The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1920-05-26
PRUSSIANISM STILL
ALIVE PROBLEM
FOR GERMANY
Many Milit.rist. Cha6ng Unde'
the Necessity Of Working
and Long for Old Times
By Carl D. Gr0at

UNITED Press stan COITespoAueA'I
Berlin, April 30.-Germany Is
passing through the throes OF q BE-
lated housecleaning as regards Prus-
sian militarism.
That is to say, she is trying to rio
herself of this scourage but is finding
for one reason and another, that the
old-style. iron-faced, insolent, mon
ocled Prussian militarist Is hard to
down.
He has done much to damn Germ
any before the world. At present
he is doing much to damn Germany
further, and, il he succeeds, to dis
rupt her business and her future.
The people-as whole-don't
want him back. They proved that
when they rose up as one man during
the Kapp coup and said, "Out with
the reactionaries and the m1lltar-
1sts.':
But tho Prussian militarist didn't
heed that warning. On the other
hand, he saw how simple it was to
make a coup with handful of dar-
ing soldiers. Since then the genus,
Prussian officer, with some excep-
lions has been busying his head over
how to overthrow the government
and hang to his military job.
The principal thing with the av-
erage Prussian officer-again with
the exception of some who are re-
publican to hold his job,
and il possible, re-establish the "good
old days" when everybody kow-tow-
ed, clicked their heels, and made way
for the almighty militarist.
The situation as regards mll1tar'
ism in Germany runs thus,
After defeat Of the German army
many officers naturally were dismiss.
ed and there has been steady dim.
mutation under armistice and treaty
terms. Many an officer today Is do
ing work of an almost mental char
acter. The story runs that one gen
eral is a night baggage porter al
one of the big Berlin stations
spurned even by the other porters
Some are said to be driving trucks
This may or may not be true, but
in any event it can be said truthfully
that more than one German officer Is
doing work now he would have
scorned a few years ago. The mill
tarists still in the army want tc
stay there They dream Of the day
when Germany will come back and
smite France.
These men, stuck away in corn
ers. yet very influential, are respon'
sible for hiding out guns and NUM-
tons on the allies The civil gov
ernment-at least allied officers de-
clare-is and has been trying to be
f,,1f11,o1ont Nf fhe
treaty's disarmament clauses.
Mid-April saw an outburst of re-
ports of new "putsch" brewing
over the entire country. but center.
ing out of Pomerania. The news was
stilled down quickly, but it can be
said from reliable sources that the
government still expects trouble from
the militarists and junkers. Pomer'
ania. a fruitful land, is run by fat
prosperous junkers. They have seer
the handwriting on the wall. and
the writing says, 1.-The German peo-
pie want more of say in their
own affairs; they want food at reas'
enable prices; they don't want to be
servants under the heel of bloated
land aristocracy as in other days.
And, because they have seen this
vision, the Pomern "Gutsbesitzer," as
own tongue, have planted demobil.
lied Baltic troops-the hardest,
fiercest fighters Of the whole German
outfit-all over their farms. These
men can be whipped into a small
army any minute. They'd rather
fight than-well, work on farm.
All of which shows, perhaps, sup
critically, but to some extent, wha
the governments problem is.