The workingman's advocate., 1870-12-03

ful disposition. Why is our Bourgeoise
press unanimously in favor Of the war.
The reason is: our middle classes (I
shall always use this word in the same
as the French word bo,ugeo,se,
which has also been adopted IN the
German language) oor middle classes aye
afraid of the W0rking classes, and like
the French Bourgeoise, that in 1851
threw itself in Bonaparte's arms, and
would like 10 do 50 again-they have
come 10 the conclusion that ''order"
can only be kept by the SWORD, and that
Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery" are the
veritable Trinity Of capitalistic reli-
gion. Prussia is stronger, has more
soldiers than Austria, therefore our
middle classes preferred the former to
the latter, and their instinct telling
them that if Prussia is defeated now,
this great pillar Of Bourgeois rule will
get shaky, they do their best to assist
Prussia, whether they call themselves
national liberals or "progressists."
Between these two ''factions" Of the
middle class party" there is in fact 10
real ditference,--th "pi ogressists" talk
little more of, "hberty" than the
others, else they are one heart and
one soul two names for the same thing.
BY the by-though our Bourgeoise
exhibit tremendous patriotism" in
thcir newspapers, yet they are quite
international" when profitable
piece of business is to be transacted
with the "hereditary enemy You
know the the French Republic lately
contracted a loan Of 25O,OOO,OO
francs in London; well, the flower Of
our ultra-patriOtic capitalists in Berlin,
Frankfurt, etc., have taken up a con
siderable amount Of the obligations
emitted by the Republican government;
and these fellows who give the French
men the money where with to buy the
guns to be pointed at our soldiers, have
the brszenness to reproach us with our
want of patriotism II Not as j! the
reproach was unfOunded. Only it il
no reproach. What is patriotism
What is ''tatherland 2" Principles
have no Geographical boundaries. Right
and truth are no nations privilege they
belong equally to all mankind.
If my countrymen are wrong, and
foreigners are right, | cannot take the
part Of my countrymen. "AmicuS
Plato. magiS AMIGA veritas." ~ The "na-
tionality" is a great lie, "invented by
rogues to misguide fools, :" to use the ia
nous expression applied by Robes
pierre to the cred spectre" Of commu
nism, which had to serve the
ReactiOnists during the first French
Revolution. "A m is a man for a
that" whether born oil this side Of a
'frontier" stone, or on that the-sole
fact that the two only real Republics
existing before the establishment Of
the new French Republic) thatof Switz-
erland and the United States are living
proofs against this danger fraught
principle" should be sufficient to
bring every sincere Democrat I to his
senses. What do the French Swiss,
the italian Swiss, the German Swiss
care for their respective nationalities
They are free, and want to remain free.
And your United States-dO they not
owe their origin Just to the want Of
patriotism" or feeling Of the national
ity principle on the part Of their fOun-
derS? Does not the merit Of the Pill
grim Fathers consist in their having
sacrificed the love Of their native cOun-
try to the love Of religious and politi-
cal liberty? And the millions that en-
igrated to your land Of the tree since
the last half century-was it not the
sacred love Of liberty that drove them
u your shores? If they had followed
the principle of nationality they would
have stopped at home and remained
slaves. The United States are the
most glorious reductio 0d absuydum Of
the nationality principle. Composed OF
free citizens belonging u every nation
ality and race, you are no nation, but
the greatest people Of the world.
Now in this horrible war Germany is
wrOng and France is right Instead Of
Germany I will rather say Prussia; for
the leading statesmen and soldiers Of
Prussia bear The whole responsibility
of the war, which they carry on solely
in the interest Of the HohenzOIlern
family and the Tunkers Who are those
leading statesmen and soldiers Those
lNoltke, Bismarck, Sieber, with their
hangers on? Why, the very same men
that in 184S and l849 made war upon
the German people, and stifled the rev
OlutIOnary movement tat Dresden, in
Baden) in torrents of blood. Those
self-same men that now talk Of German
unity, and even liberty, then sentenced
to death by court martial the champions
Of the Constitution, framed bv the
German Parliament, which would have
given us "a free and united Germanv;'
and those self same men, who, twenty
one years ago tried the "ZunduddeP' on
the German Republicans, just as Bon
aparte three years ago tried his
s'Chassepot" on the Italian Rrpubli-
cans, will, II they succeed in conquer
inc The French, try the "ZmduadeF'
again on as at the first opportunity. The
principal organ Of the Tunkcrs, the
Kresteseit',ng' ( Gazette Of the Cross)has
already announced III: "The war
against the Frenchmen IN France
would not be complete if it was not
carried on against the Frenchmen in
Germany as we'll" And who are the
Frenchmen ID Germany? The Demo
crats-and before All, we Social Demo
Gratis. j. that clear? And here one
word more.
Don't allow yourselves 10 be hum
bugged by tie silly phrase Ut the Prus-
sian army being ''the people in arms.
If the Prussian people were armed
that is TO say. if every citizen was a
soldier, and consequently every soldier