Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-10-18
MEETING THE PRESIDENTS
CONDITIONS
The German Constitutional Changes on
Their Surface, Put an End TO Au'oc.
racy in the Empire

- changes in the German Constitutlon
| must be interpreted in the light of the
conditions precedent to peace negotia-
tions laid down in the Presidents last
note to the German Government. Inc
! President then said:
1t is necessary. in order that there may
| he no possibility of MISUNDERSTANDING
| that the President should very soleWhy
| call the attention of the Government OF
| Germany to the language and pam intent
| OF one of the terms of peace whlch tne
| German Government has now accepted
| II is contained in the address OF the fresl-
| dent delivered at Mount Vernon on the
Fourth of July last II is as follows
"The destruction of every arbitrary
power anywhere that can separately
secretly and of its single choice disturb
the peace of the world or. II 1t cannot be
presently destroyed, at least its reduction
to virtual impotency'
The power which has hitherto controlled
the German nation is of the sort here
described II Is within the choice OF the
German nation to alter IL. The Presidents
words just quoted naturally constitute
condition precedent to peace, II peace Is
to come by the action Of the German peo-
pie themselves. The President feels bound
to say that the whole process Of peace
Will, in his Judgment, depend upon the
dehniteness and the satisfactory charac-
ter of the guarantees which can be given
in this fundamental matter. II is indts-
pensable that the Governments associated
against Germany should know beyond
peradventure with whom they are dealing
Now what has Germany done to meet
this demand?
The Constitution of the German empire
provides that "the Emperor shall repre-
sent the empire among nations, declare
war and conclude peace in the name of
the same, enter into alliances and other
conventions with foreign countries,
accredit ambassadors and receive them"
1t also provides that "for a declaration
of war in the name of the empire the
consent of the Federal Council shall be
required except in case of an attack
upon the territory of the confederation
or its coasts" AS to treaties, it declares
that 'the consent of the Federal Council
shall be required for their ratification,
and the approval of the Diet shall be
necessary to render them valid"
The Constitution may be amended by
vote of the Federal Council and the
Diet, with the restriction that an adverse
vote of Ii of the 81 members Of the
Federal Council shall defeat any amend
ment.
1t is now reported from Copenhagen
that the Federal Council has approved
an amendment to the provisions quoted
above so as to require the consent Of the
Diet, or Reichstag, as well as of the Fed
eral Council, or Bundcsrath, to dec'u-
ration Of 1Car and SO as also to require
the consent of the Diet as lCeU as of the
Federal Council to treaties of pecce and
other treaties 1cith foreign States.
| Do these changes involve "the destruc-
| ton of every arbitrary power that can
separately, secretly and of its single
choice disturb the peace of the world'?
On their surface they apparently do
involve just such destruction, for they
put the power of declaring war and
making peace in the hands of the Reichs-
tag, the popular legislative body of
control of the Kaiser and the body of
ambassadors of the German States known
as the Federal Council. They confer on
| the German Parliament the same kind of
war-declaring power that is exercised by
the American Congress.
If these changes have been made in
good faith with determination that
they are to be permanent, then autocracy
in Germany has received its deathblow
and the arbitrary power to disturb the
peace of the world has been destroyed.
But, before there can be any further
talk of peace, evidence must be forth
coming that the powers which control
the destinies of Germany have seen a
great light and are ready to do works
meet for repentance. 1t will take more
than newspaper report from Copen,
many has actually made these conces
sions to democracy. Until satisfactory
evidence is offered it will be the part OF
wisdom to suspend judgment on the
whole matter.
Yet it must be admitted that if Ger
many is on the verge of a military col
lapse, TO be followed by such an over
whelming defeat in the field as she can
not recover from in many generations, il
is natural to expect that a desperate
attempt will be made to save as mucl
as possible from the impending ruin b!
making such changes in the Fundamental
law of the empire as will meet the con
ditions laid down by President Wilson
as precedent to the proposition of al
armistice.
The nations fighting Germany, how
ever, are likely to insist on guarantee
stronger than the word of any German
$ however high his position, that tn
a changes are made in good faith befor
Y they will consent to stnn fighting eua