Untitled

THE PROPAGANDA OF THE DEED
57
Paris, in 1881, the forcible removal of all the potentates
of the earth. This was rejected by the Paris conference
as "at present not yet suitable," (12) although the idea
proved attractive to some anarchists who even believed
that a few daring assaults could so terrify the royal families
of Europe that they would be forced to abdicate
their
power.
During the same period the
anarchist movement was
A number of anarchist
developing in Austria-Hungary.
newspapers were launched, and a ceaseless agitation was
in progress under the guidance of Peukert, Stellmacher,
and Kammerer. Most's Freiheit was smuggled into the
country in large quantities and was read greedily.
At the
trial of Merstallinger
it was shown that the money for
anarchist agitation was obtained by robbery. This discovery
added to the bitterness of the fight going on between
the socialists and the anarchists. The anarchists,
however, overpowered their opponents, and everywhere
secret printing presses were busily producing incendiary
literature which advocated the murder of police officials
and otherwise developed the tactics of terrorism. "At a
secret conference at Lang Enzersdorf," says Zenker, "a
new plan of action was discussed and adopted, namely, to
proceed with all means in their power
to take action
against 'exploiters and agents of authority,' to keep people
in a state of continual excitement by such acts of terrorism,
and to bring about the revolution in every possible
way. This program was immediately acted upon in
the murder of several police agents. On December 15,
1883, at Floridsdorf, a police official named Hlubek was
murdered, and the condemnation of Rouget, who was
convicted of the crime, on June 23, 1884, was immediately
answered the next day by the murder of the police
agent Bloct. The Government now took energetic