I have not been in the House since the debate on the savings bank
question. It will be remembered that this was prior to the recent
general election, and that the House, or as it was styled, the
Committee of Government, was then composed exclusively of those members
of the Socialist party who had sat before the Revolution, the seats
of all the members of the various other parties having been declared
vacant, in consideration of the fact that all such members had been
returned through the influence of capital. To-day, however, the newly
elected opponents of Socialism sat in their places, occupying the
entire left side of the House, and numbering about one-third of the
seats.
The only lady member who has been returned, the Chancellor’s wife, sat
in the middle of the front Opposition bench. She is a fine, dashing
woman, with plenty of energy: to my thinking she was perhaps a trifle
coquettishly attired for the occasion. She followed her husband’s
speech with marked attention, at one time nodding approval, and at
another shaking her head--she wore ringlets, and had red ribbons in her
hair--to denote dissent.
The Government side of the House lay under a very apparent cloud
of depression, resulting from the news of the large deficit. The
Opposition, on the other hand, was very lively in its sallies. The
strangers’ galleries were densely packed, the number of women present
being especially large, and the excitement everywhere considerable.
A debate on the condition of the national finances was down for the
order of the day, and I will endeavour to reproduce here the main
points of the debate as to the causes of the great deficit. The first
speaker was
The Chancellor--“The fact of a considerable diminution in productive
values having taken place in our country, a diminution so great that
those values are now only one-third of what they were before the great
Revolution, is a fact that it ill becomes us either to be-laugh or to
be-weep, but which we must all endeavour to grasp and to comprehend.
Prominent amongst the causes of that retrogression are the opponents of
our socialistic system.”
The Member for Hagen, on the Left--“Oh, oh.”
The Chancellor--“I need scarcely remind the Member for Hagen that in
order to establish Socialism in the country, we have been under the
necessity of increasing the police force more than tenfold. In addition
to this, we have seen the expediency of doubling the strength of the
navy, and of the standing army, so that these forces might be in a
position to render adequate support to the police in their work of
maintaining order and preventing emigration, and might also constitute
a sufficient bulwark against dangers from abroad. Furthermore, the
declaring void all State bonds and values on the part of the various
socialistic governments of Europe, has necessarily affected whatever
German capital was invested in those countries, and in this way greatly
tended to lessen our income. Our export trade has fallen off to an
alarming extent, partly owing to the Socialist order of things which
now reigns supreme in many countries, and partly to the aversion which
the bourgeois nations show to our manufacturing system. In respect of
these various causes it can hardly be anticipated that there will be
much alteration in the future.
“A fruitful cause, in our view, of the great falling-off in the
nation’s productive power has been the release of young and old persons
from the obligation to labour (hear, hear, from the Left), and the
shortening of the hours of labour. (Uproar.) We are also further
of opinion that the abolition of all piece-work has, undoubtedly,
contributed to a diminution of manufacture. (Hear, hear, from the
Left). One result of the demoralising effects of the former state of
society is, that, unfortunately, the consciousness of the indispensable
necessity that is laid upon all persons alike, in a socialistic
community, to labour, has not even yet penetrated the bulk of the
people to such an extent (dissent from the Right), that we should
feel justified in not laying before you the measure we are about to
introduce, _viz._ a bill to extend the maximum working-day to twelve
hours. (Sensation.) In addition to this, we propose--at least as a
provisional measure, and until such time as a satisfactory balance
shall have been restored--to extend the obligation to work to all
persons between the ages of fourteen and seventy-five, instead of,
as hitherto, to those between the ages of twenty-one and sixty-five.
(Hear, hear, from the Left.) We shall, however, in these arrangements,
make provision for affording facilities to talented young persons for
their further culture, and shall also take care that decrepit persons
are engaged in a kind of labour that shall not militate against their
state of health.
“In the next place, we are strongly of opinion that a plainer and less
expensive system of national nourishment than has hitherto been adopted
(dissent from the Right) would very materially aid in reducing the
deficit. Carefully conducted investigations which we have recently made
have fully established the fact that, providing the rations of potatoes
and vegetables be increased in a proportionate degree, the customary
one-third of a pound of meat is by no means a requisite ingredient of
the chief meal of the day, but that one-tenth of a pound of meat, or
fat, is abundantly sufficient.”
