The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-18
THE FARMER: APRIL IS. 1917
CERMANY'S mEDIAEvAL MILITARY
 DESP0TISM HAS BEEN MAINTAI
 BY JOKERS AND LOWEST TR|CKERY
The Siege of Autocracys Last Stronghold - How Ho- henzollerns and Kaiser in Democratic World Have Successfully stided Democracy


 tive body through which the Kaiser Reichstag has unlimited authority to originate legislation, it cannot do anything without the consent of the Bundesrath. And since this other body will not let it do what it wishes to do, it does little but growl and pull on the leash.
 The Bundesrath has taken in it's own hidden hands the initiation of all |lawmaking for the empire. Its mem bers also have seats in the Reichstag, and when they wish @ thing done, with clanking swords they stalk in upon the representatives of the peo- pie and tell them to do 1t. On such occasions, their spokesman at pres ent is Chancellor von Bethmann- Hollweg, who is not q member of the lower house but the presiding officer of the upper chamber.
 It is the Bundesrath whose consent the Kaiser must have to declare war. And only by its leave may he dismiss or dissolve a disobedient Reichstag. In the choice of this real governing force of their country, the German people have no say whatever. The members of the Bundesrath are ap- pointed by the Kings, Dukes, Princes or Senates of. the states. and they themselves have no. discretion in any action they talxeA For they are for bidden by the Constitution to act ex- cept by special instructions from the sovereigns who appointed them.
 Although the Kaiser is entitled, as King of Prussia, to appoint fewer than third of the members, he has the Bundesrath almost if not quite as tightly bound as the Reichstag. Be- sides the Prussian members, he chooses. it is true, the three from AL sace-Lorraine, but the other German sovereigns Jealously stipulated that these votes must never be counted to give him a majority.
 Nevertheless, by running reign ing Duke out of the duchy of Bruns- wick and by buying outright the sov- ereignty of the lazy Prince of Wal deck, with 61,000 subjects, the Ho- henzollerns picked up three more proxies. and these added to Prussia's IT, give them 20 votes in the Bundles rath.
 Those extra votes really were not necessary to assure the Kaiser a com plete check on the Bundesrath, for the Constitution provides that no amendment may be made to it with out the consent of Prussia. nor may any change be made in a law affect ing the Army and Navy. the tariff, or the internal revenue, unless the mas ter state is willing.
 With 20 votes in hand, the Kaiser needs only II more to give him a clear majority and to put through 1vo rnIo hot 1a h. viously he can always outbid the Kings of Bavaria, Saxony or Wurt- temberg for the support of the little states, some of which are the veriest rotten boroughs in imperial politics.
 Prussia is Germany and the Kaiser is Prussia. AS in the Empire, he has a Legislature, or Landstag, with two houses. But he appoints out of hand the upper chambef, the Herrenhaus, or House of Lords, and by a mon strous joker he controls the election of members of the other, the Abgord- netenhaus, or House of Representa- tives.
 In the elections to this latter body the people are divided into three classes, the largest taxpayers form- ing one, the next largest taxpayers the second, and the great multitude the third group. This pretty plan re- duces the overwhelming majority of the Nation to third of the represen- tation. But by means of gerryman- dered districts and intimidation, add ed to popular Encouragement, the Prussian masses are prevented from exercising even this small proportion of power.
 The Socialists, for example, with 500, ,00O votes obtained seven seats, where the Old Conservatives, or Jun- kers. with 350.000 votes, won 152 seats. A Prussian election is an un- blushing three-card monte game by which the Kaiser filches from his subjects their political rights.
 The Kaiser plays an equally shame full trick on the whole German people in the election to the Reichstag of the Empire. Here, by refusing to change the old districts that were made 46 and 50 years ago, he strug- gles a huge majority into a minority at every election. ~
 When the districts originally were made up at the time the Empire was forming, between 1867 and 1871, they were constructed on the principle of a member for each 100000 of the pOPuldtAOI1s AIIAOuSn HI ShS AASOAFoA Berlin has grown from city of 600,- 900 to one of more than 100000 people. it still has only six seats in the Reichstag.
 So 1t is with the other great com mercial and industrial centers, where most of the liberal voters are to be found. A glaring result: 4,25Q.000 Socialists won no seats, while 3,122,- 900 stand-patters gathered in 1S5 of the 397 seats, in the Reichstag.
 Don't worry about the Hohenzol- lerns if they should lose their present job. They could thrive on the shell game at county fairs.
 At was the German people who rose and drove out Napoleon in 1913, the year of liberation" The Hohenzol- Tern king had been cowed into ab5ect submission to the conqueror and the princes of most of the other German states were the willing lackeys of the Corsican.
 At that time the present Kaiser's Frederick William III., pledged himself to reward his heroic subjects with a partnership in the government. Bus the war over, that peldge became only 'scrap of paper"
 \ After languishing AS years more under a stupid despotism, the Ger mans awoke to their rights again in the revolution of 184S. Tn all the N- bary of autobiography there is hard ly more interesting picture than that of this uprising, which was dr hvy Gohy,rz roosf dis