Los Angeles herald., 1893-01-08
ONE THEME IN GERMANY.
The Army Bill Is the ALL
Absorbing Topic.
1t Affects the Home Life Of the
Whole People.
The Enforcement of the Three Years
Service Dreaded.
Caprivi Admired for His Finesse and
Tact in Dealing with the Meas
II
By the Associated Press ]

By the Associated Press.l
BERLIN, Jan. when the holiday
season came to an end public attention
again turned to the army bill. No
measure of recent years affects 80
closely the home life of the German
people, for should the reichstag reject it
and Chancellor Won Caprivi carry out
his threat and insist upon the full three
years service in the army, it will mean
much to the young men who are the
main, and in many cases, the sole sup
port of sisters and widowed mothers.
The reichstag will resume sittings on
Monday. The committee of the house,
to which was referred the army bill, will
meet on Wednesday. Chancellor
Won Caprivi has requested the president
of the committee to expedite the
deliberations in order not to retard the
final decision of the reichstag. The
chancellor having nothing more to tell,
the committee ought to report promptly,
but the members representing the
Clerical party remain in state of inde-
cision, expecting the chancellor to offer
an inducement that will suffice their
surrender when they are called upon to
face their constituents. None of those
within the inner political circles believe
the chancellor has committed himself.
The utmost length to which he has gone
is believed to be promised leave to the
government supporters to take an inde-
pendent course when the Center party
gets remote chance of dividing the
reichstsg on the Jesuit question.
IT,. h &c 10 1. 4 =, L. \
ers of the several parties the chancellor
is displaying much tact, and his course
of action ia such as to elicit admiration
heard of the chancellor's retirement
peror is stronger than ever, and his de-
velopment of personal resources, fnesee
and audacity stsggers his opponents,
who are becoming weak under the ap-
prehension that the army bill will be
passed without single concession of
Importance being made by the govern
ment.
The opposition papers are trying to
raise popular storm over the en-
peror's recent use of the phrase II
will crush those who oppose me-" The
Freisinnige press assumes that the
words meant that the emperor intends
to override the vote of the reichstag
should it be hostile to the army bill by
resort to the application of the articles
Of the German constitution by which
every able-bodied man may be COM
PEELED to serve in the army, and an
other article which enables the
emperor to fix the strength of
the army. The abundant partizan
fury expended over the much discussed
phrase seems wasted. The official pa
pers suggest that if the language was
used at all it was directed at military
personages who are unfriendly to the
bill. 1t is probable that the emperor
used the threats generally, if he used
them at all, not designing to attack the
privileges of the reichstag or any partic-
ular person.
The war Office is taking action antic-
ipatory to the passage of the bill. In
10 centers a new revision of councils is
being formed with view to the exten-
sion of recruiting. The emperor beyond
doubt means that the bill shall become
law in the course OF year.
The proprietors of the leading stores
in Berlin concur in the statements
that the holiday season just past showed
an enormous decrease in the business
usually done at that period of the year.
The annual reports Issued by the various
chambers OF commerce in Germany
state that depression prevails every
where in the empire.
The strike of the Saar miners is ex-
pected to collapse next week, owing 10
the lack of both popular and trade cup
port. Thousands of strikers and their
families are in starving condition, and
this fact tends greatly to weaken the
backbone of the strike.