8ftffii«IM?lfHil'i»U8HMtHl8««i«HJi>.iiH Ci|0rttcU Hntoerattg ffitbratg Jft^ata, New $otk Cornell University Library HX86 .L18 Socialism in thought and action olin 3 1924 032 590 246 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032590246 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION THE MACMILLAN COMPANY HKW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DAIXA8 ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO.. Limited LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNE THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION BY HARRY W. LAIDLER, Ph.D. Secretary of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society ji3eto gotk THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1920 All rights reserved Ai(o\lo^O COPTBIGHT, 1920, bt the macmillan company Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1920. TO MY GOOD FRIEND MARY R. SANFORD PREFACE In the year 1900, a student would have searched Ameri- can literature in vain for any adequate expression of socialism written hy a sjrmpathetic student of the subject in this country, and published by a non-socialist publish- ing house. ^ From that year until the outbreak of the European war, however, volume after volume issued from the press and, by the summer of 1914i, practically every phase of socialist theory and tactics had been carefully treated. Since the first of August, 1914, revolutionary changes have taken place in the socialist movement and philosophy. In many countries socialist theory, for the first time, un- der the most difficult circumstances, has been brought face to face with reality, and the socialist movement has evolved from a small, minority group to a powerful factor in the life of the people. The war has given a great impetus to the guild socialist idea, with its emphasis on producers' control of industry and its insistence on the development of personality as the ultimate goal of society. It has afforded world-wide publicity to the soviet form of the state, with its demand for occupational representation and its temporary " dic- tatorship of the proletariat." It has witnessed the de- 1 The most noteworthy book on socialism at that time was Social- ism and Social Reform, by Professor Richard T. Ely, an opponent of socialism. There were also Bellamy's Utopian writings, Laurence Gronlund's Cooperative Commonwealth, pamphlet literature and a number of translations and importations. PREFACE velopment of the " revolutionary communism " of the Mos- cow International, — advocate of mass action and of the immediate transformation of industrial society. It has) changed the attitude of many groups of socialists toward international warfare and toward scores of other prob- lems. These new tendencies have been noted in innumera- ble pamphlets written in dozens of languages. This, how- ever, is the first attempt to deal with these recent develop- ments within the pages of one volume. " Socialism in Thought and Action " aims to do more than to record the recent progress of the move- ment. Students of socialism have generally agreed that any comprehensive treatment of this subject should in- volve a discussion of the socialist criticism of present day society, the socialist theory of economic development, the socialist conception of a future social state and the activi- ties, achievements, and present status of the organized socialist movement in various countries of the world. These phases are here treated as fully as space will permit. During the last few years it has been my privilege to address scores of college classes under the auspices of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, an educational or- ganization formed " to promote an intelligent interest in socialism among college men and women." At these lectures certain weU defined objections to socialism were continually urged. This volume states the most im- portant of these objections and the socialist's answer thereto. I have tried in these pages to express the thought of the organized movement and of its acknowledged spokes- men, rather than to record my own point of view. I have also endeavored to avoid abstractions and to connect socialist theory with the concrete life of to-day. It is my hope that the present volume may serve as a PREFACE textbook for college classes and other study groups and as a ready reference book for the thinkers and the doers who have come to realize that an intelligent understanding of this greatest mass movement of the twentieth century is absolutely essential to enlightened citizenship. Among those to whom acknowledgments are due for suggestions I wish to express my indebtedness to Gregory Zilboorg, secretary of the Ministry of Labor under Kerensky, to Evans Clark and Alexander Trachtenberg for their helpful suggestions in regard to the chapter on " The Russian Revolution," and to Ludwig Lore and Traugott Boehme for their criticism of the chapter on " The German Revolution." Acknowledgment is due to Ordway Tead, Professor Paul H. Douglas and others f-or many helpful suggestions during the early stages of the manuscript. I wish to convey my special thanks to Jessie W. Hughan and to Mary R. Sanford for their careful reading of prac- tically the entire manuscript ?and for their invaluable sug- gestions. Haeey W. Laidlek. 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. City, December, 1919. CONTENTS PAGE Intkoduction ., ,., ., ,., 1., . 1 PART I SOCIALIST THOUGHT CHAPTER I The Sociaust Indictment : I. Economic and Hu- man Wastes 9 Introduction: The Motive of Socialist Activity — Char- acter of Socialist Indictment. Waste) of Capitalism: Failure to Utilize Productive Forces — Diversion of Industry to Luxuries — Wastes in Manufacturing — Wastes in Agriculture — Social Losses in Natural Resources — Wastes in Advertising — Diver- sion of Productive Workers — Evaluation of Advertising — Traveling Salesmen — Wastes from Producer to Con- sumer. Human Wastes: Unemployment — Causes of Unem- ployment — Industrial Accidents — Disease — Poverty and Disease — Increase in sickness — Summary. CHAPTER II The Socialist Indictment: II. iNEauALiTT of Wealth 31 Inequality of Wealth: The Wealthy — Wages — Standard of Living — Recent Changes — Effect on Fam- ily Life — In Small Cities — Effect on Marriage. Effect of Capitalism on Ethical Life: Poverty Not Chief Evil — The Profit Motive — The Business Man and the Consumer — Business and the Worker — The Business Man and His Competitors — The Business Man and His Fellow Investors — The Business Class and Corruption ix CONTENTS PAOE — Inequality and Personality — Effect on Victor — Crime and Social Evil — Intemperance — The Spirit of Democ- racy — Artists and Capitalism — Conclusion. CHAPTER III Socialist Theoey: I. Ecokomic Inteepeetation AND Class Steuggle 50 THe Utopians: The Foi-eruiiners of Markian Socialists — Mistakes of Utopians — Marxian Socialism. The Inevitability of Socialism: Development of Indus- try — Achievements of Modern Capitalism — Development of Crises — Concentration of Industry — ■ Decrease of Cap- italist Class — Disappearance of Middle Class — Increas- ing Misery of the Workers — Increase in Class Antagon- isms — Industrial Organization of Workers — Political Organization of Workers — Breakdown of Capitalism — Triumph of Proletariat. The Economic Interpretation of History: Introduc- tory — • Criticism of the Doctrine — Ethical Factors — Economic Forces in Antiquity — Economic Forces in Early American History — Economic Forces and the Revolution — Other Instances in American History — Economics and Ethics — Conclusion. The Glass Struggle : Marx's Conception of Class Strug- gle — Explanation of Theory — Increasing Expensiveness of Machinery — Increased Usefulness of Worker — Edu- cation of Worker — Spirit of Solidarity — Political Power of Worker — Evolution of Capitalist — Outcome of Strug- gle — Criticism of Theory — Value of Class Conscious- ness — Fundamental Antagonisms — Conclusion. CHAPTER IV Socialist Theoey: II. Capitalist Developments AND Theoey of Value 81 Concentration in Industry : Introductory — The Growth of the Corporation — The Increase of Large Scale Production — Growth of Combination — The Corporation and Concentration of Control — Concentration in Manu- facture — Concentration in Natural Resources — Concen- tration in Public Utilities — Concentration in Finance — In Wholesale Trade — In Retail Trade — Persistence of Small Business — Concentration in Agriculture — Depen- CONTENTS xi FAQX dence of Farmer — Increased Capital per Farm — Mort- gaged Farms — Summary. The Disappearance of the Middle Class: Explanation of Theory — Middle Class Incomes — Intellectual Prole- tariat vs. Middle Class — Middle Class Stockholders — The Corporation and the Middle Class — Psychology of Inac- tive Stockholders — The Increase of Small Business — In- come of Farmers — The Farmer and Progressivism — The Small Storekeeper — Summary. The Increasing Misery Theory: Marxian Prophecy — Better Physical Conditions — Misery a Psychic Condition — Uncertainty of Livelihood — Summary. Industrial Crises: Causes of Crises — Effect of Trusts on Crises — Mechanical Impossibility of Capitalism — Coming of Imperialism — Conclusion. Theory of Value: Meaning of Labor Theory — Crea- tion of Surplus Value — Misconception of Theory — Facts of Surplus Value — Is Private Capital Socially Ad- vantageous ? — Summary. CHAPTER V The Socialist Commonwealth 122 The Aims of Socialism: Fear Utopianism — Social- ism and Private Property. Extent of Collectivism, Under Socialism: Socially Nec- essary Industries — Handicraft Industry — Exploitation ' as a Criterion — Voluntary Cooperation. Collectivism in Land: Opposed to Exploitation and Speculation — Agricultural Land. Intellectual Production Under Socialism: Research and Education — Art — Voluntary Unions — Publications — Summary. Democratic Management Under Socialism: Insistence on Democratic Management — Differences in Details — Selection of Officers — Conclusion. Assignment of Tasks Under Socialism: Variety of Suggestions — F'or the Disagreeable Work — Revolution- ize Present Method — Principle of Remuneration Under Socialism: Principle of Equality — Principle of Needs — Compensation According to Deeds — Full Product of Toil — Inequality Assists in Assignment — Money Under Socialism. The Nature of the State: The Class State — Charac- teristics of Socialist State — Coercion — Decentralization — The Soviet Idea — The National Guildsmen and the State — Organization by Function — State Sovereignty — Conflict Regarding Transition Stage — Summary. xii CONTENTS FAQS Religion Under Socialism: Attitude of Socialists — The Church and Democracy — Neutrality — Theism and Economic Determinism — Conclusion. The Family Under Socialism: Criticism — Relation to Private Property — Finer Type of Family. Transition to Socialism: History of Controversy — Tactics of the Extremist Left — Dictatorship of Prole- tariat — Tactics of Moderate Socialists — Transition State — Rapidity of Socialization — Conflict of Views. CHAPTER VI Guild Socialism and Syndicalism 170 Guild Socialism : Origin of Theory — Composition of Movement — The Wage System — State Ovifnership and Guild Management — Organization of Consumers — De- tails of Democratic Management — Selection of Officers — Safeguarding the Consumer — Contribution of Guildsmen — Socialists and Guildsmen — Conclusion. Syndicalism: Introductory — The Class Struggle — Di- rect Action — Sabotage — Struggle Against the State — Patriotism — The Militant Minority — The Syndicalist Ideal — Socialists vs. Syndicalists. CHAPTER VII Tendencies Towabd Socialism 187 The Corporation: Lessons from Corporation. Social Reforms: Extent of Labor Legislation — Criti- cism of Reforms — Advantage of Reforms. Voluntary Cooperation: Origin of Cooperation — From Retail to Wholesale — On the Continent — Contribution of Movement. Public Ownership: Extent of Ownership — Education and Health — Limitations of Government Ownership — A Step Toward Industrial Democracy — Centralization not a Necessary Accompaniment. The Labor Union: Extent of Trade Unionism — Criti- cism of Organized Labor — Toward Socialism. Democratic Management: Advance Since 1914 — Other Tendencies. CHAPTER VIII Objections to Socialism 207 Introduction: Narrowing of Objections. Incentive: Basis of Criticism — Inefficiency of Present CONTENTS xiii VAOE System — Greater Incentive for Average Worker — Mater- ial Incentives — Incentives and the Administrator — The Professions — In the Cooperative and Publicly Owned In- dustries — Administrators in Private Concerns — Type of Administrator Under Socialism — Creative Work — Evils of Profit Incentive — Is Government Ownership Inef- ficient? — Government Ownership vs. Socialism — Com- parison Between Private and Government Ownership — Importance of Human Element. Accumulation of Capital: Profit Motive Under Capi- talism — Incentive to Improve Under Socialism — Accu- mulation in Cooperative and Public Industries — Conclu- sion. Fixing of Prices: Criticism of Socialist Plan — Prices and Social Welfare — Price-Fixing Body — At Present Arbitrary Price Fixing. , Political Corruption: Criticism — Big Business and Political Corruption — The Giving of Contracts — Cor- ruption and Political Patronage — Disappearance of Po- litical Boss — Conclusion. Socialism and Overpopulation: The Malthusian The- ory — Malthusian Doctrine and Present-day Tendencies — Fear of Race Suicide — Increase of Population Under Socialism — Question of Parental Responsibility — State Control — The New Type of Woman — Summary. PART II THE SOCIALIST MOVEMENT CHAPTER IX Socialism and Intebnationalism (1848-1914) . . 247 History of International Action: Beginnings of Inter- nationalism — Concerning the Franco-Prussian Social- ists of Germany — The Second International — Dur- ing the Russian-Japanese War — The Socialist Achieve- ments ■ — Causes of War — The General Strike — Bebel on the General Strike — Jaurfes' Reply — The Resolutions at Stuttgart — The Copenhagen Congress of 1910 — The General Strike Again — The Morocco Crises of 1911 — The Balkan Situation — The German Military Budget of 1913 — The Taxation Bill — Presentation of Vote — The French Socialists and the General Strike — Opposition to Strike — Summary. Immediately Before the Outbreak of War: Meeting of xiv CONTENTS International Bureau — The Brussels Meeting — Jaurfes' Last Appeal — In Austria and Hungary — The German Socialists — Belgian and French Socialists — Great Brit- ain — In Russia — Italy — Other Countries. Immediately After the Outbreak of War: The Belgian Socialists — In France — The English Socialists — The British Labor Party — Germany — Russia — Other Coun- tries — Summary. CHAPTER X Towards the New International 283 The International During the War: Early Confer- ences — The Zimmerwald Conference — The Stockholm Conference — Results of the Questionniare — Refusal of Passports — The Spring of 1918 Inter- Allied Socialist and Labor Conference — For Labor Representation. The Berne Conference: Representation at the Confer- ence — Responsibility for the War — League of Peoples — Warning by MacDonald — For Complete Disarma- ment — Territorial Adjustments — Defense of British Labor — The Labor Charter • — The Resolution on Russia — Summary — The Lucerne Conference. The Communist International: Groups Represented — The Manifesto — Who Will Control the Economic Life? The Rights of Small Nationalities — Parliamentary De- mocracy vs. The Soviet — Weakness of Second Interna- tional — Conclusion. CHAPTER XI The Russian Revolution 308 Through the March Revolution: Causes of Discontent — Beginnings of the March Revolution — Cossacks En- courage Revolutionists — Emergency of Workmen's Coun- cils — The Abdication of the Czar. Russia Under the Provisional Government: The First Provisional Government — Political Nature of March Revolution — Discontent with Provisional Government — Parties in Control — Congress of Soviets — The Resigna- tion of Miliukov — The Military Situation — The New Coalition Government — The Land Problem — The Dis- cussion of Peace and All Power to the Soviet — The July Days — July Outbreaks — Kerensky Becomes Premier — CONTENTS xvii Militarist Stand — Unrepresented at Berne — The Gen- eral Strike — Spain: Attitude Toward War — The Strike of 1917 — The Socialist Victories — Further Sup- pressions — Portugal — The Balkans: Servia — Rou- mania — Bulgaria — Greece — First Socialist Premier in Finland — The White Terror — Mannerheim Prime Min- ister — Socialist Successes — Poland — Bohemia — Jugo- slav Parties — Summary. CHAPTER XIV Amekica AND Other Lands : Since 1914 . . . 464! The United States: Feature of Movement — For Med- iation and Embargo — Call for International Conference — The Neutral Conference Proposal — The Mexican Crisis — The 1916 Campaign — The St. Louis Platform — The 1917 Elections — Social Democratic League — The National Party — The 1918 Elections — The Nonpartisan League — The League Idea Spreads — The Nonpartisan Program — The Local Labor Parties — Rewarding La- bor's Friends — Formation of Labor Parties — The Na- tional Labor Party — The Socialist Party and the Labor Party — The Left Wing Movement — Impetus to Move- ment — Dissensions in Movement — Birth of Communist Labor Party — Formation of Communist Party — Activi- ties of Socialist Party — The Party Manifesto — Trial of Debs — Other Socialist Leaders — Summary. Canada: The "One Big Union" — The Winnipeg Strike. South America: Introductory — General Strike in Buenos Aires — Pan-American Socialist Conference — Strikes in Other Countries — Mexico. CHAPTER XV The Socialist Movement Before 1914! .... 482 The International: The "League of the Just" — Formation of First International — The Second Interna- tional — The International Conferences. Germany: Organization of Party — The Anti-Socialist Laws — Increase in Vote. France: Organization of Movement — Controversies of the Nineties — Recent Growth. Russia and Finland: During the Nineteenth Century — Formation of Social Democracy — After the 1905 Rev- olution — Before the War — Finland — Strength of Movement. xviii CONTENTS PAOS Auitria and Hungary: Development of Austrian Movement — Composition of Movement — Hungary. England: The Social Democratic Federation — For- mation of Independent Labor Party — The British Labor Party — Achievements of Labor Before the War — The Fabian Society — Other Socialist Groups. Italy: Beginnings of Party — The Party Split — Ex- tension of Franchise. Belgium and HolUmd: Triple Character of Belgian Movement — Fight for Suffrage — Pre-War Strength — Holland. Scandinavian Countries: Denmark — Norway — Swe- den. Other European Cov/ntriea: Switzerland — Spain — • Portugal — Servia — Rumania — Greece. The United States and Canada: Formation of Social- ist Labor Party — Split in S. L. P. — Western Movement — Birth of Socialist Party — Increase of Strength — Edu- cational Work — Canada. Latin America: Argentina — Brazil, Chili, Uruguay — Porto Rico — Cuba — Mexico and Yucatan. Australasia, Africa, Asia: Development of Australian Labor Party — For " White Australia " — Labor in Parlia^ ment — New Zealand — South Africa — Asia. BiBLIOGEAPHY . . . - . . . . . . , 511 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION INTRODUCTION On July 29, 1914!, the day after Austria declared war against Servia, I attended the great " guerre a la guerre," ("war against war") meeting of the International So- cialists in Brussels. That afternoon socialist leaders from all over Europe had gathered in la Maison du Peuple, the headquarters of the triple alliance of labor, so- cialism and cooperation, to determine the fate of the In- ternational Socialist Congress scheduled for Vienna on August 23. Socialists of all lands had been looking for- ward to this congress with great eagerness, for here they had planned to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first International and here they expected to see staged the greatest of all debates on the procedure of the socialist movement in case of threatened war. The delegates in Brussels had decided to transfer the meeting place of the congress from Vienna to Paris, to change the date froJii August 23 to August 9, and to make the problem: of war the chief subject on the agenda. .^^t^' That night, before many thousands*^oi workers who crowded the Royal Theater, the leaders of international socialism urged the workers of Europe to stand firm against the onrushing avalanche of war. And after the meeting, with cries of guerre a la guerre, a has la guerre, with the ringing words of the Marseillaise and the Inter- nationale — " the International Party shall be the human race," — the great gathering marched down the Boule- vard du Jardin Botamqwe, down past the Gare du "Nord and finally dispersed in the stillness of the night. 2 INTRODUCTION The next day I lunched with the French Deputy, Jean Longuet, the grandson of Marx. He had been trying to get into communication with Paris. He was told that it would take hours before he could obtain telephone con- nections with that city, while telegrams and letters were being held up by the thousands. The last group of delegates to the Brussels conference left that day for their respective countries to assist in stemming the tide of war. All were looking forward to intimate exchanges of plans before the Paris Congress and to a concerted program at that gathering that would force their governments to pre- serve the peace. The French socialists, a few days before, had already gone on record in favor of a general strike in case of threatened war, provided the socialists of the Cen- tral Powers pledged themselves to the same line of action, but only in such case. They hoped to secure an agree- ment at Paris. This might save the situation. But their hopes were in vain. As lightning from the sky, the war descended. After the Brussels gathering, it was practically impossible for the socialists of more than two or three countries to get into communication with each other. And within a few days the " comrades " of the various couhtries of Europe were pitted in battle against one another. " The International is dead," " socialism is destroyed," were heard on all sides. But hardly had the word been spoken than other forces were let loose out of the flame of war destined to render socialism a far greater power than ever before. Socialists for years had centered their attacks against the wastes of competition. Their arguments received scant attention. Then came the war. Millions of men were taken from normal industrial life and sent to the INTRODUCTION 3 front, to war industries. Vast amounts of property were destroyed. More economical methods of production and distribution must be devised in order that those remain- ing in industry might be enabled to supply suflBcient neces- sities to the community. Forced by the exigencies of the case, many in all belligerent lands who had formerly scoffed at the inefficiency of collectivism, instinctively turned to collective control as the best method of reduc- ing waste and exploitation. As a result, the railroads, shipping, telegraph, telephone, mining, food, ammunition, housing and innumerable other industries were placed un- der government control in various countries. In Eng- land, according to the economist John A. Hobson, the war advanced state socialism by half a century. State socialism is not the democratic socialism toward which the socialists are striving. Socialists desire democratic control of socially necessary industries as well as public ownership. They insist that the indus- trial system that regards labor as a commodity and that lavishes unearned wealth upon the few, be abolished. However, they do not ignore the importance of this war- collectivism, which in many countries has smashed forever the old individualism and which is definitely shifting the ground of debate from that of individualism versus social- ism to that of bureaucratic state socialism versus demo- cratic socialism. The war concentrated attention also on the evils of bureaucratic control. As a reaction against that control are found the recent development of the industrial coun- cils and the shop stewards' movement of England, the growing popularity of guild socialism and the increased representation of labor on the boards of many public in- 4 INTRODUCTION dustries. Thus, democratic management in industry — a tenet of the socialist philosophy — is gradually evolv- ing under our very eyes. Furthermore, the war witnessed the development of the power and social purposefulness of the labor and social- ist movements. During the stress and strain of war, Russia passed from black autocracy to a soviet republic; Hungary followed suit, only to be forced back into a temporary Hapsburg control by grace of Allied arms ; Germany and Austria bade farewell to their strong monarchical governments and ushered in republics pre- sided over by Majority socialists, and pressed increas- ingly by the demands of the masses for complete social- ization of industry. In Great Britain, the British Labor Party ended the war the chief opposition party in Parliament, bent on a complete reconstruction of the present industrial order, with the labor movement on its industrial side ever more unified, ever more militant. In fact, in every nation where capitalism, had obtained a foothold, the struggle of the masses for ihdustrial dem- ocracy, for socialism, during this peyiod gained increased momentum, while within the socialist movement a signifi- cant shift was evidenced in almost every country toward a more radical position than that held prior to the war. The development of the trade union, cooperative and feminist movements during the war, the bringing of many of the reactionary peasants of Europe face to face with modern industry, the impetus given to the study of the causes of war and the necessity, following the coming of peace, of a fundamental program of readjustment if the problems of unemployment, of housing, of the high cost of living, are to be met with any adequacy, are among the INTRODUCTION 5 other factors which will inevitably turn increasing atten- tion in the near future to the socialist program. The war has likewise given encouragement to certain forces of reaction throughout the world. It has whetted the appetite of " big business " for the exploitation of undeveloped countries and for the adoption by their gov- ernments of a program of imperialism. It has tempor- arily strengthened the military machine, led to the sweep- ing aside of civil rights, accelerated the concentration of industries, amassed huge fortunes in the hands of a few and given unheard of powers to political bureaucrats. A reaction after the war against all of these conservative forces and a belief that only through a proletarian move- ment with a socialist vision can the evil effects of these tendencies be checked might well serve also to rally the forces of democracy in the future to the support of so- cialism. PART I SOCIALIST THOUGHT SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION CHAPTER I THE SOCIALIST INDICTMENT: I. ECONOMIC AND HUMAN WASTES The Motive of Socialist Activity — The belief that so- cialism is destined to constitute the next step in industrial evolution has sustained the modem socialist in his strug- gle against present conditions. The passionate devotion of millions of men and women to the socialist cause, how- ever, can be accounted for primarily by the profound con- viction that socialism would eradicate the burning evils of modern civilization and usher in an era of equality of op- portunity and of genuine brotherhood. No group of social thinkers has done more telling work than have the socialists in analyzing and exposing present-day evils. Character of Socialist Indictment The indictment of the socialists has differed widely from that of numerous other critics. Socialists have never sought to caU again into being " the good old days of the past." To the ex- tent that they have consistently followed their philosophy, they have refused to attribute fundamental social ills to the activities of " malefactors of great wealth " or to " the innate wickedness of human nature." 9 10 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION They have endeavored to evaluate capitalism rather than to indulge in wholesale condemnation, and have freely contended that the present economic order is a distinct advance over former industrial systems. Few more im- pressive testimonials to the achievements of capitalism have, in fact, been written than that of Marx and Engels in The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848. The capitalist class, they held in part, " during its rule of scarce one hundred years has created more massive and more colossal produotive forces than have all preceding generations together. Subjection of nature's forces to man, machinery, application of chemistry to in- dustry and agriculture, steam-navigation, railways, electric telegraphs, clearing of whole continents for cultivation, canali- zation of rivers, whole populations conjured out of the ground — what earlier century has even a presentiment that such productive forces slumbered in the lap of social labor.? "^ Socialists do not necessarily base their advocacy of a new social order on the ground that the lot of the workers is becoming absolutely worse.^ They do believe, however, that capitalism is failing properly to utilize the marvelous productive forces at its command; that the hand and brain workers are sharing but inadequately in the in- creased productivity of modern industry ; that capitalism retards the development of individuality among the masses of mankind and that, having largely performed its social function and outgrown its usefulness, it should yield to a more scientific and equitable industrial order than at present exists. 1 Communist Manifesto, published by Socialist Literature Co., N. Y., 1913, p. 19. 2 See discussion in Ch. IV under " Increasing Misery." WASTES IN PRODUCTION 11 WASTES OF CAPITALISM Failure to Utilize Productive Forces. — There are many counts in the socialist indictment. One of the chief of these is that capitalism involves enormous wastes in material and in men, both in the realm of production and in that of distribution. Under capitalism, a lamentably small percentage of workers engaged in gainful occupa- tions are actually employed as direct producers of essen- tial commodities.^ This was illustrated during the war, when tens of thousands engaged in non-essential industries were transferred by government order into other occupa- tions with little stoppage of wealth production. Many of the goods produced for profit, furthermore, have but little merit. " Twenty per cent, of the wMterial used hy the British woolen and worsted industries . . . consists of shoddy." * " Sham, shoddy and make-believe — these are erected in the form of houses, sewn up in the form of suits, packed in tins to mock children as food, made the sole occupation of millions of quite honest people." ' In the realm of food production. Dr. Lewis B. Allyn recently declared that between eight and fifteen per cent, of the foods sold were debased,® ■^ 3 See Chiozzo Money, in Socialism and the Great State, edited by Wells and others, p. 79. * Wells and others, op. cit., p. 85. 5 Money, Riches and Poverty, p. 247. - Harris, Cooperation The Hope of the Consumer, p. 34. Among the useless or harmful occupations cited a few years ago, prior to the Pure Food Law, by social investigators — many of these oc- cupations still continuing until today — are the dressing up of caUcoes with paste, tallow, china clay and size, the freshening of peas with copper salts, the filling of cherries with glucose and crimsoning them with aniline, the concocting of lemon essence out of coal-tar dyes, the supplying of alum baking powder with pulverized rock, the adulteration of milk with formaldehyde, the touching up of tea 12 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Diversion of Industry to Luxuries — A large amount of labor also goes into the production of expensive luxu- ries and personal services which afford comparatively little additional happiness to their recipients, while di- verting the energies of thousands from the production of the necessities of life for the many. Witness, for in- stance, the vast army of menial servants, lackeys, chauf- feurs, caterers, governesses, private tutors, grooms, mak- ers of expensive dresses, furniture and houses, and shop- keepers who cater solely to the peculiar tastes of the rich. The outlay of energy and money for lavish fetes with their expensive menus, singers and vaudeville per- formers, their dazzling electrical decorations and expen- sive cotillion favors ; the outlay for luxurious winter homes on Fifth Avenue and at Palm Beach, and for sum- mer homes in Newport and the Adirondacks, for yachts and autos and studs of horses, and for an endless variety of other luxuries, — constitutes an enormous social waste in j)roductive effort.^ with graphite, the selling of Brazilian peaberry for Mocha coffee. (See Ghent, Mass and Class, pp. 180-193, Rauschenbusch, Christian- ity and the Social Crisis, p. 269.) In more recent years, after the passage of Pure Food laws, Alfred ^. i/L McCann of the New York Olobe estimated that probably 3,000,- 000 people were made ill in this country every year with adulterated foods. Gaston G. Netter, President of the International Pure Food Association, stated that 40 per cent, of the food entering New York should be thrown away. " The people here in New York City are being hourly poisoned by food labeled as absolutely pure." (See Harris, Cooperation The Hope of the Consumer, p. 24 et seq.) ' Cleveland Moffitt's estimate in 1905 (Success Magazine, Feb. 1905), of the yearly expenditure of one of New York's multi- millionaires, is of interest: Yearly estimate Running expenses of house in Newport and New York with wages and salaries to, say 25 people, with food, wines, etc., but no ei|tertaining ., $ 30,000 WASTES IN PRODUCTION 13 Wastes in Manufacturing. — Even when labor is ex- pended in producing actual necessities of life, many wastes •are in evidence that oould be eliminated under a co- operative system. This is indicated in the manufacturing industries. In 1914, according to the Bureau of Census, there were in the United States 275,791 manufacturing concerns — including 59,317 establishments connected with food and kindred products ; 42,036 dealing in lumber and its remanufacture ; 22,995 in the textUe industry and 17, 719 in the iron and steel industry. Each one of these plants demands separate buildings, space, machinery and other equipment and a separate labor force. Each re- quires the keeping of separate accounts and the dispatch- _ ' Yearly estimate Expenses of entertaining, brilliant balls, dinners, files, flowers, etc $ 50,000 Steam Yacht 50,000 Expenses of stable and stud farm with wages of, say, 30 men 40,000 Grounds, greenhouses, gardens with wages of, say, 20 men . . . 30,000 Expenses of two other places, say at Palm Beach and in the Adirondacks 20,000 Clothes for husband and wife, daughters and youngest children 30,000 Pocket money for husband and wife, daughters and younger chUdren 50,000 AutomobUes 10,000 Traveling expenses with private cars, special suites on steamers, at hotels, etc 10,000 Total $300,000 " Three hundred thousand dollars a year, without counting gifts and charities, doctors and trained nurses, new horses and auto- mobiles, new furniture and jewelry, pet dogs with fur-trimmed coats, talking dolls with lace dresses at one hundred dollars each, and numberless other things, not to omit various follies, possibly gambling with thousands of dollars risked by the ladies at 'bridge' and tens of thousands by the men at faro, roulette and baccarat." 14 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ing of separate corps of purchasing and selling agents to sellers and buyers. Each employs highly paid workers to obtain financial credit, to fix prices, to examine inven- tions, to gauge the future demands of the market, to sell stocks. Even though every one of these plants were thoroughly utilized and employed the best modem ma- chinery, mere duplication of effort would involve enor~ mous wastes. However, a survey of these concerns indicates many atixiliary wastes. Over one-third (97,061) did a business each year of less than $5,000 ; a slightly less number (87»- 931), a business of from $5,000 to $20,000 and but 3,819 sold $1,000,000 worth of goods or over — although this last named group produced nearly one-half (48.6 per cent.) of the manufactured output of the year. These smaller industries in large numbers of instances fail to use the most improved of modern appliances. In some in- stances such inefficiency is due to lack of enterprise ; in others, to lack of capital and to the small capacity of the plants ; in still others, to patent monopolies of competitors. The smaller concerns must likewise buy and sell in moder- ate quantities. They are generally unable to utilize valu- able by-products, to carry on subsidiary processes, to conduct investigating departments, to employ the best talent, to adopt the latest administrative devices, or to take advantage of many other economical methods.* That society could easily dispense with many of them without a decrease in the social product is vividly illus- trated whenever a trust is formed. Prior to the organ- ization of the sugar " trust," of the forty refiners in the United States, eighteen had become bankrupt. Of the twenty-two remaining, eighteen combined. " Of the re- 8 Van Hise, Concentration and Control, pp. 8-17; Hobson, p. 28. The Evolution of Modern Capitalism, pp. 128-9. WASTES IN PRODUCTION 16 fineries belonging to these eighteen, eleven were closed, leaving seven to do profitably the work which had previ- ously been done unprofitably by forty." ® Large, centralized concerns are also, under competitive conditions, inadequately utilized. Many are completely, others partially closed a considerable portion of the year. This is true during normal times.-'* In periods of de- pression the situation becomes tragic. When the panic of 1907 swept over the country, even the steel trust reduced its output to a little over 4*0 per cent, of its capacity. Wastes in Agriculture — The wastes arising from duplication in competitive manufacture are repeated on an even larger scale in agriculture. In this country there are more than 6,000,000 separate farms, each re- quiring the upkeep of separate live stock, houses, bams, fences, machinery and other equipment ; each demanding separate journeys to markets for purchases or sales; each necessitating separate haggling over crops. A very con- siderable proportion of these farms still use antiquated machinery, through lack of capital or enterprise, while the improved machinery is seldom used to full capacity. The present system " requires that each farm should be a complete industrial unit. This means that several kinds of crops must be raised to maintain a proper ' rotation ' and several varieties of live stock must be kept. When the calamities of nature are not averted by cooperative effort, but must be borne by the individual, the small farmer dare not ' put all his eggs in one basket.' " ^^ Soil is thus used that is frequently ill-adapted to particular crops., 9 Kelly, Twentieth Oentwry Socialism, p. 61. 10 Conditions of Employment, Iron and Steel Industry, Vol. Ill, pp. 212-3; see also Wells and others, op. cit., p. 93. 11 Simons, Wasting Human Life, p. 31. 16 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION There is, moreover, little specialization on the average farm. To perform his tasks efficiently, the farmer should be an expert cultivator, chemist, veterinary, machinist, carpenter, painter, buyer, seller, investor, employer, etc. This is practically an impossible task. Most farmers are expert in none of these activities. They are content with being " practical " men and muddle along. Such lack of specialization spells enormous wastes. The yield per acre is generally far from the maximum.^ ^ Nor is there any guarantee, even granting favorable weather, that the crop finally produced will be adjusted to the demands of the community. Furthermore, after a crop has been gathered, the lack of transportation facilities, the high freight charges under private ownership, and the profits of speculators and mid- dlemen frequently render selling so unprofitable that the product is destroyed or left to rot, while the poor of the city remain hungry. " In recent years," declared a Bul- letin of the Department of Agriculture, " 100,000 car- loads of agricultural products went to waste in the United States." 13 Nor are the food properties of the crop properly taken advantage of. H. M. Cottrell, Agricultural Commis- sioner, Rock Island Railroad, for instance, in dealing with the com crop, declares that " at least 90 per cent, of the feed value of the stalk is lost under the present system of farm management — a waste with this crop alone of nine hundred million dollars yearly." ^* 12 See Kropotkin, Fields, Factories and Workshops, p. 74 et seq.; Bertrand Russell, Proposed Roads to Freedom, p. 89 et seq. is C. E. Bassett and Others, Cooperating Marketing and Financing of Marketing Associations, Year-book of the Department of Agricul- ture, 1914, p. 198. 1* Quoted in Simons, Wasting Hwman lAfe, p. 28. WASTES IN PRODUCTION 17 Municipal, state and federal governments, through agri- cultural departments, colleges and protective legislation, as well as cooperative leagues are reducing some of these wastes. They have not, however, affected the wastes in- herent in the running of millions of separate, uncoordi- nate farm properties. Social Losses in Natural Resources. — Nor are social losses evidenced only in private manufacture and farming. They are seen as well in the exploitation of natural re- sources for private gain. Billions of cubic feet of gas are wasted yearly in order to gain greater profits on oil. Oil is " recklessly squandered," while thousands of tons of coal, copper, lumber and other natural resources are annually lost beyond recovery in the mines and forest, because their conservation would tend to interfere with the declaring of big dividends. The yearly loss in natural gas is noteworthy. Ac- cording to the Geological Survey, the statistics for 1910 showed that some 480,000,000,000 cubic feet of gas were turned into the atmosphere and forever lost.i« Professor I. C. White, the state geologist of West Vir- ginia, declared a few years ago that the waste of gas in that state was equivalent to what the waste of coal would be if, at the rate of a car a minute, " not for one week only, or for one month, but for twenty years, a forty-five ton car of coal had been dumped into an abyss from which it could never be recovered " ; and that " some un- seen power . . . has so far thwarted and palsied every effort of the legislature to save . . . this priceless heri- tage." ^® As a result of this profligacy, it has been esti- 15 Van Hise, Concentration and Control, p. 94. 18 Ibid., The Conservation of Natural Resources in the U. 8., p. 69. 18 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION mated that most of the fields worth while will have been exhausted in the next score of years." Wastes of Advertising. — The chief wastes dealt with by socialists, however, are generally those connected with the distribution of commodities. Competition demands the expenditure of enormous sums in securing a market, in " drumming up trade." First come the voluminous cor- respondence with prospective customers, and the compila- tion and mailing of countless circulars, calendars, sam- ples and prizes to induce the customer to buy. The one item of newspaper advertising is enormous and is growing by leaps and bounds. The Census of Manufactures, Bul- letin of 1910, says: " The income of newspapers and periodicals from subscrip- tions, sales and advertising was $337,596,285 in 1909, as com- pared with $175,789,610 in 1899, the rate of increase for the decade being 92 per cent, of the total income from these sources, that from advertising formed 60 per cent, in 1909 and 54.4 per cent, in 1899, having increased much faster than that from subscriptions and sales." The cost of brilliantly displayed " ads " in magazines is also becoming increasingly great. ^* And besides all this, there are the ever present miscellaneous " ads " that be- smirch the city and countryside. " The greater portion of down-town illumination, the multiplicity of electric signs, on side-walk and housetop . . . the desecration of 17 Van Hise, op. cit., p. 60. In dealing with the coal situation, Dr. Holmes has the following to say (see Van Hise, Concentration and Control, p. 90) : " With all modern Improvements not more than SO per cent, of the anthracite coal in the areas mined is being brought to the surface. The re- mainder of it, now aggregating 80,000,000 tons a year, is being left under ground in such a condition as to make its future recovery difficult, if not impossible. . . ." 18 See Reeve, The Cost of Com/petition, p. 249. WASTES IN DISTRIBUTION 19 cliff and field with thousands of hideous emblazonments ; the sandwich man and the fake orientals who perambulate the streets ; the inharmonious confusion of street signs," all figure in the merry game of advertising as well as in the price of the article to the consumer.-'® Latterly the business of advertising is being regarded to an increasing extent as a highly paid profession. Spe- cial schools are established to teach this new art ; colleges are giving extensive courses therein. Periodicals are vic- ing with each other in the elucidation of its intricacies, and long volumes are describing the psychological methods whereby an unsophisticated public may be induced to pur- chase goods of plus and minus merit with joyful exaltation. Diversion of Productive Workers. — These advertising campaigns involve the labor not only of those profession- ally engaged in the advertising business, but of a host of workers in a large variety of trades. In the printing trades a considerable portion of workers ranking in the census as engaged in production are busy at printing " not books or newspapers, or magazines, but advertising matter, competitive price lists, wrappers, trade labels, bill-heads, account books, posters, etc., which are merely called into existence by the struggle of various com- petitive sellers to reach the consumer," ^^ and which could largely be eliminated under a cooperative system of in- dustry. Much of this matter is misleading; some of it, issued for the purpose of deceiving. The reader must pay i» See Van Hise, Concentration and Control (Revised Edition), p. 89. 20 Wells and others, op. cit., p. 82. Mr. A. M. Simons calls atten- tion to a well known mail-order house in Chicago which, in a recent year, published two editions of a catalogue, of seven million copies each, and declares that "the labor expended in the printing of catalogues is greater than that expended on all books put together." (Simons, Wasting Human Life, p. 34.) 20 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION the price. " Many other trades give a considerable amount of their output to the use of advertisements. Iron, copper, zinc, enamel, colar, ink, paper, string, gum, ■wood — the list of articles which are built up into adver- tisements to deface towns, despoil scenery, and confuse the traveler." ^^ In recent years advertisements in foods have presented many absurdities. " Enormous sums are spent by competitive firms to per- suade the public that there are a number of different individual teas, butters, or bacons. Tea bought in the ordinary process in the London market is put up into special packets and la- beled with fancy names and advertised in terms which sug- gest that it possesses individual quality like a Beethoven sym- phony." '" Evaluation of Advertising. — It is of course true that advertising possesses a certain economic and educational value. But, as Professor Jenks points out, its purpose " is not chiefly to persuade customers to buy more soaps or spices, but to use Pear's instead of Colgate's ... or one favorite brand of spices instead of another." ^^ " We do not need to be begged to buy shoes when barefoot, nor to seek food when hungry," . . . declares Mr. Reeve. " If there were not an advertisement issued, not a solicit- ing salesman in the land, all of the current purchase and consumption of standard articles would continue. Only novelties would need to be announced." ^* He adds that at present " there are no fields in which advertising is more frantic . . . than in the staple commodities." Its chief 21 Ibid, p. 83. 22 Ibid., pp. 83, 84. 23 Jenks, The Trust Problem, p. 39. 24 Reeve, op. cit., pp. 171-3. WASTES IN DISTRIBUTION 21 function, as Professor Veblen brings out, is to give " vendi- bility," not serviceability to the particular goods.^® Referring to the effect of advertising on the price of the commodity. Professor Jenks declares that " it is not too much to say that in many lines it would be possible, if competitive advertising were rendered unnecessary, to fur- nish as good quality of goods to the consumers, permit them to pick their brands, and charge them only one-half of the prices paid at present, while still leaving the manu- facturer a profit no less great than that now received." ^^ Traveling Salesmen — Another source of economic waste under competitive conditions is the system of com- mercial travelers. In 1910, 163,620 such salesmen were reported in the United States. ^^ In every part of the country, highly skilled and highly paid salesmen from competing firms weekly make expensive trips over the same routes, stop at the same hotels and exhibit samples to the same store-keepers. Carfare, hotel bills and incidentals mount into the millions. Millions of hours are wasted in the endeavor to persuade weary merchants of the eternal virtues of particular lines of goods, and of the huge de- mand awaiting their purchase. Under a cooperative sys- tem, one salesman in the industry could exhibit the com- plete line of samples, while most of the staple articles could be ordered by mail. That the work of many of these travelers is superfluous from the standpoint of social pro- duction is indicated by the ability of combinations largely to dispense with their services.^® 26 Veblen, The Theory of Business Enterprise, p. 59. 28 Jenks, op. cit., p. 29. ^T Abstract of 13th Census, p. 250. 28 According to Mr. P. E. Dowe, president of the Commercial Travelers' National League, 35,000 salesmen were thrown out of em- ployment by the formation of trusts, while the earnings of 25,000 were reduced two-thirds. (See Report of U. S. Industrial Com- 32 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Wastes from Producer to Consumer. — Nor does the waste of distribution end here. After the order for goods has been secured, and the commodity prepared in the fac- tory, considerable loss is incurred in transferring the com- modity to the consumer. Eastern factories, in supplying orders, ship bulky commodities to the west, while com- peting firms send freights from that section thousands of miles to eastern customers. The Tin Plate and Steel Companies saved no less than $500,000 a year^* by elimi- nating such cross freights through combination. When finally the commodity arrives at the city of its destination, it is frequently handled by hosts of middle- men — -jobbers, wholesalers, speculators, retailers, — be- fore reaching the consumer.^** ■mis3ion, pp. 829-31, Kelly, Twentieth Century SocialUm.. p. 96. See also Jenks, op. cit., p. 27, and WeUs, Tono Bungay.) 28 Jenks, op. cit., p. 33. During the European war, the U. S. Fuel Administration instituted a zoning system, under which cross freights as far as bituminous coal was concerned were largely eliminated. The administration reported at the end of the first year a saving of over 160,000,000 car miles. (Fuel Facts, U. S. Fuel Administration, p. 19.) 30 In dealing with the method of distributing food in the city of New York, the Committee on Markets, Prices and Costs of the New York State Investigating Committee declared that one store existed in New York City to every 250 inhabitants — about 20,000 stores in all. These included over 11,000 corner grocery stores, over 6,000 butcher shops, 2,682 bakeries and from 4,000 to 5,000 pushcarts in the food supply business. If 200 retail markets, situated in strategic places in the city, were substituted for the " chaotic, uneconomic, extravagant and wasteful conditions " of distributing food products then in vogue, the Committee declared that a saving of from $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 a year would be effected. (Report of New York State Food Inmeatigating Committee, 1912, p. 35. John J. Dillon in 1916 estimated a possible saving several times as great. Dr. Frederic C. Howe deals with the difficulty entailed by the farmers in getting goods to market. " The city is blockaded against them. Often their produce is taken by the commission men and WASTES IN DISTRIBUTION 23 The losses involved in keeping up thousands of insignifi- cant retail establishments, each with its separate clerical force, its inadequate stock and its individual accounts and delivery service constitute a big social waste. The anar- chy of competitive delivery also involves much social loss.*^ That which holds true of the distribution of food pertains to practically every other necessity of life.*^ sold and the farmers are advised that there was no market for it or that it had to be destroyed by order of the health department. At other times produce fails to realize enough to pay freight rates. Frequently food from a distance is permitted to spoil or is thrown into the river, to keep up prices. At other times, it is held up by railroad car shortage and lack of terminal facilities. ... To such an extent have they discouraged the farmers of New York that of tha total food bill of the city, amounting to $800,000,000 a year, only 5 per cent, or $40,000,000 goes to the farmers of the State." (Howe, The High Cost of Uving (1917), pp. 65-68.) Emerson P. Harris estimates that one-half the retail' price goes for distribution. He quotes F. E. Ladd, Food Commissioner of North Dakota, who also complains vigorously of the high cost of distribution. " It costs more to distribute our food products than it does to produce the same," he declares. "Why should this be? Why, for example, should the producer receive 31 per cent, and the distributor 69 per cent, of the cost paid by the consumer for eggs? Why should the farmer receive but 36.6 cents on every dollar, and the distributor 63.4 cents on every dollar for turkeys?" (Harris, Cooperation the Hope of the Consumer (1917), pp. 40-1.) 31 " In Rochester/' declared Professor Walter Rauschenbusch, " 38 milk peddlers travel up and down one street to serve 79 liomes. On another route Sjt, milkmen travel ,30 miles to serve 36,3 homes; one man would travel tB:o miles to serve them all. As a consequence of this waste of labor, milk is dear and its quality uncertain." (Rauschenbusch, Christianizing the Social Order, p. 170.) There are also other wastes too numerous to mention. See Grant, Pair Play for the Workers, Ch. IX, for further examples. 32 The U. S. Railroad Administrators claimed that, in the first year of its work, it saved, through the elimination of competition, $23,566,633 on railroad ticket offices, and $7,000,000 on advertising. There were also considerable reductions in the routing of freight, in legal expenses, salaries, etc. (See Report to the President, by Wm. G. McAdoo, Sept. 3, 1918.) 24 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE Translated into human terms, the foregoing economic loss means tragic waste of energy and life. The evils of unemployment, of industrial accidents and preventable diseases, resulting from untoward industrial conditions, are but further indications of the manner in which modem industry fails properly to utilize its wealth of human resources. Unemployment. — Unemployment of greater or less de- gree, due to the anarchy of present-day industry, to under- consumption, to failure of business concerns, to fluctua- tions of seasonal industry, to the installation of new in- ventions and administrative methods, to artificial stimu- lation of immigration, to industrial disputes, to the lack of adequate labor exchanges and to other causes, has been a persistent concomitant of the capitalist system.^* 83 Prior to the war, numerous attempts were made to estimate the amount of unemployment In the United States. Dr. I. M. Rubinow, in summarizing the unemployment survey connected with the 1900 census, declared that, of the total number gainfully employed at that tune (29,000,000), "on an average of 3,000,000 had been idle throughout the year." (Rubinow, Social Insurance, p. 445.) The Federal Immigration Commission in 1909 estimated that nearly one- half of the workers (46.8 per cent.) were out of a job two months during the year, and that, on the average, the male worker lost ap- proximately three months' time each year. (See Lauck and Syden- stricker. Conditions of Labor in American Industries, pp. 76-78.) After a survey of practically all the data available, Lauck and Sydenstricker maintained, in 1916, that the average wage-earner, em- ployed in the principal manufacturing and mining industries which operate throughout the normal year, loses from 10 per cent, to 20 per cent, of his possible working time. During periods of depression, conditions are far more serious. In February, 1915, for instance, the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that the total number of unemployed in New York City alone approximated 338,000. Two months later the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company placed the number of jobless men in this city at 420,000. (Lauck, etc., op. cit., p. 102.) During the war. WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE £5 While labor exchanges and other social agencies are seeking to ameliorate this problem, certain modern de- velopments are tending to make it more acute. One is the driving of workers from staple industries to those in which the demand is more irregular, and employment, therefore, more precarious.^* Another development is the establish- ment of industries depending on casual workers and women and children who are willing to work for less than a sub- sistence wage.^^ Causes of Unemployment. — It is frequently urged that unemployment is due largely to laziness, not to in- ability to obtain work. The fallacy of such a statement, however, has been demonstrated in many investigations. According to trade union data secured during the five- year period, 1907 to 1911 inclusive, lack of work was the cause at the end of March each year, in from 66.8 per cent, to 89.6 per cent, of the cases.*® Unemployment prevents efficient production. It gen- erally means for the unemployed and his family a sub- normal standard of living, untold anxiety, bitter dis- couragement, depleted efficiency and consequent inability to work regularly. It frequently leads to pauperism and to the tragic undermining of the best in the worker's character. While unemployment can undoubtedly be alleviated there was little unemployment. With the coming of peace, however, the problem is again returning. The U. S. Employment Service on June 19, 1919, reported 241,046 unemployed in 100 cities, according to advices received by them. A further social waste, indirectly con- nected with unemployment, is the enormous labor turnover in modern industry. (See Problem of Labor Turnover, by Paul H. Douglas, American Economic Review, June, 1918, pp. 306-16.) 34 Hobson, The Evolution of Modern Capitalism, p. 334. 35 Lauck, op. cit., p. 76. 38 Parmalee, Poverty and Social Progress, p. 117. See also Bul- letin of the Dept. of Labor, No. 109 (1913), pp. 31-2. 26 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION under the system of private ownership, the lack of any scientific control over production and distribution, the small purchasing power of the mass of workers, and the fact that individual capitalists find it to their economic interests to maintain a reserve army of the unemployed, make a complete solution of this problem under capitalism extremely difficult if not impossible. Industrial Accidents — A further waste, closely re- lated to the profit system, is found in the thousands of unnecessary accidents occurring each year in the danger- ous battle of industry. Dr. Frederick L. Hoffman, the statistician of the Prudential Life Insurance Company, conservatively estimated that 25,000 American wage- earners were killed in our industries in 1913, and that nearly three quarters of a million (700,000) were dis- abled for a period of more than four weeks. *^ On the railroads, the year 1916 yielded no less than 9,364 deaths and 180,375 injuries. Of the deaths, a minority (2,687) ; of the accidents, a large majority (160,663), occurred among the railroad workers.** While the carelessness of employees and the unpre- ventable hazards of industry are undoubtedly responsible for many accidents, the failure of the employer, in his race for profits, to place proper safeguards around the worker,** the greatly increased speed of modem machinery and the fatigue of the worker at the fag end of a long day are responsible for large numbers.*" Stricter factory regulations, workmen's compensation 3' Hoffman, Industrial Accident Statistics, p. 44. ss Statistical Abstract, 1916, p. 306. 30 In 1906, it was stated that, in Illinois, 100 men were Idlled or crippled in the factories of the state by the setscrew, while for thirty-five cents this danger device could have been recast into a safety-device. (Brandeis, Business, a Profession, p. 59.) *o Rubinow, Social Insurance, Ch. V. WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE 27 laws and other collectivist measures are forcing more ade- quate safeguards, but, hitherto, the profit system has placed immense obstacles in the way of adequate safe- guards. The money loss of such accidents to industry is appar- ent. The attending tragedy of pain, of broken hopes, and actual physical want which these industrial mishaps bring into the lives of tens of thousands is not so apparent to the cataloguer of cold statistics, but is no less real. Disease. — A further social and economic waste is ap- pearing in the startling amount of sickness and death due to present conditions. Professor Irving Fisher recently estimated that 630,000 preventable or postponable deaths and 1,500,000 preventable cases of serious illness occurred in the United States every year.*^ While it would be absurd to attribute all these prevent- able cases of sickness and death to economic conditions, it is undoubtedly true that such sickness is primarily the direct result of unsanitary working conditions and the poverty of the masses, with its attendant " bad housing, inadequate diet, child labor, the employment of mothers in miUs, factories and stores, the uncertainty of family in- come; inability to pay for proper medical attendance and care, alcoholism, the restriction of the natural desires for normal self-expression, discouragement and mental de- pression, physical deterioration, frequent and constant ill- health. . . . Even ignorance ... is a more intimate companion of poverty than of financial competence or of wealth.*^ 41 Fisher, Report on National Vitality, pp. 1, 119. Dr. B. S. Warren of the U. S. Public Health Services estimates (Report of Commission on Industrial Relations, p. 124), that each of the thirty odd million wage earners loses through sickness an average of 9 days a year. 42 Lauck and Sydenstricker, op. cit., pp. 34S-6. 28 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Poverty and Disease. — Overcrowding, low wages and sickness have always been boon companions. The Federal Children's Bureau recently discovered, in a survey of Johnstown, Pa., that infant mortality in families where the father earned less than $10 a week was three times as great as in those wh^re the weekly income was $S3 or more.** In 1913 the tuberculosis rate in the Washington Street district. New York City, where over half the families live in two rooms, was four times as great as the rate generally prevalent.** Bad shop conditions are a prolific cause of disease. Sickness due to phosphorus, lead, mercury and arsenic poisonings, to metals, dust, heat, cold, conrfined air, over- crowding, compressed air, excessive light, undue strain on particular sets of muscles, nerves and senses, play havoc with thousands. The International Association of Labor Legislation recently enumerated 53 classes of poisons and hundreds of branches of industry in which these poisons were ever present.*^ " There is hardly any line of modem manu- facture free from the dangers of industrial poisoning." *® While model factories exist, they are in the minority.*^ Conditions in such metal trades as the zinc industry are particularly bad.*^ So grave has been this problem that Dr. Hoffman con- cluded in 1908 that, by proper attention to factory con- ditions, an annual saving would have been effected of ap- islbid., 348. **Lauck, op. cit., p. 336. <5 Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor, Nos. 86 and 100. *e Rubinow, Social Insurance, p. 312. *^ Second Report, JV. Y. Factory Investigating Committee, 1913, Vol. II, p. 416. «U. S. Bureau of Mines, Technical Paper, 105 (1915), p. 832. WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE 29 proximately 22,288 human lives. Such a gain would represent a total of S4>2,4sQ5 years of additional lifetime to the total population, and by just so much the industrial efBciency of the American nation would be increased.*® While many forms of contagious diseases, through the health activities of the community and the discoveries of scientists, have been largely eliminated, many other dis- eases resulting from the strain of industry have alarm- ingly increased. Increase in Sickness — President E. E. Rittenhouse of the Life Extension Institute declared in a recent address that the mortality records indicated a marked decline in the power of the American workers to withstand the con- ditions of modem life, as witnessed in the extraordinary increase in the death rate from the breaking down of the heart, arteries, kidneys, and the nervous and digestive sys- tems, which diseases, he stated, are reaching down into middle life and apparently increasing there and at all ages. Of the 410,000 lives annually destroyed by these " old age " diseases, 60,000 occur under the age of 40 and 105,- 000 between the ages of 40 and 60. In the last thirty years the mortality from these diseases has nearly doubled.^" Occupational diseases, socialists contend, would soon be reduced to a minimum in a system where industry was con- ducted primarily for human welfii,re, not for private profit. Much of the sickness and death can be traced to present- day industry with its greed for gain, 'and its inevitable poverty. Disease leads to great economic losses. The human agony and misery following in its wake are beyond all power of calculation. 49 F. L. HoflFman, Mortality from Consumption in Dusty Trades, in Bulletin of the U. 8. Bureau of Labor, No. 79, Nov., 1908, p. 832. 50 Lauck, etc., op. cit., p. 319. 30 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Summary. — The socialist then criticizes the present system on the ground of its wastefulness and inefficiency. Competition involves enonnous wastes both in the realm of production and in that of distribution, while the waste in hum'an life and energy resulting from unnecessary un- employment, industrial accident and illness accom- paniments of the present profit system — is of startling dimensions. CHAPTER II THE SOCIALIST INDICTMENT: II. INEQUALITY OF WEALTH Inequality of Wealth — We have thus seen that social- ists criticize the capitalist system on the ground of its inefficiency. A further count in the socialist indictment is that the present system of private ownership leads to an inequitable distribution of wealth ; that it means untold wealth for the few and poverty for the many ; and that this inequality runs directly counter to the welfare and happi- ness of mankind. That these inequalities exist few can deny. In this country, according to Dr. W. I. King, of Wisconsin Uni- versity, two per cent, of the population own sixty per cent, of the wealth. On the other hand, the poorest two- thirds of the people possess but one-twentieth of the wealth of the. nation, and the poorest four-fifths but one-tenth.^ The Wealthy. — The country now boasts of several thousand millionaires. A few years ago one fortune was estimated at one billion dollars, " equivalent to the aggre- gate wealth of 3,500,000 of those who are classed as ' poor,' and who are shown ... to own on the average $4<00 each." ^ In 1916, according to the Income Tax sta- tistics, 292 people in the country received a return on their investments of $1,000,000 or over; 524 of between ^ King, Distribution of Wealth cmd Income Among the People of the U. S., pp. 80-2. 2 Report of U. 8. Commission on Industrial Relations, p. 32. 31 32 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION $500,000 and $1,000,000; 6,127 from $100,000 to $500,- 000; 10,452 from $50,000 to $100,000; 23,734 from $25,- 000 to $50,000; 78,880 from $10,000 to $25,000.^ Socialists readily grant that very considerable differ- ences in ability and industry exist among producers. They claim, however, that most of the large fortunes are based primarily on the ownership of machinery and natu- ral resources and the receipt of rent, interest and profit flowing from such ownership. The owner of land or of stocks in a corporation may have acquired this property through dint of hard labor. He may, on the other hand, have inherited it or received it as a gift. He may know little or nothing about the conduct or of the location of the business. However, because of his ownership, and not because of his ability or industry, his income is. assured. Indeed, a recent analysis of 50 of the largest American fortunes shows that nearly one-half of these fortunes have already passed to the control of heirs or to trustees,* and the business from which most of these yearly incomes are drawn is probably managed by executive officials on salary. Wages. — Beyond a certain amount, increased income means little if any additional happiness. It often means increased burden. It frequently exerts a vicious influence on its recipient. At the same time, where the few gain, the many lose. Hand in hand with affluence is found the gaunt specter of poverty. Most of the estimates of wages and the relation of these wages to a minimum standard of 3 Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1918, p. 730. In 1910 the comparatively few who lived in whole or in part from property income received more than one-half of the total an- nual income (53.1 per cent., approximately $16,925,900,000), while the many who lived primarily from service income obtained but 46.9 per cent., or $14,303,600,000, according to Professor King. (King, op. cit., p. 158.) * Report of Commission on. Industrial Relations, p. 32. INEQUALITY OF WEALTH 33 living were made prior to the war, and do not hold good at the present time. These pre-war figures, however, are in- structive. One of the latest estimates was made by Lauck and Sydenstricker in 1916. After examining prac- tically aU the authoritative data available prior to the war, these authors concluded that fully one-fourth of the adult male workers in the principal industries and trades who were heads of families earned less than $400 a year, or less than $7.70 a week; one-half less than $600 a year ($11.35 a week); four-fifths less than $800 ($15.40 a week), while less than one-tenth obtained the equivalent of $1,000, or approximately $20 for the weekly period. Eight hundred dollars was generally regarded at that time as the minimum required by the ordinary family for obtaining life's necessities. Many other estimates were of a similar nature.® Women were, according to the various estimates, even more poorly paid than men.® 5 See Streightoffj The Distribution of Incomes in the United States, Ch. VI; Nearing, Income, Ch. IV, Report of the Commission on Industrial Relations, p. 31 seq. According to the 1910 census, the average yearly wage of wage-earners engaged in manufacturing industries was $517.91. In the textile industries the wages were particularly inadequate. In this industry, a few years ago, nearly one-third of the men and nearly two^fifths of the women in the New England mills, and nearly one-half of the men and two-thirds of the women in the Southern miUs, earned less than $6 a. week, less than $312 a year; while over one-half of the men and two-thirds of the women in New England — nearly three-fourths of the men and over nine-tenths of the women in the South — earned less than $8 a week, less than $416 a year, in this industry. (See Laidler, Boycotts and the Labor Struggle, p. 276; Report on Condition of Women and Child Wage-Earners in the U. S., Vol. I, pp. 310-11.) 8 In fact an examination of the earnings of women workers 18 years of age and over employed in the principal industries indicated that one-fourth received less than $300 yearly — less than $4 a week, while two-thirds obtain less than $400, less than $8 weekly. (Lauck, etc., op. cit., p. 61.) In the sweating industries of the great cities the situation among the women and child workers was even more tragic. 34 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Standard of Living, — These pre-war wages were woe- fully inadequate as compared with a decent standard of living. Accepting the minimum family standard of $800 set by numerous economists prior to the war, " it appears to be an inescapable fact that a very large proportion, possibly half, of the wage-earners' families in the principal industries of this country," according to Messrs. Lauck and Sydenstricker in 1916, " have been below that level during the past few years." '' Recent Changes — Wages have risen considerably since the beginning of the European war. However, the cost of living has also steadily increased. The Labor Re- search Department of the Fabian Society in Great Britain recently estimated that in that country wages increased from 1900 to 1917 approximately 40 per cent., while retail prices in London for food, drink, etc., rose during the same period 120 per cent.* In June, 1919, the New York State If we were to extend our inquiry of incomes to include farmers and such professional men and women as teachers and ministers, we would stiU find most unsatisfactory conditions. Of the income of farmers. Professor Streightoff, commenting on the fact that "when all crops except cotton were normal, the [1900] Census should show the total value of products of 30.9 per cent, of the farms to be under $250, and of 58.8 per cent, to be less than $500, declared that it was a safe indication that, so far as money is the criterion, farming was not much, if any, more profitable than ordinary human labor." He pointed out that in various Methodist conferences, 30.9 per cent, of the ministers obtained less than $600 a year, 78.7 per cent less than $1,200, and but 4.6 per cent, received as much as $2,000. Streightoff, op. cit., pp. 128-32. 'Lauck, etc.. op. cit., p. 376. In 1915, Professor Frank H. Streightoff set the minimum standard of living in New York City at $876 for the family, and even then he was able to allot but $7 for furnishings, $5.63 for education, newspapers, $20 for health, and $40 for all such miscellaneous expenses as "tobacco, carfare, shopping, purchase of toys for the children, toilet articles, hair cuts for the men, washing and laundry, tools, moving, and the spending of money of various members of the family." 8 Labor Year Book, 1919, p. 238. INEQUALITY OF WEALTH 35 Industrial Commission estimated that wages in that state had increased since 1914 78 per cent., while the cost of living had advanced from 90 per cent, to 100 per cent. The War Trade Board in the same months estimated a rise of 102 per cent, in the cost of living. Effect on Family Life. — The industrial system, with its inequality of income, its anarchism in production and its greed for profits, means to large numbers of workers, as we have seen, uncertainty of livelihood, disease, acci- dent and death through unfavorable living and working conditions. Modem industry also disintegrates home life. Low wages make it impossible for heads of families in many instances to provide adequate shelter, food and clothing to their wives and children, and the absence of these mere physical necessities of life makes for unhappi- ness and instability in family relationships. Among the most deleterious influences on home life are the overcrowded and unsanitary dwelHngs in which masses of workers are forced to live. Three-fourths of the American-born wage earners' families live in rented houses.® In more than three-fourths (77 per cent.) of the households investigated, in purely industrial cities, the Federal Immigration Committee discovered that there were two or more persons to a sleeping room ; in over one-third (37 per cent.), three or more persons, and in nearly 15 per cent., four or more. Absence of light, of air, of sanitary provisions,^" of proper space and of yards in which the children can play Lauck and Sydenstricker, op. cit., pp. 293, 302, 305. 10 Fifth Report of the Tenement House Department of the City of N. 7., p. 7j; Committee of Fifty, Substitutes for the Saloon, p. 211. A few years ago, 364,367 dark rooms were reported in the slums of New York City. Many of these rooms depend for air and ventila- tion upon outer rooms and air shafts. " The latter are really a well of stagnant foul air." 36 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION is the lot of tens of thousands of our industrial army, and is assisting effectively in the disintegration of real home life. In Small Cities. — Nor does this condition prevail only in the largest cities. It is witnessed as well in many work- ing-class sections of the smaller industrial towns. One cannot pass through such mining and factory villages and witness long, monotonous rows of small, dingy, shacks in- habited by wage-earners, without a feeling of profound pessimism. In East Youngstown, Pennsylvania, for instance, the United States Public Health Service cited a case where 23 lodgers crowded into a four-room house, and declared that " it was by no means uncommon to find a single room occupied by from three to twelve workers. The lodgers, for the most part, slept two in a bed. In some of the lodging houses, where the men work on both ' day and night turns ' the occupation of the beds is almost con- tinuous, the night men taking during the day the places of those sleeping at night. The beds themselves are usu- ally old and in filthy condition." ^^ Home Hfe is also being seriously affected by the forced absences from home of members of the family in search of work; by the labor of mother and children in factory or sweated home industry ; by night work, and long hours of toil which make the home merely a place in which to sleep ; and by many unfavorable economic conditions under wliich the worker is struggling.-*^ Effect on Marriage. — Modem industrial conditions impose compulsory celibacy on thousands of persons em- ployed as lumber " jacks," as sailors, as domestic servants, as workers assisting in the building of railways, in re- 11 Ibid., pp. 337-8. 12 Kelley, Modern Industry, Ch. I. INEQUALITY OF WEALTH 37 claiming waste lands, in water and power construction, etc. " Worn-out freight cars and vermin-ridden bunk houses," writes Florence KeUey, in describing how impos- sible it is for many to assume the obligations of home life, " are not fit homes for wives and children. But these are the dwellings afforded for rapidly increasing thousands of working men, for years at a time, a group being moved from one section to another of some great undertaking, the quality of their quarters varying little." ^^ Housing and sanitation laws are beginning to improve these condi- tions in some parts of the country, but that improvement is a slow one. It is thus seen that from the economic point of view — from the standpoint of economic efficiency, and from the standpoint of wealth distribution — the present system, with its economic and human wastes, its unearned luxury and its tragic poverty is subject to severe condemnation. EFFECT OF CAPITALISM ON" THE ETHICAL LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY Poverty Not Chief Evil — ■ Socialists condemn the pres- ent system, however, not only on account of its effect on the physical well-being of the community, but also because of its reactions on the intellectual and ethical life of so- ciety. Indeed most socialists contend that, even though poverty were entirely eliminated, under capitalism, even though each man and woman willing to work were assured of safe employment, of reasonable hours, of healthful sur- roundings, and of a wage which would permit him to sup- ply his family with decent food, decent clothing and decent shelter; even though all employers were enlightened and 18 Ibid., p. 8. 38 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION adequate labor legislation passed and enforced ; in fact, even though the workers no longer suffered any of the physical ills which capitaHsm now brings in its wake, nevertheless the present system would be condemned be- cause of its disastrous reactions on the intellectual, the testhetic and the ethical life of the masses. The Profit Motive. — Business under capitalism is con- ducted by the average business man primarily for profit, only secondarily for service. The profit instinct perme- ates all business relationships, and difficult it is for the average man to decide on a line of business conduct, either in relation to the consuming public, to his employees, to the government, or to his co-workers, if that line of con- duct seriously interferes with his accumulation of profits. It is, furthermore, difficult for him to see the extent to which his conduct in the pursuit of profits may, from the standpoint of human welfare, be anything but ethical. " There is a spiritual alchemy," declares W. J. Ghent, " which transmutes the base metal of self-interest into the gold of conscience ; the transmutation is real and the re- sulting frame of mind is not hypocrisy but conscience." This self-interest, he continues, " modifies or even negatives his acceptance of the ethical code embodied in his pro- fessed religion." ^* The Business Man and the Consumer. — We have al- ready seen how the race for profits has led to adulteration and similar practices.^® The race for profits also has led in thousands of instances to fraud in regard to weights and measures.^® The Osborne Commission, in 1912, revealed the fact that " the amount of water in canned goods makes a difference of 10 per cent, to 20 per cent, in their value. "Ghent, Mass and Class, pp. 96, 140. 15 See sv/pra, pp. 11, 12. 1* Harris, op. cit., p. 33. EFFECT ON ETHICAL LIFE 39 The weight of food in a package is usually reduced so that 10 ounces or 12 ounces is given for an alleged pound." " Indeed, a survey of these practices leads such thinkers as the American sociologist Lester F. Ward to declare that " deception may almost be called the foundation of busi- ness." i« Business and the Worker — The profit motive has likewise led to most unethical conduct upon the part of large numbers of employers toward their workers. As has been shown elsewhere, in order that the few may ac- cumulate vast fortunes, workers have been forced to toil inhumanly long hours, under unsanitary conditions, speeded to exhaustion. When they have endeavored to organize, they have been discharged, blacklisted, hounded from industry to industry. Spies have been employed to ferret out their activities. Company guards have bru- tally attacked them. Special deputy sheriffs, armed and paid by big business, have deported them from their homes and landed them in desert places. The military and con- 1' Report on Markets, Prices and Costs of the New York State Food Investigation Commission, August, 1912,' p. 33. See also Ghent, Mass and Class, Ch. VIII. Prof. Walter Rauschenbusch in Christianizing the Social Order, pp. 205, 246, elaborates upon these practices as follows: "The in- spectors in New York City confiscated 3906 falsely adjusted scales in three months of 1910, and Indianapolis totaled 13,000 of them in four and a half years. . . . During a special investigation in 1910 the city sealer in Harrisburg, Pa., could not find a single wooden berry box in the city that would hold a quart. Prints of butter are often short of weight. The creamery people say they shrink by the evaporation of the water in the butter, but when the New York State superintendent visited 30 creameries throughout the state and weighed 252 prints dripping wet from the molds, he found 124 short. Those intended for sale in Massachusetts seemed to evaporate least; that state has stringent laws." 18 Ward, Pure Sociology, p. 487. 40 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION stabulary have been induced to shoot them down. The controlled press has concentrated its avalanche of abuse upon them and clubbed them with its headlines into sub- mission. And the pulpit and courts have too often aided in this work.-'® The Business Man and His Competitors Those familiar wdth the history of such corporations as the Standard Oil Company need no rehearsal of the ethical code so frequently adopted in the business world. A strong example of unethical practices in business is con- tained in the specifications in the indictment against the National Cash Register Company, on the basis of which twenty-seven officers were sentenced, in 1913, to jail sen- tences. These specifications charge the company with bribing employees of competitors, of express, railway, and of telegraph and telephone companies for the purpose of securing information regarding competitors' shipments ; with instructing salesmen to spread false rumors regard- ing the competitors' character, financial credit, etc. ; with i» The use of these weapons is dealt with in some detail in my book on Boycotts and the Labor Struggle, pp. 374>-329, and will not be here repeated. Also see Hunter, Violence and the Labor Move- ment, especially Chap. XI, pp. 376-326. The most illuminating ma- terial will be found in the Final Report and Testimony of the Commission on Industrial Relations (Volumes X, XI), especially Conditions of Labor on Pennsylvania Railroad, Vol. XI, pp. 10,067- 10,4,49; Coal Miners' Strike, Colorado, Vol. VII, pp. 6,345-6,990, etc.; Commercial Telegraph Companies, Vol. X, pp. 9,291-9,451; Mim- ing Conditions and Industrial Relations at Butte, Mont., Vol. IV, pp. 3,681-4,095; Labor and Law, Vol. XI, pp. 10,451-10,928, etc. The testimony before the Senate committee on conditions in Paint Creek, West Virginia, during the miners' strike is most illuminating. The "spy" system in industry as worked by one of the detective agencies is also strikingly described by the Sherman Service, in their booklet, Industry, Society, and the Human Element. Upton Sin- clair's novel. King Coal, gives a vivid description of conditions in the coal mines of Colorado. EFFECT ON ETHICAL LIFE 41 inducing customers to cancel the orders for competitors' goods ; with exhibiting competitors' machines as " junk " ; with ordering salesmen " secretly to weaken and injure the interior mechanism and to remove and destroy parts of competitive cash registers" ; with threatening legal suits for alleged patent infringement and with numerous other practices.^** The Business Man and His Fellow Investor. — The driving force of profit-making has led also to a shameless exploitation of fellow investors. The history of many a modem corporation is the history of the attempt on the part of those " on the inside " to squeeze out and exploit those unfortunately not within the " inner circle." The issuance of false prospectuses, the withholding of dividends until the discouraged investor sells his stock, the paying of high salaries and huge commissions for services of little value, the arranging of fictitious sales lof stock with friendly parties with the design of boosting prices, and the unloading of the stock on gullible buyers at the higher market price are all practices too weU known to need eluci- dation here.^^ The Business Class and Corruption. — The profit mo- tive has led also to constant corruption of the forces of government. After an extensive investigation into the relation of business to government, Lincoln Steifens pointedly declares : " My gropings into the misgovernment of cities have drawn me everywhere^ but always, always, out of politics into business, and out of the cities into the state. Business started the corruption of politics in Pittsburgh; upholds it in Phila- 20 See Seager, Principles of Economics, pp. 453-SS. 21 See Lawson's Frenzied Finance. 42 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION delphia, boomed with it in Chicago and withered with its reform: Not the political ring, but big business — that is the crux of the situation." ^^ The manner in which this corrupting influence has been at work was strikingly brought out in the investigations into the affairs of the New York, New Haven and Hart- ford Railroad. According to the testimony, the railroad gave $100,000 for campaign purposes in two political ciimpaigns, besides devoting other sums to local purposes, in each case making an effort " to get under the best um- brella." " It contributed $1,200,000 for corrupt pur- poses in an effort to secure amendments to one of the rail- roads in which it was financially interested. It employed a political boss of one state and a chairman of the Re- publican committee of another state at salaries of $7,000 a year and $5,000 a session respectively to look after its interests, " as a negative retainer." It placed others on its pay roll before they went to and after they returned from the legislature. Some of them still retained their positions while sitting on legislative committees.^* It scattered passes among those legislators and families who were friendly to its interests, " like the leaves of the fall." ^' And, to accelerate public opinion, it bought newspapers and spent thousands of dollars in securing favorable publicity in other periodicals. And this is but one instance of the many in which big business has sought to impose its imprint on legislation. It is, of course, undoubtedly true that legislators have in 2iMcChire'a Magazine, April 1904; see also Steffens, The Crime of the Cities. 23 Financial Transactions of the New York, New Haven and Hart- ford Railroad, 63rd Congress, 2nd Session (1913-1914), Senate Docu- ments 19, Vol. I, p. 30. iilbid., pp. 608-9, 614. 25 Ibid., p. 947. EFFECT ON ETHICAL LIFE 43 many instances not hesitated in the least to accept bribes and have at times taken the initiative in demanding money payments. But this fact, while making officers of the government equally guilty with corporations, in no way exonerates the corporations from blame. Perhaps the most serious attempt to corrupt the gov- ernment has been made by those elements who have invested in undeveloped countries or who desire to exploit those countries and who bring pressure to bear upon their gov- ernments to safeguard their investments even though such action involve a titanic international conflict. It goes without saying that many business men, either as a result of social pressure, of the actual or potential demands of labor, of state legislation, of enlightened self- ishness, of humanitarian motives, or of a combination of these reasons, have adopted a higher ethical code than has been illustrated in the foregoing pages, but the evils mentioned still persist to a remarkable extent in this and other countries. Inequality and Personality — The spirit of superiority which the present system develops among those who have succeeded in the economic struggle, or are the recipients of special privileges is detrimental to the moral fiber not only of the possessors of economic power, but also of every stratum of society. This attitude of aloofness, of superiority, of snobbery, as Professor E. A. Ross de- clares, " shows itself first in the highest class, but presently the intermediate classes become infected with snobbery, and each grade shrinks from all below it. In England the wholesale tradesman looks down upon the retail tradesman, the latter looks down upon his clerk, the clerk looks down upon the woman who lets him lodgings, and she in turn looks down on the man who cobbles her shoes. In reverse, the man who 44 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION works with his hands looks up to the petty shopkeeper and he looks up to the big tradesman. This one looks up to the banker or manufacturer, who looks up to the landed gentry, who look up to the peers, while at the apex of the whole or- ganization stands the throne." ^' Effect on Victor — The absorption of the days and nights of many thousands of business men actively engaged in the competitive struggle absolutely precludes their development along the lines of the intellectual, aesthetic and ethical outside of their narrow economic groove. In many instances the autocratic control forced upon the captain of industry, increasing in magnitude as he grows older, proves far too heavy for one man to bear. " To see these great workers," declared Rauschenbusch, " breaking down under the strain is one of the pathetic spectacles of our system. They are like the axis of a driving wheel that is getting fragile while the wheel grows in weight and speed. . . . Even for their sake we need a decentralizing of responsibility through industrial de- mocracy. ^ ' The present system, which leads to the accumulation of vast wealth in the hands of a few, is creating a class of non-producers who may spend their lives in luxurious idle- ness, and yet find themselves at the end of their career far richer than at its beginning. In hundreds of such lives, this situation has developed an irresponsibility, a self-con- ceit — ' unrebuifed by others — a profligate thrif tlessness, an immorality, a disregard for the sacredness of other per- sonalities, that is tragic in its wide-spread eff^ects. And in many instances, where the possessors of great wealth, moved by a feeling of altruism, have endeavored to 2« Ross, in American Journal of Sociology, May, 1917, pp. 750-1. 27 Rauschenbusch, Christianizing the Social Order, p. 296. EFFECT ON ETHICAL LIFE 46 use part of their wealth in philanthropic enterprises, the pauperization of the masses resulting from these efforts has caused still further social tragedy.^* Among both men and women of the leisure class, pleasure, unmixed with useful endeavor, degenerates into a hollow mockery. Its inspiration ceases. It becomes a monotonous round of duty, and, in order to put new spice, new thrills into what, to normal, productive human beings, would afford genuine delight, new, expensive, ludicrous inventions are resorted to, only to be cast aside when the momentary excitement wears away. Crime and Social Evil. — On the working class, the moral effect of the present system is anything but elevat- ing. Much of our crime is directly or indirectly traceable to involuntary poverty with its overcrowding, its lack of proper means of expression, its ignorance, the inability to obtain the necessities of life, and the resulting desire to secure some of the " swag " so patently displayed by the aristocracy of wealth. That special form of immorality known as prostitution is intimately connected with poverty and the commercial- ism of the present system. Low wages, long hours of ex- hausting toil, overcrowding, absence of the pleasures of life, " the atmosphere of idleness, ease, pleasure, and luxurious habits created in social life by those who live on unearned wealth," ^® — all are effective in augmenting this evil. Jane Addams attributes the increasing nervous energy necessarily expended by girls in modern industry, and " the speeding up constantly required of the oper- ators," as among the most important causes tending to overcome their powers of resistance.*" 28 Ibid., pp. 29S-304. 29 Rauschenbusch, Ohristiamzing the Social Order, p. 267. 30 Addams, A Nev^ Conscience and an Ancient Evil, pp. 72, 77. 46 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION In dealing with the relation of vice to the " beggarly " wages given to Chicago working girls, the Chicago Vice Commission in 1911 pertinently asked: "What is the natural result of such an industrial condition? Dishon- esty and immorality, not from choice, but necessity — in order to live." ^^ It is while " under-fed and hungry — hungry not only for food, but for a decent shelter, for a home, for friends, for a sympathetic touch or word ; tired from a hard day's toil even to the point of recklessness — starving for honest pleasures and amusements," remarked the Commission, that the girl so often succumbs. ^^ The present system, by forcing celibacy on large num- bers of young men, through low wages, unemployment, and other unfavorable economic conditions, also leads to a far greater demand for prostitutes than would exist under more normal conditions. The profit system, furthermore, is ceaselessly at work stimulating the business of prostitu- tion through the medium of its well organized international " white slave " traffic, its army of procurers, its propri- etors of dance halls and saloons, its landlords who gain enormous rents from leasing houses of ill-fame, and its legion of grafters, large and small. The amount of such prostitution it is impossible to state. ^* The serious in- jury — physical and spiritual — suffered by society is too well known to require proof. Something of the ex- tent of the physical injury to the young manhood of the country was indicated during the European war. 31 The Social Evil in Chicago, p. 44. 32 See also Flexner, Prostitution in Europe, p. 85. 33 Years ago (1895), the number of public prostitutes in this coun- try was estimated at the National Purity Congress, as 230,000. {Social Evil in Chicago, p. 96.) "A not unreasonable calculation of 330,000," has been estimated for Germany as a whole. (Flexner, Prostitution in Europe, p. 38.) EFFECT ON ETHICAL LIFE 47 Socialists do not contend that sucli vice is caused wholly by unfavorable economic conditions, nor that it will wholly cease under socialism, but that " mass prosti- tution, such as we know it at the present day, is insepara- ble from poverty and class difference," ^* and that it may well be expected to pass away under a fairer economic system. Intemperance, — ^ Intemperance and other vices are, furthermore, augmented by the discouragements of the worker in modern society, by the environment which denies him the opportunity for normal physical, mental and moral development. The effect of such conditions on character is vividly portrayed by Sidney Webb : " When we have bound the laborer fast to his wheel, when we have practically excluded the average man from every real chance of improving his condition, when we have virtu- ally denied to him the means of sharing in the higher feelings and larger sympathies of the cultured race; when we have shortened his life in our service, stunted his growth in our factories, racked him with unnecessary disease by our exac- tions, tortured his soul with that worst of all pains, the fear of poverty, condemned his wife and children to sicken and die before his eyes, in spite of his own perpetual round of toil — then we are aggrieved that he often loses hope, gambles for the windfall that is denied to his industry, attempts to drown his cares in drink, and, driven by his misery irresistibly down the steep hill of vice, passes into that evil circle where vice begets poverty and poverty intensifies vice, until society un- relentingly stamps him out as vermin. Thereupon we lay the flattering unction to our souls that it was his own fault, that he had his chance, and we preach to his fellows thrift and temperance, prudence and virtue, but always industry, that industry of others that keeps the industrial machine in mo- 3* Rauschenbusch. op. cit., p. 2^68. 48 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION tion, so that we can still enjoy the opportunity of taxing it." =' The Spirit of Democracy. — The dependence of masses of people on the few for their economic livelihood, like- wise deals a body blow at the spirit of democracy, the spirit of self-esteem which is absolutely necessary if the intellectual and manual workers are to rise to the full height of their manhood and womanhood. Professor Ross described a condition that is too little recognized when he declared : " All about us we see how the constant immediate depen- dence of one human being upon the favor of another blights native self-respect and self-assertiveness. The ' tip ' in lieu of fixed wage, by making the servant dependent upon the served, fosters obsequiousness in the one and a patronizing spirit in the other. . . . The dependence of professors of the ethical or social sciences upon governing boards composed of wealthy men or reflecting, perhaps anticipating, the wishes of politicians or donors, jeopardizes that vigor and character and candor of utterance essential to their largest service. The dependence of the clergyman upon the financial ' pillars ' in his church leaves him less free to apply the touchstone of Christian principles to current business practices. Ad- vertiser or ' interest ' control over newspapers is making many newspaper men feel like helots." ^^ Artists and Capitalism — Many artists and poets have also condemned the present system of profit-making be- cause of the ugliness it entails — the ugliness of the streets, the hovels, the workshops of the poor; the ugli- 36 Webb, English Progress Toward Democracy, Fabian Tract, 15, p. 7. See Rauschenbusch, op. cit., p. 243. 36 Ross, in " Caste and Class." American jJournal of Sociology, May, 1917, pp. 757-758; see also Veblen, Higher Learning ire America. EFFECT ON ETHICAL LIFE 49 ness of the dress, the abode, the pleasures of the rich; the ugUness of its screaming advertisements, the ugliness of the spirit of gain that makes human welfare and beauty subservient to dividends. Conclusion — The social legislation now proposed and, to some extent, now being enforced on all sides will un- doubtedly eliminate some of the worst evils of our present system. Through workingmen's compensation laws, so- cial insurance against sickness, accident, old age and un- employment, employment agencies, minimum wage legisla- tion, eight hour laws, stricter factory and tenement laws, the extension of public education and public health activi- ties, the increase of taxation of incomes and inheritances, the regulation of prices and profits, the public ownership of the more important public utilities, etc., — the crimi- nally low wages, the long hours, the high prices, the inse- curity of employment, the ignorance of the masses may conceivably be, in large part, eliminated, and a well fed, fairly well educated working class living^above the starva- tion line, may evolve. However, so long as the profit system, the wage system, lasts, so long will those in control of industry receive an unearned increment, so long will the workers be dependent on economic masters, so long will the vitiating spirit of arrogant lordship on the one hand and dependence on the other prevent that highest moral development which only a free and economically democratic society can bring about. CHAPTER III SOCIALIST THEORY: I. ECONOMIC INTERPRE- TATION AND CLASS STRUGGLE INTRODUCTION The Utopians, the Forerunners of Marxian Socialists. — As has been indicated, specialists have analyzed the sys- tem of private ownership of the means of production and distribution, and have contended that it is inefficient, that it leads to an unjust distribution of wealth, and that it fails to afford an opportunity to the masses for the proper development of personality. While the socialist criticism of present conditions dif- fers from that of other students of social problems, their conception of the future industrial state -^ and their theory of social evolution constitute their chief points of depar- ture from other schools of social thought. A school with which modern socialists have often been confused, but from which they sharply separate them- selves, is that of the Utopian socialists. Social prophets have written their versions of their ideal state from time immemorial — Plato, Campanella, Sir Thomas More are but a few of the social dreamers of past centuries. That school of thought, however, which is usually referred to as the Utopian socialists, a school composed of such writers 1 The socialist advocates, as will be seen more specifically in Chap- ter V, the collective ownership and democratic management of the socially necessary means of production and distribution. 50 SOCIALIST THEORY: INTRODUCTION 51 as St. Simon (1760-1825), Fourier (1772^1837), Louis Blanc (1811-1882), Proudhon (1809-1865), Cabet (1788-1856), and Robert Owen (1771-1858),^ did not arise until the latter part of the eighteenth century. These Utopians portrayed in minutest detail the workings, as they conceived them, of a future cooperative state, wherein liberty, equality and fraternity would prevail, and inspired their followers to organize communities in Eu- rope and America for the purpose of demonstrating the practicability of their dreams. In the United States the most spectacular of these communities was the Brook Farm experiment in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, under- taken in the forties by the followers of Fourier, and sup- ported for a time by such brilliant American writers and publicists as George Ripley, Horace Greeley, Albert Bris-y bane, Charles A. Dana, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Chan-' nings, and Theodore Parker. This and hundreds of other experiments, while interesting sociological studies, all failed to realize the aims of the founders, and were soon but memories. Mistakes of Utopians — The Utopians made several mistakes. They regarded society to too great an extent as a mechanism, rather than as a social organism. In order to attain the ideal society, they believed that the chief thing necessary was to construct a detailed mental picture of a utopia and to induce a few enthusiasts to build this utopia in small isolated communities. The suc- cess of one experiment would lead to further attempts, and, finally, their dream would be universally adopted. They failed to see that the realization of social ideals depends to a large extent on whether society has reached a certain stage of industrial development; that an industrial sys- 2 AH of the writers mentioned, with the exception of Owen, were natives of France. 52 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION tern cannot be made to order irrespective of social world forces. They did not realize the almost insuperable ob- stacles in the way of establishing in an isolated community an economic system founded upon economic and ethical ideals in direct conflict with those of the outside world. Utopians also depended for the realization of their dream too largely on a few beneficiaries of special privi- lege. They did not give due importance to the necessity of organizing the world's producers, if society is to be reconstructed on a cooperative basis. Finally, many of their experiments failed because they did not confine their ranks chiefly to those who had the ideals of the colonies at heart, but welcomed too freely adventurers and others with little ability for the work that needed to be done and with the desire for private gain uppermost in their minds.^ With the demise of the distinguished school of French and English Utopians, and the failure of the communistic experiments in America, utopian socialism, as a vital movement, ceased to exisit, although, as is inevitable, indi- vidual writers have, for many years past, engaged in the fascinating adventure of drawing word pictures of future states, and here and there may still be found isolated com- munities organized for the purpose of demonstrating to the world newly discovered truths concerning social phe- 3 For a description of the Utopians see Kirkup, History of Social- ism, Chs. II, III, IV; Guthrie, Socialism Before the French iJe»o- luUon; AUen, Adventures in Socialism,; Ely, French and German Socialism; Hillquit, History of Socialism in the United States (Re- vised Edition, 1910), Pt. I; Noyes, History of American Socialism; Hinds, American Communities; Nordoif, Communistic Societies of the United States; Commons and Associates, History of Labor in the United States, etc. * See Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward, and Equality; H. G. Wells, A Modern Utojna; William Morris, News from Nowhere; Wm. Dean Howells, A Traveler from Altruria, etc. SOCIALIST THEORY: INTRODUCTION 53 Marxian Socialism. — The successors of the utoplan school — and the school which is still in the ascendancy among the organized socialists today — is that known as " scientific " or Marxian socialism. This school may be said to have had its beginnings with the appearance of the Communist Manifesto, published in 184<8. " Scientific " socialists are sharply separated in their theories and tactics from their utopian predecessors. They spend little time in picturing the details of an ideal state of society. They concentrate their chief effort on the analysis of industrial conditions and tendencies, and predict, as a result of this analysis, that the social forces set to work by capitalism are leading to a cooperative state of society. They depend little on those who enjoy ■special privileges under the present' sysitem to install so- cialism; but they put their trust largely in mechanical changes in industry and in the growing power of labor. Their analysis of this evolution toward a cooperative sys- tem, as first formulated by Marx and Engels — an analy- sis which is still accepted with certain modifications by the present organized socialist movement, — is substantially as follows : ® Industrial systems — like every other human institution — are undergoing constant evolution. After centuries of evolution, slavery became the predominant form of indus- trial development. With the destruction of the Roman Empire, slavery gradually gave way to feudalism, which existed throughout the middle ages. INEVITABILITY OF SOCIALISM Development of Industry. — The discovery of America 5 The following passages are taken chiefly from Marx and Engels' Commwntit Manifesto and Engels' Socialism: Utopian and Scien- tific. One or two passages come from Capital, by Marx. 54. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION and the establishment of trade with the East and the West led to the destruction of the feudal system. Manufactur- ing took its place and steam and electricity revolutionized industrial production and forced modem industry on the world. Modem industry has established a world market, and this market has given an immense impetus to com- merce, to navigation, to communication by land, and, concomitantly, has led to a great increase in the power of the bourgeoisie,® and a decrease in the strength of every other class. With this increased economic strength has come greater political power until at present " the executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common ■affairs of the whole bourgeoisie." Achievements of Modern Capitalists ^ Wherever the bourgeoisie has obtained the upper hand, it has ruthlessly torn asunder the old feudal ties of personal loyalty and " has left no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous ' cash payment.' " At the same time, it " has accomplished wonders far surpassing Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts and Gothic cathedrals." It has established a world market ; it is constantly dislodging merely national industries. It draws its raw materials from the remotest regions. It is continuously developing new wants. It is bringing out a universal inter-dependence of nations. As in the material, so in the intellectual creations, it is abolishing national one-sidedness, and from local literatures is producing a world literature. " By bourgeoisie is meant the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage-labor; by proletariat, the class of modern laborers who, having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labor power in order to live." INEVITABILITY OF SOCIALISM 55 It is likewise piercing into the barbarian nations and forcing them, on pain of extinction, to adopt the bour- geois mode of production. It " is creating a world after its own image.'' It has agglomerated population and subjected the coun- try to the rule of the town. It has formed strong na- tions from scattering provinces. It has centralized the means of production, and has concentrated property in a few hands. Development of Crises — However, as the feudal sys- tem of production became incompatible with the already developed productive forces, and finally burst asunder, so is modern industry outgrowing its confines. " Modem bourgeois society . . . that has conjured up such gi- gantic means of production and exchange, is like a sor- cerer who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells." For capitalistic production demands the perfecting of machinery. Such improvement displaces more and more of the machine workers themselves. This leads to an in- dustrial reserve army, which means not only idleness for those disemployed, but the reduction of wages for those still retained. The workers, securing but a portion of the social prod- uct, can repurchase but a portion of that which is pro- duced, and the capitalists can increase their own consump- tion only to a limited extent. Foreign markets are de- veloped for the purpose of unloading the unconsumed sur- plus, but their extension cannot keep pace with the ex- tension of production. Crises become inevitable. " Com- merce is at a standstill, the markets are glutted, products accumulate, as multitudinous as they are unsaleable, hard cash disappears, credit vanishes, factories are closed, the mass of the workers are in want of the means of subsist- 56 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ence; bankruptcy follows upon bankruptcy, execution upon execution. The stagnation lasts for years ; pro- ductive forces and products are wasted and destroyed wholesale, until the accumulated mass of commodities fi- nally filter off, more or less depreciated in value, until pro- duction and exchange gradually begin to move again. Little by little the pace quickens. It becomes a trot. The industrial trot breaks into a canter, the canter in turn grows into a headlong gallop of a perfect steeple- chase of industry, commercial credit and speculation, which finally, after breakneck leaps, ends where it began — in the ditch of a crises." These crises, furthermore, return ever more threaten- ingly, bringing in jeopardy the very existence of the sys- tem. The bourgeoisie manages each time to overcome them by the destruction of a mass of productive forces, by the conquest of new markets, and by the more thorough exploitation of old ones. It is, however, thus paving the way for more extensive and destructive crises, and wars, and diminishing the means whereby crises can be pre- vented. Concentration of Industry — These periodic panics, with their resulting collapse of capitalistic enterprises — as well as the periods of industrial high pressure, with their unbounded inflation of credit, — result in concentra- tion of capital in huge stock companies, in trusts, in the state itself. Trusts tend to limit output, but " no nation will put up with production conducted by trusts, with so barefaced an exploitation of the community by a small band of dividend mongers." Furthermore the limitation of output is accompanied by the discharge of employees, an increase in unemployment, and a consequent decrease in (the purchasing power of labor. Decrease of Capitalist Class: Disappearance of Middle INEVITABILITY OF SOCIALISM 67 Class — The crises demonstrate that the capitalists are incapable longer of managing the productive forces. The joint stock companies, the trusts and state production show that the capitalists are unneceS'Sary for that purpose. For under these forms of industrial development, the social functions formerly performed by the capitalists are now performed by salaried employees. " The capitalist has no further social function than that of pocketing divi- dends, tearing ofF coupons, and gambling on the Stock Exchange. . . . At first the capitalistic mode of produc- tion forces out the workers. Now it forces out the cap- italists, and reduces them, just 'as it reduced the workers, to the ranks of surplus population, although not imme- diately into the ranks of the industrial reserve army." Modern industry Is at the same time hurling into the proletariat the lower strata of the middle class — the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, handicraftsmen and peasants. Increasing Misery of the Workers. — The bourgeois system is also forging the weapons that will bring death to itself by calling into existence the modern working class. The modern worker, with the development of machinery, is losing individual character. Instead of benefiting by the increased production he is becoming ever more bur- dened, either through " the prolongation of the working hours, by increase of the work enacted in a given time, or by increased speed of the machinery, etc." These workers are being organized in ever greater masses ; modern industry is regimenting them under the command of the overlooker, making them the slaves of machines, superseding their work with that of women toilers. Frequent periods of unemployment and low wages add to their suifering. " Accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at ithe same time, accumulation 58 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, :at the opposite pole." Increase of Class Antagonism Modern industry is likewise creating class antagonisms which are destined to assist in the undermining of capitalistic society. For the bourgeoisie could not transform the " puny means of pro- duction into mighty productive forces, without transform- ing them at the same time into social means of production only workable by a oolleotivity of men. The spinning- wheel, the bandloom, the black-smith's hammer, were re- placed by the spinning-machine, the power-loom, the steam hammer. ... In like manner production itself changed from a series of individual into a series of social acts and the products from individual to social products." Under individual production, where the worker owned the tools with which he worked, he naturally appropriated the product. When the means of production and produc- tion itself, however, became socialized, they were subjected to a form of appropriation which still presupposes the pri- vate production of individuals. " This contradiction, which gives to the new mode of production its capitalistic character, contains the germ of the whole of the social an- tagonisms of today," and inevitably leads to struggles between the worker and the bourgeoisie for a larger share of the social product. Industrial Organization of Workers. — The proletariat goes through various stages of development in this strug- gle. At first the contest is carried on by individual la- borers, then by work people in a factory, then by opera- tives of one trade in a locality. Oftentimes the fight takes place not against the exploiting bourgeoisie but against the instruments of production. And at times the workers are used by the bourgeoisie to support them in their bat- tles against the landed aristocracy. INEVITABILITY OF SOCIALISM 59 As the workers become concentrated in greater masses, as their conditions of life become more equalized, as their livelihood — ■ with the unceasing improvement in machinery and commercial crises — becomes more precarious, they exhibit greater solidarity, and the struggles with the bour- geoisie take on more and more the character of struggles between classes. Political Organization of Workers. — Every class struggle is also a political struggle. The proletarians be- come organized into a political party which is being con- tinually upset through competition between the workers themselves, but which rises up again ever stronger, firmer, mightier. It secures fresh elements of enlightenment from that part of the middle class which is precipitated into the proletariat, and from a small section of the ruling class who are shocked at the violent character of the struggle, and who " have raised themselves to a level of compre- hending theoretically the historical movements as a whole." Breakdown of Capitalism — The increasing industrial crises, the growing inability of the system to assure an existence to the workers, and the ever greater power of the producer on the political and economic field, cut " from under its feet the very foundation on which the bour- geoisie produces and appropriates products. What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable." Triumph of Proletariat — The proletariat, through such a victory, will turn the means of production into so- cial property, and by this act replace anarchy in produc- tion with systematic, definite organization ; abolish the class nature of the state, abolish class divisions, make man at last master of his own form of social organization, at the same time, lord over Nature, his own master — free. 60 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION THE ECONOMIC INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY Introductory — In prophesying the inevitability of so- ciaUsm, in the manner just described, Marx and Engels took as their premise the sociological theory that social changes are determined primarily by economic forces and the reaction of these forces on the mass of mankind ; and that these forces have brought into play a struggle be- tween the owners of industry and the workers which can only result in the dominance of the workers, and, finally, in the elimination of all classes and all class struggles. The two sociological theories here involved are the eco- nomic or the materialistic interpretation of history, and the class struggle. These sociological theories, together with the economic theory of surplus value, have long been regarded as the corner stones of scientific socialism. The theory of surplus value, however, is now looked upon by many socialists as inadequate, and by others as an unes- sential part of the socialist philosophy,'' although the fact of surplus value and of unearned wealth is emphasized with as much vigor as ever. Related to these theories, as we have seen, is the socialist analysis of concentration, and the theories of the disappearance of the middle class, of the increasing misery of the producers, of the economic crisis, and of the social cataclysm. Importance and Definition of Theory The economic interpretation of history, — now accepted with certain modifications by a growing proportion of leading histor- ians, — was formulated by Marx as early as 184)5. As a ■f Mr. Boudin, the American Marxist, however, declares this theory to be an integral part of the Marxian system, and " to accept any one of its parts and reject the others . . . simply betrays ignorance of the parts which are accepted and rejected alike." (Boudin, Theoretical System of Karl Marx, p. 4.9.) INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY 61 theory of historical development, the economic interpreta- tion stands in contradistinction to the idealistic interpre- tation of Hegel and others, to the religious interpretation of Benjamin Kidd, the political interpretation, traced to Aristotle, and the physical interpretation of Buckle.