The Revolutionary Age Chronicle and Interpretation of Events in Europe Vol. I, No. 13 Saturday, January 11, 1919 Price Cents The New Stage Opens HE oncoming proletarian revolution in Germany Co. with the authority to use any and all means against world, like the most contagious of diseases. It must is acquiring a larger consciousness and power. the proletarian revolution.
be the aim and duty, of all the Powers to fight this Every day, every hour, increases the energy But this Central Council is not representative universal enemy. am sure that Bolshevism has of the revolutionary masses, their understanding of of the revolutionary masses; it was not at the time prepared its groundwork in France and Italy, the same the problems of the Revolution and the necessary tac of its election, it is still less to day. The action of lo as it has in Finland and Lithuania.
tics of class ctior Every victory of counter cal Councils and the masses in city after city are an Having secured a mondate the reactionary revolution and of the petty bourgeois democrats of in:plied, if not direct repudiation, of the policy of the Congress Councils, the Ebert Government prepared majority Socialism is a Pyrrhic victory, out of which Central Council local councils are usurping govern to disarm the Revolution. Its policy is to retain ir: emerges, gigantic and implacable, the developing pow inent functions, regulating industry, developing out the service loyal and reactionary troops, while diser of revolutionary Socialism. The problems are cf life itself activity and measures that the dictator arming those who favor new and definitely proletarian enormous, the opposition powerful; but the struggle ship of the proletariat would organize, unify, and action. The events that opened the new stage of the proceeds. The proletariat is snapping asunder the legalize.
Revolution developed out of the decision of the Milifetters of petty bourgeois democracy and petty bour 5! The Ebert Scheidemann Government is now tary Commander of Berlin, Otto Wels, to disband geois Socialism; it is, out of life itself, acquiring the openly allied with the bourgeoisie, and tacitly allied the majority of the 2, 000 revolutionary sailors in Berenergy and the means for the revolutionary struggle with the Imperialism of the Allies it depends upon lin,, men who initiated the revolution at Kiel and against Capitalism and the petty bourgeois democ the counter revolutionary generals, whom it retains in who are active in the new revolutionary movement.
racy, a struggle that uncompromisingly directs power, upon the old diplomats whom it refuses to dis The sailors refused to disarm and leave Berlin. itself to the definite conquest of power, the revolu miss, upon the Allies to whom it pleads. depends upon controversy starterd. On Monday, December 23, a tionary dictatorship of the proletariat.
any and all things except Socialism and the revolu delegation of sailors marched to the headquarters The National Congress of Councils accepted reac tionary proletarian struggle. But the Government is of Wels, in Unter den Linden, to protest against his tion; it rejected the struggle for power, for the dịc shaking.
counter revolutionary order. Wels thereupon, as if tatorship of the proletariat; it abandoned the prole The withdrawal of the Independents from the prepared, summoned the Republican Guard, which tarian class struggle in favor of petty bourgeois il Government is not a victory for the Independents; opened fire upon the sailors with machine guns. The lusions, conciliation with Capitalism, and the parlia while it is a victory for the majority Socialists, it sailors, incensed at this method of answering their mentary struggle for reforms! All this is implicit in is equally a victory for the Spartacans, since the protest, immediately met the attack by an attack of the refusal of the Congress to decree all power to the conscious and vital elements among the Independents their own upon the headquarters and made Wels a Soviets and its abject acceptance of the Constituent must accept now the Spartacus policy. It is, more prisoner. Another detachment of sailors thereupon Assembly. If the revolutionary masses had acquiesced over, a victory for the Spartacans in another sense, narched to the Chancellor Palace, to interpellate the in this decision, the German Revolution, which may that it impresses upon the masses the futility of the Cabinet of Six. Premier Ebert ordered the counterlet loose the impulse for the international proletari policy of hesitation and compromise, that they must revolutionary Potsdam Guard to march against the an revolution, would have degenerated into a bour march straight to the revolutionary conquest of power. sailors. In the meantime, a large number of armed geois revolution, with Socialist trimmings, would The international aspects of the Revolution are civilians joined the sailors, who had seized and bar.
