The San Francisco call., 1896-03-08

diate one, is attained even if, after day or
two. their act is reversed by judicial decl-
sion. For when. the contents of newspa-
pers are thus hung up to dry like onions,
so to speak, for five or six days, they are
absolutely valueless as news. On the other
hand the German journalist may commit
some offenses which are unknown to the
laws of other countries, certainly, at any
rate, of England and America. and it IS
the dread OF the possible consequences OF
these offenses which is ever before the
minds eve of the men whom Bismarck
once contemptuously characterized as
mere" "Quill-cattle" ana the present Emperor
denounced as ''press scamps"-unscrupu-
lous raScals VINO were recruited from the
"proletariat Of passmen" that formed the
curse OF modern Germany.
Over every editorial chair in the en-
pire the Damocles sword of the press law
hangs suspended by a mere hair, filling
the occupant of this seat with constant
feeling of nervousness and apprehension.
And first OF all he has to keep perpetually
in mind the class of privileged persons
who enjoy such degree of immunity
from criticism that, as Herr Oberholtzer
remarks, the safest course for the journal
ist is to say nothing at all about them II
the something which he has to say is not
in their favor. At the top of the list Of
and his very name must be treated as
sacred, otherwise prosecution for Majes-
tatS- beleidigung, or lese- majeste, will be
| the result. There used to be a speclaI
crime known as Bismarck beliedigung,
but this of course has now ceased to oc-
cupy the courts. 1t is a pity that Herr
Oberholtzer does not illustrate this part of
his subject by some of the most salient
cases in which charge of lese- e-majeste has
been trumped up, but writer in the
Contemporary Review supplies the def
cheney in the most amusing manner.
What constitutes lese-majeste and what
does not lies with the Judge to determine,
but in no circumstances is truth allowed to
be justification for any statement held to
and the list includes the federal allies of
the Emperor, as we'll as all the members
Of their families, the soverelgns of friendly
states, EN- baSsadorS and members OF the
federal council. When monarch is dead,
however, he sinks to the same level as
private personals far as the law OF libel is
concerned. Nevertheless, it would be in
the highest degree dangerous Tor any writer
to abuse, say, the memory of Frederick
William " or Frederick LII.
But apart from the crime of lese ma ieste,
the law is also very ingenious in bringing
within its scope press offenses which are
construed as ''high treason" and under
the latter category falls the publication of
military secrets. Moreover, should any
| journalist dare to cross the line which
forms the boundary between revolution
and reform" he will very soon be made
acquainted with the inside of a fortress.
The journal, too, would have a bad time
of it which ventured, say, to advocate the
restitution of Aisace- Lorraine to France.
The only means of bringing home ex-
! treme ideas of any kind to the minds
! s h. = <har, Iofo IN,
| the Reichstag or any other Legislature IN
! the Fatherland, where speech is compare
lively free, and then these speeches may
| be reported in full provided they are re-
ported truthfully. This is the only field,
as Herr Oberholtzer says, in which the
newspaper press is relieved from its other
wise constant sense of responsibility to
the State, and hence even the anti-Sociallst
| law was never able to withhold from the
eyes of the workingmen the fulminations
| of leaders like Bebel and Liebknecht from
the tribune of the Imperial Parliament.
! On the other hand the press does not en-
| Joy the same immunity from prosecution
in respect of its reports of proceedings in
courts of law, which are subject to very
! stringent rules.
With regard to press offenses against
private persons, the law is almost equally
strict. and, it may be added, equally elas-
| tic and subtle. Nowhere easier than in
! Germany can actions be brought for de-
| famation, libel, or "insulting the memory
| of a dead person." In the latter case "the
| insult must be of such kind that if it had
! been offered the deceased when living 1T
would have tended to make him appear
| contemplate, or reduce him in public es-
teem." But it is criticism of the living
which constitutes the greatest danger to
the German journalist especially when
delivering himself on productions in the
| fields of literature, science and art. For
| here he must never at his peril cross the
shadowy and movable line which separates
"unfavorable opinions" from positive de
famation." Then the "booming'' of ma
terial enterprises is hedged about
by wonderful series Of stipula-
tions, as, for example, that Germans
must mot be tempted to emigrate by the
publication of false facts'"; and if any
| newspaper is caught in the act OF misrepre-
senting the conditions OF life and labor in
other countries, its responsible editor"
will have to "sit' for it. "Sit' means
| going TO Jail; and consequently many
| journals have got Sitzredacteure, or
| dummy" editors, being ordinary mem
bers of the staff whose duty it is to sit
| out the penalties imposed upon them by
| the courts. Every journal is bound to
print the name OF its responsible editor,
legal parsonage through whom the law
| is supposed to get at the real author OF
press offence but the institution of
s'dummy editors" often defeats the long
ing of the law in this respect, and thus it
happens that man is paid SO much year
for acting as the scapegoat of his col
leagues. When newspaper offense can
| be tabulated under no other title it is
brought into the category of "disorderly
conduct" (gro5er Unfug), for which the
penalty is fine of $50 marks or imprison-
ment.
But here Herr Oberholtzer leaves the
reader in the lurch. There are degrading
depths of discussion to which even so
patie mt und exhaustive an expositor as he
cannot descend. 1.-THE author" he says,
'as journalist, must politely decline to
subject to serious discussion law which
has been interpreted by the courts in
manner which places his profession on the
same level as the barking of a dog, o false
alarm of fire, or gross public offense
against decency." But there is one stipu-
lation of the press law which appears to
command the approval Of our indignant
author, and that is the clause-the famous
eleventh-which imposes upon an editor
the duty of inserting a matter-of-fact rec
tification" (Berichtigung) from an ag-
or;ax,od norsop with reforencp tn anv state