Evening star., 1926-10-10
HORSEPOWER NEW GOAL H.
OF REPUBLICAN GERMANY
Monarchist Dream of World Power by
Force of Arms Yields to Idea of
Industrial Victory.


with the Social Democrats to pass
the Dawes plan and adopt Locarno.
! pow making combination with the
Monarchists to check radical and even
dangerous legislation. That is the
situation today. Marx. who is chan
cellor. represents the Catholic party,
| but he happens to be the single polt.
| tician who Is q, the moment nof
too unacceptable both to the radical
and the reactiO 1ary.
But while this battle has been pre-
ceeding the whole situation has been
changing. The issue Of republic versus
! monarchy has totally vanished b.
cause wise men have perceived th&s
the republic has been steadily grow
ing stronger. that II could only ne
upset by a great upheaVal wnlch
would he fatal at home and disastrous
abroad Not at any one moment. not
bv anv one move, but nevertheless
steadily and in the end completely.
the struggle has changed from one
between Republican and Monarchist
| to another between the two conCep-
tions. radical and conservative. Tor
the control Of the republic accepted
| by both.
| And now we have come 10 the
rather Illuminating point where the
| EationalistS. the MonarChists are at
|
are prepared--and their leaders have
given clear statement of the fact
| to enter government on the basis OF
acceptance of the republic and OF
what it has accomplished, notably
the Dawes plan and LOcarno. Actual
| ly they are prepared TO become the
| great conservative party in a Re
i publican State rather than to remain
the great anti Republican party.
Plan Conservative Narrower.
Once Locarno is over and Germany
in the league-and the Nationalist
| by silly opposition have tied their
| hands until this moment is passed.
the world is likely to see the National
lists enter the government and join
| in a combination with the Peoples
| Party, the Catholics and the Demo.
Gratis with the express purpose of max
ing the German republic thoroughly
conservative thing.
| There is a natural basis for such
a combination because most of the
| influential Nationalists are large land
owners. they belong tn class which
| in all questions of national economy
and social orga ganizatiOn are at one
with big business and with finance.
| The Nationalists are party of prop
erty and what is actually happening
| is that the parties of property In
Germany are steadily moving toward
a basis of combination which shall
control the republic and direct it's
course in conformity with the ideas
of business, finance and property.
But no such combination was possi-
| bile so long as the EatiOnalists openly
! or secretly refuse to accept the re-
public AS final and worked or planned
to work for the rest Grafton Of the
empire. 1t requires years and vast
efforts. and the actual progress of
events to convince the monarChist
that the monarchy could not he re-
stored, but that. If they continue to
refuse to accept the Srepublic and
declined to share In it's control. It
might he transformed into a danger
Gus and extremely radical republic.
/ think one may say quite fairly
that today the situation In Germany
Is that the republic is passing, II 1t
has not passed already, into the con-
troll of the elements in Germany
which roughly correspond to those
which make up the Republican party
in the United States.
Part Hindenburg Plays.
1t is true that the elements which
make up the radical opposition in Ger
many are far more extreme than the
Democrats of the United States and
the analogy Is not so good although
it is absurd to think even of the Social
Democrat as Bolshevist. But by and
large the evolution which has taken
place in German political life has been
! in the direction of the formation of a
conservative Republican party. includ-
ing the old Monarchist party, which
shall not alone resist radical pro-
| grams and policies, but shall also
little by little seek to reinforce the ma
chinery of the republic to make 1t
more stable.
In the estimate of the things which
contributed to bring about the great
ira information II would he impossible
to overlook the part of HindenburE.
which was perhaps decisive. His elec-
tion was the last pa ssionate and not
unintelligent effort of the mOnarchists
| 10 counteract the current which they
felt correctly was running against
them and toward the republic. But
where they thought to conquer the
republic by the magic OF the name OF
the old soldier. in fact, the republic
conquered Hindenburg.
Once the simple and utterly straight
| forward old man took his oath of Of
| flee, II became clear that he had taken
ii in the spirit in which he swore an
boy to support his Emperor. He
asked only to be shown the pathway
IOl uutN ITOIii Ills pleuHc. H0
| Republican constitution was his law.
When he took his oath of office. when
| he swore to maintain the constitution,
| the psychological effect within Ger
| many was astonishing. These who
would have assailed the republic were
| silenced because the president was
their man, but their man has become
the most loyal of Republicans.
Wrong View Outside Germany.
We outside of Germany thought
that the coming of HindenburG meant
the doom Of the republic and that he
| was entering the breach at the head Of
the army Of reaction, but in fact he
, took his position as a defender Of the
republic. he accepted his oath Of Office
as serious, and as final. And once It
became clear that Hindenburg was GER
! tain to prove as good a Republican
as the Socialist Ebert whom he sue.
ceeded, then there was no longer any
doubling fact that the last monarchist
coup had failed and that the game was
! up.
! Today there is not much imDortant
political legislation pending. There
are no great problems of domestic or
! foreign relations to be dealt with. The
| Dawes plan has disposed of repara.
tions. LOcarno of foreign political is-
sues. All German effort must certain
ly be directed at seeking to hasten the
evacuation of the Rhineland, and
there will he disappointment and hit
terness IL this does not succeed. AS
consequence of this rather passive
condition II may be that the present
state Of balance between powers. the
form of compromise by which a mod
crate cabinet is tolerated. may con.
tinue for weeks or even months.
| On the other hand. after Geneva a