Page:Samuel Gompers - Out of Their Own Mouths (1921).djvu/181

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WORLD REVOLUTION
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Surely all this is a far cry from "abandoning the world revolution!"

It was as late as July, 1920, that the Third Internationale declared that "in nearly every country of Europe and America the class struggle is entering upon the phase of civil war—while as late as December (1920) it converted the French Socialist majority to that view. Discouraging and encouraging events have taken place since that time, but the total result of all revolutionary movements during recent months is far from such as to discourage visionary fanatics like the Bolshevists. At the meeting of March 15 Kameneff made a report on foreign policy to the Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party:

"We must consider," began Kameneff, "our relations with the capitalist states, seeing that our supposition of the speedy assistance which should come to us from Western Europe in the form of a world revolution has not been carried out with the rapidity for which we hoped. Though counting on the world revolution, we must shape our practical policy in such a way that it will be possible to take action at any time, should the course of world development force us to fight for the existence of our isolated Soviet Republic.

The words italicized again give a very satisfactory portrayal of the precise state of the Bolshevist mind as regards world revolution. The rest of this speech develops the grounds for the Bolshevist hopes. While indicating the usual state of extreme ignorance, these remarks are important as showing the pro-German prejudices, the hatred of America and England, the expectation of the Bolshevists that they will participate in future wars (it is strange that the pacifist extremists