The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 10, 1927, Page 10

aaa’ oe NES OTTO BAUER APOLOGIZES By G. BEITSCHEK ; ieee July rising of the Austrian proletariat has been drowned in blood, Seipel’s government is celebrating a victory over the proletariat, the jub- ilant Austrian fascists are preparing for new ven- tures, and the working class of Austria has new ‘rings in store. question ‘is, what are the Austrian social democrats doing amid the stifling atmosphere of the White.Terror which has set in after the sup- pression of the July rising? What new “theories” do they invoke to justify their latest betrayal of the working class? Indeed their treacherous role amid the barricade fights of the Austrian prole- tariat was so flagrant that the real nature of social- democracy has been revealed to every worker. Never- theless the Austrian social-democratic press, unper- turbed in the least, does not even attempt to justify the conduct of the social democrats before the inter- national proletariat. No, this does not at all enter into the thoughts of the Austrian social democratic “leaders.” What is most important to them is to justify their conduct. .before the bourgeoisie. What is wrong? the naive reader might ask. Since the Austrian social democrats have so splen- didly acquitted themselves of their role as extin- guisher of the flare of revolution, why should they want to apologize before the bourgeoisie? The an- swer is plain. The Austrian bourgeoisie have wit- nessed in the days of July how the masses, eschew- ing their obedience to the social democratic leaders, began to talk in the language of Bolshevism. At first blush the secial democrats had manifestly lost their bearings, and they did not put in sufficient energy to save the republic. For this reason the victorious bourgeoisie began to accuse the social democrats of weakness and “rashness.” This, of course, was galling to the “leaders,” as if they were going to say: we have tried our hardest, and yet you are abusing us. This caused Otto Bauer, theorist and leader of the Austrian social democracy, to unburden himself of an “apologetic” speech in parliament. In the interests of the entire world- wide revolutionary movement this speech ought to be published broadcast in millions of copies in all languages, so that every worker might read it and behold the real face of modern social democracy. Owing to the*® lack of space we: must restrict our- selves to quoting a few passages from that speech. In his opening remarks Otto Bauer observes that the revolutionary demonstration ofjthe Viennese pro- letariat, in which about 800.056 veople took part, had broken out, spontaneous!y, so that. the social democrats had been suddenly put in an “awkward” position. Bauer begins to “apologize”: ' “Today I frankly admit: it was our mistake, . our tragic ignorance of the situation. Then he goes' on to conjure! tp post-dated, 'pros- pects: | “Had we carried this out in time (the niebili- vation of the Schutzbund, that is of the social democratic police.—G; B.) the Schutzbund might have easily disposed (!) of the handful (!) of several thousand people which obstructed the firemen who came to put out the flames in the court building. oe The word “disposed” (glatt fertiggeworden) com- ing from the lips of Bauer, a well-known opponent of “force,” has rather a queer sound. Otto Bauer goes on to teach the Austrian bour- geoisie that for the suppression of the revolutionary movement there are two ways: firearms and “moral force.” He reminds the Austrian speculators and landowners that in 1918-1919 his party had coped with an even greater upheaval of the masses by means of “moral force.” “In those days we were capable of bringing the masses to reason by means of insistent daily appeal to common sense.” And so Otto Bauer wonders why the bourgeoisie in 1927 had to resort to the firearm method. Why did not the bourgeoisie try the method of “moral suasion” in the masses? In another passage of Bauer’s speech a descrip- tion is given of ‘the most salient moments of the movement. “The masses were scattered, the demonstra- tion was over. The police went through the streets, shooting. There were peopie killed and wounded. When we arrived there to save what could be saved, we were met by the calmest and most reasonable workers, who made but one request: give us arms to defend ourselves! In an instant we sized up the situation: driven by passion, the crowd had gone mad (here is a truly social democratic view of the revolution- ary mood of the masses.—G. B.). .+. .Now ‘the people are going to retaliate. The question is, by what means. gt It_ was then that the social democrats began to gave the bourgeoisie: “We then tried, although it was extremely diffieult, to substitute another reply to that of replying by means of firearms, and equally Mussolini: “What kind of a hero will I pose today?” firm, yet bloodless reply. Namely, we proposed a strike protest. We endeavored to tame the wild passions of the mob by suggesting the form of fighting whigh had been accompanied by proletarian discipline of the masses in the course of many decades. We decided to exert every effort to tell the working class, driven by anger to madness: do not expose your breasts to the rifles, for it means death, refrain also from seizing rifles into your hands, for it means civil war. Demonstrate your anger by means of your usual weapon: quit the ma- chines whose wheels are turned by your will. It was thus that we proclaimed then the general BETIKG: 6. ee What comment do we need to add to this shame- ful and arrogant cowardice? I believe, we need none. Otto Bauer not only justifies himself before parliament, zealously testifying his loyalty to the bourgeois republic, but he also openly confesses, with matchless cynicism, for what purpose he and his gang wanted the general strike. He declares quite calmly that the general strike, this “form of fighting,’ the social democratic adventurers had taken up merely to get hold of the movement and then betray it. But Bauer does not even pause at that. Not content with transforming the supreme weapon of the proletarian struggle into one of de- feat for the proletariat, Bauer goes on with his candid revelations. When Seipel’s clerical government, fuliy acquaint- ed with the “tactics” of the social democrats and fully apprecating their artful maneavering, insisted upon the discontinuance of the general strike as a preliminary condition to negotiations, the social democrats seeing that the crest of the struggle had been passed, did not hesitate to call off the strike. This is what Otto Bauer has to say about it: “At the hour of supreme danger we called upon our comrades to stop the strike. And if I ever was proud of my being an Austrian so cial democrat, of the great educational work carried on among the masses by our party and by our trade unions in the eourse of decades, I was particularly so on the night between Mon day and Tuesday. -when in spite of every thing, hundreds and thousands of railwaymen, postmen and telegraph and telephone operators without asking any questions, returned to work. Pe Now we shall know what the Austrian social democracy and its leader, Otto Bauer, are proud of. That the social democracy of the post-war period has already stooped to open blacklegging, we knew already for some time; but that it considers black- legging the supreme manifestation of party ethics, and that it even prides itself on it, we have now learned for the first time from the lips of Otto Bauer. What should be added to this evil-smelling potch- potch of platitudes? Perhaps the statement made in the Austrian parlimaent by Renner, the second leader of the Austrian social democracy. Renner thus “amplified” Bauer’s apology: “It is therefore superficial judgement on tix part of the bourgeoisie to place the laure! wreath upon the head of the chancellor, who had entirely lost his bearings at the momeni of decision, and to ignore the consistency and wisdom of our trade union leaders who have rendered far greater services to society.” We believe, Renner is right: the social democrats have tried their hardest to crush the rising of the Austrian proletariat, and of this they make no secret at all. : One thing ought to be said: the Austrian social! democrats during the barricade fights in July had discovered for themselves their wérthy places. ; —By M. Pass. The Bratiano brothers will do the rebbing of Roumania until the king grows up,