Sunday, 22 December 1929: Germany's Liberty Law is Defeated at the Polls

Berlin:  

The Liberty Law is defeated at the polls as expected.  Nationalist politician Alfred Hugenberg’s proposed measure to reject the Young Plan in favor of ending war debt payments altogether is supported by less than 6 million voters, or 14%.  Still, that’s an increase from the roughly 10% who signed the petition earlier in the year that brought the measure up for a public vote, and it surprises some observers, who hadn’t expected the vote to be any higher.  Some places show marked increases: in Potsdam, for example, 45% more people vote for the Liberty Law than signed the plebiscite.  Dusseldorf, a socialist and centrist stronghold, sees a 35% increase in voters for the measure.  Pfalz and Wurttemberg report 100% increases. 

The measure, sometimes also referred to as the law “against the enslavement of the German people,” would also have prosecuted German officials who favored reparations payments, and would have renounced the war guilt clause in the Treaty of Versailles.  Voting is relatively quiet, although some clashes are reported in Berlin, including one polling place having all its ballots stolen at gunpoint. 

Khabarovsk, Russia:  

China and Russia sign an agreement to restore Russian control of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which was a major focus of a Russian invasion of Manchuria last month.  Prisoners will be exchanged, troops will be withdrawn, and China additionally says it will disband the White Russian military organizations operating in Manchuria. 

Manchuria:  

In a related development, Japan’s Rengo news agency reports that some 200 Japanese nationals living in Manchuria, who were caught in the fighting during Russia’s invasion, are suffering cold, hunger and other hazards in the wake of the conflict.  Meanwhile, in Shanghai, reports are that Japan’s Dempo news agency has displeased the nationalist government, allegedly spreading “ill reports specifically intended to undermine public confidence in the nationalist government,” according to a foreign office announcement, which also said the government had requested Japan’s legation in Peiking to “restrain these propagandists.”  The news agency’s telegraph and radio privileges are withdrawn. 

New York:  

The Fascist League of North America disbands.  The organization, which formed primarily in Italian-American communities around the country, received mixed reactions from the Italian government and was viewed with ambivalence by the U.S. government.  A Harper’s magazine article on Oct. 26, entitled “Mussolini’s American Empire,” claimed the FLNA was raising “soldiers for fascism.”  This caused an uproar nationwide, including Congressional calls for an investigation of the FLNA.

League President Count Ignazio Thaon di Revel says that the Harper’s article and ensuing calls for investigation had nothing to do with it.  Rather, the league’s work in “contributing to the enlightenment of the American public pertaining to the ideals of fascism” has been accomplished.

To view a photo of an FLNA march.