New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-21
The Social Democrats and the War
Blu GUSTAV Miller
ndrt Of Number of German Social Democratic Newspapers

approving the stand taken by the majority OF
their Reichstag Deputies were forbidden 10
speak in meetings. BY means Of the war
time law permitting the arbitrary incarcera-
ton of any person without warrant any one
much dslked by the authorities was put be-
hind iron bars and was not allowed 10 COM
municate with lawyer. His relatives and
friends could not find out why he was detained
or whether he was alive at all. Letters must
be mailed unsealed if they contain anything
unfavorable TO the government the sender is
put in prison. Social Democrats who are totally
unfit for any military service whatever were
formally called TO the colors and, although
allowed to stay at home, put under the juris
diction of the military courts. The army
corps commands created new crime, lack
of patriotism at the beginning of the war
Little by little the sentiments Of the rank
and file of the Social Democrats manifested
themselves, although the party executive,
ruled by members and. partisans of the ma
jority of the Reichstag Fraktion, disliked TO
confess an error and employed against the
so-called minority of the party the same
means of oppression and bulldozing for which
they had denounced their junker government
year after year Editors hostile to the war
have been discharged, speakers silenced, or
CARNATIONS suspended. In Hamburg even
rooms of the Observation-Disclosures Labor Ly-
ceum) have been refused to the Jugendorgan-
sation Young Peoples Socialist League.
Votes of Censure
Nevertheless, nearly all of the 68 Reichstag
Deputies who voted for the fifth war loan
among them Scheidemann, Legien, Richard
Fischer, Pfannkuch, Robert Schmidt, Thiele,
Schulz. DR.. Landsbeg, Koenig, Haberland,
Bios and Cohen) have been censured by the
Social Democratic organizations of their dis
trcts, and three more Deputies Raute, Hoch
and Edmund Fischer were censured because
they failed TO vote against the same war loan
and left the Rechstag when the vote was
taken And every citizen who votes at an
organization meeting against the government
tai policy must expect to be put in prison
arbitrarily or hailed before a court for LACK
of patriotism" if for no other reason.
In the centres of the Social Democratic
movement, where the members of the Free
Gewerkschaften are practically without ex-
ception Social Democrats, the Free Trade
Unions approved the policy Of the minority
of the Social Democratic Deputies and forced
the official organ Of the General Commission
of the German Free Trade Unions (Which had
several times insisted that the policy of Au-
gust 4. 1914 must be sustained, and that the
anti-war Deputies must be expelled from the
Social Democratic party TO make the state
ment: THE trade unions will fight every
attempt TO split the labor movement"
Party discipline was responsible when the
minority of the Reichstag Deputies submitted
TO the decision of their caucus and voted
with the exception of Liebknecht. for the war
credit in August, 1914. And party discipline
again has led all the Social Democratic Depu-
ties to change their tactics. The Deputies
got their mandates from the rank and fle
who constitute the highest authority of the
Social Democratic party.
Up TO now every time there was wide
difference Of opinion among the Social Demo-
cratic lawmakers the so-called Revisionsts
seemed TO the superficial observer 10 repre-
sent the majority of the party membership.
But at the national conventions they and
their followers were always a small minority,
and submitted TO the decisions Of the conven-
tons. The much expected split never hap
pened; the differences were Of tactical
nature.
While the Social Democratic adherents of
Schedemann are still less numerous than the
Southern Germans" were when the approval
OF the budgets of some Of the federal states
came up, a real split OF the German Social
Democratic party seems inevitable when the
rext national convention meets, after the war.