New-York tribune. [volume], July 22, 1917, Page 7, Image 43

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for Better or For Worse-the New German Government
?I
flie Crisis in Teutonic Affairs Is Recog?
nized as Grave by the
Foreign Press
\? ANXIOUS curiosity pervades
4 j-urope, \vhich awaits the disck?*
\ ? s hand by the new Ger
,-t, Bcthmann-HoUvreg is out;
Georg M'chiu'Hs is m- Suc^ wa* *-^e
* -??ujticn that obtained, but which
__>n^. every day to become a different
tmOMM.
Vot lirvce *-??* ni"y Em***?eror "dropped the
? ??? Bismarck, has any change of min
^??a Germany been laden with so much
-icsnee- ^:a? -i*n** ?* m&n Ml ?-he
? ?lot, il??*" bureaucratic Michaelis who
reed frrTT' ? :.'-:**:*' mediocrity to the
?j, | ,wcr in Middle Ku
?-?iT.d up'"? '-?'??'m perhaps, depend the
____ of miHinn< of persons within tlie
^?eand without!
?_? -gor ' iire ?aaaWJO a&SOC?at?*5,
ct Bn?k>-or(T*rkantzau' tne neTr For"
c-cjttary? *??" ? '"'-her aristocrats who
rJpj_-?_tcd the Zimmermanns and the
??a?* Doe? it all bode ill or well for de
v/nee in Germany?
?
HAT MANNT. R OK MAN
? ML MK'i-VEI.IS*
I1:, Georg Mirh.ie'is, successor to Bis-I
MMa\ Hohenlohc, Biilow and Bet>_mann- ,
;:r.?rrz, comes out of Fru&sia with a. rep?
lias for efficiency in home organization,!
h fact? his fini assurances are for
-.-?yir.d internal cooperation and a eon
?-jr.ee ?*f the Central Europ*2an alii-1
??.?a." London alfocti I o see in him a ?
?PPaaWa But Bethn^wi-Hollweg was !
i -?promise, a skilful procrastinator, a |
pufbi poc
f? Ctowt? Pr nee, leader of the junker '
xiooaries', liir.icnburg, champion of ]
a ?*?_tarists, and Ludendorff attended'
h fett of this new Chancellor. Beth-'
MiBalle*i 1' Y-sional compromiser'
:.r the imperial .-er\ ce, was outworn, and
:r# professional compromiser and prc
- of-promises had to
?'. ;jjiOTerei
lir_** few personal acts of Michaelis
I .# by at this distance, the American
;**3*tll$ back unavoidably upon specific
Irren opinion as to the nature of the
Cera upheaval, pausing only to restate
tvr.ich has been broached by in-,
rai American commentators. Accord-1
haha theory, "a peace pro^amme ?3
out by France, England and
MMSJ,' the essential factor in the prog?
's of which is to be "the apparent demo
TTaiti'jn of Germany." Germany now
?rh the form of reduction to
i*S?a*atary government and probably
ian "peace without]
??aatiem'' programme in the expectation
P<aaa1 it has to offer on such a parlia
??aaTy basis may be acceptable.
jaaMll. ntOM
lat? SID' -
?'* (mud ? epted explanation, -
Jr**'*"?, is that Germany has felt a good
mal pr-"***\?re for reform trtimu
lated by the Russian Revolution, by Aus?
trian desire for peace and by the Wilson
lan and the Lloyd George demands for
democratization, and that sho hopes, by
making a cheap shift, to sop the mal?
contents and "push all such nonsense
aside" for another year.
From London comes this suggestion of
compromise:
"Though in some quarters there is a ten?
dency to interpret the resignation of von
Bethmann-Hollweg as a victory for the Pan
Germans, it is generally agreed that Michaelis
really represents a compromise party rather
than the extremist? of either faction."
From France's comment one derives a
faint hope. The "Temps" thinks Dr.
Michaelis superior to his predecessor on
two points?he has been successful and
has character. His success has been shown
in his position as Food Commissioner, his
character is shown by his speech last
March in the Prussian Chamber, from
which the "Temps" quotes the following:
"No one shall make me swerve. I would not
accept an office which would be but an rdgc
lesa sword."
