The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-01
The Hohewe g, Interlaken
Beloved German Student Due1s Noau Threatened

duces a letter from Kiel university
student asking him to perform under
chloroform the operation of scar-mak-
ing" And the LolSalAnzeiger prints an
advertisement from an operator who
will painlessly decorate any university
mans cheek at reasonable cost
The moving picture and painless scar
incidents have come at the right time
for the courts, police, socialists and
others who for different reasons OPP
pose the mensur system. The socialists
detest the system because it is a class
monopoly. They hold that two students
who fight with swords should be treat
ed as two bricklayers who fight with
knives. The socialist Reichstag mem
her Heine, who is a lawyer Is a fierce
enemy of the system; and he wants
student duels (and with them all duels)
put under the ordinary criminal law,
as in England. At present they are
governed by a special duel law, which
handles duellists indulgently. Against
this the friends of the "mensur" say
that 1t should be freed from the oper-
ation of even the present fndulgent duel
law. The duel law imposes punish
ment of from three months to five
years fortress Imprisonment; 1t does
not punish seconds at all If they have
first tried to prevent the duel; and it
infiicts severe punishments only in case
of death. mad where a fatal duel has
been fought WITHOUT seconds The
'mensur" apologists' demand that 'men-
sure shall not be punished at all, as
they are not ordinary duels inasmuch
as death. even serious injury, is i'm
possible. The covering of decorative
scars on the cheek by voluntary con-
sent ought to be as lawful as Is the
blaeking of eyes in a boxing match
The police, they demand, should be for
hidden to make raids on assemblies of
mensur duellists and spoil merry even
inss in university towns
The opposite party declares that the
"nsensur' must not be tolerated pre-
cisely because ii Is not dangerous. For
merly the element of risk to life JUS
titled it as a training in courage. Now
adays the students themselves make it
ridiculous by eliminating altogether
risk, and largely eliminating even pain.
During the whole of the last century
the once ferociously fought "mensur"
has been growing milder and milder
Before the ''mensur" was regulated by
Jena university. which is the great au-
thority in "mensur' matters scores oil
students were killed. Instead OF the
mensur" was the "rencontre.
The "recontre'' consisted of students
who met in the street. with or without
grievance, drawing their swords, and
running one another through. Then Jena
set itself to "civilize' the duels. 1t be-
gan by organizing rapier contests, with
the rules that the smallest scratch ended
the duel The duels were preceded by
regular challenges; and seconds and
spectators We're present. This reduced
the danger. These duels were fought
with long rapiers with very big plate
shaped guards. The duels again became
dangerous when the students took to
short Paris rapiers' with small guards.
To civilize" this jena introduced
sehlaeger' duels, fought with a cutting
rapler which has a relatively broad
blade; and either bell shaped or basket
shaped guard. No tnrusting Is allowed
This kind of ''mensur'' spread all over
Germany; and is the kind practiced to-.
day. Berlin, Greifswald and Konigsberg
fight with the bell guard: all the other
universities use the basket guard.
Mensur dueis ceased to be dangerous
when the "schlaeger' replaced the thrust
rapier. Jena. however, went further. 1t
limited the duration of duels Most
mensur duels are now fought for IL min
utes. II no wound is inflicted in Is min
utes the duel is finished. This is the
rule in the appointment mensurs." when