The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-09-30

,ort for the benefit of Poland.

|
OF course, the trouble with this
feeling and criticism of the presidents
speech made by the chancellor is that
| the orders for the resumption Of
| ruthless submarine warfare had
been given long before the news OF
the speech came to Germany.
My commission had read: Am
bassador to Germany"
1t is characteristic Of our deep
| ignorance of all foreign affairs that
l was appointed ambassador to a
! place which does not exist. Pottti~
cally, there Is no such place as Ger
| many" There are the twenty-five
I states Prussia, Bavaria, Wurttem berg.
| SaXony. etc, which make up the
German Empire" but there is no
such political entity as Germany"
These twenty-five states have votes
in the bundesrat. a body which may
/ United States senate. But each state
has n different number Of votes.
| Prussia has seventeen. Bavaria six,
! Wurtsemberg and Saxony four each,
( BADEN and Hesse three each. Neck
lenburg Schwein and Brunswick two
each and the rest one each. Prussia
controls Brunswick
/ RFTCHSTAG NOTHING
/ BUT A DEBATING SOCIETY
The reichstag or imperial parlia-
+ ment corresponds to our house of re-
/ representatives.. The members are
elected by manhood suffrage OF those
over twenty-five. Bat in practice the
reichstag is nothing but debating
society because OF the eponderatlng
power of the bundesrat or upper
I chamber At the head Of the ministry
/ is the chancellor appointed by the
emperor. and the other ministers. such
as colonies, interior education Justice
and foreign affairs, are but underllUgs
/ Of the chancellor and appointed by
+ him. The chancellor is not respOn-
( sible TO the retchstag as Bethmann-
{ Hollwee clearly stated at the time OF
the Zabern affair, but only to the
emperor
II is true that en- innovation proper
~ belonging only 10 a parliamentary
government was introduced some
seven years ago. viz, that the minis
ters must answer questions fas in
/ Fngland) put them by the members
Of the reichstaE, But there the like
ness to a parliamentary government
begins and ends
The mem hers % the bundesvat are
named hy the princes Of the twenty
Eve states making up the German
empire. Prussia. which has seven
teen votes. may name seventeen mem
hers of the bu16esrat or one mem
Der, who. however. when he votes
casts seventeen votes The votes of
state must always be cast as a unit
In the usual procedure bills are pre-
pared and adopted In the hundesrat
ard then sent % the retChstac IL
nassed. they then return TO the
bundesrat. where the f5nal approval
must take rlae. Therefore. in prac-
tlce, the hundesrat makes the laws
with the assent Of the reichstsg The
members ~ the hundesrat have the
right TO appear and make speeches
in the reichstaR
l. The fundamental constitution Of
the German empire is not changed,
as with us by a separate hodv. hut
lis changed I'm the same way that an
ordinary law is passed except that
IL there are fourteen votes against
the proposed change in the hundeFat
the proposition IS defeated. ard
further. the constitution cannot he
changed with respect tn rights eX-
presslN granted bY 1t 70 any one Of
The twenty-five states without the as.
sent Cf~the state
In order To pass law a majority
vote ia the hundesrat and reIchstag
is sufficient II there is 4 quorum, pres
@rr. and quorum ia majority Of
the MEM bers elected I'm the refchstag
and ify the hundesrat the quorum con
sists Of such members as are present
AT n regularly called meeting. provid-
Ing the chancellor or the vice-chan-
celi0r attends
RFgCHsTsG DOFS NOT
REPRESENT GERMAN PEOPLE
The boundaries OF the districts send
ing members 70 the reichstaE have
not been changed since 1872 while
In the meantime. H great shifting Of
population as well as great increase OF
POPULATION has taken place And be
cause % this the reichStag today does
not represent the people Of Germany
in the sense ATTENDED by the trainers
Of the imperial constitution.
Much of the }e~islatio1 that affects
the everyday life of a German enla~
mates from tho rarliaments o. Prus-
STA. Bavaria and Saxony, etc, as with
as IN our state legislatures The
purely legislative power OF the minis
ters and hundesyat is, however large.
These German states have constitu-
tions of some sort, The Grand
Ds9ckies. IF MeeklenbBrg have ~ro CON
stitutiou whatever. II is understood
that the people themselves do not
want one. on financial grounds. fear
ing that many. expenses now borne
by the grand duke out OF his large
private income would he saddled on
the people.
ne 0tfeT states nave CONSTITUTIONS
varying in form. In Prussia there il
a house OF lords and house OF de-
puties. The members Of the latter are
elected by a system OF circle votes.
by which the vote OF one rich man
voting In circle number one counts
as much as thousands voting I'M circle
number three II is the recognition
bv Bathmann Hollweg that this vi
cious system must be changed which
brought down on him the wrath of the
Prussian country souires. who for
so long have ruled the German en-
p!re. filiing places civil and military
with their children and relatives.
THE GERMAN
MILITARY INFLUENCE
In considering GERMANY, the i'm
Gaense influence of the militia ~ party
must not be left out of account and
with the development of the navy,
that branch of the service also
claimed a share in guiding the policy
OF the government
The administrative, executive and
judicial officers Of Prussia are not
elected. The country is governed and
judged by men who enter this branch
of the government service exa city as
others the army and navy. These