ASSASSINATION OF AUSTRIA'S PREMIER

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume L, Issue 175, 26 October 1917, Page 5

ASSASSINATION OF AUSTRIA'S PREMIER

DR. ADLER'S APOLOGIA. ; Dr. Friedrich Adler,'who assassinated • the-. Austrian -Premier .(Count Sturgkh) ,in - October, - 1916-, was condemned .tof.death .for his' act, but the. Socialists of neutral countries and the-. German Radicals, as well, as those- of Russia, ..petitioned the.rEmperor Karl to. - spare his. life. 4 i Alter sentence of death - was: pronounced,-, upon: .■ him •. '■ the condemned mart, turned to the spectators and shouted: ."Long.live international . revolutionary: Social' Demo-.cracy'-'-rrra icry that, was .loudly echoed •from the, crowded court - and galleries, -while .(women waved their handkerchiefs and. thewhole assemblage (including individuals in. the. well of the court)- enthusiastically : applauded the prisoner. Thereupon the President ordered the court to übe cleared,. and four . people were arrested in : the , process, while other arrests in the streets followed.. After the trial, was ;concluded. Dr. Adler delivered an address, which has created a profound impression throughout Europe. He protested (emphatically against the attempts to represent him as not responsible for his actions. He said that he. had known beforehand that the "Government Socialists'' of Austria and -Germany' would try to place that construction upon his deed, and his counsel was naturally anxious to do the same, but the change, that came over Austrian political life within only a few days of the assassination of Count Sturgkh was striking enough to compel some slight recognition even then that the deed was not that of a mere irresponsible. He asserted that all constitutional rights in Austria had been suspended by the failure of the Premier to assemble the Reichsrath.

in Austria and the explanation of his deed were that there was no authority left in Austria that could be considered constitutionally and ; that Count Sturgkh had .persistently suppressed the one institution which could have helped him and his Cabinet to account—viz. > the Reichsrath; What other way remained open, then ,of calling Ministers to account than the way they. had themselves chosen —that of force? Years before, in. November, 1898, Herr Hochenburger himself (Count Sturgkh's Minister, of Justice), who was not then in office, declared in the Reichsrath on the subject of legislation by Royal decree that any treading underfoot of justice in Austria would hot go 'unpunished. "Herr Minister President,'"' he sa/d at -that itime, "take-care that you do riot bring things to such a pass that you are

made to learn that an aggravated peo* pie can create justice for themselves* and that to-day still there is. an.emergency code of peoples." Yet it was this same Hochenburger who, in conjunction with Count Sturgkh, promulgated, on July 25, 1914, such as proved that everything, had been; prepared long before the outbreak of war! ■■■ ' • •■ >

