hands try to comfort them in their troubles; who is it that has appealed for reason; who has told the nation that the sword brings destruction, perdi- tion but that morality, conscience and reason awaken all the instincts to life and humanity, that, sheathes the sword not in a cowardly peace, but in. a democratic peace. (Cheers.) Our lips were not those that gave utterance to boasting during three years our newspapers were not the newspapers which before this great offensive started sneered at the enemy and challenged him to come on; we are not the people who said to you: I Peace this year,' Peace by Christmas we have nothing too contribute except the lives of our sons and our brothers. No, my friends, I would sleep uncomfortable in my bed if that was my record. (Cheers.) We have told you again and again that when the war came the Devil got on the saddle. We have told you again and again that while the war lasts it was vour duty, it was my duty, to spend every hour of our lives trying to banish, trying to remove, trying to abolish all the misunderstandings that keep the people apart, and that were used for excuses for Great Pushes' and for continued offensives. (Cheers.) And we say to you now as we said to you before, it is the duty of our statesmen to enable the people of England, of Scotland, of France, of Russia, of Italy, of Ger- many and of Austria to .k together. (Cheers.) I" RUSSIAN PEACE." I It is our duty to see to it that no chance is they talk to you lightly, as they have done from they talk to you lightly, as they have done, from the very beginning, of the Russian Peace,' First of all is it a peace? ("No! ") Is it not the sort of thing we have been saying all along would come ? Have we not all along said: 'Con- quer a people by the sword and you cannot bring peace? (Loud cheers.) Those are very old- fashioned accents for a Leicester hall. You can conquer a people; you can take their Capital city; you can smash their armies in the field; you can bring forward your terms and you can compel them to sign the-rn, and then the thing you have been trying to reach has eluded your grasp. You have no peace. You have a mili- tary truce; you have laid broader and stronger the foundations of militarism. (Cheers.) Do not associate me with that. (Renewed cheers). As- sociate your Daily M?its and your Leices- ter Posts with that! I NO RUSSIAN PEACE. I But, my mends, it will be no Russian Peace.' We are not beaten. This great offen- sive cannot succeed. (Cheers.) This great offen- sive can lay your children in premature graves on foreign land that will never be watered by a mother's tears; it can go on week after week until human flesh and human endurance is ex- hausted, but we will not be beaten. Germany cannot win this war. I will make a statement I made long ago again: No one can win this war in a military sense. The only people who can win this war are the united Democracies of Europe. (Cheers.) If the people will come to- gether now we shall not have a Russian Peaoe, but we will have a People's Peace, imposed not from above, but imposed by the people's hearts tliemselves, and a peace which, because it is a peace of justice, no military authority will ever venture in the future to challenge. (Cheers.) And so that is the thought that comes into our minds to-day. One does not want to go into wider fields, but I want to appeal to you to study the evidences. REMARKABLE EVIDENCE. t Thoro is a very reinark-able memorandum that has seen the light, and I see that some of our hard-pressed enemies are trying to make out that it supports them. It does nothing of the kind. It supports us in everv statement made in it and every revelation made in it. 'The posi- tion that the I.L.P. took up in 1914 was that this war was not created in July 1914 but this war was a harvest of a sowing. This war was the result of years of diplomacy, and, as we have said before, when July 1914 came our statesmen, striving might and main to keep the European peace, foun d that their past policy had brought aoout a condition of things which made them bound to go to war whether they liked it or not. When they failed to keep the European peace they were bound to keep the pledges they had made to each other, and to get each of their countries to go to war. (Cheers.) This Memorandum shows you that one man sitting in Berlin, jealous of another man, wanting to be- come German Ambassador in London, had got the power to deliberately thwart everything that was being done in London, and that powernelped to mature the war conditions which were going on and developing in Europe. Think of that in connection with the Big Push! A German Am- bassador in London, a pacifist, anxious for a good understanding; a German Minister in Ber- lin, wanting to come to London, anxious to dis- credit the Ambassador there, putting all sorts of obstacles in the way of agreements and un- derstandings, and you sitting at your firesides and your tables while your lives and your fates were being gambled with in that fashion! Read that Lichnowsky memorandum and see how much the neonl e come 1tltn if "Wn A something else. Our newspapers are publishing partt) of that memorandum, but there was an- other interesting revelation some short time ago. I t was the Sukinliaoff trial in Russia. Ah, then the newspapers suffered from a shortage of paper, because- that showed that the military crowd in Petrograd were cheating the Tsar and teUing him lies, in precisely the same way as German Ministers are now shown to have been cheating the Kaiser in Berlin. (Cheers.) MORE TO COME. I I wish we had some more revelations. There are other memoranda to be published, and when all