The Colorado statesman., 1923-10-06
RElCHSTAG LEADERS BLAME
FRENCH PREMIER FOR FALL
OF GOVERNMENT
POINCAIRE is BLAMED
PRESIDENT EBERT URGES CHAN,
cELLoR sTREsEMANN TO SUM-
MON NEW MINISTRY

Berlin.-Dr. Gustav Stresemann and
the members of his ministry have re-
signed from office President Ebert
has called upon the retiring chancel-
lOr to form a new cabinet.
The Stresemann government retired
from office with the REIMBURSEMENT of
passive resistance in the Ruhr and
the Rhineland as the only active ac-
cOmpllshment to its credit While
criticism of its usefulness on this score
would seem to be not entirely fair, in
view of the hopelessly tangled legacy
assumed by it as the successor of the
Curo ministry, the Stresemann coali-
ton in its political composition was
such as to preclude, in the long run,
any hope of productiveness in the ma
ture of financial and economic re-
forms on account of the conflicting
currents which hampered its delibera-
tlons.
With a theoretical Socialist in the
ministry of finance and an Industrial
ist party man as minister of ecOnom-
les, one chronic point of friction was
promptly established. 1t led to the re-
tirement of Hans Won Raumer, who
held the latter post as he had appar-
emily wearied of carrying on running
debate with DIR. Hilfending on finan-
cial and economic dOgmas.
This was only one of the several
minor paradoXes with which the Stres-
emann ministry was handicapped. The
chancellor, whose well known optim-
ism was praised as useful asset
when he assumed office, was unable to
overcome the Sisyphean task of get
ting an economically and politically
morbund Germany back on its feet
NJ. Poincare, the French premier, Is
blamed by the German government
and the reichstag leaders for the col
lapse of Chancellor Stressemann's
coalition government. If Poincare
had given the slightest indication Of
reciprocal attitude in response to
Germany's abandonment of passive re-
sistance, official and political quarters
believe that DIR. Stressemann's posi-
ton would have been measurably
strengthened, inasmuch as it would
have been spared the nationalist on
slaught, which not only gained mo-
mentum through unconditional Ruhr
surrender, but also from the swiftly
collapsing internal situation.
Both factors sufficed to knock the
prop from under the cabinet, whose
advent as "big coalition govern
ment" was acclaimed less than seven
weeks ago as presaging internal re-
construction, as well as progress in the
foreign situation.
AS the Socialist members of the
reichstag rejected by vote of 61 to
81 the compromise proposed by Chan
cellor Stressemann on the mooted
points of the eight-hour law and mod
ification of the authorization law, its
four members in the cabinet, DR.. Hill
ferding, minister of finance; Schmidt
reconstruction Sollman, interior, and
Badbruch, justice, apprised the chan
cellor of their retirement, whereupon
the chancellor convoked the remain
ing members of the cabinet for de-
cisive session.
While government without pop
ular representation as now reflected
in the reichstag would ordinarily be
viewed as return TO an ultra-czar-
istic regime, there is enough senti-
ment abroad in the land to support
such an innovation in view of the
nations present plight.