Kiadás dátuma
1918. 02. 01.
Kötet
39
Szám
3
Az Őrtorony
Views from The Watch Tower
Az eredeti angol nyelvű Őrtorony folyóiratok
../literature/watchtower/1918/3/1918-3-2.html
J'EBRcARY 
I, 
1918 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
(35--36) 
"In 
the 
event 
of 
a 
separate 
peace 
between 
Uermany 
and 
Russia, 
the 
call 
declares 
the 
Russian 
republic 
and 
its 
coun­ 
cils 
will 
be 
surrounded 
on 
all 
sides 
by 
enemies. 
Krylenko 
oontinues: 
"'American 
and 
Frcnch 
financiers 
are 
lending 
money 
to 
provide 
war 
IIliate6aI 
for 
Kaledin. 
The 
German 
bourgeoisie 
are 
quite 
prepared 
to 
use 
them 
as 
allies 
for 
stifling 
the 
Rus­ 
sian 
revolution. 
"'TheRe 
lire 
cnnditions 
which 
raise 
for 
the 
Russian 
peas.a.nts 
and 
workmen 
the 
whole 
questiO'Il 
of 
the 
defense 
of 
the 
CQnquoot 
achieved 
by 
the 
revoliltion 
and 
of 
the 
holy 
wa.r 
R.gai-nst 
the 
bourg-eoh;ie, 
n~ 
only 
of 
Russia, 
but 
of 
~rmany, 
France 
and 
GreRt 
Britain. 
"'Should 
the 
bourg-eoisie 
be 
vimorious 
they 
will 
take 
vengf'RnCe 
in 
the 
shape 
of 
the 
most 
cruel 
terror 
and 
torture, 
drenching 
the 
land 
with 
hlood. 
and 
which 
would 
put 
in 
the 
shade 
the 
torments 
infliete<l 
by 
the 
satellites 
of 
the 
Czar. 
"'It 
may 
be 
thRt 
a 
holy' 
war 
on 
the 
fronts 
as 
Wf>1l 
af! 
behind 
the 
lineB 
st~nfis 
before 
us 
as 
a 
terrible 
and 
unavoid­ 
able 
frete.' 
'T.he 
appeal 
condudes 
by 
dllClaring 
that 
there 
will 
be 
no 
compUlsion 
in 
rf'Cruiting." 
Kicholas 
Lcnine. 
thc 
Bolshevik 
Dictator 
and 
Prime 
~lin­ 
ister 
of 
Russia. 
answers: 
"''''hat 
are 
the 
Bolsheviks. 
and 
wllat 
do 
they 
want? 
'l'hc 
Bolsheviks 
are 
a 
communistic 
party 
representing 
first 
the 
day 
laborers; 
.seeondly, 
all 
such 
workmen 
as 
are, 
ilS 
Russians 
say. 
'Soznatelniye,' 
that 
is. 
such 
as 
have 
a 
full 
class 
and 
political 
consciouHlless; 
and 
finally, 
the 
landless 
or 
nearly 
landless 
peasants. 
"These 
clR,sses 
·stu.nd 
for 
immediate 
Socialism. 
Their 
notion 
of 
Socialism 
is 
a 
republic 
ruled 
by 
the 
Councils 
of 
Wmkmen's. 
Soldiers' 
and 
Pea,sants' 
Deputies. 
They 
are 
against 
eVf>ry 
form 
of 
ffiQnarchy 
and 
every 
form 
of 
political 
power 
except 
such 
as 
rppoBes 
in 
the 
hands 
of 
the 
Councils 
of 
Deputies. 
They 
are 
against 
all 
WJvcrnments 
of 
the 
type 
of 
the 
governments 
of 
Lvoff 
and 
Kerensky. 
T'hey 
intend 
to 
prE'­ 
plLre 
our 
two 
hundred 
million 
Russians 
fQr 
government 
by 
the 
C()unci1s 
of 
DepUJties." 
Others, 
too, 
see 
and 
dread 
the 
wind, 
earthquake 
and 
fire, 
not 
diseerninl\' 
behind 
it 
all 
the 
wonders 
of 
the 
kingdom 
of 
God. 
