The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-22
WHERE LIBERTY IS
AN UNKNOWN WORD
Petty Tyrannies Practiced by the Pres
ent Emperor Of Germany.
DUELS AND COURTS OF HONOR
A Former German Army officer Shows
Up the Present Emperor's Regime.
A Professor Convicted for Not
Fighting Twenty-four Duels.

| Kaiser Wilhelm II, conductor of the
| concert is, for good or evil, the chief
person in Europe today. He fills the
horizon. Every one is watching his
movements, waiting his word, wonder
ing what his intentions may be. To his
pretensions there seems to be no hu-
man limit. The other day he made
a speech, in which he divided his peo-
| pie into two classes, mobiles and serfs-
"unfrei." Is he mad? you ask. Not
at all. He is the emperor. He means
| to stand well with Russia, and Rus
sia will be pleased with the "unfrei'
| speech, and 50 will the kaiserbund-
| Abdul Hamid, Nicholas and Francis
! Joseph. His own "unfrei'' understood
| this, though they do not like it, and
| they are beginning to wonder how soon
| their emperor will be the only in
| stitution left to them, and how much
| longer they are to have a Reichstag of
| their own.
The free press is almost extinguished
| Three members of the staff of a single
| paper-not a social democratic paper
| either-are at this moment in prison
for lesemajeste. Even the historian
writes with the fear of the turnkey
before his eyes. No scandal about
| Queen Elizabeth forsooth! Why, a man
was condemned last year for lese-ma-
| jeste because he wrote something vera
| cious about an old elector of the 18th
| century--the bear of Brandenburg. We
| are all "unfrei" before the emperor of
| Europe. Lord Salisbury dances, NJ
| HanotauX dances, the Marquis di
| Rudini dances, while the emperor and
| his three comrades of the Vier kais-
erbund call the tune.
| THE KAISER AT HOME.
It occurred to me that English folk
| might like to know how the controller
| of the British fleet and conductor of
| the concert manages his own peculiar
darling-the army of the fatherland.
Lieutenant Rhein, who has been good
enough to discuss the subject with me,
| is the victim of a court of honor so
| that his opinions do not pretend to be
entirely judicial. He had to leave the
service in 1892 for throwing a civilian
who insulted him into the cccner of
the restaurant instead of running him
| through with his sword. Sentence was
passed by the court of honor, consist
ing of his brother officers, and in
| dorsed by the emperor, and with it
came the end of Lieutenant Rheims
military career. Last year his friends
Bal on Won Ehrhardt and Herr Won
| kamptZ, were hauled before a similar
| court for refusing to accept the chal-
lenge of a civilian who had broken
his word of honor. Lieutenant Rhein,
who is from the Rhenish provinces,
| and gifted with certain independ-
| ence of character, resented the sent
| ence of dismissal and deprivation of
| rank passed upon his colleagues, and
| after a prolonged correspondence he
| challenged the members of the court.
They replied by setting the public pros
ecutor at him, and Mr.. Rhein came to
England in October having a distaste
for the idea of prison life in the faith
erland.
Does the emperor encourage such
judgments as these?" 1 asked.
"Unquestionably. Every decision goes
before him for ratification. The old
| emperor pardoned almost inva-
| riably if the case was one of some eX-
| ternal breach of the code of honor. The
| present emperor never. The idea of
real honor was dear to the old emperor,
but today it has all become a matter
of eXternals, and that just suits the
| temper of the grandson. He is using
| these courts to maintain false stand
! ards of right and wrong and the most
ridiculous notions of honor, to say moth
ing of the encouragement of dueling.
And in the Landwehr and the reserves
| the courts are even more dangerous.
There you find them used as instru-
| ments against progress and political
liberty. They mark off every man who
has been an officer into a class apart
with special code of honor and very
special disabilities. The officer has
gone back into civil life, but he is en-
titled to wear the uniform, and the
emperor keeps his grip upon him
through the court of honor"
THE CHARGES.
What was the charge against Won
| Ehrhardt?' / asked.
| There was two charges-that he
asked a mans word of honor on a triy-
ial matter, and that he would not fight
a duel with the same man when chal-
lenged Baron Won Ehrhardt was pres
ident of Spritualist society at Dus-
seldorf, of which I was a member. The
lawyer with whom the trouble arose
was asked by the president at a Sc
ance to give his word of honor that ev-
erything should be above board. He
gave it, and then we found him pro-
ducing so-called manifestations him
self, and we turned him out. He chal-
lenged Won Ehrhardt and Won
Kamptz. They went to the court of
honor, and said. We are challenged
by this man. He has broken his word
OF honor, so We can't fight The court
answered, First fight, and then we will
inquire That is always the way. 1t
was so in the duel where the officer of
the emperor's yacht killed an innocent
officer in the army. The dead mans
| character was vindicated after death
by the court, and the emperor's friend
was pronounced to be in the wrong. So
interested was the emperor in this duel
that he ordered a telegram to be sent
to him of the result. 1t was the same
with my friends. They said No; if we
must fight, we will fight you, as you
champion the honor of a dishonorable
man. Won Kamptz had the right of
wearing his uniform taken away, and
Won Ehrhardt was deprived of uniform
and commission. That is the heaviest
punishment they can give to the most
dishonorable or traitorous man."
But where was the fault in asking
fol mans word of honor?" 1 asked.
THE old emperor ordered that such
q solemn expression should not be used
in trivial matters That is very good.
But every officer says 1t of dogs, hors-
es, girls. The girl may be ugly, the
horse old, the dog not at all a dog,
but they do not bring it before the
court. But Baron Won Ehrhardt, who
Is a convinced spiritualist, used the
words seriously, the first time perhaps
| a German officer had ever dopa CD an1