Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-05-24
Former Commissioner of the Secret
Political Police in Berlin.
ACCUSED OF PERJURY And TREASON
German Court Circles All Torn Up
Over the Trial.
Won LUETZOw'S CONFESSION

BERLIN, May 24.-The trial of Herr Won
| Tausch, the former commissioner of the
| secret political police, who was arrested on
| December last at the close of the sensa-
tional Luetzow-Leckers trial, during which
| the imperial chancellor. Prince Hohenlohe;
the minister for foreign. affairs. Baron
Marschall Won BIeberstcin. and the Ger
| man ambassador to Austria, Count Phillip
Won Gutenberg, We're among the witnesses,
| commenced today, and will probably last
| week. Among the witnesses summoned are
| Baron Marschal Won Bieberstein. Count
| Philip Won Gutenberg. ex-Ministers Won
| koullcr and Gen. Bronsart Won Schellen-
dcrf, Police President Windhem, Herr Be
| bel, the socialist leader, and about fifty
newspaper men, besides a number of off,
| cials belonging TO the different ministries.
At the opening of the trial the president
of the court cautioned Baron Won Luetzow
not to depart from the actual truth in the
| testimony which he might be called upon
| to give against Won Tarsch.
Won Tnusch on the stand.
The former chief of the secret political
| police was then examined. He made a
statement relative to the employment of
Won Luetzow and a newspaper man named
Schumann by the secret political police,
and assured the court that he Won Tausch)
had never caused political interests TO be
served by his agents. Schumann, or Nor
| mann-Schumann, is said to have been much
more guilty than Baron Luetzow.
Schumann escaped from Berlin just in
| time to avoid arrest. He was charged, in
conjunction with Baron Won Luetzow, with
| having signed fictitious names to receipts
| for money, given them to bribe newspaper
writers or editors or subordinate employees
of the government to furnish secretly in
| formation of every kind wanted in the al
legged campaign to fiscredit the existing
cabinet.
Won Tausch is charged with four-fold
| perjury. ana, incidentally. with treason. He
| threatens, ii pushed to the wall, to make
| clean breast of everything, ami this
may include establishing the identity of
| the authorship of the famous so-called
ven hoize letters, by which an anony-
nous writer, Tor over year kent the
court OF Germany in a state of turmoil
Dy making the most scandalous insinua-
items Sainst male or female members of
| many aristocratic families resulting In
stormy scenes, scpara tions, duels and
dea his.
Won kotxe Not the Author.
Count Won kotze, the former court cham
herisin. according to general report, is
certainly not the author of this series OF
ver omcus attack upon various members of
! the nobility, and it has beea more than
! once hinted that the author of these scan
dalors missves is to be found in the very
nest circles IN Germany.
Baron Marschal Won Bieberstein insisted
that the men who in this manner tried TO
set the emperor's entourage against the
foreign oihce were Identical with those
who concocted the intrigues which led 10
the downfall of members of the cabinet.
1t was demonstrated by witnesses that
Ven Tausch had repeatedly made false
sta iements to his SUPERIOR the minister
OF the interior. expanding the authorship
Of articles attacking prominent people and
later. Baron Won Luctzow confessed in
writing that Won Tausch was the instiga-
tor of the intrigues complained of.
LeutzOw's Confession.
His counsel, Herr Won Lubschinsky, read
the document, which was as follows:
For the sake of the grand name of my
family and ancestors, and in order to make
good at least part of what / have done,
and TO restore. if possible, my honor, and
to avaid innocence being punished, 1 am
determined to state the full truth and
nothing but the truth. Yes, | have done
what L am accused of, but / did not do it
OF myself. Everything l did was done by
strict order of my employer Police Com.
missioner Won Tausch. II was at his order
that l published the allegation that Court
Marshal Count Won Eulenburg had spread
,i ,he raise version OF the cars toast in Eng
llsh interests. By order of Herr Won
Tausch declared that Baron Won Mar
scnaiI wished 10 have this allegation pub
ilshed by the papers. When these articles
n
hates Baron Marschall. He was delighted
and triumphantly exclaimed, We have al
iast put nice thing in Marschalrs dish
he aGded: i must send these articles 10
Count Philip Won Eulenburg German ann
passador at Vienna and a cousin of the
court marshal here. He will be Immensely
pieased He wrote letter to the amhss
sador. who was then stayinp AZ Gas,Io
Lleoenberg. and received a letter in re
turn, thanking him. and adding thai in .
wou,d WOW ddys S ne ne would come to Berlin, and
"ouid DC giad to see him.
Article Created nm Upronr
some days later Won Tausch came TO me
sa'Ais that the whole foreign Office was I'm
an uproar about the article. and thar Raro~
Marschall Was taking up the matter ver,,
seriously. He continued. Il b.,,a -,
oroered by the police president to m.to
investigations. and shall be forced N Give
your name as the author. But never nina
De hrm and silent. l will protect Won in
Taysos any case, A few days elapsed. and
iausch came ain.saying: They have also
uncovered the affair of Kukutsch's forged
signature, but keep steadfsst Coun. PhiIin
ven Euienburg VIII protect you and me-
you may rely upon II. He is a powerful
man. Briefly said. Won Tausch is the
originator Of all my msdeeds / was
tool In his hands. He held me in his claws
SO that could not move. He sucked me
dry, and 1 was completely in his power. for
l lived upon what he gave me, and he could
destroy me at any moment. This is The
full truth"
Confession Made a Sensation.
The confession of Baron Won Luetzow
caused deep sensation in court, and.
afterward. throughout Germany. Won
Tausch listened to his agents words with a
sickly smile upon his white face and when
the name Of Count Philip Won EuIenburg
was mentioned there was a movement Of
intense surprise throughout the court room.
which had previously been so deathly still
that the proverbial pin might have been
heard had 1t dropped, and when counsel
had finished reading there was a sigh OF
relief for nobody seemed to know where
the lightning was to strike next.
Won Tausch was then recalled to the
stand and was asked what he had to say
In reply to Baron Won Luetzow's confession.
He said:
This is a pack OF lies from beginning to
end"
Replying. however. 10 further questions.
Ven Tausch admitted he had sent the 1rtf-
cles and the letter to Count Philip Won
Eulenburg. and he also admitted that he
had some suspicion about the genuinencss
Of Kukutsch's signature on the receipt,
but II was not true that he had ind iced
yon Luetsow to forge T.