The New York herald., 1922-05-09
GERMAN SOCIALISTS
DIVIDE ON POLICY
Trade Unions Try in Vain to
Shift Center From Mos
COW to Berlin.
ASK FOR 46 HOUR WEEK
ReichStaC Majority Socialists
ASK FOR 46 HOUR WEEK
Reichstag Majority Socialists
Refuse Part in Interna-
tional Meeting.

Special Cable 10 THE NEW YORK HEnAIp.
Copyright. 1929. bv THE New yozK HEaALD
New York Herald Bureau.
Berlin. May g.
European Socialist Labor unity. as
formally declared in April at the meet
ings of the three international Socialist
trade unions here. is proving unsub-
stantial. owing to the refusal of the
heichstag leaders of the German Major
ity Socialists to participate in the COM
ing international convention planned to
open In Dusseldorf tomorrow.
Felix Adler, the well known Vie1nese
leader whose initiative made moment@ry
harmony in the ranks of labor, was on
the way to Dusseldorf when the German
Mai ajority Socialist leaders backed water.
They met the Russian BolshevilSi re-
luctantly in April. only because their
own rank and file insisted; and now.
through dilatory tactics with the trade
Unions. the leaders hope to avoid fur
tier contact with their old Bolshevist
enemies.
so long as Russias Communists re-
main fundamentally revolutionary, and
the German Majority Socialists opposed
to methods other than democratic and
| legal wage negotiations, the possibility
Of their working together Is illusory.
Red Unions In Dilemma.
The Russian Red trade unions, which
Carl Radek is representing in Berlin.
| find themselves in a dilemma. The
Soviet Government. in line with its new
bourgeois policy, cannot afford to be too
intimate with them. while the Reds have
discovered they cannot get the German
textile workers to strike for a Saturday
70 ~ tril 1lo ,baY
the employers refused to compromise
and threatened to import foreign labor.
International labor will support the
Reds II they will remain part of the
arbitrary Bolshevist governmental ma
, chine, as at present.
They tried once last year to shift
their center from Moscow to Berlin, but
the German Government arrested sew
eral of the leaders and blocked the move.
Yet to some degree they have established
Red bureau here. Radek says he in
tended to prolong his stay in Berlin in
definitely and as he was for years the
leader Of the radical wing of the German
labor party he IL qualified to reestab-
lish the contacts between the Bolsheviki
and the German Socialists.
Employers Begin Resistance.
/ The South German metal and textile
workers strike for Saturday half holi-
day involved nearly 100000 workers. and
was particularly significant because 1t
was met by the first organized resistance
by the employers to the short working
day The workers insisted upon the
maintenance of the eight hour day, with
half holiday on Saturday, totaling
forty hours a week. The employers
demanded that the workers give the full
forty-eight hour week.
The German trade unions supported
the strike, regarding the employers de-
mands as the first offensive against the
eight hour day. but there Is growing
opinion in Germany that production.
rather than short hours, will assure the
only recovery possible.
Even some OF the Socialists oppose
! the rigid application OF the eight hour
day Notable among these is Max
Cohen, who says: THE best workers
policy Is the productive policy. Workers
should have sufficient freedom to ar
range their own scale with their en-
ployers. in accord with the peculiar con-
dtions of their industry"
Another leader. Kalisky. proposes FIVE
years suspension of the eight hour day
during the period of reconstruction. EN-
pioyers are particularly active In aeltat-
ing against the eight. hour day. claiming
that Germany can continue to compete
in the world markets only If labor costs
are further reduced.