The "Journal des D?bats" says edi?
torially:
"The importance of the change does not
consist in the substitution of persons, but in
the cause which made it impossible to retain
the retiring Chancellor."
The "Petit Parisien" is one of the news?
papers that are not optimistic over the de?
velopment, saying:
"Though the Chancellor changes, the Ger?
man masters remain the same. Rethmann
Hollweg -would never have been disavowed
had the hopes of his masters been realized
by victory. He who gets his portfolio will
inherit his burden and the same insurmount?
able difficulties."
Representatives of the Berlin press were
received on Saturday by General Luden?
dorff, who discussed the military situation.
He said the situation on all fronts was fa?
vorable.
The Pan-German Independent League
met and adopted a resolution of protest
against the proposed peace action of the
Reichstag majority, declaring the adoption
of the majority programme wpuld result in
the indefinite continuance of the war and
the political and economic ruin of the Ger?
mans.
In the "Vossische Zeitung" Georg Bern?
hard openly accuses Dr. von Bethmann
Hollweg and his foreign secretary, Dr.
Zimmermann, of having played a double
game with Washington, making war in?
evitable by attempts to deceive and mis?
lead President Wilson in regard to the
policy and intentions of Germany.
WILL THE AMERICAN "STATE OF
WAR" BE RECOGNIZED NOW?
Hen* Bernhard intimates that the sub?
marine policy, if managed skilfully, might
not have led to war with the. United States
had not these diplomats artificially in?
creased the danger and destroyed every
chance of avoiding a break.
Count BrockdorfT-Rantzau, the new For?
eign Secretary, who is a cousin of Count
von Bernstorff, is an aristocrat born, and
his induction into office probably means a
return of the aristocratic tradition in the
i German service. He has been the German
Ambassador to Coper.hagcn and is about
the only diplomat in Germany whose
course has been approved by practically all
? the critics. In some quarters the appoint?
ment is taken as a repudiation of the Zim?
mermann policy, which helped bring the
United States into the war when the Ger?
man intrigue with Mexico was discovered.
However, it is said that Count Brockdorff
i Rantzau will be prompt to recognize the
j state of war with the United States, which
! has hitherto been officially ignored in Ger?
many.
The Reichstag's proposed peace resolu
i tion, which, according to the Berlin "Tage
Iblatt," the majority bloc of the Centre,
| Radicals and Socialists decided to intro
I
' duce unchanged upon the reassembling of
the Reichstag, rears, in part, as follows:
"As on August 4,1914, so on the threshold of
the fourth year of the war the German peo?
ple stand upon the assurance of the speech
from the throne: 'We are driven by no lust of
? conquest.'
"Germany took up arm? in defence of its
liberty and independence and for the inte?
rity of its territories. The Reich-tag labors
for peace and a mutual understanding ?in.I
lasting reconciliation among the BStiot .
Forced acquisitions of territory and political,
i economic and financial violations are incom
; patible with such a peace.
"The Reichstag rejects all plans aiming at
? an economic blockade and the stirring up of
enmity among the. peoples after the war.
The freedom of the seas must be assur?*'i.
Only an economic peace can prepare the
ground for the friendly association of the
rtoples.
"So long, however, as the enemy govern
ment..-, do not accept such a peace; so long a?
?*n Germany and her allies with
eonqutst and violation, the German peopi?
"?ether as one man."
The Austrian Reichsrat was thrown inte
an uproar when the former Czech Minis?
ter, Herr Pruschek, declared on Saturday
the hat;' of the entire world was now rtt?
rtjeted against Germany and that Austria
should detach herself from her ally, says a
Vie a dispel i. He added:
Haw trt Wt to obtain peace if we cling to
the German sido'' Must we continue to sac?
rifice i ur interests to the expansion of Ger
* continue to submit to the
German militarism that has drawn us into
trarf
Meanwhile, just to show that her army
is ?tiil on the firing line. Germany made a
drive toward Calais. The capture of 1,880
British prisoners at Nieuport, Belgium,
was the result.
