GERMANY (POLITICAL STRUCTURE) Q. What was the political situa tion in Germany in 1918? A.-It was fairly clear and rather sharply outlined. The Pan-Germanists, working largely through their new popular party, to which they had_shrewdly given the enticing name of Fatherland party, were working on the line of demanding that the German people must be repaid for their sacrifice of blood and treasure-the good old formula that had been almost invariably successful throughout the history of humanity when addressed to the nation whose military power had proved itself. Opposed to this very solid mass were many parties. They were tied together by the one desire for a just and equitable peace, but, otherwise, they had little or no connecting bonds. For instance, the Socialists, who led in opposition to the Pan-Germanists, remained distinctly opposed in all general political and social matters to the various other parties that were in agreement with them on the big war-issues, especially on the dictum of "no annexations." Q.-Was there any similar divi sion in other countries? A. Yes. Speaking very broadly, by the beginning of 1918 there had come a pretty clear division in all countries, both Allies and Central Powers, between a great body of public opinion that still felt that only by successful war could a just and lasting peace be won, and another smaller body of public opinion which took a position exactly the reverse-that the time had arrived when there was a strong possibility of approximating a just peace, and establishing certain international ideals, by negotiation rather than by military victory. Q.-Can the Kaiser make war? A.-He cannot declare an offensive war, but a clause in the constitution provides that he can declare war if defensive. If war is not defensive, he must have the consent of the Bundesrath, or Federal Council, which is the upper house of the German Parliament. Under the Constitution the Kaiser can make treaties of peace. He does not need the consent of the Parliament for any treaties except when they relate to matters regulated by imperial legislation. Q.-How did Prussia become militaristic? A. As a result of being licked too often. Prussia (and the other States of Germany) were for a long time used as a cock-pit for other peoples' wars, just as the Belgian territory always has been used. Whenever France wanted to fight Russia or Austria, the road led through Württemberg, Bavaria or Prussia. The German States were alternately victims of both sides or allies of one or the other. Some of the greatest battles of history thus were fought out on German territory. At last Prussians determined grimly to fight for themselves, and it was under the inspiration of a burning zeal and love for home and country that the seeds of militarism were sown. Under Frederick the Great the militaristic principle became part of the woof and warp of national life. Q. Can the President of the United States make treaties? A.-No. He can make treaties only "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." It is this simple clause which has saved us from being embroiled in secret diplomacy. The European nations (not excepting even democratic England) have suffered grievously by permitting their rulers or cabinets to make internaedge or advice of the people's representional arrangements without the knowl tatives. Q-What is the true meaning of the Kaiser's title "War Lord"? A.-In German, the title is "KriegsHerr," and "War Lord" is only a literal translation that does not actually convey its meaning. The more clear translation is "War Commander." The title signifies officially that whoever is Emperor of Germany becomes by virtue of this office Supreme Commander of the Army and Navy in war. Probably few Americans know that this supreme command is limited by the words "in war," but this is true. The Kaiser has not the absolute command over the forces of the entire German Army. Article 66 of the German Constitution provides that the German princes, especially the kings of Bavaria, Württemberg and Saxony, are the chiefs of the troops be longing to their territory (six army corps of twenty-four). They nominate the officers for these troops, etc. The absolute disposition of the German Army thus passes on to the Kaiser only in the moment when the consent of the states, who with Prussia form the empire, has been obtained for the declaration of a war. This consent is obtained through the German Upper House or Bundesrath, which represents the various States. Q. What is the German people's attitude toward the Kaiser? A. With the exception of the most radical socialists, the German people hold their Kaiser in the highest esteem. It is this attitude which has caused the German people to bear, with such wonderful patience, whatever burden the war has brought. Q.-Has Germany a constitution? A. Yes. It has a written constitution, which is, on the whole, similar to the constitution of most large nations, defining and limiting the powers of the Government and directing the general method of making laws and enforcing laws. It went into effect on April 16, 1871. Q. Can anybody but a Hohenzol lern become Emperor? A.