Denver labor bulletin., 1917-12-15
MORE ABOUT GERMAN CONSTITUTION

Editor Denver Labor Bulletin:
1t is perhaps not entirely consistent
with the highest patriotism to con-
tinue the correspondence which was
inspired by Lucifer H. Satan. What
| shall say will not be in defense of the
Germans but for the purpose of in
formation and a better understanding
of the people and government with
which we are in very serious contro-
versy.
To know the enemy is one of the
most important means toward success
in the struggle in which we are en-
gagged. Understanding his resources
has been one of the chief causes for
the blunders which has brought our
allies to the verge of defeat. | fear
that the same brushing aside of vital
facts may still lead to other and great
er blunders.
The attempt to belittle German
union and freedom is one of these dan
| gers. The administration is constant
| ly iterating and reiterating that the
German people and the German gov
ernment must be taken as constituting
two separate elements-that the Ger
man people are against their govern
ment. You might just as well say that
| they are against their country as TO
speculate that the people are unloyal
to their government. Everybody that
knows anything about the German
people knows that the love for the
fatherland is particularly highly de-
veloped quality of the German race.
1t may be that there are some benefits
which we prize very much which the
German people have not, but there
are plenty of reforms for which the
A ina al II.
which the Germans have. The tardy
government control of our railroads
and other public utilities, old age pen
sions, unemployment pensions, mother
hood pensions, with their aids and
subsidies for industrial and CONNER
cial expansions about which our
statesmen are talking so much but
doing little is reality-is in fact de-
veloped to wonderful degree of per-
fection in Germany.
In a series of articles written BY
Professor Giddings of Columbia uni
versity after returning from trip for
the especial purpose of investigating
German institutions his statements
concerning German organization and
efficiency bordered almost on the mi
raculous.
When Mr.. Bice accuses me of say
ing that the German people are more
free than we are he takes mistaken
sense of my words. / said that the
kaiser had no vetoing power and that
in this respect Germany was more
democratic than America. 1t might be
well in order to give a reason why the
German people resent the attitude of
our government to make them demo-
cratic to add something more definite
about the German constitution. When
| saw that it is nv opinion that the
German constitution is slightly
markably sustained by the following
resume from an encyclopedia:
"The Constitution of the empire
bears date April 16, 1871. By it's
terms, all the states of Germany form
an eternal union for the protection of
the realm and the care of the welfare
of the German people, The supreme
direction of the military and political
affairs of the empire is vested in the
king of Prussia, who in this capacity,
bears the title of Deutcher Kaiser.
According to Art. ii of the constitu-
I ton, the emperor represents the en-
pire internationally and can declare
war. if defensive, and make peace, as
well as enter into treaties with other
nations, and appoint and receive am
bassadors. But when treaties relate
to matters regulated by imperial legis>
lation, and when war is not merely
defensive, the kaiser must have the
consent of the Bundesrath, or Federal
| Council, in which body, together with
| are vested the legislative functions of
| the empire. The emperor has no veto
power on laws passed by these bodies"