Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-10-02
GERMAN SOCIAL
DEMOCRATS ARE
MAKING LEACUE:
WITH CAPITA |
Group Which Overthrow
Score of DynaStieS, Hav-
ing Tasted Power Wants
To Keep It at Any Cost,
NOW SEEKS COALITION
WITH PEOPLES PARTY
Latter, Despite Name, Is
CapitaIiStic Group; Shows
Progress Of Party of Karl
Marx,
CBY MAMMALIAN HARDEN)

(Germany's Foremost Publicist,)
Especial Cable TO Morning JournaD
Copyright 1921 by Albuquerque JournaD
Berlin, Oct. lit is hardly pos
sible for foreigners to understand
the Significance of the meeting of
the social democrats in the old Slav
city of Goerlitz. People well may
wonder how party which three
years ago tore old Germany to
pieces, overthrew a score of dynas-
tics and announced an inexorable
fight against all reaction, should
declare now it's readiness to accept
governmental power in co-opera-
ton with the peoples party which
despite it's name. represents high
finance and monarchistic aspira-
tions.
The situation reminds one Of the
disappointments of 1914, when
these same "internationalists." in
stead of hindering the world war
with a general strike. as they so
often had threatened. patriotically
voted credits to carry on the great
slaughter.
The French propensity to see all
occurrences in the German repub-
lie of today as nothing more than
"boche camouflage." might seem
justified over the present political
situation, but the careful observer
will see in Goerlitz only the culmi-
nation of long evolution.
To understand the situation
easily one must compare temporal
conditions with the eternal The
early Christians, for instance. were
small sect who believed that the
end of the world was approaching
and that they must purify them
selves for a future life In Gods
kingdom. Paul widened this be-
lief into a world religion, compat-
, ible with emperors and republics
and states. Unlike the early Chris
tianity, the social revolution of
modern times has not been limited
to modern times. The socialist
manifesto or Bible, in German,
and the Slav communist manifesto
dfferentiate as the Bible does be-
tween the struggling poor to whom
heaven is open and the presump-
tuous rich to whom it is closed.
They proclaim the proletariat above
the bourgeoisie, as we call those
who profit by the labor of others.
They promise a kingdom of blessed
justice on this earth in which the
masses shall rise to great heights.
but this apparently can be insured
only by the temporary inevitable
dictatorship of the proletariat.
For half century this prophecy
has been a horrible phantom be-
fore the eyes of the German gov
ernment. Wild language and two
attempts on the life of the en-
peror determined Bismarck to
make special law against social
democratic agitation which is dan
gerous to the community" This
Prussian creative genius. born the
year Napoleon was dethroned. un-
derstood instantly whatever he saw
even once, but he saw nothing of
the masses. knew nothing of their
life or their aspirations. regarding
them merely as cogs in a machine.
He imagined that by compulsion
and such palliatives as sick and old
age insurance he could arrest the
movement toward equality. Once
in the reichstag he offered. how
ever. to give the social democrats
a province in which they might try
their communist experiment.
If Bismarck now could see the
party which so long fought him he
would be astonished. No longer is
it dangerous to the community"
What the strictest laws could not
accomplish has been achieved by
a brief glimpse of power.
If the world does not come to
an end, then the religion which
counted upon that termination
must be changed to satisfy the
needs of the dwellers Of the earth
who must and will be fruitful and
multiply. Three social democrats
have been chancellors and two
dozen have been cabinet ministers,
all keeping their titles for life un-
der the German custom. A former
saddler and innkeeper is president
of the republic and since all state
offices are now open to them,
thousands of social democrats are
interested in preserving the status
quo, so after all is said and done
they cannot be 80 damnably bad
as the agitators' speeches would
indicate.
Until the war the social demo-
Gratis called themselves the enc
mics of bourgeoise society, but
now they make a. treaty with it.
They have abandoned their old in
ternational belief that men of the
same class in foreign lands stood
nearer the ground and could SYM
pathize better than fellow country
men of different classes.
Does all Of this mean that the
German worker has turned ma
tionalist? No. 1t simply means
social democracy no longer is pro-
letariat but is party of small Of
ficials and impoverished trades
men. IT is really a national democ-
racy and is hardly socialistic. The
leaders sometimes like to indulge
in the old radical phraseology but
inwardly they desire settled con-
ditions.
1t is uncertain whether a coali-
tion of the socialist democrats with
the capitalistic and basically
monarchistic peoples in party will
succeed and surmount the trou-
blesome taxation question. But the
very fact that this party Of Marx,
of Bebel and of Liebknecht, once
dangerous to the community"
now seeks such a coalition, shows
bo,y far a. bas ,rnnrnueed