The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1920-01-16
BERLIN REDS RIOT;
TWENTY ARE SLAIN
Mob of 10000 Attacks the
Reichstag Building.
SHOT DOWN BY MACHINE GUNS
Battle Occurs on Steps of the Build
ina-occasion Of Demonstration
Was Second Reading in Upper
House of Workers Bill.

Rerlin. Jan. 14-Minister of Defense
NOske showed his teeth to the radicals
again when machine guns were turned
en- q mob of communists and lndepend-
emf socialists who attempted TO storm
the reichStag.
4 furious battle on the very steps OF
the reichstag was the climax to dem
0nstratiOn of q mob of radicals eStl-
mated at 10000 who had left factories
and shops at noon and poured through
JJnter den Linden and the Gergarten
TO the parliament building in order to
protest against the sO-called "Betrieb-
sraete-gesetz," a bill that would place
the wOrkmen's councils in the various
industries on legal basis.
Twenty Are Dead.
Twenty Of the mob are dead and
more than one hundred wounded.
The occasion of the demonstration
was the second reading in the upper
house of the act creating factory c0un-
els in the reichstag Independent So
eialists declare that the act does not
Kaeet the demands of the workmen,
and Die Freiheit. a radical SOclallSt
organ, published an appeal in the
name of Is uniOns-SOme unions say
without authOrity-tO all WOrkmen 10
stop work at noon and assemble IN
front of the reichstag at three O'Clock.
Inch by inch, radicals in the front
ranks forced the police to give more
ground Then, with only handful OF
troops opposing them, the radicals
tore away rifles, knocked the soldiers
down, kicked their heads and chests,
and threw them helpless over the bal
ustrade to the concrete pavement eight
feet below.
These soldiers hadn't attempted to
use their arms. but their comrades
coming to the rescue fired shots over
the heads of the mob After a mo-
ment's hesitation they, too, were at
tackled. The reserves were ordered
out. They fired into the mob and used
machine guns.
Marchers Crowd Streets.
For three hours straggly lines of
men, women and children marched
through the streets toward the COM
mon center-the reichstag. To all ap-
pearances they were harmless, as the
friends of the bOlsheviki say, and as
they gradually filled the entire wide
KOenigs Platz between the reichstag
and Tiergarten only an occasional
fiery orator beneath red flag sus-
tanned the interest. Thousands began
drifting hOmeward and their places
were taken by others, SO while there
were probably 100000 participants
there were only $4,000 at one time be-
fore the reichstag.
In conformity with the new policy,
which signalized the. recent repeal OF
martial law by Minister Noske the
.reichswehr troops were not in sight.
Only about twenty militarized police
were strung across the long, wide
steps of the main entrance.
Departures hOmeward increased.
and at three O'clock correspondents
and photographers began to leave,
thinking the demonstration was over.
But it was the radicals who re-
NAMED Within the great circle of
humanity they were the inner circle.
There the Enforcement speeches
and flag waving increased. The pO-
lice did not interfere. They allowed
the demOnstrants as far as the lower
steps and even on the SlOping roadway
leading to either side of the higher
steps TO the building.
Then the vanguard began squeezing
forward. 1t gained the steps this time.
Once rush was attempted, but the
police forced ii back few steps, then
ieveled rifles, and the movement
stopped.
There was slow pushing again. One
end of the police gave way, and the
foremost of the mob reached one of
the three doors. Thousands surged for
ward and outfianked the little COM
mand of green uniforms, which was
soon swallowed up by the mob.
Machine Guns at Work
The crowd milled up and down the
broad steps. From its midst shot
was fired, the bullet sending up a puff
of white sandstone from the sculptured
ornaments high overhead. The crowd
thought the firing came from portfolios
and trembled. but there were no fur.
Their shots. Fighting free, two police
staggered away. Pieces of broken
rifles were hurled at them, knocking
one down. He was thrown to the pave
ment below
It was ten minutes since the first
shot Two minutes more and from the
sides OF the building came rife shots
Then the machine guns ratified.
Forty thousand fed. Ten thousand
stood, thinking the shots were only to
brighten them. A few hundred radicals
followed the fleeing police to side
door. The machine guns were loosed
again and the last fled, dragging the
wounded