The Member for Hagen--“In Ploezensee!”[1]
The President--“I must request the Member for Hagen to discontinue
these interruptions.” (Applause from the Right.)
The Chancellor--“It is a well-known fact that there are many estimable
persons--I allude to those persons who are styled vegetarians--who hold
not only that meat may very well be dispensed with altogether, but that
it is positively injurious to the human system. (Uproar from the Right.)
“One of the main sources, however, from which we calculate upon
effecting economy, is the placing of narrower bounds to individual
caprice as manifested in the purchase of articles. A measure of this
nature is a necessary and logical step in the direction of social
equality, and we hope, by its means, to put an end to the irrational
rule of supply and demand which even nowadays to a great extent
obtains, and which so much tends to place obstacles in the way of
production, and to raise the price of things correspondingly. The
Community produces, let us say, articles of consumption, furniture,
clothes, and so on. But the demand for these articles is regulated by
the merest freak or caprice--call it fashion, taste, or whatever you
like.”
The Chancellor’s lady--“Oh, oh.”
The Chancellor hesitated a moment, and sought by means of a glass of
water to calm his evident irritation at this interruption. He then
continued--
“I repeat, the caprice of fashion is directed only too frequently, not
to those articles which are already in stock, but to some new-fangled
thing which takes the fancy of the moment. As a result of this, those
goods which are manufactured and exposed for sale by the Community
become often so-called shop-veterans, or they spoil--in short, fail
to fulfil the purpose for which they were produced; and all this,
forsooth, just because these goods do not quite take the fancy of Mr.
and Mrs. X. Y. Z. Now I put the question to you: are we justified in
so far yielding to the caprices of such persons, that we offer them
a choice of various goods to one and the same identical end--such as
nourishment, furnishing, and attire--in order that Mr. and Mrs. X.
may live, and dress, and furnish their house differently from Mr. and
Mrs. Y.? Just reflect how vastly all processes of manufacture would
be cheapened if, in place of having any variety in goods which are
destined to fulfil the same purpose, all such articles were limited
to a few patterns, or, better still, if they were all made on one
single pattern. All losses arising from goods being left on hand as
unsaleable, would be avoided if it were, once for all, definitely
understood that Mr. and Mrs. X. Y. Z. had to dine, and attire
themselves, and furnish their houses in that manner which had been
prescribed by the State.
“Hence, lady and gentlemen, the Government contemplates shortly
submitting to your consideration plans for regulating your other meals
in a manner similar to that which was adopted from the first for the
regulation of the chief meal of the day. It will also tend to promote
more real social equality if all household goods and chattels, such
as bedding, tables, chairs, wardrobes, linen, etc. etc., be declared
the property of the State. By means of each separate dwelling being
furnished by the State with these various requisites, all after one
identical pattern, and all remaining as a permanent part of each
dwelling, the trouble and expense of removal are done away with. And
only then, when we shall have advanced thus far, shall we be in a
position to approach, at least approximately, the principle of equality
as respects the question of dwelling-houses, no matter how different
their situations and advantages. This problem we propose to solve by a
universal fresh drawing of lots from quarter to quarter. In this way,
the chances which everybody has to win a nice suite of apartments on
the first-floor front are renewed every quarter of a year. (Laughter
from the Left. Applause here and there from the Right.)
“As an additional aid to the promotion of equality, we propose that
in future all persons shall attire themselves in garments whose
cut, material, and colour, it will be the province of this House to
determine beforehand. The length of time during which all garments are
to be worn will also be fixed with precision.”
The Chancellor’s lady--“Never, never.”
The dissent shown by this member was taken up by various ladies in the
strangers’ galleries.
The President--“All marks of approval or disapproval from the
strangers’ galleries are strictly prohibited.”
