Evening star., 1923-04-02
107 FACING TRIAL
IN ESSEN R|OT|NG
Four Directors of Krupp
Works Seized on Charge
of lnciting Trouble.
OFFICIALS SENT PROTEST
Declare French Refused to Use
Side Exit to Avoid Threat
ening Workers.
OFFICIALS SENT PROTEST
BY A, II. DECKER.


BY Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News.
Copyright. 1923.
ESSEN, March I'm Werden prison
are four directors of the Krupp works
who were arrested Sunday morning
In connection with the fatal riot on
Saturday. They are DR.. Bruno Bruhn.
who is well known In the United
States, and Messrs. Hartwig Oesterie
and Ritter. French gendarmes
visited the homes of the directors be-
tween s and o'clock yesterday
morning and read the orders of ar
rest accusing each director of en-
dangering the safety of the French
occupational army through causing
or permitting employees to leave
their work. assemble in the street and
prevent the requisition of automo-
biles; in other words, making the
directors responsible for the shoot
ing.
Home Broken Into.
DR.. Bruhn was arrested because
/ two of the other directors, Vielhabe
and Wendt, were not found. Herr
Vielhaber is in the Tyrol on a vaca-
tion. His house was broken into
and his desk searched. The direc-
tors are confined In a room together
with Essen hostages, reich officials
and others awaiting trial, numbering
in all thirty-three. In another room
are seventy-four political prisoners
who will either be released after a
preliminary examination today or be
| no fn frfG h..fn
Frau Bruhn was able to visit her
husband after obtaining a pass from
headquarters. 1t is claimed that the
directors were not responsible for
, the blowing of sirens which brought
the employees into the street 1t is
said that the workers blew the
whistles themselves and left work
because the French had entered the
plant
How Fray Occurred.
One of the krupp employees. who is
member of a factory council and
who alone through a French soldier
interpreter conducted the negotia :
tions with the officer commanding the
French soldiers in Saturdays affray,
gave the writer the following ac-
count of how he twice proposed to
the French that they should leave by
a side entrance to the factory rather
than attempt TO force their way
through the crowd of infuriated
workers:
AT 7:40 am. two workmen delegated
by the krupp employees talked with
the French and asked them to leave.
The French officer replied that he had
orders to stay and await a commits
sion of officers coming to examine au-
tomobileS and select requisitions
AT $50 the sirens began blowing,
announcing that the French were in
the plant.
Officers Driven Away.
AT the same time officers came in
one automobile, got out and climbed
| back in the car. driving away with
out speaking to the officer In the
garage. Although a few workers had
assembled. there was no one between
the car and the garage before which
the car stopped.
The crowd became larger and at
$3.50 o'clock I talked with the officer
through soldier Interpreter and
asked them to leave the factory. l
proposed to show him a safe way out
The commission came and departed.
AT 1880 L returned again and pro-
posed that the troops leave by a side
entrance. The crowd was angrier
and the situation looked bad start
ed for the main office to warn the
offlcials and was only d short distance
away when the shooting began, I
had narrow escape"
INCITED BY NATIoNALIsrs.