GERMANY'S ECONOMIC ORGAN IZATION. In the territory which now com prises the German Empire there were only about 16,000,000 inhabitants in the year 1816. When the empire was founded in 1871, the population was 41,000,000; when Kaiser Wil helm II came to the throne in 1888, it was 48,000,000 and 25 years later, in 1913, it was 66,000,000. The rapid increase in the latter period was due very largely if not wholly to Germany's highly developed economic organ ization.
Political Organization.— To understand the wellsprings of that organization it is first necessary to consider Germany's political organ ization, as national economic organization is always dependent ultimately upon political organization.
When Bismarck welded the German Empire together in 1871, he provided Germany with a political organization which has proven highly effective and probably far more so than he ever supposed would be possible. When he induced Bavaria, Saxony, Wfirttemberg and the other independent German states to join Prussia in forming the empire, he created in effect a United States of Germany, in which the King of Prussia, by virtue of that kingship became head of the empire. His official title was German Emperor and not Emperor of Ger many, a concession to the other rulers who still continued to maintain their regal conditions. In addition to keeping their kings and courts the other states continued their local governing organizations, but they were without any con siderable national powers. One of the prin cipal functions which they retained and exer cised, however, is highly important, and that is their participation in the Bundesrat, which cor responded in a general way to our American Senate, the members of which, however, were in effect ambassadors from the various states, while the body, further, was the Supreme Court of the German Empire. As the emperor's pow ers were largely limited, he having no veto and being hardly more than the president of the Bundesrat, that powerful assembly was the real ruling power in Germany.
As King of Prussia, the German Emperor had much greater powers as regards Prussia than he had as emperor in his imperial capacity. And since Prussia's in the Bundesrat was 17 votes out of a total of 58, his powers in the appointment of Prussia's repre sentatives in the Bundesrat were accordingly reflected in the policies of the empire, especially since the members from each state voted en bloc, under instructions from their respective states, and not as individuals.
Membership in the Bundesrat imparts great prestige to the individual members, and hence the foremost men in the empire are always eager for the appointment. Thus the Bundes rat (the Council of the Bund or Union), being composed of the leading men in Germany and exercising the highest legislative and judicial powers, commands the respect of the nation.
Overlaid like a pattern over the whole em pire is the Reichstag, or lower house, the mem bers of which are elected directly by districts, similar to the Congressional districts of the United States. Prussia and the other states have also for local affairs upper and lower houses similar to the legislatures of our Amer ican States. The Reichstag is independent of such bodies, however, but has less power than the Bundesrat, its greatest prerogative being the right to veto appropriations.
The Chancellor, who is named by the em peror,. must command the confidence of the Bundesrat and Reichstag, and he is the only cabinet minister who is answerable in a politi cal sense to the legislature; the other cabinet ministers being hardly more than department heads. While the Chancellor is appointed by the emperor •and while his ssolielei-must not be contrary to the sense of the Bundesrat and Reichstag if he is to continue in office, in prac tice.he is much less responsive to the changing currents of politics and maintains himself more readily in office than do the cabinets of other European governments in which the individual ministers must represent policies in accord with those of the legislatures.