one and a half million votes. In 1898 it polled over two million votes; in 1903 over three million, and in 1912 it polled over four million votes and became the strongest single party in the Reichstag. The breaking-out of the world-war gave the whole idea of socialism a severe jolt and changed completely the socialist party's objectives. The majority of the socialist leaders rallied to the support of the imperial government. There arose soon, however, an intrepid minority opposed to the official socialist war policy, who, encouraged by the attitude of opposition toward the war which had been growing among the German masses, founded the Independent Socialist Party (Unabhängige Social-Demokratische Partei). Right at the founding of the Independents it was quite evident, though, that the extreme radicals among them were plainly dissatisfied with the position of the Independents, which they pronounced as not revolutionary enough and too little filled with revolutionary zeal. The radicals received a tremendous impetus for their agitation through the complete victory of the bolshevists in Russia in November, 1917. They now openly avowed the policies of the Russian bolshevists for a dictatorship of the proletariat through the Workers' and Soldiers' Councils. By the time their agitation began, the mighty German war machine, which had already been badly creaking, began to crumble, and the revolutionary impulses were given free reign. The old system was in rapid dissolution, and a score of kings and kinglets disappeared as with one swoop. The political powers were taken over by the socialist workers in a matter-of-fact way that would have been utterly unthinkable a few weeks before. The history of the socialist movement in Germany now becomes the story of the revolution. The socialist parties became "parties of state." The government was formed by three members of the old Socialist Party and three of the Independents. Different conceptions of what rôles the German socialist workers should play in the revolution, sharply contradictory viewpoints in questions of domestic politics and foreign affairs and especially the use of military force in quelling labor riots soon caused the withdrawal of the Independents from the revolutionary government. This acute dissension over the socialist tactics in the revolution was the cause of further splits in the socialist movement. On December 31, 1918, the communist adherents, who until then had been members of the Independent Socialist Party, declared themselves completely free from the Independents, and constituted themselves as the Communist Party (Kommunistische Partei). Although invited by the majority socialists to join the government again after the election to the Constituent National Assembly (January 19, 1919), the Independents refused. They went even farther to the left and almost completely accepted the Soviet idea and the " dictatorship of the proletariat." The radicalism of the Independents met with ready response among the great working masses, the more so as the Kapp Putsch, an attempt of usurping reactionary bureaucrats and militarists to overthrow the legitimate government, had shown to the masses the position of danger in which the new republic found itself. The masses expected salvation from their misery to come from the Independents, and at the Reichstag election in June, 1920, their ranks were augmented very considerably. Again invited by the conservative socialists to take part in the formation of a new government, the Independents scornfully refused. The extreme radical tactics which a group within the Independent Party now began to pursue soon caused a rift in the Independents' ranks. The struggles over the acceptance of Moscow's twenty-one demands as a condition of joining the Third (Communist) International made the split complete. The more moderates were defeated. The victorious radicals united with the Communist Party. Unwillingness to accept governmental responsibility caused the few remaining Independents to remain in opposition to the conservative socialists. Not being able, however, to compete with the communists, whose methods of agitation were certainly far superior to those of the Independents, it was soon apparent that an end had come to their usefulness and that their historical mission had been fulfilled. Gradually they sought approach of the old Socialist Party. The Rathenau murder brought about a realignment of the Independents with the old Socialist Party to present a united front for the defense of the republic. The Independents declared their readiness to work with the socialists and to enter the government. At a Unification Congress held in Nuremberg in September, 1922, the prodigal socialists returned to the fold. That left two workers' parties in the field in Germany-the United Social-Democratic Party and the Communist Party. *Election to the Constituent National Assembly. The old Socialist †The old Socialist Party polled 5,614,456 votes (21.6 per cent of the A numerical index to the extension of socialist thought among the German workers from the early beginnings of the socialist movement until today is vividly shown in the figures of the elections to the Reichstag (Table I). In half a century the socialist vote has increased more than a hundred fold. In 1912 the Socialist Party for the first time was that on rural property was only $2.08.2 The results of recent investigations in five states, given in Table II, indicate that urban property, compared with rural property, pays a slightly higher percentage of "rent before the deduction of taxes" in three states, and a slightly lower percentage in two. 300 FIG. 1.-Index of taxes and rent per acre of farm land, in terms of uniform purchasing power. When it is considered further that a large proportion of the direct improvements to city property is paid out of special assessments on such property not included in these figures, the burden 2 * Estimates made by the writer. The figures are for thirty cities, and for districts outside of cities and villages, in thirty-five counties. The counties selected are those more than two-thirds of the area of which is devoted to farming and which contain no cities of 100,000 population or over. If four more counties, containing seven more cities, are added (counties more than two-thirds of the area of which is in farm land, but which contain cities of 100,000 population or over) the discrepancy is even greater. The rate for these thirty-nine counties is $2.45 for urban property and $1.86 for rural property. It is quite likely that the membership of the Socialist Party has again declined in recent months, as a considerable number of the radical workers have left the socialists to join the communist ranks, and others have simply left the Socialist Party, despairing that they will find salvation from their own or Germany's ills through any political party. It must be evident that a party that counts over a million members and constitutes so important a part in Germany's political and economic life has created an effective organization to carry on its work and build up a big apparatus through which it functions. The basis of organization of the Socialist Party is the District Union (Bezirksverband), the territorial jurisdiction of which is determined upon by the Party Executive. The District Union is again divided into locals (Ortsvereine), a number of which can be joined to form subdistricts (Unterbezirke). To carry on the work of propaganda and to carry out the political actions of the party there are organized within the locals special agitation groups, and special propaganda units for work in industrial plants, in private and state establishments, etc. Today the Socialist Party has about 50 district unions and over 10,000 locals. The Party Congress is the supreme organ of the party. The Congress, which takes place once a year, consists of delegates elected by all the district organizations, the Reichstag deputies, and the members of the Party Executive. The conduct of the affairs of the party is in the hands of the Party Executive (Partei Vorstand) elected by the Party Congress. The three chairmen of the Party Executive at present are Herman Müller, Otto Wells, and Artur Crispien. The Party Advisory Committee (Partei Ausschuss), competent to advise in all important political matters concerning the whole party, consists of one representative from each of the district unions, elected for a period of one year. The Party Congress elects a Control Commission of nine members, which is to hold periodic inspections of the work of the Party Executive. The variegated activities of the party are taken care of chiefly by the following eight departments: (1) Woman Department for Organization Work among Working Women. Its organ is |