THE ESSEN VICTIMS

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 176, 13 April 1923, Page 5

THE ESSEN VICTIMS

GREAT NATIONAL FUNERAL ASTONISHING DEMONSTRATION IMMENSE ASSEMBLAGE OF PEOPLE TJiere was an astonishing national demonstration on the * occasion of the funeral of the Essen victims, the streets being lined by' a quarter of a million people. The military authorities confined all French and Belgian soldiers to bar* racks.

BY TELEGRAPH—PBESS ASSOCIATION. —Copyright. f London, April 10. ■ At Essen the funeral of the seven workmen and fire apprentices, victims of Easter Sunday’s shooting, was the occasion of an astonishing national demonstration.

Funeral bells began to toll throughout Germany at 9 o’clock in the morning. The floral tributes, including those from the German and Prussian Governments and ono from the Communists of France, numbered many hundreds. In Essen itself the streets were thronged at daybreak with the people in deep mourning, many carrying flowers, making for the Altendorfer Strasse, which cuts through tho Krupp’s works and the scene of the tragedy. Here sixty thousand Krupp’s workers were assembled, and a quarter of a million others lined the streets to watch the passage of the twelve coffins.

The coffins were guarded at night by ten miners, who accompanied them in the uniform of the Miners’ Guild, each carrying a miner’s lamp lighted. Tho rest of Krupp’s employees, marching in two columns, each four deep, on either side of the road, preceded tho coffins to the cemetery, four miles from the tow.i. When the van reached, the cemetery rate the end of the piocession was still at Krupp’s works. After the coffins came into the street the silence was unbroken, except for the ringing of Krupp’s choir of musicians, who were followed by the coffins, four on each of three ever-green-decked hearses. The relatives, the renresentatives of the masters, and the delegates of the trade unions followed. the latter with gold and silver and mvlti-colo ived banners. The banners numbered it least three hundred. When they reached the cemetery the bannemen formed a great circle around the pulpit, from which the grave-s dt orations were spoken. Many ether mourners carried flags. As the coffins passed, the flag-bearers each dipped his flag. At the grave-side a speaker of the Worker;’ Council declared that. Krupp’s workers were determined not' to work under foreign bayonets. After other ovations tl e twelve coffins were lowered into the graves. _ For the rest of the day every shop in shut and tlio blinds of the houses drawn.

Throughout the day not a. single French or Belgian soldier was seen. The military authorities confined them all to ban acks. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable 4ssn.