The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-17
SOME NEW BOOKS.


the progress that Germany has made
under the Empire, abroad or at home,
can afford to miss reading Imperial
Germany. by Prince Won BuELow (Dodd
Mead and Company. 1t Is an exposi-
ton of the German world policy" as
well as OF the German internal policy,
by a writer whom II Is no unjust dis
paTagement OF his successors or OF
his surviving predecessors. II any. to
call the first living authority on the
subject lie was Imperial Chancellor
from 1897 to 1909, appointed. as he
notes. on the deck OF the Hohenzollern
MT KEEL on the same day and on the
same spot when and where, twelve
years later, he was to hand in his
resignation. His book Is, quite natural
ly but not unduly, a chronicle OF his own
parliamentary and political successes.
lie Is fully entitled to congratulate him
self upon them. Ii Is not, of course, to
be forgotten how very different thing
such measure of parliamentary govern
mont as been attained In Germany
under the Empire Is from parliamentary
government In England. The Prime
Minister is still In Germany. in fact as
well as in name, the Minister OF the
Crown, In sense In which he has not
been so In England for more than CEN
fury. There he IL in fact the Minister
of the people, as represented in Parlia-
,inent and the Government IL, as has
heen said. government by u committee
~ the House OF Commons" only very
rarely can the sovereign exclude an I'M
acceptable person from even a subor-
dinate place in the Ministry, as Queen
Victoria succeeded In doing In the case
Of Labouchere, although Mr.. Gladstone
chivalrousy took the responsibility
Of the exclusion on his own shoulders.
Not since the time OF George III. has
the power of a British monarch availed
10 exclude from the headship OF a
Ministry the popular choice as repre-
scented by the Legislature. The first
condition Of keeping office for Ger
man ReichsSanzlcr is that he shall con-
tinue TO be acceptable to the sovereign
who has the unchallenged and un-
shared right OF appointment and OF re-
moval. But as corollary. he must also
make himself acceptable to the Reichs-
tag In order to procure the enactment
OF legislation acceptable to tho sover-
eiEn.
In order 10 do this he must have the
faculties and the equipment of a par-
lidnentarN statesman III the
sense, and Prince Won Buelow possesses
these In fuller measure than any other
German statesman who has held his
place since the Empire was created
bismarck decidedly not excepted Bis.
marck. indeed. managed 10 get as
much OF his own way with the Reichs-
tag as Prince Won Buelow got OF his
or even more. But he got II by means
III combined
with the general sense of his unequallet
public services. No successor could
possibly have had this combination
Bismarck might very we'll have said tc
any of his successors what Ahernethy
Is reported TO have said to the young
doctor who applied to him for advice In
the management of patients: There
are only two ways. to bully them or Il
fatter them. always bully mine. bu
think ] should advise you to fiattel
yours" II would be unfair to accuse
Prince Won Buelow of fiattering thu
Reichstag. But he commonly sue
cecded In keeping Il in good humor
And this by purely parliamentary quail
tiles, by good nature and wit. and al
unfailing supply OF that tact Which 4
not commonly supposed to be leu
tonic quality. Beyond this, he had Z
convince lis auditory that the thing
he proposed on behalf of his maste
were things reasonable and in the pub
lie interest. His power Of exposition o
an extensive and complicated situation
used to remind the reader of one o
those luminous surveys OF the condi
tons OF the world, n conspectus o
planetary politics" with which Lor
Salisbury used to instruct and enter
tain the House of Lords and incident
ally the British public, at each recur
ring session. Indeed. the first third o
so OF the present volume. being a re
view OF the foreign relations OF Ger
many, strongly reminds the reader G
one Of those old allocutions.
The darkest cloud on Germany's nor
ION is, OF course, England, as the dari
est on Engands is Germany. The oil
theories OF natural enmities" have bee
entirely upset by the entry of German
into the markets of the world as
manufacturing and exporting naIiol
and her consequent rivalry OF Englan'
which a generation ago had an almo!
nnthreatened monopoly in that respec
The upbuilding of the German navy
n necessary consequence, as the preser
authority sees 1t. Of the growth of Gel
man commerce and OF the German con
mercial marine. The figures he cite
should be none the less startling becau'
they are familiar. with its foreig
trade OF 10000, 900, 900 tin marlts) Gel
many is to-day the second commerci
power in the world; for It Is second on
30 the United Kingdom with her $4,000
100000. and surpasses the United Stat
with her Is, 00O, 900 900" Like the foreis
a A