THE NORTH SLESWIC QUESTION 303
clearly defined, and they have been compelled to lead a sort of amphibious existence as neither fowl nor fish, it had always been understood that they were to be left at liberty unmolestedly to pursue their vocations as long as they did not violate any of the laws of the realm and rigidly abstained from giving public expression to their national sympathies.
Governor von Koller, determined to please his imperial mas- ter with more tangible results than had up to that time been attained, early in his regime turned his attention to these resi- dent "foreigners." Unable to punish Prussian citizens for speaking and voting Danish, he retaliated by originating an ingenious scheme, according to which, upon the principle of vicarious punishment, the "optants," as the Danish subjects are styled, were to be made to suffer for the perversity of their neighbors.
The period of expulsions was at hand a bloodless reign of terror, where innocent, law-abiding people, without process of law and without warning, with forty-eight hours' notice were evicted from the homes that had been their families' for generations, and under police guard sent across the frontier, often to economic ruin, for no fault of theirs, but because a brother or a friend had voted the Danish ticket, or made a speech before a Danish audience, or participated in an excursion to Denmark.
These drastic measures were made to include also the hired help on the farms inoffensive boys and girls from Denmark crossing over for a season or two and returning when their time had expired. Few, if any, remain and settle in Sleswic per- manently. Nevertheless, they were expelled in bulk, on the plea of " burdensomeness" (Ldstigkeif) , and as being "a danger to the security of the Prussian state"!
Two objects were aimed at by this policy. It was thought, in the first place, that this threat, constantly hanging over the heads of the people, of the expulsion of members of their families or of servants, would intimidate them into a more submissive attitude ; and, on the other hand, that the vacated places would be occupied by immigrated Germans, thus forcing from the south into the solid front of recalcitrant Danes that entering wedge
