Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-05
TENTH or GERNANY'S
WAR WORKERS QUIT
BY JAN BRUNA
Wrtca for N" rn0cd rr,,a


Gcrmany's political strike reached its
highest point of Generalization Of Ger
man industry last Friday, according TO
very reliable information received here.
on that date 10 per cent OF all workers
in war manufactures were out.
The future effect Of the strike Is
prohlcmatical It Is certain, however
that the tic-up has created intense
bitterness between the laborng classes
and the so-callcd middle class" in Ger
many. Thc strikers demands for food
were received with indignation by other
classes. Everybody knows in Germany
the lahorers' ratiOnS are much better
than those which the average middle
class salaricd man can afford. The food
i'm factories cannot be bought by tho
man of average means. His salary has
not increased anywhere near the rate
that of the workers has advanced.
From carefully compiled information
reaching here the main centcra of the
strike were Berlin and Hamburg, The
percentage Of workers out wa- much
higher than in Silcsia and SaNouy. whore
most of the employees were working. In
the Rhineland surrounding SaarbruCken
only part of the miners were out. No
important engineers orgauiza tiOns joined
the movement.
From authoritative reports II was
learned that the Independent Socialists
of the Central Empires had intended to
strike simultaneously in Austria and in
Germany under sort of ], w. w. i"ad-
crship But the careful tclcgraphic cen
sorship of Austria prevented dispatch Of
70 password.
From the explanation Of the Social
Democratic party and trades union lead
crs the German strike broke out spou-
taneously." Probably this means that
the leaders abandoned the idea Of
Joint Auetrian-Gcrman strike after fail
urc Of the Austrian strike, 1t seemed
they desired to await a more favorable
moment.
But when tho "spontancuus outbreak
did come the adhercuts of Philip Schcid-
cmann, majority Socialist leader, feared
that the minority Socialist party. under
Doctor IIHaSc, which was supporting the
strike. miwht gain too strong hold on
the workers SChcidcmanu and his as
sociatcs therefore, openly joined in the
strike movement. They assumed
share of the responsibility and SChcide-
mann himself undertook leadership.
From all tho mass of rumors and re-
few cNcesscs by the strikers. Lighting
and heating in the cities WAS apparent
" unaffected. The gas workers and
electricians did not join the strike.
pOUBT FURTHER UNION
Prominent Germans here doubt that
any collaboration will continue between
the Socialists--udhcrcnt Of liaaSc as
well as SchCidcmann and the Govern
mcnt Liberals, and Center Party menu
hcrs hrucctorth.
AH to the injection Of peace demands
into the strike situation, the impression
is prevailing In Germany that tho
anneXatiOuistS are influencing the con-
duct Of negotiations at rcst-Litnvsl.
Socialists in the empire are convinced
that the German delegates would have
been NOR" '"u iUl If they had given
the impression that Germany was gcri-
ous when sh" said she was willing to per-
NIT Sclf-dctCrninatiou Of the Poles
lithuanians, Let's and peoples Of other
Baltic provinces.
Foreign Minister Euchlmanns cx-
plantations before tho main committee
may have satisfied the Socialist mem-
hers of the tciChstaG. but they did not
convince the workers Of Germany. whose
mistruSt was strengthened hv General
Hoffman's speeches. Though the Ger
man people have an impression that
Bolshcrik Minister Trotsky Is dishonest.
they believe his influence at Brest-
IhtovSk would have been much less il