For years we have been slandered by our enemies in Germany as traitors
and worse. The imperial anti-Socialist association has had an excellent
example of this alleged treachery of ours. Our vote has stretched the
anti-Socialists in the dust, together with all the other political
vultures who have lived by slandering us.
As Socialists of firm conviction we have voted for the war credit and
moved this vote through a declaration from the party representative,
Haase. In our programme we have demanded that a volunteer army replace
the standing army. Why do we demand the volunteer army? Because we
consider it the best protection against every attack on the Fatherland.
This is it, then! We, too, wish to defend the Fatherland. Suppose that
instead we had said in the hour of need: Yes, we want to protect our
Fatherland against the knout regiments of the Czar all right enough, but
we demand that protection from the militia! Since we do not as yet have
the militia, we shall make no use of the standing army, for we would
rather let the Cossacks into the country!
From whatever side we consider the situation, we German Socialists could
not have acted otherwise than we have. A party like that of Social
Democracy, the strongest in the country, cannot avoid the facts by
hiding its head in the sand; it must act! It is no exaggeration to state
that in the present crisis the entire German people is united.
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