The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-10-15
Birthday of Frederick
 William w., Prussian King Who Refused Empire

While the modern German EmTAre under the rule of the Hohenzollerns did not come into being until 1SI1, there had been previous attempts to extend the sovereignty of Prussian kings over other German states. Fred erick William w., who was born 122 years ago today, Got. Is, 1795, and who occupied the throne of Prussia from 1840 to 1861, was forced by the opposition of the governments of the other German states to refuse the i'm perial crown offered him by the Gen eral Assembly at Frankfort in 1848. He died in 1861 and was succeeded by his brother William, grandfather of the present Kaiser, who became the first Hohenzollern Emperor of Ger many.
 During the first years of the reign of Frederick William ". his subjects constantly demanded the reform of the government and the adoption of the, liberal constitution which had been promised them in 1915. The King held out against these demands as long as he could, but in 1s47, fac ing a popular revolution, many o1 these reforms were granted. Still his subjects were dissatisfied, and the lib- eral uprising of 1S4S, which threaten ed many thrones, soon spread to Prussia- Berlin was the center of the agitation. and street riots were of daily occurrence. Despite all of the repres- sive measures of the police, meetings at which the public grievances were set forth were held all over the king dom. Frederick William was at first inclined to attempt to put down by force the universal demonstration, but after further consideration he grew |salarmed at the. extent of the popular movement He then announced tha1 he was in favor of the adoption ol Fconstitutiona1 government by every German state, and urged the estab. lishment of a parliament representa- tive of all Germany.
 This royal edict was received with wild enthusiasm, and the rejoicing people of Berlin nocked to the palace to cheer the king. Their manifesto. tions were misunderstood, and the soldiers. thinking they, had come tc
 attack the palace, fired into . the crowd. Several were killed, and the joy of the populace was turned tt Hrage. In the riots hundreds of citi Tzens and soldiers were killed. Fred
 erick William regafned his popularit, | Dy announcing that ne was willing
 to take. the leadership in the move
 ment for German unification, ant
 promising extensive and radical re
 forms in government. The Nationa
 Assembly met, in Frankfort to realiz' this great ambition of German unity but the members frittered away thei
 time in futile discussion. The Assem- bly, had been charged with formulat ! ing constitution for all Germany I but the prevailing factional warfar, and the differences between the dele gates from the various states fore
 doomed the project to failure. In tn Emeanttme Berlin was in a condition o anarchy, and fights between dffferen
 factions of the burghers occurred dail
 until the King put the city under mar tial law.
 i The Frankfort National assembl eventually reached some sort of agree ment, and offered for the approval o
 the German states a patch work con Estttution. Frederick William ". @ Prussia was elected Emperor of Ger many. The constitution was irnme diately rejected by Austria, Saxon, Hanover and Bavaria, and Frederic,