Blinded 
by 
the 
gOO 
of 
,this 
world 
and 
by 
his 
angE'ls 
(messenl-,rer&-Clergymen-2 
Corinthians 
II: 
Hi) 
who 
have 
for 
centurips 
posed 
as 
messpnw'rs 
of 
light, 
they 
see 
the 
E'Hnts 
hut 
do 
not 
understa,nd 
their 
signifioo.nce. 
Prominent 
clerg;ymen. 
with 
eanl 
fairly 
itching 
to 
know 
what 
the 
people 
want 
to 
hear 
(2 
Timothy 
4:3), 
tell 
their 
deluded 
flocks 
that 
there 
is 
no 
trouble 
a.head, 
more 
than 
ordina,TY; 
tho,t 
if 
t.he 
people 
will 
only 
trust 
the 
(blind) 
guides 
they 
will 
all 
land 
in 
the 
Elysi,a-n 
fields 
ofa 
better 
age, 
not 
realizing 
that 
they 
are 
on 
th(' 
very 
brink 
of 
anarchy. 
When 
the 
people 
wake 
up 
to 
the 
truth 
of 
the 
situation, 
they 
will 
have 
no 
pity 
on 
those 
trusted 
servants 
who 
lulled 
them 
to 
sleep 
on 
the 
verge 
of 
the 
precipice.-2 
CbJ'onieles 
36: 
14-19. 
ll!EN' 
8 
HEARTS 
F 
AILIlfG 
TlIEM 
FOR 
FEAR 
There 
are 
some 
watchers 
who 
are 
not 
clericals 
who 
warn 
drow;;;y 
Christendom 
in 
vain. 
Winston 
Churchill, 
in 
the 
"New 
York 
~l'ime8" 
of 
December 
2nd. 
l!H7, 
says: 
"The 
more 
one 
sees 
of 
this 
war, 
tIle 
nwre 
one 
j.g 
inclined 
to 
the 
belief 
that 
its 
real 
significance 
lies 
behind 
the 
battle 
lines 
rather 
than 
on 
them. 
Like 
the 
great 
war 
thwt 
followed 
the 
Fren<:>h 
Revolution, 
it 
has 
two 
a"pects, 
the 
military 
and 
the 
social, 
Hnd 
of 
these 
the 
s(}(~ial 
is 
the 
more 
serious 
of 
the 
two. 
as 
far 
as 
the 
future 
of 
the 
world 
is 
concerned. 
A 
process 
of 
ferment 
betokening 
profound 
social 
eha.nges 
had 
for 
some 
time 
been 
going 
on 
with 
more 
or 
less 
intl'nsLty 
in 
various 
countries 
before 
the 
war' 
Ibegan; 
and, 
contrary 
to 
certain 
prophecies, 
the 
war 
tended 
to 
hash·n 
rather 
than 
retard 
the 
prorese. 
"Tohe 
keynote 
of 
what 
is 
likely 
to 
happen 
in 
atber 
allied 
countries 
in 
CJUle 
of 
a. 
German 
viettory, 
or 
of 
even 
a 
pro­ 
nounced 
German 
success, 
bas 
been 
struek 
in 
Russia. 
That 
ferment 
ha's 
been 
seething 
for 
a 
Ion/! 
time. 
Since 
1905 
Russia 
has 
been 
waiting 
to 
overthrow 
a 
bureaucracy 
wpheld 
by 
a 
mystical 
and 
fanatica,l 
Czar; 
the 
pMsa.nts. 
the 
army, 
from 
a,n 
outraged 
sense 
of 
betrayal, 
supported 
the 
revolution, 
where­ 
upon 
the 
revolt 
at 
once 
took 
on 
the 
true 
evolutiona,ry 
colors 
of 
the 
t.ime. 
The 
inner 
significance 
of 
this 
war 
has 
to 
dQ 
with 
the 
cmnneipa.tion 
of 
lahor. 
ju!'Jt 
as 
the 
inner 
significance 
of 
that. 
of 
a 
hundred 
years 
ago 
had 
to 
do 
with 
the 
emancipation 
~f 
the 
shopkeeper-who 
ha.s 
since 
become 
a 
plutocrat! 
