The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1892-03-04
QUIET IN BERLIN.
Situation Among the Riotous Germans
Greatly Improved.

QUIE TN BERLIN.
Situation Among the Riotous Germans
Greatly Improved.
BERLIN, Feb. 80. = Ominous quiet
reigned in the city during the day. The
most significant feature Of the morning
was the silence of most Of the pastors
on the subject that was in everybody's
mind. The usual prayers were offered
up for the kaiser and the father
land, but not word of admonition or
petition bearing upon an outbreak or
disorder such as Berlin had not seen in
forty -four years. The explanation of
this is that the Protestants are gener-
ally dissatisfied with the new educa-
tional bill, which places Catholics vir-
tually on par with Lutherans and is
regarded as establishing, substantially,
a Catholic state church. This dis
pleasure is so great and general that a
large number both of the Protestant
clergy and laymen have their loyalty
somewhat impaired, and, while they do
not sympathize with disorder, they do
not appear sorry to see the kaiser re-
minded of the possible dangers of the
situation. The church going crowds
went and came in the most orderly
manner, and, in Difference to the COM
mands understood to given to the
police, there was no gathering of groups
in the public streets.
Double Force of Police on Duty.
In the quarters of the city mostly in
habited by workingmen, a double force
of police was on duty, and whenever
three or four persons were seen together
they were ordered to dispense. The
order was generally obeyed. A touch
ing spectacle was witnessed at the
prison during the morning. The wives
of several of those taken captive in the
riots Of Thursday nigat were permitted
to see them. In nearly every instance
the men handed to their wives part of
the prison rations to carry home. In
one case prisoner had actually gone
without his bread rations since Friday
morning, concealing it so as to be able
to give it to his family. He gave the
whole of it to his wife for her and the
children. One of the turkeys, al
though accustomed to pitiful sights,
was so touched by this that he gave the
man extra food and gave the woman
some money. These incidents explain
the heart and origin of the outbreak,
Misery among the poor this winter has
been greater than at any time for years
past. The municipal authorities, fol-
lowing the acts of the burgomaster,
have trusted to repression rather than
palliation for dealing with the desper-
ate and poverty stricken. Relief when
asked for has been given grudgingly and
the men have been told that if they per-
sisted in applying for public aid they
would be sent to the so called tramp
colonies and made to work as prisoners.
The Press Censor at Work.
The fact has been made clear that the
press censor of Berlin has been busy at
work since Thursday altering and
changing the tenor of riot dispatches
sent out of Germany. So much 80, that
. number of newspaper correspondents,
the representative of the London Times,
for instance, have been informed from
their home Offices that their dispatches
were, in some cases, almost ineligible, as
they had left whole sentences out, and
that their messages had breaks in them
which made their stories unconnected.
The Times man was indignant, and
made an investigation of the matter.
He Indignantly demanded at the tele.
graph Office to know by whose author.
ity the changes had been made, and was
calmly informed it was by order of the
press censor.
In view of this fact it may be ex
planned that the correspondent Of. the
United Press, anticipating some such
action upon the part of the press censor
caused his first dispatch announcing the
riots, which was twelve hours ahead Of
any other dispatch sent to the United
States, to be filed at a certain place out
side of Berlin, thus completely outwit
ting the press censor. In view of thu
possibility that even these dispatches
may have been tempered with, though
sent by safe underground" road, il
should be reported that the rioting was
of very important nature, and that
the character of the conflict between the
police and the rioters cannot be much
exaggerated.