DR. LIEBKNECHT ON GERMAN CRIMES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2771, 15 May 1916, Page 7

DR. LIEBKNECHT ON GERMAN CRIMES

MASSES OF CRIMINALS IN

THE ARMY

FROM THE SLAVES

OF DISTRESS"

In tlie course of a debate in the Prussian Diet on the estimates for the Ministry of Justice, Hi. Liebknecht, the wellknown' Socialist, sharply criticised t'hn censorship,'particularly as regards "Vorwarts,"" whicii, he said, was not allowed to publish any "news that'might i\iuse public • excitement. . It. liad become a principle' with' the Censorship (he sakl) to'prohibit'the' mention of trials arising out of peace demonstrations and food riots, thu result'being that tho population had no : idea how" greatly, these trials had increased in'number. : He further said t!ie publication of statistics of the prosecutions of persons for supplying enemy Powers with war material would also be very valuable. As everybody knows; he proceeded, semi-official warning has been issued against the tendency pf the capitalist classes to sell war materials to the enemy through' the channel of' neutral countries. A very esteemed member of the Lubeck Senate has longbeeir languishing in prison for having placed his Swedish copper mines at tho disposal of the Russians. You all' know how capitalists are internationally related to each other. These relations' still exist, though in an altered form. You know that these relations, especially as regards the- armament industry Here the President rang his bell, and tho Socialist Adolf Hofmann shouted: "Now'it is tho turn of the Holy >f Holies."

. Vipe-President Kraiise' asked what this had to do 'with the 'administration of justice.

Dr. Liebknecht replied: I 'demand statistics of how many people-stand' indicted for such crimes. ' If in this connection I point out the international relations of the capitalistic classes and the supply of war materials and German'', guns _to foreign countries, I believe I am keeping within' the limits of the questions under discussion; German soldiers have been killed by guns, supplied by Krupps. Prisons Full of Soldiers. After being once more called to order, Dr. Liebknecht pointed out" that there were at present some 5000 military prisoners in! prison 'under the Prussian Administration" of Justice, and. that the prisons under'the Ministry of the Interior'were also' largely populated by soldiers. Other 6oldiers,' he continued,hadhad'their sentences postponed in order that they might return to barracks, or had been released for'"the same purpose. The danger must not be overlooked that tjiere are in the aTmy great masses of men of criminal tendencies and- hideous/lubricity. Our great responsibility towards the defenceless populations of occupied territories ought to' make -us very cautious. German, newspapers were particularly .censorious" when, in' enemy countries, the prisons were opened in order, that the convicts might join the army,, but to a certain extant the same thing has taken place'in'Germany. I do riot say that the majority .of the excesses against the defenceless population's in occupied coun-. tries and tho atrocities which bear a peculiarly personal stamp and surpass tho ordinary cruelties of war have been solely, committed by such released gaolbirds. _ After pointing out that the prevailing scarcity and dearth of'foodstuffs- were two of the> .social causes of crimes, Dr. Lieb--necht dwelt on the' criminal -tendencies of the young. He said the degeneration of the young is the natural consequence of the degeneratioii>of our whole kultur. ("Quito right," from the Socialist benches.) Now. they place non-commis-sioned' officers at the' head of .schools to teach .morality to the young. Oujside tho. schools a stronger militarisation of the young is also to take place. All the imaginable' demands of the most 'extreme reaction are flourishing. Dr. Liebknecht was called to order, but protested against the President's attempts to gag him. He v «aid political prosecution also did not cease during war. Preventive arrest was now managed without any guarantees, to those, arrested. The latter had no means of protecting themselves, and were unable to have the assistance of lawyers. Several hundreds are or have-, been.undor arrest, some for months, others since tho beginning of the war.

. After quoting- several such eases Dr. Liebknecht said:—Now look at that Prussia .which went to war to liberate the -Russian people from Tsarism. Justicia fundamentum riegnorum. No,, militarismus fundamentum negnorum. After disclosing the fact that in Berlin a new. department had been opened at the police headquarters to deal with peace propagandists, Dr. Liebknecht continued'.—Today high treason has pot the right of. admission to' Court. ■ It has become almost a noble crime. Tliiere are in Germany certain .quarters where high treason is bred,, especially in the camps of the war prisoners. High treason of all kinds is to-day breeding revolutionists, and foreigners are committing acts of high treason. ■..'■■' Austria's Plight, Dr. Liebknecht was again called to order for this expression. He then men-; tioned a case in which a person had been sentenced to death for a poem, but the sentence had later been commuted to five years' imprisonment. There is, ho remarked, one country where the situation is worse than in Germany. This is not Russia, but Austria. But only now iukl then the cry. of distress penetrates abroad. After emphasising that the fight of class againsi .class would grow moro .severe, but political persecution and reaction would also increase, he said the cry for. help from the prisons. and penitentiaries, and. From the slaves of distress which the public does riot- hear to-day will one day become more, audible, and will rouse mankind to the only Holy War which Socialists -know—for peace against war, against capitalists for' Socialism. (Approval, from the Socialists and general uproar.)

The Minister .of-Justice, Di\ Beseler, after. pointing' out that. Dr. Liebknech't had repeated his usual accusation,- declined to reply in detail.

After.short-complaints, from Herr Nissen (Danish party), and Herr Trampczynshi (Polish- party). Dr.. Liebknecht again spoke. He said: As regards one point, I miist. add'something' concerning the Austrian condition. These hold courts martial are in fact a regime of terror: In Austria there is no possibility of discussing these things in Parliament. In a few months hundreds >of years of penal scrvitudo have been pronounced, .and also a death sentence for a poem. One, of my Austrian comrades lias been sentenced to death for a speech which 1 he, lnado in December, 1914, which it was alleged was hostile towards the State. One of my. Austrian

Here the discussion was closed, and the Budget was adopted. .