Omaha daily bee., 1906-04-29
War Party Will Be More Powerful Through
Money Appropriated Under Law.
COLLECTION SAID TO BE BLACKHAII
Money Raised frs Jple Who Can Never
ErS dOial Glass,
NEW los TO Be- PLACED ABROAD
Pro Condition of German
Ances viii Not Permit Gov
eFnment to Borrow Needed
Funds az Home.

BERLIN. April sS.-(special Cablegram to
The Bee.) "A vast deal OF Indignation has
been aroused in German military circles by
the news that the subscription of $500 900
for needy officers has been successfully
brought Off, and that that sum has been
deposited with the chief of the kaisers
military cabinet. For some years past it
has been noticed that the number Of mill
itary cadets has been slowly but surely
diminishing. This has been especially the
case with the so-called "oficier famiren,"
that is to say. the families that for genera
tions past from father to son have followed |
the profession of arms.
Such families, however, are notoriously |
poor. A stern life of duty, plain living" |
and high thinking" was their lot. But as |
luxury increased in the German army It |
became more and more difficult for such |
officers to exist. High play, regimental sub
scriptions, mess expenses-everything- |
increased 80 per cent in the last thirty years |
Little by little the army has been invaded
by young men of wealthy parentage who |
Joined for the social distinction the military |
coat gives but not from any love of the
profession. Some ill-advised persons sug- |
gested that the hat should be discreetly |
passed around and a fund raised which |
would enable the kaiser to privately sub |
sidize sons of officers and the poorer aris- |
tocratio families desirous of taking up the
profession of arms. The thing that has
caused indignation among the better class
of officers is that this money is levied from
the millionaire bankers in Berlin; men
whose sons, by the prejudices of the mill
tary caste, are absolutely barred from wear
ing the kaiser's uniform as officers. 1t is,
therefore sort of blackmail which they
pay for one reason or another, but which
they certainly do no not provide willingly.
Strengthens Military Cabinet.
A second objection is that this fund will
be one arm the more in the possession of
the kaiser's military cabinet AS the money
will only be given to impecunious officers,
there must be some distributing center But
this opens the door to favoritism of the
worst kind, The department of the army
with this money in its gift will be the OBJ
Ject OF all kinds Of applications. more or
less justified, and the distribution will be
more. or less arbitrary. There Is no doubt
that the discomfort with the system of pro-
motion in the German army (and particu-
/ larly the Prussian army has been steadily
increasing; so much so, indeed, that the
| great majority of the officers asked to be
! retired with the rank of captain. The great
mistake the authorities are said to be maxi
ing is to imagine that the present crisis in
the army can be got rid Of by giving few
marks a month extra to the sub-lieutenants
What has caused the present crisis is the
arbitrary fashion in which promotion is
given. When 1t is notorious that not one
officer in a hundred, however great his
merits, has any prospect of rising above
the rank of major unless his name is pre-
| coded hNy 'sNOn'f n q bau hat
the great mass of them end by getting dis
couraged. There is, however, little prospect
of any change, as the kaiser shows a tend
ency to make his army more and more aris-
tooratc instead of democratic.
One of the peculiarities of the kaiser is
the peculiar yeneration he has for his
grandfather. He bombarded that most re-
spectacle of sovereigns with the epithet
great" an adjective to which William
I. would certainly have been the last to
lay claim. William I. lived in great times
and It may be said that he came in on
the crest Of the wave. This is why his
grandson insists on baptizng him
William the Great" and strews monu-
ments in bronze and marble all over Ger
many as II out of the pepper castor. The
latest monument has had a curious his
tory. 1t is to be erected at strassburg and
Alsace. The strassburg monument which
the population is 10 raise to the man who
conquered them Is to cost about $4,000
OF this sum $4,000 was subscribed by the
functionaries the officers and such COM
mercial people as were afraid to refuse
AS, however. II could never be admitted
that the subscription was a failure, the
remainder was simply taken from the Sc
cret service fund. at the disposal Of the
staathalter When the kaiser comes twelve
months hence TO unveil the monument the
ceremony will have a grimly humorous
side.
New Loan Abroad.
The Cologne Gazette semi-officially states
that the new Russian loan will not be
placed upon the German market for the
reason that the financial necessities OF the
! empire and Prussia render fresh calls upon
: the German money market undesirable OF
!, course Russian loans and Russian securi-
: ties are being handled in the Berlin markets
{ all the tiue. How far the decision Of the
" leading German banks not 10 renew theh
recent experiment Of participating IN a
= Russian loan Is due to the influence of the
: German government must always remain
: a matter OF conjecture.
Herr Bebel, in discussing the Algeciras
: conference in the interests Of the Socialists
= OF the world, maintained that the storm
l, which has been raised about Morocco ha.
been altogether out OF proportion to the ex.
tent OF German interests and 10 the result.
achieved. He referred in particular TO tn,
I emperor's demonstrative visit to Tangier
and asks what would have been said ir
p Germany. II. for example, King Edward
had acted in a similar fashion He con
trasted the exhaustive character OF tn,
French yellow book with the meagre con
tents OF the German white book. and de
n clared that the meagerness OF the latte
N was testimony Of the powerlcssnes,
J. OF the German Reichstag In matters OF for
% eign policy. The French yellow booI
le showed that NJ. Delcasse had from IN,
u FIRST been ready for negotiations and fo
70 compromise The sultan had been pre
e pared TO agree to the French demand. an,
was only induced TO stiffen his back at IN,
= Instance OF Germany, whose subseouen