We 
not 
only 
have 
·1,0 
reconcile 
ourselves 
to 
that 
idea. 
but 
we 
·have 
the 
immedia.te 
ta8k 
before 
us 
of 
g-uiding 
this 
evolutionary 
tendency 
·by 
using 
all 
our 
intelligence 
on 
the 
problem, 
other, 
wise 
we 
shall 
have 
portions 
of 
the 
world 
given 
over 
to 
anarchy 
and 
chaos. 
[We 
would 
have 
healed 
Babylon.­ 
,Jercm~ah 
51 
:9, 
Eds.] 
"Russia 
has 
had 
hf'r 
revDlution. 
And 
it 
is 
safe 
to 
say 
that 
in 
RIl 
the 
nations 
of 
the 
Western 
World 
something 
like 
a 
rl"volution 
is 
due: 
call 
it 
if 
you 
like, 
n 
profound 
change 
in 
the 
social 
frubric 
that 
will 
probably 
take 
place 
pe.aceful!y 
in 
all 
countries 
save 
Germany, 
where 
there 
is 
no 
constitutional 
out,l(',t 
for 
the 
people's 
will. 
"So 
far 
as 
the 
Allies 
are 
concerned, 
the 
prolllthility 
of 
a 
social 
turnover 
thalt 
would 
paralyze 
·:t 
nation 
for 
the 
'proper 
proseclltion 
of 
the 
war 
is 
not 
unlikely 
to 
hapl1l'n 
in 
Italy, 
France, 
and 
even 
in 
Britain. 
prov.ided 
the 
w~r 
continues 
to 
llrag 
on 
and 
on 
and 
no 
more 
reverses 
arl' 
experienced. 
The 
peace 
propaganda 
is 
mo;;tly 
among 
the 
working 
el~sses, 
but 
it 
mu"t 
be 
remembered 
that 
t.he 
working 
dass('s 
have 
a 
poten­ 
tiR.I, 
all 
ceonomi'c 
power 
today 
far 
hcyond 
the 
political 
power 
rf!J>resented 
by 
their 
votes. 
Thc.v 
have 
a 
leverage 
of 
which 
they 
are 
becoming 
more 
and 
more 
aware. 
A 
grl'at 
many 
of 
them 
are 
svndicalists. 
Like 
the 
.Junkers-and 
this 
is 
not 
sai,l 
detrimentaily, 
but. 
impartially-they 
decm 
their 
first 
loyalty 
to 
I~ 
to 
their 
dass. 
tht·y 
are 
nat 
inclined 
to 
reorganize 
nRtional 
-boundaries: 
the-y 
arg-ue 
that 
the 
more 
revolutions 
t.'lke 
plRce 
ou·tside 
of 
Germany 
the 
more 
likelihood 
of 
It 
rpvo­ 
lution 
inside 
of 
GermRny; 
that 
t.he 
way 
to 
stop 
the 
war 
i'~ 
hy 
revolution-peaceful 
if 
possible. 
"This 
mayor 
may 
not 
be 
true. 
The 
question 
for 
thp 
rl'sponsiible 
Govl'rnments 
of 
the 
nations 
concprned 
is 
whether 
it 
is 
worth 
while 
to 
take 
sueh 
a 
chance. 
Wouldn't 
it 
be 
better 
by 
militRry 
means 
to 
foree 
Germany 
to 
have 
her 
revolution 
fir~t? 
That 
i~ 
exadlv 
what, 
with 
her 
cleverness, 
.J 
unker 
Germany 
is 
trying 
to 
do 
witil 
the 
allies; 
she 
is 
sowing 
p~ 
propag-anda. 
among 
their 
[lrmies 
and 
their 
populations--now 
that 
Itussia 
can 
no 
lon~r 
he 
kClpt 
an 
ab~oll1tp 
monarchy, 
·whil'n 
would 
have 
sllilerl' 
her 
better. 
