The daily worker., 1934-11-13
, ,Sehutzbund
Talks
OF Lost Cause
Socialist Heads Mourn
Defeat of Bourgeois
Democracy

"We cannot go into the reasons
for the defeat Of the Vienna upris-
ing at this tragic time," mourned
DR.. julius Deutsch, former COM
mander of the Austrian Schultz
bund, at a meeting held Sunday
night at the Mecca Temple under
the auspices of the Socialist Party.
Rapidly filling the hall, the crowd
Of Socialists and sympathizers sat
tensely in expectation Of hearing
some account of the militant and
Widespread struggle of the Austrian
workers against fascism, an admis-
sion, or at least a few words of eX-
PLANTATION, of how the Austrian So
cial-Democracy had up to the last
moment before the conflict crippled
the defenses of the proletariat, and
a brief outline of the present gath
ering of forces maSsed against Aus
trtan capitalism.
Instead the audience struggled
against the funeral atmosphere OF
defeat and detection which un-
wound with every speech. Charney
Vladeck, business manager of the
Jewish Daily Forward, confessed
that he was astonished to learn
that leaflets were really distributed
in Austria, and before he intro
duced the first speaker insisted
that everyone Nepeat the mystic
wish which Deutsch echoed in his
speech: THE dead of February,
they have not died; they will live
agsinp The background of horror
stories was laid down by Gerhart
Seger, a former leader of the
Social-Democrsts in the Reich
stag, who concluded his dirge-
like account with the statement
that all "the German workers de-
sired was the democratic right to
be active in their labor movement
again"
Deutsch, whom even bourgeois
observers declared killed the revolt
of the Austrian workers by delay
ing all preparations until it was too
late for anything except hopeless
resistance" prefaced his speech by
saying that since "the geographical
center of Europe was Austria, it
became easy to maneuvre her fate.
Consequently Austria had to choose
between Hitler and Mussolini."
Deutsch continued to harp on the
nationalist theme that not capital
ism oppressed the country's toiling
masses but Italian imperialism, that
the liberation Of the workers from
fascism was to be achieved not by
overthrowing its source, monopoly
capital, but by regaining bourgeois
democracy, such as rules in Swift
zerland, which he described as
state of democratic liberation"
Reminiscing about what the
Social-Democracy had done for the
workers in the heyday of its glory,
he depicted the public baths, the
parks, and the beautiful up-to-date
Apartment houses (Which few wage
workers inhabited, according to
statistics. This is what we must
fight to recapture," he exclaimed.
Concluding with the observation on
the Austrian tragedy" that "even
its singing societies were abolished"
he called on the apathetic audience,
'for the honor of our class" ito
retake Vienna as it was!"
Vladeck assured the audience
four or five times that every penny
of. the four hundred and odd dol
lars collected would go to the Aus
trian working class, announced that
he hoped that all Socialists would
support the new movement to con-
solidate the Socialist Party with
the American Federation of Labor
(Which was greeted in absolute
sifence), and thus closed the
meeting.