RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND GERMANY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3126, 3 July 1917, Page 6

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND GERMANY

r "WHAT THE HUNS THINK ABOUT IT" GOVERNMENT CIRCLES . ALARMED <...■■'-■ . . ■SOPS TO THE DEMOCRACY [The following article, by Mr. AV." W.' Tarn, is authorised by the Britiah Press Bureau for publication, and forwarded on by the Royal Colonial Institute.]

The influence of tho revolution in Russia is working powerfully in many places. If, has played a great' part, for instance, in the United States, in bringing over to the' side of the Allies much doubting opinion, on the ground that bow at last the issue of democracy versus despotism is sharply defined. It has naturally had a great effect in Germany also, though it is not easy at present to see what form its working thero will ultimately take. The hope has of course been freely expressed in Germany that Russia, as a-military forco, would be definitely weakened or even put out of action; this has been a favourite theme of the military critics. Side by side ■with this has gone much speculation as .to the .prospects of Eussia being now iTeady to, conclude a separate peace. All Hhis is of no great importance. It will gradually dawn on the' German mind that :tho. Provisional Government and' the Army in Russia are at one in their determination to have" no German' peace, and to allow no chance of the restoration of German arms of the overthrown autocracy; that it is against Germanism that' the national forces of Russia' are in' revolt. The resolution of Russia becomes clearer. every day; the freedom •won can only bo secured by the overthrow of Germany. Germans are supposed to be students of history; they might usefully recall that after; tho French Revolution the French armies, in the strength of their nevrly-iron freedom, were able to overthrow the combined Powers of Europe.

Gigantic Moral Loss - -From another point of view, however, it seems that the fall of the Russian autocracy nas produced something like consternation among governing circles in Germany. It does come home to them. The "Vorwaerts," now of course a Government organ, hit the nail ou the head at once: "For Germany's war policy," it wrote, "the overthrow of Tsarism is a gigantic moral loss, which we must neutralise as quickly as possible." Wβ prefer this outspoken statement to the .Chancellor's speech of March 29, in the

' Beichstag, with its attempt to assert 'that the good German Government had -always 'been friendly to reform in'Eus- ; sia. Russia and 'the world have long " eince learnt to appraise Herr Beth- . -niann-Hollweg's declarations at their tvuo ■■■ value. What now is the "moral loss"

to Germany, and how does she propose to "neutralise" it? The former is clear.

It is the same thing which has wrought ■/ k> powerfully on American opinion. The "Lokal.Anzeiger" put ,it plainly:. "If the Russian revolution really produced permanent results, it would establish the most complete harmony of constitutional views among the Allies; they would be able to enter upon peace negotiations with a more uniform programmo than States ruled and administered on contradictory political principles. If ; one considers the time after the conclu- ' sion of peace . . . one must come to the conclusion that the dangers by which Germany's future would be menaced , would grow enormously, particularly if n democratic State structure were to arise on Germany's Eastern frontier as well as on the West." The "Vbrwaerts"

■ was just as emphatic. "A new and dangerous enemy has arisen against Ger...many, ... the conviction among the ;, enemy people that they have to defend against Germany the freedom 'of the world. Dangerous, yes; bnt hafdlv . .now. The Western Allies have held this.conviction since the beginning of -the war; what is new is that to-day the -fact is clear to the whole world. Naturally this has alarmed the German s Government. .

