Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-12
IBY CABLE TO THE DISPATCH. !

batting and hating are again the order Of
the day in Germany. Ahlwardt, Stoecker
and the Kreafz Zeittrng have come again to
the front amid popular enthusiasm, which
goes to show that they will stay there.
The first element in this revival is the
overwhelming victory of Ahlwardt in the
Parliamentary election in Arnswalde.
Friedeberg; the second the revelations al
Ahlwa1dt's trial of the exceptionally de,
fective work done by the Hebrew gun
makers, the Loewes, in the manufacture OF
425, 600 small-caliber rifles for the German
army; the third the positive anti-Senitic
declaration of the Conservative party con-
ference
The results of the election, the trial and
the conference are the sole topics of con-
versation in the lobbies of the Landtag and
Reiehstag, and have partially excluded
discussions of the military and tax bills
from the columns of the city press There
is no doubt that In all three instances the
anti-Semitics have developed far greater
strength than has been attributed to them
in recent years
Futile Attempts to Make Explanations.
Attempts to explain away the moral les
sons of Ahlwardt's election are futile. The
whole Ahlwardt campaign was made on
the issue of the candidates record as jew
batter. The meetings we're crowded with
people of all classes, and the Endorsement
of the apti-Semitic TRADES of the speakers
was unanimous and enthusiastic. These
speeches were quoted by the Conservative
press without more than q suggestion of
condemnation. The trial of Ahlwardt was,
moreover conducted in such a manner as
to fan the flame.
The auti-Semitie newspapers do not hesi-
tate to say that the e1-Rector was the victim
OF official and Jewish conspiracies to sup
press the facts. The just but injudicious
behavior in the court in giving Ahlwardt's
attorney chance to make q scene and de-
clare that he had not had fair play made
very painful impression everywhere, and
has been exploited for all it is worth by the
anti-SemItic press.
The Official search of Ahlwardt's room,
although revealing presumptive evidence
that The willy ex-Rector had dosed himself
sick to prolong the trial, savored too much
of persecution to please even the fSir-
minded opponents of the anti-Semitic
movement.
Popular Sympathy With the Prisoner.
Throughout the trial popular sympathy
with the prisoner was shown both inside
and outside the Court House. Every point
made for him was received with demOnstra-
tions of approval Sometimes the audience
broke into cheers which could be suppressed
only by the expulsion of the principal Of
tenders.
The unpreiudiced listener or the reader
of the unvarnished newspaper reports could
come only to the one conclusion, that the
exposure of Ahlwardt's quackery was com
piete, for he did not produce an iota of evil
dence to prove the existence of conspiracy
between the Loewes and army officers to
defraud the Government, for the tact that
the Loewe rifles were defective, although
gr1st for the anti-Semitic mill, was quite
beside his pace.
Nevertheless, the common people are
convinced that the conviction was due only
to the prejudice and harshness of the Court.
In summing up on Friday, DR.. Drescher,
the public prosecutor admitted there had
been certain Irregularities in the Loewe gun
shops, but such Irregularities, he said,
were unavoidable in a great factory.
Proceedings with his optimistic defense
of the Loewes, Drescher pointed to the Sun
the highest honor" that these irregulari-
ties affected in no way the excellent quail
ties OF the rifles supplied by the firm.
Not Always the Loewe Guns to Blame.
Army reports proved, he said, that in all
cases OF injury to soldiers from the bursting
of rifles, the defects have been traced to
other makers than the Loewes. 1t was
difficult to find better record among
Il IL.
Loewes, for in all tests throughout the
army only eight Loewe rifles had failed en-
tireiy, and only 10 had required repairing.
The defects of these d, moreover, had been
trivial, and such as military maneuvers
were expected to disclose,
The documents produced by Ahlwardt had
been stolen from the official records, and
had been bought by Ahlwardt or his agents
as a pig in a poke. Far from helping him,
these documents had shown that the failure
of Loewe rifles had been much less numer-
pus than the failures of rifles of other man u
;acture at army mapeuvers. The documen is
proved more, however. They proved that
Ahlwardt's pernicious pamphlet, "Jewish
Guns" had stirred up an agitation which |
had spread to the soldiers of the Landwehr,
and had led them, for the purpose of lend |
ing color to the pamphlets infamous
charges, to tamper with The Loewe rifles |
placed in their hands.
Thus the examination of the 500 Loewe |
guns said to have proved unserviceable at
the Wesel maneuver had shown that thew |
had been injured with deliberation. Some |
had been beaten clumsily with hammers or |
stones, others had been rendered useless by |
the cartridge chambers out of |
gear. How far the contagion had spread |
in the army remained to be seen.
Tests That Proved the Guns.
In Spandau the War Department had |
been conducting the seyerest tests of the |
Loewe rifles, and among no fewer than
600 had not found a single radical fault.
Testing experts had reported that the Loewe
rifles we're equal in every respect to those
made in the royal factory. The trial had
shown not only that Ahlwardt had injured
German trade in firearms, but also had un-
iermined the discipline of the army. There
lore a severe punishment is necessary.
Drescher's address is regarded as a fairly
successful exculpation of the Loewes, but is
taken with large grain of salt on account
Of the stringent need felt by the Govern
nent for making out a strong denial that
he army equipment showed any serious de-
ects.
Ahlwardt's reply did not deal with any
Of the important points of the prosecution,
although it occupied tull hour OF the |