The San Francisco call., 1897-01-24
LIVELY SESSIONS
( OF THE REICHSTAG
Protests Made in Vain
Against the Gag on
the Press.
squabb.es Over the Tariff and
HINTS as to New Treaties
of Commerce.
G rman Health Authorities Take Pre-
cautions Against the Importat
of the Plague.

BERLIN, GERMANY, Jan. 23.-This
weeks proceeding in the Reichstag were
marked by incidents which provoked splr.
tied discussions and saved the sittlngs of
the chambe from absolute dullness. The
first of these scenes was brought up by
Herr Mupkel, Richterite Rad cal, who
called attention to the arrest OF the editor
of the Frankfort Gazette for refusing to
reveal the name of the writer OF an article
published in his paper, which the authori-
ties characterized as an act of Iese ma
i este and his subsequent release upon the
fa.iure to extract from him the informa-
Lon desired.
Herr Munkel desired that the editors Of
newspapers be relieved from any obIigs-
tion to disclose the identity of the writer's
OF articles appearing in their journals
whereupon DR.. Schoenstedt,. Minister of
Justice, suggested that revelations on The
part OF the editors of the names of con-
tributors upon the demand of proper
authorities was legal necessity. No one
but Government officers, he contended,
ought to be exempt from giving informa-
ton, and only then when ordered by their
superiors in office to observe silence.
a hot debate ensued and the subject was
taken up by the newspapers next day, the
Radical and Socialist journals violently
protesting against the attitude assumed
by DR.. Schoenstedt and assailing the
Government authorities and the judges OF
the courts for their bad faith.
There was a rather lively debate on the
subject OF duties imposed on Quebacho
wood, which ELECTED the statament made
by Count Posadowski Wehner, the Minis
ter of the Imperial Treasury. In regard
to the revision of the German commercial
treaties in 1860 Count Posadosky said that
the Government was preparing new Gus
toms tariff, destined to reform the tariffs
in the existing commercial treaties which
would terminate If 1904 and spoke of an
autonomous customs tariff as being under
consideration. Although the Minister did
not especially refer to America the i'm.
preston produced was that the Govern
ment contemplates changes which will
affect trade with the United States.
Another incident which enIiYened the
proceedings was caused by DR.. Won Boet-
ticher, Imperial Secretary of State. who
took the agrarians to task for repeated
declarations that disease among cattle
was being spread in Germany through the
matter of fact. ne said, the disease among
cattle in Germany did rot result exclu-
slvely from imported animals but was
very often of local origin. German
farmers, be held, should carry out the
sanitary precautions, which they were
neglecting, and observe strlcter veteri-
nary supervision over their own animals
than they were now doing.
The conferences which have been
held by the Imperial Board of Health
upon the fatal bubonic plague, now raging
in Bombay, have led to the sending of Ger
man health officers to Vienna and Rome
to arrange preventive measures.
The Prince of Oldenburg, the head OF
the Russian medical institution, has vis-
tied Odessa to observe the situation there
in regard to the possibility of the intro
duction of the plague through that port,
and IS about to visit Berlin and Paris for
the purpose OF consulting with medical
and health authorities il those capitals.
The German Imperial Board OF Health
has issued orders that all persons arriving
from India, Persia and Red Sea ports be
especially watched and quarantihed at
Hamburg or Bremen on suspicion of their
infection with the plague.
Professor Drasche, a member of the
Austrian Sanitary Council, states that
there is great danger that the plague will
make Its appearance IN Europe and ex-
presses the pinion that European trade
with infected Indian ports ought to be
stopped at once and such ports closed
Professor Kieffer son-in-law of Dr.
Koch, the bacteriologist, expressed his
belief that sporadic cases of the plague
will appear in Europe, but does not be-
lieve that the disease will become cpl
demic if energetic measures for its preven-
ton are taken.
The Zukunft asserts that Prince Bis
marck is greatly enraged at the indignity
put on his son, Count Herbert, by the
Emperor upon the occasion of the recent
marriage OF the daughter of Minister Won
Wedel to Lieutenant Bismarck Buhlen,
which the Kaiser would only consent to
attend on condition that Count Herbert,
cousin OF the bridegroom, would not be
present at the wedding, despite the TACT
that b had been invited. According to
the Zakunft, the ex-Chancellor regards
the lncident as an insult to himself, for
which he was unable to assign any cause.
United States ambassador Uhl and Mrs
Uhl attended The annual ambassadors
dinner al the Royal Schloss on Thursday.
The suicide OF Fritz Spaher, the Ameri-
can Vioiinlst, IN the Hotel Deutscher IN
Berlin on Monday, is attributed by his
friends here to his unhappy marriage.