The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-07-07
BEBEL THE SOCIALIST.
Personality Of Germany's Man
Of the Hour.
LEADER OF SOCIAL DEMOCRATS.

Frail Tn Physique. hut II Most For
midable Debater Who Can Easily
Enthrall an Audience by His Ora
tory-His Remarked BILE Prophecy
and Warming to Germnny's Crown
Prince. a..
August Bebel is the man of the hour
In Germany. He is the leader OF the
Social Democrats. who have just cast
a vote of 5000, 900. or one-third of the
entire vote of the empire. says the New
York World.
He was born in Cologne in 1910, the
son of a sergeant in an infantry regi-
ment. He was ap%prenticed to Il turn
er, and when his trade was learned he
tramped through Germany. getting
work wherever he could. He Joined
the Social Democratic party, founded
by William Liebknecht. forty years
ago. Both he and Liebknecht were
sentenced to imprisonment IN 1872,
serving two years each. In 1856 he
served another sentence of nine
months and has suffered many shorter
terms of Imprisonment for his opln-
ions sake. OF these imprisonmcnts he
has often spoken with cheerfulness.
q "Altogether." he nee said to an in
terviewer. 81 have been behind the
bars %fifty-seven months and each time
for political reasons. My fortress life
l call my university life. for it was
there l first had the chance to study
in peace" His first and most sue
cessful book, die Frau" was planned
in prison. There, too. he learned the
English language. He has written
many other works, but die Frau is
the most widely read Of them all. 1t
has had twenty-five editions in Ger
many and has been translated into hf-
teen other languages. 1t deals with
the Industrial conditions in which wo-
men have been forced to live. Bebel
| is a stout champion of woman's equali-
| ty before the law and at the ballot
box.
He has at all times shown himself a
lion hearted leader. On Bismarck's
| eightieth birthday he led the Socialist
members of the reichstag in their re-
fusal to send congratulations to 1.-The
man of blood and iron" why" he
asked. 'shouid we send greetings to
him? He has prosecuted us, banished
us and urged the emperor to 'yank us
into the street and shoot us down."
But German unity Bebel glories in,
though he does not credit it to Bis
marck. .N.. 49,"
He has shown bravery again in his
d%enunciation Of the annexation OF Al
SAGE and Lorraine. cit was a great
mistake" he says, land is the cause of
all the ornaments that now burden
Europe The German and French
people should, he insists. be %reconciled
and disband their great armies.
Believing thoroughly in theoretic so
cialism as taught by Carl Marx. he is
nevertheless active in the reichstag IN
his efforts to secure immediate install
ments of reform. He is now sixty
three years of age. and his physique Is
frail. Yet he is easily the most for
midable debater on the opposition side
of the chamber. He can easily hold al
audience for six hours on end by thu
smell of his earnest and effective ora
tory. He is absolutely beloved by tai
rank and file of the party which ha!
lust scored an increase of 100000 vote
in the empire. "0
He was the uncompromising foe o
the new tariff, with it's high duties OF
imported food. He bitterly denounced
them as 'hunger duties.' He csarac
terized the German army's exploits IL
China as shameful and said the,
were marked by "bestiality lower tina.
among beasts" He blamed the e@pel
or for it all because of his order tina
no mercy should be shown. He has re
peatedly criticised and censured WI
liam II. for his public utterances. an
once he intimated that he thought tn
: emperor was insane. This was on tn
occasion of the latter's speech to youn
! recruits telling them they must 3
ready if needs be to kill their own I;
u theirs and mothers.
Very remarkable for its intense fee
ing and bold prophecy was Herr b
bells speech of Jan. % last. in whlc
he spoke of the emperor's attitude t
ward the socialists in exceedlngl
plain terms. He recalled the emperor
l. declaration that he and his party wei
n 'enemies of the state and "men Vi
S worthy to bear the name of Germans
n and proceeded to utter this remarkab
:, prophecy:
u Our party has not only been most o
2. fensiye,v condemned in the lump. but
the eulperor's last speeches we. the re
resentatives of the party, have been q
tackled with the severest expression
L The workmon are directly enjoined
l. hold aloof from us because we are ia
< gerous persons. These are attacks. ge
4, tlernen. which cannot be endured 70
=. ever-attacks against the strongest par
H. in Germany. a party which. look at 1t