Arizona republican., 1900-12-23
The Kaiser and
 Lese Majeste

sense, that one IS ulterly at a ross to understand how he can permit the pre- posterous and tyrannic penalties which the courts of the Empire are constant ly infllcting on people belonging to ev- cry grade of society for the offense known as ''lese majeste," which IS merely a disrsspectful utterance concerning one or more members of the reigning family. The climax has been the sentence to six months imprls- onment passed a few weeks ago upon a poor, ignorant servant girl, and the decree against a ten year old boy bar ring him from admission to all the public schools of Prussia, issued by the Berlin courts on Tuesday last. the sole crime in each case being a disparaging remark about the kaiser When one reads of abuses of authority like these, one cannot help asking if the kaiser has ever heard of that elementary principle of law that, In dealing with an offense. and especially In punishing 1t. the hand of justice should be guided above, everything else. by the amount of injury which has been inflicted thereby.
 Emperor Alexander I, of Russia, who, In many respects was @ most enlight- ened sovereign, after he had been a few years on the throne put a stop to all prosecutions, and even arrests, for lese majeste on the ground that it was rid iculous to imagine that his authority and his majesty could be in the slight est degree impaired by the sighting re- mark or even the slanderous utterance of any private person. This decision was contained in a ukase bearing the date of September 15, lS01
 I wonder if the kaiser las ever read dt If not, he would do we'll to take 1t ito heart It is difficult to conceive how his prestige or authority can in any way be affected injuriously by the sighting and thoughtless remarks of poor, ignorant servant girl, or of ten- year-old boy-a mere child, who is thus branded for life and thus virtually de- barred from any career In his native land, since diplomas from the public schools are eXacted as a "sine qua non from every candidate for a govern ment position, as we'll as for admission to what is known as the liberal profes- sions. Emperor William could do noth- ing more wise, more popular, and more polite in every respect than to follow the example of Czar Alexander I. and to announce that henceforth he will al- iOW IIO IuTlHSI pIOSeCullOHS OH CllSti SeS of lese majeste against private per sons. As far as the newspapers are concerned, the very stringent press laws in Germany are quite sufficient to deal with any calumnies printed at the expense of the reigning house, without its being necessary to resort to medieval methods, such as charges of lese majeste.
 Apropos of medieval methods, 1t is doubtful whether there are many peo- pie in this country who are aware of the extent to which they prevail in the minor sovereign states of Germany. Owing to the fact of American newspa- per correspondents making their head quarters at Berlin, We hear but little of what goes on in non-Prussian DOT tions of the empire. And yet there is much instruction to be derived there from. Thus at the present moment the Kingdom of Wurtemberg is in a state of popular turmoil owing to the deFeat of an attempt which has just bean made to restrict the right which the Wurtemberg house of lords enjoys to veto all measures enacted by the lower chamber of the national legislature. Thus the latter canot exact any taxes "htHOuI lHG COISeHl Ol lue lOTuS, anu these. being great territorial magnates. make a point of invariably blocking all endeavors to augment the taxes on real estate of which their property in the main consists, so that their share in the payment of the national expen- ses Is shamefully out of proportion to that of the remainder of the popuia- tion. Moreover, being imbued with po- lltical and economic views of the most reactionary character, the house of lords blocks the way to every species of reform and progressive legislation. To make matetrs worse, the Wur- ternberg house of lords is composed al- most exclusively of great nobles, who. | while owning vast tracts of land In the kingdom, make their permanent homes beyond its borders, and spend outside l the Kingdom nearly all the money | which they extract from their posses sions within it's limits. The Wurtem- berg house of lords numbers, besides | the princes of the reigning house, and | six members nominated for life by the l king, nineteen great nobles and ,errl | torial magistrates, seventeen of whom make their homes elsewhere than in | Wurtemberg. Thus Prince Max Furstenberg re-
  cent place, Donaueschingen, in the | grand duchy of Baden. Prince Chris l tian of Hohenlohe divides his time be- tween his palace in Berlin and his | country seat in Silesia. Prince Herman Hohenlohe resides at Strasburg as gov ernor general of Afsace and Lorraine. | Prince Carl of Oettingen, Prince Albcr. | of Thurn and Taxis, Prince Charles Of Lowenstein, Prince Ernest of Lowen- | stein, and Count Bertram Quadt all | make their homes in the kingdom of Bavaria, while Count William Bentinck | Ca member of the British diplomatic | service) lives all the year ound at Hol- | land Prince Alfred Windischgratz re- | sides in Austria, and is to such an eX- tent an Austrian that he has on several occasions filled the office of prime min ister of Austria, while Prince Alexis | Bentheim seldom leaves his beautiful place in Westphalia.