The morning call., 1893-07-08
Struggle Renewed in the
ReiChstag.
CAPRIvrs OPENING SPEECH.
The Necessity for the Increase in the
German Forces Due to Russia's
Augmented Strength.
Special to The MoRNINe CALL

BERLIN, July THE new Reichstag
assembled this morning
Chancellor Won Caprivi in long address
introduced the amended army bill. He
said 1t represented the minimum the Coy
ernment would accept in either men or
money. It's provisions were the lowest
possible consistent with the safet5 Of the
empire. d
Chancellor Caprivi's speech vsas fire.
quently Interrupted by applause. The
KEYNOTE of his speech was that foreign
countries, not knowing the German char
acter IN timately, had been led to believe
that Germany had lost con fdence in her.
self and that the countries composing the
German empire WE. no longer united.
This the Chancellor declared was errone-
Gus and should be quickly dispelled by the
adoption of the new bill.
The Chancellor referred to the action of
Russia increasing the peace footing OF her
army 81, 600 since 1889. 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 European politics. The
assertion made by the opposition that Ger
many utu UUt nave sulllCICut ilCu w nuc NCl
a call for recruits is disproved by the fact
that 90, 600 serviceable men 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 nor the agricult-
tural population. He could not now, he
added definitely state the tax plan, but it
was the Governments intention again to
introduce the old financial proposals. e.
pecially the one providing for tax on
Bourse transactions.
The Chancellor briefly re.apitulated the
leading features of the old measure. Ac-
cording to that billth peace. effective force.
excluding officers above the rank of cor
poral, was to have consisted of 492, 06S men
between October l. 1892, and March l, 1898.
The strength of the various branches of
the service during the period mentioned
was to have been I'll battanOns of infantry,
AT squadrnns of cavalry. 494 batteries of
field artillery, 81 battalio1s of foot artil-
lery, q battalions of pioneers, battaIions
of railway troops ana q battalons OF
transports.
The average strength of the standing
army was calculated 10 aCeoluance with the
principle of two years of active service with
the colors for infantry. The increase in
volved an expenditure Of 6SO00.000 marks
In lump sum. OF this 81, 10000 marks W as
to have appeared in the budget of the
financial year of l693-1S The annual re-
curing expenditure was fixed at 64, 600, 600
marks.
When the new system should have been
fully developed Germany would have liz
times of war a trained army of 100000
men. These proposals of the Government.
the Chancellor added. had not met with
the approval Of the previous house, and in
attempting to so fix the measure that 1t
would be acceptable to the Reichstag the
Government had accepted the suggestion
of Won Huene and incorporated it in the
bill. Withdrawing its own demands on
points on which the compromise was
effected.
The suggestion of Won Huene was that
the pence effective should bs increased by
10000 men at once, and in the course OF
the next three years should be raised grad
ually until 10000 men, practically the full
number demanded, were added to the
standing army. 1t was also suggested 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
tiuns called, and now the Government sub
mitted to the new House a measure that
in its details was practically the old HueDe
compromise bill.
Payer, memb Der of the Volkspartei. fol-
lowed ina Chancellor. He declared the
country had net pronounced for nor did q
majority of the House support the army
bill 1t could only obtain majority BY
diplomacy.
Manteuffel, supporter of the Govern
ment regretted the Government hat
abandoned the original bill. Germany
could not be too strong. The mobs noa
at work in Paris might overthrow tht
Government and seek strength through
foreign diversion.
Liebknecht, the well-knewn Social Dem
ocratic leade7, said the Government did not
want an increase In the army because o.
the fear of France or Russia, but to fortlfy
itself against the German people.
Cries of "ShameU oreated this remark