Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-10-22
oermany'a Paper Democracy.

from his pony which became trighteneu
at an automobile, is doing nicely.
Germary's Paper Democracy.
With their Irctense q. constitutional
amendments the Germans are setting
up n democracy on paper to deceive
the allies. Article IL OF .he consttI-
ton OF the German empire reads as
follows:
'"The king OF Prussia shall be the
president Of the confederation, ana
shall bear the title German emperor
The emperor shall represent the en-
pirc In international affairs, shall de-
clare war and conclude peace In the
name OF the empire, enter Into ALI
arces and other treaties with foreign
states, accredit and receive ambassa-
doris.
THE sanction OF the bundesrat IL
necessary for the declaration OF war In
the name Of the empire. except when
an attack Is made on the territory or
the confederation or its coasts.
Insofar as the treaties with foreign
countries relate to such matters as.
according to article 8, come within the
scope of the imperial legislation, the
approval of the bundesrat shall be re-
auired for their ratification and the
consent of the reichstag to make them
effective.
The bundesrat. to oolige the presi-
dent Of the confederate ion and hood
wink the enemy democracies, has con-
scented to this amendment of article
IL: "The consent of the federal coun-
Gil and the reichstag is required for d
declaration of war in the empires
name, except in a case where imperial
territory has already been invaded or
its coasts attacked" Paragraph Is
amended to read:
Treaties Of peace and treaties with
foreign states which deal with affairs
coming under the competence Of the
imperial law giving bodies require the
consent Of the federal council and the
reichstag.
These amendments are only springes
to catch woodcock. What does the
consent Of the reichstag amount to?
What does the reichstag amount to?
1t is simply ornamental and super
numerary. 1t no more represents the
German people, provided a German
people capable of independent political
unreformed house of commons in the
prime of Old Sarum represented the
people of England. The distribution
of seats is grossly unequal. The great
industrial communities, the cities that
have grown or sprung up so marvel
ously in the last forty years, have
scandalously few seats. The pres
ent reichstag, elected in 1912, sup.
ported the declaration Of war, sup
ported the war steadily, supported the
German military excuses, carried by
g majority Of more than a hundred. the
famous peace resolution Of July 19.
1917, yet meeklv saw the fail OF Beth
mann Holfweg. who tried to conform
his policy with that OF the reichstag.
As puppet chancellor after puppet
chancellor has strutted his little hour
and been Withdrawn from the stage by
the masters Of the show, as the reich
stag has yellel implacably for war o.
cooed sweetly for peace, according to
the military situation and the order OF
those masters, who has not seen what
an impotent and a hypocritical fraud
the pretense Of democratic parliament
airy government in Germany is? Call
so-called radical Frankfurter Zeitung:
Can we blame our enemies If they
regard the reichstag in Germany as
merely an ornament. ana conclude that
VIC are in reality governed according
to the ideas of the eighteenth GEN.
tury? .a
It is not so much the German method
Of making treaties as the German
readiness to freak TREATIES that con-
Germs foreign nations. The majority
of the present reichsag has been an
accomplice in or indifferent spectator OF
the four years Of German PROMISE
breaking violations Of international
law, calculated destruction OF compel
itors, scientific lying, loot. and murder.
The socialists, perhaps the worst Of
tenders and humbugs in the reich
stag, are now posing against as friends
of democracy. Let an honest. mi
nority socialist, Mr.. Eduard Bernstein,
speak:
There can be no enduring peace be-
tween nations so long as militarism
holds sway. And one of the causes
which has given this question such
prominence mas been the capitulation
Of German socialists to militarism."
BY their fruits we shall know them.
It is the Kaiser, the dynasties of the
several states, that propose these not
even specious changes in the German
constitution. They do 80 on the order
or after the confession of the general
staff. So the conservatives In the
Prussian diet pretend to make a great
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