Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1890-04-05

Socialists came together everywhere to
organize the collections and this local
co operation for the purpose of assisting
the families of their prosecuted COM
rades was the first sign of new life after
the dead silence that had fallen upon
the movement under the first blows of
coercion. The state of siege, which
was intended to crush out Socialism,
furnished the rallying cry for the re-or-
ganization of the movement under the
new conditions created by the passage
of the exceptional law. The old leaders
and we'll known members of the party,
imprisoned, victimized by employers,
kept under constant police surveillance,
were prevented and some of them dis
couraged from taking an active part in
che movement. Mostly new men from
the rank and file came forward and. be-
ginning with simple relief committees,
re- constructed the basis of organized
party action. The minor stage of siege,
which was from time to time extended
to other districts, as Hamburg (Novem-
Der 1880, Leipzig QSSD, and others,
contributed by another circumstance to
further the movement. The men exiled
from the proclaimed districts were
driven from place to place; at the in
stance of the police they were refused
employment by manufacturers and
board or rooms by landlords. Some
heartrending cases of suffering occurred,
resulting in sickness and in several in
stances in the death of the victims. To
escape the relentless persecution, num-
Der of the exiled left the fatherland and
emigrated to England and America.
But after while public indignation and
other circumstances brought about the
adoption of less severe practice. The
exlled who had remained in Germany
were now distributed all over the coun-
try; with the aid of their comrades they
had in the course of time found an
opening for a living, and while the po-
lice tired of prosecuting them, they
never tired of agitating for the cause,
which had been endeared to them by 80
much suffering. In places where there
had been a strong movement before,
they re-invigorated it by their presence
and activity; where they had drifted to
a locality yet untouched by the Socialist
virus" las the enemy angrily stigma
tized it), they did not rest until they had
gathered around them the nucleus of a
local party. In many of the agricultu-
raj districts of Mecklenburg and Hano-
yer the enormous Socialist vote brought
out at the recent elections may be traced
back to the activity of exiled Socialists
drfted there years ago.
But these results of the police out
RACES were not anticipated by anybody
at the time Of their first occurrence; no
more by the government than by the
Socialists themselves. As a matter of
fact they at first caused considerable
CONSERVATION among the members of the
party up to the agitators and leaders.
The party was dissolved, the central
committee in Hamburg announced its
disbandment, all communication be-
tween the various local memberships
was stopped, the party papers were sup
pressed. In Berlin and Leipzig the at
tempt was made to publish weekly
papers, so conducted as to pass the po-
lice censorship, only that some connect
ing link might be maintained between
the members. The attempt had to be
given up in Berlin, but such papers
were kept up in Leipzig, being sup
pressed from time to time and re-appear-
ing under another name. Similar ven
lures were made in other places, but
none of those started during the first
three or four years after the exceptional
law lived long enough to be of any i'm.
portance in the history of the party.
They had to be written too cautiously
to find much favor with the workmen
of outspoken Socialist opinions. The
only one of the papers started imme-
diately after the passage of the law,
which has survived to this day, is
the Brdunschweiger Unterhaltungsbidtt.
which is here mentioned for the fact
only that Johann Most at the time
offered to take its editorship and con.
duct it upon precisely the same cautious
policy for which he soon after so wildly
denounced the other similar papers
The need of An outspoken Socialist
paper was generally felt, and when,
toward the close of 1878, the Commun-
istic Educational Society of London
resolved to publish weekly paper, the
idea was greeted with unanimous salts
faction. The satisfaction was less gen.
eral among the German Socialists with
the choice of the editor, for which i'm
portant position Johann Most was ap-
pointed. The paper was named the
Freiheit and made its first appearance on
January l, 1879. The paper was at first
practically the party organ of the Ger
man party; it was read by the members
and its refreshingly bold language was
received with great favor. But its lam
guage soon became violent and reckless,
thus making it extremely dangerous for
anyone to circulate the paper in Ger
many. Persons circulating it we're con.
victed Of lese-majeste and received
heavy yunishments. The leaders of the
party who had remained on the battle
field objected to a policy which for the