El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-13

ID ERLIN, Germany, Aug. 1s.-The re-
II volution of 1S4S succeeded in
forcing the king of Prussia to con-
cede to a constitution, but it did not
leave the people with sufficient power
to compel respect for it. The Prussian
government permitted the maintenance
of constitutional forms, but proceeded
to act as If ii were an autocratic des-
potism. The Austrian government also
revoked the concessions made to the
revolutionists, and the smaller German
states readily followed the example.
Constitutions were withdrawn or modi
fled and there was great popular dis
content During this period the Ger
man emigration increased rapidly, and
the United States received from Ger
many a great number of sturdy German
Liberals who could no longer brook
conditions in their own country. These
strength to the American union in the
trying period of the civil war and the
subsequent era Of development. The
German nation appeared 10 be uyins5-
William L OF Prussia
But the dawn of a brighter day for
Germany was at hand. In 1857 king
Frederick William " lost mis- mind and
his brother, the prince of Prussia, was
appointed regent. The prince at once
set 10 work to develop a scheme for the
reorganization of the Prussien army
which would put into general use the
military principles instituted by Scbarn-
horst. He had the powerful aid of Won
Maltke. The old king died in 1851 and
his brother succeeded him under the
title Of William l.
As prince regent, William had at
tempted to force through. the diet his
a
the money was to be raised by land
tax, the prince was deserted by his
friends the ariStocratS, and the measure
was lost A new diet was elected about
the time William came to the throne,
in which the Liberals had a great ma
jority The diet was determined to
end the army scheme once for all. 1t
concessions from the throne, and was
disposed 10 be extremely truculent.
The Power of Bismarck.
The king had his heart set on the
plan TO reorganize the army. 1t was
at this stage that, in September, 1862,
he sent for Otto Won Bismarck. In
their interview the king laid before
Bismarck his plans for addiction, say
ing that his convictions forbade him
to relinquish his army program, and
that there was nothing else for him
to do in view of the attitude of the diet
Bismarck instantly said: That shall
never be allowed to come Bismarck
told the king that he could accomplish
his desires despite the Liberal oppo
sition He then accepted the ministry,
without majority of the diet and with
out power to form a budget. 1t was
a bold thing to do, but Bismarck was
a bold man.
The next week Bismarck went into
the diet and made what proved TO be
the most significant speech ever de-
livered in Germany. He told the de-
puties that liberalism was not for Prus-
slams; that Germany admired Prussia
for it's power and not for its democracy;
that Prussians were too highly cultured
and too hypercriticad to tolerate a con-
stitution; that it was the mission OF
Prussia to lead Germany, and that to
fulfill this mission Prussia must cOnsol-
idate it's might. He said that it was
well enough for Bavaria. Wurttemberg
and Baden to indulge in liberalism and
democracy, for they never could play
the role of Prussia. He told them that
Prussia's boundaries were not conducive
to Its integrity as a sovereign state.
and intimated that they must be ex-
banded and that Germany ought TO be
united under the aegis of Prussia. He
then said: Not by speeches and reso-
lutions of majorities are the mighty
problems of the age to be solved-that
was the mistake of 1S4S and 1S49-they
must be solved by blood and IRON
Three Great Minds.
Bismarck did not regard either the
speeches or the resolutions of the diet,
and the army reforms were carried for
ward in defiance of the constitution.
The world did not then know. but Bis
marck, the diplomatist, Won Moltke, the
strategist, and Won Room the organizer.
we're at that moment engaged in per-
fecting the details of the most powerful
political and military machine the world
ever had seen.
The first opportunity TO test the eff
ficiency of the new machine came in
1853 in a quarrel with Denmark over
the succession to the ducal throne of
Schleswig- Holstein. Bismarck craftily
induced Austria to join him, and in 1864
the Prussians and Austrians together
fought Denmark, and conquered
Schleswig G. Holstein and a portion of
Jutland. Bismarck intended TO annex
the territory to Prussia, Austria intend
ed to keep it neutral. The joint occu-
patton OF the territory by Prussian and
Austrian troops made inevitable the
quarrel which Bismarck was deliberately
fostering and which was necessary for
the working out OF his schemes Early
in 1866 the PrusSianS politely but firmly