Bread and Freedom Far Away As Ever, Hearer of Hitler Finds
Bread and Freedom Far Away As Ever, Hearer of Hitler Finds American Socialist Goes to Hear "Great" May Day Address of "Der Fiihrer" — Announcement of Policies Turns Out to Be Empty...
...it appeared that was a heap of ruins about him...
...The first three-quarters of an hour Herr Hitler devoted to the inspirational part of his speech...
...His motion was, of course, ruled out of order...
...Well, a show in which only the interlocutor is the capitalist, and the chorus and ends real honest to goodness workers...
...Re-read nearly four decades later, one still feels the thrill of the moment...
...And All Is Quite Merry — i By S. A. DeWitt A New Wonder I ADIEU and gentlemen, we have thia day a new * under a real curiosity...
...A clear gain of 12 over Mr...
...1 Resolution passed by the student body of a hrge German uni- ] versity: "When a Jew speaks German he lies...
...We mean the magic he has of emptying your pockets and making you shed your shirts and things...
...Oh, no," aaid Sir William, "1 can dispose of that now by saying t h a t the House does sympathize with these poor people...
...Line form* oi this side...
...Bread and freedom seem to be about as far away as aver...
...From a New Leader Corresp...
...The whole German i n . t i n n listened in to the great meeting in Tempelhof, Berlin...
...Herman Vogel ia in a class all by himself aa the highhatted interlocutor...
...Two miners struck in I a reduction in Sir William Herat the Rosebcry S vote of rondo aeh people...
...W. M. F . i Get Together pe to Get Ahead i Must Pilot I There Is to bal Way Out bigger whack at » start...
...And say folks you ought to sec him in hia famous stripping act...
...As I left the hall (with a little group of un-faithfuls) I asked them why they didn't solve the unrmployment problem by letting all the Germans take in one another's washing...
...Tli<- .lavish llasttr approaches...
...He declined an invitation to dinner at the White House because Grover Cleveland had crushed the Debs strike...
...The longannounced program failed to materialize...
...There he is, the guy who bought a two and a half million dollar yacht, and established a paper loss of twenty-one million dollars just about the time income tax day cams around...
...Then we stood under a lilac bush in the dark, with rain dripping on our necks, and we sure did laugh —or was it crying Wc did...
...We expected some attempt at constructive proposals to meet the crisis of the six million unemployed...
...On April 23rd, 1901, Hardie in troduced his famous Socialist bill "That considering" this and thai "this House is of the opinion thai such a state . . . is a menace tc the well-being of the Realm, and calls for legislation designed tc remedy the same by inaugurating a Socialist Commonwealth founded upon the common ownership oi land and capital, production foi use and not for profit, and equality of opportunity for every citizen...
...Only as the workers stand Wgether ean they go ahead...
...Without uniting the workers don't have a Chinaman's chance...
...Bread and Freedom Far Away As Ever, Hearer of Hitler Finds American Socialist Goes to Hear "Great" May Day Address of "Der Fiihrer" — Announcement of Policies Turns Out to Be Empty Ranting...
...Faithful and un-faithful alike, we <vere keyed up to the highest pitch, of expectancy...
...He failed •ipidly, and on September 2Gth, .nr., he passed peacefully away at umnock...
...Get inside and see how J. P. and his twenty cowboys roped in twenty million widows, orphans and 'uncles with Chilean Bonds, Peruvian Bonds, Brazilian Bonds, Bolivian Bonds, German Bonds, all kinds of bonds, all kinds of mergers, all kinds of hooey, all manners of flimflam and financial horsemanure...
...Herr Ilugenberg is one of Herr Hitler's chief supports, and belongs to the millionaire wing of the German National Socialist Workers' Party...
...He came to be one of the best loved of all the great Socialist leaders...
...Think of it...
...Lyrics, gags and the rest stolen bodily from the classics by the Chuttctboxcr...
...For an hour we listened to the blaring of military bands (made even worse by the tinny echo of the radio) and constantly interrupted by the hoarse and straining voice of the official announcer...
...It was proper...
...He read telegrams describing how many hundreds of thousands of people were parading in all parti of the Reich, and how many millions of swastika flags were decorating the streets...
...Together with MacDonald, Snowden, Jowett and Anderson he stood i t against war while the Labor HIv as a whole supported it at rxt...
...Point I I : We are going to build a lot of roads...
...When the congratulatory motion came up, therefore, he spoke against it "in the interest of the dignity of the House, and in proteat against the House declining to take official cognizance of the terrible accident...
...He bitterly opposed the Boer war and suffered much unpopularity as a result...
...And taxes on the higher brackets, on so-called gifts, marked off losses and swollen inheritances should be sent up the elevator...
...Hardie then gave official notice of an amendment to the motion, in which the Queen was to be asked to express sympathy for the families of the victims i of the disaster, and the House to express "its detestation of the system which made the periodic sacrifices of miners' lives inevitable...
