Newport daily independent., 1918-03-11
GERMAN NEWSPAPERS COMMENT ON VOTING
 SYSTEM IN PRUSSIA.

New York, March 11.-Comments in German newspapers recently re- ceived here, show that they had wig orously disapproved of the system of plural voting in Prussia, which sub- sequently was accepted by the fran chise committee of the lower house of the Prussian Diet and incorporat- ed in the bill for submission to the Prussian parliament. The German editors had declared, before the fran chise committee thus gave it's approv- al of the plural voting system, that this would not fulfill the intent of the manifesto issued last July by Empe- TOT William, as King of Prussia, in which he announced that bill would be introduced in the Diet providing for universal and equal suffrage.
 The plural system as approved by the franchise committee elassifies the voters according to certain trades and professions, allotting specified number of votes to each class. The Berliner Tageblatt of January IS, in an editorial captioned, "Elec- toral Reform in Danger" said: "The deliberations of the committee re- garding the three reform bills are taking course such as had not been expected by even the most obstinate 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 frustrate a solemnly given promise"
 The Vorwaerts of January 13, said in connection with the committee de- Alterations on the franchise reform bill, that the proceedings in that committee must be considered by the working classes as mockery.
 "For decades, the paper stated, the Prussian people have been forced to endure the same of the three class and also since the beginning of the war they have fought untiringly for a free franchise. And not without success. 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 editorially that the battle of the opponents of the franchise reform had entered phase (which must turn the exasperation prevailing in the widest circles of the people into indignation" It was obvious, the editor wrote, that the Conservatives supported directly and indirectly by the National Liberals had begun a systematic campaign to withhold flom the people their right and to defeat the equal franchise promised them in the most solemn manner. "How long" asked the Vorwaerts, "do the gentlemen believe that the Prussian people will put put up with |'such methodist"
 A Polish deputy, replying to va rious remarks regarding Prussia's policy concerning the Poles, said the Prussian regime as heretofore con- ducted was deeply hateful to the Poles, for it was the type of the "most repulsive form of domination peonle 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 "naus- eous Prussian regime"
 The chairman, Leputy Hausman, requested the speaker to moderate his form of expression, but the Pol ish deputy added that the peoples would come to their senses and that tho war would be common game for national chauvinism.
 W~r Cavinpg