Palisadian., 1923-02-16
URGE RUHR LABOR
TO HOLD FIRM
Germans in House to House Can
vass Seek to Defeat French
Aims in Occupied Area.
SOME COAL TRAINS MOVING
French Guarantee Pensions of Ger
man Officials Who Ignore Berlin
orders-Workers Are Against
the Hohenzollerns.

observation-disclosures through
out the Ruhr and Rhineland the most
active propaganda is going on to en-
courage resistance and stimulate the
national spirit, Religious as we'll as
political organizations are engaged in
house to house canvass among the
miners, railroad workers and citizens.
Protestant leagues and Catholic
brotherhoods are equally sharing in
the work with nationalist. monarchist
and pan-German organizations.
II the Social Democrats and Social
lists are not taking part, 1t is simply
because the organizers of this resis-
tance campaign have not tackled them
in exactly the right way and have
too lightly regarded them as sure sup
porters Of the Nationalist cause.
All this propaganda work is d.
rected from Munster and Elberfeld,
on the north and south sides of the
Ruhr, where former President Fuchs
and DR.. Schmidt, the former Burgo-
master of Elberfeld, are in command.
They are using every means with
which to strengthen and support their
campaign, but the most common of
all their arguments is the simple one
that II the people will hang on just
one month more M. Poincare will GER
tainly be defeated and the French
troops withdrawn from the Ruhr
Already In Dusseldorf shortage of
some foodstuffs, such as sugar and
milk. which has resulted from the
strike, has begun to worry the peo-
pie. At the house doors the can
vassers of the resistance campaign
are being met by the questions as to
whether the Government cannot do
something else.
There are beginning to be signs of
discomfort and dissatisfaction with
the way in which resistance is being
conducted. Even the railroad strike
has failed to this extent and the
French, by herculean labors, managed
to ship three trainloads of coal out of
the district toward France. These
three trainloads are the first con-
signment from 400 cars which have
been collected at Wedar, near Duis-
burgh, and are all ready for shipment.
This success for the French may be
small in size but it is important In
! that its effect on opinion both in
France and here is not small.
| On their ide the Germans have not
had any success at all + shipping
coal through the Gordon. On the
eastern side the blockade is complete
and soner or later, even the Germans
are beginning to admit. something
drastic will have to be done to alter
the situation. which in months
time will begin to strangle Germany
just as she was strangled by the
blockade in the war
The workers in the Ruhr district
are far more opposed to the House
OF Hohenzollern than they are to the
French and II 1t is the French inten
ton to foster Rhineland republic,
nothing would give them either a bet
ter excuse or more chance of success
than such royalist undertaking
bound. as 1t would be, to fall from
lack or the munitions and armaments
which the Ruhr alone can give.
One OF the strongest factors in the
French position is that nothing has
occurred which could in any way be
twisted to give the occupation of the
district an appearance of harshness.
An order has been issued that no
tipping cars shall be sent out of the
district, either loaded or empty. This
measure has been taken to prevent
gradual reduction in the number of
available cars in the district. Ever
! since tine establishment of the coal
barrier, the Germans have. been try
! ing to deplete tie district of coal cars
| by sending out genera merchandise
on special tipping cars which are es-
sential for the loading of coal on
barges. That manoeuvre will now be
stopped.