are published they will show that in no State involved were the people interested in the issues of the war they will show, with regard to ourselves, that we had no part in making war, and that our part was that when any of our Allies entered upon an European war we were Dound to go into it so far as official binding was concerned. The more fully we know the facts, the more ample will be the evidence in support of these two propositions. (Cheers.) They have raided us; they have opened our J letters; they have spied upon us; they have ex- amined our banking accounts; they have taken our priva-te books and documents and oonfiden- tial letters; they have tapped our telephones, so that we could not speak to you without our very thoughts being reported to Scotland Yard, and I we are unsullied. (Loud cheers.) THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION. I What is the logical conclusion of the Lich- nowsky memorandum that has been published broadcast, in Germany, which has been published broadcast from Stockholm ? What is going to happen? If Governments take it up, they will only prejudice it because they are not believed. (Cheers.) Get Lord Northcliffe to put his dirty fingers upon it and he leaves a mark that will prejudice its effeot on Germany. (Cheers.) Who can take the Lichnowsky memorandum and jmake peace with it- We and we alone. (Loud cheers.) The result of the publication of the Lichnowsky memorandurn should be that a new demand should be made immediaitelv to get a meerting of the International Socialist Congress, so that tiie representatives of the Democracies of the belligerent nations speaking honestly, face to fac*?'; speaking as Democrats; speaking as In- ternationalists. speaking as men and women who want a real and abiding peace, may lay the foundations of that peace, and put their names to a document that is Democratic in its incep- tion, and not Imperialist, o- anything else than Democratic. (Loutt ch(;é¡r: So, my friends, sad as we are, our Easter ilÍlne is a time of hope. We see the sun behind the,clouds, we have had our stormy weather, it has been a hard time, it has been a trying and searching time, but we [say to your our fellow delegtesa from all parts of the nation, we believe you will get the inspira- tion from Leicester that will do you good. We say to you. our fellow delegates from all parts women, that from the Conference you will get that inspiration to go on together full of faith in Democracy, full of trust in righteousness, full of faith that only those who endure to the truth right to the end will be saved. That is what I believe is ahead of us, and so my Easter message I to you is one of cheer, and one of the most pro- found confidence. (loud cheers.) DICK WALLHEAD. I Dick Wallhead. as I have already said, was given a welcome second only in a minor degree to that offered to our great leader. Dick devoted himself to an examination of the secret diplo- macy that led to the Russian Revolution, and that the revolution has revealed; dwelt on the want of sympathy that had killed the aspirations and aims of Kerensky, and declared himself, amidst cheers, to stand for Bolshevickism a.nd the Socialist Revolution. He declared that a victory for some. forms of our militant militar- ists' ideals would be only slightly better than the triumph of German Militarism, and finished by saying that what we wanted was not a Peace of Victory, but a Victory for Peace." JIM WINSTONE'S SPEECH. I Jas. Winstone mad e a. fine and impressive ad- dress. in which he declared himself as being prouder of the I.L.P. to-day than ever he had been, and in the course of which he brought in an illusion to Hardie's connection with Wales, and the profound loss that we had suffered in the death of the Grand Old Man that moved Conference to its depths. He made a strong ap- peal to trades unionists who had looked askance upon the I.L.P. to examine our cause, to recog- nise that in it alone lay salvation, and to join in the work. Alluding to the forthcoming con- ference of the Triple Alliance with Mr. Lloyd George to demand the effective and efficient coping with the question of food, he expressed a very decided personal opinion as follows: "I would to God we were going there on a mission demanding that he should leave the Cabinet- (loud cheers )—as the only possible hope to bring about a reconciliation of the nations involved in this terrible catastrophe, and as the only pos- sible way whereby we can prevent the crucifixion of the human race." (Cheers.) Mrs. Snowden wound up with a fine. little speech in which she drew consolation from the propherte of the Bible; and paralleled their ex- periences with those through which we are pass- ing. I forgot to say that before Conference opened wo all stood bareheaded at the reuest of the chairman, in mute respect to all the boys who had made and were making the great sacrifice- boys that include so many of our own comrades. To-night tht, Demonstration will again be held with a fresh batch of speakers. Certainly Lei- cester is giving us an example in "push and go." Never before do I remember a Conference that has begun so early as 9.30 on the Sunday. e -————————————

