Arizona republican., 1917-08-20
XVII.
The Kind of Government That Rules
 The German Empire

The Kind of Government That Rules
 The German Empire
 My commission had read: "Ambas- sador to Germany"
 It is, characteristic of our deep ig- norance of all foreign affairs that was appointed ambassador to a place which does not exist. Politically there is no such place as Germany" There are the twenty-five states, Prussia, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Saxony, etc. which make up the Germany empire, 5 but there is no such political entity as Germany 7-71
 These twenty-fiv states have votes in the Bundesrat, a body whichanay be said to correspond remotely-tesour United States senate. But easE state has different number of votes.~Prus- sia has seventeen, Bavaria six.-yvurt- temberg and Saxony four eaeht.Baden and Hesse three each, Mecklenburg- Schwerin and Brunswick tWoEeach and the rest one each, PrussfaI con- trols Brunswick
 Reichstag Nothing But Debating
 Society
 The reichstag or imperial parliament Corresponds to our house of representa- tives. The members are elected by manhood suffrage of those over twen- ty-five. But in practice the reichstag is nothing but a debating society be- cause of the preponderating power of the bundesrat or upper chamber At the head of the ministry is the chan cell0r. appointed by the emperor; and the other ministers, such as colonies, interior, education, justice and foreign affairs, are but underlings of the chan cellor and appointed by him. The chancellor is not responsible to the reichstag, as Bethmann HOllWeg clearly stated at the time of the Zabern affair, but only to the emperor.
 It is true that an innovation properly belonging only to a parliamentary gov efnment was introduced some seven years ego, viz, that the ministers must answer questions Gas in England) put them by the members of the reichstag. But there the likeness to a parliament ary government begins and ends
 The members of the bundesrat are named by the princes of the twenty five states making up the German en- pire. Prussia, which has seventeen votes, may name seventeen members Of the bundesrat, or one member, who, however, when he votes casts seven teen votes. The votes of a state must always be cast as unit In the us- ual procedure. bills are prepared and adopted in the bundesrat and then sent to the reichstag; if passed, they then return to the bundesrat, where the final approval must take place. There fore, in practice, the bundesrat makes the laws with the assent of the reich stag. The members of the bundesrat have the right to appear and make speeches in the reichstag.
 The fundamental constitution of the German empire is not changed, as with us, by separate body, but is changed in the same way that an ordinary law is passed; except that if there are fourteen votes against the proposed change in the bundesrat the proposi- tion is defeated, and further, the con- stitution cannot be changed with re- spect to rights expressly granted by it to any one of the twenty five states without the assent of the state.
 In order to pass a law a majority vote in the bundesrat and reichstag is sufficient if there is quorum present. and quorum is a majority of the members elected in the reichstag, and in the bundesrat the quorum consists of such members as are present at a regularly called meeting, providing the chancellor or the vice chancellor at tends.
 Reichstag Does Not Represent German
 People
 The boundaries of the districts send ing members to the reichstag have not been changed since 1872, while. in the meantime, great shifting Of popula- tion as well as great increase of popu- lation has taken place. And because of this the reichstag today does not represent the people of Germany in the sense intended by the framers of the imperial constitution
 Much of the legislation that affects the everyday life of a German em- anates from the parliaments of Prus- sia, Bavaria and Saxony, etc, as with us in cur state legislatures. The purely legislative power of the ministers and bundesrat is. however, large These duchies of Mecklenburg have no con- that the people themselves do not want one, on financial grounds fearing that many expenses now borne by the grand duke out of his large private In-