New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-28
Messenger Boys of the Kaiser
Blu GUSTAV Miller
~ Number Of German Social Democratic Newspapers


sentiments of the Russian Social Democrats
had TO be taken into consideration: therefore
The minority Social Democrat, hofer' was
Granted permission TO go TO Stockholm
Scheiden,ann. Ebert, Molkenbuhr, Ricnara
Fischer. Legion, Bauer and Hermann Mu'Ie'
the majority Social Democratic delegates 70
Stockholm. are against anneXauons, slHce
all the Social Democratic Deputies voted
against the last war credit They were Ut
terly opposed to the present world connect
hut supported the Kaiser after war had been
declared. They were for frontier regulations
and cessions of territory to Germany; nov
they maintain a singular silence. Ihey' 100
are numbered among the comparatively re"
Social Democrats who changed their opinions
in the last three years. They carry the an
nexation gloves with them in their sultcaseS
TO put on at the appropriate moment.
a Revsionist at heart. Scheldemann had
never openly broken with the Radicals up 70
August, 1914. When attacks on william IL
and his dynasty were popular and not dam
cerous Scheidemann stated IN the kelchstae
that the most characteristic traits of the
Hohenzollern were perfdy and perjury. Now
he is the volunteer messenger boy OF the
same William II. and is striving to save the
throne through a Hohenzollern peace. When
he was elected first vice-president OF the
Reichstag he refused 10 see the Kaiser, ac-
cording TO Social Democratic custom, al
though he had pallated the acts of the South
ern German Hofganger Social Democratic
Deputies who took part in court aifairs)
Though formally correct in his political
doings. from the Social Democratic point OF
view. Scheidemanr was under suspicion long
EGO. When he was scheduled to come to this
country on a speaking tour, four years ago,
the author OF this article received from one
of the German Social Democratic leaders a
letter reading in part as follows: Your cor
respondence con Scheidemann) will be thrown
in the waste baskets If it is not very re-
served" The men who had a chance to look
behind the screen knew then what TO think
of the Social Democrat, Schedemann
Long Under Suspicion
Legien, the trades unionist leader, at
tempted to bulldoze the consistent Social
Democrats into submission to Bethmann-
Hollweg's war policy by threatening them
through the "Korrespondenzbat Official
organ of the free trade unons) with a split
in the Social Democratic party In this he
was seconded by Bauer, his chief lieutenant.
Richard Fischer, Molkenbuhr. Muller and
Ebert are members of the Social Democratic
National Executive Committee and were
charged by Ledebour in the Reichstag with
stealing, with the connivance of the govern
ment, Social Democratic newspapers from the
minority. They dismissed editors who re-
NAMED faithful TO the minority, and left no
stone unturned in their endeavors to silence
the opposition 20 the government.
SO it is evident that Scheidemann and his
co-deegates from the majority Social Demo
Gratis will do their utmost to make the Stock
holm peace conference a pro-German affair.
They are the bait held OFT by the willy Beth
mann Holweg to the new Russia, and they
are evidently only too willing to do their bit
for the Hohenzollern dynasty and autocracy.
They know they are far from honest when
they declare that the political conditions in
Germany are an internal affair and of no
concern to the Allies. Dr. Sigmund Kunef,
enc of the Hungarian Socialist delegates TO
Stockholm, does not hold TO their view, for
recently he said: "A democratic revolution in
the Central European countries is not in
ternal affair, but of the greatest importance
for the general European policy and an i'm
portant step in the direction of peace and in
ternational solidarity"
By working for German peace Scheide
mann and his co-delegates are working for
the continuation OF autocracy and its atten-
dant conditions that are the immediate causes
of the present world war, for the perpetual
ton of a mad competition in ornaments and
for the preparation of a still more terrible
slaughter.