The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-17

and 1t is sufficiently e~xasperating In the
cases Of Munich, Leipzig, Breslau, Dres-
den, Cologne and Elberfeld- Barmen.
According to the census Of 1900, Nurem-
berg, Magdeburg, Dusseldorf, Stettin
and Chemnitz ought each to have two
members instead OF only one apiece.
The Government, nevertheless, has hith-
erto refused to assent to a redistri-
button of seats according to population,
foreseeing that such a change would
increase immensely the strength OF the
Socialists in the Reichstag.
Inequality Of distribution is not the
only obstacle to the representation OF
workingmen in the German national
assembly. BISMARCK insisted on the
non-payment Of members, and the En-
peror WILLIAM ii. has taken a similar
position. Over and over again the
Reichstag has passed bills providing for
the payment of members, but these
have all been rejected by the Bundles
rath. The absence of remuneration has
undoubtedly deferred many men Of
small means from undergoing the cost
VI u IcSluOLlCc III DCIllu, dLlu tuO oONldl-
lists tried to meet this difficulty by pay
ing their representatives a salary raised
by voluntary subscription. In 1885,
however, BISMARCK caused the I'M
perial Treasury TO sue Socialist members
for the moneys received in this way, and
the Imperial Court OF Appeal sustained
the suits. Still another attempt TO dis
courage workingmen from exercising
the privilege Of self-government Is the
law directing that elections shall be held
on a working day instead of on q Sum
day, which latter is the day used for the
purpose in France and many other Eu-
ropean countries.
In spite Of all these obstacles to full
and free representation, the Socialists
at the last general election, held in 1908,
polled about 5000. 900 votes, and returned
seventy-nine members to the Reichstag.
The Catholic members, called Centrists,
because they sit in the middle Of the
Chamber, formed the largest single
group in the assembly, numbering 1902.
OF Conservatives there were ~, and Of
National Liberals 50. The Radicals OF
all types could muster but SO, and the
Poles but 10. There were also 0 Anti
German Alsatians, o A~nti-Semites, z
Agrarians, and more than a dozen who
may be described a Independents.
In an assembly thus broken into fac
tons, how, It may be asked, was it pos
sible for the Government to obtain the
100 votes needed TO constitute a ma
jority2 The Ministerial party proper
was composed Of the Conservatives and
National-Liberals, but they could only
command 124 votes between them. Up
to last week the needed support was
supplied by the Centrists, but this was
withheld in the vote on the supplemental
appropriation for German West Africa,
and consequently the Government was
beaten.
The coming election, then, is osten-
sibly a fight between the Imperial Gov
eminent and the Centrist party, but it
will really turn upon the question whether
German taxpayers will tolerate any
longer the enormous expenditure i'm
posed by Emperor WILLIAMS colonial
policy. The Centrists are not well
qualified to figure conspicuously in a
national protest against that policy,
because they managed, until very lately,
to control a large part Of the patronage
belonging to the Colonial Office.