Arizona republican., 1917-08-23
Won Forstner's Assault on the Lame
 Shoemaker of Zabern


 Shoemaker of zabern
 The report of the Zabern occur rences caused immense excitement throughout Germany. A great outcry went up against militarism, even in quarters where no socialistic tend encies existed. This feeling was not helped by the fact that the general commanding the fifteenth army, to which the Zabern regiment belonged, was an exponent of extreme militaris- tic ideas, a man who several years before, as colonel of the Colonial troops representing the war ministry before the reichstag and debating there the question of the number of troops to be kept in German Southwest Africa, had most clearly shown his contempt for the reichstag.
 Colonel von Reuter- and Lieutenant Schad, when court -martialed for their acts in ordering the troops to move against the civilian populat tion, claimed the benefit of Prussia law of 1920 which provided that in any city, town or village the highest military officer in command must assume the author ity usually vested in the civil govern ment whenever for any reason the civil administration neglects to keep order. The colonel and lieutenant were subsequently acquitted on the ground that they had acted under the provisions of this law.
 The excitement throughout Germany was further increased by other cir cumstances. The emperor remained during these critical days at Donaue- schingen, the princely estate of his friend and favorite, Prince Fursten- berg, enjoying himself with fox hunt ing, torchlight processions and cabaret performances. Of course, all this had been arranged long before any one dreamed of any trouble in Zabern, and the emperor could scarcely be expected to realize the gravity of the situation which suddenly arose. But this very fact created a bad impression. It was even rumored that the empress alarmed by the situation, had ordered a train to be made ready in order to | go to him and try to convince him of the necessity of returning to Berlin. The newly appointed minister of war, Falkenhayn, went to Donaue- i schingen where he was joined by Von 1 Deimling. This action aggravated the l situation, because the public concluded 1 that-the emperor would hear the ad- vice and report of military officers only.
 l The sudden death by heart failure | of the empercr's closese~ffiend, Von ! Hulsen, chief of the emperor's military cabinet. during a banquet at Donaue- i schingen, gave the rapidly developing events a tragic and mysterious color ing, and these conferences in Donaue | schingen resulted in the rendering of their resignations by the viceroy, Won | Wedel, and secretary of state, Zorn ! Bulack, viceroy and secretary of state | of Alsdce- Lorraine, who felt that the military party had gained an upper l hand in the conflict wi,h the civil authorities. The Chancellor then hur- l red to Donaueschingen arriving a few hours before the departure of the em- | peror, and a subsequent order of the emperor to General von Deimling tC see to it that the military officers die not overstep their authority and direct ing him to investigate the occurrence; and take measures to punish all guilty parties somewhat quieted the natior and caused the highest two civil of ficials of Alsace- Lorraine to withdraw their resignations.
 Zabern where a brigadier genera had been sent by Won Deimling to re- store civil government, had begun tt quiet down. But the chancellor haC hardly returned to Berlin when another incident stirred Germany. While prac ticing field service in the neighbor hood of Zabern and marching througl a village, Lieutenant von Forstner hat and cut him down.
 This brutal act of militarism cause new outburst throughout Germany Forstner was later tried by a court martial for hitting and wounding al unarmed civilian and sentenced by tn lower court to one years imprison ment, but acquitted by the higher cour as having acted in supposed selfde fense"
 No less than three parties, the cen trum, the progressives and the socia democrats, addressed interpellations t
 the chancellor about this occurrence a
 Zabern
 I was present at the debate in tn
 reichstag, which took place on tn
 fourth, fifth and sixth of Decembe
 1913. Three South Germans a membe