1868: Whispers of corruption
Although there was much harrumphing over the naval construction plan, Minister of Finance Frederick Carile was able to find room in the budget for it. Only a very modest tax increase was necessary -- 5% across the board for 90 days. Flensburg and Marseilles were chosen as the sites for new upgraded naval bases, while ground was broken in Sassari, Corsica, and Senj, Croatia for all new shipyards and ports. The Minister of War, Hals Gutfreund, and President of the State Commission, Friedrich Meier, were daguerreotyped at one of the ceremonies, beaming at the thought of the mighty fleets that would slide from those slipways and the new jobs that would be created as a result.
Back in Nürnberg, Otto von Bismarck, the Foreign Minister, took particular delight in rejecting a British request to open Germany up to their soldiers and ships. "If a single British soldier steps on German soil, many, many more German soldiers will sack your capital city and burn it to the ground." Only France dared voice any shock at the Foreign Minister's tone, but ultimately could do nothing to anger Germany, lest the German army burn Paris instead of London. [1]
However, all of the expenditures on the navy led to a meeting of prominent liberals and socialists, who in turn put pressure on some of the radical Stadtholders. The self-appointed "Commission on Health and Hygiene" demand that the Chancellor match the spending on defense with spending on social services, specifically on improved and free healthcare for every German. The Chancellor promised to raise the issue at the next meeting of the Reichstag, which satisfied some but not all of the committee members.
Funding for the Naval War College continued, as better teachers taught smaller classes with the latest in tools and technology, leading to an upsurge in
Naval Professionalism. Government funds were also spent on a new lumber mill in East Switzerland. Although none of the presently open factories were on Friedrich Meier's list, the President of the Planning Commission recognized that until new facilities existed to house the workers, closing the existing factories was a mistake. The navy was in the news in the summer of 1868 too, as design contests sponsored by the Naval General Staff resulted in the creation of prototype Ironclads and Monitors, although shipyards did not yet exist that could mass produce the new vessels.
Meanwhile, liberals and socialists continued to attack the renewed regime of Chancellor Michael von Hohenzollern, saying that he had intentionally excluded the more anti-military members of the Reichstag from his inner circle. Michael pointed to the Minister of Education, who had just provided a grant to the economics department of the University of Nürnberg to study
Late Classical Theory. The Commission, as they called themselves, countered with the "appalling apathy of the government towards her people" in the recent Kreuzberg mine just opened; a mine that had rich iron deposits deep within the earth's surface and one which was impossible to exploit without considerable cost in lives.
Michael's response, that the mine provided jobs for hundreds of Germans and that every precaution would be taken to ensure the workers' safety, was rejected, and the Commission immediately announced an investigation into the business practices of members of the HUN and New Society. The Commission alleged that contracts were given out to corporations secretly owned by members of the Hohenzollern family and other conservatives in the government. Friedrich Meier himself was accused of fraudulently diverting government funds to support his family's empire in South Tirol. A government inspector sent to South Tirol to set up new recruiting stations for German soldiers took it upon himself to investigate the claims. Although the evidence was dodgy at best, it didn't stop him from giving this evidence to a friend at a prominent newspaper, who published the story without fact checking.
The scandal rocked Germany's capital. Crowds of people picketed the January 1869 session of the Reichstag, demanding the imposition of a minimum wage.
Other social reformers insisted that continued support to the military cease and that their own pet causes be funded.
Some hysterical conservatives, looking for anybody they could scapegoat, attacked Frederick Carile's "frivolous spending policies" and "worthless budget."
While it was true that the government had run a small shortfall in the past 72 hours, this shortfall had already started to break and the shortfall was made good by the government treasury. But as the Reichstag opened its doors on 1 January 1869, there was plenty to talk about.
[1] We got a Humiliate France CB that never actually appeared. I think it's a bug in NNM, or perhaps NNM and the converter aren't playing nice.
For the meta-record, I made almost everything up regarding the conservative scandal.
Almost everything.
Gentlemen,
I would like to publicly disavow the baseless allegations made by the so-called Commission against Friedrich Meier and my party. The Meiers have served our country selflessly for generations and are above reproach. The Minister of the Interior is free to examine the evidence provided by the Commission and carry out an independent investigation. I think Herr Schwaben will find nothing but lies.
As I promised, however, I am raising the issue of
social reforms before the Reichstag. Although I do not personally believe that any such reforms are necessary, I open the floor to debate which, if any reforms, should be put to a vote.
Thank you.
Michael von Hohenzollern
Any and all Constitutional amendments may be proposed for the next
48 hours. Social reforms and anything else would fall under these guidelines.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court