Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-10
WARFARE OPENED
BY HAND GRENADE
Bomb Thrown Into Dense
Throng in Berlin Wreaks
Havoc
STIRS FIGHTING SPIRIT
Spartacans Start Trouble in
Peaceful Assemblage Sup.
porting Ebert
STIRS FIGHTING SPIRIT
By LEONARD SPRAY
Wireless TO Erening Public Ledger
Copyright, 1919, bv the ". Y. Times 20.

Rotterdam, Jan. ) (ueIayeu''
&C HAND GRENADE was thrown
"A into a crowd OF tens OF thousands
Of people who passed in front Of the
Chancellor's palace. The dead ana
wounded are being carried away, and
there is a sound of firing
such are the ominous concluding
words Of a long message which | have
Just received by telephone from Berlin.
Taken In conjunction with the preceding
events, they mean nothing less than the
beginning of a civil war.
All day immense crowds filed the
Berlin streets. crowds in comparison
with which the biggest assemblies of the
: first days OF the original revolution were
insignificant.
About II O'clock telephones the
correspondent of the Nieuwe Rotterdam
sche Courant, when l went into the city.
thousands OF sightseers were still flock
ing to the districts where the Govern
ment buildings are situated. They were
all supporters Of Ebert and were on the
way to wilhelmstrasse to make protest
against the Spartacan anarchy. AFTER
a time the various groups combined INTO
"a procession which at street corners
would often merge with similar bodies
coming from another direction, until at
last one powerful procession was formed,
which marched to Wilhelmstrasse.
Fighting Spirit Aroused
There, before the Chsncellor's palace.
an innumerable multitude was demon
strsting. The GROVE extended from the
neiRhborhood of Leipzigerstrasse TO Tn
ter den Linden. This crowd was COM,
paratively harmless, but it was already
apparent that the fighting spirit on both
sides had been aroused.
9TH Eichhorn question had made the
differences sharper. The Government
could no longer retrace its footsteps and
was quite aware of the fact. while Lieb-
knecht and his people. who probably
knew beforehand that the Independent
Socialists would be with them. had clear
" made up their minds to accept the
challenge. Issue can only be decided
when one party is in the position of con-
aueror and the other IN that of the de-
feated.
"Along the whole wide thoroughfare
people were pressed so close together as
to form an impenetrable mass, and still
new streams OF humanity continued TO
how toward this central pool.
I'm the Siegsalle at 10 O'Clock an
opposition demonstration had already
begun. At first the number was not
extraordinarily great. but in the course
OF the midday hours thousands focked
in from the factories. where work had
been stopped. carrying red flags and
banners with the inscription Down with
the Government They formed an end
less procession, which moved toward the
head police office.
1.-THE great Alexander square was a
sea Of people. From the balcony OF the
police office some one was speaking ~
was probably Eichhorn himself. ana
whatever he was "a ying evoked tremen-
dous applause, varied now and then by
shouts denouncing the Government
Armed spartacans Appear
I'm tho course of the afternoon armed
bands Of Spartacans came int" the
streets. They rode in motorcars on
which machine guns were mounted ana
whenever they passed the crowds DEM
o~nstrating in favor Of tile Government
they shouted Traitors" The appear
ance of these cars produced the great
est excitement in the streets.
The first actual encounters were OF
a comparatively harmless kind. for they
were fought out with fists. But about
. o'clock armed SpartaCans, VINO IN
cluded a number of Socialists, ga'heTed
in tho neighborhood of the Chancellor
Wallace and assumed a threItT'',ns "f"
ude. talking about a senS,'y ,orm ne
town and an inten''o" 70 S'o'" Wv
government building, 80, ro,cv n he
This however, was T sor u thc moan.
80 easy 10 90 as 70 say, dis,rirt had
time the whote H"retr E,,or, buiId-
been prepared TOT uei'.ss r,non r'sre
ing was a fort and al very ",""rN
soldiers wearing thetr So &c ,na-
Pointing out OF many WIN" hon,
chine guns ana po"los ~ 80 CIV
IN the paicos. rbn snsrtacans now
ding their rnes' lne ~ Sho,reI.
made EFFORTS 10 "ppro irnoss,blo
'or's palace, but TINS was i.,p"a b.,d
suddenly as ! s'oou Nv. ir,.
grenade was thrown ,h"us. Ella !, falI
possible to say rom VIM, VA I, Gov.
into the masses OF 'Ie - u'oupdod
minutes later the ucau ~
aLERfAn