The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-02-13
The German crown Prince.

The German (foWV Ftiti1Ss
For some time before the announcement
that the operation of tracheotomy lad been
| performed upon the German Crown Prince
the bulletins concerning his condition had
been generally favorable. 1t had been rep
resented that the alarming symptoms were
subsiding. and that confidence /. in his ulti-
mate recovery was greatly strengthened.
The news, therefore that 1t has become nee.
essary TO resort to tracbeotomy
leads 10 the suspicion that the
physicians have been giving more
fay orahe reports than the facts would JUS
tify. Tracehotomy while in itself very
simple operation and attended with little
danger presupposes an alarming condition on
the part of the patient. 1t is usually, if not
always, performed to avert the danger of
sutfocation and no doubt this was its pur-
pose in the Princes case. His disease had
progressed until breathing by the natural
method had become almost impossible, and
to avert impending death it was necessary
to have recourse to the artificial means sub
piled by the insertion of silver tube in the
windppe. For the present the Prince is re-
leved and his life is prolonged, but traeheot-
omy is not curative treatment, it is only pal
lative. In itself it has no tendency to ar
rest the progress of the disease, but it serves
to give to nature an extension of time.
Whether the Princes disease is cancer or
not is still unsettled, but whatever it is it is
quite evident it has reached critical stage.
His recovery is not known to beat any
rate not admitted by his physicians to be-
ma daafh within q
short time would probably not surprise his
physicians, nor in the light of the latest de-
velopments, the world
The death of the Crown Prince Of Germa-
ny means much more than the death
of the head of such government as
ours or of such government
as England's The opinions of the
monarch of Great Britain or of the Presi-
dent of the United States have very little to
do with moulding the policy of the govern
nlent of these countries. Were the Queen to
die tomorrow and be succeeded by the
Prince of Wales no matter how much his
political views might differ from his moth
er's, England would experience no percepti-
BILE effect from the change. But in Germany
the monarch governs as well as regns, and
his political views are of vast Importance to
the people. The Crown Prince of Germany
Is imbued with liberal sentiments, and the
German people were looking forward to his
reign as the beginning of some substantial
advances in constitutional government
: which exists now hardly more than in
name. Though less absolute than
Russia's, the government of Ger
many is still a .dcpotism in which the will
of the monarch is generally law, though the
voice of the people has to be stified in less
despotic manner than in Russia. There is a
pretense of representative parliament, but
it is little more than pretense. So intelli
gent and enterprising a people as the Ger
mans could but be FESTIVE under such a
government as they now have and it is inn
possible that they will consent that the pres
ent condition of things shall continue nde-
tinitely. Sooner or later the reforms de-
manded by the people must be granted.
They may be granted only after the spirit Of
of revolt has risen so high that the ruling
monarch win not dare to refuse them. Or
they may be granted voluntarily bya mon
arch in sympathy with them. With the crown
prince upon the throne the German people
had abundant reason to believe that they
would be granted voluntarily. He has taken
pains to let the people know that he is a
Liberal and believer in constitutional
government On the other hand his son who
in the event of his death will succeed to the
throne is firm believer in the divine right
of rulers. He is credited with little concern
for the wishes of the German. but with a
4. T. Ia. l...A
stares the German people is therefore some-
thing more than the loss of an estimable
prince who has endeared himself to them in
many ways and whom they love and revere.
1t is the loss of ruler liberal and progress
siye, who sympathizes with the aspiration of
his people for larger share in their govern
ment and the substitution of one who is at
heart despot and will yield no further to
the wishes of the people than his fears COM
pei him to.