578 THE CLASS STRUGGLE NEW GERMANY 579 Russian land and Russian resources. The Russian people had won the very soul of the German nation.
To day the political fortunes of the German nation lie completely in the hands of the Social Democratic movement. The capitalist system of production in Germany was so absolutely and completely subordinated to the war interests of the nation that the sudden coming of peace has left the bourgeoisie utterly helpless and demoralized. In Germany all industries not directly necessary for military purposes were stopped at the very beginning of the war. The effective blockade of the English fleet wiped out even such private enterprise as flourished in the Allied nations notwithstanding the rigid demands made by the war upon the capitalist resources of these nations. This isolation of German capital was completed by the stringent guarantees demanded by America from the Neutrals to prevent the importation of supplies into the Central Empire. Even a victorious Germany would have passed through a terrible crisis before a return of its industries to a peace basis could have been effected. Defeat and the overthrow of the political and military oligarchy that had made Ludendorff the virtual ruler of the nation left the bourgeoisie powerless to resist its working class. After a few half hearted attempts to safeguard their own political interests, the German liberal bourgeoisie, that was always notorious for its cowardliness and its servile toadying to the monarchial rulers gave up the struggle. The attempt to save the tottering throne by the appointment of the popular liberal Prince Maximilian to the Chancellorship, with the ap intment of the three government Socialists to the ministry, and a liberal political program providing for the responsibility of the government to parliament, the right of the Reichstag to dissolve the ministry by a simple vote of disapproval and the reorganization of the monarchy after the pattern of that of Great Britain came too late to save the situation. The release of the political prisoners, chief among them Liebknecht and Dittmann, hastened the revolution that these measures were intended to prevent.
Inspite of the honest and sincere efforts of Scheidemann, Gustav Bauer and Dr. David, these first socialist ministers of Germany, the revolution grew and spread. In a last desperate appeal directed by Scheidemann to Dr. Solf, then Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the former requests that the Emperor be requested to abdicate. And in order to leave no doubt as to the purpose of this appeal the Vorwärts at the same time published an article, obviously written by Scheidemann, in which he says: Minorities must not be permitted to make the whole situation a tool by means of which they may accomplish their purposes, or everything will fall to pieces.
The German people must show that it can accomplish the greatest steps toward progress without exposing itself to the nameless terrors of civil war. As late as the 27th of October, hardly two weeks before the outbreak of the revolution, the majority socialist organ Dresdener Volkszeitung published the following. Out of the ranks of the Independents in these days are sounding exstatic cries for a revolution. It may be that some of these shouters know not what they do. They are calling for a revolution for the sake of a fanatic principle.
They want the revolution for the sake of the revolution.
They want a revolution according to their conception, with barricades and the blood of citizens without knowing what for. If they could read the history of the past, present and coming weeks in the light of the history of half a century, perhaps they could be made to realize that of which now they seem to have not even conception, that we are living in the midst of a revolution, as bloodless, but at the same time as effective as any the world has ever seen, a revolution that has swept away hindrances that yesterday seemed insurmountable, that has overthrown, over night, the rule of those powers that yesterday believed themselves invincible.
On the 5th and 6th of November there were revolutionary outbreaks in Berlin, Kiel and other places. On the 7th Workmen and Soldiers Councils were being formed all over the