THE INTERNATIONAL AND THE BARMAT AFFAIR
ADLER, FRIEDRICH
THE INTERNATIONAL AND THE BARMAT AFFAIR By FRIEDRICH ADLER, Secretary of the Socialist end Labor International. THE grave charges brought against certain members of the German Social...
...He put his plans across, lie knew how to do it...
...GREAT BRITAIN •Labor Party for Peace Protocol Although the hostile attitude of the British Tory Government has practically killed the chances of the Geneva Peace Protocol of the League of Nations becoming anything more than a pious wish for some time to come, the British Labor party has gone on record in its favor through the adoption of the following resolution at a joint meeting of the Labor Party Executive and the General Council of #e British Trade Unions held Feb...
...It never occurred to me to make a cowardly retrest when times were difficult in the Labor movement...
...According to Le Populate, not only were the meetings successful in gathering In many new members, but the outrageous conduct of the interrupters alienated the sympathies of hundreds of Paris workingmen who previously had some faith in the "revolutionary" talk of the Communists...
...Let's entertain them...
...The boys and girls of today have the cinema, dani-e halls, jazz music...
...FRANCE More Victories At the Polls Despite the anti-Socialist campaign being waged with much expenditure of printer's ink and fervid oratory by both the French reactionaries and the Communists, the Socialist Party continues gaining members and winning victories in local elections...
...The spirit of the young has surely changed as has everything else...
...All such allegations refer to a period actually four years prior to the foundation of the Socialist and Labor International...
...But, superfluous as it may seem to defend the Socialist and Labor International—which in reality could not have had any connection with the Barmat affair—against such accusations, it is not our intention to admit of the interpretation as if there were any justifteation in the charges brought against the members of.the Second International ia connection with a meeting in Amsterdam in April, 1919...
...They live cave-man fashion in tenement districts...
...I am glad to say that through the West snd Middle West, with the exception of the large cities, this condition does not exist Our parents have suffered more in this country than we of the present generation...
...Every effort should be made to get all non-signatory States to sign and ratify...
...What does the...
...As soon as ths clash became serious early in Jan...
...They dress well and as a rule have enough to eat...
...All the speakers were a unit in insisting upon the need of getting as many students as possible into the Labor movement ana it was resolved thst the Socialist students should affiliate with the Socialist young people's movement, while preserving their own sdministration...
...What does this mean to our cause...
...In Saint-Ambroise, in the Gard, the Socialist candidate for member of the cantonal council beat his reactionary opponent by a vote of 2,091 to 1,836, and in the canton of Uzes, with the support of the Radicals in the second election, the Socialists won the seat in the council by a vote of 1,325 to 1,238 for the reactionary candidate...
...People of this age want to be entertained...
...The Eye that Sees, The Heart that Understands...
...On The International Front "Worktri e/ tte World, Unit si Y»h feve notktnff it less but your ekains and • uitrld t» fai...
...In order to stop the circulstion of such rumors, I ^snt to mske it deer thst I snnounced my resignstion from the Secretsrlst of the Internstional to the Executive six months before I ever heard of Barmat...
...Be a salesman...
...Above everything else a field organizer should be Wept constantly in the field to canvass for new members, help collect dues and to keep things going in general...
...They should arrange street meetings, that ar« thoroughly organized, and not rely or a hit or miss system...
...We know it cannot fail...
...A progressive farmer would not keep his hogs in some of the "homes" of working men...
...May I add a personal word in conclusion...
...In this country we hsve not gone hungry and ecld, at least not to the extent of our European brothers...
...Many have automobiles...
...the ages...
...As regards the libellous attacks on the Socialist and Labor International, one fact is sufficient to contradict them from the outset...
...But it can be solved...
...It adopted this well-conceived attitude, not in view of the ridiculous defamations which are now put forward in connection with a meeting of the Second International in 1919, but in view of the much more serious political problems resulting from the wsr...
...The repudiation of Communist maneuvers in Germany might be left to the German Socialist Party which will succeed all the better if it maintains the undaunted determination and rigor which it showed in the case of Gustave Bauer...
...P. T. Harnum knew hnmanity...
...You are selling the ideals of Socialism to humanity...
...Thousands t* people do not know our philosophy snd they are prejudiced by the ) ress...
...In Europe the struggle for existence is keener...
...more are planning to get a Ford on the instsllment plan...
...Democratic press organs emphasized that in spite of the fsct thst the two parliamentary committees were engaged in investigating the charges against the Barmat brothers, no one knows what the crime of the Barmats really was.—Editor...
...They hope to succeed in utilizing the well-founded charges against individuals so as to shake confidence in the party as such...
...I am sure in Europe more entsr our movement through the economic door than here...
...It will be remembered that at the joint conference ef the Executives of the Socialist and Labor Internetional and the International Federation of Trade Unions, held in Brussels in Jan., the British delegates abstained from voting for the proProtocol resolution adopted there on the ground of net having been instructed by their orgsnisations...
