The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-04-11
PLENTY OF PARTIES HANDLING
AFFAIRS IN GERMANY
NOISE IN THE ASSEMBLY
Perfect Organization Is Rule;
Speeches Tabooded BY
Delegates
FRANK J. TAYLOR.

ln2 10 De calleQ. mark bdck to the day
J of the old regime-unfortuna per
haps. Parties stand for PRACTICAL,
! the same principles, except that tn
Catholic and democrats have becom
more liberal under pressure, and IT,,
/ radicals have become more violen
and stronger. The socialists VIII,
formerly were the Radicals, are nov
1 the same in their demands, but NOR,
! conservative in spirit in relation tt
F., the new times. The conservative.
stc.nd rat.
IN organization the new reichta;
began much as did the old Ebert
then chancellor by farewell appoint
ment of the kaiser, opened the frs
| session and those who did not know
it already, soon found that everything
f, was worked out before and in meet
! inoS of the leaders of the so called
citizen coalition" of the socialists
F., Catholics and democrats. No dele
gate needed to do anything or say
i-anything, unless his party's leader.
called him to do SO. Furthermore
none did, except the radicals who
never have lost an opportunity tt
IdiSe dl upTOdT.
The Reichstag Directory.
In the reichstag directory the So
cialists have 163 delegates the Cath
, olics eighty nine, and the democrats
seventy four, an overwhelming ma
jority in everything but noise where.
in the sixty five members CT the two
conservative parties arc good, tu,
a"e more than outclassed when il
conner to a genuine riotous reichstag
uproar by the twenty-five radicals
not the least Of Whom are three wo-
men. Even the radical males have
to join forces to quiet down the rad
ical women when the latter start en-
anger display.
But noise makes little diife 'e'lce
except to delay speakers and bri,ig a
relief in the daily wordy. sessions
and for all the debating accomplish
es, there might as well not be any
reichstag to guide the new republic
except as floor battles bring OUT Sc
crets which the newspaper men in
the main balcony live for. To judge
from the demonstrations in the new
reichstag, which resembles the odl in
that respect, there never would be
enough unit to carry any resolution
The Party Organization.
When that resolution is put to a
vote, you learn otherwise. Perfect
party organization finds every dele
gate of the Citizen coalition" rising
when his leader does, while the con-
seryatives and radicals sit in silent
disagreement So long as party lead
ers can agree, there will be no real
disputes within the republic reichstag,
for delegates not only refuse to be
convinced by speeches, but for the
most part decline to listen to them
Looking down uron the delegates
from above gives you picture of them
using sessions for general chin
ming" season and an occasion to read
books and newspapers.
How long the present overwhelming
political lineup will endure is hard
to state. Secrets will leak out, and
as they come they reveal that all
isn't so harmonious between parties
as it appears when the reichstag
votes. On one point is there agree
ment, that there must be agreement
before a question is put to vote.
Therefore the presiding officer takes
no chances. If fraction leaders have
not agreed he postpones the vote a
day.
Differences Between Parties.
Between the parties there Are
fundamental differences which are
supposed to be smoothed over, but
which crop up. Generally the center
is around the proposition of socializ-
ing industries and to what extent Ii
should be done. 1t may be safely
said that the Catholics and democrats
are not fer municipal control OF IN
dustries, but have given in on this
principle TO meet the popular de-
mands of the time from the working
class, and because Specialization seems
the only way of getting wealth enough
into government hands to re- establish
Germany's credit.
The socialists on the other hand
would socialiZe rather widely, though
not to the extent that socialists IN
other countries favor Sooner or later
this difference between the parties
will cause a split, it is believed by
students of the situation. Neither the
Catholics nor the democrats dare join
forces with conservatives. after, the
declarations of Count Posadowsh be-
for the reichstag in outlining the de-
mands of the conservatives. Time
and revolution have not changed the
Junkers, Pesadowski revealed to
somewhat amazed audience who
thought the spirit of the old regime
was dead. The old, whiskered count
recited the praise of the past gov
eminent, declared monarchy the pest
form OF government, and held that
Germany under the HOhenzollerns
had been the most advanced and CIVIL
lied state ever known.
Praised Old System.
The old system was best, he SAID,
and the conservatives wanted it back.
His repeated words that the JunKers
had. always been opposed to war
brought him only ridicule and Few
days later Marie Jucharcz, the nrst
woman to mount the speakers plat
form in the reichstag nailed the con
servatives to the wall with, your Old
junker party is going to De entireiy
out of it in this new Germany.
While the conservatives have more
votes and are almost equally as NOISY
they have nowhere near the lnnu :
ence of the radicals. On the moor
the radicals are voted down, but in
committee meetings they are feared
The radical strength comes from the