The Chancellor--“I wish not to be misunderstood. We do not contemplate
carrying equality in dress to such a length that all diversities
will be entirely abolished. On the contrary, we suggest the wearing
of various badges as marks whereby the ladies and gentlemen of the
different provinces, towns, and trades, may readily be distinguished
from each other at a glance. An arrangement of this kind will
materially facilitate the surveillance of individual persons on the
part of the checkers appointed by the State for that purpose (hear,
hear, from the Left,) and will thus render the present unavoidable
increase in the number of those checkers less large than would
otherwise have been the case. As you are aware, the number of checkers
hitherto has been in the ratio of one to fifty of the population. But
with the aid of the arrangement just proposed, the Government is of
opinion that the appointment of one checker to every thirty of the
population will abundantly suffice to make our country an orderly one
in the truest sense of the word, (disturbance and cries of ‘Tyranny’
from the Left; the President touched his gong and requested order,)
and to ensure on the part of all a rigorous observance of the laws and
regulations respecting the taking of meals, style of dress, manner of
living, and so on.
“This is our programme. Should it meet with your approval, we doubt not
that a vigorous carrying out of the same will soon have the effect of
doing away with the deficit, and of leading the country, on the basis
of social equality, to unimagined heights of prosperity and happiness,
proportionate to the degree in which, in the course of time, it shakes
off and triumphs over the demoralising effects of a former state of
society.” (Applause from the Right; groans and hisses from the Left.)
The President--“Before proceeding to discuss the measures which have
been unfolded by the Chancellor, it would be well for such members as
may desire fuller information on any of the points noticed, to avail
themselves of the present opportunity to direct short queries to the
Chancellor.”
The Chancellor said he was prepared to answer at once any questions
which might be addressed to him.
A member of the Government party wished the Chancellor to be more
explicit respecting the form it was proposed to give to the morning and
evening meals; and he further asked whether the measures contemplated
would have any retrogressive effect upon the value of the coupons
composing the money-certificates.
The Chancellor--“I am thankful to the last speaker for having called
my attention to several omissions in my statement. With a view to
preventing all overloading of the digestive organs, we propose to
reduce the bread rations for adults from one pound and a half per diem
to one pound. The large amount of starch which is a constituent part
of wheat is particularly liable to fermentation, which, as experience
has shown, frequently results in unpleasant internal disorders. In
addition to this bread ration, and which, as a matter of course, serves
for the whole day, each person will receive one hundred and fifty
grains of unroasted coffee, and a quarter of a pint of skimmed milk for
breakfast. This will yield one pint of coffee. The Government is fully
convinced that a conscientious adherence to these proportions will
result in the production of a compound which will be free from those
heating and deleterious effects which frequently accompany the use of
coffee as a beverage. (Laughter from the Left.)
“The evening meal will be composed of a pint and a half of soup for
each adult, care being taken to secure due variety, so that these
soups may not pall upon the taste. Rice soup, meal soup, barley soup,
bread soup, and potato soup will alternate with each other; and in
order to obtain still more variety, half a pint of skimmed milk will
occasionally be substituted for the soup ration. On the three chief
political holidays of the year--the birthdays of Bebel, Lassalle, and
Liebknecht--each adult person will receive half a pound of meat, and a
pint of beer for dinner.
“I omitted to mention, too, that once a week there will be an
augmentation of each adult person’s ration by the addition of a
herring. Those persons who prefer to consume their herring at the
evening meal are at liberty to do so; and, indeed, this plan has much
to commend it, seeing that the mid-day meal is already enriched by
one-tenth of a pound of meat.
“Such are the proposals which we submit to Parliament for its sanction.
In attempting to formulate the nourishment of the people on simple and
natural principles, we have been guided by the consideration that such
a system would place us in a position to export all our most valuable
products, such as game and poultry, hams, highly esteemed vegetables,
the choicer kinds of fish, wine, and so forth. By this means we
calculate upon paying the bill for such imports as we require for the
sustenance of the people, more particularly corn and coffee.
“As regards the money-certificates, it goes without saying that
an extended application of the plan of supplying the people with
goods must of necessity have an effect on the value of the coupons
corresponding to such application. It is also contemplated in future
to supply every dwelling with firing and lighting at a fixed rate,
which will be deducted from the money-certificates. Similarly, all
washing--naturally up to a certain maximum limit--will be done at the
State washing establishments without any direct charge being made.
