GERMAN REVOLUTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 February 1919, Page 6

GERMAN REVOLUTION.

■THREE DISTINCT MOVEMENTS, FIGHTING AT MUNICH, PROCLAIMING THE REPUBLIC. German newspapers fill out the picture of the first stage of the revolution. The events in Bavaria are particularly interesting, especially as they preceded the events in Berlin and took a different form. There were, in fact, three distinct movements at the outset of the "German Revolution"—first, the naval rising at Kiel and elsewhere, with subsidiary ebulitions in the north; secondly, the Bavarian revolution, which really dates from November 7; and, thirdly, the Berlin revolution, which did not come to a head until November 9. The connection, if any, between these movements, and the connection with all the other German risings, is still quite obscure. Presumably Herr Ebert and hia colleagues in Berlin claim to be the central authority for all Germany because the King of Prussia was Kaiser, but it remains to be seen whether the rest of Germany takes that view. During the critical hours all communication between North and South Germany was broken, and news travelled by strange routes. For example, Cologne was getting messages from Nuremberg and from Berlin, while Berlin and Munich were getting no news from one another. "PEACE DEMONSTRATION." The movement in Munich began with the great demonstration on the afternoon of Thursday, November 7—a "peace demonstration," organised by the Socialist party and the trade unions. During Thursday night there was much rioting. Firing was heard in all parts of the city, and revolutionaries captured the various barracks and the military prison. In some of the barracks there was fighting, in which even gas bombs and "tear" shells were used. On Friday morning, November 8, that sedate bourgeois organ the Munich Neueste Nachrichten had its whole front page devoted to the proclamation, "To the People of Munich," by the "Council of Soldiers, Workmen, and Peasants," signed by Herr Kurt Eisner as president. During the Thursday night, Herr Eisner and his comrades held a "constituent" meeting. On the Friday afternoon they met again in the building of the Diet—this meeting being called "the second sitting of the Provisional Parliament of Bavaria." The clock over the president's chair was wreathed in a red flag. Those present were all the Socialist members of the Diet, who number 30; the Deputies belonging to the Peasants' League, who number eight; and three of the 37 Liberals. In the real Diet the Catholic Centre Party has an absolute majority; none of its member* were present. A telegram, however, was read from the Christian Trade Unions of Munich, promising support to the new organisation in the maintenance of order. The "Provisional Parliament" elected its own officers, one of whom is the Liberal "pacifist," Herr Quidde, and also elected the "Ministers," whose names have beenpublished. Herr Eisner's speech is worth quoting at some length; there was no reference to the future relations of Bavaria with the rest of Germany, and Herr Eisner pointed definitely to a Bavarian Constituent Assembly—not a German Constituent Assembly. He said:— "In a few hours we have shown ho\v one makes history—makes facts that will be revolutionary for all time. None of you, whatever your views may be, will be so stupid as to believe that the result of the peaceful rising by which we have cut ourselves away from the whole past of the Bavarian State will ever be reversed. And if you perhaps have had the impression that this radical change of the Bavarian Constitution and of our whole life seems somewhat anarchial, that is only a misunderstanding of the moment. "Since we have carried through this gigantic revolution without organisation it is quite obvious that the organisation of the new State cannot proceed with bureaucratic smoothness and entirely without friction. By a piece of astonishing strategy we have broken up the old Bavaria. Two days ago nobody regarded anything of the kind as possible; to-day nobody would regard it us possible that the institutions of yesterday, which now appear to us as belonging to a horrible past, can ever be restored. Bavaria became a free State yesterday, and will remain a free State." THE NEW "GOVERNMENT." Herr Eisner then proposed the new "Ministers" with some humor. He said that he proposed to leave the Government offices as at present, in order not to disturb the bureaucracy, upon whose co-operation he counted. He would himself become President and Minister of Foreign Agairs, "as the symbol of the revolutionary origin of this Government." The Ministry of War would now be called a "Ministry of Military Affairs," and be entrusted to Herr Rosshaupter, for "it is seemly in a democratic Government that a civilian shall take charge." The "Provisional Parliament" displayed some opposition to the election of Herr Auer as Minister of the Interior, for Auer is a sort of Scheidemann—very much an ''lmperial Socialist"—but Herr Eisner insisted on the appointment as a "symbol of unity." He recommended Herr Timm, a sociologist, as Minister of Justice on the ground that "justice is a form of social policy"; he gave the Ministry of Finance to Professor Jalfe, because professors are unpopular and deserve the most thankless jobs. Finally, he appointed Herr Unterleitner to a new "Ministry of Social Affairs," because he is "a simple workman without office or honors." He added that the control of the Munich police would be given to another workman, Herr Steiner. ! »