New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-27

wounded" That is about all That Is
ever printed about such happenings
The causes for which duels are fought
, are almost always verbal" or physical
insult" or incidents in which women fig
ure. All such offences may be covered
by the laws of the empire. and the Of
/ fender could be surely reached in the
/ courts. but these portions of the Grim
/ inal or tho civil code are only for the
benefit of the slower classes; imam
, Of honor" will never apply TO the court
I for redress in r case where his OPP
ponent is "satisfaktionsfahig' when he
has been insulted or any of his women
folk have cause for complaint.
The honor principle and its Workings
are best seen in the army. No officer
can brook physical insult. II his as
sailant is "Satisfaktionsfahig" he must
challenge him Immediately; if not. he
must run his sword through him. No
officer could remain in the army who
would hesitate in such a case. The
Zsbern affair. whore a cobbler slapped
the face Of an officer and was seriously
wounded by him, is a case IN point.
Verbal insults will be followed By
challenge but they may not lead TO
fighting, especially not in the case Of
officers Of the army. If the offender
can do so with grace, he is generally
ready 10 "revozieren und deprezieren."
meaning that he takes il all back
and expresses his regret at the
occurrence. But even in case OF
duel nothing serious may happen,
as in such cases the iightest OF
swords are used. and after some blood
letting the seconds quickly agree that
"honor is. satisfied" More serious are
the duels resulting from physical en-
counters.
A slap in the face produces such
stain on the honor of the recipient that
only blood can wash il off. in such
cases sabres or heavy swords are used,
frequently even pistols. The latter
weapon. however. is mostly reserved
for so-called "women's cases" 1t should
be said that while the position OF
woman in Germany is still reminiscent
Of the Middle Ages. she knows that, if
she be Of the higher classes, her hus-
band. or brother, or even her father,
will not hesitate to lay down his life
for her. sometimes for causes that bor-
der on the frivolous.
Staring at a woman of these classes
may have very unpleasant consc
quenccs. II a man breaks off an en-
gagement he is certain to receive
challenge from the eldest unmarried
brother Of the Tilted girl. or, if she has
no brother. from her rather, or another
member of the family. The seduction
Of q woman in these circles leads either
TO an immediate marriage or duel
under "heavy conditions" which means
beginning TO shoot at fifteen PAGES
and advancing TO five.
Means Loss of One Life
The husband of woman caught in
a love intrigue will generally insist on
the shortest possible distance scparat-
ing the combatants, which is five PAGES.
Such conditions practically mean that
the destroyer Of the home life must
[ lose his life or the husband himself
I be killed In all cases in which women
are involved the German law provides
for damages or punishment. But IN
the classes that arc "satisfaktionsfa-
hig" such suits are never brought, and
+ even the private offer Of a money set
Element would be considered new IN
suit. In "women's cases the duel is
the only refuge, and men emitting or
refusing TO challenge the guilty person
are invariably ostracizeo.
Some readers may remark that even
in Germany there must be "conscien-
tious DIRECTORS" against the duel. There
are. and many of them. They write and
speak against the duel. They have,
like in England sixty or seventy years
ago. formed snti-duelling leagues and
issue literature against this remnant
Of mediayalism. Yet, as soon as the
question takes on a personal aspect
every member of the privileged classes
will shrink back from carrying his
principles into practice. Not accepting
q challenge means social ostracism. IL
means the most terrible boycott known.
because not only the person refusing TO
fight is cast out from society. but also
those who still maintain social rela-
tons with him.
I know Of only one conscientious
objector" who had the courage TO re-
main firm. He was a Catholic, count
and had religious scruples against
sighting. lie had TO immune himself in
his castle, his neighbors considering
him a crank whose society was not
! wanted.
Opposition Is Hopeless
How hopeless it is to fly in the face
OF prejudice is best illustrated by an
incident which happened at the time Of
the last Dreyfus trial. One Of the ed
itors of the greatest liberal newspaper
in Germany, the Frankfurter "IeitunG,'
attended the trial and became involved
in a quarrel with French count, who
promptly challenged him. This editor
was = sincere opponent Of the duel, but
when he was confronted with con-
crete fact he promptly accepted the
challenge. When short news agency
report of the duel reached Frankfort
the editors printed it, but added the
| quaint remark: "0f course. the fact
that our co-laborer has fought duel
cannot change our conviction that it is
a medieval institution and should be
abolished"
Germany has strict laws against the
! duel. and they are not dead letters
either. The prosecuting officers OF the
government are on the lookout for such
cases, and the principals and the car
riers of the challenge are liable to pun
ishment. The principal sections in the
criminal code dealing with this matter
are:
The challenge for duel with deadly
veapons and the acceptance OF such chai-
lenge shall be punished by detention In a
fortress up 20 six months. The punishment
il TO be two months TO two years IN case IN
challenging one Of the parties has expressly
stated that Il shall be duel to the death or
II the conditions agreed upon show that sucn
Is the aim. go, 4.
An carriers of challenges shall be liable TO
detention in a fortress maximum peha"y
six months.