CITY TIRED OF SOCIALISM

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 22 June 1912, Page 10

CITY TIRED OF SOCIALISM

After two years of Socialist government, the City of Milwaukee (says the New York correspondent of the Daily Mail> has returned to the capitalistic fold. The vote in favor of the overthrow of Mr Seidel, the Socialist mayor, and the Socialist municipal council was overwhelming. Altogether 73,000 citiaens —14,000 more than two years ago —went to the polls^ and elected Dr. Gerhard Bading, an independent candidate, mayor by a majority of 12,972. The final stages of the campaign witnessed an outbreak of frenzied patriotism among the non-Socialist voters^ who everywhere waved the stars and stripes, declaring the result to be the victory of the national flag. The Socialists intensified the opposition to their regime by ostensatioufily leaving a public meeting at which the stars and stripes were unfurled, and by proclaiming through the party organ that "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." Milwaukee is a city of 375,000 inhabitants in Wisconsin. In April, 1910, it elected Eniil Seidel, one of the foremost of American Socialists, as its mayor. He anounced that he would apply Marx's doctrines, promised a lavish scheme of public works, and prophesied that unemployment would vanish from the city. To provide funds for these public works the rates were increased by £90,000 in 1910 and by £180,000 in 1911. At the same time expenditure on public services which employed comparatively little labor was cut down, and workers in those services were required to work for longer hours. As the result of this experiment, in 1911 20,----000 men were reported out of work by the trade unions. The Associated Charities' Society declared that there was greater suffering among the poor than in former years. The high rates led to an exodus of wortfng men from the city to live in towns inhere there was less Socialism and more employment. A further increase in the rates was threatened this year. Both political parties in the city, however, combined in February last in a campaign to drive out the Socialists.