Arizona republican., 1914-02-08
F0R PRUSS|AN
 LAND REFORMS
Ministry Places Before the House of Lords Important Measure Restricting the Right of Entailing the Estates
(By Bernard Fischer)


 BERLIN, Feb. 7.-(Special Cable)- The Prussian ministry has placed be- fore the house of lords an important land reform law restricting and regu- lating the right of entailing estates. The government has been twenty years en- gagged on this thOrny subject, and in 1903 produced a bill which fell through. The domination of both Prussian cham bers by landowners makes impossible any radical reform, such as the left parties demand The extreme left de- mand is that entail be entirely abol- ished, as it is in France and in some minor German states, including Olden- burg, Alsace-Lorraine, and the Bavar- ian Palatinate. The Reichstag last year passed a resolution demanding an imperial measure providing a home geneous entail law for the whole en- pire. Instead of this is produced bill for Prussia only.
 The preamble of the bill states that the system of entail is justified for family and economic reasons, among the latter being that it tends to pre-
 
 ever, be regulated; both in order to keep it in a healthy condition, and to prevent abuses. The chief abuse feared is the creation of land monopolies in particular districts, as a result of too large a proportion of the land being locked up in entail. Figures are given as to this. In all Prussia per cent of the land is entailed, but in some gov ernment "Bezirke," which are as large as counties, the figure is over 20 per cent; and in some ''Kreise," or cantons, the proportions rises to nearly half. Under the existing law the right of creating new entails is limited. The properties to be entailed must have a revenue of at least $S75, and if they bring in more than 5000 the consent of the sovereign is necessary before they may be entailed. Capital may be, can be, bound up in an entail with land; or entailed alone, if it exceeds $7,000.
 The most important principles of the reform proposed are. an extension of the principle that the consent of the ' body is required for either the creation of new entails or for the increase of estates already entailed; the prohibit tion of the entailing of capital; and finally, limiting of the proportion of land in a particular district which may be locked up in entail.
 The bill declares that henceforth not more than 2,500 hectares (about 6,20C acres) of agricultural land may be locked up in a single entail, and that no estate of less than 300 hectares may be entailed Only with the consent anG request of the provincial Landtag may these limits be exceeded. A more inn portant limitation is that which de- clares that as long as 10 per cent. o1 the land in single canton 'Kreis'') is already tied up in entail, no new en- tails may be created. An exception is made when the entail would serve some special public interest" The bill provides that in obtaining the con- sent of the sovereign, which is neces- sary for the creation of all new entails the ministers of justice and of agricul- ture have competence. It is their busi- ness in each case to make an exhaus- tive test as to whether the proposed entail would be in the interests of pop. ular economy. If the plan involves the entailing of farms. the opinion must bt taken of the committee of the loca ''Bezick". In the main the bill does no affect existing entails.
 The court-martial at Strassburg fa! passed judgment on Colonel van Reuter- and Lieutenant Schad, of the 99th In fantry. They have been acquitted, bu though they leave the courtroom 'whitewashed," the peoples mind as t the guilt of the Army in this amazing Zabern business has been made up fol long time. Few cared what became