The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-06-01
Censorship In Vienna Is Rigid and
Editions Are Often Con-
fsscated by
Authorities.
mo FREE PRESS THERE
How the Apparatus Works When
the Press Court Once
Gets After an
Editor.

0Sto SNtkSI ali
Editor.
by Karl H. Won Wiegand, Berlin
correspondent of the United Press.l
VIENNA, May 81. BY order of the
royal press court this issue of your
paper is hereby confiscated for print
ing news which the court considers
should not be made public A police.
man with a sword dangling at his
side and holding in his hand an Of
fetal document with an imposing
big seal on it, enters the managing
editors room and delivers this decree
1t is the famous-or as newspaper
men and newspaper readers alike call
it, the famous-Austrian press cen
sorship and conf1scation machine at
work. Down below the big presses
are laundering along on the last few
thousand copies of a big circulation.
1t is 8 o'clock in the morning-too
late to make over by tearing out the
offending article or news item, putting
something else in its place and re
printing the entire edition.
The managing editor orders a small
sheet not much larger than a hand
bill, hastily printed that the subscrib
ers may know why they will not re-
ceive their paper that morning
This is scene which has taken
place quite frequently in Viennese
newspaper offices lately. One after
noon the editions of five evening pa
pers were confscated Probably no
editors in the world can tell as many
interesting stories of news that never
reached their readers as the Viennese.
From an American idea of free
press, the Austrian press with it's
laws, press censorship and "confisca-
ton apparatus" is about the most abb
surd and behind the times institution
in existence. Apparently it was
created largely for the purpose of
keeping the truth from the public
In Austria, books. pictures, illustrat-
ed catalogues, price lists, handbills,
advertisements and advertising litera-
ture, newspapers, periodicals and 9th
er publications, signs and signboards,
posters, in fact everything that con
veys meaning to the mind via the eye
by means of type, pictures or symbols,
lis subject to censorship. Until re-
Gently even private calling or visit
ing cards" were subject to censorship.
The printer had to lay a proof of a
could deliver the order.
Any district or superior court may
constitute itself press court to
pass upon and order the confiscation
of any newspaper in its jurisdiction.
In Vienna it is a kind of dual or
ganization the press court" and
the press police together they form
the "confiscation apparatus State
Prosecuting Attorney DR.. Karl Mayer
presides over the Viennese judicial
press court He is assisted by Coun-
cillor of Police Theodore Won Jekl
head of the press police who has
the advice and assistance of two
"chief commissioners" two commits
sioners of police and an official who
might be termed a recorder. The
work of carrying out the confiscation
orders CT the press court, is in the
hands of an inspector of police and
three police agents.
=! The "confiscation apparatus" does
not keep union hours. It is on duty
| twenty-four hours a day. The press
court and police have their Office ad
| joining that of the state attorney
Sleeping facilities are provided there
Real work begins at 2 in the morn
| ing, when the press copies of the first
papers arrive. The press law pro
vides that one of the first copies OF
anything that can be considered as
/ coming under the head of printed
matter must be delivered to the
press court and to general police
headquarters.
1t is impossible for the newspapers
| to hold up their presses until they gel
police approval to the copy sent, sc
| the practice Is to run off the edition
and trust to luck and their owr
knowledge, sharpened by experience
as to what might be Objectionable
Owing to the financial loss. confsca
tion is not deliberately courted unless