...He was offered up to 1500,000 in cash by a San Francisco capitalist for merely saying a good word for Free Silver in a speech...
...And all the gags, songs and skits make merry with everything sacred from Karl Marx'a whiskers down to the G.P.U...
...of his magnificent work in driving through the Trades Union Congress against unbelievable opposition a resolution that resulted in the creation of the Labor party...
...Everybody would be working, with hours short enough, yet the standard of living would be on the up all the time...
...Hope on some faces, tense attention on others...
...Got the Floradora Sextette shrivelled tc dried string beans...
...The Schachta of Flushing will play violin solos and duets . . . . Sarah Pliskin will piny the pianoforte in recital, and you can gulp chow meln and tea, and tries dance . . . all for fifty cents...
...Fifty million people were said to be listening to this very important speech in which Hi 11 Hitler was to annpunce to his faithful subjects (and also to hia un-faithful) just exactly what his government intended to do, item I by item...
...face like a plate ©1 borscht, ruler of forty countries and dictator of these Unit*) States...
...He traveled throughout the world, winning respect and honor everywhere...
...Ladles and gentlemen . . . The Big Friday Show A N D while you are being enticed to spend your dime on * * this side show, may I do a little barking for the one and only proletarian minstrel show, chow mein party, musical and dance that is being given by the Flushing branch of the Socialist Party this Friday evening, May 26th, at the Moose Hall, 135-17 Northern Boulevard, Flushing, L. I. We trust this paper reaches you in time to jump a train, dive into tha subway or motor out to the village of flowers and ageold trees...
...The press was vile in its treatment of Hardie—but it was learned years later that there were cheers among printers and even news newspaper writers when Hardie'i brave words came over from St Stephen's...
...At International- Congresses he fought for the HardieVailliant resolution to declare a general strike in case of war...
...Income taxes of the large part of the population on meager earnings should be scaled down and exemptions raised...
...A newspaper writer at the time described the scene: "I've been in a wild beast show at feeding time...
...When we left the hall our heads ached, and we felt utterly exhausted...
...For industry to get off the rocks, labor will have to pilot...
...I should judge there were perhaps 20 unfaithfuls in the hall, all sitting ae quiet as pie among their 180 very positively faithful neighbors...
...There was I an audience o f 200 and the meet; ing was of course under the aus! pices of the brown shirts...
...Inerson argued *F which cannot •>«e should be wwrnment meas!*• operation of • a the chance to "T civilized, lbs only one act...
...Then came the long-expected program...
...landed...
...The answer i s : Higher taxes from those who have the big pilea of unearned and unused wealth...
...A colossal performance, ladies and gents . . . admission ten cents...
...J>LACARD on the Brown House, in Cologne: "The Jews are our misfortune...
...Not in ail the wilds of Borneo oi Madagascar can such a apecimen be found...
...Ha controls a hundred natidhal banks, fifty billion dollar corporations, and ever aince he bought himself an estate in merrie Old England, has twisted a delightful cockney strain into his speech...
...Come in and see the Daughters of the American Revolution do the jitters everytime his florid majesty doea a gulp and squirm under the pinch of Pecora or the kick of Couzens...
...Come in and learn how to lose it in private banks...
...Two dally moved an Itulation on the . infant...
...Some man, quetta uomo, quel komme, qua hombre...
...That is I splotch of red" they called him—rose and inquired whether a vote of sympathy would also be moved to the victims of the mine disaster...
...One thing Hitler said was that all Germans must learn to do their share of the work for the Fatherland...
...Don't Get Nervous...
...P r o f i l e s pj is now the On the same day •plosion at the Cilfynyild, South KO men and boys On the following est, President of ausinated...
...of his political leadership in the House and in the country, and of his widening Importance on the world Socialist movement...
...k the vaults of • • a t he stopped Only ao can industry behave itself for the good of the nation...
...Need I add that the motion was defeated T We have space left for but hasty mention of Hardie's political work in founding "the Independent Labor Party at Bradford in 1893...
...Jake Pliakin ia the singing plumber...
...Take a last lingering look at the bloke whe gave you Charley Mitchell and the lesaer lights...
...Admiaaion ten cents, one dime...
...A Jew may write ' only in Hebraic...
...Fur weeks the press had been saying, "On May 1st the first part o f the 4-year plan of the government will be given out...
...Hardie received twenty minutes to present his case, and contemporary reports indicate that his speech waa a masterpiece of clarity and restrained idealism...
...And that was all—just a casual word of sympathy...
...Hardie went to explain to hia conituents why he opposed the war, J t he was howled down at Aber•u e. Later responsive audiences id not hesl the bitter wound...
...And aren't you all in...
...Here Mhat the spread pwd toward the • r p l u s for plant W well o u t Re* be looked to *** be swept out...
...When labor gets on the job to look out for itself, this is about the way it will handle the task of building up the buying power of the vast majority to consume what can be produced...
...No crowing, please, and plenty of room inside...
...You might learn something about being a successful financier by just looking at htm...
