Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1920-01-16
Mob of 10000 Attacks the
'Reichstag Building.
SHOT DOWN BY MACHINE GUNS
Battle Occurs on Steps Of the Build.
ing-occasion Of Demonstration
Was Second Reading in Upper
House of Workers Bill.

on a mob of communists and fndeDend-
ent socialists who attempted to storm
the reichstag.
A furious battle on the very steps of
the reiehstag was the climax to dem
onstration of mob of radicals esti-
mated at 10000 who had left factories
and shops at noon and poured through
Inter den Linden and the Tiergarten
to the parliament building in order to
protest against the so-called "Betrieb-
sraete-gesetz," 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 coun-
ellis in the reichstag. Independent So
ciaiists 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 Is unions-some unions say
without authority--to all workmen to
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
nstrade 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
tucked The reserves were ordered
out. They fred into the mop 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 centcr-the reichstag. TO all APP
pearances they were harmless, as the
friends Of the bolsheviki say, and as
they gradually filed the entire wide
Koenigs Plats between the reighstag
and Tiergarten only an occasional
fiery orator beneath a 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 We're 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 We're not in sight.
Only about twenty militarized police
were strung across the long, wide
steps of the main entrance.
Fun Just Beginning.
Departures homeward increased.
and at three o'clock correspondents
and photographers began to leave,
thinking the demonstration was OYER
But it was the radicals who re-
manned. Within the great circle of hu-
mainly they were the inner circle.
There the antigovernment speeches
and flag waving increased The POI
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
II .-nt,sn1 fb. sstn,,e, +Itfc 4i,,,n
once rush was attempted, but the
police forced it back a few steps, then
leveled rides and the movement
stopped
There was slow pushing agoin. One
end of the police gave way. and the
foremost Of the mob reached one of
the three doors. Thousands surged for
ward and outflanked 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 fred. the bullet sending up puff
Of white sandstone from the sculptured
ornaments high overhead The crowd
thought the firing came from portfolios
and frembled. 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.
II was ten minutes since the first
shot. Two minutes more and from the
sides Of the building came rifle shots.
Then the machine guns ratified
Forty thousand fled. Ten thousand
stood thinking the shots were only to
frichten them. A few hundred radicals
followed the fleeing police to a side
door. The machine guns We're loosed
again and the last fed, dragging the
wounded.