SCHORLEMER-ALST, BURGHARD von. - German politician, b. 20 Oct. 1825 at Herringhausen near Lippstadt, d. 17 Mar. 1895 at Alst (district of Steinfurt). Having first embraced a military career, he later abandoned it to devote himself to politics and the defence of the interests of the farmers of Westphalia.
What prompted him to lay aside his uniform were the critical conditions in which agriculture found itself from 1850 onwards, its development being compromised by the industrialisation of the country. On 10 June 1862 he therefore founded an association of landowners with the intention of working together to safeguard their respective religious and social interests. Starting from the principle that industry and the power of capital were tending to annihilate the small and medium-sized agricultural property and consequently to break the family bond so vital among farmers, Schorlemer saw in this a deliberate attempt to subvert Christian order at its foundations by destroying the family. He therefore promoted the union of farmers so that they might resist, with good prospects of success, not only the dangers threatening the particular interests of landowners and farmers but also the decline of Christian sentiment. His initiative served as an example to other similar organisations which arose on the model of the one he had founded, and in 1867 a great central union of Westphalian farmers was established on a federal basis at Münster, the Westfälischer Bauernverein. The fundamental aim of this association was the defence of the moral and material interests of agricultural proprietors through the establishment of credit and insurance institutions as well as cooperatives, so as to prevent the fragmentation and sale of farms. Membership of the association was open only to those who cultivated a holding directly and belonged to one of the two Christian confessions, fulfilling their duties and leading a life in conformity with the precepts of religion. With the establishment of the Bauernverein, Schorlemer laid the foundations for the solid defence of the German farming and agricultural world against the threats posed by other social classes. Subsequently, through his political activity, he sought to strengthen the position of farmers in the life of the country. Deputy to the Diet of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1870 to 1890 and to the Reichstag from 1875 to 1890, Schorlemer soon became one of the most representative figures of the Catholic Centre Party and several times spoke during the Kulturkampf, distinguishing himself both for the seriousness and incisiveness of his arguments and for the caustic manner in which he sometimes attacked his adversaries and replied to the accusations levelled by Bismarck against his party. His struggle for the rights of Catholics, however, did not divert Schorlemer from a careful consideration of the conditions of farmers and agricultural proprietors. The grain crisis after 1875, caused by competition from Indian, Russian and American grain, forced Schorlemer and the Centre Party to abandon their advocacy of free trade and instead to demand the adoption of protective tariffs. Within the Reichstag, together with Windthorst and 85 deputies of the Centre, he formed in 1878 an Economic Union of Protectionists, which also included many conservative, National Liberal and other party parliamentarians, totalling 204, so as to form the strongest group on economic questions. Soon afterwards, Bismarck’s policy of conciliation towards the Centre made it easier for Schorlemer to collaborate with the Chancellor, whom years earlier he had opposed, without however preventing him from voting against the anti-socialist legislative bill, considered contrary to all legal form and every moral precept.
