FRITZ PLATTEN, BOLSHEVIST.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12638, 24 May 1919, Page 2

FRITZ PLATTEN, BOLSHEVIST.

* THE ENEMY OF THE BOURGEOISIE, MAN WHO UNCHAINED BOLSHEVISM IN EUROPE, (By ELIAS TOBENKIN in New York “Tribune.”) ZURICH, March 10. True to its tradition as the fountain of revolution, Zurich fs to-dey the) switchboard of Bolshevism in Europe. The man at the switchboard, connecting the various Bolshevist wires, is Fnte Flatten, the foremost labour leader in Switzerland,, and outside of Lenin the most avowed advocate in Europe of the salvation of the world through the dictatorship of the tariatIn these days of mass role idols come and. idols go, but if I were an. enterprising photographer I would take ai good picture of Fritz Flatten, I would take several, of them, in fact. History ■will want to have a look at such a photograph, for Prita Flatten, willy nilly, has become a historical character. He is the man who unchained Bolshevism in Europe. It was Flatten who arranged with Germany for the passing of the “sealed tram” which took Lenin from Switzerland to Russia. Flatten went in that sealed train, or rather coach, with Lenin and his thirty-odd followers to Petrograd- A few days after the Lenin train passed through Germany, Platten’s associate, Hans Vogel the present editor of the “Berner Tagwacht,” the leading Socialist paper in piloted, a second train with the remainder of the Bolshevik followers of Lenin through Germany into Russia. . Nor was his taking of 'Lenin to Ruesi athe only service of the Swiss labour leader to the cause of Bolshevism. Flatten has performed another and perhaps greater service to Lenin and Leninites after they reached Russia. Flatten and Lenin were in a carriage together one day when an assassin attempted to snoot Lenin, and it waa a quick manoeuvre by Flatten that deflected the fatal bullet, earing Lenin’s life. Flatten cam© out of the experience vain a slightly damaged arm- Thus has the Swiss labour leader twice served’ the cause of Bolshevism well. ’A ETNDENBURG OF LABOUR, 1 went to Zurich to take a look at Flatten. I was told that he gives no interviews to a correspondent from ‘ bourgeoisie ” newspapers. I wanted to see him, nevertheless, because next to lonm he is to-day the greatest Bolshevist fanatic in Europe and with men’s nerves on edge as they are in Central Europe to-day such a thoroughgoing fanatic may be Lord of Hosts tomorrow. I talked to Flatten about five minutes. But I waited ten minutes until my turn came to talk to him. He is a young man of thirty-seven or thirty-eight, clean shaven, above medium height and athletic looking, tiis father is said to be a Saxon who emigrated to Switzerland, where Flatten was born. Flatten, however, is every inch a Prussian. The “will of power” is in his blood, It is his creed, only in his case this will ig directed not toward the attainment of militarism, but of proletarian power. He seemed to me nothing less than a Hindenburg of Labour—cold, calculating, ruthless. He knows what he wants and goes the shortest wav to get it. I don’t think he would have the i slightest hesitation to order a hundred or a thousand men executed if in his judgment the cause of working class revolution demanded it- I hesitate to reach hasty conclusions, but all the time I gazed upon Flatten I had. a | feeling that the world is not vet done I with Tuthlessness. _ The ruthlessness I |i n Haired by militarism for generations I has not ended with the end of the i war. It has but changed habitations. It has jumped from one body into another. The rntblessness of tho old order has fallen ns a heritage to the most—or least—advanced advocates of the new order, tho Bolsheristically j minded wing of the proletariat. I don’t giro interviews,” Flatten told me. /i i t f ■writ© articles from time to time myself, and in these articles I say what T have to any. The move•ment which is called Bolshevism is coming, because it must come; there is no other way out for the proletariat. I f tho world wore really willing to solve the problems before it in accordance with reason and common sense there would bo no Bolshevism. But the fact is that from above there is no solution, for these problems, and the proletariat finds itself more and more compelled to adopt the methods which are followed by the Bolsheriki. It is true, of course, that statistically the working people are in the majority. Yet we have for years had to continue our struggle against the worst sort of opposition. The education of the masses proceeds but slowly. Against our small Press there is opposed the vast number of the bourgeois newspapers. They dominate the opinions and sentiment of the people. With parliamentary methods albne we cannot be helped. The struggles of the proletariat must take on more and more the character of mass action.” THE METHODS OF THE MAN. Flatten does not lay claim to erudition, but ho is a remarkable speaker. He is a metal worker by trade and ■hia speech is hover detached from reality. Ho supplements his theories with fads and illustrates them with actual happenings. He drives his