-Not under the terms of the Confederation. When Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, was made German Emperor (by vote of the old North German Confederation Reichstag, on the initiative of all the Princes of Germany), the Imperial dignity was made hereditary in the House of Hohenzollern, and, as the law of primogeniture also holds, it means that when a Hohenzollern dies, his eldest living son ascends the Imperial throne. Q.-Does the old North German Federation still exist? A.-No. This very loose and not effective form of federation was replaced by the present confederation known as the German Empire. Germany as a nation is quite different, you must note, from such a country as France. France is one single governmental organization. Germany is a union of States. Q.-Have the Germans free suf frage like other countries? A. The national elections are by absolutely universal manhood suffrage with the secret ballot system, and no voter needs any qualification of property, etc., but is entitled to cast his ballot if he is a citizen of legal age. The State elections are different. Each State has its own laws for elections within the State. Prussian election laws are especially unequal, and this was the subject of a bitter political contest during the war, and, indeed, became an issue of the war. Q. What suffrage have the other countries? A.-The United States has practically equal suffrage, except in a few States where suffrage is limited in various ways, France has chiefly for political reasons. universal suffrage. Italy has almost universal suffrage, but the people can elect only the members of the lower house, the Senate consisting of Princes or of members appointed by the King for life. Great Britain, in February, 1918, enacted a new suffrage law, which swept away the qualifications previously in force, and provided universal manhood suffrage, besides a new scheme of distribution on the basis of one member of Parliament for every 70,000 of the population in Great Britain, and one for every 43,000 in Ireland. It also admitted to the suffrage any woman of thirty years or over who is a local government elector or the wife of one (this involves six months' ownership or tenancy of land or premises), thus giving the vote to about 6,000,000 women. Q-Do the Germans elect any of their actual ruling heads? A.-No. The Germans elect the members of their Reichstag, but the Chancellor of the German Empire, who corresponds to Prime Minister in England, is appointed by the Emperor, and is not responsible by law to the Reichstag. Q.-What nations in the war elect their ruling heads? A.-Only the United States. The British Prime Minister is appointed by the King (though, in actual practice, the ruling majority in Parliament makes up its mind whom it wants, and the King has always appointed that particular person). The President of France is elected by the Senate and Chamber of Deputies. He has very little power, and the real ruler, the Premier, though appointed by the President, really is appointed only according to the wishes of the party in power at a given moment. In Italy the Ministry is appointed by the King, usually in accord with the ruling majority. Q. Is the German Parliament at all like the U. S. Congress? A.-In some ways it is like Congress. For instance, the Reichstag (which is the lower house or the House of Representatives, as we call ours) is made up of elected members who come from the various districts of Germany, where they are locally elected as our Congressmen are. The Bundesrath or Upper House, on the other hand, represents not the people of Germany, but the States specifically, as our Senate was supposed to do when United States Senators were selected by State Legislatures instead of being elected by popular suffrage. In fact, our Senators still represent States rather than electors, in political principle at least. Q. How does the size of the German Parliament compare with others? A. The Bundesrath, or Upper House, has 61 members, as against 96 United States Senators and 660 Peers in the British House of Lords. The Reichstag has 393 members, elected by popular suffrage, against 435 Congressmen and 670 members in the House of Commons. Q. Can the Kaiser dissolve the Reichstag? A. Yes. He has the right either to "prorogue" it (that means to close its session temporarily) or to dissolve it entirely. All that he needs is a majority vote of the Bundesrath. But he cannot prorogue the Reichstag indefinitely, and he cannot go on without a Reichstag. If he prorogues the Reichstag, it can be for only a period of 30 days, unless the Reichstag itself consents to a longer period. If he dissolves a Reichstag, new elections must be held within sixty days, and a new session must be held within ninety days. Q. Can the President prorogue Congress? A.-No. He can neither prorogue nor dissolve it. Congress is a co-equal body with the American President, and its rights are clearly defined as such in the constitution. various German States appointing the members for each session. Our 96 Senators are elected by popular suffrage for six years. The 660 Peers in the House of Lords hold their seats by hereditary right, by creation of new Peers by the King, and by virtue of office as English archbishops and bishops. Q.