Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-01-09
POLITICAL CHAOS
| ENGULFS BERLIN
| AT WARS CRISIS
Big Gap Apparently Yawns
Between Militarists and
AntiannexatiOnists.
INDICATE KAISER FACES
CHOICE OF TWO COURSES
|Confronts Authorizing Complete
Breakdown or Take Up
Party Challenge.
LIBERALS JOIN SOCIALISTS
News, Doctored by Ccnsors. Reveals
Empire in Throcs OF GRAY
est Moment.
JOIN SOCIALISTS
News, Doctored by Ccnsors. Reveals
Empire in Throcs OF GRAY
est Moment.

AMSTERDAM January s.-roli,irsl !
haos enGulf9 Berlin.
n y sap apparently yawns hctreen the
niitarists and tho antianncxationists,
Hso wide and 80 deep tina: It seeems
aunbridgeablc. Late tonight there were
tho strongest Indications that tho
KAISER faces the incscapablc choice be-
Htwcen two courses:
!. To authorize complete back
Hdown By the central powers on the
ERussian demand or cvacuatc all occu-
lpied territories, and thus rcnouncc
Ncvcry ves,,sc OF the vciicd annexation
Hclaims. That would mean. IT is re-
Eported. tho immediate designations Of
Hiiindcnhurc and Ludcndorn. resulting
II IN incalculsblc depression among the
Tcu,on armies and a possible PAN
bGcrman uprising.
:. To take up the challenge Of the
HSocinlists and Liberals for finish
Eht on tho annexation issue b. stand
ne pat on tho Brcst Litovsk peace
ktcryns. That would mean a breakup
Eof the Hctehst"e majority bloc. the
trcpnion o: the whole Socialist party
and a possible rising OF tho masses TO
I force peace.
Ia both cases tho Kaiscr's crown
would hc Eravciy impcrilcd.
Thcr" arc those, 10 bc sure. who,
\ i.'o"'in- thc stun Of which the IIohcn-
""ll'rn ar'Hor is made, and tho ,hrusts
mat have glanced of on i, IN by6onc
iays, smiled shepticaily Al the suEscs-
tipn that tho imperial throne s one
OF The stakes. pnrhaps the principal
siahf, in the political battle now rag
/ tnS IN The empires capital.
Hut their skcptlcism wax bc,lcd by
dispatches mon dispatches from Ser
4 in telling OF AN uufinc.inE dc.crni
nation on the part Of tho Socialists re.
"nf"rrch by largo sections o, Tho
Liberals. to tight ,h:s battle through
- a finish Vague a. they were. after
careful doctcrtnE by the German con.
sor, these adviccs showed conv!ncincl,.
mat tho empire is in the th-ocs Of the
=rarcst crisis in its history
Thus Gcrmany's peace offensive.
which vas 10 have pierced the home
fronts o. her adrcrsaries, has re-
bounded after strengthening them.
The rrcoil. sped by Lloyd George. has
tracked wide open tho empires own
Internal lines.
Now comes the cable from America
with the fun text OF Prcsidcn. Wilson's
L War-aimS speech. The effect this mo-
mentous ut,eTancc. with its dircc. cha,
ieAGc 10 tho Ecichs,ag majority 10 as
scrt itself, will have upon the situate,
~ Berlin and at Brest I.ilovsk hc-
\ vond estimate
PRESIDENT PLACES WEAPON
4 ~ HANDS OF THE FACTIONS
certain II IS. according 10 the CON
scnsus Of observers here. ,ha, rho
american executive has placed in tbe
hands both OF the German antlanney.
iionists and OF the Russians a form;d-
aoin weapon in their supreme combat
| win miiitarism and autocracy.
II nc outstanding fsHt about the si,ua :
\ ton at Berlin is that the majority So
cialist wing. under Philip Scheidemann
4 ana the minority or radical wing ,ed
| ny ltaase, who took Liehknecht's Mace
when the latter was jailed, are for m.
! first time since their rupture. standin ..
| hrmiE together With the majority So
cialists dropping out OF the Reicbstar O.
majority bloc. which has solcmnly dis
| aHoWcd anneXationist claims, that bloc
taiis TO pieces and a realsnment O,
parties becomes inevitable.
TO political observers the question
OF questions tonight. was, where does
lHe ScHlTdllSl party Stand!'
il was this party. under DR. Matthias
Erzberger. which called the fall of both
Hethman n-Hollweg and Michaelis and
which was the nucleus around which
the teichstag majority bloc was
formed. 1t numbers the present Chan
ceiior. Count Won Hertllng. among its
strongest leaders.
Meanwhile. the antianneXationists s
have launched a strong movement Ia
force Or. Won kuehlmann out OF Office.
Even il he should back down on the
annexation issue. they are determined
TO ouSt him. because they feel that bv
"c;,moufaging" that issue he has
strengthened the contention of Ger.
aany's enemies that her present lead
crs cannot he trusted
INTEREST CENTERS NOW
on RUSSIAN CONFERENCE
NSidc from the political storm in
i'crlin, the Rrcst I.itovsk conference
once more stands In the forefront OF
International interest Tonight. Trot-
zky is reported to he heading the Rms
sian delegation that has finally gone
back to resume the peace parlcys with
tho central powers. In some Quarters
the reconsideration by the Bols nevjki i
Of their refusal was seen as bearing
out the theory that the whole break
was a trap designed to lure the allies
TO Stockholm for general peace dis
cussion.
II the Germans eventually. yield on
the annexation issue. il is believed
they VIII do so upon the excuse that
their recently proclaimed terms were
- If1nn1I1no-I III -;,S,---------