New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-23
Why We Are at War
Government Of Kings Against the
Government of the People
To III. Editor Of The Tribune.

Government or tnc cOplc
To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: If the participation OF our country IN
the war has not been accompanied BY unp,r.
alleled ardor, if in any quarter letharsy and
apathy have been present, 1t IS because our
people have not fully apprehended the nstut.
of the war and the effect the ultimate dec.
sion is destined 20 exercise on posterity.
What is the nature Of the war? II is IL.
inevitable clash Of two Numerically opposed
forms of government. II is the contest Of
individualism against centralism.
The trainers OF our Constitution selected
individualism as our form Of government,
They drew the concrete idea from the poit.
zeal philosophy of Montesquieu, who in turn
gathered it from the English government
Ours became a government Of delegated
powers.
In Germany centralism is the theory Of
government. The German Empire, foundedin
1871 by the rulers and not the people, con.
sists of twenty-five states and one imperial
territory. The law-making powers OF Ii. EN-.
pire reside in two bodies, the Bundesrsth, OF
council of princes, and the Reichstsg Ts,
Bundesrath is by far the more important the
Reichstag being practically impotent Til.
Bundesrath consists Of sixty-one members,
appointed by the rulers Of the twenty-five
states composing the German Empire. With
the consent of this body the. Emperor can
declare war. Each ruler may remove his sp-
pointees and appoint others whenever he 50
desires. The rulers instruct their delegates
how TO vote. The delegation from each state
votes as unit according to its rulers in
structions.
The All-Powerful Bundesrath
The Bundesrath is very powerful. Every
law passed by the Reichstag is submitted to
it to be ratified or rejected. It is responsible
TO no one but the princes of the states sp-
pointing and controlling its members. It's
proceedings are secret, and it exercises tee
power OF absolute veto over any law passed
by the Reichstag
The King of Prussia appoints seventeen
members, and as German Emperor he instruct'
the three votes allotted since 1911 70 Alssa
Lorraine, the imperial territory. Bavaria
has six members and Saxony and Wdrten
berg have four apiece. Four OF the other
states have either three or two members, ard
the remaining seventeen have one member
each. Nearly all legislation originates in the
BundeSrath. and. should the Rechstag fail 70
comply with its desires the Bundesrsth may
at any time dissolve the Reichstag. No cor
stitutional amendment can pass the Bunds:'
rsth il fourteen votes are cast against Il
Thus the King Of Prussia must consent be-
fore the constitution of Germany can be
amended.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that
Germany is in its final analysts government
OF kings and not government Of the people
that it is controlled by what President Wils'n
termed IAN irresponsible autocracy."
The government of the State OF Pru'si
which contains nearly two-thirds Of the pop,
uation and territory of Germany, is typlet'
OF that in the other states composing 'he
German Empire. The legislative body IS 'ne
Landtag, constituted OF House Of Lords ana
a House Of Commons. Under the constitu'isss
the King determines the composition OF 'n'
House Of Lords. This house has an sosolu"
veto Of all legislation passed by the lower
house, and the King has an absolute veto o'e'
both.
The lower house is elected by the peope'
who are grouped into three classes, ACCORDING
10 the amount OF taxes paid. Those who pE
the first third of the taxes compose the h''.
class; those who pay the second third com
pose the second class, and the remainder 'ne
third class. II sometimes happens that oh'
man alone makes up the first class. Inv,
one man may have the voting capacity O.
thousands of poor men in the third class
The German people are evidently conten'
with their government. So thoroughly n"
they been schooled in il, so completely o.
It fashioned the teaching in colleges and uhF
versities, so manifestly is it the qulntesseh''
OF the theory Of their education, so seens,
toned have they become 10 having their lives
moulded by il, that they are part OF It sho
1t naturally seems part of them. The sEes,'
Jesuit, Loyola, said: Give me CHILD uh"'
he is fourteen and you can take him ai'si
ward"
Against this form Of government we hno
ourselves arrayed. Should IL triumph, &c
mocracy will have failed, the people will hsN'
been found too inefficient TO govern them
selves and throughout the world buresuerae!
will reign.
Here on the brink of our entrance into MS
tory's greatest war We young men pledge "
one another for its successful termination IN
the words OF our immortal forefathers, "our
lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor"
JOHN t. HUGHES
Norwich. Conn, Sept. IL, 1917. %