The Bismarck tribune., 1918-11-29
WHY LET THE GERMAN CRIMINALS
ESCAPE?

WHY LET THE GERMAN CRIMINALS
ESCAPE?
Why are these German supercrlmlnals oel"s
permitted to escape from Germany ana the 1el-
man navy and armies to places Of refuge IN Ho-
land, Switzerland and neutral countries!
Won Tirpitz infamous father Of unrestricted
submarine piracy by whose order the Lustanla
was sent shattered to the bottom of the sea, Is
the latest of the fugitives. With co-conspirators
he has fled to Switzerland
Shorn of. his silvery dundrearys, his pockets
bullying with embezzeled millions OF money IN
trusted to him by the fallen autocracy from the
billions it wrung from the nation it betrayed, Won
Tirpitz has followed the example of William el
Diable and sought safety for his pelt on neutral
Other German criminals are following suit as
fast as they can bag their ill-gotten gains Hol-
land is filling with these masters in the business
of crime Switzerland is being overrun with them
They are lodging into Sweden, Norway, Denmark
and SPAIN
Why are these men running away from Germa-
ny?
There are visible at this hour just two plausible
explanations:
-.
Hourly becoming more and more dangerous for
these men as disbanded leaderless soldiers return
Some of these soldiers, reports from Austria say,
are forming bandit gangs and taking to the for
ests and the broken country. They are reverting
to savagery.
The supercrmnals like William lie Diable, Tir-
ptz, Hintze, Capee and their peers in villany, see
the rising peril of possible Reign of Terror in
the Fatherland.
g. They see, too, the apparently supine indif-
ference with which the authorities of the entente
allies and the United States view the exodus from
Germany to neutral lands and the seemingly SNUG
satisfaction of the authorities sof the countries
whose soil their footsteps pollute. They think
themselves safe.
While in entente ally countries and the United
States academic discussions go on to sutfocation
and endlessness about what ought to be done to
William the Devil, Tirpitz and the rest of the
Potsdam gang, while orators bring round after
round of applause as they more or less eoquenty
demand at speech-fests "the condign punishment
of the Hohenzollern gang" while lawyers poke
around in the legal dust of bygone ages for prece-
dents for Furnishing an ex-emperor for arson, MUIR
der, piracy, rape and robbery, knowing perfectly
well that they won't find any such thing in all the
lessly and on, time is flying, the supercrminals
are grinning, leering at wounded, outraged world
as much as to say: "You can't catch US! We're
above law! We're sacred personages who have
sought refuge in neutral f9YqYtries T;aq4eh US if
you dare!'
And the blood spilled "on Flanders felds"-was
it shed that such as William the Devil Tirpitz and
their comrades in infamy might go free and un-
harmed or find refuge on earth?
Precedent? Is there need of precedent? Can't
things be done without precedent? Aren't these
guilty as accessories before the fact of prac-
tically every known crime? How are precedents
made, anyway, except by dealing with unprece-
dented situations? These questions answer them
selves
international law? Have not these men out
ragged it? Is it not now to be indicated? Is there
no man, no leader in all the lands and camps of
the vctors big enough, strong and daring enough
to go ahead and make Precedent with rope
about its neck. ..t
Or are we to leave these Thugs to the supposed
powers of punishment Of their own consciences
Do we know that there are "consciences scared
as with hot iron?
Are these supercriminals to be permitted to
escape the vengeance Of their dupes at home the
justice of their victims everywhere abroad to
become plotting, gangrenous sore on the face
Of the world, mockery Of all law and the pattern
saints (save the mark) of every criminal and GRIM
inal class in the world?
One international hanging bee with German
supercriminals as the decorative features of the
gallows would do more in an hour to stem Boil
shevism. than gil Aesspeeches and fine words of
81 thn.f AatoItS yin theeworld President Woodrow