The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1890-04-23

CW0uCy yOesA . Va AAOAOJ 0AAs~o
entitled to said pension, which was
not sufficient to support human
creature, no matter how modest his
pretensions might be. :.
The socialists furthermore saw IN
this law another police measure to
control their wages and doings
from day to day, from week to
week, and from year to year. Their
whole and main purpose has al
ways been to free themselves from
governmental guardianship, and to
think and act for themselves, and
not to accept without their own
consent laws and measures which
the Government thought good
enough for the :plebs." Next Oc-
tober the biennial term of the law
against the socialists runs out once
more, therefore, it would have been
| the duty of the last Parliament to
| renew the same, but it was very
inconvenient for the Government
to ask the same favor of the nation
over and over again every two
years, therefore it was resolved to
demand once for all of the Parlia-
ment to raise these temporary re-
strictions to permanent law. Al
ter hard struggles, Parliament con-.
scented to everything with the ex-
ception of one vital point-it in
sisted upon the eradication of the
expulsion clause. Bismarck, how
ever, is not the man who satisfies
himself with concessions. The bow
was drawn too tight. The law fell,
and Parliament was dissolved once
more. Before the new elections,
the Emperor comes forth with his
famous scheme for an International
Labor Congress. But why does
the German workingman not hail it
with joy? Because he does not be-
lieve in it's sincerity. r
! If the Emperor is in earnest to
do something for the laborer's ben
eft, the latter wants foremost of all
freedom of speech and equal rights
with his fellow-citlzens. He wants
to see the soclalistic law abolished
before he can believe in a sincere
social reform. The German social
lists consist by no means of rough,
unruly, uneducated element, crying
for anarchy. They are we'll enough
educated to understand that a sol.
daten Kaiser as q social reformer is
a contradiction in itself. They
scorn the Emperer's scheme as a
very clever electioneering trick,
and the answer to the same was the
complete defeat of the Govern
mental party at the polls. Now the
socialists have regained more than
their old power, have more seats
than they ever held in Parliament,
even at the height of their strength.
They do not care for the labor con-
gress, IN which they will have no
voice, nor would they participate
in the same if they were invited,
for they know we'll that the social
question is not to be solved by rul.
ers called to the throne by the
"grace of God" They do not fear
a new dissolution of Parliament, for
they know that that would still
more fill their ranks and gain them
new victories. Thus the socialist
victory means no more aor less than
u disapproval of the household
politics of Bismarck. He is too old
for the new ideas of our present
age, and the Emperor too young
and inexperienced for them.
| The recent elections in Ger
many ought to give the European
monarchs severe lesson; especi-
ally should they teach the young
Emperor not to rely too much upon
his royal power against the wishes
Of his subjects. But will he heed
it? 1t does not seem so. What
was the object in alarming the gar.
rison of Berlin on the very day of
the election; to call under arms an
army stronger than the whole active
military force of the United States?
II it was merely to show that the
same is ready for every emergency,
the day was chosen very unluckily.
The Emperor seems to be sowing
the wind, and may reap harvest
OF storm. The supplementary
elections will show the correctness
OF this assertion. History teaches
US that rulers in their struggles
against the strife Of their people
for freedom have seldom been pru-
dent enough to regard the lessons
taught by precedents. The Ameri-
can people, rs true republicans,
cannot help sympathizing with the
cause of the German population,
and hoping that their present VIC
tory will be crowned by the sue
cess OF the mighty movement to
improve by peaceful methods the
condition of the German working
classes.-[Frank Leslie's Illus
trated Newspaper 3o!o