® Briefly it emphasizes the fact that the economic factors in a given epoch — the methods by which the people ob- tain their livelihood — exert a preponderant influence in molding the political, social, intellectual, legal and ethical relationships of that epoch, j It does not contend " that all history can be explained in economic terms alone, but that the chief considerations in human progress are the social considerations, and that the important factor in social change is the economic factor." ® The doctrine as formulated by Frederick Engels in 1888, is as follows : " In every historical epoch the prevailing mode of produc- tion and exchange, and the social organization necessarily fol- lowing from it, form the basis upon which is built up, and from which alone can be explained the political and intellec- tual history of that epoch; that consequently, the whole his- tory of mankind (since the dissolution of primitive tribal society holding land in common-ownership) has been a history of class struggles, contests between exploiting and exploited, ruling and oppressed classes; that the history of these class struggles forms a series of evolution in which, now-a-days, a stage has been reached when the exploited and oppressed class — the proletariat — cannot attain its emancipation from the sway of the exploiting and ruling class — the bourgeoisie — without, at the same time, and once for all, emancipating so- ciety at large from all exploitation, oppression, class-distinc- tion and class struggles." ^^ 8 Seligman, op. cit., Ch. I. 9 lUd., p. er. 10 Comrmmist Manifesto, p. 8. 62 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION As Professor Seligman points out, Marx and Engels had in mind, when speaking of the modes of production, not merely the technique of extracting raw materials and of fashioning the finished goods, but that of trade, trans- portation, and the distribution of products ito the final consumer.-'^ " The actual transmitted remains of former changes " are also included in the economic factor. ^^ Criticism of the Doctrine. — Critics of the theory have often alleged that Marx and Engels emphasized the eco- nomic to the exclusion of all other factors. As has been pointed out, this is not the case. Engels maintained, as Seligman says, that neither he nor Marx ever meant " to claim an absolute validity of economic considerations to the exclusion of all other factors," and repeatedly cau- tioned his followers against too extreme an interpretation. With Buckle, Marx and Engels recognized, for instance, the importance of geographical conditions, though declar- ing that these conditions formed only the limits within which the methods of production could act.^^ They acknowledged, furthermore, that " the actual form of social organization is often determined by polit- ical, legal, philosophical and religious theories and con- ceptions," " and that, w;jred and sold seven-eighths of the grain binders, three-fourths of the mowers, seven-tenths of the rakes, one-half of the spreaders, two-fifths of the disk harrows and a large proportion of the farm wagons in the country.^* 15 Slaughtering and meat packing industry stands first in the value of its products among the manufacturing industries. In 1909 this value was estimated at $1,370,568,000. 18 Summary of the Report of the Federal Trade Commission on the Meat Packing Industry, July 3, 1918; Van Hise, op. cit., pp. 150-2; Report of the Commission of Corporations on the Beef Industry (1905). 17 Van Hise, op. cit., p. 148. IS Report of the Commissioner of Corporations on the International Harvester Co. (1913), pp. 20-1. 88 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The bread and cracker industries also are yielding to the law of consolidation.^* Among the most conspicuous cases of concentration in the realm of luxuries is that of the tobacco industry, where, prior to the dissolution of the American Tobacco Company, approximately nine-tenths of the cigarette business (92.7 per cent.), two-thirds of the plug tobacco (62 per cent.), three-fifths of the smoking tobacco (59.2 per cent.), a major part of the snufF, and a considerable part of the cigar business was controlled by the trust.^" This company also maintained a marvelous system of chain stores and had many international con- nections, especially in Great Britain. In the leather, boot and shoe, shipbuilding, salt, whis- key, rubber, paper, baking powder, flour, and gun powder, aluminum, zinc and other industries, very marked concen- tration has also been noted. In fact " most of the manufactures engaged upon the processes of making the foods, clothes, houses, and other prime necessaries and conveniences of life have passed or •are passing into big capitalistic businesses." ^^ Concentration in Natural Resources Concentration has also proceeded apace in the exploitation of water- power, lumber, coal, etc. In the first named, 13 com- panies control more than one-third of t-he water-power development of the United States.^^ In the lumber industry, less than two hundred great i» See Coming Nation, Jan. 11, 1913. 20 Van Hise, op. cit., pp. 140-1. 21 Hobson, op. cit., p. 135. 22 Van Hise, op. cit., pp. 160-164. In Montana a few years ago 96 per cent, of the developed water- power was controlled by two companies, and somewhat similar con- ditions prevailed in Washington, California, Colorado and other States. These water power companies or affiliated concerns own or control electric light plants in 669 cities and towns and street rail- ways and gas plants in more than a hundred centers of population, CONCENTRATION OF INDUSTRY 89 holders (195), many of them closely interrelated, con- trolled 48 per cent, of the privately owned timber in the region recently investigated by the Bureau of Corpora- tions. This territory included four-fifths of the privately owned timber land in the country. Concentration in the control of coal has shown similar tendencies, as far, at least, as the control of anthracite is concemed.^^ Concentration in Public Utilities.^ — The transporta- tion system which has long been regarded by economists as a " natural monopoly," steadily developed prior to the war under concentrated control. It was commonly esti- mated that eight groups of owners — the Vanderbilt, the Pennsylvania, the Morgan, the Atlantic Coast Line Com- pany, the Gould, the Harriman, the Moore and the Mor- gan-Hill groups — owned or controlled two-thirds of the railroad mUeage of the United States.^* The express service was largely centralized prior to the and are intimately connected with many of the great financial insti- tutions. 23 Three of these companies — the Southern Pacific, the Weyer- haeuser Timher Company, and the Northern Pacific — • possessed, ac- cording to this report, no less than 238,000,000,000 feet of timber, or 11 per cent, of that privately owned. The Southern Pacific hold- ing, declared Commissioner Smith, " stretches 680 miles along that railroad between Portland and Sacramento. The fastest train over this distance takes 31 hours. During all that time the traveler is passing through lands a large proportion of which for 30 miles on each side belongs to the railroad." . . . This holding and that of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company would " supply the 46,584 saw- mills in the country for four and a half years. . . . There has been created . . . not only the framework of an enormous timber monop- oly, but also an equally sinister land monopoly in extensive sections. It involves also a great wealth of minerals . . . and a closely con- nected railroad domination." Report of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Corporations on Lumber Industry (1913), Pt. I. pp. xix, XX. In reference to coal concentration see Eliot Jones, The Anthra- cite Coal Combination 1914), p. 63; Nearing, Anthracite, pp. 55-63. 24 Emory R. Johnson, American Railway Transportation (1905), pp. 64-J. 90 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION war,^^ and was made a unit, in partnership with the gov- ernment, during the war, while, in the realm of communi- cation, the Bell System and the Western Union Telegraph and Mackay companies control respectively the greater part of the telephone and telegraph business of the coun- try. Concentration in Finance. — It is in the field of finance that the most unlimited concentration of control appears possible with the development of capitalism. " As credit becomes more and more the vital force of modern business, the class that controls credit becomes more and more powerful. ... In no other business operation is the ad- vantage of a large over a small capital so obvious ; no- where else is the force making for concentration of busi- ness so evident. . . . Great operations of public or pri- vate finance, the floating of public loans or great in- dustrial combinations, the contrivance and execution of great movements in the stock and share markets, can only be conducted with the suddenness and secrecy which are requisite to safety and success by financial businesses of the first magnitude. . . . Great businesses alone can stand their ground against the larger shocks to the gen- eral credit of a nation, or can rely upon their political influence to secure governmental aid in cases of real emer- gency." ^® While the small money lenders still survive, their finan- 25 This field was dominated largely by the Adams, the American, the Wells Fargo, the Southern, the U. S., the Northern, the Great Northern and the National Express companies. 26 Hobson, op. cit., pp. 255-6. The Report of the Pujo Investigating Committee in 1911 de- clared that 20 of the largest banks in New York City held in that year 42.97 per cent, of the total resources of the city banks and trust companies, while the banking resources of the city amounted to practically one-flfth of those in the U. S. These interests as well, CONCENTRATION OF INDUSTRY 91 cial independence is ever diminishing and they are more and more becoming mere branches or agencies of the great financial concerns.^^ Marked concentration is evidenced also in the life insurance business, which is so closely iden- tified with banking. In Wholesale Trade — In the wholesale trade, the wholesaler, who formerly stood between producer and man- ufacturer, is gradually being eliminated, as the manufac- turer, in an increasing number of instances, either makes contracts with the producer direct, or produces his own raw material. The manufacturer often supplies the re- tailer direct, without the intervention of the wholesaler. Frequently, as in the tobacco, the shoe, and other indus- tries, he sets up his own retail stores. " Where the whole- sale merchant still remains, he is usually either an importer of foreign produce or a collector of foods and other per- ishable home produce. Such businesses partake more and more of a speculative character, involving more largely the element of credit and becoming in most instances an ap- panage of finance." ^® Concentration in the Retail Trade. — Concentration has made its appearance in the retail trade to a much smaller extent than in the fields just discussed. Even here, however, it is making itself distinctly felt. Great department stores, such as Macy's, Wanamaker's, and Gimbel's are looming up in the big centers of population. A nation-wide mail-order business, conducted by such hxige establishments as Sears-Roebuck and Marshall Field of Chicago is displacing the local merchant. Chain-stores with immense capitalization — the $15,000,000 Riker- through interlocking directorates, shareholdings, loans, etc., have a Tery powerful control over the railroads and the large industrials. 27 Hobson, op. cit., pp. 120-121. 28 Ibid., pp. 121-122. 92 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Hegeman Company for the sale of drugs, Woolworth's Five and Ten Cent Stores, with their more than 600 es- tablishments, the United Cigar Stores, Childs' Restaur- ants, James Butler's grocery stores, the Atlantic and Pa- cific Tea Company, Huyler's candy shops, Douglas' shoe stores — are but a few of these organizations that have recently come to stay in many of the large cities of the country. The small store, making as it does its special appeal to individual and local tastes, extending credit and other courtesies to individual families, and saving time of travel, still survives. However, with the growing facilities of- fered by the parcels post, the telephone, the steam and electric conveyance, with the adoption of more exten- sive advertising, the use of price lists, the extension of credits, and the establishment of branches in strategic localities, the big retail establishments are likely to supply an ever larger portion of the needs of the com- munity. " One who has watched the rise of the great department stores in this country and England," declares President Van Hise, " and who now sees their expanding branches the last score of years, need have little prophetic sense to realize that concentration is to rule in the retail trade, the same as it has in manufacture. The retail trade as pointed out by Macrosty, is the ' last stronghold of competition.' " ^° 29 Van Hise, op. cit., p. 83. Certain critics of Socialism, in order to prove the halting char- acter of concentration, have called attention to the fact that, from 1890 to 1900, industrial establishments increased at a faster rate than the number of workers. (Simkhovitch, Marxism vs. Socialism, pp. 55-6.) However, as Dr. Rubinow brings out {Was Marx Wrong? p. 21), the Census specifically states that "the enumeration of the smaller establishments in 1900 was very much more thorough in 1900 than in 1890 and in 1880," and the ofScials in 1910, realizing the meaninglessness of classifying such " small neighborhood establish- CONCENTRATION OF INDUSTRY 93 Persistence of Small Businesses. — A number of the smaller industries which still persist, as Hobson well points out, continue, not on account of greater economy, but be- cause of their ability to take advantage of unskilled, poorly educated workers who are among the driftwood of modern civilization. These " sweated " industries may be considered cases of arrested development.*** Furthermore, these small concerns are being robbed more and more of their independence by the large manufacturing and " fur- nishing " firms who dictate, with ever increasing frequency, the conditions under which goods may be handled.*^ Concentration in Agriculture. — Concentration in ag- riculture has undoubtedly not proceeded as rapidly as Marx predicted, nor has it substituted the great bonanza development with its factory economy for the small farm unit.*^ If concentration necessarily consists in " an increase in the size of the average industrial unit, and a diminution in the number of units," agriculture must be excluded al- most altogether from the domain of concentrating in- dustry. If, however, the essence of concentration is the giving of " a continually diminishing minority of the per- sons engaged in any industry, a constantly increasing con- trol over the essentials and a continually increasing share of the total value of the returns of the industry," ^* a con- ments" as bicycle repair shops, excluded these altogether, and made comparisons on the basis of " factories, excluding hand and neigh- borhood industries." When comparison was thus made, the increase in the number of wage-earners from 1900 to 1910 was greater than that of the number of establishment (40.0 per cent, as compared with 39.4 per cent.). 30 Hobson, op. cit., pp. 411-2. siJMd., p. 136; see also Kautsky's Social Bevohition, p. SO. 32 See Marx, Capital, p. 513; see Skelton, Socialism a Critical Analysis, p. 159. 38 Simons, The American Farmer, p. 97. 94. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION siderable degree of concentration may be evidenced in farming. There are many reasons why the development of larger agricultural units has failed to take place in agriculture. In factory production, a losing battle generally means the bankruptcy and the elimination of the industrial unit. In agriculture, however, it often means that the farmer contracts further debts, sells a part of his land or live stock, takes his children from school and works them and his wife ever longer hours in an endeavor to eke out an existence. The farm unit remains, though the independ- ence of the farmer has become a myth. Another factor tending to keep the size of the farm small, not operative in the modern corporation, is its frequent partitions, on the death of the parent, among numerous children. Hith- erto also it has been difficult to obtain large numbers of de- pendable farm laborers, on account of the great irregu- larity of the work — the abnormal rush during a few weeks in summer and the Ixoll in winter. The social attrac- tions have likewise been small. Chief dependence must therefore be placed on the toil of the family and a few hired men. Machinery and division of labor, furthermore, have heretofore counted for less than in factory produc- tion. The breaking up of the plantations of the South and" of cattle-ranches in the West and the growth of the small fruit and vegetable farms around the city have been other factors in this country tending to limit the size of the farm unit. ■^ Dependence of Farmer — Concentration of another kind, however, has been making the farmer increasingly dependent on big industry. For in agriculture many pro- cesses formerly performed on the farm have been sub- jected to mechanical improvement, isolated from the farm, and made a part of general industry. Whenever this is CONCENTRATION OF INDUSTRY 95 done, these processes are " simply given another name and no longer considered a part of agriculture. . . . Butter and cheese making, cotton-ginning, rice-hulling, threshing, manufacture of agricultural implements (to say nothing of carding, weaving, spinning, knitting, etc.), all these have left the farm. ... As this process goes on the farmer is left free to perform only the antiquated and most difficult and disagreeable processes of agriculture and thus gains no advantage from industrial advance.^* He must now depend for the killing, dressing, packing and selling of meat on the great consolidated packing companies ; for the making of cheese and butter on the great creameries and for storage and transportation, on the railroads, steamships, cold storage and elevator companies. The same concentration is evidenced in articles needed by the farmer in production — agricultural implements, ferti- lizers, etc. To declare that this tendency indicates concentration in agriculture may be " a very far fetched and untenable interpretation," ^^ but whether it indicates agricultural concentration per se or not, it has undoubtedly rendered the functions now performed on the farm less important to the social fabric than were the larger number of serv- ices conducted there in former days, and lack of concen- tration there a less important social phenomenon. Sec- ondly, it has made the farmer ever more dependent for a livelihood on big business in control of these latter proc- esses of production, except where, as in the northwest, he is regaining control through voluntary cooperative or state action. For these great establishments own the in- struments which the farmer must make use of in order to get his goods to the consumer, and through such con- 34 Simons, op. cit., p. 117. 3* Skelton, of. cit., p. 163. 96 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION trol they can " charge all that the traffic will bear." To be sure only a few of the stages through which a commodity passes from farm to consumer are subject to concentrated control, but modern industry has demon- strated that effective control of price does not necessitate domination over all stages of production. The Standard Oil Company, for instance, through constituting the largest buyer of crude oil, for years held a firm grip over prices, even though the oil wells were owned by hundreds of small holders.^® The disorganization of the farmer and his ignorance of bargaining render him especially helpless in the fixing of prices. Voluntary cooperation and state collectivism and the increased demand for food products evidenced since the beginning of the war are making him less dependent, but advance in this direction has thus far been comparatively small and the American farmer is still little more " than an employing agent and resident supervisor " for the big interests.^ ^ Increased Capital per Farm — Modern agricultural and social development, moreover, is bringing with it a greatly increased need for capital outlay per farm and a proportionate increase in tenant farming and in mort- gaged farms. In 1900, the value of the average farm in the country was estimated at $3,563; in 1910, at $6,44!4!, an increase of 80.9 per cent.^^ Investigators of the Department of Agriculture, who recently made a survey of three typical areas in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa — among the most important of the country's farming communities, con- cluded that the average capital invested per farm was $17,535 in Indiana, $51,091 in Illinois and $23,193 in so Hobson, op. cit., p. Sfl7. 3' Simons, op. cit., p. 108. ss Abstract of the Thirteenth Census (1910), p. 266. CONCENTRATION OF INDUSTRY 97 Iowa. The general average for all of the farms in the three districts was $30,606.^* And these facts definitely indicate concentration per se in the domain of agriculture. This increase, due primarily to the rise in the value of the land and of the implements of production, necessarily makes it ever more difficult for the average farmer to own his land and tools. Partly as a result of this condition, while the absolute number of farms owned by their oper- ators has grown, relatively they have decreased. At the same time, tenant farming has increased absolutely and relatively. In 1880, tenant farms constituted 25.6 per cent, of aU farms ; in 1890, 28.4 per cent. ; in 1900, 35.3 per cent. ; in 1910, 37 per cent.*" Many of these farms are but parts of great landed estates.*^ 39 Bulletin No. 4I, BiirecM of Plant Industry. *" In the country as a whole, the acreage of farms operated by the owners advanced 7.6 per cent, from 1900 to 1910, while that operated by tenants increased 16.1 per cent. (^Abstract of the 13th Census, p. 286; see also article by A. M. Simons in Socialist Congressional Campaign Book (1914), pp. 102-106.) *i Henry M. Hyde, Technical World Magazine, January, 1909. Mr. Henry M. Hyde, in 1909, thus described the large land hold- ings, in this country, much of which is rented for farm purposes: " Henry M. Miller owns and controls fourteen and one-half mil- lion acres of rich and fertile land — 22,500 square miles — equal in round numbers to the aggregate area of the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Rhode Island . . . and twice as large as Belgium. . . . One hundred men hold title to 17,000,000 acres in the valley of the Sacramento alone. ... It may be men- tioned in passing that the late Col. D. C. Murphy of New York State held title, when he died, to more than 4,000,000 acres of farm lands; that the late United States Senator Farwell of Illinois, his brother and one or two other men owned three million acres of land in Texas and that Mrs. Virginia Ann King of Greenville, Texas, owns so much land in one great ranch that it is a drive of nearly fifty miles from the porch of her manorhouse over the flat, black prairies to the front gate of her door-yard. . . . For further information concerning the concentration of land 98 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Mortgaged Farms. — There has also been a steady in- crease of mortgaged farms and a decrease in the propor- tion of farms held free from encumbrances by owners. In 1890, of farm homes operated by their owners, 71.8 per cent, were free from mortgages ; in 1900, 68.9 per cent. ; in 1910, 66.4! per cent. Inasmuch as very large numbers of these mortgages are held by the great insur- ance and trust companies and large money-lenders in the city, an indirect form of concentration is here evidenced. Summary — It is seen from the foregoing that concen- tration in the control of industry has progressed rapidly in this country in transportation and communication ; in the control of such natural resources as coal and the metals, lumber, water power and oil ; in manufacturing, finance, insurance. WMle small manufacturing establish- ments are still surviving, they are performing an ever smaller amount of the total business of the community and their continued existence is becoming ever more precarious. In the distributive industry, the small shop still sur- vives, but here also concentration is beginning to emerge through the development of the great department stores, the mail-order business, the chain stores, and the retail stores dominated by the big manufacturing establishments ; and the small concern is finding it ever more difiicult to earn a livelihood. The same kind of concentration found in factory pro- duction has not been in evidence in agriculture. How- ever, the farmer, through the concentration of functions formerly performed on the farm, as well as through in- creased farm tenancy and mortgaged farms, occupies a position of increasing dependence. ownership, see Howe, The High Cost of Living, Ch. XVIII; Every- body's Magazine, May, 1905; Senate Document No. 154, 58th Con- gress, Third Session, etc. CONCENTRATION OF INDUSTRY 99 While admitting the survival of small establishments in manufacturing, agriculture and the distributive trades, the socialist refuses to admit the implications drawn therefrom by some of his critics. It is often assumed that industry in any one branch is not ripe for socialization until aU small survivals disappear. This the socialists deny. In socializing industry it is not necessary for the public to take over all small survivals, but merely the best equipped, dominant concerns ; as has been inferred, fur- thermore, concentrated control can demonstrate its eco- nomic superiority without necessarily putting out of busi- ness all of the small, insignificant concerns. Whether such survivals have a tendency to delay the coming of socialism by retaining groups in the population necessarily hostile to the cooperative system will be discussed under " The Disappearance of the Middle Class." THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS Explanation of Theory — Closely connected with Marx's conception of the concentration of industry is the theory of the disappearance of the middle class. This theory has furnished a basis for many an intellectual battle both within and without the socialist movement. " The lower strata of the middle class," contended Marx and Engels, " the small tradesmen, shopkeepers, and retired tradesmen generally, the handicraftsmen and peasants — all these sink gradually into the proletariat, partly because their diminutive capital does not suffice for the scale on which modern industry is carried on, and is swamped in the com- petition with the large capitalists, partly because their special- ized skill is rendered worthless by new methods of produc- tion." *2 i^ComTrmnist Manifesto, p. 23; see also Capital, p. 788. 100 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Marx never maintained that the middle class must completely disappear and society be divided into a handful of millionaires on the one hand and poor workingmen on the other before a socialist regime was possible. " It was only the disappearance of that particular middle class of which he treated, chiefly the middle sized employer, that he considered of any importance at all." And he was concerned only with the presence of this class " in any such great numbers as would lend it social strength." *' Those who contend that Marx was wrong in his proph- ecy argue ( 1 ) that " middle class incomes " are greatly increasing; (2) that stockholders in the modern corpora- tion are becoming ever more numerous ; and (3) that small businesses with their middle class proprietors are still ex- ceedingly numerous.** Middle Class Incomes — In reply to this line of argu- ment, Marxists have insisted that there is no standard by which one can measure the different grades or divisions of income as high, middle or low, and that the standard must vary from place to place and from time to time. Further- more, income as such is but a poor index of social or eco- nomic position. " A farmer, a manufacturer, a grocer, a teacher, an army officer, and a mechanical engineer may all have the same income, and yet their social position, their economic condition, and the amount of property which each possesses may be entirely and radically differ- ent. The question is, or should be, not what is a man's income, but what does he derive it from? And, under what conditions, and in what manner does he do it? " *^ *3 Boudin, The Theoretical System of Karl Marx, p. 181. 44 Simkhovitch, Marxism v. Socialism, p. 92; see also Edward Bernstein, Evolutionary Socialism, pp. 40-8; Skelton, Socialism a Critical Analysis, pp. 164-S. 45 Boudin, op. cit., p. 193; see also Ghent, Mass and Class, p. 74. Dr. I. M. Rubinow in Was Marx Wrong? criticizes Professor Sim- DISAPPEARANCE OF MIDDLE CLASS 101 Intellectual Proletariat vs. Middle Class As Boudin infers, the middle class referred to by Marx was the class ■of small business men, farmers, handicraftsmen, and others who owned and conducted their own establishments. Dur- ing the last few decades there has been a very considerable increase of business and professional men and women — teachers, electrical and mechanical engineers, architects, physicians, lawyers, employees of municipalities, state and nation ; skilled mechanics, superintendents, foremen, mem- bers of the administrative force in large corporations, agents and salesmen, etc. — who would undoubtedly be placed among those receiving " middle class incomes," but who " are just as much a part of the proletariat as the merest day laborer." *® The Middle Class as Stockholders. — The second point emphasized by critics of Marx is that he overlooked the khovitch for his division of the population into lower, middle and upper classes on the basis of incomes, as weU as his contention that the middle class is increasing, based on the fact that a larger proportion of the population received " middle class " incomes in 1902 than in 1853. Dr. Rubinow declares that many mechanics and other workers are found in the groups designated as '' middle class " by Professor Simkhovitch; that the increase in the cost of living is such that many securing 3000 marks in 1903 may not be any better off than those obtaining 2000 marks in 1853, and that "there may have been a genuine increase of the average income of the profes- sional classes, but evidently this has no relation at all to the ques- tion of the disappearance of the middle class, by which is meant the gradual elimination of the middle-sized employer, and not the disappearance of physicians, lawyers, engineers, teachers, pro- fessors, journalists, actors, etc." Furthermore, the number of incomes of 100,000 marks or over increased during this period nearly 44 times, and from 30,000 to 100,000 marks, nearly 20 times. Dr. Rubinow also quotes from a table compiled by Professor A. Wagner, and adds a computation from 1853 which indicates that while the total income has increased sevenfold, the income of the upper group has increased nearly SO fold (pp. 37-t2). *» Boudin, op. cit., p. 306. 102 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ability of the corporation to keep the middle class alive.*'' Under the individual proprietor form of business, the competitor with insufficient capital adequately to develop his business was forced to the wall. Under the corporate form, he " combines his insufficient capital with several others into one adequate to meet the new requirements." *^ This has the effect, within a limited field, at least, of avoid- ing, if not altogether abolishing, the results of competition. Marx's prophecy that " one capitalist always kills many," *^ based on the assumption " of the absolute reign of the principle of competition," has thus been prevented from complete fulfilment. Concentration of ownership has not been the inevitable concomitant of concentration of industry under the leader- ship of the big corporation. Rather, the corporate form has resulted in many instances in diffusion of ownership. Modern socialists, with the American Marxist Boudin, readily admit the arrival of this new phenomenon, though disputing some of the conclusions drawn therefrom. The Corporation and the Middle Class The corpora- tion, on the one hand, does gain for the small capitalists a new lease of life. On the other hand, by placing large numbers of small capitals in the hands of a few, it gives those few an additional power to relieve the many, through stock manipulations, large salaries, the making of con- tracts and " incidental expenses "■ — of their small capi- tals, and thus aids materially in the shrinking process in the ranks of the small capitalist class. ^° The significance of figures indicating large numbers of stockholders in the average corporation should not be 47 Marx, Capital, Vol. I, p. 788. 48 Boudin, op. cit., pp. 177-8. 49 Marx, Capital, Vol. I, p. 788. 00 Boudin, op. cit. pp. 196-8. DISAPPEARANCE OF MIDDLE CLASS 103 overestimated. The United States Steel Corporation in 1911 had approximately 100,000 shareholders. Yet " 1.5 per cent, of the stockholders held 57 per cent, of the stock, while the final control rested with a single private banking house. Similarly, with the American Tobacco Company, before the dissolution, 10 stockholders owned 60 per cent, of the stock." °^ Many are prone to add together lists of stockholders in various corporations and show startlingly large totals. In viewing these lists, however, it should be borne in mind that the big investor no longer places " all of his eggs in one basket." A few years ago, on the death of one of the larger New York capitalists, who was primarily interested in real estate, it was found that he had stocks in several hundred corporations,^^ and this is but typical of modem tendencies. Any calculation of numbers of stockholders in various concerns must take this duplica- tion into consideration. Psychology of Inactive Stockholders. — Moreover, in considering the effect of this " new middle class " of in- active shareholders on the institution of private property, the character of his ownership should be analyzed. It is of a far different character from that of the old time proprietor of the small business. The average stock- holder depends on the advice of stock-brokers for his in- vestment. The only foresight he indulges in in a very large number of cases is that of selecting a reliable expert. His only interest in the concern is to gain profits. He knows little of its workings. He has nothing to do with its control. He is not only an absentee, but a transient owner. As Walter Lippmann has well stated, 51 Final Report of the Commission on Industrial Relations, p. 80. 52 Rubinow, Was Marx Wrong? pp. 44-5. 104 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION " Contact with his property is limited to reading in the newspapers what it is worth each day, and hoping that divi- dends will be paid. . . . He may be ignorant or wise, he may be a child in arms or a graybeard in his dotage, he may live in Iceland or Patagonia; he has no genuine role in the con- duct of industry. . . . The trusts have concentrated control and management, but ownership they have diffused and diluted till it means very little more than a claim to residual profits, after expenses are paid, after the bondholders are satisfied, and perhaps, after the insiders have decided which way they wish the stock market to fluctuate. . . . The modern share- holder is a very feeble representative of the institution of private property." ^' The " capitalist proletariat " of small investors, as Hobson calls them,^* have an ideology far different from that of the old middle class, with its consciousness of tangible ownership and positive control over industry. Their one aspiration is to preserve their income. As minority stockholders, they welcome the intervention of the state to protect them against the unscrupulous. " Their antagonism to socialism is not' a matter of prin- ciple, but of convenience." A form of state socialism which would exchange their stocks with their uncertain value for less remunerative but safer government bonds would indeed at times be most welcome to them. " Whatever, therefore, has been saved of the middle class by the corporation with regards to numbers, has been de- stroyed, and very largely by this very agency, as to character. What has been saved from the fire has been destroyed by water. The result is the same: the middle class, that mid- 53 Lippmann, Drift and Mastery, pp. 51, 53, 59; see also King, Distribution of Wealth and Income Among the People of the U. S., p. 214. 54 Hobson, op. cit., pp. 241-3. DISAPPEARANCE OF MIDDLE CLASS 105 die class which Marx had in view, the middle class which was a factor obstructing the way towards socialism is doomed." ^^ (3) The Increase of Small Businesses The fore- going has to do chiefly with that stock^holding middle class that obtains a very considerable amount of its in- come from a return on investment. As for the larger number who secure the greatest part of their income from their intellectual and manual labor, and but a small sup- plementary amount from interest on stock, their interests as producer and consumer are generally the dominating ones and, broadly speaking, they belong to the working, rather than to the middle class. The real middle class that still survives is composed of the farmers and small business men. The farmer is partly a capitalist, partly an employer, partly a trader, partly a member of the working class. He gets his livelihood chiefly from his own exertions, not from the ownership of land and tools.^® Income of Farmers. — ^A recent investigation made shortly before the war by the Bureau of Plant Industry (see Bulletin 41) into farmers' incomes in IndiaYia, Illinois and Iowa drew forth the fact that owners who worked their own farms made a little less than factory wages. " De- ducting 5 per cent, interest on the average capital," de- clared the report, " leaves an average labor income of $408 for the 273 farm owners. . . . One farmer out of every 22 received a labor income of over $2,000 a year. One farmer out of every three paid for the privilege of working his farm, that is, after deducting 5 per cent, in- terest on his investment he failed to make a plus labor BO Boudin, op. cit., p. 212. 56 Streightoflf, The Distribution of Incomes in the United 8tate» (1913), pp. 132-3. 106 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION income," and this in the most prosperous farming district of the United States. Conditions in many parts of the country have undoubtedly improved for the farmer since the beginning of the European war, but still it cannot be said that in general the average farmer and his hard worked family obtain more than their labor produces. As far as income from their exertions is concerned, they are es- sentially in the same position as the proletariat of the city. The Farmer and Progressivism. — While the farmer owns the land and some of the tools used in raising his crop, he is not the owner of many essential tools which must be utUized in finishing the productive process — in getting the food into the hands of the consumer. The owners of these essential tools — the railroads, grain elevators, creameries, packing houses, cold storage — are generally in as effective a position to exact tribute from the farmer as are the owners of the machines from the city worker. The dominant economic interest of the farmer is, therefore, the same as that of the worker, and, in many social and economic battles, especially in the West, the farmer has aligned himself with the socialistic, rather than with the reactionary bourgeois elements. The strong support given by these farmers to the Populist, Progressive and, more recently, the Non-partisan League movements attests to this progressive spirit. It is also noteworthy that, in 1912, the agricultural states of Ne- vada and Oklahoma were first and second respectively in percentage of socialist votes to the total vote cast, while Arizona, Montana, Washington, California, Idaho, Ore- gon and Florida, each of which possess a large agricul- tural population, came next in succession.®'' Nor can it be said by those familiar with the socialist propaganda in 07 Walling, Stokes, Huhgan, Laidler, The Socialism of To-day (1916), p. 194. DISAPPEARANCE OF MIDDLE CLASS 107 these states that the appeal was chiefly made to middle class interests. There was much of the brand of " revolu- tionary socialism " in it. It can no longer be claimed in America that " the socialistic propaganda encounters in the peasant proprietor its most conservative and most ob- stinate foe." ^* While it is undoubtedly true that many farmers, as hirers of labor and owners of land and tools, have de- veloped the middle class or capitalist psychology, many others, by virtue of their productive work, their small in- come and their dependence on concentrated industry and finance, feel that their interests are more closely alUed with the workers of the city. The Small Store Keeper — It is true that many small business men, members of the middle class, still exist. These, however, too often find that, with the progress of huge distributive enterprises, their livelihood becomes ever more precarious, while their endeavor to maintain an inde- pendent business keeps them at the grindstone night and day. Many of these sm'all establishments are of the most temporary nature. They are started by workers who sink their small savings therein, watch the stores tenderly for a few months, and then, sadder but wiser men, return to their j obs in the factories. Many of the smallest stores are kept by members of the family while the father secures his living elsewhere. As has already been shown the smaller manufacturing establishments are producing an ever decreasing proportion of the manufactured goods of the country.^® Considerable numbers of these small busi- ness men are active sympathizers with socialistic move- ments. 58 Simkhovitch, op. eit., p. 58. 59 See section under "Concentration"; also Abstract of the Thir- teenth Census, p. 464. 108 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Summary. — It is thus seen that the real middle class in the Marxian sense is a much smaller and weaker group than many would have us believe, and that a very con- siderable number of those legitimately included in this group, far from obstructing the movement toward social- ism, may be depended on to encourage progress in that direction. THE INCaEASING MISEB.Y THEORY Marxian Prophecy — A further theory of capitalist de- velopment that has given rise to much controversy is that known as " the increasing misery theory." Its gist is con- tained in the following words of Marx : " Along with the constantly diminishing number of mag- nates of capital, who usurp and monopolize all advantages of this process of transformation, grow the mass of misery, oppression, slavery, degradation, exploitation; but with this too grows the revolt of the working-class, a class always increasing in numbers, and disciplined, united, organized by the very mechanism of the process of capitalist production itself." "" (Italics mine.) " The modern laborer," says Marx again in the Com- munist Manifesto, " instead of rising with the progress of industry, sinks deeper and deeper below the conditions of ex- istence of his own class. He becomes a pauper, and pauper- ism develops more rapidly than population or wealth." ^^ Better Physical Conditions — These statements have given rise to much controversy. Many modem socialist leaders declare that if the word " misery " is interpreted as mere physical degradation, the theory cannot be de- 00 Marx, Capital, p. 789. 61 Marx and Engels, Commimist Manifesto (Socialist Literature Co.), p. 29. INCREASING MISERY 109 fended.®* For, as a result of the pressure of organized labor, of the increased productivity of capital and of labor and social legislation, the lot of the workers has con- siderably improved during the last fifty or seventy-five years. Marx himself in 1864 admitted the benign workings of the ten hour law on the working population. " Every- body acknowledges now," he declared, " its significant physical, moral and intellectual advantages for the work- ing class. In the bright sunlight of the day the bourgeois political economy was vanquished for the first time by the political economy of the working class." ®^ Engels like- wise bore witness to the manner in which organized labor in a number of occupations had improved the workers' condition. Marx furthermore predicted the very struggles of or- ganized labor which have been largely responsible for the higher standard of living and frankly stated that " every combination of employed and employer disturbs the ' har- monious ' action of this law [of increasing insecurity and misery]." ^* " The present condition of the working class," declares Boudin, " is not merely the result of the tendencies of capitalistic accumulation, but of the tendencies of capital- istic accumulation as modified hy the struggle of organized labor against them. ... It is this very struggle for amelioration, no matter what its immediate result during the progress of the struggle, that is the most important factor from the Marxian point of view in the final over- 62 See Rubinow, Was Marx Wrong? pp. 46-47; Mehring, His- torisches zur Verelendungstheorie, Neue Zeit, Jahrgang, XX, V. I, pp. 164^165. 63 Quoted by Simkhovitch in Marmsm vs. Socialism, p. 124. 8* Marx, Capital, p. 665. 110 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION throw of capitalism, in so far as the active force which is to do the work is concerned.*^ Misery a Psychic Condition. — The word misery, how- ever, should not be defined as a physical, but as a psychic condition, declare many defenders of the theory. In this latter sense, socialists are justified in contending that the tendency under capitalism is for the lot of the worker to become worse. The worker's income has failed to keep pace with the rapidly increasing social product, and, for considerable periods, even with the increased cost of living. Wealth continues to be amassed in colossal sums by the few and the gulf between the rich and the poor becomes ever wider. With better education and more democratic ideals, furthei*more, the desires of the worker for services and commodities necessary for a fuller intellectual and aesthetic life expand far more rapidly than his ability to satisfy these wants. His feeling of resentment against the auto- cratic control of industry and the uncertainty of his lot under private ownership also becomes ever greater.*^ In support of this psychological interpretation, atten- tion is called to the fact that Marx maintained that " the lot of the laborer, be his payment high or low, must grow worse." " Marx had in mind," declares Boudin, " the social condition of the workingman and this social condi- tion is determined, not by the absolute amount of worldly goods which the workingmen receive, but by the relative 85 Boudin, op. cit., p. 228. 66 " I myself believe," declares Sombart, " that morally there is a good deal of truth in this theory of pauperization. For the more the working classes rise intellectually, the more keenly are they likely to feel the burden of ' oppression,' ' slavery,' and ' exploitation.' And so when the attempt is made to explain the theory in that sense, i.e. psychologically, there is nothing to be said against it." Sombart, Socialism and the Social Movement, p. 84. INCREASING MISERY 111 share which they receive in 'all the worldly goods possessed by society. Thus considered, it will be found that the gulf between the capitalist and the workingman is con- stantly growing wider." ^'' Uncertainty of Livelihood Mr. Boudin further con- tends that the high level of wages does not insure security of employment and that it is the insecurity that the accumulation of capital brings which causes accumula- tion of " oppression, slavery and degradation." ®* Kautsky, from another angle, argues that even though conditions in old capitalistic countries are becoming bet- ter, new regions are being continually opened up to ex- ploitation and that in Italy, Russia and China misery is growing ; that there is an increase in the number of women in shops and factory work, and that the monotony of toil is becoming increasingly burdensome.*® Summary. — Thus most modern socialists do not claim that the physical degradation of the worker is becoming increasingly greater, but that the worker's recognition of injustices is increasing while his share in society's product is decreasing. While Marx predicted the workings of this law, he also predicted the organization and growing power of labor and recognized that this new force would neces- sarily modify the operation of his law of increasing degra- dation.^o 67 Boudin, op. cit, p. 320. e»Ibid., p. 234. 69 Kautsky, Bernstein mud das Sozialdemokratische Programm, pp. 114^128. 70 Conditions immediately before the war in the United States not only seemed to bear out the contention of increasing misery in the psychological sense, but also in the physical sense. From 1865 to 1896, the general trend of real wages in the country showed steadily higher levels, according to Dr. I. W. King (King, The Wealth and Income of the People of the United States, p. 193), but since that time " there are some suspicious indications of a general decline." 112 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION INDUSTRIAL CRISES Causes of Crises. — Scientific socialists have also de- veloped a theory of industrial crises. Such crises, so- cialists contend, are inherent in the system of capitalism. In fact, from that year until 1915, there was an apparent " decline of over 10 per cent, in the weekly wages in purchasing power of women . . ., as against a fall of 8 per cent, in the commodity wages of men since the same date" (p. 201), and that "in the face of the greatest industrial development that the world has ever seen." On the other hand, profits increased enormously, the average profits per entrepreneur increasing in purchasing power from 213 in 1880 (a year, however, of low profits), to 368 in 1890 and to Til in 1910. The proportion of total income allotted to labor was, according to Dr. King, steadily decreasing. In 1890, 53.5 per cent, of the total income was distributed in wages and salaries, the remainder going in rent, profit and interest, while, in 1900, wages and salaries were allotted but 47.3 per cent., and, in 1910, 46.9' per cent (p. 160). " The total share going to labor," declared Dr. King, " has, of recent years, been falling off despite the efforts of labor unions and combina- tions" (p.l63). Since that year, it is known that profits have been enormous, and, while wages have increased, the cost of living has risen to still higher levels. The Bulletin issued by the New York State Industrial Com- mission on July 22, 1919, maintained that, while wages had advanced in the state since 1914 to the extent of 77 per cent., the cost of living had increased during that time from 90 per cent, to 100 per cent. According to the results obtained by an investigation conducted by the War Trade Board the cost of living during the period of the war advanced in the United States 103 per cent., in Canada, 107 per cent., in England, 133 per cent., and in France, 200 per cent, (see N. Y. Post, July 12, 1919). On the other hand, the net income of 234i industrial corporations in the United States increased from $381,000,000 in 1914, to $1,750,000,- 000 in 1917, according to Professor David Friday, while the divi- dends increased from $295,000,000 in the former year to $600,000,000 in the latter year. The estimated net dividends paid by all corpora- tions in the United States increased from 1914 to 1917 from $2,667,- 000,000 to $4,500,000,000 (decreasing to $4,100,000,000 the succeeding year, while the estimated surplus reinvested increased from $1,044,- 000,000 to the enormous sum of $6,000,000,000 in 1917 and $5,400,- 000,000 in 1918. {The American Economic Review, Supplement, March, 1919, pp. 87-8.) INDUSTRIAL CRISES 113 The chief cause is the dual position of the laborer as a seller of labor-power and as a purchaser of his products and his inability to re-purchase more than a part of the commodities produced.''^ A further cause of the crisis is the planlessness, the " anarchy of production," due to the character of the system of exchange,'^^ and to the manufacturers' ignorance of the demands of the market and of the amount which other manufacturers are producing.''^ Effect of Trusts on Crises — Modem socialists are frank to admit that the development of the trust and of the international market has changed the character of the industrial crisis, although they insist that it has not al- tered the fundamental contradictions of the present system J* 71 See section on " The Inevitability of Socialism " ; see also Bou- din. The Theoretical System of Karl Marx, p. 339; and Simkhovitch, op. cit., p. 229. Not only is it true that the worker does not, under modern conditions, consume the equivalent of the social product, but neither does the community at large. Professor David Friday points out that the excess of production over consumption in the United States was approximately $6,500,000,000 in 1913, and that this amount increased to the enormous total of $22,000,000,000 in 1918. (See Sup- plement to The American Economic Review, March, 1919, p. 80.) 72 Boudin, op. cit., p. 329 et seq. 73 See Simkhovitch, op. cit., p. 338, for statement from Engels. John A. Hobson traces industrial depressions to under-consumption, the devotion of too large a proportion of the product of the present system to savings rather than to consumption, and the failure "to call forth exactly that amount of savings economically required to forward the progress of industry and provide for the actual needs of further consumption. He criticizes the present system for vest- ing in the hands of individuals or groups of individuals power "to secure for themselves advantages arising from improved production without regard for the vested interests of other individuals or of society as a whole." (Hobson, The Evolution of Modern Capitalism, Ch. XI, esp. pp. 307, 316.) See also Hughan, American Socialism, etc., Ch. VII. 74 Kautsky takes the position that " the regulation of production 114 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Mechanical Impossibility of Capitalism. — Marxists are often accused of basing their belief in the coming of socialism on the social cataclysm which is bound to follow one of thes'e industrial crises. That Marx did not preach the mechanical impossibility of the present system, how- ever, is the contention of such Marxian students as Bou- din. " He [Marx] does not say that production under the old system must become impossible before the revolu- tion sets in," declared Boudin, " but it is according to his theory sufficient that it becomes ' fettered.' " ^® And that the present system of production does become fettered, by large syndicates or trusts presupposes above all things their con- trol of all branches of industry and the organization of these upon an international basis in all countries over which the capitalist sys- tem of production extends." . . . This, he declares, is difficult to achieve. " With regard to overproduction, the principal mission of the trust is not to check it, but to shift its evil consequences from the shoulders of the capitalists upon those of the workmen and con- sumers." (Kautsky, The Class Struggle, pp. 80-1.) Boudin de- clares that the trusts, if they do anything at aU, " can only affect the form which the crisis may assume, whether they should be short or acute as formerly or mild and long drawn-out as now, but no more. This is acknowledged by Tugan-Baronowsky himself." (Boudin, op. cit., p. 238.) Engels also came to the conclusion in the nineties that a change had been made in the commercial crises from the more acute to the more drawn out and chronic form and that world trade had elimi- nated or strongly reduced " the old breeding grounds for crises and opportunities for growth of crises," but, he declared, " every element, which works against the repetition of the old crises, carries the germ of a far more tremendous future crisis in itself." (See note by Engels in Marx, Capital, "Vol. Ill, p. 575.) (See also Sanial's con- tention, Hughan, American Socialism, etc., p. 86.) Boudin also argues at length against the assumption made by Tugan-Baranowsky that capitalism has obtained a new lease of life by extending its operations to other fields, declaring that capitalism thus merely extends into new fields the competitive system, and creates for itself further competitors in the production of goods. (See Boudin, op. cit., pp. 242-3.) 75 Boudin, op. cit., p. 253. INDUSTRIAL CRISES 115 does hinder the productive forces of society, is, socialists contend, undoubted.^® Each crisis involves tremendous social loss. It also generally leads industrialists to look for other markets for their goods. Capitalists first find new markets in countries on a lower capitalistic level than themselves, and to these they sell textiles and similar commodities. These countries in turn develop to the stage of ad- vanced capitalism, refuse longer to be used as an absorbent, and the capitalist world is thus forced to create new markets, to " manufacture customers, as it were — by stimulating the development of undeveloped countries, ' civilizing ' them, hot-house fashion, by means of all sorts of ' improvements,' such as railroads, canals, etc." ^•^ Coming of Imperialism — This exploitation creates a demand for a different kind of goods — for steel and iron, for means of production, as contrasted with consump- tion goods, and necessitates the adoption of a new foreign policy — the policy of imperialism. For the selling of steel and iron involves more than the selling of hats and clothing. It compels the capitalist to organize com- panies, to obtain concessions, and actually to supervise the building of railroads, the exploitation of the mines and the running of the factories in the undeveloped lands. These investments, however, are usually not made unless the home government can give some guarantee as to their security, and that guarantee cannot be made without con- trol by the home government of the undeveloped areas. Thus a policy of imperialism is launched upon; the nation comes into conflict with other nations similarly engaged, 78 See Kautsky, Class Struggle, p. 85; Boudin, op. cit., p. 240; and supra, Ch. I. '7 Boudin, Socialism and War, p. 69. 116 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION and this conflict in turn becomes a fruitful cause of modem warfare.'^* Conclusion. — Socialists thus attribute economic crises to the inequality of wealth under the present system and to the planlessness of competitive production. They real- ize that, with the development of capitalism, the form of the crisis has changed, although the fundamental contra- dictions of capitalism remain. Industrial crises lead to the exportation, first, of consumption goods, and, second, of capital to undeveloped countries. This, in turn, cre- ates a policy of imperialism, which is one of the main causes of modern warfare. The tremendous wastes en- tailed in connection with crises, and in the endeavor to 78 Professor E. R. A. Seligman, in his article on " An. Economic Interpretation of the War " {Problems of Readjustment After the War, Ch. II) divides economic development in capitalist countries into three stages. In the first stage, the capitalists concentrate on the building up of the national industry; in the second stage, the countries replace their export of raw materials with the export of manufactured commodities. Thirdly " there comes a time when the accumulation of industrial and commercial profits is such that a more lucrative use of the surplus can be made abroad in the less developed countries than at home with the lower rates usually found in an older Industrial system" (p. 51). " England reached this stage a generation or two ago. . . The significant aspect of recent development is the entrance of Germany upon this new stage of development. The industrial progress of Germany has been so prodigious and the increase of her population so great, that with the opening years of the present century she also began on a continually larger scale to export capital as well as goods. It was this attempt to enter the preserves hitherto chiefly in the hands of Great Britain that really precipitated the trouble. For if the growth of national wealth depends upon the tempo of national profits, and if the rate of profits is, as has been seen, far greater in the application of capital to industrially undeveloped countries, it is clear that the struggle for the control of the international indus- trial market is even more important than was the previous competi- tion for the commercial market" (pp. 51-3). See also Boudin's lucid statement in Socialism and War, Ch. II; Hobson, Imperialism; Howe, Why War, etc. THEORIES OF VALUE 117 avoid crises indicate the truth of the Marxian contention that capitalism fetters production, and thus makes capi- tahsm historically, although perhaps not mechanically, impossible. THEORY OF VALUE Meaning of Labor Theory. — Another theory long re- garded by socialists as a cornerstone of their economics is the theory of surplus value, derived from the labor theory of value.'^* The labor theory of value, as modified by Marx from the teachings of the earlier economists, teaches that the exchange value of a commodity is determined by the amount of socially necessary labor contained therein, that is, the amount of average human labor which it is necessary for society to expend upon its reproduc- tion — not the labor which might accidentally be embodied in a particular commodity as a result of some peculiarity under which the laborer worked.*" Creation of Surplus Value — Marx placed human labor power in the same category as other commodities, and de- 79 Marx differs from modern economists in dividing value into ex- change-value and use-value. He regarded use-value as something inherent in the nature of a commodity, not dependent on the social form of its production, and as a subjective relation between the thing and the person who uses it. When Marx used the word value, he referred to exchange value, which, in his opinion, was the kind of value peculiar to the capitalist system. He also differentiated value from price, declaring that the former was something possessed by the commodity when it was placed on the market and prior to its sale, while price was that which was paid on account of this value. 80 Of late years socialists, while emphasizing the facts of surplus value, have given decreasingly less attention to the Marxian theory of surplus value, and an increasing number of socialists regard the value and surplus value theories as inadequate and unessential parts of the socialist philosophy. (See Hughan, American Socialism, of the Present Day, Ch. VI and Simkhovitch, Marxism vs. Socialism, Ch. I.) 118 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION clared that, like other commodities, its exchange-value was determined by the amount of labor power necessary for its reproduction under the social conditions of production existing at the time it was purchased on the market. In other words, the purchaser of labor power has to pay for it wages equal to the amount of goods which the laborer consumes while exerting his labor power, and, in addition, suflBcient to allow him to perpetuate his kind. This amount will vary according to the quantity of labor in general and the standard of living of the workingman. Under the present form of production, partly owing to improvements in modern industry, the amount of labor which the worker must expend in order to furnish the product represented by his wage is less than the total amount of labor which he sells to his employer. In other words, the time required by a worker to produce his wage is less than the time for which he was hired by the payment of these wages. The amount of labor which enters into the production of wages may be described as " necessary " labor, and that which he expends in addition as " surplus " labor. The product which results from the expenditure of this " nec- essary " labor may be described as " necessary " product and its value, " necessary " value, while the product pro- duced in " surplus " labor time may be described as " siir- plus " value. In the " necessary " value is included not only the wages paid the workingman, but also that part of the capital which Marx called " constant " — raw ma- terial, machinery charges, etc. The surplus which the purchaser of labor, or the capitalist, finds himself pos- sessed of is thus a surplus over and above all his expendi- tures, and is a pure revenue or profit. The surplus which appears in connection with the com- modity as it leaves the hands of the capitalist producer THEORIES OF VALUE 119 is added to as it passes through the hands of the whole- sale and retail merchants, and the surplus value taken up gradually as it is being added to, share by share, along its course. Misconceptions of Theory — Marxists are wont to de- fend the economics of Marx against a number of miscon- ceptions. They declare that Marx never denied that na- ture is a factor in the production of wealth.*^ The Marxists contend that the fact that a lump of gold, fall- ing as a meteor on the land of a proprietor, or a silver mine, accidentally discovered, would have value, does not contradict the general laws of value as laid down by Marx. According to Marx's theory, the value of these articles, hke that of all commodities, is the socially neces- sary labor which must be spent in their reproduction. If the particular lump of gold described were lost or wasted, it could not be obtained again from the clouds, but would have to be reproduced by labor, and its value would be the socially necessary labor spent in its reproduction.*^ 81 See Boudin, The Theoretical System of Karl Marx, p. 101 et seq. Marx used the word wealth in the sense of that which has utility, rather than in the sense of the orthodox economists, that which has value. 82 It is here impossible to deal at length with many of the contro- versial points in regard to the correctness of this theory. All stu- dents of the subject should read Marx's analysis in Capital, his greatest work (this monumental work is produced in three volumes. Vol. I published in 1867, Vol. II in 1885, and Vol. Ill in 1894), and his short pamphlet on Value, Price and Profit. Undoubtedly the best defense of Marxian economics published in English is The Theoretical System of Karl Marx, by Louis B. Boudin. Dr. Hughan, in her American Socialism, etc., analyzes the position of various schools of thought on this problem, Edward Bernstein in Evolution^ ary Socialism presents the criticism of the theory from the revi- sionist socialist point of view, while Boehm-Bawerk in Karl Marx and the Close of Mis System, and Simkhovitch, in Marxism vs. Social- ism, Chs. I and XII, endeavor to show the inadequacies of Marx's economic system. The alleged " great contradiction " in the law of 120 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Facts of Surplus Value. — As Dr. Hughan brings out,^^ the " socialist claim to the existence of 'surplus value does not depend of necessity upon the Marxian labor theory." Socialists point out that, in this country only a portion of the social product goes to labor. They cite, for instance, the estimate of the statistician. Dr. W. I. King of the University of Wisconsin, that, in 1910, but 46.9 per cent. of the total national income went to wages and salaries, while 53.1 per cent, was distributed as interest, rent and profits (16.8 per cent., 8.8 per cent., and 27.6 per cent, respectively).^* Expressed in money. Dr. .King estimated that, in 1910, $11,309,900,000 were distributed in wages, and $12,827,100,000 in rent, profit and interest. The socialist would, in general, describe this 53.1 per cent, in rent, interest and profits, minus, perhaps, that part of the profits which went into insurance and wages of ability, as surplus value. Is Private Capital Socially Advantageous? — Whether or not the above portion distributed in interest, rent and profit is looked upon as surplus value in the Marxian sense depends on the acceptance or rejection of the Marxian theory that labor has created the whole of value. If capital is unproductive, as Marx contended, then the amount here termed surplus value would correspond with the amount mulcted from labor. If, on the other hand, the productivity theory is accepted, and capital is re- garded as a creative agent, then the question of the social- ist becomes, as Dr. Hughan has again expressed it, " not, surplus value is exposed at length by Boehm-Bawerk and Sim- khovltch, and answered by Boudin, op. cit., (Ch. VI). For a de- fense of Marxian economics see also Cahn, Capital To-day; HaUer, Why the Capitalist; Spargo's Socialism, Ch. VIII. 8s Hughan, op. cit., p. 80. 84 King, The Wealth and Income of the People of the United States, p. 160. THEORIES OF VALUE 121 ' Is the profit of the capitahst a surplus value extracted solely from the product of labor? ' but, ' Is there social advantage in the private ownership of capital, which has the power to create value without exertion on the part of the owner? ' " ^^ It is this question which today receives the chief attention from leading socialists. Summary. — According to the Marxian theory of eco- nomic advance, socialism is thus seen to be the logical next step in economic development. The present order gives rise to industrial concentration and to periodic crises. It plunges large numbers of the middle and upper classes into the proletariat. It develops among the workers a spirit of solidarity and a will to industrial power. A struggle between the capitalist class and the proletariat for a larger part of the social product and for industrial control ensues. This struggle can have but one result — the socialization of industry. Underlying this analysis is the concept of the economic interpretation of history and the class struggle. Al- though modern socialists have made a number of modifi- cations in the Marxian sociological theory, they still ad- here in the main to the foregoing analysis. Greater con- troversy exists within socialist ranks regarding Marx's economic theory of surplus value, which many believe to be an unessential part of socialist theory. There is little controversy, however, concerning the facts of surplus value. 85 Hughan, op. cit., pp. 80-1. See also Murdoch, Economics and Ethics. An attempt to show the unethical character of those schools of economic thought which attempt to justify the private appropria- tion of interest. CHAPTER V THE SOCIALIST COMMONWEALTH The Aims of Socialism — ^As is the case with every other great economic, political or religious movement, it is impossible to convey to the outsider in the space of a few sentences an adequate idea of the socialist ideal. One must be a part of the movement to sense its real purport. Broadly speaking, the socialist movement aims to bring about a condition of society under which equality of op- portunity, justice, freedom, democracy, brotherhood wiU be the heritage of the mass of mankind. In this it does not diiFer essentially from certain other great movements. It differs fundamentaily, however, in the means proposed for realizing these ideals — the abolition of the present capitalist system and the substitution therefor of a sys- tem of collective ^ ownership and democratic management 1 The words " collective ownership " usually imply ownership by the organized community, by the local and federal state, if the word " state " is not used in the Marxist sense — implying an instrument of class rule — but in the sense of some machinery through which the community of consumers may be able to express itself effectively, industrially and politically. To some who call themselves socialists such " collective ownership " means ownership by some organization representative of the producers, as opposed to the consumers. Tech- nically, however, this latter form of ownership would be more syndi- calist than socialist in its nature. The words " cooperative owner- ship " are generally used by socialists as interchangeable with " col- lective ownership," although cooperative ownership in this sense must be distinguished from ownership by voluntary cooperative groups, found in the British and other consumers' cooperative movements. 122 AIMS OF SOCIALISM 123 of the socially necessary means of production and distrv- hution; a system of society under which the exploitation of one class by another wiU cease and the wage system, as we know it today, will be a thing of the past ; under which production will be carried on for use rather than for profit ; under which the producing class — then the one class in society — will control the economic life of the nation. Fear Utopianism — When asked to describe the social- ist aim in greater detail, some socialists demur on the ground that to do so would be to repeat the error of the early Utopians ; that, inasmuch as society is a living or- ganism, not an inanimate mechanism, it is possible only to predict certain general tendencies. As for details, they must be left to the future citizens who will be in a much better position to work them out than are the socialists of today. " Never has our party," declared Wilhelm Lieb- knecht, " told the workingmen about a ' state of the fu- ture,' never in any way than as a mere Utopia." ^ There is now, however, a general tendency on the part of scientific socialists to picture in the rough the socialist society. The predictions are based on known tendencies that already exist in present society, and on what are be- lieved to be the probable or inevitable results of a prole- tarian victory. Karl Kautsky, the leading theorist of scientific socialism abroad, has given, for instance, some notable contributions regarding a probable state of the future. His predictions are not based on what he would like to see result, but what must inevitably result, given a triumphant producing class with the education, discipline, organization and ideals which the present working class is developing. 2 Quoted in Spargo's Elements of Socialism, p. 212. 124. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Socialism and Private Property — It is perhaps un- necessary to state that socialists do not advocate the pub- lic ownership of private property, of consumption goods. Houses actually used by the owner, furniture, wearing apparel, and other non-productive property will remain under private control. Communists, not socialists, urge the abolition of private property. When the phrase, " abolition of private property," appears in socialist literature, its context generally indicates that capital, not consumption goods, is meant.* The 1916 Socialist Party Platform in the United States made this position especially plain. It declared: " Socialism would not abolish private property, but greatly extend it. We believe that every human being should have and own all the things that he can use to advantage, for the enrichment of his own life, without imposing disadvantage or burden upon any other human being. Socialism admits the private ownership and individual direction of all things, tools, economic processes and functions which are individualistic in character and requires the collective ownership and demo- cratic control and direction of those which are social and col- lectivistic in character." EXTENT OF COLLECTIVE OWNERSHIP UNDER SOCIALISM Socially Necessary Industries. — Some socialists con- tend that, while consumption goods will remain private in their nature under socialism, all industry will be collec- tively owned. The majority of the leading socialist think- ers, however, take a different point of view. They do as- sert that the socially necessary or principal means of production and distribution should be owned by the col- lectivity. jThey are generally agreed that capitalism, the 3 See Communist Manifesto (published by Socialist Literature Co.), p. 36. EXTENT OF COLLECTIVISM 125 profit system as such, should be eliminated, and that " all the social means of transportation and communication, all the extractive industries such as mining and lumbering; all the public services now controlled by corporations, and all the principal manufactures " * should be collectively owned. Nevertheless they leave scope to private and voluntary cooperative production, especially in handicraft and ag- ricultural industries and in intellectual production. For the aim of the socialists is not primarily cooperative own- ership, but the abolition of exploitation, the elimination of waste, and the securing of the highest attainable so- cial welfare. Public ownership is considered a means to that end. Whenever that end may be attained without re- sorting to social ownership, then socialists are not neces- sarily committed to such social control.^ Handicraft Industry — Socialists do not necessarily advocate the social ownership of industries which are still in the handicraft stage of development, for the tools here used are generally owned individually by the worker, and are not objects of exploitation. To turn into social prop- erty the implements of such industry, says Karl Kautsky, would " amount to nothing else than to withdraw them from their present owner and forthwith to give them back to him." « Most modern socialists do not foUow William Morris in his dream of a future state in which the ugliness of ma- chine production will be again superseded by a picturesque form of handicraft industry. Nevertheless they are in- clined to the view of Kautsky that under a cooperative system " artistic hand work may receive a new impulse," * Spargo and Arner, Elements of Socialism, p, 231. 5 See Simons, The American Farmer, pp. 203-204. 6 Kautsky, The Socialist Republic, p. 32. 126 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION and that " it is easily possible that under a proletarian regime the number of small businesses may increase," even though such industry " be maintained as islands in the ocean of great social businesses." ^ Exploitation as a Criterion — It is evident from the above that the criterion in the minds of many socialists as to whether industry should or should not be socialized is : does private ownership in this industry lead to exploita- tion? There are some socialists who give to private in- dustry under socialism an even larger place, and who make the criterion of socialization that of social welfare rather than that of exploitation. While in most cases it may be argued that industries which permit of exploitation are injurious to the social well-being and in the largest sense inefficient, nevertheless this may not be always the case. For instance, in any one year, under a cooperative system of industry, a score of individuals in any large city might conceive that the public would fancy certain ma- chine-made luxuries. There would probably be little ob- jection to the manufacture of such commodities by a pri- vate company or a voluntary cooperative group, provid- ing these articles were not deemed to be intrinsically inju- rious to society. Many of the articles thus produced would undoubtedly prove to be but passing fads, while others would gain a permanent hold on public taste, and a demand for their social ownership would follow. It is true that, during the transitional period, a slight degree of exploitation might exist, although such exploita- tion would be reduced to a minimum by the standard of living set in the public industries, and by regulatory acts regarding hours, sanitation, wages, quality of goods pro- 7 Kautsky, Social Revolution, pp. 164-5; see also Walling, /Social- ism as It Is, p. 432 seq^. EXTENT OF COLLECTIVISM 127, duced, etc. The advantage accruing to the community as a result of such private experimentation, however, would undoubtedly counterbalance any possible loss. It is too much to expect of a community that it would apply its social machinery to the production of every commodity thought desirable by any of its members. Yet, if it did not allow one or more individuals to experiment with cer- tain commodities, until their value to the community was proved, it might discourage the establishment of many an enterprise of great social possibilities. Dr. Hughan is of the opinion that under such private ownership the profit of the employer " in the sense of ex- ploitation, tends to disappear; for, as an independent craftsman he continues to receive his own entire product, but he gains little from his employees except the advantage of cooperation, or possibly an opportunity not furnished by any collective industry available to him of exercising his own productive skiU as superintendent." * Even where the community undertakes the running of an industry, many socialists feel that society should perinit, and even at times encourage, competing private ventures, as these might be the means of indicating the need for more efficient methods of production.^ Voluntary Cooperation — There would also be a con- siderable amount of voluntary cooperative industry under a socialist regime, especially in " local industries too in- significant or disorganized even for municipal opera- tion," ^* proper regulations, of course, being made for the protection of cooperators and consumers. Socialists, therefore, believe that the principal industries 8 In an article by Dr. Jessie W. Hughan in The Intercollegiate Socialist, Dec-Jan., 1915-6, p. 16. 9 Spargo and Arner, op. cit., p. 229. 10 Hillquit and Ryan, Socialism — Promise or Menace, pp. 72-3. 128 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION under socialism should be socially owned. However, a socialist state would also probably contain a certain amount of voluntary cooperative ownership and of indi- vidual ownership of the means of production. COLXiECTIVISM IN LAND Anorther field in which private ownership may persist to a certain extent under socialism is that of land. Many socialist platforms have advocated the complete socializa- tion of land, and the Soviet Government of Russia, in its socialist-communist constitution, in July, 1918, de- creed that, " for the purpose of realizing the socialization of land, aU private property in land is abolished, and the entire land is declared to be national property." However, other socialists, while dedlaring that the pri- vate title to land should be subordinate to the public claim, and while insisting that speculation and exploitation in land should be eliminated, have felt that there would prob- ably be considerable private possession and use of land under an advanced cooperative commonwealth. Concen- tration in agricultural land, they maintain, has not kept pace with concentration in other industries, and land is consequently not so ripe for socialization as are the manu- facturing concerns. Much of the agricultural land, fur- thermore, is tilled entirely by the owners without exploiting the labor of others. A considerable amount of city land is also used by owners for their personal dwellings. Opposed to Exploitation and Speculation The So- cialist Party of the United States by referendum, in 1909, placed itself squarely on record in favor of the private possession of land where there was neither exploitation nor speculation. The referendum reads : " There can be no absolute title to land. All private titles. COLLECTIVISM IN LAND 129 whether called fee simple or otherwise^ are and must be sub- ordinate to the public titles. The Socialist Party strives to prevent land from being used for the purpose of exploita- tion and speculation. It demands the collective possession, control, or management of land to whatever extent may be necessary to attain that end. It is not opposed to the occu- pation and possession of land by those using it in a useful and bona fide manner without exploitation." According to this statement both city and farm land not held out of use for the purpose of speculation, and not rented to others, but utilized by the possessor for his own enjoyment, might be retained by private citizens, although the title of the private citizen must ever be considered subordinate to that of the public, as indeed it is today. In amplifying the socialist position Mr. Hillquit de- clares : " Land of reasonable dimensions actually cultivated or used by the farmer without employment of hired help to any ap- preciable extent, is an instrument of labor analogous to the individual tool, and land used for private dwellings is an article of use rather than an instrument of production. The socialists are not opposed to the exclusive private use and occupation of such lands ; nor would they tax them to the full extent of their value. But they condemn utterly the private ownership and exclusive control of land used for business pur- poses — rent producing land — and they insist that the ulti- mate title to all land remain in the state." ^'^ Agricultural Land — Dealing more specifically with farm land, Kautsky asserts : " The proletarian governmental power would have abso- lutely no inclination to take over such little businesses. As yet no socialist who is taken seriously has ever dreamed that 11 Hillquit and Ryan, op. cit., p. 78. 130 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION the farmers should be expropriated^ or that their goods should be confiscated." ^^ Nevertheless it is felt by mos't socialist writers that the community will probably assume an ever greater control over agriculture, on account of the increased cost of farm and equipment and the decreased opportunity of the aver- age farmer to own his farm and machines. Additional arguments for public ownership are its increased efficiency through the use of the latest and most scientific tools and the employment of agricultural experts ; the ability of the public to utilize the ground best adapted to specific crops, to regulate more adequately than under private industry the relative acreage to be allotted to various crops, to co- ordinate public agriculture with the industrial life of the nation, and to ensure the agrarian worker a better eco- nomic and social status than under private ownership. ■'^^ The Communist Labor Party of the United States, or- ganized in September, 1919, declared at its first conven- tion that " all land should be the property of the workers ; that only use and occupancy should entitle the individual to land." 12 Kautsky, op. cit., p. 159. 13 See Kautsky, op. cit., p. 161. The National Administrative Council of tlie Independent Labor Party of England recommended to the party convention of April 21, 1919, a resolution on the land, in part as follows : " The present system, which treats land as pri- vate property and prevents free access to it, hampers industry, checks production, crowds the towns by depopulating the country- side, obstructs the standard of public health, both physical and moral, fetters the exercise of political, economic and social freedom, makes difficult, if not impossible, the maintenance of a uniform standard of cultivation, and compels the workers to pay tribute for the use of that which should belong equally to all. " This conference, therefore, demands the socialization of the land as the very foundation of the cooperative commonwealth, and calls upon the government to make it the permanent and inalienable pos- session of the community." INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTION 131 The efficiency and sociability that may result from pub- lic management of farms has been idealized by many stu- dents of social problems. '^^ INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTION UNDER SOCIALISM Nor do socialists advocate the public control of all in- tellectual and artistic pursuits. The educational system, which requires much capital for its maintenance, will un- doubtedly be retained under the control of the democratic community, and, indeed, be greatly extended, as only then will it be possible to ensure that every youth is given an opportunity for an adequate education. The organized community, however, should encourage the formation of any private groups desirous of making legitimate experi- ments in educational methods. The community should also strive, in all of its public instruction, to avoid those methods of teaching, so prevalent today, which seek to mold the mind of the child into fixed forms — methods which are having such a disastrous effect in crushing origi- nal thinking. The community should likewise provide for its citizens apparatus needed in scientific research — apparatus which are becoming ever more comprehensive and expensive in their nature. Research and Education. — Educational and research work must, for the most part, be conducted on a large scale, and require a considerable amount of capital. This, however, is not the case with such individualistic intellec- tual pursuits as painting, sculpture and literary work. How will they be conducted under a proletarian regime.'' Undoubtedly many artists and writers will prefer to give their entire time to the work of the community ; others will prefer to serve voluntary cooperative groups, while still 14 Wells, Socialism and the Great State, p. 35. 132 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION others will desire to do free lance work, during part or aU of their time, depending on the community, on organized groups of citizens or on private individuals for the sale of their wares. Their tools will be under their own control. " Just as little as the needle and thimble," declares Kautsky, " will brush and palette, or ink and pen belong to those means of production which must under aU con- ditions be socialized." ^^ Art — However, the kind of commodities desired under a socialist regime wiU, in all probability, be materially changed. The private demand for works of art may be lessened, while the demand on the part of the city and state will probably be greatly increased. The same author continues : " A proletarian regime will greatly increase the number of public buildings. It will endeavor to make attractive every place occupied by the people, whether for labor, for consul- tation, or for pleasure. Instead of accumulating statuettes and pictures that will be thrown into a great impersonal market from whence they finally find a place utterly unknown to the artist and are used for wholly unthought of purposes, the artist will work together with the architect as was the case in the Golden Age of art in Athens under Pericles and in the Italian Renaissance. One art will support and raise the other and artistic labor will have a definite social aim so that its products, its surroundings and its public will not be dependent on chance." ^'^ Voluntary Union. — Where capitalist industry has taken charge of intellectual production, as in the theaters, the state, the municipality and free unions could be sub- 15 Kautsky, op. cit., p. 172. i«Ibid., p. 178. INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTION 133 stituted under a proletarian regime — " free unions which will serve art and science and the public life and advance production in these spheres in the most diverse ways, or undertake them directly as even today we have countless unions which bring out plays, publish newspapers, pur- chase artistic works, public writings, fit out scientific ex- peditions, etc." ^'^ " It is absolutely unimportant for society," continues Kaut- sky, " in what relations the existing surplus of products and labor powers are applied to the individual fields of free in- tellectual creation. The exception to this is the educational system which has its special laws. . . . Society should fall into bad conditions if all the world should set to work at the manufacture of one kind of commodities such, for example, as buttons, and thereby direct too much labor power to this, so that not enough was left for the production of others, such, for example, as bread. On the other hand the rela- tion between lyric poems and tragedies, works on Assyriology and Botany which are to be produced is no essential one; it has neither maximum or minimum point. ... In this field a central direction of production is not only unnecessary, but absolutely fooHsh." ^* A further reason for the contention of many socialists that those engaged in artistic pursuits should be left free to choose how they can best serve society is that " art springs from a wild and anarchic side of human nature," and that an attempt permanently to subject this side to orderly rules is likely to crush out the impulse from which art springs.-'* Bertrand Russell suggests that one way in which the artist may be free to express himself is to undertake regular work outside of his art, " doing only a " Ibid., p. 176. ^slbid., p. 183. 19 Bertrand Russell, Proposed Roads to Freedom, p. 175. 134. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION few hours' work a day and receiving proportionately less pay than those who do a full day's work." Publications — Considerable attention has been given by socialists to the question of the publication of periodi- cals and newspapers. Many socialists dwell on the pos- sible danger to the public should the state monopolize the printing. Others, however, point to the fact that modern printing, for the most part, requires huge machines, and expensive plants, while newspapers need world-wide news collecting associations, and, if left absolutely to private enterprise, could be used, as they are at present, to ex- ploit the workers in the plant, and mislead the public for private gain. While public newspaper plants are advocated by social- ists in general, many socialists and radicals emphasize the importance of allowing voluntary cooperative groups, if they see fit, to engage in the business of publication.^" H. G. WeUs feels that competing municipalities may be depended on to ensure the publication of divergent views. ^^ A further plan suggested is that presented by L. G. Chiozza Money, M.P., who believes that the state should print the plain record of happenings and that private groups should publish periodicals of opinion.^^ It may of course be pointed out that the ability on the part of the editorial staff of a public newspaper to ignore certain news and play up other items in glaring head- lines virtually makes that newspaper an organ of opinion — even though it has no editorial columns. Nevertheless if such a newspaper were constantly criticized both in re- gard to its facts and its opinions by a group of coopera- 20 Hillquit and Ryan, op. cit., p. 87. 21 Wells, New Worlds for Old, pp. 279-281. 22 Wells and others, Socialism and the Oreat State, pp. 106-7. INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTION 135 tive journals, a most wholesome check would be placed upon its expressions.^^ Passing to the question of book publication, Bertrand Russell maintains that the author should find it possible to pay for the expense of printing, if the book is not such that the state or the guild is willing to print it at its own expense. " It would have to be an absolute rule," he con- tinues, " that no book should be refused, no matter what the nature of its contents might be, if payment for publi- cation were offered at the standard rate." ^* Summary. — It is seen from the foregoing that the so- cialists believe that intellectual and artistic production now carried on under capitalistic conditions should, for the most part, be publicly controlled under socialism ; that such production now conducted by individuals without exploitation should, to a considerable extent, remain pri- vate and that in this general field, even to a much larger extent than in the production of material commodities, voluntary cooperative and private production should be encouraged.^ ^ 23 For socialization of press under temporary Soviet government in Munich, see The Nation, June 28, 1919. 2* Russell, op. cit., p. 180; see also Annie Besant in Fabian Essays, p. 144. 25 It is as yet too early to tell exactly how the Soviet Government of Russia has dealt with these various intellectual services, nor would the measures which the Russian Government adopted during its first year or two of control, when besieged by enemies within and without, be necessarily typical of the ideals of a socialist state. The following appears in the constitution in regard to the press: " For the purpose of securing the freedom of expression to the toiling masses, the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic abol- ishes all dependence of the press upon capital, and turns over to the working people and the poorest peasantry all technical and material means of publication of newspapers, pamphlets, books, etc., and guarantees their free circulation throughout the country." This provision has evidently not as yet been fully carried out, as the gov- 136 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION DEMOCEATIC MANAGEMENT UNDER SOCIALISM After the "industries are socialized, many administrative problems will necessarily arise. Here again socialists are averse to predicting how the details of administration will be worked out. Such details must be left to the decision of the mass of people when and after socialization takes place, and the final forms adopted will probably be the result of a long series of careful experimentations. The procedure which may prove desirable at one stage in the development of a cooperative system and in one industry may be utterly inadequate to meet the problems arising at another period or in another industry. Insistence on Democratic Management However, socialists have endeavored, here as elsewhere, to suggest what, in general, may be expected to result from the ap- plication of the principles of socialism to industry. As a matter of course they insist — the criticism of the non-socialist notwithstanding — that the management of industry be essentially democratic in its nature, as only in that way can the evils of bureaucracy be avoided, and can ■adequate opportunity be given for the development of the personality of the mass of the workers. Democratic con- trol is also a necessity, states Kautsky, if social discipline is to be maintained.^® Differences in Details — As Kautsky intimates, social- ernment has temporarily suppressed newspapers which advocated an open revolt against the Soviet regime. According to the constitution the government also " sets itself the task of furnishing full and general free education to the workers and the poorest peasantry." Its early achievements in the realm of education, art and drama are recorded elsewhere in this volume. (See section under "Russian Revolution.") Public, voluntary, co- operative and private ventures in this domain exist side by side. 28 Kautsky, Social Revolution, pp. 126-7; see also Cole, Self Oov- ernment in Industry, p. 234. DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT 137 ists do not pretend to predict the exact form the demo- cratic management of industry should take, and an analy- sis of their point of view reveals considerable differences. Some are inclined to the syndicalist position that the workers in particular industries should have entire control of all phases of production. Others believe with the na- tional guildsmen that democratic groups of hand and brain workers should have entire control of shop manage- ment, but that the state should have a share in the deter- mination of prices and of the amount of goods produced.^^ A third, and, prior to the guild socialist movement, the most representative group, advocates joint boards repre- sentative both of the workers and of the community-at- large, contending that any system of control which ex- cluded the community from boards of control would be essentially undemocratic.^^ Selection of Officers — Various methods for the selec- tion of officers have been suggested. A number advocate the direct election of managers and foremen by the work- ers. Some favor such a plan, providing candidates for certain offices have passed specified tests which indicate the possession of requisite qualifications.^® Morris Hillquit would leave the appointment of the manager to a board of control elected democratically by •the workers in a particular industry. He declares : " It is not at all unlikely that in its practical workings the socialist industrial democracy will be somewhat similar to the forms of our present political democracy. The workers 27 See chapter on " Guild Socialism and Syndicalism." 28 Spargo and Arner, op. cit., p. 233 ; see also section on " Demo- cratic Management " under " Modern Tendencies Toward Socialism " for a number of schemes for democratic control by the workers; and section under " Hungary." 2« Cole, op. cit., p. 268; see also Besant in Fabian Essays, p. 143. 138 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION in each industry may periodically select the managing au- thority with power to make appointments and to fix rules. Such selected board or body may consist of shop representa- tives, and these would be better judges of the qualifications of the chief manager or executive committee of the industry than the bankers who now control the directorates of the great corporations." ^° Conclusion. — Others would discriminate, urging that expert technicians be appointed by boards of control, but that those whose main job is that of superintendence be elected by the popular vote of the workers. ^^ Socialists, however, are committed to no rigid formula, and the exact form that the management of industry will take under socialism will be determined not by preconceived ideas of present-day theorists but by the actual results obtained through experimentation along various lines. ASSIGNMENT OF TASKS UNDER SOCIALISM How will work be assigned under socialism.'' To this question there is no one universal answer. To most so- cialists who are of the opinion that there wiU be differ- ences of compensation under socialism, the answer appears a simple one. Better conditions in regard to wages, hours, etc., will be offered in those industries in which the need for workers is greater. The workers who, , despite more attractive offers elsewhere, prefer to remain in their 30 Hillquit and Ryan, op. cit., pp. 79-80. SI The Russian Soviet Government, while decre'feing the organiza- tion of workshop committees, found it necessary, during the tran- sition period, to transfer the power of selecting managers of public plants from the workers' committees to the Supreme Council of National Economy. A central committee in Hungary under the Soviets also took charge of such appointments. See The New Bepub- lic, May 24, 1919, p. 131; also section under "Hungary." ASSIGNMENT OF TASKS 139 present industry, will be perfectly free to do so.^^ This method of assignment may be depended on to eliminate the necessity of an arbitrary assignment of tasks by some central authority.^^ " What happens today when there are too many workers in one branch of industry? " asks Emile Vandervelde. " Wages go down. They go up, on the contrary, when there are too few. The same sanction would exist under a coUec- tivist regime: after the necessary deductions were made and the minimum wages paid, the share of each one in the sur- plus to be divided for each branch of production would be smaller in proportion as the participants were more numerous. Consequently, the over-crowded occupations would be rela- tively ill paid; the deserted occupations, the unpleasant and dangerous tasks, would receive a more considerable reward. There would be only one difference, and quite in favor of collectivism, namely, that today by reason of the defects in professional instruction, the passage from one branch of in- dustry to another generally presents extreme diflSculties, which in a socialistic state could in great measure be avoided." ^* Variety of Suggestions — Some socialists contend that the assignments should be left to the free choice of demo- cratic groups of workers in particular industries after full explanation of social needs. Still others are inclined to the belief that certain central authorities, directly re- sponsible to the community, should be given the power, with proper safeguards, to transfer groups of workers to strategic industries, due consideration being given to the qualifications and the wishes of those transferred. 32 Shaw and Others, Fabian Essays, p. 145. 33 Spargo, Socialism, pp. 229-30. General compulsory labor was prescribed in the constitution of the temporary Hungarian Soviet Government which likewise insured the right to work. 34 Vandervelde, Collectivism, p. ISO. 140 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Some socialist writers also urge, in connection with this problem, the appointment of boards of experts to estimate the relative needs of various industries, and to secure young men and women for particular industries as a result of examination and choice. While absolute free- dom of choice would be impossible, since the ability of the applicant and the need for his services are factors which must necessarily be considered, the average range of choice " would be a thousand fold wider than now, and liberty in this respect thus a thousand fold wider." ^® For the Disagreeable Work. — To the answer that it would be difficult to obtain workers for the more disagree- able tasks, the socialist has several replies. He states first, as is subsequently indicated, that certain compensa- tions could be given to those engaging in such tasks, in the form of shorter hours and higher wages ; second, that tastes differ as to which is the most disagreeable work. Many there are who prefer dirty manual work to a cleaner labor which requires the constant use of their mental powers. Much of the " dirty " work now involved in car- rying on industry could be eliminated if society set its mind to the iask. A scientific distribution of prizes, and a consciously directed movement for the development of social responsi- bility could also be relied on to induce workers to enter disagreeable industries. It is likewise suggested by some that special honor be accorded those who volunteer to serve for a certain time in the disagreeable but necessary work, as we now accord special honor to those who volunteer for national service of destruction. One writer suggests that " the Great State " draft certain of its able bodied men for a period 35 Wells and others, op. cit., p. 122 seq. REMUNERATION 141 of a year or more for especially obnoxious work, such as mining, on the ground that no group of men, however will- ing, should be condemned to the life of a coal miner throughout their lives. ^® Fitness as well as willingness to serve would have to be considered in any scheme of this nature. Revolutionize Present Method But whatever will prove 'the final solution of this question, all socialists are agreed that the present method, whereby those who con- duct the hardest and most disagreeable work get, gener- ally speaking, the poorest pay and besides that the con- tempt of great numbers in society, must be a thing of the past. REMUNERATION UNDEB SOCIALISM Principle of Equality — ^We have already touched on the question of remuneration. The early Utopians and a few of the present-day socialists, including Bernard Shaw, advocate equality of compensation, irrespective of accom- plishments, for those actually participating in the indus- trial life of the nation. Various arguments have been ad- vanced in support of this view. First, it is claimed that aU human beings are products of hereditary and environ- mental conditions, over which they have little control, and that a skilled, intelligent human being, a product of a favorable environment, does not deserve any greater re- ward than his less fortunate brother. It is furthermore argued that one kind of work is just as useful and neces- sary to society as another; that the workers, as a whole, have essentially the same needs and should obtain essen- tially the same pay, and that inequality of compensation would lead to the inauguration of another kind of class 36 Wells and others. Socialism and the Great State, pp. 108-9. 142 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION distinction and inequality that would prevent the fruition of the ideal commonwealth.^^ Principle of Needs — A second group of socialists, small in numbers, have urged that the communistic princi- ple should be applied — " from each according to his abil- ity, to each according to his need." These have likewise based their argument largely on ethical grounds. They have also pointed out that many illustrations of this prin- ciple exist in present-day society. However, these principles of compensation have not gained the support of the more representative in the so- cialist movement. Dr. Hughan thus declares : " Equality of income, like equality of nature, is a notion relegated by modern socialists to their moments of millen- nial reverie. . . . Present-day socialists . . . consign distri- bution according to needs, as they consign equality of distri- bution, to the far-off communism that may perhaps develop out of the successful cooperative commonwealth." ^^ Compensation According to Deeds. — Most socialist authorities believe that inequality of compensation will 37 See Bernard Shaw, " The Case for Equality," Metropolitan Mag- azine, December, 1913. The Russian Soviet Government adopted the principle of virtual equality of compensation, but later found, In the words of Lenin, that they " were forced to make use of the old bourgeois method and agree to a very high remuneration for the services of the big- gest of the bourgeois specialists. ... It is clear that such a measure is a compromise, that it is a defection from the principles of the Paris Commune and of any proletarian rule, which demands the re- duction of salaries to the standard of remuneration of the average workers — principles which demand that 'career hunting' be fought by deed, not by words." (Lenin, Soviets at Work, p. IS.) See also discussion of Bertrand Russell, in Proposed Roads to Freedom, Ch. IV. 38 Hughan, American Socialism of the Present Day, pp. 136, 145. See also Spargo and Arner, Elements of Socialism, p. 234. REMUNERATION 14.3 persist under a cooperative system and that such inequal- ity will be based partly on differences in " skill, diligence and general merit," ^^ and partly on the law of supply and demand. The question of needs and of length of service will undoubtedly also be considered. M. Vandervelde thus sets forth this point of view: " To the extent that it would be socially useful from the point of view of production to assign special advantages to certain laborers, in order to stimulate their energy and their labor power, nothing would prevent a coUectivist society from maintaining — allowing for changing circumstances — the gradation of salaries that exists today in the public services. Collectivism does not necessarily imply equality of income." *° Full Product of Toil — One of the arguments for a dif- ference in incomes is based on the belief that the worker is entitled to the full product of his toil. As this full product will differ with different abilities, the income will of necessity be unequal. The more thoughtful, however, base their advocacy on other grounds. They realize that it is not possible " to determine the contribution of each worker to the social product, " *^ and that, under a co- operative system, it will be necessary to lay aside a certain amount of the industrial product for the support of the sick, the old and others incapable of earning a livelihood, for depreciation on the capital stock of the nation, for future improvements in industry and for educational and social purposes, before the worker in a productive industry obtains his pay. Furthermore, " individual labor," Rodbertus well says, 39 Hillquit, and Ryan, op. cit., p. 81. *o Vandervelde, Collectivism, p. 149. See also Sparge and Arner, op. cit., p. 234. *i Sparge and Arner, Elements of Socialism, p. 234. 144! SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION " is in great part fruitful only through cooperation. Why should it return to the individual that which it has not created? The collectivity whose united efforts alone makes the results useful has its right to a part of the so- cial product which will not be divided." *^ The only sense in which socialists can, in this stage of social production, claim that the worker is entitled to the full product of his labor, is " that the laborers taken to- gether ought to enjoy the entire fruit of social labor with- out the possibility of any deduction being made by any one having individual control of the means of production." *^ Inequality Assists in Assignment. — Inequality of com- pensation as urged in the belief that some material incen- tive wiU for many years be necessary under a cooperative system, if the best results are to be attained. Such dif- ference is also necessary if the state is to secure an ade- quate number of workers for different industries without resorting in great part to an autocratic industrial con- scription. Such inequality, however, will not be so great as are the present differences in salaries. With the gradual adoption by the community of different criteria of success than the money criterion,. incomes are likely to approach approximate equality. Various Principles Operative. — Under a complicated modern industrial state it is improbable that any one prin- ciple of compensation can be rigidly adopted to the ex- clusion of all others. Compensation according to deed, compensation according to need, equality of compensation and compensation dependent on supply and demand will each play its part to a greater or a lesser extent at vari- ous stages of cooperative development. It is conceivable that society may adopt a minimum wage below which no 42 See Vandervelde, Collectivism, p. 143. 48 Ibid., p. 143. REMUNERATION 145 worker who does his work honestly and faithfully shall go, even though his product could be shown to be less.** For society must not sacrifice the future of the worker's family in order that it may follow any one principle to its logical conclusion, nor must it disregard the fact that men and women are born with different talents and are subject to environmental conditions from which it is difficult for them to escape. Victims of bad conditions must not be dealt with too harshly. On the other hand, it might be justifiable for society to set a maximum salary, as many governments are indeed doing at the present time, beyond which the most talented may not go, for here again it should be recognized that the talents of these have been developed largely through op- portunities vouchsafed by society, and that it would be unjust for them to demand the entire product of their toil, even if this could be ascertained. Money Under Socialism — A problem of somewhat minor importance, and yet one that has given rise to much discussion is the question of the medium of exchange under socialism. The utopian socialist and many who follow Marx with too great faithfulness advocate the use •4* Bertrand Russell, in fact, is of the belief that " a certain small income, sufficient for necessaries, should be secured to all, whether they work or not, and that a larger income, as much larger as might be warranted by the total amount of commodities produced, should be given to those who are willing to engage in some work which the community recognizes as useful." (Proposed Boads to Freedom, p. 110.) If this income were given, Mr. Russell contends, the government would not have to compel its citizens to work either by the threat of starvation or the operation of the criminal law. At present a small income sufficient to keep a man from actual physical want does hot usually lessen his incentive to work, and few would loaf even if the minimum necessities were guaranteed. Contrary to Mr. Russell's doctrine, the Soviet Government decreed a "universal obligation to work," proclaiming as its motto, in the spirit of St. Paul, " He shall not eat who does not work." 146 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of time labor checks to the exclusion of money. Bebel argued that merchandise in the present sense of the word would not exist in the cooperative state, inasmuch as goods would be produced for use rather than for sale, and inasmuch as there could be no money.*^ Rodbertus took the Marxian suggestion of labor time, and elaborated a system of checks which would make money unnecessary. Inasmuch as the value of an article is measured by the average number of labor hours embodied in it, he main- tained, the natural payment would be a check which stated that the laborer had worked a specified number of hours. This would be exchangeable for any commodity which had embodied therein the same amount of labor. In commenting on this position, Dr. Hughan declares : " Consistently Marxian as the labor cheek system may ap- pear^ it labors under the error of ascribing permanency and ethical force to what Marx formulated as a law of economic process during the transitory capitalist regime. For this reason and because of its obvious impracticability, the modern socialist has already dropped it from his ultimate plan." *^ Hillquit is of the opinion that the labor checks for money is " Utopian and puerile." *'' THE NATURE OF THE STATE Introductory — Early socialists conceived the state as an instrument for the domination of one class over another. Socialism, they argued, aims at the suppres- sion of classes, at the development of a classless society, 45 Bebel, Woman Under SociaUsm, p. 291. 46 Hughan, American Socialism, etc., p. 147; see also Kautsky, Social Revolution, p. 139. 4' Hillquit, Socialism in Theory and Practice, p. 118; see also Spargo and Arner, op. cit., p. 239. NATURE OF STATE 147 through the socialization of the means of production. Socialism, by ushering in this classless society, thus tends to abolish the state.** Socialists have not advocated, however, the elimination of organized government itself, but merely the special quality in present and past states which render them or- gans of class rule.** If the word " state " is used, not in the Marxian sense, but merely as " the political machinery of a government in a community," ^" the state will un- doubtedly continue to exist in one form or another under a socialist system of industry. Characteristics of Socialist State Prior to the Eu- ropean war, socialists were generally agreed that the state under socialism should have certain characteris- tics.^ ■'^ (1) It would be controlled democratically by the mass of hand and brain workers. A state which owns im- portant industries, but which is dominated by a small ruling class of capitalists, aristocrats or bureaucrats, is remote indeed from a socialist order of society. Coercion. — (2) The state under socialism would be far less than at present an instrument of coercion, and far more an instrument for constructive social ends — its ideal the " good life." ^^ It must, indeed, have power to deal with crime, to prevent one individual from infringing on the rights of others, to define and enforce contracts, to administer justice, to collect taxes, to deal with foreign states, etc. However, as the underlying reason for the use of coercion would be largely eliminated, these purely gov- 48Engels, Socialism, Utopian and Scientific, pp. 7S-6; Vander- velde. Socialism versus the State, pp. 126-132 ; Deville, The State and Socialism, pp. 4-5; Bebel, Woman Under Socialism, p. 128, etc. *« Spargo and Arner, op. cit., pp. 213-4. 50 Cole, Self Government in Industry, p. Tl. 51 "Vandervelde, op. cit., pp. 208-9. ^2 Ibid., p. 224; Collectivism, pp. 134-5. 148 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ernmental functions would be of but small importance as compared with educational, health, recreational and other activities.®^ (3) The machinery of the socialist state would be thoroughly democratized, through the initiative, referen- dum, recall, proportional representation and other demo- cratic measures. (4) The industrial state — if it can be called a state — would be differentiated from the political state. Some socialists favored a bi-cameral legislature, one branch to represent primarily the political, and one the industrial interests of the country.®* Others contended, however, that such an arrangement might lead to legislative dead- locks. Decentralization. — (5) Power, furthermore, would not be centralized in the national government. The city would absorb, as against the federal government, most important governmental activities.®® (6) And, finally, individual rights would be jealously safeguarded, liberty of speech, of press, of religion, of art, of science, and of other lines of human conduct. The socialist conception of the future state has been modified since the beginning of the European war by several schools of thought. 53 See Russell, Proposed Roads to Freedom, p. 121 et seq.; Hill- quit, op. cit., pp. 93-9; Spargo, Applied Socialism, p. 135. 51 " The political chamber," declared M. Malon, " might be elected by universal suffrage as our present representative assemblies; but the economic chamber, the larger and more important of the two, should be the result of professional elections, with proper safeguards for the special qualifications of the elected, so that it should truly represent the workers of all categories." (Malon, Precise Social- ism, pp. 300-; see also Vandervelde, Collectivism, p. 128; Socialism vs. the State, p. 147). 55 See Hughan, American Socialism of the Present Day, pp. 156- 60; Spargo and Arner, op. cit., pp. 218-9. NATURE OF STATE 149 The Soviet Idea — The creation of the soviet state, in which representation, at least in the city districts, is based on occupational, rather than on territorial groupings, has led thousands of socialists of the left throughout the world to favor a state based entirely on occupational rep- resentation, and to urge the abolition of the present po- litical state, in which citizens express their political pref- erences as consumers from particular localities, rather than as producers, working at a particular trade. The application under the soviet regime, at least in the local groups, of the principle of immediate recall, and the holding of new elections whenever a group becomes dis- satisfied with the manner in which its representative is acting, has also led many socialists to urge that the so- cialist state incorporate this type of election.^® 66 It must not, however, be assumed from the foregoing that the Russian Soviet Government has consciously adopted the principle of occupational representation throughout its system of government. It happened that that kind of representation existed in the Soviets in Petrograd and other large cities when, through the Bolshevik revo- lution, all power was transferred to the Soviets. However, repre- sentation in the rural Soviets, and the representation of the local in the Provincial Soviets, and of the Provincial Soviets in the All- Russian Congress is geographical rather than occupational in its character. Until the fall of 1919, there was comparatively little discussion in Russia as to the comparative merits of occupational and territorial representation. For a further description of the Soviet Government, see chapter on " The Russian Revolution." Numerous other features of the present Soviet Government of a more or less temporary nature, adopted by the government during the transitional period, have been effective in modifying the concep- tion of many socialists — particularly of the left — regarding the na- ture of the future state. The more moderate socialists are stiU in- clined to the belief that place in the future scheme of things should be given to the neighborhood as well as occupational representation, as the latter, if adopted to the exclusion of the former, has the disad- vantage, found in syndicalist schemes, of failing to give proper repre- sentation to the citizen as consumer. (For a discussion of the in- creasing part that is being played by the occupational group in soci- 150 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION National Guildsmen and the State Another stream of thought that has recently affected the socialist concep- tion of the state comes from the national guildsmen. Their philosophy is described in the next chapter. Briefly they look upon the state as the instrument through which the citizen as consumer can best express his wishes, an " instrument for the execution of those purposes which men have in common by reason of ' neighborhood,' " and its sphere, " those public matters which, broadly speak- ing, affect all the citizens equally and in the same way, that is, affect them as citizens," ®^ such, for instance, as education, health, housing, the maintenance of roads, in- ternational relations, the administration of laws, and, jointly with the producers, the fixing of prices, the de- termination of the amount of production and similar serv- ices. Representation to the councils of the state would be on the basis of neighborhood or inhabitancy, as at present. On the other hand, the control of industry would be given over to an organization of producers, which the guildsmen designate the national guilds, and which would be based on occupational groupings. Underlying the conception of the national guildsmen is the idea of or- ganization by function, the theory that that group should be entrusted with the performance of a function who, by training and knowledge, is best adapted to undertake that activity. Some of the national guildsmen also stress the theory of dual sovereignty, and emphasize the neces- sity of equality between economic and political power un- der the guild system. Cole maintaining that, " if the indi- ety, and the danger of over-emphasis, read Follett, The New State, Ch. XXIII. For a scheme presented by the socialists of the left in Germany to incorporate the soviet idea into the German constitu- tion, see The Nation, International Section, July 13, 1919, p. 56.) 