She 
ha.s 
done 
a. 
grf'at 
deal 
of 
that 
sowing 
in 
ltJaly. 
"The 
-situaJtion. 
then. 
regarded 
3!~ 
j\1(~i(~ially 
.as 
pos'lible, 
appears 
til 
he 
this: 
Can 
we 
of 
the 
Entpnte, 
including 
Ameriea. 
'bpat' 
Germnnyto 
the 
social 
upheaval 
?-to 
use 
a 
slang 
exprossion. 
Can 
we 
force 
her. 
-by 
properly 
co-ordina,ted 
military 
operations 
and 
the 
rPRlization 
of 
a 
common 
purpoHe, 
to 
have 
her 
revolution 
first? 
If 
we 
can 
do 
thi~, 
we 
shall 
be 
in 
a 
position 
to 
guide 
witn 
more 
wisdom 
and 
less 
hMte 
the 
evolutionarv 
changes 
that 
are 
('oming 
in 
our 
own 
nations." 
RESTLESS 
LABOR 
I'astor 
Russpll 
long 
ago 
foretold 
the 
failure 
of 
the 
trade 
union 
as 
a 
buhwlrkfor 
labor 
and 
the 
breakdown 
of 
Socia.lism 
as 
11 
national 
cure 
for 
the 
ills 
()f 
discontent. 
How 
it 
is 
working 
out 
is 
described, 
editorially 
in 
a 
recent 
issue 
of 
the 
"Saturday 
Evening 
Post' 
: 
"A 
II 
observers 
bear 
witness 
to 
a 
deep 
undercurrent 
of 
dis­ 
satisfaction 
among 
industrial 
wage-earners 
in 
England. 
We 
get 
g.limpses 
of 
the 
same 
thing 
in 
France, 
Italy 
and 
Germany. 
Conservative 
organ~ 
like 
the 
LondQn 
Times 
talk 
darkly 
about 
'the 
fermE'llt 
of 
revolution.' 
"\Vorkers 
are 
experiencing 
an 
extensive 
application 
of 
state 
socialism. 
'111C 
plant 
is 
controlled 
by 
the 
state 
now, 
and 
operated 
not 
primarily 
for 
the 
profit 
of 
its 
private 
ownerB, 
hUJt 
for 
state 
service. 
"And 
workers 
find 
this 
state 
control 
something 
much 
more 
formidable 
and 
intractable 
than 
the 
old 
private 
oontrol 
was. 
Being 
the 
state, 
it 
ehanges 
laws 
at. 
will, 
and 
a 
va!lt 
body 
of 
public 
Qpin~on 
is 
unquestiona,bly 
at 
its 
command. 
"Formerly 
the 
wOTker 
depended 
upon 
his 
trade-union; 
hut 
t.hat 
reliance 
is 
pretty 
largely 
broken 
dmvn. 
The 
overwhelm­ 
ing 
sta,te 
demands 
un 
exte~ive 
dilution 
of 
akilled 
labor­ 
meaning 
that 
a 
,great 
number 
of 
unskillPd 
workers 
shall 
be 
admitted 
to 
the 
shop 
and 
taught 
the 
trade, 
though 
they 
J1ave 
little 
or 
no 
attachment 
to 
the 
union 
and 
are 
but 
slightly 
amen­ 
able 
to 
its 
discipline. 
"The 
right 
to 
strikp 
is 
rather 
effectually 
suspended; 
for 
stTiking 
against 
the 
state 
comes 
dose 
to 
trea&on. 
Even 
the 
worker's 
ancient 
right 
to 
better 
his 
condition 
"by 
leaving 
one 
employer 
and 
going 
to 
another 
is 
restricted. 
In 
some 
caaes 
'he 
is 
the 
sta.te's 
indu.,trial 
conseript 
and 
must 
llave 
the 
st.'lte's 
permission 
before 
he 
can 
leave. 
"Wages 
have 
advanced 
g-reatly; 
hut 
so 
has 
the 
CQst 
of 
living. 
The 
worker 
has 
less 
effectual 
voice 
in 
the 
industry 
t.han 
ever. 
