The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-10-28

I IkkGBf1lStsEsh
/ AND DOCTOR SPAIN
IL is perha ps too much TO expect
I that the Centrum party as whole
! and as at present constituted will de.
! clare for liberalism and parliamentary
! government. and for fair redistrfct-
/ ing OF the divisions in Germany which
! elect members TO the reichstag. but
I there are many wise and farseeing
, men da this party, and It's leaders,
/ Doctor SPAIN and Erxherger, are fear
| less and able men.
/ AT the congress which will meet
! after the war IL win be easy for the
nations OF the world TO deal with the
| representatives OF liberal Germany,
with representatives of government
still monarchical in form. hut possess.
ed of either a constitution like that of
! the United States or ruled by a parlia-
| mentsry government.
! EASIEST TRANSITION
| Is LIKELY
/ ] believe that the tendency OF Ger
man liberalism is toward the easiest
transition, that of making the chan
cellor and his ministers responsible
10 the reichstag and bound to resign
after n vote of want of confidence by
that body.
At the time of the Zabern affair
Scheidemann asserted that the re-
signation Of the chancellor must To-
glcaily follow vote of want of con-
( fdence, and 1t was the chancellor who
refused to resign, saying that ne was
responsible to the emperor alone. 1t
requires no violent change to bring
about this establishment of parlia .
mentary government. and. If the men,
bers of the reichstaE should be elect
1 ed from districts fairly constituted, the
world would then be dealing with n
liherallzed Germany and a Germany
which has become liberalized without
any violent change in the form of its
government.
OF course. coincident with this par
lamentary reform the vicious circle
system of voting in Prussia must end.
This change to a government by a
responsible ministry can be accom-
plished under the constitution of the
German empire by a mere majority
vote Of the reichstag and a vote in
the ,bundesrat in which less than
fourteen votes are against the propos-
cd change In the constitution. This
means that the consent of the emperor
Us Prussian king must be obtained.
and that OF q number OF the rulers
of the German states
In the reasonable liberalization Of
Germany, If it comes, Theodore Wolff
and his father law. Nosse, will play
leading Farts.-rrhe- great neMspa per,
| the Tagehlatt which Mosse owns and
Wolff edits. has throughout the war
! been a beacon light at once of reason
| and or patriotism. And other great
/ newspapers WIFI take the same en-
! lightened course.
| / am truly sorry for George Bern
| hard. the talented editor OF the Vos-
sische Zeitung. who, a Liberal and a
Jew. wears the livery OF Junkerdom,
am sure TO his great dlstaste.
| After left Germany the Vossische
Zeitung made the most ridiculous
charge against ne-sucf as that I
issued American passports to British.
! The newspaper might as well have
| soiemnly charged that sent notes to
| the foreign office In sealed envelopes.
| Having charge OF British interests,
! I could not issue British passports to
/ British citizens Above TO leave Ger
| many but according to universal GUS
, tom in similar cases and the express
! consent OF the imperial foreign office,
| / gave tho returning British Ameri-
/ cans passports superstamped with the
/ words British subject" A mares
nest, truly
/ The fall of Won Bethmann- Fl ollwsg
was a triumph of kitchen intrigue and
( of junkerism. / believe that he Ia a
/ Liberal at heart, that 1t was against
his best Judgment. that the ruth
.1esaa, submarine war Was resumed,
I the pledges of the Sussex note broken
/ and Ger mary involved in war with
America. II lie had resigned rather
( than consented to the resumption Of
/ U-boat war, he would have stood out
as a great Liberal rallying point and
probably have returned to a more real
! power than he ever possessed. But
half because of Il. desire to retain Of
! flee. half because of mistaken loyalty
to the emperor. he remained In Office
at the sacrifice of his opinions and
whom he laid down that ofice, NO
title OF prince or even count waited
him as a parting gift. In his retire.
ment he will read the lines of Schiller
Ia favorite quotation in Germany
Der Mohr hat seine Schuldigheis
getan, der Mohr kann gehen." 1.-THE
Moor has done his work. the Moor can
| GO and in his old age he will ex.
claim az Shakespeare makes the great
chancellor ofHenry the Eighth exclaim
( oh. Cromwell Cromwell. Had bu,
served my God with half the zeal
served my king, He would not, ir
i mine age, have left me naked To
mine enemies" But this god Is not
the private war god OF the Prussiant
with whom they believe they have 8
gentleman's working agreement, bu
the God of Christianity, Of humanit,
and of all mankind.
IT would have been easier for Ger
many to make peace with Won Beth
mann-Hollwe- at the helm The who'll,
world knows aim and honors him fol
1 his honesty.
Heifferich remained as vice-chap
cellor and minister of the interior A
powerful. an agile intellect, a men,
am sure, opposed to militarism. Reas
enable In his views, one can sit at the
council table with him and arrive a.
compromises and results, but his in.
tense patriotism and surprising ability
make him an opponent to be feared
kuehlmann has the foreign ONCE
Far more willy than Zimmerman. h,
will continue to strive to emh-oil u,
| with Japan and Mexico. but he will
not be caught Second in comma nc
In London. he reported then England
would not enter the war Tho rumors
scattered broadcast as he took Office
to the effect that he was opposed Il
ruthless U-boat war, were but evi.
dences of more skillful hand in a
campaign to predispose the world ir
q hos forpr tharrf1rz - zm.t-,