-Can the King of England prorogue Parliament? A. Yes. Every session of Parliament must end with a prorogation which issues from the King. He can also dissolve a Parliament, but no King in modern times has done so on his own authority. What the King does about Parliament is purely a matter of form. In actual fact, Parliament is prorogued when the majority party decides to do so, and it is dissolved when the majority party's Cabinet has been outvoted in Parliament on some national measure. An adverse vote (a vote of lack of confidence, as it is called) results by custom in a general election to bring in a new Parliament. As à matter of strict law, a Cabinet could hold out; but it could get no measures passed, and it would antagonize the voters by flouting British custom, which is stronger than written law. The British Constitution really is largely a matter of National custom; and the King acts accordingly, proroguing or dissolving Parliament by advice of the Cabinet. Q-If the Reichstag refuses to pass the Kaiser's measures, what can he do? A. He can dissolve Parliament, and thus cause another election. If the new body again refuse to approve of his legislation, he can again dissolve Parliament, and a second election would be held. Such a case has never arisen to date, but it is not impossible. The Emperor can declare war without the consent of the Lower House, just as can the King of England; but, owing to the fact that the Ministers are all his nominees, he has a very great influence over German politics while the King of England has very little over British politics in practice, though a forceful English King might assume many prerogatives and powers that have been allowed to become dormant merely as a matter of custom. Q. How do the upper houses Q-Can the King of England con compare? A. The 61 members of the Bundesrath are appointive, the governments of the trol the House of Lords? A. He can create a majority for himself in the House of Lords at any time by exercising his constitutional_prerogative of creating new Peers. He could create so many that they could overcome a vote against the Crown. This power, like other powers latent under English political practice, had fallen into such oblivion that probably most Englishmen considered it practically dead; but it suddenly came to life when the House of Commons made its great fight in 1910-11 to wrest the power of veto from the House of Lords. To force the House of Lords to relinquish this power, the Cabinet then in office threatened that the King would appoint enough Peers to vote for the measure. The threat was enough. It was not necessary to proceed to its execution. The incident showed what great powers still rest in the Crown-if the Crown should ever venture to use them. Q.-Does the King of England not Lords. It would be extremely difficult to pass a bill three times through the House of Commons, especially as two years must elapse by law between the first passage and the third passage. Q-Have the Germans a system of second ballots? A. Yes. Unlike Great Britain or the United States, they have a system for the Reichstag elections, by which, if absolute majority is not obtained by one candidate over all the others who are contesting the election, a second ballot is taken between the two candidates who have received the greatest number of votes. Q.-What is the German Reichstag representation? A. Each member represents about 130,000 inhabitants. This compares roughly with our Congress, each Congressman rep create new Peers yearly? A. Yes. It is a regular part of Eng-resenting about 200,000 people now. lish political practice; but the Peers that are created are not created primarily for voting purposes in the House of Lords. They are created for political reasons largely, it is true; but the reasons are indirect. Q. What entitles Englishmen to peerage? A.-Theoretically, peerages are bestowed for distinguished service, and a great many Peerages are thus granted. Many, however, are granted for services that are "distinguished" only in the sense that they are valuable to the party in power. The very common English practice of rewarding large contributors to political funds with peerages has been, and remains, a target for bitter attack in the House of Commons. Q.-Is the House of Lords wholly powerless to veto bills now? A.