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too much opposition. There is, however, still too much ground to fear that at least a portion of it may become law, for by no means all who oppose this law are opposed to its fundamental idea, namely, increased protection for the voluntaries.
At the first reading of the bill in the Reichstag (end of June, 1899) the number of those who opposed the bill with eloquent speeches was splendid. Not merely the Social Democrats formed the opposition. Nothing else was to be expected from them. Indeed, the point of the law was aimed directly at them. Their fifty-seven votes do not amount to much, however, in a house of 397 members. But in this case there were associated with them the small groups of middle-class liberals, who have in Parlia- ment, to be sure, less significance than in the press, and, further and more important, the two large groups of the Center and of the National Liberals; that is, the party of the Catholics, which alone has over a hundred seats in the Parliament, and the moderate liberal middle party, which consists chiefly of offi- cials, professors, and representatives of large industries. No one had expected so vigorous opposition to the scheme, particularly from this latter party, the National Liberals, as their spokesman, the lawyer Bassermann, a south German, actually manifested. What he said corresponded throughout to the traditions of the time when the National Liberals were actually a liberal party. It appeared, however, very soon that the spokesman of the party was without the support of an important fraction of the party. When it came to vote, a portion broke away from him and voted for reference to a commission — that is, for acceptance of the essential part of the scheme. Moreover, in the press of the great capitalists there arose an angry storm against this apostate. He was charged with accepting the most dangerous demands of the revolutionary movement, with flirting with the Social Democracy, and with destroying the vital energies of German industry. This made a considerable impression upon a part of the National Liberals. It seems to grow plainer that the number of those who will stand fast is growing smaller. The proposal has already appeared in influential National Liberal sheets to exclude Bassermann and his friends from the part)-. Accordingly, an
