Evening star., 1933-06-04

powers under the empire as the assem-.
bly, of the princes, was TRANSFORMED
into the Reichsrat, the assembly OF
the representatives Of the states, ana
its prerogatives were crafty curtailed.
Foes of Set-Up Complain.
Foes of the new arrangement com
planned that beginning with 1919 tne
center of economic and political gravity
in Germany was shifted from the states
to the Reich. When the World war
ended there we're Is German states, and
when Hitler issued the law of their CO.
ordination the other day there were
only II.
During the republican regime Bavaria
continued to resist the centralizing
trend. In the Spring of 1919 she went
Bolshevist for three weeks, and then
went reactionary. She flouted Berlin,
which she denounced as the home OF
the November criminals" the men who
signed the treaty of Versailles Bavaria
virtually declared war on the Reich by
failing to execute an emergency decree
for the protection of the republic. She
kidnapped the Reichswehr division sta
toned in her territory by making 1t
take the oath of allegiance to Bavaria.
Munich became the haven Of the re-
dictionaries of all Germany, and one OF
them, Adolf Hitler, achieved promin-
ence because there was a fanatical glow
in his voice and because he promised
everything to everybody-even to the
Jews and Socialists, to whom he prom
ised the gallows and the stake. 1t was
from Munich-and originally with the
approval of the Bavarian government
that Hitler began his famous march on
Berlin on the fifth anniversary of the
,;-+i ayoicOda nnirh hapaY cIlh-
timely and ended in ridicule. The fiasco
of the "beer-hall putsch" was such a
blow to the reactionaries that Bavaria
decided to mend her ways.
About five years later the time seemed
ripe to do something about the reor-
ganization of Germany, which had
found the overlapping functions OF the
Reich and the states a heavy burden.
A conference of the states was called;
it tried to straighten out the difficulties
and succeeded in bringing to light hid
den enmities. One OF the suggestions
at the conference was to divide the
Reich into two parts, north and south
of the river Main. The north side,
which is more homogeneous and less
state conscious, was to be transformed
into a north German super-state. How
ever, this solution was rejected, as it did
not appeal to the north.
Next it was suggested that Prussia
should be merged in the Reich, SO that
the overlapping of the government Or
gans should be eliminated. To the south
German states this looked more like
Prussia swallowing the Reich than be-
ing itself swallowed. This solution had
to be abandoned because it did not
appeal to the south.
Bavaria Submits Plan.
Then the conferees asked Bavaria,
the most emphatic upholder of states
rights, what solution she had in mind.
Thereupon the Bavarian Minister Presi-
dent submitted plan which, however,
was kept secret for considerable length
of time-and for excellent reasons.
When the plan finally had to be made
public the conference was laughed out
of existence 1t was found that Bavaria S
idea of sacrificing part of her SOW
ereignty was by increasing it. Munich
suggested that the legislative rights OF
the German Reich be restricted and the
financial independence Of the states be
safeguarded.
After this the conference was turned
into vaudeville in which representa-
tive of the Free State of Bavaria sug-
gested that they might try. as an eX-
pertinent, retaining the republican form
of government for Prussia and making
Bavaria a monarchy under the rule OF
the Wittelsbach dynasty. After this
suggestion the conference ended with
out accomplishing anything.
Even though the Hitler government
decided on the suppression of the SOW
ereign states in its own selfish inter-
estS, this was constructive move.
The chancellor has declared that it
Is not his intention to destroy the his
toric role of the states, and his lieuten-
ants have insisted that state traditions
will be respected Nobody knows how
the states like the reorganization, as
the expression of an unfavorable opinion
is considered an attack on the nation.
For a more definite appraisal Of the
states attitude toward the change, we
shall have to wait for Germanys liberia
ton from the Hitler terror,