The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1893-05-07
THE ARMY BILL DEFEATED
A Clean Knockout for the
German Government.
The Measure Rejected by
Large Majority.
Anti-Prussian Sentiment Revealed
in the Closing Debate.
The Reichstag Dissolved
CaprivPs Resignation rendered.
The Social Dem ocrats Wild
with Enthusiasm.
Rn the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
BERLIN, May 6.-The army bill was
rejected today in the reichstsg by vote
of 210 against the bill to 1852 in favor of
it. A rescript signed by the kaiser, dis
solving the reichstag, was Immediately
promulgated, and the reichstsg is now
dissolved.
The Social-D Democratic members dis
played the widest enthusiasm over the
result, giving cheer after cheer. Great
confusion and uproar prevailed; public
excitement is ct the highest pitch in
Berlin.
The new elections are set for June
10th. The new session will open within
90 days.
The result of the vote on the army bill
caused no surprise to the government.
Caprivi attempted yesterday evening to
rally wavering members to the support
of the measure by offering to reduce the
peace effective even below the number
proposed in the amendment offered by
Won Huene. The offer, however, did
not gain q single vote.
The last attempts at a compromise
having failed. Csprivi refusing to sane
ton the proposition to make two years
active service permanent, the kaiser be-
came impatient of further delay and
pressed for decision by the reichstag
today. Hence the vote was taken at
once inetead of being postponed until
Monday.
The failure of the army bill makes it
necessary for the kaiser to defer for the
present his projected reforms of higher
military commands and of posts in the
| war Office.
Chancellor Caprivi has gone to Pots
dam to offer his resignation to the
kaiser The kaiser has summoned Count
Won Gutenberg, Prussian premier. Eulen-
berg TOOK the place OF Caprivi when ha
resigned that Office, owing to the de-
cision of the kaiser to withdraw the ed
ucational bill from the Pruasian land
tag.
The most striking feature of the clog
ing debate was the resurgence OF anti
Prussian sentiment, especially from
speakers OF the Centre party. DR.. Lie
ber, after attacking Caprive for having.
as he put it, resorted to the worst form
of Bismarckian methods to secure the
passage of the bill, said: The Centre
party dghts today against the ambitions
of centralizing Casarism. We protest
against q militarism which translates
itself in persistent endeavors to extend
the principles of the Prussian state into
the domain of imperial legislation. In
| the interests of the empire we demand
that the Prussian policy be confined to
| the Prussian diet, while the German in
terestH prevail in the reichHtag."
Neither Caprivl nor Manteuffel at
tempted to respond to this attack. The
| speakers for the government side simply
| ignored the expressions of anti-Prussian
sentiment. The chancellor commented
vaguely upon the democratic tendencies
recently developing among the Centrists,
and suggested that the policy now pur-
sued by that party had it's inspiration in
the vatican, which, he said was now the
end of republican France and trying to
! draw the whole political world in the
same direction. The German govern
ment, the chancellor added, had hither-
to proffered support to the Centre party
on social questions, but it had now
learned lesson. The Centre party WAS
Catholic first and German afterwards
| The party stood ready to commit itself
to whatever democratic evolution for
eign influences might choose to dictate.
DIR. Won Bennigsen, leader of the Ma
tionsl Liberals, gave moderate tone to
the debate in long speech urging the
acceptance of the concessions offered by
the government. He deplored the in
ability of the reichstag to sink party
difficulties in the face of questions in
volving the external safety of the empire
and its prestige abroad. 1t was a bad
contrast to the parliament life of other
countries, notably England, where the
most violent party antagonism never
initiates against the continuity of the
imperial policy.
Emperor William has sent Bennigsen
special thanks for the tone of his speech.
Hurriedly convened meetings have
been held in many populoue centers to-
right. The .promptness with which the
reichstag dissolved Immediately alter
the defeat of the government was
announced has taken everybody by
surprise. The Social Democratic leaders
alone are ready for an electoral cam
campaign. Bebel, Singer and Liebk-
necht will leave Bellin tomorrow and
begin at once to stump the country in
behalf of the Socialist candidates. In
every district in which the Socialists
have fighting chance, candidates will
be nominsted and the party expects,
with reason, to have an increased rep
resentation in the next reichstag.
The emperor will not allow the disso-
luton OF the reichstsg TO interfere with
the programme of his coming tour.
Count Hoensbroech, formsrly a MEM
Der OF the Society of Jesus, has been ex-
communicated by the church in conse.
quence OF disclosures recently made by
him and which are held to have been
breaches of the confessional