Page:The Economic Journal Volume 1.djvu/729

 EVOLUTION OF SOCIALIST PROGRAMHE IN GERMANY 707 The party, which was now named the ' Social Democratic Party of Germany' could not constitute itself a closed federation of unions because of- the existing Combination Law. Every person thereforc not including males only--is reckoned a mem- ber, who simply confesses the principles of the programme and supports the party to what extent he is able. Ultimate appeal is to the Congress, which must be called annually. Those entitled to take part in it are the delegates of the several Imperial con- stituencies (not xceeding three to each constituency), the Reich- stag representatives and the party-council. The last, elected at the congress itself, consists of twelve members, five of whom are entrusted with the despatch of actual business, the remaining seven exercising control only. The council puts itself into communi- cation with the accredited agents of the 'comrades' (Genossen) of each constituency, summons the congress, and 'controls the attitude of the party-organs in matters of principle.' This last qualification is positively phrased in caoutchouc, elastic enough to admit of any application. Its meaning will depend upon the sort of condensation it acquires in practice. The function may be applied either to the legitimate purpose of pre- serving the party from alien and impure elements, or to a brutal process of moulding, with excision of all 'comrades' who fail to render unconditional service. A key to further power was placed in the hands of the leaders by the conversion into an official party-organ of the great Berlin daily paper, the Berliner Volksblatt. A ' hektograph correspond- ence-sheet' issued when requisite and despatched to the offices of the local newspapers, as proposed by the printer Werner at the congress, would have amply sufficed for the publication of the ' official' announcements of the council. However the heads of the party were presumably concerned to get hold of a paper precisely in Berlin. The head-quarters, previous to the Gotha congress, of the Lassalle cult, Berlin has since then and till to-day escaped the net of Marxism, which else encompasses the whole empire, and in general has remained the only place where Socialist free-thinking and heresies of every kind came boldly to the light of day. Thus for a ime Berlin was a shrine for Eugen Diihring, and on that occasion manifested no little disposition to carry on a special variety of Socialism in the spirit of his teaching. Later, when it had got over this episode, the same set under the leadership of Johann Most indulged from time to time in sundry digressions not according to their cue. The appearance of the so- called ' young' elements, of the Werners, Willes. and Wilbergets, zz2