Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-07-06
To OBTAIN
REFORMS IF KAISER
REFUSES, IS BELIEF
Saxon Diet Is Scene of Bitter
Fight With Socialists in
Open DenunCiation Of Exist
ing Conditions

| COPENHAGEN, July Saxon sol
diers are not lighting out of loyalty to
the king, but for love of the fatherland
and monarchical principle. Saxony is
suffering sadly from the mistakes OF an
/ incompetent bureaucracy, and conditions
have reached such state that all par
ties in the Saxon parliament are forceo
seriously to war; the government or the
danger of this situation. Such were the
disagreeable declarations which the gov
eminent was forced to hear from all
parties except the conservatives in a
debate in the Saxon diet yesterday,
lreport of which has reached here.
! The discussion was on necessary IN
IternaI reform The occasion for the de-
! bate was a Socialist resolution -.emand-
/ ing that the government make an effort
to secure liberal reorganization of the
empire After Count Vitzthun, premier
of Saxony, had declared on the contrary
I that the Saxon government would fight
any attempt to secure any franchise re-
form in individual states through the
reichstag, the Socialist vice president of
! the house, himself an ex-soldier, fatty
denied that loyalty to the king played
any role with the soldiers.
/ He warned Count Vitzthun against
persisting in his reactionary attitude,
saving that reform would come, if not
| from the CTOWHS LICu AIOill Tic AAOO
Count VitZthun attempted to meet the
storm with the old formula, devotion to
the crown, but even the national LIB
erals backed the Socialist with identical
declarations regarding the sentiment
among the people.
! One National declared as a good
royaIist, that he could only hope and
pray that warnings sent to the govern
ment from all parties might reach the
Is,
vast majority of Saxons were inspired
by an utter lack of confidence in the
government, ana unless the government
was able to rise to the emergency
with &C ton demanded he feared for the
consequences. After this debate, almost
unparalleled in a German legislature
since the days of 1S4S, the diet adopted
the Socialist resolution, the Conserva-
tives alone dissenting.
| BRITISH ACTIVITY EXPECTED. 70.
Lieutenant General Won Stein, Prus-
sian minister of war and state, told a
committee of the German reicnstag yes
| terday, according to dispatchs reaching
here, that further British offensive was
expected north of Arras, where General
Haig apparently is preparing actions on
a large scale. The minister said the
abandonment of the Saloniki campaign
was improbable. but he regarded the
the Tyrol as shattered. His views on
the Austrian offensive are unreported, If
| expressed.
The ministerial declarations regarding
the work of the submarine campaign
about which the official Wolff News Bu-
reau cable ample reports to the neutral
press, were not the only matters before
! yesterdays meeting of the reichstag
committee. The Socialist organ, Vor-
] ri in nd IF FL,
proceedings in the little reichstag."
i says Herr Ebert, the Socialist, devoted
considerable attention to the unsatisfac-
| tory conditions in the nutrition of the
people, and the prospect of an made
quate supply of fuel for the fourth war
winter which the Germans probably Will
be called on to face.
Herr Erzberger, the clerical leader
and Herr Won Payer, radical, supported
General Herr Ebert's view of conditions
and criticised the governments inef-
ficient measures for dealing with the
problem.
HOLD DIVERGENT VIEWS
Representatives of various parties ex-
pressed divergent views on the peace
| question. which was also discussed by
the committee. Herr Ebert said the
| government could have peace this sum-
mer if ii would only offer peace without
annexat ions and indemnities to all OPP
ponents and abandon separate overtures
| to Russia.
Herr Erzberger said the formula of
| the Russian council of deputies was i'm
possible and impractical He warned
the government representatives 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.
Such sessions Of the little reichstag"
and the debate in the Saxon diet threat
ening revolution Unless reform is inn
mediately undertaken are rather I'M
pleasant prefiminaries to the reichstag
meeting tomorrow morning.
A measure giving additional repre-
sentat ton to a number of overgrown ur-
ban industrial reichstag districts prob
! ably will be submitted to the reichstaz.
Party leaders during a conference on
| Monday with Chancellor Won Bethmann
Hollweg obtained from the government
! an agreement that this so-called minor
| reform program would be Immediately
taken UP. A committee yesterday be-
gan preparing a report thereon for i'm
mediate presentation to the reichstag.
. nthor SFf eli,