THE EVENING DEMONSTRATION. I MAC. DEFINES PACIFISM. 1 LEICESTER, Sunday Evening. At the continuation of the Demonstration to- night, the huge De Montfort Hall was again night,, d with an audience that must have turned the 4,000 mark, and although I have seen some articles in the local gutter organs preaching the disgrace that the holding of the Oonfer- T —mi t.t < although I heard a band this afternoon parading the town to the strains of the National Anthem, apparently for the purpose of exciting the crowd against us; although, as I say, these things are taking place, there has never been a Conference in which the Demonstration has produced such an exalted, religious frame of mind as has this. The spirit has been one of religious revival, and the speeches have been such as could have won the praise of the most critical congregation that ha,d never heard of the ethical aspect of Social- ism. Macdonald presided, and his opening sentence defining Pacifism was the longest I have even- known him use: We are told that we are Pacifists," lie said. I do not object to thp term at all." (Cheers.) "I object to its being misrepresented. If Pacifism means that we are prepared to make base surrenders in the teeth of evil; if Pacifism means that we have no policy at the present moment except the policy of ne- gation if Pacifism means that all we can do and all we can counsel is to make you fold up your arms and do nothing, then there is no man or woman in this hall who is a Pacifist. (Cheers.) But if Pacifism means—as it does mean-that we here refuse to regard the beatings of the war drums as reason; if Pacifism means that we deny that such policies as that of the 'knoek-out blow are either intelligent or practical; if Pacifism means we are not to allow the soldier to stand alone with his body between us and safety; if Pacifism means that the people at home must hammer out a policy that is to secure conditions of Peac* if Pacifism means that we believe that Peace can only come by the agree- ment of nations then we are Pacifists everv one of us." (Cheers.) FRED MAKES AN HISTORIC SURVEY. Fred W. Jowett, M.P., following in a speech that must have delighted every old I.L.P.er by its homely recollection of our work and figh* coupled the most complete justification of our existence and progress along historic political lines, with a scathingly critical analysis of our opponents; a policy that was continued by Philip Snowden, who declared that the answer to the charge of disloyaltv so often brought Vgainst us was the 25 years work of the Party in the country. He declared to us that one of the tasks ahead was to see that none of the national services that had been either partially or wholly controlled by the State during the war period should pass back under Capitalist control when the waa- is OVqr, lr4" this there was a danger that iVe .->L<juiu tktk,. the aid of the militarists, who realised that State organisation alone had ena-bled them to prosecute this war, and who, therefore, would seek to retain State control for their own ends. We must see to it, therefore, that we retained what was good and eliminated what was bad from State control. But the su- preme task before us was to bring this war with its suffering to an end at the earliest possible moment, and then to turn our attention to getting back for the people those civil liberties that had been taken from them during a war for Liberty. (Cheere.) W. C. ANDERSON AND REVOLUTION. W. C. Anderson followed in a speech that will long be remembered by all who heard him, for the power of its delivery, and the height to which he exalted the ethical side of Socialism. Eyery body, he told us, would be coming into the I.L.P. in a year or two, but he admired most the man who came into a party when it was fighting with its back to the wall. We were going to witness a great Democratic—and if we liked—a Revolutionary ferment in our own and every other nation, and it was therefore most essentially necessary that we should have a lot of men who knew the goal at which they strove, who would not be deflected to the right hand or to the left, and who would guide this ferment to its right, appointed end. THE END OF A PERFECT DAY. J. Bruce Glasier also spoke in charming ideal- istic strains of our past and our future, and Miss Margaret Bondfield, catching the spirit of the evening, closed with an address whioh had for its key-notes love and harmony. Did I say that Ivor H. Thomas led us in the singing of Hardie's words to the setting of Land of My Fathers "?

DOWN TO BUSINESS. r SPLENDID PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BY MR. SNOWDEN. SOME HIDDEN REASON ACTUATING STATESMEN IN NOT MAKING PEACE. LEICESTER, Monday. Councillor Murvy. who seems to be Leicester's strong man for this Conference, welcomed the delegates on behalf of the local branches in a speech that sounded the praises of Leicester in a laudatory style. Ald. Banton also weloomed us to the city as the spokesman of the local Labour Party, and he was followed by Mr. John Riley, President of the Leicester Trades Coun- cil. In reply, Mr. Philip Snowden said we appre- ciated very highly the welcome that had been accorded us by the three gentlemen. THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. The formal business of appointing tellers and Standing Orders Committee having been smooth- ly negotiated, we were treated to Mr. Snowden's Presidential Address, an address of such import- ance and interest to the movement that to give it verbatim, even at the cost of subsequent dis- cussion, will, I feel sure, meet with the approval of every reader of the Pioneer." Mr. Snow- don said: — When I assumed the office of Chairman to which I was elected by the last Conference, I ventured to express the hope and the confident belief that the year upon which we were then entering would see the Party grow in strength and influence. I am in the proud position to- day of being able to present a report of progress during the year 'which has surpassed all pre- vious records in the history of the Party. The income at the Head Office has increased by 50 per cent. One hundred and fifty-eight new