67 Cole, op. cit., p. 78. NATURE OF STATE 151 vidual is not to be a mere pigmy in the hands of a colossal social organism, there must be such a division of social powers as will preserve individual freedom by balancing one social organism so nicely against another that the in- dividual may still count." ^* Other guildsmen, however, do not consider dual sovereignty as an integral part of the guild system.^® The attitude of the guild socialist toward the inade- quacies, on the one hand, of the bureaucratic state and, on the other hand, of the syndicalist society is similar to, if not identical with, the position held before the war by the majority of the political socialists throughout the world, including those of the American socialist movement. Guildsmen and socialists agree that both consumers and producers should have an adequate means of expression, and that both territorial and occupational representation should be incorporated in the future society. Socialists are perhaps not so inclined as are the guildsmen to limit the concept of the state to that of an organization rep- resentative of consumers and enjoyers, and to exclude from that concept the machinery through which the pro- ducers express themselves. At the same time they in- sist, as has been stated, on the separation of the " gov- ernment-state " from the " industrial state." ®° Organization by Function — The theory of organiza- tion by function, moreover, while implicit in many of the socialist discussions, is not so explicit as it is in the guild socialist propaganda, nor has there been any discussion of moment in the organized socialist movement of the prob- es jftjd., p. 91. 59 Hobson, in National Guilds, p. 133, declares: "We remain so- cialists because we believe that in the final analysis the state, repre- senting the community at large, must be the final arbiter." 60 Vandervelde, Socialism vs. the State, p. 147. 152 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION lem of dual sovereignty enunciated by some of the guilds- men. The problems raised by the new school, however, are bound to have a very distinct influence on socialist thought in general.®^ The war has led to other currents of thought in the socialist world of a somewhat conflicting nature. On the one hand the adoption by such working class governments as that irf Russia of the system of conscription, and their resort, particularly after Allied intervention, to certain measures of suppression, have led many socialists of the left to justify the assumption by the proletarian state during the transitional period of very large powers over the individual citizen and to defend a temporary dictator- ship of a militant conscious minority of the proletariat in the interest of the immense majority.®^ State Sovereignty — On the other hand, the concen- tration of enormous industrial and military powers in the hands of the capitalist state during war time, the whole- sale suppression of minority opinion, and the claim of the state over the direction of the whole range of activities of its citizens have caused many socialists to analyze anew the problems of state sovereignty, the rights of the state over the individual, and the relative claim of various groups on the loyalty of the citizens of a country. Many, as a result, have adopted the viewpoint of such political scientists as Harold Laski, as regards not only the cap- 81 One of the few discussions on the subject has been that in The Intercollegiate Socialist between Dr. Jessie W. Hughan and Mr. Ordway Tead, in which the former argues against the idea of dual sovereignty, declaring, " decentralization, the devices of political de- mocracy, the capacity for passive resistance to unjust law — these seem to me better safeguards than a dual government against the evils of absolute sovereignty." (/. 8., Feb.-Mar., 1919.) 82 The socialists at the Berne International Socialist Conference in February, 1919, attacked this position — see section under " Berne Conference." NATURE OP STATE 153 italist, but also the socialist state, " that the allegiance of man to the state is secondary to his allegiance to what he may conceive to be his duty to society as a whole " ; and that " the need for safeguards demands the erection of alternative loyalties which may, in any synthesis, op- pose their wills to that of the state." *^ With Mr. Norman Thomas, they are increasingly agree- ing: " We are citizens not only of the state^ but of the com- monwealthj of art, education, science, and of letters; of the churches of our God, of the great world-wide brotherhood which ministers to us in body, mind and spirit. Ours is the spiritual relation to society which can never be perfectly satis- fied by bowing down before the state and offering to it our blind service. The state is no metaphysical entity, it is simply one form of organization of men. Its powers should be increased only insofar as such an increase makes it pos- sible for larger multitudes of people to fulfil the glory of personality, to love, to hope, to dream, to work together as comrades, each bearing his fair share of the common burdens of Ufe." " Conflict Regarding Transition Stage. — The next few years are destined to witness a definite clash between those socialists who believe that it is necessary during the tran- sition period for a proletarian government to use drastic measures against its opponent, so that the transition might become a more rapid one, and, on the other hand, those who, even at first, would greatly minimize the coer- cive powers of the state, on the ground that the temporary assumption of such powers is bound to prove more last- 63Laski, Authority in the Modern States, p. 122; see also Norman Angell, The British Revolution and American Democracy, Ft. Ill, for the necessity of freedom for the minority under a democracy. 64 The Intercollegiate Socialist, December-January, 1917-18. 154 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ing than is at first anticipated; that unethical means are likely to obscure ethical ideals, and that more effective means for securing social cohesion are at hand.®^ Summary. — Socialists have thus, for many years past, maintained that the state, under socialism, must be con- trolled by the mass of the people ; that it must become less and less a " government of men " and ever more an instrument for constructive social endeavor, that it must be democratized in all of its parts, that it must provide an administrative machinery through which both consumer and producer might adequately express themselves ; that it must scrupulously avoid a regimentation of its citizens, and that it must consistently apply the principle of decen- tralization. The war has brought renewed prominence to the prob- lems of occupational representation, of organization by function, of dual sovereignty, and the relative claim of state and other social groups over the activities of the individual. A reconstruction of socialist thought, as a result of recent developments, is now in process."® BELIGION AND SOCIALISM Attitude of Socialists — Passing from the industrial 65 The extremists are at present writing inclined to call them- selves Communist Socialists or Communists, to differentiate themselves from the more moderate socialists. Marx, it may be remembered, called the early socialists " communists " in his Communist Manifesto. The word communist was formerly used to designate that compara- tively small group in society who believe in the common ownership of private property. The communist-socialists and present-day com- munists do not hold such belief. 86 See also, among the recent literature on the state which is mold- ing socialist thought, FoUett, The New State; Laski, Studies in the Problem of Sovereignty; Russell, Political Ideals; Belloc, The Servile State; De Maeztu, Authority, Liberty and Function; Cannan, Freedom, etc. RELIGION 155 and political features of the socialist state, let us consider some of its social features. What, for instance, will be the status of religion under socialism? Many of the opponents and even some of the adherents of socialism contend that socialism is opposed to religion. This position is based primarily on two premises: first, that many socialists have opposed organized religion ; sec- ond, that the philosophy of socialism is itself diametrically opposed to the principles of revealed religion. It is true that many of the pioneers of socialism, as well as many of its modern exponents, have denied the va- lidity of religious tenets. This attitude may be explained on several grounds. The philosophy of socialism was formulated at about the same time that the scientific facts of evolution were first given to the world. The organ- ized church in practically every country took the position at that time that these truths were in conflict with the teachings of the Bible, and that those who accepted them must be considered outside the religious pale. The so- cialists embraced the new scientific truths, and certain of their leaders declared themselves against that religion which both they and its supporters believed to be incom- patible with true science.®^ The Church and Democracy. — Furthermore, the or- ganized church, in many of the countries where socialism gained its first foothold, was a state church. As such, it generally fought on the side of an autocratic state rt^henever there was a conflict of interest between the state and the people. The workers, therefore, found the church lined up with their enemies in most battles for democracy. And even where the church and the state were not one and where the state no longer could be regarded as a,\ito- «7 See Spargo and Arner, op. cit., p. 361. 156 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION cratic, the workers frequently felt that the former was too largely influenced by commercial and industrial interests which supported it. The Bible was too frequently quoted to prove the rightness of things as they were, and the wickedness of proletarian agitation. The result of this attack was a counter attack by the workers, within and without the socialist movement. Nor did the social- ists and others in their attitude always nicely discrim- inate between certain forms of " churchianity " and re- ligion generally. When socialists, embittered by clerical opposition abroad, migrated to other countries, they frequently continued their opposition, even though the reason for that opposition might have largely disap- peared. Neutrality. — However, the socialists as a body have time and again declared their neutrality on the subject of religion in their conventions and elsewhere. " The So- cialist Party,'' reads the resolution passed at the 1908 convention of the American movement, " is primarily an economic and political movement. It is not concerned with matters of religious belief." Socialists in this country represent every denomina- tional creed. There is a Christian Socialist movement containing hundreds who believe that the logical appli- cation of Christianity to industrial life would lead to socialism, and some of the most eminent religious teachers in the country proclaim themselves adherents of the social- ist philosophy.®^ In Great Britain the chief leaders in the Independent Labor Party are ardent members of the 68 See also Hughan, American Socialism of the Present Day, p. 161. At a state convention of the Michigan socialists in 1919, speakers were instructed to explain the socialist stand on religion. This or- ganization was subsequently expelled from the Socialist Party and induced the Communist Party to adopt a similar resolution. RELIGION 157 conformist and non-conformist churches, while the Church Socialist League, with its large following among the clergy, is extremely active in the movement.** Theism and Economic Determinism. — It is also con- tended that the acceptance of the belief in the economic interpretation of history precludes the acceptance of re- ligious belief. The reasons for this position are various. First, it is maintained that the economic interpretation of history, promulgated by the early socialists, excludes a belief that ethical forces influence history in any way ; therefore such a belief is materialistic. But, as Profes- sor Seligman so well expressed it, " the economic interpretation of history, in the reasonable and modern sense of the term, does not for a moment sub- ordinate the ethical life to the economic life; it does not even maintain that in any single individual there is a necessary connection between his moral impulses and his economic wel- fare; above all it does not deny an interpenetration of eco- nomic institutions by ethical and religious influences. It en- deavors only to show that in the records of the past the moral uplift of humanity has been closely connected with its so- cial and economic progress, and that the ethical ideals of the community, which can alone bring about any lasting advance in civilization, have been erected on, and rendered possible by, the solid foundation of material prosperity. In short, the economic interpretation of history properly interpreted, does not neglect the spiritual forces in history; it seeks only to point out the terms on which the spiritual life has been able to find its fullest fruition." ^" 68 In Germany, of the 110 members of the Reichstag in 1912, 2f2 belonged to the established Protestant churches, 17 to other Protes- tant churches, 4 to the Catholic church, while 7 were Jews. Fifty- eight, on the other hand, belonged to no church, 6 declared that they had no religion whatever, and 2 were non-committal. (Walling, Stokes, Hughan and Laidler, The Socialism of Today, p. 30.) 70 Seligman, Economic Interpretation of History, pp. ISS-t. 158 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Second, it is assumed that unless one believes that hu- man progress has been primarily the result of the influ- ence of spiritual and ideological forces, as contrasted with economic forces, one denies the omniscience of the God- head in the development of human society. The socialist's reply is that it is just as reasonable to assume that an In- finite Power designed that the world evolve primarily through the conflict of economic forces as to assume that He expressed His will in the world only through spiritual forcesJ-*- To acknowledge the efiicacy of the law of grav- itation and other physical laws in the universe, the socialist maintains, is by no means to deny the presence of the De- ity. The economic interpretation of history does not deal with ultimate causes. The confusion between the economic interpretation of history and the materialistic philosophy of life is due partly to the fact that the socialists first termed their philosophy the " materialistic philosophy of history," and partly because those who formulated the theory were them- selves philosophic materialists with a desire to connect their philosophy of economic development with their gen- eral world philosophy, and to make of it a Weltan- schauung. The followers of the socialist fathers, desiring to be no less " scientific " than were their teachers, were no more discriminating, and accepted both philosophies as parts of a whole. Of course, materialism was not monopolized by the early socialists. As Rauschenbusch declares : " The socialist faith was formulated by its intellectual leaders at a time when naturalism and materialism was the popular philoso- phy of the intellectuals, and these elements were woven into the dogma of the new movement. Great movements al- '1 See Sparga, Ma/rxian Socialism and Religion. RELIGION 159 ways perpetuate the ideas current at the time that they are in their formative and fluid stage." '^^ Conclusion — It is therefore seen that the premises on which the assertion is made that religion will have no place under socialism are ill-founded. The sociaUst is not necessarily opposed to religion. Growing thousands of religious men and women are embracing the socialist faith every year, because of the ethical teachings in their reli- gion. Furthermore, there is no necessary conflict be- tween the socialist philosophy and a theistic belief. With greater leisure, with greater educational oppor- tunities, with a better chance to lead a life in accordance with the highest ethics, the great mass of humanity wiU find it possible for the first time in the history of civiliza- tion to develop the ethical and the spiritual.'^ ^ THE FAMILY AND SOCIALISM Introduction. — Another important institution of pres- ent-day society is the family. What will be the form of family life under socialism.'' Many opponents accuse so- cialists of aiming at the destruction of this institution. This claim is based on several grounds. Criticism. — It is stated that a number of leading so- cialists, for instance, Bebel, Carpenter and Bax, have un- orthodox views regarding the reorganization of family life. To this socialists reply that the movement as such has never officially taken any stand on this subject, that the vast majority of members believe ardently in the institu- tion of marriage, and that it is unfair to hold a move- 's Rauschenbusch, Christianizing the Social Order, p. 110. 73 See Hunter, Why We Fail as Christians, Ch. VIII ; Scudder, Socialism and Character; Vedder, Socialism and the Ethics of Jesus, Chs. VIII-XII; Hillquit and Ryan, Socialism, Promise or Menace, Chs. V and VI; Spargo, Spiritual Significance of Modern Socialism; Ward, The Oospel for the Working World. 160 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ment which counts its millions responsible for the views of a small minority of its memhership. Furthermore, many of the quotations taken from the works of socialists, pur- porting to indicate opposition to the family as such, merely indicate, when read in connection with their con- texts, an opposition to a perverted, commercialized status of family life witnessed too often in the present system.'^* Relation to Private Property — In the second place, the anti-socialist is prone to declare that family life came into existence with the beginnings of private property, and will therefore disappear when private property is elim- inated. This statement assumes, first, that the social- ists are opposed to private property, when what they op- pose is the system of private capital and, in the second place, that an institution that comes into being as the re- sult of the growth of a particular relationship will neces- sarily disappear when that relationship ceases to exist — an assumption that does not always hold true. And even if socialists did contemplate the abolition of private ownership in consumption goods, they contend that there would be many spiritual reasons making for a mono- gamic family. The advocacy by many socialists of the economic in- dependence of women provides another angle of attack. But the socialist replies with Engels : " remove the eco- nomic considerations which now force women to submit to the customary disloyalty of men, and you wiU place women on an equal footing with men. All present experi- ences prove that this will tend much more strongly to make men truly monogamous, than to make women polyan- drous."'^' 7* Such a case, for instance, is the perversion of the statement of Marx and Engels in the Communist ManifeHo, p. 39. 75 Engels, Origin of the Family, p. 9Q. TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM 161 In fact socialists believe that the present system of capitalism, as has been indicated/^ with its low standard of living, its long hours of toil, its ignorance, its over- crowding, its uncertainty of employment, and its many moral defects, make a genuine family life for tens of thou- sands of workers impossible, and that socialism, by fur- nishing a better economic and intellectual foundation for the mass of men and women, will make it possible, for the first time in civilization, for the burden bearers of the world to realize the possibilities of genuine home lifeJ^ TEANSITIO'N TO SOCIALISM History of Controversy. — How will the transition to socialism be effected? Socialists are loath to predict, as- serting that the methods adopted will depend largely on the temper of the people at the time of socialization, and on the peculiar characteristics — economic, political, na- tional, racial, etc. — of particular communities. Most so- cialists, however, have very distinct views as to the meth- ods which, in their opinion, the workers should pursue in their onward march toward socialism. These views have, throughout the history of the move- ment, divided socialists into separate camps. In the days of the first International, the question of tactics gave rise to a heated controversy between the Marxists, who de- pended on poUtical and industrial action, and the anarch- ists under Bakounin who inclined toward violent methods. Later, in Germany and elsewhere, controversy waged over the relative desirability of the opportunistic tactics of Bernstein and his Revisionist School, and the " no com- promise " tactics of Liebknecht, Kautsky and others. 78 See Chapter II, p. 35. T! See HlUquit and Ryan, op. cit., pp. 162-3; Spargo and Arner, op. cit., p. 250. 162 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Then came the syndicalist -wave, with its emphasis on in- dustrial action, and its scorn of parliamentarianism. Of recent years, with the outbreak of the Russian revolution, and the development of the soviet state, there has appeared throughout the world a wide cleavage on tactical grounds between the moderate socialists who were largely repre- sented at the International Socialist Conference at Berne, and the socialists of the left wing, who are inclined to give their adherence to the so-called third International, formed at Moscow in the Spring of 1919. Tactics of the Extremist Left — The latter and more extreme school of socialists, the socialists of the extreme left, who sometimes refer to themselves as communist-so- cialists or communists, suggest the following line of tac- tics : The workers, they assert, should organize themselves primarily on the industrial field. They should not ignore politics, but should look upon political parties not as in- struments for the attainment of the socialized state, but merely as educational forces to be used in reaching the public with their propaganda. If socialists are elected to office, they should not waste their time in parliamentary debates over measures for social amelioration, but should use the legislature as a means " of keeping alive the burn- ing ideals of revolution in the hearts of the people." ^^ ''s The word '' revolution," as used in most socialist literature, does not connote a violent overthrow, but merely a change from one system to another. The recent revolutions in Russia, Hungary, Ger- many and Austria, brought about not by political methods, but as a result of mass action, vs'ere also eflFected with the expenditure of little actual violence. It is interesting to note that, at a time when many socialists of the left are despairing of the efficacy of political action, except as a propaganda weapon, the French General Confed- eration of Labor, long looked upon as the center of syndicalist, anti- parliamentary activity, definitely decided to cooperate with the Socialist Party in waging political battles. TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM 163 On the economic field, socialists should strive to organize the workers into industrial unions, as opposed to trade unions, and should particularly agitate in the " key " in- dustries. They should constantly educate the workers in the value of " mass action," '^* and should especially stress the power of mass demonstrations and general strikes. Dictatorship of Proletariat — The workers, the ex- treme left insist, should also form local and national work- ingmen's councils or Soviets. When the psychological mo- ment arrives, they should seize the industrial and political machinery, transfer the power from the bourgeois political state to the proletarian state formed on the basis of work- ingmen's councils, set up a temporary " dictatorship of the proletariat," ^° permit only those engaged in useful ™ Here again the words " mass action,'' or " revolutionary mass action," or " direct action," as ordinarily used in socialist literature, have no necessary connection with violence, although they do involve, of course, the use of economic or moral pressure. The general strike, for instance, constitutes a form of passive resistance, and may consist merely of the " folding of hands." In fact, many general strikes, such as the Seattle and Winnipeg strikes of 1919, were attended with little or no violence. In Seattle, and, during the Belgian strike of a few years ago, in Belgium, less crime was re- ported during the strike than in ordinary times. Louis Fraina, one of the leaders of the extreme left in the United States, declares: "It is the great fact and hope of the machine proletariat that, during the great strikes of the unskilled, in which men and women speaking dozens of languages participated, there was no violence on their part, no hysteria of despair, but there was determination, solidarity, the aggressive spirit of the revolution in action. The proletarian revolution is not fostered by violence, but it makes use of industrial power and organized force." (Fraina, Revolutionary Socialism, p. 136.) In fact. Professor Herbert Ellsworth Cory contends that, with the progress of the labor movement, the direct action of the workers tends to become ever less violent, contrary to the direct action of the capitalists. (See also article by Bertrand Russell in The Dial on "Democracy and Direct Action," May 3, 1919.) 80 The word " dictatorship of the proletariat " is used in many senses. Marx and others undoubtedly meant by it that, when the 164. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION work to have any voice in the management of the newly formed state, arm the workers and suppress the bour- geoisie. The proletariat should then proceed to develop a workers' control of industry, expropriate the banks, con- fiscate the railroads and all large organizations of in- dustry — providing, possibly, for small investors, — and then advance in the direction of a complete communist-so- cialism. When that condition of society will have been attained, all citizens will be producers, classes will have dis- appeared, the dictatorship and coercive measures will have ceased, and the political state (used in the Marxian sense) will have passed into memory. Tactics of Moderate Socialists On the other hand, the moderate*^ socialists feel that the workers should adopt a different line of tactics : They should organize into independent parties of work- ers by hand and brain, into trade and industrial unions and into working class cooperatives. On the political proletariat movement — " the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority" — comes into power, it should conduct the government in the interest of labor, as the government in many cases had formerly been conducted in the interest of capital. Others believe that, as in Russia, the proletarians should, when they gain control, disfranchise all non-producers, and give the vote only to those doing what is deemed to be useful work. When the socializa- tion of industry is complete, they claim, all would be producers, and the dictatorship of the proletariat would thus automatically become a dictatorship of the whole people. In the meanwhile any who wish to vote in the Soviets might do so by becoming a worker. Another group using this term regard such a dictatorship as a. dictatorship of a "militant, advanced minority" of the proletariat, who, through their control of strategic industries, and their advanced spirit of solidarity, can gain possession of the state and control it in the in- terest of the indifferent majority during the transition period. 81 The word " moderate " socialist is used, not in the technical sense used by the left wing socialists of the United States, but merely to differentiate the less extreme from the extreme left. TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM 165 field they should join a worldngman's party connected with the international socialist and labor movement and work pers.istently for the success of the political movement of the workers. Socialists who are elected to office should fight for measures calculated to give the workers more power and physical and intellectual strength, to the end that the mass of producers may become more effective in their fight for a higher civilization. At the same time, and primarily, legislators should use their vantage ground to educate the people in the principles of socialism and should beware of concentrating their main effort on small reforms which it is the interest of non-socialist re- formers to advance. The workers should continue their struggle at the ballot box for the control of the machin- ery of government, until their aims are achieved. In the meanwhile, socialists should, wherever possible, strengthen the economic wing of the labor movement — the trade and industrial union ^^ — and should conduct an educational campaign for the purpose of persuading the workers of the advantages of close cooperation between existing unions, and, particularly, of the necessity of in- dustrial unionism. They should urge the producers to fight not only for higher wages and shorter hours, but for a larger share in the management of shop conditions, for a new status in industry, and for complete industrial democracy. They should also teach the value of the gen- eral strike, and other legitimate mass movements for po- litical and social ends, when these movements are properly planned and timed. Socialists and workers generally should do their part in the development of the cooperative movement. Co- 82 The word worker in the socialist movement usually connotes not only the manual worker, but also the " intellectual proletariat," or, as the British Labor Party has it, the " worker by hand and brain." 166 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ■operation provides a valuable training ground in indus- trial management, decreases the profits of the middlemen, and oftentimes is of great assistance during strikes and during the transition stages. In connection with all of these activities, furthermore, a strong educational work should be conducted. All of these movements will give to the workers, during their period of struggle, a training in industrial and political citizenship which will prove in- valuable to them when they finally secure control of the government of the country.*^ Transition State — After obtaining control of the gov- ernment through the vote of the electorate, the socialist movement shotild see to it that the political machinery is made as responsive as possible to the desires of all of the people, and, most moderates claim, should insist on uni- versal, equal and secret ballot, and on other democratic safeguards. A minority would favor methods more akin to the soviet idea. The movement should then proceed to the socialization of industry. All industry cannot, of course, be socialized at once. Even the Russian Soviet Government after it had issued numerous decrees for the nationalization of industries, deemed it necessary to call a 83 The plan of the moderates does not involve a resort to violence, although contemplating the use of political and economic pressure. The majority of moderates look on the question of violence as a matter of expediency, and argue that, from the standpoint of the permanent interests of the worljing class, concentration on political and economic action and on general educational propaganda will bring out the best results. (See Kautsky, Social Revolution, p. 89.) Whether the great change will be brought about, in countries not yet socialized, by violent or peaceful methods, virill, they claim, depend largely on whether the ruling class opposes, by violence, the regis- tered vifill of the people. Such mass actions as the general strike are not regarded as violent measures. A minority of the moderate so- cialists oppose the use of violence under any circumstances as un- ethical. TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM 167 halt on the further process of socialization until certain questions of management were worked out.** While it is thus impossible to socialize all industry at once, the moderates believe that industry should be taken over as rapidly as it is possible to provide adequate ad- ministrative machinery therefor, and are of the belief that, when the consciously directed will of the community is di- rected toward a social end, progress can not only be rapid, but safe as well.*' While they are divided regarding the procedure for the socialization of industry, the majority are inclined to the belief that, if socialization occurs dur- ing times of comparative quiet, some form of compensation will probably be devised.*^ On this question there has been a shift to the left during the past few years. Si " Were we to attempt now to continue the expropriation of capi- tal with the same intensity as heretofore, we would surely be de- feated, for our work of the organization of proletarian accounting and control has — it is clear and obvious to every thinking person — not kept pace with the work of the direct ' expropriation of the ex- propriators.' " Lenin, Soviets at Work, p. 12. Karl Kautsky, in his address read before the Congress of German Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Councils, held in Berlin on April 8, 1919, declared that headlong socialization had dangers no less than the continuation of capitalistic economy itself, and that three factors must cooperate in the socialized state, the workers, con- sumers and the technical scientific experts. " Socialization," he de- clared, " does not mean simply the expropriation of capitalism and of the great landed proprietors, but also a reorganization of the entire economic life. . . . This cannot be achieved in a summary way for all branches of industry, or without preparation. It must proceed step by step, and it will take years to carry it out in full." (See The Nation, International Relations Section, July 12, 1919, p. 56.) 85 See Hobson, The Evolution of Modem Society, p. 402. 86 Most socialist leaders prior to the war advised compensation of one form or another in the taking over of industry, not so much as a matter of right, but as a matter of expediency. Those who be- lieve that industries should be confiscated declare that the capi- talists have confiscated the earnings of the workers and the products 168 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Thus, industries will be steadily socialized, one after an- other, until the cooperative commonwealth is attained. Conflict of Views — The foregoing analysis thus showa the existence of two distinct wings in the general socialist movement. Both wings have as their ideal some form of industrial democracy ; both believe that the workers should use both political and industrial weapons to attain their ends. The left wing, or communist-socialist or commun- ist group, as it calls itself, regards politics merely as a means of propaganda, scorns the immediate demands in the socialist platform, expects that the transition from of the soil for years, and that confiscation would simply mean "the expropriation of the expropriators." (See Hillquit and Ryan, SociaKsm, Promise or Menace, p. 75.) Marx is constantly quoted, however, as declaring that " it [compen- sation] would really be the cheapest way of relieving ourselves " of the capitalist group. (Quoted in Vandervelde, Collectivism, p. 155.) Different forms of compensation are suggested. Some socialists favor giving the capitalists an annuity terminable within a reason- able period; others favor the issuance of bonds with a decreasing rate of interest, and with the ultimate repudiation of the principal or the payment of such principals in instalments (Hughan, Ameri- can Socialism of the Present Day, p. 126), while still others advo- cate compensation based on the real value of the property, relieved of its water (See The Intercollegiate Socialist, Spring-Summer, 1913, p. 10). Most socialists contend that the government, on trans- ferring industry from private to public ownership, should raise as much money as possible from such forms of direct taxation as the inheritance, income, and land values taxes. (Vandervelde, op. cit., pp. 159-60; see also Kautsky, Social Revolution, p. 133.) Kautsky dwells on the difficulty of evading taxation on incomes under a sys- tem where the government has issued bonds to private owners. For other discussions on the subject see Jaurfes, Studies in Socialism, p. 89; Spargo and Arner, op. cit., p. 350. Some socialists also advise among other plans that the government build its own plants, that it purchase stocks in private corporations until it secures the majority of shares, and that it compel the re- versal of utilities to the public as a result of certain penalties and franchise provisions. The adoption by Russia of a policy of whole- sale confiscation has probably inclined many socialists to reconsider this method in other countries. TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM 169 capitalist to proletarian control wUl come as a result of industrial rather than of political action, and argues for the establishment of Soviets, for the suppression of the po- litical forms of the bourgeois state, when the workers ob- tain power, for the dictatorship of the proletariat, and for the confiscation of private capital. The so-called moderate socialists, on the other hand, while encouraging various forms of working class activity — political, economic and cooperative — believe that the workers will be able, through political action, in countries where universal and equal suffrage prevails, to vote themselves into power ; and that, when the control of government is thus obtained, the machinery of political democracy should be preserved and further democratized. In socializing industry, they incline to the belief that com- pensation in some form, rather than confiscation, would be the more expedient method. There is also a certain dif- ference of opinion between the two groups regarding the expediency and ethics of the use of violence, and regard- ing the belief held by many that " the ends justify the means." These differences are bound to be fought out from every angle in the next few years.*'^ 87 There are, of course, numerous gradations of opinion between the two groups just described. In the United States the left wing view is held by the Communist and Communist Labor Parties, formed in September, 1919, and the moderate view to a considerable extent by the Socialist Party. Many members of the Socialist Party, while believing in the effectiveness of parliamentary action, lay greater emphasis on " direct action " as a means to the attainment of a new social order. CHAPTER VI GUILD SOCIALISM AND SYNDICALISM GUILD SOCIALISM Origin of Theory — In the previous chapter we have referred to guild socialism and its relation to the socialist state. The theory of guild socialism has been recently developed in England by a group of writers centering around the English weekly, The New Age. In 1907 A. J. Penty, in The Restoration of the Guild System, first en- deavored to apply to modern social problems something of the spirit of the medieval guild, a cardinal principle of which was that " direct management and control should be in the hands of the producers under a system of regulation in the common interest." '^ The idea was soon developed into a constructive theory of the national guilds, first by A. R. Orage and S. G. Hobson,^ and later by G. D. H. Cole and other writers and speakers of the National Guilds League (formed in 1915).^ Composition of Movement — The theory of the na- 1 Renard, Ovilds in the Middle Ages, p. xii. 2 Orage, National Guilds (1913). 3 A most important contribution on the subject has recently been made by Mr. Cole, in his book. Self Oovernment in Industry (1918). Other literature on the subject is Reckitt and Beehhofer, The Mean- ing of National Guilds (1919); Hobson, Guild Principle in War and Peace (1918) ; Penty, Old Worlds for Ngw (1917) ; Russell, Pro- posed Roads to Freedom, and articles in The New Age, and the literature of the National Guilds League, 17 Acacia Road, St. John's Wood, N.W. 8, London, England. 170 GUILD SOCIALISM 171 tional guildsmen arose in part as a reaction against the bureaucratic collectivism advocated by many groups in English life,* and, in part, as a protest against the inad- equacies of syndicalism, and an endeavor to find a happy medium between bureaucratic collectivist and the syndi- calist philosophy. It also contains numerous other cur- rents of thought. As Reckitt and Bechhofer have ex- pressed it : " We should find the craftsmen's challenge and the blazing democracy of William Morris; the warning of Mr. Belloc against the huge shadow of the servile state and, perhaps, something also of his claim for the individual's control over property; the insistence of Mr. Penty on the evils of indus- trialism and its large scale organization, and his recovery and bequest to us of the significant and unique word ' guild.' We should find something of French syndicalism, with its championship of the producer; something of American indus- trial unionism, with its clear vision of the need for indus- trial organization; and something of Marxian socialism with its unsparing analysis of the wage-system by which capital- ism exalts itself and enslaves the mass of men." ° The Wage System. — Negatively, national guildsmen, as they prefer to call themselves — contend, together with the majority of organized socialists throughout the world, that the main drive against capitalism should not be a drive against poverty, but for the abolition of the wage system. Positively they maintain that the chief aim of the new social order should be the development of person- *The guildsmen have been wont to hurl their shafts of ridicule against the alleged bureaucratic collectivism advocated by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, and other members of the Fabian Society. While their criticisms undoubtedly contained some truth, many of their at- tacks have been decidedly unfair. 5 Reckitt and Bechhofer, op. cit., pp. xiii-xiv. 172 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ality, not mere industrial efficiency, and that the worker should be assured, at least, the following things : " 1. Recognition and payment as a human being, and not merely as the mortal tenement of so much labor power for which any efficient demand exists. " 2. Consequently, payment in employment and in unem- ployment, in sickness and in health alike. " 3. Control of the organization of production in coopera- tion with his fellows. " 4. A claim upon the product of his work, also exercised in cooperation with his fellows." ® National guildsmen also emphasize, as has been stated, something of the ideal of William Morris and other so- cialists, the development of joy in labor, the bringing of beauty and art into the common work of the world. Only through giving the worker an opportunity for self-expres- sion can this ideal be attained. Says Cole again : " Freedom for self-expression, freedom at work as well as at leisure, freedom to serve as well as to en j oy — that is the guiding principle of his [Morris'] life. That, too, is the guiding principle of national guilds. We can only destroy the tyranny of machinery — which is not the same as destroy- ing machinery itself — by giving into the hands of the workers the control of their life and work, by freeing them to choose whether they will make well or ill, whether they will do the work of slaves or of free men." ^ State Ownership and Guild Management Underly- ing much of their concrete proposals are the principles, enunciated in the foregoing chapter,* of organization by 6 Cok, op. cit., p. 156. 7 Ibid., pp. 131-2. 8 See supra, section on " The Nature of the State Under Social- ism," p. 150. GUILD SOCIALISM 173 function and dual sovereignty. Their criticisms of the present system and their ideal of the good life of the fu- ture have led guildsmen specifically to advocate the owner- ship of industry by the state, but the management of in- dustry by democratic groups of hand and brain workers — including all of the producers in industry — organized into local, sectional and national guilds. Organization of Consumers — As has been stated, the guildsmen believe that, in a democratic society, the con- sumers should organize in a geographical association, the state, for the purpose of executing those purposes which affect all citizen-consumers equally and in the same way — such, for instance, as the maintenance of parks, roads, houses, water and other public utilities, education, health, the relations with other states, etc. On the other hand, producers should organize in a group that repre- sents them and which is best fitted to give expression tQ the economic relationship between man and man. Details of Democratic Management It is impossible, the guildsman declares, to picture the exact workings of the g^ild under the ideal order. Mr. Cole, however, sug- gests possible lines of development. He sees the national guild, the supreme council of the producers, composed of a number of works, corresponding roughly to the corpor- ation of today, and each works containing a number of shops. The workers in each shop, he believes, should elect a shop committee to act as a counterpoise, where one is needed, to the authority of the foreman, and to serve as an intelligence bureau and executive of the shop. A works committee also should be chosen, consisting of representa- tives from each shop, elected, perhaps, by direct ballot. There should likewise be a district committee to coordi- nate production in the various works, and to arrange for the supplying of commodities to the municipalities and 174. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION other guilds. Representatives should be elected to this dis- trict committee from each works and from each cr^tft in the district. Finally should come the national guild, made up of representatives from each district and from each craft. Each worker should have the privilege of casting two votes, one from his district and one from his craft. In addition to the national executive, there should be a national delegates' meeting, made up of representatives from each district, and from each craft in that district, which would, to all intents, serve as a final court of appeal. Selection of Officers. — Guildsmen should elect not only committees of management, but also officers. Foremen should be elected directly by the workers in the shops, and heads of clerical departments, by the ballots of all the members of their respective departments. The works man- ager, who deals with production, should be elected by the workers in the manipulative side of the works ; the man- ager of the clerical department, by the clerical workers ; the general manager, by the works committee. Experts should be chosen by the various committees, subject to qualifying examinations. Such examinations should, in fact, play an important role in all elections. Tenure of office for lower officials might be for one year; for higher officials, for a longer period; for experts, at the pleasure of the committee. Sovereignty should reside in the rep- resentative body, or, in the last analysis, in the whole mass of members. In production, the local units should be self-governing. The organization of exchange, however, should be carried on by a national authority in cooperation with the local authorities. The various works would supply their prod- ucts to the district committees, which committees would GUILD SOCIALISM 175 pay the works according to price lists prepared by the na- tional guilds, quality as well as quantity being considered, and would take charge of the task of distribution. Safeguarding the Consumer. — The consumer should be properly safeguarded against extortionate prices. This could be accomplished, if the state were given the power to collect a rent from each guild for government expenses, the rent being apportioned according to ability to pay. If a guild asked a monopoly price, it would thus be charged a higher rent, and " the state would thus receive in revenue what the consumer paid in enhanced prices." As price fixing is a social function, it would probably be left to a joint congress equally representative of the state (or the consumers) and the guilds (or the producers). The state should also have a say in the determination of the amount of commodities to be pro- duced. Contribution of Guildsmen. — Although many of the suggestions of Mr. Cole will probably be modified and do not represent in toto the mature thought of all of the guildsmen, they nevertheless are valuable as giving a con- cept of the kind of system the guildsmen have in mind. The guildsmen's opposition to the wage system and to bureaucratic collectivism, their acceptance of the principle of ownership of industry by a democratic com- munity, their insistence on personality as the goal of social eff'ort, their demand for democratic management, and their belief that the consumers should share in the fixing of prices and the amount of the product are all in line with the teachings of the organized socialist movement here and abroad. Their insistence on organization by function and on the necessity of thinking through the details of democratic 176 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION control are new and welcome notes in the socialist and labor movement.® Socialists and Guildsmen — A number of socialists, to- gether with some of the guildsmen, are not convinced of the correctness of the doctrine of dual sovereignty em- phasized by Cole. With Philip Snowden, some socialists fear that the guildsmen " exalt too highly the importance of mere production by placing it in a position co-equal if not superior to the social organization for the satisfaction ■of the individual's every need." They contend that " pro- duction is not an end in itself. It is merely a means to the satisfaction of man's varied requirements and needs which go to make up the fuUy developed life in a civilized com- munity." They fear to see even under socialism " the minds and efforts of all workmen too much devoted to the organization of production," on the ground that it would lessen the workers' interest in and their leisure for mat- ters of far greater importance. For " it is as a consumer in the widest sense of the word," they claim, that the worker " will realize his individuality and enj oy his free- dom." " Some socialists are as yet unconvinced that the guild organization as worked out is absolutely necessary for se- curing the freedom which will satisfy the legitimate claims of workers, and some prefer joint boards of manage- ment, consisting of representatives both of the community and of the workmen, to exclusive control by the workers. Others, including John A. Hobson, declare that the polit- ical and industrial systems are bound in the future to be far more interwoven than at present, and that it is im- B Some socialists, however, feel that touch of this attempt to pic- ture the working out of the guild system is but a reversal to uto- pianism. 10 Philip Snowden, in " State Socialism and the National Guilds," The Socialist Review (British), April-June, 1919. GUILD SOCIALISM 177 possible to separate them in the manner proposed by guild' socialists. ^^ Other criticisms have to do not with the guildsmen's proposals, but with their pessimism con- cerning the efficacy of political action. On the other hand, in the left wing of the socialist movement may be found those who complain that the guildsmen have not relegated the state to a sufficiently obscure position. Conclusion. — The criticisms, however, are far more in difference of emphasis than in difference of principle, and the vast majority of the organized socialists are grateful to this movement for its vital and importajnt contribu- tions. SYNDICALISM Introductory. — As guild socialism represents a com- promise between the political socialist and the syndicalist ideal, so syndicalism represents a cross between socialism and anarchism. With the philosophic anarchists, syndi- calists beheve in the abolition of the political state.^* They are convinced that the reconstruction of society will take place, not through poHtical means, but through economic means — " direct action," the general strike, and that, under the new order, the ownership and control of industry should be placed in the hands of producers, as opposed to the consumers. Origin of Movement — The syndicahst philosophy had its birth in France, the home of small scale production and of revolutionary upheavals, where it captured the im- agination of the French labor leaders.^ ^ It has gained 11 Hobson, Democracy After the War, pp. 181-2. 12 Anarchists are opposed to every kind of forcible government. Anarchist communism advocates the communal ownership of land and capital, and the management of Industry by free unions. 13 The syndicalist movement in France has had an interesting his- tory. In 1884 a national Federation of Trade Coimclls arose in 178 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION considerable foothold in Italy, and among the Industrial Workers of the World in the United States and the ef- fects of its teaching can be found to a greater or less France, and fell into the hands of the Marxians. The socialists tried to make the federation a mere adjunct to the Socialist Party, and for this reason, and because of the purely local nature of the trade union movement, little prpgress was made. In 1887, to fill the needs of the local units, the Paris Bourse du Travail was formed, as a center of the trade union bodies of the district. The bourse soon became a center of revolutionary activity, and other bourses sprang into existence throughout the country. Six years later these bourses formed a Federation of Bourses du Travail and, the fol- lowing year, absorbed the National Federation of Trade Unions. Fernand Pelloutier, a communist-anarchist, became secretary of the Federation, and, under his guidance, the bourses increased from 34 in 1894 to 96 in 1902. Pelloutier, during these years, worked not only for an increase in membership, but spread his ideal of free association of producers among the members, enthusing them with the syndicalist philosophy. The insistence of syndicalism, as first formulated, on the control of industry by the local groups, on the doctrine of the " conscious minority," and on the abolition of the political state was the inevitable result of the formation of syndical- ism under the foregoing circumstances. In 1895 the new General Confederation of Labor was organized in France, and seven years later, this organization fused with the bourses. At first, the bourses exerted an overwhelming influence on the policy of the confederation. Owing to the fact, however, that the municipalities gradually discontinued their subsidies from the bourses, these local units soon began to decline in numbers and in- fluence. The national organizations became proportionally more potent. As a result of this new development, syndicalists are urging that, under their proposed system, ownership be not vested entirely in local bourses, as they formerly urged, but, partly at least, in national trade unions or federations. Few, however, have reexamined their position in terms of modern developments, and syndicalism " is, at the present time, even for France, something of a back num- ber." (See Cole, Self Oovermnent in Industry, p. 319.) The Indus- trial Workers of the World in the United States, however, have worked out a plan more along national lines, with its various de- partments of agriculture, mining, transportation, etc. (See Pre- amble and Constitution of the I. W. W.) It is interesting to note that the French General Confederation of Labor, in 1918, decided to give up their policy of aloofness from political organizations, and for a while cooperated extensively with the socialist movement. SYNDICALISM 179 extent in the socialist movements of every country. The name is derived from syndicat, the French name for trade union. Briefly the syndicalist philosophy is as follows : ^* The Class Struggle — The fundamental idea of syn- dicalism is the class struggle, an idea also fundamental in the socialist philosophy. Modern industrial society is divided into two classes -^— the owners and workers. Be- tween these classes, there is a constamt struggle. This ■struggle gradually develops a feeling of class solidarity and strengthens the moral fiber of the workers. The syn- dicat, an association of workmen of the same or similar trades, is the best organization to aid in this development. Political parties have such a heterogeneous composition, consisting as they do of men and women from all strata of society — and this is true even of the Socialist Party — that they tend to blur the struggle, and merge all classes into one. In the syndicat, the workingmen forget the things that divide them and are made to feel their solid- arity with each other as well as the fundamental conflict between them and the employing class. They develop a self-imposed discipline, an ability to organize and a knowledge of the problems of the day. Industrial syndi- cats are preferable to craft unions, as the former develop a class, rather than a corporate solidarity. Direct Action. — The syndicats are also the instru- ments with which the workingmen can enter into a direct struggle with employers. " Direct " action consists of the strike, the boycott, the label, and sabotage. The strike is the most eff^ective method of waging the class struggle. All strikes have revolutionary significance. Strikes, how- i*The best book on the subject is Dr. Louis Levine's Syndicalism in France. The following analysis is largely a summary of Dr. Levine's exposition. 180 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ever, in which the workers rely on their treasury are likely to degenerate into mere struggles of strength between " two money bags," that of the employer and that of the syndicat. For the purpose of developing class solidarity, it is better to ignore financial considerations and to secure money in support of strikes from workers in other trades and localities. Sympathetic strikes are often of value. Strikes have a valuable educational effect, outside of the immediate gains in hours and wages, for they demonstrate the power and importance of the workers in their capacity as producers. The use of the label and boycott show as well the workers' power as consumers. Sabotage. — Sabotage-is also a weapon relied on by syn- dicalists. Sabotage is used to cover many acts. It may consist in " giving an unfair day's work for an unfair day's pay," in " loafing on the job," in becoming " a conscien- tious objector to efficiency," as a retaliation for injustice inflicted by employers. This form is summarized in the Scotch expression, Ca Canny, and in the French, a mau,- •vais paye mauzmis travail. Sabotage at times consists in obeying all of the rules and regulations of the industry, without applying discretion. Sometimes it takes a more active form to the detriment of the service or commodity, when, for instance, baggage or perishable goods are mis- directed by railroad hands. At still other times it may consist in the temporary " chloroforming " or disabling of machines, such as in removal of screws, etc., for the pur- pose of preventing employers from carrying on production with the use of strikebreakers. " The syndicalists strongly condemn any act of sabotage which may result in the loss of life." The War Against the State — The war of the syndi- calists is directed not only against the capitalist class as such, but also against the state, which they regard as the SYNDICALISM 181 political organization of the capitalist class, used — whether monarchical or republican in form — to protect property against the demands of the workers. In their fight for freedom, therefore, the workers must seek to abolish the state. Struggle Against the State — This struggle against the state must also be carried on by " direct " methods. The syndicats must not engage in parliamentary or polit- ical campaign activities, for parliamentary activities are opposed to the principles of " direct action.'' The work- ers can derive no benefit therefrom. The parliamentary system breeds petty, self-seeking politicians, corrupts the better elements that enter into it and is a source of in- trigues and " wire-pulling." The so-called representatives of the workingmen do not and can not avoid the contag- ious influence of parliament. Their policy degenerates into bargaining, compromising and collaboration with the bourgeois political parties and weakens the class-struggle. The syndicats, therefore, if not hostile, must remain at least indifferent to parliamentary methods and indepen- dent of political parties. -"^^ This fact, however, does not exclude the unions from exerting pressure on political institutions. Pressure should be exerted, but directly, through mass meetings, manifestoes, the press, demonstrations and the like. Ac- tual social reforms secured through these means are the only reforms worth having from the standpoint of the working class. AU others are dead letters. Labor laws pushed through wholly as a result of the efforts of the democratic legislators, such as laws relating to arbitration and conciliation, are devised to weaken the revolutionary fervor and strength of the workers. For they suggest an IB Levine, SyndicaUam in Fromce, p. 130. 182 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION unreality, namely, class harmony, and blind the workers to the real antagonisms. Patriotism. — Syndicalists, prior to the war, also claimed that " patriotism " was used by the state for the purpose of blurring the lines of the class struggle. " The workingman's country," they maintained, " is where he finds work. In search of work he leaves his native land and wanders from place to place. He has no fatherland (patrie) in any real meaning of the term. Ties of tradition, of a common intellectual and moral heritage do not exist for him. In his experience as workingman he finds that there is but one real tie of economic interest which binds him to all the workingmen of the world, and separates him at the same time from all the capitalists of the world." ^° The state uses not only ideological forces in suppress- ing the revolutionary spirit of the workers, but also ma- terial forces. These include the judiciary, administrative machinery, and, particularly, the army. The last named is effective in crushing strikes, in robbing the workers of their feelings of independence, and in promoting militar- ism. It is the duty of the syndicalists to fight militarism, especially in the army. Here the soldiers should be shown their class interests and be made to realize that, after they leave the ranks, they themselves wUl be a part of the work- ing class. Prior to the decisive battle ■ — the general strike — the workers, through " direct action," will be able to wrest certain reforms from the employers and the state. These reforms wiU not satisfy them, inasmuch as they will not fundamentally change the conditions of the wage-system, but will strengthen labor's hands, and place the workers in a better position for the final conflict. This conflict is IB Ibid., p. 131. SYNDICALISM 183 not coining as a bolt from heaven. It will come as a re- sult of years of careful preparation. The Militant Minority — This preparation will be the result of the agitation of a conscious, militant, intelligent minority, ardently devoted to the interests of their class, rather than of a majority of workers. In parliament, the minority who rule have a vitiating effect on society, because they desire to maintain their mastery over the masses, and to do this they must keep the masses submis- sive. The conscious minority in the syndicalist movement, however, are the vanguard of the working-class, the van- guard of progress. Their success depends on their back- ing by the mass of workers, and that support wiU only come if those workers develop in energy and alertness. The idea of the " conscious minority " is opposed to ma- jority rule, but majority rule in politics, operating through universal suffrage, " is a clumsy, mechanical de- vice, which brings together a number of disconnected units and makes them act without proper understanding of the things they are about." The syndicat, which is leading the struggle for the emancipation of the workers, is organized by the able, aggressive minority. It may never include the majority of workers. As, by the sacrifices of its members, it ob- tains better conditions for the workers as a whole and embodies their highest ideals, it has the right to assume labor's leadership. It is this militant minority group that is preparing the way for the general strike and for the new and free society. The Syndicalist Ideal. — The political state, as we know it, will be abolished. Industry will be owned collectively by the industrial organizations. The cell of the syndi- calist society will be the local trade union or syndicat. The producers of the same trade, joined in this syndicat, IM SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION will control their means of production. No syndicat wiU be the exclusive owner of any portion of the collective property, but merely a user of it, with the consent of society as a whole. The syndicat will connect itself with the rest of society through three main associations — (1) the national federa- tion of that particular trade, (2) the bourse dti> travail, the central union of a locality, which will federate the syndicat of several trades, and (3) the general federa- tion, the national grouping of all syndicats. The least important of the three groups will be the national federa- tion of a particular trade, and the relations between the syndicat and its national body wUl be merely technical. The relation of the syndicat to the general federation will be chiefly indirect, the local bourse du travail being the mediator. The most important of the relationships, will, of course, be that between the syndicat and the bourse du travail. The bourse du travail will take charge of all local inter- ests and serve as a connecting link between a locality and the rest of the world. It will collect necessary economic statistical data ; arrange for the proper distribution of products ; facilitate the exchange of products between lo- cality and locality and provide for the introduction of raw materials from outside. " In a word, the bourse will com- bine in its organization the character both of local and industrial autonomy. It will destroy the centralized po- litical system of the present state and wHl counterbalance the centralizing tendencies of industry." ^^ Only services of national importance will be left to the general federation, and even here its managerial power will be but secondary, that of the bourses and national federa- iT Ibid., p. 135. SYNDICALISM 185 tions being of primary importance. The general federa- tion will act as the representative of the people in inter- national relations ; will give needed information to the various industrial units, and will have general powers of supervision. The state, which imposes arbitrary and oppressive rules from without, will be sloughed off. The bourses wUl per- form any needed local administration. Syndicalists have done comparatively little speculating concerning the future state, as they are convinced that workingmen will find in themselves suiBcient creative power, ■when the time comes, to remake society.-^^ Socialists vs. Syndicalists — Sociahsts have acknowl- edged the vitalizing influence of the syndicalist movement, and its value in pointing out the dangers of bureaucratic ■control of industry and opportunistic parliamentarianism. The syndicalist philosophy of industrial, as opposed to political action, and of producers', as opposed to com- munity ownership and control of industry, has been ac- cepted in part by the left wing of the socialist movement. On the other hand, syndicalism has been vigorously crit- icized by the less extreme socialists on the ground that, in ignoring politics, it is failing to utilize an important weapon for social progress, and in preaching control by a minority of the popiilation, even though by a minority of the advanced proletariat, it is striking a blow at the 18 Among the important books on this subject may be found Dr. Louis Levine's Syndicalism in Prance (1913); Brissenden, The I. W. W. — A Study of American Syndicalism (1919); Brooks, American Syndicalism (1913) ; Cole, Self -Government in Industry, Appendix A (1918); Scott, Syndicalism and Philosophic Realism (1919); John Spargo, Syndicalism, Socialism and Industrial Unionism (1913) ; J. Ramsay Macdonald, Syndicalism (1913) ; G. Sorel, Reflexions sur la violence (1910) ; Warner Sombart, Socialism and the Social Move- ment (1909); Andre Tridon, The New Unionism (1913); Russell, Proposed Roads to Freedom, Ch. Ill (1919). 186 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION socialist conception of true democracy. Many socialists also deprecate the use of certain forms of sabotage as in- jurious to the morale of the workers. Furthermore, syndicalism would eliminate the state, which has many legitimate social functions to perform as the representative of the consumers. Syndicalism would also concentrate in the hands of producers all economic power, and would give a dangerous weapon to the workers in strategic industries. CHAPTER VII TENDENCIES TOWARD SOCIALISM Many movements and institutions are observable to- day which, consciously or unconsciously, are preparing the economic soil for socialism, for the more complete and democratic control by the community of their own indus- trial life. THE CORPORATION In the business world, the development toward the corporation has been considered by many " as the first step toward socialism." The reasons for this contention are, in part, as follows : Lessons from Corporations. — The corporation tends to eliminate competition between industrial concerns by providing for the pooling of large numbers of small cap- itals — which might otherwise be used in competing in- dustries. This cooperation, although for private gain, provides a practical demonstration of the economic sav- ings possible under a more advanced cooperative system and renders the transition from private to public owner- ship an easier process than would otherwise be the case.^ The corporation proves the socialist contention that it is possible, through improved methods of accounting and administration, to conduct business on a national scale. It develops a type of administrator who has little or no stake in the profits of the concern, but who depends for 1 Steinmetz, America and the New Epoch, p. 166. 187 188 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION his incentive primarily on his salary. It dissociates -the owner from any necessary function in industry outside of that of investing, occasionally attending stockholders' meetings, and clipping dividends. These functions can be easily absorbed by the community and the private cap- italist can thus be eliminated without any loss to society. Finally, by massing huge bodies of workers under one roof, by concentrating industrial control into a few hands, by fostering, in many instances, monopoly prices and corrupt political practices, the corporation arouses a spirit of solidarity among producers and consumers, and an increasing demand for collective as opposed to private ownership of essential industries.^ SOCIAL REFORMS Extent of Labor Legislation — The general enactment of social reform legislation is regarded by many socialists as a further tendency toward a socialist society. During the last generation, hundreds of labor laws have been placed on the statute books in every industrial nation — laws for the prohibition of child labor, for a minimum wage, for reasonable hours of employment, for social in- surance against accident, sickness, old age and unemploy- ment and for better working conditions generally. The community has interfered with the accumulation of un- limited profits through the taxation of incomes, inheri- tances and excess-profits. It has extensively regulated private industry through factory and housing legislation, through weights and measures and adulteration laws, through laws for the evaluation of property, for the fixing of prices on certain commodities and services and for the keeping of standard accounts, etc.^ Most of these laws 2 See also Kirkup, Inqviry Into Socialism, pp. 190-2. 3 In dealing with the extent of governmental regulation prior to SOCIAL REFORMS 189 — to the extent that they are enforced — ' limit the private capitalist in the management of his business, and give to the state an ever increasing control over the actual con- duct of industry. Criticism of Reforms — It is true that some social- ists believe that these social reform measures as a whole have more of a tendency to retard than to advance the cause of socialism. These socialists maintain that, to the extent that these measures actually ■ameliorate the condi- tions of the working class, they assuage the discontent of the workers, and make the proletariat less militant in their opposition to capitalism. Conditions must grow worse before they grow better. Only when the working class sees the utter impossibility of living under the pres- » ent system will it voice an effective demand for another social order. It is of course a fact that many non-socialist reform- ers take the same point of view, and advocate social leg- islation as a means of averting the revolution. Some enlightened capitalists have also urged measures of social reform in order to obtain a more efficient group of work- ers, while autocratic countries have adopted these mea- sures for the purpose of developing a more loyal working class and a more effective army. It' is undoubtedly true that certain social reforms do lessen discontent with the present system. If inaugurated the war over the railroads of the country, Professor W. H. Hamilton declared : "We have created a system of regulations which involves supervising accounts, evaluating property, fixing rates, and standard- izing property; which threatens supervision of expenditures and in- vestment; and which tends to limit the railroad to a definite guaran- teed return on its investment. Control is very rapidly passing into the hands of the state. The step to the formal assumption of man- agement is hut a short one." (Hamilton, Current Economic Prob- lems, p. 345.) See also Parmalee, Poverty and Progress, Pt. Ill, and Commons and Andrews, Principles of Labor Legislation. 190 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION and enforced by the middle or capitalist class without the effective urge of the workers, they have a tendency to induce the workers to depend on others, not on their own solidarity, for improved conditions. Certain reforms which make the workers more secure in the enjoyment of special privileges, as does much of our agrarian legisla- tion, develop a group of small proprietors opposed to revolutionary change. And, social reforms, if the govern- ment is in the hands of an oligarchy, may actually be used in behalf of aggressive nationalism. Advantages of Reforms. — A majority of socialists, however, believe that, on the whole, social reforms bring the goal of socialism nearer. For these measures have a tend- ency to undermine the power of the capitalist; to whet society's appetite for further and more effective control f over their industrial life; to give to the public servants valuable experience in the control of industrial functions, and to strengthen the working class physically and intel- lectually, so that they may become ever more powerful in their fight for emancipation.* THE VOLUNTARY COOPEEATIVE MOVEMENT Origin of Cooperation — Voluntary cooperation con- stitutes another undermining influence on the competitive system. In 1843, in Toad Lane, Rochdale, England, a small band of weavers combined their savings and opened a cooperative store, controlled by working class consum- ers. The conduct of the store differed from that of pri- vate ventures by virtue of the fact that every member who paid his initial fee possessed one vote in the deter- mination of the policies of the store and one vote only, and that members secured returns in proportion to the amount *See Hillquit, Socialism in Theory and Practice, Pt 11; Ghent, Socialism and Success, Ch. II, COOPERATION 191 of purchases made. The store was thus an experiment in the running of industry for service, not for profit, and in the democratic management of industry by the con- sumer. The movement steadily grew, and by 1916 the one store had evolved in the United Kingdom into 1,362 dis- tributive societies ; the number of members, from 18 to 3,520,227 ; the share and loan capital, from some £30 to £53,323,352 ; the business, from a few pounds a week, to £121,628,550 a year ; the net profit, a large part of which was returned to the purchasing members, from a negligible quantity to £16,335,079, and the number of em- ployees, from two volunteer workers to 115,651.^ From Retail to Wholesale — The cooperatives also went into the wholesale business, into manufacturing, into farming, into insurance and into the banking business. By 1910, the cooperatives had developed into one of the largest buyers of produce from England on the New York Produce Exchange, and the largest shipper of butter from Ireland; they possessed forty to fifty fac- tories, including the largest shoe factory of Great Britain ; they were the most extensive flour millers in Great Britain, and owned 30,000 acres of farm land in England and 10,- 000 acres of Canadian wheat land. They possessed tea estates in India and Ceylon of nearly 18,000 acres and large concessions in West Africa; their banking depart- ment had deposits and withdrawals of more than a billion I dollars a year; they had their agents in dozens of coun- tries and were spending annually tens of thousands of dol- lars for educational purposes, were growing several times as fast as the British population, and were proving such a thorn in the flesh of the British merchant class that, at 5 TAe Labor Year Book, 1919, p. 332. 192 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION a recent convention in Glasgow, the cooperatives were de- scribed as " the devil let loose upon trade." ^ On the Continent. — The cooperative movement has also taken root in continental Europe, in Belgium, Ger- many, Russia, France, Italy, Denmark and practically every other industrialized country, and, in 1914, it was estimated that there were twenty-four wholesale societies scattered aU over Europe, five of which had an annual busi- ness of over $40,000,000. In fact, in 1914, since which time the cooperatives in many countries, despite enormous difficulties, have in- creased steadily in business and influence, the status of the European cooperative movement Wias estimated to be as follows : DISTRIBUTIVE SOCIETIES 1914 Number Number of of Cooperators Land Number Members In Each Sales in of by Thou- Thousand Millions Societies sands Inhabitants of Francs British Isles 1,385 3,054 264 2,200 Germany 2,375 3,000? 121 700? Russia 13,000 1,500 34 800 France 3,261 881 90 321 Austria 1,471 50O? 70 180? Italy 2,283 450? 51 170? Switzerland 396 276 290 144 Denmark 1,560 250 350 ISO Hungary 1,750 200? 40 80? Belgium 205 170 90 48 Sweden 608 153 108 61 Holland 135 108 72 26 Finland 512 100 120 63 Poland 950 96 33 42 Spain 200 40 30 16? Norway 172 39 42 23 Professor Gide asserts that " if to the table be added the 8 See Laidler, British Cooperative Movement. COOPERATION 193 societies in the Balkan States, Portugal, the United States, Canada, Japan, the Cape, India and the West Indies, there would be thirty thousand more societies and ten million members, each representing a family, and with sales of five milliards of francs. This means that a population of from forty to fifty millions of people are actively inter- ested in distributive cooperation. Furthermore, in prac- tically every country there has been a remarkable increase in cooperative sales since the beginning of the war.'^ Nor does this table include the innumerable building and loan, agricultural, credit and productive cooperative so- cieties. It must be remembered that there are more than 10,000 building and loan cooperatives in the United States alone ; at least twenty-thousand agricultural coopera- tives in the world and 50,000 to 60,000 credit " coops." Recently also the movement has made remarkable strides in the United States, particularly among the Illinois min- ers, the organized workers in Seattle and around Pitts- burgh, the Finns of New England and the Middle West, and other groups.* Contribution of Movement. — Many socialists contend that little can be expected of the voluntary cooperative movement as a means of advancing the cause of industrial democracy. The movement, they claim, absorbs the ener- gies of thousands who would otherwise be engaged in more fundamental propaganda, and creates among the workers a " petit bourgeoise " psychology, while it gives to the majority of its members no further conception of the value of workers' control of industry than they obtain from the receipt of the " dividends " or return-savings at the end of the quarter. 7 Harris, Cooperation the Hope of the Conswmer, p. 250. 8 See Perky, Cooperation in the United States, and literature of the Cooperative League of America, 2 W. 13th St., N. Y. City. 194. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The majority of organized socialists in Europe, how- ever, have consistently supported the cooperative move- ment. They admit many of its shortcomings. They nevertheless believe that the cooperatives provide an excel- lent training school for industrial management; that, by eliminating the profits of the middleman, they increase the physical well-being of thousands of workers and make them more capable of effective work in behalf of a more complete industrial democracy ; that they afford food and financial support to labor during strikes and periods of unemploy- ment, and provide valuable educational facilities for the working class. The cooperatives, furthermore, furnish a practical illus- tration of the economic superiority of cooperation over competition. They give an additional proof that other in- centives besides the profit incentive can be depended on to induce administrative officers to do their best work. These proofs of the correctness of many of the socialists' conten- tions, as well as the physical and intellectual advantages which accrue to the working class through the cooperative movement, are thus distinct aids to the intellectual and manual workers in their march toward a more complete economic democracy.® » Both the Socialist Party and the Communist Party of the United States indorsed the cooperative movement in their conventions of Sep- tember, 1919. For further information on this subject see Harris, Cooperation the Hope of the Consitmer (1918) ; the Supplement to The New Statesman, for May 30, 1914, on The Cooperative Movement, prepared by the Committee of the Fabian Research Department on the Control of Industry; The History of Cooperation by George Jacob Holyoke (1907); and pamphlets published by the Cooperative League of America, 9 West 13th Street, New York City, and by the Inter- national Cooperative Alliance, 14 Great Smith Street, Westminster, London, S. W., England. PUBLIC OWNERSHIP 195 PTJBLIC OWNERSHIP Extent of Ownership. — A further development away from individualism has been the world-wide trend toward government ownership of public utilities and other indus- tries and services. This process has been evidenced chiefly in the realm of communication, transportation and educa- tion and, to a lesser extent, in the domain of natural re- sources, finance, commerce and manufacture." The industry of communication and transportation, the largest of all businesses, " is steadily and increasingly, throughout the civilized world, passing into one or other form of government organization." ^^ The delivery of mail is now a public service in practically every civilized country. The telephone and telegraph services are largely under public control. In 1914 one-fifth of the cable-mileage of the world was publicly managed. In that year, " out of nearly seventy governments, large or small, having railways at all," according to the Fabian Depart- ment, there were fifty in which government administration prevailed either wholly or with small exceptions. Great progress toward municipal ownership has been evidenced in the case of the municipal tramway systems. Nxmierous shipping lines are now run by European governments. In the realm of natural resources, the larger part of the forests of civilized countries are under government con- trol. Many governments own vast mineral resources. Water-falls are steadily coming under public supervision 10 A state of society in which large numbers of fundamental indus- tries are owned by the government, but in which a small class dominates the government has been variously referred to as " state capitalism " or " state socialism." 11 Fabian Research Department on the Control of Industry, State and Municipal Enterprise, Supplement to the New Statesman, pp. 12-13. 196 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION in most of the European countries. In the domain of fi- nance, through the postal savings banks and other public agencies, governmental banking is invading the field to such an extent that the postmaster general in each of the lead- ing countries is now considered the largest banker in his respective community. The advance in governmental in- surance has of late been particularly marked. Govern- ments have also*undertaken regular commercial enterprises more extensively than is generally realized. " We have on a larger or smaller scale," declared the Fa- bian Research Department, " government mines and quarries and brickworks; government iron and steel and tin and cop- per works; government tanneries and saw mills and leather and wood works ; government flour mills and bakeries and slaughter houses and distilleries and breweries; government clothing factories and saddlery and bootmaking estabhsh- ments; government furniture factories and scientific instru- ment workshops, and the manufacture, in one place or an- other, of every conceivable commodity, directly under the control, and for the use of, the consumer himself." ^^ Education and Health. — If we consider those services which directly affect the mind and body of the citizen of the country, we find a similar development. " Nearly the whole industry [of education] has, within a century, passed from being, for the most part, a profit -making ven- ture of individualist capitalist school-masters, into a serv- ice almost entirely conducted not for profit but for use." In the realm of recreation, art, and literature, we find an astounding development of public parks, zoological gardens, gymnasiums, golf links, libraries, art galleries, reading and lecture rooms, theaters, opera houses, dance halls, tourists' bureaus, watering places, and other recrea- tional and educational agencies. Many governments have 12 Ibid., p. 11. PUBLIC OWNERSHIP 197 also become quite the largest publishers of books and other educational matter. So extensively have many public bodies engaged in the fight against disease that " a ma- jority of all of the medical practitioners have been brought into governmental pay in one form or another." There has of late been a marked increase in public housing and lighting schemes. During the war public control and ownership increased to a remarkable extent. It is as yet impossible to judge how much of this collectivism will re- main public, how much will return to private hands. In estimating, prior to the war, the future developments of this trend, the Fabian Department again maintained : " Even if no more were accomplished within the next thirty years than in bringing under the public administra- tion^ in all the countries of the civilized world, those indus- tries and services which are today already governmentally administered in one or other of the countries, the aggregate volume of state and municipal capital and employment would be increased probably five or six fold. . . . Such an increase, without adding a single fresh industry or service to those al- ready successfully nationalized or municipalized in one coun- try or another, would probably bring into the direct employ- ment of the national or local government an actual majority of the adult population; and along with the parallel expan- sion of the cooperative or voluntary association of consum- ers in their own sphere, would mean that probably three- fourths of all the world's industrial capital would be under collective or non-capitalistic administration, whilst three- fourths of all the households might be enjoying the perma- nence, the social dignity, the security and the incomes deliber- ately adjusted to the cost of living that mark the best ex- ample of state employment." ^' Developments in Russia and other countries under pro- 13 Fabian Research Department, op. cit., p. 32. 198 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION letarian control and war-collectivism in non-socialist coun- tries have greatly augmented these tendencies.^* Limitations of Government Ownership. — Government ownership as we see it today in capitalist countries must not be confused with the public ownership and democratic management which is the ideal of the socialist movement. It has, from the standpoint of a socialist, a number of vital defects and contains a number of dangers, which, if un- checked, might seriously retard the democratic movement. At times it has given to a small ruling government class a dangerous power of coercion over large numbers of public employees. It has ensured to a bureaucracy a revenue for governmental purposes which has made governments more or less independent of legislative appropriations. Certain government industries have served, not as a means of giving better or cheaper services to the community, but of securing a profit to be used in governmental expendi- tures, to the end that the rates of taxation on the well- to-do might be reduced. The purpose of nationalizing other industries was clearly to secure for stockholders re- ceiving uncertain dividends from private concerns a regu- lar, though moderate, income from government bonds. Little democratic management has been in evidence in most of the government industries. Workers have been treated too much as automata. In but few cases has the political machinery of government been adjusted ade- quately to the new industrial functions that the govern- ment is constantly assuming. 1* For an analysis of this tendency toward " state socialism " or " state capitalism," see Davies, The Collectivist State in the Making; Walling and Laidler, State Socialism — Pro and Con; Laidler, Pub- lic Ownership Throughout the World, etc. The manner in which governments have taken charge of industries during the war is de- scribed in Gray, War Time Control of Industry, and Laidler, Public Ownership. PUBLIC OWNERSHIP 199 If a nation enters into war for the aggrandizement of a ruling class, the control of government industries at times renders that ruling class more effective in their plans of ■aggressive nationalism. When, therefore, the government is in the hands of a small ruling group, and the working class has little power industrially or politically, govern- ment ownership is by no means, an unmixed blessing to the mass of workers. It is for that reason that socialists have contended that the first step should be control of the gov- ernment by the producing class ; the second step, the so- cialization of industry.-'^ A Step Toward Industrial Democracy. — On the other hand, government ownership, particularly where the workers — though not in control — constitute a strong and well organized minority, prepares the soil in certain ways for a more democratic collectivism. It gives to pub- lic servants a training in the control of industrial life that makes them ever more capable of managing further enter- prises. It demonstrates how the waste of competition may be eliminated. It frequently provides better services to the consumer. " Taking all things into account," main- tains the Fabian group, " the government products are more certainly reliable in quality, more certainly continu- ous in supply, and, on the whole, . . . more economical in cost and cheaper in price than those supplied by capital- ism ; whilst the gain in being sure that there will be neither adulteration nor short weight, neither cheating nor taking advantage of the necessities of the more ignorant or weaker buyers, or of periods of scarcity, is, in some departments, beyond all computation." ^* 15 See Vandervelde, Socialism vs. the State, Pt. II ; see particu- larly p. 308; for the dangers of state socialism see also Angell, The British Revolution and the American Democracy, Pt. Ill, Ch. I; Hillquit, Socialism in Theory and Practice, pp. 284-8. 16 Fabian Research Department, State and Municipal Enterprise, p. 31, 200 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION It indicates, as does voluntary cooperation, that in- dustry may be run without the profit motive. It assists the cause of democracy by taking away from the govern- ment the corrupting and autocratic pressure of big busi- ness ; by decreasing the high salaries found in private con- cerns, and raising, to some extent, the standards of the ordinary worker ; by giving the mass of people an addi- tional incentive to fight for the control of the government machinery, and by augmenting the importance of the in- dustrial as against the coercive political functions of gov- ernment. To the extent that capital is nationalized, to that ex- tent is the government relieved from the pressure brought to bear under private ownership to safeguard private in- vestments in undeveloped countries even at the point of the sword. For the mass of clerical workers and the skilled workers, government ownership has generally meant greater secur- ity of employment, a higher standard of wages and fewer hours of work than in private industry, and it is thus pos- sible for them to concentrate on the more fundamental struggle for democratic management. ^^ For the unskilled worker, while there has been a slight tendency, in the few years prior to the war, to give to him more economic se- curity, this tendency has not been marked. Centralization Not a Necessary Accompaniment. — Nor has this trend toward public ownership meant the concentration of industry in the hands of the nation as opposed to the local municipal bodies. " On the contrary, there is in practice, by the rapid growth of autonomous municipal enterprises, in every country a vast multiplication of separate employers, in contrast with the 17 Cole, Self-Government in Industry, p. 309. THE LABOR UNION 201 rapidly growing supremacy in capitalist enterprise of the colossal national trust or combine; . . . there is every reason to infer that^ in comparison with joint-stock capitalism, gov- ernment management of industry means, ultimately, in this way, a larger number of independent employers and an in- crease in local control." ^* It gradually produces within certain spheres of the in- dustrial life a new ethics of " each for all and all for each," for the ethics, " each for himself and the devil take the hind-most." And, finally, when the workers obtain control of gov- ernment, they find their task half performed. National- ization has already taken place. The one task remaining is that of so transforming the machinery of government that it may be used for democratic and international ends and subserve the interests of the entire community. THE LABOR UNION Extent of Trade Unionism — Of marked significance in the progress toward industrial democracy is the organiza- tion of labor on the economic field. Such organization has taken place in every country where the capitalist system of production has taken root. In the United States, in 1910, 6.5 per cent, of those gainfully employed in indus- try, 7.7 per cent, of those included in the wage-earning population, and 18.4 per cent, of the army of producers who may be regarded as the potential trade union member- ship, had organized in the trade union movement.^® In the advanced European countries, a much larger number of workers had joined labor unions, and immedi- 18 Fabian Research Department, op. cit., p. 32. M See article by Dr. Leo Wolman, American Labor Yewr, Book, 1916-17, pp. S4-69. 202 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ately prior to the war, the trade union membership of the important countries was estimated as follows : TRADE UNION MEMBERSHIP, 1914 Austria 748,760 New Zealand 71,544 Belgium 202,746 Norway 64,108 Denmark 152,787 Sweden 97,252 France 1,026,302 Switzerland (1912) 131,380 German Empire 3,835,660 United Kingdom 20 3,928,191 Hungary 97,000 United States 2,604,701 Italy (1912) 971,667 Other countries (1912) 237,165 Netherlands 220,375 Total 14,389,538 Criticism of Organized Labor It is true that many of the labor unions as organized today are not consciously directed toward the attainment of a cooperative system; on the contrary that they are used, in many instances, as a retarding force against revolutionary change. Many trade unions develop a craft, rather than a class conscious- ness. They accentuate differences between skilled and un- skilled workers, between native born and foreign workers, and between workers of different races. They are at times used to advance the cause of selfish nationalism. They concentrate their attention too exclusively on immediate improvements in wages and hours, and give little atten- tion to the larger social goal. By high initiation fees and other conditions, they frequently exclude from their mem- bership those who need their aid the most. They are often led by time-servers and job-hunters. Toward Socialism — However, they have proved on the whole a great force in the direction of a more democratic economic system. They have reduced the number of working hours, increased wages, improved shop conditions, made shop management more democratic, and, in many in- 20 In 1916, the trade union membership in Great Britain was esti- mated at 4,399,696. The membership in the American Federation of Labor alone was reported at its June, 1919, convention to be 3,260,068. THE LABOR UNION 203 stances, obtained for the workers a larger share in the total product. These gains have whetted the appetite of the workers for still better conditions and a higher status. Unions have developed among the workers a spirit of solidarity. This spirit often extends merely to the limits of the craft. However, the development of alliances be- tween the craft unions, the growth of the industrial union idea, the break-up of the old time trades, the increase in the ranks of the unskilled and the ever present challenge of the huge corporation are constantly broadening and strengthening this spirit of working class solidarity, and developing among the producers an increasing demand for a socialist order of society. Through labor organizations the workers are also gain- ing a valuable training in industrial citizenship and in the control of workshop conditions. In the eyes of many so- cialists these groupings on the economic field are destined to play a leading part in the overthrow of capitalism, and in the control of industry after the new system is in- augurated. On the whole, therefore, the labo'r unions, by improving labor conditions, by developing a spirit of solidarity, by training the workers in the larger citizenship, and by lay- ing the foundation for democratic control, are making a genuine contribution to the socialist advance.^^ 21 See Kellogg and Gleason, British Labor and the War; Cole, The World of Labor, Self-Oovernment in Industry, Ch. V; Hillquit, Socialism in Theory arCd Practice, pp. 236-42 j Lloyd, Trade Umoii- ism; Webb, The History of Trade Unionism; Groat, Organized Labor in America; Marot, American Labor Unions; Commons and associates, History of Labor in the United States; Brissenden, The I. W. W.; Fraina, Revolutionary Socialism, Ch. XI; Tridon, The New Unionism^ etc. See also discussion under "Syndicalism." 204 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION DEMOCBATIC MANAGEMENT Socialists have ever coupled with their demand for col- lective ownership, as has been indicated, a demand for the democratic management of industry. This demand was for years scoifed at as utopian by the business world. Prior to the war the trade union movement had gradually extended its control over shop conditions in numerous in- dustries, as is indicated in the extensive agreements made periodically with the employer in the printing, the rail- road, the garment industries (under the protocol) ^^ and in other lines. Noteworthy also were the beginnings of democratic control in a section of the public printing in- dustry in France,^ in the cooperative movement in Ger- many,^* in some of the municipal industries in England, and in such private businesses as the Filene Department stores in the United States. Advance Since 1914 — Since August, 1914, the ad- vance in that direction has been marked. The war con- centrated great power in the hands of state officials. The possession of this power led to its abuse, a;nd this abuse in turn to an even greater demand by the workers for a share in the control of shop conditions. These demands the government and the private employers were compelled in part to heed, partly on account of the labor shortage, and partly because of the prime need for sustained and efficient workmanship. Scores of proposals for some measure of workers' control soon followed. In England, 22 Cohen, Law and Order in Industry. 23 Fabian Research Department, State and Municipal Enterprise, pp. 94-5. 2* Fabian Research Department, The Cooperative Movement, pp. 11, 32, 38-30. DEMOCRATIC MANAGEMENT 205 the most famous of these are the Whitley Report — which has been adopted by the government, and is now being followed in many of the industries — the proposals of the Garton Foundation, of the manufacturer Renold, of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, of the British miners, of the national guildsmen and of numerous shop steward committees. In the United States there have developed the " Plumb " plan for the management of the railroads, endorsed by the railroad workers, the proposal of the miners, the agreements of the National War Labor Board and of the various other labor adjustment boards in the United States, and the more paternalistic plans of the International Harvester Company and other corporations. And in other countries this movement for an entirely new status for the worker is growing apace. While some of these plans have as their object the prevention of revolu- tionary change, and the increase of the efficiency of the workers, many of them are frankly but the beginnings of a complete democratic control, and their adoption is bound to have an educational and moral value of great im- portance to the whole movement toward a more complete industrial democracy.^ ^ Other Tendencies. — In addition to these movements and institutions — the corporation, social reform legisla- tion, voluntary cooperation, public ownership, labor union- ism and tjie movement toward democratic management — there are the political socialist movement, which is de- scribed elsewhere in this book, and the less tangible, but none the less important, intellectual, assthetic and ethical 25 See Kellogg and Gleason, British Labor and the War, Pt. IV; Stoddard, The Shop Committee; Renold, Workshop Committees; Tead, British Reconstruction Programs; Reports of British Coal Commissions; Johnson, The New Spirit in Industry, Ch. IV. 206 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION forces which are insistingly challenging the present system of autocratic industrial control, and bringing in a more democratic and more equitable economic structure.^* 26 For further description of these tendencies see Kirkup, An Inr- quiry Into Socialism, Ch. VIII; Melvin, Socialism as the Sociological Ideal, Chs. IV, V. CHAPTER VIII OBJECTIONS TO SOCIALISM Narrowing of Objections. — The philosophy of social- ism has been attacked during the past few generations from almost every conceivable angle. Many objections formerly seriously urged against this challenging philoso- phy have now been discarded by intelligent critics. Dr. John A. Ryan, an ardent opponent of socialism, in dealing with outgrown anti-socialist objections, says: " Those objections against socialism which are based on the assumption that the scheme would involve collective owner- ship of all, even the smallest instruments of production, have ceased to be pertinent or effective. Antiquated likewise are the objections directed against complete confiscation of all private capital ; collective ownership of all homes ; compul- sory assignment of occupations; and the use of labor-checks instead of money. So far as I can learn, none of these pro- posals is now regarded by authoritative socialists as essential. " Other criticisms of doubtful validity assume the impos- sibility of forecasting the social demand for commodities and of managing industries of national magnitude. In some man- ner both of these difficulties have been met by the great trusts, such as the Standard Oil Company and the United States Steel Corporation." '■ INCENTIVE Certain objections, however, are still urged. Perhaps 1 HiUquit and Ryan, Socialism. Promise or Menace, pp. 51-3. 207 208 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION none is voiced so strongly as the objection that socialism will stifle the incentive.^ Basis of Criticism. — An analysis of the reasons ad- vanced for the contention that socialism would fail to pro- vide adequate incentives to the ordinary worker and to the administrator generally indicates a belief that absolute equality of compensation would exist under socialism, irre- spective of industry or accomplishment, and that discharge ■would be impossible. " Slackness, indiiference and the lazy stroke " would thus be the inevitable result. It has already been shown, however, that equality of compensa- tion is not a necessary part of the socialist philosophy,^ and that difi^erence of compensation and any other mate- rial incentives that might be deemed necessary could be brought into play under socialism. Nor is there anything to prevent discharge under proper safeguards, if that form of punishment were deemed necessary for the public good, although many socialists are of the opinion that the positive incentives provided under a cooperative system would render such penalties largely unnecessary.* Inefficiency of Present System — The fear that social- ism might produce " slackness, indifference and the lazy 2 See, among other works, Taussig, Principles of Economics, Vol. II, p. 462. 3 See supra, Ch. V, " Remuneration Under Socialism." * Little appears in the socialist literature directly bearing on the question of discharge under socialism. Several writers believe that it will be available as a penalty in case of need. {Fabian Essays, p. 151; Spargo, Applied Socialism, p. 205.) There should, of course, be an attempt made prior to discharge to find for the worker other employment more adapted to him. He should be given a fair trial by fellow workers and others, and provided with other safeguards. Discharge, however, would not mean that the worker would be out- side the pale of economic life, inasmuch as there would not only be national industries, but numerous local industries conducted by municipalities, and voluntary cooperative and private ventures. Blacklisting, of course, should be absolutely forbidden. THE INCENTIVE 209 stroke," socialists further contend, is somewhat amusing in this age of sabotage, strikes and industrial wastes due to the failure of present-day industry to provide adequate incentives, and particularly at a time when enlightened private owners see as the only remedy for this " loafing on the job " an increased share by the workers in the manage- ment and ownership of industry and in the social product — half-way measures to the socialist goal. In fact con- ditions have become such that John A. Hobson is led to state that nine-tenths of present-day labor-power remains under the present system unextracted.^ Greater Incentive for Average Worker Positively, socialists contend that the conditions of socialist industry would be such as to develop in the ordinary worker a far greater interest in his work than at present exists. The worker would enter industrial life better equipped, physic- ally and intellectually, than at present, and with a higher conception of social service. Prior to entering a trade, he would be afforded by the community adequate opportuni- ties of finding out the line for which his tastes and abilities had best adapted him. He would realize that he was a joint owner of the industrial structure with the rest of his fellow workers and of the community ; that his voice counted in the conduct of the plant, and that he was toil- ing, not for the enrichment of an idle class, but for the welfare of himself, his family and the community of pro- ducers.® His hours of employment would ordinarily be less than at present, and his business surroundings more pleasant. He would be kept at his task by a social power greater than can at present be exerted. For 5 Hobson, Work and Wealth, p. 325 ; for an analysis of some of the forces affecting present day workers see Instincts of Industry by Ordway Tead. 6 See Cole, Self-Government in Industry, p. 335. 210 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION " it must be remembered," as John Stuart Mill pointed out, " that in a socialist farm or manufactory, each laborer would be under the eye not of one master, but of the whole community." ^ Furthermore, as Kautsky maintains, " when once labor loses its repulsive character and when the hours of labor are reduced in a reasonable degree, custom alone will suf- fice to hold the majority of workers in regular work in factories and mines." * Material Incentives — Then, to stimulate eflScient en- deavor to a further extent, fuU opportunity should be given the worker to develop his initiative, his creative im- pulse.^ To this end it would be possible to work out in a scientific manner a system of material incentives in the form of higher pay and special honors for individuals, departmental, or plant accomplishments. As a result of these material rewards and psychological forces, the ordinary citizen under socialism could be de- pended on to do far better work than under the present system. Incentive and the Administrator. — As far as the aver- age worker is concerned, therefore, socialism will increase, not diminish his incentive for worthy endeavor. But how about the administrator, the director of industry.'' His efforts, we are told, are commensurate with his income. Under capitalism, if successful, he is rewarded with large profits and high salaries. The possibility of big gains spurs him on to maximum endeavor. Under socialism his income would be greatly curtailed. Such curtailment would inhibit his efforts, and society would be the loser. 7 Mill, Principles of Political Economy, Vol. II, Ch. I, quoted in Spargo, Applied Socialism, p. 315; see also Hobson, op. cit., p. 126. 8 Kautsky, Social Revolution, p. 125. » See Marot, The Creative Impulse in Industry. THE INCENTIVE 211 The desire for riches is undoubtedly a spur to activity in innimierable instances. For " riches mean nearly all that makes life worth having, security against starvation, gratification of taste, enjoyment of pleasant and cultured society, superiority to many temptations, self-respect, consideration, comfort, knowledge, freedom, as far as these things are attainable under existing conditions." ^° Money at the present time, furthermore, is largely the criterion of success. A business man is considered suc- cessful in proportion to the largeness of his income. And he covets the reputation for success in his appointed task. The Creative Worker: The Inventor. — All that has been said concerning society's ability to induce the ad- ministrator under socialism to function effectively for other than the profit motive can be repeated with increased emphasis, declares the socialist, in the case of inventors, artists and other creative workers. For creative work yields greater personal satisfaction than it does pain, in- volves a net increase of life, and would, in general, be per- formed, if it but paid for the " human ' keep ' " i ^ of the worker. Motive for Invention. — Although invention involves other than pure creative work, it usually yields a surplus of satisfaction over human cost, and the profit motive en- ters to a comparatively small extent. " The love of sci- ence, the pure delight of mechanical invention, the attain- ment of some slight personal convenience in labor, and mere chance," as Hobson declares, " play the largest part in the history of industrial improvement." ^^ Emergence of Research Laboratories. — In the days of 10 Annie Besant in Fabian Essays, pp. 152-153. 11 Hobson, Work and Wealth, p. 4,5. Charles P. Steimnetz has treated this subject comprehensively in The Socialist Review. 12 Hobson, Evolution of Modern Capitalism, p. 491. 212 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION the dominance of the free-lance inventor, the vast majority of inventors died poor and unknown, while, in hundreds of instances, the firms which purchased their inventions for a song, or which tricked these inventors out of their patent rights, gained huge rewards. ^^ With the development of modern industry, the effective free-lance inventor is pass- ing away. The modern corporation does not depend on stray geniuses, out of touch with the workings of the plant, to apprise it of possible improvements. It establishes and equips extensive research laboratories, and hires ex- perts who give their entire time to the discovery of better industrial methods, and who, in return for regular salaries, yield to the firm their right to all discoveries. The Inventor Under Socialism Socialism would fur- nish a better environment for the inventive genius, de- clares the socialist, than does the present order of society. It would give to the masses a far greater opportunity than is now enjoyed to obtain a fundamental knowledge of the sciences. ■'^* It would provide greater leisure, " the first condition of all free and fruitful play of the mind." ^^ It would make scientific equipment far more accessible than at present to those who showed aptitude along the lines of industrial technique. It would establish in every industry well equipped research laboratories, in which all knowl- edge, gained in any portion of the industry, would be pooled and made available for the common advantage — 13 Kelly, Twentieth Century Socialism, p. 221. See also Spargo, Applied Socialism, Ch. VIII. 1* Professor Lester F. Ward, in his Applied Sociology, p. 231, de- clares: "It may be safely stated that a well organized system of universal education, using that term in the sense in which it was used in Dynamic Sociology, as conferring the maximum amount of the most important extant knowledge upon all the members of soci- ety, would increase the average fecundity in dynamic agents of society at least a hundred fold." 16 Hobson, Work and Wealth, p. 51. THE INCENTIVE 213 an incalculable gain over the present method of keeping such discoveries secret for the private gain of one cor- poration.-*® The inventor, under socialism, would be assured of a comfortable living, security of tenure, the plaudits of a grateful society, and a realization that the utilization of his invention meant a direct benefit to all of society, rather than the enrichment of the few ; and that his invention, if of social advantage, would be installed not in only one concern, as at present, but in the entire socialized industry. ^'^ Such Material Rewards as Necessary Should addi- tional incentives prove necessary to develop the creative impulse, the community, out of enlightened selfishness, could be depended on to supply those material rewards.-'^ 18 Not only is there this social waste under competitive conditions, but a very considerable loss involved in the practice, pursued in many corporations, of purchasing inventions not for the purpose of utilizing them, but to keep competitive concerns from purchasing them. As their utilization would involve a change of machinery, they are then placed in "the morgue," and perhaps permanently lost to society. The practice in the surgical profession of giving to the entire profession the results of the investigations of all of its members in- dicates the possibilities along these lines if this practice were ex- tended to industry as a whole. 17 Dr. Charles P. Steinmetz, Consulting Engineer of the General Electric Company, former president of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and one of America's foremost inventors, in dealing with " Socialism and Invention " (Socialist Review, Novem- ber, 1919), declares in part: " Obviously, in a socialistic society, there would be no special in- terests opposing the inventor's fullest recognition; no man belittling and denying his invention for commercial reasons, and the realization that a successful invention would be immediately adopted by the whole national or even international industry, and used for the com- mon good, that it would make the inventor a national hero, but a hero of creation and not of destruction — as have been most heroes of past days — all this will necessarily be an incentive for the inventor, far greater than anything present-day society has to offer." 214. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The Artist. — As for the artist, claims the socialist, the democratic atmosphere which will necessarily result from social ownership, and the increased educational oppor- tunities and increased leisure for the masses will afford a spiritual environment far more conducive to creative artis- tic work than does the present system. In a commercial- ized society, where art is judged by its money value, as Bertrand Russell points out, it is difficult for the artist " to preserve his creative impulse pure." The artist can do his best work only when there is an environment of appreciation, not so much of the artist, as of the art. At present " the struggle for life, the serious work of a trade or profession, is apt to make people . . . too preoccupied for art. The easing of the struggle, the diminution in the hours of work, and the lightening of the burden of exist- ence, which would result from a better economic system, could hardly fail to increase the joy of life and the vital 18 At present extensive research departments are connected with government bureaus in all parts of the world. In the United States, research work of immense utility has been conducted for years in connection with the army and navy forces, in the Department of Agriculture, in the United States Public Health Service, in the Bureau of Standards, the Bureau of Mines, etc. The new industrial laboratory in the Bureau of Standards, according to Director S. W. Stratton (Annual Report of the Secretary of Oommerce, 1918, p. 82), "when completely equipped, will be one of the most effective of its kind in the world. In no national institution in the world is the union between pure science and practical technology so intimate as in the work of the Bureau of Standards." As a result of govern- mental investigations, many millions of dollars have been saved to the people of America. The laboratories have been particularly active during the European War. (See Walling and Laidler, State Socialism — Pro and Con, Ch. XXV, "Industrial Science.") These experiments would probably be continued on a greatly extended scale under a cooperative system of industry. Many government laboratories have been established in Russia under the Soviet Gov- ernment, industrial experts being temporarily paid high salaries for their assistance. The Hungarian Soviet regime also gave much at- tention to this feature during the early part of 1919. THE INCENTIVE 215 enei'gy available for sheer delight in the world. And if this were achieved, there would inevitably be more spon- taneous pleasure in beautiful things and more enjoyment of the work of artists." ^® The Professions — In the professions money is not the main criterion of success. Teachers, for instance, are re- garded as successful, not in proportion to the amount of money they acquire, but in proportion to their ability as educators. There are but few teachers who have any hope of acquiring a fortune from their teaching. Yet a feeling of success in their profession, together with a moderate compensation — and, in most instances, the compensation is far too moderate — is sufficient to induce the large ma- jority of them to give loyal and efficient service in the educational system. The profit motive, in fact, is so discredited in many of the professions, that, as Walter Lippmann states, " the public regards a professor on the make as a charlatan, a doctor on the make as a quack, a politician on the make as a grafter, a writer on the make as a hack, a preacher on the make as a hypocrite. For in science, art, politics, IS Russell, Proposed Roads to Freedom, pp. 182-3; see also supra, section " Intellectual Production Under Socialism," in Chapter V. Socialists point to the fact that art flourished most in ancient Greece when democracy was at its highest, and when the masses had leisure to develop their aesthetic nature. (Spargo, op. cit., p. 226; W. D. P. Bliss, in The Outlook, Nov. 11, 1905, and Prof. T. D. Sey- mour, Harper's Monthly, Nov., 1907.) A similar atmosphere, wholly removed, however, from any taint of slavery, will prevail, they be- lieve, under socialism. Socialists also contend that the public demand for beautiful build- ings and other artistic works wiU be greatly augmented under socialism, and that the artists wiU have far greater incentive to do their best work, if that work is destined to bring pleasure into the lives of the art lovers of the entire community, if it is no longer doomed to cater merely to the fancy of some wealthy collector of aesthetic values. 