“Under these circumstances, and seeing that people will have
everything found for them, the Government turned its attention to a
consideration of the amount it would be judicious and prudent to fix
for each person’s private expenses, for what, in fact, is familiarly
designated pocket-money, and it appeared to us that for such sundry
outlays as would be involved in the purchase of an occasional little
extra in the way of eating and drinking, of tobacco, soap, in
amusements or occasional trips; in short, in procuring all that the
heart could wish, we should not be wrong in going to the extent of a
mark per head for every ten days. (Laughter from the Left.) It must
be understood that the application of this mark is not to be subject
to the slightest limitation, or to any sort of official control. It
will thus be apparent that we are far from desiring to unduly restrict
individual freedom when moving in legitimate spheres.”
A member of the Party of Freedom wished to know the intentions of
the Government in regard to the greater dilatoriness and lassitude
in the performance of labour, which would presumably ensue upon the
lengthening of the working-day to twelve hours. He also asked for an
expression of the Government’s views on the question of an increase of
the population.
The Chancellor--“As regards offences against the obligation to work,
the Government recognises the fact that the extension of the hours of
labour to twelve hours renders a further elaboration of the system
of penalties imperatively necessary; and it proposes to effect this
elaboration through a variety of means. Amongst others, I mention the
removal of the bed for slighter transgressions; arrest, incarceration
in the dark cell, and the lash for repeated offences.” (Hisses from the
strangers’ galleries.)
The President threatened to have the galleries cleared forthwith if his
warnings were again disregarded.
The Chancellor--“Let me not be misunderstood as regards the lash. We
should not be disposed to recommend the application of more than thirty
strokes. The end which the Government seeks by these means to attain is
to develop the recognition of the necessity of labour, even in those
who constitutionally rebel against the doctrine.
“As respects an increase of the population, we hold firmly to Bebel’s
principle in the main, that the State must regard the advent of every
child as a welcome addition to the cause of Socialism. (Applause
from the Right.) But even here it will be necessary to draw the line
somewhere, and we can never again allow an unreasonable increase of
population to upset the delicately-adjusted equilibrium which will
be established by the passage of the proposed measures. Hence, as we
shall have an opportunity of more clearly showing when the debate on
the budget comes on, we reckon upon largely using the system employed
for nourishing the people as an instrument for regulating population.
Herein we shall be following a hint we are grateful to Bebel for. Bebel
said, with no less beauty than truth, that Socialism is a science which
is applied with unwavering purpose and inflexible steadfastness of aim
to every sphere of human activity.” (Loud applause from the Right.)
The President--“As no member seems desirous of asking any more
questions of the Chancellor, we can at once proceed to discuss the
matters before the House. I shall follow the plan of nominating
alternately speakers from the two great parties, the Right and the
Left, and shall begin with the Left. I call upon the Member for Hagen.”
The Member for Hagen--“I feel little desire to closely interrogate
the Chancellor upon the details of his programme. The fruits of the
socialistic order (so-called) of things which we have hitherto seen,
and still more those which we may expect from the various measures in
prospect, are quite enough to fill the soul with loathing and disgust
at the condition of affairs which Socialism has brought about in
Germany. (Great uproar from the Right; loud applause from the Left.)
Experience shows that the miserable realities even transcend what my
departed predecessor predicted would be the condition of things if
the socialistic programme were ever actually realised. (Cries from
the Right: ‘Aha, the Falsities man; the Slayer of Socialists.’) I
notice that the gentlemen of the Right have never been quite able to
get over the ‘Falsities of Socialism,’ by the departed member, Eugene
Richter.[2] It is only to be regretted that these gentlemen did not
suffer themselves to be converted from their errors, so that they
could now with unclouded vision see the connection that all matters of
national and international economy have with each other. This annual
deficit of twelve milliard marks which we are now face to face with,
means the bankruptcy of the social democracy. (Great uproar from
the Right.) The Chancellor is entirely on the wrong track when he
endeavours to make the opponents of Socialism in any way responsible
for the deficit.
