ERZBERGER, MATTHIAS ), was born on Sept. 20, 1875, in Buttenhausen, in the Swabian Alps. Having entered the teaching profession, be soon became interested in poli tics. He joined the staff of the Stuttgart Catholic paper Deutsches Volksblatt and was elected member of the Reichstag at the age of 28. The Centre Party, to which he belonged, came into existence as a mainly religious association during the "Kulturkampf" (Bis marck's quarrel with the Catholic Church). When this particular dispute had been settled the Centre party assumed a rather com plex political character. Erzberger, being anti-bureaucratic by temperament, began his career as a severe critic of the Colonial Office, whose chief spokesman, Dr. Helfferich, later on became his violent enemy. When Prince Billow's incongruous Conservative Liberal coalition broke down and the Centre Party again became a quasi-government party (1909), Erzberger had gained a leading position in its councils.
During the World War Erzberger built up a big organization to enlighten neutral opinion, addressing himself primarily to Catho lics. He elaborated many plans for the reconstruction of Europe. He did not openly oppose submarine warfare, though he greatly feared America's entry into the war. In the summer of 1917 he realized that Austria was collapsing. He knew of the famous Czer nin memorandum (April 12, 1917) and has even been falsely accused of having brought it to light. His insight into the Austrian situation and his disillusion about the submarine warfare made him take the initiative in bringing about the declaration of the Reichstag on July 19, which proclaimed Germany's intention to fight for a peace without annexations. His impetuous methods resulted in the overthrow of Bethmann Hollweg, who sympathized with the movement, and the accession to power of Michaelis, who supported the militarists and whose famous interpretation of the resolution destroyed such • chances as the appeal might have had. Erzberger, never daunted by failure, played a part in the unsuc cessful peace efforts of the Vatican.
Erzberger's great political chance came in Sept. 1918, when Prince Max of Baden formed a parliamentary government. Erz berger had outlined the programme for this coalition of National Liberals, Liberals, Centrists and Socialists. He became secretary of State without portfolio. He was asked to lead the armistice commission when general headquarters insisted on an armistice. He did not succeed in getting terms based on the Wilson prin ciples, which Germany had accepted. He has been held up to obloquy for this failure, but it may be doubted whether the most brilliant diplomatist would have fared better at the hands of a victorious general.
When Erzberger came home, the old regime had gone. He remained head of the armistice commission, but participated in the reorganization of the Centre Party, which gained 90 seats at the election of 1919. He entered the cabinet formed by Scheidemann, as minister without portfolio. When that Government, influenced by Brockdorff-Rantzau and the German delegation, desired to reject the peace terms, Erzberger dissented, distrusting the capac ity of the German people to stand another prolonged strain, and fearing greatly for German unity. He pressed his point with his customary energy and perhaps, too, with some want of tact. He is alleged to have said openly that another government would sign the treaty, if Scheidemann refused, and it is quite possible that his utterances may have reassured the Allies of the small risk they ran when presenting an ultimatum (June 16) . The Government did resign, and Erzberger became chancellor of the Exchequer in the Bauer Government formed by Socialists and Centrists which signed the peace.
Up to that time the individual States had owned the railways and drawn the direct taxes, especially the income-tax; the Reich had to be satisfied mainly with indirect taxation. The wrangles between the States arid the central authority had filled the pages of German history, the States always succeeding in holding their own. Erzberger took the railways for the Reich and established its con trol over taxation. He succeeded where Bismarck had failed. He organized an imperial inland revenue service and introduced a system of income and property taxes which, though somewhat socialistic in its main features, was the first real system of imperial finance Germany has had. He had realized as early as Sept. 1918 the necessity of creating a League of Nations and drafted a statute for it.
His activities during the World War, his participation in the armistice and the peace negotiations, and his financial policy made Erzberger the best hated man in Germany. His feud with the bureaucrats was of old standing. The capitalist classes hated him for his confiscatory financial legislaticn ; and to the Prussian Prot estant he was the international Catholic, who spoke with a broad Swabian accent. The federalists loathed him on account of his cen tralizing tendencies, and the militarists tried to make him the scapegoat for their want of success. All the enemies of the new order of things realized, however, that whatever his faults might be, he was a man of action and not a dreamer. He was the first political expert who knew how to lord it over the technical expert.
Karl Helfferich, a former secretary of State whose financial war policy Erzberger had strongly criticized, fathered these attacks in a pamphlet Fort mit Erzberger, in which Erzberger was accused of all sorts of petty underhand financial misdemeanours and even of having committed perjury. Erzberger sued Helfferich, but did not succeed in clearing himself as completely as the facts of the case probably warranted. He immediately resigned. The verdict assumed that he had committed perjury, but the same court, enquiring later on whether the facts established should lead to a public prosecution, came to a negative finding. It was then consid ered that in some way or other Erzberger would be completely rehabilitated. The feeling against him was so intense, however, that an abortive attempt upon his life was made during the pro ceedings. A few months after, when taking a holiday, he was foully murdered on Aug. 26, 192r, by Schulz and Tillessen, two members of secret associations, who got safely away to Hungary.
Erzberger was probably the most gifted man of action German democracy has so far produced. He acted with the light-hearted impetuosity of a child : there was no situation to which he did not consider himself equal. He quickly saw the main point, and when he saw it, he acted, being quite free from those mental impedi ments which so often paralyse intelligent men. He very often did not visualize the ultimate consequences of his actions, but this did not trouble him as he was quite sure that he could deal with them when they arose. His jaunty manner equally antagonized the deep thinker and the well-bred bureaucrat. He was often careless and inaccurate in details, for though details interested him greatly, he had not always a just sense of "values." Being rather insensitive himself, he often failed to consider other people's susceptibilities, and being simple though very shrewd, he was not a good judge of men and did not understand complicated minds, nor the impression he made upon them. He was a man of the people and he looked like it. As such he was loathed by all to whom a statesman must be "decorous." He was almost a genius. But he lacked the mag netism and the charm indispensable to a really great leader.
Erzberger, Die Zentrumspolitik im Reichs tag (1907-13) ; Karl Helfferich, Fort mit Erzberger (19i9), Der Weltkrieg (1919) ; Matthias Erzberger, Erlebnisse im Weltkrieg (Stuttgart, 192o) ; Erzbergerprozess, Stenogr. Bericht caber die Ver handlungen (192o) ; L. Zach, So Jahre Zentrum, W irtscha f is Sozial politik im Deutschen Reichstag, 187r-192z (1921) ; Karl Helfferich, Die Politik der Erf iillung (Munich, 192 2) ; Ludwig Bergstrasser, Geschichte der politischen Parteien (Mannheim, 1924) ; Ernst Bauer, Erzberger, Bilder aus seinem Leben u. Wirken (Munich, 1925) ; Mat thias Erzberger, Der Volkerbund, Der Weg zum Weltfrieden (19r8) ; Deutsche Republik (1927), Erzberger-Heft. (M. Bo.)