WOWSERS' BID FOR POWER

The Menace that Threatens the World

 How Anarchy Became Respectable.

 Exploiting the War Confusion.

(By RANDOLPH BEDFORD).

In this the first of a series of articles by Mr. Randolph Bedford, the writer demonstrates how the Wowser elements of all countries, profiting by the war confusion, have set out dethrone commonsense. He shows how Wowserism and Anarchy have become more frightful than ever by reason of their close association and interdependence on each other; how the revolutionaries of Italy won respectability by kissing their king and talking of church. And then he shows how the dictatorial Mussolini had to climb down when Money, as represented by Standard Oil, issued its orders.

No.1.—WAR AND REACTION.

 If there is anything in weight of evidence, peace must be unknown in Europe for many years. The Allies became enemies Immediately after the armistice. A dozen new Alsaces and Lorraines were brought into being by partition; Turkey was allegedly "put in its place" and wouldn't stay put. It is more powerful in Europe than it ever was, and the high powers listen kindly to it because it has oil. The loud objections to Turkey are dramatised for the gallery, and Turkey itself has won more out of the war than anyone else, seeing that it has ousted the rotten dynasty that bled it for a thousand years.
 As in every other country, war confusion has made the wowser a power in Turkey. Alcohol has been prohibited by Turkish religious law ever since Mohammed decided that harems were virtuous and beer immoral; but now the Turkish wowser has made legislation penalising the drunkard with two years' imprisonment. The Turkish Progressive has enacted physical examination as a condition precedent of marriage; the Turkish wowser counters with a law refusing divorce to aliens. Constantinople shall not become a new Reno if Abdul the wowser can help it.
 In Middle and Western Europe the conditions are those of impudently militant wowserism against a general apathy that is as terrible in its way at the brutality of war. If war should have good result it must discredit and destroy the old order that made it; must take the power from the few who prostituted power, seize the finance from the greedy financiers, who profit by the beginning of war, the conduct of it, and the ending of it.
 If war is to have any successful ending it must be to take the countries concerned out of the capitalistic forces that profit by war, and hand the more or less injured resources to socialism that hates war.
 The reverse has happened and is happening. Every country—enemy or Ally—is reactionary. The German mark has fallen to a ridiculous amount. —at the time of writing, to 8,000 to the dollar, meaning that the German mark is worth only one hundred and sixtieth part of an English penny if sterling were at par; or, more properly stated, 80 marks are equal to one American cent.
 In Germany this condition is impudently now charged by the reactionaries to be due to Socialism; the monarchical reactionaries are strong, well armed with guns, Bible quotations, high morality, and lofty motives, and preparing thus to slay the Socialists for the sake of true religion and the glory of the Lord.

 FRANCE; A COUNTRY WITH A CHANCE.

 The two countries with a hope are France and Britain—and France especially. The French are hard at work; they have lowered their note issue, public revenues increase; they bear up against the fact that Germany won the war and will pay no indemnities, and against the worse fact that wowser Germany is rearming. France is the only one of the Continental belligerents not threatened by wowser reaction, and therefore it has hope.
 In Bavaria the Fascisti, which is a mixture of wowserism and anarchy, are alleged to be financed with American money, and, seeing the almost comic horror of Socialism held by the American middle class, which is all the American who are not wage earners, the charge is believable.
 The Bavarian Fascisti are anti-Socialistic and anti-Jew. Hitler, the Bavarian Fascisti leader, "regards it as essential that large masses of Jews shall be held as hostages in order to influence the international finance and business world in favor of good Government." Hitler is regarded in Bavaria as Germany's "man of the hour," and the American hatred of the money-making and financially powerful Jew is quite sufficient reason for American donations to the organisation fighting the Jew in Germany. In all the old world anti-Semitic belief in the Jew, as the cause of war for profit looks like being made the excuse for Hebrew pogroms, if the first movement be not checked. The Bavarian reactionaries, in convicting of high treason Lechenback and two other journalists by a farcical trial in which the judge was the prosecutor, were out for two results—to whitewash the old German Government's responsibility for the world war and to discredit the murdered Socialist Premier of Bavaria, by convicting his right-hand men. It was also intended to terrorise German and foreign journalists against reporting on the secret monarchist organisations of Munich.
 The trials were conducted in secret, no foreign journalists were permitted. German journalists' reports were censored; and all journalists attending were searched.
 There is no money in Socialism for these reactionary monarchists, and therefore Socialism is to be killed, and monarchy and the capitalism that makes war are to return. The present holders of the financial strings—the Jews of Internationalism—are to be held as hostages, which mean that their lives are dependent on the caprice or fear of greedy wowsers who would replace the Hebrew system with their own, stamp out Socialism, and do it while mouthing Bible texts and blithering about purity in Government.
 In Italy there has been a revolution—the respectable and successful anarchy of an armed Bourgeoise—a phenomenon new to modern democracy. The Government retired from business while the Fascisti—the armed Bourgeoise—settled with Socialism and destroyed the trades unions. The Fascisti, at the crisis of their revolution, scarcely struck a blow. They used a shibboleth of "patriotism" and "national destiny," and roared of their devotion to Church and King, as wowsers everywhere do, and as they do most loudly as a preliminary to attacking law and order. Their programme is direct action, openly defiant of law, and productive of internal disorder and directly contradicting all the principals and ideals of democratic Government.
 Afraid to compromise itself in either way, the elected Government of Italy did no more than mutter feeble admonitions against subversions of law; but where the youthful weapons of wowserism—boys of from 16 to 20— attacked and routed labor meetings, the police did not interfere with the Black Shirts, no matter what they did.
 In Cremona, a band of irresponsible children, wearing the black shirts of Fascismo, burned down the homes of two Socialist deputies, the adult wowsers who had prompted the outrage staying safely in the background. The Popular Party in Parliament joined the Socialists, and left the Government to collapse. Governments called to fill its place failed. The Socialists demanded a Government to suppress the Fascisti, and threatened as an alternative, a general strike. The King did nothing—after the manner of kings—and also because he was afraid to side against the Fascisti by supporting law and order. The Labor Alliance called a general strike; and then the popular Party deserted the Socialists, and the old Government came back.
 Then the Fascisti armed and marched, seized the railroads, crushed the Socialist press and the Socialist municipal administration, smashed the co-operative and other workers' unions and terrified the strikers with armed force. On the Government agreeing to reinstate the strikers, the strike was called off ; but the Fascisti were not through. They burned the premises of "Avanti." the leading Italian Socialist newspaper, and of the Lavroc, the Genoese Labor journal. In Ravenna, they seized and suppressed the Laborite co-operative development. In Ancona they destroyed the plant of the Socialist newspaper, and set fire to the headquarters of all the principal Labor organisations, including the Federation of Railway Workers and the Chamber of Labor. In Parma they did likewise.
 When it was all over, the Government came back to life and tried to govern. Vain hope. The Fascisti mouthing of devotion to patriotism, King, Church, and Pure Government, wanted the prizes for itself.
  Mussolini—never elected by anybody —invaded Parliament, seized power, and demanded a vote of confidence at the pistol point. Said he to the Parliament: "I leave the melancholy worshippers of constitutionalism their complaints, and I say that civilisation has its rights. I am here to descend to the use of the revolution of the Black Shirts at its highest—I demand a free hand."
The number of Fascisti deputies was only 31 out of 500; but, to use Mussolini's own words, he "exacted" the vote of confidence. They gave it to him, and then Mussolini kissed the King, and the King kissed Mussolini ; and, in the kissing, Anarchy became respectable.
 It is that King-kissing and Anarchy's bleating of patriotism and religion which made the Fascisti popular with all the reactionaries of the world. As an English woman (Emily Lorraine), writing in the "New York Times," says:
 "How absurd to associate the Facisti with revolution. Revolutionaries never stand loyally by their King."

