GERMAN ELECTIONS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 23, 10 January 1912, Page 8

GERMAN ELECTIONS.

GROWTH OF SOCIALISM. THE NAVAL ARMAMENTS ISSUE. The German Socialists have now nearly the same number of members in the Reichstag as they had in 1893. From 44: in 189.4 the figures rose to 57 in 1898, and to 81 in 1903, Jailing in 1907 to 43. That was the year when the “big navy” cry of the Kaiser and Prince Buelow succeeded. Now, it is predicted, the Socialist wave will come again. On the issue hangs the question whether the German Navy Law shall be expanded by .the addition of a new building programme as from 1912. AmT on that in turn depends the question whether Britain also must continue to bear an excessive burden of navel construction.i; ' ,v->> p; Table of Socialist Polling. The story of the growth of the German Socialists since the birth of the German empire is best told by the following table; — Elected

In 1871 the Socialists polled 3 per cent, of the total number of votes cast.; in 1893, they polled 23.3 per cent.; and in 1907 one-third of the total number of votes cast. “Since tho 1907 election—the result of which was acclaimed by our opponents as a crushing defeat for Socialism—our party,” states a Socialist writer, “has won almost every by-elec-tion, and the number of elected representatives has been recorded in State and municipal contests.”

The Exceptional Law. Tho writer also recalls the provisions of the old Exceptional Law passed by Bismarck against the socialists. “The Exceptional Law provided, inter alia, for compulsory dissolution of political bodies, and trade unions, dissolutions of meetings, prohibition of processions, confiscation and suppression of newspapers and other printed matter, prohibition against members paying subscriptions to the Socialist party or unions, confiscation of all moneys belonging to the Socialist party or unions, forbidding residence in certain localities to socialibis, etc. Berlin was declared to be in a minor state of siege.

“This law drove tire socialists to more scientific methods of organisation. They adopted a system under which' men were organised in groups of threes, every third man being the organiser. In this way a maximum of safety from police espionage from within was secured, and subscriptions were still received for the party and union funds. At the time the Exceptional Law passed the socialists had 60 but two has been either confiscated or official papers. In less than a month all suppressed. After describing the fall of Bismarck and the non-renewal of the exceptional law, the writer proceeds:— “In less than 10 years the financial membership of the Social-Democratic party has more than doubled itself; and the party press, crushed out of existence by the Exceptional Law, has risen like a Phoenix from its ashes. There are now 7-5 daily papers owned by the party, with a circulation of over 4,000,000 copies, as well as 24 periodicals. There are also 61 trade union journals; and the party has schools for socialist children, and also for the training of socialist speakers.” The present Reichstag is the product of the “block” election of December, 1906 (says the Now York Post). Prince Buelow dissolved the Reichstag in that month in order to break the power of tlie Clerical Centre, with which ho had quarrelled irrevocably over certain now forgotten matters of colonial administration. To compass the downfall of bis enemies, lie organised the block of Conservative and Liberal parties against the Centre and Socialists. The election was a surprise for everyone. There was a vast wave of national sentiment in favour of the Government, but the Centre cam© back in full strength, and with undiminished prestige. It was the I Socialists who had paid the bill. They J

lost nearly half their representation in the Reichstag. Tho present Reichstag began its career with no less than nineteen parties, including the Danish party of one. There are now two less, the three radical groups having fused into a single party (Vorschrittlich-A oikspartei) of about fifty strong. For practical purposes the nineteen parties may be divided into the following five main groups from right to left ;—Conservatives 109, Centre (Catholic) 129, National Liberals 55, Radicals 49, Social Democrats 43. The smaller groups, Hannoverian Yvelfists, Independent Conservatives, and Liberals, etc., hardly make a dozen members altogether. The important Polish “traction” is counted with the Centre. The figures given are those of the last election. Since then the Socialists aave raised their strength to 53, at the expense of Conservatives, National Liberals, and Centre. They lost 36 seats in 1907, however, and have a long leeway to make up. The essence of a German election is tho second ballot agreement. Under the German system the first ballot does not settle' an election unless one if-the candidates has an absolute majority. That is generally not _ the case in a country with twenty political parties, and a second ballot has to )e fought off between the two candidates polling the largest number of votes at tho first. The issue then depends on which way the beaten parties who have no candidate of their own at the second ballot give their votes. Thus, if a Conservative and Socialist have the largest number of votes at the first ballot, the Conservative having 2000 votes more than the Socialist, while tho National Liberal received 1000 votes and the Radical 2000, the Socialist will get the Radical vote: at the second ballot, which will make i him level wih the Conservative, and all will depend upon the qarty for whom, the National Liberals doclmv. (Vut-iv and Conservative will support each other everywhere in the second ballots, and where they cannot support each other for want of a candidate to vote for, will help anyone rather than a Socialist, although this rule may not always hold good. Similarly, Radical and Socialist will help uich other against any block candidate. What the National Liberals will do is uncertain, but probably their tactics-will vary in different parts of the country. The strength of the Centre is in Catholic south and west Germany, that of the Conservatives in agricultural Prussia, and that of the Liberals and Socialists in tho great towns, which, however, are under-represented in proportion to their population in consejuence of their rapid growth. There are 397 seats in the Reichstag, so that if the Socialists return a hundred strong and the Radicals gain, say, twenty seats, the block majority will he in the power of the National Liberals, even allowing that tho latter lose twenty seats.

1 ear. No. of votes Member 7.871 124,655 2 187-1-351,952 9 : "1877 ... 0.) 493,288 12 r 1878 ' i 437,158 9 0 ' 1881 •‘...i: . 311,961 r 12 . ' 1884; . : :• 549,990 i- : ■ ■ 24. • •' 1887 : 763,128 : 11 , 1890 1,427,298 1 ■ 35 ' 1893 * ‘ .... 1 1,876,738 • , 44.. 1898 ... 2,250,000 •57 1903 ' '... 3,000,000 v 81; 1 1907 ... 3,250.000 . 43