And the Kaiser abdicates: The German Revolution November 1918-August 1919Bouton, S. Miles (Stephen Miles)
History
And the Kaiser abdicates: The German Revolution November 1918-August 1919
Bouton, S. Miles (Stephen Miles)
Germany -- History -- Revolution, 1918; Germany -- Politics and government
The anti-Christian and anti-religious sentiments of the Socialists did
not find as complete expression in the constitution as those parties had
desired. The church is disestablished, but it retains the right to tax
its members and have legal process for the collection of the taxes. The
property of the church is left untouched. Subsidies formerly paid from
public funds are discontinued. Sunday is protected as "a day of rest and
spiritual elevation." Religious bodies may hold services in hospitals,
prisons, army barracks, etc., "in so far as need for divine services and
ministerial offices exists," but no person can be compelled to attend.
All these provisions are, of course, of comparatively minor
importance--except that dissolving the entailed estates--and many are
mere doctrinarianism, but the final section of the constitution, dealing
with economic affairs, brings principles which, if the combined
Socialist parties should ever succeed in getting a bare majority of the
country's voters under their banner, would make possible far-reaching
changes along Marxian lines. Article 153 reads:
"Property can be expropriated only for the common welfare and by
legal methods. Expropriation is to be made upon just
compensation, _so far as a law of the Reich does not prescribe
otherwise_." (Italics by the author.)
Article 156 reads:
"The Reich can, by law, without prejudice to the question of
compensation, with due employment of the regulations governing
expropriations, transfer to the ownership of the people private
economic undertakings which are adapted for socialization. It
can itself participate, or cause the lands or municipalities to
participate, in the administration of economic undertakings and
associations, or can in other manner secure to itself a deciding
influence therein.
"The Reich can also, in case of urgent necessity and in the
interests of the public, consolidate by law economic
undertakings and associations on the basis of
self-administration, for the purpose of securing the cooperation
of all creative factors of the people, employers and employees,
in the administration, and of regulating production,
manufacture, distribution, utilization and prices, as well as
import and export, of the economic properties upon principles
serving the interests of the people."
"Labor enjoys the especial protection of the Reich." gained by the
revolutionary parties in framing the constitution. They not only make
sweeping socialization possible, in the event of the Socialists coming
into power, but also, as the italicized sentence in article 153
indicates, socialization without compensation to the former private
owners.
There are still two Socialistic articles to be considered. One, article
157, says:
"Labor enjoys the especial protection of the Reich."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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