The San Francisco call., 1895-12-29
Indignation in Germany Over
the Prosecution of a
Socialist
THE JUDGMENT CONDEMNED.
All Parties Menaced by Enforcement of
the Law to Suppress Political
Associations.

BERLIN, GERMANY, Dec. 28.-The re-
cent sentence of Imprisonment announced
against Herr Hofrichter, editor of the
Rhine Gazette, Socialist newspaper, for
having demo unced barbarities practiced
upon the inmates of the House of Cor
rection at Brauweiler, has aroused vio-
lent public commotion, which is certain to
rebound in favor of the Socialists. Out
side of ultra-Conservative circles there is
absolute unanimity in condemning the
sentence. The Tageblatt declares that
Herr Hofrichter deserves a public tribute
instead of imprisonment for exposing
cruelties upon the helpless which were
paralleled only in the middle ages. If his
conviction was the result of the existing
law, the paper says, then the law must be
altered. at is no wonder the Tageblatt
continues, "that the German people are
turning Socialists in masses, when the
horrors of the Brauweller institution are
defended by law"
The Vossische Zeitung condemns the
finding and judgment of the court in much
the same language as that employed by
the Tageblatt
The National Zeitung, which has now
become a pronounced reactionist organ
attempts to mitigate the popular effect OF
the sentence by maintaining that it was
not altogether for disclosing the horrors
of the treatment meted out to the inmates
by the authorities of the institution that
Herr Hofrichter was convicted and SEN
fenced, but for other offenses as WELL
Besides revealing the deplorable abuses
pro1 Is
Correction, the Zeitung says Herr Hof-
richte- made an assault upon the Director
of Prisons personally. But as the judg-
ment of the court is notoriously based
upon editorial criticisms Of a public insti-
tuition the contention of the National
Zeitung has not any weight.
The fact is that it is not the Socialists
alone that dread the new forms of apply
ing the law. The suppression of political
associations by the authorities and the
continuous prosecutions of the press for
free expression of opinion alarm the Cen
terists and the Freisinniges also. The fact is
now recognized that all parties are equally
menaced, as against all party organiza-
tions can article VIII of the ordinance of
1850 be used, this article being the one
which Herr Won Koeller, late Prussian
Minister of the Interior, applied in dissolv-
ing the Socialist electoral committees.
The temper of the Conservatives is car
rying them to the length OF processing the
expulsion of the Socialists from the Reichs-
tag. Die Grenzboten, a high-class Jour
nal which was notably influential during
the period of Prince Bismarck's power
urges the Reichstag to adopt provisional
act, or Nothgesetz, empowering the Pres-
dent of the Reichstag to question every
deputy suspected of Socialism as to whether
he has renounced all revolutionary agita-
ton. If the deputy shall refuse to answer
or to pledge himself that he has renounced
Socialism, his mandate as a member Of the
Reichstag shall be declared void.
The Conservative newspapers favorably
criticise the proposition as desirable one,
but express doubt of its efficacy upon the
ground, as they declare, that as the Social
lists would not hesitate to commit perjury
in the interests of their party before courts
of law they equally would not hesitate to
verbally make false remuneration of their
principles if they were forced to do so be-
fore the Reichstag.
The sensation of the week has beer the
absconding OF the great Berlin lawyer
Fritz Friedman, for whom warrant of
arrest has been issued for bribing police
officer to allow woman client whom the
officer was taking to prison to escape. Fried
mann has the reputation of being the ablest
lawyer in Germany and he certainly has
the greatest practice and receives the
highest fees. AS an instance of the latter
it NAV be mentioned that he received
&C, 600 marks for defending Banker Poke
some time ago.
1t is said that his income averaged 500,-
600 marks year. He was last seen while
attending a Masonic dinner with his wife,
In some way he got wind of the fact that
warrant had heen issued for his arrest and
he vanished after realizing all the cash he
could. He took with him, besides all
available money, the documents in the
case of Leberecht Won Kotze, formerly
court chamberlain, and other secret papers
which had been entrusted to his care by
high personages. The Won Kotze papers
included many of the letters which the
chamberlain was alleged to have written
to high personages, and for which he was
for time in deep disgrace. Herr Fried
mann left a wife and five children in pow
erty, his creditors having seized all of his
effects Immediately after his disappear
ance 1t is now learned that he led a
double life for many years.
The recent sharp changes in the weather,
involving rain, sleet, snow and chilling
winds laden with moisture, have led to
resurgence of the influenza throughout
Berlin and vicinity. The Kaiser has suf-
fered from cold, but it was promptly
checked and he was enabled to take part
in the Christmas fetes of the imperial
family. DR.. MIGUEL, the Prussian Minister
of Finance, has a severe attack of indu-
enza, and number of other Government
officials are also suffering from the malady.
Among the numerous presents which
Christmas brought to the Emperor the
best was from the Empress, consisting of
set of porcelain plates with paintings on
them of naval subjects, six drinking cups
with golden spoon attached to each, and
two great landscapes painted by German
artist
The Empress received costly antique
necklace with pendants, and the Crown
Prince complete uniform of the Gardes
du Corps. The other princes got guns and