The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1918-11-12
GERMAN SOCIALISM ON TRIAL.

the other All the capitals Munich Dresden and Stuff
CART are in the hands of the revoluonares as are Co.
ogne Hamburg Leipzig Essen and score of other cities
The army has gone to the revolution the resistance
of small body of troops in Berlin loyal to the kaiser
being promptly On the whole, the revolution
has been boodless
From the constitutional point of view the situation is
curious one Prince Macmillan of Baden the heir of
regng house. has been appointed regent in succession
to the kaiser who has abdcated His first act has been
that of a constitutional sovereign. He has appointed
Herr Friedrich Ebert leader of the socialist party and
vice-presdent fthe reichstag to be chancellor Herr
Ebert has perhaps been less in the public eye than Philip
Scheidemann Ledebour and other leaders who have
aons orators and debaers but he possesses the
of the rechstag and the general respect of all political
parties.
The new government has taken over the Wolff Tee-
graph Bureau the official news agency the Krupp works
at ESSEN and the general control of the war ministry
This latter action is said to have been taken in order to
the provisioning of the army and to arrange for
the rehabilitation. Delegates from the revolutionary
navy have arrived in Berlin and have had long confer
ences with the minister of marine and the leading
bers of the majority parties in the reichstag.
So far the revolution has followed a fairly normal
course. The social democratic party is now in power
and the future of Germany will depend the extent
which it shows talent and capacity for government 1t
has in its favor admirable party discipline Of the
strictest sort The German social democratic party is
not one Of mushroom growth. 1t has existed for 40
years. beginning in the seventies, with modest repre-
sentaton of half score of members in the rechstag
For ten years past has been the largest party in the
German parliament, having secured 10 seats in the
election Of 1912 polling a total vote of 4,25OOoO.
For twenty years it was led by three men of consum
mate ability, August Bebel Karl Lebknecht and Paul
to crush it. For years the Keine Beazerungs Zus
tand" lesser state Of seige, existed in Berlin. Bebe
and the other leaders not allowed under penalty of
arrest to set foot in Berlin except when parliament
sitting Bebe and Liebknecht repeatedly sentenced
to periods of imprisonment. Paul Singer who was
millionaire manufacturer, forced to liquidate his
business as he was not allowed to remain in Berlin to
public meeting denied and every form of repression
which Inefficient and all powerful police could devise
was put in operation against it.
But in spite of this yearong persecution the party
grew continuously in strength; but not unfortunately in
political influence BY skful arranging of the electoral
districts the millions of the socialist party deprived
of just parliamentary representation But its moral
influence steadily 1t attracted to its ranks Of
great ability and its leaders the keenest and most
pitiess debaters in the reichstag
In far the German revolution has begun under ex-
ceent auspices 1t remains to be seen, however if the
leaders, after four years of war; still have their former
influence the and if they equal to hand
ling the "damnosa heredas" to which they have fallen
heir They dealing with population that is the
border line of starvation 1t has only been kept daily
food by system of daily rationing directed by huge
bureaucracy This rationng depends for its
the thorough organization and efficient operation of the
railways elegraphs and telephone. Any breakdown of
these, even momentary, would be catastrophe. The
financial situation hopeless The banks for the most
part lsolVehI anu nave Suspehueu payment For WEEKS
past all money other than paper has disappeared from
circulation The foreign exchange of the mark has been
dropping day by day.
The government is not only under the necessity
Of feeding nation of 8O,OOOO0O it has to supply an
army of 100000 in the field If this should stop for
only few days the government will find itself face to
face with millions of starving armed with rifles and
machine guns. In addition IL must negotiate peace
with the entente, the conditions of which will test its
authority to breaking strain 1t is this latter phase of
the crisis that inspires most anxiety In order to negotiate
a peace the allies must have responsible government
with which to treat No negotiate with anarchy
and if the German socialist party fails assert authority