Part 35

It was always the weakness of German Social Democracy that it had least influence on the very sections of the working class whose strike would involve the greatest economic danger. The railway men now take the first place in the movement in England, America, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary, and now in Russia, too; only in Germany have they always stood outside the ranks of the class-conscious workmen. Of the miners and iron founders, too, only part is Socialist; a very considerable part follows the Centre and the Polish Nationalists. These facts explain the weakness of the movement, and also the energy of the Prussian authorities. The German Government would have hesitated to take violent measures if it had had reason to fear that such measures would provoke an extension of the movement to the railways, mines, and foundries. _The weakness of the movement is not a result of the energy of the authorities; on the contrary, only its weakness made that energy possible._

How is it, then, that the German working classes, after three and a half years of unheard-of sacrifice and deprivation, are not capable of carrying through a struggle for peace with the same unanimity and clearness of aim as in many former struggles? This is, at least, partially due to the unfortunate development of German Social Democracy during the war. It has united with the Centre and the Liberals in the Reichstag bloc. It has thus scored various successes--the inclusion of progressive parliamentarians in the Government; the Reichstag resolution in favor of peace by understanding; the Reform bill in the Prussian Parliament. But this policy, which made Social Democracy the ally of bourgeois parties and the support of the Government, was fiercely attacked by the Opposition, which finally constituted itself as a separate party. * * * The bloc policy and action of the masses are mutually exclusive policies; those who themselves belong in the Reichstag to the majority which supports the Government cannot create the atmosphere in which alone a united action of the masses is possible. Nor, indeed, was that the intention of the German Social Democratic majority; _the mass-strike came without any act on its part and against its will_. When the strike was there, the leaders (of the majority) none the less placed themselves at its head; but the masses, having been educated for three and a half years to trust the Government's intentions, were naturally not willing to make heavy sacrifices in a struggle against this very Government.

In other democratic lands such a situation can hardly arise. There the parliamentary majority decides the policy of the Government, and if the Socialists form part of that majority, they can effectively influence policy, and so there can be no idea of the working classes having to conduct a political mass-strike against this Government. In Germany it is different. Here the voting of the imperial budget and of the war credits is not much more than a theoretical confession of faith in the Fatherland; to belong to the Reichstag majority is not a guarantee of real political power. A few Generals, a few influential bank directors and big manufacturers can, under given circumstances, influence policy more effectually than the whole Reichstag majority. Thus, indeed, it can happen that the Government's policy seems very little influenced by socialism, though this latter supports the Government; that, consequently, a considerable part of the working classes decides upon a political strike against the Government which for three and a half years has enjoyed the support of the majority of working class Deputies in the Reichstag. And only thus can we explain the strange spectacle, inexplicable to any other country, that a Government in whose formation Social Democracy has had a share, and which at every division is supported by the Socialists, knows no other means of meeting a strike save by forbidding meetings, introducing a state of siege and militarizing! The bloc policy is dangerous everywhere; but these dangers are incomparably greater in the classic land of Government by authority (Obrigkeitsregierung) than in the democratic countries. The unedifying picture which German Social Democracy presents today is at bottom the result of German sham democracy, of the poverty and backwardness of German political life.

But, in spite of all, we hope that even the German strike will not have an unfavorable effect on future development. Many a struggle which had to end without tangible success has, later on, proved fruitful after all! So it will be this time. The German Government did not have to give the workmen any definite assurances; but it had learned that every extension of the war provokes the gravest social dangers; and if this time it still found it easy to dispose of the strike, because a large section of the working classes still trusts in it, all its force (Machtmittel) would avail it nothing, if the whole German working class once acquired the conviction that the Government is prolonging the war for the sake of Pan-German lust of conquest.

Last Fight of the Mary Rose

A British Naval Episode

_The following story of how the little Mary Rose, a British destroyer, went down with colors flying, when, in October, 1917, she fought against overwhelming enemy forces, has been compiled from official sources:_

The Mary Rose left a Norwegian port in charge of a westbound convoy of merchant ships in the afternoon of Oct. 16, 1917. At dawn on the 17th flashes of gunfire were sighted astern. The Captain of the Mary Rose, Lieut. Commander Charles Fox, who was on the bridge at the time, remarked that he supposed it was a submarine shelling the convoy, and promptly turned his ship to investigate. All hands were called to action stations. The Mary Rose had increased to full speed, and in a short time three light cruisers were sighted coming toward them at high speed out of the morning mist. The Mary Rose promptly challenged, and, receiving no reply, opened fire with every gun that would bear at a range of about four miles. The German light cruisers appeared to be nonplused by this determined single-handed onslaught, as they did not return the fire until the range had closed to three miles.

They then opened fire, and the Mary Rose held gallantly on through a barrage of bursting shell until only a mile separated her from the enemy. Up to this point the German marksmanship was poor, but as the British destroyer turned to bring her torpedo tubes to bear a salvo struck her, bursting in the engine room and leaving her disabled, a log on the water. All guns, with the exception of the after one, were out of action and their crews killed or wounded, but the after gun continued in action, under the direction of Sub-Lieutenant Marsh, R. N. V. R., as long as it would bear. The Captain came down from the wrecked bridge and passed aft, encouraging and cheering his defeated men. He stopped beside the wrecked remains of the midship gun and shouted to the survivors of its crew: "God bless my heart, lads, get her going again; we're not done yet!" The enemy was now pouring a concentrated fire into the motionless vessel. One of the boilers, struck by a shell, exploded, and through the inferno of escaping steam, smoke, and the vapor of bursting shell came that familiar, cheery voice: "We're not done yet."

