Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-08
SOCIALISTS MOURN
At BERGER'S BIER
Stormy Career of Wisconsin
Leader, Hurt Fatally by
Street Car, Closes.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
MILWAUKEE, Wis, August B.
Mourning the death of their party's
leader, prominent Socialists from all
over the United States were beginning
to arrive in Milwaukee today for the
funeral of Victor L. Berger, SO, late
publisher of the Milwaukee Leader and
former member of the House of Repre-
sentativeS.
The funeral services will be con-
Quoted either tomorrow or Saturday
afternoon, with interment in Forest
Home Cemetery here. The former
Socialist leaders body will lie In state
to be simple, at the request OF his
family.
Foes Praise His Honesty.
Preceding the arrival of the numerous
friends of the former Representative,
hundreds Of messages Of coincidence anc
tribute poured in to the family home
yesterday and today. They came not
only from his political partisans but
from his foes as well.
All of them praised the mans sterling
honesty and his absolute fearleSSneSs.
They lauded his ability as school
teacher, journalist and statesman.
All mourned the loss of a good citizen.
Mr.. Berger died at :l9 O'Clock We'd
pital, succumbing to basal fracture
of the skull and other injuries suffered
July Is when he was struck down by
a street car. His death, however. was
unexpected, as physicians Oh Tuesday
had held out high hope for his recovery.
Vain Fight to Save Life.
Early in the morning, however, a
hemorrhage occurred. Three physicians
made every possible effort to prolong
his life, even administering oxygen, but
Mr. Berger never regained conscious
ness and died peacefully.
An inquest will be held some time
next week, Coroner Henry Grundman
announced yesterday. The motorman
of the trolley that struck the former
congressman as we'll as all witnesses TO
the accident are 10 be summoned, the
coroner said.
Stormy Rise 10 Fame.
At the bedside were his wife. Meta
Berger, and daughters, Mrs. Conn =.
Welles, Milwaukee, and Mrs. Jan Edel-
man. The latter rushed from Europe
to be at the bedside of her father.
Death terminated the stormy career
of an immigrant boy who rose to power
in national politics. While his foreign
birth prevented him from being the So
cialiSts nominee for President OF the
United States, he enjoyed the SatlSiac-
ton of having for his pupil Eugene V.
Debs, who repeatedly was chosen as the
standard bearer for the party.
Berger was born at Nieder, Austria
Hungary, February 20, 1860. After at
tending the Universities of Budapest
and Vienna, he came TO the United
States in 1873. In 1880 he travelled
Westward and settled i'll Milwaukee,
where he became teacher Of German
in the public schools. His rise to In
fluence began i'll 1900 when he started
an English weekly newspaper in Mil
waukee. Ten years later he welded
political power that was sufficient to
send him to Washington as Repre-
sentative. He was reelected to the
SiXty-siXth Congress in 1918 and egain
In 1921, despite formidable opposition.
Once Refused Seat by House.
Berger was the Socialist party's first
Representative in Congress.
During the World War the pub
Usher was attacked from every side
for his opposition to Americas entry.
From 1917 to 1921, he was barred from
using the mails and he was charged
with disloyalty. Berger maintained his
opposition to Americas participation in
the war was not melted by "pro-Ger-
n1anism" but that the countryS action
was against his principles.
Feeling ran high against him during
those years and eliminated in his SEN
tence to 20 years in the peniteIItiary.
Despite his indictment and sentence,
his constituents reelected him to the
Sixty-seventh Congress with an in
creased plurality. The House of Rep
resentatives refused him seat, but he
gained admission to the House when the
Supreme Court reversed the sentence
JtNa% AHvf
Lands and quashed all other indict-
ments