Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-19
CAPRIvI's REsIGNArIoN,

The Free Education Hill and the Reason
4., Of the Crisis.
The education bill which is the cause Of the
ministerial crisis in Prussia and the resigna-
ton Of the chancellor is a pet scheme Of the
emperor's own. tits said to lave been introduced
in the lnntag without even being submitted to
the ministry. and while the chancellor has sup
ported it. it has been noticed that he did 80
with little evidence of zeal. 1t has been bitterly
opposed by the whole national liberal party as
we'll as by the special advocates Of "free
thought
The bill provides not merely for state sduca-
sion, but for state control Of religious teaching
in the schools. These are distinct for Catholics
and Lutherans, but parents who do not belong
to either OF these official divisions can profess
themselves adherents of one of certain specified
sects and have their children educated accord
ingly. The opposition comes in just here, for
the bill only recognizes Moravians, Quakers,
Greeks, Anglicans, Hebrews and Old Luther
ans as duly qualified religious bodies and as
such to receive state aid for their schools. No
recognition is given to Methodists.
Old Catholics Unitarians and Deists and free
thinkers generally, and the opponents Of the
bill do not think 1t justice to those sects to
compel their members to have their children
subjected to compulsory religious teachings by
members Of other sects.
The emperor. on the other hand, is deter
mined to stamp out the so-called liberalism in
religion, and the religious sects having this as
their basis, as dangerous to the state There
have been protests against the bill from every
direction, and especially from university pro-
fessors and teachers, but these have been
measure may subject them to the discipline Of
law. II 10 all part Of the young emperor's
fight against modern tendencies
CAPRIvL
Gen. Won Caprivi, whose resignation Was an
nounced in yesterdays STAR, succeeded Prince
Won Bismarck rs president Of the council of
ministers of Prussia and chancellor Of the Ger
man empire on March 20, 1890, his tenure of
office lacking only two days Of two years. His
full name is George Leo Won Caprivi de Caprera
do MOntecuccule, and he IL, as his name indi-
Gates, Of Italian ancestry, his father having
been an eminent jurist in the Prussian state
service. He was born In Berlin February "A,
1881, entered the army before he was eighteen,
won rapid promotion and entered the general
staff as captain in 1861
He served with distinction in the campaigns
Of 1854 and 1865 and was lieutenant colonel and
chief Of staff Of the tenth or Hauoverian corps
In the Franco-German war. He became a ma
jor general in 1877, commanded a brigade of
the guards in 1873, was made lieutenant
general in 1882 and was transferred to the navy
as successor to Gen. Slosch at the head Of the
admiralty in 1888
He displayed great executive ability in di-
recttng the growth Of the new German navy.
When the navy Was reorganized after the &C.
cession OF the present emperor he returned to
the army, in which he retained his rank and
order Of seniority, and was appointed to the
command OF one Of the best corps in the army.
| 1t was during the military maneuvers in the
autumn of 1889 that the emperor formed the
high opinion Of Csprivis capacity that led to
his elevation to the chancellorship ON the re-
tirement of Bismarck. OF military rather than
civil training he should have been a suitable
prime minister for a military ruler, but while
his general administration has been most capa-
BILE he has never asserted himself as an actual
believer in despotic methods, and it has for
some time been thought that the emperor's
erratic policy was making his position unten-
able.
CAUSE OF cAPRIvI's RESIGNATION.
The immediate cause OF the chancellor's
resignation is said to be that, at the cabinet
meeting yesterday, the kaiser substantially
stated that he favored material modification
Of the education bill. As Chancellor Won
Caprivi had stated in the lantag that he would
stand fall by the bill as it was, he felt bound
In honor to resign.
The emperor's choice Is either to force the
bill through as II stands or to accept Won
Caprivis resignation. The emperor is known
to be deeply attached to the chancellor and it
il thought that he may insist upon tho chan
cellor's remaining and call upon the conserva-
tive and ultra-montane combination in the
landtag to pass the bill
II Caprivis resignation should be accepted,
his successor would probably be Johannes Mi
queI, Prussian minister of finance. who for
more than two years has stood in high favor
with the emperor, and who has all along been
lukewarm if not positively hostile TO the educa-
ton bill.