South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-04-04
NEW GERMANY HAS
ALMOST HOPELESS
TROUBLE LEGACY
Leaders Called on to Build
New Government Out
of Chaos.
BY PRANK j. TAYLOR.

pIsAAt4AsHt -fltA e m hAfr man s
Germany infant republic was
born with no silver spoon. unless
liberation from militarism and kali
serism can be interpreted in that
way. The new republic begins with
the most hopeless legacy Of troubles
that any nation ever faced.
So interviewer and tangled are
the problems which the new repGb-
lies cabinet is undertaking and
struggling against, while new ones
rise constantly, that the words of a
German. who said, There's not a
man In all Germany who sees at
one time more than half OF the
maze OF dangers that might explode
and overthrow the state" are true.
There are those who say the sit
uation Is beyond solution They
hold that the slate OF the past
should be wiped clean, and that the
German state should start all over
again. much as Russia tried 10 do.
The government realizes this would
mean disaster and complete loss Of
confidence in any form Of govern
ment, and struggles TO avoid il.
IL is hard enough 10 change the
form OF government when things are
running smoothly, and when all
parties agree TO Il. It is hard
enough to begin a republic where
no government existed at all be-
fore. The Germans find their task
made far more difficult by the rea-
son that their country was com
plexly recognized. and the new
regime has 10 answer Immediately
for all the deluge Of failures and
mistakes OF the old.
Germany today can be visualized
perhaps as pepper fun Of popcorn.
most Of which has popped, but some
Of which has not ard Is still going
off. Each explosion shakes the
whole mass. This unstable state is
held together only by the walls OF
arms that still surround it, for many
are they who would like to escape
from the burden.
Germanys new government is
tackling the problems with Optim-
ism and hope-conidence is hardly
possible, as yet. Right here it
might be said the new German gov
eminent is one without brilliant
leaders and is without great men in
L. This the Germans themselves
say. and do so without regret in
their voices. The Germans have had
enough of great men. and seem glad
10 trust their future 10 mediocre.
honest citizens
Trust "Citizen Congress"
This carpenters reichstag," as il
has been called. has already wealth
cred storms of opposition. during
the trying months when the Ebert
Scheidemann party guided Germany
from militarism, and put TO flight
the adoption of a provisional repub-
lie constitution at Weimar. on Feb
10. The great rass of German pec-
pie have expressed their confidence
in at least the honesty and impeach-
able good intentions OF the citizen
congress"
How successful these citizen
statesmen" if they can be called
that. viii he, can be told only by
time. If they succeed i'm bringing
Germany out OF the muddle of tan
gled political, social. economic and
foreign problems. IL Will be an ever
lasting tribute TO the republican
form of government. II they fai
and have TO call for help from out
side Germany, as no small proper.
ton OF Germans who are pessimis-
tic predict, il will be because the
nilltarists and the junkers left toe
much OF a bad lagacy TO carry in
these trying times.
Just what tremendous difficultie.
the new republic faces cannot be ap.
preciated fully nor described il
their proper relations by a foreign.
er. especially when German leader.
themselves cannot straighten out IL
their own minds these problems
which change almost daily.
But there are high lights tina
stand out. or group themselves un.
der heads. and the best a cores
pendent can 90 is describe these
problems as they appear, not ST
much To a foreigner but 10 Ger
many's republican cabinet which il
trying 10 master them all at once
The following series of articles OF
Germany's situation politically. so.
cially economically, and in Other
phases that can be covered. may bs
altered by the time these stories ge
10 print. but Cney will describe the
chaotic. complicated, unrestful sit.
uatiou out OF which the nef German
republic was born.
As his contribution 10 the wal
cause. "a barber Of Brighton. Eng
land. gave 10000 free sbaves 90