The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-01-23
MANY KILLED IN
BERLIN RIOTING
Outburst in Protest Against
Bill Aiming to Place Workmen's
Councils on Legal Basis.
MACHINE GUNS SCATTER MOB.
Demonstration Against Exploitation
Law Ordered by Communists.
Workers Parade the Streets
in Protest.

Berlin-One of those gentle and
HARMLESS" mobs which the defenders of
Bolshevism say she uld not be met with
armed opposition, but with kindness
and understanding, was given an op-
portunity to demonstrate freely before
| the reichstag
Twenty of the mob are dead and
more than 100 wounded.
The occasion of the demonstration
was the second reading in the upper
house of the act creating factory coun-
els in the reichstag Independent So
cialists declare that the act does not
meet the demands of the workmen, and
Die Freiheit, a radical Socialist organ,
published an appeal In the name of
| fifteen unions, some unions say with
out authority, to all workmen to stop
work at noon and assemble in front of
the reichstag at 8 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 the helpless over the balustrade
to the concrete pavement eight feet
below
The soldiers had not attempted to
use their arms but their comrades,
coming to the rescue, fired shots over
the heads of the mob.
After a moments hesitation they,
too. were attacked. The reserves were
ordered out. They fired into the mob
and used machine guns.
For three hours straggly lines of
men, women and children marched
through the streets toward the COM
mon center, the reichstag. To all APP
pearances they were harmless, as the
friends of the Bolsheviki say, and as
they gradually filled the entire wide
Konigsplatz between the reichstag and
Tiergarten only an occasional fiery ora
tor beneath a red flag sustained the
interest Thousands began drifting
homeward and their places were taken
by others. so, while there were proba-
bly, 100000 participants, there were
only $4,000 at one time before the
reichStag
In conformity with the new policy
which signalized the recent repeal of
martial law by Minister Noske, the
reichstag troops We're not in sight.
Only about twenty militarized police
were strung across the long, wide steps
of the main entrance
Departures homeward increased, and
at 3 o'clock correspondents and photog-
raphers began to leave, thinking the
demonstration was over.
But the radicals remained. Within
the great circles of humanity they were
the inner circle. There were anti-gov-
eminent speeches and the flag waving
increased. The police did not inter-
fere They allowed the demonstra-
tons 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 sqeezing
IN wa w. II Sullitu lAIS STEPS lllIS lllflt.
Once a rush was attempted, but the
police forced it back a few steps, then
leveled rifles and the movement stop
ped. There was a slow pushing again.
One end of the police gave way and
the foremost of the mob reached one
of the three doors. Thousands surged
forward and outflanked the little COM
mand of green uniforms, which was
soon swallowed up by the mob.
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
men staggered away. Pieces of broken
rifles We're hurled at them, knocking
one down. He was thrown to the pave
ment below.