The Cordova daily times. [volume] (Cordova, Alaska) 1914-1947, 1918-03-27
PROMISE MADE
.PRUSSIAN PEOPLE
BOLDLY BROKEN

NEW YORK, March 27-COmments
in German newspapers recently re
ceived here show that they had vigor-
ously disapproved of the system of
plural voting in Prussia, which subse-
quently was accepted by the fran
chise committee Of the lower house OF
the Prussian diet and incorporated in
the bill for submission to the Prussian
parliament The German editors had
declared, before the franchise com
mittee thus gave it's approval to the
plural voting system that this would
not fulfill the intent of the manifesto
! issued last July by Emperor William,
as King of Prussia, in which he an
nounced that a bill would be intro
duced in the diet providing for uni
versal and equal suffrage.
The plural system as approved by
the franchise committee classfies the
voters according to certain trades and
| professions, allotting a specified num-
Der of votes to each class.
The editorials advocating the fran
chise reform were replete with acri-
mony and evaporation. An attempt
by the Conservative party to induce
| the committee to favor the plural yOt-
| ing system was denounced by the
newspapers as an effort to postpone in
| definitely the entire movement for
electoral reform
The Berliner Tageblatt of January
IS, in an editorial captioned Electoral
Reform in Danger" said THE deliber-
atoms of the committee regarding the
three reform bills are taking a course
such as had not been expected by
even the most obstinate pessimists
The reactionary parties with the Ma.
tional Liberals leading, as is clearly
shown, aim to postpone indefinitely
the entire franchise reform.
But these parties will soon have to
recognize that the people viii not
stand for such attempts to Illustrate a
solemnly given promise.
The Vorwaerts of January IS said
in connection with the committee de
alterations on the franchise reform
| bill that the proceedings in that com
mittee must be considered by the
working classes as mockery.
For decades, the paper stated, "the
Prussian people have been forced @
endure the shame of the three class
electoral system. Before the war and
also since the beginning of the wal
they have Tough ltiringly for a free
franchise. And not without success
! The crown has solemnly promised the
equal, direct and secret ballot. The
government is bound by this promise
And at this stage the enemies of the
| francise resort to means which clearly
show that not the viewpoint OF right
but only that of might concerns them. "
A few days later the Vorwaerts as
serted editorially that the battle oil
the opponents of the franchise reform
had entered a phase which must
turn the evaporation prevailing ii
the widest circles of the people into
indignation" 1t was obvious, the
| editor wrote, that the Conservatives
supported directly and indirectly by
the National Liberals had begun
systematic campaign to withhold from
| the people their right and to defeat
the equal franchise promised them in
the most solemn manner "How long.
asked the Vorwaerts, "do the gentle
men believe that the Prussian people
will put up with such methodist"
A Polish deputy replying to various
remains lSSdl ulliS IIuSSld pOliC9
concerning the Poles, said the Prus
sian regime as heretofore conducted
was deeply hateful to the Poles, for il
was the type of the most repulsive
form of domination a people ever had
| to bear" The war, he said, would
give the Polish people equality OF
rights. They would then no longer
be subject to the "nauseous Prussian
regime.
The chairman, Deputy Hausmann.
requested the speaker to moderate his
form of expression, but the Polish
deputy added that the peoples would