attempts to undermine the loyalty of the soldiers, and making it a crime
punishable with three years' imprisonment to attack religion, monarchy,
marriage, the family or property by abusive expressions in such a manner
as to endanger public peace. The discussion of this measure occupied most
of the session of 1895; the bill was amended by the Centre so as to make
it even more strongly a measure for the defence of religion; and clauses
were introduced to defend public morality, by forbidding the public
exhibition of pictures or statues, or the sale of writings, which,
"without being actually obscene, might rudely offend the feeling of
modesty." These Clerical amendments aroused a strong feeling of
indignation. It was represented that the freedom of art and literature
was being endangered, and the government was obliged to withdraw the
bill. The tendency towards a stricter censorship was shown by a proposal
which was carried through the Prussian parliament for controlling the
instruction given at the universities by the _Privatdozenten_. Some of
the Conservative leaders, especially Baron von Stumm, the great
manufacturer (one of Bismarck's chief advisers on industrial matters),
demanded protection against the teaching of some of the professors with
whose economic doctrines they did not agree; pastors who took part in the
Christian-Social movement incurred the displeasure of the government; and
Professor Delbrück was summoned before a disciplinary court because, in
the _Preussische Jahrbücher_, which he edited, he had ventured to
criticize the policy of the Prussian government towards the Danes in
Schleswig. All the discontent and suspicion caused by this policy broke
out with greater intensity when a fresh attempt was made in 1900 to carry
those clauses of the old _Umsturz-Vorlage_ which dealt with offences
against public morality. The gross immoralities connected with
prostitution in Berlin had been disclosed in the case of a murderer
called Heinze in 1891; and a bill to strengthen the criminal law on the
subject was introduced but not carried. The measure continued, however,
to be discussed, and in 1900 the government proposed to incorporate with
this bill (which was known as the _Lex Heinze_) the articles from the
_Umsturz-Vorlage_ subjecting art and literature to the control of the
criminal law and police. The agitation was renewed with great energy. A
_Goethe-Verein_ was founded to protect _Kultur_, which seemed to be in
danger. In the end the obnoxious clauses were only withdrawn when the
Socialists used the forms of the House to prevent business from being
transacted. It was the first time that organized obstruction had appeared
in the Reichstag, and it was part of the irony of the situation that the
representatives of art and learning owed their victory to the Socialists,
whom they had so long attacked as the great enemies of modern
civilization.
Law of combination.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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