The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-07-17

(COntinueQ from fdke Ouey
party decided to urge such efforts, re-
gardless of what the Natfonai-Lip-
erals might do.
Junkers Losing Out.
The Pan-Germans are furious. With
the swift waning of the junker power
and the consequent topping of old
Prussia, they see the empires affairs
slipping from autocracy's reins into
the hands of the Ignorant masses
and the spectacle of the recent dis
rganization repeated. But to this the
Centrists have a firm answer. In
every utterance, and particularly in
their peace resolution, they empha-
size that playing into the enemies
hands is furthest from their minds,
aim, and that the nation will fight to
the finish if the entente insists on its
aims of conquest and spoliation.
Here lies the crux of the situation:
Taking up President Wilson's as
sertion that Americas war is against
a system, not against the German
people, ErZberger and his followers
mean to uproot the system, for a solid
bloc of representatives of the people
and declare with Russia: We are
ready for peace without victory -
That and that alone, in their opinion,
can force the western entente powers
to revise their war aims to make them
harmonic with the peace without
annexations and indemnities' prifl-
ciple.
The wave of enlightenment as to
the sincerity of Americas chief exec
utive and the people he represents is
sweeping on irresistibly in the empire.
For a week, while Bethmann-u 'lIweg
was tottering, nothing was said in the
press of the United States. Now that
he is out and the atmosphere is
cleared, the cat is peeking out of the
bag. furore of press attacks is sud-
denly unloosened~ upon the chancellor
and it revolves not around peace for
mulas or reforms, hut around his
"bungling policy toward the United
States" George Bernhard in the
Vossische Zeitung went so far as to
charge>the ex-chancellor with unpar-
donable insincerity and deception in
his dealings with America. He asserts
the break could have been avoided
had the U-beat question been handled
properly.
Zimmerman n Target.
Another black target for journalis-
tic invective is DIR. Alfred thinner
mann, author of the Kaiser Mikado-
Carranza plot letter He now is gem
orally acknowledged to have been the
arch-blunderer of Wiihelmstrasse.
In this connection the one man in
Germany who really knows the United
States and its president is being
pushed more and more to the fore
front-Count Won Bernstorff.
lingo organs which formerly ac-
cused him of ultra-pacifism while he
was in Washington, are beginning to
see the light. They point out that
after all he knew the situation best
and should have been left unhamp-
cred in handling it.
A refreshing sidelight on the Ger
man change of front toward America
is a paragraph in Reventlow's Deut-
sche Tages Zeitung, a paper which
hitherto exhausted its daily fount of
vitriol in attacks on the peace advo-
Gates. This journal frankly accused
Hollweg today of obstructing the path
of peace.
In the Tageblatt was a statement
proving the accuracy of the informa-
ton cabled by a news service regard
ing the intentions of the (reichstag
bloc. The Berlin organ warned the
new chancellor that his first act must
be to guarantee to parliament full
power to control future events and as.
sumo responsibility for them. The
Joker in the constitution which
'omits fixing the chancellor's response
bility is thus squarely in the limelight
OF the political evolution.