The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1910. SOCIALISM IN GERMANY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 131, 12 September 1910, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1910. SOCIALISM IN GERMANY.

Germany oerces its youth into the armed serv:oj of the Empire, and tne Army is the cool of the Kaiser. He is the war lord, . nd it is his business, with the help cf the Army, to fight Socialism. In a country that lias hitherto been domin-ated-entirely by the Army, where, indeed, little happened to a soldier who killed a civilian, there is now the strongest antagonism to old methods, and, relatively, the greatest Socialist fighting force in the world;. Many things have helped' to form the great antagonistic party in Germany, but there is no question at all that the State itself has helped the Socialists by making it possible for all classes to he highly educated. The German is the best educated person in the world, and the methods employed teach him to think. An immense proportion of Germans have thought so deeply on the unfairness of the social system .that they have become Socialists. It is not to be believed that the Socialism of Germany or any other advanced country is represented by a wild-eyed, rabid, unthinking rabble. The Socialist Party in the German Parliament and the great mass of Socialists throughout the Empire are led by eminent men, fco that the ranks swell visibly daily, and the internal enemy of the Hohenzollern dynasty is likely to be a more potent factor in its coercion or downfall than the guns of the British Navy or any other fighting power. The extraordinary speeches of the Kaiser in which he emphasises that he is responsible to nobody but the Creator and will do what he likes will inflame opposition to autocratic methods, and as the most obvious way of fighting autocracy is by way of the people's Parliament, the Socialists use every means of obtaining representation. In the Stuttgart byeelection the Socialists put up their biggest win, beating the National Liberals by an unheard-of majority and registering their seventh successive victory. In some of these bye-elections the Socialist victories were prodigious, in one case the votes for the Socialist candidate being greater than those of the two other candidates, Liberal and agrarian. The National Liberal is half a Socialist, for in second ballots, they have joined that party for voting purposes. In the Friedborg bye-election second ballot the National Liberals and Socialists, voting for the Socialist candidate, trounced the Agrarian candidate very soundly. It is estimated that there are nearly four million Socialists in Germany, and of course the proportion of them who have the franchise does not represent the voting power of the organisation. Nearly one hundred thousand people joined the Social Democratic Party last year, and besides these there are 82,000 women members whose influence it is difficult to exaggerate. Scrappy cables try to tell us of the increase in the fighting power of these people, but the most significant of these scraps perhaps was the recent one which demanded that the Parliament should put Kaiser Wilhelm in his place in regard to his absurd "divine right" ideas. Unquestionably the military and agrarian parties are frightened by the growing power of the Socialists. Not long ago Socialist demands would have been met by cavalry, and those who made demands would have been gaoled. Nothing is so menacing to any kind of autocraey as a combined and intelligent people. This is emphasised to-day in other countries than Germany. The. Socialist to have any force and to expand his influence must necessarily catch its recruits young, and it is certain that the people most influenced are the Kaiser's conscripts. It is probable that every draft of conscripts, to the Army contains Socialists who are unable to forward Socialism while under the Army's iron hand. The iron hand, however, must relax when the conscript's term expires, and he is much more likely to be a confirmed Socialist after than before. The Minister of War has said that he can do nothing with- the Army unless the Socialist propaganda is squelched in its ranks. There is no possibility of squelching people's Beliefs and aspirations whatever one may do with their bodies. And as Socialism, with the help of Kaiser Wilhelm, grows apace, it is feasible that an army of trained soldier Socialists, plus the great army of citizen socialists, may some day forcibly emphasise their beliefs in conflict with their brothers who adhere to the dogma that what is, is right, and that the King can do no wrong.