Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-07-14
HUNGER IS BASIC CAUSE
OF UPHEAVAL IN GERMANY
Only With Coming OF Peace Can
They Get Proper Food.
SUMMARY OF CONDITIONS
State Department Issues Statement
Through Creel Committee Bearing
on Developments in Kaiser's En-
pire-Warned Not to Expect Much.

| the Creel committee, summary OF it's
news from Germany.
/ Hunger among the poorer classes
and the knowledge that only with the
coming OF peace can they get proper
nourishmcnt is assigned as the basic
causes of the present political up
! heaval.
This. more than the possibility Of
any immediate peace or reforms in Ger
many. seems to the State Department
the most significant feature of the de-
vclopments.
The department warns that too much
must not be expected in the way OF
peace.
In the last analysis. says tho state
ment. peace depends upon one man
the Kaiser
The statement says:
The immediate aims of the German
Liberals may be defined briefly by
quoting from Theodor Wolff's editorial
in the Bcrliner Tageblatt OF July .:
| 1T would be wrong and unwise.
! even II possible. to force other peoples
under our yoke. and to destroy their
independence. However. there is no
such possibility. The large majority of
| the Reichstag sees this and will de-
mand OF their government clear
statement to the effect that Germany
rcnounces all lamentations and is con-
Quoting a purely defensive war. More
over. that she Is ready to negotiate
peace on all frontiers.
Must 1t. however. be repeated that
the most explicit establishing of our
conciiiatory attitude Is not sufficient to
hasten peace? If peace within any
rcasona BILE time Is desired, one must
see to II that the German people are
not considered by all other cultured
lands as people with neither in
! nuence nor independence, and that the
German government is not looked upon
as an uncontrolled power planning and
doing in secret what 1t Desires
CRISIS LIKELY TO LEAD
TO INTERNAL REFORM
| The State Departments bulletin con-
| tinueS
There is not the slightest reason
| to believe that IL will result in any
thing remotely approaching revolution.
or in any dminution of Germany's mill
itary power. The crisis probably Will
lead TO internal reforms which. from
the point of view OF Germany. will
seem colossal. but will be in truth only
the first step towards making the Ger
man people masters OF their own des
tiny.
THE most that can be expected to
result from the crisis in the near flu
sian three-class voting system and the
establishment Of equal manhood SUI
frase: second. a demand by the Reich
| Stag that the government should de-
clare its adherence to the so-called
war program OF August 4. 1914 which
stated that Germany was not driven
to war by the desire of conquest but
that the German people took up arms
only in defense Of freedom. independ-
ence and to guard their territorial pos
sessions.
Should elections to the Prussian
Diet be based on equal manhood suf-
fraEc. control Of the Diet would rass
from the Junker party TO the Socialists
Radicals and Clericals. and the internal
| affairs of Prussia would cease to be
controlled by the land holding aristo-
Gratis of East Prussia. But splendid
rs this reform would be, II would
not touch the two vital features in
which Germanys constitution must be
changed before the German people will
control their government Germany
Will not be on the road to political
| freedom until the Chancellor has been
given control over the military author
tiles.
AT present not only has the Reich
stag no control whatever over the
Chancellor. who is responsible TO the
Emperor alone, but the Chancellor Isl
utterly without authority over the
military leaders AS a result in the
| words of Germany's foremost states
men. the military authorities do as
they please and leave the civil authori-
ties to come along behind and apollo
| gize. Until the people of Germany
control their Chancellor and. through
him. control their field marshals. no
more reform of electoral laws will
make them masters of their fate.
NOT so IMPORTANT
AS APPEARS ON FACE
Similarly the passage by the Reich
| stag of resolution demanding that
the government declare it's adherence
to the war program of August g. 1914
would not be so important a step to-
wards peace as 1t would appear to be
on it's face. First. it must be noted
that. owing to the reluctance of the
| National Liberals and many members
of the Roman Catholic Centrum party
to subscribe to peace without extern
| Sive anneXationS, it is doubtful
whether or not majority in the
Reichstag can be obtained for the reso-
luton. Second, because Of it's consti-
tutional Importance, the Reichstag can
not force the government to act on
any such resolution 1t may pass. Third.
even though the government should
declare it's adhesion to the war pro-
gram of August 4, 1914. this would not
be an explicit offer Of peace without
| annexations or indemnities. For It
would leave the way open for annexa-
tions under the alias of reimbursement
of strategic frontiers and for indemni-
ties under the pseudonym Of repara-
ton"
REALIZE THAT SUBMARINE
CAMPAIGN IS FAILURE
Hunger and the realization that the
submarine campaign against England
is failure are the fundamental causes
of the crisis, the State Department be-
| lieves. 1t says that an increasing num-