Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1923-04-27

'In answer to the suggestion that
| German labor ought to work the
mines and the railroads, it should be
pointed out, in the first place, that the
railways in Germany are owned by
the state, and that our railway work
| ers, serving the whole community,
| down their tools only then when
French interference makes their work
impossible.
'In the second place, so suggest to
the minRs at this particular time that
the mines be nationalized is to give
them inopportune advice. Everybody
in Germany knows what is happening
to state-oWned industry passing un-
der French control. AS an example
let me cite the state-owned mines in
the Saar Valley that have been taken
over by the French. There the work
ers have been on strike for more than
six weeks in order to obtain even a
decent minimum Of wages. Every
known method of military pressure
is there being exerted to suppress the
workers and their organizations. The
Ruhr workers are not hankering after
repetition of these conditions.
"For the Ruhr workers it must be
said that, if they were merely looking
out for their own interests, they could
temporarily at least, gain advantages
for themselves by being amenable
to the wishes of their French and
Belgian oppressors. But they pos
sess enough of a feeling of solidarity
with their fellow workers in the rest
of Germany to realize that the we'll
being of the whole working lcass is at
stake, and that the triumph of French
and Belgian imperialism would be
deadly blow against all organized
labor.
"Let me emphasize that our atti-
tude toward the invaders is in no way
dictated by any desire to escape from
the obligation of restoring what has
been destroyed by German arms dur
ing the war. The German worker ac-
cepts the reparations obligation as
self-evident. Under the pressure of
organized labor every German cabinet
since the revolution has subscribed
to the "fulfllment policy" i. e., to
the policy of making reparations.
"No, the fight in the Ruhr Valley
is one of opposing the method of
solving problems with the bayonet.
We have not freed ourselves from
German militarism merely now to
land in the arms of French mill
tarismi
"The trade unions, behind whom
stands the great majority of the Ger
man people, have repeatedly offered
their cooperation for reconstructing
the devastated areas of France, and
they have prevailed upon the German
government to endorse these concrete
plans. The French government, how
ever, declined to take our proposals
seriously. This fact necessarily makes
almost every German draw the con-
clusion that the Ruhr has been in
vaded, not for the sake of the repara
tions payments, but for political ends.
against such policy of force,
which will necessarily always lead to
the suppression of the masses of the
people our resistance is directed. We
hope and trust that all self-respecting
workers everywhere in the world will
understand our point of view in this
matter.
81 believe that the German workers
are face to face with an event of
transcending historical Importance.
If they can show that passive resist
ance is stronger than military force,
they will have shown that the whole
system of militarism is ready for the
discard. Thus by this demonstration
in the Ruhr Valley and in the Rhine
land of passive, non-violent opposi-
tion to tyranny German labor may be
destined to point the path toward
freeing humanity from the scourge
of war"