Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-04-22
FOOLED THE KAISER'S ARMY.
Captain Koepenick Tells In New York
Of His Exploit

or ftlS EXPLOIT
Wilhelm Voight. alias Captain
Koepenick," the cObbler who made all
Germany laugh by masquerading as
an army officer. arreSting the mayor
of a small town and raiding the mum
icipal treasury, arrived in New York
recently by way of Canada and is now
retelling to Germans the story of the
adventure which made him famous.
Voight went to New York on a visit
and incidentally. as was made ap-
parent the other night to make money
by selling photographs of himself in
the uniform of an officer of the kaiser's
regiment of guards, the dress he
adopted when commanding the kais-
er'S troops
To the clink of glasses in the Cafe
Bismarck Voight spoke of his trip
from Canada. He is a rather tall,
well built elderly man, with a fringe
of gray hair and blue eyes. the twinkle
of which tells that he is not without
Il keen sense of humOr.
In his adventure which landed him
in German prison he sees no wrong
ana declares that he neither expected
to benefit from the money obtained
in the raid in the treasury nor be
lifted from the obscurity of the cob
DleI = DenCH. HIS ACT, he Silu, NdS
a protest against the scheme of So
ciety which made the follies of the
rich the crimes of the poor.
Twice. ha said, he lost his position
through intoXication, and then the
scheme dawned upon him of imper-
sonating an officer of the kaiserS reg
iment. VOight was a cobbler near
Berlin. On October II, 1906, he OBJ
tanned a uniform of a captain of the
First regiment of guards, stationed in
Berlin. He went to the military sta
ton at PlOetZenSee and ordered
company of guards to accompany him
to KOepenick. He marched his little
company to the city hall. explained
to the mayor he was sorry. but must
take charge of his person and the
city funds,
He arrested the mayor and appro-
priated the S1,250 in the city treas
ury following the action by discharg
ing his soldiers and making his eS-
cape. When eventually he was ar
rested he was tried and sentenced to
d term Of imprisonment. from which
he was released over year ago. The
German people then began to appre-
ciat the joke on the predominant
military spirit in Germany, and when
they laughed the world laughed with
them.
II got here on March II, landing
at Halifax" said Captain Voight II
visited Detroit and Chicago. | come
here simply as a visitor and expect
to remain six weeks. | have a brother
in-law in Dallas. Tex. but / do not
believe | will be able To see him. |
wanted to see the United States.
do not believe the sensible and the
humOrOusly inclined will object to my
visit"
Voight spoke through an intorpre-
ter. sitting i'm the dining room of the
cafe Every one seemed to know him,
and frequently he had To stop and
bow to new arrivals.
AT the time | became captain of
Koepenick' it was not for the money.
but | wanted to show the abSurdity
of the system. Twice / was thrown
out Of employment because ] became
drunk. and | said | will initiate those
i'm higher sphere. I felt | was an
abused man and wanted to protest
and get even. | was practically
brought up near Il barracks. and I
knew the drill, though | had never
served i'm the army The military
was the authority. and what more ma
tural than that | should seek to ape
IL Ildu llb lIlt6l lIlbl lily dNl N'ulu
be Il sensation or that il would raise
me from the cobbler's bench"
NOight said that he liked what he
had seen of America. and when asked
whether he did not think the immi-
grafton officials would consider him
an undesirable alien because he had
been convicted and sentenced 10
Scrv" Il term i'm prison he said. 81 do
not see why any one should object to
me"
Noight was asked whether he had
ever had an interview with the kaiser
sine" his world famous adventure. He
laughed and said it was Il secret.
Finally after some rapid fire talk with
the Interpreter his remark was trans
lated lik" this:
Yes. | saw the kaiser. He said to
me. Can YOU keep num-? and ! said.
i can so can L. replied the kaiser.
That was al, that he would tell of
the interview.
During the evening an aid circulated
through the cafe selling postal cards
representing Vuight in civilian clothes
and as the captain of k0"pcniCk. The
sale WAS good. Noight was kept busy
signing his autograph.
The nOncOmmiSSiOncd officer of the
seven guardSmcn who were fooled by
the captain testified that he ordered
them around i'm luSty. imperiouS
tone that might have been heard a
mile away All the comic papers of
Germany utilized the incident for