The morning call., 1892-02-28
THE BERLIN RIOTS.

Waen it is said that no serious result can
flow from the Berlin riots. because there are
trUors enough in Berlin 10 put down any
popular rising. nothing more is meant than
that the mouths OF the rioters can be stopped
with powder and ball. The trouble is that
that kind Of stopping Will not last When
physician administers a hyp0dermic mice
ton Of morphine 10 q patient who is scream
ing from neuralgia pain the patient becomes
silent, but the moment tie effect Of the in
lection passes oil the pain returns and the
screaming is renewed. So, In Berlin, q
steady fire from ManHcher rifles will silence
the cries for work and bread, but when the
order is given to cease firing the sense Of
hunger viii again provoke the workmen to
cIamOr for employment and food. l, IS the
poorest kind Of policy to rely on temporary
eXpedieu,s 10 cure political discomfort
Enduring peace can only be secured by
striking at the root of the evil.
Tie German workman is suffering be-
cause an undue share Of his wages is taken
from him to support a swollen and utterly
unnecessary army. and because bis Govern
meut IS disturbing Industry aud trade by
constant ana inseDsate Interference His
/ grievance Is real The nonsense talked by
I
which floats on the top # the current. No
serious danger can arise from the yentjIa-
ton Of visionary schemes 20 create a TeC-
/ tonic Elysium- But the grinding poverty
OF men, women and children is a tangible
fact, ard until that fact is dealt with all
( other remedies for disturbances are empiTi-
cal and viii prove uUga.Ory
Order must be preserved in the streets Of
cities Ike Berlin, and when crowds assem-
BILE with menacug cry aud gesture it is
right Tat they should be dispersed. But If
il appears on impartial inquiry that the
crowds lad good reasons for assembling
and threatening the authorities, it viii not
q for the latter TO content themselves with
dispensing them. The grievances must be
looked into and "a remedy applied, or a
movement which was q street not IN the
beginning may grow into q revolution. 1T
va, with street riots and great asse mbia-cs
crying fir bread OF blood that the
French Revolution began. Tlele7pIe could
not get bread because an undue share Of
their earnings was taken by tie AK gath
erer. and because. under tie oppression Of
the feUdal system, agriculture had fallen
into decay and the earth had ceased 10
yield its increase. The King aad his cOUu-
selors could nor see that the roots Of the
movement lay deep down, far beneath the
immediate grievances Of which the people
complained. They tempOriza and c0quet-
/ ted, and 10 due tine the explosion cane.
Forty years later the English were wiser.
The revolution which was threatened by
the suffeTilEs OF the Industrial and agIi-
cultural poor was avCrted by legislation,
which went to the root Of the evil
Which of the two examples Germany viii
follow remains to be seen Il is an evil
omen that the Emperor appears TO be bent
On carrying cut his own views on his own
esponstbiuty, without counsel from any
one. He has not thus far given evidence Of
a capacity to deal with Difficult: problems Of
state lie appears to BE- 4 se,f-willei, i'm
petu1us young man: honest, no doubt but
without experience. His schemes for the
betterment Of the condition Of the German
people appear 10 Americans 90 be yagar.es,
rather worthy Of crank professor Of politi-
cal economy than Of sovereign who has to
deal with actuajites. How 70 enable the
/ German lab0Eer 90 earn a living for himIeif
/ and his family, so that be S +. all not banker
after pxpairiation, that is the problem Of
the hour: il cannot be solved by medieval
schemes Of paternalism, nor by dreams OF
foreign conquest either in Africa or in
Europe. A couple Of centuries ago William
would have extriCated himself from his Off
/ ficElty by making war on his neighb7rs, and
diyertiug the attention Of his subjects from
/ domestic troubles 10 visions Of mi. itary
| glory; be can hardly do that now; and il IS
| still more unlikely that the German people
would allow themselves to be dragged into
| a war merely to shirk home problems which
must sooner Ur later be solved.