Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-06-10
FREE u MOVEMENT
DESCRIBED BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j.. Haskih

WASHINGTON, June THE
statesmen who are seeking to settle
economic and political affairs in Eu-
rope and confronted by an eXtraor-
binary development which is upset
ting many calculations. 1t is a rev.
dictionary movement on the part of
the rising generation in middle Eu-
rope, particularly in Germany and
Austria. Its members, score of
thousands in number, refer to it as
the Freie Deutsche Jugend Or the
Free Youth of Germany.
The movement consists of the
youth of the land, ranging in age
from mere striplings Of ten or
twelve years to students and young
men up to twenty-five years of age.
These youths, both boys and girls,
| have revolted from the social, polt-
ical and economic ties which have
bound them for generations, and
have declared their emancipation.
The manifest demonstrations of
the movement appear in the literal
freedom of these youngsters. They
have become a sort of high class of
tramps or gypsies. In twCs, threes
or groups larger in number they
wander about Germany and Austria,
tasting their first absolute liberty.
To understand this, it must be re-
membered that everyone in middle
! Europe is poor whether he tramps
the road or stays at home. If ne
STAYS at home and works ne is paid
in money which may be worth only
half as much tomorrow IS it is to-
day. There is little inducement for
him to work.
BY wandering about the country,
a healthy young mar or girl can pick
up odd Jobs of work In return for
meals or a nights lodging. On warm
nights it is no hardship to sleep
under hedges or in haystacks, in
I barns or in the fragrant fields be-
meath the stars.
The serious importance of the
Free Youth Movement is seen by the
statesmen attempting to solve Eu-
ropean problems in the fact that the
new generation of workers is slip
ping out of the harness OF the old
economic system. The statesmen do
not declare this is wrong; they
merely are forced to recognize that
if the movement continues. they
must alter completely their calcula-
lions of how debts are TO be paid
and how the worlds work is to be
done.
What Worries the Statesmen
The big question as to Germany
is this: Under the Versailles Treaty,
Germany owes the AlliS hundreds
of millions of dollars in reparations,
payable in money or in goods. 1t is
the plan that these payments shall
extend over a number of years. But
if the rising generation q workers
strikes in this name and declines
to do the industrial labor TO produce
the wealth or money with which to
pay the PREPARATIONS, the statesmen
who have been counting on a contln-
uation OF the old system are con-
fronted by a dilemma for when
there is no obvious solution.
The attitude of the Free Youth
is that they were all children,
some of them unborn. when the war
started in 1914 and particularly
when the old aggressive Hohenzol-
lern policy responsible for the war
was being put into execution. They
declare they are in no way respon-
sible for the loss TO the Allies. They
did not start the war, most of them
did not take part in ii, and they
feel that they W nothing to any
one. Further, they assert that they
are out of sympathy with the old
military system and hat they do
not Tear any threats of force from
the Allies which might be made on
an effort tc collect. The Allied
statesmen find themselves in the po-
sition of a man striking at a soft
pillow. There is nothing to resist.
Reports show that the underlying
causes OF the Free Youth Movement
are deeper than any questions OF
the war or the ~reparations. The
revolt is against the entire system
of repression of which the militar-
ism which caused the war was but a
part. The world is familiar with the
exacting discipline of the German
army and the Mechanical precision
of German efficiency.
From One Extreme to Another
The Free Youth throw off the en-
tire yoke and, as might be expected.
have gone to the opposite extreme
of absolute liberty. II is certain
that a middle ground will be found
but IL is declared to be equally GER
tain that the Free Youth will never
return TO the old strict discipline.
It is reported that bands of them
Iwaik through the spring fields sing