nn Most, was a product of
Bismarck's man-hunting policies and legal tyranny. Nevertheless, those
policies failed utterly to provoke the extensive retaliation which
Bismarck expected, although it was a German who, after five attempts had
been made on the life of Czar Alexander II. of Russia--the last being
successful--proposed at an anarchist congress in 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 developing in
Austria-Hungary. A number of anarchist 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 Bloect. The Government now
took energetic measures. By order of the Ministry, a state of siege was
proclaimed in Vienna and district from January 30, 1884, by which the
usual tribunals for certain crimes and offences were temporarily
suspended, and the severest repressive measures were exercised against
the anarchists, so