The morning call., 1893-06-20
THE DOWNFALL OF RICHTER.

Richter is the Virginaud of the present
crisis and his Freisinnige party are the
Girondins. He is an honest man who is
trying to steer a middle course between
liberalism and militarism. He opposed
the military bill, and thus incurred the i'm
placabl6 hostility of the Government; but
he took the side of the bourge0isie as
against the people. and thus made himself
obnoxious to the masses who want real
progress. He calls himself radical. but
is, in fact, an opportunist. Between two
stools he has fallen TO the ground. His
supporters Of the bourgeois class deserted
him at the polls and the court exults over
his defeat.
1t is curious that in spite of the lessons
of history, statesmen should still fancy
that in times of revolution a middle course
is possible. No brighter or better men
were thrown up by the revolutionary surge
in France than Virginaud, Barbaroux.
Roland and Dumourez; but when they
tried to steer middle course. they were
overthrown by sham and shallow pnliti-
clans like Danton and besplerre. So in
this country, when the slavery conflict
reached the critical stage, some of our best
and able men, like Everett, Crttenden
canoe between the parties, which knew
that the time was az hand for a final strug-
gle that was to settle the issue forever.
They went out of sight as the first speek of
war appeared and have never been heard
of since. That is the fate which is befal-
ing Herr Richter.
This disturbance in Germany, which ap-
pears to be beginning, is not only a con-
hlct against mllitarism, but is also an ire
pressible conflict between the rich and the
titled class on the one hand and the great
mass of the German peasants and work
men on the other. Ever since history be.
gan the German peasant. except in Saxony
and part of Bavaria and the Palatinate,
has been mserably poor. Until lately his
resentment at his poverty has not been
fierce, because the class above him was
also poor. A German gentleman" has
thought himself well-to-do if he had a
couple of hundred thalers a month;
baron" has been passing rich on a
thousand dollars a year. Latterly, owing
to many causes, the "better classes" in
Germany have enjoyed larger incomes
Bankers at ChemnitZ, Frankfort, Berlin,
Bremen and Hamburg have acquired for
tunes. There Is quite good deal of cap
ltal afioat in Germany at the present time.
But the poor remain as poor as ever.
Only one out of five of the peasants owns
his own farm. He and his family live on
rye bread, skinned milk, and soup made
out of cabbage with lump of fat thrown
in. Nor are the workmen in the cities
much better off. They find it no easy job
10 provide any kind of food for their fam
IL pt f,,a lair
men that they are kept poor by the heavy
taxes levied to maintain an army for dynas-
tic purposes of ambition. And when
they get this idea into their head.
they are not going TO vote for parties
which propose halfway measures. They
will support the party which proposes in
the most direct and swiftest way TO strike
at the root of their discomfort. They do
not understand the metaphysics of politics
they cannot discern the fine dividing lines
between National Conservatives and Free
Conservatives. National Liberals and Freis-
innige and Radicals; but they DO under
stand that the Social Democrats promise to
enable the German workman and the
German peasant to earn decent living by
his twelve or fourteen hours work per day.
American readers must not allow them
selves to be miSled by the nomenclat ture
of German political parties. We observe
that crank, addressing meeting in this
city, and proclaiming himself socialist
and believer in the doctrine that property
is robbery, exulted over the recent election
in Germany as triumph for "our" party.
There is nothing in common between the
American dsmagogue and the German
Social Democrat In the platform of the
latter there is not plank to which an in
telligent American could not subscribe.
They are as far from the Jack Cade school
of politicians as thoughtful advocates of
railroad reform are from Sontag and Evans.
What Liebknecht. Bebel and Vollmar
demand is that which Americans long ago
obtained and now enjoy. Triumphs won
by them are triumpbs for the cause of
freedom and labor; they arc a fit subject
of congratulation wherever intelligence
r,lo