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Country In Danger.
"The idea I wish to convey to you this
afternoon: the idea which prompted me to
give up the comforts of civil life arid live
in a tent; the message A wish you would
take away with you today is: That our
country is now in arms and our people
are called upon to make sacrifices both
personal and collective, because our na
tional life is in danger. Autocracy is in
the saddle and would ride roughshod over
those institutions which have made our
American life what it is and which are
based on the Christian principle of human
liberty and the inalienable rights of hu
man kind. The danger is such that, in
the language of our President, it is im
perative that we mobilize all our forces,
military and economical, and strike a de
cisive blow against an irresponsible gov
ernment which, in running amuck, hat
thrown aside all consideration of human
ity and the rights of free peoples to exist
"The first question I would like to pul
and answer is this: Was President Wil
son exaggerating when he characterized
the German government as being an ir
responsible government? .Many there are
who suspect he was. The antithesis
drawn between Democracy on one hand,
and Autocracy on the other, in some
quarters, is looked upon as diplomatic
camouflage, calculated to arouse enthu
siasm at home, />r to add a false glamor
to a really ugly affair. In support of
such an impression, attention is drawn to
the fact, that in Germany under the
Kaiser is. a written Constitution and a
representative government in the form of
a parliament analogous to our American
congress.
“In a crisis like the present, when
feelings are stirred and racial hatrd
aroused, it is not altogether impossible to
be unintentionally wrong in our appraise
ment of the enemy. There is no small
amount of inaccurate and temperamental
thinking even in the cooler moments of
peace, naturally enough, the heat of con
flict does not contribute to the clearness
and precision of our thought. Since It
is qujte possible, therefore, that we ma;;
be mistaken in calling the German gov
ernment an “autocracy,” it might be well
to take our critical spy-glass in hand and
examine the German system in detail. It
were much easier, and. perhaps, more en
tertaining to wave the flag and arouse
emotion; I yvould rather win the ver
dict of your understanding. Bear with
me then while I describe briefly the gov
renmental system of the nation with
which we are at war.
“The German Empire, founded in 1871
is a confederation of twenty-five states
and one imperial territory—Alsace-Lor
raine. Each state han its own govern
ment and legislature and, within certain
limits, is somewhat autonomous. At first
blush we-see a similarity between this
confederation and our own American Un
ion. The analogy, however, is only on
the surface; it does not go below. Our
states are ruled by men selected by the
people, and the union came into being
through the will of popular assemblies,
whereas the German states are -govern
ed by potentates claiming the divine
rights of kings, while the Confederation
was established, not by the people, but
by those claiming divine rights.
The Executive —William 11.
The King of Prussia is automatically
emperor of the confederation. lie is
absolute commander of the army and
navy, has charge of foreign affairs, and
makes treaties( subject to but one limita
tion, name’y, that certain kinds of
treaties must be ratified by Parliament.
He has the power of declaring war of his
own initiative. In the care of a palpably
■ aggressive war, he needs only’ the assent
of the Federal Council, wlileli is quite
distinct, as we shall see, from the only
governmental institution even feigning to
be representative, the Reichstag. In the
case of a defensiv war, be doesn’t even
need the assent of the council. As it is
the fashion with the Hohenzollerns al
ways to pretend defensive warfare, the
Kaiser is practically unrestricted in his
power to put his army and navy into
action. . . .
"I say ‘his’ army and navy designed
ly. The control of the military forces
belongs unreservedly to the king; in no
wise to the congress or parliament. No
authority in the state can intervene be
tween the military forces and the sov
ereign. ‘The dearest desire of every Prus
sian,’ said Chancellor Bethman-Hollweg.
‘is to see the king’s army remain com
pletely under the control of the king and
not to become the army of parliament.
Again and again the Kaiser himself has
publicly declared and reiterated that his
right to government is personal and di
vine; that his crown was handed down
to him not by his father but by God, and
that, in the government of his Empire,
he was responsible to neithei- people or
parliament.
The Legislative.
"The laws that govern Germany are
made bv the Bundesrat and Reichstag,
-comparable, at first sight, to our senate
and house of representatives. It might
be worth while to describe them in de
tail.
