ing the session. The Reichstag is elected
every five years.

The appearance of the Reichstag to the stranger is notable for the
presence of military, naval, and clerical uniforms. It is, as one
looks down upon them, an assembly where at least one-fourth are bald
or thin-haired, and together they give the impression of being big in
the waist, careless in costume, slovenly in carriage, and lacking
proper feeding, grooming, and exercise. It is clearly an assemblage,
not of men of action, but of men of theories. Not only their
appearance betrays this, but their debates as well, and what one knows
of their individual training and preferences goes to substantiate this
judgment of them. There are no soldiers, sailors, explorers, governors
of alien people; no men, in short, who have solved practical problems
dealing with men, but only theorists. Such men as Goetzen, Solf, and
others, who have had actual experience of dealing with men, are rare
exceptions. Probably the best men in Germany wish, and wish heartily,
that there were more such men; indeed, I betray no secret when I
declare that the most intelligent and patriotic criticism in Germany
coincides with my own.

The electoral divisions of Germany, as we have noted elsewhere, have
not been changed for forty years, with a consequent disproportionate
representation from the rural, as over against the enormously
increased population, of the urban and industrial districts. The
Conservatives, for example, in 1907 gained 1 seat for every 18,232
votes; the Clericals or Centrum, 1 seat for every 20,626 votes; the
National Liberals, 1 for every 30,635 votes; and the Social Democrats,
1 for every 75,781 votes. It may be seen from this, how overwhelming
must be the majority of votes cast by the Social Democrats, in order
to gain a majority representation in the Reichstag itself. In 1912
they cast more than one-third of the votes, and are represented by 110
members out of the total of 397.

For the student of German politics it is important to remember, that
the Social Democrats are not all representatives of socialism or of
democracy. Their demands at this present time are far from the radical
theory that all sources of production should be in the hands of the
people. Only a small number of very red radicals demand that. Their
successes have been, and they are real successes, along the lines of
greater protection and more political liberty for the workingman. The
number of their v