216 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION religion, the home, love, education — the pure economic motive, profiteering, the incentive of business enterprise is treated as a public peril." ^^ In the Cooperative and Publicly Owned Industries. — The professions are not the only line of endeavor where the profit motive is not the dominant one. In certain branches of industry proper, administrators are largely motived by other incentives than the lure of riches. In the cooperative movement in Great Britain, for instance, ■where the annual retail, wholesale and factory turnover ex- ceeds $700,000,000, the highest salary, a few years ago, approximated $6,000 a year, while " the directors of the English Cooperative Wholesale Society, who do not merely attend board meetings, but actually manage the affairs of large departments, and give their whole time to the ardu- ous and difficult work of this huge concern, with its 2^3,000 employees, and turnover of thirty-three millions sterling, is [referring to 1914] only $1,822 a year." ^i " What keeps the able manager within the cooperative movement (for many of them refuse, to the end of their lives, to be tempted by the much higher salaries offered to them in capitalist enterprise) is, very largely," declares the Fa- bians, " the attractiveness of comradeship in a great popu- lar organization; the consideration that they enjoy as the public administrators and leaders of a widespread democ- racy ; and the consciousness of social service." ^^ The British movement in this regard is but typical of the score or more of cooperative movements on the continent, affili- 20 Lippmann, Drift and Mastery, p. 2f9. 21 Fabian Research Department, The Cooperative Movement, Spe- cial Supplement of The New Statesman, May 30, 1914; p. 11. 22 It should again be pointed out employment in present-day gov- ernmental service is on a far different plane than it would be under socialism. See criticisms of government ownership in Chapter VII and in next section. THE INCENTIVE 217 ated and unaffiliated with the International Cooperative AUiance. A similar story may be told concerning administrators in publicly owned industries — many of whom are giving most efficient service. In Great Britain, a few years ago, $15,000 was the highest salary paid to professional ad- ministrators in government service. One of the remark- able things about the foregoing facts is that those serving in cooperative and public industries in many instances re- fuse to relinquish their positions for much greater salaries in private enterprises. Administrators in Private Concerns ^Furthermore, with the development of the corporation, the administrator in private industry is becoming, to an ever greater extent, a mere salaried employee whose income bears little direct relation to the amount of profit which the corporation makes. The profits accrue to the advantage of the in- active stockholders rather than to the administrators. Says Walter Lippmann again : " The real news about business, it seems to me, is that it is being operated by men who are not profiteers. The managers are on salary, divorced from ownership and from bargaining. They represent the revolution in business incentives at its very heart. For they conduct gigantic enterprises and they stand outside the higgling of the market, outside the shrewd- ness and strategy of competition. The motive of profit is not their personal motive. . . . They have found an interest in the actual work they are doing. The work itself is in a mesiSure their own reward. The instinct of workmanship, of control over brute things, the desire for order, the satisfaction of services rendered and uses created, the civilizing passions are given a chance to temper the primal desire to have and to hold and to conquer." ^^ 23 Lippmann, op. cit., pp. 46, 49. 218 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Nor can it be said that the high salaries are the chief incentive to the salaried administrators of our industrial concerns. The love of achievement and social prestige which are attached to an important office undoubtedly are among the incentives that function in the case of many of our best administrators. In fact, some of the recipients of large salaries have even urged their reduction.^* It is undoubtedly true that many in the corporation who do the most socially productive work are not the highest paid officers, but the assistants who secure a comparatively moderate compensation. The chief officers are often paid not because of their scientific knowledge of administrative problems, but because of their financial, political, or social connections, their ability to give the firm publicity, etc., while the real work of production and organization de- volves upon the shoulders of the subordinates. Type of Administrator Under Socialism. — It must also be realized that under socialism a different type of administrator will be needed than under the competitive regime. Less will be left to chance or to the snap judg- ment of the chief administrator. More of the decisions will be made after careful investigation of expert statis- ticians, for there will be less fear than the average busi- ness firm has at present that, unless a decision is made immediately, the business might be diverted to a com- petitor. Business administration is likely to evolve out of a trade into a science, and those qualifying are likely to develop professional standards of work which place 2* See Senate Documents, Vol. XIX, 63rd Congress, 3nd Session, Financial Transactions of the N. Y., N. H. and H. R. B. Co., Senate Documents, Vol. I, p. 920. Statement of ex-President Mellen of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad to the effect that $25,000 a year salary was sufficient for any railroad president and that his $60,000 salary was unnecessarily large. THE INCENTIVE 219 less emphasis on the monetary reward — more on actual creative accomplishment and on service to the com- munity.^** Creative Work. — Finally, an administrative position often affords an opportunity for creative work. Creative work is generally its own reward. The satisfaction re- ceived in the performance of the task to a very large ex- tent equals the energy expended. Under these conditions, many an administrator would continue his occupation, as Hobson points out, if he received in return little more than " his keep." ^^ Under socialism, as has been continually asserted, there will probably be a very considerable diiference in compen- sation, and there is nothing in the socialist philosophy to preclude the giving of any salary which might seem to be necessary in order to obtain the most socially useful work.^® Indications are that the various communities and groups of producers will fix a certain flexible maximum for administrators, and that that maximum, together with the social prestige, the security of tenure, the opportunity for creative work and for social service which the position will give will be sufficient to develop a public administrator worthy of the name. There will also be the incentive which works so powerfully under the present system — the desire for power — power, however, so safeguarded that it may not be used, as at present, for the exploitation of one's fellowmen, but for greater service in the upward progress of the race. Evils of Profit Incentive. — And in all of the discussion of the profit incentive as a stimulus to efficient endeavor, 24a See Veblen, The Theory of Business Enterprise, p. 8 et seq. 25 Hobson, Work and Wealth, p. 59. 26 See supra, Ch. V, section under " Remuneration." 220 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION it should not be overlooked, as was indicated earlier in the book, that the profit motive had led to many grave social evils. The production of adulterated and shoddy goods, the oppression of workmen, the corruption of the state, the charging of monopoly prices, the rigging of the market, the unscrupulous treatment of minority stock- holders, the annihilation of competitors, the ruthless de- struction of natural resources and of much of the nation's food supplies, the creation of financial panics, the en- couragement of international conflicts — all are directly traceable to a desire to gain huge financial returns. ^^ Is Government Ownership Inefficient? — Many op- ponents of socialism submit, as proof of their contention that socialism wUl stifle the incentive, the allegation of the inefficiency of government ownership as we now have it — an inefficiency due to the failure of the government to stimulate the workers of hand and brain to do their best work. Government Ownership vs. Socialism. — The socialist answer to this contention is twofold. First, the ineffi- ciency of our present government industry would by no means prove the failure of socialism. Present-day gov- ernment ownership differs from the socialist ideal, as has 27 A notorious example of the disastrous eifect of this spirit ot gain on the progress of industry is seen in connection with the manipulations of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad a few years ago. The indictment by the Interstate Commerce Com- mission indicates a mismanagement of funds, a spirit of corruption, an ignorance of actual happenings, an autocratic control of a startling nature, reciting such facts, for instance, as " the inability of Oakleigh Thome to account for $1,033,000 of the funds of the New Haven entrusted to him"; "the story of Mr. Mellen as to the distribution of $1,200,000 for corrupt purposes " ; " the unwarranted increase of the New Haven liabilities from $93,000,000 in 1903 to $417,000,000 in 1913," etc. (63rd Congress, 2nd Session, 1913-1914, Senate Documents, Vol. XIX, Financial Tramsactioris of New York, New Haven a/nd Hartford Railroad, Vol. I, pp. 3-4.) THE INCENTIVE 321 been before stated, in many particulars. Governments have not attempted in any considerable measure to adjust political machinery to the new industrial functions which they are constantly assuming. Many government indus- tries have been conducted by bitter enemies of public ownership. Very little effort has thus far been made in public bodies to study the science of incentive or efficiency. The public employee has been given little control over his labor conditions. Little attempt has been made to develop the worker's creative impulse in industry. Governments must compete for workers against private enterprises, which give, in the case of administrators, much higher financial returns. And they have to contend constantly against the spirit of commercialism permeating private industry. Under socialism the political structure would be entirely reconstructed, and industrial functions bestowed on those groups best equipped to perform them. Democratic man- agement would supersede bureaucratic management. The question of industrial incentive would be scientifically studied out and applied. Chief attention would be given to the development of the individuality of the workers. The government would no longer find it necessary to com- pete for men against huge private industrial concerns. The transition of the economic system from private to co- operative ownership would completely change the spirit of industry, and develop an esprit de corps among the work- ers now in evidence only in times of stress and strain.^* 28 As Hobson well remarks, the spirit of much of our government ownership today is the spirit of capitalism, not of socialism. " The higher officials who control and manage public businesses, evoke in the rank-and-file of public employees very much the same sentiments of estrangement or opposition that prevail in most private busi- nesses between employer and employee. For in point of fact, the temper and mental attitude of higher officials are those of master in SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Secondly, despite the pessimistic statements of such eco- nomists as Yves Guyot,^^ regarding the efficiency of public ownership, such ownership has been successful in a large and increasing number of instances. The fact that the drift has been so markedly away from private toward pub- lic ownership is at least most suggestive. In dealing with the benefit derived by the consumer from state and municipal enterprises, the Fabian Research De- partment declares : " There is every reason to believe that public opinion is right in assuming that, taking all things into account, the public products are certainly more reliable in quality, more certainly continuous in supply, and on the whole (though this generally varies from trade to trade), more economical in cost and cheaper in price than those supplied by capital- ism; whilst the gain in being sure that there is neither adul- teration nor short weight, neither cheating nor taking advan- tage of the necessities of the more ignorant of weaker buyers, or of periods of scarcity, is, in some departments, beyond all computation." ^° Comparison Between Private vs. Public Ownership. — It is, of course, difficult to compare the efficiency of private with public enterprise. A few comparable examples, how- ever, may be found. One of these is the case of private and public electric light industries of Great Britain. In 1911, Mr. C. Ashmore Baker made an elaborate statistical study for the Fabian Society and concluded that the price charged by private companies to the consumer was 48 per his own business, not those of a public servant." (Hobson, Work and Wealth, p. 286.) 28 See Guyot, Where and Why Public Ownership Has Failed (1915). 3" Fabian Research Department, State amd Municipal Enterprises, p. 31. THE INCENTIVE cent, greater than that charged by public concerns and that the working expenses were 69 per cent, greater. The municipahties, furthermore, placed aside a sinking fund more than twice as large as did the companies and the wages given by the municipalities were, on the average, higher. A summary of municipal and private gas plants shows somewhat similar results. ^^ Comparisons between the private and public municipal industries in the United States is also indicative of the possibilities of public ownership. ^^ The efficiency of co- operative ownership as compared with competitive owner- ship is strikingly illustrated in the collective insurance scheme operated by the Cooperative Wholesale Society of England, the expense of administering the collective plan being about 3 per cent, of the premium paid in, that in- curred in operating the average private industrial in- surance scheme, 43 per cent.^^ Other examples of the efficiency of collective and cooperative endeavors may be cited without limit. War-collectivism has also afforded many examples of possibilities in this direction. Importance of the Human Element Finally, many critics of socialism have failed to realize, in discussing the relative effiteiency of private and public firms, that efficiency cannot be judged merely from the standpoint of financial returns. The human element is most important, and, even though a public concern shows a debit sheet at the end of the year, if it helps to develop the personality of the worker, if it provides improved service at low cost and assists in the general development of the people of the community, it may, in the real sense of that term, be far 31 Baker, Public versus Private Electricity Supply (A pamphlet of the Fabian Society, 1913). 32 Clark, Municipal Ownership in the United States. 33 See Laidler, The British Cooperative Movement (a pamphlet). 2U SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION more efBcient than the concern that shows a big balance sheet in its yearly report. As John A. Hobson says : " While it is true that a public service would stand con- demned if the output of eiFective energy per man fell greatly below that furnished under the drive of ordinary capitalism, a slight reduction of that output might be welcomed as in- volving an actual gain in human welfare. " Our modern command over the resources of nature for the satisfaction of our wants ought to issue not so much in the larger supply of old, and the constant addition of new eco- nomic wants, as in the increased liberation of human powers for other modes of energy and satisfaction. . . . With our improving arts of industry and our dwindling growth of pop- ulation, we can afford to give an increasing share of our in- terests and energies to the cultivation and enjoyment of in- tellectual and moral goods. . . . Until we, as a nation, throw off the domination of the economic spirit, we cannot win the spiritual liberty needed for the ascent of man." ^^ ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL, Certain economists also contend that, under socialism, where industrial authority will be " in the hands of a de- mocracy, eager for the present and reckless of the future," inadequate capital will be set aside for future improvement and industry will thus tend to stagnate. Profit Motive Under Capitalism In answer to this contention, socialists affirm that a democracy has a stronger incentive than have private owners to consider the interest of future generations. The average stockholder of the modem corporation is, to a very considerable extent, a transient, with little interest in the permanent upkeep of the corporation, with marked interests in immediate returns. " In a busy week in Wall Street the number of a* Hobson, op. cit., pp. 288-90. ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL 225 shares bought and sold in one of the great corporations will greatly exceed the total number of shares that are in existence. The stockholders as a class, therefore, have no guiding interests in the permanent efficiency of the cor- poration as regards either the preservation of the physi- cal property or the maintenance of an efficient productive organization. Stocks are bought and sold as a specula- tion or as an investment, and in case either the physical property interests of the corporation or the productive organization tends to become inefficient, the well-informed stockholder generally takes no steps tO' correct the con- dition, but merely throws his stock upon the market." ^^ The fact that a refusal to put aside a certain sum for de- preciation is likely to add to their immediate gains places many stockholders under enormous pressure to gamble with the future. The result of this profit motive is evidenced in the de- terioration of the rolling stock on many of our railroads ; in the ruthless devastation of forests and in the wasteful exploitation of mining properties and of other natural resources in the United States during the past generation or so.^® Incentive to Improve Under Socialism. — On the other hand, under public ownership, while a large number of workers might be the immediate gainers of a few extra dollars through failure properly to conserve capital for future improvement, there would be no small group of people as at present to gain enormously from such a pro- cedure. The result would be — especially in view of the increased education among the masses — that all ques- tions would be determined far more from the standpoint 35 Report of Oommission on Industrial Relations, pp. 26-27. 38 See supra, Chapter I. 226 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of the permanent welfare of society than from that of temporary private profit. Even today, side by side with private exploitation, may be seen marked evidences of social foresight in the conservation of forests, the irriga- tion of desert land, the reclamation of swamp land, the construction of canals and many other services which pri- vate corporations could not be induced to undertake be- cause of the impossibility of immediate profits. Accumulations in Cooperative and Public Industries. — That a democracy may be trusted to provide for future improvements in industry is indicated by the way in which the workingmen directors of the great voluntary cooper- ative organizations abroad carefully safeguard the future interests of their society. In Great Britain, for instance, the cooperatives provide their depreciation by rule.®^ " Aside from public bodies with their sinking funds," de- clared an authority in the English Cooperative Wholesale Society, "cooperative societies . . . are the only institu- tions which put money aside every year according to rule, reckoning nothing as profit until these obligations have been met." It should furthermore be realized that the co- operatives largely consist of members of the working class with comparatively little schooling and with immediate use for every additional shilling. The public bodies of Great Britain also exhibit marked 3' The " Model Rules " of the Cooperative Union enforce 214 per cent, on buildings and premises, and 10 per cent, on all fixtures. The English Wholesale depreciate 2% per cent, on land, 5 per cent, on buildings, Ty^ per cent, on fixtures and on steamships — all ac- cording to rule, while the Scottish Wholesale has a somewhat similar ruling. In addition the societies have created reserve funds. In 1915, the reserve fund of the English Wholesale approximated two million pounds and that of the Scottish Wholesale nearly a million, while all the societies of Great Britain taken together had reserves of over seven millions, an increase of £690,000 over the previous year. ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL 227 foresight in the conduct of their enterprises. The audit conducted by the Local Government Board of England " is so strict that every municipality is compelled to wipe off its ' public debt ' on a productive enterprise within thirty years." A comparison between the thoroughly adequate reserves placed aside by the general post office of Great Britain and the excellent condition of its stock, with those of the English railroads prior to the war, which allowed " for scarcely any depreciation," is another indication that the fears of some of the economists are not fully justified. Conclusion — Democracy, even at present, has indi- cated its ability to plan for the future. With the de- velopment of general education, of social consciousness, of diffused responsibility through democratic control, and of better administrative methods, there is little reason to doubt that the industrial future will be safeguarded much more effectively than at present. FIXING OF PRICES Criticism of Socialist Plan. — Another objection some- times urged against socialism is that it would offer an un- satisfactory criterion for the fixing of prices. Goods under socialism, a number of economists maintain, must exchange on the basis of the average labor time required to produce them, if socialists are consistently to carry out their philosophy. But if this system is adopted, the sup- ply of the most desirable commodity will be exhausted immediately.^^ Socialists, however, are not bound by any such principle. Their one criterion will be : what arrange- ment will best subserve the interest of the greatest number? Prices and Social Welfare. — In answering this ques- tion, the determining consideration will probably be " the 38 Bullock, Principles of Economics, p. S09. 228 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION extent to which it is desired, in the public interest, to facilitate and encourage consumption. ... On the one hand, in order to restrict and discourage consumption, high prices may be charged, even ' as much as the traffic will bear,' without regard to the cost of production. The revenue derived from commodities and services for which such high prices are imposed will be used to reduce to the lowest possible minimum the prices charged for commodi- ties and services of which it is desired in the public inter- est to maximize consumption." ^^ Cooperative and public industries recognize this cri- terion.^" Municipalities, in order to encourage the use of water, with a view to a more healthy community, often place only a small fee on this commodity, and make no charge for the use of schools, museums, parks, libraries and open air concerts, on the other hand gaining a con- siderable amount from their public gas and electric light- ing plants. Administrative economy and convenience have also entered into the fixing of prices. On the whole range of commodities, of course, enough must be charged to cover expenses. The opportunity given under socialism to adjust prices according to the extent to which the community wishes to increase or decrease production rather than, as at present, according to the law of supply and demand promises to redound distinctly to the social advantage. Price=Fixing Body — Just how the price-fixing body would be constituted under a cooperative system it is im- 3» Fabian Research Department, State and Municipal Enterprise, pp. 17-18. ^o Cooperatives in England and Belgium, for instance, are inclined to sell tea and tobacco at a considerable profit, to supply sugar and shirts at a fraction over cost, to lose on the dressmaking department and to provide lectures, entertainments and such educational services free. FIXING OF PRICES possible to say. The most definite suggestion is that of the guild socialist, who believes that it should consist of representatives both of the democratic state, representing the consumers, and of the guilds, representing the pro- ducers. These two interests should in one way or another be definitely safeguarded. If a certain commodity were used only by a particular group of consumers and not by the public generally, these special consumers might also be represented. At Present Arbitrary Price Fixing It is of course true that prices would no longer be controlled by the law of supply and demand, but by a more or less arbitrary authority. However, at the present time, they are fixed to a very considerable extent by the arbitrary authority of the trust, or of associations of manufacturers, whole- salers and retailers, or are regulated by state or national price-fixing commissions. The price-fixing groups under socialism would differ from most of the groups today who directly or indirectly fix prices — they would be under the direct control of the democracy, and they would have but one aim — that of social welfare. POLITICAL COERUPTION Criticism. — Socialism is often opposed on the ground that it would augment political corruption. Political cor- ruption exists at present when governments control but a few industrial activities. Would not such corruption therefore be greatly increased, it is asked, if the major part of industry were socialized.'' To this question so- cialists reply with an emphatic negative. Suppose, they say, that special form of unearned wealth known as political " graft " were increased under socialism. At the same time, the huge " legitimate graft " of rent, 230 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION profit and interest which is constantly exacted from so- ciety under private ownership would be very largely elimi- nated, and society would be a distinct gainer. But even " illegitimate graft " would steadily diminish under socialized control — the " graft " in politics and the " graft " permeating private business wherever agent buy- ers and agent sellers meet. Big Business and Political Corruption. — One of the chief causes of political corruption today is the endeavor on the part of business men to secure special privileges from the state — to obtain or protect favorable fran- chises, to secure exemptions from restrictive regulations, to evade penalties for violation of laws, to delay expropria- tion of their properties. A railroad desires special legis- lation. It sends its representative to the legislatures, city councils or political bosses, and bribes public officials to pass favorable legislation or to block unfavorable enact- ments. An instance of this is seen in the case of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, cited elsewhere. Under public ownership, however, the people have no occa- sion to send their own representatives to their own legis- latures to bribe their own legislators to pass legislation in favor of their own railroads. With the elimination of the cause of that form of political corruption, namely private ownership, such corruption would naturally be eliminated. In dealing with the argument that the socialization of big business would increase political corruption, H. G. Wells rightly maintains that this contention " is opposed to the experience of America where local administration has been as little socialistic and as corrupt as anywhere in the world. Obviously in order that a public official should be bribed, there must be some wealthy person out- side the system to bribe him and with an interest in bribing him. When you have a weak administration with feeble POLITICAL CORRUPTION 231 powers and resources and strong, unscrupulous private corporations seeking to override the law and public wel- fare, the possibilities of bribing are at the highest point." " The Giving of Contracts — A second form of corrup- tion exists today in connection with the giving out of contracts for public work. Private contractors are em- ployed by governments to pave streets, to construct public buildings, and to supply commodities of various sorts to public departments. In connection with the signing of such contracts business men frequently give and public officials receive substantial bribes. The fortune of many a politician is based on construction of public works under favorable public contracts.*^ Up to a certain point, during the transition period when industry was being socialized, it is conceivable that — barring extra safeguards — such corruption would in- crease rather than diminish. The ownership of transit lines might involve the signing of extensive contracts for the construction of cars, stations and new lines of transit, for the making of uniforms and the supplying of many other services. However, with further extension of public activity, the field for " graft " through the giving of con- tracts is gradually delimited. Under a complete social- ized system, with the elimination of large private con- tractors, most of the conditions giving rise to this form of corruption would cease to exist. Even at present, the growing demand for honesty and efficiency in public service ; the increase in the ranks of public officials of those with technical training and a higher standard of professional ethics; the improved methods of political accounting and auditing; the closer scrutiny of *i Wells, New Worlds for Old, p. 188. 42 See Steifens, The Shame of the City. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION all payments out of the public treasury and the elimina- tion of non-competitive contracts are greatly lessening corruption springing from this source.^^ Corruption and Political Patronage. — Another form of political corruption is evidenced in the dispensing of political patronage. A public position must be filled. The political boss urges the claims of his favorite candi- date. The "job" is "landed." The favorite is appre- ciative of the courtesy, and demonstrates his appreciation in a tangible fashion. If political corruption of this na- ture exists when comparatively few public positions are to be filled, would not such corruption greatly increase, it is asked, when the large majority of workers are public employees .'' In answer to this argument, attention is first called to the fact that favoritism, nepotism, exists extensively in private enterprise today. Furthermore, politicians to- day exert a very considerable influence in securing jobs for workers in private concerns. In very many instances, a note from a political boss to a public utility company desirous of keeping in the good graces of the boss is cer- tain to obtain a position for the applicant. In view of modern tendencies, little fear need be enter- tained concerning this form of corruption under a co- operative system. In the first place, a very considerable extension of the merit system would seem inevitable. Al- ready the effect of this system has been considerable. (2) Under socialism every worker willing and able to work would be guaranteed employment. Public employ- ment agencies conducted according to scientifiic methods would take the place of haphazard political agencies. Workers would not pay tribute to bosses when they could *3 See Munroe, The Oovermnent of American Cities, p. 23 et aeq. POLITICAL CORRUPTION 238 secure employment as a right from the more impersonal public agency. Disappearance of Political Boss. — (3) The political boss as we know him at the present time would disappear. The boss now enters politics not for his health, but largely for financial returns. As a rule, he obtains comparatively small direct financial gain from providing positions for henchmen. His emoluments come chiefly, as has been indi- cated, from public contracts and the enactment and en- forcement or non-enforcement of certain legislation. To this may be added gains through valuable speculative hints and fat jobs for himself and relatives. Most of these op- portunities would be lost under social industry. Though the love of power, the mere joy of the political game and occasional " graft " might still keep a few of the type of bosses so detrimental to American life in politics, this type would gradually be supplanted by one whose aim was social service rather than private pelf. Nor must it be over- looked that socialists contemplate no centralization of industry in the hands of politicians. The control would be held by the workers and administrators selected in a democratic fashion — as a result of proved efficiency — to represent the producers and the community as a whole. Other Factors Eliminating Corruption. — Democratic control by the worker over the conditions of his employ- ment ; the growing dignity in the status of the administra- tor and of administrative commissions, the greater intelli- gence of the mass of citizens and their inevitable demand — with the increased importance of public functions — for increased honesty and efficiency would also be operative in eliminating bossism. Conclusion. — Socialism, therefore, instead of increas- ing political corruption, would greatly decrease it by abolishing the whole system of unearned wealth ; by taking 234. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION away from political life the corrupting influence of " big business " on legislation and the letting out of contracts ; by removing the chief economic motives which now induce the political bosses to enter politics and by developing such industrial technic and encouraging such psychic forces in the community as may normally lead to an honest and socially efficient industrial regime. BUREAUCRATIC CONTROL Bureaucracy.' — Socialism, it is furthermore charged, would lead to the creation of a tyrannical bureaucracy. An analysis of this objection, however, generally indicates a confusion in the mind of the objector between bureau- cratic state socialism and the democratic socialism advo- cated by the organized socialists throughout the world. Socialists are as much opposed to bureaucratic control as they are to private ownership of industry, and it is their firm belief that democratic management and other safe- guards proposed by them and enumerated in the chapter on " the Socialist State," together with the changed psy- chology of the masses of the people will eliminate the possi- bility of the governmental bureaucrat. Socialists further contend that a cooperative system of industry provides the only remedy for the bureaucratic control now so prevalent in private industry and rapidly evolving in governmental departments. As a result of the many evils of private ownership, scores of government investigating and regulating bodies are now being created for the purpose of prying into the private and business affairs of the citizens of the nation. This governmental bureaucracy is bound to increase as long as private owner- ship lasts and will cease to function only when its cause — individual control of industry — becomes a thing of the past, only when industry becomes socialized. ANARCHISM 235 ANARCHISM Introductory. — Socialism is often opposed on the ground that it is identical with anarchism. The fallacy of this contention is patent to all students of social prob- lems. The history of the first International of the workers (1864<-7S), was largely a history of the struggle between the socialist school of thought, led by Marx, and the anar- chist group, headed by Bakounin. Struggles of a similar nature have taken place between the followers of these two philosophies in practically every country where an organ- ized working class movement exists. It is also of signifi- cance to note that, as a general rule, in countries where the anarchist movement is strong, the socialist movement is weak, and vice versa. Anarchists Discard Political Action Followers of both philosophies have, it is true, certain points in com- mon. Both condemn the evils of the present order of society, and both look forward to a society where exploita- tion will have ceased, and the class state will be a thing of the past. The anarchist movement differs, however, from the socialist movement as a whole in that it has dis- carded political action as a means to progress, advocating either purely economic action, " direct action," or " propaganda of the deed." A minority of non-resistant philosophical anarchists, followers of Tolstoi, on the other hand, depend on education, backed by neither organ- ized force nor violence, to bring about their ideal.** 44 " Propaganda of the deed " may or may not imply terroristic methods. Such methods were advocated by many of the followers of Bakounin, and by small anarchistic groups in Russia, Italy and elsewhere. The vast majority of modern anarchists, however, are neither of the bomb-throwing variety nor are they disciples of Tol- stoi, but are advocates of such " direct action " as the general strike, as well as of educational propaganda. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The organized socialist movement throughout the world has, on the other hand, advocated political as well as eco- nomic and educational activity, and has condemned indi- vidual or collective violence in the waging of the class war.*^ Anarchism and Forcible Government — But the chief difference between the two groups lies in the character of the contemplated anarchist and socialist orders of society. Under anarchism, all laws and every kind of forcible gov- ernment would be eliminated. There would " still be acts of the community, but these are to spring from universal consent, not from any enforced submission of even the smallest minority." ** For law, anarchists contend, even when favored by a majority, is essentially tyrannical, and is incompatible with the liberty of the individual — the anarchist goal. Communist=AnarcIiism — As far as industry is con- cerned, anarchists have failed to formulate any very defi- nite program. A minority are individualistic anarchists — these are closely akin to the advocates of laissez faire — ■ and contemplate no change in the ownership of industry. Pointing out that anarchists regard the class conflict as a war, and that many anarchists take the same view of the legitimacy of violence in war as do the majority of mankind, Bertrand Russell adds : " For every bomb manufactured by an anarchist, many mil- lions are manufactured by governments, and for every man killed by anarchist violence, many millions are killed by the violence of states. We may, therefore, dismiss from our minds the whole question of violence, which plays so large a part in the popular imagination, since it is neither essential or peculiar to those who adopt the anarchist position." (Russell, Proposed Roads to Freedom, pp. 32-3.) 15 An exception to this was found in the case of the extremists among the Social Revolutionists of Russia of which Mme. Bresh- kovskaya was a prominent figure, prior to the European War. *8 Russell, op. cit., p. SI. ANARCHISM 837 A majority are communist-anarchists and vaguely look forward to a community in which industry will be operated by a large number of so-called free unions of workers on a voluntary cooperative basis. Many, with Kropotkin, con- template a system under which there will be no obligation to work, all things being shared in equal proportions among the whole population. Means of Enforcing Decrees Essential. — The mere mention of the foregoing anarchist goal is sufficient to in- dicate the wide gulf separating the socialist from the anarchist order of society. As has been before stated, socialists demand the elimination of the class state. They believe that, under socialism, when the system of exploita- tion will have been abolished, the need for organized com- pulsion win have been greatly reduced, and that, with the development of human personality under socialism, forcible government will gradually lose its raison d'etre. Many socialists also believe that the state should possess power of coercion only in relation to a limited number of activi- ties. They nevertheless feel that, at least for generations, organized society must have at its disposal some means of enforcing its decrees, democratically arrived at, against an anti-social or non-social minority — decrees against violence, against thefts, laws for the protection of the health, the safety, the education and the industrial de- velopment of the community. Nor do socialists agree with anarchists that enforce- ment of decrees necessarily limits community freedom. Such laws are often the means of protecting the weak against the strong and of adding to, not subtracting from, the sum total of human liberty. As for the difference between the socialist and the anar- chist industrial organization, a comparison between the SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION socialist concept as heretofore given (see Chapter V), and the ideal of voluntary communism here outlined will be immediately revealing. SOCIALISM AND OVEB,POPUI,ATIO'N The Malthusian Theory — Since the days of Malthus, the argument has been urged that socialism would give rise to the evil of overpopulation. Followers of Malthus at first contended that the masses of the people had little reason to hope for permanent improvement under the sys- tem of capitalist production. Any temporary betterment in the condition of the workers would result in an increase in the size of their families, and such increase would press seriously upon the means of subsistence and in turn lower the standard of living. Overpopulation would be avoided only by the extensive application of prudence and fore- sight, but such a check on the population was not to be expected. Malthusian Doctrine and Present=Day Tendencies Time has demonstrated that, so far as the present order of society is concerned, the pessimism of Malthus has not been justified. Prudential considerations have been more potent in checking increase in population than the follow- ers of Malthus anticipated. Population has failed to in- crease in proportion to the ability of parents to provide a minimum sustenance for their children. Higher standards of living have resulted in greater foresight and prudence and an increased desire to provide education and other advantages to a moderate sized family, rather than to sup- ply mere physical necessities to a large number of chil- dren. Large families have not been found among those groups in society who could best afford to provide for them, so much as among the poor. OVERPOPULATION 239 As a result of the steadily increasing productivity of society under modern methods of machine production, furthermore, " the increase of wealth may, for almost in- definite periods, keep ahead of population," while " this increase of wealth in itself sets in motion those economic and sociological forces which tend to reduce the increase in population." *'^ The vast extent of the world's un- touched natural resources — little realized in the days of Malthus — is a further factor the recognition of which has done much to allay the economists' fear of overpopulation, at least for many years to come. Still another check to increase of population which has gained in importance during the last few years has been the deliberate regulation of families by modern methods of control. The importance of this new means in regulating the birth rate was recently indicated in a questionnaire sent by the Fabian Society to a number of members of middle class famihes of England. The replies to the ques- tionnaire showed that an overwhelming proportion of parents responding (113 out of 120) had taken definite steps to limit the number of children.'*^ Fear of Race Suicide. — In fact, the chief fear now ex- pressed by economists in most of the advanced nations is not that of overpopulation, but that of " race suicide." " Almost every country which has accurate registration," declares Sidney Webb, " is showing a declining birth rate." ** The devastating European war, furthermore, acted as a check to population, and the doctrine of over- population under modern conditions in the advanced coun- tries is causing but little anxiety. 47 Seligman, Principles of Economics, pp. 63, 4. 48 Webb, The Decline of the Birth Bate, p. 12. Fabian Tract, No. 131. 49 Sidney Webb, op. cit., p. 15. 240 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Increase of Population Under Socialism. — While ad- mitting the truth of the foregoing statements, however, a number of economists claim that under socialism the prob- lem would again be a menacing one. This prediction is largely based on the assumption that socialism would lessen parental responsibility.^'' At present, it is con- tended, even the irresponsible poor are checked in their impulse toward procreation by the necessity of providing for their offspring. The middle class are desirous of ris- ing in the social scale, and choose small families in order that they may be able to give their children a good educa- tion and a more abundant life. Under socialism, the state would take care of the children, parental responsibility would cease and the chief checks to procreation would thus be eliminated. Question of Parental Responsibility. — With the de- velopment of the present industrial system, the state has, it is true, interfered to an ever increasing extent in family relationships, and has assumed responsibilities formerly adhering only to parents. It has forced parents to send their children to school, and has taken from them the re- sponsibility of paying fees for public and secondary school education, in certain instances even supplying free text books, school lunches, and free medical and dental advice and services. It is providing an ever larger number of free scholarships and fellowships to colleges and uni- versities. Many of these measures, particularly those re- lating to the public schools, have been opposed in the past on the ground that they would lessen parental responsi- bility. These gloomy forebodings, however, were not well founded. Free education did, it is true, take from parents 50 Taussig, Principles of Economics, Vol. II, pp. 460-2; Skelton, Socialiam a Critical Analysis, p. 216. OVERPOPULATION Ml the responsibility of paying their children's tuition in the public schools. It, however, at the same time, developed a desire on the part of the parents to obtain for their chil- dren superior intellectual and ffisthetic advantages, and created a renewed feeling of moral responsibility for the welfare of their offspring. State Control — Undoubtedly this tendency toward state control wiU, in certain respects, be augmented under socialism. Ever greater educational facilities will be placed freely at the disposal of the children of the nation, and opportunity also to secure employment in occupations for which the young workers are best fitted. On the other hand, certain of the protective legislation necessary to- day, when the income of the wage-earner is often so small, would undoubtedly be found unnecessary. " The feeding of needy children," says Ramsay MacDonald, " is a case in point. Under socialism family income will be equal to family requirements. It is far short of that today, and therefore if children are to be nourished, . . . the state must step in and do what the parents cannot do." ®^ Furthermore, the assumption that all parental responsi- bility will be eliminated under socialism is, despite the uto- pianizing of Wells and others '^ without foundation.^^ In fact, such leaders as Ramsay MacDonald contend that " the relation between parents and children will be closer and be continued for longer periods than is now possible, and, consequently, the home will resume its lost religious signifii cance, J) 54 The New Type of Woman — The more thorough edu- Bi MacDonald, The Socialist Movement, p. ISS. 52 H. G. Wells, New Worlds for Old, p. 124; Socialism aad the Family. 63 See Spargo, Applied Socialism, p. 263. 5* MacDonald, The Socialist Movement, p. 187. 242 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION cation of women, the greater complexity of their interests as they become ever more active in industry, in the politi- cal, the social and the educational life of the community, and their increasing economic independence, will undoubt- edly prove a potent factor in the development of the moderate sized, rather than the abnormally large family. Too little attention has been given by the followers of Malthus to this factor in the problem. In dealing with the development of woman's economic independence and the increasing influence which her desires are exerting upon marriage relations, Profes,sor Seager declares : " In the past the population question has been discussed as if it were exclusively a man's question. It was to men that Malthus and his followers addressed their appeals for greater prudence and self-restraint in connection with marriage. But the burden of bearing children and most of the trouble of rearing them falls upon mothers rather than upon fathers. While there is no doubt that the great majority of women will continue to desire to become wives and mothers, since survival is necessarily confined largely to this type of woman, it is equally certain that they will not desire to be mothers of in- definitely large families. As in France, so in other coun- tries, in the minds of both mothers and fathers, the desire to rear two or four children well is likely to supersede the de- sire for the patriarchal families of the past. The change will come slowly, because social habits alter slowly, but al- ready it has gone so far in Western countries that little is heard of the danger of overpopulation." ^^ The longer educational period under a system of greater equality will undoubtedly inhibit very early marriages, 65 Seager, Principles of Economics, p. 313. Some writers, among them Alfred Russel Wallace, also contend that the law of decreas- ing fertility comes into play with the development of the intellectual and cultural level of the race. OVERPOPULATION MS while public opinion will as well assuredly play its part in the solution of this problem. Summary — At present, contrary to the forebodings of Malthus, the chief problem of overpopulation in ad- vanced countries is not one of overpopulation, but of ■ underpopulation. Socialists contend that the higher in- telligence of the mass of people under socialism, the con- tinued operation of modem methods of control, the in- creased consideration given to the desires of women in the determination of the size of the family, the prolonged edu- cational period of the youth, the development of moral responsibility on the part of the parents, and the pressure of public opinion will, among other forces, be sufficient to prevent the overpopulation problem from becoming a seri- ous menace under the new order of society.^® Conclusion to Chapter — It is thus seen that many ob- jections formerly urged against socialism have gradually been discarded. The arguments that socialism would stifle the incentive, decrease efficiency, promote political corruption, fail to provide for future improvements in in- dustry, find price-fixing an impossible task, and develop serious problems of overpopulation are among the argu- ments still urged by intelligent critics. Socialists contend that not only are each of these objections without founda- tion but that socialism will provide a solution for these problems in a much more adequate fashion than does the present system. Despite the forebodings of those who fear the ability of democracy to function in politics, reli- gion, industry or in other lines of endeavor, democracy, when it once begins to function, finds a method of solving problems that to many formerly appeared to be insoluble. Numerous other objections are being continually raised 08 See also Russell, Proposed Roads to Freedom, Ch. IV. M4> SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION by critics, some concerning socialist economic or sociologi- cal theory, some concerning socialist tactics, others con- cerning the practical working out of the proposed socialist society. In regard to the latter problems, we have, in the foregoing pages, touched on the most important. It is to be hoped that both the objections and their answers will be carefully weighed in a scientific and fairminded spirit — with but one view, that of finding the truth wherever it may lead. PART II THE SOCIALIST MOVEMENT CHAPTER IX SOCIALISM AND INTERNATIONALISM (1848^1914) Beginnings of Internationalism Socialists in every country have been engaged in a fight for economic and political reconstruction. This has been primarily a na- tional struggle. Since the earliest beginnings of the move- ment also, socialists, through their international organ- izations, have been persistingly fighting for a more genu- ine brotherhood among the workers of the world. A virile international note was struck in the first great pronouncement of the socialist movement, The Commitnist Manifesto — in Marx and Engels' famous slogan, " Work- ingmen of all countries unite ! " The spirit of Internationalism was again voiced at the formation of the first International in 1864, when the dele- gates made a condition for admittance to their ranks the recognition of " truth, justice, and morality as a rule of their conduct toward each other without distinction of color, faith or nationality." Four years later at the Brussels congress of 1868, when the war clouds appeared to be hovering above France and Germany, the International took a position against war as such and recommended the general strike in case of an 1 For sketch of the International see last chapter. 247 248 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION outbreak, referring to the impending conflict between France and Germany, as a civil war in favor of Russia. Concerning the Franco= Prussian War.^ — When the conflict between Germany and France actually broke out, however, a somewhat less militant anti-war attitude was taken. Marx, at that time, in a letter to the German Party Executive, which he composed for the International, de- clared his belief that the German Social Democracy could take part in the national movement " in so far as and as long as it limits itself to the defense of Germany (which under certain conditions does not exclude the offensive, until peace is declared)." He did not oppose the German side of the struggle when the Napoleonic Empire was still intact, and when he felt that the mercenaries of Napoleon were threatening Germany. However, upon the over- throw of the empire and the establishment of the repub- lic, he demanded peace, and opposed all annexation, pre- dicting that the conquest of Alsace-Lorraine would lead to another conflict and prove " the infallible means of converting the coming peace into a truce which would be broken as soon as France has recuperated suflSciently to recapture the lost territory." In another manifesto, writ- ten for the General Council of the International at Lon- don, he predicted with rare insight that " this crime of having reestablished in the second half of the nineteenth century the policy of conquest " would drive France into the arms of Russia and would lead to " a race war, a war with the united Slav and Latin races." He characterized those advocating such a peace as " brainless patriots of the German middle class." His general line of reasoning 2 Most of the material given in the chapter may be found in Walling, The Socialists' and the War. See also Sombart, Socialism and the Socialist Movement, pp. 193-311. INTERNATIONALISM: 184(8^1914. 249 was followed by Engels, who at first favored the Germans and afterwards offered his services to the French. Socialists in Germany. — The sociahsts in Germany were divided on the subject. Wilhelm Liebknecht, a mem- ber of the North German Federation, at first decided to oppose the war budget, but was finally persuaded by Au- gust Bebel, another member, to abstain from voting, as a negative vote might be interpreted as supporting the " mis- chievous and criminal poUcy of Bonaparte." An affirma- tive vote, on the other hand, might be regarded as one of confidence in the Prussian Government, which, according to these socialists, had prepared the Franco-Prussian War by its actions in 1866. Bebel adopted a similar course. The Lassallian socialist members, on the other hand, supported the war budget, motived by the belief that the war should be prosecuted until the downfall of Napoleon gave the French democracy more breathing space and that the struggle would end in the unification of Germany and thus solve the national question which had hitherto pre- vented the growth of the great Social Democratic Party. The debates between the two groups were so bitter as to lead Liebknecht, the center of attack, to declare that he felt inclined to emigrate to America " out of disgust with these patriotic junketings." The Second International. — From the early seventies until 1889, the international movement among the workers was in abeyance. In the latter year the second Interna- tional was bom at Paris. Militarism was one of the most important subjects on the agenda at the opening congress. Demands were here made that standing armies be abol- ished, that international arbitration tribunals be formed, and that the people have a voice in the question of peace and war. These demands were reaffirmed at Brussels in 1891, at London in 1896, and at Paris in 1900. 260 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION At the last named congress, Jean Jaures declared that the organization of international peace and brotherhood was the most important question of the gathering. The policy toward militarism was again discussed, the congress declaring against all appropriations for army and navy. An important resolution passed at this congress read as follows : " 1. That it is necessary for the labor party in each coun- try to oppose militarism and colonial expansion with re- doubled effort and increasing energy. " 2. That it is absolutely necessary to reply to the alliance of the bourgeois classes and the governments for the per- petuation of war by an alliance of the proletarians of all lands for the perpetuation of peace — that is to say, to give up more or less platonic demonstrations of international soli- darity and adopt energetic international action in the com- mon struggle against militarism. " The congress suggests three practical courses for carry- ing this out — "1. The socialist parties everywhere shall educate the rising generations to oppose militarism tooth and nail. " 2. Socialist members of parliament shall always vote against any expenditure for the army, the navy, or colonial expeditions^. " 3. The standing International Socialist Committee shall be instructed to organize uniform movements of protest against militarism in all countries at one and the same time, whenever there shall be occasion to do so." The British delegate, Peter Curran, took occasion at this congress to deny the rumor that the British socialists had supported their government in the South African war, which had just been waged, declaring the South Afri- can affair to be mere robbery. During the Russian-Japanese War. — At the next INTERNATIONALISM: 1848-1914 251 gathering held at Amsterdam (1904) in the midst of the Russian-Japanese War, fraternal greetings were sent to the proletariat of both countries and the socialists and workers of all lands were called upon to oppose with all their might the continuance of war. The congress wildly applauded when delegates from Russia and Japan clasped hands and declared they had no animosity against each other. The past achievements of the socialists in preventing wars, the cause of modern wars, and the general strike as a preventive of wars were discussed from many points of view at the famous Stuttgart Congress of 1907. The Socialist Achievements — In reciting the achieve- ments of the workers since the Brussels Congress, the so- cialists declared : " We may mention the agreement entered into between the English and French trade unions, after the Fashoda incident, for the purpose of maintaining peace and for reestablishing friendly relations between England and France; the policy of the Social Democratic parties in the French and German Parliaments during the Morocco crisis, and the peaceful de- clarations which the socialists in both countries sent to each other; the common action of the Austrian and Italian so- cialists, gathered at Trieste with a view of avoiding a con- flict between the two powers; the great effort made by the socialists of Sweden to prevent an attack on Norway; and lastly, the heroic sacrifices made by the sociaHst workers and peasants of Russia and Poland in the struggle against the war- demon let loose by the Czar, in their eiFort ... to utilize the crisis for the liberation of the country and its workers." Causes of War. — After discussing the causes of most modern wars, the congress finally passed a resolution in which it attributed war in general to competition for mar- 252 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION kets, militarism, national prejudices and the desire to weaken the growing power of the working class. It de- clared : " The congress reasserts the resolutions adopted by former International Congresses against militarism and imperialism, and declares afresh that the war against militarism must proceed hand in hand with the general class war. Wars be- tween nations are, as a rule, the consequences of their com- petition in the world market, for each state seeks not only to secure its existing markets, but also to conquer new ones. This means the subjugation of nations and lands, and, there- fore spells war. But wars result furthermore from the con- tinual attempts of all lands to outstrip their neighbors in mili- tary armaments — one of the chief supports of the capitalist class supremacy, and therefore of the economic and political oppression of the proletariat. " Wars are also favored by national prejudices which the ruling classes fan into a flame for their own interests, and in order to turn the attention of the proletariat away from the interests of their class and from international consolidation of those interests. Wars, therefore, are part and parcel of the nature of capitalism; they will cease only when the capi- talist system declines, or when the sacrifices on men and money have become so great as a result of the increased magnitude of armaments that the people will rise in revolt against them and sweep capitalism out of existence. The working classes, who contribute most of the soldiers and make the greatest material sacrifices, are, therefore, the natural opponents of war. Besides which, war is opposed to their highest aims — the creation of an economic order on a so- cialist basis, which shall express the solidarity of all na- tions." The General Strike — While the question of the causes of war gave rise to considerable controversy, the methods of preventing war from breaking out under the system of INTERNATIONALISM: 1848-191* 253 private ownership received the greatest amount of atten- tion. The preventive most vigorously discussed by Jaures, Bebel and others was the general strike. The general strike had been the occasion for contro- versy in a number of former gatherings. In 1891 Domela Nieuwenhuis, leader of the Dutch socialists, introduced a resolution urging the socialists of all countries to " reply to the proposition of a war by an appeal to the people to declare a general strike." A similar proposition was in- troduced by Giles, an English delegate, but, as this weapon was then associated with anarchist propaganda, these pro- posals were coldly received. Instead the motion presented by Wilhelm Liebknecht and Edouard Vailliant was adopted, which attributed war and militarism to indus- trial exploitation and declared that those desiring to end war should join the socialist movement. Two years later, Nieuwenhuis again brought the matter before the Congress of Zurich, but George PlechanofF, who reported the resolution, urged that the proposal be re- jected on the ground that it would deliver the more social- istic countries, which would strike, into the hands of the less advanced, which would fail to follow suit. The dis- cussion at this gathering gave rise to an impassioned speech by Wilhelm Liebknecht in defense of the tactics of the German socialists. He declared: " Not a man, not a penny, this is our program. Since it came into existence, our party has not given to the German Army a single penny! You cannot struggle against the Mo- loch of militarism by promoting puerile, barrack insurrec- tions. You would merely deliver to the Moloch a few un- fortunate persons. . . . When the masses are socialists, mili- tarism will have seen its last day ! " The Dutch resolution was again rejected, France and 254 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Holland alone supporting it and a motion was passed simi- lar to that submitted at the Brussels conference. But the idea of the general strike as a preventive of war did not down. In 1907, prior to the International gather- ing, a general strike resolution was adopted by the French socialist congress, favored by the moderates, Jaures and Vaillant, and opposed by Guesde. The resolution in sub- stance was brought before the Stuttgart assembly. The French majority resolution maintained that mili- tarism was " to be viewed exclusively as the arming of the state in order to keep the working class in political and economic subjection to the capitalist class"; that the working class was in duty bound to defend its independence against attack; that the policy of defense demanded the arming of the working class through the introduction of general military service of the people and that it was the duty of the International Socialist Bureau to assist in pre- venting war " by national and international socialist ac- tion of the working class by all means, from parliamentary intervention to public agitation and the general strike and insurrection." Bebel on the General Strike — Bebel, representing the German socialists, bitterly opposed the resolution. He denounced the teachings of Herve and Marx (in the Com- munist Manifesto) that " the proletariat has no Father- land." " What we fight against," he declared, " is not the Father- land itself, which belongs to the proletariat far more than to the ruling classes, but the conditions which are present in the Fatherland in the interests of the ruling classes. Civi- lized life can only be developed upon the basis of full free- dom and independence, by means of the mother-tongue. Therefore the effort everywhere among people who are under foreign rule is to gain freedom and independence." INTERNATIONALISM: 184g-1914. ^56 Bebel then challenged Herve's statement that, at the time of a crisis, it is difficult to say what is an aggressive and what a defensive war. " Affairs are no longer in such shape," he declared, " when the threads of a war catastrophe are hidden to educated and observing students of politics. Closet diplomacy has ceased to be." He maintained that if the general strike were tried in Germany in time of war, serious consequences would foUow. " I must declare firmly," he continued, " that these means with us are impossible and beyond discussion. How things are in Germany we see in the case of Karl Liebknecht, who is under trial for high treason, although in his writing he only quoted Herve and declared his tactics impossible." In Germany no one wants war, he contended, and the rul- ing class concedes the danger of a revolution. " In Germany," he concluded, " we struggle against the existing militarism on land and water in every possible form, and with all our strength, but we cannot be pushed beyond into methods of struggle which might endanger the party activities, and even the very existence of the party." Jaures' Reply. — Jaures launched a powerful invective against Bebel's point of view. He denied that he was preaching Herveism and continued: " Herve wishes to destroy the Fatherland. We wish to socialize the Fatherland for the benefit of the proletariat. . . . Our resolution is not the chance specter of the brain of a dreamer^ but has developed as a necessary outgrowth of the great Fashoda and Morocco crisis. ... In no questions are we content with parliamentary action alone. The prole- tariat wishes to step upon the stage as a player of its own fortune. The prevention of war must also be given by the proletariat all the powerful force that it has in its great masses. . . . Kautsky has declared for direct action in case the German troops should interfere in favor of the Czar. 256 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Bebel repeated this sentence before the Reichstag. If you can say that, you can also say it in the case of all national conflicts. Certainly the military intervention of Germany in favor of the Czar, against the Russian Social Democracy, will be the most extreme, the sharpest imaginable form of class struggle. " But if a government does not go into the field directly against Social Democracy, but, frightened by the growth of socialism, seeks to make a diversion abroad, if a war arises in this way between France and Germany, would it be allow- able in that case that the French and German working class should murder one another for the benefit of capitalists, and at their demand, without making the most extreme use of its strength? If we did not try to do this, we would be dis- honored. " Liebknecht is called before the military court, not be- cause he called the proletariat to arms, not for an uncertain and misnamed danger of war, but the complaint expressly declares a war between Germany and France as likely, and accuses him of high treason in case of such a war. You must also bring this possibility into the scope of your thought, just as much as the possibility of the invasion of Germany by Russia, and make your preparation for it." In his reply, Bebel declared that he knew better than the French how the resolution would be regarded in Ger- many. " For the sake of nothing at all, for something that we do not know would even be carried out in a crisis, we are not willing to prepare trouble for ourselves and to seriously cripple our movement." He predicted that mil- itarism would break its own neck, and that a war would bring such poverty, unemployment, suffering, that it would be the last one. The Resolutions at Stuttgart. — The resolution finally adopted out of regard for the German's fear of the dis- rupting influence of the general strike plank made the INTERNATIONALISM: 1848-1914. 257 use of the general strike a possible weapon against war, but not a required weapon. The socialists, it maintained, " must use every effort which, according to the political situation and the opposing class interests, will best con- tribute to the maintenance of peace. If, however, despite all efforts, war breaks out, then it becomes their primary duty to bring about its conclusion as quickly as possible, and thereafter to make the most of the opportunities of- fered by the economic and political crises which are sure to follow the war, in stirring up public opinion and has- tening forward the abolition of capitalist class rule." The Stuttgart Congress also reaffirmed the position taken in the 1900 Congress that socialist representatives refuse funds for the upkeep of naval and military armaments and advocated democratic " citizens' " armies to take the place of standing armies. It furthermore indorsed the deci- sion taken toward colonization at the London Congress of 1896, in which it was declared that " whatever may be the pretext for colonial politics, whether it be religion, or for the purpose of advancing civilization, it is in reality nothing but the extension of the field of capitalist exploi- tation in the exclusive interest of the capitalist class." The Copenhagen Congress of 1910. — The Copenhagen Congress also gave much attention to the question of mil- itarism. It restated the causes of war as given at the Stuttgart Congress, though in a somewhat modified form, declaring that wars would cease completely only with the disappearance of the capitalist mode of production and that the working class bore the main burdens of war. It demanded again that socialist representatives refuse the means for armament and advocated disarmament, arbi- tration of international disputes, the abolition of secret diplomacy and a guaranty of all nations against military attack or suppression by force. 258 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The General Strike Again — The general strike was also again considered, the following resolution being in- 'troduced by Keir Hardie of England and VaiUant of France : " Among the means to be used in order to prevent and hinder war, the congress considers as particularly efl5ca- cious the general strike, especially in the industries that supply war with its implements (arms and ammunitions, transports, etc.), as well as the propaganda and popular action in their most active forms." The chief protagonist of the resolution was J. Ramsay MacDonald, who denounced the German socialists for their refusal to indorse the strike. Ledebour, representing the Germans, was the chief opponent of the resolution. He especially denounced the British socialists for keeping in office by their votes governments that increased expendi- tures for army and navy. At the suggestion of Vander- velde, the Hardie-Vaillant resolution was referred to the International Socialist Bureau for study and was to be brought for further discussion before the Vienna Con- ference of August 23, 1914. The Morocco Crisis of 1911 — The year following the Copenhagen Congress was filled with rumors of war aris- ing out of the Morocco controversy and gave the socialists in Germany, France and England an opportunity to show their spirit of internationalism. On July 4, the Vorwaerts of Berlin urged great meetings protesting against " the jingoes who wish the citizens' blood for the capitalistic in- terests in Morocco." A few days later the Executive Committee of the French Section of the International sent to the German socialists a message declaring its readiness to carry out the resolution of the Stuttgart Congress. The Germans replied that they accepted the initiative INTERNATIONALISM: 1848-1914* 259 of the French comrades, adding: " Morocco is worth the bones of neither the French nor German workmen.'' On August 17, an international peace demonstration was held in London in cooperation with the Labor Party, the Federation of Trade Unions and the Trade Union Congress. The socialist and labor protest was given in Parliament by MacDonald. The German socialists held a number of monster mass meetings. On September 3 at least ten such meetings were held in Berlin, attended by a half million workers. The gatherings protested against the imperialistic policy of Germany, the resolutions asserting that new colonial acquisitions, far from profiting the workers, would add new burdens and create an unforeseen war danger and declaring that the Social Democrats would oppose war by all means at their disposal. The war cloud for a while disappeared. The so- cialists were not the only factors at work for peace. That their agitation had its effect there can be little doubt. The Balkan Situation. — Hardly, however, had the Mo- rocco crisis passed than the Balkan crisis loomed large on the horizon. Many there were who felt that the war conflagration, started in south-eastern Europe, would spread throughout the continent. The first duty of the socialists was to prevent its spread.. A special congress was called at Basel, Switzerland, on November 24 and 25, 1912, to discuss the situation. This special congress — the last before the European war — reiterated the resolution passed at the Stuttgart and the Copenhagen Congresses in which the working classes were urged to use the means which seemed to them to be most efficacious to prevent war, and to assist in bringing the war, should it break out, to the most speedy £60 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION conclusion, and declared that the Balkan outbreak, if allowed to spread, " would become the most frightful dan- ger to civilization and the workers." It approved of the efforts of the socialists of the Balkans to establish a democratic federation of Balkan states ; opposed national jingoism and inequality of opportunity among the Balkan peoples ; urged the socialists of Austria-Hungary and en- virons " to prevent any attack of the Austrian monarchy upon Servia " ; congratulated the Russian workers on their protest strikes and urged them to oppose all bellicose Czarist undertakings. It continued: " The most important task of the international socialist movement falls to the lot of the workers of Germany, France and Great Britain — to demand for their governments at the present moment an undertaking to refuse all support to either Austria-Hungary or Russia and to abstain from all interven- tion in the Balkan trouble and in every way to observe an unconditional neutrality. A war between the three civilized nations over the question of an outlet to the sea, concerning which Austria and Servia are in dispute^ would be criminal folly." The greatest danger to European peace, it maintained, was the artificially-fostered animosity between Great Brit- ain and Germany and the workers should do their best to promote an understanding. Attention was also called to the revolutionary movements following the Franco- German War and the Russo-Japanese War and the gov- ernments were warned that intense unrest would follow the outbreak of war. After the congress, the socialists in western and central Europe continued their anti-war meetings. The socialists in the Balkans also opposed war and agitated for a fed- eration of Balkan states. Of particular interest is the INTERNATIONALISM: 184*8-1914 261 letter of the Social Democratic members of the Fourth Duma, issued on May 8, 1913, to the Austrian and Hun- garian Social Democrats, reciting the struggle between Austria and Russia for the hegemony of the Balkans, trac- ing the disunions in the Balkans to the machinations of the diplomats of the two countries and declaring that a war between the two countries would be an act of insanity and that " the people of Russia do not know of one single cause which would offer a shadow of reason for such a crime." Again the conflagration of all of Europe was averted, partly as a result of the protestations of the socialists. The near approach to the brink of war at the time of the Morocco crisis and the Balkan Wars, however, gave an impetus to greater military preparations on the part of a number of the European countries and created a pop- ular fear which made the work of the socialists in fighting against increased armaments ever more difficult. The German Military Budget of 1913- — This situation gave rise in Germany to a compromise position on the question of military appropriations, a position undoubt- edly interpreted by many in the ruling class of Germany as indicative of a weakening of Social Democratic opposi- tion to militarism. In 1913, the government announced its new armament bill which provided for an increase of the German army of about 136,000 soldiers, from 544,221 pri- vates and regulars to 661,176. This increase was neces- sary, the militarists asserted, on account of the disturb- ances due to the Balkan War and the extended boundary lines of Germany. The government proposed to raise the sum from a single extraordinary contribution from the wealthy. Haase, the leader of the Reichstag socialists, vehe- mently denounced the proposed increase on the ground that political conditions did not warrant it. Germany's 262 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION relations with England, he claimed, were good, the Bal- kan situation was not dangerous, the Slavic peril was a theoretical fantasy and the people on either side of the French and German border line demanded peace. The real reason for the increase, he maintained in the Reichstag, is that " You want elbow room in order to carry your imperialistic policies. . . . Armaments must be increased to the extreme that we may add weight to our demands, when the time comes for the division of Turkish spoils among the great European nations. Not for the protection of our borders — no, the intimidation of other nations is our aim, — those nations, who, like our own imperialist, urge on to war and conquest.' In their opposition to military increases, the Social Democrats were a unit. They also supported by a ma- jority the measure to have the military expenditures and the military tax bills voted for separately, and in this they held the deciding vote. The Taxation Bill. — Following that decision, came the question as to whether they would support the taxation bill, while maintaining their opposition to the military expenditures. On this question there was a long and heated debate. The majority (52 to 37, 7 abstaining from voting) finally decided to vote for the tax bill. Their argument was substantially as follows : This tax bill, while insufficient, is, nevertheless, a step forward on the road toward a national income, property and inheri- tance tax law, toward a comprehensive system of direct taxation. We fought for such direct taxation for many years. This is the first opportunity presented to us in the Reichstag to support the direct taxation principle. Should, on this occasion, we oppose this bill, it would be diflScult to explain our point of view to our constituency. INTERNATIONALISM: 1848-1914< Furthermore, it is doubtful whether, without our votes, the taxation bill will pass. Its defeat would mean the dis- solution of the Reichstag, a new election and a decreased socialist representation. This decrease we could not risk on account of the coming revision of the tariff. The use of the income derived from taxes is a considera- tion foreign to the matter in hand. When the Social Democrats go to a vote on the taxation bill, the fate of the armament bill will have been decided. It is the duty of the party to keep the burden of this new military expendi- ture from falling upon the shoulders of the working class. This action also fulfills the provisions of the mutual mani- festo of the socialists of the French Chamber of Deputies and the German Reichstag, issued March 1, 1913, " ac- cording to which the financial burden caused by military expenditures which are authorized in spite of opposition of the socialist group, shall be borne by the wealthy class of the nation." This majority view was opposed by a virile minority. They argued: The old axiom of our party has ever been, " For this system not one man, not one penny." The pur- pose of the tax bill is its chief consideration. There is undeniably a connection between the military expenditure and the taxation bills. ... If we grant the government the means for carrying out the armament appropriation bill by voting for both tax laws, our direct approval of military expenditures would arouse the antagonism of the entire country." Such tactics will lead to confusion. We are not compelled to vote for direct taxation in all cases. We should support such taxation where it will do away with indirect taxation, but this is not a case in hand. In fact, the direct taxes proposed by the govern- ment will be passed, even though we vote against them. We therefore need not fear the dissolution of the Reichs- 264. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION tag. Even though we were to lose seats, we would not lose votes. Nor are we forced by the French and German manifesto to vote for such a law. The manifesto only calls for a vigorous struggle for property taxes. Presentation of Vote. — Haase, in presenting the vote of the socialist group in the Reichstag, again attacked the increased military appropriation as evoking " the spirit of world-wide war against the will and against the interests of the workers of all nations," and concluded : " We shall vote for the proposed tax laws because we hope thereby to prevent the passage of other tax bills which would throw the whole burden upon the poor of the country. We are convinced, moreover, that the taxing of the upper classes, in order to support new armament measures, may be an effective means of dampening the enthusiasm for increased military forces which obtains in these circles and thus indirectly of gaining a new weapon in our struggle against militarism." This whole controversy was again reviewed during the simimer at the party congress, in which Richard Fischer, Scheidemann and Suedekum upheld the majority decision ■and Geyer, Stadthagen and Ledebour opposed it. Fischer emphasized the loss of seats on the second ballot, should the group have voted against the tax law. Scheidemann declared that the anti-militarist agitation had died down in the country, in spite of the efforts of the National Ex- ecutive, and that " a new general movement against the armament bill was impossible." Geyer of Saxony, who proposed a resolution against the position of the majority — which resolution received the votes of nearly one-third of the congress — declared that *' the moment we give to the government funds to cover military expenditures, our whole struggle against mili- tarism becomes a farce," and that the Social Democrats INTERNATIONALISM: 1848-1914* 265 thus encourage the government to go again to the Reichs- tag with increased demands. Ledebour dwelt on the pos- sible loss of a few seats, declaring that such a loss was but a secondary consideration. This was the last big struggle of the German Social Democrats on the question of militarism prior to the war, although Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg and many other leading socialists kept up a persistent campaign against militarism. The French Socialists and the General Strike. — At about this time, the French socialists were confronted with the Three Year Law and vigorously, though unsuccess- fully, fought it at every step, while the British socialists were engaged in a fight against increased naval appropria- tions. The final National Congress held prior to the war was that of the French, on July 15-17, 1914, about two weeks before the war declaration. At this congress, the subject of the general strike was brought forward by the delegates from the Seine Federation, who introduced a resolution that " the French Party considers the spon- taneous general strike of the workers of all countries, com- bined with anti-war propaganda among the masses, as the most workable of all means in the hands of the workers to prevent war and to force international arbitration of the dispute." The resolution, supported by Jaures and Vaillant and opposed by Compere-Morel and Guesde, was finally passed by a vote of 1690 to 1174. In defending the resolution, which, contrary to that es- poused by Hardie and Vaillant, was not limited to certain industries, Jaures declared that the problem of striking was especially difficult in the case of France and Germany, the former of which was exposed to the danger of Pan-Ger- manism, and the latter, to that of Pan-Slavism. He con- tinued : 266 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION " Therefore, an agreement is necessary. It would be a crime of crimes to hurl the French and German workers against one another. . . . But for this very reason we should appeal to the International to direct both peoples. Action is possible, but not after the outbreak of war. For then the world is surrendered to all the powers of hell. . . . We do not demand that a pledge be given (to strike). . . . We must make the proletariat conscious of what the world expectjs from it, and if we iill it with the idea that its mission is to give peace to the world, we shall make it capable of accom- plishing this ideal." Jaures declared that the strike should be allowed to stop first in that country which first ofi^ers arbitration to the other. VaUlant, in his address, stated that the general strike had stood the test in Russia, Sweden and Belgium, had been discussed in Prussia, and that even the partial crippKng of industry would result in preventing mobiliza- tion. Sembat declared that we would accept the general strike only on condition that it was also accepted in Ger- many. Opposition to Strike. — In opposing the resolution, Compere-Morel maintained that the " ruling classes would simply draft the workingmen of the industries in question into the army," and that the socialists should direct all of their efforts to the avoidance of war. He continued : "What is the purpose of a formulation which injures our propaganda and which one will not dare to defend before the voters? We must declare that we will use all means to pre- vent a war of aggression and also that we will use all means for the defense of our country. In the unlikely case that the proposal is accepted and carried out, it could only insure the defeat of the best organized proletariat and that which was truest to the decision of the International." Summary. — The socialist movement thus for years be- AT OUTBREAK OF WAR 267 fore the outbreak of the European war had fought vig- orously against war and militarism, and, in several in- stances, was a considerable factor in preventing war. It did not take a stand against all war, claiming the right to engage in wars of defense, and, partly because of the op- position of the German socialists, refused, as an interna- tional movement, to commit itself to the general strike as a preventive to war. A strong minority, including the French socialists and the Independent Labor Party, how- ever, favored the general strike and the question was scheduled for discussion again at the proposed Interna- tional Congress of August 23, 1914. IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF WAR Meeting of International Bureau. — With the ma- jority vote favoring the general strike, Jaures and the other leaders of the French socialists planned to attend the International Socialist Congress, scheduled for Vi- enna on August 23, 1914 — fifty years after the birth of the first International. The discussion of war and the general strike promised to be memorable in the history of the movement. The congress, however, was not to be held. A few days after the French gathering adjourned, Austria issued its note against Servia. The International Socialist Bureau hastily called a special conference of its members in la Maison du Peuple in Brussels to discuss the means whereby the conflict might be averted. On the af- ternoon of July 29, the day after Austria declared war against Servia, delegates from the more important coun- tries of Europe hurried to Brussels. They decided to change the place of the International Congress from Vi- enna to Paris, to forward the date to August 9, and to make the subject of war the chief question on the agenda. The bureau urged " the workers of all nations concerned 268 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION not only to continue but even to strengthen their dem- onstrations against war in favor of peace and of a set- tlement of the Austro-Servian conflict by arbitration." It continued : " The German and French workers will bring to bear on their governments the most vigorous pressure in order that Germany may secure in Austria a moderating action, and in order that France may obtain from Russia an undertaking that she will not engage in the conflict. On their side the workers of Great Britain and Italy shall sustain these efforts with all the power at their command." The Brussels Meeting — That night the Belgian Labcr Party held a great " guerre a la guerre " (war against war) demonstration, which the author chanced to attend, in the Cirque Royal of Brussels, the largest of the city's theaters. Keir Hardie, representing the British workers, one of the principal speakers, appealed to the workers to resist war. He said in part : " Europe is filled with anxiety tonight. The fear of the horrors of war is haunting the minds of men, and yet the pro- letariat of Europe do not desire bloodshed. If the people of Europe are opposed to war, why does the fear of war exist.? Because the common people do not rule. ' But war's a game which, were their subjects wise, Kings would not play at.' " The proletariat are in the majority. They have to paj' for war in money, bloodshed, and heartache, and if they out- number the ruling class ten to one, why do they not control the government? The working class allows itself to be di- vided by religion, nationalities, want of knowledge. If only they will sink their petty differences, the workers will be- come masters and war will disappear. Socialism is the one means of freedom and liberty, and unity is the means where- by this may be obtained." AT OUTBREAK OF WAR 269 Jaures' Last Appeal — Haase of Germany, Agnini of Italy, Roubanovitch of Russia, Troelstra of Holland, Van- dervelde of Belgium, and, last of the speakers, that most remarkable of socialist orators and statesmen, Jean Jaures of France, bitterly denounced war and the causes of war. " When, after twenty centuries of Christianity, after one hundred years of the triumph of the principles of the rights of men," asked Jaures, in this the last public address he was destined to make, " how is it possible that millions of people, without knowing why, can kill each other? " He inquired how Germany could have permitted Austria to send such an inexcusable note to Servia. " And if Germany did not know of this Austrian note, what is her governmental wisdom ? " He continued : " As for us, it is our duty to insist that France shall speak with force that Russia may abstain. If, unfortunately, Rus- sia does not abstain, it is our duty to say, ' We do not know of any other treaty except the one which binds us to the hu- man race.' " With cries for the revolution, for socialism, for peace, for the International, the vast audience dispersed. And that night down the Boulevard du Jardin Bot unique and through the length and breadth of the city's most popu- lous boulevards, the army of workers marched, singing fervently the Internationale, la Marseillaise and other songs of the workers. The meeting of Brussels, while the only genuinely inter- national demonstration held in the days of late July, was but one of hundreds held by the socialists of Europe dur- ing the week preceding the explosion. In Austria and Hungary — The Austrian socialists held scores of mass meetings in various large cities, while the group in the Austrian Reichsrath bitterly attacked the 270 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION militarists of their country for their ultimatum to Servia. The party, while denouncing the assassination at Sera- jevo, expressed its belief that " no necessities of state, no consideration for its prestige," compels the great power to depart from the paths of peaceful agreement. It laid the responsibility for the war on those who encouraged " the fatal step," and concluded : ' Peace is the most precious good of humanity, the greatest necessity of na- tions.' " In Hungary, the official organ of the party at Budapest declared that " the cries for war come only from the fiends who cannot forget the defeat suffered in the Balkan crisis." The German Socialists — Likewise the German social- ists conducted a vigorous anti-war campaign in many cities, and, on July 25, issued a burning denunciation against the conduct of the ruling class of Austria and Germany. It read in part : " Though we also condemn the behavior of the Greater Servia Nationalists, the frivolous war-provocation of the Austro-Hungarian Government calls for the sharpest pro- test. For the demands of that government are more brutal than have ever been put to an independent state in the world's history, and can only be intended deliberately to pro- voke war. . . . " It [the class conscious proletariat of Germany] imper- iously demands of the German Government that it use its in- fluence with the Austrian Government for the preservation of peace, and, if the shameful war cannot be prevented, to abstain from any armed interference. Not one drop of a German soldier's blood shall be sacrificed to the lust of power of the Austrian rulers and to the imperialistic profit-interests." The Berlin Vorwaerts attacked the Austrian ultimatum ; denounced the German Government for not taking steps against the Austrian intention; urged Austria and Ger- AT OUTBREAK OF WAR 271 many to accept the offer of England that the four neutral powers serve as mediators and arbitrators and intimated that it lay in the power of the Kaiser " to shake war or peace out of the folds of his toga.'' On July 25 and 26, the Wurtemberg Democrats passed resolutions threatening to train the masses for a general strike for the maintenance of peace. And during the week numerous mass meetings against war were held throughout the empire — in Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Bremen, Cologne, and other cities. On July 29, not less than twenty-eight such gatherings took place in Berlin, one alone being attended by 70,000 people. Many of these were broken up by counter demonstrations and by the police. Following the proclamation of martial law on July 31, the Executive Committee of the Social Democrats issued a second manifesto declaring that their earnest protests and repeated attempts to avert the catastrophe had been unavailing, and that " the terrible butchery of the Euro- pean nations is a horrible verification of the warnings we have given in vain to our ruling classes for more than a generation." On August 1, the Social Democrats sent a representa- tive to Paris to see whether it was possible for the So- cialist Parties of the two countries to adopt a common policy, but little came out of the conference. Belgian and French Socialists.- — The Belgian Labor Party held numerous anti-war demonstrations until after the invasion of Belgium by the Germans. In France like- wise the socialists opposed the entrance of their country into the conflict until the last moment, at the same time declaring that Austria and Germany were the chief ag- gressors. In their manifesto on July 28, they attributed the roots of war to the anarchy of our social system ; as- 272 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION serted that the French Government was sincerely desirous of averting the conflict ; demanded that the government adopt a policy of conciliation and that it urge Russia not to seek a pretext for aggressive operations. They like- wise proclaimed the imperative necessity of organizing meetings demanding peace and declared that " they would work with the International against the abominable crime which now menaces the world. The possibility of this crime is in itself a condemnation of the whole regime." The previous day the Federation of Trade Unions of the Seine took part in a great anti-war demonstration, which was charged on by the police, many of the partici- pants, including M. Bon, the socialist deputy, suiFering arrest. On July 29, the socialists were out in force to protest against the war, but they were met by hundreds cheering the declaration of hostilities. Great Britain. — All socialist groups in England also opposed war prior to England's entrance, basing their an- ti-war argument largely on the ground that war would mean England's cooperation with Russian despotism. On July 31, the British Committee of the International Bu- reau, representative of all sections of the British move- ment, issued a manifesto, drafted by Hyndman, urging the British Government to remain neutral in the event of war, and warning it against Russian aggression and des- potism. On the following Saturday and Sunday, huge " Stop the War " meetings were arranged in London and other cities under the direction of the Bureau and of the Labor Party. Cunningham Graham, at the Trafalgar Square meeting, took the position that, had England given her word that she would have had nothing to do with the war, " Russia would have ceased her bluffing and Germany would never have had the opportunity to impel war." AT OUTBREAK OF WAR 273 As late as August 3, the representatives of the British Labor Party and the British socialists of the International Bureau, Arthur Henderson and Keir Hardie, urged " vast demonstrations against war in every industrial center," maintaining that " the success of Russia at the present time would be a curse to the world.'' In Russia. — In Russia, which, immediately prior to the war, was in the throes of a general strike, the socialists also protested against a resort to arms, declaring that Russia's alleged desire to protect small nationalities was mere hypocrisy. The manifesto of the Social Revolution- ist Party read in part: " There is no doubt that Austrian imperialism is respon- sible for the war with Servia. But is it not equally criminal on the part of the Serbs to refuse autonomy to Macedonia and to oppress smaller and weaker nations ? " It is the protection of this state that our government considers its sacred duty. What hypocrisy ! Imagine the intervention of the Czar on behalf of poor Servia, whilst he martyrizes Poland, Finland, and the Jews, and behaves like a brigand towards Persia." Italy. — At the beginning of the agitation for war in Europe, the Italian socialists proclaimed their position of neutrality, especially opposing Italy's participation on the side of Austria and Germany. A revolution, it warned, would follow such participation. The agitation of the socialists undoubtedly had its ef- fect in preventing Italy from assisting the Central Powers. Later the middle classes began to give their support to the Allied cause. Mussolini, editor of the Avanti, urged that the party refrain from deciding future tactics in case of war, until the events themselves gave the basis upon which to act. The party executive, however reaffirmed 274 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION its former position of neutrality, and Mussolini resigned, founding an independent pro-war paper. Most of the op- position to neutrality came from the Socialist Reform Party, which soon definitely hegan a propaganda in favor of war against Austria. By the end of September, the Socialist Party realized that it was necessary to urge its position of neutrality more aggressively. Its statement held the present capi- talistic system responsible for the war and declared that " the socialist deputies will not vote the military credits for a war of aggression." In February, 1915, the so- cialist and labor forces held a conference in Milan, passed a resolution against war and practically gave to the party executive power to prepare a general strike, if need be, in order to avert war. This was passed by a vote of 182 to 125 for the more moderate resolution of Turati. Other Countries — In Holland, the Dutch socialists fought for neutrality. On August 1, Troelstra publicly favored the policy of mobilization as a means of maintain- ing neutrality, though vigorously opposing any aggressive participation in the war. At Zurich, Switzerland, on July 29, the Swiss socialists held a great demonstration against war. On September 27, the Swiss and Italian socialists, at a conference held at Lugano, declared that the European struggle was largely a struggle for markets and for the purpose of breaking down the revolutionary movement of the proletariat. While the German and Austrian Governments pretended that they were fighting against Czarism, it maintained, they had always befriended the reign of the Russian Czar. The declaration also de- nounced England and France for their alliance with Rus- sia and declared that it was the party's task " to fight to the last breath against the extension of this war into other nations." On November 1, the Swiss Socialist Con- AT OUTBREAK OF WAR 275 gress favored an " uncompromising class struggle of the proletariat on an international basis " and their refusal " to take any responsibility for the politics of the ruling classes," as the only method of attaining peace. The socialists of Denmark and of Sweden likewise placed themselves on record in favor of neutrality. In Rumania, the Social Democratic Party published an appeal against the pro-Russian propaganda which tended to plunge Rumania into war. The "narrow" (orthodox) socialists in Bulgaria on November 24 urged that the So- branje should demand intervention, in common with neu- tral nations, " in order to bring about the earliest possible end to the bloodshed." The Portuguese socialists, on Oc- tober 6, also demanded the strictest neutrality. It is thus seen that, prior to the actual declaration of war, socialists in practically every European country opposed their country's entrance. In many of the coun- tries that remained neutral, the influence of the socialist movement was very considerable in maintaining neutrality. IMMEDIATELY AFTEE THE DECLARATION OP WAR Following the outbreak of war, however, the socialists in a majority of the countries ceased their opposition to war, in several instances actively supporting hostilities. The Belgian Socialists — On August 3, the Belgian so- cialists issued a manifesto in which they declared that, " in defending the neutrality and even the existence of our country against militarist barbarism we shall be conscious of serving the cause of democracy and of political liberty in Europe." At the same time they urged their members never to forget that " they belong to the International, and that they must be fraternal and humane as far as is compatible with their legitimate individual defense and that of the country.'' 276 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Emile Vandervelde, chairman of the International So- cialist Bureau, accepted a position in the Belgian Cabi- net and the party as a whole, from then on, gave its un- divided support to the war. In France. — A similar line of procedure was adopted in France. The socialist deputies, declaring that France was attacked, voted the war budget on August 6 and Marcel Sembat and Jules Guesde became members of the Cabinet. The manifesto, issued immediately after the war, declared that the Frenchmen were struggling " not only for the existence of the country, not only for the grandeur of France, but for liberty, for the republic, for civilization. We are struggling that the world, freed from the stifling oppression of imperialism and from the atrocities of the war, should finally enjoy peace and the respect of the rights of all." Soon after the outbreak, also, a manifesto of French and Belgian socialists, signed by a number of prominent members of the International Socialist Bureau, was issued for the purpose of explaining to the socialists of the neu- tral powers why the signers felt justified in entering the war. This document was spread by aeroplanes in the ter- ritory held by the Germans. It maintained that " there was no doubt that imperialistic Germany inspired Austria and wanted war," while, on the other hand, the French Government sincerely desired peace. On August 28, the French party oflBciaUy approved the entrance of its two members into the ministry of national defense. Several months later, Albert Thomas became Minister of Munitions. In 1916, Sembat and Guesde left, the Cabinet, Thomas for a while continuing. The English Socialists. — In England, the Independent Labor Party, the socialist branch of the British Labor AFTER DECLARATION OF WAR 277 Party, together with the left wing of the British Socialist Party, continued their opposition to war, while the main body of the Labor Party and the Hyndman group in the British Socialist Party took a pro-war position. The first manifesto of the Independent Labor Party, is- sued immediately after the war's outbreak, launched a vig- orous attack against Sir Edward Grey, declaring that, even though he had worked for peace during the last few days before war, he and other diplomats had " dug the abyss " by secret treaties, which " dragged Republican France at the heels of despotic Russia, Britain at the heels of France." ... It continued : " We desire neither the aggrandizement of German mili- tarism nor Russian militarism^ But the danger is that this war will promote one or the other. " In forcing this appalling crime upon the nations, it is the rulers, the diplomats, the militarists, who have sealed their doom. In tears and blood and bitterness the greater democracy will be born. With steadfast faith we greet the future; our cause is holy and imperishable, and the labor of our hands has not been in vain." In September, when called upon to make a pronounce- ment regarding their attitude toward recruiting, the In- dependent Labor Party showed it was still essentially op- posed to the war and recommended that its various branches take no part in the proposed campaign. The British Labor Party — The Labor Party, on the other hand, as has been indicated, soon ceased its opposi- tion to war. On August 5 and 6, the Labor members of Parliament held two meetings to determine their position toward war, and, on the latter date, a few hours after war was declared, issued a resolution in which the war was 278 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION laid to the door of " foreign ministers pursuing diplomatic policies for the purpose of maintaining a balance of power." On the night of the adoption of this resolution, how- ever, the majority of the members of the Labor Party in Parliament opposed the proposal of Ramsay Mac- Donald, their chairman, that he read its terms in the House. As a consequence of this decision, Mr. Mac- Donald resigned, Arthur Henderson being elected in his place. A few days later, the Labor members agreed to cooperate with the Tory and Liberal Parties, at the sug- gestion of the Prime Minister, in promoting a recruiting campaign, while the national executive of the party placed its machinery for recruiting purposes at the disposal of the joint committee. From that time, all of the parlia- mentary members of the party, with the exception of a half dozen, identified themselves with the general war pol- icy of the government. The September third manifesto of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress came out defi- nitely for the war, as " a struggle for the preservation and maintenance of free and unfettered democratic govern- ment," while, on October 14th, a majority of the Labor members in Parliament issued a more extensive declara- tion defending their position, and claiming that " the vic- tory of Germany would mean the death of democracy in Europe," and that working class aspirations for greater political and economic power would be crushed. In September, the British Socialist Party, the smallest of the socialist and labor groups here mentioned, gave a somewhat qualified indorsement of the war, declaring that it " has always maintained the right of nations to defend their national existence by force of arms," but protest- ing against the low wages for the recruits and reiterating AFTER DECLARATION OF WAR 279 its position that " the workers of Europe have no quarrel with one another." In 1916 the party spHt on the war is- sue, the pro-war group under Hyndman forming the Na- tional Socialist Party. The Fabian Society left its mem- bers free to act as they chose, although its representatives on the British Section of the International generally ac- cepted the policy of the majority. Germany — For a few days after the outbreak of the war, the Berlin Vormaerts bitterly attacked the action of the government, particularly holding up to scorn the at- titude of the officials toward Russia. Formerly, it de- clared, socialists were arrested for insulting the Czar. Nov/ the Germans are told that Czarism must be crushed. The Vorwaerts contended that Russia had changed greatly during the last few years, and that it was no longer a stronghold of reaction, but a land of revolution. On August S, however, a majority of the socialist mem- bers of the Reichstag met with a few other members of the party and decided, against the opposition of fourteen of their number, to vote for the war budget. Haase, the leader of the group, Karl Liebknecht, Franz Mehring, Rosa Luxemburg, Clara Zetkin and Karl Kautsky were among the dissenters, but, under the unit rule, on the following day, aU of the Social Democrats in the Reichs- tag voted with the majority. Haase, in presenting the case of the majority in the Reichstag, declared that the Social Democrats were in no way responsible for the war. He based their support of the war after its outbreak on their fear of a Russian victory. He said in part : " As far as concerns our people and its independence, much, if not everything, would be endangered by a triumph of Rus- sian despotism. . . . " It devolves upon us, therefore, to avert this danger, to 280 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION shelter the civilization and independence of our native land. Therefore, today we must justify what we have already said, In its hour of danger Germany may ever rely upon us. " We take our stand upon the doctrine basic in the inter- national labor movement, which at all times has recognized the right of every people to national independence and na- tional defense, and at the same time we condemn all war for conquest. We hope that as soon as our opponents are ready for negotiations, an end will be made to the war and a state of peace induced which will make possible friendly relations with our neighbors." In Austria it was difficult for the socialists to make their stand clear. The Arbeit er Zeitung, the official Aus- trian paper, on August 23, came out in support of the war, " in order that the people shall not be conquered." Later the Austrian deputies voted against the war budget. In Hungary, the socialist position was largely one of opposition. Russia — Perhaps the most daring of the acts of Eu- ropean socialist representatives after war broke out was that of the fourteen Social Democratic members of the Duma, who abstained from voting for the war budget, is- sued a statement against war and left the Duma followed by members of the Labor Party. The statement of the Social Democrats at this Duma meeting of August 8 main- tained that the hearts of the Russian workers were with the European proletariat ; that the war had been provoked by the policy of expansion for which the ruling classes of all countries were responsible and that the proletariat would defend the civilization of the world against this at- tack. On November 17, five of the socialist deputies were ar- rested for engaging in anti-war propaganda and conspir- ing to distribute a treasonable manifesto. This manifesto, AFTER DECLARATION OF WAR 281 the oiBcials asserted, declared that the defeat of the armies of the Czar would prove of little consequence; that the propaganda of social revolution should be carried on among the army and at the theater of war and that the weapons of the soldiers should be used not against their brothers but against the reactionary bourgeois govern- ments. The deputies were afterwards sentenced to exile and imprisonment. The labor group also took a stand against the war at the meeting of August 8, but afterwards supported the government because of the fear of invasion. Kerensky, in representing this group before the Duma, declared that they supported the war " in defense of the land of our birth and of our civilization created by the blood of our race." He, however, affirmed that the Russian citizens had no enemies among the working classes of the belli- gerents. He denounced the authorities for failing to grant amnesty to those who fought for their country's happiness, and urged the workers, after having defended their land, to free it. Other Countries — In the Balkans the Socialist Party of Servia refused to accept responsibility for any of the events leading to the war. The " narrow " Socialist Party in Bulgaria opposed the war, the " broad " party abstained. In Rumania, the official Socialist Party stood for neutrality, although a new Labor Party, formed by a few " intellectuals," supported the Allies. In Poland the Social Democratic Party uncomprom- isingly opposed the war ; one section of the Polish So- cialist Party took the same stand, while the other section placed their hopes in Austrian victory over Russia. The Portugal socialists supported the government. The Greek socialists for the most part favored neutrality, and attacked the alleged pro-German policy of the king. 282 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION In the British Dominions, the Labor Party of Australia supported the war, while the independent socialist bodies opposed it. Premier Hughes' attempt to impose con- scription on the country led to a split within the party and the formation of a new National Party under Hughes, by a coalition with the opposition. Summary — It is thus seen that, in most of the coun- tries, following the declaration of war, the majority of socialists took the position that they were defending the integrity of their country against attack, or that they were fighting for the principles of democracy, and were justified, according to socialist principles, in supporting their respective governments. A minority stood out against war. In Belgium and France, which were actu- ally invaded, the socialists at first supported their gov- ernments almost to a man. In Germany, the large ma- jority backed the war, a militant minority opposed it. In Austria, the official press came out for it, although vigorous opposition soon developed. In Hungary, where the movement was somewhat inarticulate, there was little support, and later much opposition. In England, senti- ment was also divided. The British Labor Party, the largest group, became active adherents of the war, while the smaller Independent Labor Party, and a branch of the British Labor Party, continued to voice its opposition. In Russia the Social Democrats remained anti-war, al- though the labor group gave the government their qual- ified support. The majority of the Italian socialists op- posed war, while considerable opposition was consistently evinced in many of the smaller countries. CHAPTER X TOWARDS THE NEW INTERNATIONAL THE INTERNATIONAI, DURING THE WAR ^ Early Conferences — Acting on the resolution that, if war actually broke out, it was the duty of the socialists " to bring about its conclusion as quickly as possible," so- cialists in various countries immediately urged the calling of an International Socialist Congress. The parties in America and Switzerland, within a month after the out- break of war, were the first to appeal for such a gather- ing. Their eiForts, however, were unsuccessful. In January, 1915, delegates of neutrals from Holland and the three Scandinavian countries met in Copenhagen for the purpose of incfluencing all neutral countries to work for a permanent peace. ^ The peace terms, they declared, should provide for an international court of ar- bitration, and for restriction of armament. Any change in national frontiers that might lessen the right of self- government should be opposed. The following month, on February 14, 1915, the so- 1 For more detailed description of these conferences see Balch, Approaches to the Great Settlement. 2 The International Socialist Bureau was transferred from Brus- sels to The Hague in October, 1914, and Troelstra, Van Kol and Albarda, representatives of the Dutch Socialist Parties, were added to the old Belgian committee, consisting of Vandervelde, Anseele and Bertrand, as the executive committee of the International. Huysmans was continued as secretary. 283 284 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION cialists of the Allied countries, including Great Britain, Belgium, France and Russia, met in London, Keir Hardie presiding. The conference denounced the policy of cap- italist imperialism, declared that the invasion of Belgium threatened the very existence of independent national- ities and that a victory for German imperialism would mean the destruction of liberty and democracy in Eu- rope ; demanded that Belgium be liberated and compen- sated, that the question of Poland be settled in accord- ance with the wishes of the Polish people and that " throughout all Europe, from Alsace-Lorraine to the Bal- kans, those populations which have been annexed by force shall receive the right freely to dispose of themselves.'' It continued: " While inflexibly resolved to fight until victory is achieved to accomplish this task of liberation, the social- ists are none the less resolved to resist any attempt to transform this defensive war into a war of conquest, which would only prepare fresh conflicts, create new grievances, and subject various peoples more than ever to the double plague of armaments and war." Their statement, in conclusion, demanded the establish- ment of an international authority, the suppression of secret diplomacy and the elimination of profiteering in the making of armaments. The socialists of Germany and Austria-Hungary also issued a number of pronouncements during the Spring and Summer. On April 12 and 13, 1915, at a meeting in Vi- enna, they passed a resolution favoring a peace based on international arbitration, international agreements to- ward gradual disarmament, democratic parliamentary con- trol of treaties and the right of peoples to decide their own destiny. The Zimmerwald Conference — The first conference DURING THE WAR 285 held after the outbreak of hostilities attended by social- ists from both the Allied countries and the Central Powers was that known as the Zimmerwald Conference, held at a city of that name in Switzerland, in September, 1915. Represented at this conference were the radical sections of the socialists in several of the countries, including Ger- many, France, Italy, Poland, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hol- land and the Scandinavian countries. Representatives from the I. L. P. and the B. S. P. of England were denied passports. The conference aimed to secure common work- ing class action in behalf of peace, and decided to estab- lish a commission at Berne to carry out this purpose. A second gathering was held at Kienthal in April, 1916, attended by delegates from Italy, Sweden, Russia and Ger- many, about forty in all. The Zimmerwald Manifesto, signed by Ledebour of the German Reichstag, the Russian Lenin and the French socialist Bourderon, declared in favor of a revolutionary war against the governments of their respective countries, the refusal of all war credits and war supplies and " immediate peace without annexa- tions." The delegates urged the workers to " defend themselves by class war against all forms of national op- pression " and to oppose all exploitation of the weaker nations. The " Zimmerwald socialists " met again in the summer of 1917, at that time transferring the headquarters from Berne to Stockholm. Little of any importance trans- pired at this conference. The Stockholm Conference — For some time after the beginning of the war, the International Socialist Bureau as such was quiescent. Beginning with the early part of 1915, the International Bureau attempted to get the socialists of the warring countries to arrive at a general agreement on the proposal to convoke a full congress. