Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-05-14
Tho situation IN Germany.


The immediate effect Of the speech OF
the young German Emperor to the officers
Of the Imperial Guards seems TO have been
about on q par with that Of his War Lord
uttcrances following his accession and that
of the notable sentence he wrote in the
4" Golden Book of Munich" In each case
case there was q decided sensation, and
then the official end semi-oficial German
newspapers set o1t to show that the En-
peror did not mean what he said. that the
import Of his words had been entirely mis-
interpreted, aud that his critics were
making much ado about nothing"
In the first two instances the apologists
for the Emperor were very successful.
The excitement practically died a-born-
Ing" the German empire did not, as 1t
was predicted it would. start at q head
long pace towards dismemberment. ana IL
WILLIAM lost either popularity or strength
by the indiscretions the fact has not de-
veloped.
As regards the speech Of Tuesday. how
ever, 10 cannot reasonably be expected
that the Emperor's supporters will be
equally successful. The event which H.
spired the spcech-the dissolution OF the
Reichstag because the government could
not force tho army bill through it-pre-
cipated conditions which must keep the
| popular mind of Germany in q state OF
excitement for the next sixty days. More
over. these conditions are not such as TO
divert public attention from the In
peror's u~tterances at the Tempelhofer
review. On the contrary, they are IN
| ovey way calculated to c%oncen.re pubic
thought on Williams words, and cause
them to receive more serious considera-
ton than they would have done other
wise
During the heat Of an election campaign
the German political leader does not dihor
from political leaders elsewhere. IL
matters not what may have been the
real spirit Of the Emperor's declarstion'
the opposition TO the government may %
depended upon TO make, as far as they can
with safety, oil the capital out Of the Iem-
pelhofer incident possible.
1t follows, therefore, that until the elec-
ton for members of the Reichstag IS July
on the more far-reachlDg results OF the POI
sitlon taken by the Emperor must remain
an uncertain factor. Considering the ad-
yances Germany is making along the line
OF independent political thought 1t woulu
epDear that a challenge to the people-H,
indeed, WnLIAM's words were was q
daugorous experiment. Nevertheless. ltit
be- true as is reported that the Emperor de-
arcs tina consolidation Of the political fac
tons in the empire into two parties and
that he will use his power and iDhu-
euce TO that end IN tue coming cleo
tIons. 1t may prove that the dissolution
of the Reichsta- was O wise exercise
of his p~rer0gative. The last Relchstag
was divided into four principal parties
the Ceutrist. the Conservative, the Nation
al Liberal, and the FreisInniGe-and these
were split up into eight or ten different
group Some of the groups or factions
in the principal parties were as far apart
on important issues "a were the latter.
ANYTHING Ike parliamentary government
under such circumstance Is oDyi-
Ously impracticable IN Germany, but
it can be readily understood that con-
solidation into two parties would be
a long step in the direction of q system
that would make the ministry responsible
TO the Reichstag, and honce. as in Eng
land, responsible to the people. 1t IS con-
sequeutly hardly %iustifaJie to jump to q
pessiInist,c conclusion touching the out
come of the present crisis. WILLIAM, with
all his exuberance aud iudiscretlon of NJ
t%erance. has not yet zone outside Of tho
Constitution. 1t IS unquestIonable that
ne has during his reign done a vast
deal to bring about German homo
-eeneousness and allay the jealousies
existing between the several German
States. If the Prus5ian power has as
serted itself unduly that is the FAINT
Of the Constitution which gives Prussia tho
preponderance of power. Before closing
the case against the Emperor 1t might be
well to wait and see whether the election
does not prove that, after oil, no is at one
with the federated Princes and the
people," and that, too, for tho best
interests Of the Fatherland. The German
people can we'll afford for WILLIAM to carry
his point on the army-blil issue if thereby
the way Is opened Tor the extinction of tho
numerous discordant factions in the Reich
stag, the formation of two influential and
really representative parties. and the
throwing down of the barriers which bar
the road to q more liberal form Of govern
ment.