i STEAM COAL - Clpdigital.org

REPORT OF U. M. W. DELEGATES TO
INTERNATIONAL MINING CONGRESS.
(Continued from February 1)
In President Mitchell's article on "The Social
Democratic Party in Germany," which was a part
of the report made to the Indianapolis convention
by the delegates to the International Mining
Congress, he says:
"In many respects the Social Democratic party
is one of the most remarkable political organizations
in the world. In the rapidity of its growth,
in the effectiveness of its machinery, and in the
force and vividness of its appeal to various classes
in the community, it stands almost unrivalled
among political parties. In 1878 there were almost
500,000 Socialists, and in the number of its
adherents the party stood fourth or fifth among
the dozen or score of political bodies represented
in the Reichstag. At that time, the German government,
under the leadership of Bismarck, determined
to crush the organization by means of laws
rendering its further activity illegal. The result
was, of course, exactly what might have been expected
and exactly the opposite of that which was
intended. For a few years the Socialists were
confused, not knowing which way to turn, but
they soon regained confidence and the secret propaganda
which went on added rapidly to their numbers.
By 1890 the failure of the oppressive law
of 1878 was recognized and it was repealed. But
by that time the organization had nearly one and
a half million adherents, and in point of voters
was first among the German parties. Since then
the number of Socialist voters has steadily increased,
until at the present time about two and
one-half million men—or something less than onethird
of all German electors—vote this ticket.
"If the electoral districts of Germany were redistributed
every ten years according to the population,
either with or without gerrymandering, the
Socialists would hold at the present time something
like 110 or 120 out of a total of 397 seats.
As a matter of fact, there are only about one-half
this number of Socialists in the Reichstag. No
re-districting has taken place for over 30 years,
and the cities which are the strongholds of Socialism
are, at the present time, represented in the
German parliament on the basis of the population
which they had 30 years ago. Even as matters
stand, however, the Socialists hold one-seventh
of all the seats, and are the second largest party in
the Reichstag.
"The action of the Socialists, as of the trade
unionists in Germany, is very much hampered by
the law regulating public meetings. Permission to
hold a meeting must be obtained 24 hours in advance,
and the gathering is attended by a policeman
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 31
who sits next to the chairman, and has the right to
dissolve the meeting if in his judgment anything
occurs which does not conform to the letter of the
law. Boys under 17, and in certain parts of the
country, boys under 21, are not allowed to go to
public meetings of any sort.
"While the Socialists in Germany number over
two and a half millions, there are less than one
million trade unionists. 1 asked my German
friends why this was, and in the course of a long
explanation they gave me many reasons. In the
first place, the German workman seems to have
been accustomed for a longer time to political than
to industrial action, and the Socialistic party after
1890 had a long start upon the trade unions.
Moreover, where trade unionists are concerned
the ^3ppos,itJnn_af -the... g-reat iiulufc-tiiial ^sJaAefs .As
very much greater than where Social Democrats
are involved. There are men in Germany who are
perfectly satisfied to have every man in their employ
vote the Socialistic ticket, but will not tolerate
the weakest union in any part of their business.
The wages paid in many industries are so
low as to make unionism extremely difficult. The
textile workers find it impossible to get together
the few pennies necessary to create a labor organization.
As one of the Reichstag members
said, Union dues cost money, but the ballot is
free.'
"Many of the men who vote the Socialistic ticket
are subordinate officials and petty employes in
the postoffice, the telegraph, railroad and other
government departments, and these men dare not
belong to the trade union movement, neither can
they, of course, openly join the Socialistic movement
without fear of some sort of retribution.
Another large class of adherents is found among
the peasants. Many of the votes also come from
small shop keepers and tradesmen, and numbers
of what in Germany is called the lower middle
class. The appeal to the professional classes has
also been strong, and many lawyers and doctors
openly—and more secretly—support the movement.
Many of the people are not in sympathy with the
ultimate Socialistic ideals of the collective ownership
of the means of production, but they are
upon the whole, in sympathy with the immediate
demands on behalf of the workingmen; they are
heartily in favor of the agitation of the party in
defense of the rights of free speech and free assembly,
and with the assaults upon the abuses
which have flown from the spirit of militarism and
bureaucracy in Germany.
"The Socialistic party in Germany is thus not
only a movement which declares for the ultimate
and complete acquisition by the community of all
the means of production, but it is also a party with
a distinctive and present day working class policy.