The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-05-27
They Seem to Have Cause for Protest
as System In Operation is
Not Fair in
Prussia.
Wealth AS AN INDEX
Voters Are Divided Into Three Glasses
and Some Have Greater PrvIl.
edges at the Polls Than
Others.

/ BERLIN, May Germany, or
Correspondent of the United Press
rather Prussia, which is two-thirds of
Germany is confronted by the grave
possibilities of general political
strike involving directly approximate
/ ~ 100000 workingmen and indirectly
probably more than 100000. This is
the covert threat of the social-demo-
/ cratic party and the Club. with
which 1T hopes to force King, Wilhelm
III of Prussia. emperor of Germany, to
make good his promise to reform the
/ electoral laws under which the Prus-
sian diet or parliament Is elected If
the threat is ineffective, the impress.
sion it fails to make upon the govern
ment is to be furnished by swinging
the club
It is to be a strike" for the right
of the poor man to vote upon equal
/ footing with the rich man; strike
for the demand that the working
mans ballot shall count for as much
at the polls as that of the capitalist.
! As yet the question of general
strike is in a formative or contempla-
tive stage. That it has been under
consideration for some weeks is adj
mitted by some of the socialist leac-
! ers. They are close-mouthed.
with 100000 votes cast in the
! Prussian election FIVE years ago the
socialists could elect only six mem
bers of the Prussian parliament: the
conservatives with 100000 votes elect
ed 153 members and the free conserv-
tives with $4,000 votes elected l53
members and the free conservatives
! with $4,000 votes, so members. F.om
THAT it is seen that 223 conservatives
! can elect a representative to parlla-
ment, 600 free conservatives may be
represented but it takes 100000 So
cialist or workingmen's votes to send
a man of their choice to parliament.
/ Is It any wonder that we demand Z
reform of the electoral system by
which such injustice is perpetrated27
1 That is the way DR.. Ludwig Frank,
one of the principal leaders In the
social democratic party, sized up the
situation DR. Frank ranks as one Of
1 the ablest socialistic leaders in the
4 Reichstag and has great influence in
! his party. He is chieftain in the
so-called arevisionist'' wing.
'sWill there be striker"
Il don't know" replied Frank. 1t Is
not improbable that the Belgian
strike may have a reactive effect up
on the socialists in Germany. That
some energetic measures may soon be
taken to impress upon the government
the right of the workingman for a
square deal at the polls, and to carry
out the promise made by King and
Emperor Wilhelm in a speech from
the throne, is quite likely What
those measures may be is not for me
to say.
i "A general strike in Germany
would be different story from the
strike in Belgium. 1t would be far
more dangerous. IT might become a
4 terrible thing. The Prussian military
and police are not SO considerate as
the Belgian. On the other hand the
I German workingman and socialist is
4 far better educated and better disci-
pinned than his Belgian brother
/ DR.. Frank characterized the Prus-
sian election system as an insult to
i Intelligence" 1t dates back to 1919.
4 1t is a semi-feudai three-class" insti-
Y tuition created to keep the reins of
gobernment in the hands of the privi.-
4 eyed few. Votes count according to
the wealth of the voter and the
amount of taxes paid.
Prussia is divided into election dis
tricts and precincts The election Ia
indirect, the voters electing the "elec-
tors and the latter the represent
tives to the parliament which CORE
spends to our state legislatures
The voters in each district are d.
yided into three classes. There is one
4 elector for every $50 votes. For in
i stance, if district has 1.500 voters
who pay a total of 100000 taxes, say
FIVE of these voters together pay $780,
900 taxes These FIVE voters form the
first class" and eject two electors
The second class is composed of the
next highest taxpayers who together
pay $4,000 taxes. n there be 10 OF
s5 of these voters, they also elect two
4 electors. The other 400 voters OF
the district form the third class and
together can elect but two electors
their 400 votes counting for no more
than the votes of the five men in the
first class.
i In 1908 there were 159 districts III
which there was but one voter OF the
first class and Ito districts IN which
there were but two voters Of the sec
ond cIaRs