The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-07-09
GERr1ANY'S CRISIS.

CuduceIUT OdpTJFl speech III IelutIu
ducing the army bill into the Rechstag
will not reassure those who have been
uneasy over the immediate pros pects of
the German Empire. 1t is disingenuous.
and it displays ignorance of political
science and of the times in which we live.
1t starts out with the assumption that 1t
is necessary to disabuse the foreign world
on the subject of the unltedness OF Ger
many. Foreigners are inferring, 1t says,
from the defeat of the army bill that the
Germans have lost confidence in them
selves. No such opinion Is entertained any,
where. In these days of newspapers and
telegraphs every nation is an open book
which all may read. Americans. English
men, Frenchmen, Austrians. Russians.
Italians, all understand the feeling Of the
German people as we'll as the people OF
Berlin ITSELF There is 10 secret about it
at all. We all know that it is race be-
tween Germany, France and Russia which
shall reduce the largest number of men to
life of idleness-to be supported by their
working fellow-men, and that William the
Second has determined to win that race if
possible. We are all disposed to think
that Liebknecht diagnosed the case cor
rectly when he said that the Emperor did
not seek to increase the army tor fear OF
France or Russia. but to f0rtify himself
against the German people.
Caprivi descended to the demagogic
level when he declared that the new
taxes-some S20,000.O00 a year-would not
touch the middle classes or the agricul-
tural population, but would be borne by
the rich and especially the bourses. The
Chancellor is ignorant, or affects to be
ignorant. OF the documentary principle OF
taxation, which is that taxes always dis
tribute themselves. and that whoever pays
a tax first it eventually comes out Of the
pocket of labor. There are members of
the Reichstag who are capable of explain
ing this, and their explanation will not
only break the force of the Chancellor
reasoning, but will exhibit him in the light
of a charlatan.
The real question at Issue lies in nut
she'll. Shall Germany be converted into a
camp, or shall it be peaceful. productive.
prosperous country? The present En-
peror, like his grandfather. is soldier
and nothing more. His ideal is war.
He believes that the diversion of
millions of men from productive labor
and their condemnation to enforced
idleness is beneficial to country. He
sees a gain for Germany in bloody
battlefeds, long lists of killed and
wounded. the destruction of cities and the
ravage of farms, the devastation OF smil-
ing provinces and the deterioration of the
finest attributes of mankind which invari-
ably follows war; He has got the Napo-
leonic idea that glory perches on the head
of him who marches through history with
his arms imbued in blood.
And yet the annals of his country
should have taught him the folly of all
this. Thrice in modern times has war
brought Germany to the verge Of collapse.
ruin and restitution. At the close of the
thirty years. war the normal pursuit Of
able-bodied Germans was highway rob-
berry, and the normal destiny of women
and children was to starve. AT the end OF
the war of the Spanish succession Prince
Eugene described Germany as paralytc
out of whom any foreigner who was
SO inclined was free to take bite. Will
lam's own Prussia. though it was ruled
by one Of the wisest sovereigns as well as
one of the ablest generals of modern times,
came out of the seven years war so utterly
broken down that the fields could not be
sowed for want of seed, and business
could not be carried on because tn ere was
absolutely no money anywhere. Well
| might Frederick say: "All Is lost. 1 will
not survive"
Yet, with these examples before him,
William seems bent on plunging into more
| wars, either against the foreigner OF
| against his own people. We shall see
whether the force of intrigue and corrup-
ton will impel the Reichstag to let him
have his way.