“Germany already bristles with soldiers and with police in a way that
has never been the case before. But when all the affairs of life,
large and small, without exception, shall be subject to the management
of the State, you will have to reckon with an additional host of
servants appointed to see that the State’s bidding be duly carried
out. It is, unfortunately, but too true that our export trade is in a
wretched plight, but this is attributable solely to the utter turning
topsy-turvy of production and consumption which has taken place both
here, at home, and in the neighbouring socialistic countries. But even
this is far from adequately accounting for a deficit amounting to so
many milliards. The Chancellor considers that a part of the blame
attaches to the shortening of the hours of labour. But before the
Revolution took place, the hours of labour were on an average less than
ten hours, and in the course of time this working-day would, in the
smooth progress of events, have become gradually shorter in an easy and
natural way, and without doing any sudden violence to supply. We must
seek the cause of the retrogression in all our manufactures, not so
much in a shortening of the working-day as in the inferior quality of
our goods now; in short, in the style of loafing about (Oh, oh, from
the Right) which has become so general. As in feudal times, labour is
now again regarded as a kind of villanage, a slavish toil. The system
of giving the same remuneration for labours of the most diverse values;
the absence of all prospect of bettering one’s condition, no matter how
great one’s industry and skill; these are elements which are inimical
to real love of work for its own sake.
“Another reason why manufacture is no longer productive is, that with
the cessation of all private enterprise there has been a disappearance
of those careful circumspect leaders in the field of labour who took
care that a judicious use was made of all materials, and who more or
less regulated supply according to demand. Your managers of to-day lack
all real and deep interest in their work; they lack the stimulus which,
in bygone days, even the heads of Government establishments received
from the competition of private firms. This vast deficit teaches us
plainly enough that the man of private enterprise was no plunderer,
and no superfluous drone, and that even painstaking labour, when not
conducted in an intelligent manner, may turn out to be but a mere waste
of force and of material. Then again, your system of working everywhere
on a big scale, even in cases to which this system does not in the
least adapt itself, operates to retard production.
“What have we come to? In endeavouring to get rid of the disadvantages
of the socialistic method of manufacture, you place such restrictions
on the freedom of the person, and of commerce, that you turn Germany
into one gigantic prison. (Great uproar from the Right; applause from
the Left and from the galleries. The President threatened to have
the galleries cleared at once if there were any more manifestations
of feeling.) The compelling of all alike to work; the equality of
the working hours for all; the forcing of persons to certain kinds
of labour utterly regardless of their wishes and tastes; these are
things which we had hitherto had no experience of outside the walls of
penitentiaries. And even in those institutions, the more industrious
and skilful inmates had the opportunity given them of earning a trifle
in the way of something extra. The similarity to prison life is further
maintained through the system of each person’s having to occupy a
certain dwelling, just as prisoners have their cells apportioned to
them. The fixtures which are to form an inseparable portion of each
dwelling still further enhance the resemblance to gaol life. Families
are torn asunder. And if it were not for the fear of Socialism dying
out, you would altogether separate husband and wife, as is done in the
lock-up.
“And as it is in respect of labour so is it in regard to rest; and
every member of this socialistic Community is tied down to the same
prescribed nourishment. I was justified in calling out ‘Ploezensee,’
as the Chancellor enlightened us as to his bill of fare. I will almost
venture to say that the food dispensed in former times to the inmates
of the prison was better than that which it is now proposed to feed
the nation on. In order that nothing may be wanting to complete the
resemblance to a gaol, we have now the same uniform clothes proposed.
Overseers are already provided in the persons of the numerous checkers;
sentinels, too, are posted to see that those who are condemned to
Socialism shall not escape across the frontiers. In our prisons the
working-day was a ten hours one, not a twelve hours one. Punishment by
the lash, which you have to introduce as an aid in establishing the
twelve hours working-day, was no longer resorted to in many prisons,
because it was felt it could be dispensed with. To those in gaol
there was, at least, the possibility of an act of pardon, which might
some day open a path to liberty, even to those who had been condemned
to life-long imprisonment. But those who are handed over to your
socialistic prison are sentenced for life without hope of escape; the
only escape thence is suicide. (Sensation.)