The Imperial Frown
An interesting sidelight on the Hollweg
exit is obtained in a subjunctive sort of
prophecy written a short time ago by Ed?
ward Lyell Fox in his book, "Wilhelm
Hoher.zollern & Co.":
"One of the Kaiser's prerogative? ia that
he holds the supreme command of the Gtr
trun army and the German navy. Incident?
ally, the German military title for the offlct
is 'War Lord.' Holding 'his supreme com?
mand, the Kaiser uses it. Our President it
commander in chief of the American artsy
and navy, but as a rule our presidenta rarely
direct the campaign of our army and na*y
in t*.m<* of war. Not so with the Kaiser, who
has studied military and naval science his
entire life and fatuously believes he knows
something about it.
"He is the supreme arbiter. His chief of
staff and his generals eoncei\e the military
moves. He studies their plans, suggests
changes r.?re and there, and likes his gen?
erals when they openly disagree with him??
that :s, if it turns out that they are right.
If they trues.? wrong they get on the im?
perial blacklist. In a-y case, the Kaiser
cccides.
lar is hit rsltHos te the navy."
The Secretary fur Foreign Affairs ta
responsible to the Chancellor "for the effi?
ciency of the Foreign Office," and the
Chancellor, for his part, is responsible to
the Kaiser. Resuming Mr. Fox's rarrtv?
tive:
"As the army and navy chiefs submit thelf
1 plans tor decision, so. too, does Dr. Theobald
von Bethmann-Hollwep. If the Kaiser hlce.S
the Chancellor's plan he adopts it. If ho
doesn't, the imperial frown is put upon it?
One colossal blunder and, like Moltke, KaU
kenhayn and Tirnitz, off will go Hethmanna?
Hollweg'? official head. For the Kaiser*!
chieftain.- publicly assume the responsibility
for the moves of imperial Germany. If the
moves fail, they ami they alon?* are to hi ?in?,
for despite the fact that none of these movet
can be m-ide without the Kaiser's indorse?
ment of them, Wilhelm IL being the Kaiser,
'can do no wrong."'
How the Reichstag Lines Up
THERE was a time in the history of
the present war when the Kaiser
could claim with some degree of
justice that he had the support of the
German people behind him. There was a
time when all of Germany, with the ex?
ception of a few radical and daring So?
cialists, was willing to submit, with sumo
reluctance, it is true, to the Kaiser's plan
of war.
Of course, the view of the Bunde.-rath
?Federal Council! cannot be cons?deved an
expression of the opinion of the German
people as a whole, but of the Kaiser and
of the titled nobility, the Junker; for the
elections of the fifty-eight members of the
Federal Council are considerably influ?
enced by the Junkers, anil the president
: of this body is appointed by the Kaiser,
and he is the right hand in the execution
of his master's autocratic policy. On the
other hand, the Reichstag (Imperial Diet)
could more justly be taken to represent a
? great part of the German people, although
not all the classes of the German nation.
The elections to the Reichstag are held
every five years, and ?very 150,000 voters
elect one member to the Diet. But not
every German can vote. First of all, sol?
diers and all men of military age, even if
exempted from service, are excluded from
the voting privilege; likewise are excluded
those who on account of their poverty
cannot answer the economical qualifica
tions. The members of the Reichstag
are "97 in number, and are divided into
ten parties:
Votes.
Socialists . 110
The Centre or Catholic Party. . 91
Radicals . 44
National Liberals-. 44
Conservatives . ?il
Independents . 23
Poles . I*
Free ("ons-rvutivos. 1*_
Industrial Labor Union. 9
Anti-Semites . 3
Of these, in 11)11, only a few Socialist*
dated to oppose the aggresaire policy of
the Kaiser, while almost the entire Reichs?
tag was in favor o? orar? Whether this
stand of the Imperial Diet was influenced
by the activity of the pan-Germanic
press, which has especially enjoyed the
favor and support of the (ierman govern?
ment, or whether it was due directly to
the activity of the Kaiser and his agents
is a question. But the fact remains that
since Germany's invasion of Belgium more
and more members of the Reichstag have
been leaving the Kaiser's s'de and becom?
ing .-trong opponents of war.
Slowly the opponents of the Kaiser
were growing in force. First, one after
another, the various socialist parties
stepped out actively against the govern*
ment. And the recent demand of the
Centrist party through its spokesman,
Herr Er/.berger, upon the Kaiser, asking
for a peace without indemnities and an?
nexations, aligns the majority of the
Reichstag against the policy of the Go*??
man government, sine?* out of the 39?
votes of the Diet the Socialists and Cert?
trists hive 201 votes.
