The federal character of the German gov ernment is preserved, but the powers of the individual states are inucb reduced. A very large number of 'powers are specifically assigned.
to the central government, as the control over foreign affairs, citizenship, colonies, immigra tion, customs, posts, telegraphs, railroads, ship ping, coinage, weights and measures, mother hood, repopulation, labor conditions, price fix ing, the socialization of national resources, paper money, manufactures, theatres and educa tion. The states must have liberal forms of government and grant the suffrage to all men and women in the election of their Legisla tures. It was specifically provided that an im perial law should be superior to a state law. .A citizen of a state is to be a citizen of the empire with equal rights in all other states.
There are many provisions relating to the rights and status of person. Privileges of birth are abolished but titles may be used merely as parts of the names of individuals, and no more titles of nobility are to be conferred. All titles that are created in the future will refer to the occupations of the recipients, but academic titles will be awarded as in the past. Freedotn of speech is guaranteed. Especial attention is given to the protection of motherhood, and it i3 provided that illegitimate children shalt have the same moral and social protection as legiti mate children. No state church is to exist but all people are to have freedom of belief. Com pulsoiy education is required for all children for eight years with continuation schools in technical, professional or occupational subjects as the ability of the pupils may warrant, but in this connection no distinction is to be made on account of social. status or religion. Pupils are to be taught civic ideals °in the spirit of popu hr Germanism and of international reconcilia tion" It was probably by design that the su premacy of international law was specifically recognized.
'Under the circumstances it was inevitable that the constitution should contain socialistic cloctrines; but they are moderate in nature. Private property is °safeguarded by the con stitution* and the right of inheritance is guar anteed. Confiscation is not to occur without due process of law arid without compensation. Entails are dissolved. °Private economic enter prises* raay be taken by the state, but only with compensation, and it can be arranged that when thus taken over the employers and the employees shall participate in their administra tion tinder the supervision oi the.state. Elabo
rate regulations are made for the protection and .fnnctioning of hbor. The right of laborers to organiz' e and bargain is recognized, and a -na tional eccmomic C.0111161 is created and is to be consulted in malcing laws affecting labor. These provisions are far short .of the ideals of the radical Socialists. It remains to be seen to what extent the government will undertake to carry them into practice. The fact that they are mostly permissive seeins to indicate that the constitution makers were not willing to en danger tire revolution by attempting to estab lish an out-and-out socialist regime.
Under this constitution Herr Ebert became the first President of the imperial republic of Germany. He was inaug-urated 21 Aug. 1919 in the court theatre at Weimar, where the sessions of the National Assembly had been held, a brilliant audience witnessing the cere mony. Only the seats of the Independents and the German Nationalists were vacant. ((It is a thorny office,° said the president of the assem bly in inducting him into office, °which in the hardest times the Fatherland has laid upon your shoulders, but with an easy conscience you can claim to be free from all blame or responsibility in the country's wretched po sition.° It was a true speech. The task of the President is severe. National bankruptcy threatens, the obligations of the peace treaty must be met, and precautions against a counter revolution must be taken. The hope of the future for Germany is in the common sense of the German people and their leader.
One of President Ebert's first difficulties was the withdrawal of the army- of General von der Goltz from the Baltic provinces, where it had remained under the pretext of keeping the BolShevists back. Its commander was one of the best leaders of the Junkers, and it was be lieved that his force was but a rallying point for monarchists in anticipation of the time when lie would proclaim a restoration of the Hohen zollern dynasty. To the protests of the Allies at Paris little attention was paid. Finally they became insistent and announced that they would restore the blockade against food for Germany if the troops were not recalled. The threat proved effective and on 4 Oct. 1919 the troops began to leave the provinces. They had numbered about 40,000 and President Ebert was probably as pleased as the Allies themselves to see them demobilize.