Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by James Joll
Review by: Isaac Deutscher
International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), Vol. 32, No. 1 (Jan.,
1956), pp. 88-89
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Royal Institute of International Affairs
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2607856 .
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HISTORY
LES DELIBERATIONSDU CONSEIL DES QUATRE (24 Mars-28 Juin I9I9). Vol. I.
Jusqu'a la DelegationAllemandedes Conditionsde Paix. By Paul Man-
toux. Paris, CentreNational de la RechercheScientifique, I955. 521 pp.
Index. 92" x 6-". Frs. i,8oo.
THE turningpointof the Peace Conference of I9I9 was reachedduringthe last
weekofMarchwhencontrolpassed fromtheunwieldyCouncilofTen to theBig
Four,whoat oncegotto gripswiththevitalcontroversial issues. The firstmeet-
ing of the Councilof Four was held on the afternoonof 24 Marchimmediately
beforethefinalsessionofthe CouncilofTen, and theregularsessionscontinued
untilthe signingof the Treatyof Versailles. From i9 Aprilonwardsthe Four
had a regularSecretary,Sir Maurice (now Lord) Hankey, and his recordsof
decisionsand instructionsforfurther action,quiterecentlygivenofficial publica-
tion,provideus witha documentary seriesofthe highestimportance.The gap
between24 Marchand I9 Aprilremainedto be bridgedand forthis operation
M. Paul Mantouxalonecouldsupplythematerial.He it was whoacted as inter-
preterforthe Four rightfromthe beginningand to facilitatetranslationmade
his own notesofwhatwas actuallysaid.
The presentation ofhis records,mainlyin the formofdirectspeech,through
the mediumof thisvolumeis, therefore, of greatinterestto all studentsof the
Paris Conference, fortheyprovidean independentand supplementary sourceof
information forthewholeperiodoftheCouncilofFour. Theirmainvalue,how-
ever,lies in thegivingofessentialdetails,hithertolacking,concerning the early
phase beforethe Hankeyrecordbegan. For morethanhalfits lengththisbook
recordsdiscussionswhich,as the footnotesremindus, are not coveredby the
Hankeyseries,and it was throughthesediscussionsat theend ofMarchand the
beginningofAprilI9I9, thatthemainfabricofthesettlement was builtup.
At an earlymeetingLloydGeorgebroughthiscolleaguesto a discussionofhis
Fontainebleaumemorandum in whichhe had taken a firstlook at the German
settlementas a unifiedwhole,and in turnthe vital issues of Reparation,War
Guilt,the Rhineland,the Saar, Danzig, and the Germano-Polish frontierwere
tackledin earnestat longlast. At thesametimetheFour had to reachexecutive
decisionsconcerningthe transferof Polish troopsfromwest to east and the
counteringof the threatof Bolshevismin easternand south-eastern Europe,so
that thesejottingsofM. Mantouxsound a topicalnote at the presenttime.
F. S. MARSTON
THE SECONDINTERNATIONAL, I889-I9I4. By James Joll. London, Weiden-
feld& Nicolson,I955. 2I3 pp. Illus. Bibliog. Index. 8k"X 5k". I8s.
MR JOLL'Sshorthistoryof the SocialistInternationalduringthe firsttwenty-
fiveyearsofits existence(I889-I9I4) is based on fairlywidereading,is written
lucidlyand vividly,and is fullof interestingepisodes,illuminating quotations,
and thumb-nailsketchesofvariousSocialistpersonalities.The authordevelops
two major and up to a pointinterconnected themes:the protractedconflictbe-
tweenGermanand FrenchSocialism;and the discrepancy betweentheMarxist,
revolutionary,and internationalist precept and the reformistand virtually
nationalistpracticeof the constituentpartiesof the International,the discre-
pancywhichled to the International'scollapsein AugustI9I4. Some readers
of thisbook will be surprisedto learnto what extentthe politicalconceptions
and even the tactical ideas and slogansof the CommunistInternationalhave
been rootedin the traditionsof its Socialist predecessor.Thus the Stalinist
PopularFrontwas obviouslymuchcloserto Jaures'sreformist tacticsthanto the
'orthodoxMarxist'ideas expoundedby Kautskyand Guesde. For all its merits,
MrJoll'sbookis, however,fartoo sketchyand superficial, largelybecauseofthe
needlesslimitationstheauthorhas imposeduponhimself.He avoidssummariz-
ingand analysingthemajorissuesofpoliticaltheoryand theprogrammes ofthe