The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-04-17
PEOPLE OF GERMANY
WILL HAVE CHARGE Of.
NEW GOVERNMENT
By Frank J, Taylor.
United Press correspondent


Berlin, March s. BY Mail.)-
Crowdirg the main elements Of the
New German republic into the little
town of Weimar during the national
constituent assembly In February
performed wonders that the critics of
the move to the quiet, Thuringen
town did not foresee. It gave the
officials OF the different departments
opportunity to tread on each others
toes and get acquainted. ~ -.
That Is Just what happened. 1t Is
no simple matter to" completely
overthrow a highly organized gov
in Germany. and install a new form
functioning lat once. Officials and
their relations with each other, and
In Weimar the German republic got
q good start, 'oiH
In more or less backyard -over-the-
fence fashion, gossip spread and all
the secrets of one department were
soon know by the other, with the re-
suit that there was a better under
standing. All the officials of the
government in Weimar gathered be-
hind, the rostrum ~inthe reichstag
theatre every afternoon and. discus
sed problems, !-or conducted business
ssfM an informal way, resulting to a
large extent in the abolition Of the
old Formally.
+ AS for the actual work of the as
bembiy. it,Swas put through with
much more speed than was anticipat-
~ l114 ~
bers of the government found no.
thing to disturb them in Weimar.
They were eager to leave Weimar,
and hurried the preliminary work.
Not an unimportailt consideration
was the quiet OF Weimar. During
the time that the assembly was
meeting there; -Weinar was an oasis,
free from uprtsi1igs, strikes, assassin
ations and general disorders.
The republic which the constituent
assembly has formed in a provisional
way; and which will be the model for
the permanent organization, is a
combination Of the old empires ad-
ministrative system, especially so far
as the interior is concerned, with a
new head on it. A president and a
minister-president, at the head Of a
cabinet, direct affairs. The presi-
4 dent, elected by. the people, replaces
Nthe kaiser, and the minister-presi-
dent, appointed by the president,
forms the cabinet, Just as did. the
kaiserly chosen chancellor formerly.
The cabinet is not changed ma
terially, except that its members are
called ministers instead of secre-
taries. The old idea was that the
chancellor was responsible for every
department through Its secretaries
In the republic each minister is him.
self responsible, and II 4 crisis comes
in the cabinet, the whole organiza-
ton does not break up, but merely
those concerned. In theory this Is
how 1t is supposed to work, and this
was the motive in making ministers
out Of all the secretaries.
The legislative end of the govern
ment is changed materially. AS be-
fore, the country Is a federation Of a
number Of states, having vote in
the lower house for each half-million
Inhabitants. The big exception is
that no state can have more than
half the members, as Prussia did be-
fore, no matter what its population.
This frees Germany from Prussia's
power, which is changed too. Prus-
sia herself has been among the FORE
most in becoming republican. Ba-
varia reserves rights to decide re-
>garding use Of her army and has not
agreed to turn her public utilities
over.
The upper house, "staatenhaus,"
as it is called, 10 similar to the old
Bundesrat, except that it has no veto
over the reichstag, and generally,
therefore, does not count. Whether
or not 1t will exist under the per-
manent constitution is doubtful. The
new government is truly of the peo-
pie. and will be whatever the voters
elect. The Germans will never be
able to claim their government took
advantage of them.