OCR Text |
Show A NEW WEAPON OF REVOLUTION. Tho press and political authorities of Europe, says tho Literary Digest, aro slowly awakening to tho fact that a now weapon ' of revolutionary war-faro war-faro has recently been brought Into-play; Into-play; a weapon forged by tho genius of Italian, French and Gorman thinkers. think-ers. The last-named nation has given It a name tho masscnstrelk, tho strike en masse, universal. This bloodless weapon, according to journalistic jour-nalistic opinion, has played a greater rolo In recent political upheavals than the rapid-firing guns of Togo's ships in tho battle of tho Sea of Japan. What precipitated matters In tho Austro-Hungarlan tangle, In Russian, Polish and Finnish revolutionary movements? Tho masscnstrelk tho strike universal, which paralyzed tho life of tho countries concerned. Such Is tho general testimony of tho foreign newspapers. They declaro that a strike, which was onco merely an economic eco-nomic movement In support of a claim for higher wages, is now being resorted resort-ed to In support of a claim for liberty and an enlarged suffrage. Though never before utilized with such amazing results, this mothod of winning a political victory has long been taught nnd prescribed by Social ist agitators; and at tho great Socialist Social-ist gathering at Jena some wcoks ago August Bebel, as reported in his own journal, Vorwaorts (Berlin), advocated advo-cated tho principle of general strikes as n means of influencing parliament and gaining an extension of tho suffrage, suf-frage, and ho supported tho resolution resolu-tion which declared that "tho stoppage stop-page of work by tho masses" was an "effective method" of gaining tho political po-litical privileges aimed at. In the Neue Zelt (Stuttgart), tho German Socialist weekly, Paul Lcnsch advocates advo-cates tho political strike for two reasons, rea-sons, tho first of which is thus stated: "The foundation of stability in European Eu-ropean political affairs has so fair lain In tho preponderating Influence of Russia all over tho continent. Since she hns been dethroned by Japan's victory, tho wholo existing political system of Europe has collapsed llko a house of cards. Tho political forces in Europe aro to bo consolidated under un-der now combinations, and this movement move-ment appears In tho now treaty groupings nnd continuous rumors of coming war. Franco is declared to bo on tho eve of war with Germany, and England Is following her example; next, tho entente between Franco and England is to bo developed into a defensive de-fensive nnd offensive treaty; such a treaty is soon' to unite Germany and Russia and so forth. In any caso the working class And themselves in a difficult and critical dilemma, and they must bo on their guard lest some-thlrg some-thlrg happen In this crisis which may turn out to bo a menace to their vital Interest. "It will occur to everyone that in this now political situation somo now weapon of defense must bo found, and It Is qulto correct to supposo that this new weapon will bo that of tho universal univer-sal strike." Ho continues to show that this stop-pTgo stop-pTgo of labor is tho only Just and peaceful mothod for obtaining tho extension ex-tension of tho suffrage A very striking illustration of tho truth of this axiom Is seen In the icsult of tho Russian strikes. Of this movement tho Westminster Gazette (London) says: "A hundred years ago tho piko and tho gulllotlno woro tho instruments of the revolutionary; today ho chooses tho universal stviko. And slnco of all strikes thero Is nono that is so immediately imme-diately paralyzing as. that which stops work on tho railways, tho Russian insurgents in-surgents begin with that." Tho Czar was brought to torms by this strlko as Pharaoh, tyrant of Egypt, camo to terms at tho wave of the prophet's rod. Tho now and ample manifesto of Nicholas II., as published In all tho European papers, satisfied tho revolutionary committee, according accord-ing to tho Petit Parision, so that they "decided to suspend tho political strlko for thirty days, in order to organize or-ganize an armed rising in caso tho government, after tho end of that period, pe-riod, should fall to keep its pledges, v Including the promise of amnesty to , political prisoners." Tho Guardian (London) comments ns follows on Russia's great political , labor movement: "It has really been no moro than a strike, but a strlko which involvos every industry and almost every class In a country Is now seen to bo a far moro powerful weapon than tho ordinary ordi-nary rising against constituted authority. au-thority. In Russia such a rising would f havo been hopeless unless the army could havo been brought over you enn not fight a military autocracy without arm's and ammunition, and in tho empire of the Czar such commod- Itles aro as hard to come by as personal per-sonal freedom Happily, at tho eleventh hour, tho Emperor Nicholas, who had remained impervious to statesmanlike Ideas whilo ho might havo acted with a good grace, has been compelled, In sheer desperation and in the hopo of saving his throne, to capitulate, and to grant the most Important nnd tho most elementary demands of his people." Another victory won by this now weapon of popular freedom, to quote from tho German weekly cited above, has been the emancipation of Finn-land, Finn-land, which is a Russian province, of which the Czar Is Grand Duke, and which groans under the yoko of Rus- i sia. According to tho Action (Paris) tho strike has been general, and order has been kept by a voluntary militia, formed of students and workmen. At last capitulation camo, as is thus related re-lated by tho Parisian journal: "Tho governor of Finland, Prince Obolensky, and tho Senate havo officially offi-cially abdicated and surrendered all power in the presence of tho whole, population of Holsingfors in tho public square. Tho Russian flag has been superseded by tho Finnish national' standard." Another great strlko is at present prevailing in Poland, but nccordlng to tho government documents Issued by Witto with regard to tho Polish agitation agita-tion for universal suffrage and other political privileges, Poland is not to be put on tho samo footing as Finland, nor for tho present to bo included In j tho last manifesto of tho Czar. Poland's Po-land's strlko In Warsaw, according to tho Temps (Paris) has been accompanied accom-panied by bomb-throwings and massacres massa-cres by tho soldiery, whom Witto has been vainly Importuned to withdraw. In Witto's manifesto to tho Poles ho says: - - "Rejecting tho idea of co-operation with Witto and tho Russian people in tho douma, they (tho Polish politi- clans) aro demanding In a series of . revolutionary meetings completo autonomy au-tonomy for Poland, with a special constitutional con-stitutional diet, thereby aiming at tho restoration of tho kingdom of Poland. Two political groups, Socialist and National, who aro opposed to each other, aro united In this aspiration, which is supported by many writers, publicists and popular orators, who carry tho peoplo with them. "In different districts of tho Vistula Vis-tula tliero hnvo been numerous processions pro-cessions with Polish flags, singing Polish Po-lish revolutionary songs. At tho samo timo tho Poles havo begun arbitrarily to exclude tho state language oven ' from government institutions, whero its employment Is provided for by law. In "certain localities bands of workmen and peasants havo been pillaging schools, stato spirit shops and com- s munal buildings, destroying all corres- ,1 pondenco in the Russian language that they found "Representatives of local authority have, in defense of order and public safety, boon watering the earth for a year past with their blood, falling victims vic-tims to political crimes. The reasonable reason-able part of Polish society Is impotent impo-tent against tho pressure of rovolu- tionary organizations. "Tho government will not tolerate attacks on tho integrity of tho empire. Tho plana and acts of tho lnsurrec-tionarlos lnsurrec-tionarlos force it to declaro in a decisive de-cisive maimer that as long as tho troubles in thd Vistula districts continue, con-tinue, and as long as that part of tho population which adheres to political agitators continues its present sway over the country, these districts will receive nono of tho benefits resulting from the manifestoes of August 18 and October 30, 1905." o |