378 



GERMANY. 



which had cost Ilerr von Puttkamer his port- 

 folio as Minister of the Interior a few months 

 before, was still employed, and that the Govern- 

 ment had in its pay men like Weber and Wim- 

 mers who gave fictitious information to the po- 

 lice. One of the last speeches in the final debate 

 on the bill was made by Prince Carol ath-Schon- 

 aich, a Free Conservative, who astonished the 

 House by condemning the methods in which the 

 repressive measures were carried out, describing 

 how a magistrate had construed a poem praising 

 a laborer for sacrificing his life to save a railroad 

 train from destruction as a dangerous publica- 

 tion calculated to stir up class hatreds, and ex- 

 pressing the conviction that there was much 

 truth in Herr Liebknecht's boast that the Social- 

 Democrats were the idealists of the nation, and 

 that in a time of materialism and of obsequious 

 truckling for office unselfish aims and popular 

 ideals should be encouraged. Stripped of the 

 expulsion clause, the bill passed, on Jan. 23, 

 1890, on the second reading by 116 to 111 votes. 

 It was unacceptable to the Chancellor with this 

 clause expunged, and in order to relieve the 

 Government of the odium of withdrawing or ve- 

 toing the bill the Old Conservatives, on the final 

 reading, voted with the Opposition, and the bill 

 was rejected by 169 to 68. As soon as the vote 

 was announced Herr von Botticher, as represent- 

 ing the Chancellor, read a message from the Em- 

 peror summoning the Deputies to the Schloss to 

 be formally dismissed to their homes, an invita- 

 tion with which not more than one third of those 

 present complied. 



The Imperial Decrees. The intention of 

 the Emperor to deal with the social question by 

 means of constructive rather than by repressive 

 measures was made clear in two decrees that 

 were issued on Feb. 4. One of them, which was 

 addressed to the Chancellor, ran as follows : 



I am resolved to lend my hand toward bettering 

 the condition of German workmen as far as my so- 

 licitude for their welfare is bounded by the necessity 

 of enabling German industry to retain its power of 

 competing in the world's market, and thus securing 

 its existence and that of its laborers. The relapse 

 of our native industries through the loss of their for- 

 eign markets would not only deprive the masters but 

 also their men of their bread. The difficulties in 

 the way of an improvement in the lot of our work- 

 men, which are founded on international competition, 

 can only be lessened, if not altogether surmounted, 

 by means of an international agreement botween those 

 countries who dominate the world's market. In the 

 conviction that other governments also are animated by 

 the wish to subject to a common examination the as- 

 pirations about which the working men of these coun- 

 tries are themselves already carrying on international 

 negotiations, it is my will that official inquiry be made 

 by my representatives, primarily in France,' England, 

 Belgium, and Switzerland, whether these govern- 

 ments are disposed to enter into negotiation with us 

 with a view to coming to an understanding as to the 

 possibility of complying with the wants and wishes 

 of the laborers as manifested by them during the 

 strikes of the last few years and otherwise. As soon 

 as my proposal is agreed to in principle I shall em- 

 power you to invite the Cabinets of all the govern- 

 ments who evince the same interest in the labor ques- 

 tion to a conference for the purpose of further discuss- 

 ing it in detail. 



The other decree, which was addressed to the 

 Ministers of Commerce and of Public Works, 

 reaffirmed the Emperor's resolution to continue 



his grandfather's programme of economic 

 form, which had not yet been developed fa 

 enough to produce a sufficient improvement ii 

 the lot of the laboring classes. To this end th( 

 insurance laws must be extended; the fact( 

 laws ought to be revised in regard to the effe( 

 on the health, morality, and needs of the work- 

 ing people of the duration and nature of their 

 work ; they should be enabled to give expression 

 to their desires and grievances through accredited 

 representatives, who would act the part of nego- 

 tiators and mediators in labor disputes ; the state 

 mines of Prussia should be made model institu- 

 tions in respect to the welfare of the workers 

 employed in them, and private mines ought to 

 be subject to the inspection of the mining offi- 

 cers of the Government. Neither of the decrees 

 was countersigned by the Chancellor, or by the 

 Ministers of Commerce or of Public Works, con- 

 trary to constitutional usuage. Only a few days 

 before Prince Bismarck, whom at the new year 

 the Emperor had greeted with praise for his 

 self-sacrificing and creative energy in the field 

 of solicitude for the working classes, and with 

 the hope he would enjoy for many years the ad- 

 vantage of his approved and faithful counsels, 

 had resigned the post of Prussian Minister of 

 Commerce, being succeeded by Baron von Ber- 

 lepsch, a. magistrate who had refused to call in 

 the aid of the military in dealing with the strik- 

 ing miners in the Rhine province. It was now 

 surmised that the old Chancellor had laid down 

 this office because he was unwilling to stand by 

 the Emperor in his course of social experiments. 

 The Emperor called together the Council of 

 State for the purpose of an investigation of the 

 measures to be taken for the better regulation 

 of the conditions of the working classes, and 

 when it met on Feb. 14 he directed the sections 

 intrusted with the inquiry to examine with the 

 aid of experts what protection should be afforded 

 workmen against arbitrary and unlimited ex- 

 ploitation of their capacity to labor, what re- 

 strictions should be placed on child labor, and 

 the situation of female laborers from the point 

 of view of morality and domestic life, with other 

 labor questions, and also how far the national 

 industry could support the addition to the costs 

 of production resulting from stricter regulations 

 in favor of the laborers and still hold its posi- 

 tion in the markets of the world. He wished 

 them to study the means for securing the further 

 development of state industrial institutions that 

 would serve as examples of effective solicitude 

 for the workmen. The Emperor presided over 

 the meetings of the Council of State, before 

 which experts were called from both the employ- 

 ing and the laboring classes. 



The Election. The date of the general elec- 

 tion was set for Feb. 20, at an interval from the 

 close of Parliament less by two weeks than usual. 

 and only one day after the parliamentary period 

 expired. The Cartel parties, which had ob- 

 tained an absolute majority in the last Par] La- 

 ment, were no longer harmonious, and the Em- 

 peror, whose name was dragged into their quar- 

 rels by the press, intervened to declare that he 

 had no preference as between the three parties, 

 but that he desired their union and success. 

 This direct appeal to the voters had an effect 

 contrary to what was desired, and the imperial 



