Omaha daily bee., 1916-07-30
OPPOSED TO HOLLWEG
Conservatives Make Their
Presence Felt in the
Reichstag.
SOCIALISTS ARE LOYAL

Correspondence OF The Associated Pressi
Berlin, July 4.--The Reichstag ses-
sion recently closed was marked by
interesting Developments in the rela-
tions between the government and the
various political parties. One result
was to bring out more sharply than
hitherto the opposition OF the con
servatives to Chancellor Bethmann
Hollwcg.
The conservatives represent the old
aristoeratic traditions OF Prussia, and
their social and political influence is
so great that they usually succeeded
under previous ehancellors in shap-
ing the course of the government
They have ever taken the lead in
opposing all socialist and democratic
Tenderness in the state; and before
the war one OF their chief lines Of pol
icy was war upon the socialists as an
element dangerous to the monarchy
and the present order of society,
Since the war has been in progress,
however, the government has quite
changed its attitude toward the So
cialists. The chancellor has steadily
acted in the spirit Of the emperor's
declaration. made just as the war was
about to begin, that henceforth he
knew no parties, but only Germans,
The loyalty with which the social
lists have stood by the government
and helped to fight the country's bat
ties has been more than once rceog-
nized by Bethmann Hollweg in his
speeches in the Reichstag, and he has
clearly admitted this fact must lead
to some political readjustments after
the war is over. This has never
pleased the conservatives. But the
chancellor has gone on his way max
ing friends Of the socialists and in
viting their support for government
measures. The conservatives looked
on coldly at all this, for they saw that
their best argument for keeping the
government rigidly conservative was
being wrested from their hands,
The Big Problem.
Besides this, the conservatives have
taken offense at the governments taxss I
alton policy. They are fully commit
ted to the view that the empire must
! collect It's revenue tax through indi-
rect taxation, like customs duties and
internal revenue taxes OF various
kinds. Especially do they urgently
insist that direct taxes--income, gem
eral property and inheritance taxes
should be reserved for the federal
states. The huge problem, however,
Of raising revenues to pay interest on
the war debt, to pay pensions, and
meet other expenses growing out OF
the war, cannot be solved without re-
sorting to direct taxation--there are
not enough indirect taxes in reach to
meet the requirements Of the situa-
ton. Hence along with the various
indirect taxes proposed this spring
was a direct tax on war profits. In
working out the details Of collecting
this tax, however, it was found by
the budget committee that it would
be practically impossible to distin-
guish between profits due to the war
and profits not due to it. Hence an
ali-'round property tax OF one mill on
the dollar was proposed BY the COM
mittee and accepted by the govern
ment Some Of the conservatives
finally voted for the tax; but their
two leaders, Count Westarp and Won
Heydebrand, voted against it to the
bitter end. In this, curiously enough,
they found themselves alone with the
small group OF socialists who split
off from the main body Of the So
cialists last March.
Views Of Conservative.
In the debates on these tax meas
ures and on the press censorship the
conservatives were very severe III
their criticisms Of the government
and of the chancellor. They resent
1t in particular that their newspapers
were not permitted to say what they
pleased about the United States in the
height Of the submarine controversy
between Washington and Berlin:
neither can they forgive the chancel-
lor for having yielded in modifying
the form OF submarine warfare.
Several days ago the chancellor
spoke with unusual passion in ex-
posing the false statements put forth
In an anonymous pamphlet written to
attack him, a pamphlet evidently en-
anating from conservative headqusr
tiers, and he also had some sharp
things to say in replying to another
pamphlet by Herr Kapp, an influen-
tial conservative politician, These
pamphlets made the impression upon
the country that the conservatives
were beginning systematic cam
paign for the overthrow Of Bethmann
Hollweg. Some OF the national lib
erals are also dissatisfied with the
chancellor and are known to sympa-
thize with these attacks upon him.
In proportion, however, as the ultra
national elements turn away from the
chancellor, he is finding all the warm
er support from the other parties in
the Reichstag, including the old So
cialist party. 1t was curious, IN
wonted spectacle, during the chancel
lor's speech of June 6, to see the con-
servatives listening with mute dissent,
along with the seeding socialists,
while all the other parties in the