Hochenburger and Sturgkh deliberately planned this coup d'etat, and for that reason the moral justification, of my deed is complete for me. as'.a citizen. .The question at issue is not whether force is justifiable, but .what is my individual position. In my opinion, every citizen is justified,.,if the law is ftrodden underfoot* M securing justice for himself.-.••: When any. Government have placed them? selves outside of the legal domain, every citizen is justified in -holding them to account outside that domain also. Indeed, eery 1 citizen is not only justified in doing so, but.is,.under an obligation to do so. ■,.» He objected to being classed as either a patriot or an anti-patriot. He had always held that the cause of Socialism was a much greater thing than any temporary State .organism, and that. Socialists- should not identify them'\ selves too intimately with any one State, as certain of his- formet friends had now unfortunately done. . Indeed, it was only since the seventies that.tho ideal of the National State had .taken root among even the bourgeoisie; which at the same , time' began to regard'' it not as the nation, but as an economic unit . Everywhere before'that date.the intellectual bourgeoisie, were not. pa" triotic, but national, • and the attitude of the' German Austrians was \ then what that of the Czechs is to-day. Now •however, the bourgeoisie are interested in the maintenance as an economic:, unit not only of Austria, but of the whole central European bloc—with the King of Prussia at its head, of course, and Austrian subordinate "-to him. ; ; Their ideal, in fact, is no longer national- in-, dependence, but national -predominance and the foundation. of •• > Many Social Democrats had been carried away by this development, but, while it was true in his own case that Austria played a part in his motives, it was not on account of her existence as a State, but as a moral unit. It was the Austrian character for which he was concerned. ■• ; • <•. . > i'; ' 'Already at school, it was clear, to nle that the greatest sin,''the one which cannot be forgiven, is the-sin* igainvt character, the sin that is custorhar.v:: :•' ir» Austria. - If .you wish to underpaid my v deed and-all that led'to hi' t. run like a jred' thread through tliVyo/ur consideralSons' the ; recognit3on: that'v'it was a protestp-against.-vihie sin, against character which prevents any manly action in Aiistriai "We are in a State which was once made.«'(Ro-i man) Catholic again by fire and sword, at the time of the ormatdon. We are in a State in which - ; the convictions of men are despised," in whichl.l it is never recognised that'the individual must act according to his • convictiohs. It is the State of.the Metternich."doctrine' which weighed down Austria ,ibefore 184'8-^the.State which has lettered • free speech in order t(> create a slavish public opinion.'. . I have ■ shown twhat Hochenburgher said in 1898, and ;-how he afterwards acted as Minister. It is this abandonment," oi any lbyalty.to convictions—this complete''lack .of,' star bility—which has always filled-me with the deepest.hatred:.of Austria, not as a political unit, but as a 1 moral one'; of the Austrian character for untrustworthiness ■" .• <"■'.'' '• • '.' • ' ! - f '" ;^" These national, traits were ;to be found among' all .the \ nationalities of *no Dual Monarchy, and they had penetratred his:own party,,a penetration against which his deed "was-a protest.not a fanatical, but he held that a man should r be plea* with .himself Kas to the ground on which he stood. : :He despised;a party .who allowed AustrianGermans .to masa,TOrade .:as ; Sbcialistii. He denied; howevery that Jie wasisolat. Ed from the majority -/of h.i?v party ? ; : e*•cept as concerned -nis .final /act, L ?tt;afla maintained that in the seven,* months thathad elapsed the world-had, in many respects' come, found to;vhiS standpoint, and much that was ' chafao'teriised, r,v»s absurd then : was now considered :-qnite natural. For instance, internationalism had become the, very hope of .the;Aus-, trian Government, and none were ito- 1 , day more sought after by Count Czer-. nin than the to- whom' the Public Prosecutor'haU referred .as being his (Adler'a)associates,, and who, as having a certain - amount of influence in Russia, were to- travel'to Stockholm with the "Government ■Socialists?: .of Germany as "the of the Foreign -Office.'V greeting, to the Stockholm.i.Qohfei'qnce.. however,' would be the , sentence,,. i<just passed <-on himself .Proceeding- to trace in detail, the development? ;that, Jed.tom. to regard his party as', having: altogether forsaken" Socialist. ideak*.t and<. H.i». atr . tempts to • persuade > them?, oi. ror, he -finally came to the - con'ohision that "only by acting, in the, party leaders would effect ■•■■''■■ '•■•,'. '"• ■ -',■ '■ > ;'- : , ; ■ - i: ".-" ; -'•-VV-'i■/■' ■ and that he must, do what he-could sto pave the way for that revolution. ..fnat did not mean' that !he ■ became .'ah anarchist, or that he imagined that . alone- could set a revolution^afoot,. _.Qn the contrary, he had -always held.tliat •the battle-must.be fought, : ,notV.by.*ino>. viduals, but-by-the .masses..',--., He,:had never believed-that. the. people»:;,WQuld rise in his supports Allcthat; he wanted to do was to prove,to the- people, * and the Government'alike that revolution.ary action in Austria was not,a, matter of impossibility.,'and thus to, .set, the ball a-Tolling.- It >was not hie intention to introduce a,new Oocialist mettipdrOt warfare; and in general he . wOuld.; ; .de? .precate such isolated, deeds. .But iu» own deed was ah ;exceptional one,, pror Yoked by exceptional circumstancesA.Ho . recounted vthe special :• considerations,, that had weighed with' him, : and.jJeWt in detail with; the' abuse < the. censor.-, ship, the scandal of*.the politicalJotis held during the: warV: and Stufgkh's determined. -,, attempt : to / establish permanently. an.. lutist regime, ■ which 'eventually became so apparent as to be beyond all.doubt, and finally determined him ito ,take : . forcible' aotion. It was not. against, Count Sturgkh,-himself, but against. Ins ,system, that the deed was directed,, He had a certain respect for the late Premier, who contrasted .favourably in,. W» manly straightforwardness with many of his associates. a ■-.-■■ \ ■ ~ ~ -, u Count Sturgkh having conscientiously takenVhis stand' on force, he had. to he removed by; forcible. methods. • -»nt ,-«e (AdlerY reserved his contempt, for those Austrians ' 'who tolerated, :Sturgkh without attempting > to defend tho.nfc, selves, and who; by their.,;. behaviour, furnished the oroof that every, land. Ms, the Sturgkh it deserves.". Aboye.all, ho was moved to his, final act by the poetical situation at the- moment. .ino fact that there seemed not the slightest prospect of neace affected him- ' pro:, foundlv. Ho .thought, .hopelessly .rtpl . what would happen at the Austrian 1a : , bour Congress to.meet on and of how he would again bring fa*-: ward > his motion for.,' 'peace without -annexations,',', and how he would be'abl*, perhaps, r to count, an increase of two or three in,his:following'. In that-Way ho would never reacK,the masses ; lience his choice of another weapon, had proved : effective ,in this n s in -other re&pects. And finally he said : , . "My deed had ; the result I. anticipated. I have never regretted it'*intfe, : and am convinced that it -yvpr,. profitable I did what had ito he. done in order i to rescue the; situation from the stagnation into which it had fa,lleh.