Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1905-04-18
STAKE LIVES ON CHANCE.
Horrors of Germany's DuelinS Prac
tices-The "Americanv Style

1 hccs-lnc american style.
Nothing could be more inconsistent
with Germany's claim to a foremost
| place in modern civilization than the
fact that her social life has been dis
Inquired by the most revolving in
stances of the brutal custom of duel
ing which have Mortified humanity in
recent times, says the King.
OF ali the devices which mans low
er nature has conceived for the ex-
dnction of his fellow man, the most
grewsome, deadly and difficult to re-
| press is that known as the American
duel. In Germany, especially, this has
been, and still is, responsible for many
mysterious deaths for which every or
binary cause is wanting. Nothing
more is needed than for two men, who
have decided that one of them must
die in settlement of their dispute to
meet in the presence of seconds for
the spin of coin, a cast of dice or
some other form of lottery
The loser at this horrible assigna-
ton is there and then placed under an
| obligation to destroy himself within a
stipulated period, and it becomes the
| duty of his seconds to see that the
| compact is fulfilled. For strong, ac-
| tive MN still in love with life, to
! be suddenly confronted with this aw-
full necessity for self-effacement is to
add a surprising horror to the final
| doom of-human nature.
Some little while since friend of
the writer was seated in a big opera
! house in German town. His gaze
was attracted to neighboring box,
| in which an officer was seated alone.
| He was a handsome young fellow,
with almost boyish face. But in spite
of the general gayety of the scene an
expression Of such utter hopelessness
and depression of soul was visible on
| his features that the compassion and
| interest of the observer were deeply
| stirred.
BY chance he discovered next day
an explanation of what had interested
| him. 1t had been the boys last night
on earth, which he had spent at the
! opera alone. Afterward he had re-
! turned to his quarters and there, with
a pistol, had, as in honor bound, put
| a termination to the existence which
was still pleasant and dear to him.
The ordinary suicide may be weary of
| life or mentally deranged, but in such
| cases as the above there is reversal
of such conditions, which terribly in
tensifies the horror of such an exit
| from the world.
An even more horrible instance of
| the above system came under my no.
tice a few years ago, and Germany
! is again the scene. A man whom the
turn of a card had consigned to self
! slaughter within a period of twelve
months, wavered in his resolution. He
had fallen in love and the influence of
this passion inspired him with a new
| and stronger desire for life. He even
married and sent an appealing letter
to his adversary, begging that he
would mercifully release him from the
fatal obligation under which he was
placed. The reply was a chilling re-
minder of his honor and of his bond.
Still he could not bring himself to
part with all that had become so dear
to him, but unfaflingly and at regular
intervals arrived the ill-omened de-
mand for the life which was not his
own. The persistence of his bloody
minded adversary at last succeeded IN
preying upon his mind, and one night
the unhappy man wrote a farewell let
ter to his wife, and sent a bullet
through his head.
While such hideous customs" dis
figure the social life of the Germans
they will do wen TO adopt less crit-
| cal attitud toward others. And if the
kaiser devoted himself to the eradica-
ton of this stigma from the present
generation of his countrymen, he
would do far more to deserve the graf
itude of pOsterity than by any tri-
umphs in the political arena or the
achievement of vast naval ambitions.