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The French and other socialists were at first luke-warm or definitely hostile to such a conference, but sentiment in favor of it gradually grew, and, in August, 1916, the neutrals were again convoked at The Hague and adopted a unanimous resolution in favor of the proposal. Early in 1917, the headquarters of the International was moved to Stockholm and Huysmans agreed to cooperate in the forming of a Dutch-Scandinavian Committee, of which Branting, leader of the Swedish party and a strong pro- Ally, acted as president. Stockholm was selected as the location of an informal conference. Troelstra arrived at Stockholm on April 26, and Huysmans, who had served as a steward in a freighter, landed on May 2. The con- ference was opened informally on May 13, the delegates giving their view to members of the Dutch-Scandinavian Committee. Huysmans took the position that Belgium must be reestablished and the material losses made good. Such restoration, he declared, did not constitute an in- demnity. Peace depended largely on whether the Ger- man socialists could force their government to come out specifically for the policy of no annexation. This view, according to Branting, was shared by all of the confer- ence participants, and Scheidemann returned to Germany with the conviction that the lack of confidence in Germany, due to the irresponsible character of the German govern- ment, was one of the chief obstacles to peace. The exchanges seemed to the Russians so fraught with possible results that, on May 9, the executive committee of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates issued an oflScial call to all socialist parties and to the principal labor organizations of the world to attend a conference to be held in Stockholm between June 28 and July 8, 1917. This date was afterwards changed to August 15. Results of the Questionnaire. — In the meanwhile a DURING THE WAR 28T questionnaire was sent out by the Dutch-Scandinavian Committee to the various groups, asking what terms of peace they favored. The four principal socialist groups in the Central Powers — the Ma;jority and Minority so- cialists of Germany and the Austrian and Hungarian so- cialists — stated that they desired substantially a peace without annexations and indemnities. All four parties seemed to favor a " reestablishment of an independent Belgium," the restoration of Servia and Montenegro, and the national independence of Russian Poland and Fin- land. All likewise agreed to a program of disarmament, the abolition of secret diplomacy, and of economic bar- riers, and seemed favorable to a court of international ar- bitration. They were considerably divided on the inter- pretation of indemnities and the disposal of Alsace-Lor- raine, and on other questions.^ APPROACHES TO THE GEEAT SETTLEMENT Refusal of Passports — The invitation of the Russian Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies to attend a peace conference at Stockholm was accepted by the so- cialists of France (May 28, 1917), of Italy (June 6), and of Great Britain (August 10). The first government to refuse passports to the dele- gates was the United States, where the Department of State decided not to grant passports to the socialist dele- gates, Hillquit, Berger and Lee. Following the leader- ship of the United States, the French Government also re- fused passports to the French socialist delegates. The government of Great Britain, through Sir Robert Cecil, denied permission to delegates of the Independent Labor Party to confer with fellow socialists in Petrograd, al- 3 For a more complete analysis of their stand, see Balch, Ap- proaches to the Oreat Settlement, pp. 172-94. 288 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION lowing them, however, to talk en route with other dele- gates from friendly countries. But the Sailors' and Fire- men's Union of Great Britain, through Havelock Wilson, president, refused to have its members serve on any ship carrying the delegates, taking the position that there should be " no peace maneuvers until Germany had made the fullest restitution for the wholesale massacre of Al- lied sailors at sea." The delegation therefore remained at home. Italy also refused passports. On account of these and other obstacles, the Stockholm Conference was finally called off. The Spring, 1918, Inter-Allied Socialist and Labor Conference. — The second Inter- Allied Conference met in London in August, 1917, but failed to agree on a common basis. The endeavor to form a working basis, however, was continued, and a third Socialist and Labor Confer- ence was called for London, in the Spring of 1918, largely at the inspiration of the British Labor Party. Delegates attended this conference from most of the AlHed countries outside of the United States, Italy and Russia.* The conference reiterated its declaration of the 1915 London Conference for a league of nations, for the aboli- tion of secret diplomacy, the limitation of armaments, and the prohibition of private manufacture. It declared it to be the duty of all labor and socialist groups to denounce without hesitation any imperialistic designs. It favored the principle of self-determination and specifically applied it in numerous instances. It reiterated its condemnation of colonial imperialism, and suggested a system of inter- * Representatives from the United States were again unable to secure passports. The Russian Bolshevik Government declined to send representatives on the ground that the conference was not in harmony with the principles of the International. It also refused passports to the representatives of the Social Revolutionists and the Mensheviks. DURING THE WAR national control under which the inhabitants would be duly considered, and all revenues would be devoted to the well- being of the colonies. It condemned the idea of an eco- nomic war after peace. It favored freedom of communi- cation and the development of the resources of every coun- try, not only for the benefit of its own people, but also of the world. Systematic arrangements should be made on an international basis for the carrying of available ex- portable foodstuffs to the different countries in propor- tion, not to their purchasing powers, but to their pressing needs. Within each country, furthermore, the govern- ments for some time must maintain control over the most indispensable commodities, " in order to meet the most ur- gent needs of the whole community on the principle of ' no cake for any one until all have bread.' " To avoid the unemployment problem, public works should be started throughout the world. For Labor Representation — Albert Thomas, Emile Vandervelde and Arthur Henderson were appointed a com- mission to secure from all governments that at least one representative of labor and socialism be included in the official representation at any government conference. The conference regretted the absence of American dele- gates, and appointed a committee to visit America and to confer with representatives of the American democracy. The Seamen's Union, however, refused to transport this committee to America. The memorandum was placed sometime later in the hands of the socialists of the Central Powers. Troelstra of Holland, during the Spring, held a number of interviews with the socialists of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and was scheduled to attend the Labor Party Conference in June, 1918. The British newspapers, however, raised a cry of pro-Germanism, and he was not permitted to land. 290 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION THE BERNE CONFERENCE Representation at Conference. — The first attempt to rehabilitate the International after the armistice was made in February, 1919, at the International Socialist Con- ference at Berne, Switzerland. Delegates were present at this conference which lasted from February 2 to 9, from Great Britain, France, Holland, Germany, Austria, and a score of other countries, purporting to represent some fifty millions of people.^ The Belgian socialists refused to meet the socialists of the Central Powers until the latter confessed their guilt. The American delegates failed to receive passports in time to make their appearance at the conference, which they later repudiated, while the Socialist Parties of Italy, Servia, Rumania, and Switzerland refused to lend the conference their support. The Communist Party — the Bolsheviks — of Russia, in stating their reasons for failure to attend, declared that in their opinion the most dangerous enemy of the world revolution was " the yellow international," and that the workers should carry on " an implacable struggle against the pseudo-socialist traitors." The majority of those present were veterans in the so- 5 In estimating the number represented at the Conference, Camille Huysmans, the secretary of the International since 1905, wrote that, prior to the war, the International included between ten and twelve million members. In February, 1919, the British delegation repre- sented 4,500,000; the French, 1,000,000; the Canadian, 500,000. The German delegation came in the name of all of the socialist and labor voters, numbering (Socialist Majority), 13,000,000; (Independents), 3,000,000. " The Lettish, Esthonian and Georgian delegations repre- sented a great part of their people. The Russian figures are com- pletely unknown. They may be one million or ten millions. The Ulirainians, who arrived at the close of the conference and indorsed ofBcially the Branting resolution, represented a nation of forty millions of which they are the majority." THE BERNE CONFERENCE 291 cialist cause, youth being conspicuous for its absence. The main topics on the agenda were: the responsibility for the war, the League of Nations, the territorial readjustment, the labor charter and the Russian situa- tion. Responsibility for the War — The two first days of the gathering were consumed with a fruitless attempt to fix the blame for the European conflagration. Both Karl Kautsky and Kurt Eisner criticized the Majority social- ists for the aid they rendered the government during the war. The Bavarian Premier particularly acknowledged the heavy guilt of Germany, but declared that the people had now dispensed with their militarists, and that a new spirit was governing that country. Eisner urged that the International be not animated by a spirit of revenge. His address called forth a storm of protest from Germany, and was doubtless a main cause for his assassination on his return. Stuart Bunning of Great Britain and Jean Longuet of France appealed to Albert Thomas, the leader of the French right wing socialists — who vigorously urged that the International fix responsibility — " not to turn this war of governments into a war of peoples of the world," and declared that " nationalism and chauvinism which had been beaten in Berlin and Vienna were raising their heads in Paris, Rome and London." Frederich Adler declared that Austria had prepared for the war long before the Serajevo murder. The Majority socialists were for the most part silent. An acknowledgment of guilt, contended some, would lead to heavier indemnities. The resolution which was finally passed ignored di- rectly the question of responsibility for the war, leaving the fixing of such responsibility to future conferences. It read in part : 292 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION " The Conference at Berne acknowledges that the question of the immediate responsibility of the war has been made clear through the discussion and through the declaration of the German Majority^ stating the revolutionary spirit of new Germany and its entire separation from the old system which was responsible for the war. In welcoming the German revo- lution and the development of democratic and socialist insti- tutions which it involves, the conference sees the way clear for the common work of the International. " The further explanations the German delegates have presented during the debates dealing with the League of Nations convinces the conference that from this time on the united working classes of the whole world will guarantee and prove the greatest power for suppression of all militarism and of every attempt to abolish international democracy." League of Peoples — The conference also went defi- nitely on record in favor of a genuinely democratic League of Nations. If the League of Nations is to count for world peace, they insisted, it should be based on a peace of justice. It should be representative of the people, and not of the executive branches of the government. It should unite all peoples organized on the basis of self- determination. It should abolish all standing armies, bring about complete disarmament, establish free trade, the open door to colonies and the international control of world thoroughfares. It should provide for the world dis- tribution of food stuffs and raw materials with a view to bringing the production of the world to the highest state of efficiency, and it should include a labor charter. The resolution concluded: " In proportion as the working class movement in every country grows in force, as the workers become conscious of their international tasks and become more determined in their opposition to any policy of might on the part of their govern- THE BERNE CONFERENCE K93 ments, in proportion, in fact, as socialism is realized and the new Socialist International grows in power, will the League be able to achieve more powerful and beneficial results." Warning by MacDonald. — Every speaker present ad- vocated a league of peoples, and spoke for a new spirit in world politics. Ramsay MacDonald urged the German socialists to give up their idea of a citizens' army and to oppose conscription root and branch, and warned against a league of governments. He said in part : " The League of Nations must not be associated with the spoils of war: it must not be an instrument of victory. It must be a territorial court of justice, not a police force to enforce injustice. It must enter into an inheritance of fair play, just dealing and democratic territorial division. If it enters into any other inheritance then every policeman it commands, every soldier it can order, will be used not for the liberty of the people, but for the purpose of keeping the people unhappy, enchained, . . . and altogether in the war- like frame of mind, which in 1914 enabled the governments to plimge their peoples into the abyss of destruction. " The League of Nations must not be an exclusive league — it must not be an alliance of certain powers possessed of the late war emotions. The league must be a union of all the nations whose political and social development entitles them to enter it. . . . " I desire the people to be the soul of the league — not the red tape of foreign o£Sces. . . . The league to which I object is the sort of league that the governments at Paris ap- parently want to impose upon the people. All that has so far been announced is that the Prime Ministers of the various states should meet once a year. Such a proposal is an insult to the peoples of Europe and no compliment to the intelligence of any of them. Such a league would be not better than the Holy Alliance of a hundred years ago. . . . " Bussia has been singled out for disapprobation not for 294 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION her crimes, but because of her new political policy. . . . There are atrocities and tyrannies elsewhere and they were not challenged elsewhere. " At this moment, owing to our war experiences, move- ments are beginning to limit and control executive power in democratic governments, but if these national executives are united in a league, acting internationally, they will have greater authority even than they had in the old days in their own national governments. A League of Nations must not be an expedient for restoring to weakened national executives the powers taken from them by the national parliaments." ° For Complete Disarmament J. H. Thomas, the powerful leader of British labor, also emphasized the ne- cessity for a league of common people rather than a league of diplomats, and urged the abolition of conscription. In answer to the objection that the conference must not lay itself open to the charge of utopianism, in demanding complete disarmament, Mrs. Snowden remarked: " But why should we be so concerned to save ourselves from such a charge.'' When we regard the ruin to which the world has been brought by the practical people to whom its affairs have hitherto been entrusted, is there not reason for trusting those who are named idealists, but whose policy of complete disarmament is the truly practical policy for mankind.^ " Arthur Henderson pled for the smashing of the old balance of power, for complete disarmament and for a peace of justice, and declared that it was his hope that the 8 Most of the material regarding the Berne Conference is ob- tained from a pamphlet on "The Spirit of the International in Berne," published by Schloss Steinhof of Lucerne. Summaries of important speeches are given. These do not always contain the exact words of the speaker, but, I believe, are faithful accounts of the spirit of the speaker's remarks. THE BERNE CONFERENCE 295 conference would influence the decisions in Paris in a very practical way. Kurt Eisner appealed to the press not to turn one nation against another, and challenged the youths of all countries to fight against militarism. While claiming that he had not even yet complete confi- dence in the German comrades, Albert Thomas said that he would support the league resolution. Territorial Adjustments — The resolution on terri- torial adjustment favored the self-determination of peo- ples, plebiscites in disputed territories, the protection of nationalities forming a minority or majority in a country, the protection by the League of Nations of vital economic interests, and the development of populations in depend- ences so that they might exercise the rights of free self- determination, by the founding of schools, the granting of local autonomy, freedom of speech and press, etc. The resolution continues : " The conference . . . protests against any attempts to falsify the application of the principles hereby proclaimed and, in consequence^ rejects: " 1. The rights of the victors to the spoils of war, and all the agreements by which states have been drawn into the war with the object of increasing their territory at the expense of other nations. "2. The fixing of frontiers according to military or strategical interests. " 3. Forced or veiled annexations claimed on the ground of so-called historic rights and so-called historic necessity. " 4. The creation of faits accomplis by the military occupa- tion of disputed territories. "5. The establishment of any economic or political sphere of influence. " The conference appeals to the working classes of every country to exert themselves to the utmost to compel their 296 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION governments to respect these principles in the interests of the conclusion of a lasting peace." Kautsky, in discussing this resolution, declared it the duty of the French socialists to urge a plebiscite for Al- sace-Lorraine. He said : " The Pan-Germans refused the plebiscite in 1871 and it was not right for those who advocated the plebiscite then to refuse it now. I have no doubt that the majority would vote for unity with France, and I hope that the French would not on that ground refuse the plebiscite. Otherwise there would be serious consequences. The German nationalists would say in future years that the French had not dared to take the vote. . . . The plebiscite would not be a concession to German nationalism. On the contrary it would be the means of robbing German nationalism of a weapon it would otherwise have." Defense of British Labor — A vigorous defense of the attitude of the British Labor Party toward British pos- sessions was made by Ramsay MacDonald, who claimed that the Labor Party had always stood for Home Rule for Ireland. He declared that, as for India, it had passed a resolution in Nottingham, in January, 1918, indorsing the policy of Home Rule for India, " believing that the time has arrived when our brothers in India are capable of managing their own affairs equally with our brothers in South Africa, Australia, and other dominions." The party had been willing to apply the same principles to Egypt and to such stations as Cyprus, and, as far as other colonies were concerned, it was willing to apply a system of control established by international guarantee under the League of Nations. Jean Longuet argued that if the peace actually achieved were one of injustice, the International would say that THE BERNE CONFERENCE 297 " proletarianism shall not consider such a peace and shall submit to revision all the iniquities committed by the bour- geois governments." The Labor Charter — One of the most practical sub- jects considered by the conference was the labor charter, which the delegates insisted should be incorporated into the League of Nations agreement. This charter recog- nized that, " under the wage system, the capitalist class endeavor to increase their profits by exploiting the work- ers as much as possible," but declared that evils of the wage system " can be strongly mitigated by the resistance of organized labor and by the intervention of the state." Progressive nations were retarded in their development by the more backward nations. Labor, to protect itself, must demand an international charter with minimum de- mands. These should include: Compulsory primary ed- ucation and higher education free and accessible to all, an eight hour day with 36 hours of rest a week and less than eight hours in dangerous trades, no night work for women, a six hour day for boys and girls between 15 and 18 years of age, social insurance, proper medical inspec- tion, freedom of combination, labor exchanges, wage boards in certain industries, a special international code of law for seamen, the establishment of labor departments, and a permanent commission to carry out the mandates of the league in this field of effort. The delegates also favored the following resolution in regard to emigration and immigration: " Emigration shall not be prohibited. " Immigration shall not be prohibited in a general way. This rule shall not affect: " a. The right of any state to restrict immigration tempor- arily in a period of economic depression in order to protect 298 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION the workers of that country as well as the foreign immigrant workers. " b. The right of any state to control immigration in order to protect the public health and to prohibit immigration for the time being. " c. The right of any state to require that the immigrant shall come up to a certain standard in reading and writing his native language^ so as to maintain the standard of popular education of the state in question to enable labor regula- tions to be effectively applied in the branches of industry in which the immigrants are employed." The Resolution on Russia — The resolution on Russia, referred to elsewhere in this volume, '^ and which, " while hailing with j oy the tremendous political revolutions which in Russia, Austria-Hungary and Germany have shattered the old imperialist and militarist regimes," criticized the idea of dictatorship and the suppression of free speech and free press, created a prolonged discussion and brought forth a minority resolution from Longuet and Adler. Ramsay MacDonald, in favoring the resolution, con- demned any permanent policy of rule by aggressive mi- norities. " What is the responsibility of the aggressive minority.? How can it express itself.'' . . . Under what circumstances can it be justified.-' Can anything like con- tinual government be established on such a principle ? " he asked. " It is the duty of the socialists to say ' no.' Such might be a temporary and limited phase of the revolution, but the moment that the conception of the tyranny of the minority becomes a basis of a continued policy, then that policy and theory must be condemned by every socialist who believes in the liberty of the individual and those who desire to exer- cise their liberty within the states to which they belong. 7 See chapter on the Russian Revolution, p. 308. THE BERNE CONFERENCE 299 " They [the movers of the resolution] welcomed all the revolutions that had been achieved in Europe, but those revo- lutions must not create conditions which might accurately be described as a transition from one form of tyranny to an- other. Liberty, democracy, freedom must be their steady and unchangeable goal. The revolution that did not estab- lish liberty was not a revolution towards socialism, and was not a revolution which socialists ought to make themselves responsible for, nor should it allow the outside bourgeois re- action to impose upon them responsibility." In opposing the resolution, Jean Longuet declared: " We repudiate any such condemnation of the events in the Russian Soviet Republic, since the evidence at our disposal is absolutely insufficient, and the only fact that we know with certainty is that the disgraceful campaign of lies in which the telegraph agencies of the Central Powers and the Entente vied with one another during the war, is being carried on without slackening against the Russian Soviet Republic. We do not desire to be the victims of official calumny in judging political movements. " We warn against any resolution which would render diffi- cult the future union of the working class in every land. We desire to keep the doors open for the class conscious revolutionary socialists of every land. No attention is being paid to our warnings. We do not wish to participate in the guilt of any action against the International, and we vote against the resolution since certain paragraphs are capable of being exploited by the bourgeoisie against the Russian Revo- lution." The conference also went on record in favor of the speedy repatriation of prisoners of war. Prior to adjournment, the delegates decided on a com- mission of two representatives for each affiliated organiza- tion, with an executive acting in all cases and composed of 300 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Branting, the chairman of the conference, Henderson of England and Huysmans of Belgium. The commission was empowered to convoke the conference whenever the deci- sions of the Paris conference rendered it necessary. Summary — While the conference undoubtedly achieved something of value by bringing the leaders of socialism in a number of the countries of the Allies and of the Cen- tral Powers face to face, and through certain of its reso- lutions, it caused bitter criticism from the parties of the left for its stand on the Russian situation, for its belief that any good might be expected from a league of cap- italist nations, and for failing to adjust its theories and tactics to the tremendous revolutionary changes of the preceding five years. The Lucerne Conference — On August 2, 1919, the " Commission for the Restitution of the International," appointed at Berne, called a conference in Lucerne, Swit- zerland, attended by two or more delegates from England, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Russia (non-Bolshe- vik groups) and several other countries. Delegates from Austria and Hungary were delayed en route. Italian and Swiss socialists refused to participate. The United States was unrepresented. The conference protested against Allied action in Hun- gary which led to the downfall of the soviet republic, to the strengthening of the forces of counter-revolution and the reestablishment to power — at least temporarily — of a representative of the House of Hapsburg. The course of the Peace Conference, the delegates declared, " shows clearly the reactionary forces directed against each social- ist government and each proletarian power." Every so- cialist group should oppose this " capitalistic and imper- ialistic policy." THE LUCERNE CONFERENCE 301 The conference demanded immediate membership for Germany, Russia, Austria and Hungary in the League of Nations, and urged the abolition of military conscription. It denounced the blockade against Russia which was lead- ing to the starvation of millions. It protested against the giving of military and financial aid — against the unani- mous wishes of all of the socialist and labor organizations of Russia — to the counter-revolutionists led by such Czarist agents as Denikin and Kolchak. Arthur Henderson, chairman of the gathering, in his opening address, declared that the workers of Europe were turning their attention to an ever greater extent to " direct action " as a means of relief. He dwelt upon the unemployment and famine in Europe, and prophesied that, " before the winter ends, a dreadful convulsion of anger and despair may seize the people." Discussion throughout the conference showed a sharp division of opinion regarding vital points at issue, particu- larly concerning the Russian situation. Bernstein, Van- dervelde, Tseretelli and De Brouckere vigorously criticized Bolshevik methods, Bernstein maintaining that Bolshevism had nothing to do with Marxism, notwithstanding its " revolutionary verbiage " ; Vandervelde insisting that unity between the second and the third (Moscow) Inter- nationals was impossible, " because the third International tended to minority dictatorship contrary to the principles of democracy." The Belgian leader also declared that the reconstitution of the International was impossible until the question of war responsibility had been determined. On the other hand, Troelstra of Holland urged that the conference follow a clear policy of revolutionary action, not one of an exclusively parliamentary nature. Ramsay MacDonald and Marcel Cachin urged energetic action 302 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION against the support of Kolchak by the Entente govern- ments. Friederich Adler emphasized the more revolution- ary position. Prior to adjournment on August 8, the conference de- cided to hold a regular International Socialist and Labor Conference in Geneva on February 2, 1920. THE COMMUNIST INTEKNATIONAI. Groups Represented — Of a much more radical nature than the Berne Conference was the first gathering of the so-called third International — the first congress of International Communists — held in Moscow from March 2 to 6, 1919. The call was issued by representatives of socialist groups of the left wing in nine countries and countersigned by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Rus- sia. It specified numerous left wing organizations in Eu- rope and America whom it deemed worthy to be called to the councils of the revolutionary International. Thirty- two delegates, with power to act, were present at the con- ference from parties or groups in Russia, Germany, Hun- gary, Norway, Sweden, Bulgaria, Rumania, Finland, Ukrainia, Esthonia, Armenia, delegates from the labor unions of Germans in Russia, from the Balkan Union of " Revolutionary Socialists," and from the " Union of So- cialists of Eastern Countries." Others were there with consultative powers from groups in Switzerland, Holland, France, Great Britain, Bohemia, Jugo-Slavia, Turkey, Turkestan, Persia, Corea, China and the United States. The Manifesto — Of chief import was the manifesto written by Lenin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Tchicherin and Fritz Flatten, a Swiss Socialist, and issued by the con- ference. The manifesto called attention to the bitter struggle THE MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL 303 of the proletariat for the seventy-two years following the issuance of the Communist Manifesto, and continued: " The period of the last decisive struggle has begun later than was desired or expected by the apostles of social revo- lution. But it is here: it has come. We communists rep- resentative of the revolutionary proletariat in different countries in Europe, America, and Asia, now assembled in the powerful soviet city of Moscow, both feel and consider our- selves to be followers of, and participate in, a cause for which the program was drawn up seventy-two years ago. Our duty is to gather together the revolutionary experiences of the working classes, to free the movement from the harmful inter- ference of opportunist and social patriotic elements, to unite the forces of all genuine revolutionary parties in the world proletariat, and thereby to facilitate and hasten the victory of the communist revolution." Who Will Control the Economic Life? — The mani- festo declared imperialism to be at the root of the Eu- ropean war and scoffed at those socialists who tried to find its cause in certain personalities. The war had caused untold agony to the workers. It had also abol- ished forever the old days of competition. The pro- nouncement continued: " The nationalization of economic life, which was so obstin- ately opposed by capitalist liberalism, is now an accepted fact. Not only is there no possible return to free competi- tion; there is none either to trusts, syndicates, or other economic marvels. The only question is, who in the future is to conduct nationalized production, the imperiahst state or the victorious working-class state? In other words, is the whole of laboring mankind to become serfs and day laborers under a victorious international clique, which, in the name of the League of Nations, and assisted by an ' international ' army and an ' international ' fleet, alternately plunders or casts 304 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION a morsel of bread to the needy, but everywhere keeps the proletariat in chains with the sole aim of retaining its own power; or shall the working class of Europe and the most civilized countries in other parts of the world take into their own hands the shaken and ruined world economy and thus ensure its restoration on the basis of socialism? " To bring to an end the prevailing crisis will only be pos- sible with the help of proletarian dictatorship, which will not look back to the past nor show consideration for inherited privileges or rights of property, but will bear in mind the necessity of saving starving multitudes, and will mobilize all their forces for that purpose; will introduce a general obligation to work and a regime of discipline in work, and will in this manner, in the space of a few years, not only heal the gaping wounds caused by the war, but succeed in raising mankind to heights hitherto undreamed of." The Rights of Small Nationalities. — The manifesto contended that the salvation of small states, despite the al- leged solicitude of the great powers for the rights of small nationalities, was " a proletarian revolution, which releases all the productive forces in every country from the grip of national states, unites the nations in the close economic cooperation based on a joint social economic plan, and grants to the smallest and weakest nation the possibility of developing the national culture independently and freely without detriment to the united and centralized economy of Europe and of the whole world. . . . Socialist Europe would also come to the aid of the liberated colonies with its technique, its organizations, and its spiritual influence, to facilitate their transition to a methodically organized socialist establishment." Parliamentary Democracy vs. the Soviet. — Next was discussed the attitude of the communist toward parlia- mentary democracy. THE MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL 305 " All important questions concerning the fate of nations are decided by the financial oligarchy behind the back of the parliamentary democracy. . . . When the financial oligarchy consider it advisable to conceal their acts of violence at par- liamentary elections, they have the bourgeois state at their disposal, with all the varied means inherited from previous centuries, and developed by the marvels of capitalistic technique: lies, demagogism, provocation, contempt, bribery, and terrorism. " To expect that the proletariat in the final settlement with capitalism, when it is a question of life and death, should meekly as a lamb agree to the demands of the bourgeois democracy, would be the same as to expect a man, defend- ing his life and existence against thieves, to follow the arbitrary rules of French wrestling, laid down, but not adhered to, by his enemies. . . . " The proletariat must create his own apparatus. . . . The workmen's councils constitute this apparatus ... a new form of apparatus comprising the entire working class, ir- respective of their being ripe in an expert and political sense — an apparatus so elastic that it can always be renewed, always be extended, always attract fresh groups within its area, and open wide the doors for the group of workers in town and country who are in close touch with the proletariat. This invaluable organization for the self-admin- istration of the working classes in their fight for, and in future also, in their conquest of, state power, has been tested by experience in several countries, and is the greatest conquest and the most powerful weapon for the proletariat of our day." " Bourgeois Democracy."— The statement called on the workers of various countries to organize workmen's councils, declared that international warfare was followed by civil warfare, argued that it was the duty of the prole- tariat to shorten the duration of the civil war against them and to keep down the number of victims and to that end to arm the workers and disarm the bourgeoisie and de- 306 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION scribed the outcry of the bourgeoisie against civil war and the Red Terror as " the most abominable hypocrisy ever noted in the history of political fighting." Weakness of Second International The manifesto continued by criticizing the socialist parties of Europe for their " opportunism, vacillation, mendacity and super- ficiality." It alleged that the " war had killed the second International by proving that, dominating the fraternal masses of the workmen, stood parties transformed into the cringing organs of the bourgeois state." It concluded : " Even though the first International foresaw the coming development and inserted a wedge, and though the second International collected and organized millions of proletarians, still it is the third International that stands for the open ac- tion of the masses and for revolutionary operations. " Socialist criticism has thoroughly stamped the bourgeois world-order. It is the duty of the International Communist Party to overthrow that order, and to establish instead the system of socialist order. . . . " Proletarians of all lands ! Unite to fight against imperial- ist barbarity, against monarchy, against the privileged classes, against the bourgeois state and bourgeois property, against all kinds and forms of social and national oppression. " Join us, proletarians in every country — flock to the ban- ner of the workmen's councils, and fight the revolutionary fight for the power and dictatorship of the proletariat." * Conclusion. — What will be the future relation between the second International and the third or communist In- ternational it is impossible at this date to state. In June Messrs. Macdonald and Buxton of the Independent Labor Party visited the Italian and Swiss socialists, who had in- dorsed the Lenin group, urging them to join with the In- 8 For complete text, see The Nation, May 31, 1919, THE BERNE CONFERENCE 307 ternational represented at Berne. The Independent Labor Party and the majority of the French Socialist Party gave their adherence again to the older group in the Spring of 1919. The Socialist Party of Switzerland in the early fall of 1919, while denouncing the Berne Conference, re- fused to join the Moscow group, and called for the thor- ough reconstitution of the International. The Commun- ist and Communist Labor parties of the United States indorsed the third International, while the Socialist Party submitted the question again to referendum vote. Within every party in Europe discussion regarding the relative merits of each International is at present writing running high. CHAPTER XI THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION THROUGH THE MARCH REVOLUTION Causes of Discontent — Every move made in Russia following the outbreak of the war seemed calculated to lead the country ever nearer the maelstrom of revolution. The continued persecution of the liberal and socialist forces in the country ; the imperialistic aims of the government ; the inefficiency, corruption, conservatism and pro-German character of many of the officials high in military and governmental circles ; the conduct of the Czar's family, and, most important of all, the breakdown of the economic system, due to Russia's inability to obtain railway, farm and industrial equipment, to the departure of German in- dustrial managers to the " Fatherland," and to the mobili- zation order which stripped the factories, railroads, mines and fields of most of their labor power — all whetted the flames of discontent among the various strata of the Rus- sian people. As early as August 22, 1915, the liberal groups in the Duma, excluding the socialists, formed a coalition for the purpose of demanding a responsible government. This attempt at organization was followed within two weeks by an indefinite suspension of the Duma. On the reopening of that body on November 14, 1916, landholders, capitalists, the military, professional classes and peasants alike voiced bitter opposition to the government for its 308 THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 309 inefficiency and its attitude toward Germany. Premier Sturmerj charged with disloyalty, was dismissed, but his place was taken by Trepov, and later, following the assas- sination of Rasputin, by another reactionary. On New Year's day, 1917, the progressive members of the Duma were dismissed and conservatives substituted. The re- opening of the Duma was postponed. The army was given but two days' reserve of food. Prices soared toward the impossible. Tens of thousands were face to face with starvation, and the masses had to endure a bitter winter without fuel and without adequate clothing. Beginnings of the March Revolution. — On February 27, three hundred thousand workers went on a protest strike in Petrograd. The aristocracy felt that here was an opportunity to promote an immature revolt, which, once crushed, would make a real revolution more difficult.'- The bourgeoisie and the liberal groups, fearing that the revolution would prove abortive, tried to ward it off. In early March, great demonstrations took place for the release of political prisoners. Riots ensued, and, on March 3, Petrograd found itself under martial law. Four days later huge strikes broke out among the textile and other workers. The cry for bread was everywhere heard, mingled with the demand for peace. Industries practi- cally came to a standstill. The government sent out the Cossacks to break up the strikes, but instead of using the 1 " Several months before the revolution," declared Arthur Ran- some, Russian correspondent of the London Daily News, "they [the government] had been running kindergarten classes for policemen in the use of machine guns just outside Petrograd, . . . armored cars had been kept back from the front with a view to moving target practice in the streets of the capital, and . . . weeks before the actual disorders Petrograd had been turned into a fortified battle- ground, with machine guns embrasures in the garrets of the houses at strategical vantage points." Ransome, On Behalf of Russia, p. 8. 510 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION sword, the Cossacks smiled approval, and from that smile came the victory for the revolution. In the meanwhile, the Duma became more vigorous in its opposition to the government, finally resolving that " the government, which covered its hands with the blood of the people, should no longer be admitted to the Duma. With such a government the Duma breaks all relations forever." This resolution was followed by a decree of dissolution, to which, however, the Duma paid no atten- tion. Cossacks Encourage Revolutionists The crisis came on Sunday, March 11, 1917. The Petrograd thorough- fares were black with people. From their vantage place on the roofs, the police fired on the masses, but the Volynski, one of the most famous of the Russian regi- ments, when ordered to shoot into the crowd, turned on their commander and killed him instead. They joined the revolutionists amid the acclaim of the populace, and were swiftly followed by other regiments. The govern- ment seemed impotent. The president of the Duma sent an urgent message to the Czar, at the General Headquar- ters, alleging a state of anarchy and demanding imme- diate action. The Czar made no reply. Emergency of Workmen's Councils. — Since the non- socialist groups seemed incapable of decisive action, the socialists quickly assumed the leadership. All day they organized the masses into Councils of Workmen's Depu- ties, after the example set in the 1905 revolution, and, on the following morning, March 12, the revolt was thor- oughly organized. Huge demonstrations took place in various parts of the city. Even the Guards' Regiment, closest to the Czar, which was sent to take the place of the revolting units, joined with the democratic forces. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 311 Arsenals were occupied, the police silenced, and strong- holds of the monarchy, such as the Peter and Paul Fort- ress, were captured and their inmates released. Espe- cially did the masses rejoice when the headquarters of the Secret Service was captured and its archives, containing innumerable records of the revolutionary leaders, were burned. During the day, the Duma remained impotent. Its president, Rodzianko, sent another message to the Czar, which, like the first, remained unanswered. In the mean- time, the workers arranged for the election of the Coun- cil of Workers' Deputies and, at the meeting of Monday night, Tchcheidze, the leader of the Social Democrats, was proclaimed president and Kerensky, then of the Labor Party, and later of the Social Revolutionists, vice-presi- dent. That night the Council issued a declaration de- manding political democracy for Russia. " All together, with united forces," the declaration read, " we will strug- gle for the final abolition of the old system and the calling of a Constituent Assembly on the basis of universal, equal, direct and secret suffrage." The supreme task of the Council is the organization of " the people's forces and their struggle for a final securing of political freedom and popular government in Russia." It urged the country to rally around the Council, to form local committees and to take over the management of local affairs. The Abdication of the Czar — The Duma still clung to the belief that the monarchy could be retained and suggested that the Grand Duke Michael be called to the throne and that a constitutional monarchy be established. This project was bitterly opposed by the delegates from the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, and, on Thursday, March 15, 1917, Miliukov, one of the leaders 312 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of the Constitutional Democrats in the Duma, announced to the masses assembled before the Taurida Palace that the Duma and the Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies had agreed to depose the Czar, to form a provisional gov- ernment consisting of representatives of all parties and to issue an early call for the Constituent Assembly, which would plan a democratic form of government. The Czar; on receiving notice of this decision, imme- diately signed his abdication papers, and named his brother, the Grand-Duke Michael, his successor. The following day, the Grand-Duke declared his willingness to accept " this supreme power only if this be the will of our great people, who, by a plebiscite organized by their representatives in a Constituent Assembly, shall establish a form of government and new fundamental laws of the Russian state." With this declaration was snuifed out the monarchy of Russia. EUSSIA UNDEK THE PEOVISIONAL GOVERNMENT The First Provisional Government. — The provisional government, which was immediately formed, containing as it did but one socialist, Kerensky — the new Minister of Justice — and representing a Duma elected under the Czarist regime, bitterly disappointed the masses of the people.^ Political Nature of March Revolution The provi- sional government did not realize the economic significance of the Russian revolution. To the ministry it seemed 2 The Cabinet contained, among others : Premier, Prince George E. Lvov, president of Union of Zemstvos; Minister of Foreign Af- fairs, Paul Miliukov, leader of Constitutional Democrats; Minister of War and Navy, Alex. Guchkov, leader of Octobrist Party and promi- nent Moscow banker; Minister of Finance, M. I. Terestchenko, sugar king; Minister of Trade and Commerce, A. I. Konovalov, wealthy manufacturer. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 318 only to indicate that the people desired political democracy and a more vigorous prosecution of the war. Accord- ingly, the first act of the new government was the issuance, on March 18, 1917, of a program of political reform, which favored amnesty for political prisoners, freedom of speech and press, freedom to organize and strike, the abo- lition of social, religious and national restrictions, uni- versal suffrage and the calling of a Constituent Assembly. On March 21, amnesty was actually granted to political and religious offenders and the Finnish Constitution was restored. A few days later the government abolished the decrees against the Jews and granted self-government to Poland. It removed the death penalty, confiscated the large holdings of the imperial family and of the monas- teries and enacted an excess profits tax. While the cabinet also expressed approval of woman suffrage and the distribution of land among the peasants, it declared that these things should be left for action to the Constitu- ent Assembly. Discontent with the Provisional Government — De- spite these reforms, the people viewed: the provisional gov- ernment with ever increasing suspicion. The government delayed the solution of the land and the general industrial problem. It failed to revolutionize the aims of the war, Miliukov going so far as to state that he regarded the pos- session of Constantinople by Russia a necessary step in the evolution of its economic life. This declaration of the Minister of Foreign Affairs led many of the elements in the soviet,^ particularly the Bolsheviks, to launch an 3 Soviet is the name for council. The societ idea first became popular in the revolution of 1905, when a, council consisting of delegates from numerous factories, trades and other industrial groups in Petrograd became the center of revolutionary activity. The Soviets formed in the cities of Russia after the March revolu- 814 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION attack against the government. Lvov, in defense of the government, declared that Miliukov merely expressed his personal opinion, and that the provisional government was in hearty accord with the policy of the Soviets. This statement, however, failed to allay suspicion. Parties in Control — During this period, the Soviets, made up of representatives chosen by the workers in the factories and the soldiers in the army, were growing in power and exerting increasing pressure on the provisional government. They were first controlled by the moderate socialists — the Social Revolutionists and the Mensheviks.* tion were in their make-up somewhat similar to the central labor unions found In American cities. They contained delegates from trades, factory shop committees and professional and industrial groups, thus differing from the local political government where rep- representation is based on geographical units. In the rural districts, where the vast proportion of the population consisted of peasants, representation was more likely to be based on residence. * At the outbreak of the revolution, the controlling bourgeois party in the Duma was the Octobrist Party, representing the feudal landlords and the great capitalists. It contained such leaders as Hodzianko, the speaker of the Duma and Gutchkov, the Moscow banker and Minister of War in the provisional government. Next to this group came the Constitutional Democrats, popularly known as the Cadets, consisting largely of the liberal capitalists, landowners and professional classes. The Cadets had as their ideal a bourgeois republic or a constitutional monarchy similar to that of England. It was led by Miliukov and Lvov, and assumed the leadership in the first provisional government. The Octobrist and other monarch- ist and reactionary parties practically disappeared after the March Revolution. Midway between the bourgeois and socialist groups came the small Labor Party, which made its appeal to the more conservative peas- ants and was distinctly nationalistic in its outlook. Then followed the socialist parties which were divided, prior to the revolution, into two main groups — the Social Democrats and the Social Revolutionists. The first group emphasized its Marxist character, made its main appeal to the proletariat of the city, and placed little reliance on the revolutionary character of the peasants. The Social Revolutionists, on the other hand, conducted its propa- THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 315 Congress of Soviets — On April 16, a national congress of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was called. This congress urged the Russian people to sup- port the Council " as the center of organized, democratic forces that are capable, in unison with other progressive forces, of counteracting any counter-revolutionary at- ganda chiefly among the peasantry. A considerable section of the Social Revolutionists, including Katharine Breshkovskaya, relied on terroristic methods as a means of advancing the revolution. In 1903, the Social Democratic Party split into two main groups, the Bolsheviks (meaning the majority), and the Mensheviks (the minority). From the 1905 to the 1917 revolutions the latter, how- ever, were the real majority in the party. The Menshevik group, which contained a large number of the so-called " intellectuals," be- lieved that it was necessary for Russia to pass through the capital- istic era of development before it was ripe for socialism. With the downfall of the monarchy, they contended, Russia should inaugurate a parliamentary republic. The Bolsheviks, on the other hand, com- posed more largely of the militant proletariat and the poorer peas- antry, believed it possible for Russia to jump certain stages in indus- trial development and to advance from feudalism directly into so- cialism. Besides these groups in the Social Democratic Party was the small Menshevik Internationalist movement of which Trotsky was formerly a member. The members of this group were opposed to coalition with the propertied classes, but were unwilling to break with the Mensheviks. There was also the Unified Social Democratic Internationalists, of which Maxim Gorky was a member. Gorky and his followers refused to tie themselves up with either of the two great factions, but otherwise resembled in social outlook the Menshevik Internationalists. The second main group of socialists was the Social Revolutionary Party, originally the fighting revolutionary party of the peasants. These emphasized the abolition of private property in land. At first they favored compensation, but later advocated confiscation. This party was swept into power at the time of the March revolu- tion. Kerensky, formerly of the Labor Party, joined its ranks, as did very large numbers possessed of no particular social philosophy. A branch of this peasants' party was the Left Social Revolutionists, led by Spiridonova, and other extremists. The Left Social Revolu- tionists withdrew several times from the provisional government, supported the Soviets — although not agreeing with the tactics of 316 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION tempt, and of consolidating the conquests of the revolu- tion." It also warned the people to suppress any attempt on the part of the government to elude the control of democracy, and asked for the support of the provisional government " as long as it continues to consolidate and develop the conquests of the revolution — and as long as the basis of its foreign policy does not rest upon aspira- tions for territorial expansion." Thus was evidenced the beginning of the antagonism between the Soviets and the provisional government that was to play such an im- portant role in the next few months. The Resignation of Miliukov. — ^ Following this con- gress, the provisional government, on April 27, announced its agreement with the Soviets and, on May 1, issued a manifesto, urging the Allied governments to restate their war aims. The manifesto, however, was accompanied by a note which declared that the provisional government " will the Bolsheviks — and, after the November revolution, supported and then opposed the Bolsheviks. The Maximalists and Minimalists were also oifshoots of the Social Revolutionists, the former demanding, as their name suggests, the immediate carrying out of the maximum socialist program. As the November revolution approached, the parties gradually began to align themselves as Bolshevik and anti-Bolshevik groups. The Social Revolutionists and the Mensheviks, as will be seen, favored in general the continuance of the war on the side of the Allies, supported the provisional government, felt that coalition was necessary, and were inclined to leave fundamental changes in the economic structure to the Constituent Assembly. They first were of the opinion that the Soviets should assume merely advisory func- tions. The Bolsheviks, on the other hand, cooperating at times with the Left Social Revolutionists, demanded that support be withdrawn from the provisional government, that all power be given to the Soviets, that the latter proceed immediately to take over the land and the monopolistic industries and to a realization of socialism; that all imperialistic wars and all governments that wage them be opposed; that the standing army be abolished and that an armed people be substituted therefor. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 31T maintain a strict regard for its agreement with the allies of Russia." This note was immediately interpreted by many as a willingness on the part of the government that the Allies should ignore the manifesto. Huge anti- governmental demonstrations ensued. The ministry an- nounced that the note had been misinterpreted, that its aims were not imperialistic, and, by a small majority, the soviet on May 4> passed a vote of confidence in the gov- ernment. The incident, however, gave an immense im- petus to the parties of the left. This trend became more pronounced on the arrival in late April in Petrograd of Nicholai Lenin,® who had been 5 Lenin, whose real name is Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov, is a hereditary nobleman, a son of a councillor of state of the government of Sim- birsk. He was born April 10, 1870, and is a Greek Catholic by profession. He was educated at the Simbirsk gymnasium, and, in 1887, entered the University of Kazan, from which he was soon ex- pelled for political agitation among the students, exiled from Kazan and placed under secret police surveillance. In 1886 his brother was executed for participation in a terrorist act against Alexander III. In 1891 Ijcnin entered the University of St. Petersburg, and devoted himself to literary work. He later became an attorney. In 1895 he left Russia and organized » service for the introduction of revolutionary literature into Russia. On his return he became a contributor to the underground publication. Labor's Work. On Jan- uary 29, 1897, by an imperial ukase, he was exiled to eastern Siberia because of his activity in connection with the Social Democratic circle of Petrograd. There he remained for three years under police sur- veillance. For the next three years he was forbidden to return to industrial or university centers. On July 16, 1900, he went abroad as a delegate of the central committee of the Russian Social Demo- cratic Party, and soon attained a leading position among the Russian political refugees abroad. In 1903 he led the Bolshevik group at the second congress of the Russian Social Democratic Party. In 1905, when the first revolu- tion broke out, he returned to Russia, later fleeing to Finland (1906), to Switzerland (1907), and to Paris (1908), where he edited socialist periodicals. At the outbreak of the war he was in Austriaa. Here he was imprisoned, but later released. Returning to Switzer- land, he took up the fight for peace and was active in the Zimmer- 318 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION for some time biding his time in Switzerland. Lenin de- manded immediate peace negotiations and the restatement of war aims by the Allies. On May 13, as a result of growing criticism, Guchtov resigned, declaring that anar- chy had entered into the conduct of the army. Three days later Miliukov tendered his resignation, on account of the increased pacifism in the socialist movement. On the following day. May 17, Leon Trotsky returned from America, and gave additional impetus to the left wing agitation.® The Military Situation — In the meanwhile conditions at the front, left by the Czarist regime in a tragic state, were going from bad to worse. Under the Czar, the sol- diers were kept to their tasks by iron discipline, but with the revolution the hand of the monarchy was paralyzed and the one thing which had kept them bound to the trenches was removed. They still regarded the war as that of the Czar's. Why, they asked, should we continue wald Conference. After the March revolution, he was allowed to return to Russia accompanied by one hundred revolutionists of va- rious factions. He was the author of Development of Capitalism in Russia and numerous other economic works. (See Williams, Lenin, the Man and His Works.) « Trotsky, on his return to Russia, was about forty years of age. Leaving the University of Odessa in the late nineties, he immedi- diately threw himself into the revolutionary movement in Russia. In 1900 and again after the 1905 revolution he was imprisoned and sent to Siberia for his revolutionary activity and twice escaped. In the 1905 revolution, he became the chairman of the Petrograd soviet. After his second escape, he remained in Vienna until the outbreak of the war, editing a revolutionary magazine that was smuggled into Russia. Thence he went to Switzerland, to Paris, to Spain, and, in the winter of 1916-17, to the United States. He helped to edit a socialist newspaper in this country, and, on the outbreak of the revolution, returned, with difficulty, to Russia. From the 1905 revolution, he had emphasized the immediate transition from absolutism to socialism through the medium of the Soviets. (See Our BevohUion by Leon Trotsky, translated by Olgin.) THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 319 to serve and die, why not return home and enjoy the fruits of the revolution? They held frequent meetings. On May 10, delegates from the soldiers at the front opened a conference in Petrograd, which expressed the belief that the war was " at present conducted for purposes of con- quest and against the interest of the masses " and urged the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies to take the most energetic measures " for the purpose of ending this butchery, on the basis of free self-determination of nations and of renunciation by all belligerent countries of annexa- tions and indemnities. Not a drop of Russian blood shall be given for aims foreign to us." The New Coalition Government The resignations of Miliukov and Guchtov gave rise to another controversy in the Soviets as to whether the council should participate in the new coalition ministry about to be formed. The moderates again won out and the ministry was indorsed by a vote of 41 to 19. The resulting cabinet contained six as against one socialist representative, although the non-socialists were still in the majority, with some seven Constitutional Democrats and two Octobrists.'' The Petrograd soviet approved the selections, while the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Trotsky, strongly ob- jected. " There are three commandments for the prole- tariat," declared Trotsky, in this his maiden address after his return to Russia. " They are : First, transmission of power to the revolutionary proletariat; second, control 7 Lvov was again chosen Premier. Kerensky was transferred from Minister of Justice to Minister of War and head of the army and navy. Another Social Revolutionist was selected Minister of Justice and Terestchenko, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Three other socialists, Chernov, Skobelev and Tseretelli, were appointed re- spectively Ministers of Agriculture, of Labor and of Posts and Telegraphs. 320 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION over their leaders ; and third, confidence in their own revo- lutionary powers." The Land Problem — During these months also the peasants were becoming ever more restless on account of the failure of the government to pursue a consistent course with regard to the distribution of land. On May 17, the All-Russian Congress of Peasants, controlled by the Social Revolutionists, met in Petrograd. It urged that the pro- posed Constituent Assembly declare for the abolition, without compensation, of private property in land and natural resources and demanded that the provisional gov- ernment issue " an absolutely clear statement which will show that on this question the provisional government will allow nobody to oppose the people's will." Kerensky, at this gathering, stated that he intended " to establish an iron discipline in the army." Nine days thereafter he signed, under pressure, the Declaration of Soldiers' Rights, which, among other things, placed the management of the army in the hands of committees on which the men had four-fifths representation and the officers, one-fifth. The Discussion of Peace and of All Power to the Soviet — Throughout June, 1917, the place of Russia in the war was hotly debated from many angles. In the All- Russian Congress, opened on June 22, a memorable debate on tactics took place between Kerensky, who supported the war, and Lenin, who regarded its continuance as " an act of treason against the socialist International." The congress still supported the coalition ministry by a large majority and declared that the passing of all power to the Soviets would drive away the elements that were stiU capable of serving the revolution. It declared, however, that the giving of all power " to the bourgeois elements would deal a blow at the revolutionary cause," and in- sisted that the socialist ministers be directly responsible THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 321 to the Soviets. The Bolsheviks planned a huge demon- stration in front of the headquarters of the congress for the purpose of pressing home the thought that the Soviets should assume all power, but the demonstration was for- bidden. The July Days. — July the first witnessed a massed un- armed demonstration in Petrograd, encouraged by the Soviets. To the surprise of the soviet leaders, and the delight of the Bolsheviks, the banners displayed by the marchers, instead of expressing support for the coalition, were inscribed with the words, " Down with secret treaties," " Long live a just peace," " Down with the ten capitalistic ministers." About that time occurred the long expected July offen- sive. The bourgeoisie favored the drive as an aid to the restoration of army discipline, and as a means of strength- ening their position in the government. The Bolsheviks opposed it on the ground that it would give rise to re- pressive measures, necessitate " the concentration of power in the hands of the military, diplomatic and capitalistic groups affiliated with English, French and American im- perialism, and thus free them from the necessity of reckon- ing later with the organized will of Russian democracy." The provisional government was largely influenced by pressure from the Allied Embassies. The off'ensive at first met with considerable success, but, because of the pitifully poor equipment of the army, the inadequacy of supplies and the soldiers' lack of morale — due partly to anti-war propaganda — defeat quickly ensued. July Outbreaks — Dissatisfaction caused by defeat, the continued chaos in the army, despite the demand by Allied generals for renewed discipline, uncertainty regarding the settlement of the land, industrial and peace problems and the postponement of the Constituent Assembly — all led 322 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION to an increasing demand that the Constitutional Demo- crats, popularly known as Cadets, be asked to resign from the ministry. This discontent led, on July 17, to a revolutionary demonstration which the Bolsheviks were charged with instigating, but which they declared was spontaneous, being guided by them " only in a political way." Great crowds surrounded the Tauride Palace where the Central Executive Committee was located. Demands were made for the arrest of Chernov and Tseretelli and for the dis- persal of the Executive Committee. Delegates sent into the Palace to urge reforms were met with evasions until the arrival of the Volynsky regiment, when bayonets were drawn and the revolt crushed, but not before some five hundred men and women were killed in the resulting tur- moil. The Bolsheviks maintained that they had not at- tempted to seize power by armed revolt. This event showed them, however, that the government could not depend on the Petrograd regiments for active assistance in time of crises. Kerensky Becomes Premier. — On July 20, Lvov re- signed from the ministry and Kerensky began his spec- tacular career as Premier. Two days later, the Execu- tive Committee of the All-Russian Council of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies decided to confer supreme and unlimited authority on the Kerensky cabinet, and brought the Bolsheviks to task for refusing their support. Kerensky immediately began a vigorous suppression of Bolshevik papers. Trotsky, Kollontay and others were arrested and sent to prison, charged with organizing the revolt of July in collusion with German authorities. Lenin went into hiding. Conditions at the front, however, continued to grow worse. Finally, Chernov resigned as Minister of Agri- THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 323 culture, and Kerensky, as Premier. The latter, however, was unanimously requested by the provisional government, and later by leaders of various political parties and the Duma, to remain at the post. Kerensky remained and formed a new cabinet, in which four socialist parties and two liberal parties were represented. Chernov returned to office. The Moscow Conference — But the defeat without and disintegration within continued. Kerensky's next move was the calling of an Extraordinary National Conference at Moscow for August 26. Here were gathered some 1,400 delegates, invited, for the most part, by the govern- ment — representatives of the Soviets, the cooperatives, the municipalities, the trade unions, the Duma, the zem- stvos, etc. The Bolsheviks claimed that the main purpose of this conference was to secure a sufficiently conservative composition to dissolve the Soviets and to gain a firm footing against the Bolsheviks.* Message From President Wilson. — It was this con- ference to which President Wilson addressed his message, pledging " every material and moral assistance," and at which Kerensky warned that any attempt to raise an armed hand against the people's power would be stopped with blood and iron. General Kornilov demanded the re- turn of rigid discipline in the army. The veteran so- cialist, Plechanov appealed for a coalition government on the ground that the workers were not as yet ready to exercise power. Men and women of all shades of opinion, excluding the Bolsheviks, addressed the conference. The gathering did give an opportunity to many groups to ex- press their convictions, but far from unifying the various forces, if anything, it led to greater schisms. Following 8 Trotsky, From October to Brest-Litovsk, p. 28. 324. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION the conference came military disaster after military dis- aster and, on September 3, Riga was surrendered to the Germans.^ The Kornilov Revolt — On September 9 came the Kornilov revolt. General I. C. Kornilov, on August 2, had succeeded General Brusilov as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armies. In that position he sent many bitter notes to the provisional government regarding the lack of discipline in the army. On September 8, according to Kerensky, Vladimir Lvov, a member of the Duma, visited the Premier and told him that Kornilov demanded that the military power be handed over to him as well as the selection of the new government. Kerensky thereupon demanded that Kornilov give up his position as command- er-in-chief and declared Petrograd in a state of siege. Kornilov afterwards denied that he had sent Lvov to the Premier, declaring that it was Kerensky who had first dis- patched Lvov to him. The truth of the involved relation- ship will probably never be fully known. Kerensky's ex- planation never proved satisfactory, even to his friends. However, Kornilov, on receiving Kerensky's message, re- fused to resign as commander-in-chief of the army and be- gan his march on Petrograd. The provisional govern- ment issued orders, but the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies carried on the main defense. The Kronstadt sailors were summoned to Petrograd in defense of the revolution, and the Petrograd Soviets armed the workingmen. Some forty thousand soldiers advanced with Kornilov. When they approached the city, the Petrograd workers streamed out to meet them. The Soviets sent not 9 Many Bolsheviks afterwards claimed that Riga was not prop- erly defended, and that many of the military leaders were not ad- verse to the surrender of the city, feeling that it would " bring the people to their senses." THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 325 only soldiers, but also orators. The agitators asked Kornilov's followers why they wished to fight against the revolution and induced them to appoint a committee to investigate the condition of the city. When the com- mittees returned to the regiments and declared that they had been deceived, the soldiers laid down their arms and refused to fight. The revolt gave further impetus to the Bolshevik argument that cooperation between the bour- geoisie and the socialist elements in the government would prove fatal to the revolution. The immediate outcome of the revolt was the appointment of Kerensky as command- er-in-chief of the army. The Democratic Conference — The Kornilov revolt was followed by a bitter fight for supremacy in the Petrograd soviet between che right and left wings. Prior to this event, the Bolsheviks had no representation in the Petro- grad Executive Committee, though they at times marshaled one-third of the votes. After the revolt, they asked that the principle of proportional representation be adopted in the soviet elections, but this request was denied. Soon the group was able to command a majority on various questions, and from this time they began to fight for the convocation of the Second AU-Russian Congress of So- viets, then about due. This convocation was opposed by the moderate socialists, and, as a compromise, in order to satisfy the public demand for a national conference, with- out running the risk of losing control of the soviet ma- chinery, and in order to make a last desperate attempt to unify the divergent elements in Russia, the United Execu- tive Committee of the Soviets called a national gathering for September 27, 1917, known as the Democratic Con- ference. This conference was more progressive in its make-up than was the Moscow gathering, and the representatives 326 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of the big industrial interests were less in evidence. It created a new coalition ministry, containing eight Cadets, five Social Democrats, and two non-partisans. By a slight majority the conference favored the coalition. It, how- ever, opposed the entrance of Cadets in the ministry, al- though these were appointed under the name of social workers. Owing to the opposition of the Bolsheviks, a resolution favoring the continuance of the war was with- drawn. The Democratic Conference also picked repre- sentatives for a Pre-Parliament, which was to function prior to the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. Contrary to the hopes of Tseretelli, the Pre-Parliament was given no authority over the ministry. This failure to make the ministry responsible to any group of the Russian people — a condition that had pertained ever since the July days — meant, according to the radicals, responsi- bility merely to the Cadets and to the Allied Embassies. The Preliminary Parliament — The Pre-Parliament opened its sessions October 8, 1917. In it were some 34i4j representatives of the working class, and 153 delegates from the middle class. The 53 Bolshevik members and 6 from other factions took the position that the new regime meant " the restoration and perpetuation of the coali- tion with the liberal bourgeoisie," and left the Pre-Parlia- ment.i'' The war dragged on. The new cabinet issued a state- 10 In commenting on the newly formed coalition government, Trotsky declared : " The attitude of the masses toward Miliukov's party was one of the deepest hostility. At all elections during the revolutionary period, the Cadets suffered merciless defeat, and yet, the very parties — i.e., the Social Revolutionists and Mensheviks — which victoriously defeated the Cadet party at the elections, after election, gave it the place of honor in the coalition government. It is natural that the masses realized more and more that in reality the fusionist parties were playing the r61e of stewards to the liberal bourgeoisie. (Trotsky, October to Brest-Litovak, p. 31.) THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 327 ment declaring that the provisional government would in the next few weeks take part in the conference of the Allied Powers, " and calling for immediate and active participa- tion in the preparations for the convocation of the Consti- tutional Assembly in the shortest period of time." The Parliament lasted until November 7, 1917, at which date it was dispersed by the Bolsheviks. The Bolshevik Revolution — After the March Revolu- tion, the Bolsheviks constantly increased in strength, for with the passing months their arguments bore ever greater weight with the masses. The provisional govern- ment, they declared, had promised the country peace. What had been done? The government had asked the Allies to restate their war aims. The Allies promised such a restatement at their Paris conference but the conference was put off from month to month, and finally an an- nouncement made that they intended to discuss merely military issues. In the meanwhile tens of thousands of Russians were being sacrificed and no relief was in sight. The continuance of the war would lead to physical ex- haustion of the revolutionized proletariat and the fruits of the revolution would be sacrificed. The socialists of the left further claimed that the provisional government had failed to take any decisive stand on the land question. It feared to advocate confis- cation of the land because the value of foreign securities depended on the income derived from it. In certain dis- tricts it had introduced martial law and arrested many peasants who attempted to carry out the Petrograd So- viet's program by transferring land to the peasant com- mittees. Indecision of Provisional Government. — The provi- sional government had no definite policy on the question of the socialization of industries. It had postponed the call- SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ing of the Constituent Assembly. And, declared Trotsky, " there were no guarantees that it [this assembly] really would be called. The breaking up of the army, mass de- sertions, disorganization of the supplies' department, agra- rian revolution — all this created an environment which was unfavorable to the elections for the Constituent As- sembly. The surrender of Petrograd to the Germans, furthermore, threatened to remove altogether the question of elections from the order of the day. And, besides, even if it were called according to the old registration lists under the leadership of the old parties, the Constituent Assembly would be but a cover and a sanction for the coalition power.'' ^^ The provisional government still clung to the idea of coalition which meant control by the bourgeoisie and Allies. It refused to recognize the real power of Russia, the soviet. Program of Bolsheviks — The Bolsheviks had a defi- nite program on all questions in dispute. They demanded that entire power be given to the Soviets ; that land be immediately distributed without compensation ; that in- dustries be socialized and workers' committees formed, and that immediate negotiations be started for a general, democratic peace. While the Bolshevik propaganda along these lines was urgent and active, " it was much like the case of a man blowing with his breath in the same direction with a full grown natural tornado," ^^ for their demands but voiced the growing aspirations of the people. Defense by Kerensky Government. — The provisional government conducted a vigorous counter-propaganda. It declared that it had not unduly postponed the Assem- 11 Trotsky, op eit., p. 34. 12 See article by William Hard on Colonel Robins' view of Russia in the Metropolitan, June, 1919. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 329 bly. On March 20, 1917, the coalition ministry had promised to convoke the Assembly " as soon as possible." The second cabinet repeated the promise. It was first necessary to organize a thoroughly representative com- mittee to work out the election laws. This organization took some time. The commission's sessions opened June 7, 1917. On June 22, the third cabinet designated Sep- tember 29 as the date for the elections. This date was changed once, when, on August 22, Kerensky declared that, because of the enormous amount of work involved in hold- ing the elections, voting must be postponed until Novem- ber 25, 1917. The convocation of the Assembly was called for December 12, 1917. Regarding the immediate negotiations for peace, the provisional government declared that Russia must remain loyal to the Allies, and that only by defending Russia against German militarism could the fruits of the revolu- tion be preserved. The moderate socialists admitted, how- ever, that much of their argument for the continuance of the war had been greatly weakened by the refusal of the Allies to restate their war aims, as well as by the Allies' refusal to give passports to delegates to the Stockholm Peace Conference called by the Russians. The land and industrial problems, they maintained, would be taken up by the Constituent Assembly. They claimed that the coalition ministry was necessary, as Russia could not jump immediately out of the stage of feudalism into that of socialism, and that, during the transition period, the work- ers must have the cooperation of the bourgeoisie. Calling of AlNRussian Congress — Despite these re- plies, the movement swung incessantly to the left. Under pressure of the Rolsheviks, the Central Executive Com- mittee of the Soviets called an AU-Russian Congress of Soviets in Petrograd for November 7. The calling of this 330 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION assembly was a signal to the Bolsheviks to prepare for the capture of the governmental machinery. Struggle Over the Petrograd Garrison. — The first struggle occurred over the Petrograd garrison. The General Staff decided that this garrison, composed of revo- lutionary troops, should be sent to the front in exchange for others. The Petrograd Soviets were asked to approve of the plan of exchange, but the Soviets' executive com- mittee refused to give its approval. At the same time a Military Revolutionary Committee Was organized and both sides strove to win the support of the Petrograd garrison. The Bolsheviks felt sure that the AU-Russian Congress would favor transference of power to the Soviets, but they knew that a resolution to that effect would be worthless unless backed by force. Force must be placed on the side of the Bolsheviks. In this struggle soldiers and workmen began to take the keenest interest. On Oc- tober 23, a secret meeting of the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks was held in Petrograd, with Lenin present. At this meeting, with but two dissenting votes, it was decided that " the only means of saving the revolution and the country from final dissolution lay in armed insurrection which must transfer power into the hands of the Soviets." The first act of the Military Revolutionary Committee was the appointment of commissioners to all parts of the Petrograd garrison and to all of the most important insti- tutions of the capital and its environs. The various Petrograd regiments finally agreed to recognize only the commissioners from the Petrograd soviet. The govern- ment then proceeded vigorously against the rebels and destroyed their headquarters and their printing plant. These, however, were soon replaced. In early November, the staff tried to come to some mutual understanding in regard to the removal of the Petrograd garrison, but the THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 331 garrison declared that, without the Petrograd Soviet's decision, it would move nowhere. Petrograd Soviet Day — On November 4, 1917, the Bolsheviks announced a " Petrograd Soviet Day," which brought out great masses of men and women, with their signs of " Down with Kerensky's Government, Down with the War ! All power to the Soviets ! '' The Semyonovski regiment, regarded as the bulwark of Kerensky's govern- ment, decided, during the day, by an overwhelming ma- jority, to support the Bolsheviks. The insurgents also occupied the Fortress of Peter and Paul. During the following days the Military Revolutionary Committee ap- pointed committees to take charge of all railroad depots, and established telephonic communications with outlying Soviets. Red Guards and sailors occupied the telegraph station, post office and other institutions, and prepared to take possession of the state bank, while Smolny Institute, the headquarters of the Central Executive and of the Military Revolutionary Committee, was turned into a fortress. On November 6, Kerensky demanded that the Pre-Par- liament approve repressive measures against the Bolshe- viks. A resolution was passed condemning the rebellious movement of the soviet, but laying the responsibilitiet. at the door of the anti-democratic policy of the government. That night the government ordered artillery from the Peterhof School of Ensigns, and gathered cadets and offi- cers at the Winter Palace, while the Bolsheviks placed military defenses on all roads leading to Petrograd, and sent agitators to meet and to argue with military detach- ments called by the government. During the night most of the important points in the city, including the state bank, passed into the hands of the Bolsheviks without struggle or bloodshed. 332 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The Fall of the Kerensky Regime On November 7, the Winter Palace, occupied by the provisional govern- ment, was gradually surrounded, and, at one o'clock in the afternoon, Trotsky declared, at a session of the Petrograd soviet, that the government of Kerensky had ceased to exist, and that, until the All-Russian Congress would otherwise decide, the power would pass into the hands of the Military Revolutionary Committee. In the mean- time the government institutions were occupied one by one by soldiers, sailors, and red guards. That evening the preliminary session of the Second All- Russian Congress of Soviets was held, and while Dan, a leader of the Social Revolutionists, was delivering an in- vective against the insurgents, in the name of the Central Executive, the besiegers were closing in on the Winter Palace, and the boom of cannon, pointed toward the palace, was heard throughout the city. Presently the directors of operations against the headquarters of the provisional government appeared in the hall, and re- ported that the Winter Palace had been taken, that Keren- sky had fled and that other ministers were arrested and consigned to the Fortress of Peter and Paul. The first chapter of the November revolution was closed. UNDER THE SOVIET GOVERNMENT The Formation of the Soviet Government With the downfall of the provisional government, the power passed immediately over to the Military Revolutionary Committee. The first order of the new power was the abolition of the death penalty and the ordering of reflections in the army committees. On the succeeding evening, at an executive session of the Soviets, Lenin, who had returned from hiding in Finland, introduced decrees on peace and on land, THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 333 which were unanimously adopted. The Central Com- mittee of the Bolsheviks thereupon invited the Left Social Revolutionists to participate in the estahlishment of the Soviet Government. The latter hesitated on the ground that the government should contain members of all of the parties that were represented in the soviet. The Menshe- viks and the Right Social Revolutionists broke completely with the Bolsheviks, maintaining that the government should contain anti-soviet parties as well. The Bolshe- viks then selected the People's Commissars, composed ex- clusively of members of the Communist Party — for by this title the Bolsheviks soon began to call themselves. Lenin was appointed President, and Trotsky, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Lenin government dissolved the Pre-Parliament and, following the withdrawal of anti- Bolshevik delegates, secured the sanction of the soviet congress to this procedure. Attacks on New Government. — The new government was bitterly attacked from all sides. On November 8, the Executive Committee of the All-Russian Council of Peas- ants' Deputies issued a manifesto declaring that the revo- lution was perishing, that the presence of a few peasants' deputies at the soviet congress in violation of the decision of the peasants' executive committee in no way indicated the peasants' support of the government and that the Council of Peasants' Deputies refused to recognize the new Bolshevik regime. The Central Committee of the Social Revolutionists ex- pelled from the party all those who took part in the " Bolshevik adventure " " for gross violation of party discipline." On November 10, this committee issued a manifesto, in which it declared that the AU-Russian Congress of Soviets had no authority to recognize the coup 334 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION d'etat, as "most of the socialist delegates had left the coun- cil and as the peasant delegates had refused to attend be- cause they were busy with the elections for the Constituent Assembly. The appeal concluded: " Join hands with the AU-Russian Committee for the Sal- vation of the country and revolution, unite with the Socialist Parties ! They will create a new, united revolutionary and democratic government and this government will at once transfer all land to the land committee, will offer all belliger- ent countries a democratic p8ace, will suppress the anarchy and the counter-revolution and will bring the country to the Constituent Assembly." The Petrograd Committee of the Social Democratic Party and various other groups also issued appeals against the new power. The intelligentsia refused at first to cooperate with the new regime, the technical workers and clerks, the telegraph operators, typewriters and others sabotaging the government. The communication with the provinces was for some time completely cut off. Suppression of Counter=RevoIutionary Forces. — The Bolsheviks then undertook to clear Petrograd of those who openly defied their rule. The cadets were disarmed, the participants in the insurrection against the new regime were arrested and imprisoned or deported and " all pub- lications that openly preached revolt against soviet au- thority were promptly suppressed. All military resist- ance in the capital was crushed absolutely. Next came the reports of the Kerensky advance on Petrograd. The Cossacks accompanying the former Premier took possession of the powerful telegraph radio- station at Tsarskoye-Selo and of several local Soviets. The soldiers in Petrograd, not knowing the size of the ad- THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 335 vancing force and deprived of effective artillery and of trained officers, at first showed little enthusiasm about op- posing their forces to Krasnov's Cossacks, but the factory workers of Petrograd formed a Red Guard and large num- bers enthusiastically supported the new government. On November 12, they met the Cossacks, engaged in a fierce artillery duel with them and forced a retreat to Gatch- insk. Kerensky fled while General Krasnov was endeavor- ing to find an escort to take him back to Petrograd. The Fight Against the Constituent Assembly After quelling armed opposition within and without the capital, the Bolsheviks turned their attention to the Constituent Assembly. On November 25, 1917, the elections took place throughout Russia, and resulted in a majority vote for the Social Revolutionists, the Bolsheviks obtaining less than one-third of the votes cast. In late November and early December a group of As- sembly delegates met at Tauride Palace, but were finally excluded by the Bolsheviks from this gathering place. The Assembly was formally opened on January 18, 1918, and Chernov, the leader of the Social Revolutionists, was elected chairman by a vote of 244 to 151. Bolshevilc Demand on Assembly — Sverdlov, chairman of the executive committee of the Soviets, thereupon read the " Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Ex- ploited People," and urged its passage by the Assembly. The declaration virtually called on the Assembly to give all power to the Soviets. The declaration, which was later adopted as a part of the Constitution of the Soviet Government, virtually called on the Assembly to give all power to the Soviets ; provided for the abolition of all private property in land, the so- cialization of mineral resources, workmen's control of in- dustry, the establishment of the Supreme Soviet of Na- 336 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION tional Economy, the nationalization of banks, the enforce- ment of general compulsory labor, the arming of the work- ers, the disarming of the exploiting classes and the forma- tion of the Red Guards. All Power to the Soviet. — The declaration called upon the Constituent Assembly to accept completely the policy of the Soviets, " whose duty it is to publish all secret treaties, to organize the most extensive fraternization be- tween the workers and the peasants of the warring armies, and by democratic methods to bring about a democratic peace among all the belligerent nations without annexa- tions and indemnities, on the basis of the free self-deter- mination of nations — at any price.'' The resolution further urged that the Assembly com- pletely separate itself from " the brutal policy of the bourgeoisie " ; that it accept the policy of the Council of People's Commissars in giving complete independence to Finland, in beginning the withdrawal of troops from Per- sia, and in declaring for Armenia the right of self-de- termination. " A blow at international financial caprtal," it main- tained, " is the soviet decree which annuls foreign loans made by the governments of the Czar, the land-owners and the bourgeoisie. The Soviet Government is to continue firmly on this road until the final victory from the yoke of capitalism is won through international workers' re- volt." It continued: " As the Constituent Assembly was elected on the basis of candidates nominated before the November revolution, when the people as a whole could not rise against their exploiters, and did not know how powerful would be the strength of the exploiters in defending their privileges, and had not yet begun to create a socialist society, the Constituent Assembly THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 337 considers it, even from a formal point of view, unjust to op- pose the soviet power." The declaration concluded by stating that the exploiters must not have a seat in the government, and urging the Constituent Assembly to limit its activities to " outlining the basis of the Federation of the Russian Soviet Repub- lics, leaving it to the people, in their soviet meetings, to de- cide under what conditions they prefer to join the feder- ated government and other federations of soviet enter- prise." Dissolution of Assembly — At two o'clock of the morn- ing of January 19, this resolution was put to a vote and lost. The Rolshevik element thereupon read a resolution, stating that the Constituent Assembly had refused to recognize the results of the great November revolution; that it was directing the fight of the bourgeoisie against the workers' revolution ; that it was " in reality a bour- geois counter-revolutionary party "; that it had been elected " on the basis of obsolete party lists " and that it promised everything, but in reality had " decided to fight against the Soviet Government, against the socialist meas- ures giving the land and all its appurtenances to the peasants without compensation, nationalizing the banks, and canceling the national debts." The Bolsheviks, the Left Social Revolutionists and the Unified Social Democratic Internationalists then with- drew from the chamber " in order to allow the soviet power finally to decide the question of its relations with the counter-revolutionary sections of the Constituent As- sembly." An hour afterward the Assembly addressed a resolution to Russia and other countries in which it favored most of the Bolshevik demands except that of giving all power to 338 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION the Soviets. It proclaimed the Russian State to be a Rus- sian Democratic Federated Republic; abolished the right to privately owned land ; confiscated without compensation all land, mines, forests, waters, owned by individuals, asso- ciations and institutions ; urged that the war be immedi- ately discontinued ; appealed to the Allied countries to de- fine jointly the exact terms of a democratic peace accept- able to all ; appointed a peace delegation to meet with the Allies ; and accepted " the further carrying on of negotia- tions with the countries warring against us in order to work toward a general democratic peace which shall be in accordance ' with the people's will and protect Russia's interests.' " The Assembly was thus one with the Bolsheviks in favor- ing confiscation of land and an immediate peace. At four o'clock of the following morning, January 19, 1918, a Cronstadt sailor on guard asked why the members did not go home. They went and with their departure ended the constituent. A decree of dissolution was passed by the Soviet Government on January 26. Protests Over Dissolution — The dissolution of the Constituent Assembly brought storms of protests from those who formerly favored the Assembly, as well as from those who had formerly opposed it, but who now clung to it as the lesser of two evils. The Social Revolutionists and the Mensheviks argued that an election based on universal suffrage in November, in which the electors voted for candidates listed in Octo- ber and September, could not legitimately be considered as " unrepresentative " and " obsolete " in January ; that the November election called forth millions of men and women, and its results were therefore much more representative of the aspirations of the Russian people than were those of the Soviets whose total membership at that time was a few THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 339 hundred thousands ; furthermore, that the election of the Constitutional Assembly, which took place three weeks after the coup d'etat, and in which the majority of the Bolshevik candidates were defeated, should be looked upon as a later expression of the will of the Russian people than the coup d'etat itself. The Bolshevik action also proceeded with poor grace from a group which had consistently attacked the Keren- sky government for its postponement of the Assembly, which had issued a decree, after coming into power, order- ing the elections to be held as arranged, and had announced that the Bolshevik " Commissars of the People " would hold complete power " until the meeting of the Constituent Assembly." It was also idle, they contended, to call the majority of those in control of the Constituent Assembly counter-revolutionists when this majority were socialists who had fought for years against the dreaded autocracy of the Czar. And did not these non-Bolsheviks show their revolutionary character on the first day and only day of the Assembly, by the passage of such fundamentally radi- cal measures as those for the abolition of privately owned land without compensation, for nationalization of mines, forests and waters, and for early peace negotiations .'' ^* Defense by Bolsheviks — In justifying their action, the Bolsheviks replied that the Constituent Assembly mem- bers had been elected from old lists ; that sentiment throughout Russia had swung definitely to the left since the selection of the assembly candidates ; that the slowness of communications in Russia had made it impossible ade- quately to apprise the inhabitants of rural districts of the November revolution prior to the elections, and that a ministry selected by the Constituent Assembly would have been impotent because it would not have had the support 13 See Spargo, Bolshevism, Ch. VI. 340 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of the active groups in the population. Furthermore, during revolutionary days, the soviet form of government was much more -responsive to the changing will of the peo- ple than were the older democratic forms.^* The Move for Peace. — Immediately after the Bolshe- viks became the controlling power in Russia, they began their drive for peace. ■'^ On November 20, a wireless com- munication was sent to the AUies and to the Central Powers offering to conclude a general peace. The Allied governments replied that further steps toward separate peace negotiations would lead to the gravest consequences. The soviet, on receipt of this reply, declared that " under no circumstances would it permit the army to shed its blood under the club of the foreign bourgeoisie.'' This it followed up with the publication of the secret treaties and the statement that Russia would relinquish everything in these treaties which were against the interest of the masses of the people in all countries. On December 7, a truce was signed with the Germans calling for a discontinuance of military operations on the entire front, and again the Allies were requested to join in the peace negotiations. This time the Allies made no answer. On December 22, 1918, peace negotiations were actually begun. At Brest=Litovsk: — The Russian delegates went to Brest-Litovsk, and set forth the basis for a general, demo- cratic peace — a peace without annexations and indemni- ties, favoring self-determination, etc. The Germans' re- ply expressed general agreement with the Russian formula, i*One of the most vigorous defenses of the actions of the Bol- sheviks in breaking up the Constituent Assembly is that made by Leon Trotsky in From October to Brest-Litovsk (pp. 77-9). 15 For a documentary history of peace negotiations between Ger- many and Russia see Russia and Oermany at Brest-Litovsk, by Judah W. Magnes (N. Y.: Rand School, 1919). THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 341 but a few days later the Russian delegates returned to Russia carrying " those brigand demands, which Mr. Kuehlmann made to us in the name of the Central Empires as an interpretation of his ' democratic ' formulas." ^^ The delegates returned again to Brest-Litovsk, and en- deavored to obtain better conditions, all the time publish- ing every portion of the negotiations, and hoping against hope that the workers of the Central Powers would revolt against their governments, prevent the Germans from im- posing their terms and ignite a European revolution. They urged that the negotiations be held in Stockholm or some other neutral center, but this request was denied. Unable to induce a peace on the basis of the Russian formula, on February 10, 1918, they broke off negotia- tions, stating that they could not sign a formal treaty, but that they regarded the state of war to be at an end, and ordered an immediate demobilization. " The peace you are forcing down our throats," they de- clared, " is a peace of aggression and robbery. We cannot permit you, Messrs. Diplomats, to say to the German work- ingmen : ' You have characterized our demands as avaricious, as annexationist. But look, under these very demands we have brought you the signature of the Russian revolution.' Yes, we are weak, we cannot fight at present. But we have sufficient revolutionary courage to say that we shall not will- ingly affix our signature to the treaty which you are writing with the sword on the body of living people." " Signing of " Tilsit " Peace — No Reply from Allies. — Before the expiration of the seven-day period for the signing of the treaty, the Germans began their advance and finally, on March 3, the Russian delegation was com- i» Trotsky, op. cit., p. 85. 17 Trotsky, op. cit., p. 95. 342 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION pelled to sign the " Tilsit " peace. Discussion then cen- tered on whether the All-Russian Congress of Soviets would ratify the treaty. Trotsky and Lenin promised Colonel Robins that they would use their influence with the All-Russian Congress to continue the war, if the Allies would guarantee economic and military aid. Colonel Robins and other officials, bankers and newspaper corre- spondents of Allied countries, on the basis of this promise, cabled various Allied countries, urging that such aid be extended.-'^ No reply, however, was received, and, on March 16, the Fourth All-Russian Congress of Soviets, at Moscow, ratified the treaty with Germany by a vote of 704. to 261. Lenin, in urging this course, maintained that Russia was helpless against foreign aggression. It " must have a breathing spell for internal stabilization and for an in- crease of the Russian power of resistance. The point is not to fight with honor, but to achieve ultimate victory. The Russian revolution must survive, must avoid fighting an uneven battle, and must gain time in the hope that the western revolutionary movement will come to its aid. Germany is still engaged in a fierce struggle. Only be- cause of this is the conclusion of peace between Russia and Germany at all possible. We must fully avail ourselves of this situation. The welfare of the revolution is the highest law. We must accept the peace we are unable to reject." Many opposing the ratification, on the other hand, argued that the success of Germany in the war would mean the death of the revolution in Russia, and that the fight should be continued against Prussian militarism at all hazards. 18 See Raymond Robin's story, told by William Hard, Metropolitan Magazine, August, 1919, p. 73. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 34-3 The Soviet Constitution. — Perhaps the most important social contribution made by the Bolsheviks during 1918 was the Soviet Constitution, adopted on July 10, 1918, by the Fifth AU-Russian Congress of Soviets as the funda- mental law of the land — the most radical code of laws ever adopted by a nation of any considerable size. Article one of the Constitution, largely a repetition of " The Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Ex- ploited People," urged for adoption before the Constitu- tional Assembly, provided, as first steps toward a social- ist society, for the assumption of power by the Soviets, for the socialization of the land, of natural resources, of the banks and of certain of the factories, for the arming of the toilers and for the disarming of the propertied classes. The Dictatorship of the Proletariat Under article two, which contains the " general provisions of the Con- stitution of the Republic," the dictatorship of the prole- tariat is proclaimed in the following language : " The fundamental problem of the Constitution of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic involves, in view of the present transition period, the establishment of a dictatorship of the urban and rural proletariat and the poor- est peasantry in the form of a powerful All-Russian Soviet authority, for the purpose of abolishing the exploitation of men by men and of introducing socialism in which there will be neither a division into classes nor a state of autocracy." Article two also provides that free and full education be furnished to workers ; that the government help in the organization of the producers ; that halls be extended free to those who toil, and that, in order to secure freedom of expression, all " dependence of the press on capital " be abolished. Continuing, the Constitution reads : " The Russian So- 344 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION cialist Federated Soviet Republic considers work the duty of every citizen of the Republic, and proclaims as its motto : ' He shall not eat who does not work.' . . ." Political rights are granted, " in consequence of the solidarity of the toilers of all nations, to foreigners who live in the terri- tory of the Russian Republic and are engaged in toil and who belong to the toiling claiss." Shelter is also offered " to all foreigners who seek refuge from political and re- ligious persecution,'' and equal rights are granted to citi- zens of various races and nations. On the other hand, the constitution " deprives all individuals and groups of rights which could be utilized by them to the detriment of the socialist revolution." Construction of the Soviet Power. — Article three deals with the construction of the soviet power. The All- Russian Congress of Soviets is made the supreme power of the republic. This congress is composed of representa- tives of city Soviets (one delegate for 25,000 voters), and of representatives of the provisional congresses of Soviets (one delegate for 126,000 inhabitants). The All-Russian Congress is convoked by the AU-Rus- sian Central Executive Committee at least twice a year and may be called together at other times. The congress elects a Central Executive Committee of not more than 200 members, which, in the periods between the convocation of the congresses, is the supreme power of the republic. The Executive Committee, however, is entirely responsible to the congress for its acts. The Executive Committee is given wide powers, includ- ing the direction in a general way of the activity of the government and of the organs of soviet authority in the country ; the coordination and regulation of the Constitu- tion and of the resolutions of the congresses ; the con- sideration and enactment of all measures and proposals in- THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION S45 troduced by the Soviets of People's Commissars or of various departments ; the issuance of its own decrees ; the convocation of the congress, and the formation of Peo- ple's Commissars for the management of the affairs of the republic. The People's Commissars. — The management of the affairs of the republic is placed largely in the hands of the Council of People's Commissars, seventeen in number, who are appointed by the Central Executive Committee, and are responsible to this Committee and to the All-Russian Congress. This Council has the power of issuing decrees and attending to the details of management, but all de- crees of great political significance have first to be ap- proved by the Central Executive, except those requiring immediate execution. Each Commissar has the aid of a committee of which he is president, and the members of which are appointed by the Council of People's Com- missars.^® The AU-Russian Congress has exclusive jurisdiction over the ratification and the amendment of the fundamen- tal principles of the Soviet Constitution, the ratification of peace treaties, and, together with the Central Executive Committee, possesses general powers common to supreme legislative bodies, and has control over the appointment and dismissal of any or all of the members of the Council of People's Commissars. The Constitution also provides for regional, provincial, county and rural Soviets, delegates to each of which are 19 These Commissars have charge of the following departments : (1) Foreign Affairs, (2) Army, (3) Navy, (4) Interior, (5) Justice, (6) Labor, (7) Social Welfare, (8) Education, (9) Post and Tele- graph, (10) National Affairs, (11) Finances, (12) Ways of Com- munication, (13) Agriculture, (14) Commerce and Industry, (15) National Supplies, (16) State Control, (17) Supreme Soviet of Na- tional Economy, (18) Public Health. 346 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION elected either from the next lower Soviets, or from the smallest unit. Provision is furthermore made for the Soviets of deputies elected in city or town, one deputy in the city for every 1,000 inhabitants. The Right to Vote. — Article four, which deals with the " Right to Vote," has been subject to the severest criti- cism. It reads : " The right to vote and to be elected to the Soviets is en- joyed by the following citizens, irrespective of religion, na- tionality, domicile, etc., of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, of both sexes, who have completed their eighteenth year by the day of election. " a. All who have acquired the means of living through labor that is productive and useful in society, and also per- sons engaged in housekeeping, which enables the former to do productive work, i. e., laborers and employees of all classes who are employed in industry, trade, agriculture, etc. ; and peasants and Cossack agricultural laborers who employ no help for the purpose of making profits. " b. Soldiers of the army and navy of the Soviets. " c. Citizens of the two preceding categories who have to any degree lost their capacity to work. " Note 1 : Local Soviets may, upon approval of the central power, lower the age standard mentioned herein. " Note 2 : Non-citizens mentioned in Paragraph 20 (Article Two, Chapter 5) have the right to vote. "The following persons enjoy neither the right to vote nor the right to be voted for, even though they belong to one of the categories enumerated above, namely: " a. Persons who employ hired labor in order to obtain from it an increase in profits. " b. Persons who have an income without doing any work, such as interest from capital, receipts from property, etc. " c. Private merchants, trade and commercial brokers. " d. Monks and clergy of all denominations. " e. Employees and agents of the former police, the THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 347 gendarme corps^ and the Okhranan (Czar's secret service), also members of the former reigning dynasty. " f. Persons who have in legal form been declared de- mented or mentally deficient, and also persons under guardian- ship. " g. Persons veho have been deprived by a soviet of their rights of citizenship because of selfish or dishonorable of- fences, for the period fixed by the sentence." Lenin's Program for Higher Productivity. — The chief problem facing the Soviet Government after its installa- tion in the industrial field was that of increased produc- tivity. The lack of raw material and of adequate machin- ery, the sabotaging by technical experts in the early days of the soviet rule, the physical condition of the workers and the war without and within were among the factors that made this problem particularly difficult. The Soviet Government's approach to this problem was indicated in the address of Premier Lenin to the soviet delivered in the Spring of 1918, in which he advocated self -discipline among the masses, the utilization of the principles of scien- tific management, the employment of technical experts, the use of the press in stimulating emulation, and compulsory labor. He said in part : " The victory of the socialist revolution will not be as- sured unless the proletariat and the poorest peasantry mani- fests sufficient consciousness, idealism, self-sacrifice and per- sistence." In the creation of the soviet state the main difficulty is " in the economic domain : to raise the productivity of labor, to establish strict and universal accounting and control of production and distribution, and actually to socialise produc- tion. . . . " ' Keep accurate and conscientious accounts; conduct busi- ness economically; do not loaf; do not steal; maintain strict 348 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION discipline at work. . . . The practical realization of these slogans by the toiling masses is, on one hand, the sole condi- tion for the salvation of the country. . . . " Without the direction of specialists of different branches of knowledge, technique and experience, the transformation toward socialism is impossible. We should try out every scientific and progressive suggestion of the Taylor system. . . . The possibility of socialism will be determined by our success in combining the soviet rule and the soviet organi- zation of management with the latest progressive measures of capitalism." ^° The Press. The press should cease to " amuse and fool the masses with spicy political trifles." It " should serve as a weapon of socialist construction, giving publicity in all de- tails to the success of the model communes, studying the prin- ciples of their success, their methods of economy. . . . Sta- tistics under capitalism were used exclusively by government employees or narrow specialists — we must bring them to the masses, we must popularize them so that the toilers gradually learn to understand and see for themselves that work and how much work is needed and how much rest they can have. In this way a comparison between the results of the enterprise of different communes will become a subject of general interest and study." Compulsion. Efficient organization and higher discipline requires compulsion. The introduction of obligatory labor service should be started immediately, but it should be intro- duced gradually and with great caution, testing every step by practical experience. " The old state of society left the people with a great distrust of anything connected with the state. But without thorough state accounting and control of production and dis- tribution the authority of the toilers, and their freedom can- not last, and a return to the yoke of capitalism is inevitable." Social and Economic Results — It is impossible at this 20 See Lenin, The Soviets at Work. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 349 early date to reach any sure judgment regarding the social achievements of the Soviet Government. Many attacks have been made against the soviet regime on the ground that, under its " dictatorship," the Russian in- dustrial system has become ever more chaotic. ^^ On the other hand, while admitting that conditions are still in a tragic state in Russia, the Soviet Government main- tains that, despite difficulties — including the difficulties raised by the Allied blockade — productivity increased in certain parts of the country during the first year of the soviet rule.^^ Work in Education and Art. — The Soviet Government has also given much attention to education and culture. Maxim Gorky, at first a bitter opponent of the soviet regime, later a supervisor in the Department of Foreign Literature, paid a high tribute late in 1918 to this phase of the Soviet's work, in part as follows : " The creative cultural work of the Russian Government, which operates under the most difficult conditions and at the price of heroic eifort, has begun to take a leap forward and a form as yet unknown in human history. That is not an exaggeration. Only a short time ago, I was an enemy of the government, and am still at the present time in disagree- ment with it in its methods of work. But I know that the historians of the future, when they come to estimate the value of what has been accomplished by the Russian work- ingmen in the course of one year will not be able to refrain from admiring the magnificence of their creative work in the domain of culture." ^' 21 See The Living Age, Apr. 12, 1919, p. 121 et seq. 22 Such is the report of A. Lomov, attached to the People's Com- missariat of Industry, appearing in a volume published in Moscow in December, 1918, and published in The Nation of May 17, 1919. 23 In Le Populaire, Jan. 12, 1919. Arthur Ransorae in " Russia in 1919" (pp. 179-188), writes of the growth of the universities from 350 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Anti=Bolshevik Russian Forces — During 1918, the Soviet Government was bitterly opposed by numerous Rus- sian forces, who received the aid of the Allies, by the Czecho-Slovaks and by the troops of other countries. In August, 1918, some 200 members of the dismissed Constituent Assembly met in Samara in an attempt to organize another national government, but without suc- cess. A failure also was the attempt of Paul Miliukov to form a " League for the Rebirth of Russia," from among the members of the old Constitutional Democrats. In October, 1918, a national convention was held in Ufa, in eastern Russia, composed of members of various political parties, excluding the Bolsheviks. This conven- tion, after adopting a provisional plan for the government of Russia, appointed a directorate of five with full power. In mid-August also, under the protection of the military and naval forces of the Allies, was formed the " Govern- ment of Northern Russia " led by Nicholas Tchaikovsky, for many years a leader of the peasant and revolutionary movements. This government proposed the reestablish- ment of local self-government, and advocated universal suffrage, the reorganization of the national army, the re- newal of the war against Germany, and the repudiation of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Kolchak and Semenov — In May, General Semenov, an anti-Bolshevik commander, and Admiral Kolchak, formerly commander of the Black Sea Fleet, set up an independent government in Eastern Siberia, near Lake Baikal. A bitter quarrel, however, took place between the two leaders, and for a time the whole movement seemed 6 to 16, the increase in tlie number of libraries, reading rooms, etc., — an increase of educational institutions in Moscow alone from 369 to 1,357 — the astonishingly large number of classics reprinted by the Russian Soviet Government, etc. See also the report of A. V. Lunacharsky, Commissar of Education, The Liberator, May, 1919. