The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-07-20
By FRITZ HECKERT (BerIin).

| Inc facts are known to all: 70
dead and $50 more or less seriously
| injured men, women, and children of
the Berlin working class-such are
the victims of the police attack of
the Social Democrat Zorgiebel. The
last resources of the "Freest Re-
public on Earth" truncheons and
police revolvers, have triumphed
magnificently. An examination of
the casualties showed that they
were all victims of the arms of the
police, including the only policeman
wounded by shot. The police pro-
ceeded as if they had been in the
country of an enemy. The indigna-
ton at their cruelty is universal.
Even the docile democratic press re-
fuses to be identified with such pro-
ceedings. Only the Social Demo-
Gratis, led by Samplers "Vorwarts,"
defend every action of ZorgiebePs.
The reactionaries are content with
the Social Democratic "preservers of
the peace" merely regretting that
the sanguinary first of May was
limited to Berlin.
Social Democratic Plot.
Zorgiebel is known to have "pro-
ceeded throughout in collision with
the leaders of the Social Democratic
Party and of the General German
Trade Union Federation" To quote
his own words, he "was in constant
touch with the leading comrades"
Nay, there is an unrefuted rumor
t. the effect that the reformist trade
union leaders had insisted on a pro-
hibition of the May Day demonstra-
ton. This is also in accordance with
the accusation of the bourgeois press
that the Socialist Party of Germany,
/ frightened at the Communist sue
cesses at the factory council cleo
tions, organized the massacre for
reasons of rivalry with the Commu-
mist Party of Germany. Be this as
| it may, in the Prussion Diet Grzesin-
ski approved all the measures of the
police, the Social Democratic chair
man of this assembly forcibly eject
/ ing a dozen Communist Deputies
from the session hall on account Of
their protests.
S. d. Police Provocation.
With a view to clear himself and
his police of the unfavorable impress
sion aroused by the shooting and
truncheoning of defenceless people,
among them several foreign and ma
tive journalists, Zorgiebel convoked
a conference of representatives of
the foreign press. To the question,
how it was that no policeman had
been killed or wounded by "shots
fired from the windows" he replied
that this fact was merely owing to
the agility of his men. He there
upon disclosed" that Manuilski had
been sent from Moscow to Berlin for
the purpose of organizing the rising.
The Social Democrat with the tradi-
tional police brain hoped by this i'm
pudent assertion to gain the under
standing and appreciation of the
foreign journalists for the violence
he had meeted out to many non-Com-
munists. Severing made an equally
stupid mistake in attempting to evict
the correspondent of the "Pravda"
for his report on the May-Day &C.
currences. Praise of a sort, it is
true, was not withheld from the lead
ers of the S. P. G.. abroad. The
Temps" remarked that the German
Social Democrats had acted with
the brutality which is characteristic
of the German nature"
This kind of praise, however, is
not suited to gaining Germany
friends abroad. This was recognized
by Stresemann, who therefore asked
Severing to refrain from interfering
in foreign affairs.
The May massacre was imme-
diately followed by the prohibition
of the Red Front Fighters League.
Thus a long standing intention of
the S. p. G. leaders was realized.
Years ago Severing boosted that he
would prohibit the said league, and
Grzesinski now seized the oppor-
tunity to get rid Of it. On this oc-