[42] In November, 1911, Berlin's new city hall was dedicated. The members of the city council were invited to be present. The Social Democrats cast a large majority of all the votes in Berlin. But the Social Democrats refused to attend the ceremonies. The program, as published, called for a "Hoch!" to the Kaiser, and the Social Democrats never joined in public approval of the government. Vorwärts, the leading Social Democratic daily, said that Social Democrats have nothing to do with such a display of "Byzantinism." "If any one thought it necessary to shout 'Hoch!' he could shout 'Hoch!' to the working population of Berlin."
[43] Protokoll, 1907, pp. 227-8.
[44] Amongst the business people of Mannheim, Munich, and other cities in Baden, Bavaria, and Hesse, there are many who support the Social Democratic candidates, because, they say, there is no genuinely liberal party. It should, however, be borne in mind that the Social Democrats of these southern districts are liberal and progressive, not the unbending, orthodox variety of Prussia.
[45] Von Vollmar, Über die Aufgaben der Deutschen Social-Demokratie.
[46] The Hansa Bund (Hanseatic League), organized a few years ago, may be the nucleus of such a party. It is composed of smaller manufacturers and business men opposed to tariffs and the trusts, and in favor of a more liberal government.
[47] Protokoll, Social Democratic Party, 1907, p. 228.
[48] Protokoll, 1892, p. 132.
[49] Protokoll, 1907, p. 255.
[50] See Die Sozial-Demokratie im Münchener Rathaus, issued by the Bavarian party executive committee, 1908. Also Die Sozial-Demokratie im Bayerischen Landtag, 1888-1905, 3 vols., issued by the Party Press in Munich; and E. Auer, Arbeiterpolitik im Bayerischen Landtag.