New-York tribune., 1919-01-18
% Bolshevism Lynched!

1t is probable that with the violent
end of DR.. Karl Liebknecht and Rosa
Luxembourg the danger of Bolshevism in
Germany has definitely passed away 1t
had no natural life there The tardy
firmness of the Ebert -Scheidemann gov
ernment in suppressing the Spartacide
insurrection had already gone far toward
crushing it. And what it began mob of
enraged citizens has suddenly and horri-
bly, finished. The act has disclosed sig
nicant state Of mind. Order will not
appear at once There will very likely
Abe some election riots on Sunday, but
anything like an organized Spartacide
attempt to overthrow the government is
hardly to be expected again
This case of lynch law on the streets
of Berlin certainly bears striking wit
ness to the intense horror which the
Spartacans have evoked against them
selves. German editors have long been
in the habit of discussing lynch law in
America as conclusive evidence that our
civilization is on lower plane than
theirs; yet now we have Germans in one
of the wealthier and more cultivated
sections of Berlin turning out to lynch
q woman.
Rosa Luxembourg and Liebknecht were
the driving forces behind the Spartacide
rebellion at Berlin and they have fallen
victims TO that lawless force to which
they had themselves appealed
The uncomfortable wrath of those re-
spectacle citizens of Berlin W"-which
means both the western section of the
city and also that of wealth and aristo-
cratic pretension-is a new phenomenon
in the German revolution. The people
who killed Rosa Luxembourg were mostly
not Socialists, and that is the significant
thing. The so-called 'buergerliche," or
non-Socialist elements of the population
have evidently had their fill of weak
government tempered with organized
violence; and in the interests of law and
order they are willing on their part to
break some law and create some dis
order
Thus, this bloody ending to Berln's
bloody week is of high political mpor-
tance. 1t is in a line with other news
cabled from Berlin within the last few
days. Correspondents report distinct
drift away from the Socialist parties as
the result of this fighting at Berlin and
Spartacide outbreaks elsewhere; and
doubt is already expressed whether the
Socialists will secure a majority in the
National Assembly to be elected on Sun
day. Elections already held in Baden.
Bavaria and elsewhere for state consti-
tutional conventions resulted in victories
for the non-Socialist parties.
Those parties are evidently bestirring
themselves and are carrying on vigor-
Gus campaign. 1t is to be expected that
they will win back very many voters who
IN the years Immediately preceding the
war had been voting the Socialist ticket
as the strongest way to register their
protest against the evils created or toll
Grated by the former government.
IL is, therefore, well within the pos
sibllities that the Socialists will lose con-
troi OF the National Assembly and will
nave to surrender the government to a
combination of non-Socialist parties. as
mas just occurred in Baden. Or the So
ciaists might succeed in making an alli
ance with the new German Democratic
party, which is an amalgamat:on of the
former Progressive and National Liner
ais. That would mean a government of
advanced liberalism for Germany. 1t
would not be Socialist government, vet
one that would adopt many Socialstic
measures. 1t would probably nationalize
coal and potash mines and it would
favor big combinations Of manufacturers
under strict government control.
The Peace Makers