Evening star., 1934-02-18
DOL[FUSS HOLDS
REVOLT PLOT old
Says Socialists Have Plan
ned Armed Attack for
Years in Review.


saddest Of his life and accused
Socialists Of plotting armed attacks
against the government for several
years"
Twenty thousand members OF the
Socialist Republican guards participat-
ed in this weeks events" he main
tanned, referring to Socialist general
strike and subsequent uprising against
the government, in which thousands
were killed or wounded.
This gives a clear indication that
the great mass of Socialists, who num-
bered 1,250,000 in the last election,
lost contact with their leaders.
THE government and all who are
with us will do the utmost to obtain
human working rights for the labor
classes of Austria
Vengeance Plan Evident.
AS he spoke to foreign correspond
ents in the chanceilory, evidence was
at hand that many embittered Social
lists. defeated in the revolt, were
algning themselves with Nazis to gain
revenge against their conquerors.
The f1ve-foot statesman, whose
popular description, the fighting
chancellor" gained new meaning with
the firm way in which his forces
quelled the insurrectionary movement.
received the correspondents in a huge
room adorned with a picture of Franz
Josef. the last Austro- Hungarian
monarch.
Under the pretext of building huge
q no ~
class, the Socialists really built fort
resses for long-planned civil war;"
he charged.
The smuggling of arms and am
munition into Austria are indications
that events of this week we're planned
for years"
Deutsch Denies Charge.
(Dr Julius Deutsch, an Austrian
Socialist leader who fled to CZecho-
slovakia, branded similar allegation
as a falsehood, and pointed out that
"fortreSSes are not built with large
windows" such as we're in the large
Socialist apartment houses.
The session was a tragic one, with
touch of drama added by the fact
that the diminutive but information
ally known chancellor spoke to the
world press across a pile of explosives
powerful enough to blow the chan
cellory to bits.
To more than one correspondent
who had heard and seen the terrific |
Smelling of the Floridsdorf workers
section and wandered, horror struck
through its streets Of death, the sight |
Of Dollfuss was as pathetic as the |
F1oridsdorf bombardment itself.
Eyes Manifest Inner Distress.
For the little chancellors face was
kindly and cherubic as ever, but in |
his eyes lay the pain Of inner dis
tress.
With absolute f1rmness and sincerity |
the foe Of the Nazis told his hearers |
ithat the workers fats laid waste by |
government artillery fire were fort |
resses built for civil war under the |
cloak Of workers welfare and with |
welfare funds"
He said Socialists had prepared |
themselves for a long siege with !
bombproof shelters for women and |
children, with an abundant supply |
of food and water so that the only |
possible way to take these buildings |
and spare further heavy losses among |
our brave troops was with cannon"
The chancellor added he observed |
with pain and regret that "the public |
mind, especially in England and |
America, takes a stand against the |
Austrian government"
I'VE are not attackers" he asserted |
I'VE did the utmost to spare lives. |
That we had to be firm, that we could |
not shorten the catastrophe with half !
measure should be clear to every one. |
Says Half Measure Hurt.
every half measure in such a situ
alton only costs more human life"
Looking back over the events of the |
past few years, said the chancellor,
I'VE can see now why this catastrophe
was inevitable.
"As far back as 1925, the Socialist
leader, Otto Bauer, limited that the
proletariat would use force If it could
not achieve its ends through dernoc-
racy
Next came the tragic riots of July,
1927, when 98 persons, including four
women and one child, lost their lives.
But the lesson Of 1927 remained
unlearned. Although we might have
expected it, what happened Mon
day took us completely by surprise.
1T was the saddest week of my life,
but q bright spot was the fact that
my appeal to workers to surrender
before Thursday noon and receive
amnesty did not go unheeded.
Thus at least further harsh actions
could be avoided"
10000 Socialists in Riots.
Dollfuss said only 10000 armed So
cialists participated in the Civil War
in all sections of Austria.
In view of Austria's population OF
6,500,000 "and the fact that Socialists
in the last general election polled
1,5O0,o 900 votes approximately AZ per !
cent of the total vote in Austria) this |
small participation, he went on
shows that radical leadership is no !
longer represented in the mass of
workers
"It was small but extraordinarily |
well armed minority which took up
arms against the government.
The total death list in the civil
war, he said, was only 239. |
This is sad enough" he asserted,
OUT eAdSBtIdueu lLSulco puOiioHCH
abroad only make matters worse"
He paid a warm tribute to "those
who gave their lives to save our coun-
try from the terrible catastrophe and
all who voluntarily riSked their lives"
Hopes Lesson Learned.
ct hope the blood which flowed in
our land will bring people to their
senses" DollfusS said
A fear among workers that brutal
capitalism now will come" because
socialism was crushed he described as
unfounded.
1--WE are Christians and human
enough to do the utmost to see that
the worker gets his rights"
Just before the chancellor spoke
Undersecretary Karivinsky of the
public security department announced