The Hawaiian gazette., 1899-07-07
FLAG AFFAIR
Crowds Take Down the
German Colors Twice.
sp,. kiomm. Decoration OF ~.
Ret.i Caused T. ovbl. -thA q s.
Pol It's.
tFrom Wednesdays DailyJ

capt. Carl htemme ueCoiaNeu Nle
front of his Orpheum hotel place for
the Fourth with stars and stripes bnnt-
ing and with the stripes article plain.
At the stairway entrance was placed a
portrait of Dewey, draped with the
American colors and surmounted with
the laurel wreath. 1t all looked very
nice from the street. Then Mr..
Klemme, being a German subject. and
besides, as he says, having loaned his
American flag to business friend,
raised the German flag on the stan
above the hotel, This was for the
Fourth.
Early In the forenoon. says Capt.
Klemme, Mr.. West, painter, ap-
peared at the Orpheum hotel and In
formed the proprietor that the German
flag had been placed above the Stars
and Stripes and had to come down.
Capt Klemme's account Is that he re-
sponded to the effect that he intended
no dlsrespect to the flag of the Union,
but believed he had right to float the
German colors. West insisted that the
display was unsuitable. Klemme says
there were thirty OF forty men with
West and that the invaders made dire
threats. Mrs. Klemme became hys-
terical and at her suggestion her
brother ran upstairs. proceeded to the
roof, somehow on the way found an
American flag and In few minutes
changed the showing at the peak to the
Stars and Stripes above the German
flag. The visiting crowd heard of this
and departed satisfied.
Acquaintance of klemme's and a
number Of American citizens attracted
or having their attention arrested by
the peculiar combination called on the
hotel man and told him the double
show was In bad taste, as objection
able 10 Americans as to Germans.
Klemme thereupon called at the police
station and explained to Marshal
Brown. The officer told Klemme to
fix one flag on the pole as he liked and
II should have police protection. Klein
me went back, hauled down the pair of
flags and sent the line UP with the Ger
man flag. This was all right till l
o'clock, when the police officers on
guard, seeing no signs of disturbance
returned to the station.
A little before 80 a crowd OF about
$50 people, mostly soldiers off the T.
S. transport Sheridan, made rush in
TO the Orpheum hotel. Klemme de-
clares that West was the leader. The
conversation was limited matter. A
number Of the crowd proceeded to the
roof ut once. They hauled down the
German flag and made away with IL. In
It's place they tied to the lanyard some
bunting torn from the front OF the
hotel and the bunting was still there at
3 O'Clock this morning. In this crowd
There was a man Of considerable age
having flag, a jag and two six-shoot-
lers. He is a civilian Off the Sheridan
land later was arrested. He was quite
loud in his comments about the display
of other than the American flag on the
Fourth. In finishing up Its work the
big crowd Of men dropped their step
ladder on Mrs. Klemme and she is
prostrated by the hurt and nervous
ness. Klemme says he was afraid all
the time that the man with fhe six
shooters would set the artillery in &C.
ton and besides was afraid that II he
Iresisted the crowd he would be torn to
pieces. The patrol wagon appeared In
response to message telephoned by
Klemme and four or five soldiers were
Iarrested
Capt. Klemme says he thought he
was doing the right thing and that he
regards Vests interest as another
chapter in an old quarrel between
them. He will swear out a warrant
for West today, but will not complain
to the German consular representa-
tive. West is an American and said
that he considered that the German
flag had been hoisted above the Stars
and Stripes and did not propose to al
low it.
| a number of soldiers were inter-
viewed. They say they were not urged
by West to do any violence. that they
took the matter up on their own ac-
count because they thought Klemme
was trying to show German colors
above the Stars and Stripes.
Interest In the affair was very gen.