The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-12

READER!
Forward from the February Up
rising to Red October!
Workers, Republican Guards,
Comrades!
The Austrian workers have fought
a gigantic battle. It was the first
uprising of the working class Of a
whole country against a fascist die
tatorship. The boundless revolu-
tionary heroism, the undaunted
boldness in the face of death, shown
by the Republican Guards and the
Communists in the joint struggle,
form beacon which will point the
way for ever to the international
proletariat in its struggle for eman-
cipation from capitalist slavery. The
working class of the whole world
greets the brave heroes Of the bar
ricades, and lowers his flags in
honor of the victims of the open
conflict and of the gallows.
Massacre of Workers
The Dollfuss-Fey government has
crushed this uprising with a bru-
tality which finds its parallel only
ir the massacres committed by the
butchers of the Paris Commune.
This government directs murderous
IRE from guns and mine -throwers
upon workers tenements, in which
there are defenseless women and
children. 1t has caused workers
headquarters to be set on fire. 1t
has set up gallows all over the
country. 1t throws sincere and hon
est workers into Jail for 20 years,
for life.
Dollfuss Hypocrisy
The government is accompanying
its terror and the suppression of all
the rights of the workers with the
Jesuitical hypocrisy that it is rep
resenting the Austrian people" that
it's desire is the renewal of Aus
tria. No. This fascist government
supported on the points of bayonetS
and the mouths of cannon, is a gov
eminent of hangmen, a government
of murder, of starvation, and prep
aration for war. 1t is a government
of lies and deception. Not one word
of its proclamations is true. not one
word of the speeches of its mem
bers. They lie as only Jesuits can
lie. This government knows only
one goal The renewal" of the
profit system of the Christian and
Jewish industrial magnates and fl
nancial kings, of the aristocrats and
large landowners-of the system
tottering under the crisis. The only
fright" to be left the starving
masses is to preserve law and order
whilst being exploited and trampled
underfoot. The fascist dictatorship
government must be combatted with
rodorbled determination.
How Did DOlIfuss Succeed?
How has it been possible for this
government, supported only by a
few thousand paid mercenaries, and
by the priests and capitalists, to
crush the heroic forces of the work
ers, fighting with such elan and
with such an arsenal of arms? In
view of the hundreds of dead among
the workers, and in view Of the fact
that tens of thousands of workers
have been involved in the armed
struggle, and with them many So
cial democratic functionaries who
have fought honorably, we Commu-
nists state clearly and distinctly, in
full consciousness of our RESPONSE
bility: The blame lies at the door
of the whole policy of Austrian So
cial democracy in the past and dur
ing the days of the uprising.
Social Democratic Strategy
What was the defeatist strategy
of social democracy in the days of
the uprising? The workers took up
arms to overthrow the fascist die
tatorship and to establish social
ism. But the social democratic
leaders. headed by Otto Bauer, were
anxious to exploit the no longer
restrainable fighting determination
of the masses for the purpose of
maintaining their own positions in
the system of the Dollfuss dictator
ship. Therefore they did not give
the masses the political goal of the
overthrow Of the fascist dictator
ship, the sole goal which could have
led to victory-they preferred to
chatter of the defense of the con-
stitution"
Therefore they did nothing to
lead the whole of the masses of
the workers, the gigantic army Of
the entire working class, into the
general strike and the armed in
surrection. Therefore they issued
no clear and binding directives for
the general strike, and indeed
broke 1t off from the beginning.
Socialists in Patriotic Front"
The social democratic leaders of
the railway men went over to the
Patriotic Front, and dealt a deci-
sive blow against the general strike,
whilst thousands of railway men in
the workshops and depots were
waiting for the call for the general
strike. On Monday evening the ty-
biographical workers commenced
work. which would have been i'm
possible without leave from the
trade unions. BY this It was made
possible for the government to
spread its lying reports, carrying
disruption into the ranks of the
fighters. Seitz, the president Of the
Social Democratic Party, handed
over the city hall to the fascists
without struggle, without calling
upon the masses to defend a build
ing always stressed by the Socialist
Party as the symbol of its political
power With the city hall as head
quarters, the fascist Schrnitz was
able to send out his instructions for
the strangulation Of the strike
movement in the municipal dis
trictS.
On Wednesday morning the
trauawav MON ran tho traxnc os,f