The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-02-21
They Cannot Blot Out The
Stain of Betrayal With Blood
of the Austrian Workers!

THE SOCIALIST LEADERS are striving to blot out
the hideous stain Of their betrayas with the blood
Of the Austrian working class.
They are striving to cloak the long series of their
actions which led to the Fascist trumphs in Germany
and Austria
Now they issue statements pretending admiration
for the heroic Austrian workers They cannot nat1r-
ally do otherwise at this time with the working class
Of the world inspired by the dauntless struggles Of
the Austrian proletariat the barricades.
But the leader Of the Austrian Socialist Party
Otto Bauer, at this very moment ISLANDERS the work
ers Of Austria and apologies for their armed strlg
giles by declaring;
Il arranged for them to be told Ito the Linz
workers. that II in Vienna could submit patient
ly to search for arms in the Party headquarters
they must do the same, Apparently the message ar
rived too late"
And this hero" of social-Democracy, whom the
Socialist leaders Of this country still hold up to the
workers great fighter" against Fascism etc. etc.
also revealed in his eagerness to apologize to the
bourgeoisie for the armed struggles Of the Austrian
proletariat:
I'VE offered to make the greatest concessions
that democratic and sOcialstic Party ever made
We let DOnfuss know that if he would only pass
bill through Parliament would accept measure
authorizing the government to rule BY DECREE
WITHOUT PARLIAMENT FOR TWO YEARS
Such is the unashamed confession of the Aus
triau Socialist leaders, Otto Bauer He offered DOLL
fuss Fascist government If only he was permitted
TO take part in it,
This Is What Is Meant by SociaI-Fascisn1
So it was not due to the fighting spirit of the
leaders Of Austrian Socal-Democracy that the Aus
TRAN workers took arms against Fascism It was in
spite Of and against the express wishes and orders
Of that leadership that they took the road of armed
struggle against Fascism.
But it is fact of the profoundest significance for
The American working class that the leaders of the
American Socialist Party are making fundamentally
he for
as the Austrian Socialist leaders do Norman Thomas
and the Socialist New Leader of course are not chary
OF words Of enthusiasm etc. etc. for the Austrian
proletariat. ra..4.-..
But they too like Otto Bauer, STRIVE TO CAN
Gel THE REVOLUTIONARY LESSONS of this up-
rising by apologizng for and deprecatng the glorious
armed battles Of the Austrian workers
The Socialist New Leader in its leading editorial
his week apologies to bourgeois public opinion
They have not resorted to physical conflict as
free choice They have been patient =" it pleads
in extenuatiOn of the uprising.
And Norman Thomas, leading American exponent
of the same peaceful road to Socialism" by which
Otto Bauer led the Austrian workers into the trap
of Fascism declares in the New Leader this week:
"Fhe Socialists did not provoke the battle It
was forced upon them by the ever-ncreasing repres
sions of the DoIlfuss dictatorship.
What does Norman Thomas mean here bv "nro-
voking" the battle? Is not here the cIearest adms
sion that the Socialist leaders had the slightest
intentions Of ever leading the Austrian workers in
armed struggle against Fascism that they made not
the slightest preparations for this struggle? That on
the contrary they actively crippled the resistance of
the Austrian workers by systematic policy Of offer
ing one Concession" after another to Dolfuss?
What does the New Leader mean by a free
choice" or Norman Thomas by provoking? What
did he expect the Austrian workers to do-connue be-
ing patient in obedience to the orders of their lead
ers? If the Austrian workers had obeyed their leader
hIS Ead
If they continued to be patient under search for
arms" as Otto Bauer urged them then the Austrian
workers could not have taken the road of revolution
airy struggle
The New Leader continues its unwilling reyela-
lions Of Social Democratic treachery:
They have at times yielded reluctantly Ia avoid
civil Every concession had only invited further
encroachments upon the rights of the masses
1t was the Austrian Socialist leaders who urged
the workers to surrender step by step the precious
advances that they had in the revolution inn
mediately after the It was the Socialist leades
who urged them to submit to wage cuts slashes in
unemployment relief. And most damnable of all it
was the Socialist leaders who agreed to the conces
sion" Of disarming and disbanding the sole armed
defense of the Socialist workers the Schutzbund sim
ply becat9e the Heimwehr leaders and Dollfuss re-
ouested it, and they wished to avoid civil war"l
But is there anyone who cannot now see that it
precisely these concessions" forced upon the So
calist workers by their treacherous leaders which
strengthened the Fascists step by step and finally per-
mitted them to deliver the final blow Of open Fascist
dictatorship?
Says Norman Thomas.
Fortunately the workers well prepared"
But we're they? Norman Thomas tries to conceal
the fact that the workers of Austria launched into
the battle, despite the fact that they had been sYs
DRAMATICALLY DISARNrED BY THE SOCIAL
DEMOCRATIC LEADERS!
But no words Of his can ever wash away the his
oTc fact that last July the Socialist leaders the Otto
BauerS, the Mayor Steitz, and Others agreed to let
Delfuss disarn the Socialist armed defense the Re-
publican Defense Corps the schutzbund The Social
ls leaders no doubt agreed to make this little
cession" only "in order to avoid civil war"
But thousands of Socialist men and women and
even children have already paid in blood for this little
"concession" OF the Socialist leaders
The whole policy OF the Socialist leaders all over
the world is precisely summed up in this betrayal
tacticto surrender the workers to the capitalists to
the bourgeose "to avoid civil war" to accept every
attaeS OF the capitalist rulers ito avoid civil war"
hvrf To kt.r