New-York tribune., 1918-02-24

ardent admiration for political democracy.
Here was people that had won out Of tyr
amy to freedom, and the German Socialists
now appeared in effort to drive them back
to servitude. Here was flying at last the
red flag. the symbol of the Socialist faith,
the colors of the international brotherhood.
The German Socialists had always professed
the utmost devotion to that flag. They now
appeared in the act OF making war upon it.
OF tearing it down that it might be sup
planted with the old flag of capitalistic
despotism Before a movement could endure
an inconsistency SO monstrous as this the
world would have to lose all sense of the
congruous and the just.
No Protection Against Poison
The truth then appears that the German
people, under the inspiration and example of
their government, had eaten of the insane
root of world empire and socialism wss no
more OF protection against that poison than
was conservatism. A long period of success
ana unexampled development had turned the
German head
The great idea of the extreme. doctri-
marc or MARKHAM Socialists was always that
the members of the proletariat of ali lands
owed allegiance and loyalty to their class
above any country capitalistic' form of
government. Workers of the world. uniter
was their incessant slogan. BE loya] to
Your class. They preached what they called
the class war While they solemnly exhorted
against all other kinds of warfare. What
ever the plea might be, all wars between
nations were made by and for the sole
benefit of the exploiting or capitalist class
f1ghf everywhere against that class and
Tor your own; do not think of fighting for
your country. 1t means nothing to Won:
Your class means everything
y am not, however, interested in ndict-
Ing the German Socialists but in trying to
estimate what will be the effect of all this
upon the Socialist movement Of the world
Before the war the organized part of that
movement was dominated by Germans and
German influence. That kind of domination
VIII never be possible again In the old
Gays the German Socialists used to bring to
the triennial International Socialist Con-
gress spirit of prideful arrogance that
otfer delegates often found extremely in
clgestlble. The Germans usually made
Fa'H' and without excessive suavity. their
we" OF the movement, which was that Of
proprietorshp. Representation in the con-
gress is on the basis of the number of
ooclalst votes cast at the last preceding ma
tlonai election. This gave to the German
Sociallsts, who had cast all these millions
CT votes and won all these seats in the
helchstag, great numerical advantage and
VIZ "uVHOTlly Oh success.
Germans Before Everything Else
Hitherto the organized Socialist move
ment IN the United States has been German
made and adjusted to the German psychol-
ogy The war made the final showing OF
inns TACT when It revealed ma jority of the
american Socialist party preferring the
cause OF Germany to the survival of social
ism in Russia. Like their eminent leader,
they were Germans before they were Social
lsts-or anything else. 1t would be absurd
to suppose that Americans, aware of the
american psychology and American condi-
tons, could work again with an element
whose loyalty to the country of their origin
went beyond all loyalty to the country they
mad sworn to support much as it went
beyond their devotion to Socialist rrjn
cples
Here in the United States the Socialist
machine takes on some temporary bulk and
makes some additional noise because of pass
ing sympathy with it from extreme pro-(ier-
mans and from pacifists in whom the facult,-
of coordination is lacking; but these are but
spasmodic manifestations and without sipnif
cance. Probably few of the pro Germans.
brewers and afflicted pacifsts that have ioined
themselves this last year to the American So
clalst party have the least knowledge of or
interest in the principles of socialism: prob
ably many of them would be horribly shocLad
at the slightest likelihood of the suc,ess of
those principles. German sympathies a,d
paclhsm run mad have made ctrance bodfel-
lows; also the pro-German feeling has drive,
many lndoctrinated Socialists far from tho
ancient moorings"