The evening bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1887-1905, 1896-08-15
THE KAISER AND THE DUEL.
Emperor williams Remarkable Interprs-
tetion of the Scriptures.
Al

| Especial Correspondence
BERLIN, Aug 3.-Emperor William,
who never loses an opportunity of re-
minding his subjects of his pretensions
to the role Of summus episcopus, or spir-
itual as we'll as temporal chief of the
Lutheran church throughout Germany,
is Just at the present moment engaged
in an open conflict with the principal
synod Of the church ON the subject Of
dueling.
Called upon to institute disciplinary
measures against the Potsdam pastor
who declined to accord the rites of
Christian burial to Baron Won Schrades.
killed in a duel by Baron Won Kotze,
the synod, on the contrary, thoroughly
indorsed the attitude of the Lutheran
minister in question and passed a reso-
luton to the effect that no person dying
from wounds received in a duel can be
regarded as having met his death as a
Christian and as such entitled to Chris
tian burial While this view has obtain
ed widespread approval among the mid
die and lower classes it has excited the
most intense indignation among the
more Tory portion of the aristocracy
and among the officers Of the army. The
minister of war, curiously enough the
gallant old General Bronsart Won Shell
lendorf, who, like so many other Ger
man generals, is of foreign origin, his
ancestors being French, has expressed
his approval of the resolution of the
synod and has called upon the emperor
as commander in chief of the army to
take immediate steps for checking the
phenomenal growth of the practice of
dueling.
William, however, not only declines
to comply with the request of his min
lister of war, but has actually gone to
the length of drawing up an extraordi-
nary argument in defense of dueling
and based upon quotations taken from
the Bible. Emperor William speaks in
the triple capacity Of monarch by right
divine, of commander in chief of the
army and of chief of the German Luz
theran church, all of which qualities
are accorded to him by the vast major
ity of his patriotic and loyal subjects
The emperor takes as the text of his
essay that verse of the writings of st.
Paul in which the apostle declares that
he would sooner die than that any one
should rob him of his good name, the
emperor inferring from this that the
most eloquent and forcible of all the
fathers Of the church was prepared to
fight to the death for the honor of his
name. Nowhere in the Bible" adds
his majesty, sis there any prohibition
OF dueling, and even those texts of the
New Testament, unlike the Old Tesla
ment, is not book of law. Indeed, ev-
cry attempt to use the New Testament
as the basis for new code of law has
resulted in failure"
With regard to the use made by the
foes Of dueling Of the law in the Old
Testament which proolaims "Thou shalt
not kill, " the emperor draws attention
to another portion of the Old Tesla
ment where it is ordered that the sword
shall not be carried in vain.
Finally the emperor, invoking st.
Pauls epistle to the Galatians, in which
the apostle exclaims, ooh, ye foolish
Galatians, this only would l learn of
you; Received ye the spirit by the
works of the law or by the hearing of
the faith? Are ye so foolish, having
begun in the spirit, that We wish to
perfect yourselves by the flesh?" de-
clares that to twist the word Of God in
to prohibition of dueling is nothing
else than to attempt to perfect oneself
by the hesh-that is to say, to attribute
an altogether material and common
place Interpretation to what is meant
spiritually-and is just as reprehensible
in the eyes of the Almighty as the at
tempts by the Pharisees to adapt the
Mosaic law to their own convenience,
which were so bitterly denounced by
Christ.
The concluding paragraph of this re-
essay, which, although it does
not actually bear the signature of the
emperor. nevertheless is undoubtedly
The work Of his pen and the expression
If his views, is as follows: "ie who,
after careful self examination, finds
himself compelled to fight duel, and
whose conscience is clear of sentiments
If hatred and of vengeance, may do so
II the conviction that he is in nowise
lcting contrary to the word of God, to
he obligations of honor or TO the &C.
epted customs of society. AS in battle,
70 also in the duel which has been
orced upon him in one way or another,
lie may say to himself: If we live, we
i've in the Lord, and if we fall we die
II the Lord. Amenp"
GEORGE SoHM.
Mrs. Claude Wright-How do you