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 351 to be about to fall into pieces. The landing of the forces of the Japanese and other Allies at Vladivostok, and the development of an army of some 50,000 Czecho-Slovaks, former prisoners of war, helped to stimulate the Semenov- Kolchak forces. On July 26, another government, claiming power over Siberia, was formed at Omsk. The succeeding month, August 25, General Horvath declared himself military dic- tator over all of the Russian forces in the Far East and, in early October, an attempt was made to capture the Omsk Government, but this came to grief through the intervention of the Czecho-Slovaks. Kolchak Coup d'etat. — On October 7, the Horvath and Omsk governments were merged, the cabinet consisting oi the directorate of five formerly appointed at Ufa. This, however, failed to settle the dissensions and, on November 18, a further coup d'etat occurred, and three of the five directors were arrested after which, with the consent of the chief of the council of ministers, Kolchak proclaimed himself dictator and commander of the All- Russian army and navy. A month later, it was an- nounced that harmony between Semenov and Kolchak had been restored, on condition that the latter would retire in favor of General Denikin, the leader of the Cossacks, when the union of the Cossack and Siberian forces could be effected. On November 20, a force of Cossacks, led by General Denikin, expelled the Ukrainian National Assembly and established a provisional government, anti-Bolshevik in its make-up. Foreign Intervention — Numerous Allied military ex- peditions took place during the year on Russian soil. On April 5, 1918, contingents of Japanese and British forces were landed at Vladivostok, for the purpose of 35^ SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION protecting property, and, nine days later, it was an- nounced that British and French troops had been landed at Murmansk to reinforce a marine detachment sent there some weeks before, with the stated object of protect- ing munitions and stores against a Finnish-German attack. On August 3, President Wilson made the following declara- tion regarding the position of the United States : " Military intervention is admissible in Russia now only to render such protection and help as is possible to the Czecho- slovaks against the armed Austrian and German prisoners who are attacking them and to steady any eflForts at self-gov- ernment and self-defense in which the Russians themselves may be willing to accept assistance. " Whether from Vladivostok or Murmansk and Archangel, the only present object for which American troops will be em- ployed will be to guard military stores which may subsequently be needed by Russian forces and to render such aid as may be acceptable to the Russians in the organization of their own self-defense." ^* Socialist Critics of the Bolsheviks. — The Soviet Gov- ernment in Russia has been widely applauded and bitterly condemned by socialists and non-socialists throughout the world. The socialists who condemn the soviet rule dwell, principally, not on the ultimate goal of the Bolsheviks, but on the methods employed. They condemn the Com- munist Party for regarding the moderate socialists as counter-revolutionists ; for dissolving the Constituent As- sembly; for suppressing free press and free speech; for 24 This statement was reiterated by the President on July 25, 1919, when he declared to the Senate his intention of keeping troops in Siberia. The main difficulty with the anti-Bolshevik forces was that they had no unity of purpose, outside of their opposition to the Bol- sheviks. They consisted of monarchists, liberals and socialists and were hopelessly split whenever a constructive program was con- sidered. THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 353 arresting, jailing and killing anti-soviet forces,^^ and, most of all, for their advocacy of " the dictatorship of the proletariat," and the soviet form of government as con- trasted with a democracy under universal suffrage. Berne Conference Condemnation Undoubtedly one of the most authoritative statements issued by socialists against the soviet rule was the resolution of the Inter- national Socialist Conference at Berne in February, 1919, in part as follows : " The reorganization of society, as it becomes more and more permeated with socialism, cannot be realized, much less established unless it rests upon the triumph of democracy and is firmly rooted in the principles of liberty. " The institutions which form the basis of all democracy : liberty of speech and the press, the right of assembly, uni- versal suiTrage, the parliamentary system with governmental responsibilities, the right of coahtion, etc., provide the work- ing masses with the instruments necessary for carrying on their struggles. " As the result of recent events, the conference desires to make the constructive character of the socialist program absolutely clear to all. Socialization consists in the methodi- cal development of diiFerent branches of economic activity under the control of democracy. The arbitrary taking over of a few undertakings by small groups of men is not social- ism, it is nothing less than capitalism with a large number of shareholders. " Since, in the opinion of the conference, the effective development of socialism is only possible under democratic law, it follows that it is essential to eliminate from the out- 25 In the summer of 1918, during a period characterized by bitter agitation against the government, many socialists and non-soclallsts were summarily executed. Widespread protests were made against the government for this action, President Wilson vigorously de- nouncing the "mass terrorism" of the soviet regime. 354 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION set all methods of socialization which would have no chance of gaining the adhesion of the majority of the people. " Such a dictatorship would be all the more dangerous if it rested upon the support of only one section of the proletariat. The inevitable consequence of such a regime could only be to paralyze the forces of the proletariat by fratricidal war. The result would be the dictatorship of re- action." ^' Bolsheviks Non=Marxian? — The Bolshevik position, its opponents claim, is non-Marxian. When Marx advo- cated the dictatorship of the proletariat, he had in mind a proletarian movement which had become " the self- conscious, independent movement of the immense ma- jority." Furthermore, he urged that the great change be made only when industrial development was prepared therefor, and frowned upon various proposals of gaining power by a coup d'etat. In Russia the Soviet Government obtained control as a result of the coup d'etat of a minor- ity. ^'^ After it secured the reigns of government, as a 2« While this resolution received the support of the majority pres- ent, it was opposed by Longuet, Adler and others, who introduced another resolution claiming that the conference did not have suf- ficient knowledge at its command regarding the Russian situation to warrant any resolution of condemnation. (See section under " The Berne Conference." 27 Mr. Spargo {Bolshevism, pp. 211-12) quotes a statement from Lenin (taken from the New International, Apr., 1918) as follows: " Just as 150,000 lordly landowners under Czarism dominated the 130,000,000 of Russian peasants, so 200,000 members of the Bolshevik party are imposing their proletarian will on the mass, but this time in the interest of the latter." Mr. William Hard, in The New Republic (July 9, 1919, p. 306), however, calls attention to the fact that this sentence was vn-itten before the Bolshevik revolution; that Lenin was alluding to the fact that the party voters of any political party are many times more numerous than the party-members. He calculated that the Bolshevik party then had a strength of 240,000, and a voting strength of 1,000,000. He declared furthermore that they could, by summoning THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 355 minority, the opponents maintained, it was necessary to use coercion to suppress the majority, and not only were the anti-Bolshevik forces outside of the Soviets harshly dealt with, but certain Soviets were dispersed, where they did not roll up a Bolshevik majority. Soviets Called Undemocratic. — Furthermore, urges the anti-Bolshevik, the soviet constitution does not give a vote to all citizens. A vote is given only to those who do " productive and useful work in socie'ty," and an arbitrary authority is left to decide what is productive and what is not. A vote under the constitution is withheld from per- sons who hire help in order to obtain profit, from private merchants, from trade and commercial brokers, and from persons who derive their income without doing any work. Clergy and monks of all denominations are denied the vote, as well as " persons who have been deprived of their rights of citizenship because of selfish or dishonest offenses, for the period fixed by the sentence." Apparently the proletariat of the city have a larger representation than the rural voters. When once the principle of one vote one man is ignored, the way is opened to a dangerous dictatorship. Lenin has not only introduced the rule of the minority in politics, but also in industry he points out the need for compulsion and dictatorship, the " complete submis- sion to a single will." ^* Is not such dictatorship re- pugnant to the spirit of democratic socialism.'' ^^ Defense of Bolshevik Methods — The replies to most of these objections have been set forth in the preceding pages. Dealing with the right to vote under the soviet the poor to the work of managing the state, increase their state apparatus many fold. 28 Lenin, The Soviets at Work, pp. 39, 32, 34 et seq. 29 See Spargo, Bolshevism, Chs. VI, VII; see also Bullard, Tht Ruisian Pendul/wm, Ch. XIII. 356 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION regime, defenders of the Soviet Government maintain that all who are willing to work are given the right to vote; that the Russian citizen has the alternative of enjoying the special privilege of an unearned income, or the privilege of participating in the control of politics and industry; that there is some discrimination against voters in every country — in the United States, in many states, against women, against the negro and against the migratory worker, who is generally unable to vote because of resi- dential requirements — while naturalization and other re- strictions, not evidenced in Russia, disfranchise a con- siderable number of the population. Representation by Occupations — Defenders of the Bolshevik regime furthermore declare, as has been pointed out, that the Soviets have many advantages over the old form of political organization, inasmuch as " all bureau- cratic formalities and limitations of elections are done away with," while the city Soviets emphasize a valuable variation in political government — representation ac- cording to occupation, rather than according to territorial groupings.^" In reply to the accusation of tyranny in the workshop, the Bolsheviks point to the actual examples of democratic control with workshop committees that have been develop- ing all over Russia. Accused of suppressing anti-Bolshe- vik papers, they state that those papers which advised armed insurrection against the government were sup- pressed, but that criticism against the administration was in general permitted. It must be added, they declare, that the country was defending itself on all fronts, and that it was also being attacked from within. ^^ 30 See supra, discussion under " The Nature of the State." 31 See New Republic, July 9, 1919, p. 306 et seq.; see also, in re- gard to the so-called Red Terror, The Nation, Oct. 4, 1919 (The J THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 367 Allied Advances — In the early part of February, 1919, William C. Bullitt of the American Peace Delegation was sent on a special mission to Russia, accompanied by Captain W. W. Pettit and Lincoln Steffens, with an offer for Allied peace with Russia, proposing an armistice on all Russian fronts. Lenin accepted the offer, but the open invitation, which was supposed to be dispatched on April 10, 1919, never appeared, and the formal negotiations were nipped in the bud in a manner similar to the Prini- cipo proposals.*^ During the summer and fall of 1919, the Allies gave military and economic aid to Admiral Kolchak and Gen- erals Denikin and Yudenitch. In the late fall it was re- ported that the Soviet Government had captured Omsk, the headquarters of Kolchak, and had repulsed Yudenitch in the northwest. It was repeatedly reported that the Bolsheviki had united with other Russian parties, in order that the Soviet Government might present a united front against their opponents, and that the government had adopted a more opportunistic position than formerly. Summary. — As we have seen, in March, 1917, as a re- sult of a combination of political and economic forces, Russia passed painlessly from black autocracy to a politi- cal democracy — the Czar being actually deposed on March 15. The revolutionists, however, wanted a change more fundamental — they wanted industrial democracy. The government shifted from the control of the liberals to that of the Social Revolutionists. The latter, however, Bullitt Report), Ransome, Russia in 1919, and the reply of Maxim Litvinov to President Wilson. For accusations against Admiral Kolchak's anti-soviet forces, see The New Republic, July 9 and 16, 1919. 32 See The Nation, July 12, 1919, p. 31, and October 4, 1919, pp. 475-82; also Ransome, op. cit., pp. 44-63. See also Bullitt, The Bullitt Mission to Russia. 358 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION retained non-socialists in the ministry, and, during the Summer, failed to take any decisive steps toward solving the problems of peace, and of control of land and indus- try. The Bolsheviks, with their more definite program and a program more akin to the wishes of the active masses, became increasingly stronger, and, finally, by a cowp d'etat, on November 7, 1917, obtained control of the government, dissolved the Constituent Assembly, trans- ferred aU power to the Soviets, started peace negotiations, declared an end to private ownership in land, socialized im- portant industries, and proclaimed a temporary dictator- ship of the proletariat. The anti-Bolshevik forces became active, particularly in Siberia, where Admiral Kolchak established a dictatorship and immediately sought the aid of the Allies. Such aid was extended during the Spring of 1919 in one form or another, against the protests of numerous labor groups in Allied countries, while a strict blockade was kept up against the Soviet Government. Later aid was given to Denikin and other opponents of Bolshevism. England withdrew further military aid from the anti-Bolshevik forces in the Fall of 1919, and the Soviet Government, after capturing Omsk, continued its efforts to obtain peace. It is as yet too early to judge what results have been attained by the Soviets. On the one hand the Bolshevik regime has been characterized by observers, non-socialists, and many socialists, as devoid of any redeeming feature. On the other hand, numerous non-socialist and socialist observers have declared that the Soviet Government, des- pite very great obstacles, has been responsible for a number of valuable social achievements. CHAPTER XII REVOLUTIONS IN THE CENTRAL EMPIRES: GERMANY — AUSTRIA — HUNGARY GERMANY Beginning of Opposition to War As has been pointed out, the Social Democrats in the Reichstag voted as a unit for the first war budget on August 4, 1914!, al- though some fourteen members had so vigorously opposed this decision at the caucus that Liebknecht was led later to describe the session as accompanied by " a violence hitherto unknown in our deliberation." With the passage of time, opposition to the decision of the majority grew. The Berlin Vorwaerts maintained a critical attitude toward the government and was several times suspended for its vigorous attacks. Richard Fi- scher, who finally replaced the radical, Stadhagen, agreed that the paper, during the war, would make no further mention of class hatred or the class struggle. The Vor- waerts and other papers, however, continued to attack the malady of jingoism with which the German people was stricken. In the Prussian Landtag, the socialist group maintained its position of opposition to the government policy and continued its fight for democratic measures. Because of the failure of the government to make any concessions in respect to suffrage, the laws regarding association and the exceptional laws, the group of ten Social Democrats refused, in March, 1915, to vote for the Prussian budget. 359 360 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Liebknecht's Stand — On the occasion of the second war budget, December 2, 1914, the socialists again voted for the loan, fifteen, however, abstaining. Haase again read the position of the majority, and declared, in justifi- cation of the stand of his fellows, that the frontiers of the country were still menaced by hostile troops. He demanded that " the end be made to war as soon as the goal of safety has been reached and the enemy is disposed to make peace and that this peace be one that makes pos- sible friendship with neighboring nations." The group also condemned the government for its opposition to the invasion of Belgium. A sensation was created at this time by the negative vote of Karl Liebknecht, accompanied by the following strong statement of condemnation: " This war^ which none of the peoples interested wanted, was not declared in the interests of the Germans or of any other people. It is an imperialistic war for capitalization and domination of the world markets, for political domination of important quarters of the globe, and for the benefit of bankers and manufacturers. From the viewpoint of the race of arma- mentSj it is a preventive war, provoked conjointly by the war parties of Germany and Austria in the obscurity of semi- absolutism and secret diplomacy. It is also a Bonaparte-like enterprise tending to demoralize and destroy the growing labor movement." Liebknecht was later condemned by the Social Demo- cratic group by a vote of 82 to 15 for breach of party discipline. When the third budget was passed upon in March, 1915 — a budget for civil as well as military purposes — thirty socialist members absented themselves from the Reichstag. Liebknecht and Ruehle alone, however, voted THE GERMAN REVOLUTION S61 against the loan. Haase took occasion to demand equal civil rights and to protest against the cutting down and destruction of the rights acquired by socialist and labor unions. The Party Split — The opposition to the majority ac- tion continued to increase and, on the passage of the fourth budget, December 15, 1915, a group of twenty voted against the loan. This group, led by some of the most powerful of the socialist leaders, including Ledebour, Haase, the former chairman of the Social Democrats ; Bernstein, the revisionist; and Kautsky, the foremost Marxist scholar, thereupon formed a " Social Democratic Workers' Community," a separate Reichstag group. This group finally took the momentous step at Gotha of organizing a separate party, the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany. This party at first con- tained the Internationale group, of which Mehring, the historian of the movement, Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin were the moving spirits. With the ex- ception of one or two minor branches on the extreme left of the movement, including the " Spartacus " group, most of the anti-governmental forces joined the new organiza- tion. The " Independents " were practically one in their fight against imperialism and their advocacy of disarma- ment and peace. Intense government opposition to this group inevitably arose. Many of their number were put in jail until the end of the war, their newspapers were suppressed and the national conference, arranged for August, 1917, was for- bidden. Liebknecht was arrested for delivering a May Day address in Berlin in 1916, which concluded: "Let thousands of voices shout : ' Down with the shameless ex- termination of nations! Down with those who are re- sponsible for these crimes ! ' " 362 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION He was first sentenced to thirty months' imprisonment, and, on appeal, to more than four years. In 1917, Rosa Luxemburg and Franz Mehring were also imprisoned. Mehring, however, was released, on account of the condi- tion of his health. Two months later, he was elected to the Reichstag from a district left vacant by Liebknecht, by an overwhelming vote against the combined opposition of the Majority socialists and the non-socialist forces. Peace Proposals (1915-1917) — On several occasions, both Majority and Independent socialists formulated peace proposals. In August, 1915, for instance, the party com- mittee and the socialist members of the Reichstag issued a joint statement opposing annexations and economic barriers after the war and favoring an international court for the settling of disputes, freedom of the seas, the aboli- tion of the right of capture and the internationalization of important straits. Scheidemann's visit to Stockholm, the Russian revolu- tion and Lloyd George's Glasgow speech were among the factors which led, in the summer of 1917, to a renewal of peace discussion. Reichstag Resolution — The Majority socialist press openly hinted that the Social Democrats were not inclined to vote the credits unless they received from the chancellor a public indorsement of their peace formula, " without annexations and indemnities," as well as the assurance of immediate political reform. Early in July, Erzberger, the leader of the Catholic Center Party, deserted the Pan- Germans and, on July 13, a Reichstag " bloc," formed of the socialists, the catholic center and the " liberals," in- troduced a resolution which declared in part: " Germany took up arms in defense of its liberty and in- dependence and for the integrity of its territories. The THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 363 Reichstag labors for peace and a mutual understanding and lasting reconciliation among the nations. Forced acquisitions of territory and political, economic and financial usurpations are incompatible with such a peace. The Reichstag rejects all plans aiming at an economic blockade and the stirring up of enmity among the people after the war. The freedom of the seas must be assured. Only an economic peace can prepare the ground for the friendly association of the peoples." The resolution also favored " the creation of interna- tional judicial organizations " and declared that, so long as the Allied countries did not accept such a peace as was here proposed, so long the German people would stand together as one man. It was the belief of many that Chancellor Bethmann- HoUweg wanted to come out publicly in favor of the formula " no annexation, no indemnities," and to take steps toward parliamentary government. On July 14, however, after the emperor had conferred with the Crown Prince, Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the chancellor fell. The July 19th speech of the new Chancellor Michaelis, who was appointed at the behest of the military party, caused keen disappointment. He declared that no parley was possible with an enemy who demanded the cession of German soil and that " we must by means of understand- ing and in a spirit of give and take guarantee conditions of the existence of the empire upon the continent and overseas." " These aims," he continued, " may be at- tained within the limits of your resolution, as I interpret it." Following this speech, the Reichstag resolution was passed by a vote of 212 to 126, twenty-two of the Minority socialists voting against it on the ground that it was too conservative. Herr Scheidemann of the Majority social- 364 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ists expressed the hope that " other people would under- stand that we are not aiming at the acquisition of foreign property and that we are ready for a righteous peace, secured by international legal guarantees." He pro- tested against submarine warfare as calculated to do more harm than good ; declared that neither Germany nor its enemies " are able to bring the war to a conclusion by military means," and asserted that the chancellor's re- marks about democracy were unsatisfactory. " Prussian electoral reform," he declared, " must come this autumn. We demand the deliverance of the press from the censor- ship and the liberation of political offenders and we vote for the war-budget in the spirit of the resolution." Opposition to Resolution — Haase, leader of the Mi- nority socialists, demanded as an urgent preliminary con- dition of peace " the complete democratization of the Con- stitution and Administration of the empire and its several states " and vigorously attacked the monarchical system. He declared: " Our monarchical institutions have not stood the test and must be set aside. . . . The people has awakAied from its war-intoxication. . . . The origin of the war was quite dif- ferent from the superficial account of it which was given by the new Imperial Chancellor and it is quite impossible for anybody to wipe away the policy of conquest which has been pursued for years. . . . All [German] attempts hitherto to reach peace have been mistaken and the memorandum of the Socialist Majority at Stockholm was not calculated to promote peace; it has been rejected everywhere. . . . We re- ject the war credits, because we have no confidence in the government." Discontent Among the Masses (1918) Michaelis soon resigned, von Hertling being appointed in his place. THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 365 The socialists continued their pressure for a peace offer, but without avail. During the Fall, there were mutinies at Kiel and strikes in the munition shops, the strikers de- manding peace without indemnity and annexations. The difficulty of getting food, the profiteering, the slow prog- ress of democratic legislation, and the Brest-Litovsk treaty increased the discontent. On January 6, 1918, when the terms exacted at Brest- Litovsk became public, the Social Democrats held great protest meetings throughout Germany, described by the Vorwaerts as " perhaps the most momentous since August, 1914t." Herr Scheidemann and Haase bitterly attacked the treaty in the Reichstag, Scheidemann declaring that " the socialists stand for the unrestricted self-determina- tion of the people," while the Social Democratic Party resolved resolutely " to combat the misuse of the right of self-determination for the purpose of disguised annexa- tions." The socialists, likewise, in a number of instances, broke up the meetings of the Fatherland Party, arranged to cele- brate the treaties. At Jena, the socialists entered the hall, passed a vote for " a general peace of understand- ing " and expelled the Fatherlanders. At Frankfort, also, they turned the mass meeting of the Pan-Germans into a huge demonstration in favor of peace and political reform. Effect of Austrian Strikes — Later in January, 1918, further discontent was evidenced when the news of the Austrian strikes reached Germany. The Vorwaerts was suspended for three days for suggesting that the Austrian strikers be extended a helping hand. Herr Frederich Ebert welcomed the action of the proletariat of Austria- Hungary, and added : " German workmen, when neces- sary, will use their full power to combat the efforts of those who are preventing an early peace based on under- 366 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION standing and right." Scheidemann warned the authori- ties that they were playing with fire. A week later the strike reached Germany. Nearly a million workers left the factories and shipyards, demand- ing internal reforms and peace on the Russian terms. Martial law was proclaimed and the newly formed workers' council of 500 delegates from different parts of Germany was dissolved. Deputy Dittmann and other strike leaders were given a five years' sentence. The Majority Party Executive used its efforts to stop the strike which soon died out. " It is all very well for the Allies to talk of the German people rebelling against their government," de- clared the Vorwaerts at that time, " but if they did, the Entente armies would be in Cologne in a week." Growing Unrest — During the Spring and Summer, the main attention of the people was given to the German drive. All during the early Fall, discontent among the masses constantly increased. War weariness, the suc- cesses of the Allies, the refusal of the government to grant suffrage and other reforms, the constant agitation of many of the socialists, and the economic situation and the growing belief that the Allies, in any peace negotiations that might be undertaken, would adhere to the fourteen points put forth by President Wilson, were all factors in- creasing the gap between the government and the people. In the debates in the Reichstag, demands for peace and for the abdication of the Kaiser were heard with ever re- curring frequency, while the troops demanded peace and demobilization. In October, the government, fearful of the results of this agitation, invited Scheidemann and other Majority social- ists into the cabinet. They entered, making it a condi- tion, however, that the government repudiate any policy of annexations and indemnities, that it grant suffrage re- THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 367 forms and adopt other liberal measures. These conces- sions, however, failed to stem the tide of growing discon- tent, and the radicals bitterly attacked the Scheidemann group for accepting governmental responsibility, and thereby retarding the movement toward revolution. " Workers, awake ! " reads one of the appeals of the Spartacus group. " The dreams of world domination of Ger- man imperialism have vanished into smoke. On heaps of corpses, in seas of blood, they wanted to establish that domina- tion. Vain are their efforts ! . . . " At this moment the government socialists, the Scheide- manns, oiFer their services to sustain the tottering power of the German bourgeoisie. . . . They want to patch up things, to blur the class character of capitalist rule and Prussian re- action, in order to make these acceptable to the people. . . . The proletariat of all countries must end the slaughter by means of revolt. . . . The revolutionary proletariat alone can dictate terms of peace in the interest of freedom and social- ism." Thousands besieged the government for the release of Liebknecht and other political prisoners, and, on October 24, when Liebknecht left prison, big demonstrations were given in his honor. At first the Majority socialists depre- cated aU talk about revolution. On October 17, the execu- tive committee of the Social Democratic Party declared that agitation for a revolution made peace and democracy more difficult. It added: " As the authorized representatives of the Social Demo- cratic Party have always declared, we wish to transform our political structure into a democracy and our economic life into socialism by means of a peaceful change. All agita- tion for an attempted revolt runs counter to this road and serves the cause of the counter-revolution." 368 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The Revolution. — The revolt proper may be said to have started on November 5, with a mutiny among the sailors of the German fleet at Kiel.' The sailors of the Baltic fleet refused to obey orders when it was rumored that preparations were being made to attack the British fleet, and soon practically every battleship in the German fleet was sailing the red flag. As the revolt spread, the Majority socialists began to change their attitude and to demand the abdication of the Kaiser, and, as late as Friday morning, November 8, the socialist ministers, Ebert and Scheidemann, were appar- ently of the belief that the revolution could be avoided by the Kaiser's removal. In their ultimatum issued that morning to Prince Max's government, they demanded, among other things, the abdication of the Kaiser and Crown Prince by Friday mid-day ; the strengthening of the Social Democratic element in the government and the con- version of the Prussian ministry to conform with the pro- gram of the majority parties of the Reichstag. "If no satisfactory answer is given by Friday mid-day," they declared, " then the Social Democrats will resign from the government." The time was afterwards extended from mid-day to Friday night. During the day events moved with great rapidity and when, early Saturday morning, the Kaiser had at last consented to leave Germany for Holland, the mass will had determined on revolution. That morning the work- ers struck in many of the factories of Berlin, and, at one o'clock, both branches of the socialist movement sent a 1 This was approximately a year after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. For a more complete account of the activities of the German socialists from the outbreak of the war to the revolution, see Oerman Social Democracy during the War, by Edwyn Bevan (Dutton, 1919). THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 369 proclamation broadcast throughout the country, calling a general strike. It read in part as follows : " The Workers' and Soldiers' Council of Berlin has de- cided to call the general strike. All factories are to stop. The necessary feeding of the population will continue. A large part of the garrison has put itself at the disposal of the Workers' and Soldiers' Council in units armed with machine guns and rifles. The movement is to be led jointly by the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Independent Party of Germany. Workers and Soldiers ! See to it that quiet and order are maintained! Long live the Socialist Re- public ! " A few hours were all that were required to accomplish the " bloodless revolution." By three o'clock Saturday afternoon motor cars were rushing through the streets proclaiming the success of the revolution, the abdication of the Kaiser, and the appointment of Ebert as Imperial Chancellor. The Formation of the Government The proclama- tion called upon the people not to dishonor the revolution by any act of thoughtlessness and was signed by the Executive Committee of the Social Democracy of Germany and the Workers' and Soldiers' Council. That afternoon Scheidemann appeared on the balcony of the Reichstag and announced the change of government, while Prince Max handed over the chancellorship to Ebert.^ That afternoon and evening were consumed with nego- tiations between the Majority Social Democrats and the 2 While, for all practical purposes, the Kaiser's abdication took place on November 9, the official abdication did not occur until nine- teen days thereafter (November 38), at which time the Kaiser re- nounced "forever the rights to the crown of Prussia and to the German Imperial Crown " and released all ofBcials from their oaths of loyalty to him. 370 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Independents. The latter, prior to cooperation, demanded that Germany become a Socialist Republic ; that the whole executive, legislative, and judicial power of the republic be placed " exclusively in the hands of the chosen men of the total laboring population and the soldiers " ; that the government exclude from its councils all bourgeois mem- bers ; that departmental ministers count merely as techni- cal assistants, and that equal power be given to the joint presidents of the cabinet. They desired the cooperation between the two groups to last for but three days. Independent Socialists Join Qovernment. — The Ma- jority socialists replied that their goal was socialism, but that the Constituent Assembly would be the final judge of developments. They rejected a policy of " dictatorship of the proletariat " and believed that the exclusion of bourgeois members would interfere with the smooth run- ning of governmental machinery and thus endanger the food supply. They agreed to the subordination of de- partmental ministers and to equality of power as between cabinet members. They felt that the coalition govern- ment, composed of Majority and Minority socialists, should remain in office until the meeting of the Constituent Assembly. Following the reply, the Independents agreed to join with the Majority socialists, and a coalition was formed with Ebert, Scheidemann, and Landsberg repre- senting the Majority group and Haase, Dittmann, and Barth, the Independents.^ sThe cabinet positions were as follows: Premier and Interior and Military Affairs, Frederich Ebert; Foreign Affairs, Hugo Haase; Finance and Colonies, Philip Scheidemann; Demobilization, Transport, Justice and Health, Wilhelm Dittmann; Publicity, Art and Literature, Herr Landsberg; Social Policy, Richard Barth. Two days later, however, a Council of National Plenipotentiaries insisted that another and more representative cabinet be appointed, which, for some time, acted in cooperation with the former. Dr. W. THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 371 The Workers' and Soldiers' Council. — In the mean- while the Workmen's and Soldiers' Council became active. On Sunday, November 10, the council members held their first meeting, elected Herr Barth, a member of the social- ist left wing, chairman of the meeting, and chose, as mem- bers of the Executive Committee, six Majority socialists, six Independent socialists — including Barth and Lede- bour — and twelve representatives of the soldiers — in- cluding Molkenbuhr and Haase. The council issued a manifesto, emphasizing the socialistic character of the revolution, in part as follows: " The old Germany is no more. . . . The workers' and soldiers' councils are now the bearers of political sovereignty. In garrisons where no workers' and soldiers' councils exist, the formation of such councils will proceed rapidly. In the rural districts peasants' councils will be formed for the same purpose." The manifesto declared that the first task of the pro- visional government was " to conclude an armistice in order to end the bloody massacre. Immediate peace is the watchword of the revolution. Whatever that peace may be it will be better than a prolongation of the atrocious butchery." Its program of economic reconstruction was a radical one: " In view of the social structure of Germany and the degree of development of its economic and political organiza- tion, a rapid and consistent socialization of the capitalistic means of production can be accomplished without serious dis- S. Solf was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs in this second body, under the Prime Ministership of Ebert, and Matthias Erzber- ger, a Minister without portfolio. On December 20, Count Brock- dorff was appointed Foreign Minister to succeed Solf. 372 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ruption. This is necessary in order that a new economic structure may arise out of the blood-soaked ruins, and to avert the economic enslavement of the masses and the destruc- tion of civilization." The manifesto called on all workers of hand and brain desiring to assist in the realization of this ideal to co- operate with the council and declared that it was con- vinced " that a revolution for the accomplishment of the same ends is in the process of formation in the entire world," and that " it confidently expects that the prole- tariat in other countries will set in motion all its powers to prevent a violation of the German people at the ter- mination of the war." Greetings were sent to the Soviet Government and hope expressed that international rela- tions be immediately resumed with Russia. The same day an appeal was issued to the rural popu- lation of Germany to form peasants' councils " in order to render secure the food supply to the people and pre- serve peace and order." The Program of the Coalition Government The program of the new government, announced on Tuesday, November 12, was concerned primarily with political re- forms and social legislation, and was of a less radical na- ture than the proclamations of the council. It proclaimed the unlimited right of association, the abolition of the censorship, and the establishment of freedom of expres- sion ; granted amnesty to political prisoners ; restored pre- war labor legislation ; declared that the eight-hour law would be enforced after January 1, 1919; favored a better system of social insurance ; promised that efforts would be made to solve the unemployment problem, to feed the population and to build houses, and proclaimed that all elections would be carried out " according to THE GERMAN REVOLUTION S73 equal, secret, direct, and universal franchise on the basis of proportional representation for all males and females of not less than 20 years of age." The same day the government issued a statement to soldiers, maintaining that discipline must be maintained in the army, so as to avoid the evils of chaotic demobiliza- tion, and urging " the willing submission of the ranks to the officers and comradely treatment by the officers of the ranks." In a further appeal to the soldiers, the govern- ment expressed its approval of the socialization of those industries which were ready for it. It reiterated its other promises, and declared that the soldiers had gone forth from a land in which they had no say, " in which a handful of men in authority had shared out between themselves power and possession." Now " you are returning," the appeal read, " not only to find all the political rights of which hitherto you have been deprived; your country is also to become your possession and your inheritance in an economic way, in that no one shall any more, without your consent, exploit and enslave you." And in its various manifestoes, the government urged the maintenance of order, so that the feeding of the people might be carried on more expeditiously. ,,^ The Reforms of the New Government — On Novem- ber 13, in order to deal with the unemployment problem, the government established an Imperial Bureau for Eco- nomic Demobilization, urged industries to hire their old hands and declared that the state would provide for all persons unable to find employment. On November 15, _th,e censorship over the postal and telegraphic communicatiojfis' was lifted, in so far as " military or political matters " were concerned. Next all military agencies were placed under the Ministry of War, and this ministry under the control of the Workmen's and Soldiers' Council. 374 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Several reassuring manifestoes were issued about that time. The government asserted that it had no intention of seizing deposits in banks, etc., of declaring loan sub- scriptions or of making claims for salaries. The Bundes- rat was officially permitted to continue its administra- tive functions and the following day a further ordinance continued in force the law insuring the payment of war taxes. Power in the Councils — No sooner did the govern- ment start to function than the Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils began to assert their power, and within a few days after the revolution the Council of Greater Berlin and the Council of People's Commissioners came to a joint agreement regarding the vesting of power during the tran- sition period, as follows : (1) That all political power be vested in the Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils of the German Socialistic Republic, their duty being to preserve the results of the revolution and to repress the counter-revolution; (2) that the Berhn Executive Committee exercise the functions of the Workmen's and Soldiers' Council of the German Republic, acting in con- cert with the Councils of Greater Berlin, until the assembly of the delegates of the Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils has elected an executive committee of the German Republic; (3) that the Council of People's Commissioners, appointed by the Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils of Greater Berlin be given executive power; (4) that the appointment and discharge of members of the acting cabinet be vested in the Central Execu- tive Committee, (5) which committee is to be consulted with reference to the appointment by the cabinet of technical heads of ministries. This assumption of power by the Berlin Council gave rise to protests from certain Majority socialists who were fearful of the idea of proletarian dictatorship. The fear THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 375 of the alleged dictatorship, however, was allayed by the action on November 23 of the Councils of Great Berlin in issuing a call for a Congress of Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils throughout Germany, to be held in Berlin not later than December 16, and by the enlargement of the Executive Committee to include representatives from vari- ous parts of Germany. The Demand for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. — These steps on the part of the government, however, failed to satisfy the socialists of the left wing, and a de- mand began to be voiced — particularly by the Sparta- cans — that Germany follow in the steps of Russia ; that all power be given to the Councils of Workers' and Sol- diers' Deputies ; that a dictatorship of the proletariat be established ; that the proletariat be armed and the bour- geoisie disarmed, and that the government proceed to the ^mediate socialization of industry. The Spartacans opposed the calling of a Constituent Assembly on the ground that it would delay the progress of the revolution and rob the advanced proletariat of their power. On the other hand, the Majority socialists urged the Assembly's speedy convocation, claiming that the Allies would not recognize any but a responsible government formed as a result of such an assembly. The Independents finally came around to a compromise position, favoring the calling of the assembly, as an accelerator of peace, but urging its postponement untU the government had time to socialize iiSdustry.* The Spartacans, during these days, urged every op- portunity to create sentiment against what they conceived •* Kautsky, however, declared that a postponement would " give an impression of insincerity, of hesitation and lack of faith in one's own strength,'' and that socialization could not be carried out with the present government machinery. 376 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION to be the reactionary policy of the government. From their motor trucks, which were constantly rushing through Berlin's thoroughfares, they distributed thousands of cir- culars, which warned the people that the revolution was in gravest danger, and called on them to hold mighty protest meetings against the timid policy of the coalition government. They frequently came into sharp conflict with the government forces, and, on December 11, no less than 11 were reported killed and 35 wounded. The mili- tant program enunciated by the Spartacans at that time was as follows : " Disarmament of the police officers, non-proletarian soldiers and all members of the ruling classes; confiscation by the Soldiers' and Workmen's Councils of arms, munitions and armament works; arming of all adult male proletarians and the formation of a Workers' Militia; the formation of a proletarian Red Guard; abolition of the ranks of officers and non-commissioned officers, removal of all military officers from the Soldiers' and Workmen's Councils; abolition of all parliaments, and municipal and other councils, the election of a general council which will elect and control the execu- tive council of the soldiers and workmen; repudiation of all state and other public debts, including war loans down to a certain fixed limit of subscriptions ; expropriation of all landed estates, banks, coal mines and large industrial works; con- fiscation of all fortunes above a certain amount." The Congress of Councils — The Congress of Councils of Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies, which met in the Lower House of the Prussian Diet on December 16, 1918, was dominated throughout by the moderate, rather than the extreme, element among the socialists. It twice re- fused to permit Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg to address the delegates. It expressed its confidence in the Ebert government. It criticized the soviet executive for THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 377 using money from an unknown source. It refused to as- sume dictatorship over the empire, and agreed, by a vote of 400 to 70, to transfer legislative and executive power to the People's Commissioners until the meeting of the National Assembly. It decided on an early convocation of this assembly — January 19, 1919, instead of March 15 as urged by the Independents. It abolished the Berlin Soviet Executive, and constituted a Central Council of German Soviets composed of 27 Majority socialists. The Independents, who opposed this plan, refused to put for- ward their candidates. Throughout the council's ac- tions were motived largely by a desire to effect an early peace. Such arguments as those advanced by the Vor- waerts had sunk deep : " It must be declared openly that there is danger of the whole government apparatus crumbling and the armistice and peace negotiations being broken oiF on the ground that no competent German Government exists, and then all Ger- many will be occupied by Entente troops." Scheidemann also stressed this note, declaring that, if the Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies continued in opera- tion, unspeakable woe would befall Germany. The warn- ing against Bolshevism was frequently heard at the Con- gress. Spartacan Activity. — The left wing groups, neverthe- less, were not completely silenced. Ebert was severely criticized for refusing to have dealings with the Moscow Government, for arousing national indignities against the Poles, and for the government's food policy. A delega- tion of soldiers demanded the dismissal of all officers and military control by the councils while a committee repre- senting a large number outside of the Diet submitted a list of Spartacan demands. 378 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Two democratic measures passed by the congress were the extension to the soldiers of the privilege of appointing their own officers, and the abolition of orders, badges and honors of nobility. After this congress the Spartacans continued an aggres- sive agitation, while, on the other hand, the Ebert govern- ment, feeling more secure than formerly, began a syste- matic campaign for disarming the opposition. The first step in this campaign was the order of Otto Wels, the Military Commander of Berlin, to disband the majority of the 2,000 revolutionary sailors in that city who were causing considerable anxiety among the mass of citizens and the government. The sailors refused to disarm or to leave Berlin and, on December 23, they appointed a delegation of these to march to the headquarters of Wels on Unter den Linden to protest against this order. The protest was answered by machine guns from the Repub- lican Guards. This, in turn, led to counter attacks by the sailors, who seized the headquarters and made Wels a prisoner. A further detachment of sailors marched to the chancellor's palace to interpellate the ministers, but was confronted by the Potsdam Guard. Sailors and civilians thereupon seized the Royal Castle and the ad- joining stables, and occupied the Konigstrasse. Other groups captured the Vorwaerts' oflBce, and issued a Red Vorwaerts, while demonstrations were held throughout the city demanding that a new government be formed by Lieb- knecht and Ledebour. Street fights were of frequent oc- currence. The Spartacans were joined by the Alexander and Franzer regiments, and General Lequis was brought from the front by the government to crush the opposition. After a hot exchange of shots, a compromise was finally eff^ected between the contestants, the government agreeing to send the Lequis soldiers out of the city; the sailors in THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 379 turn declaring that they would not take part in any future revolt against the government. The Resignation of the Independents The events of these days, and particularly the government's order to shoot down the sailors, caused the three Independent mem- bers of the cabinet to appeal to the decision of the Execu- tive Committee of the Workmen's and Soldiers' Councils. Ebert and Scheidemann assumed full responsibility for the events ; claimed that " the strongest and most un- compromising action must be taken to prevent riots and further lawbreaking by civilians as well as the military," and threatened to resign unless they were supported in their attitude. They added : " There is no government without power. Without power we become a prey of any one sufficiently unscrupulous to use his comrades and their arms for vainglorious purposes and his own profit. Do you really desire a German Social Demo- cratic republic? Do you want us to make peace as soon as possible and secure food for the starving.'' If so, then help the government to create a people's army that may protect its dignity and freedom of decision and action against base attacks and coups." Haase, Dittmann and Barth, on the other hand, de- manded that the council state its attitude toward the ac- tion of Ebert, Scheidemann and Langsberg, in giving un- limited power to the War Minister to use military force against the sailors in the castle and royal stables, toward General Lequis' ultimatum, the abolition of all distinc- tions of military rank, the removal of the government from Berlin to central Germany, and the complete demobiliza- tion of the standing army. Finally, the Independents asked : 380 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION " Is the council of the same view with us that the Socialist Republic must not rest on the support of generals and the rest of the standing army^ but on Citizen's Guards to be formed on democratic principles ? " Does the council approve that the socialising of industries as far as practicable should begin at once? " The council replied that it approved of the use of force against the sailors ; that it was opposed to General Le- quis' ultimatum, and that it would have to have more complete reports before answering the other questions. In turn it put the following questions to the ministers: " Are the People's Commissioners prepared to protect public order and security and especially private and public prop- erty against violent aggression? " Are the People's Commissioners in a position to defend with what forces they command the public offices against any violence^ no matter from what side, so as to secure their own administration and the effective service of subordinate organs ? " On December 30, the three Independent socialists re- signed on the ground that they could not approve of the use of force against the sailors, as a proper attitude on the part of the government would have made force un- necessary, and as they did not believe that the power of life and death should be given to a representative of the old regime. Noske and Wissel were appointed to fill the positions left vacant by the Independents, and the new cabinet as- signed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Herr Scheide- mann, the Ministry of Military Affairs to Herr Noske, and the Ministry of Social and Political Affairs to Herr Wissel. The new ministry declared that, pending the THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 881 convening of the National Assembly, the government should devote its activities to the preparation of plans for the Assembly, the conservation of food, the beginnings of socialization, the confiscation of war profits, the solving of the unemployed problem, the promotion of national de- fense and the disarming of unauthorized persons. It would also strive to bring about peace as quickly and as favorably as possible and to see that the German Repub- lic be represented abroad by new men with a new spirit. The Spartacans Separate from the Independents. — During December, the Spartacan group, which had con- tinued up to that time as a part of the Independent So- cialist Party, were bitter in their criticisms of the three Independent socialists for remaining members of the gov- ernment. On the Sunday before Christmas, while Haase, Dittmann and Barth were still members of the cabinet, the Independents held a conference for the purpose of clarify- ing their position. At this conference the Spartacans presented a resolution embodying their former demands for the giving of all power to workmen's and soldiers' councils, the creation of a Red Guard to protect the revolution, and The immediate resignation of the Independent representa- tives from the government. The repudiation by the conference of the calling of a Na- tional Assembly, on the ground that such Assembly could only strengthen the counter-revolution and cheat the revolu- tion of its socialist aims. This resolution, however, was lost, and that of Hilfer- ding, which declared that the most important task of the I.S.P. at the present time was the organization of a cam- paign for the calling of a National Assembly, was adopted by a vote of 485 to 195. The Spartacans, on December 30, after their defeat, 382 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION held a convention in Berlin, took the Independent socialists to task for their failure to repudiate the National As- sembly, and their delay in leaving the Ebert cabinet ; sep- arated completely from the Haase group, and formed a new party — the " Revolutionary Communist Labor Party of the German Spartacus League." The January Revolt. — Early January, 1919, witnessed a further attempt on the part of the Spartacans to seize power. The revolt this time centered around President Eichhorn, Chief of the Police in Berlin, and the last Inde- pendent socialist to hold 'an important position. Eich- horn was accused of permitting Joffe, the Bolshevik Am- bassador, to continue his propaganda in Berlin, and was summoned on January 5 before the Prussian cabinet to answer questions regarding his alleged large expenditures and his action in calling a strike of 1,500 workmen on " Red Christmas," and in arming the strikers with rifles belonging to the government. Following the hearing in which he denied several of the charges brought against him, he was deposed and told that Herr Emst had been appointed in his stead. Eichhorn refused, however, to give up his office, contending that he had received his ap- pointment from the revolution and not from the Majority socialists and could only be deposed by the people. The Spartacus group came to his aid, and demanded the arm- ing of the proletariat in his defense. For the next two weeks a battle royal was waged in the streets of Berlin between the Spartacans and the government forces. The former seized, at various times, newspaper offices, fort- resses, railway stations, breweries, telegraph stations, gas plants, electrical power houses, water works, and other strategic places ; proclaimed a new government under the title of the " Revolutionary Committee," composed of Ledebour, Liebmann and Tick and interrupted food sup- THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 383 plies. Similar tactics were adopted in Essen, Dusseldorf and other cities. On January 9, the government issued an appeal to the people, calling attention to these activities, and declaring that " force can only be fought with force," and that the organized might of the people would " make an end of suppression and anarchy." Martial law was proclaimed, and Gustave Noske was placed in charge of the government's measures of defense. On January 10, when the revolt seemed in jeopardy, the Spartacans called a general strike, and urged the workers to use their arms against Ebert and Scheidemann and to " deal these blood-stained criminals an annihilating blow." Murder of Liebknecht — The government soldiers, with machine guns and superior forces, however, finally got control of the situation, but not before many Spar- tacans, soldiers and by-standers had been killed and millions of dollars of property had been destroyed. On January 15, after scores of Spartacans had been made prisoners, Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were found in the Hotel Eden in the western part of Berlin, and, on their way to prison, were killed in cold blood. The government officially denied that it had anything to do with the mur- ders, which it denounced as a disgrace, but was held re- sponsible by tens of thousands throughout the empire.' The National Assembly. — On January 21, a week fol- lowing the revolt, the elections for the National Assembly took place, and resulted in a plurality vote for the Ma- jority Social Democrats, who obtained 164 seats and polled 11,112,450 votes, or 39.3 per cent, of the total vote cast. The Independent socialists won 24 seats, and received 2,188,305 votes, or 7.68 per cent, of the total of the 5 The murderer of Liebknecht was afterwards arrested, sent to prison for a short term, but later escaped. 384 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION country.® The Spartaoans did not take any part in the election. Twenty-eight women were elected to the Assem- bly, of whom 12 were Majority socialists and 3, Independ- ents. The Social Democrats were the only ones in the elections, according to Herr Ebert, who were able to re- cord a considerable increase in votes. The Assembly convened in early February, and, on February 12, Herr Ebert, a saddle maker, was elected president. Chancellor Scheidemann, the following day, outlined the national and international policy of the new German Republic. The national measures advocated in- cluded : the socialization of industries which have attained the character of private monopolies; "the raising of educational standards; the control of wages and conditions of employ- ment by the organization of employers and employees ; the im- provement of public health; the construction of houses; the extension of protection for mothers, and the care of infants and children ; the assurance of political liberties, and " the creation of a people's army on a democratic basis for the pro- tection of the Fatherland with a considerable reduction in the period of service and extensive care for war survivors." The foreign policy included: (1) The bringing about of an immediate conclusion of peace. Adherence to Mr. Wilson's peace principles; (2) Re- « The Democrats, a new party, consisting of former members of the Progressive People's Party, National-Liberals, some pacifists and a number of strong annexationists, came second, with j,553,930 votes, or 19.5 per cent, of the total and a delegation of 77. The Christian People's Party, formerly the Centrists (a Catholic group), was a close third, with 5,338,854 votes, or 18.8 per cent. The Ger- man National Party cast 2,739,196 votes, or 9.63 per cent., while the German People's Party received the smallest vote cast by a party of any considerable size (1,106,408, or 3.8 per cent.). THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 385 constitution of German colonial territory; (3) Immediate re- turn of German prisoners of war; (4) Equal rights in the League of Nations and the abolition of secret diplomacy; and (5) Simultaneous and equal disarmament. The German Constitution followed the lines of western republics, rather than those of the Russian Soviet Govern- ment. According to the Constitution, the chief officer of the German Republic is the president, elected for a term of seven years by the popular vote of the electors, who consist of the men and women of the republic over the age of twenty years. The president appoints the cabinet, in- cluding the chancellor, who determines the country's for- eign policy. The legislature consists of two houses, the lower house, or Reichstag, and the upper house, or Impe- rial Council. The latter is composed of the representa- tives of individual states. Every state is given at least one vote in the Council. Representation of the larger states is based on population and no state is privileged to more than two-fifths of the total number of votes in the Council. Members of the legislature are elected for a four-year period. The republic is given legislative rights over all manner of legislation, including that relating to the social- ization of natural resources, economic undertakings, man- ufacture, distribution, price fixing, economic production, etc. Provision is made for the operation of the initiative and referendum. Military courts are abolished except in wartime. An extensive biU of rights is incorporated in the constitution, ensuring freedom of speech, of press, of assembly, of organization, etc. Equality of rights is guaranteed. An important departure is made in provid- ing for the creation of a system of industrial councils by which employees will have a voice in the decisions reached 386 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION by the em-ployers. The constitution permits of easy amendment, a proposed alteration requiring merely a two- thirds majority of the Reichstag, where two-thirds of the members are present. Imperial legislation cannot be in- troduced in the Reichstag without the consent of the Coun- cil except under certain specified conditions. In the first stages of the Assembly at Weimar, the Spartacans were very active in the vicinity of this town and in other parts of the empire and for a while tele- graphic and railway communications were cut off. The Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies held its second congress in April, 1919, and demanded representa- tion in the government. A counter proposal was made by the government that the councils be represented in the new government to be formed on the ratification of the constitution in an advisory capacity. Signing of Peace Treaty — Much of the political dis- cussion during the Spring also revolved around the peace treaty. When finally the treaty terms were announced, indignation was expressed on all sides, and this the subse- quent modificatioH by the Allies did little to allay. Herr Scheidemann definitely committed himself against the treaty, and the ministry finally resigned. Gustave Adolf Bauer, former Minister of Labor, and Second Chairman of the General Commission of the Federation of Trade Unions, was selected the new Chancellor, and Dr. Hermann Mueller, the Majority socialist leader. Foreign Minister. The National Assembly, on June 22, against the oppo- sition of many, of the conservatives, decided, by a vote of 237 to 128, to sign the treaty, twenty-five abstaining. The Assembly subsequently, on July 10, ratified the treaty by a vote of 208 to 115. " We are about to enter upon a forty years' march through a desert," declared Herr Mueller, in introducing the government biU. " I can find THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 387 no other term for the path of suffering fulfillment of the treaty prescribes for us." Following the signature, strikes and riots were re- ported in various parts of Germany, particularly in Ham- burg. The chief cause for the disturbances was the diffi- culty of getting food. Predictions were rife in many places of another civil war, and many radicals were ar- rested. The July Strike — On July 21, 1919, the Workmen's Councils, dominated by the Independent socialists, decided on a general strike as a protest against the conservatism of the government and as a demonstration of international solidarity of the workers. The stoppage of work in Ber- lin was complete. The Majority socialists strongly op- posed the strike, and its success indicated the growing power of the Independents.'^ Many strikes and riots were reported in various parts of Germany during the Summer and Fall. Increasing dis- content was evidenced in the ranks of the socialists against the compromise policy of the government. Discontent was augmented by. the death of Hugo Haase, shot on October 8, while on his way to the National Assembly to speak against the government's Baltic policy. He suc- cumbed November 7. ^ Bavaria developed a more radical movement than other parts of Germany. Kurt Eisner, a journalist of distinction, and a thorough idealist, was selected first head of the Bavarian Republic. He was assassinated at the end of Feburary, because of his radical views. This murder and the wounding of another socialist leader Auer caused bitter resentment and strengthened the communist socialists. On the night of April 6-7, 1919, the Revolutionary Central Soviet decided to dissolve the Landtag, and establish a Soviet Republic of Bavaria. The cabinet fled to Bamberg under the leadership of Premier Hoffman, the Majority socialist leader. The leadership of the new Bavarian Government was, however, weak. Business came to a standstill in many places, and food im- ports into Munich largely ceased. Hoffman organized a government army and Noske put a large force at his disposal, and on May 1 and 388 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION AUSTRIA Majority Socialists Support Government. — The evo- lution in Austria during the war was not dissimilar to that in Germany. The Austrian Social Democratic Party, at the threshold of the conflict, protested against Austria's declaration of war on Servia, but, when Russia entered the war, the party declared it was their duty to defend their country against Russian despotism, and the majority threw their support to the government. As in other countries, with the progress of the war, the anti-war minority gradually increased and, in July, 1915, the party issued a manifesto expressing the earnest desire of the people for peace. At the national conference of the Austrian Social De- mocracy in Vienna, on March 25—28, 1916, a sharp debate took place over the party's position between Dr. Victor Adler, the conservative leader of the party, and his son, Dr. Friederich Adler, the militant party secretary. The elder Adler declared that the socialist party in each coun- try must set the interest of its own proletariat above all other interests, striving the while for a union of the pro- letariat of the world. Friederich Adler, on the other hand, contended that the traditional position of the socialists was responsible for the present split in the unity of the workers throughout the world, and affirmed that the " unity of the socialist movement of the world can be assured only when the so- cialists of all countries recognize as binding decisions of 2, the army entered the city. Hundreds of Red Guards and work- men were shot without a trial, and on both sides much cruelty was evinced. The city was thereupon placed under martial law. See Hiram Moderwell's account of the Munich revolution in The Libera- tor, September, 1919. THE AUSTRIAN REVOLUTION 389 the international congresses in all international questions." The resolution of the younger Adler, however, received but 15 votes. In order more effectively to reach the masses, " Fritz " Adler, after this convention, gave up his editor- ship of the party organ, Der Kampf, and, in July, 1916, founded a weekly propaganda sheet. Das Volk. The Trial of Friederich Adler — Austrian conditions during the year grew steadily worse. The government re- fused to convene Parliament, ruthlessly suppressed social- ist and radical papers, and imprisoned hundreds of radi- cal agitators, while the masses of the population suffered tragically from lack of food and clothing. On September 15, 1916, a combined meeting of the National Executive Committee and of the parliamentary group of the Social Democracy demanded that Parliament be immediately con- vened, and that steps be iinmediately taken for peace ne- gotiations. The younger Adler also urged that the offi- cials arrange mass demonstrations to give weight to the demands of the party, but this the executive refused to do. A few days later, after the Premier, Count Stuergkh, had refused to attend a conference called by the leaders of all parties for the purpose of restoring constitutional government, Friederich Adler shot and killed the Premier. The assassination and the subsequent trial caused tre- mendous excitement throughout the empire. The Social Democracy washed its hands of the deed, and declared that the party was opposed to all such individual acts of ven- geance. Adler, in his defense, agreed that, " in an orderly state of society, murder cannot be a political weapon." However, he contended, the Austrians were not living in an orderly state. As early as July 25, 1914, the Stuergkh-Hochenburger ministry " issued an imperial edict abolishing all jury courts, . . . and providing for 390 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION trial before a military court of persons who commit a punishable act." He continued : " We live in a state whose absolutism is unequaled in the whole world. . . . There is in Austria today no authority that is competent concerning Austrian constitutionality. . . . The Emperor is not responsible^ because, according to the Constitution, he is irresponsible. . . . True, we have a special Supreme Court to which the Ministry is responsible, . . . but more than three years ago Count Stuergkh deprived the Supreme Court of its power. . . . Stuergkh has removed the one body that could have impeached him. . . . Nay, more, on the day before he fell, he bluntly refused even to consult Parliament." Party Attitude Needed Changing. — Adler claimed that he committed the act for the good of Austria, " which had never recognized the right of the individual to act according to his convictions," and for the good of the Social Democracy, which had " lost its honesty to itself." He continued: " I did not hope by my deed to call forth a revolution but I wished to force the party to consider its attitude toward a. revolution. . . . They have taken a stand. Today no Renner, no Seitz will dare to say to the workers of Austria that forcible action is impossible in Austria." Adler declared that he thought it would be a grave error if the party resorted to terroristic methods, but that, in peculiar cases, where the party had lost its revo- lutionary spirit, " an individual act may revive this spirit." The prisoner recited the suppressions throughout Aus- tria, stated that the government had made it illegal to speak of a constitutional government, and declared that, THE AUSTRIAN REVOLUTION 391 two days after his deed, a conference was held in Sylves- ter's home emphatically demanding the calling of the Reichsrat. Eight days later the Koerber administration was already in sight. The prisoner ended by declaring that he was opposed to all killing, and always regarded the killing of a human being as something inhuman, but that they were living in a barbaric age. He stated that the six judges who were trying him were illegally constituted, and that he did not recognize their jurisdiction. Adler was sentenced to death. On the ground that the trial was illegal, the death penalty was finally commuted, and, in the fall of 1918, Adler was released. Three weeks after Stuergkh's death, the government decided on a convocation of the Parhament. Demand for Peace and Revolution. — During 1917, the movement for peace became ever stronger, and, on January 20, 1918, a " peace strike," involving 100,000 workers in Vienna alone, broke out, and extended through- out the empire. On May 4, owing to the increased signs of revolt, the Premier decided, against the angry protests of the socialists and the Poles, to adjourn Parliament and to take measures to prevent its reassembling. Czech agitation in Bohemia and mutinies on the warships in- creased the government's difficulties. On June 3, the So- cial Democracy demanded the reconvening of Parliament and the taking of immediate steps toward peace. The government answered by threats of increased severities against agitators. Mutinies and desertions in the army and resignations from the cabinet followed. On June 29, the Parliament was called to meet July 16, and, after an- other change in the cabinet, it was finally announced that extensive reforms would be adopted, including a revision of the Constitution and autonomy for the Czechs and other non-German people. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION In early October, the socialist deputies demanded peace on the following basis : " The creation of a league of .nations ; no economic war- fare; no annexations; the restoration of Serbia, Montenegro, and Belgium; revision of the treaties of Bucharest and Brest- Litovsk; a settlement of the Eastern questions on the basis of nationalities; the regulation of the Polish question by the Polish constituents; the establishment of autonomy for each nation in Austria-Hungary." Fall of Monarchy — On October 5, the Hussarek Ministry resigned, and was succeeded by one under Pro- fessor Lammasch, a peace advocate. This change failed to stop the developing discontent. Riots became a mat- ter of daily occurrence, railroad communications with Berlin were cut ; demands were made for the severance of relations with Germany, and, on November 3, the Emperor abdicated, and the royalty began its flight to Switzerland. A provisional government was organ- ized with Dr. Karl Seitz and Dr. Karl Renner, the Ma- jority Social Democrats, among its most prominent mem- bers, the latter two holding, during the early part of 1919, the positions of president and chancellor re- spectively. During the Spring of 1919, owing to the lack of food, the economic breakdown in many industries, the dissatis- faction over the peace conference, the failure of the gov- ernment to adopt a more aggressive program of action, the general discouragement over the terms of the peace treaty, the agitation of the adherents of the soviet idea, and the measures of suppression adopted by the govern- ment, much disorder was evidenced in Austria. At times it was reported that the government had been overthrown THE AUSTRIAN REVOLUTION 393 by the communist-socialists, but these reports proved to be untrue. Elections — In the May 4, 1919, elections in Vienna, the socialists won by a large plurality, outvoting by a considerable majority the Christian Socialist Party (an anti-Semitic party) which had dominated the council for 25 years.* On July 21, the socialists called a general strike as a part of the international strike, which completely tied up business in Vienna. Strikes were frequent during the Summer and Fall, and much Spartacan agitation. Many protests were made against the treaty, but its signature was inevitable. Hungary's kevolutions and countee revolutions Early Days of War — Hungary, like Russia, entered the war a benighted autocracy, and came out of the con- flict a soviet republic. Unlike Russia, however, it was soon forced back again through foreign intervention into the control of a member of the former ruling family. For some time after the declaration of war, it was diffi- cult for the Hungarian socialist groups to get together and decide on any eff^ective line of action. In the Spring of 1917, the party held a secret convention — the first 8 Of the 165 members of the Vienna Board of Aldermen the Socialists elected 100, the Christian Socialists 50, the Czechs 8, the German Nationalists 3, the Jewish Nationalists 3, and the Bour- geois Democrats 1. The popular vote cast by the various parties was as follows: Socialists, 368,203; Christian Socialists, 177,883; Czechs, 55,803; German Nationalists, 34,546; Jewish Nationalists, 13,075; Bourgeois Democrats, 20,149. The Socialists sent 16 women to the board and the Christian Socialists six. The new Diet of Lower Austria in May, 1919, was composed of 64 Socialists, 45 Christian Socialists, 8 German Nationalists and 3 Czecho-Slovaks. Five of the socialist members are women, two of whom came from Vienna. 394 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION since 1913. At this gathering it demanded that the Hun- garian Parliament support the Russian people; protested against the use of arms against the Russian revolution and reaffirmed its adherence to the International. It urged that the Central Powers publish their peace pro- posals, that they declare themselves against annexations and punitive indemnities and that they advocate compul- sory boards of arbitration for the settlement of interna- tional disputes, gradual disarmament and the develop- ment and independence of nations. The convention like- wise demanded political freedom for the people of Hungary and equal suffrage for men and women, pledged itself to work for peace and expressed its sympathy for all who suffered as a result of their fight against war and mili- tarism. The government during the war repeatedly offered offi- cial recognition to the party, providing that it drop its anti-war activities. All of these offers, however, were spurned and the party kept up, as best it could, its agita- tion against the war and for revolution. During the fall of 1917, the government, as a result of prostration of Austria-Hungary before Italy, and the break-up of the economic life within the Hungarian Em- pire, approached a state of virtual collapse. The October Revolution — Thus, when the revolution broke out on the evening of October 31, it rapidly and smoothly overcame all opposition during the night, and, at the break of day, had triumphed without the shedding of blood. Following the revolution, the Hungarian Parliament was dissolved, and the supreme power was exercised by the National Council, consisting of the Karolyi Party, the Social Democrats, the bourgeoisie and the radicals. The council appointed Count Michael Karolyi, who had spent THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTIONS 395 years agitating for the independence of Hungary, as Pre- mier, while two socialist ministers, and a young socialist, Denesz Diner, assistant of Karolyi in foreign affairs, were appointed members of the cabinet. On November 16, a republic was officially declared with Count Karolyi as president. Revolt Against the Karolyi Qovernment The in- ability of the Hungarian population to obtain food and coal and the disorganization of industry led to increasing discontent with the coalition government. On the last day of 1918, street demonstrations and riots broke out in Budapest and elsewhere. " Budapest today ," declared a news dispatch at that time to the Chicago Tribune, " is like a city built over an active vol- cano. The various organizations supposedly accountable for law and order seem to be tottering. The Russian epidemic of Bolshevism has reached a virulent stage. Famine and freez- ing are its active allies." Dr. Bela Kun, who had formerly been held as prisoner in Russia and who later worked with the Lenin govern- ment, was among the most active of the leaders in the re- volt. The prison was besieged and a demand made for the release of all political prisoners. The revolt, how- ever, was finally broken. Further disturbance occurred in January, and in the middle of February, " a communist revolt broke out with such violence that the Karolyi gov- ernment was forced to declare martial law and use troops to retake part of the city under the control of the rebels." Many appeals were made to the Allies to conclude a just peace and not to cripple Hungary. The Social Demo- cratic Party, which opposed the extremists, issued a state- ment in which they drew attention to the promise of the S96 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Entente to preserve the liberty of small nations and the safety of democracy. It continued : " But the Entente, which promised to liberate the world from the yoke of German absolutism, has subjected Hungary to the greedy clutch of Rumanian, Serbian, and Czecho- slovak imperialisms. . . . The troops of occupation suppress the right of association and assembly, and impose a censor- ship of the press . . . ; destroy our social policy, shackle our private associations and in the place of liberty of labor establish a new serfdom." The appeal declared that the occupation also cut oiF the coal supply, and destroyed the nation's industries, and that this was giving encouragement to the monarchists and to others opposed to the government. Communists in Control — These appeals, however, were apparently unheeded. On March 19, the Allies de- cided to establish a neutral zone on the Hungarian-Ru- manian border, and it was reported that the Rumanian, French and Czech troops were to occupy portions of Hun- gary. Karolyi thereupon resigned in favor of the com- munist group, declaring, among other things : " The government has abdicated. . . . The management of production can only be assured if the government takes the power into its own hands. " The Paris Peace Conference has secretly pronounced the sentence which surrenders to military occupations nearly the whole territory of Hungary. The Entente mission has an- nounced that henceforth the demarcation lines will be re- garded as political boundaries. " The apparent purpose of the further occupation of the country is to utilize Hungary as a field of deployment and occupation against the Russian Soviet army fighting on the Rumanian border. But the territory taken from us is to be THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTIONS 397 the reward of the Czech and Rumanian troops for defeating the Russian Soviet army. " I, the provisional president of the Hungarian People's Republic, turn from this decision of the Paris Conference to the proletariat of the world for justice and aid. I abdicate and transfer the power to the proletariat of the Hungarian peoples." ' The republic thus passed into the hands of the com- munists. " The Entente made Bolshevism inevitable," de- clared Karolyi in a later statement, " by creating an im- possible economic condition. Through the military opera- tion of the most and the best of Hungary's territory, we were cut off from our raw materials. The factories were obliged to shut down, our money declined in value, the unemployed filled the streets. For weeks our coal sup- ply was only enough to last us from day to day. . . . Then came the new Allied demands which would have taken away nearly all our remaining land, and left Budapest with its two million inhabitants to be supported on — nothing." He declared that he could not retain the support of the Hungarian capitalists because of their contradictory de- mands, and that the inevitable result was the uprising of the people. " The Entente policy . . . killed the capi- tahst system in Hungary." Activities of Bela Kun Government. — The reins of government were turned over to the revolutionary govern- ment of the Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. Alexander Gorbai was selected president, and Bela Kun, Foreign Minister. The government immediately sent greetings to Lenin " as leader oif the international prole- tariat," and Lenin returned " communist greetings and a 9 See Hiram Moderwell in The Liberator, July, 1919, p. 16. 398 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION handshake." The first decree of the new government read substantially as follows : " The proletariat of Hungary from today has taken all power in its own hands. By the decision of the Paris Con- ference to occupy Hungary, the provisioning of revolutionary Hungary becomes utterly impossible. Under these circum- stances the sole means open for the Hungarian Government is a dictatorship of the proletariat. " Legislative, executive and judicial authority will be exer- cised by a dictatorship of the Workers', Peasants', and Soldiers' Councils. The Revolutionary Government Council will begin forthwith work for the realization of communist socialism. " The council decrees the socialization of large estates, mines, big industries, banks and transport lines, declares complete solidarity with the Russian Soviet Government, and offers to contract an armed alliance with the proletariat of Russia." As is indicated in this declaration, the government so- cialized all large industries. It nationalized retail stores which employed more than ten workers. It proclaimed " all houses used for residential purposes " to be the prop- erty of the soviet republic. It began the regulation of agriculture on an extensive scale and provided for the organization of workshop committees, for the coordina- tion of various branches of industry, and for the control of consumption.^" Great difficulty was experienced throughout the Spring 10 According to H. N. Brailsford {The New Republic, May 24, 1919), private property, under the soviet rule, "in all but the smaller forms of capital vanished In a night." Alcoholic beverages were abolished. The homeless were provided with rooms in which to sleep, while restrictions were placed on the number of rooms to which each family was entitled. In mines and factories, the workers were represented by their own Soviets, which had a maximum of THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTIONS 399 in securing supplies for Budapest because of the Allied blockade and attacks and threatened attacks from many sides. On July 20, 1919, it was reported that Bela Kun and his cabinet were deposed, and that communist-social- seven members. They also nominated the manager, but appoint- ment and dismissal were in the hands of the central Ministry of Production. Mr. Brailsford continues : " I visited a great factory at Budapest which makes electric lamps, telephone and telegraphic apparatus. The soviet consisted of three scientific and four manual workers. The manager was a former engineer of the works, a. man obviously, of ability and good sense. Three former directors were employed as consultative experts. All the infinitely skillful work of this vast mechanism went on as before, with this difference, however, on which workmen and managers both insisted, that men and women alike worked with more spirit, more conscience, more honesty be- cause they felt that they were ' working for themselves,' and no longer for an exploiter. The Taylor system wiU shortly be intro- duced." Agricultural guilds were also formed on estates of over 200 acres, " the entire working staff from steward to milkmaid " being organized into a permanent society. The only condition of member- ship was " the obligation to work at least 120 days in the year." The maintenance of the workers was the first charge on the farm. Each family received produce in proportion to its numbers. The remaining produce, according to the plan, was then to be taken to the district central agricultural association which was subordinate to the county association and the Ministry. These associations were to purchase seed, manure and machines, and to sell produce to the town populations. It was provided that half of the surplus would go to improvements, and that the other half would be distributed in time-wages to the working members of the community. Pretentious plans were under way for education. It was proposed to maintain certain artists at the public expense to continue their productive work. Theaters were socialized, plays of the more trivial type suppressed. The " intellectuals " were extensively utilized from the first. The suffrage, as in Russia, was given to every productive worker, manual and intellectual. The election lists, however, were, at least at first, prepared by the Socialist Party caucus and the administration erred " rather on the side of excessive authority than on the side of anarchy." The government also provided for the national organization of the workshop committees and for the coordination of the economic life of 400 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ists of a still more extreme type were placed in control of affairs. Allied Intervention — During the Spring the Bela Kun government held soviet elections. Within ten days of these elections in Budapest, declares H. N. Brailsford, " the Allied intervention hegan. The Rumanian army in- vaded and the Czech-Slovaks followed, while under the wing of the French command a royalist ' White Guard ' counter-revolutionary army was formed in the occupied territory. Three months' war followed, during which time the Hungarian army won notable victories, but the Ru- manians finally marched under French command within, twenty miles of Budapest." In the meanwhile the labor unions were approached by emissaries of the Peace Conference regarding the over- throw of the Bela Kun government. They inquired whether, in case of the setting up of a new anti-Bolshevik government controlled by moderate socialists and labor unions, the Paris Conference would deal with it and sup- port it morally as well as with supplies. In response to this appeal, the Peace Conference issued a statement on the country. Trade unions were likewise given representation in the production councils of the various trades and industries. A system of distribution was worked out in connection with the cooperative societies. (See also The Nation, International Relations Section, July IZ, 1919, pp. 59-61, and the New York Call, July 19, 1919.) In general the Hungarian soviet constitution followed that laid down in Russia. It provided for a National Congress of Soviets, a Directing Central Committee, which elected the Revolutionary Soviet Govern- ment and its President. Section 25 declared, " the members of the Revolutionary Soviet Government are the People's Deputies. The Revolutionary Soviet Government shall appoint the People's Deputies to the heads of the various People's Commissariats and of the main sections of the People's Council for Political Economy." The mem- bers of the government were responsible to the national Congress of Soviets and the Directing Federal Central Committee. (See Claia Struggle, August, 1919.) THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTIONS 401 July 26, promising in such a case to remove the blockade and to give the hew government its support.^ ^ The Soviet Appeal to the Proletariat. — On July 30, Bela Kun, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, replied to this Allied statement by an appeal to the proletariat of the world, in part, as follows : 11 Philips Price of the Manchester Ouardian (August 22, 1919), gives the following statement of a moderate socialist of Budapest whom he regarded as trustworthy, regarding the events preceding the resignation of Bela Kun: " About two months ago the Hungarian Red Army was advancing victoriously into Slovakia and being received with acclamation by the working class population. Clemenceau sent a courteously worded telegram to Bela Kun, proposing that the Hungarians should with- draw from Slovakia, and that the Rumanians should retire from the Theiss to the line arranged under the armistice at the end of the last year. " Before accepting the offer, Bela Kun asked Clemenceau what guarantee the soviet had that the Rumanians would carry out the agreement. Clemenceau replied that his word was his guarantee. " Thereupon the Hungarians withdrew from Slovakia, but the Ru- manians refused to budge an inch from the Theiss. " The Hungarians sent a note to Clemenceau asking courteously for an explanation. For a long time Clemenceau refused to answer at all, but at last a reply was sent stating that as long as the Hun- garians did not carry out the terms of the armistice of November, 1918, he would not negotiate with them. Bela Kun then asked Clemenceau to be good enough to state what were the terms of the original armistice that Hungary had not carried out. To this he never received any reply. " The morale of the Red Army began to fall, for the soldiers felt that after accepting the word of the Allies they were now be- trayed. . . . " The Allied military missions in Vienna, through the Hungarian Minister Boehm, got in touch with moderate socialist and trade union leaders — Weltner, Buchinger, Argoston, Buchin — and gave them to understand that the blockade would be raised if the Bela Kun govern- ment retired, and a Social Democratic Government came in its place. On the strength of this the Soviet Government resigned and was re- placed by a Social Democratic Government, which within two days was violently dissolved by agents of the counter-revolutionary govern- ment whom Clemenceau had been supporting by military and diplo- matic aid." 402 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION " Proletarians of all countries ! " The bourgeois governments of the Entente Powers now wish, through the force of weapons and of starvation, to reim- pose upon us the yoke of capitalism which we have shaken oif. . . . " They make common cause with that capitalist country against which they waged war at the price of the bloody mis- ery of the proletariat; they wish to restore the power of the bourgeoisie and to collect the costs of their campaign of pil- lage from the entirely prostrated country. " Through the circle of the blockade, with which they sur- rounded the Hungarian Socialist Federated Republic, they are smuggling in from all sides the means with which to stir up a counter-revolution of the bourgeoisie in order to install as ruler the White Terror in place of the proletariat and to be able to continue the slaughter of proletarians after five years of war. They are smuggling arms, money and calumnies over our borders in order to shake the confidence and the faith of a proletariat, in order to convert the liberated working class into its own Judas. " They declare that they cannot negotiate with Soviet Hun- gary, because the power of the proletarian state does not rest upon the will of the people. And this is asserted by those who got their authority from bourgeois Parliaments elected eight or ten years ago, by those who, contrary to the people's will, waged war for years ; by those who made allies of bandit chiefs from exotic lands and hold the colonies in subjection. They look upon us as enemies, but they regard Rumania and Serbia as friendly powers; they recognize Poland and Bo- hemia, which had no elected representation and whose ' peo- ple's will ' was expressed through the unlimited wishes and dictatorship of kings and of the bourgeois class. " They talk about a terror, they who, with the force of arms, drove millions of people into a war forced upon them; they who beat down with arms the struggle of the working class for a better existence and drown in blood every audibly ex- pressed desire. They talk of a reign of terror, who promoted THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTIONS 403 the White Terror in Finland; they who protect the makers of pogroms in Poland; they who, following the example of the German imperialists, carry on a slave trade in prisoners of war. They reproach us with a reign of terror, and in the meantime they wish to throttle our children with the choking arms of the blockade. " In the name of a higher civilization, they turn the Balkan hordes loose upon us; they try to arouse the representatives of militarism and of pro-war agitation in the occupied parts of our country; there they have already put the White Terror in power in spite of all the manifestations of the working- class movement. " In Budapest alone 500,000 working people voted at the first election of the Workers' Councils — in a city that has hardly a million inhabitants ! Bi3t that is naturally no ex- pression of the people's will in the eyes of those for whom the popular desire consists in the expression of the wishes of the bourgeois class. For them the people's will is the block- ade, which serves to starve us out, to put our capitalists on their feet again and to give back to them land and houses, mines and factories, and to make the country a colony and the workers colonial slaves. " We confront all calumnies with the unadulterated facts. We call upon you, workers of all countries, proletarian organi- zations of the whole world, to send your delegates here and to see through their eyes our work that is tearing down capital- ism and building up socialism." Bela Kun's Overthrow and Rumanian Aggression. — In the beginning of August, pressed by the Allied blockade and the plea of the more moderate groups, Bela Kun re- signed, and Jules Peidll, a moderate Social Democrat, and former Minister of the People's Welfare under Karolyi, succeeded as Premier and formed a cabinet consisting for the most part of moderate socialists and members of the former Bela Kun government. 404< SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Contrary to the instructions of the Allies, the Rumani- ans, after the change of government, refused to stop their advance, and on August 4, 30,000 troops occupied Buda- pest, took charge of public buildings, arrested some of the members of the new government, demobilized the local po- lice and mounted machine guns in different parts of the city. They likewise issued an ultimatum to the govern- ment, demanding a reduction of the Hungarian army to 15,000 men, the surrender of 30 per cent, of the harvest, animals and farm machinery, 50 per cent, of the railway supplies, a large proportion of the Danube shipping, and equipment and supplies for an army of 300,000, together with rations for the Rumanian forces pending a peace set- tlement. The government was given until 8 p. m. August 5 for reply. The Peace Conference protested against this ultimatum, which, they declared, was in violation of the terms of the armistice, and of the pledges of the Allies to the Hun- garian people when the latter were induced, on August 1, to establish a new government. At the expiration of the time set by the ultimatum, the Rumanians, who had pre- vented the publication of the ultimatum in Budapest, seized live stock, farming implements, rolling stock and food — although Hungary was on the verge of starvation — and began to send them back to Rumania. Railway communication between Budapest and Vienna was cut, and many assaults upon the citizens were reported.^* Dictatorship of Archduke Joseph, — For some time be- fore, Archduke Joseph, a member of the House of Haps- burg, and his royalist supporters had been plotting a 12 In early September it was reported that the Rumanians were continuing their plunder and that " only the blocking of their lines of transport by the very immensity of their spoils is stopping them from completely stripping Hungary. Allied agents are disregarded." (See Manchester Ouardian, September 3, 1919.) THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTIONS 405 coup d'etat and, on August 6, a number of gendarmes, led by the chief of police, surrounded the palace in which the new government was sitting and forced the cabinet to resign. Archduke Joseph immediately took over the new government and was invested with supreme powers. Stephen Frederich, former chief of a department in the War Ministry, was made premier. This change in government was followed by the arrest of the supporters of Bela Kun and the suppression of the soviet organs. On August 13, a new ministry was appointed, many of the members of which were identified with the old Tisza regime. Paul Caromi, leader of the Social Democrats, an- nounced that the socialists would not participate therein unless Archduke Joseph abandoned the regency. On August 23, the Supreme Council were at last incited to action and delivered a note to the Hungarian Govern- ment demanding the resignation of Archduke Joseph, de- claring that the government had " at its head a member of the House of Hapsburg, whose policies and actions were largely responsible for the calamities under which the world is suffering, and will long suffer. A peace ne- gotiated by such a government is not likely to be lasting; nor can the Allied and associated governments give the economic support which Hungary needs." The ultimatum presented a demand for a coalition gov- ernment. The Archduke resigned, and a new Hungarian cabinet was formed by Premier Frederich, which con- tained four other members of the Archduke's ministry, and which was in no way representative of all parties, as had been urged by the Allies. The "White Terror." — Under the Frederich regime many outrages were committed against the Communists, the Jews and others by the so-called " White Terrorists." 406 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION According to the Arbeit er Zeitung, " numerous hangings, whippings and extortions have taken place, the victims being Jews and persons suspected of Bolshevik tendencies or of former affiliations with the Reds." ^^ 13 See New York Times, September 19, 1919. On August 20, 1919, the Budapest special correspondent of the Manchester Guardian wrote regarding the terror (see Manchester Guardian, August 39) : " The Rumanians are in actual occupation of the country. They are deliberately malting themselves a scourge and a terror. . . . They have already concluded a more or less open alli- ance with the feudal landed gentry and the anti-Semitic clericals. " It cannot be too strongly insisted that this country is now under- going a terror — conducted by the Archducal government under Ru- manian protection and support — that is as bad as any terror in modern times." On August 29 the correspondent added : " Great bankers, famous statesmen, manufacturers, responsible men generally assure me that they would infinitely prefer the Bolshevik regime. . . . The Ruma- nians are gutting the whole country. . . . The nation is being turned into a desert." In early September, he reported (see September 10 issue): "All newspapers are suppressed until and unless they support the govern- ment. . . . Through the double terrorism of the Rumanians and White Guardists it is impossible for the mass of respectable or working- class opinion to offer any protest. ... So little support has Frede- rich among the working-class that he cannot find nine or ten printers required to set up his two-page government sheet. His sole force is his White Guard and of officers of the old army, with the aid of which he usurped power." A bitter protest against the government in Hungary and the atti- tude of the Allies toward the problem was made in early September by the Social Democratic Party of Hungary in part as follows (see Manchester Giuirdian, Sept. 12, 1919): "Through an unjust limita- tion of the future frontiers of our country pieces have been torn from our living flesh from the purely Magyar body corporate of our land. The harshest possible blockade has been held over us, and we had to remain without raw materials, iron and coal, without food. The in- dustry of our capital city has been condemned to death, and several hundreds of thousands are not merely metaphorically, but in dread reality, menaced with death by hunger. " It was an act of desperation on the part of Hungarian labor that Bolshevism came. It came only, and could only h^ve come, after all hope in the West seemed vain. Bolshevism has now col- THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTIONS 407 In late November, 1919, the Frederich ministry re- signed, and a coalition ministry was formed, headed by Carl Hussar, and including several socialists, among them lapsed, and Hungarian labor, emerging from this most frightful and critical illness of its sorely-tried existence is now turning itself to- wards social democracy, trusting to the political methods of the West. "We Social Democrats can only condemn the methods of the Dictatorship and the Red Terror. Yet at the moment that we are in the mood to make up for past mistakes we find ourselves face to face with a cruel White Terror of a mediaeval and barbaric charac- ter. We have for Bolshevism only words of condemnation. Never- theless, we are compelled to point out — and can establish it by documentary evidence — that the White Terror in the four weeks since the usurpation of the " Archduke " Joseph of Hapsburg and the government of his adventurer lackey Frederich has spilt a hun- dredfold more blood than the dictatorial regime of the now-over- thrown Soviet Republic did in the whole four months of its existence. "Men's lives and workers' organizations have been destroyed that have not had the least thing in common with Bolshevism. Thousands upon thousands of innocent workers have been thrown into jail and there have been bloodily flogged and tortured. Simultaneously has the Frederich government, under the false pretext of hunting down communists and through the lavish expenditure of money and the exercise of other official pressure, called into existence a pogrom movement and inaugurated a race war on a scale that is perilous for aU Europe. " The intellectual and working population of Hungary might easily rid themselves of the forces of darkness and political reaction but the Magyar nation has been deprived of its political autonomic rights. "Hungary is occupied by a foreign military Power. Military oc- cupation pursues its own political and economic aims. Meanwhile we are not free to move or breathe. Neither newspapers nor leaflets can be published. We are not permitted to hold public or private gatherings. All that we behold is the raging of the darkest reaction. All that we behold, too, is that no food trains are entering; that no coal is coming in for the winter and for the needs of our factories; that in one way after the other every possibility of economic produc- tion — nay, every possibility of existence now and for the future — has been taken away, and that in consequence a frightful anxiety is seizing upon the working population of the country. "We are overwhelmed by the prospect of a dreadful future in which scores upon scores of thousands of workers will seek to leave this land in the search for a new home, only to find every door closed 408 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Peyer, as Minister of Public Safety. Frederich was made War Secretary. Summary — It is thus seen that the constant agitation of the socialists and the economic and military breakdown of the Central Empires led in Germany, Austria and Hungary to revolutions effected with hardly the shedding of a drop of blood. Hungary followed the Russian model, and strong elements In Germany and Austria were con- stantly at work during 1919 endeavoring to organize so- viet governments in their respective countries. However, the Majority socialists, assisted by other democratic ele- ments, retained control during the first part of the year, although discontent against their conservatism increased. The Hungarian Government swung still further to the left in March, 1919, but, through the intervention of the Allies, the Bela Kun government was overthrown and a Social Democratic regime was installed, only to be superseded by a dictatorship of a member of the House of Hapsburg, and, after his resignation, by another reactionary cabinet and later by a coalition ministry. against them. We have the feeling that our beautiful land is being treated by the victorious Powers like a corpse on the dissecting table and that the Western Powers lack either the will or the strength to take those decisive steps which it is incumbent upon the victor to take. " In face of this situation, so frightful for us, we appeal with all our force to the peoples of the West, and first and foremost, to our working brothers in these countries. Hungary has become a Balkan problem — that is, upon Hungary now depends the peace of the Balkans, and for that reason and in that sense Hungary is a concern of European democracy." CHAPTER XIII OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: SOCIALISM SINCE 1914 GKEAT BRITAIN Introductory. — Although the war was not immediately followed by revolution in other large European countries, the socialist movements in practically all of these coun- tries grew in importance and vitality during the war, and were all influenced to a more aggressive policy by the revolutions in Russia and in the Central Empires. Great Britain. — The political labor and socialist move- ments in Great Britain during the war grew materially in strength and in intellectual maturity, and took a more fundamentally radical position as the war progressed.-^ British Labor Party — Immediately following the open- ing of hostilities, the Labor Party, it will be remembered, definitely assisted in the recruiting campaign of the Joint Committee and in other ways supported the war. The party ratified this policy later in the year, and, when the coalition government was formed, agreed that the chair- man of the parliamentary group, Arthur Henderson, should enter the government on their behalf. Henderson later became President of the Board of Education. The labor group during the first part of the war strongly advocated governmental control of food, coal iSee Kellogg and Gleason, British Labor and the War, for an exhaustive account of the British movement. 409 4.10 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION and other necessities, and fought for a strengthening of measures to safeguard labor. The party entered upon a political truce, under which aU political parties agreed that, in case of parliamentary by-election, the seat should be filled without a contest by the party in possession. On the reorganization of the government in December, 1916, Lloyd George appointed to the ministry six repre- sentatives of organized labor, among them Arthur Hen- derson, who retained his seat, and George N. Barnes, who was appointed Minister of Pensions. The Party and the Stockholm Conference. — The Brit- ish Labor Party had, in the early stages of the war, fought shy of communication with socialist representatives from the Central Powers. In January, 1917, the Manchester Convention voted against participation in the proposed international conference at Stockholm. Two months later its executive refused to accept the invitation of the French Socialist Party to attend a Paris conference of Allied socialists. In May, it refused the Dutch Scandinavian Committee's invitation to attend consultations at Stock- holm. It also failed to respond to the messages of the Russian socialists, suggesting a later Stockholm meeting. Meanwhile Arthur Henderson had been sent to Russia as one of three governmental representatives to help to strengthen the Russians in their opposition to a separate peace with Germany. He went to Russia a vigorous op- ponent of the Stockholm plan. He returned to England, after meeting the leading members of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, an enthusiastic advocate of this plan. He was assured that a restatement of war aims by the Allies was necessary, if the provisional gov- ernment of Russia was to retain power. He looked on a socialist and labor conference as a means to that end. Henderson returned, in the belief that it would be GREAT BRITAIN 411 " highly inadvisable and perhaps dangerous for the Rus- sian representatives to meet representatives from enemy and neutral countries alone." On the other hand, he felt that such a labor conference should be merely consulta- tive, not obligatory, and, on August 10, at the Labor Party Conference, his position was sustained by an over two-thirds vote. Lloyd George, following this decision, bitterly attacked Henderson, stating that he misrepresented the view of the Russian Government. A few days later, Kerensky cabled that he believed that the conference would prove of great value, although personally he thought that " it would have been of greater importance if it had taken place while we were advancing instead of in the present condition. But I am not opposed to it, no. I have insisted again and again that any opposition offered to it by the Allied governments, any difficulties put in the way of delegates, is simply playing into German hands." Resignation of Henderson — This controversy led to the resignation of Henderson from the cabinet. On Au- gust 13, passports to attend the Stockholm Conference were refused to the delegates. The next day, the exec- utive of the Labor Party passed a vote of confidence in Henderson, appointed eight delegates to Stockholm and protested against the government's action. This posi- tion was sustained by a narrow margin at the Labor Con- ference of August 21. The Conference at Blackpool — In September, 1917, the Blackpool conference of the British Labor Congress, which represents the trade unions organized on industrial lines, passed a compromise resolution by a vote of 2,849,- 000 to 91,000. This resolution protested against the government's refusal to grant passports to Stockholm, declared that general agreement among the working classes 412 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of the Allied countries was necessary for a successful in- ternational conference and recommended that the Parlia- mentary Committee of the Congress be empowered to assist in the arrangement of such a gathering. This resolution was accepted by the executive of the Labor Party. This body and the congress afterwards drafted a memorandum on war aims which was adopted at their joint meeting of December and which formed a basis for the Inter-Allied socialist and labor program formulated at the London conference in the following February. The Nottingham Conference — In January, 1918, an- other gathering of the Labor Party was called at Not- tingham. This conference affirmed the war aims adopted in December; urged that the Allied governments prepare a joint statement of the purposes of the war at the earliest possible moment; called on the working classes of the Central Powers to declare their war aims and to influence their governments to state their position and urged the various countries to permit delegates to attend an inter- national socialist and labor congress. It also approved the aims of President Wilson and of Lloyd George, in so far as they coincided with those announced in December by labor. Concerning Coalition. — The conference clearly showed that the labor movement felt itself distinct from the coali- tion government. While it refused to call for the resig- nation of Messrs. Barnes and Roberts from the cabinet, on Henderson's plea that such action might interfere with the prosecution of the war, it gave its vigorous approval to the statement of Henderson that he would never again be a member of a cabinet in which labor was in the mi- nority. It likewise referred the tentative draft of its new polit- ical platform, " Labor and the New Social Order," to the GREAT BRITAIN 413 June Conference. Before the war, the Labor Party as such had never adopted a, constructive platform. The high cost of Uving, the confusion regarding war aims, the concentration of great industrial power into the hands of governmental bureaucrats as a result oif the Defense of the Realm, the Munition of War and other acts, and the re- fusal of the government to grant passports to labor dele- gates led many members of the party to demand a more constructive and a more militant program than they had formerly considered. A sub-committee was therefore ap- pointed to assist in the formulation of a reconstruction program, and the delegates present at Nottingham indi- cated their approval of the draft submitted. Tlie Loijdoq QqijferfOfe of jJunf , i?!^.^ Next in suc- cession came the London Conference of June 26-28, 1918 — in some ways the most significant since the outbreak of the war. The question of the labor truce caused heated discus- sion. At the outbreak of the war, as has been stated, representatives of the Labor, Liberal and Conservative parties agreed not to contest elections in case of parlia- mentary vacancies. The truce held good until December 31, 1916, when some of the non-labor groups undertook to institute provisions unsatisfactory to the Labor Party. On that date the written compact ceased, although the spirit of the agreement in general was kept for some time longer. Dissatisfaction with the no-contest policy stead- ily increased, and finally the executive decided to bring the matter before the party. After prolonged discussion the conference, by a vote of 1,704,000 members to 951,000, decided to break the truce. This action, however, did not apply to labor members of the cabinet. The Reconstruction Program — The Labor Party at the conference also adopted in substance the proposals of 414 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION the sub-committee on reconstruction, thus taking a posi- tion in favor of a new economic system. The program de- manded " the retention in public hands of the railways and canals ; the expropriation of the present stockholders on equitable terms " ; a steadily increasing participation of organized workers in the management of public industry ; the construction by the government of a score of gigantic super-power stations by which the whole kingdom may be supplied with electricity ; the public ownership of the na- tion's coal supplies and the fixing of a uniform price; the appropriation by the state of the whole function of in- surance and of the nation's agricultural lands; the reor- ganization of the distribution of foods ; strict regulation of private industry ; conscription of wealth to pay for the war debt ; the development of the Post Office Savings Bank into a national banking system for the common service of the whole community ; the construction of public works as one method of eliminating the unemployed problem; the building by the government of a million soundly con- structed, spacious and healthy cottages ; a systematic re- organization of the whole educational system, which shall eliminate " all class distinctions and class privileges, and bring effectively within the reach, not only of every boy and girl, but also of every adult citizen, all the training, physical and mental and moral, literary, technical and artistic of which he is capable " and the maintenance of standard rates of wages relatively to the cost of living in all trades. The task of reconstruction, according to the party, ought to be regarded as involving " not any patchwork or gerrymandering of the anarchic individualism and profiteering of the competitive capitalism of pre-war time . . . but a gradual building up of a new GREAT BRITAIN 415 social order^ based not on internecine conilict, inequality of riches, and dominion over subject classes, subject races, or a subject sex, but on a deliberately planned cooperation in pro- duction, distribution and exchange, the systematic approach to a health equality, the widest possible participation in power, both economic and political and the general conscious- ness of consent which characterize a true democracy." The conference also denounced the refusal of the Brit- ish Government to permit Troelstra, the Dutch socialist, to attend the conference, as well as its failure to allow Margaret Bondfield to attend the convention of the Amer- ican Federation of Labor. One-third of the executives elected were members of the Independent Labor Party, including Sidney Webb, Philip Snowden, F. W. Jowett. Henderson and MacDonald were reelected secretary and treasurer respectively. At the meeting of the Trade Union Congress held in Derby in September, Havelock Wilson urged the forma- tion of a separate labor party, opposed to the present Labor Party, but his motion was defeated by a vote of 3,815,000 to 567,000. The congress again went on rec- ord in favor of an international conference, and called upon the government to open negotiations as soon as the enemy, voluntarily or by compulsion, evacuated France and Belgium. The British Elections of 1918. — During the fall much attention was given to the parliamentary elections which took place on December 14, the first general election since December, 1910. Lloyd George waged a jingoistic cam- paign, urged that the government be retained in power so that it might finish the peace, and promised a large war indemnity, a square deal for the returned soldiers and the punishment of the Kaiser. Problems of reconstruc- tion, on the other hand, were neglected. 