The method of repression having failed to destroy the Socialist movement the new emperor extended the policy inaugurated by Bismarck when his "laws of exception" had shown their ineffectiveness and created the extensive system of social legislation for which Germany has become famous. In the application of this legislation the Socialists and the closely affili ated unions have played a great part.
With the growth of the Social Democratic party to a position of power with a vast num ber of official positions, both governmental and within its own organization, diverse tendencies developed. The officials have tended to form a "right" wing and with them went a consid erable section of the newer voters, especially in South Germany. This section tended to relax much of the old revolutionary position of the party and was largely responsible for the divi sions which took place in regard to the voting of military credits in the period immediately preceding the war. Throughout the war the minority wing under Haase and Ledebour preached international Socialism as of old hut the majority under Scheidemann identified themselves more or less with the Imperialists and held out for a peace honorable to Ger many. The minority desired an immediate peace; condemned war in general and named capitalism in all nations as the real enemy. The collapse of the empire in the fall of 1918 proved to be the long-awaited opportunity of the Social ists. Ebert and Scheidemann became the lead ers of the new Socialist republic of Germany.
See WAR, EUROPEAN, France.— France was the home of the Uto pian Socialism. St. Simon, Fourier, Cabet and Louis Blanc were among the early founders of this phase of Socialist thought. As early as 1848 the word Socialism had become familiar in French politics. The Commune. 1871, was largely directed by Socialists. When it fell many of these were exiled or imprisoned. When Socialism became again a recognized political movement it was split into several factions. These later united into a single party with numerous individuals, who had formerly been Socialists, outside of any party. Some of these have since risen to great prominence in the French government. Such are Aristide Briand, several times Premier, Viviani and Millerand. Jean Jaures, by far the best known of French Socialists, was assassinated at the outbreak of the European War. He had been the Parli amentary leader of the party for several years. Jules Guesde, one of the founders of the move ment and the foremost French representative of Marxism, entered the War Cabinet, as did also Albert Thomas who became Minister of Muntions and organized the work of manufac turing supplies for the army. Socialist thought has long had an influence in France far beyond its ever large vote. There have been few cabinets for several years without at least one ex-Socialist included and nearly all these have claimed that their Socialist views are unchanged but have offered some excuse for separation from the organized movement. The electoral
strength since the first election is as follows: After the invasion of Belgium in 1914 the French Socialists supported their government under the leadership of Jules Guesde. During the progress of the war a small but powerful group developed in opposition to the majority. By the time of the Socialist Congress at Bor deaux in October 1917 this group had impressed its views on a majority of the party and carried through a majority resolution endorsing the Stockholm Conference, declaring for national defense and for participation of Socialists in the government under certain conditions. A minority resolution declared its disapproval of voting credits to the government in any but a war of defense and in favor of a peace with out annexations and without indemnities. France sent three delegates to the Inter-Allied Socialist and Labor Conference of 1918 at which documents were published representing the most constructive note so far struck by the Socialist or labor movements. One of these dealt with the war aims of the Entente, while the other proposed a program for social re construction which was afterward presented to the Peace Conference at Paris.
Austria.— The diverse nationalities that made up the former Austro-Hungarian Em pire made the work of organizing a united Socialist movement difficult. A branch of the "International") existed in Austria in 1867. In 1869 it organized a demonstration in which 100.000 men marched to the palace in Vienna to demand universal and direct suffrage, free dom of speech and association and liberty of the press. Profuse promises of reform were made by the government while the workers were around the palace, but as soon as they were disbanded the leaders were arrested and a period of brutal suppression which followed momentarily annihilated the Socialist move ment. The present party, which is an outgrowth of the union movement, was organized at a congress in Vienna in 1888. It began with a demand for an extension of the suffrage and succeeded in gaining a class system, in which the nobility and clergy form one class, the great capitalists the second, small property-owners the third and the wage-workers a fourth, each with equal representation. Even under this system the Socialists succeeded in casting 750, 000 votes in the fourth class and electing 10 members of the Reichsrath. In January 1907 as a result of a threatened general strike the suffrage in Austria was made universal and direct. In the elections held in May of the same year the Socialists cast 1,041,948 votes and elected 87 representatives. Then came a period of reform parliamentarism which discouraged the workers so that in 1911 although the pop ular vote was slightly increased the number of representatives fell to 82. The party was badly split up with nationalist quarrels and a small faction also split off in opposition to the war.