Press is silent about this conference.
Feb. 1, 1917. Platten publishes his first article on the war issue.[120] Attention should be drawn to the following two of his statements.
First, Platten writes, literally: "Of course, the absence was felt in the commission of the cool-headed, courageous and consistent Zimmerwald champion who would have insisted on pigeon-holing the war issue till the end of the war."
No name was mentioned, but it should not be hard to guess against whom this blow was aimed.
Second, Platten makes this statement of principle:
"The war issue is not only a battle of opinions around this question, but is indicative also of a definite trend in
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the further development of the party; it is a struggle against opportunism within the party, and an act of opposition to the reformists and in favour of revolutionary class struggle."
Feb. 3, 1917. A private meeting of Centrists (Grimm, Schneider, Rimathe and others) attended also by Nobs and Platten. Münzenberg and Dr. Bronski are invited but decline.
A decision is adopted to "amend" the majority resolution in a way that materially worsens it and turns it into a "Centrist resolution", especially because paragraph 3 is deleted and replaced by a deliberate]y indefinite and hazy expression.
Feb. 6, 1917. General meeting of Social-Democratic Party members in Zurich. Main item: committee elections.
Poor attendance, especially on the part or workers.
Platten suggests postponing the meeting. Social-patriots and Nobs object. Proposal is defeated.
Elections are held. When it turns out that Dr. Bronski is elected, social-patriot Baumann announces on behalf of four committee members that he refuses to work with Dr. Bronski.
Platten suggests accepting this ultimatum (submitting to it), proposing (absolutely undemocratically and unlawfully) that the elections be declared invalid. That proposal is carried!!!
Feb. 9, 1917. Publication of a "new" majority resolution. The signatures: the "Centrists" Grimm, Rimathe, Schneider, Jacques Schmid, etc., also Nobs and Platten. The resolution has been greatly worsened and paragraph 3, as indicated above, deleted.[121]
The resolution does not even hint at combating opportunism and reformism, or at a firm decision to follow Karl Liebknecht's tactics!
It is a typical Centrist resolution, in which "general", supposedly "theoretical" disquisitions predominate, while practical demands are deliberately couched in such feeble and hazy language that, it can be hoped, not only Greulich and G. Müller, but even Baumann -- Zurich will probably deign to withdraw their ultimatum and . . . amnesty the party.
To sum up: the leaders of the Swiss party have solemnly buried Zimmerwaldism in the "marsh".
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Addition:
The St. Gallen Volksstimme of Jan. 25, 1917 (to which Huber -- Rorschach frequently contributes):
"It suffices to oppose to this shamelessness [i.e., the referendum motivation] the fact that the postponement proposal (Jan. 7) was made by Comrade Grimm and energetically supported, among others, by Comrades Manz, Greulich, Müller, Affolter and Schmid."
The Basler Vorwärts of Jan. 16, 1917 reports that the postponement proposal (Jan. 7) was tabled by the following comrades:
"Grimm, Rimathe, Studer, Münch, Lang -- Zurich, Schneider -- Basel, Keel -- St. Gallen and Schnurrenberger (!!? obviously a misprint for Schneeberger?).
The workers have every reason to be grateful to the two papers for listing these names ! . . .