OCR Text |
Show GERMANY MAY BE FORCED 10 TAKE REFOI! STEPS Sentiment for More Democratic Demo-cratic Basis of Government and Diplomacy in Empire Em-pire Is Growing. PRESS CONTINUES TO ABUSE WILSON Some of the Organs Put Their Faith in Princes and Declare There Will Be No Change. COPENHAGEN, via London, April G, 6:30 p. m. America's entry into the war evidently has had an immediate and strong effect upon tho reform movement in Germany. Tho conviction that the instant modernization of the Prussian constitution and the proclamation of a more democratic basis of government and diplomacy in the empire, without waiting for the end of the war, is necessary neces-sary as a military and political measure to counteract the tempest of tho world's public opinion, as tho Vorwaerts puts it, is evidently gaining ground in all except reactionary circles. The demand that Germany follow the example of Austria-Hungary and declare itself in favor of a peace without annexations an-nexations is heard from moderate liberal lib-eral as well as from socialist quarters. This -ioiriaii-l no longer repreiits alnne the be! let f many think in : per-oas ;hat annexation, except J' siil'U frontier fron-tier alterations would be a sain st ti'e ral interns of 1 iermaiiy. b-it a!?o the realization that alter t::e United State? joined the rankp of the enemy ihe time had j arsed when Germany could hope to dictate terms of peace or even mod-erate mod-erate terms. Hope of Victory Gone. The Associated Press correspondent J heard this view in even gloomier terms from various sides in Germany at the tirr.o of the rupture of relations between the T'nitM States and Germany, namely, name-ly, that if the United States d-ided to take an active part in the war, Germany could no longer hope to pain a victory, but, after holding out for a year and a half or two years, must inevitably submit sub-mit to tho economic pressure of the blockade. Significant evidence of this change in sentiment is given by yesterday's leader lead-er in the Vorwaerts on ''America the Knemy.J' The Vorwaerts, whirh only a few days arr0 characterized the reform movement as a question of secondary importance im-portance to that of seen ring- peace 'with Russia, and attracted wide attention bv an article arguing that even the socialists social-ists were not working against Germany's monarchist government, now swings around and declares that the adaptation of the antiquated constitutional forms in Germany to those prevalent in the rest of the civilized world is the vital and burning question ot the hour. |