Public Prosecutor Hecker Questions People who had attended the Worringen Meeting

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Cologne, September 24. The Public Prosecutor, Herr Hecker, is the most harassed man in Cologne. For several days now he has been personally questioning witnesses in an attempt to find out what sort of sins against the Holy Spirit of penal law were committed at the public meeting at Worringen.[1] Up to now the results of his inquiries are said to have been extremely meagre, 1) because nothing illegal happened and 2) because it is unlikely that witnesses still remember what each individual said and especially in what context he said it. As regards 2), we think it better to refer Herr Hecker to the band of disguised policemen and mouchards who were wandering around the meadow taking notes in shorthand. But there again, if some of these pillars of the state are unable to give any evidence, we should not be surprised. One of them in particular was so drunk even at midday that he made his way in tears from one bar to the next gratefully accepting the drinks offered him and telling people “in confidence” that it is true he was here as a spy, but apart from this he was a decent fellow.

  1. ↑ The public meeting at Worringen (near Cologne), at which, besides the townspeople, peasants from the neighbouring villages were present, was called by the workers’ and democratic organisations on September 17, 1848. It played an important part in rallying the masses to fight against the counter-revolution. The meeting recognised the Committee of Public Safety in Cologne, adopted an address supporting the protest made by democratic circles against the armistice between Prussia and Denmark and declared for a democratic social republic in Germany. For details on the meeting see this volume, pp. 586-87