The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-07-25

terest 1t might lie, particularly in
view of the planned anti-Soviet cam
paign. But this would mean getting
embroiled in war, or exactly getting
into mess which they allegedly
wanted to avoid by refusing to join
the revolutionary wave of 1919, at a
time when such action would surely
strongly enhance the chances Of an
European revolution.
THEY went out for democracy" and
for getting the country social
lied" by evolutionary methods" To
obtain 1t they formed a coanCon gov
eminent with the Fascist Christlan-
Socialist Party in which they stayed
from the beginning of 1919 till the
end of 1920. They left the coalition,
practically pushed out by the grow
ing Fascist reaction on the one hand
remember the Ford meneyD and the
discomfort of the masses on the
other. Since then the question of
coalition has been disturbing the
party; then although the disconnected
masses were able by outvoting the
right wingers at the party conven-
tons to prevent an open coalition,
they have not been able to prevent
the social-democratic parliamentar-
ians from constant yelled coalition
in Parliament and other representa-
tive bodies. The masses had to see
the great Specialization" program
given up step by step and their own
revolutionary achievements, foremost
among them the workers councils,
pushed out of existence and finally
dissolved, and the whole party going
clearly to the right.
TRUE, the party was pushing forth
its program of social legislation:
child labor laws, 8-hour law, protec-
ton Of home workers, unemployment
funds and was thus able to keep its
foothold in the masses. But the
masses saw the effect of this an
nulledS by growing unemployment
(about 10000 unemployed), by the
mounting cost of living and by the
anomalous condition of the whole
economic life of the country, absolu-
tely deprived of any possibility of
existence and without a ray of hope
to change it under the present condi-
tons. True, the party has entrenched
itself particularly in the municipality
of Vienna and was developing there
a grand program of housing as we'll
as program of workers entertain
ments, sport, education ETC., thus
again offering the masses some re-
formist crumbs. But the masses had
to see their tenement law trampled
upon by the emboldened landlords
and their treasured defence guard de-
prived, thanks to the weakness of
their leaders, of any real chance of
arming itself.
N the meantime the fascist reaction
was on the march. Events were
developing in the neighboring Fas-
cist Hungary that were not only
Strengthening the hand of Fascism
in Austria but were foreshadowing
possible plunging of the country in
to violent counter-revolutiona
turmoil with the figure of Haps-
burg returning to his "happy Aus
tria." The provocations of armed Fas-
cist Government with it's reactionary
police troops, recruited from the most
backward pc ant communities
against the defenseless workers
reached a elimination point. The
masses were demanding retaliation
for their murdered brothers. Capt.
talist justice was freeing the muir
derers and hooking the workers. The
masses lost patience. They were
looking for leadership. The small
Communist Party could not organize
the movement, but it was able to
penetrate it, give it the necessary
slogans and put itself unflinchingly
in its lead. The masses moved
THIS time the model" Social DEM
ocracy could no more play with
their usual phraseology, they had to
face the rising masses, they had to
act. And they acted so that their
real role as the marauders of the
revolutionary labor movement will no
more be concealed to the Austrian
working masses. They did everything
not only to "bring order" into the
mass movement, to retard it's impe-
tus, but in their political cretinism
they decided to use this uprising of
the masses to force their parliament
tary schemes of a coalition govern
ment with the very butchers of the
masses. This they were doing at q
time when they themselves by their
anti-revolutionary tactics were de-
priving the masses Of every vestige
of forceful pressure. In consequence
they were slapped in the face by the
emboldened fascist Seipel govern
ment.
THE Austrian Social Democracy has
now shown it's counter-revolu-
tionary face to the masses. 1t has
clearly shown to the masses that it