The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1915-05-29
By GEORGE sCHoEPFL;IlN.

IAQucu W IflS 1V .OH1kV4.' VI Ill dihSttGJn
granted BY parliament :on august thea
4th and December the -ef last yeaTs
for conducting the war, The govern y
Ifent demanded from parliamentsT
summoned !; to assemble Or rcl1<sss
10th, further sum Of 10 bfllionf:.
Last years 10 billion We're, demandedss
in the form of supplementary esti-!x
mates, whilst the 10 billion asked forEa
In carrying of the war loan implieds
the passing Of the estimates. Me- dir Il
ficulties accrued to the npnzspcialistic.,
parties from the inclusion afsther war;
loan in the estimates which these.
factions always pass, whilst the Social &.
Democratic representatives shave, ona
the other hand, opposed the esti,natess
on all occasions, even before partys
regulations-rke those Of Lubbock
(190D, Nuremberg (1s08) and
Magdeburg (1s1o)-expressely de-:
mand this procedure. The party con-:
gress of Magdeburg ruled that the.
estimates be obstructed on principles
in the imperial parliament, as well:
as in the parliaments of the separate
states The party meeting Of Nurem-!
berg also resolved, by means of a
regulation still in force, that the bud-
get be opposed on principle, " pro-
yiding this opposition, on the: part. Of
our members, did not cause: the pass
ing OF a budget more unfavorable to-
the working Glass; The factors:
which decided this attitude OF OBJ
struction taken up by the Social
Democratic members of parliament
and the party In regard to the bud
get, were firstly the demands yearly
contained therein for the army, the
navy and the colonies, seriously the
conception which Influenced Social
Democratic action in the Imperial
parliaments as we'll as in the parlia-
ments Of the separate states, that the
sanctioning of the. estimates was
identical to confidence vote which
the party could not extend to a gov
eminent representing the upper
classes in a state founded on the rule
of the upper classes.
AS the Social Democratic party
had agreed to the war loan in August
and December Of last year, it found
itself faced with the question in
March, whether it would support
further loans, even if, thereby, it
would be obliged to vote for the bud
get. According to the high decree of
discipline, happily prevailing in the
German Social Democracy, the ques-
ton was infinitely examined whether
the vote in favor of the estimates
represented, under the circumstances
described, a. breach of party resolu-
tons or not, further it had to be con-
sidered whether voting regardless of
party resolutions, which after all
meant acting according to the maxim
Necessity knows no law" was the
right thing to do. More than three
fourths of the party members partici-
pating in the discussions, confessed to
the entirely justified opinion that yot-
ing for war loan included in the
estimates, does not constitute an in
fringement of existing party resolu-
tions, because an exceptional case is
being dealt with which no ono
thought of at the meetings Of Ll-
beck, Nuremberg and Magdeburg and
to- which the resolutions passed at
these meetings do not, in the least,
apply.
To this is added that no party
resolutions exist which demand the
ohstructing Of the estimates UNDER
! III
case. If the parliament representa-
| tlVes are allowed to vote in favor Of
a budget in case they can by so doing
prevent budget more unfavorable
to the working class to be carried,
then the sanctioning of estimates
which provide the means for the con-
duct of a struggle which the nation
Is forced to undertake in defense of
It's economic and national existence
Is logically not only permissible but
only fitting. This is the situation in
which Germany finds itself in the
! struggle 1t is forced to conduct against
coalition all too powerful.
But even If supporting the budget
would have implied a breach of party
resolutions the Social-Democratic
party could not have acted differently
in connection with the estimates than
it did on: March 20th. And why :?
At the outbreak of the war the party
declared through one of it's leaders:
No we will be true TO that which we
have. always emphasized: We do not
leave our motherland in the lurch in
her hour Of need
Proceeding from this principle and
from the even today entirely UNI
shaken conviction that Germany con-
ducts this war in defence of her ex-
istence, the Social-Democratic party
voted in favor. Of the war loan on
August the. 4th and again gave ex-
preston to this conviction on Decem-
Der the End by voting q further five
billion marks. Up to the March SEES
sion nothing had happened which
could in any way induce the Social
Democracy TO- change it's attitude to-
wards the. present war. On the con-
trary;; all that in the meantime, has
come to light in shape of official docu-
ments and opinions from all the bel
ligerent, states, was bound further to
convince German Social-Democrats of
the justice OF, the standpoint assumed
at the outbreak Of hostilities There
fore, the party maintained, in the
opening sitting Of March the 10th
the attitude hitherto adopted which
was approved of by an overwhelming
majority Of the party organs and~by
the party committee on March the