Now, If the German Reichstag does rep?
resent the German people, what does thli
strong opposition of 'lie largest German
representative bod** mean? An?! will the
Ksiser succeed in breaking the will of thf
Refchstag?
w?y////if?f?*?*^*y^^^
T7/7fff/////f/Sf////.'//(""r"""""""""""""'??'?"?".?.
The German Press in America Keeps Its Heart True to the Fatherland
'- '*?"
Sy a Loyal lernuiOyAmeriran
\a\IN ar.-? again the -German-lan
s"*&*f?* prtai has been exposed for
?he Kaiser and its
N-feiMena! r* **.ar.d and even open
. Not only the news
**b which were always Hohenzollern '
aliens that, like the
**-?* "Ar'tT-e.^r-Z'-.tung," when it was
J* -7 "Emin Pascha," a disciple of
^F.-:.*.z<!, ? Armer Teufel" ?poor
Mosler, fought con
N% jta ? and Prussian autoc
tdrocates of Kaiserism
??Ik?'.?-: '-he present war. A
?"a M -. r-Zeitung" is not:
?<mpt against this ,
reproduces also the
tOT Kerger, a Ger
rhe mounted Pegaf-us to
******** < .. killed in the bloody'
a tnd perlshedt
. rv f0r d???r Old F>g
*'?
-<* ' '"-'ration |
?****? ?? Kr.ic'.ar.d.
a grava
?????? ta4 shame" **
J"? More Daring than
:J*?? ana Goldman
F, ?.h??-! by the
John Bull SSS?e
try*'."
\H***t ?hat Emma Goldman a*T0tl ll
??* '? er aaaaeiato Alexan
?J*'?' I In "The Blaat" has
Cy* " * difrflanea of the
appears in the
' *"?* r ifTtlo "Arbeiter
%
?*'-''? a-r? fh-F wtr
?J***" a the war by a?
*"? Stiit? its owe country.
The government tears ?way from your s
your dear ones, your supporter?, and prep
coffin? [elsewhere in the same article app
the untruthful ?tory circulated by Prus
publications that 100,000 coffins Lavo b
ordered" which are destined to contain
that will remain of them. That meani
'the American government' destroys y
family happinees, which to preserve the (
erament pretended to enter the war. It
liver? you to ?tre?s and misery from wh
to shield you, they said, was the purp9?e
the war.
"The government lied to you. Keep that
mind and act accordingly. Remember
fact and le? be dictated the ro::n??l *?i y?
ii?*!?r ones, Ngardiag their nt?nd tS eonscr
tion, by th?* r?su!t of these deliberation?."
The American Government a Mong:
Of Democracy and Absolutism
The readers of the "Arbeiter-Zeitun
are told that the government of the Unit
States is an autocracy and guilty of h
poerisy. Suys the "'Arbeiter-Zeitung":
"Th? repreientative sy?tf-m ?m in t
United Statem is no- democracy, but a mo
grel of democracy and absolutism? Ah a ru
'. wi!! ba th? fig-leaf of auto-rnr-v ?n critic
oh???. 4"ongren? did not want th?? brenr-h wi"
(?ermany, but permitf?.*?! if. CongTSM did ?<
want war against fjermany, l>ul permitted I
In fact, the m?tt?*r wa? arranged by on?? rn.a
in wh"M h?nd? ?*? much authority ha? bei
placed ?hat he can easily ?c?-ulre the c?nilr>
of the lawmaker?. The Unite?! State? is no d?
riccracy. H?r aaaautitO la thoroughly m??i
arehical. Tim ?ecurity of democracy in one u
the faine ?logan? on *rv**hlch the war ag-iim?
? ?rrriany 1? wag?-?!. . . . They don't wnnt th
dem-x-ratlzatlon of ''?.many, but her eradle?
tion a? a competitor for world power end he
?conomie ruin."
