The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-18

The Scope and Significance of the
"UuEnsturx, Bill Naval Figures.

Berlin Letter IN New YORK POST.
For years nothing has stirred public life
called "Umsturz' bill. That government
measure has been before the Reichstag
since its converting early In December, and
it has been discussed, amended, parts of
it rejected or modified by the commission of
twenty-eight to whom it was referred six
weeks ago. but it is only now that the
nation as a whole awakes from a lethargic
sumner and begins to appreciate the dam
graphs. In the form originally proposed by
the government the bill, if it became a
law would have meant nothing less than
the intellectual death or torpor OF Ger
many. the abridgment of all popular rights
gest a parallel witt with Russia assfes sc ss n If su re-
search and the free prociaimi1g of its re-
suits ss.d eu nda the press am literature
cism: public discussion of all questions that
yex the age-political reform, taxation prob
religious truth-prohibited If at all offensive
to the reigning castes-all this and much
bin.
Its provisions are bIanket-like, covering
almost every phase of life and mental and
social reform, and the wonder is that such
a document could ever have been seriously
considered in a land like Germany. 1t is
stranger still that this bill should have a
good chance to passing-not exactly i'm the
original shape, but sufficiently near it to
affect, when 1t shall be in force, the whole
moral and intellectual makeup of the ma
ton for a long time to come. The thing
itself is to be explained only by remember
iiS lIdI LIt DI6Stll EcHcTdllOH I'll tTIldI
is vastly different from the preceding one,
and that the whole bill was foisted on the
| Reichstag and the people by the govern
| ment on false pretenSeS, /. e., by pretending
that it was aimed at the Socialists and the
"Umsturz" parties generally. But by care
fully reading the bill it soon appears that
with the "Umsturz'' parties are here classed
| all progressive, liberal-minded men as well,
all who do not believe in the perpetuation
| of. feudalism, of divine right royalty, of abb
solute subordination under the existing or
der of Things. As | said, however, it looks
as If the bill would become law-the bar
gain concluded between the government
| and a large number of the Center or Catho-
tiyei I'ei in excc Chang 70 for the recall Of the
Jesuits and a freer development of Cath
Ole schools. and universities. seems to in
dictate a safe majority for its passage.
incidentally, during the slow process of
the bill in the special Reichstag commits
fouehed upon most interestingly. The re-
marks of Lieutenant General Spitz, of
Auditor General Ittenbach. OF Delegates
Lenzmann and Bebel were especially note
worthy in this connection. They showed
that the government does not want a SOL
to read any book. paper. or pamphlet ex-
cept those to which the official stamp of
showed that the duel is still and will re-
main the final arbiter of opinion with all
gentlemen. They showed, too. that a re-
| versal by force of the present order of so
ciety is expected by the government, and
that the prime motive of the whole bill is to
for the coming conflict. and to stave off
the hour of reckoning as long as possible.
Within the commission this point was
| elucidated in plain, unmistakable language.
The Prussian Diet has had a number of
interesting sessions as Wen, during which
| the Polish question:, the Catholic ques-
tion, the question of the government press,
| ETC., were gone into more or less fully.
unsettled as it has been for a century
| past, but its annual discussion serves at
p Isssa sn that use repre euIposai ef P pehsila retain a iii
their hopes and Illusions of national re-
establishment OF the Germanization of the
| Poles in Posen, West Prussia, and upper
Silesia there was no sign; in fact, the proof
was the other way. Moreover. the Poles
are in the majority; they have Polonized
| the Germans dwelling among them. IL not
ond.
the Diet-the bill for raising a new govern
ment revenue by means OF a carefully scaled
German inanciers, DIR. MIGUEL. AS the bill
will undoubtedly pass. /" is well to mention
the fact that the coming law will place "a
tax on every move and step in life, from the
hour of birth to the final departure for that
land where, thank God. there are no tax
/ gathererS TO be feared. An amusing feat
ure in 1t is the stamp duty to be levied
on all newly created members of the aris-
tocracy, juciciously graded. so that a simple
diploma of nobility will entail merely an
expenditure of 200 marks $50, and so up
wolves an Incidental outlay of 5000 marks.
1t is the same with the decoration granted
by the King of Prussia-they, too. will
~ - RtC 49, it'<1t y
Shrewd man, this MIGUEL. He reckons with
that national failing. strong In the German
breast, the "Titelsucht," the craving to
own some name, title, or outward sign
showing the wearer no longer belongs to the
common herd.
1t is well known that the Emperor's spec
! ial ambition is to create, during his reign,
as proud and efficient a navy as his grand
father created an army. Navies, however,
are a costly luxury; not only to create, but
to maintain. And in the Reichstag a few
days ago Eugene Richter. the chief leader
of the Radical ring. brought this fact home
to the national representatives rather for
chilly. He showed that the annual expendi-
lures for the German navy have increased
fourfold within twenty years. In 1876 they
amounted TO ~21,2Sl,042 marks, in lS95-96 TO
S1,3i5. 128. And to these regular items in
the budget must be added the sum of 1885,
900, 900 marks expended within the same
period for extraordinary purposes, such as
new vessels, etc. No less than seventeen
men-of-war have become useless and retired
within those score OF years.
Wh0 Is This Americana
Nouv va~lx Esu 1aanl