Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-06-20
ELECTIONS GERMANY
!ARE1DEEMED INDECISIVE
Continued Struggle Between Forces q
Reaction and Revolution May Mean
Indefinite Chaos, Simonds Believes.

a fusion with the independents, IL they
turn to the right again and seek 10
make a bargain with still another reac-
tionary group. or if the majority So
| cialists disintegrate and the other par
ties, except the independents. make
coalition, then nothing is more certain
than that there will be new and more
formidable attempt to restore the old
order.
The battle between the right and left.
between reaction and revolution. has
then been indecisive Neither party has
gained sufficient strength to dominate.
What has happened has been that the
moderate parties have lost ground. In
stead of more or less moderate group
controlling overwhelmingly, as happened
at the last election. the great strength
has gone to the groups who wish to en-
ploy extreme methods. either the ex-
treme radicalism of the Independent So
cialists or the extreme reaction Of the
peoples party and the nationa1ists. The
| mass of German electorate is tired Of
compromises.
What 1t All Means. -
What does all this mean for the
rest of the world? Nothing imme-
diately pleasing. that is certain.
Germany is not going to settle down
to pay her debts and work out her
! future. if the present election is any
criterion. BY contrast she is on the
4
struggle. battle which may last i'm
dennitely and lead to almost i'm
measurable consequences. The great
gains of the reactioRaries are gains
| cate the reputation of the treaty Of
i Versailles The success of the indie,
pendent socialists are successes for q
party which can only gain power sufIje
| cient to apply its principles as con,
sequence of real revolution.
he Il.
Germany for the payment Of the first
| contributions to meet the terms OF
! the treaty of Versailles. France, Be-
| GUM. Italy are practically depend
emit upon German payments to balance
| their budgets. And there is not the
| smallest present promise that GeA
many will pay. A few weeks heScs
the allies are to meet German reiEe-
sentatives at the first real conference.
| since the war. But as a consequence
| representatives to Spa who will
speak for any substantial majority of
| the national Legislature
In point of fact so slender will be
the majority of any party or rather
| OF any group Of parties which may.
| take office that mere acceptance %
| the program laid down by the allies
| might spell ruin for the controllinS
group in the German legislature. To-
all 1ntents and purposes Germany will
| be without government. without a
real leadership at the moment when
the most important conference since
the Paris days assemblies. What her
spokesman agree to in her name may
be repudiated by the national assem-
bly, to which they must report. II
Two Currents Evident I'm Germany. a,
We are then in the presence of onA
more step in the direction of ulti-
mate chaos. Germany. by her cleo,
ton. has demonstrated that TIVE
strong currents are running in her
| reaction. toward restoration of thb
old order. and leading. The other
| not less violently swirls toward some..
thing approaching a real revolution.
an actual overturning ofsthe men and
the system which led to the war. "a
II the reactionaries win Germany
will become instantly. dangerous for
the whole world. Whether we have
a new war or not, we shall have
condition of unrest. frontier quar-
rels and further crises like that pro=.
duced by the German viola ton Of the
terms of the treaty of Versailles i'm
sending troops to the Ruhr. This was,
indeed. a typical example OF the jun
| ker method. In general we shah,
have policy of open defiance up to.
the point of actual hostilities and'
at the same time a passive but perrs
sistent effort to evade and escape
performance under The peace treaty.
| But if the reactionaries lose. II thai
real socialists gain the upper hand. their
success can hardly come save as a de-
! tan in real domestic struggle. So Tar,
| there has been little real progress in
getting rid of the old order. .
| After the election as before, Germany
remains a problem for the rest Of the
world. Chaos has increased its area
rather than diminished its holdings.
Prophecy is, idle because even the best
| informed observers frankly confess their
! inability to read the signs Of the times
yet these same observers agree that the
prospects are far from encouraging.