Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-12
LEANING TO DEMOCRACY
Even in Germany People Are Insist
ent on Liberty.
WHERE POWER ORIGINATES
Claim Made That Monarchs Rule
Only by Mandate of Their
Subjects.
Foreign Correspondence of The Star

| BERLIN, June |, 1910. .
Baron Karl Won Stengel. professor of
political economy at Munich University,
who represented Germany at the peace
| conference in 1899. contributes to the
Deutsche Revue an interesting article on
| THE Idea Of the Sovereignty of the Peo-
pie" He shows what are the results, as
manifested by the French revolution, of
| the development of the idea that the SUI
preme power in the state is vested in the
monarch, and traces the democratic op-
position to the theory of the sovereignty
| of princes to its theOretic formulation in
the doctrine Of the sovereignty Of the peo-
| pie. The natural consequence of the &C
| ceptance Of this latter doctrine, he points
| out Is that the monarch, even in a
| monarchiCal state, can be regarded as
only possessing a mandate from the SOW
! ereign people which can at any time be
withdrawn.
Rousseau, he explains, contended that
the people. by creating the state and the
| supreme power to which it subjected
| itself, did not renounce all its rights in
| favor Of this power, and did not subordi-
nate itself absolutely to it; the people.
| as matter OF course, only transferred
| 10 the state as many rights were
| necessary in the general interest, and re-
| tanned especially the right to alter at
will the constitution of the state. Hobbies.
on the other hand adds the writer. drew
quite a different conclusion from the doc
| trine Of the treaty with the state, name
| ~, that the people. in subjecting them
| selves by treaty to a supreme power,
| transferred the absolute power to the
| ruler, and placed all rights in his hands.
Conclusions Are Artificial.
1T is evident" continues Prof. Won
I
| who sought to defend the absolute mon
archy, are far more artificial than the
more democratic view proffered by Rous-
| seau. In the first place, the doctrine of a
treaty with the state is devoid of his
torical foundation. Individual states, and
especially combinations of states, have
been founded on treaty, but there is no
historical authority for the assumption
| that the state as an institution has been
created by treaty-that is, by spontaneous
and conscious procedure on the part of
men-as if it were a joint stock company
The state is an institution that has de-
veloped organically from the original
| tribes. On the other hand" adds the
writer, 1.-The theory of the sovereignty OF
the people, which proceeds from tht, doc
tr1ne OF the treaty with the state, is just
as distorted and one-sided as is the doc
trine of the sovereignty of princes,
for the people is an indefinite idea. 1t
is not clear whether the expression the
people embraces all the men, women and
children. whatever their intellectual pow
ers may be- who constitute the state, OF
embraces only those persons who are
capable of taking an active share in polit-
ical life.
1.-The idea of the sovereignty Of the peo-
pie, which is so f1attering to democratic
instincts. and the treaty doctrine that has
grown from that idea, are based on the
assumption that all human beings are ex-
actly alike. This assumption is, how
ever, only to a certain extent correct, for
apart from the differences of race and of
age, Of physical and mental faculties. all
human beings are alike only because they
are human beings, just as all trees re-
semble one another because they are
trees
All Persons Not Equal.
The writer points out that even
among the primitive tribes and hordes
! from which nations and states have
gradually developed differences of So
cha and economic positions were recog-
| nized. and considers that it would be
grossly unjust if all human beings, ir-
respective of race, age, bodily wealth,
occupation, etc, were treated by the
law as being equal. When the idea Of
| the sovereignty of the people came to
be realized during the French revolu-
| ton, it was at once evident. he adds,
| that the people is not, as the law Of
nature assumed, homogeneous mass
| of free and absolutely similar citizens,
| but is composed Of various classes, and
| the question arose to which group
| or class can claim the sovereignty in
| the state. The so-called third class
| succeeded at first in obtaining pre-
dominant influence on the legislature
| and in giving to the constitution
| form that favored it's own interests.
During the past century. however, the
| so-called fourth class has struggled
| hard to dislodge the third class from
the position it has assumed, and to
bring about change Of the constitu-
| tion to suit it's own views. 1t may
| be said, continues Baron Won Stengel,
that a new social order is in process
of formation in which the working
| class is the determinative factor; spec
| cial attention has to be paid by legis-
lation to the interests and demands
of this class, though curiouSly enough,
only those workers are thought of who
are occupied with physical work.
Right of Sovereign People.
The sovereign people claims the right,
Baron Won Stengel explains, to overturn
any government and alter any constitu-
ton which does not give it all that it
claims as its own. This right was recog-
nized by the French constitution of the
wish to enforce ii today in that they
reckon the universal suffra ge as one of the
Unborn rights of the human race and or
ganize tumultuOus street demonstrations
with the object Of eXtorting it. The lib
eral parties in Germany, he contends,
prove their short-sghtedness in advocat-
ing the adoption CT this universal suf
frage, for it benefits only socialism and
ultramCntanism. Prof. Won Stengel shows
that the constitution of Belgium and
Italy. for example, are based on the idea
of the sovereignty CT the people, the title
of the monarch of the latter country
being. "By the grace of God and the will
of the nation. King of Italy" The idea is
still more prominent in countries where
the parliament is almighty and where
the government and the ministers in
trusted with administrative power ara de-
pendent its moods and fancies. That
such a system Is not conducive to sta
blity has been clearly enough proved In
the case of France. where, moreover, cor
ruption is quite as prevalent as ever 1t
was under the ancient regime
1.-The whole tendency of the present
times concludes the professor, lis to
1Lace the executive power of the state
cialIy CT the working class, which. by
virtue Ct the universal suffrage, have ac-
ouired an Importance to which they are
unentitled. either by reason OF their quail
ny or of the services they render. to
the population in general.
Losing His Senses.