The record-union., 1893-07-08
Special to the RECoRD-UNIoN.


BERLIN. July THE new Reichstag
assembled this morning. Chancellor Won
Caprivi, in long address, introduced the
amended army bill He said it repre-
sented the minimum the Government
would accept in either men or money,
They were the lowest possible consistent
with the safety of the empire.
The galleries were crowded. Many
prominent people were present.
Chancellor Caprivi's speech was fire.
quently interrupted by applause. The
keynote of his speech was, foreign coun-
tries not knowing the German character
intimately, had been led to believe that
Germany had lost confidence in herself
and the countries composing the German
Empire were no longer united. This the
Chancellor declared was erroneous, and
should be quickly dispelled by the adop-
ton of the new bill.
The Chancellor referred to the action of
Russia in increasing the peace footing of
her army $4,000 since 1SS9 and said she
had not yet exhausted her resources. Ger
many, he declared, must increase her
peace footing if her voice was to continue
to have weight in the European areo-
pagus. The assertion made by the oppo-
sition that Germany did not have suf-
f1cient men to answer a call for recruits
is disprOved by the fact that 10000 serv-
iceable had not been recruited.
Referring to the expense to be entailed
by granting the Governments demands,
Caprivi said the new taxes would be
borne on strong shoulders. They would
not touch the middle classes or the agri-
cultural population. He could not now,
he added, definitely state the tax plan,
but it was the Governments intention
again to introduce the old financial pro-
posals, especially the one providing for a
tax on Bourse transactions.
The Chancellor briefly recapitulated
leading features of the old measure. Ac-
cording to this bill the peace effective
force. excluding officers above the rank
of Corporal, was to have consisted Of
1872, ,06S men between October l, 1892. and
March 81, 1898. The strength OF the vari-
Gus branches of the service during the
period mentioned was to have been III
battalions Of infantry, ATT squadrons of
cavalry, 494 batteries of field artillery, 81
y >
pioneers, battalions of railway troops
and q battalions OF transports.
The average strength of the standing
army is calculated in accordance with the
principle of two years of active service
with the colors for infantry. The increase
involved an expenditure of 5000. 900
marks in lump sum. OF this, 81 ,O00, 900
marks was to have appeared in the budget
for the financial year of lS92-I893. The
annually recurring expenditure is fixed
at "a, 100000 marks.
When the new system should have
been fully developed Germany would
have in times of war trained army of
100000 men. These proposals Of The
Government, the Chancellor added, did
not meet with the approval of the House,
aud in attempting to so fix the measure
that it would be acceptable TO the Reich
stag the Government had accepted the
suggestion of Won Huene and incorDo-
rated it in the bill, Withdrawing its own
demands on points on which the com
promise was effected.
The suggestion of Won Huene was that
the peace effective should be increased bv
the next three years should be raised
gradually until 10000 men, practically
the full number demanded, were added
to the standing army. 1t was also sug-
gested that the sixty batteries of field
artillery should have -four instead of six
guns each.
The bill thus amended had been re-
jected, the Reichstag dissolved, new cleo
tions called, and now the Government
submitted to the new House a measure
that in its details was practically the old
Huene compromise bill.
Payer, a member of the Volkspartei.
followed the Chancellor. He declared the
country had not pronounced for nor did
a majority of the House support the army
bill. 1t could only obtain majority bv
diplomacy.
Manteuffel, supporter of the Govern
ment, regretted the Government had
abandoned the original bill. Germany
could not be too strong. The mobs now
at work in Paris might overthrow the
Government and seek strength through
foreign diversion.
Liebknecht, the well-known Social
Democratic leader, said the Government
did not want an increase in the army be-
cause of the fear of France or Russia, but
to fortify itself against the German peo-
pie. Cries of ''Shamei"l