\ The Writing on tlu; Wall. The Minority Socialist flerr Hoffmann put their feelings into woTds for them in tho Prussian "Laudtag": "It is the lUene lekel for Germany and for Prussia —the 'writing on the wall which should announce the end of the German systems of '. government. Jiow, then, to neutralise "It i , lhe way to neutralise it seemed to be to show to the world that' Germans were as good democrats as anyone else. Scheiilemann Prussian IVanohise Bill. On March 14 Von Bothmann. Jiollweg appeared, .for the first time during the war, in the Prussian Lauclta*. ■and talked about carrying through tho leionn of the Prussian franchise. "Woe to tho statesman/' he declared, "who does not see the signs of the times." There was an outburst of approval from the • Liberal and Socialist Press. True, there : >had otten been talk before of the reform ■of the Prussian franchise; there had even been a farcical Reform Bill in •i 10,I 0, ? caused.great excitement, and . left the three-class system absolutely iin,touched. But surely this time Vonßeth-mann-Hollweg, with Russia before hia e iP=. .meant business. Tho Junkers at" any rate thought so, and were at once in full revolt, ready as'-always to fight •their hardest for this stronghold of their power. Ruling castes have sometimes been known to abdicate, as, for instance, in. Japan; but a caste as ignorant, | as arrogant, as well ontrenched as the .Prussian Junkers'is not likely to do so. . Count Keventlow wrote that the Chanopllor ought to know that any new poliitical orientation must "try to consolidate y the priceless treasures which have made Germany the great nation she is; a pow-. erful Emperor, a monarchic army /a .strongly organised State; and not to bring to their grave by democracy." The i-'TlreiizZcttung" was eloquent on tho .weaknesses of "Parliament armies." And Count Zorak, speaking for his order in ' the Prussian. Herrenhans, said: "This is not the time to remove even the smallest , stone from the building of the Constitu■ion. ... It means Parliamentary interference, with the Executive, and'that ;,ie; direct revolution. ... We need -'.militarism more than Parliamentary gov- ': eminent."

■:" Studies in Chicanery. . . Von Bethmaun-Hollweg, of course, did not moan business. He had merely been , reading his Bismarck, and learning how that master of chicanery had been ready , in war time (1866) to -.Brant universal siifh-age to the North German Bund "as a weapon of war," confident in his abil- • ity to nullify the gift later. Of that lucidont Bismarck wrote that he waa Teady to "pay blackmail to tho Opposi- . tion." —as he called universal suffrage— : until "we had secured our national aims . abroad .* . . . so as to frighten off foreign monarchies from trying to stick :'..r linger into our national omelette. I jiever doubted that the German people would &e strong enough and clever enough . .'to freo themselves from tho suffrage as . soon as they realised that it was a harin- ■ ful institution." So on March 29 Von , Bethmann-Hollweg, in the Reichstag , , faced with.tho Junker revolt, ate .his

words, just as he did over the submarine -.'■campaign. After all, they were perhaps . meant to bo eaten. It would never do, lie said, "to dictate an electoral law" . when "the people are fighting for existonce"; and, sadly as he longed for reform at once, he thought it would bo a J- tjood time to consider it when' the war liad reached a "happy conclusion" for .Germany: say, on the Greek Kalouds. In Accordance with this, the Kaiser on April 7 requested Von Bethmnnn-Hollweg . to submit proposals for the reform of the .■.Prussian, franchise, to be discussed and put nnto effect "after the happy conolu- : sion' of the war." No one familiar with Bismarck's "Rem- . inisceuces" is likely to be deceived by this little comedy. Tho German system is in no danger from the present German. <■, .Government. From the point of viow of !;'anj democratic country, tho whole thing /.is playing with 'words. Let us suppose • tiiat-the Prussian franchise were to be put on tho same footing to-morrow as that for tho Imperial Reichstag: equal .and practically universal suffrage. Would . Prussia be much further advanced on £ka road to democracy? No further than,

Germany is to-<iay. Democracy does not mean that tue people vote, taut that the people govern. The Reichstag does not govern. That is the point. How the members are olected meanwhile mutters little, for it is a talking shop and no more. No amount of franchise reform has any bearing on the subject of Parliament control; nor will it do anything, in tno eyes of the world, to "neutralise" Cermnny's "moral loss. If tho German people want to neutralise that loss-if, as tho "Vonvnerts" now declares, they "wnnt democracy"—they must begin with Parliamentary control. On this, Bethmann-Hollweg and the Kaiser are alike silent. If the German people want Parliamentary control—we have no idea if many of them do—they will get it in one way, and one way only: they will get/it by applying to the Kaiser, the Government, and their supporters, Junkers and .intellectuals, tho one and only argument which they can all iinderstand-force. And that they cannot <10, even if they would, till the German military machine is well beaten. But once that machine loses its prestige, the example of Russia might prove irresistibly attractive.