 KINGS, CHURCHES, AND ANARCHY.

Anarchy becomes respectable only when it uses kings and churches as catchwords. The Anarchy of Mussolini is applauded wherever high finance hears of it. In its monthly budget for December, the National City Bank of New York applauds the Fascisti as a "Patriotic society formed to combat disorderly activities." Then, weakly, it excuses: "Although believers in constitutional government they are not disposed to look with favor on spontaneous and irregular movements to promote even the best of causes, the Fascisti have given evidence of high patriotic purposes."
The high patriotic purposes of middle-class wowsers, who leave the violence to irresponsible larrikins, aged 16 years to 20.
 Mussolini was the editor of a Socialist paper, and by double crossing his old employers he has seized by violence power, that, which in the nature of things, he must lose by violence.
 He was soon shown how much his power amounted to. Standard Oil told him where he got off. Mussolini "has been forced to alter his aggressive Adriatic policy, especially against Jugo-Slavia, because, in the words of the American Ambassadar (Richard Wasburn Child), the Standard Oil Trust "is giving quite a lot of trouble to the opening up of the Adriatic and Balkan markets, and would not allow the Fascisti to hamper its efforts to widen its markets."
 And Mussolini, the Great, Loyal, Religious, Patriotic Anarchist, who holds office with 35 supporters in a Parliament of 500, knows his master's voice and called his dogs off the Adriatic.
 Standard Oil, by the way has taken the French trade from British oil interests; France supported the Turks against Greece, with Standard Oil behind France, and its best eye on the "Near East" oilfields; and when the Turks defeated the Greeks, Standard Oil defeated British oil interests again.
The Fascisti movement spreads— wherever there is plunder to be had and wowsers to rave of the patriotism, the religious fervor, the loyalty, and the purity of the plunderers. The Fascisti in Mexico "warned President Obregon against countenancing Socialism," and concluded by the statement that "if he refuses to reply to the Fascisti questions, his silence will be interpreted as assurance that his Government is about to accept Socialism."
 Meantime the Mexican Parliament is putting up the fight of its life against interference by American oil interests with Mexican legislation on the petroleum industry. This and the Mexican disease of Fascismo are probably related; although the Mexican wowsers are enraged at the spread of Labor unions in the country, the latest organised being the bullfighters, who are striking against the old rates of slaughter per bull.
 Fascismo—the armed Bourgeoise—the anarchy of the wowser—is to be seen as the most threatening reaction of the war—here less; there more. The United States of America has its Fascisti—masked floggers, branders, lynchers, burners of decent citizens who hold any but archaic opinions in politics—murderers who excuse their crimes by prating of religion, the purity of womanhood, and the flag.
 These are the criminals of the Ku Klux Klan.

RANDOLPH BEDFORD.

Truth (Perth, WA : 1903 - 1931), Saturday 28 July 1923, page 1