have yielded power to liberal Capitalism, would being more clearly recognized by the German prole ricaded the Royal Castle and the adjoining stables, have thrust upon the proletariat and Socialism the tariat as one National phase of the Social Revolution. prepared to resist; while other groups occupied the beggar task of parliamentary opposition. Ac An alliance with proletarian Russia is becoming a Konnigstrasse. These events developed into a demceptance of the decision of the Congress would have fact Haase miserable juggling with the Bolsheviki onstration against the Ebert Haase Government, with neant the abandonment of Socialism, the abandon issue has discredited Haase, and not the Bolsheviki.
a demand that a new government should be organized ment of the proletarian revolution in Germany, the The Sparatacus Group has organized nationally as by Karl Liebknecht and George Ledebour Ledebour betrayal of the proletarian revolution in Russia and the Communist Labor Party, in conformity with the having definitely aligned himself with Liebknecht.
of the revolutionary struggle in all nations. Bolsheviki) Communist Party of Russia.
Another group of Spartacans invaded the offices of But the miserable decision of the congress was not All problems of the Revolution are becoming the majority Socialist organ, Vorwaerts, and issued a accepted by the revolutionary masses. SimultaneousRed Vorwaerts stigmatizing the majority organ as aspects of one problem the necessity for the conly with the congress deciding to become the apologist quest of power, the dictatorship of the proletariat. a lying dog and a reptile whose poisonous teeth and protector of the petty bourgeois Socialist coun as the dynamic means equally for the struggle against are now about to be pulled, and demanding the reter revolution (behind which skulks Imperialism. the counter revolution and Imperialism in Germany, tirement Ebert, Scheidemann Co.
the revolutionary masses opened a new stage of the Street fighting on a large scale developed on Tuetagainst international Imperialism, for the realization Revolution the stage in which the issue is definite of a Socialist peace, and for the coming of Socialday, armed civilians uniting with the sailors. Ebert, and inescapable: Socialism or Capitalism the stage Scheidemann and Landsberg subsequently admitted ism.
in which compromise, equally with Capitalism and that they ordered the summoning of troops, under The reactionary forces in Germany, imagining that petty bourgeois Socialism, must, will be, and is being, representatives decide events in revolutions, misGeneral Lequis, to march against the sailors, who savagely rejected.
were attacked with machine guns and artillery. The judged the importance of the National Congress of Republican Guard several times attacked the Castle The new stage of the Revolution opens with forces Councils, as did the bourgeois Socialist Government and stables, but were repulsed by the sailors. The and tendencies clearly and sharply defined: But the reactionary decisions of the Congress did not Alexander and Franzer regiments joined the sailors, Events have demonstrated, what was appar halt the elemental action of the masses: they accelerand the whole Berlin garrison was sympathetic. The ent in analysis, that the policy of the Ebert Haase ated this action. few days after the Congress adGovernment, however, called in other troops and manGovernment was determined by the majority So journed, Dr. Solf issued a desperate appeal to the aged to secure control. General Lequis declared that cialists, and not by the Independents; that the In Allies. the Government had given him orders to fire upon the dependents were simply screens against the action The Allies must forget that Germany is their sailors, and he acted accordingly. The troops under of the masses. This is now clear in the virtually enemy. We must unite in the one great purpose of forced withdrawal of the Independents from the Gen. Lequis had been sent to Berlin from the Western saving the world from the dreadful consequences of Front by Field Marshal von Hindenburg, in response Government Polshevism. The north German revolution is to an appeal from the Government. of the Socialist The Government of Ebert, Scheidemann Co. adopting the methods and shows the influence of the Republic! Socialism and Hindenburg!
must resort to the use of the most sinister elements Russian Bolsheviki. The scenes we see every day in The events of the first part of last week pre and most reactionary means to preserve itself and Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden and the industrial centers cipitated a ministerial crisis. The Independents in prevent the conquest of power by the revolutionary of Westphalia and the Rhineland find their analogy in the Government, Haase, Dittmann and Barth, refused proletariat.
Moscow and Petrograd. Personally believe Bolshe to accept responsibility for Ebert order to fire upon The Executive Committee (Central Council) vism is not only the greatest menace now confronting the sailchs. Ebert Co. thereupon decided to appeal of the Councils of Workmen and Soldiers is solidly Germany and Russia, but it is equally menacing to all to the recently elected Executive Committee (Cenunited with the Government, with the Socialist adjacent countries. And once Bolshevism has de. tral Council) of the Workmen and Soldiers Councounter revolution, providing Ebert. Scheidemann veloped power in Germany, it will spread all over the Continued on page