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CHANCELLOR VON
HERTLING
STATESMAN AND
PHILOSOPHER. !
Count Georg von Hertling, the new German
Chancellor, is (Antes Ed and I
Hear) a Bavarian citizen, but was born in
the Grand Duchy of these Dunnet id, in
1843 He is descended from a no lie amiss
One of his progenitors was Johann I i id
rich von Hertling, as Chancellor and Minister
of State of the Hessian Palatine', the
Kurnfaltz Herrings father was a loan
chamberlain, or Hesse Darmstadt:, and his
mother, Antonie von Guinea, 'belonged to
a Portuguese h maker s firms which had
settled in Frankfort on the Main Her Eng
is married to i Countess von Bi'-relbrn, of
one of the orthodox Catholic families of
Hesse-Darmstadt S
Harding when 24 years old was so
pointed a price. at Recently it the Universe..)'
of seven, and proceeded in PASS In India"
he was called to the Munich conversion
to fill the chair of philosophy md and
the position until 1912, was ion He was an
pointed Bavaria Prince "Vim "tea Here. he
became a member of the Red insurance love
and was repeatedly re e city Winds in
the German Parliament he had the upper i
unit) to see the demand" is -"-wth of the
Count Georg von Hertling. Help
Count Georg von Hertling.
"Centre," the German Catholic party,
now represented in the Reichstag by P
members. Herring for many years was the
able assistant of the noted Centrum lead -a
Dr. Lister. Lister, a democratising.'
inclined politician, was a man of earning;
a skilled tactician, and a worthy successor
of Windhorst, the great Centrum leader
Bismarck's adversary.
After Licber'e death Hertling was hard
party leader. He was always one of the
hardest workers in the Rev hstMg. Ty On
more than to' any other deputy m - the
German" Parliament, was due the pass ing
of the epoch-making socia'-insu-ance leg's
lation which extended protection to the
German working people in the case of" each
new?, disability, and old age Here is dr
played similar activity in bringing about the
passage of the Budget here Ge-tci/btich, to
leiiiarkaLlc Civic Code which establishing
uniform "laws for the whole German Em-
press problem still unsolved in the United
States Hertling on several occasions crime
ported the Bills increasing the size of the
German army and navy, as well's the
legislation which fixed high tariff duties
especially on agrarian products.
As a member of the Reichstag, Berlin
spoke safely, but when he did so alway
delivered carefully prepared and scholars;
speeches. His attitude was vitally diplomatic
and conciliatory and quite different
from the aggressive tone frequently used
by other Central members, notably . tin
two Witprtembcreers, Graeber, and tin
tiety Erzberger Herding, indeed, was the
only member of the Center party who defended
Chancellor von Bulow's Morocco
policy At the same time it should be
said that, following the usual Janus face
policy of the Centre party, Hertling"did-no1
hesitate to take the very opposite position
when Bimlow fell in disfavor withdrawn
CentreTpanyr <-'.-' busy
Bavarian Prime Minister.
Hertling, at the age of 70, became Bavarian
Premier. Two important questions
always burning in German palities, received
his early attention, namely, social reform
and the admission of the Jesuits into Germany.
1 Addressing the Bavarian "aides
on the subject of social reform, Hertling
declared that Germany should spend more
for this purpose, rather than on large
armaments, for the German people, he
added. could no longer stand these increases
burdens.. He asked the Socialists to pro
those definite social reforms, instead of opposing
everything in that direction, pro
losers by the Bavarian Government.
As a result of Hertling's speech the Bavarian
Landtag passed a Bill appropriating
75,000 irmrSg for workmen's unemployment
insurance. With regard to the obnoxious
ents Jesuit law, passed in 1872, and a bone
of contention in Germany for over forty
years, the Betting Cabinet decided that
the law did not prevent Jesuits from attending
social conferences or making public
addresses. The Bavarian Government
next called on the Bundesrat to suspend the
Jesuit law. The Reichstag, with the support
of the Socialists, in three readings
T'ifesod a. Bill for the abolishment of the
law. However, as so often in German
political affairs, the Bundesrat declined to
obey the mandate of the Parliament. Only
since the war the anti-Jewish law has been'
taken from the German carries.
"A similar subject which has always
troubled the Centre Party has been the
Polish question, for most of the Poles living
in Germany are Catholics. Since the
war the Poles of the province of Posen
have obtained more liberty, due in large
measure to the support in that direction
received in the Reichstag from the Centre
Party.
Member of the Bundesrat.
Hertling as Bavarian Prime Minister was
no longer a member of the Reichstag; still
he wielded considerable influence in German
national affairs, owing to the fact that
he had been chairman of the Foreign Re
Rooms Committee of the Bundesrat. As
war cannot he declared in Germany without
the consent of this I'edetai Committee,
von Hertling and his Royal master, the
King of Bavaria, with the other rulers
and Governments of Germany, are equally
responsible with the Kaiser for the world
cataclysm. Hertling, in an address made
over a year ago, said:
"We hold that the war must now In all circum-
stances and by all means be brought to a decision.
