The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-17
GERMAN ELECTIONS ARE COMING SOON Government Expects to Be Defeated by People IS RESULT OF TAXES Election of President in Portugal Has Failed to Create the Expected
 Harmony in the Politi-
 cal Situation
IS RESULT OF TAXES

Berlin. September 16.-(Special.)-
 Before the end of the year. or at the
 very latest in January, 1912 the gem
 eral elections for the reichstag are to
 take place, and as the time approaches
 the anxiety of the government. which
 expects a great defeat, is becomin
 more and more evident. While the pa
 triotic Germans have little or no fault
 to find with the foreign policy or the
 present administration the great
 masses of the voters are thirsting for
 revenge over the ultra conservative
 land owners (junkers) who in con- spiracy with the Catholic center in 1909 placed enormous new burdens of taxation upon the middle classes and the poor while they absolutely refused to tax the great fortunes. The sup posed representatives of the people favored the millionaires, but taxed all the necessaries of life even down to matches. The budget which the allied groups of conservatives succeeded in passing was so utterly unjust that even Prince von Buelow, as staunch a 'junker" as any, refused to accept it., a refusal which ultimately led to his downfall.
 During the two years which have passed since then the new chancellor of empire, Herr von Bethmann Holl- veg, has everywhere in his domestic politics revealed himself as so ultra conservative and ultra Prussian that he has made himself the most hated man in all Germany. The only thing which might have saved him would have been great victory in his foreign policy, but his victory has failed to come. No matter how France-German relations in regards to Morocco are arranged in detail. the agreement will never approach anything like a German vic- tory and many are those who will con- tinue calling 1t a disgraceful German retreat.
 There is now nothing for the chancellor to do but calmly await the coming of the end He knows as well as anybody that next spring it will no longer be his hand that steers the German ship of state.
 To the German who takes any interest in foreign politics Great Britain is the power, which, in every direction blocks Germanys way to her Place in the Sun. " to use the phrase first employed by Prince Buelow in connection with the seizure of Kiao-chau and recently borrowed from him by the Emperor
 Kaiser wilhelms Hamburg speech, in which he used this expression was all over Germany taken to mean that he intends to exert all his personal influ- cree and restlessly continue his propa- ganda in favor of a stronger navy until Germanys fleet is the equal if not the superior of that of England on the worlds seas The fact surprises nobody in spite of the many official and semi-official dec larations that Germany had no thought
 of ever disputing Englands naval su- premacy.
 The existence of such an intention does not, however, mean that an immediate attempt will be made to carry it into execution. The reichstag Is rapidly ap- preaching the term of it's natural life. It's successor will be very differently con- stltuted, and in all probability for the moment little disposed to lay upon the nation the burden of increased arma- ments. No doubt strenuous efforts will be made to use the Morocco difficulty for the purpose of obtaining a docile chamber.
 From the commencement of the ne- it has been precisely those parties which have most to fear at fne polls which have been most exacting In their demands and most noisy in their professions of patriotism. They that an excellent oppor- tunity had come for diverting public 1ispelasure from themselves to the for eigner Undoubtedly maneuver of same kind will be tried by the govern ment at the elections, and it may count on a certain measure of success. At the same time, it Is more than doubtful whether the new parliament will, in the opening years of its life, be pre- pared to vote fresh navy bills.
 The national programme of young cannot fail to be affected by the Prussianization of its army officials who form a great proportion of the trained and educated men of the nation. It is estimated that not less than 150 have learned military business in the German army, while about 5000 or 5000 have been either trained by German officers in Turkey or by Turkish officers who have been trained in Germany. When it is remem bered that the methods of denationalization practised by Prussia, as applied to her Polish provinces, are far more vigorous than anything attempted hitherto by the Turks in Albania-only the Poles Caught by long experienced fight silently and the Albanians fly into re- volt-it can be appreciated that Ger man influence on young Turkey will hardly be on the side of racial toler- ance. But the people with whom has to do in Albania are the most unconquerable in Europe-perhaps in the world. The Montenegrins and their immediate neighbors in their mountain fastnesses resisted the suc- cessive waves of conquerers which poured over Europe, and what the Turkish empire could not accomplish in the heyday of her power she can not expect to do now.
 The expectation that constitutional gov ernment would mean freedom from ty ranny has not hitherto been realized by the non-Turkish subjects of the Sultan. It has become apparent that the revolution but nationalist revival, having as It's aim the consolidation of the Turkish peo- pie and the revival of Islam. A singular feature, however, has been the part play ed by Jews and by the organizations of the Free Masons. Without the latter the committee of the Union and Progress would probably have been unable to form the network by which the movement was spread. The editor of the 'Tanin" Djav- i'd Boy, by and Talaat Bey (ex minister of the interior and president of the commit tee party) are all Free Masons and there fore may be expected to hang together. German influence is being exercisec through Jewish Free Masons and even the Italian government is said to have em- nloyed a Masonic Jew as negotiator with the porte in connection with difficulties in Trippli.