The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-12-25

N'h@H NA w. ~ @F' 1855
thing cannot be assumed In all their degree
OF the wheels IN the machine Of the sell
government OF to-day In those country dis
tricts where the parties stand In acute OF
position to ench other; good will towhr
political friends. or ones frame Of min,
AS regards opponents. readily becomes
hindrance to the impartial maintenance OF In
situations. According to my experiences II
earlier and more recent times. 1 should no
like to concede impartlRlity, when comparinl
judicial and administrative decisions. to tn
former alone, not. at least, in every instance
But / certainly do assume that official decis
ions do not gain in honesty and moderation bJ
being arrived at collectively: for. apart from
the fact that. In the case OF voting by majori
ties. arithmetic and chance take the place o.
logical reasoning. that feeling OF personal re.
sponsibllityin which lies the essential guatan'
toe for the conscientiousness of a decision IL
lost from the moment n decision is reached by
means Of anonymous majorities."
In the same chapter. bismarck defends him
self against the charge of 'Junkerthum. - and
declares that the unlimited authority Of the old
Prussian regal power was not by any means
the final word OF his convictions. His views OF
the subject are defined as follows: "Absolutism
primarily demands lnpartiality. honesty, de-
votion to duty, energy. and inward humility In
tho ruler. These may be present. and yet male
and female f%avorites In the best casa the law
full Wife,, the monarch's own vanity and sus-
ccptibillty to fiattery will. nevertheless dimin-
ish the fruits OF his good intentions. inasmuch
as the monarch is not omniscient. and cannot
have an equal understanding OF all branches Of
his office. As early as lS47 l was in favor Of
an effort to secure tho possibility OF public
criticism Of the Government In Parliament and
In tho press. in order to shelter the sovereign
from tho danger of having blinkers put on him
by women. courtiers. sycophants and vision
aries. hindering him from taking a broad view
of his duties as u monarch or from avoiding
and correcting mistakes. This conviction OF
mine became all the more deeply impressed
upon me in proportion as ! became better ac-
d~uainted with court circles and had to defend
the interests OF the State from their influences.
and also from the opposition OF a departmental
patriotism" Bismarck goes on to aver that
the interests Of the State alone have guided
me. and 1t has been a calumny when pub
licists. even well-meaning. have accused
me OF having ever advocated an aristo-
cratic system. l have never regarded
birth as u substitute for ability; whenever l
have come forward on behalf Of landed prop
erty 1t has not been In the interests Of proprie-
tors Of my own class, but because I see in the
decline Of agriculture one Of the greatest dan
gers to our permanence as . State. The ideal
that has always floated before me has been a
monarchy which should be- 60 far controlled by
an independent Datiopai representation-ac.
cording to my notion. representing classes or
callings-that sovereign or Parliament would
not be able to alter the existing statutory posi-
ton separately. but only communi consensu: |
with publicity and public criticism by press
and Diet OF all political proceedings"
1t will be remembered that the King OF
Prussia. Frederick William ~. refused in
AN-1 1OA ~ -A lie It'll |
offered to him by the Frankfort Parliament.
Bismarc says in the third chapter OF this
book that the King was principally moved to
do this because of the revolutionary. or at any
rate parliamentary. source OF the offer, and be-
cause OF the Frankfort Parlianent's lack OF a
constitutional mandate. owing to the want OF
acuulescence on the part Of the ruling houses.
Even II these defects had been absent, it Is
Bismarck's opinion that such a continuation
and IMMIGRATION Of the institutions OF the
empire as took place under the Emperor
William was scarcely to be expected dur
ing the reign of Frederick William ". The
wars which the Emperor William had to wage
would not have been avoided: only they would
have come about aJe,. the constitution OF the
as q consequence thereof. and not
before. as a step toward preparing and re-
the empire. Whether Frederick
william ". could have been moved to take the
lead at she right time. Bismarck does not pre-
tend to know. but he recalls that it was diff
cut to move even his brother. In whom the
military vein and the feelings Of a Prussiau
officer were paramount. The ex-Chancellor
on to say that when l note the condi-
tlons. both personal and material. in the Prus-
sis OF those days, as not ripe for the assumption
Of the leadership Of Germany In war and peace.
I 60 not mean to say that I then foresaw things
with the same clearness as 1 see them to-day.
/ look back upon a DEVELOPMENT OF forty
years since elapsed. My satisfaction in those
days at the refusal Of the imperial crown by
the King was due not to the judgment I had
formed Of his personal qualities. but rather toa
keener constituencies for the prestige OF the
crown and its wearer. and. still more.
to my instructive distrust Of the evolution Of
events since the barricades Of 1913 and their
parliamentary consequence"
III.