The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-25
Are the South Germans Growing Dis
loyal to the German Empire?

According to an article signed German
icus," in the Contemporary Rerie,r, the
hatred of the Prussians, which used to ami
mate South Germans, has revived and is
assuming formidable proportions in Bava-
ria, Wurtemberg, and Baden. The facts,
it seems, are attested by some recently pub
lished letters of Mr.. REINHoLD, Professor
of Political Economy at the University of
Berlin, who, as an appointee of the Prus.
sian Government, must be deemed a reluc.
tant witness.
We are not surprised that the record OF
the Professors observations should have
produced a sensation throughout the EN-.
pire, for he does not hesitate to say that the
detestation of Prussia in South Germany
recalls the state of things which existed
Immediately before and after the war which
ended at Sadowa. The feeling of the South
with regard to the Prussians at
that time was expressed in the words of a
Bavarian soldier, who said to the Crown
Prince FREDERICK WILLIAM, "If you had
been our commander in 1866 we would
have whipped those s~ncrementischrn male
.fs PreiSSen" Chose beastly COMPOUNDED
Prussians).
For a little while after the union of
Germany, accomplished in 1871, all
seemed to go we'll, but the honey.
moon did not last long. Owing to the
overbearing attitude which the Prussians
assumed, the minds of serious men in
South Germany were soon occupied with
the question whcth er it would not be bet
ter to be free than united. At present, nc.
cording to Prof. REINHoLD, the whole of
the German people south of the Main now
echo the words of the Suabian member of
Parliament, HAUsMANN, THANK COP. we
are no Prussians.' In the Hessian and Ba-
varian Palatinate even worse signs of the
time were observed, for here, on all sides.
is heard the declaration: eve would
rather be French" Common is It, also, for
South Germans to say that it was stupid to
kick Austria out of the German Bund: Aus
tria, who was likedb by everybody, and whose
absolutist system was, at least, patriarchal
and good natured, whereas the modern
Prussian feudalism is unbcarable, and it's
representatives are personally insolent. In
a word, the excitement in South Germany
Is asserted by Prof. REINHoLDto be so great
as to bring about n coalition of malcon.
tents which threatens to paralyzc the
whole mechanism of the State. He pre.
diets that the next general election In Ger
many will exhibit the almost unanimous
opposition of an angry people against the
authority of the Government.
The disappearance of the enthusiasm
which attended the creation of the new
empire Is, no doubt, attributable to the
change in the ideals N principles of the
imperial Government. The National Lib
erals and the Progressists, who conceived
the idea of a resurrection of the German
Empire, thoroughly understood that a
lasting unincation of the German nation
could only be brought about by giving
ample liberty, social, economic, and polit.
ical, to all classes. This was prom.
Used, and 80 long as the National
Liberals n Progressists retained a ma.
jority In the Reichstag the promise
was in some measure kept. Thu few
concessions, however, which were made
to Liberal ideas during the first years
of the empire are now undergoing ~restric-
ton, and Kaiser WILLIAM II. is governing
on the theory that political rights ought to
be reserved as closely as possible to the So
called mobiles. Naturally the ~bureaucrats
have taken their cue from the Court. At
the same time 1t must be admitted that the
present Emperor is not exclusively respon-
sible for the reminding of dislike for Pr1s.
STA in South Germany, seeing that the re.
action against Liberalism began while
BISMARCK was still Chancellor.
OF course, disaffection Is unlikely to i'm.
pei South Germans to secession 20 long a