Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-02
FIGHT TO CONTROL ARMY
is BIG ISSUE in GERMANY
Future of Republic Seen Ringing on
Outcome of Struggle-Schools
Also Contested.

can. And In the opposition they can
count on the Communists, who are
against everything.
The Nationalists, who have been in
the opposition steadily since the for
nation of the republic. now quite
frankly desire to come into the gov
eminent and into the enjoyment of the
fruits OF office. They desire, too. 10
recover control Of many important
cabinet and other positions and thus
by the process Of infiltration to get
control of the government They have
no present idea OF restoring the mon.
srchy, but neither have they any in.
tention to accept the republic perma.
mently.
Ever since the first election after
the adoption of the weimar consti.
tuition the Nationalists have made
gains and have more and more con.
solidated their political unity. In the
same fashion the three republican
parties have lost ground. and they
have in addition lost that majority
which in coalition they commanded
up to the election following the occu-
patton of the Ruhr.
Coalition Has Controlled.
In practice. Germany has been gov.
erned since that time by the coalition
OF three bourgeois parties. the Peo-
pies, the Clericals and the Democrats.
who count slightly more than third.
but much less than a half, of the
Reichstag. But this coalition has no
fundamental unity and has to go hat
in hand now to the Nationalists In
domestic policies. now to the Social
lists in foreign affairs to get the need
ed ma jority.
But both the Socialists and the
Naf inr 4oIf afo nh,
government. desire to get inside. and
each would dominate any coalition to
which it belonged by sheer weight of
numbers. And as in the recent in
stance. whenever they choose to
unite they can turn out any cabinet.
because with the Communists, who
always vote against every govern
ment. they can command a majority
Exactly the same fate which has
now overtaken the Marx cabinet over
took the preceding, namely, the
Luther government. which had made
Locarno. And there can be no stable
majority until the German people are
prepared to decide Enthusiastically on
the question OF the republic or the
monarchy and disclose their decision
by sending clear majority to the
Reichstag
Negatively. of. course. the decision
has been made against the monarchy:
even in the present Reichstag the
votes of the parties against the mon
archy namely. the C1ericals. Social
| lists, Democrats and Communists,
count at least go and probably near
err 800. This Is. too, in house of
under 800 members. All peaceful
effort at restoration of the monarchy
under present conditions is therefore
| impossible.
Army Frankly RoyalIst.
The danger. as the Republicans see
| it, lies in the possibility that in a
coalition dominated by the National
| lists the whole power of public Office
and all the weight of patronage will
be concentrated upon building up a
machine which may one day be avail
able. The danger is increased by rea-
son of the fact that in the nature of
things the army has been and remains
always frankly sympathetic with the
old regime.
Unless the Republican elements can
one day get control of the army, there
will always be the danger OF coup
d'etat. of something like the Kapp
putsch, which failed because neither
the army as whole nor any part of
the monarchists rallied to it. although
most of them sympathized with it.
sTo insure the permanence OF the
republic the Republicans must in the
long run get control of both the army
and the schools. This was the fashion
in which the Third Republic in France
ultimately established itself. and the
conditions of the German republic are
very similar.
In Germany the republic grew stead
lily weaker down to the time of the
occupation of the Ruhr. and indeed up
to the moment when the Dawes plan
began to function. On the other hand.
the Republican cause has grown
steadily stronger ever since. The rea-
son is obvious. Germany itself went
down hill at home and abroad befor"
1924, and the Republicans, being in
power, were naturally held respon-
sible.
Benefits Of Dawes Plan.
On the other hand. since 1924 the
Dawes plan and the Locarno pacts
have brought an enormous improve
ment in both the foreign and domestic
situations. and the Republicans are
profiting thereby. The Nationalists,
too. have suffered because they adopt
ed policy of sterile opposition, and
what they opposed proved desirable,
while their prophecies of evil were
In the end, IL the republicans con
tinue to conduct the affairs Of Ger
many, the foreign affairs, for which
they supply the majorities always, the
republic will have the credit for hav-
ing obtained the evacuation of German
soil, the restoration of German posi-
ton in Europe, and thus of liquidat
ing the defeat on tolerabie grounds.
AS against this the monarchists will
be saddled with the responsibility for
the defeat in war and for opposition TO
all policies which insured restoration
and reconciliation. This. on the whole.
would be a fatal handicap from which
they could hardly recover in any use
full time. They must then get control
of the government and do something
which entities them to some degree of
prestige.
But the difficulty liz that all the
things the monarchists desire to do .
are unlikely to lead to Cancellation or
to success. Their mere appearance In
control OF a government would stiffen
the backs of the French and delay all
prospects of the evacuation of the
Ruhr or the recovery of the Sarre.
There is always their fatal weakness.
Exploit Shooting Incident.
They can and they do exploit every.
incident like the recent shooting in the
occupied region and the acquittal Of
the French officer who did 1t by
French military court. They can and
they do take advantage of every cir
which can be tortured into
the semblance of allied bad faith or
French oppression.
But. while these Incidents do occur,
here are not enough of them to bal
ance the steady gain in German posi-
lion. And business. in the steel cartel.
m the potash agreements i'm n variety