Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-02-17
SIEGE LIFTING LAID
TO FEAR In GERMANY
Harden Says All Factions Not
Openly Inimical to Republic
See Changes.
SOCIALISTS DIsAPP0INT
Workmen, Promised Better Times,
Find Position Worse.
SOCIALISTS DIsAPP01NT
BY MAMMALIAN HARDEN.

BY Radio to The Star
BERLIN, February 16.-The state
OF siege which placed all executive
power in the hands of a military COM
nIander is to be lifted after four
months duration. The stage setting
gives German burghers no reason to
doubt that they owe this demilitariza-
ton of the government solely to the
free initiative of the army chief and
that they must therefore believe that
he is more concerned about the SUI
premacy of civil authorities than are
the gentlemen who rule under the
partnership name OF democracy and
socialist.
The real reason. however, is that
all factions that are not openly in
inical to the republic fear worse
changes at the reichstag. election by
continuance of the military regime.
There may sometime have been In
Some fairyland a party which ascribed
its i'll success to it's own errors and
not to the errors of others, but In
these prosaic times grant us no such
spectacle of virtuous self knowledge!
In SaXony and Thuringia, industrial
states with large laboring elements,
the diet elections brought the social
lists such a bad defeat as they never
experienced. Not only in these fort
resses of their power. but also in the
whole parliamentary history of near
1y sixty years. the explanation can
easily be found.
Socialists Disappofnt.
The socialists, who as critics Of the
capitalistic and imperialistic eco
nomic systems have done valuable
everywhere as rulers. Lenin liber-
ated himself smilingly from every
democratic principle. NM. Millerand
and Mussolini have not been socialists
for years and men of the English la
Dor government can be regarded as
such only in closely restricted sense
and not at all in continental party
language.
In Germany. the fruits of socialist
or semi-socialist government taste
still officially designate themselves
international and revolutionary"
They were not able to prevent war,
end 1t quickly or make 1t more hui
often just as blindly natioalistic and
just as greedy for Office and emolu-
nents as any one of the bourgeoise
parties which they have been abusing
for years.
For years the workingman. whose
taxes are collected at the source, has
had to pay relatively more than the
capitalist Wages now are lament
ably bad. there is less political free
dom than In the days of the kaiser,
nances and anomalies were not pos
sible, and the work day has been
lengthened. The railway employees
had the choice OF losing their Jobs
hour day.
Workineman suH~r>r
The workingman sees many leaders
and functionaries OF his party in
comfortable state and municipal Of
fees. but he himself is in worse need
that he turns away from bosses who
promised him the Holy Land, but led
him into the desert OF miseries.
Party chiefs. however. who will not
long duration of the military regime
Is solely responsible for the fact that
Worklngmen are embittered and fire.
1uently go over to extremist nation
Hitsttc groups and communists. These
groups entice workingmen by swear
ing their promises will not prove to
be as deceitful as those Of others.
Many votes will come to them also
laborers.
German agriculture, which in a
nlockaded reich and land OF infia-
ton was better off than ever. is to-
the war the area Of grain land and
numbers of cattle in the great trans
oceanic agTarian states have in
creased vastly; in Europe agrarian
production has sunk greatly In the
same period-in Germany, one-fifth;
in Russian, at least one-third.
Consumption Lessened.
Universal mpoverishment of Euro
neans has reduced consumption
greatly. Surplus production in the
United States, Canada, Australia and
the Argentine. exercises pressure on
European markets. In order not to
be underbid the German farmer must
offer his products far below the ante
war price, but must generally pay
prices far above the world-market
prices for everything he needs from
industry and business. He must give
25O pounds of oats for a hundred
weight of ammonium sulphate and
900 pounds of rye for pair Of coarse
boots.
Whether reintroduction of agra:
rfan customs, which the farmers are
demanding, would be possible or bon
eiicial is most doubtful. What is
certain, however, Is that the mon
archists will have more CAUSE for re-
joicing than the republicans IL the
government. which thus far has pre-
duced nothing but prohibitions, does
not succeed in showing at least ore
great class of people the way to a
better future which can be achieved
and assured only with the working