The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-02-11

deed not work miracles, and can not.
Of itself, change abject poverty into
honest independence, but like the air
we breathe, it is necessary for our ex-
istenee II it is stinted to III, our growth
and development must become sickly,
and only when we are able to draw it
in witch the full force of lO1r lungs, the
body polite can feel quite healthy, and
the single members of the State az
quire strength and posOer 20 help himself
IL he does not use this power, 1t Is has
oscn fa,sh: certain it ia, that the citizens
of free commonwealth are the masters
of their destiny, or as we Germans say
the smiths OF their fortune, while the
inhabitants Of an unfree country are
trammeled in all their movements, and
prevented from helping themselves.
Therefore have we, what would be
senseless in the United States, put the
demand for free commonwealth at
the head Of our programme, well cOn-i
vinced that the struggles for radical
improvement of modern society, IN
other words, for the emancipation OF
labor must remain hopeless as long as
the victims Of social inequality and in
justice are deprived Of political liberty:
About the points under article "a
need not speak, they being in strict,al-
most in literal accordance with the pro-
gramme Of the International Working
mems Association, which Is surely
known to all my readers.
OF the points under article Sd, only
the two FIRST and the eighth require .
short commentary. II may seem strange
that we, who are in possession OF uni
versaI Suffrage" still call for that fun
damental right. The fact is, we have
universal suffrage for the election Of no
other representative body, but the
North German (now called Germanj
Reichstag. the Landtage Diets Cham
ber) of the different single States, which
have even more important duties than
the powerless Reichstag, are elected
after laws directly or indirectly ex-
GLIDING the great majority Of the peo-
pie. Besides the universal suffrage"
for the Reichstag is, rs think told
you before, restricted materially by the
\ exclusion of all male citizens between
the 2Oth and 25th year, and further
more crippled by clause tor6addsHg
| tie poynssnt Of the depSties-a clause
framed aVowedly for the purpose OF
rendering it impossible for workingmeH
to send a representative not belonging
to the moneyed classes, or themselves
to accept . mandate. If this OBJ
lject.. has been partly thwarted the
merit is, due to the truly noble -spr1
it of the German workingmen, who
. shrink back from no sacrifice
I'D rect legislation, through the PEG
pie is Q theme, which before the pres
T emit war occupied large political CIRCLES
it was Diseased in almost every demo
cratic paper, and in Switzerland Gn
, the Canton of Zurich, for instance) the
attempt has, with best success, been
made 70 carry the theory into practice
The demaed for direct Legislation Il
grounded On the undoubtedly RICH
! supposition, that the sovereignty Of tn
: people amounts to more than merely
e the right of electing representatives
" that it 10 a right not to be transferred
and that if for practical reasons, tn
!. representative system must be resOrte'
4 Ito, the sovereign power yet continue
al mas 70 De exercised by IL, independent
s ly Of the functions of the representa-
tives elected in the shape of a regula
and direct participation in the legisla
! ton. And not only must it be th
q duty of the chosen Legislators (respect
ing the executive body 10 submit al
l. important laws framed by them to tn,
e sanction Of the people, but the peopl
|. must also have the right to propos
n laws from its own initiative, of cOurs
J in reasonable limits, guarding agains
y frivolous abuse. Unless the peopl,
exercises its sovereign power in thi
|. manner, there is always-even in
democraticslly constituted common
! wealth, as the example Of Switzer
land has shown-some danger that til,
representative bodies, instead Of being
. the servants of the people. become it,
! masters, and establish q kind OF dee
pot.sm, perhaps not so CALLING as the
despOtism of brutal force, but still
fraaght with great evils, and not worthy
Of free people.
Concerning the notice about prison
labor in the eighth article of our pro
gramme, have only to mention that
in most German prisons the custom
prevails to let the prisoners work for
contractors, and to pay to them wages
far lower than those upon which free
labOrers, who have no other source
of subsistence, can live. The conse-
quence is the ruin of large bodies of
workingmen. l need hardly say that
we have no wish to deprive the pris-
oners OF useful labor, which il indIs-
pensable for their moral publication !;
what we want il that the produce Of their
labor shall not Be sold belOwi the naarEet
price. The fairness of this demand il
so obvious, that few of our smaller
governments have already complied
with 1t, while the larger ones-aIways
less inclined to listen TO reason from
belOw-yet stick to the old practice.
After having finished the programme
which was unanimously accepted. the
congress took into consideration the
question of practical organization,
very difficult matter, if we think Of the
German laws restricting the right Of
meeting-laws cunningly concocted
with view Of preventing the forma
ton OF societies and clubs not asree-
able 70 the governments. However
the difficulties were overcome and a
plan was devised, which in every re-
spect has fulfilled the expectations of
It's originators, although it had to be
carried out under the most unfavor-
able circumstances, and to which it is