CONFLICT AT ESSEN.

Hokitika Guardian, 3 April 1923, Page 2

CONFLICT AT ESSEN.

TEN KILLED BY FRENCH. u FOUR DIRECTORS ARRESTED. AUSTRALIAN AND N.Z. C'.UII.K ASSOCIATION. (Received this day at 9.25 a.m.) LONDON. ,March 2. The “Daily Express” Dusseldcrf correspondent states that Sunday’s Easter calm was broken by a grievous calamity in Essen. The French sent a handful <.f soldiers with a machine gun, to requisition a tin tor car at Krupp’s works and as the soldiers entered, sirens sounded, and 50,000 workers began to pour out of the works. One workman seeing tlie dnngerijr' stood' out conspicuously and lieggeo* his fellow worktns to keep quiet, but the French soldiers, being ignorant of the German language, mistook the workmen’s intention and fired the machine gun, using a whole holt of cartridges, into the crcwd, a few yards away. The spokesmen fell shot through the head, and the bullets made a lano of dead and wounded in the crowd.

What might have been a vastly worse catastrophe was just avoided. Two French engineers who met the maddened crowd were in danger of being lynched but they were rescued by Krupp’s Fire Brigade. Among those present was Testa, special emissary of the PrMp and so overcome was he that on his knees and stayed a long timo praying for the souls of the dead.

Several of the wounded are likely to die as most of the wounds are in the head and upper part of the body, suggesting that the soldiers meant to lire above the heads of the crowd. It was a miracle that a vast riot was avoided but ambulant os quickly carried off the dead, wrapped in white cloths and when a French tank appeared in an hour and a half later, most of the crowd obeyed the urgent summons to go quietly to their homes, which are now full of hen- r vily armed troops, though many are mere boys. 'lucre is little fear of a further outbreak. hut German feeling is savage. Latest, advices from Essen state that the casualties at Kntpps were ten killed. Four directors of Kntpps have been arrested, being charged with sounding lhe factory sirens with the express intention of provoking a conflict-between the workers and soldiers.