The Radical-Liberals advocate especially an arithmetical redistribution of the constituencies for the Reichstag, the introduction of universal manhood suffrage in the several states, above all, in Prussia, abolition of any special privi leges of the nobility, extension of the power of the Reichstag, introduction of parliamentary government, a public school free from the supervision of the church, substitution of in direct taxes by direct taxes.
The aim of the Social-Democrats is two fold. In the economic field they work for complete socialization of all means of produc tion and a morejust valuation of labor. In the political field they want to establish a direct true democracy. Therefore they advo cate: initiative, referendum, recall, universal suffrage with proportional representation, a free church, free public schools including univer sities, free legal and medical help, high income and inheritance tax, and abolition of all in direct taxation. The German Social-Demo crats, like the socialists in all countries, are in. ternally divided into two groups, the Revision ists who wish to participate in all constructive legislation tending to the socialistic goal, and the Radicals, who believe in the principle gall or Up to the European war, how ever, the differences of opinion were fought out within the party and in the end the party always voted as a unit according to majority rule. During the war a small party of Inter nationalists have separated from the large party and with this the solidarity of Social Democracy has, for the first time, been broken.
Besides these four big groups there are a few deputies in the Reichstag who protest against the incorporation of certain races in the empire. The strongest of these, the Poles, vote in almost all other questions with their co-religionists, the Clericals. The same is true with the Alsatians. The one Danish repre sentative votes usually with the Liberals. The Guelph party, protesting against the annexation of Hanover by Germany, has gone out of exist ence since the marriage of the Duke of Bruns wick, heir to the throne of Hanover, to the daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm the Second, and his acquiescence in the present situation.
In regard to class interests the different parties show, roughly speaking, the following representation: Conservatives — Agriculture, crafts, shop keepers, higher and middle rank officials, ortho dox Protestant Church.
Clericals — Above all the interests of Cathol icism from Catholic nobility to peasantry.
Liberals—The right wing, or National Lib erals: large industrial and commercial interests, science; the left wing: commerce, crafts, sci ence, communal officers, middle and lower rank officials.
Social-Democrats — Workingmen.
The tariff policy of the different parties is consequently as follows: Conservatives — High protective tariff, es pecially for agricultural products. Clericals—Protective tariff.
National Liberals — Protective tariff, es pecially for commerce and industry Liberals — Free trade or very low protec tion for industry and commerce. Social-Democrats — Free trade.
Outline of Party During this period the National Liberals were by far the strongest party and Bismarck re lied on their support and that of the Free-Con servatives. These parties rendered the same service to the new German Empire which the Federalists rendered to the young republic of the United States. With their assistance the organization of the government was estab lished on a firm basis. This period is filled with the deplorable conflict between the state and the Catholic Church, the so-called Kultur kampf. Finally, the government had to corn the Imperial government relied in the Reich stag on the Conservative Clerical Union or Bloc.
1907-1908. But the Clericals were very un reliable and demanded special privileges in re turn for their co-operation with the govern ment. When for this reason they refused to grant the necessary money to put down the Herero rebellion in German Southwest Africa, the government dissolved the Reichstag and appealed to the people. The election brought the government a majority of a Con servative-Liberal combination. However, this unnatural alliance was dissolved in the very next year because the two parties could not agree on part of the financial reform of the Empire.
Since 1908. Therefore Billow resigned as Chancellor and Bethmann-Hollweg returned to the old bloc of Conservatives and Clericals. The situation is now such that the National Liberals hold the balance of power and can throw it either to the Conservative-Clerical or the Liberal-Socialist group.