-It has lost its most imminent power, that of refusing its consent to revenue bills ("money bills" as the British term them) passed by the House of Commons. A money bill passed by the House may become a law without the concurrence of the House of Lords, if the King assents to it. Other bills, however, can override a House of Lords veto only by being passed by the House of Commons three times. If the Lords refuse each time to pass it, it becomes a law without their assent, if the Crown approves. It will be seen that this method still leaves considerable power of veto in the House of The members of the British House of Commons represented counties and boroughs, many of widely differing areas and populations until the passage of the new law above referred to; and there are also 9 university members elected by the universities. Q. How is the Bundesrath apportioned? A. Prussia appoints the largest number of members-16. Bavaria appoints the next larger number-6. Saxony and Württemberg each appoint 4. Baden and Hesse each appoint 3. MecklenburgSchwerin appoints 3. The other States appoint I each. Thus, no one State has a majority; but it is claimed that Prussia, partly by having 16 votes to begin with, and partly by controlling many other votes, can always control the 61 members of the Bundesrath. Q. How many States are in the A. There are 26 States, some being Q. Are there really republics in A. Yes. There are three little, but powerful, republics-the three free towns or cities of Lübeck, Bremen and Hamburg, each of which proudly calls itself Freie or Hansestadt (Free or Hanseatic City). The freedom of these independent cities really dates back centuries to the Hanseatic League, but they are under modern constitutions, adopted in 1848 and 1849, and often revised to make them highly up-to-date. Q.-Do these German republics really rule themselves? A. They are exactly as independent and powerful in their own right as are the big Kingdoms of Germany. They are ruled by Senates elected for life and by big bodies of burgesses, elected by all the citizens for terms of years ranging from four to six. Lübeck has 120 burgesses, Hamburg has 160, and Bremen has 140. The head of the Republic is Burgermeister (Mayor), who is elected by the citizens. Bremen has two burgermeisters, elected at the same time, and governing together for four years. Hamburg has two, a first and a second. Lübeck contents herself with one. with the English term "squire," which meant practically the same thing, "squire" being one of gentle blood who had not yet been made knight. To-day, while the term "Junker" may be applied to any member of a hereditary nobility, it is directly applied to the firmly conservative and aristocratic land-holders. Because these men represent most drastically the undemocratic, privileged classes, the term "Junker" has come to signify almost a political party in Germany. It is used by the liberal opposition as a term of satire and reproach, and in its slang use it has come to be applied to any swaggering, haughty fellow. It is used mostly as referring to Prussians. Q.-Is it only politics that give Prussia her big place in Germany? A.-No. Prussia is the "hustler" of Germany. Before the Franco-Prussian War, the various German States were very easy-going, both politically and so Q. Are the republics important in cially. They were content with a loose the empire? A.-Bremen and Hamburg are the two shipping ports of the empire. Through them flows the commerce of the nation, and the 11⁄2 millions of citizens are among the richest and most influential in the country, wielding an enormous political and financial power. The great German steamship lines are owned directly by Bremen and Hamburg men. Both ports count their shipping by the million tons, and Hamburg has often been described as the most advanced and elaborate port in the world. Q. Have all the German States Parliaments of their own? A. All have separate representative assemblies, except Alsace-Lorraine and the two grand duchies of MecklenburgSchwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg, Baden and Hesse have the two-chamber system. The smaller States have one House only. The smallest principality, that of Schaumburg-Lippe, has only 15 members, Brunswick, the largest of the smaller States, has a chamber of 48 members. Q.-Just what is a "Junker”? A. It is a term that dates back to feudal times, when it meant a junior nobleman, a "young Herr." That meaning, of course, has long since disappeared, national federation that left them a ready prey to any other nation. They had done little to develop commerce or manufactures. Their science was excellent, but it was limited largely to the laboratory or the university. It was the crude but intensely alive Prussian who gave all the latent German powers their vitalizing impetus. Prussia made an iron whole out of the many widely varying State armies. Prussia flung railroads through the empire. Q.-Do the other States like Prussia? A. Perhaps it is a good deal like the attitude of our smaller States toward the bigger ones. As a rule, the general interests of all are so closely knit with the Federation, that they do not raise the issue of Prussian hegemony. But whenever there arise questions with sharply defined State interests, there is always a very positive opposition to the big State. The most decided jealousy exists between Prussia and Bavaria, the latter State being extremely insistent on its rights and dignity. Q. Are the Prussians like the other Germans? A. They are very unlike the rest. It is essentially the Prussian of the flat north country who has given the world the idea that the Germans are all a very blond type, with light blue eyes and fea |