They Say th** "If" Looms
\jsTic in England
The "Hrooklyner I r?i?? Presae" in formt
it? readers that the situation of the Alliai
i? nothing les? than hopeful. In one of its
editorials It aaya:
"The triumph of th? Aille? or?r their en
emie? seern? to depend principally on an ':
and les? on their own military ability. '
far as the Allies are concern?- ., war is ?ti
an incalculable speculation and not a scient
With a tenacity worthy of recognition th?
pull through from failure to failure ?nd di
play masterly knowledge of opening up ne
?esources before the old one? aro exhausto
. . . It 'the admonition of Porrreroy Burto
to do the utmost to defeat Germany] reminc
us that the war i? carried on for worl
dominion, and we are expected to prevent
German world dominion to preserve Rriti?
world dominion."
The same paper also says:
"T-.f Germans have required an *iron fli
in thil war, says Berlin. And Kngland hu
?n iron foreh?;id to deny the effect of thi
? iron Bat."
A poem reads in part, as follows:
' "Also one city of Poland
: I? held (irmly by hin .the Russian's) hind.
I Whatever in- gat ri'it stolen
j He has burnt.
| One see? that the new Russia
I? ?till the old empire.
It is ?he same in battle.
In victory and lying."
Gilling Germany'a Enemiea
, Juat That?Her tnemiea
In another poem entitled "The Sailor'i
; Song" the "Freie Preise" confeases openl*
I to feeling absolutely German, calling Ger
many's enemies its enemies:
?"But nil the sailor? are on watrh
I Tho enemies threaten- day and night
I Proudly flouts Germany's flag,
To the envy of ??id Kngland.
Theref'.rn I inubt leave you
So far behind, my love."
The "New-Yorker Abend-Herold" re?
print? a ?tory that the New York police re
fneed to interfere when h w?mnn was
| iiiole.ied, and rubis, "A? If all of u? did
not know that thifl Is not Germany 1" in?
sinuatlng thereby that condition? In this
country are leas ?atiafactory than in the
| Fatherland.
By the "Westliche Post," of St. Loui
Maximilian Harden is called "a worth
ally of British instigators and calumnir
tors." A compliment to our English ally.
Americans tre accused of rowdyism b
the Philadelphia "Gazette" in an articl
devoted to the question whether the Get
man-Americans will go back to thei
1 atherland after the war. Says the ai
tide:
"In the old country those who trill go bac
will be regarded tind treated as equals, an
not a* tolerated individual? uho may b
kicked any time a rowdy or Knownothing like
to do so."
It cannot be supposed that the autho
of this article had the intention to creat
Amer.can patriotism in his readers. It i
hignif'cant that one of the members o
"The Gazette" editorial staff, Herr Ma
i Heinrici, who is official press agent qf th
i .National German-American Alliance
I mailed last year a circular to German
American newspapers that reads in part
"America would do well not to become toi
frenh. Othefa 1st it Bight be that the Ger
man Michael come? overnight and whips oh
Uncle Sam Just as hoartily as ho deserves."
Better to Leave Before
The Taxes Go Up
The "Gatette" adviset the German
i Americans to emigrate to the old countn
i because "after the war we will have, prob,
ably, to pay more taxes in this land ol
plenty than the citizens of any other coun?
try, ss soon as the payments of the hill
Ions we borrow for the war will begin."
The Detroit "Abendpost" attempts to
I create the Impression that Germany's
U-boat war will finally triumph over the
( Allies. Of course, there applies the Ger
[ man saying, "Der Wunsch ist der W.cr
des Gedankens" (the wish is the father of
I the thought).
Economic conditions In America are
i jneere?! at by the Detroit "Abendpost" in
itht following language i "Only one pereon
out of ten in this country, it is said, has i
bank account. But even these happy peo
pie don't know what the bankers do wit!
the deposited money."
The Allies are accused of lack of fair
neat in the following: "It is said that a;
. nations should apply themselves to th?
greatest fairness in their relations to eacr
? ^ther. It would he very interesting U
learn what excuses the Allies have for th
oppression of Greece."
In another editorial the same paper pro
i tests against granting financial help tc
Russia.
