Show MILITARY BRUTALITY I The Poet Heigel and an Old Man Cut Down Dy Austrian Officers In Germany and Austria every week brings with it instances of military brutality bru-tality toward civilians Most of these instances are forgotten after the publication publi-cation of a few indignant paragraphs in the radical journals and a radical or social Democratic interpellation in parliament liament One that occurred at Rlva on Lago di Garda two weeks ago however was so remarkable for such exceptional consequences brutality that it has had more serous consquences Carl Heigel the German poet was sitting with a friend at a table in the great concert garden at Riva His friend was 65 yeas old and somewhat decrepit At the next table sat several officers of the Imperial Chasseurs who are garrisoned at Riva Heigels friend who had been wearied by a rather long walk fell asleep and the officers began to poke fun at him They were so loud that they woke the old man up When he heard them cracking jokes at his expense he remarked to Heigel Persons who make fun of an old man can hardly be gentlemen even If they do wear uniforms Heigel nodded assent All the nodde officers hEard the remark and saw the nod One of them sprang up faced Heigel and ordered him and the old man to leave the garden Heigels answer was a stunning open hand blow which sent the officer reeling back on the table Then followed a scene with features painfully familiar to persons who have I lived in Germany or Austria The of = = = = = rd fleers drew their swords and started i forward to run through the two unarmed un-armed men The old man fell at the I first onset but Heigel stood his ground I dealing blows right and left until cut down Blood was flowing from three J wounds in his head and he lay half unconscious un-conscious A young lieutenant aimed conscous a sword blow at him but the bandmaster bandmas-ter Bronchi who had hastened from the platform caught the sword with his baton and pushed the lieutenant back Several other men gathered In front of Heigel and his companion and threatened to make short work of the officers in case another blow should be struck A crowd invaded the garden began jostling the officers and demanded demand-ed that they b disarmed and punished then and there The police were obliged oblig-ed to save the officers from violence although no policeman had found time Ito I-to interer when Heigel and his companion com-panion were beaten down Heigel has received calls daily in his sick room from all the most conspicuous conspicu-ous persons in Riva excepting of course the military The city officials have called upon him to apologize for the attack in the garden Throughout the whole district round Riva there was a unanimous demand for the punishment punish-ment of the officers concerned in the fight A high railway official who was with them in the garden was discharged discharg-ed A lieutenant colonel who struck down Heigels companion was called a coward by a captain in his own regiment regi-ment In the duel which followed both officers were wounded The rest of the officers will be tried by court martial Helgel and his friend are recovering slowly New York Sun |