...The conditions and environment of the American workingman are surely different than that of hie European brother...
...One may well be of the opinion thst certsin German Socialists displayed s lack of discsetion in their relations with Barmat when he had slresdy shown himself to be s profiteer on a large seal...
...Always bear in mind that before we can convince we must be convinced...
...22, to fill vacancies in the municipal council, the Socialists captured all three seats, with the Communists far behind and the reactionaries not daring to nominate...
...Thst the Vienna Union and the Second International be dissolved immediately the Commission on Rules has reported and the Congress has come to a decision...
...At one meeting the Communists' hurled a glass at Leon Blum, cutting his lip, and two Socialists were so badly beaten that they had to be taken to the hospital...
...To be sure, some are interested, but they are few, that is comparatively speaking...
...The Second International By constantly referring to it as "the Second International," Communists try to hide the fact that, at the Hamburg Congress, in May, 1923, a new international organization was founded, based on an entirely new constitution both in principle and in organization...
...His economic environment forces him into the movement, forces him to be very active in order to lighten his burdens...
...The results of Feb...
...I would suggest the following routine for Locals: Transact the business of the Local in a businesslike way...
...They want to have a good time, which in itself is alright...
...Hriefie, ousted Minister of Posts...
...In this country it is not so...
...22 asks: "May we take the resignation of Friedrich Adler from the lesderthip of the Second Internstiensl as a cunning move by the Austro-Msrxists to make s timely retrest frem the qupgmire...
...That is, quickly and promptly...
...They are two doors from the Socialist movement, one the ec• **waavf v«>» mo wv onomic and the other the intellectual...
...Let us take for example the following: Municipal Hospitals Municipal Ice Plants Municipal Markets Municipal Railway Municipal Storage Houses Municipal Gas and Electricity Municipal Waterworks Better Schools...
...Open your eyes, observe a little of humanity, and" prepare to give them our program with a flavor we know they like...
...jected, bed a decided effect in Inducing the Government to let tho League of Nations settle the dispute...
...25: "The party holds that this country should do everything in its power to obtain the acceptance of the principles of the Protocol and the holding of the Disarmament Conference...
...Msny of the workers own their home...
...This action was seized upon by opponents of the Geneva Protocol as an excuse for asserting that even British Lsbor wss against it...
...ORGANIZING FOR SOCIALISM By S.H.STILLE GETTING new members and organizing new Locals is the beginning of organization work...
...Have debates, serve refreshments, give musical recitals, produce plays, arrange lecture* by able persons, assign positions to as many as possible, conclude with social dancing...
...It is Our task ti break the prejudice and tell them' our plans...
...mat would be under a criminal charge...
...At a second conference between the Polish and Danzig Socialists, held in Warsaw on March 1, complete agreemsint on all questions affecting the two countries was reached...
...Features of the conference, which was formally welcomed to the city by the local Socislists, were lectures on student life in the United States and on the young people's snd student movements in Austria...
...People will patronize if convinced...
...While they have been denied the comforts of life, we have been denied the luxuries...
...It is the first step The next is to keep members organized and working...
...I will admit that in sections of New York City and tho suburbs the workingmen and women live under conditions ss bad as those in Europe...
...The local sections were reorganized and propaganda work resumed...
...I admit it is a problem...
...Concerning the Barmat Brothers' transactions in Germany involving Gustave Bauer and some other Socialist leaders, who have been ousted by the Socialist PHrty, it may be pointed out thst, according to a Jewish Telegraph Agency dispatch of March 13, from Berlin, the Prussian investigating authorities have itsted that the charges of frsud and bribery were unfounded, but thst release was being postponed until further investigstion of the case of Dr...
...In 1919 the Socilaists swept tl^| field in the municipal contest, but after the split forced by the Communists at the Tours Congress, the party organization, with twenty-one of the some twenty-five Socialist aldermen, went over to the secessionists...
...locals should be visited every month or two by the field man...
...The party should strongly oppose any suggestion of substituting for the Protocol any form of limited military alliance or guarantee...
...How shall we do this...
...Then the Polish Socialist Deputies introduced a resolution in the Sejm, which, although re...
...Give the peopie what they want...
...It stands- by the Protocol on the ground that it furnishes the only practical plan at present for obtaining disarmament and substituting arbitration for war as the method of settling disputes...
...Small leaflet* or handbills are appropriate to distribute to the crowd, telling th,e location of headquarters and names and addresses of officials of the Locals and branches...
...average young man or woman of today care about the philosophy of Marx...
...This will automatically avoid any danger of either being continued...
...New Party Paper In the Capital To supplement the work of Le Populaire, which since its transformation into a semi-monthlv official party organ has hsd to give a great deal or its space to national and provincial news, the Paris district organization has started a weekly called Le Combat Social, with Comrade Bracke as editor-inchief, for special propaganda work in the capital...
