382 



GERMANY. 



The Center, and even the Freisinnige, accepted 

 the reasons given for increasing the army, and 

 the necessary votes were obtained without ac- 

 cording the counter-demand for a shortening of 

 the term of service with the colors to two years. 

 In colonial matters the Center voted with the 

 Government. The proposed increase in the sala- 

 ries of the subordinate state officials was not ap- 

 proved, more especially since provisions were 

 tacked on for raising 'the pay of army surgeons 

 and all regimental officers up to and including 

 the rank of major, involving altogether a perma- 

 nent addition of 20,000,000 marks to the annual 

 budget. The recommendations of the Berlin 

 Conference were embodied in a bill to amend the 

 Factory act. The Socialists complained that the 

 bill fell short of the promises contained in the 

 Emperor's decrees on the labor question, and 

 that the employing classes had influenced the 

 measure adversely. They proposed that a maxi- 

 mum work day should be established by law, 

 which should be ten hours for a certain period 

 and be then reduced to nine, and eventually to 

 eight hours. Baron von Berlepsch replied that 

 the fixing of legal limits to the hours of labor, 

 although debatable, was not feasible under pres- 

 ent circumstances, as precipitate action would in- 

 jure German industry. The Reichstag adjourned 

 on July 2, to resume the consideration of this 

 and other legislative proposals in November. 



As a concession to the Clericals, the Prussian 

 Government introduced a bill in the Diet in re- 

 gard to the disposal of the /Sperrgelder, or eccle- 

 siastical subventions that were stopped in 1875, 

 in consequence of the attitude of the clergy 

 toward the May laws, and have since been with- 

 held. The Government proposed to retain the 

 capital sum, amounting to 16,013,731 marks, but 

 to pay interest on it at the rate of 3| per cent, 

 for the purposes of the Church. If the Clericals 

 were satisfied with this arrangement, the Cartel 

 parties were prepared to vote for it, but since 

 they voted against it, demanding the repayment 

 of the capital, the ministerial parties voted in 

 the same way, which resulted in the defeat of 

 the measure on June 7. The annoying passport 

 rules that were adopted by Prince Bismarck to 

 aid in the Germanization of Alsace-Lorraine, by 

 keeping out Frenchmen, were mitigated in June 

 to the extent of permitting the transit of travel- 

 ers having tickets to destinations beyond Kehl, 

 on the Rhine. Prince Bismarck's policy in de- 

 nouncing the settlement treaty with Switzerland 

 was reversed, and a new treaty was concluded. 



The anti-Socialist law expired on Sept. 30, 

 having been in force twelve years. The persons 

 who had been expelled from their homes under 

 its provisions, some of whom were members of 

 the Reichstag, all returned, and the return to 

 free conditions was made the occasion of a jubi- 

 lee. Herr Liebknecht assumed the editorship of 

 the " Volksblatt," the chief party organ, which 

 was established in Berlin. On Oct. 12 a general 

 convention of the party was convened in Halle, 

 and 360 delegates, including 20 from abroad, 

 were present. It reaffirmed the Gotha pro- 

 gramme of 1875, as modified by the subsequent 

 Congress at Wyden. This declares that the 

 products of labor, which is the source of all 

 wealth, belong to society, and that all its mem- 

 bersit being the duty of all to work have 



equal rights in proportion to their reasonable 

 requirements ; that the emancipation of labor 

 requires the conversion of the means of produc- 

 tion into the common property of society and 

 the social regulation of labor; and that this 

 emancipation must be the work of the working 

 class. The party declared itself in favor of co- 

 operative societies established by the state for 

 the purpose of preparing the way for the solu- 

 tion of the labor question, and demanded uni- 

 versal and equal suffrage, universal obligation to 

 military service, decision by the people on war 

 and peace, free administration of justice, and 

 universal, compulsory, and gratuitous education, 

 with equal rights for all, and no public religious 

 instruction. 



Change of Ministry in Bavaria. Baron J. 

 von Lutz, who has been Minister-President and 

 Minister of Public Worship in Bavaria since 

 1868, has found it impossible to resist the Cleri- 

 ical reaction that set in after the reconciliation 

 of the Catholics and the Government in Prussia, 

 and the revival of Clerical influence in Austria. 

 In 1889 he was compelled to make an important 

 concession in the matter of obligatory religious 

 instruction in schools, and only with difficulty 

 was he able to maintain intact the royal right of 

 placet. The Ultramontanes, who have pressed 

 for a recall of the official condemnation of the 

 doctrine of Papal infallibility, vigorously assailed 

 the minister when he prevented a Catholic Con- 

 gress from assembling in Munich on the ground 

 that it would lead to Clerical demonstrations 

 hostile to the Government, and Baron von Lutz. 

 whose health was poor, resigned on May 30, and 

 was succeeded as Minister-President by Baron 

 von Crailsheim, and as Minister of Worship by 

 Dr. von Miiller, President of Police at Munich." 



Medical Congress. The tenth International 

 Medical Congress met at Berlin on Aug. 4, ac- 

 cording to the resolve of the preceding triennial 

 Congress at Washington in 1887. One of the 

 French delegates. Dr. Huchard, declined to take 

 part because Prof. Virchow, who was the presi- 

 dent, would not retract what he had written in 

 1871 regarding French Chauvinism, and the cry 

 was taken up by other French doctors and jour- 

 nalists, whose efforts did not prevent 179 French 

 medical scientists from going, of whom 34 were 

 delegates. There were about 2,500 doctors from 

 German lands and an equal number from abroad, 

 representing 23 foreign states. The United 

 States of all these contributed the largest con- 

 tingent, being represented by 659, while 358 

 came from the British Islands. More than 600 



Kpers were read before the various sections. 

 of. Virchow in his opening address discussed 

 sanitary reform, and described the sewerage of 

 Berlin," on which 138,000,000 marks have been 

 spent, and the utilization of the sewage to fer- 

 tilize 19,000 acres of land controlled by the au- 

 thorities, on which workhouse inmates are 

 trained to be self-supporting laborers, and a net 

 profit of 238,000 marks was obtained in 1889. sir 

 Joseph Lister read a paper on antiseptic surgery. 

 Dr. Horsley one on surgery of the brain. Prof. 

 Koch one on bacteriology with especial reference 

 to the curability of tuberculosis, and others were 

 presented by Signor Bacelli, Dr. Wood, and other 

 eminent scientists. Prof. Virchow informed the 

 Congress that he had been asked to institute an 