The 
new 
·boss 
i~ 
far 
more 
powerful 
than 
the 
old. 
He 
is 
not 
only 
the 
law 
but 
he 
is 
pretty 
largely 
public 
opinion. 
There 
is 
110 
one 
to 
whoni 
the 
worker 
can 
take 
an 
appeal 
from 
him. 
"He 
is 
more 
remote 
from 
the 
wMker 
than 
the 
old 
boss 
was-a 
far. 
{ormidaible. 
invulnerahle 
thing, 
which 
livCl! 
nowhere 
and 
everywherf'. 
"And 
when 
the 
worker 
does 
mf'Ct 
this 
mighty 
new 
bos~ 
fa{'e 
to 
face 
he 
finds 
tha,t 
it 
is 
really 
the 
old 
boss. 
The 
"tate 
[6207] 
Fesruary tf, 1918 “In the event of a separate peace between Germany and Russia, the call declares the Russian republie and its councils will be surrounded on all sides by enemies, Krylenke continues: “‘American and French financiers are lending money to provide war material for Kaledin. The German bourgeoisie are quite prepared to use them as allies for stifling the Russian revolution. “ ‘These are conditions which raise for the Russian peasants and workmen the whole question of the defense of the conquest achieved by the revolition and of the holy war against. the bourgeoisie, not only of Russia, but of Germany, France and Great Britain. “‘Should the bourgeoisie be victorious they will take vengeance in the shape of the most cruel terror and torture, drenching the land with blood, and which would put in the shade the torments inflicted by the satellites of the Czar. “Tt may be that a holy war on the fronts ag well aa behind the lines stands before us as a terrible and unavoidable fate.’ “The appeal concludes by declaring that there will be no compulsion in recruiting.” Nicholas Lenine, the Bolshevik Dictator and Prime Minister of Russia, answers: “What are the Bolsheviks, and what do they want? The Bolsheviks are a communistic party representing first the day laborers; secondly, all such workmen as are, as Russians say, ‘Soznatelniye, that is, such as have a full class and political consciousness; and finally, the landless or nearly landless peasants. “These classes stand for immediate Socialism. ‘heir notion of Socialism is a republic ruled by the Councils of Workmen’s, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies. They are against every form of monarchy and every form of political power except such as reposes in the hands of the Councils of Deputies. They are against all governments of the type of the governments of Lvoff and Kerensky. They intend to prepare our two hundred million Russiang for government by the Councils of Deputies.” Others, too, see and dread the wind, earthquake and fire, not «discerning behind it all the wonders of the kingdom of God. Blinded by the god of this world and by his angels (messengers—clergymen—2 Corinthians 11:15) who have for centuries posed as messengers of light, they see the events but do not understand their significance. Prominent clergymen, with ears fairly itching to know what the people want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3), tell their deluded flocks that there is no trouble ahead, more than ordinary; thot if the people will only trust the (blind) guides they will all land in the Elysian fields of a better age, not realizing that they are on the very brink of anarchy. When the people wake up to the truth of the situation, they will have no pity on those trusted servants who lulled them to sleep on the verge of the precipice.—2 Chronicles 36:14-19. MEN’S HEARTS PAILING THEM FOR FEAR There are some watchers who are not clericals who warn drowsy Christendom in vain. Winston Churchill, in the “New York Times” of December 2nd, 1917, says: “The more one sees of this war, the more one is inclined to the belief that its real significance lies behind the battle lines rather than on them. Like the great war that followed the French Revolution, it has two aspects, the military and the social, and of these the social is the more serious of the two, as far as the future of the world is concerned. A process of ferment betokening profound social changes had for some time been going on with more or less intensity in various countries before the war’ began; and, contrary to certain prophecies, the war tended to hasten rather than retard the process. “The keynote of what is likely to happen in other allied countries in case of a German victory, or of even a pronounced German success, has been struck in Russia. That ferment has been seething for a long time. Since 1905 Russia has been waiting to overthrow a bureaucracy upheld by a mystical and fanatical Czar; the peasants, the army, from an outraged sense of betrayal, supported the revolution, whereupon the revolt at once took on the true evolutionary colors of the time. The inner significance of this war has to do with the emancipation of labor, just as the inner significance of that of a hundred years ago had to do with the emancipation of the shopkeeper—who has since become a plutocrat! We not only have to