The Western news., 1903-07-15
CRIMINALS OF TITLE.
Princes and Princesses Arc Punlshed
for Their Crimes.
Some Recent Instances Of Dspravltx
Among the German Mobility ana
1Ae PsAal1iss Impossd
Upon ThsA

Upon Thsn.
Whatevsr . man's rank, he canno
escape the penalties of the law il h
breaks 1T. Abroad, though a man o
.itie can no longer commit crime will
lmpuMty, yet punishment is too ofte,
shockingly inadequate. The case o.
Prince Prosper Won Arenberg is an ex
ample OF how far favoritism OF thi,
Kind can go, says the Chicago Trib
une.
The prince was in command of q
German southwest African district
and had as his confidential servant
a half-breed named Keen. The man
chanced to arouse the princes dis.
pleasure, 80 his master made him
drunk on brandy. and then, manacline
him. drew him up by cord to the cell
ing and practiced upon him tortures
too dreadful to mention.
At laat he cut the moaning victim
down. and, turning him out of the
house, ordered the sentry to shoot
him. The sentry fred in the air, and
then, when the prince repeated the
order, shot at Keen and wounded him
in the leg. The titled torturer, mad
with fury, pulled out a revolver and
shot Keen through the body and again
through the head. As the man still
showed signs Of life, he seized a ram
rod and forced it through the last
wound into the mans BRAIN. The
prince was tried by court-martial and
sentenced to three and a half years
detention in a fortress! Detention in
fortress 10 a sort of first-class i'm
Prisonment. and is actually. welcomed
by many officers az relief from the
severity Of their dutiea. Prince Won
Arenberg is a member of one of the
greatest families in Germany, one Of
which the members are entitled to
marry into the reigning family.
In the winter of last year most
daring robbery took place in the open
street at Batoum in broad daylight
The cashier of the Caspian Black Sea
Naphtha company was carrying the
sum OF $1,000 from his Office to bank.
accompa MED by an armed guard. Sud-
denly man rushed out from side
street, stabbed the guard, seized the
bag Of money from the cashier and ran
oil with it. Two policemen gave
chase; the man turned and shot them
both and got clean away
This daring and successful robber
was Prince Alexander Lordkipinadse,
the author Of a series of crimes ex-
ceiling those perpetrated by even the
worst Of the old time western Ameri-
can desperadoes. He was at the head
Of widespread organization Of ban
dts, whose headquarters were in the
Caucus mountains, and whose depre-
dations extended to Batoum, Tifis and
Baku. A few months ago--to be exact,
in March, 19O1-the head Of the band |
was caught, and with his two lieuten-
ants, Prince Valerian and Prince Elias
Lnlukid,se, put on trial The case lasted |
q fortnight and there were proved |
against them no fewer than 100 muir
ders, besides numerous GASES Of arson
and almost innumerable robberies.
All three met richly deserved fate on
the gallows.
Berlin recently enjoyed sensa.
ton in high Mfe. Counters Won
schlieben was arrested on a charge
of setting Are to her summer
residence In Steglitz, one Of the
suburbs of the German capital.
Bail was refused and the lady imunured
in prison. The life story Of this wom-
an is distinctly interesting. Twenty
wears ago she was plain Mary Hertog,
4 flower seller in one of the principal
streets of Berlin. Her business did so
we'll that she made a fortune and bios
'omed out as patronesx Of charities
and editress Of woman's periodical.
Then she married Count Won Schlieben,
, man considerably younger than her
self, and the pair went to live at Steg-
itz in the villa which has now been
burnt down. This house, which the
built with her own money, is
The one she il accused Of burning.
Austria has her titled criminals. In |
April, 1900, a landed proprietor, Count
was arrested for COM
olicity in an extensive series Of for
yeries in Transylvania. With him
we're implicated an ex-district pretect,
two lawyers. several priests and other
persons of good standing. The notes
which were most cleverly forged. were
issued to a value Of over & 10000 be-
fore the fraud was discovered. An
other Austrian noble1nan who has re-
Gently got into trouble is Count Hans
ARR. who has been deprived of his rank
and sentenced to two months impris-
onment with hard labor for commit !!
Ting thefta in . dentists waiting room
at Vienna.
The case which has created most |
popular interest Of any in which titled
criminals have BEEN concerned is that |
of Princess RadIwin. The case arose
out of the action brought by a third
party against the late Cecil Rhodes
and Princess Catherine Radziwill to OBJ
tain sentence in connection with GER