Evening star., 1898-07-16


the rank of a saint, the kaiser uttered his
strongest outburst of hatred against the
left wing of the opposition. In address
to the officers of the guard he said: "A
roue of men unworthy to bear the name of
Germans ventures TO drag into the dust
the sacred person of our blessed emper
or SMilnam ID. May the whole nation find
in themselves the power Of rejecting these
unheard-of attacks. If not, then I shall
call upon you, my guards, to check this
feionious rout and to engage In a fight
that VIII relieve us from these elements"
A few days later In another speech he
designated the members of the social dem
ocratic party as "fatherlandiess scamps-"
Although the country had hitherto been
startled by the heavy Increase of trials on
the charge OF lese majestic, they were as
nothing compared to the flood of these pro-
ceedings which broke all over the father
land after these September speeches From
September, 1895, dates the high tide of
prosecutions caused by the personal en-
trance of the kaiser into politics. What
couId be meant by that appeal to the
guardsH Revolution from above, bloodshsd
IN the streets against a party which count
ed a million and half votes in the cleo
tons. the second strongest vote of all par
ties? Would 1t have been possible for q
press which retained a minimum of self
respect TO refrain from commenting upon
these speeches? Could q nation look tacitJy
upon perspective as horrible as was
drawn here by the kaiser? Such repres-
sion could not be expected But as soon as
ions upon these speeches We were sent to
prison by scores.
Operations of the Law
The kaiser had frankly spoken of civil
war for which he would call upon the
guards, But nobody was allowed to say
that the kaiser had done it. For to initiate
civil war LIS crime. and to say that the
kaiser mad borne in mind the idea of civil
war Is Iese majestic, Notwithstanding the
fact that he had really and publicly utter
ed That idea as his own. The kaiser had
called a million and a half subjects father
landless scamps,' but when a Journalist
wrote that the kaiser had abused" the So
ciai democrats. he was sentenced for lese
naJeste because the kaiser is, by law,
supposed to be unable to abuse even
when he has clearly done So In the case
OF thls journalist the public prosecutor de-
hhed the theory Of lese majestic thus:
40 not ask whether what the accused
maintained In his article be untrue or true
Whether 1t has any justification or founda-
tlon, whether 1t be provoked by the en-
peror or not, whether the emperor has used
tnose words or not. The only question at
issue Is, Did he say that the emperor had
abused the social democrats or not? He
admits he did write it. That is absolutely
sufnclent for his conviction. As soon as he
says, Inc emperor has abused he is
no wrong.' N
lie can do no wrong! Even IL he does
wrong 1t Is no wrong! That is what the
GERMAN people is commanded to believe
since the "September-Kurs" was onened
mat the German people is commanded by
tne Judges OF the country to accept as
justcet
Far-Fetched Charge
When Liebknecht, the aged leader of the
social democratic party. opened the annual
party congress at Breslau some weeks er-
ter those September speeches OF the kaiser
be said in his opening address, In which
the person of the emperor was not even ell
luded to: 'Thrusts of dirt, from whatever
direction they may come cannot hit u.s.
Result-four months Imprisonment on ac-
count of less majestic for the septausenar-
ian, upon whom his most bitter opponents
look with respect.
1t may surprise people outside of our
own 'fatherland'' to learn how the court
arrived at this conviction. Here are the
motifs Of the Judgment: These words
thrusts of dirt) do not, as such, constitute
Iese majestic. and the accused is such an
experienced politician that it was evidently
ms desire and his Intention not to commit
lese majestic" But as the kaiser had a
lew weeks before condemned the social
democrats in strong terms, there might
nave been people in the audience who
n:isht eventually have been of the opinion
that Liebknecht alluded to the kaiser as
throwing dirt, and 1T might well have been
the intention Of Liebknscht to provoke
such an opinion in his audience"
This is a fine specimen Of the rotten the
ory or Ndolus eventuaiis'' eventual intent)
which was specially invented by our prose-
cutors and judges in order to satisfy the
demand for victims of less majestic. One
may easily imagine how the confidence of
the people in the administration of Jus
tlce has been strengthened by these ma
nipulations of a foul byzautinism and how
they will speak out on this theory at the
first opportunity,
Courts Do Not Agree.
There Is another typical feature Of tie
lese majestic epidemic. After some months
of administering Justice" OF this sort, no.
body In Germany knew what lese majestic
was and what 1t was not. Not even judges
knew, for on the same article courts In dif-
fsrent towns diverged in Judgment Here
they dismissed: there they convicted Ono
editor was sentenced to nine months i'm
prisonment, which he has served, for an
article for which two high courts in an
other town declined to prosecute because
IN their opinion, there was not the slight,
est trace of lese majestic in it. But the
most startling example of these corrupt
Trials Is this: A provincial paper printed
an article of its Berlin correspondent COM
menting on the fact that nearly all cuel-
ist murderers were pardoned, while politi-
cal prisoners mad always to undergo their
sentence. As the right of pardoning be-
-,
with the aid Of that famous crutch "dolus
eventaalis," came to the conclusion that
the editor of the paper had committed
lese majestic because he had attributed 10
the crown an unequal and unjust admirip-
tration of the right of pardon. The editor
had TO undergo three months imprison-
ment. OF course since the provincial editor,
as the minor criminal who only printed
the vicious article, was sent to prison. The
actual author deserved to be punished in
more severe way, especially since he
nVt;d. as 1t were, under the eye of sacred
majesty. So the provincial prosecutor
triumphently sent the Judgment of his
court to his Berlin colleague, who at once
established proceedings against the Berlin
correspondent The ridiculous conclusion
OF the matter was that, though the public
prosecutor read out to the Berlin judges
the decision of their provincial colleagues.
they unanimously discharged the author.
stating that in their Judgment the article
contained nothing but fair criticism, ard
If such expressions Of public opinion were
to be, punished, fair criticism would be- |
come impossible. /
Nobody Knows What 1t IL,
1t is a fact that nobody in Germany
knows at this moment what less mateste
is. For safety's sake, there Is a mutual |
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