...Now don't get nervoua, ladies, we don't mean he'll become a nudist before your eyes...
...And while you folks are asked to pay through youi noses for this tax and that, for thia cauae and that, foi relief, for charity, for everything, who ia the magician wh< escapes millions in income taxes with the stroke of ai accountant's pen and the advice of a million dollar fw lawyer . . . who else but J. P. Ali Baba and his twentj buccaneers, , . . Twenty men on a dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of 3.2 suds...
...There was a similar resolution in 1923, introduced by Philip Snowden, and one like it in the Canadian Parliament a few weeks ago, each resulting in a spirited discussion of Socialism...
...Line forms on this side...
...He mill not see what lay ahead, the iiimpli of his ideas...
...What a number...
...He fought like a lion against i t ; but it came...
...he declined, and three days later he landed in Butte, Montana,' with eleven cents in his pocket...
...Hand bills distributed in the Alexanderplatz, Berlin: "German • mothers, protect your children...
...Come oi in and kneel down before him, bump your head against tht ground six times, and then go out and join the bread line You may never get that chance again to do homage befor* the anointed one...
...He made none...
...Why lose your money in National Banks, State Banks, S a v i n g s Banks, or Florida Sand Banks...
...Ike Kaplan of tha famous Kaplan and Kahn buck and wing team Interprets Marx with Talmudic intoning, and Gil Sack/nan sings that distinguished patriotic hymn "No More Money in the Bank" with devastating correctness...
...I've been at a football match when a referee gave a wrong decision . . . but in all my natural life I've never witnessed a scene like this...
...A public rehearsal of private bankera...
...of his brilliant leadership of that party...
...They howled and yelled and screamed, but he stood his ground...
...the nations are I chopping down would each build I with the lowest |at be slow altoWering they are rmts, they might sroad, however bient...
...Come in, come in, dear people, and see the solicitioui Senators defend the big lion of Doughdom from the nasi] gnats who dare to sting him...
...They will have to choose repreaentatives, as part of the organized labor movement, to look after their Interests...
...Hardie's speech waa one of the most courageous ever delivered in a parliamentary body...
...Point I: Repair your houses and thus provide work for^tfiose who need it...
...So cracked a noble heart...
...It was short and sweet, and consisted of two points...
...There he ii J. P. Morgan himself, in person, in the flesh, bigger thui life, noae like his father—almost...
...P» the measure Pt prices...
...Tim Daly sings, dancea and flings hia delightful brogue against delighted ears...
...Where to Get t he Fonda With that, there is the question how funds are to be got by the Government for its public works expenditure...
...Four times he was offered heavy money subsidies, and four times he sboxaed them...
...e lost interest in living...
...His ork was done...
...Wilson's famous 14 points...
...And i«ys of comrades sang him to M sleep...
...In every occupation the wageearners will have to band together...
...I J E R E is the lad about whom kings, potentates and beer* * runners speak with bated and garlic-tinted breath...
...and he called upon Debs in Woodstock jail...
...ag Point *»y for labor, the •hould he the S* anywhere in as the best union ** the minimum If...
...But even while he said it I seemed to hear Herr Hugenbcrg give a faint chuckle behind his pocket-handkerchief...
...What do we mean by proletarian minatrel show...
...See the fat boya do the hootcheskootchee while the Senatorial Jazz Band plays . . . "He's Been a Daddy to Me...
...What a show . . . what a wow...
...Come in all you sucker* whe bought bonds and stocks when he whispered in your eai that he was letting you in on the ground floor...
...But to function as it must, labor will have to organize...
...The cheers of the Tempelhof crowd broke in from time to time like the bellowing of Fea-lions about to be fed...
...We had learned nothing new, but in ou>r ears was ringing the ridiculous speech of the insane and criminal mountebank to whom the German people arc now looking for their salvation...
...The Big Show IS On and Jaypee Is in the Dock...
...on the Dniepstroygod Dam...
...Dorothy Daly tln-pnns the music, a gay chorus of astonishing beauty and hoarseness completes the show . . . and for the anti-climax your columnist delivers a Union Square speech on the United Front with the Soviet Union thrown in for good measure...
...So on May 1st I went with a fevi friends (all of whom would have . to be classed among the un-faith< I ful) to a public meeting in an , auditorium in the little Badisch , town where I am staying, and wc I expectantly tuned in...
...Nothing like it aince George Washington slipped on a banana peel...
...Then the war came...
...Admission one dime . . . here you . . . stop your trying to crash in...
...And they will have to weigh most deeply t h e Interests of the labor movement as a whole...
...His work may be translated into German, but must be labeled 'Translation'.' « On May 1st...
...Then came Herr Hitler's speech...
...As for me, I dreaded to hear a plausible, near-Socialist program, which would be n i c e l y calculated to fool the Poor Fishes and lead them after a false hope for years...
...And so Hardie lived a brave, gallant life, spreading hope and inspiration and sturdy self-respect...
Vol. 15 • May 1933 • No. 21