As the German light cruisers sped past, two able seamen, (French and Bailey,) who alone had survived among the torpedo tubes' crews, on their own initiative laid and fired the remaining torpedo. French was killed immediately and Bailey badly wounded. Realizing that the enemy had passed ahead, and that the four-inch gun could no longer be brought to bear on them, the Captain went below and set about destroying his ciphers. The First Lieutenant, (Lieutenant Bavin,) seeing one of the light cruisers returning toward them, called the gunner (Mr. Handcock) and bade him sink the ship. The Captain then came on deck and gave the order "Abandon ship." All the boats had been shattered by shellfire at their davits, but the survivors launched a Carley raft and paddled clear of the ship. The German light cruiser detailed to administer the coup de grace then approached to within 300 yards and poured a succession of salvos into the already riddled hull.

The Mary Rose sank at 7:15 A. M. with colors flying. The Captain, First Lieutenant, and gunner were lost with the ship, but the handful of survivors, in charge of Sub-Lieutenant J. R. D. Freeman, on the Carley raft, fell in some hours later with a lifeboat belonging to one of the ships of the convoy. Sailing and rowing, they made the Norwegian coast some forty-eight hours later, and were tended with the utmost kindness by the Norwegian authorities.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes

Obvious errors of punctuation and diacritics repaired.

Hyphen removed: breech[-]blocks (p. 356).

Hyphen added: ocean[-]going (p. 346).

Contents: CHRCHMAN's changed to CHURCHMAN's (GERMAN CHURCHMAN'S DEFENSE OF POISON GAS).

p. 200: "hyopthetical" changed to "hypothetical" (a hypothetical straight line of fifty miles).

p. 201: "Grivenes" changed to "Grivesnes" (two villages near Grivesnes, driving out the French).

p. 205: "Friedrichafen" changed to "Friedrichshafen" (airdrome at Friedrichshafen on April 15).

p. 207: "self-sacrifce" changed to "self-sacrifice" (self-sacrifice of our troops).

p. 227: "Mauvitz" changed to "Marvitz" (von Below, von der Marwitz, and von Hutier).

p. 229: "wringled" changed to "wrinkled" (of age, with her white, wrinkled face).

p. 233: "inititative" changed to "initiative" (on his own initiative).

p. 234: "Conmmander" changed to "Commander" (his appointment as Commander in Chief).

p. 242: "asumed" changed to "assumed" (he assumed command of the group).

p. 256: "Sugeon" changed to "Surgeon" (Surgeon General's office).

p. 263: "inportant" changed to "important" (delivered an important address).

p. 266: "reinforecements" changed to "reinforcements" (to hurry up reinforcements).

p. 273: "indepedent" changed to "independent" (a great self-conscious nation independent).

p. 279: "writen" changed to "written" (a book written since the beginning of the war).

p. 279: "goverment" changed to "government" (system of government).

p. 280: "determinined" changed to "determined" (we are determined).

p. 280: "consclusive" changed to "conclusive" (as clear and conclusive).

p. 291: "thown" changed to "thrown" (a line was thrown to a raft).

p. 307: "centrail" changed to "central" (the central railway station).

p. 315: Duplicate line removed: (In his own words, "Without prejudice to").

p. 316: "forseen" changed to "foreseen" (whose collapse could be foreseen).

p. 330: "worrried" changed to "worried" (worried the Governments).

p. 334: "carrrying" changed to "carrying" (carrying only four heavy guns each).

p. 346: "thee" changed to "three" (the construction of three new national shipyards).

p. 348: "114" changed to "1914" (Since 1914 the community).

p. 353: "essentual" changed to "essential" (to the last moment was essential).

p. 354: "threfore" changed to "therefore" (therefore, I decided to continue the operations).

p. 354: "Burlon" changed to "Bourlon" (on the outskirts of Bourlon Wood).

p. 354: "Fontaine-notre-Dane" changed to "Fontaine-notre-Dame" (to include the recapture of Fontaine-notre-Dame).

p. 354: "know" changed to "known" (known as Tadpole Copse).

p. i: "Her" changed to "Herr" (Herr von Bethmann Hollweg).

p. v: Lines rearranged in the last paragraph of the section "BACKED WRONG HORSES".

p. vii: "by" changed to "my" (begun before my arrival).

p. viii: "or" changed to "of" (the valuable islands of San Thomé and Principe).

p. x: "burder" changed to "burden" (lighten the burden of armament).

p. xi: "Eir" changed to "Sir" (Sir Edward Grey's).

p. xiii: The brackets and question mark are in the original: "when we [moved?] against France".

p. xv: "protocal" changed to "protocol" (in the Austrian protocol).

p. xvi: "me" changed to "we" (would we mix ourselves up).

p. xxv: "Her" changed to "Herr" (Herr von Payer).

p. xxv: "nwspapers" changed to "newspapers" (a few Liberal newspapers).

p. xxvii: "anrachist" changed to "anarchist" (If a Social Democrat or an anarchist).

p. xxx: "oconomic" changed to "economic" (in the economic provisioning).