“Your explanation of all this is, that we are at present in a state of
transition. Nothing of the sort. Things will get worse and worse the
longer the present system lasts. Hitherto you have only descended the
topmost steps of those which lead to the abyss. The light of day still
reaches you on those upper steps, but you turn away from it. Whatever
culture is now extant, whatever schooling, and practice, and skill, are
all due to former systems of society. But in our socialistic schools of
to-day, both elementary, advanced, and technical, our young people make
no progress at all, not from any lack of time, or means of instruction,
but merely because no one feels that he is absolutely bound to acquire
certain things as stepping stones to future success in life.
“You live upon the capital of culture and of wealth which descended to
you as the result of former arrangements of society. So far are you,
however, from putting by anything, and from providing for improvements
and additions, that you cannot even properly maintain such possessions
as we have, but suffer them to fall into decay. There are now no
means to keep all these things intact, because in destroying the hope
of profit, which induced capitalists to engage in enterprises, you
simultaneously prevented all further formation of capital, which in its
turn would again have led to new undertakings.
“All higher development of the faculties, no less than all material
progress, is at a stand-still since the abolition of free competition.
Self-interest used to sharpen the wits of individuals, and bring out
their inventiveness. But the emulation of the many who strove in the
same field of labour, constantly operated to make common property of
the achievements of individuals.
“All the proposals of the Chancellor will prove as powerless in making
good the vast deficit, as our attempted organisation, some years ago,
of production and consumption in our prisons proved powerless to
cover even a third part of the current expenses of those places. In
a very short time, in spite of the Chancellor’s programme, you will
find yourselves face to face with a new and a greater deficit. Hence
I counsel you not to be too greatly elated at the advent of children
as being welcome additions to Socialism. On the contrary, consider
rather how you may best promote a diminution of population. For it is
quite certain that, even with the beggarly style of nourishment which
the Chancellor is compelled to place in prospect for us, Germany, on
the basis of the present order of things, will be able permanently to
support but a very thin and sparse population. The same applies, of
course, to the neighbouring Socialist countries. The inexorable law of
self-preservation will hence compel the Socialists on this side, and on
that side, to engage in a deadly struggle, which will last until that
superfluity of population, which can only be supported by such forms
and systems as you have uprooted, shall have succumbed.
“So far as I am aware, the hope that Bebel once expressed is not yet
any nearer its accomplishment--the hope, namely, that in the course
of time the desert of Sahara would, by means of irrigation, be turned
into fruitful districts, and prove a favourable colonising ground to
which to draft off the surplus Socialist population of Europe. I take
it, too, that there is as yet no great liking on the part of those of
your side in politics who are superfluous here, to follow the other
proposition which Bebel was once good enough to suggest as an outlet
for surplus population. That suggestion was the settling in the north
of Norway, and in Siberia. (Laughter from the Left.)
“Whether or not it is possible to make a halt in the path of progress
to destruction, which we have entered upon, I should scarcely care to
venture to say. Many milliards in value have already been destroyed by
the Revolution, and it would again require the sacrifice of milliards
to restore something like order to the present disorganised condition
of affairs.
“Whilst we in old Europe, thanks to your efforts, are fast hastening to
ruin and destruction, there arises on the other side of the ocean, ever
mightier and wealthier, a power that is settled on the firm basis of
personal property and free competition, and whose citizens have never
seriously entertained the falsities of Socialism.
“Every day that we delay the extrication of our country from the
wretched maze into which an aberration of mind has led it, takes us
nearer and nearer to the abyss. Hence I say, ‘Down with the socialistic
gaol regime! Long live Liberty.’” (Loud applause from the Left and from
the galleries. Hissing and uproar from the Right.)
The President called the last speaker to order for the concluding
remarks contained in his speech, and gave instructions to clear the
galleries immediately, by reason of the repeated manifestations of
opinion by the occupants.
The clearance of the galleries occasioned no small amount of trouble.
As I had to go with the others, I, unfortunately, can say no more as
to the further progress of the sitting. But as the Government has a
slavish majority at its back, there can hardly be any doubt as to the
passing of the various measures proposed by the Chancellor. Not even
the indignation of the Chancellor’s lady at the proposed Regulation of
Dress Bill will have any effect in altering it.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Ploezensee is a house of correction in Berlin.
[2] “Falsities of Socialism,” by Eugene Richter. Berlin, 1890.