The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-08-08

- meant By ts,a: appeal 20 the guards,
Kevoautson from above. bsoodshed IN the
streets against q party which counted
niil.on ard q hail votes il the elections,
the second strongest vote Of al parties?
Would II have been possible for q press
which maintained q minimum OF SELF
respect 20 refrain from commenting upon
these speeches. Could q nation hook
sascstly upon 4 perspective Is horrible IA
repression could rot be expected But as
soon as ve opened our mouths 70 utter
our opinions upon these speeches We were
sert 20 prison By scores
Operations Of the Law.
The kaiser had frankly spoken Of civil
war for which he would cal upon the
guards. BIZ nobody was allowed 70 say
that the kaiser had done Il Fur to
that the kaiser had borne IA mind the
iGsa % civil war Is lesa majestic, rotwith-
standing the fact that he had really and
publicly uttered that idea as his own The
kaiser had called million and a half sub
jects "fatherlandlsss scamps. but when
a journalist wrote that the kaiser had
/ abused the Soclal-Drusocrats he was
sentenced for iese majestic. beuaus the
kaiser IL, by law. supposed 70 he unahia
30. In the case Of this journals, the
pubic prosecutor defined the theory OK
ieSe majestic thus:
Il do not ask whether what the accused
main tanned in his article he untrue or true.
whether Il he's any justification or founda-
ton. whether it be provoked BY the en-
pefor or not, whether the emperor has used
those words or not. The question at issue
IL, Did he say that the emperor had abused
the Sociai-Democrats or not? He admits
he did write Il That is absolutely sum
Client for his conviction. As soon as he
SAYS The emperor has abused he is
guilty. In cases of lese ma5este no plea OF
justification is allowed. The king can do
no wrong,
He can do no wrong' Even IL he does
wrong IL is no wrong. That Is what the
German people is commanded TO believe
since the ''September-Kurs" was opened,
that the German people is commanded by
the judges Of the country TO accept as
justice!
Far-Fetched Charge.
When Lebknecht. the aged leader OF the
social-Democratic party opened the annual
| party congress at BreslAu some weeks after
those September speeches Of the kaiser, he
said in his opening address. in which the
| person Of the emperor was not even alluded
| to: "Thrusts OF dirt from whatever direc-
| ton they may come. cannot hit us" Re-
| sult-four months Imprisonment on &C
| count OF lese majestic for tho septuagena-
| rlan, upon whom his most bitter opponents
| look with respect.
| IL may surprise people outside OF our own
| ''fatherland' TO learn how the court ar
| rived at this conviction. Here are ths
motifs" of the judgment; These words
| thrusts Of dirt do not. as such, constitute
| lese majestic and the accused is such an
IL
| his desire and his intention not to commit
| lese majestic But as the kaiser had a
I few weeks before condemned the Social
| Democrats In strong terms there might
| have been people in the audience who
| might eventually have been of the opinion
that Liebknecht alluded to the kaiser as
/ throwing dirt, and il might well have been
the intention OF Liebknecht to provoke
such an opinion in his audience
This is fine specimen Of the rotten
/ theory of "do.us eventuahs' eventual In.
| tent which was specially invented by our
/ prosecutors and judges In order to satisfy
| the demand for victims OF Iese majestic
/ One may easily imagine how the confidence
| OF the people in the administration OF
| Justice has beer strength ened by those
| maninuations of a foul byzantinism and
| how they will speak out on this theory at
| the first opportunity.
Courts Do Not Agree.
/ There Is another typical feature Of the
lese majestic epidemy. After some months
Of administering Justice OF this sort no.
body in Germany knew what lese majestic
was and what it was not. Not even judges
knew. for on the same article courts in
Different towns divereed in judgment
Here they dismissed there they convicted
one editor WAS sentenced &c nine months
Imprisonment. which he has served, for an
article for which two high courts in an
other town declined 10 prosecute. because
In their opinion, there was not the slight
est trace OF lese maIes;e in il. But the
most starting example OF these corrupt
trails Is this: a provincial paper printed
an article Of its Berlin correspondent COM
menting on the facs that nearly al duel
list murderers were rardoned. while po.ti-
cal prisoners had always 10 undergo their
sentence. AS the right Of paraon;rg be-
longs 70 the crown. the provincial JUICES.
with the AID OF that famous crutch. ''doius
Sve9.tualis." came to the coueiusion that
the editor Of the paper had committed lese
maj estc because he had attributed to the
crown an unequal and unjust admins :ra-
ton OF the right OF pardon. The EDITOR had
TO undergo three months imprisonment
OF course, since the provincial. editor as
the minor criminal who only printed the
vicious article. WAS sent 10 prison the &C
tual author deserved TO be PUNISHED in q
more severe way. especially since he lived
IS T. were. under the eye OF sacred males
ty SO the provincial prosecutor triumph
antly sent the Judgment Of his court %
h,S EeTlin colleague. who al once sstlb-
lsaea proceedings against the Berlin cor