New-York tribune., 1903-06-14
IN THE GERMAN EMPIRE.
The Reichstag Election - British
Tariff Policy.
Berlin. May 80.

characters shows nowhere more strfkingly. No
Mysteries. no oi.are of trumpet or boom OF drum;
no professions with torchIight and a score of
brass bands: no fiaring signs with the mammoth
portraits. Of the candidates: no extras with
the latest personal or impersonal scandal: no
general paralysis Of business: no predictions on
the one side of roseate prosperity If your own
man gets in" or of black despair and universal
disaster if. on the other hand he doesn't No
that's not the German method of conducting
campaign The German method consists in
spilling. il is true, ocean of printers ink in
enlightening the masses on the issues and the
men; likewise in talking a great deal on the
stump and in public halls without saying much
as is the custom everywhere and always dur
ing political campaigns; but ali this is done so
calmly there is scarcely a ripple on the surface
observable TO the naked eye and q foreigner
might travel through the length and breadth Of
the empire even now without becoming in the
least aware that new Reichstag is on the point
Of being chosen. and that the economic and po-
iiticai future Of the nation, least for period
a. five years and more, is largely bound up in
the result Of these elections Nothing apparent
" suffices 10 rneasurably disturb the mental
equilibrium OF the nation The general temper
remains placid almost stolid. and the widest
efforts of the party managers. of the candidates,
OF the government and OF the thousands of
friends and henchmen OF the candidates barely
20 make the average voter evince even a languid
sort Of interest in the game. At home, it is true,
in the bosom OF his family. he will give some
heed 10 what his party organ has TO say about
the issues and about the nomentary status OF
the chances. and II the evening. IN his 'Starnm-
kueipe" with his fellows over mug Of foaming
beer he viii chat 1eisurely and imperturbably
ahou II ali But that is about as far as he will
20 There is no enthusiasm: there are cleo
G-17-S he-S Tx-fh hirz-- n--
Derby and quietly as ever.
Of course, the stakes are hardly great and
rnomentous here as with you. where change Of
party regimen may mean not alone to turn the
-sscals OUT by the hundred thousand, but also
the DETECTING into new channels Of the whole
national life Also here the police, even during
the height OF a campaign, never relax for a mo
rnent their firm clutch the population No
political meeting may be held without .the pres
enoe and the previously obtained consent Of the
police authorities and excesses in speech or &C
tion are instantly checked, severely punished.
and often lead to the dissolving Of particular
meeting by the police officers on the spot
For all that. the issues in this election. which
is now but about a fortnight off, are serious
enough for Germany II the Agrarian majority
in the last house should be reelected and en-
larged II is their purpose to persist in their pol
ICY Of repression, of hindering or preventing tho
renewal Of commercial treaties. of impos ~
higher duties Oh the necessaries Of life especial
" focdstuffs and Of curtailing popular liberties
in speech. in print. in association, nay. even
5s ~ the franchise. This Agrarian majority is
made up OF the whole Conservative party, of
part ef the Centre and Of fraction Of the Ma
tionaI Liberal party. That the above is their
programme they have often enough publicly ad-
rnitted oftener in the Reichstag than when ad-
dressing their constituents. L was hoped that
the nucleus Of a new political party, styling
ifsalf hl7lntIv Kaiser party-".and which was
formed q few months ago. largely owing 10 the
efforts os Baron Won Eckardstein, lately First
Secretary of the German Embassy in London.
would have gathered momentum enough by now
10 exert an sppreciable influence on the cleo
tIons This party proclaimed its object the
-,Irthersnce Of the Kaiser's personal policy, di-
rected mainly % the suppression Of socialism
and 10 the looping of Of decidedly injurious ex-
crescences on Agrarianism. But political life in
Germany is sluggish. The young party has not
been bic 10 ma Ike headWay fast enough to play
= conspicuous role in this pending campaign
Roth Socialists and Agrarians conduct their
rsr7naig igrs far more vigorously than the other
political factors the Liberals (in their various
ehades) and the eight-hour movement which the
Socialists have instituted strengthens their hold
,pon the gullible proletariat.
one novel feature in this campaign deserves
Passing mention. For the first time since the
rr7pire founded woman mas appear co OlA ~AiN
rlsne Of course. I don't mean that they are
making political speeches. or that they are
zc-4,a liz present at political meetings or show
themselves conspicuously the hustings-these
things are forbidden women TO do IN Germany
The law prohibiting them classes minors m
sane persons and women together But women
this time are doing 4 great deal of electoneerlns
work all the same, in a quiet, unostentauouS
~sr and are showing much interest IN the
progress of the fght-the Socialist women most
of al for in Berlin and vicinity they have or
.-.rizad 2 hinge Socialist Women's Electoral Agl-
rariar Society. for instance. OF the two and q
half million population III Berlin and vicinity u
must be remembered. less than a quarter OF d
million are non-Socialists. Then the women Oh
The higher middle classes. whose husbands anu
brothers naturally affiliate with the blbefal
wing in national politics, have organized III
many cities and towns in behalf Of Liberalism
largely because there alone do they hno sym
rathv and furtherance IN their longing Tor d
larger measure Of political freedom but even
he aris1ocratjc ladies OF the upper crust, the
ladies o. rraanoriaI estates OF higher offlclal-
dom and Of the courts, the army and the navy
are ernulating this time the example given them
tv their sisters in humber walks of life. III VIII
pe interesting 70 note. when the smoke or balIie
has cleared off within a month from now
whether all these female efforts will have had
tangible results.
n theory tariff has been going on for
several years between Germany and Canada;
but only in theory. Practically. the erman
government al least has not far drawn the
concrete conclusions from the claims advanced