New-York tribune., 1908-01-11
SOCIALISTS DISPERSED.
POLICE BUSY IN BERLIN.
Demand for General Suffrage Fails
IN the Landtag.

an the LG1lGJdg.
Berlin Jan 1o-The Socialists to-day organ
lied demonstrations before the building of the
Prussian Landtag in which a Radical resolution
demanding general suffrage in Prussfan elec-
tions was to come up for discussion. Since the
Socialists had held a series of mass meetings
last night in favor of electoral reform. and these
meetings had addressed kilograms to the Land
tag, the street demonstrations to-day took the
population of Berlin by surprise. The ponce
however were aware of the plans, turned out
full force and succeeded in preventing the dem
onstrations from reaching dangerous stage
Many arrests were made. The most serious
encounter was at the Kurftirsten Bridge Here
the police had to charge with drawn sabres
The excitement reached high pitch when
detachment of mounted police wheeled around
the corner from Wihelmstrasse and approached
the Landtag at brisk trot. Their arrival was
greeted by cry of rage, and the women mem
bers of socialist clubs screamed insults in the
faces of the police and brandshed extra editions
of the "Vorwarts" The mounted policemen
quietly formed and pressed steadily upon the
crowd which was dispersed in two minutes
A large number of Socialists then marched
to the office of the "Vorwarts' 10 get copies OF
an extra edition of the newspaper in which an
article said that the hour had struck for the
masses to demand representation in Parliament
They intended to assemble later in front of the
Castle and resume the demonstration. Few of
them, however, arrived there the police every
where having blocked the approaches to tie
imperial residence. Large crows had collected
in the square facing it and were not disturbed
by the police. They waited in vain in the cold
for the main body. In the square were many
unemployed men, of whom it is estimated there
are at present fifty thousand in Berlin.
SUPPORT OF OTHER PARTIES LACKING.
have any political results. 1t wholly a
Socialist affair. While the Socialists compose
the most numerous party in the kingdom their
influence over the government has been greatly
diminished through the reverses which they
sustained in the elections a year ago and the
complete isolation of the party. The Radicals
form the only other party unequivocally favor
ing general suffrage, but there is no prospect
of their cooperating with the Socialists for
common action looking toward electoral reform,
the latter party having accused the Radicals of
being false to their principles and disgraced
through their alliance with the government.
Many speeches made in the Landtag on
the question at issue, and at the close of the
session Prince Won Bulow, the Imperial Chan
cellor said that manhood suffrage, as it existed
for the Reichstag. would not be for the good OF
the State, and secret votings would not be per
nlitted in Prussia. He admitted that the suf-
frage system required reform and that the gov
ernment had been studying the question for
long time Exactly what direction the reform
would take he did not know, but soon the
governments proposal was ready it would be
communicated to the Landtag. The Chancellor
added he did not expect it would be presented
at this session. He said that the street demon
strations had not made the slightest impression
on the government, which had not changed by
one hairs breadth its decision to carry through
what it thought to be right.
The motion for manhood suffrage was finally
rejected without a division
EXCLUSION UNDER PRESENT SYSTEM.
Under the present electoral system in Prussia
there are three classes of electors. Up to the
present time the laboring man has been COM
pletely deprived of representation in the Prus-
sian parliament owing to the fact that he was
overwhelmed at the final elections by the other
two classes The categories of electors are
formed arbitrarily by dividing the total amount
of taxation received by the state into three
equal parts. A small number of wealthy per-
sons paying the first third of the total taxa
tion. select a certain number of men from their
ranks to act as final voters; a more extenoeu
number of less wealthy persons. who pay the
nevt third of the full amount of taxation, choose
an enual number of final electors while the
third class of voters, composed of the remainder
of the population and including the Workmen'
whose numbers reach millions, are allowed to
select a number of final voters equal to that
chosen by each of the other two classes The
total number of final electors selected by this
process then proceed to cast the final vote, at
which the representatives of the two first named
classes always vote solidly together, thus shut
ting out any possibility of the election of
representative of the working classes