The Watertown news. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1917-1919, 1917-07-06
GERMAN LEADERS
DEMAND BALLOT
~
Reichstag Meets Amid Revolt
Talk; Language Recalls the
Days of 1848.
ASkSEQUAL SECRET SUFFRAGE
Manifesto Particularly Significant Be-
cause the Signers include Such Men
as DeIbrueck, Won Harnack,.
Meinecke and Troeltsch.

Berlin, July 6.-roincident with the
reconyening Of the reichstag, score of
the so-called German intellectuals unit
ed In formal demand on the govern
ment for immediate parliamentary and
electoral reforms, including equal, d.
rect and secret suffrage.
What made the manifesto of particu-
lar significance In the view of reform
ers here was that among the signers
were such men as Delbrueck, Van Har-
mack, Meinecke, Emil Fischer,
Troeltsch and others of the purely 'fn-
tellectuaI" type who have heretofore
opposed the characterization plans an
nounced by the radicals.
Must Give Up Indennities.
Representatives of various parties
expressed divergent views on the peace
question, which also was discussed by
the committee.
Herr Ebert said the government
could have peace this summer If 1t
would only offer peace without annex
ations and indemnities to all oppo-
nents and abandon separate overtures
to Russia.
Herr ErZberger said the formula of
the Russian council of deputies was
impossible and impractical He
warned the government representa-
tives against awakening false optimism
by their statements.
Herr Won Payer said that further
peace proffers were harmful and tend
to defeat the German object. The only
thing to do, he said, was to hold out,
meantime bolstering public sentiment
by Immediately beginning the work of
democratizing the country.
Threats of Revolution Heard.
Such sessions of the ''little reichs-
tag" and the debate in the Saxon diet
threatening revolution unless reform
Is Immediately undertaken are rather
unpleasant preliminaries to the reichs-
tag meeting,
A measure giving additional repre-
sentation to a number of overgrown
urban industrial reichstag districts
probably will be submitted to the
reichstag.
Party leaders, during a conference
with Chancellor Won Bethmann-Holl-
veg, obtained from the government
an agreement that this so-called minor
reform program would be Immediately
taken up.
A committee began preparing re-
port thereon for immediate presenta-
ton to the reichstag. Other reforms
still slu'lber.
"Devotion to Crown" Derided.
Saxon soldiers are not fighting out
of loyalty to the king, but for love Of
the fatherland
Saxony is suffering sadly from the
mistakes of an incompetent bureau
such state that all parties in the
Saxon parliament are forced seriously
to warn the government of the danger
of this situation.
Such were the disagreeable declara-
tons which the government was forced
to hear from all parties except the
conservatives In a debate in the Saxon
diet yesterday, report of which has
reached here.
The occasion for the debate was
socialist resolution demanding that the
government make an effort to secure
liberal REORGANIZATION of the empire
"Reforms From Mob"
After Count Vitzhun, premier of
SaXony. had declared that the Saxon
government would fight any attempt
to secure any franchise reform in in
dividual states through the reichstag.
the socialist vice president of the
house, himself an eX-sOldier, f1atly de-
MED that loyalty to the king played
any role with the soldiers.
After this debate, almost unparal-
Ieled In German legislature since the
days Of 184S, the diet adopted the So
cialist resolution, the conservatives
alone dissenting.