The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-08

him. Such was the Karl May of a few
weeks ago. But all that has now been
changed, for he was SO indiscreet as to
appear as prosecutor in a libel action.
Someone, it appears, had referred to him
as a "born criminal" Unfortunately for
him, the person in question undertook to
prove that accusation, and his lawyer told
a story about Karl May very nearly as
strange as those which that prolific writer
is in the habit of telling about himself
only of rather a different order. To be-
gin with he offered to prove that the
far-traveled May, who is now 6S, had
never been outside Germany till 1900, when
his works of travel had long been getting
a little musty. He admitted that May
had experienced adventures, and those of
a very remarkable kind. In 1869, he said
plaintiff, who already had sentences of
six weeks Imprisonment and four years
penal servitude behind him, relapsed into
career of crime, and was soon wanted
on a warrant To escape arrest he took
refuge in the depths of the Silesian for
est, where he found a fellow outlaw in
one Louis Kruegel, a deserter, who had
left his regiment with q large sum of
money out of the company's cash box The
pair swore eternal friendship, and agreed,
with other kindred spirits, to found a band
of robbers
A cave curtaned with moss on the VAL
denburg domain was the headquarters
of May and his merry men. From this
center they practiced innumerable VII
l1anies. Their speciality was to attack
peasant women returning from market
and rob them of the produce of their
sales. At last their raids established
such a state of terror that attendance at
the market began to fall off. The towns
of Hohensten and Ernsthall accordingly
entreated the government to send a force
of troops to clear the neighborhood of
the bandits. This was done, and with the
assistance of the local fire brigades and
gymnastfc clubs the soldiers proceeded to
beat the woods. The two ringleaders Of
the robber band saved themselves by an
ingenious and daring trick. Among the
piunder piled up in their cave they had
found the uniform of a Saxon warder
This May put on, and having tied Krug-
els hands behind his back, he marched
him unmolested through the encompa ssing
ring. On another occasion they were sit
.lhS IN an Inn, where a couple of gen
uarmes who were searching for them rode
up AS the gendarmes entered the build
ing May and Kruegel dropped from a
WINDOW, and leaping onto horses. galloped
off. Those were the most interesting
",
questionable nature which defendant
proposed to prove out of the life of the
FAMOUS Karl May. The latter denied the
truth of these tales, but was Obliged to
admlt his acquaintance with the inside
OF prison walls though under what cir
cumstances he declined to state To make
long story short. the court, without call
ing ON defendant to prove his assertions.
dismissed the case, and Germany has lost
Inc
Bremen message to the "Berliner
Tageblatt'' states that an inquiry has been
opened there in connection with the in
1rlnsement by considerable number of
persons in society of paragraph 175 of the
German penal code
Up to the present six arrests have been
made, including doctor and many Of
Meals Two of the incriminated persons
have taken to fight.
large number of others arc 1eanIu
compromised by correspondence confis-
Gated by the authorities. Among them are
many foreigners, some Of when were
connected with Prince Eulenburg circles.
II is stated that a technical Off Nal lent
his residence for the meetings of the per-
sons In question. and that the victims
were enticed there.
seventy young men and boys have so
far been examined, and they affirm that
they were decoyed into the residence in
question and afterward overcome by
means of wine and cigarettes drugged
with opium
one of them is the son of highly
placed police officer by means of whom
the matter was brought to light He has
since received letters threatening him
with DEATH
1t is reported from Erlanger that snap-
shot photographs can now be taken by
means or X-rays. Doctors will, there
fore, no longer find it necessary to wait
several seepnds before the picture Is COM
plete. In the small fraction of a second
one-thousandth, which is all that is now
required, there can be no movement of
the patient that will affect the picture
The results obtained with the new method
are very good, details such as the heart
and ribs in photographs of .ne human
body being very clearly seem
waterway through the heart of Eu-
rope joining the North sea to the Medj
terranean and passing through Holland
Germany, Switzerland and France. will
be an accomplished fact within the next
few years. 1a
Navigation is to be opened On the Rhone
between Geneva and Marseilles, and II has
been decided to construct a barrage and
a parallel canal to the RI1one at GEMS
stat. an hours journey by train from
Geneva. The work will be completed in
1918.
The river route from Geneva to Basic
Is to be extended via the lakes of Nouch-
atel, Norat and Bienne and the River
Aar. which flows into the Rhine. The
North sea Is already connected with
Basic by the Rhine highway
In the near, future motor boat or a
steam yacht will be able to steam through
the heart of Europe.
After waiting 46 years for her lover.
Fraulein Singer, aged GA. was united at
Altdorf to her fiance, Herr Mattaw, who
is of the same age. The couple left for
the Argentine on their honeymoon trip.
They knew each other as school children
and became engaged at the age of IS.
when Herr Mattaw left Switzerland for
South America to seek his fortune. The
couple correspondent regularly and er
changed over 1000 letters and scores Of
y