Evening star., 1915-12-15
Government Refuses to An
sWer Food Regulation Ques-
tionS of Dr.. LiebkneCht.
COUNTRY'S FINANCIAL
SITUATION HELD GOOD
Secretary of Imperial Treasury De-
clares War Will Go On, in
Urging New Credit.

LONDON. December Is. 2:35 am
The sitting of the reichstag at Berlin
today was a stormy one, owing to the
refusal of the government to answer
questions put by DR.. Leibknecht, the
socialist deputy, as to whether the gov
ernment was prepared by the regula-
ton of production and conf1sca ton to
bring about uniform distribution of
foodstuffs and whether it intended to
make a serious beginning looking to
the reorganizat ton of the internal po-
litical regime during the course of the
present session.
The president of the chamber, accord
ing to an Amsterdam dispatch to .Reu-
ter's Telegram Company. refused to
allow number of supplementary ques-
tions submitted by DIR. Liebknecht,
whose protests were drowned in the
applause and general commotion.
Asks About Publication.
DR.: Liebknecht wanted to know
whether the government was prepared
to publish official material concerning
the origin of the world war, especially
relating to the diplomatic preliminary
Serbia, including the official and semi
official negotiations between the Ger
man and. Austrian governments since
the Sarayevo assassination and the
preliminary history of the breach of
Luxemburg's and Belgium's neutrality"
He inquired also whether the govern
ment would appoint committee to in
vestigate these rcatters.
The German secretary of foreign af-
fairs, Her Won Jaeger, replied that such
.It,S E1~,
published and would continue to be pub
lished as was found necessary: but the
government opposed the demand for
committee of investigation. He added:
1.-The responsibility and atonement will
fall only upon our adversaries.
Persistency Stirs Anger.
The house displayed the greatest in
dignation at or. Liebknecht's persist
ency in putti.g supplementary ques-
tions, and, finally. the president cut
short further questions by accepting
question as to whether the govern
ment would present bill providing
for the abandonment of secret diplo-
macy in favor of lasting control by the
public and leaving the decision of peace
or war to the representatives OF the
nation.
To this Herr Won Jagow replied by
brief negative.
Imperial treasury, speaking on the oc-
casion of tae first reading of the bill
for supplementary war credit of So
5oU.UU0,Uu0, said:
Says War Will Go On.
Security for our existence as a nation
and empire has still to be wrested from
our enemies, who, after sixteen months Of
military failures and defeats. still indulge
in fancies OF crushing or GRIPPING Ger
many The war must and will be prose-
cuted at all risk until this security is
gained.
ton on Germany's weakness, disunion,
weariness, famine Is, and remains, wrong.
i he great success of the September loan
enables us to wait until March and man
age till then with treasury bonds. We
had to convince the enemy of our strength
in the field OF finance. On the first IN
stailment day 10 per cent OF the sub
scribeu loan was paid. Today the pay
meits Of 1U,600. 100000 marks ($2.6o0, UOo.-
UGo) are i.o0o,oV0,O0o marks tSi.i:o,ooo.ooo)
in advance of those due. This prov es
how easily German political economy
manages to bring up such capital Oniy
IS ), ,OGV, 900 marks paid in the third war
loan came from loan societies.
Savings Bank Situation.
THE savings banks show a highly
satisfying picture. After paying out
for the first and second war loans de-
posits We're still 1.25o.0oo.ooo marks
ls3l2, 500, ,00O) higher than at the
beginning of 1914 Among the 4,o0o,ooO
subscribers to the third war loan there
v ere 100000 or less than 3o,ooo
marks income. rms. IN iacl, ~ ma
tional loan when EhSldHo tiled "
raise, but failed
Dr. Helffericn. IL his speech, denied
fatty assertions made by newspapers
III foreign countries that the success OF
the German war loans was nctitious
and made possible only by the loans
OF subscribers through the war credit
uanks.
He stated that the total loans by
these institutions was l.6OO,0O0,0Oo
marks (s4oo O00), as compared with
over 25,0UU, 100000 marks tS6,2oo,00e,-
u00) in subscriptions.
Daily Cost of the War.
Referring to his estimate in August
that the total cost of the war to all
the beIligerents was almost 300,OOO,O0O
marks daily, DIR. Helfferlch said that
this amount could now be estlmated at
from 3Zo,oO0,O00 to 330.00O,0OO marks.
This would make yearly cost OF al
amount equal to half the total valua-
ton of the public and private wealth
OF France before the war. lie said
that almost tWO-tnirdS OF this eX
nenditure was shouldered by the en-
fente allies and little over i third by
Germany and her allies. He said he
coujd modestly assert that Germany
and her allies, with an expenditure
much smaller than their opponents, had
accompIisned more than the latter
Places the Responsibility.
II the course of his address before
the reichstag DIR. Helfferich said:
Responsibility for the blood which
will how from now on. for the misery
! which comes upon the world, for the
| danger to which civilization is ex-
nosed. falls not upon Germany, but
uuon those who cannot resolve to draw
the conclusion from Germany's Mill
| tary successes, which no one can dis
i pute any longer. The responsibility
| ,ans upon those who in their foolish
and criminal illusion still speak of an
| inhalation and partition of Germany
| and of war of exhaustion.
! "We stand like rocks in the soil of
| the home country. and on the columns
| of the British empire are written. in
| glowing letters the same words as
were written on ting wall of Belshaz-
| zar's palace"
To Command East African Army.
| LONDON. December 15.-S;r Horace
Smith -Dorrien has been appointed to
! the supreme command of the forces