arguments home by simple references to the things of every day in the life of the workman. lb is this that gives mm such command and makes him such a formidable figure in the labour movement of Switzerland and Europe, As is the case with Eugene Debs in America, people who radically disagree with Flatten nevertheless do not doubt his sincerity, even if it is marked by colossal fanaticism. Flatten, beyond saying that ho and Lemn were good friends and understood each ether very well, would not discuss his taking Lenin mto Russia through Germany. The Swiss Government had recently ordered out the Bolshevist Embassy from Switzerland because it was found that the Russian Bolshevists were using the Embassy as a means of propaganda, not only in the interest of Bolshevism in Russia, but in the interest of . Bolshevism everywhere. Several. Bolshevists ; are now on trial here, and the reticence of Flatten may m part at least be ascribed to this 1 situation. Hans Vogel, the editor of, the Berner Tagwacht,” gave me 3 few interesting details about the now famous sealed train. THE BARGAIN WITH GERMANY. ' As soon as th© revolution had been achieved in Russia.” Herr Vogel said, Lenin and the hundreds of other E-us- - exiles living in Zurich and Switzerland generally realised that their place was at homo. Wo of the Sor.ialist movement in Switzerland agreed with them, and it fell to the lot of flatten and myself to arrange for their going through Germany to Russia, We went to the German Embassy, and asked of we would be permitted to. take a special tram from Switzerland to Riis. sia. The thing. Wag arranged, without much difficulty. Tho Germans, of course, knew perfectly well what they were doing, and- so did we. The German Government wanted to further r©: volution in Russia, because with a revolutionary Russia it could make peace. j ist,s, both Russian and Smss wer© anxious that the revolution in Russia take a proletarian, rather than a bourgeois turn. Wo each had our specific and quite different' aims. It is ridiculous to speak of German money in the matter. There was J® :n ?, or Qprmany to pay money td the_ Russian revolutionists in Switzerland to go back to Russia. They were only too anxious to get home. “ A few days after Flatten took Lenin and Jus party out of the counoert Pdoted a second train with about 250 revolutionists. On this second tram I wa-g the only one who got off at any station in Germany. Later wo were joined by Grimm, who went to Russia with us. We left Russia long before Lenin came into power.” ** I asked Herr Vogel, as I had previonsly asked Herr Grimm and Flatten with regard to the Bolshevik executions m Itussia. Grimm had explained those atrocities, Flatten would not, discuss them. But Herr Vogel deplored them, excusing the BLOODSHED, ft " “ bloodshed in Russia,” the edi-c-d3? T '■ ls not Pleasantest- aspect of Bolshevism. But it must be remem--.u ln Ru ?ria it is a case of either kill or be killed. 1 know Lenin and I know that he is not bloodthirsty. But there is a counter-revolutionary element in. Russia, that is anxious to get into the saddle again. And if this counterrevolutionary element gets into the saddle the era of Stolypin necktdet (hangings ol revolutionists) will look hke a, picnic beside the reign of terror it would inaugurate.” In reply to a further question Herr Vogel admitted quite frankly that -if the world could fiud its way to basio economic democracy without reporting to proletarian dictatersliip. even for the shortest period possible, ho would not at, all regret the absence of Bolshevism. But aa things were going now it did ]°°k as if Switzerland and all of Central Europe were fast drifting toward a, sort of olshevist interregnum which would precede the inauguration of social and economic democracy in the world. Heir Grimm, in response to the same question, said 1 : ‘‘Bolshevism is not a philosophy, but a method, and it is essentially a method of despair. Those who believe in using Bolshevism aa a means of accelerating tho social revolution are men and women who have lost all faith in the sincerity of the bourgeoisie and in tho good faith of capitalist society. They have tried parliamentary palliatives and have found them wanting, Bolshevism is inherent in present day conditions of society, as these conditions have been aggravated b> ilio war. Ifc is not len-den? that can make or unmake the Bolshevist morernent, but the attitude of the bourgeoisie and of capitalism, Genuine liberalism on the part, of these classes wiU cause Bolshevism to recede- On the other hand, a persistently reactionary attitude toward the masses will leave the workers no choice but to take the gorenment in their own hands and to hold it aa Lenin is holding it in Russia.”