Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-04-19
PRUSSIAN SOCIALIST
ON REORGANIZATION
Only Hope in Germany, He
Says, Is to Get Rid of the
Hohenzollerns
THEN PEACE IS POSSIBLE
Herr Bruck Comments on Craving
Of British Labor for Conferences
With the Enemy

Herr Emu BrOCE is PTuSSiau Social
is,.-a genuine Socialis, Of the cid school
which flourished before the leaders Of
the German proletarat sold their demo-
cratic birthright for mess of autocratic
pottage. He was a member Of the first
international" founded by Marx and
Engels and friend of August Bebel
Further, he was the editor of the social
democratic newspaper IN Germany, i'm
which capacity he incurred the wrath
Of the bureaucracy and was imprisoned
for twcnty-one months and cXilcd as
penalty for expressing his convictions
lie now dwells in England, but has re-
maincd in close touch with his old cult
and was i'm correspondence with Bern
stein even after the outbreak Of war.
Altogether. Herr Brucll knows much of
German social democracy, and he has
expressed some striking comments On
the British labor craving for conferences
with enemy Socialists.
The growing tendency in the British
labor movement directed to forcing the
hands Of the Government In certain re-
Spects contains" hc said IAN element
Of real danger, against which a warning
Is necessary. Like soma of the abso-
iutely honest leaders of the German So
cialists, the British leaders underrate
the destructive tendencies OF the Ger
man rulers. I cannot believe that IL
any British labor leader could appre-
ciate at its true value the depth of in
fanny Of which the ruling classes of
Germany are capable he would main
tain the .pacifst' attitude which he has
adopted Since the commencement Of the
war
CriticiZes British Labor
British labor leaders pressed the
Government for details of the allied war
aims, and when the Prime Minister
stated the minimum they continued to
advertise their grievances. Instead Of
assisting the Government to the utmos'
Of their power, they proceed to divert
the attention of the masses from the
main issue under the plea that by meet
ing the German Socialists in interna-
tional conference they might be able to
assist the military operations. Their
scheme is to induce German organized
democracy to assert itself, and thus
shorten the war.
What do they mean by German or
gani2cd democracy? If they have in
minG the Majority Socialists, ] can as
sure them that they might as well try to
persuade the Emperor himself to abdi-
cate as to induce Mcssrs. ScheiG2mann,
David, Ebert, Heine and the trade union
leaders of the ReiChstag to submit to
the peace terms elaborated by Mr. Lloyd
George. As for German bourgeois or
gani2eG democracy it did not exist be-
fore the war. German Socialists them
selves having bitterly lamented that
since 1870 it has completely disappeared.
There remains the group of Minority
4 q III 4aNHt
are Liebknecht, Mehrng, Bernstein
Haase, Kautsky and Ledebour. While
admiring the personal courage of Lieb-
knecht it must be remarked that even
he regarded this war as capitalist
war. and for that reason alone voted
against H. His idea was that the Eng
lish armament manufacturers had as
much to do with the outbreak as the
German Government or krupps As for
Bernstein and Haase, they not only voted
for the war credits, but IIaase lowered
himself 10 such a degree that he actually
read the infamous declaration of the
party in the Rcichstag on the ith of
August, 1914.
As to the Minority
THE only members Of the Minority
| Socialists who seem to have a clear con-
| ception Of the war are DIR. Franz Meh'
/ ring, Ledebour and Kautsky Mehring
| is a member of the Prussian Diet Lede'
| bour is a member of the Reichstag, but
| Kautsky has no mandate, since he is ar
! Austrian,
AS to the organized masses behind
them, most are in arms, in prison or
working under military control, and
one may be sure that they do not cause
the rulers of Germany the slightest anX'
! icty Such is the true position of Ger
] man Organized democracy today.
I But. for the sake Of argument. let
/ us imagine that the Allied labor leaders
/ having asserted their influence, meet
I their German comrades in Stockholm
/ for which purpose the German Govern
mcnt- would possibly release Liebknecht
! from gaol. Let us imagine, further
/ that at this international gathering, the
combined rhetoric Of Comrades McDon'
/ aid. SnowdOn, Webb, etc, obtains suci
| a sweeping success that the split II
/ the German Socialist party Is abolished
} the Allied peace terms are agreed TO
and the Germans pledge themselves tt
exert every effort TO force their Govern
/ pcnt TO ACCEPT them. What then? Wei
l. for one, am convinced that the situa
tion would be unchanged The com
bined influence of the German Socialist!
would trouble the Junkers about az
much as a swarm OF mosquitoes would
bother a cannon ball. In the first weei
of the war the German Government re-
ouested the people to hand over theil
weapons, and the loyal German Social
! lists induced the masses to obey. Mo-
| that that matters very much either lol
I'm the event of a rising in any German
| town the brutal armed police would set