University of Utah

Western Political Science Association

The Political Institutions of the German Revolution, 1918-1919 by Charles B. Burdick; Ralph
H. Lutz
Review by: Bruce B. Frye
The Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 4 (Dec., 1966), pp. 740-741
Published by: University of Utah on behalf of the Western Political Science Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/445155 .
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740 TH W ST RN P LITICAL QUART RL

In view of the recentemphasisby the SupremeCourt on the protectionof

individualri htsat all levelsof the udicial process,and the increasedinterestof
overnment in providin le al assistanceto thedisadvanta ed, theneed forhi hly
ualifiedlawyers,willin to act in accordancewith theirprofessionalethics,is
obvious.But professional codesofethicsmay,themselves, be unsuitableformodern
le al practice. In an a e of is
specialization it realisticto maintaina code that
emphasizes the fictional
norm that attorneys should be able and willin to take
any type of case Can the poor avail themselves of le al if theyare un-
services
aware of theire istencebecause of professionalsanctionsa ainst advertisin
Carlin s studyimplicitly poses these uestions.
For thedevelopment of a betterunderstandinof the udicial process,Carlin s
study makes an important contribution to our understandinof the roleof profes-
sional ethicsin structurinthe behaviorof a ma or actorin thissystem.

Alle henyColle e G RG F. C L

The Political Institutionsof the German Revolution,1918-1919. dited by

CHARL S B. BURDIC and RALPH H. LUT . (New ork: Published for The
Hoover Institutionon War, Revolution,and Peace, StanfordUniversity,
Stanford,California,by FrederickA. Prae er,Publishers,1966. Pp. vii, 30 .
7. 0.)
This worktakesitsplace alon sideseveralotherHoover Institution document
collectionsto illustratethe historyof the firstworldwar, the peace conferences
and treaties,and the revolutionary upheavals that accompaniedthe war. The
name of Ralph H. Lutz, professoremeritusat Stanford,is associatedwithmost
of them. His son-in-law,Charles B. Burdick,a professor of historyat San ose
State Colle e, has collaboratedwith him this time in the task of weedin the
thousandsof documentson theGermanRevolutionto illustrateits courseand the
crosscurrentswithinit. The book is smallerand morelimitedin scope thanLutz
and Burdickconceivedit, and it is shornof mostof the annotationswhichwere
thou htnecessaryto place thesedocumentsin theirproperhistoricalconte t,but
it is nonethelessa valuable additionto the documentary resourcesof the period.
The introduction recallsthe principaleventsof the Revolution,and describesthe
ma or revolutionary or ans: the Vollzu srat( ecutiveCommittee);theRat der
Volksbeauftra ten (Council of People s Commissars); the entralrat(Central
Council). Transcriptsof meetin sof theseor ansand transcripts of meetin sof
the cabinetof the a of Baden Government, thelast cabinetof the mpire,and
of the firstWeimarGovernment are reproduced.The bulkof the book,however,
consistsof the notesof themeetin of s the revolutionary or ansdurin November
and December1918.
The German Revolutionis oftencalled a so-calledRevolution, because
nothin reallywas chan edby it e ceptthe formof overnment.The moderate
ma orityof the Social Democraticpartywas lateraccusedbytheLeftofconspirin
withthe ld Germany,especiallywiththe military, to thwarta truerevolution.
 B R VI WS 741

The stren thof this collectionof documentsis that it showsclearlythe cruel

dilemmaof the a oritySocialists,it tracesthe disa reements betweenthemand
the IndependentSocialists,with whom theyat firstsharedpower,and it shows
how circumstances and the challen eof the Spartacistsmade counterrevolution-
aries of the a oritySocialists.In theirfearof communism theybecame alliesof
the e tremeRi ht,and the ilitarye acteda heavypriceforits support.
It takesconsiderableknowled eof the period to use thesedocumentseffec-
tively. uch is alluded to in themeetin swhichcould not be e plainedin notes
because of space limitations.Names are oftenintroducedwhichshouldhave been
accompaniedby a bio raphicalsketchin a footnote.Still,thecollectionwillbe of
value to studentsof revolutionand socialismas well as of Germanhistoryand
politics. The course of the revolution,the workin sof the politicalinstitutions,
and the emer in differences withinthe socialistcamp are clearlyilluminated.
The documentsshow that the splitbetweenthe a orityand the Independent
Socialistsarose on issueswhichcould not be compromised.They illustrate,too,
how the splitwithinthe workin class led to the nullification of any profound
upheavalin Germanyin 1918-19. BRUC B. FR
UniversityFRState
BRUC Colorado
ColoradoState University

The NationalFarmersUnion: Ideolo yof a PressureGroup. By HNR. CRA P-

of NebraskaPress,196 . Pp. ii,2 1. . 0.)
T N. (Lincoln: University

This studyof the National Farmer sUnion is broadlyand ambitiously con-

ceived. The authorintendsit as not a history. .. but a studyin ideas and their
ramifications.The emphasisin the researchschemeis the impactof setsof ideas
and ethicalnormson the membersof a roup,theiror anizationalstructure, and
conse uentpolicyoutput. Interviewmaterial,primarily fromactivitiesand staff
of the Union spresentand past,formthe ma orsourceof data withsupplementa-
tionfromdocuments eneratedovertheyearsby thesesame people.
In viewofwidelyheld stereotypes aboutfarmers and theseemin ly anomalous
commitment of the liberalleadershipof the National FarmersUnion (a roup
composede clusively and proudlyof dirtfarmers),thestudyshouldbe welcomed
bothby studentsof interest roupsand, to a lessere tent,by scholarsinterested in
the conditionsunderwhichideas are utilizedforsocial impact. Happilythestudy
is uite well writtenand the narrativemovesthrou hthe e citin historyof the
Farmer sUnionwithscarcelypauseor hesitation.
Unhappily,at the study sconclusionthe readermay feel the workis more
persuasiveas historythanas an e positionof thecourseof ideas and theiruses. In
part thisis due to omissionsof moderatelyseriouscharacter.In otherwaysthis
maybe due to the e tremedifficulty of teasin out proofsof the propositions the
authorwould like to substantiate, proofsthat row out of conceptualproblems
facin all studentsofinterestroups.
missionsof importare, in thereviewer sud ment,as follows: Beyond ross
of re ionalscope,onlycircumstantial
eneralizations and indirectevidenceis intro-
duced at any pointon the physicaldistribution of Union members.The author