Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-11
CASE OF THE PRINCESS REDE.
Choice in Judgment Between Klepto-
mania and Blackmail.

mania and Blackmail.
Special Cablegram to The Star.
BERLIN, August 10.-And now it is an
| nounced that the public prosecutor will
carry the famous Princess Wrede case
through to the higher courts. If this is
actually done it. will be only another IL
| lustratien that the laws delays are uni
| versal and apply in Germany as well as in
other countries of the world. The case Is
| the outgrowth Of the proceedings against
| Princess Wrede, who was charged with a
series of thefts from hotels where she was
staying. The lady in question, who is
fifty years of age, belongs to an aristo-
cratic Spanish family and was born in
Buenos Ayres. Married while she was
still only q girl to a prominent Argentine
official she found herself at an early age
| a widow with a fortune Of $4,000 a year.
1t was then that she met a grandson of
Field Marshal Prince Wrede the hapless
Bavarian general, who made a futile at
tempt to block Napoleon's road to france
at Hanau after the battle Of Leipsig. Some
years ago the princess was conspicuous
figure in German society, but latterly she
has lived apart from the world in secusion
with her husband, Prince Adolf, and a
lady companion named Weidig.
Early last year the prince had occasion
to dismiss a valet named Glase in conse-
Quence of his conduct toward the Fraulein
Weidig. The man thereupon threatened to
accuse his mistress of theft if hush money
was not given to him, but the prince did
not allow himself to be intimidated and at
once gave the man into custody for black
mail, For this offense Glase was sentenced
to nine months Imprisonment, but the
public prosecutor was none the less obliged
to act upon the Information he had given
and the result was that the princess was
charged with thefts from a number of
hotels at Berlin, Munich and Paris.
a r.
ferent character was also leveled against
her. AT the time of these incidents the
Wredes were living at Schloss Basedow in
Mecklenburg, which they had rented from
Count Friedrich Hahn. The owner of the
mansion had found it impossible, owing to
reduced circumstances, to keep up his an
cestral home and before leaving 1t he had
the family plate walled up in vault be-
meath the house By an oversight certain
odd pieces Of silver were allowed to remain
locked up in a closet in the cellar. Some
of these were found In the sideboard of
Princess Wrede and she was charged with
breaking open the case and stealing them.
simultaneously the prince was charged
with receiving stolen goods and Weidig
with aiding and abetting
The proceedings certainly raised some
doubts as to who had been responsible
for the abstraction of the Basedow plate
from its resting place. 1t was shown that
the princess had negroes in her employment
and that the favor which she showed
toward them displeased the white servants,
who also stood to some extent under the
influence of the valet Glase. The posi-
bility therefore existed that the silver
dishes had been taken from the chest and
placed in the sideboard with the sole OBJ
ject of supporting the story OF the valet
On the other hand the collection Of articles
belonging to the hotels could not be
planned in this way. and as the simplest
hypothesis was on the face Of 1t rather an
longed investigation was held into the state
of the mind Of the princess. The issue was