GERMAN DUELS.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14908, 23 February 1914, Page 8

GERMAN DUELS.

STUDENT COMBATS THREATENED.

SCARS MADE TO ORDER

(FBOM A CORRESPOKDMOT.)

BERLIN, January 20.

Students' duelline is threatened: and thousands of bloodthirsty, face-slashing young men are sadly depressed. They cay that tho ago of chivalry is dead; and that tho ago of sophists, economiste, and calculators has succeeded. One sophist, economist, and calculator is the Rector of Greifswald University, who thinks that detection in duelling should lead to expulsion; and another is tho Imperial Supreme Court at Leipzig, which, by a decision, has put harmless stxident "Mensur" duels on the same level a« ordinary," dangerous duelling. But worst of all are certain Bophists, economists, and calculators among students themselves. These have just fought a bloody duel for pay in a moving picture factory. Others go further. They shirk tho duel, but win dishonourable scars. They go to skilful surgeons, who, armed with lancets, antiseptics, and anaesthetics, carvo painless wounds on the students' faces; and the students go home; and pose to their credulous sisters and sweethearts as heroes of bloody combats.

The moving picture revelations arc proving most fatal of all, because the offenders were genuine corps students; and a whole corps was implicated. This was the Heidelberg "Cheruekia" corps, an organisation which particularly prides itself on its sensitive and chivalrous standard of honour. For the base sum of £25 each, two "Cheruskia" students repaired to tho moving picture factoryj and fought a fierce "Mensur" duel, ending in a sanguinary "abfuhr." An "abfuhr" is the end of tho duel through the wounding of, one combatant. While the moving picture machine whizzed and rattled, the brave lads carved up one anothers , faces in the finest style; and the "Paukdoktor" sewed up the wounds. Tho whole "Cheruskia" corps stood round, quite as in a genuine duel; and was taken into the picture. >•. This incident has made a first-rato academic scandal. The "Cheruskians" make tho excuse that the two duellists wore ox-members, not present members, of the corps, and they swear that tho fifty odd students who attended had nothing t© do with the business, but "accidentally happened to bo in the moving picture factory when the duel was fought." This obvious lie has not improved things, for love of truth is one of tho principles of German student corps life. Two other student corps, the "Teutonia" and "Zaeringia," now denounce the "Cheruskians" as base and unworthy comrades; and the Coburg "L.C.," which is a union of different corps, has expelled the "Cheruskians" for four terms. Tho "Cheniekia" duelliste say that the moving picture proprietor did not- pay up the promised £25 each. Instead the whole "Cherujtkia" corps has had to pay the moving picturo man to destroy the films. Naturally, tho scandal is first-rato; and naturally the honourable institution of the "Mensur" is badly imperilled.

The painless scars revelations has dealt tho "Mensur" another blow. "Mensur" duels are mainly fought for the sake of the scars. In after life the »-,car is a patent of nobility; it shows tho world at sight that tho man with the ridge on his cheek went to a university and was a member of a good fighting corps. It helps young jurists when they start their, official careors. Few German administrators of note are without a scar, big or small. This fact encourages falsification. Cynics say that men who wore never at universities "fake" their scars. Bnt nobody dares to suggest that a genuine university student who had a fair chance to get a scar in fight would descend to faking. And now the contrary is proved. A Hamburg doctor produces a letter from a Kiel University student asking him to "perform under chloroform the operation of scar-making." And the "Lokal Anzeiger" prints an advertisement from an "operator," who will painlessly decorate any university man's cheek at reasonable cost.

The moving picture and painless scar incidents have come at the right time for the courts, police, Socialists, and others, who, for different reasons, oppose the "Mensur" system. The •Socialists detest, the systom, because it is a class monopoly. They hold that two students who fight with swords should be treated as two bricklayers who fight with knives. The Socialist Reichstag member, Heine, who is a lawyer, is a fierce enemy of the system; and he wants student .duels (and with them all duels) put under the ordinary criminal law, as in England. At present they are governed by a special duel law, which handles duellists indulgently. Against this, the friends of the "Mensur" say that it should be freed from the operation of oven the present indulgent duel law. The duel law imposes punishment of from three months to five years' fortress imprisonment; it does not punish seconds at- , all, if they have first tried to prevent the duel; and it inflicts severe punishments only in case of death, and where a fatal duel has been fought- without seconds. The "Mei.sur" apologists demand that "Mensurs" shall not bo punished at all; as they are not ordinary duels, inasmuch as death, or. even serious injury, is impossible. The carving of decorative scars on the check by voluntary consent ought to be as lawful as is the blacking of eyes in a boxing match. The police, they demand, should be forbidden to JTtako raids on assemblies of "Mensur" duellists and snoil merry evenings in university towns. The opposite party declares that the "Mensur'- must not ho' tolerated precisely because it is not dangerous. Formerly the element of. risk to life justified it as a training in courage. Nowadays the students themselves make it ridiculous by elminatintr altogether risk; find largely eliminating even pain. During the whole of the last oentnry the oner> ferociously-fought "Mpusut" lias bepn crowing milder and wilder. Bpforo the "Mensur" was rcjrulated by Jena University, which is the Rreat authority in "Mensnr" matters, scores of students were killed. Instead of the "Mensur" was the "rencontre." The "rencontro" consisted of students who met in the street, with or without grievance, drawing their swords, and running one another through. Then Jena sot itself to "civiliso" the duel. It began by organising rapier contests, with the rule that the smallest scratch ended the duel. The duels were preceded by regular challenges; and seconds and spectatore were present. This reduced *tho danger. These duels wore fought with long rapiers with very big plate-shaped guards. The duels again became dangerous when the students took to short "Paris rapiers" with small guards To "civilise" this Jena introduced "schlaeger" duels, fought with a cutting rnpier which has a relatively broad blade; and either a bell-shaped* or bas-ket-shaped guard. Xo tnnisting is allowed. Tin's kind of "Mensur" sprond all over Germany; and is the kind practised to-day. Berlin, Oroifswald, and Konigsberg fight with the bellguard ; all the other universities use the basket guard.

"Mensur" duels ceased to be dangerous

when the "Schlaeger" replaced the thrust rapier. Jena, however, went further. It limited the duration of duels. Most "Mensur" duels aro now fought for fifteen minutes. If no wound is inflicted in fifteen minutes tho duel is finished. This is the rule in the "ap-' pointment Mensura," when several chosen members of one corps challenge chosen members of another corps. Single duels, resulting from personal challenges, last half an hour. Most "Mensurs' , are now fought as "fpst," which means that the duellists must keep to their original positions. Tho "free Mensur" which gives the right to advance and retire is dying out. These rules, and the presence of two armed seconds, whose business it is to parry any ugly-looking stroke, made the "Mensur" less dangerous. And the system of covering almost the whole body with "armour" deprives tho fight of what danger is left. Germany's ruling class, all Conservatives, and many impartial thinkers, support the duel. Theso agree with the historian, Treitsclike, that the duel is a maker of character; and that it fulfils some of the offices which sport fulfils in England. It is truo that the risk is small, but there is some pain, and as long as the "fighting corps" refuse to accept as member any-; one who has not fought, a good test is afforded for physical and moral courage. The student with the elashe.d-open face must not flinch; he must bear without anaesthetics tho painful operation of sewing ur> his wound: and he must not twitch a feature to show that ho is in pain. Most students pass the test; an-J , somo increase artificially the pain. In order to show their indifference, or in order that the wound may heal badly and leavo a sufficiently visible ecar, they "co ou tho loose" during the first days, drink vast quantities of beer, and tamper with their hnndagee. Somo wounds aro artificially kept open for weeks.