Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-01
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL y. COLLINS,

OF all the after-war disclosures,
there has never been any that, for
naivete, plus knavery, could be COM
pared with the news from Berlin, yes
terday, reporting the conviction and
sentence of Albert Brehahn, the in
ventor of the alleged death ray" con-
trivance which, as it tranSpireS, was a
fraud pure and simple.
There never was such a continuance
nor any embryo of such a nature,
whereby, as represented by Brehahn,
1t was possible to kill masses of men,
even at a distance of II miles. and melt
the enemy's cannons, as if they were
butter
That Brehahn was a swindler ap-
pears indisputable, but that his VIC
Tins and fellow conspirators-men of
most eminent degree-were permitted
to come into court with unclean hands
and convict him of his swindle with no
reproach upon their own honor through
a more atrocious plotted crime and con-
spiracy, is the amazing part of the
story. 1t almost incites the risibles to
note the air of innocence of the
Prince Won Bismarck and the counts and
baron, as they-fellow conspiratorS-
plotting with BrehahnS death ray"
to "kill all the Jews In Berlin in three
minutes" now point the accusing
finger at the swindler whom they had
been supporting for q decade in the
faith that he would do just that
dastardly act Of wholesale massacre.
The dupes seem chagrined that he
fails to commit the maSsacre-not that
they repent of their own completely in
the supposed murderous plot. So they
form a new conspiracy to make Bre-
hahn the ziegenbok-in plain United
States language, 1.-The goat"
Here is the story in brief:
In 1917, Brehahn told of his alleged
invention to the German press, and
the German military authorities were
so impressed by its possibilities of wip-
ing out whole armies in the twinkling
of an eye that they gave the inventor
a monthly allowance of $4,000 marks
to perfect his continuance. Something
always delayed his demonstrations, and
the armistice came before he had killed
anybody with it. It would beat poison
gas and everything terrible, but 1t
wasn't ready.
But peace hath her victories no less
renowned than war;; and next we learn
that the ultra-monarchiStS had taken
Brehahn seriously, and. through a re-
tired general, he was introduced to
Prince Won Bismarck, Count Bueckler,
Count Nathan and Baron Won DirkSon
and these raised a fund OF 10000 marks
a month, for him to continue his work,
upon his promise that he would dem
onstrate its usefulness by killing all
Jews in Berlin In three minutes, and
then killing all Republicans.
The first 10000 marks a month was
supplemented later by other monarchist
supporters, who raised fund of SOC, 900
marks. Wasn't it well worth a million
marks to get rid of the undesirable
citizenS'-JewS and Republicans-and
reinstate the Kaiser on the throne,
armed with the monopoly of q weapon
that would give him not merely "a
place in the sum-" but a power sur
passing that of the hottest sun that
ever shone? The world would soon be
compelled to bow to Deutschland ueber
allies" or be roasted to death and the
ashes scattered to the four winds.
\ X X X
Now verdannt! The death ray isn't
worth a tallow candle and Jews and
Republicans still live, and the Kaiser
stays in Dutch.
But in all civilized lands a con-
spiracy to commit crime makes all
conspirators equally guilty. The con-
spiracy cannot usually be punished
without there being first an overt act"
Of one of the conSpirators, but that rule
is not without exceptions under common
law.
"By the common law conspiracy to
commit q crime is of itself a criminal
offense, although no overt act be done
in pursuance of it; such acts, however
important as evidence or as aggrava-
ton, not being of the essence Of the
offense, since there is no statute max
10
commission Of an overt act" Hogan
vs.. ONeill, ass U. s.. So; Il Sup. ct.
Rep, 222, 65:497.
Hence the conspiratnys. Prince Won