“The Bundesrat, or federal council, is
a kind of diplomatic assembly represent
ing the princes of the tyenty-five states
as well as the imperial territory, Alsace-
Lorraine. The members of this council
are appointed by the princes, not elect
ed by the people. Unlike our senate, a
system of unequal representation is in
fore. Prussia, as might be expected, pre
dominates with 17 representatives. Al
sace-Lorraine has three, who vote ac
cording to the ‘instruction’ of the Kaiser,
giving Prussia 20 votes in the council.
Bavaria has six; Saxony and Wurtem
burg four each; others three or two;
while 17 have only one.
“These delegates do not vote individ
ually but as a unit, accordingly as each
group is instructed by its respective
prince. The federal council, therefore,
which is the .main legislative branch of
the government, a body which practical
ly makes all the laws of Germany and
exercises an absolute veto power over all
the proposals of the lowerhouse, is es
sentially a monarchist institution, in no
wise responsible to the people.
“The Reichstag at a distance, looks
more like a democratic institution than
anything else in Germany. The Ger
mans themselves are very fond of com
paring It to our house of representatives.
The comparison, however, is an unfair
one. All that can be said in favor of
the Reichstag is that its members are
elected by the people, after a fashion,
and that the assembly goes through the
motions of proposing legislation. For all
Page 14
CAUSES OF THE WAR
Germany’s Kaiser and Reichstag
TRENCH AND CAMP
practical purposes, it is a good example
of a thing not being what it seems.
“In the first place, the Reichstag has
the privilege of voting for certain ap
propriations, in conjunction with the
council and its consent is required .for
the levying of new taxes. But outside of
that its authority is virtually nil. It
cannot, e. g. reduce budgets or change
old taxes; nor can it exercise control over
the Emperor or Chancellor. It may con
demn or approve the policy of the gov
ernment but it cannot nullify or change
“In its organization, the Reichstag is
anything but a representative assembly.
Whereas, for instance, our house of rep
resentatives is composed of members
representing districts of given fixed pop
ulation, the number vt which is legally
the same in each instance, the Reichstag
is composed, of members representing
districts of unequal registration. In the
crow’ded industrial districts, 125,000
voters are often represented by only I
one member of the Reichstag, while in 1
the conservative rural districts, there is I
found one representative for every few
thousand.
Snare and Deception.
“Practically speaking, the Reichstag is
a snare and a deception; at best a de
bating club authorized to discuss legisla
tion but with no potver of seeing that
its recommendations are carried out. >
Lest 1 appear to be drawing the long
bow, perhaps unconsciously, let me read
a few statements emanating from the
Reichstag itself:
“n January 23, 1914, Dr. Frank, among
other things, publicly said: ‘Manv mil
lions among us fell it a burning shame I
that while Germans achieve great things ‘
in trade and industry, in politics they i
are deprived of rights.’ In January of |
the same year, Dr. Friedrich Numann ■
of ‘Mittle Europa’ fame, described the i
humiliating position of the Reichstag in !
these words: ‘We on the left are alto- i
gether in favor of the parliamentary i
regime, by which we mean that the •
Reichstag cannot forever remain in a po- ;
sition of subordination. Why does the
Reichstag sit at all? Why does it pass
resolutions, if behind it is a wastebasket
into which these resoltuions are thrown?
The problem is to change the Impotence
of the Reichstag Into some sort of power.
The man who compared this house to a
hall of echoes was not war wrong. To
those who are accustomed to do practi
cal work in life it appears a mere wsate
of time to devote themselves to this dif
ficult and monotonous mechanism. When
one asks the question: “What part has
the Reichstag in German history as a
whole?” It will be seen that the part is
a very limited one.’
(Concluded next week!)
ELEVEN, BY ACTUAL COUNT.
An old toper started home one night
in his normal condition, with a tur
key which he had bought for his
Christmas dinner.
The road was rough, and he fell
several times over all sorts of obstruc
tions in the path, dropping the turkey
each time, but picking it up again. .
Entering his house, he steadied him- i
sblf as well as he could, and said to!
his wife:
"Here, wifey, I’ve bought you eleven I
turkeys.” j
“Eleven turkeys!” cried his wife. “11
see but one.”
“Nonsense., you're blind!” cried her,
good man. "Why, I fell down eleven '
times coming home, and I swear I pick- ;
ed up a turkey every time."
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March 13.
