New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

Dd TIC provinces OF Wnat was once ENS-
sia. The government had ordered the
/ troops home, but nearly all of them
refused and declared their purpose,
whatever the government might do or
say, to stay there and make their homes
IN that region. This was show of
energy at any rate, and it held out
the promise of more fighting for these
German hotspurs; so it appealed to
the mag nations of the military here
and, Of course, to the conservative
mind generally. 1t awakened unstint-
ed admiration, whatever might be SAID
Of its political folly
Breach of Discipline Praised
This feeling found open expires ion
in little military paper, "Offcnc
Worte," which is printed here and
which is said to circulate 100000
copies in the Reichswehr. 1t hailed the
mutineers with dithyrambic bombast,
which was distributed through leading
editorial, causeric and poems. 1t
was all 80 embarrassing to Noske that
he issued official note declaring
his "sharpest dlsapproval" Of the per
.ormance. But what he has done to the
editor has not yet transpired.
Speaking again of the Independent
! Socialists, their organ here, "Freihcit," !"
has just been celebrating it's first an
niversary, and the information it gives
about itself denotes a remarkable case
Of journalistic success. Founded in
the midst of the revolution last year,
it already had circulation Of $1,000
copies by the end of November, and now
it is nearing the 200 900 line
That is certainly remarkable
achievement for one years work ia
building up newspaper But the cir
cumstances were all in favor Of "Fre-
heit." Here in Berlin there is a huge
population of working people, the vast
majority OF whom tend trongly toward
radicallsm: There was no newspaper
that met their passionate wants "Vor-
warts" the official organ of the So
cialist party, long had grown too mod
crate for them They were clamoring
for an organ of their own, spiccd with
the vigorous language of invcctive and
villtication in which "Vorwarts" ex-
cesled decade ago. "Freheit," there
TORE had an easy triumph; few news
papers IN the world have been founded
under equally auspicious circumstances.
Graft Broadly Charged
Corruption in German otficialdom is
coming to be more and more a topic
OF discussion in the press and public
meetings. That is one of the new
phenomena that have followed the war
Or more correctly speaking. were
created by the war. A we'll known
banker has Just written the following
IN newspaper article: Gone hears
daily how the names of officials who
can be bribed arc whispered around
IN cafes We arc already suf-
fering from circumstances similar to
those in Bolshevik Russia; a new crop
OF officials appears every day, mostly
without experience or knowledge,
whose main object is to make hay
while the sun Shines"
There is such a food of crime
against the food and other regulations
that the courts have long been over
worked with the prosecution of the
dehnquents. Hence the Minister of
justice recently has declared his pur-
pose to establish special courts for
trying such cases. Trangrossors of
TINS class hitherto have got off. for
the greater part. with fines Of VARYING
degrees Of intensity; but now the min
lster purposes to send the nest
fragrant offenders to the pcnitentiarv.
Corruption has become such com
mon thing that some we'll meaning
citizens have thought it necessary TO
organ themselves into a society for
com batting it. Several weeks ago they
and passed resolutions that expressed
their feelings on the subject. Here
is the most pertinent passage in them:
ne meeting draws attention cx-
rresSly to the fact that corruption has
been promoted through the abolition
OF tree business and the establishment.
instead, of the licensing system. This
chaNgc has made entire classes of the
people dIshonest and has proved
downright breeder of bribery. The
present situation calls for applying
the sharpest measures against the
bribery of officials and employees.
FINES are no longer adequate'
Specialization Plan Snagged
The plan of the government to
"sociall2e' the electrical industry has
struck snag. The cities that have
their own electrical plants are strongly
opposed to turning them over to the
central governments; they want to 90
on with the system of municjpa,
ownership which has worked we'll with
them.
The executive committee of the Ger
nan Diet of Cities, representing moro
: han fifty mathematics Nas lust r,o
,"re and adonted resolutions against
the governments electricity hill. The !
contend that mary towns have been
operating successfully electrical ren
Grating plants for decades, and they
feel that they can Justly plead he
right OF long possession. They object
s.'renuouslv 70 havire Their plants
"decommunalzcd' hv force of law.
Count Won BerrstorF'S recent apnea~-
nee here before the Committee of IN
oulrv Into the War gave one % the
news narers occasion 70 tell the story or
To-" he was ste~.cd rDNN his 4 nl,r,a+:c
career. After he had finished us CIV
naslum course his father put him into
one Of TIE Guard rerirnents. vho~e he
was t. make tie usual career Of = prus-
si' o~c"r. u wrs in these regi,snr+s
mostly that the scions Of the ncbi|itv
we're placed under the old Pruss;nu
r"gime. AS. moreover, the German d
Tlcmatlsts v-~rr ofeN -" 1~o,---, c,.o--,
hat class C society II not int~norertiv
nH0"n"d that vecaAcics in the lower
dlnioTat'c ~oSitiNre -co~o fii.d Nv
drow'ro 'lro-' tho Cr9~d oa,c~rs
SO it h 0nenca with Won Rernsto~fr
Ono DIV MS reoir- INT co~1-~o,anr r..
ceived sor' etNin~ like rcnu'sition for
pror's'rr vourc' roh'e'~an ~ start
unHn the diNloratic career. The colo
ro' looked over he rrtorial. and de-
clded 10 rnco'nmor1 Johon~ Hoirrich
Won Rer~stor~ and that is how he be-
came diplomat
Czecho-Slova'<ia Nips Reds
Bolshevism Dead Issue There.
Sow N. D1