Field Marshal von llindctrinirff recently
stated that theoretically the war could be tion
turned indefinitely as, our losses Acre considerably
smaller than our Increases in men; that our
frontier walls on the- east, west, and South were
unshakable, and that our economic life was con
timing as formerly, although MI a smaller sale
than in peace time, yet in a reliable, safe fashion.
A'c desire to bring; the war to an end humane
we are shocked by war's sorrows. Our adversaries
wish to continue the war because they are.
terrified by the horrors that peace would bring.
Hertling also said to an American correspondent:
We are not fighting for the same avowed object:
as Eneund and France. We are all fighting;
for our homes and fatherland. We will, we
must, fight on as long as England pursues the
avowed object of crushing the German people
and proposes to dictate how and by whom" the
German people should be governed.
It is only fair to say that since the Pope's
peace offer Count von Hertling and the
members of the Centre Party as good
Catholics have changed their attitude and
now are very much in favor of peace,
Hertling hurried - to Vienna immediately
after Foreign Minister Czernin's second
statement that Austria was prepared to
make peace with Russia. On May 9 of this
year Hertling aroused a stir when, through
the Bavarian Staatszeitung, the official
organ of the Bavarian Government, is
stated that Germany did not expect to obtain
war indemnities, and that the principal
features of her peace must be an agreement
with her enemies to obtain raw materials,
permission to develop her foreign
trade to her utmost capacity, the return of
all captured German ships and of
her lost colonies. This, the Bavarian
Staatszeitung added, would live at
equivalent to an indemnity of many nil
j lions.
Again, in October, 1917, addressing the
' Chief Committee of the Bavarian Cham
under, Count von Hertling discussed lia
varia's separate answer to the Pope. He
denied that Bavaria was following an independent
policy distinct from that of the
rest of Germany, and said the very)- contrary
was fine.- The -aims of the Imperial'
Government had received Bavaria's, full
support. "Nothing could be further from
the aims of the peaceful German nation
and her Government than the thought to
attach other countries and to attempt to
widen her territory by force of arms
For neither a victory for an extension
of territory could compensate Germany
for the fearful horrors of war' and the
resulting destruction of all ethical and
economic values'."
'" Hertling as Chancellor.
j' Hertling is not the first Catholic Chancellor.
The late Chancellor Prince Hohen'
lohe-Shilüus'fuerst was a Catholic, but not
V. member of the Centre Party, hohenlohe
had a leaning towards "Old Catholicism,"
ja«Adjpoliticallv held liberal views. Inserting,
the other hand, is a decided Ultramon
change On a number of occasions. was
entrusted by the Prussian Government with
important missions to the Holy See. For
it should not he forgotten that although
Prussia nominally is a Protestant State
before the war it maintained a Minister at
the Papal Court. Hertling has always enjoyed
the confidence of the Vatican, and
it is no diplomatic secret that throughout
the war he and the Bavarian Government
have been in touch with the Pope.
' Hertling last July was offered the post
of ' Chancellor, but the 'Vd fox." as he
is called in Bavaria, wisely declined the
position and supported Michaelis. He realised
that his time had not yet come.
Hertling fully- enjoys the confidence of the
Kaiser, and it is said on numerous occasions
the German monarch recommended
his entourage to follow Hertling's suave
and diplomatic conduct of public affairs.
Hertling and Alsace-Lorraine.
The question what to do with Alsace
Lorraine -vital lie a serious problem for
Hertling to solve. He has repeatedly
changed his attitude on this question. At
one time he favored the division of the pro
lives between Bavaria and Baden. Lately
he has been in favor of granting them political
autonomy. In an important utterance
Hertling recently said:
To cite up J Alsace-Lorraine is not to be
thought of, and the majority of the population
of the two provinces would not welcome such
a measure. A decision as to the kind of
government which ALsace-Lorraine shall receive
cannot be made in a hurry. An independent
Federal State cannot be shot out of a pistol.
. Students of German affairs are now wondering
what Hertling will do as a Prussian
Kilmister, for it should not be forgot-
ten that he is both Imperial Chancellor
and Prussian Premier. What will Heart
Sing do to give Prussia universal suffrage!:
The Centre Party has always opposed the
reform of "the most rotten" electoral franchise,
as the Prussian suffrage was once
called by Bismarck. Hertling has already
said that he does not favor a decided ballot
reform, and also has refused to change
paragraph P of the national Constitution,
enabling a member of the Reichstag at
the same time to he a member of the
Bundesrat.
Hertling the Philosopher.
Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg was
greatly interested in philosophical subjects,
and this is also true of Hertling. The present
German Chancellor has written numerous
philosophical books. He is one of
the foremast living authorities on Aristotle
and on Albertus- Magnus, the famous
school man of "the Middle Ages. Hertling's
book, "The Principles of Catholicism and
Sciences' has been translated into sixteen
languages. Strange to say, his name does
not appear in the "Britannica," in the
American Catholic Knelopaedia," or in
similar American berks. In all his writings'
Hertling shows himself: a devout Catholic.
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