Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-10-03
CERMANY'S COMEBACK"
DECLARED PHENOMENAL
Republic Firmly Grounded and Cult Oh
War RELOCATED in Popular Mind.
Observer Finds.

and those who would have a con-
servative republic The monarchistS
who dominate the Nationalist party
and have refrained from taking
power and Office because of their
latent hostility to the form Of gov
eminent, are now eagerly seeking for
an opportunity 70 get office. They
are ready to agree to accept the re-
public. to subscribe to 14OCarno, they
are ready to become economically
reactionary republicans instead Of
continuing 10 he hopeless political
monarChtsts.
War Not Main Passion.
All the questions about which
have ceutered the battles since 'he
war have been resolved mainly. This
spirit OF revanChe has passed with
the sense of persecution. Now thar
Germans know they will recove" the
Rhinela nd AlsaCe- Lorraine Is no
longer a fighting thought and hatred
Of the French Is very far from being
A passion. One might 60 beyond this
and say that a great intellectual and
moral readiustment has taken place
and the war has ceased 10 he fac
tor I'm German public life. its politics
or its purposes. II remains sentt-
mental factor. which may even
grow with the wears. Rut II 10 NOT
force a suhliminal force. is " was
even a few months ago.
After defeat and for MANY years
the German fingered over the past
because the present was tntolerable
and the future without promise. he
thought naturally Of great days and
"
cause in them alone lay anything
that might stimulate or comfort his
pride in being a German. which he
never lost.
But the past has vanished from his
| thought and from his sight. All the
circumstances of An old and Drill
liant pruSsian state have given way.
The uniforms. the parade, the court.
the social system have not only van
ished but they are so far gone that
Socialist city government OF Ber-
lin finds jobs for the unemployed
proletariat polishing up the statues
Of departed Hohenzollerns In Sieges
Alice.
Republican Hold Strong.
Germany adopted 4 Republican form
Of government I'm 1919 with the Wei
mar constitution. following the reVo-
tuition of November q, 1918. but Ger
many ONLY became Republican In the
larger sense Of the word following the
adoption Of the Dawes plan and me
sterilization of the mark. Germany
did not go" Republican by sudden.
profound, long gathering popular emo
ton. it rather drifted inevitably into
the Republican form. because there
was no other exit from an impossible
situation Germany was not Repun-
lcan in spirit even as recently as TWO
years ago, although " was recognized
that the republic would and must last
for A long while.
But Germany is Republican today by
an enormous ma jority for the simple
reason that the Republican form or
government has worked. Is working
and promises to work. There is order
now in Germany. industrial and eco
nomic order quite as much as civil
order German industry is being re-
orga nized. readjusted. the passion Tor
efficiency is finding new expression
and there is no longer the menace OF
Socialist revolution i'm the background.
Under the republic German big bust
ness now feels itself able to run it's
own affairs As Competently as II dld
under the empire. II feels that. so far
from being threatened by Bolshevtsm.
fuence upon government as 1t did un-
der William III.
There is the striking paradox in
Germany that as the republic becomes
stronger it becomes, in a certain
sense, less Democratic. The political
elements which made the republic
above all. the Social Democrats-have
lost control Of the machine. They are
still strong enough TO prevent any
movement TO transform the republic
into majority, but they cannot
help themselves If the radical re
public is transformed into conserva
tive republic. The monarChists are
impotent to restore kings or princes.
but they cal regain dominant political
influence II they support a conservs-
tive republic.
Cult Of War Has Gone.
One thing stands out all over Ger
many, and that is the fact that the
cult Of war has disappeared. 1t IL an
eager. new industrial Germany which
is rising. II is a business Germany
which has learned in war to distrust
the soldier and to abhor his methods
from the mere standpoint of efficiency.
The burden Of reparations, the prob
! lem which restricted markets the
world over. Is being remade: every
thing combines To insure that the Ger
man is going to he in the world OF
international trade and commerce just
as dangerous competitor as he ever
was.
But the idea of conquest, THE
Clausewitz conception Of war as an
extension Of policy. has gone out oc.
the Germans calculation. He IL not
thinking in terms of war because the
1 la
open to him and promise vastly more.
Germany is out to regain her place in
the sun. she is conscious once more
of her strength: she has got over the
time Of inferiority complex: she has
escaped from the period when she felt
| herself victim and a martyr.
But Germany is not A military
menace to the world now because
her people are not thinking militia rily
any more. There are guns and rather
pathetic sporadic efforts to avoid the
disarmament clauses which give legal
warrant for protest. but the underly-.
| ing fact Is that the whole mentality
of the people in this direction has
undergone a profound change. After
all. the thing failed. 1t failed com
pletely. IL failed scientifically: its fall
ure laid every known kind Of humil.
iation and personal suffering upon
| the whole people.
Great by Other Means.
The new Germany which is now
rising means to he great by other
means. 1t does most certainly mean
TO be great. You must feel that in
some fashion the German has got
much of his pride hack. But kings
and generals and all the parapher-
MALTA Of royalty and arms are not, tn
his mind. the way. He has some SOL
diers, he may vet have more: he has
some ships and he may want more,