The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1917-12-27

i'm u I'D a IS-gZ ~ s ]. i 80 ~ q
like our own, controls the foreign poll.
cy OF the federation and Is commando.
esin.chief, Of the army and navy.
rhere I'D an upper house oraSenate
called the Bundesrath, sand d lower
House ~ REPRESENTATIVE, the Reich.
STAG. There ~ also y -constit0tfon de-
fining the rights and privileges Of the
people and their rulers. All this
sounds familiar to Americans, ard
might easily deceive them, as 1t has
deceived many Of the German people.
into supposing that Germany enjoys
self.government. But let us look more
closely. We find that the upper house
does not represent. the people, but
consists, with three exceptions) Of
men personally appointed by twenty
two hereditary princes. Even the low.
,Ser house 10: not truly Representatives.
Tor the so.called universal suffrage ial
Z farce, The CONSERVATIVE country
districts, which are the strongholds pl|
sSreacttonary ideas, may have In pro-
portion to their population ten times
! 90 much representation % the great
cities whore education and liberalism
flourish. Less than two hundred thous.
and voters IN certain country districts
have sent to the RsichstAg as many
representatives O. two million voter
IN some Of tho oitisk 70 Prussia. ths
dominant German state, voting is bas-
/ cd on a system which gives to the
large taxpayers nearly thirty times as
much representation rs to the small
taxpayers. Thus 1t is stated that in
1907 the large taxpayers, represent
ing 80 Of the voters, elected one:
third Of the electors, Or as many AZ
small taxpayers representing S76 Of
the voters. <& asy..,, ,.S..a :-,
. Even this does not tell the whole
story Of aut0cratic Prussian rule. The
Reichstag, or lower house has no con
troll over the Kaiser's salary or civil
list, moreover the Imperial Ministers |
who determine national and interna.
tional policy. and almost none over
legislation. Practically all legislation
initiates with the upper house of mon.
archical appointees, and It may, with
the Kaiser's consent, dissolve the low
or house. The Kaiser has the power
to declare defensive war, and since
even this war of conquest is to him
a defensive war, he may in practice
declare war at will. He can make
treaties, appoint 7ori dismiss the cham
cellor and imperial ministers, and 7
with the consent Of the upper house,
dissolve the Reichstag. He Is assign
ed enough votes in the upper house to
enable him to pass any legislation |
which he desiress and ito block any |
measure of which he disapproves. In
word, the Philosophical upper
house controls the misrepresentation
lower house, and the Kaiser in turn
both. Despite the outward
form of constitutional government, |
Germany possesses, tho strongest auto,
cratic despotism In the world today.
The Prussian government of Ger
many is an absolute despotism. The !
ia SO skillfully devised
as utterly to prevent any reform the
Hohenzollern ruler does not approve,
no matter how insistent the popular
demand may be- The ,Nberal7minded
masses have wholly inadequate re-
presentation, in the Reichstag. But |
should reform pass there, the mon
archical appointees Of the upper
house, ever jealous of their preroga-
tives, stand ready, to stifie them. And
could we conceive that real reforms
should win the support Of majority
of these princely delegates, we must |
remember that fourteen votes are
enough to defeat any amendment IN
this, body, and that the Kaiser controls |
seventeen votes! The sdespotic con.
troll is final and absolute. Il -
The Prussian government of Ger
many is an irresponsible despotism. |
The chief minister of the empire is
the Imperial Chancellor, who is re-
sponsible to the Kaiser alone. The
Kaiser, in turn, owns responsibility
only to God. William H. faithful to
the centuries.old z tradition of his
Hohenzollern ancestors, i seriously
claims that he rules by the grace of
God, and the claim is Loyalty support.
ed by the conservative parties in the
German state. ,, The hateful doctrine
of the divine, right of kings ts fln77
damental article, of the Hohenzollern
creed, although frequently disguised.
for =, the German: peoples under the
more subtle, therefore more danger
GUS, doctrine. Of the divine right Of
the State. Since the State is, in the
last analysis. the Kaiser, the differ
ence is one OF words We Hohenzol:
lern," cries the present Kaiser, take
our crown from God alone, and to
God alone are we responsible in tho