416 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION During the campaign the Labor Party issued a mani- festo, " Labor's Call to the People," which called for : " A special tax on capital on the ground that those who made fortunes out of the war must pay for the war; free trade ; no tariffs ; immediate nationalization of all land ; im- mediate nationalization of vital public service systems; better housing conditions ; free public education ; freedom for Ireland and India; immediate withdrawal of troops from Russia; no conscription; equal rights for women; a peace of reconcilia- tion with no secret diplomacy and no economic war; the charter of labor to be incorporated in the fundamentals of the league of free peoples." The electorate proved indifferent, only 10,679,020 out of a total of over 21,000,000 turning out to vote. The coalition candidates, led by Lloyd George, were over- whelmingly victorious. The Labor Party, however, in- creased its representation in Parliament from 38 to 59, and received a vote of two and a half million. The 400 coalition seats were won by a vote of four millions. " This is one of the most glaring anomalies of the British sys- tem of redistributed constituencies," declared Arthur Glea- son,^ " that labor shall hold but one-eighth as many seats as the coalition, when it polled five-eighths as many votes." The Labor Party, as a result of the election, became the chief opposition party, the Liberals securing but 26 mem- bers. On the other hand, the coalition led to the defeat of Arthur Henderson, and of such internationalists as Ramsay MacDonald, William C. Anderson, Philip Snow- den and F. W. Jowett. Roberts, Havelock Wilson and others on the extreme right were swept into office on the nationalistic wave inevitably following the military vic- tory. 2 Kellogg and Gleason, British Labor During the War, p. 370. GREAT BRITAIN 417 Special Elections of 1919. — During the next few- months, however, the attitude toward the coalition under- went a distinct change. The peace terms, the slow de- mobilization, the continued war in Russia, the menace of conscription, the Irish situation, and the lack of any con- structive program in solving the problem of the cost of living, of housing, of the mines, and of the railroads, caused widespread dissatisfaction. By the end of July, in the six by-elections, the Labor candidates won four out of six seats formerly held by the Coalition. In late August, Arthur Henderson regained his seat in Parliament. In the mu- nicipal elections in November, 1919, the Labor Party made huge gains throughout the country. In London it secured majorities in 13 out of the 28 borough councils in which there was an entire change of councillors. Strikes — Of importance to the labor and socialist movement in Great Britain during the early part of 1919 were the numerous strikes of the transport workers, the miners, police, etc., for wage increases, for the reduction of hours — the 44-hour week being a frequent demand — for the participation in the management of industry, for nationalization of mines and railroads, and for other advances. Following the publication of the peace terms, the Inde- pendent Labor Party denounced the treaty " as a viola- tion of the conditions of the armistice," and as " a capi- talist, militarist and imperialist imposition " which gave the world not peace, but " the certainty of other and ca- lamitous wars." The Southport Conference — The most important gathering of the Spring of 1919 was the Southport Con- gress of the British Labor Party held in late June. The congress urged that June 21 be set aside for demonstra- tions throughout Great Britain against the Allied inter- 418 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION vention in Russia; requested the Trade Union Congress, by a card vote of 1,893,000 to 935,000, to take industrial action to compel the British Government to recall the troops from Russia and to lift the economic blockade; unanimously passed a resolution against conscription, recommending that the Trade Union Congress and the Triple Alliance take industrial action to abolish it; and indorsed the six-hour day in all industries. The Glasgow Trade Union Congress. — The Parlia- mentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress refused to heed the instructions of the Labor Party and of the Triple Alliance to call a special national conference for the purpose of considering these demands of labor, i. e., the abolition of conscription, the withdrawal of troops from Russia, the raising of the blockade and the releasing of conscientious objectors. The failure of this committee to act led to bitter criticism, and, at the Glasgow Confer- ence of the Trade Unions called for September 8, 1919, — representative of more than 5,000,000 workers — a mo- tion of virtual censorship was passed by a card vote of 2,586,000 to 1,876,000. By some present the vote was interpreted as a vote for " direct action." Others denied this implication. By an overwhelming vote of 4,478,000 to 77,000, the congress demanded that the Parliamentary committee visit the Prime Minister and insist on the adoption of the majority (Sankey) report of the Coal Commission which favored the nationalization of the mines, and that, if the government refuse to accept this position, a special Trades Union Congress be called to decide what action should be taken to force nationalization. The Congress, by a unanimous vote, also demanded the adoption by the government of the repeal of the conscription acts and the immediate withdrawal of troops from Russia, and, failing GREAT BRITAIN 4-19 this, the calling of a special Trades Union Congress. Later Lloyd George declared before Parliament that the government would not adopt the Sankey report. In No- vember Lloyd George declared that Great Britain would withhold further military support from factions opposing the Soviet Government. Ireland. — At the beginning of the war the Irish Social- ist movement was weak. The Independent Labor Party had about 1,000 membership. The Irish Workingmen's Party, organized prior to the war, a representative of the Irish unions, was not strong, although it showed some suc- cess in a number of the municipal elections. In 1916 these movements — which did not officially take part in the rebellion of that year — suffered a great loss in the execution of James Connolly, Skeffington and others for participation in this rebellion. Several hundred members of the I. L. P. and I. W. P. were also imprisoned in England for their refusal to be conscripted. A number of socialists took part in the Sinn Fein campaigns which swept the country. The small Revolutionary Socialist Party of Ireland, in the Summer of 1919, issued a manifesto warning the workers that even " if Sinn Fein prevails, there will still be an Irish working class. There will still remain an Irish master class." It called on the people to form workers' committees as the first step in building up a new social system. Other Developments. — The shop stewards' movement, the development of the Triple Alliance, the growth of the guild socialist idea, the increasing demand on the part of labor for a share in industrial management, the reports of the mining commission favoring nationalization of mines and participation of the worker in the management — were further developments of the war of importance to the socialist and labor movements. The Independent Labor 420 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Party emerged from the war with increased strength and influence. TKANCE The Majoritaires and Minoritaires. — In August, 1914, the French socialists, to all outward appearances, showed remarkable unity in their support of the war. It was not long, however, before dissensions arose. The mod- erate and at first the dominant group in the party known as the Majoritaires demanded vigorous prosecution of the war until the Allies secured a complete victory over the Central Powers. They also opposed any conference between the French socialists and delegates from Germany and Austria. Forty of the Majoritaire group in the Chamber of Deputies, following the visit of the American labor delegates in the Summer of 1918, formed themselves into a separate bloc known as the Varenne Quarante. Albert Thomas, for some time Minister of Munitions, fi- nally joined this group, and was its outstanding figure. The second group, stimulated partly by the propa- ganda of the anti-war Kienthal socialists, was designated Minoritaires. In the congress of the Socialist Federa- tion of the Seine in 1918, this group showed three divi- sions: The extreme left, who believed that the socialists should refuse to vote for the war budget, and demanded social revolution and peace ; the Longuet group,^ who also advocated refusal to vote for the war credits, opposed intervention in Russia, demanded a revision of the war aims of the Allies and urged the participation of the French 3 This group was led by Jean Longuet, grandson of Karl Marx, and a prominent member of the Chamber of Deputies. Their organ was Le Populaire. It cannot be said that the vote in the Federation of the Seine was typical of the sentiment in the party throughout France, as this federation, which includes the socialists of Paris, was, during the war, more radical than those in other portions of France. PRANCE 421 in the international socialist and labor peace conferences ; and the Centrists, led by M. Cachin and others, who em- phasized the necessity for vigorous participation in the national defense, but who, nevertheless, favored a " politi- cal offensive " in the form of an international conference at which the proletariat would endeavor to establish peace on the basis of President Wilson's declaration. At this congress, the left and Cachin groups obtained for their resolutions approximately 1,000 votes each, as compared with 6,099 for the Longuet resolution. The Majoritaires presented no set resolution. Minority Becomes Majority — The Minoritaires con- tinued to gain in strength, with every passing month, and, at a meeting of the Socialist National Council in July of 1918, became the majority group, securing 1,544 votes as against 1,172.* While the successful resolution reiterated the party's determination to support the defense of the nation, it denounced the political, diplomatic and military mistakes of the leaders of the country, and particularly the gov- ernment's refusal to grant passports to the socialists to attend the Stockholm Conference. It asked why the peace proposals of 1917 were rejected without serious examina- tion and demanded that the French Government revise its war aims and that it publicly condemn militaristic schemes. It urged " a clear and definite statement of our peace conditions on the basis defined by the Russian rev- olution and by President Wilson," opposed intervention in Russia, and called for the preparation of a scheme for a League of Nations in the terms and spirit indicated by President Wilson. " A definite peace can only be assured by the establish- 4 Seven hundred of the 1,172 were voted by the Majoritaires as proxies. 4-22 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ment of a socialist regime, capitalist society being essentially the regime of disorder, of despotism and of violence. The Socialist Party renews its adherence, complete and without reservation, to the assembly of an international congress. . . . The National Council affirms its desire to obtain complete liberty of national and international action for the working class organizations and for the Socialist Party. . . . The Na- tional Council determines to employ, in agreement with the working class and socialist organizations in the Entente countries, every means in its power to obtain passports. . . . On its side it calls upon its parliamentary representatives to prosecute a vigorous campaign before proceeding to re- fuse the military credits." The National Socialist Congress, which opened its ses- sion on October 6, 1918, again urged the Allies to declare their purposes, and stated its support of the terms of President Wilson. After the Signing of the Armistice. — Following the signing of the armistice, the socialists held numerous dem- onstrations urging just terms of peace and opposing chau- vinistic demands of French imperialists. When it was an- nounced that President Wilson planned to attend the Peace Conference, the Socialist Party decided to hold a great parade in his honor, declaring that, though he was not one of them, he alone among the statesmen stood for the new diplomacy. They approached Clemenceau, but he strongly objected to the demonstration, and it was fi- nally called off. Smaller demonstrations, however, took place when Wilson arrived in Paris. Jean Longuet and other delegates presented Wilson with a memorandum, in behalf of the party and of the General Confederation of Labor, in which they declared that " the silent mass ex- pects that its heavy sacrifice will be compensated by the organization, at the proper time, of a world peace based FRANCE 423 on the principles contrary to all those which constituted the danger of militarism and imperialism." . . . During the early part of 1919, the party consistently, within and without the Chamber of Deputies, protested against interference of the Allies, by military or economic weapons, with the revolutionary movements of Russia and the Central Empires. It likewise protested against the draft of the peace treaty and of the proposed League of Nations ; held a huge parade on April 6, denouncing the acquittal of Raoul Villain, the assassin of Jaures, and conducted a great May day demonstration throughout Paris and other cities. The French Socialists and the Second International. ■ — The party congress, held in April, decided, by a ma- jority of 894 votes, to continue as a part of the second International, providing that all those who are socialists in name only are excluded. The motion demanding imme- diate adherence to the third International at Moscow under the leadership of Premier Lenin and the Bolshevik govern- ment, on the other hand, received but 270 votes. On July 15 the National Council of the party voiced its opposition to the ratification of the peace treaty by an overwhelming vote of 1,420 to 114, some 387 refusing to vote. The party also denounced the " capitalistic " League of Nations. The General Confederation of Labor.^ With the prog- ress of the war came a distinct change of front in the General Confederation of Labor, the chief labor federation in the country, which, in 1918, claimed a membership of nearly 1,400,000. Prior to the war, a large section of the confederation shunned independent political action, as leading to opportunistic parliamentarianism. In the Summer of 1918, however, it commenced to give more attention to the subjects of a political nature 424) SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION and to cooperate with the Sociahst Party. At its first convention since the beginning of the war, it passed a reso- lution, by an overwhelming majority, denouncing secret diplomacy and .demanding that the people be acquainted with the terms on which a general, just and durable peace might be concluded, such conditions to embrace among others the following: No annexations, the rights of peoples to control their own aflPairs, no war indemnities, no economic war to succeed hostilities, freedom of the seas, the establishment of com- pulsory arbitration to settle international diiFerences, the constitution of a Society of Nations ; these conditions being defended by President Wilson, by the Russian Revolution at its beginning and confirmed by the Inter-Allied and Inter- national declarations and even at Zimmerwald. The resolution condemned the government for its re- fusal to grant passports to socialist and labor delegates to attend the Stockholm Conference, suggested that future refusals be opposed by all the strength of the C. G. T., and declared against armed intervention in Russia, if opposed to the will of the Russian people. Before and after the signing of the armistice, it issued proclamations similar in sentiment to those of the French socialists — the two groups frequently signing j oint mani- festoes — opposing French chauvinism, denouncing any interference with the revolutionary movements in Russia and the Central Empires, and demanding the restoration of civil liberties. At its meeting in August, it favored nationalization of industry, with workers' control and urged the transport workers to refuse to transport ammu- nition to be used by the Kolchak army. Labor and the League of Nations Following the publication of the draft of the League of Nations, the FRANCE 425 confederation characterized the League as merely " a treaty of defensive alliance " and declared that only in- ternational cooperation of the workers would prevent the league from becoming a center of reaction. Opposition to Russian Policy — This was followed by a declaration against the Russian blockade and military intervention, and, on May 28, by a further resolution pro- testing against what were termed " the denial of the right of self-determination of peoples ; disguised annexation ; the repudiation of the solemn agreements concerning the League of Nations and the return to the old system of al- liances ; the absence of an international financial system and economic organization ; a continuation of the economic war, and the failure to incorporate in the treaty a real in- ternational labor charter." On May 2, following the government's repression of the workers during the May day parade, Leon Jouhaux, the secretary oif the confederation, resigned his seat in the Peace Conference on the Labor Commission, declaring, in a letter to Clemenceau: " As representative of the French workers, I must inform you that it is impossible that their delegate at the confer- ence should be present on the morrow of the day on which your government has brutally forbidden these workers from giving expression to their views. Liberty having been refused to the workers^ their representative cannot hope to have it in reality in the Peace Conference. I hand you my resignation." During the first part of June, nearly a million men went out on strikes, many of which were called for the purpose of enforcing political demands. Proposed General Strike. In June, the Executive Committee of the Confederation announced that, together with British and Italian labor, the federation would con- 426 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION duct a general strike of 24 hours duration on July 21, the object of the demonstration being " the cessation of armed intervention in Russia, the rapid demobilization of armies, the restoration of constitutional rights, full and absolute amnesty, and, above all, a war on the in- creased cost of living by all possible means." The rail- way men later indorsed the action of the federation, and decided on a complete cessation of traffic throughout France, Alsace-Lorraine, Tunis and Algeria. On July 19, however, the Chamber of Deputies refused a vote of confidence in the administration of the Food Minister, who subsequently resigned, and the government promised a revision downward of the food prices, a speedy review of the question of political amnesty and a hasty demobili- zation. The latter was interpreted as meaning the with- drawal of French troops from Russia. The strike was thereupon called off. In Latter Half of 1919. — In late July, as a result of the insistence of the socialist deputies, it was announced in the Chamber of Deputies that French political prison- ers would be released as soon as the peace treaty was signed. In mid-July the national council of the French Socialist Party furnished instructions to their deputies by a vote of 1,420 to 54 not to favor the ratification of the peace treaty. The council declared that the treaty perpetu- ated the iniquitous status quo ante. The special congress of the French Socialist Party con- vened on September 11, 1919, considered at length the resolution to expel from the party the group of eleven so- cialist deputies who voted for the last war credits, and finally empowered the Permanent Administrative Commis- sion of the party to take the necessary measures of disci- pline against them. It also decided, by an eight to ITALY 427 one vote, to prohibit all electoral ententes with other parties. On September 18, Jean Longuet created a turmoil in the Chamber of Deputies by characterizing the peace as one " of force and violence like those terminating conflicts in the past." In the fall campaign of 1919, Clemenceau succeeded in forming a national bloc of non-socialist parties against the socialists who made the Russian question a prominent issue. In the November elections the Unified Socialists claimed a vote of approximately 1,700,000, an increase of several hundred thousand over 1914. Owing to the na- tional bloc and the combining of many small electoral dis- tricts into a few large ones, early returns indicated that the socialist delegation in the House of Deputies had been decreased from 101 to the neighborhood of 55, Longuet and Renaudel being among the defeated candidates. ITALY Continued Opposition to War. — The Italian Socialist Party, after Italy entered the war, reiterated its anti- war position, and aligned itself with the more militant so- cialist groups which supported the Zimmerwald and Kien- thal Conferences. The Reformist Socialist Party, the small opportunist organization, on the other hand, sup- ported the government. Its leader, Leonida Bissolati, accepted the position of Minister of Military Aid and War Pensions, and others became active in governmental circles. In the Summer of 1917, the directors of the Italian Sociahst Party, the General Federation of Labor and the socialist parliamentary group issued a significant pro- gram on national and international reconstruction.® - Internationally, it called for no forcible annexations, self-deter- 428 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION The Italian defeat at Caporetto in the Summer of 1917 tended to lessen the anti-war propaganda of the socialists, many of whom adopted the motto, " neither defense nor sabotaging of the war," while the Bolshevik Revolution of November in Russia led the Italians to make vigorous demand for an armistice on all belligerent fronts. In December, 1917, Signor Morgari, a socialist Deputy, went so far as to demand, in the Italian Parliament, amid the hostile shouts of the opposition, not only a Bolshevik peace, but a peace by Bolshevik methods. Imprisonment of Leaders. — As a result of the sociahst agitation, the " Sacchi " decree of October 4, 1917, was passed, penalizing " defeatist " propaganda. The gov- ernment refused to permit the party to hold a congress in November of that year, and, during the first half of 1918, many prominent socialists were arrested and imprisoned, among them Constantino Lazzari, the secretary of the mination, freedom of the seas, immediate and simultaneous disarma- ment of every state, the suppression of economic barriers, and the establishment of a Judicial Federation. Nationally, the group advocated a republican form of government; the abolition of the senate; universal suffrage without sex discrimi- nation; the initiative, referendum and recall; unrestricted freedom of association; the suppression of the political police; parliamentary responsibility over diplomatic relations; decentralization of admin- istrative functions; regional and municipal autonomy, reform of government service; a simplified organization of executive depart- ments according to the industrial type; the eight-hour day, the minimum wages, and compulsory education legislation; promotion of cooperative agriculture ; the " socialization of lands by the organi- zation of a vast, collective domain tlie first nucleus of which will be formed by lands belonging to the government, to charitable in- stitutions, and to uncultivated or poorly cultivated lands " ; and the granting of land only to those who directly cultivate it. The declaration also urged the compulsory association of farmers, tech- nical control and direction of agricultural production, in order to obtain a maximum production at a minimum cost, heavy income and inheritance taxes, and a prompt and efficient reorganization of the International. ITALY 429 party, Niccola Bombacci, the vice-president, and Giacinto Serrati, the editor of the Avanti. The sentences, ranging from 2 years 4 months to 3 years 6- months, gave rise to numerous anti-governmental demonstrations throughout Italy. Prior to the armistice, in the fall of 1918, the party convention reiterated its anti-war position, called the so- cialist Deputies to task for failing to take a more aggres- sive stand in the Italian Parliament, and gave to the party committee power to expel recalcitrant deputies. It also refused to send delegates to the Inter-AUied Socialist and Labor Conference scheduled for London, on the ground that Mr. Gompers and the A. F. of L. would be repre- sented, and delegates from the Socialist Party of Amer- ica and of the Bolsheviks of Russia would not be present. The party, also, repudiated both the mission from the A. F. of L. and from the Social Democratic League of America. In the meanwhile, the pro-war socialists organized, in the Spring of 1918, an Italian Socialist Union, which largely absorbed the Reformist Socialist Party. This group cooperated with an Italian Federation of Workers, a group of independent unions that claimed something like 150,000 members. After the Armistice — Following the signing of the armistice, the executive committee of the Italian Socialist Party, on December 12, 1918, issued a declaration, stating that it would not " j oin in the homage to the representa- tive of the United States," as, despite his personal liber- ality, he represented a capitalistic government, and was not in a position to make his ideals actualities. The party aimed, according to the manifesto, " at the establishment of a socialist republic and the dictatorship of the proletariat," with the following scope : 430 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION " 1. Socialization of the means of production and transpor- tation, land, mines, railroads, steamships, operated and managed directly by the peasants, sailors, miners and workers. " 2. Distribution of commodities through cooperatives or municipal agencies, exclusively. " 3. Abolition of military conscription and universal dis- armament, following the union of all socialist proletarian in- ternational republics of the world." The declaration also vigorously advocated the with- drawal of troops from Russia. When President Wilson visited the Chamber of Deputies, he found the forty seats of the socialist Deputies unoccupied. Throughout his visit, the radical press constantly asked why a president with his ideals could permit a ten years' jail sentence for Eugene V. Debs, and condemned Wilson for failing to de- nounce the known imperialism of the Italian Government. By the end of the year, even Bissolati of the Socialist Union found it impossible to continue as a member of the cabinet, and resigned, on December 28, declaring that the foreign policy of Baron Sonnino in regard to the west coast of the Adriatic would lead to new wars. The So- cialist Union also practically repudiated Bononi and Berenini for retaining their places in the cabinet follow- ing the resignation of Bissolati. It recorded itself in De- cember against secret diplomacy and in favor of a league of nations. The 1919 Activities — During the first half of 1919, the party continually reiterated its demand for the with- drawal of troops from Russia, waged a campaign for amnesty of political prisoners, securing the release of Lazzari and others ; demanded for all people " the right to dispose freely of their own destiny, particularly for the peoples of Dalmatia and Asia Minor, whose independ- ence is now threatened by the menace of Italian imperial- ITALY 431 ism " ; again recorded itself " in favor of a general strike, for the purpose of obtaining the conquest of power by the Italian people," demobilization, liberty and the withdrawal of troops from Russia, and instituted numerous strikes and demonstrations to impress its demands. The Italian Party and the International Signores Lazzari and Morgari were sent in February to the Berne International Socialist Conference and were authorized to support it " if it adheres to the old International spirit." The delegates, on their arrival, declared that this spirit was absent and that the Italian party " cannot consent to participate in partial conferences of parties and groups which worked hand in glove with the bourgeois govern- ments during the war." The party later issued a scath- ing denunciation against the International Socialist Bu- reau, for organizing the Berne Conference, — " a carica- ture of an International Socialist Conference " ; declared that " it is impossible to conceive the co-existence in a single organization of those who were loyal to the princi- ples of the International and those who betrayed those principles and are still opposed to the realization of so- cialism " ; gave its adhesion to the Moscow Conference, and promised to do what it could to unite those socialists who remained true to internationalism. The Party and the Peace Conference — The party de- nounced, at the first meeting of the new executive in Mi- lan, the proposals of the Peace Conference for the League of Nations — " illusions," as the committee termed these proposals, " craftily disseminated in the Conference of Paris which, under the ingenuous mask of Wilsonian bourgeois ideology, is re-creating the Holy Alliance among the conquerors, to op- press not only politically but also economically the conquered 4.3a SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION populations, dumb victims of the mistakes and rapacity of the bourgeoisie, captained by imperialistic militarism, and against the international proletariat." This statement was followed, on April 3, 1919, by a caustic criticism of the Peace Conference signed by the group of forty-one socialist members of the Chamber of Deputies, in part as follows : " The Entente tends to crush down the defeated nations. New nations are organizing, not for their own interests, but as foils for the victorious ones. The peace that is outlined at Paris is equal to the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. Therefore, war will hover, as in the past, over the earth. France is carv- ing for herself new territories, with coal underground and men overground. Italy wavers between a false Wilsonian and a true imperialism. England and America tend to the economic conquest of the world. The proletarian class of all countries should consider if the general strike, which has already won so many partial conquests, cannot internationally affirm their will to peace and life. " We shall compel the Paris Conference to respect what was voluntary promised, and to give to the working class the real disposition of the executive powers; which, for Italy, means the radical reform of the constitution, participation in the larger ballot, direct representation of the syndical organs, the abolition of every arbitrary power, the abolition of the Senate, the right of self-convocation of Parliament, a larger technical and administration decentralization and so forth, that is a real sovereignty of the people. Thus will the people affirm and progressively maintain a stricter brotherhood between the nations, until the construction of a new state that includes all." During the Spring also there were numerous disturb- ances in Italian cities — twenty-four hour strikes in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Turin, and other cities, some as a protest ITALY against the government's action in refusing permission to parade, some in order to enforce economic demands. In early July food riots occurred in many cities, thou- sands of stores were ransacked, municipal governments were ignored and Chambers of Labor were entrusted with the distribution of food. The international general strike of July 21, 1919, com- pletely tied up Milan, Trieste and several other industrial centers. In the November, 1919, elections the Socialist Party practically doubled its representation in the Cham- ber of Deputies, electing 156 candidates. The Reformist Socialists elected 16 deputies, the Liberals, 161, the Demo- crats, 23, the Republicans, 9, Discharged Soldiers, 23, and miscellaneous, 8. The Socialist candidate, Lazzari, secured 143 votes for President of the Chamber to 251 for Signor Orlando. In the late fall, strikes again occurred in Italy with great frequency. THE SCANDINAVIAN COUNTKIES The strong socialist movements in Denmark, Sweden and Norway were active during the war in preserving the neutrality of their respective countries, and in assisting in the organization of an international socialist con- ference. In Denmark and Sweden, where the parties are plu- rality, although not majority parties, the socialists en- tered for a time into coalition ministries with the liberals. The moderate course pursued in those countries led to the formation of left wing groups. In Norway, the party swung during the war definitely to the left. All three movements increased steadily in influence among the masses. 434, SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION DENMARK Efforts Toward Peace. — The manifesto of the Danish Socialist Party shortly after the beginning of the war attributed the conflict fundamentally to the forces of inter- national imperialism. It urged the socialists of other countries to work for peace proposals which would con- stitute a basis for international disarmament and for the democratization of foreign policies. It protested against the violation of the law of nations as evidenced in the invasion of Belgium and it pressed for the calling of an International Socialist Congress. Joins the Coalition. — In 1916, the party took an ac- tive part in connection with the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States. When the disposal of these islands was under consideration, the conservative parties conducted an ultra-patriotic campaign, demanding that the sale be not completed and that a new election be held. In order to prevent the Agrarian and Conservative parties from winning out, the government asked the socialists to participate in the cabinet. A special meeting of the party was called for October 1, 1916, and, by a vote of 293 to 32, the convention took the unusual step of permit- ting one of its members to join the ministry without port- folio. The parliamentary group selected Theodore Staun- ing, one of the foremost leaders of the party, as its rep- resentative. Stauning remained a member of the cabinet throughout the war. Increased Socialist Vote — Party strength steadily increased during the war, and, in the Spring elections of 1918 — the first elections in which women were given the franchise — the electorate returned 39 socialists to the Folkething, an increase of 7 over 1913, and 32 radicals. This gave to the radical-socialist coalition 71 seats as DENMARK 4.35 compared with 68 seats for the opposition parties, led by ex-Premier Christensen. The socialists polled 263,000 votes, the radicals, 192,000 — a total of 455,000, while the liberals and conservatives secured 230,000 and 167,- 000 respectively, or a total of 397,000. The highest pop- ular vote was thus received by the Social Democrats. The latter also gained full control over Copenhagen, from the mayoralty down, obtained a majority in 14 city and 34 rural councils, and elected to the city and rural councils throughout the country some 1,479 municipal councilors. The party reported a dues-paying membership in the be- ginning of 1918 of 80,000, as compared with 60,000 in 1915. Formation of Left Wing Party — Taking a moderate position in the International, it refused to send delegates to the Zimmerwald Conference, and kept up its affiliation with the International Socialist Bureau. In the Summer of 1918, a radical minority, who opposed the opportun- ism of Stauning and others, formed, under the leadership of Mr. Nicolaisen, a Socialist Party. As in other countries, the war was attended in Den- mark by measures of suppression against radical expres- sion. The editor of the Class Struggle and other papers were sent to jail, and hosts of meetings were broken up by the authorities. Owing to the scarcity of food and other necessities, Denmark adopted, during the war, a vast amount of state control of industry. The socialist par- liamentary group were effective in 1918 in forcing through remedial legislation in regard to the unemployment prob- lem, and an increase in direct taxation. As a result of their efforts, 76 per cent, of the revenue collected in the latter part of the war came from direct taxation ; 24 per cent., from indirect. This was an entire reversal from conditions of a few years before. 436 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION SWEDEN The Party Strength — In 1914, at the beginning of the war, the Social Democratic Party of Sweden had the distinction of holding in the Lower House of their Parlia- ment a larger number of seats than that of any other party — 87 as compared with 80 seats occupied by the conservatives and 45 by the liberals. It held 14 seats in the Senate, and 426 in the municipal councils. In 1915, the party elected 126 deputies to the Landsthing (the provincial Parliament), a gain of 45 over the previous election. In November, 1914, the party decided to form, against the opposition of the Young Socialists, a coalition min- istry with non-socialist parties. It opposed, by a vote of 70 to 61, the parliamentary demand for gradual reduc- tion of armaments, and expelled StefFen, a member of Parliament, for advocating intervention on the side of Germany. Separation of Young Socialists. — At the national con- vention of February 22, 1917, the party went on record in favor of the Stockholm Conference, and advocated strict prohibition of alcoholic liquors. By a vote of 136 to 2, it forbade the Young Socialists from running separate candidates and demanded that they indorse the unity res- olution of the former party conference as the unalterable condition of party unity. On May 12, 1917, the young people's organization met, unanimously rejected the conditions set forth by the party and formed a new party which they called the Swed- ish Socialist Party. Lindhagen, the Mayor of Stockholm, and fourteen other members of the parliamentary group immediately joined the new movement, which adopted a SWEDEN 437 program on the lines of the Zimmerwald and Kienthal conferences. The membership of the older party showed a consider- able decrease during the year on account of this seces- sion of the Young Socialists, although the September, 1917, elections indicated a socialist gain of eleven seats, the Social Democratic Party electing 86 of their candi- dates, and the Young Socialists, 12. Democratizing the Constitution. — In the early Fall of 1917, both the Socialist and the Liberal parties fought against the Conservatives on the three issues of (1) re- form of the upper house, (2) votes for women, and (3) government by parliamentary majority. The conserva- tives, who went into the elections with 86 seats, witnessed the return of but 57, and M. Schwartz, the Premier, was forced to resign. The Liberal Party, with 62 seats out of 230, thereupon united with the socialist moderate group, with its 86 seats, and formed a coalition govern- ment with M. Eden at its head and three socialist cab- inet members, including M. Branting, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, and the first socialist to sit in the Swedish legislature. Baron Palmsierna and M. Ryden among its members. After a few months, Branting re- signed. For the next two years, the liberal and socialist groups fought for a more liberal constitution. While they held a majority in the lower house, they were in a minority in the upper chamber (62 against 86), and here their pro- posals were constantly held up. The threat of revolution because of this attitude and the warning of the German revolution, however, finally forced the upper chamber, in December, 1918, to yield to the liberal demands. Under the new constitution, women were given the vote, prop- erty qualifications in the election of the upper house were 438 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION abolished — though the election was still indirect — and the electorate was increased three fold. Demands of the Radicals. — The newly formed So- cialist Party, during the war, continued its criticism against the Branting socialists, and, in the latter part of 1918, the Young People's Socialist League and the Swed- ish Soldiers' and Workingmen's Council issued a joint manifesto, demanding the formation of a socialist govern- ment, supported by the workmen's, soldiers' and peasants' councils all over the country ; a republican form of gov- ernment ; the abolition of the upper chamber of the Par- liament ; the immediate convening of a constituent national assembly on the basis of unlimited suffrage for men and women above 20 years ; immediate abolition of militarism ; a systematic raising of wages for all workingmen and civil service employees ; the immediate introduction of the eight-hour day ; the confiscation of estates held by com- panies and of crown possessions, and their distribution, under the control of communities, among the working classes. In late December, 1918, and early January, 1919, con- servative groups in Sweden conducted a vigorous recruit- ing campaign to secure volunteers to aid the conserva- tives of Esthonia in their fight against the Bolsheviks. Huge mass meetings were held by the socialists through- out Sweden protesting against the campaign which, they believed, aimed primarily to involve Sweden in war on the side of Germany. Shortly thereafter the recruiting sta- tions were closed. Throughout the European war, the socialists fought persistently against joining hands with the Central Powers. NORWAY 439 NORWAY Anti'Militarism — The Social Democratic Party of Norway has, for the past few years, taken a decidedly more radical position than has the majority party in the sister country of Sweden. The party conducted an ener- getic anti-militarist campaign throughout the European war. Control by Left Wing — At the Spring convention, in 1918, the left wing groups obtained complete control of the party. The convention voted, against the opposition of the executive committee, to invite the left wing of the Swedish socialist movement to participate in the conven- tion. It defeated the committee's resolution which con- demned " a dictatorship of force, either from the upper classes or from the working classes," and which appealed to the workers to rally to their trade unions and to polit- ical organizations as a means of protection. On the other hand, it passed, by a vote of 158 to 127, the left wing res- olutions in substance as follows : " The Socialist Party cannot recognize the right of the possessing class to economic exploitation of the working class, even if this exploitation is supported by a majority in Par- liament. The Norwegian Labor Party must, therefore, re- serve to itself the right to employ mass action or revolution in the struggle for the emancipation of the working class." The party also expressed its approval of the forma- tion of soldiers' and workmen's councils. The proposal to undertake a miHtary strike, however, was defeated by a vote of 115 to 120. Party Strength. — At the 1915 election, the party se- cured one-third of the total vote. During the year 1918 440 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION it enrolled 10,000 new members, making a total of 80,000 in all. The trade union movement in Norway is more conserv- ative than are the socialists and, in October, 1918, voted against sabotage and the general strike. SMALLER EUROPEAN COUNTKIES BELGIUM On account of foreign occupation, it was impossible for the Belgian socialists effectively to function during the war. However, the party did effective work in the feed- ing of the population, in defending the workers against interference by the Germans and in promoting interna- tional conferences.® In November, 1919, the socialists increased their representation in the Chamber of Depu- ties from about 40 to 70, the Catholics electing 73, a loss of 26 seats ; the Liberals, 34, a loss of 11. The Socialists obtained the largest popular vote of any party. HOLLAND Peace Activities — The Dutch socialists throughout the war kept up a consistent agitation in favor of neu- trality. Troelstra, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, was also active during the war in an endeavor to bring about some agreement between the socialists of the Allies and those of the Central Powers. The party likewise led in the campaign against the high cost of living, against militarism and in favor of political reforms. During the latter part of 1918, and the early part of 1919, food riots occurred throughout Holland, rumors of a revolution were widespread, and cries were e The Rapport du Bureau du Conseil 06n4ral sur L'ActwiU du Parti Ouvrier Pendant La Guerre compiled after the armistice gives a remarkable picture of these activities. BELGIUM AND HOLLAND 441 heard at many meetings for the abdication of the Queen. The address of Troelstra in November, in which he de- clared that, " as the bourgeois parties all side with the capitalists, we are forced to consider the possibility of our following the example of Berlin," and intimated the use of violence, caused considerable anxiety in govern- mental circles. Program of Economic Reform On November 12, 1918, the party and the Federation of Labor Unions is- sued a manifesto in which they urged immediate demobili- zation, the enfranchisement of all women and of all per- sons who are of age, abolition of the upper house of the Dutch Parliament, the imposition of direct taxes to meet the costs of war and of the reconstruction period, " so- cialization of every branch of industry that can thus be reformed upon a sound basis," provision for decent living quarters for the workers, improvement of the condition of the farmers, abolition of the strike law of 1903, better distribution of food, old age pensions for every one above sixty years of age, institution of an eight-hour day and of a six-hour day for miners, state insurance for the un- employed, increase in salaries of government employees, and the acceptance of all of the demands of the Interna- tional Association of Labor Unions. SWITZERLAND Approves Zimmerwald Conference — The Swiss so- cialists throughout the war kept up a continuous anti- war agitation, and placed their emphasis increasingly on the general strike as a means of social progress. In November, 1915, the party congress indorsed the Zim- merwald program, called on the socialists of all belli- gerent countries to adopt revolutionary action to stop the war, urged the abolition of military courts, and demanded 442 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION that, in the Swiss army, the officers be allotted the same rations and sleeping quarters as the men. Another resolution demanded the reorganization of the party by complete merging of the Griitli Union — the more opportunistic wing — with the general organiza- tion — a demand with which the Griitli Union afterwards refused to comply. Owing to the secession of this group, the party books at the Zurich Congress of November, 1916, showed but 27,485 dues-paying members. Anti=MiIitarist Stand — On June 9 and 10, 1917, at an extraordinary convention, called for the purpose of considering the socialist attitude toward war, the party, by a vote of 222 to 77, took a most definite stand against militarism and war, urging " fundamental opposition by the party and its elected representatives to all demands, budgets, and laws which serve the purpose of upholding and strengthening militarism or which threaten to create international complications. It decided to send its dele- gates only to the Zimmerwald Conference. Unrepresented at Berne — A militant anti-war stand was also taken by the party on the eve of the International Socialist Conference in Berne in February, 1919, when delegates by a vote of 238 to 147, against the advice of the executive committee, refused to send representatives to the Berne Conference, and asked the national execu- tive to issue a call for an international conference of all parties which were organized on the basis of the class struggle, and which had in general followed the policies enunciated at the Zimmerwald and Kienthal conferences. The General Strike — Socialists throughout 1918 and 1919 united with organized labor in efforts to obtain po- litical and economic reforms through the general strike. In November, 1918, such a strike was called for the pur- pose of securing a new parliamentary election on the basis SWITZERLAND 443 of proportional representation, woman suifrage, popular reorganization of the army, a better distribution of food supply, a forty-six hour week, general obligatory labor, state monopoly of importation and exportation, old age and invalidity insurance, and the payment of the public debt by the propertied classes. It was rumored that the strikers aimed to follow the lines of the Russian revolution and secure possession of the armories, but federal troops, chiefly peasants, were rushed to guard these institutions, and no attempted seiz- ure took place. The leaders of the Social Democrats pre- sented their demands to the Federal Parliament on No- vember 9, and, for the next five days, public business, the mail service, and the railways were at a standstill. Par- liament conceded the calling of an earlier election of mem- bers of the National Council, but no further demands were complied with, and, on November 14, the strike was called off. The socialist movement during the war grew in influ- ence among the workers of the city, the civil employees, and the professional workers, although it did not succeed to any great extent in reaching the peasants whom the war made more prosperous. In the Fall of 1919, the socialists elected 39 of their candidates to the national legislature, an increase of over 100%. During the summer the party decided to refrain from joining the second or the Moscow International. SPAIN Attitude Toward War. — The war and its resulting oppressions gave to the Spanish socialists for the first time in their existence considerable influence in the poli- tics of that country. After the outbreak of the European 444. SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION war, the socialists in this country at first took a definite position for neutrality and against militarism and war. Later some of the leaders of the party, particularly Igle- sias, the one socialist in the Cortes, strongly urged that Spain enter the war on the side of the Allies. These sen- timents, however, were not shared by the rank and file of the party. The Strike of 1917 — Throughout the war economic disturbances broke out in many centers of population. In March, 1917, the General Workers' Union and the Gen- eral Confederation of Labor issued a manifesto in which they declared that, unless the economic situation was re- lieved by social legislation, a general strike was inevitable. During the early summer strikes became more frequent, and, finally, a railway strike was called, followed by a general strike, in which demands were made both for po- litical and economic reforms. Claiming that the object of this strike was the revolutionary overthrow of the government, the ministry dispatched federal troops to in- dustrial centers, shot down hundreds of workers and ar- rested scores of others. The Socialist Victories — Among those arrested were such strike leaders as Signores Julian Besteiro, a uni- versity professor, Caballero, Anguiano and Saborit. These were tried and sent to Santa Barbara prison at Cartagena under a life sentence. In the succeeding muni- cipal elections in December, 1917, all four prisoners were nominated as candidates for the municipal chamber in Madrid and elected at the head of the polls. Their elec- tion, however, was declared invalid, on the ground that they were prisoners. In the subsequent elections in the late Spring of 1918, their names were placed on the socialist ticket again, and again they were overwhelmingly victorious, the socialist SPAIN 44.5 delegation being increased from one to six members. Fol- lowing this election, the Cortes — the federal parliament ■ — granted them complete amnesty, even restoring to Besteiro his professorship, and they were brought in triumph to Madrid. In the Cortes, they immediately be- gan an exposure of the treatment accorded to the strikers by the government during the August strike, and forced a federal investigation. This event was regarded by many as the beginning of a real socialist movement in Spain. Further strikes of a more or less general character broke out in the first part of 1919 in Barcelona, Seville and other cities against the high cost of living, unemploy- ment and other evils. Further Suppression. — Following the May day riots, the King dissolved the Cortes, on account of its possible failure to support drastic measures of suppression, and increased the garrisons in industrial towns. The gov- ernment also proceeded ruthlessly against any foreigners who were alleged to have any " Bolshevik " tendencies, and deported liundreds of Russians and other foreigners to Odessa and elsewhere. The socialist sentiment stirred by the Russian Revolution seems destined, despite these persecutions, steadily to advance in this backward country. PORTUGAIi Following Portugal's entrance into the war, the party, on account of its strong anti-war stand, was at first bit- terly persecuted by the government, but, with the increas- ing war weariness of the country, gradually regained its rights and developed in influence. It indorsed the Zim- merwald Conference, at the same time refusing to send delegates to the Stockholm Conference called by the In- ternational Socialist Bureau. Subsequently it appointed 446 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION a representative to the second gathering at Stockholm. The representative, however, was denied passports. THE BALKANS Servia. — The socialists in the Balkans throughout the war were placed in a particularly difficult position. The Servian socialists remained anti-war throughout, indorsed the Zimmerwald Conference, and sent delegates to the meeting called immediately after the second Stockholm Conference. After the German invasion it was not per- mitted to hold meetings which dealt directly or indirectly with the war. Rumania. — From the very beginning of the European War, the Rumanian socialists agitated for peace, and it was this agitation that was, to a considerable extent, re- sponsible for the neutrality of the country for some six- teen months after war broke out. This crisis again led to persecution. Dr. Rakowsky was arrested and imprisoned incommunicado. When the Germans over- rode Rumania, he was taken to Russia and there im- prisoned, but released with the revolution, becoming a member of the Russian Soviet. The war greatly demoralized the movement, and, under the German rule, as in Servia, it was next to impossible to hold meetings. Two huge gatherings, were, however, held in Bucharest in 1917, one to agitate for a reduction of the high cost of living, the other to demand peace. The sociahst vote in 1910 was but 1,557, in 1914, 2,047. In the Summer of 1919, the Socialist Club of Bucharest was closed by the Rumanian authorities, and socialist meetings prohibited. Rumanian socialists in Paris issued a protest in August against the attack of Rumanian militarism against the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Bulgaria. — The Bulgarian socialists divided into the THE BALKANS 447 "broad-minded" and "narrow-minded" socialists, the former supporting the war, and being rewarded with gov- ernment positions ; the latter firmly protesting against all wars, and indorsing the Zimmerwald Conference. No less than 1,000 members of the party were thrown into prison for their opposition. In January, 1916, the pro-war socialists claimed 5,800 dues-paying members ; the " nar- row-minded," 3,800. In May, 1919, at the party con- gress, representative of party members and trade unionists, the Communist Party of Bulgaria was formed, and a pro- gram was adopted on lines laid down by the Communist International. The elections of 1919 placed the sociaHsts in the very forefront of Bulgarian political life. Greece — When war broke out, Venizelos of Greece se- cured the support of a large number of the party for his Greater-Balkan plan, and this section agitated for par- ticipation in the war on the side of the Allies. Drakoules, the founder, was expelled from the party in 1915 because of his pro-war agitation. The smaller of the two socialist parties, the Labor Federation, urged neutrality, joined the Inter-Balkan Socialist Federation and the Zimmerwald Conference and, in August, 1915, sent a communication to the " narrow-minded " Socialist Party of Bulgaria, in which it vigorously attacked the alleged imperialistic plans of Germany, England and Russia in their control over the Balkans. This note brought bitter prosecution, but assisted in making the party more popular than it had been in the past. FINLAND First Socialist Premier. — During the war, the Finnish socialist movement steadily grew and, in June, 1916, captured the majority of seats in the Finnish Diet (103 448 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION out of 200), thus making Finland the first country in Europe in which the socialists outnumbered the deputies of all of the other parties combined. After this victory, a coalition government was formed with Oskar Tokoi, a socialist parliamentarian, as President of the Senate, a position corresponding to that of prime minister in other countries. The socialists of the Diet, after the Russian revolution, urged the absolute independence of Finland, and its separation from Russia, but the provisional gov- ernment of Russia, while restoring the Finnish Constitu- tion, held that this question should be left for settlement to the Constituent Assembly. White Guards Helped by Germans Tokoi was suc- ceeded by Judge Svinhufud, a reactionary, supported by the White Guards, and, during the next few months, a bit- ter civil war broke out between the White Guards, rep- resenting the bourgeoisie, and the Red Guards, composed chiefly of Finnish socialists. The White Guards appealed for aid to Sweden, but this was denied. On January 27, 1918, the socialists captured the government, and ex- tended their sway over the country, the former prime min- ister. Judge Svinhufvud, fleeing to Germany. There an appeal was made to help the White Guard, under the com- mand of General Mannerheim, and, by the aid of German troops and warships, the Red Guard was routed, the bour- geoisie was again placed in power, and, on May 2, Judge Svinhufvud was declared dictator. The government re- signed on May 25 and Paaskivi, a member of the Old Fin- nish Party, was chosen prime minister. From the Spring until the end of the year, the government worked ener- getically for the establishment of a monarchy under a German prince. The " White Terror." — During the Red Guard regime, the official White Guard report states that over 1,000 FINLAND 4.49 opponents of the Red Guard were murdered, although it actually records the deaths of 624, a portion of whom died in the ordinary course of the war. After the return of the White Guard, the government proceeded with a heavy hand against the socialists who remained in the country with the result that, according to the official report, 20,000 were shot without trial, while, between June and October, 1918, some 13,000 persons died of thirst and hunger in the camps set aside for political prisoners. Of the 92 socialists then members of the Finnish Diet, all except one, according to the London Times (Feb. 11, 1919), were ex- cluded by the government from the Diet, while the legis- lators remaining passed restrictive franchise and other reactionary laws. Mannerheim Prime Minister On December 13, 1918, the Diet accepted the resignation of Svinhufvud as dictator, and elected General Mannerheim prime min- ister, the excluded socialists, who constituted 47 per cent, of the Diet, having no say in this decision. Socialist Successes. — The socialists won several suc- cesses in the municipal elections in early January, 1919, sending 26 Social Democrats in Helsingfors to the city council, as compared with a representation of 34 non- socialists. In the March, 1919, elections, despite fran- chise discriminations, the socialists appeared as the largest single party, electing 80 members to the Landtag, as against 70 Finnish republicans, 22 Finnish monarchists and 22 Swedes. In the Summer of 1919, the Finnish So- cial Democratic Party urged the Socialist Parties of the Entente " to do everything in their power to obtain from their governments an assurance that they will not insist on any participation by Finland in military operations [against Russia], and to put no pressure on Finland." Such participation would but strengthen reaction. Dur- 450 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION ing the Summer, likewise, the socialists withdrew their can- didate for president, and threw their support to the liberal, Professor Stahlberg, candidate of the Young Finn Party. With the election of Stahlberg the rule of Man- nerheim came to an end. OTHEE EUROPEAN COUNTKIES Poland. — At the outbreak of the war Russian Poland harbored three socialist movements — the Social Democ- racy of Russian Poland and Lithuania and the radical wing of the Polish Socialist Party (P. P. S.), and the majority group in the Socialist Party. The first two worked for the Russian revolution. The last saw in the success of the Central Powers a victory for their national- istic dreams. After the Russian revolution, however, this group lent its aid to Russia. For this support the social- ist general Pilsudski was arrested with many of his staff and imprisoned in Germany. Following the revolution the socialist and labor move- ment steadily grew, although the many divisions in the party prevented the socialists from gaining a majority of seats. The P. P. S. sent delegates to the second International meeting at Lucerne, in 1919, but its delegates were not allowed to enter Switzerland. The party executive there- upon issued a manifesto to the International, declaring that Poland was being oppressed by Prussian militarism, by Russia and by the Entente, and urging the Interna- tional to approve the union of Poland with the Polish provinces of upper Silesia, Teschen and Poznania. Re- ferring to the Polish struggle with Russia, the appeal declared : " The victorious Entente . . . impose on us economic and political dependence, and taking advantage of the servile lean- POLAND 451 ings of our possessing classes, pours out the blood of our workmen in the East, debasing the struggle for independence into a war of conquest in the interest of landlords and recon- struction of the Russian Czardom under Kolchak." It called for the rebirth of the International as the only salvation of the nations. Bohemia. — Considerable socialist sentiment was shown in the new Czecho-Slovak republic soon after it was con- stituted. President Mazaryk, the first president of the republic, strongly favored socialist and collectivist poli- cies, while Pl-emier Tusor was an avowed Social Democrat. In the Summer of 1919, many social reforms were an- nounced in this country. The great estates of the Haps- burg aristocracy were confiscated without indemnity. It was decided that each proprietor should be left 300 acres of productive land and 200 acres of forest land, while the rest should be distributed among peasants, former sol- diers, and particularly the peasants' cooperatives. The eight-hour day was established in industry and on the land and social insurance against unemployment, sickness, ac- cident and old age. At the August 30 meeting of the executive committee of the trade unions, said to represent 300,000 members, the 120 delegates present demanded the expropriation of private industrial resources and socialization of industry — of the mines, foundries, corporations for the supply of light, warmth, water power and electric works. The ex- propriation of lands, they declared, should be carried out as soon as possible and industrial concerns connected with them should also be expropriated. The conference likewise insisted on labor representation on boards of management in concerns not as yet nation- alized. 452 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Jugo=Slav Parties — The April, 1919, congress of the Jugo-Slav Socialist Parties held in Belgrade resulted in the formation of a single Socialist Party for the whole of the then new kingdom of the Servians, Croatians and Slo- venes. Prior to the convention, the Servian Socialist Party, which took the initiative in calling the different groups together, drew up a program, the main points of which were : adherence to the third International, uncom- promising opposition to war, hostility to ministerial col- laboration, and refusal to be represented in the Parliament at Belgrade on the ground that this Parliament had been constituted arbitrarily and could not claim to reflect the real opinion of the country. These planks were accepted by aU of the conferees.^ Slovakia — On June 16, 1919, a Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Slovakia, Anton Yanousek, president, and an alliance concluded with Soviet Russia and Soviet Hun- gary. On June 22, the Slovak Press Bureau announced that the socialization of all industries, banks and larger business concerns was in progress, and that a Red Guard was being organized. Slovakia, however, was reoccupied by the Czecho-Slovak army in late June and was once more embodied in the Czecho-Slovak Republic* 7 According to the informant of L'HnmaniU, the Socialist Parties of Servia, Bosnia and Dalmatia responded unanimously to this mani- festo and nearly the whole of the membership was soon after won over to the point of view of the Conference. In Montenegro no So- cialist Party existed before the war, but after the armistice several organizations joined the Servian Socialist Party. The Slovene So- cialist Party was the only one not represented. Before the war, according to the correspondent, the Jugo-Slav Socialist Party numbered more than 50,000 adherents, and multiplied greatly following the armistice. A dozen or so socialist deputies took their seats in the Parliament, but were regarded as " The Social- Patriotic" deputies, socialists only in name. The syndicalists called a congress at the same time, proclaimed complete solidarity with the SUMMARY 453 Summary. — It is thus seen that the socialist move- ment during the war advanced steadily in influence in those European countries not actually caught in the grip of the revolution. The British Labor Party, which de- veloped an increasingly radical program, became, in 1918, the chief opposition party ; the sociaHsts in Denmark and Sweden obtained control of more representatives in the lower houses than any other party, and, in Norway, se- cured no less than one-third of the votes. The Italian socialists became so influential that prophecies of revolu- tion were frequently heard. The French socialists gained in popular votes, though lost heavily in parliamentary seats. The Spanish socialists, for the first time in their history, became a political factor to be reckoned with. And, in the smaller countries, most of the movements, while terribly shattered by the war, captured the imagina- tion of the masses as never before. While general socialist sentiment increased, the social- ist movement itself swung toward a more radical position in most of the countries, and advocated with increasing enthusiasm the use of such weapons as the general strike. In these countries during the next few years, hand in hand with the struggle between socialists and upholders of the present system for the control of the reins of govern- ment will be witnessed a titanic struggle within the move- ment between the ideas represented by the dominant figures in the second International, and those advocated by the so- called third International, formed by the communists at Moscow. Socialist Party and arranged for an exchange of delegates between the two bodies. 8 See Manchester Guardian, July 23, 1919. The correspondent tells of numerous other Soviets of a temporary or permanent character. CHAPTER XIV AMERICA AND OTHER LANDS: SINCE 1914. THE UNITED STATES Feature of Movement — The socialist movement in the United States during the war was chiefly characterized by its mihtant anti-war attitude and its peace activities. For Mediation and Embargo — Its first act after war broke out was the issuance on August 12, 1914, of a man- ifesto, expressing its sympathy with the workers of all nations, pledging its support to the socialist parties of Europe in their fight for peace and urging the national administration to open negotiations for mediation and to extend every eff^ort to bring about the immediate ter- mination of the struggle. The manifesto ended by reit- erating the party's opposition to this and all other wars waged upon any pretext whatever. Two days later, the National Committee on Immediate Action urged that the government seize packing houses, cold storage warehouses, granaries, flour mills " and such other plants as may be necessary to safeguard the food of the people. . . . When the government controls the in- dustries, the exportation of foods to Europe can be pre- vented. The rulers of Europe, unable to supply food to their armies, will be forced to call off their soldiers." The committee also advocated that the exportation of money and of munitions of war to the European countries be prohibited. Inasmuch as the enforcement of these sug- 454 THE UNITED STATES 455 gestions would have crippled the AUied countries to a far greater extent than the Central Powers, this resolution led to severe criticism. Call for International Conference — In September, the party cabled to the socialists in ten of the warring coun- tries, urging that they use their influence to induce their governments to accept mediation by the United States. A few days later, September 19-20, the National Executive Committee urged that an international socialist congress be called in Europe or America, and offered to pay the expenses of the delegates if such a gathering were held in Washington. This conference, however, did not ma- terialize. In May, 1915, following the Lusitania incident, the party issued a manifesto in which it contended that " no disaster, however appalling, no crime, however revolting, justifies the slaughter of nations and the devastation of countries," and called upon the workers to agitate against war. About the same time it issued a peace program, which advocated an international federation of the world, disarmament, universal suffrage, industrial democracy, the abolition of the manufacture of arms for private profit and the abolition of secret diplomacy and urged the appli- cation of the formula, " no indemnities and no annexa- tions." The same month the party formulated a new section to the Constitution, Article II, Section 7, which declared that : " any member of the Socialist Party, elected to an office, who shall in any way vote to appropriate money for military or naval purposes, or war, shall be expelled from the party." The Neutral Conference Proposal — At the opening of the Sixty-fourth Congress, Meyer London, the lone socialist in the House of Representatives, introduced a 456 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION resolution urging that the United States convene a con- gress of neutral nations, which should offer mediation to the belligerents and stating that in the opinion of the Senate and the House of Representatives a durable peace could be established if the following principles should be made the basis of discussion: The evacuation of invaded territory, liberation of oppressed nationalities, plebiscite for Alsace-Lorraine, Poland and Finland, removal of po- litical and civic disabilities, freedom of the seas, disarm- ament and establishment of an international court of arbitration with the commercial boycott as a means of punishment. The Mexican Crisis — The Mexican crisis also brought forth vigorous protests from the socialists in June, 1915, the party declaring at that time that intervention would mean " the practical annihilation of the aspirations of the liberty loving Mexican people " and that the United States had enough to do to take care of its own affairs. In the Spring of 1916, the party issued a memorandum to the President declaring that the ownership by American capitalists of four of the seven billions of Mexican wealth and the desire of " big business " to have the United States safeguard their investments was one of the underlying causes of friction. The 1916 Campaign — The chief event in socialist cir- cles during 1916 was the presidential campaign, waged largely on an issue of anti-militarism, with Allan L. Ben- son and George R. Kirkpatrick, candidates for President and Vice-President respectively. The platform urged a referendum vote before the declaration of war, the aban- donment of the Monroe Doctrine, which, the party be- lieved, was likely to be used to retain Central and South America as a private trade preserve, the immediate inde- pendence of the Philippines, and a mediation conference to THE UNITED STATES 457 be called by this country. It also opposed a large armed force as an imperialistic weapon. Many liberals and socialists who in former years sup- ported the socialist ticket were led in this campaign to vote for Wilson on the ground that considerable social and labor legislation had been passed during his adminis- tration, that the president had satisfactorily settled the threatened railroad strike, that " he had kept us out of war," and that bis defeat would result in the election of a reactionary. In addition to these factors, Mr. Benson's campaigning failed to arouse the enthusiasm kindled in former years by " Gene " Debs and many felt that the 1916 candidate emphasized too exclusively the anti-mil- itarist issue. The result was a drop in the socialist vote in November from 897,001 in 1912, to 590,294, a decrease of approximately 45 per cent. In January, 1917, the Socialist Party again urged the calling of an international congress, suggesting that it assemble on June 3, 1917, at The Hague. On the sever- ance of diplomatic relations with Germany, a further pro- test was made by the National Executive Committee. The St. Louis Convention — On the nearer approach of war, a special emergency convention was called for St. Louis, for April 7-14. It met immediately following the war declaration. The delegates, by a majority vote, adopted an anti-war platform known as the St. Louis Resolution, which was afterwards approved in referendum vote. The resolution reaffirmed the party's allegiance to internationalism, proclaimed its unalterable opposition to the war, recited the reasons for opposing modern wars, condemned the failure of the country prior to the war to observe the spirit of neutrality, expressed the belief that the war would not advance the cause of democracy and as- serted that the people had not been consulted before the 458 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION declaration of war. The resolution furthermore urged freedom of the press, opposed military training in the public schools and advocated the socialization and democ- ratization of the great industries. The plank against conscription and the platform's characterization of the nature of the war, together with its general anti-war at- titude, led to many bitter attacks both from socialists and non-socialists. ■*■ Two minority programs were introduced at the con- vention, one anti-war and the other pro-war, and, after the adjournment of the convention, a minority report was signed by a number of the delegates, which merely recognized the war as a fact and urged free speech and press, conscription of wealth, socialization of industry, nationalization of vacant land and the establishment of communications with the socialists within the enemy na- tions in order to bring about a democratic peace at the earliest possible moment. Following the acceptance of the majority resolution, several well-known socialists re- signed from the party. In June, the committee of the party urged that the government clearly state the objects for which the United States was fighting, the agreements made with the Allied countries on entering the war, and the terms on which the war would be brought to a close. The 1917 Elections — In the fall elections, the social- ists waged a number of active campaigns. In New York, where Morris Hillquit ran for mayor, the socialist vote increased from 32,057 in 1913, to 145,895. Seven so- cialists were elected to the Board of Aldermen, which had never before contained a socialist representative and 1 The platform read : " In all modern history there has been no war more unjustifiable than the war in which we are about to engage." THE UNITED STATES 459 ten socialists to the Assembly, as against two in 1916. The campaign was waged on the issues of peace, the re- tention of civil liberties and the " high cost of living." In Chicago, the socialist vote was one-third of the total. In Cleveland, the increase was 350 per cent., in Cincin- nati, 400 per cent, and in Toledo, Dayton and other Ohio towns, a large advance was noticeable. " The fifteen cities from which accurate election statistics were available show that the socialists polled 314,000 or 21.4 per cent, of the whole. This is over four times the proportion of the vote usually polled by the socialist candidates in these cities." ^ Certain of the Spring elections in 1918, however, showed a falling off in the vote. In August, the National Execu- tive Committee adopted a congressional reconstruction program which was widely and favorably commented upon. Social Democratic League — After their resignation from the party, a number of the pro-war socialists formed the Social Democratic League. The league was at first officered by John Spargo, chairman, William English Wall- ing, secretary and J. G. Phelps Stokes, treasurer. In 1918, Charles Edward Russell took the place of Mr. Spargo. The league sent a number of missions to Eu- rope, partly for the purpose of discouraging the holding of an international socialist conference except under cer- tain specifically defined conditions. The National Party — Several of the members of the league and others organized, on October 4, 1917, the National Party, in their endeavor to coordinate the dem- ocratic forces in the country outside of the Socialist Party. There were represented at the first conference delegates from the Prohibition Party, single taxers, progressives, socialists and a miscellaneous group. Some of the sup- porters of this party ultimately formed " The Committee 2 Paul H. Douglas in The National Municipal Review, March, 1918. 460 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of 48 " which, in December, 1919, in St. Louis, adopted a program similar to that of the Labor Party. The 1918 Elections. — The anti-war stand of the so- cialists, the wholesale suppression of socialist papers and of meetings, the fusion in many parts of the country be- tween the two old parties, and the effect on the workers of a temporary increase in wages, were among the factors which led to a decreased socialist vote in 1918 as com- pared with that of the preceding year. However, the vote advanced in many places over that of 1916, the guber- natorial socialist vote in New York being approximately 85,000, in 1918, as compared with 38,000 two years be- fore — an increase of about 125 per cent. (The total state vote increased approximately 42 per cent.) The fusion of the old parties in this state, however, accom- plished the defeat of Meyer London for Congress, and of eight out of the ten socialist assemblymen. In Wisconsin, on the other hand, the vote leaped up- ward. Victor Berger was again elected to Congress, and sixteen socialist assemblymen and four senators were sent to the state legislature. (Berger was subsequently un- seated by a practically unanimous vote of the House and was immediately renominated.) In the April 1, 1919, elections, in Milwaukee, the socialist vote for Circuit Court bench was 27,701, a vote nearly twice as great as that of two years before. In Chicago, with the advent of the Labor Party, the vote in the municipal election showed a decided slump. In the 1919 fall elections the New York City socialists secured a vote of 126,000, electing 5 assemblymen and 4 aldermen. Nonpartisan League. — Another radical movement which undoubtedly affected the Socialist Party vote in the Northwest in 1918 was the Nonpartisan League. This league was organized among the North Dakota farm- THE UNITED STATES 461 ers in February, 1915, by A. C. Townley, a former or- ganizer of the Socialist Party. It aimed to capture the Republican Party machine of the state, and, in the Fall of 1916, elected Lynn J. Frazier, the Nonpartisan candi- date for governor, with a vote of 87,665, as against a total of 22,966 for his two opponents ; and won all the state offices except that of state treasurer, 81 of the 113 members of the lower house, 18 of the 25 members elected to the senate, and the 3 judges of the supreme court. In July, 1916, it sent John M. Baer to Congress as its first representative. The League Idea Spreads. — The results in this elec- tion led to the formation of the league in other states, and, not long after the election, organizations were effected in 13 states of the union. By the fall elections in 1918, the league had enrolled some 200,000 members who had paid $16 each for their two years dues. In North Da- kota it made another clean sweep, this time defeating the left-over senators who had prevented the enactment of the farmer's program ; sent three of their members to Congress, and passed ten amendments to the constitu- tion, which, among other things, permitted the state to engage in almost any industry it desired, and to exempt improvements and personal property from taxation. Thirty-six league candidates were elected in Minnesota to the legislature, one congressman and one state officer ; fifteen legislators in South Dakota, and others in Ne- braska, Montana and Colorado. The vote for the league totaled about 600,000. The Nonpartisan Program. — The league program in- cluded a demand for state terminal elevators, warehouses, flour miUs, pulp and paper mills, stockyards, packing houses, cold storage plants, state hail insurance, rural 462 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION credit banks and exemption from taxation of farm im- provements. During the session of the state legislature in North Da- kota ending March 3, 1919, laws were enacted for the establishment of a state bank as a repository for all funds held in the state; the building of state terminal ele- vators, flour mills and other distributing, buying and sell- ing agencies ; a state home-building association, to aid farmers to purchase their own homes ; a system of taxa- tion exempting improvements up to a certain limit from taxation, and other measures. An Industrial Commis- sion, consisting of three members — the Governor, the At- torney-General, and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor — was authorized to conduct and operate any and aU industrial enterprises the state might establish. Local Labor Parties — During 1918 and 1919 also a number of local labor parties made their appearance. Throughout the history of the labor movement in Amer- ica, numerous attempts have been made to organize labor parties distinct from the Socialist Party. During the eighties the Knights of Labor entered the political arena, but with disastrous results. This " horrible example " of the possible dangers to labor of concerted political ac- tivity ; the antagonism in the nineties between the Socialist Labor Party, with its competing unions, and the Amer- ican Federation of Labor; the fear on the part of old- time trade unionists that labor politics would lead to so- cialist control; the existence of the Socialist Party, the political expression of labor; the racial heterogeneity of the American labor movement, and the antagonism by ex- treme radicals to all political action, were among the fac- tors which, for the past generation, kept labor in this country from developing an independent labor party. THE UNITED STATES 4>63 Rewarding Labor's Friends — The logic of events, however, forced the American Federation of Labor, more than a decade ago, to adopt the policy of " rewarding labor's friends and punishing its enemies." In 1906, the Federation conducted a vigorous campaign against Con- gressman Littlefield, of Maine, and other anti-labor can- didates, and since then it has frequently taken sides in cam- paigns as between the candidates of the old parties. La- bor has employed its members as lobbyists in state and national capitals, and, in a few instances, as in Wiscon- sin, the local trade unionists have officially allied them- selves with the Socialist Party. Tens of thousands of trade unionists have also as individuals supported the so- cialist ticket. Formation of Labor Parties.— Prior to the war, con- siderable dissatisfaction was manifested with the lack of militant political action on the part of labor as a whole. Discontent increased during the war, particularly follow- ing the educational offensive of the reconstruction pro- gram of the British Labor Party, and local labor parties began to spring up in many centers of population. The most significant move toward a labor party was the forma- tion, on November 17, 1918, of the Independent Labor Party of Illinois and the United States, at a regular meet- ing of the Chicago Federation of Labor, and the adoption by that body of '' Labor's Fourteen Points." Indorsements The Labor Party idea was indorsed on December 2, 1918, by the Illinois Federation of Labor. The central unions of Greater New York organized an- other labor party in January, and, during 1918 and 1919, no less than two score such parties were started in various parts of the United States, despite the oppo- sition and threats of Mr. Gompers and the members of the Executive Committee of the A. F. of L. The 464! SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Brotherhoods of Enginemen and Firemen, the Pennsyl- vania Federation of Labor and other groups favored sim- ilar action during the early part of 1919. The National Labor Party. — In late November, 1919, a conference of groups interested in the formation of a Labor Party of national scope was called for Chicago, and, on November 24, over 1000 delegates representing labor and farmers' groups all over the country met in that city and organized " The Labor Party of the United States." Representatives of the railroad brotherhoods participated in the discussion, although the gathering was disapproved by the officials of the American Federation of Labor. The aim of the party, in the words of the con- stitution, was " to secure economic, industrial and social democracy." Its declaration of principles included: Nationalization of all public utilities and basic industries. Nationalization of unused lands. Government ownership of the banking business. Abolition of the United States Senate. Election of Federal Judges by popular vote for terms not exceeding four years. International solidarity of labor. Maximum hours of labor for men and women to be eight hours a day and forty-four hours a week. Minimum wage for workers to be fixed by law. Old age pensions^ unemployment, and sickness insurance. Steeply graduated income and inheritance taxes. National initiative^ referendum and recall. Application of the " home rule " principle in state, county and city governments. Condemnation of universal military training and conscrip- tion. International disarmament to prevent future wars. THE UNITED STATES 465 Immediate release of political and industrial prisoners. Criminal prosecution of profiteers and exploiters of labor. Free speech^ free press, and the right of free assembly. All government work to be done by day labor instead of by contract. Equal pay for men and women. Woman suffrage. A resolution condemning the Peace Treaty and the League of Nations covenant was adopted on the ground that they did not conform to President Wilson's Fourteen Points and were not in the interest of the working classes. The delegates vigorously condemned the injunction issued by the federal judge in the case of the miners, de- manded the release of Eugene V. Debs and other political prisoners, opposed the blockade of Russia, favored the Plumb Plan for the railroads and the cooperative move- ment, and denounced the deportation of Hindus. The convention left the way open for cooperation with the Socialist Party, the Nonpartisan League and other groups outside of the two old parties, selected Chicago for its national headquarters, and formed a national com- mittee. The question of selecting candidates for President and Vice-President was left for a subsequent convention. The Socialist Party and the Labor Parties. — The formation of these parties in different parts of the coun- try brought a new competitor in the field against the So- cialist Party and caused vigprous discussion in party cir- cles. In January, the Executive Committee of the party declared its belief that the entrance of labor into politics was a step in advance of the old trade union tactics, and therefore should not be opposed. Nevertheless it was too early to judge whether the labor parties were destined 466 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION to become mere vote-catching organs or revolution- ary groups, and the socialists for some time yet must maintain toward them an attitude of " watchful wait- ing." The Left Wing Movement — Another cause for con- troversy in the party immediately after the signing of the armistice was the " Left Wing " section formed inside the Socialist Party. The movement known as the Left Wing in a sense but continued the struggle evidenced for many years past within the party between the more syndical- istic members who pinned their faith chiefly to the general strike and other industrial weapons and who looked at political action as weU-nigh a negligible revolutionary fac- tor, and those party members who believed in the effective- ness of political action and felt that immediate demands should be retained in the party platform. This contro- versy came to a head in 1912, when, by Section 6 in the Constitution, those advocating violence and sabotage were subject to expulsion. Impetus to Movement — The recent impetus given to the left wing movement came largely from the Russian revolution, and the feeling that revolution was imminent throughout the world. The emphasis on violence as a means to democracy during the war ; the wholesale arrests and imprisonment of radicals ; the influx into the party of certain foreign, Socialist Labor and I. W. W. elements, and the lack of in- itiative on the part of a number of the party officials were among the other factors which strengthened this group. Many party members also felt that the birth of the Labor Party necessitated a more radical stand on the part of socialists if a proper distinction were to be drawn between the two groups. THE UNITED STATES 467 Those who have refused to join the Left Wing section maintained that the SociaHst Party in the United States had generally held a left wing position and that the at- tempt to create in the party in America the same divisions as existed abroad was highly artificial. They also con- tended that the Left Wing failed to sense the psychology of the masses of the American people, and did not suffi- ciently take into account the difference between American and European conditions. Dissensions in Movement.— A separate " Left Wing " section was formed within the party, a Left Wing mani- festo was issued, similar in tone to the manifesto of the Communist International, and an attempt was made to capture the machinery of the party. Because of alleged irregularities, a number of foreign speaking sections and state and local organizations were thereupon expelled from the party. On June 21, 1919, the Left Wing section held a conven- tion in New York. At this convention a maj ority decided to continue their fight for the Left Wing position within the Socialist Party, declaring that if the representatives of the suspended and expelled organizations were refused seats at the Emergency Convention to be held in Chicago on August 30, all of the Left Wing delegates would join together and organize a Communist Party. The Russian Federations, who composed the bulk of the membership of the Left Wing, and who favored the immediate formation of the Communist Party, thereupon withdrew from the convention, and, together with the Michigan group which constituted the extreme right of the Left Wing, formed the Communist Party. Subsequently a number of the members of the Left Wing Council affiliated themselves with the new party. These groups issued a call for a 468 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION Communist Party Convention to be held in Chicago, on September 1. Birth of Communist Labor Party. — On August 30, the Emergency Convention of the Socialist Party began its sessions in Mechanics Hall, Chicago. When the conven- tion organized with the uncontested delegates, the Left Wing group were found to be in a decided minority. The following day some 26 of the 150 delegates seated at the convention bolted, and, with a number of delegates from Ohio, Washington, Oregon, California, and other states, organized a party which, on September 2, was named the Communist Labor Party. Formation of Communist Party. — On September 1, the Communist Party opened its sessions in Smolny Insti- tute, Chicago. During the following days the Communist Labor Party urged that the two groups amalgamate on a basis of equality. The Communist Party refused to unite under these conditions, and required that every delegate from the Communist Labor Party who desired to enter the Communist Party pass individually through the creden- tials committee. As no basis of agreement could be found, the parties permanently organized as separate entities. Both the Communist and Communist Labor Parties voted to affiliate with the Moscow International. Both decided to run candidates for political offices merely for propaganda purposes, declaring that chief reliance should be placed on industrial action. Both urged that their re- spective parties encourage the organization of revolu- tionary industrial unions, shop committees, etc., advocated " the dictatorship of the proletariat," and formulated platforms and programs similar to the Manifesto of the third (Moscow) International. The Communist Party voted to exclude from its mem- THE UNITED STATES 469 bership all who obtained their " entire livelihood from rent, profit and interest " and all who entered " into the service of the national, state or local governmental bodies other- wise than through the Civil Service or by legal compul- sion." It forbade any member from contributing " arti- cles or editorials of a political or economic character to publications other than those of the Communist Party " — except that articles may be written to scientific or profes- sional journals. It decided to run candidates for legisla- tive offices, not for executive offices. The party was largely dominated by the Russian Federations. It also contained the state delegations from Michigan, Massa- chusetts and Minnesota, and scattered groups from other states. The Michigan group refused to sign the mani- ifisto or to assume any offices following the rejection of its minority platform. After adjournment the party urged its mambers to boycott the November elections. During the ensu'ng months many Communist Party headquarters were raided, its members were arrested and an attempt was made in several states to prove that party membership was unlawful. Activities of Socialist Party. — The Socialist Party during the week reaffirmed its belief in the effectiveness of parliamentary action; declared in favor of a system of representation based on occupational groups ; emphasized the need for industrial as opposed to craft unionism and decided to create a special department on industrial or- ganization ; urged hearty support of the cooperative move- ment ; condemned Mexican intervention, demanded the re- peal of the Espionage law, " the reestablishment of consti- tutional civil liberty " in the United States, and the release of all political prisoners and conscientious objectors; opposed universal military service and anti-immigration legislation ; hailed the fight for greater democracy in Ire- land and India; condemned the race riots against the 470 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION negroes, and anti-Jewish pogroms and denounced the at- tempt to unseat Victor L. Berger from Congress. It also referred to referendum vote two reports on inter- national relations. The majority report repudiated the Berne Conference as " retrograde " and urged the forma- tion of a new international which would include the Com- munist Party of Russia and only those parties declaring " their strict adherence by word and deed to the class struggle." The minority report indorsed the third (Mos- cow) International. The Party Manifesto — Its manifesto, which caused widespread enthusiasm among all of the delegates present, read in part as follows : " It was the world wide struggle between the working class and the capitalist class which dictated the decisions of the Versailles Conference. This is clearly shown on the one hand by the desperate attempts to crush Soviet Russia and by the destruction of Socialist Finland and Soviet Hungary, and on the other hand by its recognition of the unsocialistic coalition government of Germany. " The so-called League of Nations is the Capitalist Black International against the rise of the working class. It is the conscious alliance of the capitalists of all nations against the workers of all nations. . . . " Recognizing the crucial situation at home and abroad, the Socialist Party of the United States, at its first national con- vention after the war, squarely takes its position with the un- compromising section of the international socialist movement. We unreservedly reject the policy of these socialists who sup- ported their belligerent capitalist governments on the plea of ' national defense ' and who entered into demoralizing com- pacts for so-called civil peace with the exploiters of labor dur- ing the war and continued a political alliance with them after the war. We, the organized socialists of America, pledge our support to the revolutionary workers of Russia in the support THE UNITED STATES 471 of their Soviet Govemment ; to the radical socialists of Ger- many, Austria and Hungary in their efforts to establish work- ing-class rule in 'their countries, and to those socialist organi- zations in England, France, and Italy and other countries who, during the war, as after the war, have remained true to the principles of uncompromising international socialism. " We are utterly opposed to the so-called League of Nations. Against this international alliance of capitalist governments, we hold out to the world the ideal of a federation of free and equal socialist nations. " A genuine and lasting peace can be built only upon the basis of reconciliation among the peoples of the warring na- tions and their mutual cooperation in the task of reconstructing the shattered world. " We emphatically protest against all military, material or moral support which our government is extending to czarist counter-revolutionists in Russia and the reactionary forces in Hungary and we demand the immediate lifting of the inde- fensible and inhuman blockade of Soviet Russia. " We demand the unconditional and immediate liberation of all political and industrial class war prisoners convicted under the infamous Espionage Law and other repressive legislation. We demamd the immediate and unconditional release of all conscientious objectors. We demand the full restoration to the American people of their constitutional rights and liber- ties. . . . " The great purpose of the Socialist Party is to wrest the industries and the control of the government of the United States from the capitalists and their retainers. It is our pur- pose to place industry and government in the control of the workers with hand or brain, to be administered for the benefit of the whole community. " To ensure the triumph of socialism in the United States the bulk of the American workers must be strongly organized politically as socialists in constant, clear-cut and aggressive opposition to all parties of the possessing class. They must be organized on the economic field on broad industrial lines. 472 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION as one powerful and hannonious class organization, cooperat- ing with the Socialist Party, and ready in cases of emergency to reenforce the political demands of the working class by industrial action." To a careful observer at these conventions, the Com- munist Labor Party seemed to possess the least unity of purpose, and the least substantial membership. The Com- munist Party, largely controlled by the strong Russian Pederation, gave promise of considerable effectiveness as a propaganda organization, but not as a political party in the generally accepted definition of that term. The Socialist Party remained intact, and, with the issue of political action clarified, and spurred on by the necessity of gaining a larger audience among the English speaking workers, seemed in a strategic position to function effec- tively in American political life. Debs and Other Socialists — While controversies were waging within the party, and the left wingers were con- demning socialist officials for their lack of aggressive- ness, the government was sending these same officials to long terms in prison for their alleged aggressive action during the war. (See Nearing, The Debs Decision.) The trial of Eugene V. Debs, four times candidate for President on the Socialist Party ticket, attracted wide- spread attention. In June, 1918, Debs delivered a speech in Canton, Ohio, in which he declared, among other things, that if Rose Pastor Stokes — who had been arrested and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for intimating that this was a government of profiteers — was guilty, he also was guilty.^ Debs was indicted on three counts under 3 He stated among other things : " I want to say that if Rose Pastor Stokes is guilty, so am I. If she should be sent to the penitentiary for ten years, so ought I. What did she say? She said that a government could not serve both the profiteers and the employees THE UNITED STATES 473 the Espionage Act, tried before a Cleveland jury, where he was the only witness in his own defense, and sentenced to ten years in jail. He appealed his case to the Supreme Court on the ground that the St. Louis socialist platform and the rec- ords from the trial of Mrs. Stokes had been illegally admitted into evidence, and that he had been tried on his " state of mind." The court, however, sustained the conviction, and reaffirmed its decision that the Espionage Act is not an interference with the constitutional right of free speech. In late March Debs was sent to the peni- tentiary at Moundsville, West Virginia, where he was given the position of a clerk in the hospital and was later trans- ferred to Atlanta, Georgia. The trial and conviction caused an international furore in the socialist and labor movement, and led to bitter denunciation of the Wilson administration throughout Europe. Other Socialist Leaders. — In February, 1918, Victor L. Berger, editor of the Milwaukee Leader and subse- quently reelected Congressman, Adolph Germer, National Secretary of the Socialist Party, J. Louis Engdahl, editor of the American Socialist, and Irwin St. John Tucker, so- cialist, publicist and clergyman, were also indicted on the charge of obstructing recruiting and enlisting, and, on February 20, 1919, were sentenced by Judge K. M. Landis in Chicago to twenty years in the Federal prison. They immediately appealed the case. Of importance also are the cases of Kate Richards O'Hare, formerly interna- tional secretary of the Socialist Party of the United States, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment for a speech delivered in Fargo, North Dakota, while touring the state under the auspices of the Nonpartisan League — of the profiteers. Roosevelt has said a thousand times more in his paper, T-he Kansas City Star." 474 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION a speech which had been delivered scores of times in dif- ferent parts of the country; that of Rose Pastor Stokes, convicted after her return to the Sociahst Party, and sen- tenced to ten years in prison for her statement regarding the government as a government for profiteers ; those of Scott Nearing, of Max Eastman — who escaped prison terms — and of numerous other officials and workers. The great length of many of the sentences imposed caused as- tonishment throughout Europe. In the Summer of 1919, the Lusk Committee, appointed by the New York State Legislature, began a campaign against the Rand School of Social Science, the chief edu- cational institution in the socialist movement, with a view to putting it out of existence. The activities of the com- mittee were bitterly denounced. Summary — Throughout the war, as has been seen, the Socialist Party of the United States maintained a defi- nitely anti-war position. Many of its leaders, because of anti-war statements, were imprisoned, while the socialist press was greatly hampered, many papers being totally suppressed. After our entrance in the European war, a small group of publicists left the party. The party, how- ever, remained intact, and, in January, 1919, contained a larger membership than at the outbreak of the European war, although not so large as in 1912. The socialist votes fluctuated considerably during this period. Following the armistice, a Left Wing movement developed momentum, and resulted in the formation of two new parties. CANADA "One Big Union." — In Canada the socialists con- ducted, during the war, in connection with other groups, a vigorous though unsuccessful fight against conscription. Of main interest during the early part of 1919 was the LATIN AMERICA 475 decision of the labor movement of Western Canada at the Western Canadian Labor Conference on March 16 to work for " one big union " for all of Western Canada. The decision led to the severance of the movement from the American Federation of Labor. The conference also favored the following revolutionary declaration : " Industrial soviet control by selection of representatives from industries is more efficient and of more value to producers than the present form of Canadian political government, and we accept without alteration the principle of proletarian dictatorship as a means of transforming society from a capi- talistic to a communal basis." Resolutions for the abolition of the censorship of the press, for the abolition of restrictions on the rights of free speech and for the release of all political prisoners held in Canadian jails were likewise passed. The dele- gates also demanded the six-hour day, five days a week. The Winnipeg Strike — An event of equal importance in the labor world in 1919 was the general strike in Win- nipeg and the election in Ontario of a farmer-labor gov- ernment. LATIN AMEE.ICA- Introductory. — At the beginning of the war both the socialist and labor movements in most of the South Amer- ican countries were weak. During the latter part of the war, labor showed greater activity than ever before and there was scarcely a portion of South America not visited by the general strike. General Strike in Buenos Aires. — The chief center of agitation was in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the So- cialist Party is the plurality party. In January, 1919, 476 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION a strike broke out at the Vasena Ironworks near Buenos Aires. In attempting to break it up, the authorities killed several men. A sympathetic strike ensued on January 8, involving the police, firemen, street cleaners, tramway workers and other municipal employees. Machine guns were used against the workers, a number of street battles took place, and, on January 11, martial law was declared and General Dellepaine appointed military dictator. The strike was later declared off, but not before a number of concessions were made to the workers. Harbor workers refused to return to work for a num- ber of weeks, completely paralyzing the work of loading and unloading vessels. The strike was finally settled, the strikers obtaining their chief demands. Pan-American Socialist Conference. — The Argentine socialists were instrumental in arranging a Pan-American Socialist Conference, on April 26, 1919, for the purpose of securing greater unity of action among the socialist forces in the various countries. The conference was at- tended by socialists from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Par- aguay and Peru. Delegates from the United States were denied passports. The party was also represented at the Berne Conference by two delegates — Drs. Tomoso and Justo. These presented a resolution for a Society of Nations, based upon free trade, disarmament, abolition of international diplomacy, and popular control of interna- tional action on international questions. A small group seceded from the party in 1918, because of the actions of its officials in voting for military protec- tion for the Argentine ships against submarines. Strikes in Other Countries. — During the summer and winter of 1918 also general strikes broke out in Monte- video, Uruguay. Here likewise the military power was used to break them up. In December, grave labor dis- LATIN AMERICA 477 turbances were reported in Chili, among the miners. The president was given power to declare martial law with a view of putting down disorders " provoked by Bolsheviks who have managed to reach the country." In Lima and Callao, Peru, on January 13, 1919, a gen- eral sympathetic strike was called in behalf of the cotton mill workers who struck for an eight-hour day and fifty per cent, increase in wages. Practically all stores, oflBces and factories in both cities were closed, business between Lima and Callao was suspended, and the city for awhile was placed in darkness. Here again the cavalry were called in and several strikers were shot and others ar- rested. A conference was finally arranged which ended in the establishment of an eight-hour day by government decree and the designation of the Supreme Court as ar- bitrator. A further general strike of a week's duration occurred in May. Mexico. In the Summer of 1919, the Socialist Party of Mexico held its first convention. Dissension between the delegates first arose in the seating of the secretary of the Pan-American Federation of Labor and an alleged spokesman for Samuel Gompers, as a delegate, this con- troversy continuing during the sessions. Toward the close of the convention, the more conservative groups obtained control and the election of delegates to the Moscow International was left to the Executive Commit- tee. This ended in the bolting of the radical element and the subsequent formation of the Mexican Communist Party. In Brazil, where the socialist and labor movement is weak, the socialists, in 1916, elected a member to the National Congress. In Cuba, a general strike took place in December, 1918, 478 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION for the purpose of securing the repeal of the compulsory military service law, the law for the expulsion of " alien agitators," the provision in the penal code prohibiting strikes, and the law providing for food control. Business in many parts of the country was paralyzed, AUSTKALASIA The Australian Labor Party — At the outbreak of the European War, the Australian Labor Party found itself in control of the Federal Parliament. In that year An- drew Fisher was elected for the third time the country's Prime Minister, and, retiring at the end of 1915 to ac- cept the position of Australia's High Commissioner in London, was succeeded by W. M. Hughes, the Attorney General. The labor government in the meanwhile had placed Aus- tralia's fleet at the disposal of England, and had raised an army of several hundred thousand. Many socialists and laborites protested, though unsuccessfully, against this action in support of " British imperialism," and the government answered this protest by passing a War Pre- cautions Act, which gave to the authorities extensive power over the civil rights of the citizens of the country. Premier Hughes and Defeat of Conscription Early in 1916, Premier Hughes visited England and there his ultra-patriotic addresses soon made him the idol of the British governing class. He returned to Australia in- tent on passing a conscription law. In October, 1916, a national referendum on conscription was taken, with the result that 1,034,918 voted for, and 1,145,198 against this measure. The Labor Party in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales decided officially to oppose conscription, and, in the last named state, to expel all members who defied the party policy. Hughes and several other party AUSTRALASIA 479 leaders thus found themselves outside of the party, while the Labor Party representation in the Australian House of Representatives shrunk, as a result of this action, to a minority. The Senate, however, remained in the control of the Laborites, who were thus able to block much of the government's legislation. Hughes formed a coalition with " the interests " whom he had been fighting for a number of years, organizing the so-caUed National Government. On May 5, 1917, a general election was held, and the Labor Party polled 47 per cent, of the vote, the coali- tion — consisting of the conservatives, the liberals and the conscription-laborites — receiving slightly more than a majority. Following that election, the party strength increased in many of the Australian states. Resolution on Peace and Recruiting In the Pall of 1918 the triennial interstate conference of the Labor Party declared for an early negotiated democratic peace based on the Russian formula. Allied statement of will- ingness to negotiate such a peace was, furthermore, made a condition of future assistance in recruiting. Compul- sory military training was approved, providing that it be conducted in the time of the employer and without a re- duction of pay, that the military organization be arranged democratically and that those in training be permitted to retain their arms on the completion of their term of serv- ice. The conference also repudiated Prime Minister Hughes. The "One Big Union."— During 1918 and 1919 the labor movement gave much attention to the " One Big Union " idea, and large numbers of unions indorsed the Workers' Industrial Union of Australia, formed " to bind together in one organization all wage-workers in every in- dustry to achieve the purposes set forth in the preamble." The preamble declared that the primary purpose of the 480 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION organization was to secure the " abolition of capitalistic class ownership of the means of production and the estab- lishment in its place of social ownership by the whole community." Many unions which approved the general idea of industrial unionism kept aloof from the new or- ganization because of its revolutionary preamble. Dur- ing the Summer of 1919, the Australian Labor Conference elected an executive strongly opposed to the One Big Union proposal. Following the signing of the armistice, the party de- livered to the government a strong protest against the continuance of the War Precautions Act which, it de- clared, annihilated all of the liberties which Britons the world over were wont to point to as evidence of the super- iority of their institutions. New Zealand — Two years after the beginning of the war, in 1916, a New Zealand Labor Party was organized as a protest against the reaction of the liberal govern- ment. Many leaders of this party and of the industrial labor movement were imprisoned during the war for alleged seditious activities. The July, 1919, congress of the party gave much attention to the land problem, favoring socialization, and, in the interim, land tenure based on occupancy and use ; the securing to the community of all values created by the community and the elimination of exploitation. Internationally it demanded self-determina- tion for Ireland, Egypt, India and all subject peoples, and the withdrawal of troops from Russia, Hungary and all socialist republics. The 1919 vote in municipal elec- tions in Wellington was nearly double that of 1917. In Asia Proper. — In India the war witnessed the re- sort to the general strike as a means for gaining greater political and economic power. The labor movement in Japan received a considerable impetus, while the radicals AUSTRALASIA 481 and socialists in China were occupied in preventing the return of the monarchy, and in endeavoring to keep China out of war. In the Summer of 1919, it was reported that the Japanese Socialist Party had been reorganized, and had ceased to be a mere secret society. In South Africa the Labor Party split on the question of militarism, the seceding group forming an anti-militarist international league. CHAPTER XV THE SOCIALIST MOVEMENT BEFORE 1914- ^ THE INTERNATIONAL The " League of the Just."— The " first International " did not come into existence until 1864. Nearly a gen- eration prior thereto, however, in the year 1836, a group of workers from various countries formed a secret organi- zation in Paris known as the League of the Just, and adopted as its motto the shibboleth, " All men are brothers." Eleven years thereafter, the remnants of this league, exiled to London, reorganized under the name of the Communist League, and commissioned Marx and En- gels to formulate its principles. The result was the Com- munist Manifesto. Revolutionary uprisings on the con- tinent and the arrest of many of the leaders of the league led to the dissolution of this league in 1862. Formation of First International Twelve years later, on September 28, 1864<, the first International was formed at St. Martin's Hall, London. The Geneva Con- vention in 1866 advocated the eight-hour day and educa- tion for the workers, and turned down the proposal of the French comrades to exclude the intellectuals from mem- bership. Social ownership was advocated at the Lau- 1 These various movements are described at considerable length in Kirkup's History of Socialism, Orth's Socialism and Democracy in Europe, Walling, Stokes, Hughan, and Laidler's The Socialism of To-day, Hunter's Socialists at Work and Violence and the Labor Movement, etc. SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914 : INTERNATIONAL 483 sanne and Brussels Congresses in 1867 and 1868 respect- ively. The Franco-Prussian War, the Commune of Paris, and the fight between the anarchists, led by Bakou- nin, and the socialists, led by Marx, greatly interfered with effective work on the part of the International. In order to keep the organization from the control of the anarchist element, Marx, in the late sixties, secured the expulsion of the anarchists and the removal of its head- quarters to New York. The International met in Basel in 1870, at The Hague in 1872, in Geneva a few months later, and, a short time after its removal to New York, quietly expired. Second International. — On July 14, 1889, the anni- versary of the Bastille, the foundation was laid in Paris for the second International. The first International, as Vandervelde declared, might be compared with a brilliant general staff without an army, while the second Interna- tional secured the support of strong working class or- ganizations in various parts of Europe. The International Conferences Eleven years after its formation, the International established a permanent Bureau on the initiative of the Dutch delegation to the International Congress. The first International Secre- tary, Victor Serwy, came into office in 1901, retiring in 1904. Camille Huysmans of Belgium was elected in the succeeding year, and held that office at the outbreak of the European War. Emile Vandervelde was chairman of the International for some years prior to the war. At first the Bureau was " no more than a letter-box and a postal address, a mere medium of communication, without power and without real influence," but gradually grew in influence until 1914. International Socialist Congresses were held in Paris in 1889, in Brussels in 1891, in Zurich in 1893, in London 484 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION in 1896, in Paris in 1900, in Amsterdam in 1904, in Stutt- gart in 1907, in Copenhagen in 1910 and in Basel in 1912. Vienna was selected for 1914, but the war prevented the convocation of this gathering. Chief among the problems discussed at these conferences, as is shown elsewhere in this book, was that of militarism. GERMANY Organization of Party — The German Social Demo- cratic Movement may be said to have been definitely or- ganized on May 23, 1863, a year before the formation of the first International, at the foundation in Leipsic of the Universal German Workingmen's Association. Foremost among its organizers was Ferdinand Lassalle, one of the most remarkable and picturesque characters in Europe.^ The association was composed chiefly of workingmen from Prussia. Workers of Saxony and South Germany united in Frankfort about the same time into a movement of a less radical nature. Under the guidance of Wilhelm Lieb- knecht and August Bebel, this movement in 1868 pro- claimed its adherence to the principles of the Interna- tional, and, the following year, at Eisenach, founded the Social Democratic Workingmen's Party. In 1875, at the Gotha Congress, the Lassallian and Liebknecht-Bebel groups (Lassalle had long since died), merged into the Socialistic Workingmen's Party, with a membership of 25,000. The Anti=Socialist Laws. — In 1877 the socialists se- cured about a half million votes and sent a dozen members to the Reichstag. This increase alarmed the Emperor, and, the following year, the Reichstag, influenced by Bis- marck, passed the famous anti-socialist laws, which placed 2 See Brandes, Ferdinand Lassalle. SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: PRANCE 485 the ban on socialist meetings and literature. Free speech was enjoyed only in the Reichstag. Increase in Vote — Despite this ban, the socialist vote continued to mount. In 1881 it had reached 312,000; in 1890, 1,427,000, an increase of 300 per cent. The anti- socialist laws were thus seen to be ineffective, and were thereupon withdrawn. In 1912, the number of sociaHsts in the Reichstag was 110, while the party obtained 4,250,- 329 votes or 34 per cent, of the vote of the country. Throughout its history it did effective work in behalf of social legislation and political reform. Its dues paying membership in 1913 was 962,850; its press included 93 dailies with a circulation of 1,800,000, while it conducted an extensive educational work. It worked in close co- operation with the trade union, and, later, with the con- sumers' cooperative movement. TRANCE Organization of Movement — France was the home of the Utopian socialists in the early part of the nineteenth century, and, later, served as the headquarters of many revolutionary leaders exiled from other lands. The Com- mune of 1871 put a temporary quietus on the activities of the French movement, and it was not until the early eighties that the socialist movement began to revive, through the efforts of Jules Guesde and others. The his- tory of socialism during the next generation was a his- tory of schisms. In 1882 the movement divided into the " Possibilists " and the " Impossibilists." Five years later, after a temporary reconciliation of the groups, the party secured its first representation in the French Chamber of Deputies. In 1891 a further split occurred in the ranks of the " Possibilists." In 1893 forty socialists were elected to the Chamber of Deputies under the standard of various 486 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION socialist parties. The forty soon organized a socialist parliamentary group, of which Jaures ^ was leader. Controversies of the Nineties. — During the late nine- ties, the socialists gave much attention to the defense of Dreyfus. In 1899 controversy raged over the acceptance by Millerand of the ofEce of Minister of Commerce. In 1904 Millerand, who had further displeased the socialists by his prosecution of anti-militarists and his opposition to international disarmament, was expelled from the move- ment. In 1906, Viviani and Briand, two other socialists who accepted portfolios in the ministry, were also dropped. In 1905 the various socialist factions were united into the " French Section of the Workers' International Party." From that year until the outbreak of the war, the par- liamentary group spent much of its energies in advocating the disestablishment of the church, the secularization of education, the reorganization of the army, and advanced labor legislation. In 1909 it bitterly opposed Clemenceau, and, later, Briand, for their autocratic attitude toward the striking post office clerks and telegraph operators. Recent Growth — The vote of the French socialist parties steadily increased throughout this period as fol- lows: 1885, 30,000; 1887, 120,000; 1893, 440,000 with 40 deputies; 1906, 878,000, with 54 deputies; 1910, 1,106,000 with 76 deputies; 1914, 1,400,000 with 101 deputies. In 1914, the socialists secured about one-sixth of the total votes cast. In 1914, prior to the war, they conducted a vigorous campaign against the three-year military law and worked for a Franco-German " rap- prochement." They elected, in 1911, 3,800 socialist members to various municipal bodies, and became in- creasingly influential among the rural workers. The syn- • See Pease, Jean Jaurbs. SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: RUSSIA 487 dicalist philosophy had early captured the imagination of the trade unions of France, and it was not until after the outbreak of the war that any great amount of coop- eration was manifest between the socialist and the labor union movement. B.USSIA AND FINLAND During the Nineteenth Century — Beginning with the early fifties, many organizations of a revolutionary na- ture — socialist, nihilist and anarchist — existed in Rus- sia, and, during every succeeding decade, thousands were imprisoned, exiled and executed for their revolutionary activities. It was not, however, until the middle of the nineties that the Social Democratic Party was organized. This party took the position that little could be done to eiFect a revolution until economic conditions were ripe therefor, and felt that little headway could be made among the peasants until the great landlords had expropriated the farmers from their lands. Formation of Social DemoGracy. — In 1901 a more rad- ical party, the Social Revolutionists, was formed, to agi- tate among the peasants, who, in their opinion, were ripe for organization. Nor was this party opposed to violent methods. The next few years were years of great unrest. Discontent was increased by the Russian-Japanese War. In December, 1904, a Congress of Zemstvos demanded a constitution, by a vote of 102 out of 104. In January, 1905, a body of workers, 100,000 strong, led by Father Gapon, marched unarmed through the streets of Petro- grad. They were attacked by the troops, and one thou- sand killed. " Bloody Sunday," as this day was called, was the signal of uprisings in Warsaw, in Odessa, in the fleet of the Czar on the Black Sea, and indeed, throughout Russia. The uprising was finally put down, and the Czar 488 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION granted the demand for the constitution, but excluded the workers and, indeed, most of the population, from the suf- frage. A general strike followed, which resulted in almost complete stoppage of business in Petrograd and other cities. On October 30 the Czar agreed to summon the Duma, and, later, to grant amnesty. This did not stop the discontent, however, and it was estimated that no less than 1,600 uprisings occurred during the next few months.; All were brutally suppressed. It was in this 1905 revolu- tion that the Soviets first made their appearance as centers of revolutionary activity. After the 1905 Revolution — The first Duma was con- vened in May, 1906. Despite the fact that the socialists officially boycotted the elections, 107 peasants and work- ingmen were elected. The session lasted 70 days. In the following elections. May, 1907, both socialist parties par- ticipated, and 132 socialists were elected to office out of 524 representatives. The second Duma was dissolved in June, following the premier's threat to arrest 16 social- ist deputies and to indict 55 others for spreading revolu- tionary propaganda in the army and navy. After the dis- solution of the second Duma, the Czar, without constitu- tional sanction, divided the electorate into five parts, al- lotting to the landed nobility one member of the Duma for something like 230 votes, and to the artisan class, at the other scale of the ladder, one member for 125,000. De- spite this change, the next Duma, elected in November, contained 14s socialists and 14 members of the Labor Party. A policy of suppression followed. Agent provocateurs were employed by the czarist government by the thou- sands. Former members of the Duma were imprisoned, others were executed, and, during 1908, no less than 70,- 000 persons were banished for political offenses and 782 SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: FINLAND 489 executed, while the persons in exile numbered some 180,000. Before the War.