STRIKERS IN BERLIN ESTIMATED TO NUMBER 750,000.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16763, 1 February 1918, Page 5

STRIKERS IN BERLIN ESTIMATED TO NUMBER 750,000.

DEMANDS INCLUDE PEACE WITHOUT ANNEXATIONS. USE OF MACHINE-GUNS AUTHORISED WHERE NEEDED. : •>. By Teleßraph—Press Association— Australian and N.Z. (Received 10.20 p.m.) COPENHAGEN, Jan. 30. The German Government has authorised the use of machine-guns against the strikers if necessary. The police brutally dispersed demonstrators at Hamburg. A strike at Krupp's works is admitted in a semi-official report, which asserts that it is not. on an important scale. A Berlin message states that the demands of the strikers include peace without annexations or indemnities, the abolition of military control of the war factories, and' the restoration of the right to hold public meetings. It is estimated that there are 750,000 strikers in Berlin, and the movement is rapidly becoming general in other centres. Herr Haase, Herr Ledebour, Herr Scheidemann, Heir Ebert, and other prominent Socialists have joined the newly-formed ■ workmen's council. . The Secretary for the Interior has refused to receive a deputation from the council. Bolshevik pamphlets have been distributed in- the Berlin factories, declaring ' that since the Russian revolutionaries triumphed at Brest Litovsk, the German workers must secure the revolutionaries' triumph in Germany. j The Berlin strike leaders have elected a committee of nine to negotiate with the Government, Their demands include peace, equal suffrage, new arrangements for food supplies, and release of the arrested leaders, especially Dr. Liebknecht. The German Chancellor, Baron von Hertling, conferred with the military commandant of Berlin, and in view of the strike it was decided to confine the troops to" barracks, but the officers were instructed to act with discretion. The Independent Socialists are issuing pamphlets broadcast, urging a general strike, and even inciting the workers to overthrow the Government, destroy the bourgeoisie, and proclaim a republic. . NEW YORK, Jan. 30. There are hali-a-million strikers in Berlin, at the Kiel shipyards, and at the Westphalian mines, which are idle. The State Department has received official confirmation that there are more than • 90,000 . strikers in Berlin alone. United Service. ' - LONDON. Jan. 30. Th( Amsterdam correspondent of the Daily Express states that the strikes are spreading to the munition factories throughout Germany, and that there are v grave disturbances at various centres, particularly where big concerns are working exclusively for the Government. At least 40 factories are idle. The authorities have issued a • strong warning that they are powerless to stem the rapid spread of the strike.