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My Four Years in Germany by James W. Gerard
page 30 of 340 (08%)
party must not be left out of account; and, with the developments
of the navy, that branch of the service also claimed a share in
guiding the policy of the Government.

The administrative, executive and judicial officers of Prussia
are not elected. The country is governed and judged by men who
enter this branch of the government service exactly as others
enter the army or navy. These are gradually promoted through
the various grades. This applies to judges, clerks of courts,
district attorneys and the officials who govern the political
divisions of Prussia, for Prussia is divided into circles,
presidencies and provinces. For instance, a young man may enter
the government service as assistant to the clerk of some court.
He may then become district attorney in a small town, then clerk
of a larger court, possibly attached to the police presidency
of a large city; he may then become a minor judge, etc., until
finally he becomes a judge of one of the higher courts or an
over-president of a province. Practically the only elective officers
who have any power are members of the Reichstag and the Prussian
Legislature, and there, as I have shown, the power is very small.
Mayors and City Councillors are elected in Prussia, but have
little power; and are elected by the vicious system of circle
voting.

Time and again during the course of the Great War when I made
some complaint or request affecting the interests of one of the
various nations I represented, I was met in the Foreign Office
by the statement, "We can do nothing with the military. Please
read Bismarck's memoirs and you will see what difficulty he had
with the military." Undoubtedly, owing to the fact that the
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