Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-01-28
Y o WANT LESSON.
A Medical Student Murdered hv Gar
man Soldiers.

Pail Mall Gazotte.l
The town Of Wurtsbure. in Bava.
ria, has just been the scene of a most
unfortunate affair-nothing less thar
the manslaughter, some might call il
murder, Of a medical student by
Prussian infantry sergeant. The
German papers, in giving accounts Of
the occurrence and of the events
which have resulted from it, report
that mass meetings of students are
being held in all university towns, not
only to demand the punishment OF
the offender, but to protest against
the attitude habitually adopted BY the
army towards the civil population.
1t seems that about ten days ago a
couple of students, one of whom was
named Sieken, spent a pleasant even
ing together at a tavern, and on their
way home stopped at a military
guard-house to warm themselves and
take some rest. 1t is not denied that
Sicken was a little tipsy, and banded
some chat with the soldiers, but he
was not insolent or obstreperous, and
might safely have been left to take care
of himself. The sergeant of The guard,
however a man named Bude), took him
into custody, and ordered him to be
marched off to the police station.
Sicken had his reasons for not wishing
to be conducted to the lookup, for he
was about to pass his examination for
the degree Of I'D, and, being now
shocked into sobriety, he begged Dude
to let him go, and be content to take
his name and address. The sergeant
declined. Thereupon Sicken shook
himself free and tried to run, but
Dude, without attempting a pursuit or
calling the runaway to stop, raised his
rifle and shot him dead.
What follows sounds almost inored-
lble. Sicken's brother student, who
had accompanied the escort, endea-
vored to get near his dead friend TO
see whether he was really past relief,
but was pushed back by the soldiers,
who threatened to skewer him with
their bayonets if he advanced. "We've
our orders about you students,
shouted the sergeant; you want a
lesson every one of you" The upshot
was that Sicken was left lying for an
hour and a half in the street. the SOL
diers forbidding anybody to approach,
while Bude went off 20 the bar
racks and made a report of the affair
to the colonel. The next morn
ing, while all the inhabitants
of Wurtzburg were discussing Sicken's
death with CONSERVATION, they were
scandalized to hear that his slayer had
been warmly complimented by the
colonel. This caused an uproar, for
students and workmen turned out into
the streets to the number of 1000, as
saulting all the officers and soldiers
whom they met so that in the after
noon an order had to be issued confn-
ing the regiments to barracks and for
bidding officers to go out in uniform.
On the evening of the following day
Sicken's funeral took place by torch
light and was attended by all the pro-
fessors and students of the university,
along with an enormous crowd of the
townspeople. Since then imposing
demonstrations have been held in all
the other university towns, and the
students of the different Virbendun-
gen have called for a rally of these So
%cieties with a view of taking joint ac-
ton about an affair which they regard
as an outrage upon their whole body.