demann decided to support the Government and
another group with Herr Wolfgang Heine as the leader, decided to vote
against the war loans.

Scheidemann, who is the most capable and most powerful Socialist in
Germany, carried with him the majority of the delegates and was
supported by the greater part of public opinion. Heine, however, had
the support of men like Dr. Haase and Eduard Bernstein who had
considerable influence with the public but who were not organisers or
men capable of aggressive action, like Scheidemann. As far as
affecting the Government's plans were concerned the Socialist split did
not amount to much. In Germany there is such a widespread fear of the
Government and the police that even the most radical Socialists
hesitate to oppose the Government. In war time Germany is under
complete control of the military authorities and even the Reichstag,
which is supposed to be a legislative body, is in reality during war
times only a closed corporation which does the bidding of the
Government. The attitude of the Reichstag on any question is not
determined at the party caucuses nor during sessions. Important
decisions are always arrived at at Great Headquarters between the
Chancellor and the military leaders. Then the Chancellor returns to
Berlin, summons the party leaders to his palace, explains what the
Government desires and, without asking the leaders for their support,
tells them _that_ is what _von Hindenburg_ expects. They know there is
no choice left to them. Scheidemann always attends these conferences
as the Socialist representative because the Chancellor has never
recognised the so-called Socialist Labour Party which is made up of
Socialist radicals who want peace and who have reached the point when
they can no longer support the Government.

One night at the invitation of an editor of one of Berlin's leading
newspapers, who is a Socialist radical, I attended a secret session of
the Socialist Labour Party. At this meeting there were present three
members of the Reichstag, the President of one of Germany's leading
business organisations, two newspaper editors, one labour agitator who
had been travelling to industrial centres to mobilise the forces which
were opposed to a continuation of the war, and a rather well known
Socialist writer who had been inspiring some anti-Government pamphlets
which were printed in Switzerland and sent by mail to Germany. One of
the business men present had had