New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-03-13
PLURAL SUFFRAGE
SYSTEM CONDEMNED
German Editors FrOWn on Bill
Put Through PruSSian Diet

New York, March 13.-Comments
in German newspapers recently re-
ceived here, SHOW that they had Wig
oroualy d;&a pprovcd of the system Of
plural voting in Prussia, which subse-
qucnty WAS accepted by the franchise
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
mittec thus gave its approval Of the
plural voting system, that this would
not fulfll the intent Of the manifesto
issued last July by Emperor William,
as King OF Prussia, in which he an
nounCcd 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, Classifies the
voters according to certain trades and
professions, allowing a specified num-
Der Of votes to each class.
The editorials advocating the fran
chisc reform were replcte with acri-
nony and evaporation. An attempt
10y the Conservative party to induce
the committee to favor the plural
newspapers as an effort to postpone
indefinitely the entire movement for
electoral reform
The Berliner Tageblatt of January
Is, in an editorial captioned "Elec-
toral Reform in Danger" said: The
deliberations of the committee re-
sarding the three reform bills are
taking a course such IS had not been
6Tnp0tPH Nv III tn
pessimists. The reactionary parties
with the National Liberals leading, as
is clearly shown, aims to postpone
indefinitely the entire franchise re-
form.
But these parties will soon have to
recognize that the people will not
stand for such attempts to Illustrate
a solemnly given PROMISE"
The VorwaertS of January -, said
in connection with the committee de-
alterations on the franchise reform
bill, that the proceedings in that
committee must be considered by tho
working classes as mockery.
For DECADES" the paper stated.
the Prussian people have been forced
to endure the shame Of the three
class electoral system. Before the
war and also since the beginning Of
the war they have fought untiringlE
for a free franchise. And not with
out success. The crown has solemn
~ promised the equal, direct and Sc
cret ballot. The government is bound
by this promise. And at this stage
the enemies of the franchise 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 cditorialIy that the battle of
the opponents of tho franchise re-
form had entered a phase (which
must turn the evaporation prevailing
in the widest circles of the people
into Indignation" 1t was obvious,
the editor wrote, that the Conscrv-
atives supported directly and indi-
rectly by the National Liberals had
begun a systematic campaign to
withhold from the people their right
and to defeat the equal franchise
promised them in the most solemn
manner. 'I0w long" asked the Vor-
| waerts, do the gentlemen believe
that the Prussan people will put up
with such methodist"
4 Polish deputy, replying to Vari-
Gus remarks regarding Prussias pol
icy concerning tho Poles said the
Prussian regime as heretofore con-
Quoted was deeply hateful to the
Poles. for it was the tyne of the most
repulsivo form Of domination a peo-
pie 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
come to their senses and that the war
would be a common grave for ma
tional chauvnism.