THROUGH GERMAN EYES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1700, 17 March 1913, Page 5

THROUGH GERMAN EYES.

GERMAN PRESS "AND POLITICS. A,.visitor to Wellington just now is AFr, Jleinnch lifiiiiiner, n German journalist, who is engaged in a tour of the world, one ; of the .'objects of which is to gainer miitorial for a travel book which wiil contain his general impressions of tho countries ho lias visited. When at home; .Hi-. ' Hammer is a contributor to "Simph'cissimus,' ii satirical weekly paper, published . ill Munich, and a contributor to other ' Continental .periodicals,-, - Tho'present' is- ' JUi'. Hemmer's second world's tour, atthough tho first did not include New Zealand.

■i I \ e t ,r a ' aiu ' al "l Australia, according,. < to Mr. lleiniuer, are charming colonies, nuct appealed to Jinn far moro tlian, for instancy the, United . States. Further, Now Zealand .was,, in his opinion, a far Wtter co'iiiiljy "for tho European immigra'it than .America. '.'ln America," ho.. , observes,'"ollo must become ail American, and one's' ideas mast be so moulded that presently ' you are' thinkiiig" American, and, even if not naturalised, become a citizen of the Republic—as if Americanism was a religion, .anil youcither had to - embrace it or lie regarded as an outsider." In New Zealand, however, a v.qry. different spirit prevailed, "llere," says Mr. Hommer, "one is received generously,, and so far as I have been able to judge, one inny stay here and retain one's nationality and ideas, ami, to a great extent, one's individuality." Asked lor a general opinion of the New Zealand daily press, Mi'. Hemmer replied that he liked the New Zealand journals much better than those of 'Amenta. The tone of the New Zealand' press was com-. <. paratively high—sensation was not gone in' fox:, much, and. '.'muckraking??-seemed •to bo practically unknown. ..A. Campari;,., son'could hardly' lie struck between the , Uprmatr and' colonial 'press,, as 'in.UeiV. 1 • many-they had-papers Tor several classed' 1 of the community.' For instance, in Aus-v tria 'and Germany the "Ncuo h'reie. Presse," published in- Vienna; found ; iis greatest, leaders.omongstithe,professional t , classes, while the "Tageblalt," of Berlin';;, was the organ of the commercial classes.] The latter journal was very .popular, and in. its. general features, would'correspond to'tho New Zealand morning daily., Generally speaking, there was more' variety of opinion-in the German press than there', was'in New Zealand. 'Ot iouiVe,'it had to l)o remembered tluit (here , were. six. . parties'in the Gorman Parliament, and * these were all divided into niiilor"parties., Tho papers «11expressed' their opin-" ions quito freely, and spoke much more' freely of the Kaiser than any English paper would speak of the lung—they criticised' the Kaiser'with absolute free-"' (lorn—and political criticism in' Germany "" was moredirect lli'aii'. was Hie case in New Zealand. The German public tolor-* a led , the expressions of a' fa I" greater* ' variety., of. opinion than would be loler-<> a led. by the New Zealand, public. At tho same, lime it was not ,n "yellow; press"— ; ' even tho. Socialist' lu'ess was not 'llia't.- , Again," Geniian libel Jaws woro not so strict as those governing : our colonial papers. If. for instance, a man Weie 'rir-'"" - ' rested in Germany for a serious crime, the pa pel's would have no hesitation in reporting 'every suspicion circumstance as/; it became known or was conmiuilieatcd. The imagination, of (ho reporter .had , plenty of play, and what was perhaps a distinctive feature in the German method of dealing with crime was that if a,murder was committed a psychologist would be engaged to write a study of-the case, or, perhaps, a writer of fiction would weave a story about it.

"Theoretically," paid Mr. ITcnuner, dis- ° cussing Socialism in Germany, "Socialism is n, culture in my country, and the Socialist party with its can never lie overcome. It is not merely n LabourI party, but nil conditions of people belo'njf' ' I to.it, mid it is intimately connected with intellectual movements m Germany. .■ 01' ■ course, it is totally different to Socialism as Now Zealunders generally understand tlio word, although it.has many .things iiv , common with tlio latter* It is an intel-. lectual development of the Socialism'seoil in New Zealand. 'J'hero are, of course, several minor groups of' Socialists, but the real force of the Socialist' 'party in Ger- ' ■ many is its intellectual mid ciliicatwnal body, which recognises that its views re- i quire to bo moderated as tlio times .do- 1 velop," Mr. Hemmcr will deliver an unconventional lecture in the Opera House tomorrow evening on the subject of "The • Truth About Germany—World War or World Peace." r