Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1890-03-29
cational institutions. Religion to be de-
clared private affair of the individual.


clared private affair of the individual.
The Socialist Labor Party of Germany
demands within the present system of
society:
/. The greatest attainable extension
OF political rights and liberties in the
direction of the foregoing demands.
2. A single graduated income tax for
State and municipal purposes, to take
the place of all present taxes, especially
the indirect taxes, the burden of which
falls upon the people.
3. Unrestricted right of association.
|. A normal workday corresponding
to social requirements. Prohibition of
Sunday labor.
8. Prohibition of child labor and of all
female labor injurious to health or
morality.
6, Measures for the protection of life
and limb of the worker. Sanitary con-
troll of the workmen's dwellings. Super
vision of mines, factories, workshops
and home industry by officials chosen
by the workingmen. An effective EN-
ployers' liability law.
7. Regulation of prison labor.
8. Complete self-administration for all
workmen's benefit and support funds.
But one change has been made in this
platform. The word "lawful" was
stricken out IN line 3 of paragraph II at
the Wyder congress in August $780, the
first congress of the party held after the
passage of the exceptional law. Of this
we will speak more fully hereafter.
The Gotha platform was the result of
mutual concessions OF the two factions.
The Eisenach wing conceded the inser-
ton OF the Lassallean plan of co oper-
auve associations with State support,
which, however, proved of utter insignif-
canoe in the further progress of the
movement. In respect to the trades
unions separate resolution was adopted,
declaring them to be necessity while
the wage-system continues, and to bene-
tit labor as far as is possible under pre-
sent social conditions. The organization
of the party was made democratic with
an executive board to manage the party
affairs, subject to the supervision Of a
supervisory commission and board of
appeals.
The unification doubled the energy
and enthusiasm of the party. The meet
ings were crowded, the party papers
increased their circulation, new papers
az within Ia months) were started and
1ourished, pamphlets were distributed
in hundreds of thousands of copies.
From 1875 to 1877, 80 new papers were
founded and in the latter year 4 social
ist papers were published, of which l3
1n,l ~ a
weekly and 3 twice week. There were
besides IA trade union papers with out
spoken socialist tendencies.
Alarmed by the enormous activity of
the Socialists the Cove nment made two
further attempts to squelch the move
ment by destroying the party organiza-
ton. In January 1876 an amendment
was proposed in the Reichstag to the
penal code bill then under consideration,
Furnishing with imprisonment ''any per-
son who in a manner endangering the
public peace lnCltes various classes of
the population against one another or in
like manner by speech or writing pub.
licly attacks the institutions of matri-
mony, family or property" The motion
OF the government was Overwhelmingly
ltlCSlCus IHC dltdIh OII tIIe kSOCldllSlS
having failed SO far as the empire was
concerned, the government fell back
upon its own domain of Prussia. In
March 1876 an order was made by a
Berlin court declaring the Socialist La
Dor Party unlawful and prohibiting it
within the limits of Prussia. The next
socialist congress could not be held as a
congress of the Socialist Labor Party;
in order to enable the socialists in Prus-
Sla to send delegates, a general congress
of socialists was called 1t met in Au-
gust 1876 at Gotha and reconstructed
the organization of the party by form
ally severing all connection between the
local organizations and the central COM
mittee. In each locality one member,
who was actually the representative of
the local organization, was in commu.
niCation with the Central Committee
and kept up substantially the old rela-
tions. To collect contributions for the
cen raj fund in Prussia, a monthly
leaflet, called THE Elector", was issued
and sold at the amount elsewhere paid
as party-dues. In spite of these oppres
sive measures the socialists polIed at the
January elections of 1877 4s6 SAB votes,
an increase of 1856, ,792 since 1874. In the
very heart of Prussia, in Berlin, the So
clallst vote was tripled, being 81 ,494 as
against 1880 in 1874. The party carried
II seats, two of them in Berlin.
The year 1877 was the last year of the
so-called liberal era in Germany. Bis,
marck had changed front IN his financial
policy. Convinced that he could not
possibly raise the enormous and lncreas-
ing expenses of the army by direct taxa
tion, he concluded that the best method
of securing the necessary revenue was
by customs duties. In order to satisfy
the various interests he senlarged his
tariff into full fedged high protec-
tiOn tariff inclulinu dntiaS an fba paoas