The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-09-10
By G. BEITSCHEK

VI @AtASNA4"N At~D At0'
sufferings in store.
The question is, what are the Austrian social
democrats doing amid the Sitting atmosphere of
the White Terror which has set in after the sup
preston of the July rising? What theories"
do they invoke to justify their latest betrayal of
the working class? Indeed their treacherous role
amid the barrcade fights of the Austrian prole
tarat fragrant that the real nature of social
democracy has been revealed to every worker. Never
theess the Austrian socal-democratic press, upper
turbed in the least does not attempt to justify
the conduct of the social democrats before the inter-
national proetariat. No. this does not at all enter
into the thoughts of the Austrian social democratic
Headers" What is most important to them is to
justify their conduct. before the bourgeoisie.
What is wrong? the naive reader might ask.
Since the Austrian social democrats have splen-
didy acquitted themselves of their role eXtin-
guisher of the flare of revolution, why should they
want to apologize before the bourgeoisie? The
swer is plain. The Austrian bourgeoisie have wit
messed in the days of July how the masses, eschew-
ing their obedience to the social democratic leaders,
began to talk in the language Of Bolshevism. At
first blush the social democrats had manifestly lost
their bearings and they did not put IN sufficient
energy to save the republic. For this the
victorious bourgeoise began to the social
democrats of weakness and "rashness." This of
course, was calling to the leaders, if they
going to say: we have tried our hardest, and
yet you abusing This caused Otto Bauer
theOrst and leader of the Austrian social democracy
to unburden himself of an "apoogetic" speech in
parliament. In the interests of the entire world
wide revolutionary movement this speech ought to
be published broadcast in millions of copies in all
languages, that every worker might read it and
behold The real face of modern social democracy.
Owing to the lack of space must restrict
selves to quoting few passages from that speech.
In his opening remarks Otto Bauer observes that
the revolutionary demonstration of the Vennese pro-
letariat, in which about 300U5U people took part,
had broken out Spontaneously 90 that the social
democrats had been suddenly put in an awkward"
position. Bauer begins to "apologize":
To-day frankly admit: it was our mistake
tragic ignorance of the situation ="
Then he goes on to eoniure up posttdated pros
poets: IH tI Iii|
Had we carried this out in time (the nlobiii-
7ation of the Schutzbund, that is of the social
democratic poce-G b. the Schutzbund might
have easily disposed @ of the handful @ of
several thousand people which INSTRUCTED the
fremen who to put out the flames in the
court building. :"
The word disposed" (gatt fertiggewordenl COM
ing from the lips of Bauer, wel-known opponent
of force" has rather a queer sound.
Otto Bauer goes on to teach the Austrian bour-
geose that for the suppression of the revolutionary
movement there two ways: firearms and moral
force" He reminds the Austrian SPECTATORS and
landowners that in 1918-1919 his party had COPIED
with greater upheava of the masses by
means of moral force"
the masses to reason by means of insistent daily
appeal to common sense"
And so Otto Bauer wonders why the bourgeoise
in 1927 had to resort to the firearm method. Why
did not the bourgeosie try the method of ''moral
suasion" in the masses?
In another passage of Bauers speech descrip-
ton is given of the most salient moments of the
movement.
THE masses were scattered, the demonstra-
ton was over. The police went through the
streets, shooting. There people killed and
wounded When arrived there to save what
could be saved, we met by the calmest and
most reasonable workers, who made but one
request: give arms to defend ourselves In
an instant We sized up the situation: driven by
passion, the crowd had gone mad (here is a
truly social democratic view of the revolution
airy mood of the masses.-G. b.. e. Now
the people going to retaliate. The question
is, by what means ="
1t was then that the social democrats began to
@ava tho hon