...The Catholic Church knows what the people want and it also knows the psychology of the people...
...The struggle being keener they are forced ti do something for their immediate relief...
...Two gifts there are of value far Beyond great wealth or land...
...We should be careful, in presenting our Cause, that b«fore we tear down the present order wo hsve to offer the blueprint of s better one...
...28 and March J, according to a report in the Berner Tagwacht...
...As I was not at this meeting and never saw the brothers Barmat or even knew of their existence until their srrest, I must state the facts without bias...
...Alfred Klee, counsel for the defense, d»clared that the creditors of the Barmat brothers would in all likelihood receive 90 per cent of their investment...
...POLAND Help Settle Danzig Row Considerable credit for the probably amicable settlement of the row between Poland and Dansig over the placing of Polish msil boxes in the Free Statj is claimed by the Polish Socialist Party and the Social Democratic party of Danzig...
...To the Hall of Socialism, with its two large doors of Economics and Intellectualism, we must build a side entrafice of Entertainment...
...As to the Executive members who Went to Amsterdam in 1919, even the strongest judgment could noA attach any reproach...
...Give the people the A B C of Socialism and a good and sound program for the town or city...
...Moreover, they even hope to make use of this weapon in the international sphere m trying to establish a connection between the Socialist and Labor International and the Barmat affair...
...The Socialist and Labor International has set to work for the great objects of the working class in the international sphere, unhampered by the pest...
...In their struggles they have gone hungry and cold and have been denied many comforts...
...lished in the United States over tha Barmat case and its relation to the Socialists of Holland and Germany, about the only clear point seems ta be that, while, as admitted at the recent national convention of the Social Democratic Labor party et Holland, Barmat was generous in using some of his profits from mora or lsss legitimate deals in foodstuffs to beljkfj nance the publishing of th« Dutch ottcislist psper Rotterdsm, ho never ^tached any conditions to his subscriptions to stock and never held a controlling interest in tho psper...
...We have shared our food on dad's table and slept under a roof he provided...
...Paris Meetings Successful Organized attempts by the Paris Communists to break up some thirty Sdtialist propaganda meetings on March 4 and 6, fa41ed in all but two cases, as when the Communist interrupters got too obstreperous the Socialists in the audiences proceeded to use a little direct action and throw them into the street...
...They do snot trouble about the fact that, at the Hamburg Congress, not only the vjenna Union, but also the Second International, formally declared dissolution...
...There are two ways of doing everything: a right way snd s wrong way...
...The Vienna Arbeiter Zeitung, in a striking article on the case of Quetave Bauer, is justified in saying: "Those comrades to whom Bsrmat was presented by a Dutch Socialist of impeachable cheraeter were naturally Incapable of foreseeing in 1919 and 1920 thst five years later Bar...
...Often we hear it said: "When I was a boy things were different...
...As a rule, however, the young folks are not intellectual...
...We knot that Socialism belongs t...
...The resolution of the Second International reads as follow...
...The Socialist snd l abor Intern* tionsl never thought of accepting responsibility Tor anything which took place before its foundation...
...In a special election in Blaye, in the Department of Tarn, on Feb...
...The Gifts are these...
...22 show how strong the Sooislist Party has come back...
...Make It a study...
...Now Labor's favorable attitude has been definitely laid down...
...This sppliss in s still greater degree to the Executive members of the Second International, who, at the time, spent two or three days in Amsterdam and were introduced by Dutch Socialists to s man whom nobody had any reason to mistrust and for whoss personality or dealings they had no particular interest...
...It claims the same right as ths Communist Internstional, which would obviously refuse to be charged for happenings which preceded its foundstion, simply becsuse Lenin snd Rosa Luxemburg happened to sit on ths Executive of the Second Internstional...
...the Polish Socialists sent Comrsdes Liebermann and Zulawski to Danzig, wheft they conferred with Comrades Geel, Rahn and Mau of the Danzig Socialist organisation and agreed that the two parties were to fight against jingoism and try to get the matter adjusted without trouble...
...SWITZERLAND Socialist Students In Conference Material progress toward harinonlzing all Socialist activities of the young Swiss was made at a conference of Socialist students held in Olten, Fsb...
...Publish local literature so that it will rot fall to attract the eye...
...It means this: that as long as economic conditions force people to live as they do, since people are not interested in philosophy but only in having a good time, then we must appeal to them through the latter...
...Out of the mass of material pub...
...THE grave charges brought against certain members of the German Social Democratic Party, and which first became, known in connection with the Barmat scandal, afford a welcome opportunity lor Communists and other opponents to attack the German Social Democracy...
...The Berlin Rote Fahne of Feb...
...If the German Socialist Party must now suffer for the wrongdoings of certain of its members, it Is not the moment to shrink from difficulties, but rather the duty ef international solidarity to help the German workers in their efforts to overcome their reverse and regain their fall ftghtte strength...
Vol. 2 • April 1925 • No. 14
