The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-04-03
RULERS OF GERMANY.
The Fatherland Has $50 Semi
Soyereignties.
NO WONDER PEOPLE MuRMua.
Monarchs Not in Power, But in Salaries
-Princeiets Enough for All the
Rich Girls in America.

OF twenty-sIx kingdoms, grand duchies,
duchies and principalities. including Al
sace-Lorraine and the Free Cities"-so
the maps and handbooks tell us of the $50
semi-sovereignties within the compass of
these dominions we learn only OCCASION
ally through the stenographic reports of
the reichstag, when, perchance, one or an
other of the mediatized princes, counts or
barons endeavors to extend his sphere of
power. or. on the other hand-their lord
ships, graces and disgraces are tackled" by
the Liberals to give up slice of thei- hold
ings and privileges.
One hundred and fifty quasi-potentates.
beside the two baker dozens" of recoe-
nized monarchs and kingletsl Do You
still wonder why Germany is poor?
The army is generally blamed for the ALI
prevailing diseases of the Fatherland-
perjury and the want of grit-and the cost
of its maintenance is indeed tremendous
and out of all proportion to the resources
of the country, but even the ten-fig-
ured military budget loses consider.
ably in argumentative preponderance
when we reflect that over
twenty-five royal and $50 old semi-royal
families draw something like S1OO oo0, goo
per annum out of the peoples pockets for
their own uses. Besides, the greater part
of the prodigious army appropriations re-
verts to the Golfers of the public, for it is
spent almost exclusively at home, while
the many millions dumped into the gap
ing mouth of the aristocratic Moloch are
either lost in hereditary covetousness or
wasted in foreign lands.
About one-half of the S10o, COO. cco goes
to the sovereign rulers, the other half to
their deposed but still powerful confreres
who figure in the second part of the
"Almanach de Gotha" as the "Seigneurs
Mediatises," who retained the precious
right of intermarrying with royalty tQui
oat les droits d. egaiae de ndissance avec les
maisons souueraines). With these we are
to deal in this paper.
Their states, so called, are scattered over
the entire broad area of the FatherIand,
and, strange to say, are most numerous in
the smaller countries. Thus Prussia recog-
nizes seventeen principalitics, earldoms
and baronies in her old provinces, besides
twenty-eight in Silesia, Saxony and Lusa-
tia, while Wurttemberg, with its paltry
$50 square miles, boasts of thirty-six, and
Hohenzollern, annexed to Prussia after
the revolution of 1S4S to save it from going
to the dogs, apportioned fully one-third of
its meager expense to lordly toy-monarchs.
Bavaria is up to this date blessed with
twenty-three, Hesse with nineteen and
Baden with eight co-regents within her
bounds.
When Prussia in 1865 drove the king of
Hanover, the funny old elector of Cassel,
(who became an elector long after the
royal sport of electing German emperor
had been abandoned) and the Duke of
Nassau from their thrones, she took at the
same time thirteen mediatised princelets
under her protecting wing and expressly
guaranteed their prerogatives. That looks
like rank hypocrisy, doesn't it? 1t is, in
truth, but consequence of the monarch
ical system.
To render this ineligible 1t should be
noted that, up to the first Napoleon's
downfall, it was customary in the minor
German states, as well as in "best
governed" Prussia, to dump the entire in
come from the government domains,
forests, mines and taxes into one common
fund, the latter being considered the
kings rightful bounty. And not until the
requirements of the court and family had
been fully discharged were the scanty
appropriations for the governing ex-
penses decided upon.
Thus the principle of bondage was car
ried out to its extremity-the crown recog-
nzed as the sole rightful claimant to all
natural resources of the county.
The "wars of liberation" 1Sl3-i5) or, 10
be more correct, the Hebrews, who adj
vanced Frederick William III. and lbs
allies the money to fight these wars, did
away with this as umption OF divine
rights, the royal usurpers being forced TO
revert to the possessions of their people
what belonged TO them, in ordSr to make
them liable for the national debts incurred.
BY this process the crown posss ions be-
came distinct from the personal property
of the rulers. The mode. 4 'ourse OF an
nexing conquered monarchy consc-
quenty leaves the national estate, to-
gether with the sub suzeainties appertain-
ing to the crown. intact. II simply pass's
over to the control of the other power
yassals toy monarchs and all.
These toy monarchs are the benur restes
OF the ancient and never lament Il TX
man empire of German nationality"
Until 1870 they were responsible to the
head of that misnamed realm only; after
ward they became the willing tools OF
Napoleon as members OF bus "Rhenlsh
federation, " and freely accepted higher de-
grees of nobility and other titles in ez-
change for their infamy and as reward
for treason from that low "Corslcan par
venu, a. they were wont to call him IN
secret
And, though the events of the year 1873
smashed the co-partnership OF q rinan
princeets with the French for the PAL poss
OF wiping out Germany, and left the trait
oFs without a protector, their claims as
rulers and serni-sovereigns were cheerfIliy
recognized by the new &c, man "Bund
two years later.
The "Bund' guaranteed to them the
inli and perpetual possession OF their
territories and titles and deliberately re-
established the status quo prior TO leQo,
with the sole modification OF making the
sl-devant conspirators dependents OF the
iege lords, by whose states their own
were inclosed. instead of yassals OF one
common emperor.
The hege lords. in their turn. relieved
their confreres of the national part OF the
governing business, the army, mail ana
nigh tribunal departments; otherwise
their administration is, up TO TINS gay, as
unhampered and unembarrassed ny re-
ttrlctions, as that of any recognized con-
sltuilonei monarch.
The bund went 10 pieces like the ancient
realm, king was deposed and duchies
abolished by the half-Score, but in all the
turmoil and reforma,ory proceedings the
haii-soyereigns held their own.
10 be sure, the uprising of ISIS abolished
me privileged classes throughout the
fatherlsnd, but few years later the re
seuonlstsh once more helped them 10
thelr tiny thrones and Prussla's ieglsia,
lure even went so lar as TO frame special
Jaw, declaring that the paragraph OF the
constitution guaranteeing equal rights 70
al PrQsslans' should not affect rae
Sme-honoret position of the medlatizeo
lords, who, though living under the pro-
lection of the Black Eagle and exercising
citizens rights (and few morel, were 100
exalted in rank 10 be considered with the