The Washington times., 1922-07-16

BERLIN, July 15.--Walter Rath-
en4u, Germany's foreign minister
also her greatest industrial or
gahizer and her most far-seeing,
sakacious statesman, wrote a book
shortly before he was assassinat-
ed. In it he criticised capitalistic
efforts to keep labor in chains
and, at the same time. attacked
orthodox Socialism as "dream," /"
fand Sovietism as disease"
4 Foretold War Result.
All three movements. he wrote,
are but symptoms of the world
revolution in the organization Of
society now going on.
This extraordinary man, the larg-
est employer in Germany, was the
only eminent German who foretold,
with exactness, the result of the war
!, two years before It happened. He
was turned out of office by the
former kaiser because of his warn
ing. r.. 49,.
This fact makes Walter Rath.
enau's opinions, just before the Ger
man monarchists murdered him, of
special interest and Importance. A
condensation of his last utterances
has been made for the Heart papers
az follows:
A human society vii: be complete.
ly socialized only when no one can
have an income without working for
1t. This goal is not equality, re-
duction Of toll, or increase Of the
enjoyment of life. II is the abolition
of the prolectarian condition; the
abolition of the lifelong serfage, the
nameless hereditary servitude; the
annulment Of the hereditary, two.
fold stratification of society; the
abolition of the enslavement Of
brother by brother, of that western
abuse which Is the basis of our CIV
ilization as slavery was of the an
cient civilization, and which vitiates
30 many of our efforts, our creations
and our joys.
Based on the Tavern.
The political object which I have
described may be closely approached
by a suitable policy in regard to
property and education; above all,
by a limitation of the right of in
herttance; not by q limitation of
the rewards Of those who contribute
greatly to the convenience, the
comfort, or even the happiness Of
mankind by their talents for in.
vention or organization, or skill
Of management.
What is necessary is to with
draw from the sluggish hands of
the governing classes the determine
ton of time and Of method and
place 1t in hands that have a
better title of leadership and
monalty, which at present stands
halnIaaa
Democracy means the rule of the
people only when the people think
politically. The symbol of German
bourgeois democracy Is the tavern;
thence enlightenment is spread, and
there judgments are former; IL Is
the meeting place of political asso-
Citations the forum of their oraters,
the polling. booth where public
opinion is registered in advance of
elections.
The most dangerous of class
monopolies Is not the hereditary
monarchy, or even aristocracy; 1t
IL that of plutocracy. 1t can be
destroyed only by the genuine de.
nnocratization of the state and pub.
lie economy and a system Of uni.
versal education. For only by edu.
cation can the people learn to
hVOlu WCA-ihCdilhB Otopido dilu lHC
blissfully ignorant assumption OF
doctrinaires who pursue policies Of
popular wellbeing exaggerated ten.
fold beyond all possibility. These
always lead to failure and produce
reaction. =
Behind In Politics.
Multitudes of people, including
me most young ones, ape guided
oftener by negative impulses than
by positive ones-not by the effort
to get something, but to get away
from something else. To this effort,
which is really a flight to Ills we
know not of, we give the positive
name Socialism" without troubl.
ing ourselves to think what 1t
We Germans, for instance, are
fairly well educated in business, in
science, In thought, but in politics
we are about on the same level as
the East Slavonic peasant. At best
we know-and even that not al.
ways-what oppresses, vexes and
tortures us. We know our griev-
ances and think we have conceived
O cure.
We have now a republic In Ger.
many. No one seriously desired II.
We have at last estabnShed parlia-
Ynentarianism. No one wanted IL.
We have set up kind of Socialism.
A majority did not believe in II. We
IIsed to say: THE people will live
and die for their princes; our last
drop of blood for the Hohenzollernsr
Mo one denied It! THE people mean
10 be ruled by their hereditary lords;
they win go through fire for their
officers; rather death than yield a
foot of German soil to the foe"
Only Habit Thought.
Was all this a delusion? BY no
means. It was sincere enough. But
A. was a habit OF thinking: cot a deep
conviction. 1t was the kind of sin,
cerity which depends on not knowing
what might happen-what alterna'
lives might be presented.
When the alternatives were pre-
sonted as not merely possible but
actual, we all turned republican
when the military strike had broken
down discipline, Prussian officers
were man.handled. When the waI
I ,was lost, the fleet disgraced and the
homeland defiled, then we became a
Tepublic-and began to play and
dance.