The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1896-01-30
SETTLE wlTH TAg SWORD.
Btudtnts az Heidelberg Cliag co the Dneii
an vtndIcnte Their Honor.

Bindents ma Heidelberg Ciiag TO the Dnesic
an vtndIcats Their Honor.
The duels of Heidelberg are very
famous There Is perhaps no univer-
eity in Germany at which dueling Is
NOT practiccd, but here IL is regarded
aimost as a religious duty. The sons
Of the rich congregate at Heidelberg,
and they are the people who are
especially addicted to this form of
htndent pastirne In Germany. IL Is not
an exaggeration to say that between
90 and 10 dueis take place here
every week during the semester,
and these nearly all at the Hirsch.
gssses a little tavern across the river
from Heidelberg, which is known and
advertised everywhere as the place of
resort for such encounters. 1t has
served In this capacity for n great
many years The signboards point TO
f. II is mentioned in the guide books
End everyone knows OF IL except the
university officials and the police IL
Is not ten-minute walk from the CEN
Ger OF the town, though Ii is outside OF
the city jurisdiction. This, however,
seems to be matter of no moment,
for SOME of the clubs for a period last
year fought in the town itself, at u
tavern directly in the shadow OF the
old castle. There are duels here some
three or four mornings every week by
the mem bers of the various fighting
clubs, of which Heidelberg has an
enormous number The most aristo-
cratic of them all is the Saxo- Borussia
This club bears cartel relations with
the Bcrussia of Bonn, TO which the
Hohenzollerns belong. Five or six
duels between various com batants are
usually fought on the same morning.
This is al. curious commentary on
law and order as they are supposed To
exist in Germany. Such machinery
for the enforcement of law as is to be
found here fourishes in no other land
in the world, and yet, for one reason
or another, the duel goes on unhin-
dered. BY the laws Of the empire,
without taking into account the PEN
alties prescribed by the lower inrisdic-
tions, there is the most severe punish
ment for dueling and challenging to
duel. In spite OF various attempts to
make other interpretations the stu
dent duels have, by the supreme court
of the empire, been decided to be duels
in the sense Of the law. Yet publicly
in the reichstag, no longer ago than
last winter, an esteemed member OF
the lEaiser's ministry declared himself
and his government at issue, not only
with the laws and the supreme court,
but with whatever moral feeling there
may be in the land against this ma
levolent form of evil.
That there is strong feeling against |
the systematic mutilation Of the hui
man face in the universities there can
be no doubt, although 1t is sometimes
difficult to discern. Those who are
opposed to it. however, are so far re-
moved from the throne of authority I
that they cannot make their influence
felt 1t is one of those denominations,
of which there are several in Germany, |
that there will be no way to uproot I
until there is established govern
ment which can rest In some way upon
a free and responsible public opinion.
Whatever the government of Germany
is to-day, il Is not this. Dueling is so
common at Heidelberg that it is said
sometimes by those who do not know
their subject that all students fight
This is, OF course, not true, though
there is relatively a larger proportion
engaged at it here than at some other
There are surely not
more than 900 fighters out of whole
attendance of 1,20o. This figure, how.
sver, may be slightly below the mark.
Philadelphia Telegraph.