The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-02-26
THE LASKER INCIDENT.

The action of Prince Bismarck in
returning to the American House
Of Representatives, without bis
compliments, the now famous Las
ker resolu ion, is regarded as an in
suit to this government, and some
of our statesmen" are expected to
wax Wroth over the matter. They
would like to rend the German
Minister from limb to limb, or
what would prove more aggravating
to him, cut off his supply of lager.
Oar fighting editors will rant and
rave, and our Germsn~American
citizens, or those of them who have
lost their reverence for Faderland,
will find excuse for denouncing
everything about old Bis, from
sauer krout to sausages. And yet,
when we look at the matter disin-
terestedly and aside from politics,
must we not incline to regard the
Minister'S action as proper and con-
sistent? Herr Lasker was a man
of character aud brains, it is true
he was statesman, and in this
country would have been a grand
citizen of whom all would have been
proud, just as We are PR I'D OF Carl
Schurz, who was born in Germany ;
of Senator Beck, Of Kentucky, a ma
tive of Scotland; of Congressman
Morse, OF Massachusetts, staunch
Democrat who came from Bavaria;
of Senators Jones and Fair, of Ne>
vada, who first saw the light Of day
in England and Ireland, respect
lively; of that loud-mouthed Irieh-
American Representative from
Brooklyn, VIM. E. Robinson, and of
hundreds of other big and little
Statesmen in and out of Congress
who were foreign born. But ma
turally they look at things differ
3ntly in Imperial Germany. In
9ismarck's eyes Lasker was q
learned and brilliant N. n, but he
was by no means represeL tative
citizen; on the contrary he was an
enemy to the German government,
and all his ability has been turned
in the direction, not of saving the
empire, but of over;hroWing it;
that ia to say, of overturning
the existing order Of things,
and crea ing from the wreck, a
government which If not republican
in form would at least be represent
alive, the power being derived from
the people, and the administration
being responsible to the people in.
stead of to q crown. To our way of
thinking, Mr.. Lasker's efforts were
highly commendable and emin-
emily praiseworthy; in the minds of
Bismarck and the truly loysl Ger
mans, his labors were all wrong,
being revolutionary and little less
than reasonable. It is not
for US to dismiss the opinions
of Bismarck and the loyal
Germans by saying they
are wrong. In that country, and
under the existing government they
are right, while contrary views are
as wrong as would be imperial ideas
in the United States. Enter
tanning the opinions that he holds,
and occupying his position as the
representative efthe imperial crown.
Bismarck could not consistently do
otherwise than he has done in re-
turning the resolution. Liberal al
most to recklessness as Americans
are, generous almost to improvid-
ence in accepting good words for
their citizens from foreign powers,
an American administration would
be denounced and condemned as
unworthy and lacking in selfrespect,
did it not promptly decline without
thanks a resolution by the German
Reichstag praising one who had ex.
erted himself to overthrow the Res
public. Suppose Great Britain,
which has a warm admiration Tor
an ex-American statesman, Judah
P. Benjamin, were, on his death,
through its Parliament, to adopt
resolutions Of sympathy for the
United States, would we receive
them and place them on file as a
compliment from the English! In
the language Of the day, "not much
The mistake in this ,Lasker bust
ness was made by the American
Congress, snd there has been No
hIunder nv Bismarck. Tasker,s