Then They Accuse NorthclifTe
Of ?Striving to Harm America
Great Britain is accused of attempting
cur ruin. The pre=ence of her official rep?
resentative, Lord Northrliffe, is thus com
' merited on by the "New-Yorker Staats*
' Zeitung: "... he is still at large
among us, working in the dark with his
bigness, his braininess and handsomeness
j to our undoing. . . . Where once
American newspapers were permitted to
voice the sentiments of American? they
are to-day confined to the expression of
'Allied wrntimtatt.' . . . The present
'?rive' against German-language news
' 1 apers in the United States is but an evi
j ?etico of his Lordship's Borgian tactics.
. . . Undoubtedly, our persistent cous?
ins across the water are anxious to keep
us in the dark as long as possiole. They
want no peace but a British peace, and
their only hope to secure that lies in keep?
ing the world blindly fighting their battles
for them."
Those who want Germany to win the
war and the United States to lose it argue
against the embargo and voice their grief
over the plight of the neutrals adjacent to
Germany, or plead openly for German
I ata?an and children, working secretly for
the commissariat department of the Kai?
ser's army, or picture the danger that,
threatens this country in case some of the
i eutrals should join the Central Powers.
I he "California Demokrat," of San Fran?
cisco, says in an article entitled "The
Double Sided Sword": "There seems to be
no necessity to offer to the war Moloch
? lore victims by forcing the few small up
to-now neutral nations into the world
war."
Concerning the Embargo There
la Much Apprehenaion
Under the headline "New Power Well
Applied," the "Abendpost," of Chicago,
says editorially: "President Wilson's em
bargo pol.cy is intended to cut out all ex
perta to Germany except sufficient food for
women and children," and thereby pleads
with the United States not to cut down the
exporta to the Scandinavian countries and
Hoiiand so much as to prevent them from
-applying "Germany's women and children
with sufficient food," thereby making the
German harveits available for the military
exclusively.
The "Waechter und Anzeiger," of Cleve?
land, the paper of Waldemar von Nostitz,
whom this country interned a? a dangerous
alien enemy, contrasts, in an article "The
Child in the War," by H. F. Urban (for
i. erly of New York and now of Berlin),
the German character with that of the
Allies, sayin-j: "It [the world] is full of
mear.nes-*, baseness, hysteria, lie- and
brutality?in short, of wickedness without
equal, and we people of German origin
have only one comfort in the face of this
world, namely, that it is not our own
world."
Aeroplanes Flew, "but Did
Not Hurl Bomba Down"
The same country states openly that it
regards Germany as ita oountry and the
Allies as its enemies by saying: "Enemy
reronauts flew, according to an Amster?
dam report, over the fortress of Cologne,
tut did not hurl bombs down."
"The "Illinois "Staats-Zeitung," of Chi?
cago, impugns England's motives, saymgl
??When England went into the present war
?he proclaimed from the housetops, ?nd has
continued doing so ever since, that it wag
to uphold the right? of humanity and to pro*
tec*, weak and oppre.-.sed peoples from out?
rage and wrong. It was not the first tima
?he went into war steeped to the lips ?nth
' perjury and lies?. And it is not to be sup?
1 posed that it will be the last."
German Pseudo-Efficiency
THE military history of Pnjasia will
have to be rewritten after this war-,
with the view of bringing to light
the real percentage of warrior's courage,
treachery and corruption in victory's com?
pound.
Vanity of vanities! Everything "ie
*?ain," said N.etzsche-Solomon three thou?
sand years ago. "'Bluff of bluffs, the
greater part of the much-vaunted German
efficiency is legend" is the apothegm of an
anonymous writer in the last issue of "The
Unpopular Review" (New York, Henry
Holt & Co.).
A pity space larks to reproduce verbatim
the charming essay, a collection of pin
pricks, stabs and sledgehammer blows.
"A people of thinkers?" Good heavens!
A couple of ideas derived from <*xperienoo
set a-breedir.g until the immense progeny
spread it?elf out in the family tree of a
metaphysical system. That is about all.
Ar.d what has remain, d of all the philo
, sophical word structurea from Christian
' Wolff and Leibnitz to Schopenhauer and
' Nietzsche? A melancholic residue of pes*
. simif-m and overbearing, bordering OQ
lunacy.
What will happen to Germany when
she faces an aftermath compared ?vith
which the ravages of the Thirty Yearo'
? War were sporadic in extent and easilj*
| reparable ia beyond conjecture.