— In the 1912 elections, 14 sociahsts and 10 labor members were elected. The Duma refused to approve the budget, partly because of the persecution of the business interests by the autocracy, partly because of the rise of radicalism among the masses. In the fourth Duma, the socialists divided into a group of 7 " liqui- dators " who opposed the continuance of underground methods of politics, and a revolutionary group of six, who believed that secret propaganda presented the only way out of the difficulty. All of the speeches of the group were reported verbatim in many of the newspapers. In June, 1914, the socialists precipitated a vigorous discussion on the question of free speech in the Duma by their denunciation of the Czar and their advocacy of a republic. They were charged with sedition and treason, and their indictment led to a remarkable general strike in Petrograd and elsewhere immediately preceding the war. In 1905 the Social Democrats split into two groups, the Bolsheviki (meaning majority) and the M'ensheviki (the minority). The former and more radical group be- lieved it possible for Russia to enter a socialist stage of development from a comparative feudalism without pass- ing through the various capitalist stages, FINIAND Strength of Movement — The Finnish Socialist Party is the first in the world to hold a majority of seats in the national house. It was organized in 1899 and officially connected with the International Socialist Bureau in 1903. At the time of organization, it already had nearly 10,000 members. This membership decreased in 1901 because of the Russian persecutions, but grew rapidly again after the Russian revolution, in 1905-1906 possessing some 490 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION 85,000. A large number of these, however, had joined the movement chiefly as a result of temporary revolu- tionary fervor. Their membership soon lapsed, and, in 1911, the party had 48,000; in 1915, 6-1,000. The ac- tual vote from 1904 to 1916 was as follows: Year Vote Representatives 1904 100,000 1907 329,946 80 including 9 women 1910 336,659 86 9 1913 310,503 90 10 1916 286,792 XOS) 24 Prior to the war, the party was continually urged to devote its main attention to the struggle for national rights, but refused, preferring to direct its attacks against the aristocracy at home, pointing out particu- larly the undemocratic nature of the Diet with its four houses composed of the nobility, the clergy, the business men and the land owners. The socialists in Finland de- veloped, before the war, a splendid system of club houses and a fine cooperative movement. AUSTEIA AND HXJNGAKY Development of Austrian Movement. — Socialist prop- aganda was first openly conducted in Austria in 1869. It was not, however, until nineteen years later that a unified party was organized. As in numerous other countries, the sociaUsts in their early days spent much of their time in ridding their movement of anarchist elements. In 1897, a number of seats in the Austrian Parliament was for the first time apportioned to the proletariat, and, four years later, the party secured 10 seats in the national body. During the next few years the party conducted huge SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: HUNGARY 491 demonstrations and general strikes in order to force a universal suffrage, and, finally, in January, 1907, a law was passed permitting all men above the age of 24 to vote. The following May, the socialist vote reached 1,041,948, nearly one-third of the total cast, while 87 so- cialists were returned to the ParUament out of 516. Composition of Movement. — In 1911, the representa- tives decreased to 82, although the popular vote increased. The movement prior to the war had two branches, the Austrian Social Democratic Labor Party of Vienna, with a dues-paying membership of 145,524, and the Czecho- slovak S. D. L. P. of Prague, with 144,000. Dr. Victor Adler was the leader of the former. The municipal coun- cilors at that time numbered 3,000. HT7NGAET The socialist movement in Hungary began about 1867. For years prior to the war, its leaders, however, were hounded, imprisoned and beheaded, and free speech and press were greatly restricted. Before the war, despite restricted franchise, the socialist vote was reported at 85,000, and party representation in municipal bodies, 136. The trade union movement, the backbone of the socialist movement, reported, in 1913, a membership of 111,966, and of these, 59,623 were paying party dues. ENGLAND The Social Democratic Federation — British social- ism made its first appearance in 1881 .on the formation of a group named, in 1883, the Social Democratic Federa- tion. The federation, supported by H. M. Hyndman, William Morris, Edward Carpenter and others, nominated its first ticket in 1885. The dockers' strike of 1889, in which John Burns, Tom Mann, Ben Tillett and others 492 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION played leading parts, gave a new impetus to the move- ment. In 1908, the federation changed its name to the Social Democratic Party, and, three years later, the party, together with several minor organizations, united in the British Socialist Party. This group has always been definitely Marxist in its point of view, and, although it has contributed much in an educational way to the spread of socialism, it has never became a political factor. Will Thorn was for many years its only representative in Par- liament. Its membership in 1914 was scarcely 10,000. Justice was its principal organ. Formation of Independent Labor Party More in- fluential than this group was the Independent Labor Party, organized by Keir Hardie and others in 1893. The I. L. P., from the beginning, gave more attention than did its predecessor to immediate reforms, worked more closely with the organized labor movement, and empha- sized the ethical phase of socialism. In 1915 the party was represented in Parliament by seven members, most prominent of whom were Hardie, J. Ramsay MacDonald and Philip Snowden. Its dues paying membership was ap- proximately 35,000. The program of the party is a thoroughly socialist one. It is an integral part of the British Labor Party. The British Labor Party. — The third organization of a political nature to make its appearance was the British Labor Party. In 1899 the Trade Union Congress ap- pointed a committee " to devise ways and means to secure an increased number of labor members in the next Parlia- ment." The following February a Labor Representation Committee was formed as a means to that end, with Ram- say MacDonald as secretary. During the succeeding elections, which occurred at the time of the Boer War ex- citement, Hardie and Bell were elected to Parliament. SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: ENGLAND 493 These were afterwards joined by Arthur Henderson. In 1903, as a result of the TafF-Vale decision and other forces, a new party, afterwards known as the Labor Party, was formed. Three years later the old parties were startled by the election of twenty-nine labor members, subsequently augmented to thirty-one. Hardie was elected chairman of this group. In 1908 the Miners' Fed- eration joined the party. In January, 1910, some 40 labor members were returned to Parliament. Achievements of Labor Party Before the War The parliamentary labor group forced through measures for the feeding of school children, the minimum wage and workingmen's compensation and other laws, secured the passage of the Trades Disputes act, and closely coop- erated with the Liberal Party in the fight for Irish Home Rule, for the Welsh Disestablishment, for the Plural Vot- ing and other bills. In 1907 the congress of the party went on record in favor of " the socialization of the means of production, distribution and exchange, to be con- trolled in a democratic state in the interest of the entire community, and the complete emancipation of labor from the domination of capitalism and landlordism, with the es- tablishment of social and economic equality between the sexes." The executive of the party in 1914 contained representatives from the trade unions, the I. L. P. and the Fabian Society, who united at elections on the same candidates. The party is a member of the International Socialist Bureau. The Fabian Society. — Of great importance as an edu- cational movement is the Fabian Society, organized in 1882, with the motto : " For the right moment you must wait as Fabius did when warring against Hannibal, though many censored his delays; but when the time comes, you must strike hard, as Fabius did, or your waiting will be in 494 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION vain and fruitless." The Fabian basis proposes " the reorganization of society by the emancipation of land and industrial capital from individual and class ownership, and the vesting of them in the community for the general bene- fit." Its members are critical of Marxian formula, and believe for the most part in the gradual development of so- ciety into a cooperative system, and in the permeation of the educated class with socialist thought. Under the direction of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, George Bernard Shaw, Graham Wallas and others, the society has published numerous books and pamphlets ; has made extensive surveys of trade unionism, collectivism, social insurance, and other industrial problems, and has secured the enactment of many measures of social reforms in municipalities and legislatures. At the beginning of the war, it had a membership of slightly more than 2,000. In 1915 the National Guilds League was formed by G. D. H. Cole and other national guildsmen for the purpose of spreading the guild socialist idea. Other Socialist Groups. — Other parties and labor and socialist groups in England are the Socialist Labor Party, a small party organized in 1903, the Socialist Party of Great Britain, a secession in 1904> from the Social Demo- cratic Party, the Church Socialist League, the University Socialist Federation, the " Herald " League, the " Clar- ion " Fellowship, the Women's Labor League, the Central Labor College, etc. ITALY Beginnings of Party — The Italians were represented in the first International, but chiefly through the anarch- istic groups supporting Bakounin. It was not until 1882, however, that the socialists received their first representa- tion in the Chamber of Deputies. Ten years later, the so- SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: ITALY 495 cialists definitely separated themselves from the anarch- ists, and formed a distinct party, at the Genoa Congress, under the leadership of Philip Turati. In the following elections, the party cast 26,000 votes, and elected six mem- bers of the Chamber of Deputies. By 1904, the vote had increased to 320,000, and the parliamentary representa- tion to 27. The Party Split. — In 1906 the party congress was the scene of a bitter controversy between the syndicalist and socialist elements, the more moderate groups winning out by a vote of five to one. Arturo Labriola later resigned, and formed a separate syndicalist group. In 1910 an- other struggle took place between the Integralists or Marx- ists, led by Enrico Ferri, the Revolutionists, led by Las- sari, and the Reformists, led by Turati. The Reformists carried the day by a large majority. Two years later the Tripoli War precipitated another crisis. The party took a definite anti-war stand, and expelled Bissolati and three other deputies. Sixteen of the 39 socialists in the Cham- ber thereupon formed a Socialist Reformist Party. Extension of Franchise. — In 1913, the Italian fran- chise was greatly extended, and, as a result, the vote of the Socialist Party jumped to 960,000, while the Socialist Re- formist Party obtained 200,000. The dues paying mem- bership in that year was about 50,000. The two socialist parties returned 72 deputies to the Chamber, of which 51 were regulars, while a number of independent socialists were elected on other tickets. The vote in that year ap- proximated 25 per cent, of the total. The movement in Italy contains a particularly large number of intellectuals among its numbers. It is closely connected with the trade unions. 496 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION BELGIUM Triple Character of Belgian Movement. — The distinc- tive feature of Belgian socialism prior to the war was the close integration between the political, the trade union and the cooperative branches of the labor movement. The socialist movement in Belgium came into prominence during the days of the first International. With the death of this organization, the Belgian section lapsed, to be re- vived again in the early eighties by the weaver Anseele and others. The modern Belgian Labor Party was founded in 1885. Fight for Suffrage. — Following its organization, the party immediately began its fight for universal suffrage. It held great demonstrations in Brussels and elsewhere in 1886, and again in 1890, when 40,000 paraders took a solemn oath, the " oath of August 10," not to give up the fight " until the Belgian people, through universal suf- frage, should regain their fatherland." * In 1893 the demonstration for the suffrage was in the form of a general strike involving 200,000 workers. Al- though the strike lasted but a few days, it had its ef- fect. A limited franchise was granted. The socialist vote in the following elections rose to 345,959, and the so- cialist representatives, to 29. A further general strike, participated in by nearly two-thirds of the industrial workers of Belgium, was carried out in 1913 for a still further extension of the suffrage, and was effective in securing from the governmental commission a statement that the question of universal suffrage would be con- sidered. Pre; War Strength — In 1912 the party possessed 30 * Orth, Socialism and Democracy in Europe, p. 128. SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: BELGIUM 497 representatives in the Chamber of Deputies and 7 in the Senate. Socialist municipal councilors totaled 850, and the popular vote was estimated at 600,000. HOLLAND The organized socialist movement in Holland was launched in 1878, at the formation of the Social Demo- cratic Union. Ten years later, Niewenhuis, its founder, was elected to the Dutch Parhament as the first socialist representative. Niewenhuis finally became discouraged with the slowness of parliamentary action, and joined the anarchists. In 1894 the anarchist group definitely sep- arated from the socialists, and the Social Democratic Labor Party was founded, with Pieter J. Troelstra as its most prominent leader. From that time to the outbreak of the war, the vote steadily increased. In 1897, it to- taled 13,000, with three deputies, and, in 1913, 144,000 voters, with 18 deputies. In 1908 a small Marxist party was formed as a protest against the action of the socialist deputies in throwing their weight in favor of the more liberal of the two factions in Parliament. Shortly before the war, the socialists were asked to co- operate with the government in a coalition government, but, after heated discussion, replied in the negative. The membership of the party, in 1912, was 13,968. Their rep- resentation in Parliament was one-fifth of the total. The party has made considerable headway among the intel- lectuals and has close connections with the cooperative movement, although not with the somewhat anarchistic trade union movement. SCANDINAVIAN COUNTKIES Denmark. — The history prior to the war of the Social Democratic Party of Denmark, founded in 1878, has been 498 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION one of steady growth. The year of its organization it received 767 votes ; in 1913, 107,365. In the latter year there were 4 members of the Landsthing, 29 socialist mem- bers of the provincial legislatures and 600 municipal rep- resentatives. Norway. — The Social Democratic Party in Norway was founded in 1887. Seven years later, at its first elec- tions, it polled an insignificant vote of 732. In 1903, it secured its first representatives in the Storthing, and, in 1915, counted 196,000 voters, 20 representatives and a party membership of 63,800. The party conducts many educational enterprises, in- cluding a socialist school in Christiania, manages over a hundred labor lyceums in cooperation with the trade un- ions and the cooperative societies, has a strong women's federation and a vigorous young people's movement and is closely allied with the labor movement. Sweden. — The Swedish Social Democratic Labor Party was organized in 1889. The following year H. Branting was elected to the Lower House as the first socialist rep- resentative. The growth of the movement since 1902 has been as follows : Year Vote Representative 1902 8,751 4 1905 26,083 17 1908 54,004 33 1911 172,000 64 1914 230,000 73 1914 265,000 87 The socialist movement possesses a score of newspapers and magazines, including the weeklies and monthlies of the Young People's Federation and the women socialists. It also owns a number of " People's Houses " and " People's SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: SCANDINAVIA 499 Parks " valued at six million crowns and works in the closest harmony with the trade union movement. OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Switzerland — The socialist movement in Switzerland is of less importance than in most of the other European countries. The Griitli Union claims the distinction of being the oldest political party organization of the working class in that country, having been in existence since 1838. While at first a merely progressive party, in 1878 it de- clared in favor of socialism and in 1901 joined the Marx- ian Social Democratic Party, becoming the opportunist wing of that movement. In 1902, this party polled 55,000 votes, electing seven members to the National Council. The vote steadily increased, and in the Fall of 1914, the Social Democratic Party had 18 representatives out of a total of 200, and 212 members in the cantonal councils. At the outbreak of the war, the party membership was Spain The Spanish socialist movement had its early beginnings in 1869, in which year a branch of the Inter- national was formed, as a result of the agitation of La Fargue and others. This organization, however, soon fell into the hands of the anarchists and it was not until 1879 that a socialist party, the Social Labor Party, was formed, partly through the influence of Pablo Iglesias. Twelve years later, it nominated its first candidates, polling 5,000 votes. This number grew to 23,000 in 1907. In 1910 the party formed a coalition with the Republicans, in which election Iglesias was elected in Madrid, receiving' 40,000 votes. A few years ago, the party possessed some forty municipal councillors. Portugal The Socialist Party in Portugal was formed 500 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION in 1876, largely at the instigation of La Fargue and other Spanish internationalists. For years, because of the sup- pressive acts of the government, it barely maintained an existence. In 1910 it had about 1,000 members, but in 1911, after the overthrow of the monarchy and the sep- aration of the church and state, it took on a new lease of life, and three years later claimed a membership of 3,300. In 1917 it was represented by one socialist, a printer, in Congress and many members of municipal bodies. Servia. — In Servia, the Socialist Party entered for the first time in national elections, in 1904, when it polled 2,508 votes. This vote increased to 30,000 in 1914. The movement throughout has been anti-militarist. In 1912, the two socialist deputies elected to the Skuptchina voted against the war budgets and against all war demands of the government. Rumania.— The first Rumanian socialist organization was formed in the nineties by a group of Rumanian students educated in Western Europe. For a few years after the organization of the party, the enthusiasm of the students continued, but, in 1889, discouraged by the slow growth of the movement, the young founders deserted and joined the Liberal Party. Following this secession. Dr. C. Rakowsky gathered up the remnants of the movement, and, with the aid of C. Dobrogeanu-Gherea, a well known writer and economist, succeeded in putting it on its feet. Socialist clubs were organized throughout the country, newspapers published, and national conventions planned. In 1907, following a revolt of the farmers, the party was subjected to severe persecution. Clubs were dissolved, the property of the party was confiscated, and about a thousand Jewish s,ocialists were expelled from the country. The Balkan War of 1913 brought to the party another SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914.: UNITED STATES 501 period of stress. At that time, several socialists who indorsed the expansion policy of the government were expelled from the party together with some of the ex- treme opportunists. In 1914 the socialist vote was 2,047. Greece. — The Greek socialist movement has been largely a democratic reform party, rather than a party of the working class. Attempts to organize the movement were made in 1885, by Dr. Drakoules, a Greek educated in Paris. Eight years later, the party poUed some 4,000 votes. In 1912, the vote mounted to 28,000, falling again to 12,000 in 1914. Dr. Drakoules was elected to Parlia- ment in 1901. THE TJNITED STATES Formation of Socialist Labor Party. — From 1850 to the early seventies numerous attempts were made to or- ganize socialist groups in this country, and much educa- tional propaganda was carried on. It was not, however, until 1876, at the formation of the Workingmen's Party of America — called, the following year, the Socialist La- bor Party of North America — that a group with any considerable amount of staying power was organized. This movement at first emphasized educational work, and called on all workingmen, " for the time being, to refrain from participation in elections." The next year, however, it was reorganized along political lines. Its next fight was with the anarchist groups. In 1892 it nominated its first presidential ticket, with Simeon Wing, a manufac- turer of photographic instruments, as candidate for Pres- ident, and Charles H. Matchett, for Vice-President. These candidates secured 31,512 votes in six states. Four years later, Matchett, for President, received 36,275 votes, and, in 1898, the party reached its zenith with 82,204. Split in S. L .P. — A bitter controversy with organized 502 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION labor, the formation of a competing union, known as the Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance, and the dictatorial policy of Daniel De Leon, the leader of the party, led to dissensions, and, in 1899, to a split, Morris Hillquit and others forming the Rochester branch of the party. Western Movements. — In the meanwhile another move- ment, more American in its nature, was growing up in the Middle West, around the Coming Nation and the Appeal to Reason. It first organized the Brotherhood of the Co- operative Commonwealth, and, on June 18, 1897, united with the remnants of the American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, in the Social Democracy of America. At the first convention of this group in Chicago, on June 7, 1898, the majority of the S. D. favored a plan for colonization. The minority who opposed this plan with- drew, for^fiing the Social Democratic Party of America, with an executive board consisting of Eugene V. Debs, Victor L. Berger, Seymour Stedman and others. The S. D. P., during the next two years, had considerable success, particularly in Massachusetts, where it elected two state representatives, and mayors in Haverhill and Brockton. Birth of Socialist Party — In March, 1900, it met in Indianapolis, was addressed by Morris Hillquit, Max Hayes and Job Harriman, of the Rochester or dissenting branch of the Socialist Labor Party, and appointed a committee to arrange terms of a union between these two groups. A presidential ticket was nominated with Eu- gene V. Debs as candidate for President and Job Harri- man, for Vice-President. Dissensions afterwards arose, but the two groups worked together during the campaign, which resulted in a socialist vote of 97,730. Increase in Strength — On July 29, 1901, a Unity Convention was held in Indianapolis, representing various factions, and the Socialist Party was launched. The BEFORE 1914: THE UNITED STATES 503 party rapidly grew in membership, and, in 1904, Debs and Hanford obtained a vote of 402,321. In 1908, owing to the progressive nature of the two old party candidates — Roosevelt and Bryan — the Socialisrt Party barely held its own, obtaining but 424,520 votes. In 1912 it took an- other leap forward with 901,000 votes, despite the ap- pearance in the field of the Progressive Party. The So- cialist Labor Party, in the meanwhile, steadily decreased in numbers and influence. Educational Work. — The party during this period con- ducted an extensive educational work. The most impor- tant of the educational institutions connected with the movement was the Rand School of Social Science or- ganized about 1907 in New York City. Although this was not officially an organ of the party, the members of the American Socialist Society, the controlling body, were all members of the Socialist Party. In 1905 the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, a purely educational organization, unaffiliated with any political party, was organized in New York City " for the purpose of promoting an intelligent interest in socialism among college men and women, graduates and undergraduates." The society has established chapters for the study of so- cialism in many colleges and centers of population. It conducts a magazine, sends lecturers to colleges, or- ganizes conferences and conventions, publishes pamphlets and assists in the publication of books. In contrast to the Fabian Society of England, it does not require its membership to adhere to any economic or political creed. CANADA The Canadian socialist movement was unable, before the war, to grip the imagination of any considerable number 504 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION of the workers of that country. As far back as 1890, branches of the American Socialist Labor Party were or- ganized in several cities. In 1899 a Canadian Socialist League was formed by those dissatisfied with the De Leon leadership, and six years later all existing socialist organ- izations were united into the Socialist Party of Canada. The Western Clarion became the official party organ. The party membership increased from 3,507 in 1903 to 17,071 in 1913. In 1911 a second socialist group, the Social Democratic Party, came into existence, and, in January, 1915, claimed a membership of 5,380. In 1912 it joined the Interna- tional Socialist Bureau. Its organ is the Forwards. The older and more radical of the parties refused to unite with the International so long as the British and Aus- tralian Labor Parties remained as members. A third party of a socialistic nature is the Labor Party, founded, but only weakly supported, by the labor unions of Canada. The two socialist groups did not succeed, prior to the war, in electing representatives to the do- minion Parliament, although a few were elected to pro- vincial legislatures. LATIN AMEEICA On account of the late development of modern industry, the low educational and living standard of the workers, and other factors, the socialist and labor movement in Latin America failed until recently to gain any consider- able headway. Argentina. — The oldest of the socialist movements is that in Argentina, organized in 1896 by Italian and Ger- man socialists. In 1904 the movement was represented in the International Socialist Bureau, and the same year cast 1,267 votes and elected one member to the House of SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: LATIN AMERICA 505 Deputies. During the next few years many socialist lead- ers were prosecuted on account of their participation in strikes. In 1911 Jean Jaures visited the country and gave the movement an impetus. In 1912, 1914 and 1916, the socialist votes jumped to 23,000, 40,000 and 60,000 respectively, and the representatives in the House of Dep- uties, to 4, 9 and 14. The party membership increased from 4,000 in 1912 to 7,400 in 1916. The party's chief organ is the Vanguardia, published in Buenos Aires. The movement cooperates closely with the trade unions. In Brazil, Chili and Uruguay — The Socialist Party in Brazil was organized in 1916, and shortly after claimed a membership of 2,570. It showed considerable success in its first municipal election. While a Democratic Party, composed chiefly of workingmen of a socialistic character, was formed in Chili as early as 1894, an out-and-out so- cialist movement was not started until 1912. One repre- sentative was that year elected to office, but was subse- quently unseated. In 1915 the party held its first na- tional convention in Santiago and established The Van- guardia as its official organ. In Uruguay, the first socialist representative. Profes- sor Emilio Frugoni, of the University of Montevideo, was elected in 1911 with the support of the liberals. A So- cialist Party, however, did not come into existence until 1913. Porto Rico — As early as 1901, a socialist movement, led by Santiago Iglesias and Eduardo Conde, appeared in Porto Rico, but this movement soon lost its socialist char- acter. Seven years later a Workers' Party was formed, with a socialist basis, and polled 702 votes. In 1914, the votes increased to more than 4,000, chiefly in Arecibo, where the party won the maj ority in the city council, and. 506 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION in August, 1917, following a strike in which the police brutally clubbed the strikers, to 25,000. Iglesias in this year was sent to the House of Deputies. Cuba — In Cuba, another of the West Indies, the So- cialist Party was formed in 1910, and, two years later, merged with the Radical Labor Party. In 1916 it polled nearly 5,000 votes. Mexico and Yucatan.— Sociahsts in Mexico were ac- tive for a number of years before the war in numerous revolutionary movements. The most interesting develop- ment of socialism was, however, noted in Yucatan. When this section was conquered by General Salvador Alvarado,- a socialist, in 1915, idle lands were confiscated, the peons were freed, and land and financial assistance were given to them. At the same time, socialist locals and coopera- tive societies were formed by Alvarado throughout Yuca- tan, the government paying the party dues and the cam- paign expenses, and soon 100,000 workers were enrolled members of the party. Under the slogan, " Socialism, Land and Liberty," Carranza received a ninety per cent, vote from that country in the following December. Al- varado and others then started a propaganda league as an adjunct to the party for the purpose of educating the peons in the principles of socialism. The league soon developed a dues-paying membership of 50,000. The movement prior to the war possessed a comic monthly and two weeklies, each with a circulation of 20,000, while the government paper, La Voz de la Revolucion, the only daily paper there, published socialist literature and carried on socialist propaganda. It was reported in 1917 that " all mayors, municipal councils, federal and state oflScials, are members of the Socialist Party." SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: AUSTRALASIA 507 AUSTBALASIA, APHICA, ASIA Development of Australian Labor Party. — The so- cialistic elements in Australia have, for the most part, grouped themselves around the Australian Labor Party. As early as 1859, a working class representative was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It was not, however, until after the Great Strike of 1890 that steps were taken toward the organization of an independent labor movement. The following year, 24 representatives of the Labor Party were elected to the New South Wales Legislature, and from that time the movement steadily grew. The Labor Party has since been in control of affairs at various periods in every legislature and in the national government. At the outbreak of the war, the party had reached its high water mark, every state with the exception of Victoria having a labor government, while in the federal government labor was in the majority. The anti-socialist groups were represented by the Con- servative Party. For " White " Australia — The party throughout its career has fought vigorously for labor legislation and for government ownership of a number of essential indus- tries. It is definitely nationalistic in its make-up, and has campaigned for a citizens' army and for a " white Australia," on the ground that the importation of coolie labor would mean a definite lowering of the standard of living. Labor in Parliament. — The labor representation in the Federal Parliament increased from 8 in the Senate and 16 in the House in 1901 to 31 and 40 respectively in 1914; while the anti-socialist members decreased from 26 in the Senate and 59 in the House to 5 and 35 respect- ively. However, owing to a split in the party resulting 508 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION from the fight over conscription, labor, in 1917, was rep- resented by but 12 Senators and 22 Members of the House. The 1914 vote was 1,040,000, the 1917 vote, 947,605. New Zealand. — While New Zealand has, during the last twenty years, made great strides in social legisla- tion, and has been regarded as the " social laboratory " of the world, it was not until 1912 that workers began to or- ganize into an independent labor movement. Four years later, June, 1916, at a joint conference of the United Federation of Labor, the Social Democratic Party, and the Labor Representation Committee, the New Zealand Labor Party, with a socialist objective, was finally launched. South Africa. — The beginnings of the political labor movement in South Africa was made in 1909, at the birth of the Labor Party. The following year, four represen- tatives were sent to the legislature, and soon thereafter Johannesburg went almost completely labor. As a re- sult of a bitter industrial fight in 1913, the party re- turned in the Transvaal — where the fight was most in- tense ■ — 23 of the 25 elected ofiicials, secured a majority of the House, and cast a vote of 26,000 votes as com- pared with 12,000 for the conservatives, and 3,000 for the liberals. The party, however, was split by the war, and many resignations took place. Only four members, in the re- sulting elections, were returned to the Parliament. The anti-war group organized an International League, and, in 1916, with a membership of 1,900, they elected some 180 members of councils and school boards in the various municipalities. SOCIALISM BEFORE 1914: ASIA 509 ASIA On account of the backwardness, industrially and polit- ically, of most of the Asiatic countries, and the obstacles placed in the path of democratic movements by the gov- ernments in Asia, the labor and socialist forces in that continent were but little organized prior to the European War. Japan. — The socialist m'ovement in Japan was or- ganized by a group of young students in Tokio in 1899 and was at first a mere debating society. Soon there- after the Railroad Workers' Union indorsed socialism as the final goal of the labor movement, and this action so encouraged the socialists that, in 1901, they formed a Japanese Socialist Party. The government became alarmed at this manifestation of radicalism, and sup- pressed their organ, the Labor World, and four other non-socialist journals that had published their party manifesto. Further Suppression — T.he socialists thereafter con- fined their attention to educational propaganda, and, dur- ing the Russo-Japanese War, conducted a strong anti- war propaganda, and increased their membership to 5,000. Following the war, the movement became increasingly pop- ular, and established a daily paper. Further persecu- tions followed throughout the next few years culminating in May, 1910, in the arrest of twenty-four prominent so- cialists, charged with entertaining anarchist views. The trial was held behind closed doors, and, in January, 1911, the defendants were declared guilty, and twelve of them were hanged. Socialist literature was confiscated, books were burned, and the party was dissolved. Later a monthly publication, the New Society, was started in Japan for the purpose of giving information 510 SOCIALISM IN THOUGHT AND ACTION concerning the international socialist movement. Bona fide labor unions were also suppressed prior to the war, although, in September, 1916, workmen of the city of Osaka organized a radical group with socialistic pro- clivities. China. — The first socialist organization in China was founded in 1911. During the Chinese revolution the move- ment spread rapidly and some thirty socialists were elected to the Parliament of the new Chinese Republic. This success led to the establishment of more than two score socialist newspapers, to free socialist schools and labor unions, to the widespread distribution of socialist literature and to socialist theatrical companies. Yuan Shi Kai, in August, 1913, fearful of the results of this propaganda, issued an edict dissolving the party, arrest- ing its leaders and jailing and executing many of them. The socialists, however, continued to conduct a secret propaganda, and were an important factor in the over- throw of the Yuan Shi Kai imperialistic government and the establishment of a new republican regime under Li Yuan Hung. In Other Asiatic Countries — In India and other por- tions of Asia, little or no socialist movement existed prior to the war, although increasing demands were heard among the masses for a larger control over the govern- ments of their respective countries. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY ON SOCIALISM AND ALLIED SUBJECTS 1 Angell, Norman. The British Eevolution and the American Democracy. 1918. Huebsch. Beer, M. A History of British Socialism. Vol. I. 1919. Bell (London). Benson, Allan L. The Truth About Socialism. 1913. Huebsch. Bernstein, Edward. Evolutionary Socialism. 1909. Huebsch. Bevan, Edwyn. German Social Democracy During the War. 1919. Dutton. Blatchford, Robert. Merrie England. 1897. Boni & Live- right. Boudin, Louis B. Theoretical System of Karl Marx. 1907. Chas. H. Kerr & Co. (Chicago). Socialism and War. 1915. New Review Pub. Co. Cahn, Herman. Capital Today. 1918. Putnam. Carpenter, Edward. Towards Industrial Freedom. 1912. Scribner. Cole, G. D. H., and Middleton, J. S. (Editors). Labor Year Book. 1919. Labor Research Department (London, Eng.). Cross, Ira B. Essentials of Socialism. (Bibliography.) 1912. MacmiUan. 1 The dates here given indicate the years of first publication of the boolfs listed, except when the books have been revised, when the dates of the revised editions are frequently noted. The publishers of the booths here cited are, for the most part, located in New York. When publishers are situated elsewhere, their city is mentioned following the prat book on the list issuing from their respective houses. 511 512 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY Debs, Eugene V. Debs. His Life, Writings and Speeches. 1908. Kerr. Ely, Richard T. French and German Socialism. 1886. Harpers. Socialism and Social Reform. 1895. Crowell. Engels, Frederick. Socialism, Utopian and Scientific. 1892. Kerr. Landmarks of Scientific Socialism. 1878. Kerr. Origin of the Family. 1884. Kerr. Ensor, R. C. K. (Edited by). Modern Socialism. 1907. Scribner. Ferri, Enrico. Socialism and Modern Science. 1894. Kerr. Fraina, Louis C. Revolutionary Socialism. 1918. Commu- nist Press. The Social Revolution in Germany. 1919. The Revolu- tionary Age (Boston). Ghent, W. J. Mass and Class. 1904. Macmillan. Guthrie, William B. Socialism before the French Revolution. 1907. Macmillan. Hardie, J. Keir. From Serfdom to Socialism. 1907. Allen (London) . Haywood, Wm. D., and Bohn, Frank. Industrial Socialism. 1911. Kerr. Hillquit, Morris. Socialism in Theory and P'ractice. 1909. Macmillan. History of Socialism in the United States. 1910. Funk and Wagnalls. Socialism Summed Up. 1914. Rand School. Hillquit, Morris, and Ryan, John A. Socialism: A Promise or Menace. 1914. Macmillan. Hughan, Jessie W. American Socialism of the Present Day. (Bibliography.) 1911. Lane. Facts of Socialism. 191S. Lane. Hunter, Robert. Socialists at Work. 1908. Macmillan. Violence and the Labor Movement. 1914. Macmillan. Why We Fail as Christians. 1919. Macmillan. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 513 Hyndman, Henry M. Economics of Socialism. 1896. Twentieth Century Press (Eng.). Jaures, Jean. Studies in Socialism. 1906. Putnam. Kautsky, Karl. Class Struggle. 1892. Kerr. Social Revolution. 1902. Kerr. Ethics and the Materialistic Conception of History. 1906. Kerr. . The Eoad to Power. 1909. Samuel Block (Chicago). Kellogg, Paul, and Gleason, Arthur. British Labor and the War. 1919. Boni and Liveright. Kelly, Edmond. Twentieth Century Socialism. 1910. Longmans. Kirkpatrick, George R. Think — or Surrender. Appeal to Reason (Girard, Kan.). Kirkup, Thomas. (Revised by Edward Pease.) History of Socialism. (Bibliography.) 1914. Macmillan. Inquiry into Socialism. 1907. Longmans. Le Rossignol, James E. Orthodox Socialism. 1907- Crowell. Liebknecht, Karl. Militarism. 1917. Huebsch. The Day of the People is Come. (Translated by S. Zimand.) 1918. Macmillan. Liebknecht, Wilhelm. No Compromise — No Political Trading. 1900. Kerr. Karl Marx. Biographical Memoirs. 1901. Kerr. London, Jack. Revolution and Other Essays. 1910. Mac- millan. Macdonald, J. Ramsay. The Socialist Movement. 1911. Holt. Mackaye, James. Economy of Happiness. 1906. Little, Brown and Co. (Boston). Americanized Socialism. 1918. Boni and Liveright. Macy, John. Socialism in America. 1916. Doubleday Page. Marx, Karl. Capital. (In three Volumes.) Vol. I, 1867; VoL II, 1885; Vol. Ill, 1894. Kerr. Value, Price and Profit. 1865. Kerr. 514, SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY Eighteenth Brumaire. 1848. Kerr. Critique of Political Economy. 1859. Kerr. Marx, Karl, and Engels, Frederick. The Communist Mani- festo. 1848. Kerr, Rand School, etc. Melvin, Floyd J. Socialism and the Sociological Ideal. (Bibliography.) 1915. Sturgis and Walton. Michels, Robert. Political Parties. 1915. Kerr. Mills, Walter Thomas. The Struggle for Existence. 1904. Mills. Morris, William, and Bax, E. Belfort. Socialism, Its Growth and Outcome. 1893. Kerr. Murdoch, John G. Economics and Ethics. 1913. Allen Printing Co. (Troy, N. Y.). Orth, S. P. Socialism and Democracy in Europe. 1913, Holt. Pease, Edward B. History of the Fabian Society. 1916. Dutton. Richardson, N. I. Industrial Problems. 1912. Kerr. Rauschenbusch, Walter. Christianizing the Social Order. 1912. Macmillan. Richardson, N. I. Industrial Problems. 1912. Kerr. Rae, John. Contemporary Socialism. 1891. Scribner. Rubinow, I. M. Was Marx Wrong? 1913. The Marx In- stitute. Russell, Bertrand. Proposed Roads to Freedom. 1919. Holt. Russell, Charles Edward. Why I am a Socialist. 1915. Doran. Schaeffle, A. The Quintessence of Socialism. 1880. Scribner. The Impossibility of Social Democracy. 1892. Scribner. Scudder, Vida D. Socialism and Character. 1912. Houghton MiiBin (Boston). Seligman, E. R. A. The Economic Interpretation of His- tory. 1902. Columbia University. Sellars, Roy. The Next Step in Democracy. 1916. Mac- millan. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 515 Shaw, G. Bernard. Socialism and Superior Brains. 1910. Lane. Shaw and Others. Fabian Essays. 1889. The Ball Pub Co. (Boston.) Simkhovitch, Vladimer. Marxism vs. Socialism. 1913 Holt. Sinclair, Upton. The Profits of Religion. 1918. Sin- clair (Pasadena, Calif.). Skelton, O. D. Socialism: A Critical Analysis. 1911. Houghton MifiBin. Socialist Party. Platforms. Snowden, Philip. Syndicalism. 1913. Open Court. (Chicago.) Sombart, Werner. Socialism and the Socialist Movement. 1909. Button. Spargo, John. Applied Socialism. 1912. Huebsch. Karl Marx, His Life and Works. 1912. Huebsch. Socialism. (Revised.) 1913. Macmillan. Marxian Socialism and Religion. 1915. Huebsch. Social Democracy Explained. 1918. Harpers. Spargo, John, and Arner, George B. L. Elements of Socialism. 1912. Macmillan. Spaulding, J. L. Socialism and Labor. McClurg (Chicago). Steinmetz, Chas. P. America and the New Epoch. 1916. Holt. Trachtenberg, Alex. (Editor.) American Labor Year Book, 1916, 1917-18. Rand School. American Socialists and the War. 1916. Rand School. Tucker, Irwin St. John. Internationalism. 1918. The Author (Chicago). Vandervelde, Emile. Collectivism. 1901. Kerr. The State vs. Socialism. 1919. Kerr. Vaughan, Father Bernard. Socialism from the Christian Standpoint. 1912. Macmillan. Vedder, Henry C. Socialism and the Ethics of Jesus. 1912. Macmillan. 516 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY Walling, William English. Socialism as It Is. 1912. Macmillan. Progressivism and After. 1914. Macmillan. The Socialists and the War. 1915. Holt. Walling and Laidler (Editors). State Socialism — Pro and Con. 1917. Holt. Walling, Stokes, Hughan and Laidler (Editors). The So- cialism of Today. (A source book.) 1916. Holt. Ward, Harry F. The Gospel for a Working World. 1918. Missionary Educational Movement. Webb, Sidney. Socialism and Individualism. 1911. Lane. Wells, H. G. New Worlds for Old. 1908. Macmillan. Wells and Others. Socialism and the Great State. 1912. Harpers. Weyl, Walter E. The New Democracy. 1912. Mac- millan. Work, John M. What's So and What Isn't. 1906. Kerr. Guild Socialism Cole, G. D. H. Self-Government in Industry. 1918. G. Bell and Sons. (London.) Hobson, S. G. (Edited hy A. R. Orage.) National Guilds. 1913. Bell. Guild Principles in War and Peace. 1917. Bell. Penty, A. J. Old Worlds for New. 1917. Bell. Reckitt, Maurice B. and Bechhofer, C. E. The Meaning of National Guilds. 1918. Macmillan. Renard, Georges. (Edited with an Introduction by G. D. H. Cole.) Guilds in the Middle Ages. 1919. Bell. The Russian Revolution Beatty, Bessie. The Red Heart of Russia. 1918. Cen- tury. Bryant, Louise. Six Red Months in Russia. 1918. Dor an. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 517i Bullard, Arthur. The Russian Pendulum. 1919. Mac- millan. Bullitt, Wm. C. The Bullitt Mission to Russia. 1919. Huebsch. Lenin, Nicholai. Soviets at Work. 1918. Rand School. Lenin, Nicholai, and Trotsky, Leon. (Edited by Louis C. Fraina.) The Proletarian Revolution in Russia. 1919. Communist Press. Lomonossoff, George V. Memoirs of the Russian Revolu- tion. 1919. Rand School. Magnes, Judah. Germany and Russia at Brest-Litovsk. 1919. Rand School. Olgin, Moissaye J. The Soul of the Russian Revolution. 1917. Holt. Poole, Ernest. The Dark People. 1918. Macmillan. The Village. 1918. Macmillan. Ransome, Arthur. On Behalf of Russia. 1918. New Re- public. Russia in 1919. 1919. Huebsch. Reed, John. Ten Days that Shook the World. 1919. Boni and Liveright. Ross, E. A. Russia in Upheaval. 1918. Century. Russell, Charles Edward. Unchained Russia. 1918. Ap- pleton. Sack, A. J. The Birth of the Russian Democracy. 1918. Russian Information Bureau. Socialist Literature Co. (Editor). Education and Art in Soviet Russia. 1919. S. L. C. Spargo, John. Bolshevism. 1919. Harpers. Trotsky, Leon. The Bolsheviki and World Peace. 1918. Boni and Liveright. Our Revolution. 1918. Holt. From October to Brest-Litovsk. 1919. Socialist Litera- ture Co. Williams, Albert Rhys. Lenin, the Man and His Work. 1919. Scott and Seltzer. See also file of The Nation, The Dial, The New Republic, 518 NOTES ON THE BIBLIOGRAPHY The Liberator and the Class Struggle, Struggling Russia (anti-Bolshevik), and Soviet Russia, published by the Soviet Bureau. NOTES ON THE BIBLIOGRAPHY Anti'^Socialist Books. In the foregoing bibliography, the most painstaking anti-socialist book is that of Skelton. Other books critical of the socialist theories are those of Ely, Le Rossignol, Rae, Schaeffle, Seligman, Simkhovitch, Sombart, Vaughan and Weyl. Marxian Socialism. The most important classics on Marxian socialism are Marx and Engels' Communist Mani- festo, Engels' Socialism, Utopian and Scientific and Marx' Capital. Boudin's treatise gives an excellent interpretation of the Marxian system of thought, as do the works of Kautsky, who was regarded, prior to the war, as the chief Marxian theorist of Europe. Other popularizers of the Marxian philosophy are Hyndman, Hillquit, Hughan and Spargo. Bernstein represents the Revisionist point of view. Fraina, Macy and Haywood present the viewpoint of the ex- treme " left " of the movement. The Socialist State. The following books have given special attention to the nature of the socialist state and to the objections urged against socialism: Kautsky's Social Revolution (latter half), Hillquit's Socialism in Theory and Practice, Hillquit and Ryan's debate, Spargo's Applied Socialism, and Bertrand Russell's and Hughan's contribu- tions. The works of Wells, Shaw, and Kelly, while some- what unorthodox, are particularly suggestive along these lines. Wells' New Worlds for Old is one of the most readable books on the subject. Blatchford's Merrie England has been espe- cially popular among the rank and file of workers. The Sociah'st Movement. The most comprehensive history of socialism prior to the war was that of Kirkup, and NOTES ON THE BIBLIOGRAPHY 519 the most extensive source book on the world-wide movement. The Socialism of Today by Walling and other members of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. Walling's book of docu- ments on The Socialists and the War also gives much valuable information, while, for the latest phases of the socialist move- ments. The American Labor Year Book, edited by Trachten- berg, should be consulted. Other books describing the move- ments in various countries as it existed prior to the European War and those of Hunter, Orth, Sombart, MacDonald and Hillquit. Bibliographies. Bibliographies on Socialism have been prepared by the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. City, The Rand School of Social Science, 7 E. 15th St., N. Y. City, The National Socialist Party, 220 So. Ashland Blvd., Chicago, 111., and the Fabian Society, 25 Tothill St., Westminster, London, S. W., England. Periodicals. To keep informed concerning the latest developments of socialism it is necessary frequently to con- sult periodicals on socialism. The Socialist Review, a (monthly) published by the Intercollegiate Socialist Society, 70 Fifth Ave., N. Y. City, an educational, not a political propagandist journal, edited by the author of this book, seeks to supply the reader with the latest facts concerning the activites and theories in the field of socialism through- out the world. The Liberator (monthly), published in 31 Union Sq., N. Y. City, edited by Max and Crystal Eastman, and the Class Struggle, a monthly, 15 Spruce St., N. Y. City, edited by Ludwig Lore and others, are also valuable propaganda journals. The two socialist dailies of importance are the New York Call, 44,4- Pearl St., N. Y. City, and the Milwaukee Leader, Brisbane HaU, Milwaukee. The " Inter- national Relations Section" of The Nation is constantly printing important documents relating to the socialist move- movement. The Eye Opener and The Party Bulletin, 220 So. Ashland Blvd., Chicago, are the official organs of the Socialist Party; The Communist, 1221 Blue Island Ave., Chicago, the official 520 NOTES ON THE BIBLIOGRAPHY organ of the Communist Party, and The Communist Labor Party News, 3207 Clark Ave., Cleveland Ohio, the organ of the Communist Labor Party. The Appeal to Reason, Girard, Kansas, is a propagi^nda weekly with a very considerable cir- culation. New periodicals are constantly starting up. In England, the New Statesman, a weekly contributed to by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Bernard Shaw and others, the Socialist Review (a quarterly), edited by Ramsay MacDonald, the Labor Leader (weekly), organ of the Independent Labor Party, the London Herald, edited by George Lansbury and the New Age, the organ of the National Guildsmen, are all worth consulting. Le Populaire, edited by Jean Longuet, and L'Humanite, are important socialist organs in France. Vor- •waerts is the chief socialist daily of Germany. INDEX Accidents, industrial, 26-27. Accumulation of capital, ques- tion of, under socialism, 224f- 227. Addams, Jane, A New Con- science and an Ancient Evil, quoted, 45. Adler, Friederich, at Berne Con- ference of 1919, 291; at Lu- cerne Conference, 302; opposes resolution condemning soviet rule in Russia, 354 n. ; secre- tary of militant party of Aus- trian Social Democracy, 388; founding of Das Volk by, 389; assassination of Austrian Pre- mier by, 389; trial and im- prisonment of, 389-391. Adler, Victor, conservative leader of Austrian Social De- mocracy, 388, 491. Administration of industries un- der socialism, 136-138. Administrators, question of in- centive for, under socialism, 210-211; character of, with de- velopment of the corporation, 217-218; type of, under social- ism, 218-219. Adulteration of foods, 11. Advertising, wastes of, under competitive system, 18-19; di- version of productive workers by, 19-20; evaluation of, 20- 21. Agriculture, wastes in, under competitive system, 15-17; con- centration in industries con- nected with, 87, 93-94; position of those occupied in, 94-96. Allen, Adventures in Socialism, cited, 52. AU-Russian Congress of Soviets, 329-330. 521 Allyn, Lewis B., cited on debase- ment of foods, 11. Alvarado, General Salvador, so- cialist conqueror of Yucatan, 506. America, influence of economic factors in molding history of, 64-67. See United States. American Federation of Labor, policy adopted by, of reward- ing labor's friends, 463. American Revolution, economic forces behind, 65. American Sugar Refining Com- pany, 87. Amsterdam, congress of 1904 at, 251. Anarchism, discussion of charge that socialism is identical with, 235-238. Anarchist communism, doctrine of, 177, 236-237. Anderson, William C, British internationalist, 416. Angell, Norman, The British Revolution and American De- mocracy, cited, 153, 199. Anti-war attitude of socialists in United States, 454. Argentina, socialism in, 476, 504- 505. Army, opposition of American socialists to a, large standing, 457. Art, effects of capitalist regime on, 48-49; under socialist re- gime, 132-134; work of Soviet Government in Russia in, 349. Artists, incentives for and posi- tion of, under socialism, 214- 215. Assignment of tasks under so- cialism, 138-141. Australia, effect of European 522 INDEX war on socialism In, 282; so- cialist activities in, since 1914, 478-^79 ; " one big union " idea in, 479-480; history of social- ism in, before 1914, 507; move- ment in, for " white " Austra- lia, 507. Austria, effect of war on labor and socialist movement in, 4; cooperatives in, 192; trade union membership in, 202; at- titude of socialists of, in sum- mer of 1914, 269-270; attitude of socialists after opening of hostilities, 280; pronounce- ments of socialists during the war, 284; strilces in, in 1918, 365; support of government by Social Democrats in, during war, 388; events in, during the war, leading to revolution, 388- 391; fall of the monarchy, 393; formation of provisional gov- ernment and elections of May 4, 1919, 392-393; account of socialist movement in, before 1914, 490-491. Baer, John M., Congressman of Nonpartisan League, 461. Baker, C. A., Public vs. Private Electricity Supply, cited, 223- 233. Balch, Approaches to the Great Settlement, cited, 283, 287. Balkan countries, activities of socialists in, since 1914, 446- 450. Balkan crisis of 1913, action of socialists concerning, 259-261. Barnes, George N., 411, 413. Basel, congress at, in 1913, 359- 260. Bassett, C. E., and others. Co- operative Marketing and Fi- nancing of Marketing Associa- tions, quoted, 16. Bavaria, events in, following German revolution, 398 n. Beard, Charles A., works by, cited and quoted, 66 n. Bebel, August, Woman -under Socialism, cited, 146; attitude at time of Franco-Prussian War, 349; on the general strike as a preventive of war, 354- 355. Belgian Labor Party, founding of, 496. Belgium, cooperatives in, 193; trade union membership in, 202 ; anti-war demonstrations in, prior to German invasion, 271; attitude of socialists of, after declaration of war, 375- 276; socialists in, during the war, 440; socialist elections, 440; socialism in, before 1914, 496^97. Bellamy, Edward, Looking Back- ward and Equality by, 52. Belloc, Hilaire, The Servile State, cited, 154. Benson, Allan L., socialist presi- dential candidate in 1916, 456, 457. Berger, Victor L., passport re- fused to, to attend Stockholm conference, 287; reelected to Congress in 1918, unseated, re- nominated, 460; sentence of, to prison, 473. Berne conference of 1919, 290 fF.; responsibility for war dis- cussed at, 291; condemnation of soviet rule in Russia by, 353-354; refusal of Swiss so- cialists to send representatives to, 442; representatives from Argentina at, 476. Bernstein, Edward, Evolution- ary Socialism, cited, 78, 100. Besant, Annie, Fabian Essays, cited, 135, 137; quoted, 211. Besteiro, Julian, Spanish social- ist, 444, 445. Bevan, E., Social Democracy during the War, cited, 368 n. Bibliographies on socialism, 519. Big business and political cor- ruption, 230. INDEX 523 " Big Five " in meat-packing in- dustry, 87. Bissolati, L., 427, 430. Birth control, effects of, 239. Blacklisting, forbidding of, un- der socialism, 208 n. Blackpool Conference of British Labor Congress, 411-412. " Bloody Sunday " in Petrograd, 487. Bogart, E. L., Economic History of the Umted States, cited, 65. Bohemia, socialist sentiment in, 453. Bolsheviks, split of Social Demo- cratic Party in Russia, into Mensheviks and, 315 n., 489; composition of, 315 n. ; come under leadership of Trotsky, 319; revolutionary demonstra- tions by, against provisional government, 331, 333; suppres- sion of leaders of, by Kerensky, 332; charges by, against Ke- rensky government, 323, 334, 326; increase in strength, and revolution of, 337 ; definite pro- gram of, on disputed questions, 338; come into power with fall of Kerensky government, 332- 333; drive for peace begun by, 340-341; Russian and foreign forces opposed to, 350-35 1; the Red Terror, 353 n., 356 n.- 357 n. ; socialist critics of, 352 ; claimed to be non-Marxian, 354-355 ; defense of methods of, 355-356; continued Allied aid of opponents of, 357; summary of defense of cause and meth- ods of, 357-358. Bombacci, N., official of Italian party, arrested, 429. Book publication under social- ism, 135. Books pertaining to socialism, 511-520. Boss, disappearance of political, under socialism, 233. Boudin, Louis B., The Theoreti- cal System of Karl Marx, cited and quoted, 60 n., 100, 101, 102, 105, 109, 113, 114, 115; Social- ism and War, cited, 67. Bourgeois system, rise of, 53- 55. Bourgeoisie, defined, 54 n. Brailsford, H. N., quoted on so- viet rule in Hungary, 398 n., 400. Brandes, G., Ferdinand Lassalle, cited, 484. Brandeis, Louis, Business, a Profession, cited, 26. Branting, H., 437, 438, 498. Brazil, socialists in, 477, 505. Brest-Litovsk, negotiations be- tween Russian delegates and Germans at, 340-341. Brissenden, The I. W. W., etc., cited, 185, 203. British Labor Party, liberal in- terpretation of meaning of working class by, 80; position taken by, regarding European war, 277-279; defense of, at Berne Conference of 1919, 296- 297; events connected with, during the war, 409 ff. ; and the Stockholm Conference, 410- 411; reconstruction program of, 413-415; "Labor's Call to the People" issued by, 416; history of, 492-493; achieve- ments of, before the war, 493. Brook Farm experiment, 51. Brooks, J. G., American Syndi- calism, cited, 185. Brussels, Congress of 1914, I, 267-369; Congress of 1868, 247; Congress of 1891, 349. Bryan, W. J., 503. Buckle, physical interpretation of history by, 61. Buenos Aires, general strike in, 475-476. Bulgaria, stand taken by social- ists of, toward European war, 375; attitude of socialists after declaration of war, 381; social- ism in, since 1914, 446-447. Bullitt, William C, conclusions 524. INDEX of, concerning Soviet Govern- ment in Russia, 357. Bullock, C. J., Principles of Economics, cited, 237. Bunning, Stuart, at Berne Con- ference of 1919, 291. Bureaucratic control, attention concentrated on evils of, by the war, 3-4; as an objection to socialism, 234. Burns, John, 491. Business practices, corrupt, un- der capitalist system, 38-43. Cachin, M., leader of centrists in France, 421. Canada, socialism in, since 1914, 474-475; history of socialism in, before the war, 503-504. Canadian Socialist League, 504. Cannan, Freedom, cited, 154. Capital, accumulation of, under socialist regime, 224^327. Capitalism, character of indict- ment of, by socialism, 9-10; the wastes of, in material, 11- 23; waste of human life under, 24-29 ; inequality of wealth un- der, and effects, 31-37; effect of, on ethical life of the com- munity, 37-48; break-down of, 59 ; mechanical impossibility of, 114-115. Capitalists, achievements of mod- em, 54-55; limitations of, shown by occurrence of peri- odic crises, 55-57; decrease in class of, 57; evolution of, 75. Carpenter, Edward, 491. Carranza, President, 506. Central Labor College in Eng- land, 494. Chain stores, 91-92. Chicago election of 1917, socialist vote in, 459; vote in 1918, 460. Child workers, wages of, 33, 34. Chili, labor disturbances in, 476- 477; socialism in, 505. China, socialism in, 481, 510. Christian socialist movement, 156. Church, position of, imder social- ism, 154^159. Church Socialist League in Eng- land, 494. Cincinnati vote of socialists (1917), 459 Clarion Fellowship in England, 494. Class antagonisms created by modern industry, 58. Class consciousness, value of, 76- 77. Class struggle, theory of the, as a cornerstone of scientific so- cialism, 68-80; the fundamen- tal idea of syndicalism, 179. Clemenceau, Premier, attitude toward Hungarian Soviet, 401 n.; letter from socialists, 425; formation of national bloc, 427. Cleveland, Ohio, socialist vote in, in 1917, 459. Coal, concentration in control of, 89. Cohen, Law and Order in In- dustry, cited, 204. Cole, G. H. D., Self-Government in Industry, cited and quoted, 136, 137, 147, 150, 170, 171, 172, 173, 178, 185, 200, 203; The World of Labor, cited, 203; National Guilds League formed by, 494. Collective ownership, SO n. ; sys- tem of, an aim of socialism, 122 ; meaning of, 122 n. ; extent of, under socialism, 124-125; of land, 128-131. Coman, K., Industrial History of the United States, cited, 65. Combination, growth of, 83-84. Commercial travelers, a source of economic waste, 21. Committee of 48, formation of, 459-460. Commons, John R., History of Labor in United States, cited, 52, 203; Races and Immigrants in America, cited, 64; Princi- INDEX 525 pies of Labor Legislation, cited, 189. Communist, early significance of word, 154 n. Communist anarchism, 236-237. Communistic experiments in United States, 51. Communist International Confer- ence at Moscow (March, 1919), 302-306. Communist Labor Party, plat- form of, regarding land, 130; views of extreme left held by, 169 n. ; cooperative movement indorsed by, 194 n.; origins of, 466-468; efforts to amalgamate with Communist Party, 468; careful estimate of, 473. Communist Manifesto of Marx and Engels, quoted, 10; begin- nings of Marxian socialism witii, S3; analysis of historical role of class struggle in, 69- 70; virile international note struck in, 247; origins of, 482. Communist Party, formation and platform of, 468-469; value of, as a propaganda organization, 472. Communists, abolition of private property advocated by, 124. Communist Socialists, extremists called, 154 n.; tactics advo- cated by, for transition to so- cialism, 163-164. Compensation for work under socialism, 141-146. Concentration in industry, 81 ff. ; in manufacture. 85-8S; in nat- ural resources, S8-89; in public utilities, 89-90; in finance, 90- 91; in wholesale and in retail trade, 91-93; in agriculture, 93-94. ConnoUy, James, Irish leader, 419. Constitution, the 'Soviet, in Rus- sia, 343-347 ; of German Re- • public, 485-486. Contracts, corruption connected with giving of, 231-232. Control, concentration of, 81 n. ; the corporation and, 84-85. Cooperative League of America, 194 n. Cooperative movement, the vol- untary, 137-138, 190-194; atti- tude of socialists toward, 193- 195; lack of profit motive in, 216-217. Cooperatives, accumulations of capital by, 226-337. Cooperative system, wastes in manufacturing that could be avoided imder, 13-15; avoid- able wastes in agriculture, 15- 17; aspirations -of scientific so- cialism toward, 53. Copenhagen Congress of 1910, 357-258. Corporation, extent of growth of the, 83; relation of, to concen- tration of control, 84-85; effect of, upon middle class, 103-103; viewed as a step toward social- ism, 187-188. Cory, H. E., cited, 163. Cossacks, help given Russian revolutionists by, 310. Cottrell, H. M., quoted on waste in farming, 16. Council of Workers' and Sol- diers' Delegates, proposed con- ference of, at Stockholm (1917), 286, 387. , Craft consciousness developed by trade unions, 203. Creative work, opportunity af- forded for, by administrative positions, 319. Creative workers, incentives for, under socialism, 211. Crime, relation between capital- ist system and, 45-48. Crises, development of industrial, 65-56; incapacity of capitalists demonstrated by, 57 ; causes of, 112-113; effect of trusts on, 113; results of, 115-116. Criticism of socialism, 207- 244. Cuba, labor disturbances in 526 INDEX (1918), 488-489; Socialist Party in, 506. Curran, Peter, British delegate at Paris congress of 1900, 250. Czar, abdication of, 311-313. Czecho-Slo^ak republic, socialist sentiment in, 453. Czecho-Slovaks, forces of, op- posed to Soviet Government in Russia, 343; amount advanced by President Wilson to, 343 n. Danish West Indies, activities of Danish socialists at time of sale of, 434. Davies, The Collectivist State in the Making, cited, 198. Death, statistics of preventable or postponable, 37. Debs, Eugene V., President Wil- son criticized by Italian radical press for permitting imprison- ment of, 430; account of trial and imprisonment of, 472-473; leader of American Railway Union, 503; candidate for President in 1900, 503. Decreasing fertility, law of, 342 n. De Leon, Daniel, leader of So- cialist Trade and Labor Al- liance, 503; dissatisfaction in Canada with leadership of, 504. De Maeztu, Authority, Liberty and Function, cited, 154. Democratic management, details of, under national guild theory, 173-174; demand for, by so- cialists, 204; advance toward, since 1914, 304-205. Democracy, spirit of, injured by capitalist system, 48. Denikin, anti-Bolshevik General, aid given to, by AUies, 357. Denmark, cooperatives in, 193; trade union membership in, 202; neutrality favored by so- cialists of, in European war, 275; socialist activities in, dur- ing the war, 433, 434; history of socialism in, prior to war, 497-498. Department stores, 91. Deville, The State and Social- ism, cited, 147. Dictatorship of the proletariat, 163-164; demand for, by social- ists of left wing, after German revolution, 375-376. Direct action, meaning of, lOSn.; as a means of attaining new social order, 169 n. ; meaning of, under syndicalism, 179; the weapon of anarchism, 335. Disarmament, complete, urged at Berne Conference of 1919, 294. Discharge of workers, under so- cialism, 208. Disease, a cause of social and economic waste, 27; statistics of, 27; association of poverty and, 28-39. Distribution of goods, wastes in, 18-33. Douglas, Paul H., Problem of Labor Turnover, cited, 35 n.; quoted on 1917 elections in Ohio, 459. Dowe, P. E., cited on traveling salesmen, 31 n. Drakoules, Dr., leader of Greek socialists, 447, 501. Eastman, Max, trial of, 485; editor of Liberator, 530. Ebert, Friederich, appointment of, as Imperial Chancellor, 380; elected president of Ger- man Republic, 384. Economic interpretation of his- tory, 60-68. Education, socialization of, 196- 198; attention given to, by So- viet Government, 349. Educational work, under social- ism, 131-132; of Socialist Party in America, 503. Eisner, Kurt, at Berne Confer- ence of 1919, 291, 395; elected head of Bavarian Republic, and assassinated, 387 n. INDEX 627 Ely, Richard T., French and German Socialism, cited, S^; Studies in the Evolution of In- dustrial Society, cited, 64, 71. Emigration and immigration, resolutions concerning, at Berne Conference of 1919, 297- 298. Engdahl, J. Louis, sentenced to prison, 473. Engels, F., 10; doctrine of eco- nomic interpretation of history as formulated by, 61; Origin of the Family, cited, 64, 160; Socialism, Utopian and Scien- tific, quoted, 147. England, Utopian socialists of, 50; history of socialism in, 491-494. See Great Britain. Equality in remuneration, prin- ciple of, 141. Espionage Law, condemnation of, by socialists in America, 471. Ethical factors in economic in- terpretation of history, 63-64. Ethical life of community, ef- fect of capitalist system on, 37^8. Ethics, influence of economic forces on, 67-68. Europe, cooperative movement in, 192; trade unionism in, 201-202; stand taken by social- ists of different countries, after declaration of war, 275-282. European War, economic back- grounds of, 67 n. Exploitation as criterion for so- cializing of industries, 126-127. Extreme left, tactics advocated by, for transition to socialism, 16^-164. See Left Wing movement. Fabian Research Department on Control of Industry, cited and quoted, 195, 196, 197, 199, 201, 204, 216, 222, 228. Fabian Society, bureaucratic col- lectivism of, ridiculed by na- tional guildsmen, 171 n. ; his- tory of, 493-494. Family, socialism and the, 159- 161. Family life, effect of inequality of wealth on, 35-36. Farmers, income of, 105-106; progressive spirit among, 106- 107. Farming wastes connected with, 15-17; slow progress of con- centration in, 93-94; depend- ence of those engaged in, 94- 96. See also Agriculture. Farming land, socialist position in regard to, 129-131. Farms, increase in number of mortgaged, 98. Federal Children's Bureau, 28. Ferri, Enrico, 495. Feudalism, brealcing down of, 53-54. Finance, concentration in, 90-91. Finland, cooperatives in, 192; victory of sociahsm in, in Jime, 1916, elections, 447^48; events in, following Russian revolu- tion, 448; socialist successes in 1919, 449^50; strength of so- cialism in, before 1914, 489- 490; vote of party from 1904 to 1916, 490. Fisher, Irving, Report on Na- tional Vitality, cited, 27. Fitzhugh, The Wealth of the North and the South, cited, 66. Fixing of prices, question of, un- der socialism, 237-229. Flexner, Prostitution in Europe, cited and quoted, 40. FoUett, The New State, cited, 154. Food, waste in production of, 11. Foods, absurdities in advertise- ments of, 20. Fraina, Louis C, Revolutionary Socialism, cited and quoted, 76, 79 n., 163 n., 203. France, early socialist writers of, 51 ; history of syndicalist move- ment in, 177-178; cooperatives 528 INDEX in, 193; trade union member- ship in, 202; socialists of, on the general strike as preventive of war, 265-367; anti-war dem- onstrations in, in July, 1914, 271-273; action of socialists upon outbreak of war, 276; progress of socialism in, since 1914, 420-^24; views of social- ists in, concerning League of Nations and peace treaty, 424- 427; 1919 election, 427; account of socialism in, before 1914, 485-487. Franco-Prussian War, socialism during the, 248-249. Frazier, Lynn J., Governor of No. Dakota, 461. Frederich, Stephen, regime of, in Hungary, 405-408. French and Indian War, eco- nomic forces behind, 64-65. Function, theory of organization by, 151-152. General Confederation of Labor, in France, 433-424. General strike, as a preventive of war, 353-254; Bebel's views on the, 254r-255; discussed at Copenhagen Congress of 1910, 258; attitude of French social- ists regarding, 265-367; pro- posed in France (July, 1919), 425-426; calling of, in Switzer- land (November, 1918), 442- 443. Geneva Convention of 1866, 483. Germany, effect of war on labor and socialist movement in, 4; cooperatives in, 192; trade union membership in, 202; so- cialists in, during period of Franco-Prussian War, 348- 349; opposition of Social Dem- ocrats in, to military budget of 1913, 261-263; debate by Social Democrats over support of taxation bill, 363-364; anti- war campaign in summer of 1914. 270-371; position taken by socialists upon outbreak of war, 379-280; pronouncements of socialists during the war, 284; separate peace signed by Russia with, 313-344; begin- ning of active opposition to war in, 359; split in Social Democratic Party, on question of war, 361; peace proposals formulated by socialists of, 362; Reichstag resolution of July 13, 1917, 363-364; grow- ing discontent among the masses, 364-365; effect of Aus- trian strikes, 365-366; strike in, of a million workers, 366-367; beginning of revolt proper, 368; abdication of Kaiser, 368-369; appointment of Ebert as Imperial Chancellor, 369; program of new government, 373-374; Congress of Councils of Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies, 374-375; activities of Spartacans, 377-379 ; resigna- tion of Independent Socialist members from cabinet, 379- 381; separation of Spartacans and Independents, 381-382; the January revolt, 382-383; sup- pression of Spartacans and murder of Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, 383; meeting of National Assembly, 383- 385; character of new Consti- tution, 385-386; signing of peace treaty, 386-387; disturb- ances following signing of treaty, 387; the July (1919) strike, 387; account of social- ism in, before 1914, 484-485. Germer, Adolph, sentenced to prison, 473. Ghent, W. J., Mass and Class, cited and quoted, 12, 38, 39, 73, 74, 75, 76, 100; Socialism and Success, cited, 190. Gide, Charles, quoted on extent of cooperative movement, 193-193. Glasgow Conference of Trade INDEX 529 Unions (September, 1919), 418. Gompers, Samuel, 429, 463. Gorky, Maxim, 315 n. ; tribute by, to cultural work of Soviet Gov- ernment, 349. Government, corruption of, by big business, 41^3. Government ownership, limita- tions of, 198; a step toward industrial democracy, 199-200; question of inefSciency of, 220; how present-day, differs from the socialist ideal, 220-222; comparison between private and, 222-223. See Public own- ership. Gray, War Time Control of In- dustry, cited, 198. Great Britain, effect of war on labor and socialist movement in, 4; cooperatives in, 192; trade union membership in, 202; opposition of socialists to war, prior to England's en- trance in 1914, 272-273; con- tinued opposition of socialists in, to war, after outbreak of hostilities, 276-277 ; position taken by Labor Party, 277- 278; attitude of British Social- ist Party, 278-279; British Labor Party after the out- break of hostilities, 409-410; the party and the Stockholm Conference, 410-413; coalition with government and labor truce, 412-413; reconstruction program, 413-415 ; elections, 415-417; trade union con- gresses, 418-420; history of so- cialist activities in, before 1914, 491-494. Great man theory under eco- nomic interpretation of his- tory, 63. Greece, socialists of, favor neu- trality in European war, 281; socialism in, since 1914, 447; character of socialist move- ment in, 501. Groat, G. G., Organized Labor in America, cited, 203. Guesde, Jules, becomes member of French war cabinet, 276. Guild socialism, theory of, 170 ff. ; views of socialists regarding, 176-177. See National guilds- men. Guthrie, Socialism before the French Revolution, cited, 52. Guyot, Yves, Where and Why Public Ownership Has Failed, cited, 222. Haase, Hugo, German Social Democat, opposes military budget of 1913, 261-262; at- tack on increased military ap- propriation by, 264; continues in opposition to war, after out- break of hostilities, 279; sup- port given to the war by, 360; Minister of Foreign Affairs in German government after rev- olution, 370 n. ; assassination of, 398. Hamilton, W. H., Current Eco- nomic Problems, quoted, 189 n. Handicraft industry, views of so- cialists regarding, 125-126. Hard, William, magazine articles by, cited, 328, 342, 354 n. Hardie, Keir, general strike as preventive of war favored by, 258; at Brussels Congress of 1914, 268; organizer of Inde- pendent Labor Party in Eng- land, 492. Harriman, Job, American social- ist, 502. Harris, E. P., Cooperation the Hope of the Consumer, cited and quoted, 11, 12, 23 n., 38, 193, 194. Hayes, Max, American socialist, 502. Henderson, Arthur, leader of British Labor Party, 278; at Berne Conference of 1919, 294; chairman of Lucerne Confer- ence, 301; converted to Stock- 530 INDEX holm plan upon visiting Rus- sia, 410-411; resignation of, from British cabinet, 411. Herald League in England, 494. Hervd, teaching of, that "the proletariat has no fatherland," 254; views of, challenged by Bebel, 354r-2S6. Hillquit, Morris, History of So- cialism in United States, cited, 52; quoted on socialist position regarding land, 139; quoted on administration of industries under socialism, 137; Socialism in Theory and Practice, cited, 146, 190, 199, 203; passport re- fused to, to attend Stockholm conference, 287; vote cast for, for mayor of New York (1917), 458; socialist activities of, 402. Hillquit and Ryan, Socialism, Promise or Menace, cited, 159, 161, 207. Hinds, American Communities, cited, 52. History, economic interpretation of, 60-68. Hobson, John A., English econ- omist, 3; The Evolution of Modern Capitalism, cited, 14, 25, 71 n., 73, 211 ; Imperialism, cited, 67; quoted on corpora- tions and concentration of con- trol, 85; cited and quoted, 90, 91, 93, 96, 104, 116, 167; Democracy after the War, cited, 176-177; Work and Wealth, cited and quoted, 209, 311, 212, 219, 224; quoted on government ownership, 321 n. Hobson, S. G., National Guilds, quoted, loin.; Ouild Principle in War and Peace, cited, 170. Hoffmann, Frederic L., Indus- trial Accident Statistics, cited, 26. Holland, cooperatives in, 192; fight for neutrality in Euro- pean war, made by socialists of, 274; activities of socialists in, since 1914, 440-441; history of socialist movement in, 497. Holyoke, G. J., History of Go- operation by, 194 n. Horvath General, self-appoint- ed military dictator of Russian forces in Far East, 355. Howe, Frederic C, The High Cost of Living, quoted, 23 n., 98 n.; Why War, cited, 67, 116 n. Howells, W. D., A Traveler from Altruria by, 52. Hughan, Jessie W., American Socialism of the Present Day, cited and quoted, 117 n., 120, 121, 137, 142, 146. Hughes, W. M., 478, 479. Human element, importance of in determining results of pri- vate and public service, 223- 224. Human life, waste of, under cap- italistic system, 24-29. Hungary, cooperatives in, 192; trade union membership in, 202; attitude of socialists of, in summer of 1914, 270; socialist position in, one of opposition to war after opening of hostili- ties, 280; events in, during early days of war, 393-394; the October (1917) revolution, 394; declaration of republic in, 395; revolt against Karolyi government, 395-396; resigna- tion of Karolyi in favor of communists, 396-397; activities of Bela Kun government, 397- 400; Allied intervention, 400- 401; Bela Kun's appeal ad- dressed to proletariat of the world, 401-403; Bela Kun's overthrow and Rumanian ag- gression, 403-404; temporary dictatorship of Archduke Jos- eph, 404-406; resignation of Archduke Joseph, followed by Frederich regime, 405-408; be- ginnings and early history of socialist movement in, 491. INDEX 631 Hunter, Robert, Violence and the Labor Movement, cited, 40, 482 n.; Why We Pail as Chris- tians, cited, 159; Socialists at Work by, 493 n. Huysmans, Camille, secretary of International, 286, 390 n., 483. Hyde, Henry M., cited and quoted, 97 n. Hyndman, H. M., 491 Iglesias, Pablo, Spanish socialist, 444, 499. Illinois Labor Party, 464. Imperialism, launching of policy of, 115-116. Incentive, stifling of, as a basis for objection to socialism, 207- 227. Increasing misery theory, 108- 111; justification of Marx's prophecy, 111. Independent Labor Party in England, 492. Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, 361 ; joins Majority socialists in govern- ment after German revolution, 370; resignation of cabinet members, on account of use of force against sailors, 379-381; Spartacans separate from, 381- 382. India, labor movement in, 480; socialism in, 510. Industrial accidents, waste due to, 26-27. Industrial crises, 112-117. Industrial democracy, govern- ment ownership as a step to- ward, 199-200. Industrial system under capital- ist regime, 31-36. Industrial Workers of the World, syndicalism among, 178; plan worked out by, in United States, 178 n. Industry, diversion of, to lux- uries, under capitalism, 12-13. Inefficiency, fear of, under so- cialist regime, 208. Inequality of wealth, under pri- ' vate ownership system, 31-37 ; effect on ethical life of com- munity, 37-49. Inevitability of socialism, 53-59. Intellectual production under socialism, 131-135 Intellectual proletariat, 101. Intemperance, augmented under capitalist system, 47. Intercollegiate Socialist Society, organization and character of, 503; publications of, 520. International, the first, 247; the second, 249-250; activities of, during European War, 283 S. ; the Berne Conference of 1919, 290-300; the Lucerne Confer- ence (August, 1919), 300-302; meeting of the Communist or so-called third, at Moscow, 302-306; question of future re- lation between second, and the Communist, 306; French social- ists and the second, 433; ac- count of formation of first, 482-483; foundation laid of second, 483 ; permanent Bureau and conferences of, 483-484. International Communists, Mos- cow meeting of (March, 1919), 302-306. International Cooperative Alli- ance, publications of, 194 n. International Harvester Com- pany, 87; paternalistic pro- posals of, 205. Internationalism, socialism and, 247 ff. ; beginnings of, 247- 248. International Socialist Con- gresses, 1, 483-484. Inventors, position of, under so- cialism, 211, 212-213. Ireland, socialist progress in, during the war, 419. Italy, foothold gained by syndi- calism in, 178; cooperatives in, 192; trade union membership in, 202; position of neutrality taken by socialists of, at begin- 532 INDEX ning of European war, 273- 374; socialist activities in, after entrance of country into the war, 437-429; socialist declara- tion following signing of ar- mistice, 429-430; criticism of President Wilson in, 430; the 1919 activities, 430-^31 ; strikes and disturbances in cities of, 432-433; increase in votes in 1919 elections, 433; socialism in, before 1914, 494-495; con- nection of socialism with trade unions in, 495. Japan, labor movement in, 480; reorganization of Socialist Party in, 481; socialism in, be- fore 1914, 509-510. Jaurfes, Jean, Studies in Social- ism, quoted, 79 n. ; at congress at Paris in 1900, 250; opposes Bebel's opinions on the gen- eral strike and war, 255-256; argues in 1914 for general strike as preventive of war, 265-266; at Brussels Congress of 1914, 269; as a French so- cialist leader, 486. Jenks, J. W., The Trust Prob- lem, quoted, 20; cited, 22. Jews, outrages against, by White Terrorists in Hungary, 405. Johnson, Emory R., American Railway Transportation, cited, 89; The New Spirit in Indus- try, cited, 205. Jones, Eliot, The Anthracite Coal Combination, cited, 89 n. Joseph, Archduke, brief dictator- ship of, in Hungary, 404-405. Jouhaux, L., resignation of from Peace Conference, 425. Jowett, F. W., 415, 416. Jugo-Slav Socialist Parties, con- gress of, 453-453. Justo, Dr., leader Argentine so- cialists, 476. Karolyi, Count, Michael, ap- pointed president of Hunga- rian Republic, 494-495; revolt of 1918 against government of, 395-396; resignation of, 396- 397; blame for Bolshevism in Hungary placed on Entente by, 397. Kautsky, Karl, Ethics and the Materialistic Conception of History, cited, 64; The Class Struggle, cited, 73; The Road to Power, cited and quoted, 78, 79 n., 84-85 ; Social Revolu- tion, cited and quoted, 93, 111, lis, 126, 210; predictions of, concerning future state, 123; The Socialist Republic, quoted, 125; cited and quoted, 129-130, 133, 133, 136, 166; at Berne Conference of 1919, 391. KeUey, Florence, Modern Indus- try, cited and quoted, 36. Kellogg and Gleason, British Labor and the War, cited, 203, 305, 409. Kelly, E., Twentieth Century So- cialism, quoted and cited, 14- 15, 22, 212. Kerensky, spokesman of Russian labor group against war, 281; comes to front in Russian revo- lution, 311; becomes member of Social Revolutionary Party, 315 n.; debate between Lenin and, on tactics, 320; succeeds Lvov as Premier, 323; Kornilov revolt and appointment of, as commander-in-chief of army, 325 ; defense by government of, against Bolshevist charges, 328-329; events leading to fall of, 330-331; power of, passes to Military Revolutionary Committee, 332; advances on Petrograd with armed force, but flees, 334^335. Kettle, Southern Wealth and Northern Profits, cited, 66. Kidd, Benjamin, religious inter- pretation of history by, 61. Kiel, mutiny at (1918), 368. Kin^, Dr. W. I., cited on unequal INDEX 63S distribution of wealth, 31, 32, 104, 111, 120. Kirkpatrick, George R., socialist vice-presidential candidate in 1916, 456. Kirkup, Thomas, History of So- cialism, cited, 52, 482; Inqidry into Socialism, cited, 188, 206. Knights of Labor, the, 462. Kolchak, Admiral, anti-Bolshev- ist force led by, 350-351; coup d'Hats of October and Novem- ber, 1918, ,S51; aid of Allies to, 357, 338; opposed to transport to, 424. Kornilov, General I. C, in com- mand of Russian army, 323, 324; revolt led by, against Ke- rensky, 324-325. Kropotkin, Fields, Factories and Workshops, cited, 16. Kun, Bela, leader in Hungarian revolt against Karolyi govern- ment, 395; government of, in power, 397-^00; soviet elections held by, 400; plans to over- throw government of, 400-401; appeal by, addressed to prole- tariat of the world, 401-403; overthrow of, 403; comparison of Bolshevism of Frederich regime with that of govern- ment of, 407-408. Labor charter, discussion of, at Berne Conference of 1919, 297. Labor legislation, extent of, 188- 189. Labor parties, advent of local, in United States, 462; formation of Labor Party of the United States, 464; principles of, 464- 465; Socialist Party and, 465- 466. Labor party idea, development of, during the war, 463-464. Labor theory of value, 117-120. Labor unions, extent and mem- bership of, 201-202; criticism of, 202; contribution of, to so- cialism, 203-203. Laidler, H. W., Boycotts and the Labor Struggle, cited, 33 n., 40; Report on Condition of Women and Child Wage-Earn- ers in United States, cited, 33 n.; (with Walling, Stokes and Hughan), The Socialism of Today, cited, 157, 482; Brit- ish Cooperative Movement, cited, 192, 223; Public Owner- ship Throughout the World, cited, 198. Land, collectivism in, 128-131. Land problem in Russia after the revolution, 320. Landis, J. M., sentence socialist leaders, 473. Large-scale production, increase of, 82-83. Laski, Harold, Authority in the Modern State, quoted, 152- 153; Studies in the Problem of Sovereignty, cited, 154. LassaUe, Ferdinand, German so- cialist, 484. LassaUian socialists in Germany, position taken by, at time of Franco-Prussian War, 249. Latin America, socialism in, since 1914, 475^78; history of so- cialism in, before 1914, 504- 506. Lauck and Sydenstricker, Condi- tions of Labor in American In- dustries, cited, 24 n., 27, 28, 35; statistics of wages by, 33. Lawson, Thomas W., Frenzied Finance, cited, 41. Lazzari, C, 428, 430, 431, 433. Lea, H., "The Eve of the Ref- ormation," cited, 67. League of Nations, discussion of, at Berne Conference (Febru- ary, 1919), 292-393; attitude of French labor party toward, 424-425; condemned by Social- ist Party in America, 470. League of the Just, 482. Lee, passport refused to, to at- tend Stockholm conference, 387. 534. INDEX Left Wing movement in United States, 466-467; dissensions in, 467-468; develops into Com- munist Labor Party, 468. Lenin, Nicholai, Soviets at Work, quoted, 167, 347-348, 355; ar- rival of, in Petrograd after Russian revolution, 317; bio- graphical account of, 317 n.; immediate peace negotiations demanded by, 318; goes into hiding on Kerensky's accession to Premiership, 323; return of, on downfall of Kerensky, 332; appointed president of soviet government, 333; justification by, of signing of separate peace with Germany, 342; pro- gram of, for higher productiv- ity, 347-348; statement by, concerning proletarian rule, 362 n.; criticism and defense of government established by, 352-356. Levine, Louis, Syndicalism in France, cited and quoted, 179, 181, 182, 184, 185. Liebknecht, Karl, campaign of, against militarism, 265; stand taken by, against the war (December, 1914), 360-361; imprisonment of, 362; murder of, 383. Liebknecht, W., quoted on scope of working class, 79 n.; avoid- ance of Utopian dreams by, 123; attitude at time of Fran- co-Prussian War, 249; on so- cialist program to prevent war, 253. Lindhagen, Mayor of Stockholm, 436. Lippmann, Walter, Stakes of Di- plomacy, cited, 67; on inactive stockholders, 104; Drift and Mastery, quoted, 215-216, 217- 218. Litvinov, Maxim, defense by, of so-called Red Terror, 357 n. Lloyd George, 410, 411, 412, 415, 419. Lloyd, H. D., Trade Unionism, cited, 203. Lomov, A., report of, on in- creased productivity in Russia, 349 n. London, congress at, in 1896, 249; congress at, in 1915, 283- 284; conference of British Labor Party at (June, 1918), 413. London, Meyer, socialist Con- gressman, 455-456; defeat of, in 1918 election, 460. Longuet, Jean, French deputy to Brussels meeting, 2; at Berne Conference of 1919, 291, 299; group of French socialists led by, 420; characterization of peace treaty by, in Chamber of Deputies, 427; defeat of, 427. Loria, The Economic Causes of War, cited, 67. Lumbering industry, concentra- tion in control of, 89. Lunacharsky, A. V., Commissar of Education under Soviet Government in Russia, 350 n. Lusitania incident, socialist feel- ing concerning, 455. Lusk Committee, activities of, 474. Luxemburg, Rosa, campaign of, against militarism, 265; con- tinues opposition to war after opening of hostilities, ' 279; member of new Independent Social Democratic Party, 361; imprisonment of, 362; murder of, 383. Luxuries, diversion of industry to, under capitalism, 12-13. Lvov, Prince, Premier of provi- sional government after Rus- sian revolution, 312 n. ; suc- ceeded by Kerensky, 322. McCann, Alfred M., cited on food adulteration, 12. Macdonald, J. Ramsay, Syndical- ism by, 185 n. ; The Socialist Movement, quoted, 241 ; gen- INDEX 535 eral strike as preventive of war advocated by, 358; quoted on League of Nations, 293- 294; defense of attitude of British Labor Party by, 296; permanent policy of rule by aggressive minorities con- demned by, 298. Machinery, expenslveness of a factor in class struggle, 71. Madison, James, class struggle theory expounded by, 68-69. Magnes, Judah L., Russia and Germany at Brest-Litovsk by, 340 n. Mail-order houses, 91. Majoritaires and Minoritaires in France, 430-421. Malthusian theory concerning overpopulation, 238; not justi- fied by present-day tendencies, 238-239. Manifesto issued by Communist International (Moscow, 1919), 302-306. Manifesto of Socialist Party in America, issued in 1919, 470- 472. Manly, Basil M., Report of Com- mission on Industrial Rela- tions, quoted, 72; quoted on corporations and concentration of control, 85 n. Mann, Tom, 491. Mannerheim, General, 449. Manufacture, concentration in, 85-88. Manufacturing, wastes in, under competitive system, 13-15. Marot, Helen, American Labor Unions, cited, 203; The Crea- tive Impulse in Industry, cited, 210. Marriage, effect of modern in- dustrial conditions on, 36-37. Marshall, Principles of Econom- ics, cited, 71 n. Marx, Karl, Communist Mani- festo of Engels and, quoted, 10 ff., 53; economic interpre- tation of history formulated by, 60; Capital, cited and quoted, 63, 103, 108, 109; con- ception of class struggle of, 69-70; quoted on disappear- ance of the middle class, 99; increasing misery theory of, 108; advice of, to German Social Democracy at time of Franco-Prussian War, 248. Marxian socialism, S3. Mass action, significance of words, 163 n. Matchett, Charles H., Socialist Labor presidential candidate, 501. Mazaryk, President of Czecho- slovak republic, 452. Mehring, Franz, open opposition of, to the war, 361, 362. Mellen, Charles H., on salaries of railroad presidents, 218 n. Melvin, Socialism as the Socio- logical Ideal, cited, 206. Menshevik group of Social Dem- ocratic Party, 315 n., 489. Mexican Communist Party, 477. Mexican crisis of 1915, protests from socialists at time of, 456. Mexican intervention, socialist condemnation of, 469. Mexico, socialist activities in, 477; history of socialism in, 506. Middle class, position of, in class struggle, 75; theory of disap- pearance of the, 99-108; in reality a small and weak group, 108. Militarism, efforts of Interna- tionals against, 247-375. See Wars. Miliukov, Paul, minister of war in provisional government formed after Russian revolu- tion, 312 n. ; events leading to resignation of, 316-318; failure of League for Rebirth of Rus- sia formed by, 350. Mill, J. S., Principles of Politi- cal Economy, cited, 210. Misery, theory of increasing. 536 INDEX 108-110; scope and significance of word, 110. Moderate socialists, tactics advo- cated by, for transition to so- cialism, 164r-168. Moderwell, Hiram, account of Munich revolution by, 388 n.; quoted, 397. MofFett, Cleveland, quoted on di- version of industry to luxuries, 12 n. Money, question of, imder so- cialism, 145-146. Money, Chiozzo, Socialism and the Great State, cited, 11; Riches and Poverty, quoted, 11; plan of, concerning publi- cations, 134. Monroe Doctrine, abandonment of, called for by American so- cialists, 456. Morgan, Ancient Society, cited, 64. Morgari, Signor, urges revolu- tion, 428, 431. Morocco crisis of 1911, attitude of socialists during, 258-359. Morris, William, News from No- where, cited, 52; theory of, as to handicraft industry, 125; ideal of, emphasized by na- tional guildsraen, 171, 172; one of founders of S. D. F., 491. Moscow, first congress of Inter- national Communists at, 302- 306. Munroe, Government of Ameri- can Cities, cited, 232. Murdoch, John G., Economics and Ethics, cited, 121. National Cash Register Com- pany, unethical practices charged against, 40-41. National Guilds League, 170; formation of, 494. National Party, organized in United States in October, 1917, 459. National guildsmen and the state, 150-151. National guild socialism. See Guild socialism. Natural resources, social losses in, under capitalistic system, 17-18; concentration in, 88-89; increasing government control of, 195-196. Nearing, Scott, Income, cited and quoted, 71; Anthracite, cited, 89 n.; The Debs Deci- sion, cited, 472; trial of, 474. Needs, principle of remunera- tion in accordance with, 142. Neilson, How Diplomats Make War, cited, 67. Netherlands, trade union mem- bership in, 202. Netter, Gaston G., quoted on food adulteration, 13 n. New Age, The, English weekly, 170. New Society, Japanese socialist publication, 509. Newspapers under socialism, 134. New York City election of 1917, socialist gains in, 458-459. New York, New Haven and Hartford R. R., corrupt prac- tices of, 43, 230; evils of profit incentive shown by, 220 n. New Zealand, trade union mem- bership in, 202; labor and so- cialist movements in, 480, 508. Nicolaisen, a leader of Danish Party, 435. Nieboer, Slavery as an Indus- trial System, cited, 64. Nieuwenhuis, Domela, leader of Dutch socialists, 253, 497. Nonpartisan League, the, 106, 460-461; program of, 461-462. Nordoff, Communistic Societies of United States, cited, 52. North Dakota, success of Non- partisan League in, 460-462. Norway, cooperatives in, 192; trade union membership in, 202; socialist activities in, since 1914, 433, 439-440; progress of INDEX 537 Social Democratic Party in, before the war, 498. Nottingham Conference of Brit- ish Labor Party, 412^13. Noyes, History of American So- cialism, cited, 52. Occupational diseases, 28; reduc- tion of, under socialist regime, 29. Officers, selection of, under so- cialism, 137-138; under na- tional guild theory, 174. Ogburn, W. F., article by, cited, 67. O'Hare, Kate Richards, sen- tenced to prison, 473. Oil, waste in, 17. Omsk Government, formation of, 351; military and financial aid given by Allies to, 357-358. " One big union " idea, in West- ern Canada, 475; in Australia, 479-480. Orage, A. R., National Ofiilds, cited, 170. Orlando, Signor, 433. Orth, S. P., Socialism, and De- mocracy in Europe by, 483 n. ; cited, 496. Overcrowding, low wages and sickness companions of, 28. Overpopulation, socialism and, 238-243. Owen, Robert, 51. Ownership, private vs. public, 222-223. See Government ownership. Pan-American Socialist Confer- ence (1919), 476. Panics, periodic, 56-56. See Crises. Parental responsibility, question of, under present industrial system, 240-241; under social- ism, 341. Paris, congress at, in 1889, 249; congress of 1900, 249. Parmalee, Poverty and Social Progress, cited, 35, 189. Parties in Russia after revolu- tion, 314-315. Passports, refusal of, to dele- gates to conference at Stock- holm, 287-288. Patriotism, views of, held by syn- dicalists, 182. Pay for work, under socialism, 141-146. Peace treaty, exception taken to, by French socialist party, 426- 437. Pease, Jean Jauris, cited, 486. Penty, A. J., Restoration of the Ouild System by, 170; Old Worlds for New, cited, 170. Periodicals, on socialism, 430; so- cialist, 520-531. Perky, Cooperation in the United States, cited, 193. Personality, effect of inequality of wealth on, 43-45. Peru, strikes in (1919), 477. Petrograd Soviet Day, 331-332. Philippines, independence of, called for by American social- ists, 456. Pikler, Julius, Der TJrsprung dea Totemismus, cited, 64. Plechanoff, George, at Congress of Zurich, 253. Plumb plan for management of railroads, 205. Poland, cooperatives in, 192; op- position of Social Democratic Party in, to European War, 281 ; position of socialism in, 451. Political action, favored by so- cialism, discarded by anarch- ism, 235. Political corruption, under so- cialism and under capitalism, 229-234. Political organization of work- ers, 59. Political patronage, corruption connected with, 332-233. Political power of workers, 74- 75. Political socialist movement, 305. 538 INDEX Populist movement, 106. Porter, Progress of the Nations, cited, 71 n. Porto Rico, socialism in, 516- S17. Portugal, neutrality demanded by socialists of, in European war, 275; government support- ed by socialists, after declara- tion of war, 381; socialism in, since 1914, 445; history of So- cialist Party in, 499-500. Poverty, and disease, 38-29; not the chief evil of capitalist sys- tem, 37-38. Prices, fixing of, under socialism, 227-229. Private property, socialism and, 124; relation of family life to, as regards socialism, 160. Production, wastes in, under cap- italism, 11-18. Productive forces, failure of cap- italism to utilize, 11. Professions, incentives in and position of, under socialism, 215-216. Profit motive, of capitalist sys- tem, 38; unethical business practices resulting from, 36- 43; substitutes for, under so- cialism, 207-219; evils of, as an incentive, 219-320; effects of, on accumulation of capital under capitalism and under so- cialism, 224-226. Progressive movement, 106. Proletariat, defined, 54 n. ; ap- proaching triumph of, 59; in- tellectual, 100; dictatorship of the, 163-164, 375-370. Propaganda of the deed, mean- ing of, 235. Prostitution, capitalism and, 45- 47. Publications, position of, under socialism, 134. Public ownership, limitations of, 198-199; world-wide trend to- ward, a development in direc- tion of socialism, 195-301. Public utilities, concentration in control of, 89-90. Race suicide, fear of, 239. Radicals, tactics advocated by, for transition to socialism, 162- 164. Railroads, saving on, under gov- ernment administration, 23 n. Rakowsky, Dr., Rumanian lead- er, 446, 500. Rand School of Social Science, campaign against, 474; organi- zation and purpose of, 503. Ransome, Arthur, On Behalf of Russia, quoted, 309 n. ; " Rus- sia in 1919," quoted, 349 n- 350 n., 357 n. Rauschenbusch, Walter, Christi- anity and the Social Crisis, cited, 13; Christianizing the Social Order, quoted, 33 n., 39 n., 44, 45, 47, 76, 158-159. Reckitt and Bcchhofcr, The Meaning of National Guilds, cited and quoted, 170, 171. Reconstruction program of Brit- ish Labor Party, 413-415. Red Terror, the, in Russia, 353 n. ; Soviet Government's defense, 356n-3S7n. Reeve, The Cost of Competition, cited, 18, 20. Reformation, the Protestant, in- fluence of economic forces on, 67. Reforms, social, 188-189; social- ist criticism of, 189-190; ad- vantages of, 190. Religion, socialism and, 154^ 159. Religious movements, influence of economic forces on, 67-68. Remuneration under socialism, 141-146. Renaudel, M., defeated as candi- date, 427. Renold, Workshop Committees, cited, 205. Research laboratories, effects of emergence of, 212. INDEX 539 Retail trade, concentration in, 91-93. Revolution, significance of word, in socialist usage, 16Sn. Rittenhouse, E. E., cited on in- crease in sickness among work- ers, 29. Roberts, labor member of cabi- net, 41S, 416. Rochdale cooperative, 190-191. Roosevelt, T., 503. Ross, E. A., quoted on effect of inequality of wealth on per- sonality, 43-44 ; " Caste and Class," quoted, 48. Rubinow, I. M., Social Insurance, quoted, 24 n., 28, 92 n.; Was Marx Wrong? cited, 100 n., 103. Rumania, stand taken by social- ists of, toward European war, 275; attitude of socialists after declaration of war, 281 ; ag- gressions of, in Hungary (August, 1919), 404; activities of socialists in, during the war, 446; history of socialist move- ment in, up to time of war, 500-501. Russell, B., Justice in War Time and Why Men Fight, cited, 67; Proposed Roads to Freedom, quoted and cited, 133-134, 135, 145, 148, 170, 185, 214-215, 336, 243; Political Ideals, cited, 154. Russell, Charles Edward, chair- man of Social Democratic League, 459. Russia, effect of war on socialist and labor movement in, 4; co- Qperatives in, 193; opposition of socialists to war, in summer of 1914, 273; stand taken by socialists of, after declaration of war, 280-281; resolution concerning, at Berne Confer- ence of 1919, 298-299; pro- posed action of British Labor Party against Allied interven- tion in, 417-418; opposition of French socialists to Allied pol- icy toward, 425; socialism in, before 1914, 487^89. Russian Revolution, the, 308 ff. ; causes of discontent and steps leading to, 308-309; beginnings of March revolution, 309-310; crisis reached on March 11, 1917, 310; leadership taken by socialists, and emergence of workmen's councils, 310-311; election of Council of Workers' Deputies, 311 ; abdication of Czar, 311-312; the first provi- sional government, 31 3 ff. ; composition of parties in con- trol, 314; military situation, 318-319; the land problem, 320; events of July, 321-322; Kerensky's Premiership, 322- 323; the Kornilov revolt, 324- 325; the democratic confer- ence, 335-326; the Pre-Parlia- ment, 336-327; Bolshevik revo- lution, 327; program of Bol- sheviks, 328; defense by Ke- rensky government, 328-339 ; calling of AU-Russian Con- gress of Soviets (September, 1917), 339-330; fall of Keren- sky government, 332; the So- viet Government, 332 ff. ; Bol- shevist move for peace, 340; negotiations at Brest-Litovsk, 34.0-341; signing of Tilsit peace, 341-342; the Soviet Con- stitution, 343-347; social and economic results of Soviet Government, 348-349 ; forces opposed to Soviet Government, 350-352; socialist critics of Bolsheviks, 352; socialist criti- cism of soviet rule, 352-355; defense of Bolshevik methods, 355-356; socialists of America pledge support to Soviet Gov- ernment, 470-471. Russo-Japanese War, socialists' attitude during, 250-251. Ryan, John A., quoted on out- grown objections to socialism, 207. 64-0 INDEX Sabotage, under syndicalism, 179, 180. Sacchi decree of October 4, 1917, in Italy, 428. St. Louis convention of socialists in 1917, 457-458. St. Louis Resolution, the, 457. Samara conspiracy, 350. Scheidemann, Philip, member of Majority socialists in Germany, 363-364, 375, 376; member of cabinet in German government after revolution, 370; resigna- tion of, 386. Schwab, C, The Confederate States of America, cited, 66. Scientific socialism, advent of, S3. Scott, Syndicalism and Philo- sophic Realism, cited, 185. Scudder, Vida D., Socialism and Character, cited, 159. Seager, Principles of Economics, cited and quoted, 41, 242. Seligman, E. R. A., Principles of Economics, cited and quoted, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 239; Problems of Readjustment after the War, cited, 67; quoted on growth of combina- tion, 84 ; "An Economic Inter- pretation of the War," quoted, 116 11.; Economic Interpreta- tion of History, quoted, 157. Sembat, Marcel, becomes member of French war cabinet, 276. Semenov, General, commander of anti-Bolshevist force in East- ern Siberia, 350-351. Servia, position of socialists in, during the war, 446; Socialist Party in, before 1914, 500. Serwy, Victor, first International Secretary, 483. Shaw, Bernard, "The Case for Equality," cited, 142; leader in Fabian Society, 494. Sickness, increase in, among workers, 29. Simkhovitch, Vladimir, quoted concerning economic forces be- hind Protestant Reformation, 67; Marxism vs. Socialism, cited and quoted, 68, 76, 93 n., 100, 107, 109, 113, 117 n. Simons, A. M., Wasting Human Life, cited and quoted, 15, 16, 19 n., 20 ; Social Forces in American History, cited, 64, 66, 95, 96, 97; The American Farmer, cited, 125. Sinn Fein campaigns in Ireland, 419. SkeiEngton, Irish leader, 419. Skelton, O. D., Socialism, A Critical Analysis, cited, 93, 95, 100, 340. Slackness, indifference and the lazy stroke, fear of, under so- cialism, 208-209. Slovakia, socialism in, 452-453. Small businesses, persistence of, 93; increase of, 105. Smith, The Spirit of American Government, cited, 66. Smith, Adam, quoted on antag- onism between interest of worker and owner, 77-78. Snowden, Philip, on " State So- cialism and the National Guilds,'' 176; mentioned, 492. Snowden, Mrs., urges disarma- ment, at Berne Conference of 1919, 394. Social Democracy of America, 502. Social Democratic Labor Party in Holland, 497. Social Democratic League, repu- diated by Italian Socialists, 429; formation of, by pro-war socialists, 459. Social Democratic Party in Rus- sia after revolution, 314 n. Social Democratic Union in Hol- land, 508. Social Democratic Workers' Community, party of, formed in Germany, 361. Social evil, capitalist system and the, 45-47. Socialism, attitude of, toward the war, in July, 1914, 1; sup- INDEX 541 posed destruction of, by the war, 2; actual effects of war upon cause of, 2-5; underlying motive of, 9; character of in- dictment brought by, against present-day evils, 9-10; indict- ment of capitalist system on account of unequal distribution of wealth, 31-37; theory of, SO S. ; Utopian school of, 50- 52; scientific or Marxian, 53; why regarded as inevitable, 53- 59; the socialist common- wealth, 122 ff.; the aims of, 122-123; doctrines of, regard- ing private property, 124; in- tellectual production under, 131-135 ; democratic manage- ment under, 136-138; assign- ment of tasks imder, 138-141; remuneration under, 141-146; nature of the state under, 146- 154; religion and, 154-159; the family and, 159-161 ; discussion of method of transition to, 161- 168; conflict of views between two wings of movement, 168- 169; theory of, held by na- tional guildsmen, 170-177; syn- dicaUst theory of, 177-186; the corporation as a step toward, 187-188; tendency toward, in- dicated by social reforms, 188- 190; and the voluntary co- operative movement, 190-194; public ownership as an indica- tion of trend toward, 195-201; contribution of labor unions to- ward, 203-203; the advance to- ward democratic management, 204-205; objections to, 307 ff.; ideal of government ownership held by, 220-223; question of accumulation of capital under, 234-337 ; political corruption and, 329-234 ; bureaucratic control as an objection to, 234; and anarchism, 235-238; and overpopulation, 338-343 ; and Internationalism, 347-282; ac- tivities during European war. 383 ff. ; the Berne Conference of 1919, 390-300; the Lucerne Conference, 300-302; leader- ship assumed by, in Russian revolution, 310; position held by, in first provisional govern- ment in Russia, 314 n.; criti- cism by, of Soviet Government, 353-353; in Great Britain since 1914, 409-420; in France, 420- 427; in Italy, 427^33; in Scandinavian countries, 433- 440; in the smaller European countries, 440-450; in United States since 1914, 454-469; ac- tivities in United States in 1919, 469-470; Party manifesto (1919), 470-^72; in Canada, 474-475; in Latin America, 475-478; in Australasia and Asia proper, 478-481; the movement before 1914, 482-510. Socialist commonwealth, the, 123 ff. Socialist Labor Party, in Eng- land, 494; in United States, 501. Socialist Party, birth of, in America, 502. Socialist Party of Great Britain, 594. Socialist Review, the, 520. Socialist Trade and Labor Alli- ance, formation of, 502. Socialistic Worlcingmen's Party in Germany, 484. Socialization of industry, pro- gram for, 166-167. Socially necessary industries, 134-135. Social reforms, 188-190. Solidarity, spirit of, developed by modern industry, 73. Sombart, Warner, Socialism and the Social Movement by, 185 n., 248. Sorel, G., Reflexions sii/r la vio- lence by, 185 n. South Africa, Labor Party in, 481; political labor movements in, 519. 542 INDEX South African War, attitude of British socialists on, 250. Southport Congress of British Labor Partj', il 7-418. Soviet, meaning of name and rise of idea of, 313 n. Soviet government, Russia under the, 332-343; Constitution of, 343-347; social and economic results of, 348-349; Russian and foreign forces arrayed against, 350-352; socialist crit- ics of, 353; Berne Conference Condemnation of, 353-354 ; called undemocratic, 355; de- fense of, 355-356; representa- tion by occupation under, 356; American socialists pledge support to, 470-471. Soviet idea of socialist stale, 149. Soviet Republic of Bavaria, 387 n. Soviets, Russian, 314; national congress of, called in April, 1917, 315. Spain, cooperatives in, 192; ac- tivities of socialists in, since 1914, 443-445; history of so- cialist movement in, 449. Spargo, John, Social Democracy Explained, quoted, 70; Social- ism, cited and quoted, 120, 123, 139 iMarxian Socialism and Re- ligion, cited, 158; Spirittial Significance of Modern Social- ism, cited, 159; Syndicalism, Socialism and Industrial Un- ionism, cited, 185; Applied Socialism, cited, 208, 212, 215, 241; Bolshevism, cited, 339, 354, 355; chairman of Social Democratic League, 459. Spargo and Arner, Elements of Socialism, cited, 142, 146, 147, 148, 165, 161, 168. Spartacus group in Germany, 361, 377; demand by, for dic- tatorship of the proletariat, after the revolution, 375; ag- gressive activities of, 377-379; separation of, from Independ- ent Socialist Party, 381 ; events following January revolt of, 383-383; suppression of, and murder of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, 383. Spy system in industry, 39-40. Stahlberg, Professor, candidate Young Finn Party, 450. Standard of living, inadequacy of wages as compared with a decent, 34. Standard Oil Company, 40, 86. State, nature of the, under so- cialism, 146-154; war of syn- dicalists against the, 180-181. State capitalism, 195 n. State ownership, theory of, advo- cated by national guildsmen, 172-173. State socialism, advancement of, by the war, 3; state of society called, 195 n. State sovereignty, new views of problems of, 152-153. Stauning, Theodore, Danish so- cialist leader, 434. Steffens, Lincoln, quoted on busi- ness and corruption in govern- ment, 41-42; The Shame of the City, cited, 231. Steinmetz, C. P., America and the New Epoch, cited, 187; ar- ticles by, cited and quoted, 211, 213 n. Stockholders, the middle class as, 101-102, 103; psychology of in- active, 103-105. Stockholm, conference of 1915 at, 285-286; proposed confer- ence of Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates at (1917), 286, 287; refusal of passports to delegates to Coun- cil of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies at, 287-288. Stockholm Conference, British Labor Party and the, 410- 411. Stoddard, The Shop Committee, cited, 205. Stokes, J. G. Phelps, treasurer INDEX 543 of Social Democratic League, 459. Stokes, Rose Pastor, 473; sen- tence of, to prison, 474. Stratton, S. W., quoted concern- ing industrial laboratory of Bureau of Standards, 214 n. Streightoff, F. H., Distribution of Incomes in the United States, cited, 33; on minimum standard of living, 34 n.; cited, 105. Strikes, under syndicalism, 179- 180; in Great Britain In 1919, 417; in Spain in 1917, 444; in Uruguay, 476; in Cuba, 477- 478. See General strike. Stuergkh, Count, assassinated by Friederich Adler, 389. Stuttgart Congress of 1907, 261- 356. Surplus value theory, 117-131. Sweden, cooperatives in, 193; trade union membership in, 302; neutrality favored by so- cialists of, in European war, 275; socialist activities in, since 1914, 433, 436-^t38; growth of socialist movement in, from 1902 to 1914, 498-499; close harmony between trade union movement and socialism in, 499. Switzerland, cooperatives in, 192; trade union membership in, 202; stand taken by social- ists of, toward European war, 274-275; activities of socialists in, during the war, 441-443; history of socialist movement in, before the war, 499. Syndicalism, theory of, 177; ori- gin of, 177-179; class struggle Qie fundamental idea of, 179; weapons of, 179-182; ideal of, 183-185; views of socialists re- garding, 185-186. Taussig, F., Principles of Eco- nomics, cited, 208, 240. Taff-Vale decision, influence on Labor Party, 493. Taxation biU of 1913 in Germany, opposition of Social Demo- crats to, 262-264. Tchaikovsky, Nicholas, anti-Bol- shevist Government of North- ern Russia formed by, 355. Tchcheidze, leader of Social Democrats in Russia, 311. Teachers, position of, under so- cialism, 215. Tead, Ordway, discussion of state sovereignty by, 152 n.; British Reconstruction Pro- grams, cited, 305. Theism and economic determin- ism, 157-159. Thomas, Albert, becomes Minis- ter of Munitions in France, 376; at Berne Conference of 1919, 391. Thomas, J. H., at Berne Confer- ence of 1919, 394. Thomas, Norman, quoted on state sovereignty question, 153. TiUett, Ben, 491. Tilsit peace, signing of, 341-343. Tokoi, Oscar, socialist leader in Finland, 448. Tolstoi, doctrines of, 335. Tomoso, Dr., leader Argentine socialists, 476. Townley, A. C, leader of Non- partisan League, 461. Trade unionism, extent of, 201- 202; criticism of, 203; contri- bution of, to socialism, 302- 303. Transition to socialism, method of effecting, 161-1G9. Traveling salesmen, source of economic waste, 21. Tridon, Andr6, The New Union- ism by, 185 n., 203. Troelstra, Pieter J., leader of socialists of Holland, 369, 383 n., 286, 301, 415, 497; ac- tivities of, in Holland during the war, 440-441. 644 INDEX Trotsky, Leon, arrival of, in Russia from America, 318; biographical sketch of, 318 n. ; principles of, as leader of Bol- sheviks, 319; arrested and im- prisoned by Kerensky, 322; From October to Brest-Lit- ovsk by, cited, 323, 326, 33T- 328, 340, 341; appointed Min- ister of Foreign AfPairs in Soviet Government following Kerensky's faU, 333; defense by, of Russia's separate peace negotiations, 341 n. Trusts, development of large- scale production into, 83; effect of, on industrial crises, 113. Tuberculosis rate, in New York City, 28. Tucker, Irwin St. John, sen- tenced to prison, 473. Turati, Philip, 495. Unemployment, evil of, 24-25; causes of, 25-36. United States, cooperative soci- eties in, 193; extent of trade union movement in, 201, 203; socialist call for embargo and international conferences, 454- 456; Mexican crisis, 456; presi- dential campaign, 456; St. Louis Platform, 457-458; further elections and se- cession from party, 458-460; Nonpartisan League, 460-463; Labor Parties form, 463-465; Socialist Party and Labor Party, 465-466; Left Wing Movements, 466-467 ; formation of Communist and Communist Labor Parties, 468-469; activi- ties of socialists, 469-470; manifesto of socialists of (1919), 470-472; history of so- cialism in, before 1914, 501- 503. United States Steel Corporation, 86. Universal German Workingmen's Association, 484. University Socialist Federation in England, 494. Uruguay, strikes in (1918), 476; socialism in, 505. Utopianism, avoidance of, by modern socialists, 123. Utopian socialists, school of, 50- 51; mistakes of, 51-53; Marx- ian socialism the successor of, 53. Vaillant, Edouard, general strike as preventive of war favored by, 253, 358. Vanderlip, Frank A., Wiiai Happened to Europe, quoted, 78 n. Yandervelde, Emile, Collectivism, quoted, 139, 143, 144, 147; So- cialism vs. the State, quoted and cited, 151 n., 199 ; accepts position in Belgian Cabinet, upon outbreak of war, 376; chairman of International, 483. Van Hise, Concentration and Control, cited, 14, 17, 18, 19, 86, 87, 88, 92; The Conserva- tion of Natural Resources in the United States, quoted, 17. Veblen, T., The Theory of Busi- ness Enterprise, quoted, 21, 72, 219. Vedder, H. C, Socialism and the Ethics of Jesus, cited, 159. Vice, relation between capitalist system and, 45-48. Von Hoist, E., Life of J. C. Calhoun, cited, 66. Vorwaerts of Berlin, opposition of, to European war, 359. Wages, statistics of, 33-33; in- adequacy of, under capitalist regime, to decent standard of living, 34; evil effects of low, 35. Wage system, abolition of, under theory of national guildsmen, 171-173. Wallace, Alfred Russel, believer INDEX S45 in law of decreasing fertility, 243 n. Wallas, Graham, Fabian Society member, 505. Walling, W. E., Progressivism and After, cited, 79 n.; Social- ism as It Is, cited, 79 n., 126 ; The Socialists and the War, cited, 24.8; secretary of Social Democratic League, 459. Walling and Laidler, /State So- cialism — Pro and Con, cited, 198, 214 n. Walling, Stokes, Hughan, and Laidler, The Socialism of To- day by, 157, 482 n. Ward, Harry, The Oospel for a Working World, cited, 159. Ward, Lester F., Pure Sociology, quoted, 39; Applied Sociology, quoted, 212 n. War Precautions Act in Austra- Ua, 478, 480. Wars, position taken by social- ists during recent, 247-251; causes of, found in economic questions, 251-252; the general strike as a means of prevent- ing, 252-254. See Militarism. Waste of capitalism, 11-23. Water power, concentration in control of, 88. Wealth, inequality of, under cap- italistic system and effects, 31-37; effect of inequality of, on ethical life of community, 37-49. Webb, Beatrice, 494. Webb, Sidney, quoted on effects of capitalist system on charac- ter, 47-48; The History of Trade Unionism, cited, 203; The Decline of the Birth Rate, cited and quoted, 239; leader of Fabian Society, 494. Wells, H. G., Tono Bungay, cited, 22; A Modern Utopia, cited, 52; New Worlds for Old, cited, 134, 930-231, 241. Wells and others. Socialism and the Great State, cited and quoted, 11, 15, 19, 131, 134, 141. Weyl, Walter, The End of the War, cited, 67. White, I. C, quoted on waste of gas, 17. White Guards and Red Guards in Finland, 448-449. White Terror, in Hungary, 405- 408; in Finland, 448-449. Whitley Report, the, 204--205. Wholesale trade, concentration in, 91 ; cooperatives engaged in, 191. Wilson, Havelock, 416; new Brit- ish labor party proposed by, 415. Wilson, President, message from, to Extraordinary National Conference at Moscow, 323; reason for United States troops in Russia, 352; condem- nation of executions in Russia, 353; demonstrations by French socialists, upon arrival of, in Paris, 422; hostility of Italian socialists to, upon visit to Rome, 430; characterization of philosophy, 432; socialist de- nunciation of administration, on account of Debs' convic- tion, 473. Wing, Simeon, Socialist Labor presidential candidate, 501. Winnipeg strike, the, 475. Woman, new type of, and effect on population, 241-243. Women's Labor League in Eng- land, 494. Women workers, wages of, 33, 34. Work, assignment of, under so- cialism, 138-141; payment for, 141-146. Worker, use of word, by social- ists, 165 n. Workers, diversion of productive, under competitive system, 19- 20; industrial and political or- ganization of, 58-59; groups in society to be included imder head of, 79 n. Workers' and Soldiers' Councils 546 INDEX in Germany after revolution, 371-372; political power vested in, 374-375; Congress of the, in December, 1918, 376-377. Workmen's Councils in Russia, organization of, after revolu- tion in March, 1917, 310-311. Yanousek, Anton, president of Slovak republic, 453. Young Finn Party, 450. Young Socialist Party, in Swe- den, 436-437. Yucatan, socialist developments in, 406. Zetkin, Clara, German socialist opposed to the war, 361. Zimmerwald Conference of Sep- tember, 1915, 284-285; pro- gram of, indorsed by Swiss so- cialists, 441-442. Zurich, congress at, in 1909, 253. ^^^^^i»H«ifUii»t^»ititt]tiikai»i4iiti3kMt^