reconcile ourselves to that idea. but we have the immediate task before us of guiding this evolutionary tendency bv using all our intelligence on the problem, otherwise we shall have portions of the world given over to THE WATCH TOWER (35-36) anarchy and chaos. Jeremiah 51:9, Eds,] “Russia has had her revolution. And it is safe to say that in all the nations of the Western World something like a revolution is due: call it if you like, a profound change in the social fabric that will probably take place peacefully in all countries save Germany, where there is no constitutional outlet for the people’s will. “So far as the Allies are concerned, the probability of a social turnover that would paralyze a nation for the proper prosecution of the war is not unlikely to happen in Italy, France, and even in Britnin, provided the war continues to drag on and on and no more reverses are experienced, The peace propaganda is mostly among the working classes, but it must be remembered that the working classes have a potential, an economic power today far beyond the political power represented by their votes. They have a leverage of which they are becoming more and more aware. A great many of them are syndicalists. Wike the Junkers—and this is not said detrimentally, but impartially—they deem their first loyalty to be to their class, they are not inclined to reorganize nationa] boundaries: they argue that the more revolutions take place outside of Germany the more likelihood of a revolution inside of Germany; that the way to stop the war is by revohition—peaceful if possible. “This may or may not be true. The question for the responsible Governments of the nations concerned is whether it is worth while to take such a chance, Wouldn’t it be better by military means to force Germany to have her revolution first? That is exactly what, with her cleverness, Junker Germany is trying to do with the allies; she is sowing peace propaganda among their armies and their populations—now that Russia can no longer be kept an absolute monarchy, which would have suited her better. She has done a great deal of that sowing in Italy. “The situation, then, regarded as judicially as possible, appears to be this: Can we of the Entente, including America, ‘beat?’ Germany to the social upheaval?—to use slang expression. Can we force her, by properly co-ordinated military operations and the realization of a common purpose, to have her revolution first? If we can do this, we shall be in a position to guide witn more wisdom and less haste the evolutionarv changes that are coming in our own nations.” RESTLESS LABOR Pastor Russell long ago foretold the failure of the trade union as a bulwark for labor and the breakdown of Socialism as a national cure for the ills of discontent. How it is working out is deseribed editorially in a recent issue of the “Saturday Evening Post”: “All observers bear witness to a deep undercurrent of dissatisfaction among industrial wage-earners in England. We get glimpses of the same thing in France, Italy and Germany. Conservative organs like the London Times talk darkly about ‘the ferment of revolution,’ “Workers are experiencing an extensive application of state socialism. The plant is controlled by the state now, and operated not primarily for the profit of its private owners, but for state service. “And workers find this state control something much more formidable and intractable than the old private contro! was, Being the state, it changes laws at will, and a vast body of public opinion is unquestionably at its command. “Formerly the worker depended upon his trade-union; but that reliance is pretty largely broken down. The overwhelming state demands an extengive dilution of skilled labor— meaning that a great number of unskilled workers shall be admitted to the shop and taught the trade, though they have little or no attachment to the union and are but slightly amenable to its discipline. “The right to strike is rather effectually suspended; for striking against the state comes close to treason. Even the worker’s ancient right to better his condition by leaving one employer and going to another is restricted. In some cases he is the state’s industrial conscript and must have the state’s permission before he can leave. “Wages have advanced greatly; but so has the cost of living. The worker has less effectual voice in the industry than ever. The new ‘boss is far more powerful than the old. He ig not only the law but he is pretty largely public opinion. There is no one to whom the worker can take an appeal from him. “We is more remote from the worker than the old boss was—a far. formidable, invulnerable thing, which lives nowhere and everywhere. “And when the worker does meet this mighty new boss face to face he finds that it is really the old boss. The state [We would have healed Babylon.— [6207]

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