The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-03-21
RETIRED By The KAISER as a MONOMANlAC. MAN
M0 AS DRIVEN The RUSSIANS nto Tie SWAhPS
is RECALLED MAR BREAKS OUT and bECOMES
OtRMAMS GREATEST MILITARY HERO.

in his joy at the call. He gathered hi
journalist friends about him and roaret
at them:
Pretty good-pretty good. Ell? M,
special car and my fine STAFF and my arm,
corps that l am going to. Pretty gooi
for an old pensioner!" And then came
the victory at Tannenburg and the kaise,
congratulated himself and the nation fol
his wisdom in recalling The Old Man
of the Lakes"
A joke in barracks and cafes last July
Won Hindenburg is now hailed as a sec
ond Bluecher. In the barracks and cafes
when they now speak of "Hindenburg OF
the Lakes" they doff their hats and fol-
low it up at the top of their lungs with
a rendering of die Wacht am Rhein"
His emperor has given him the highest
military title in the service. UNIVERSE
ties have smothered him with honorary
degrees. Busts. displaying the rugged.
warty features Of the great old German.
are stuck into every available niche in
every public place in Germany.
When the kids play soldier, they fight
II out to see which of them shall stalk
at the head of the chubby-legged ranks
as Marshal Won Hindenburg. One day
recently a German newspaper mentioned
solicitously that Hindenburg was suffer-
ing with gallstones, and not many days
later a military train drew up in the
vicinity of Lodz that had in il freight
car packed to the roof with gladstone
remedies-family. patent and proprie-
tary-sent by a thousand or more anx-
ious and devoted countrymen and wom-
en-.
After Won Hindenburg's second decis-
i've victory over the Russians, last De-
cember, grateful Berlin populace sent
another special car, with 500 cases Of
beer and one thousand boxes of cigars
for the old man. Hindenburg does not
smoke.
So heavy was his mail for a while that
the German government had to issue a
special order against writing to linden
burg. The field marshal, Of course, saw
only fraction of the hundreds of letters
OF advice, congratulation and friendly
comment sent to him daily. But those
few that his staff allowed to get through
to him caused the conscientious old war
rior many hours of midnight endeavor,
for he insisted on answering in person
every letter from every garrulous old
woman and every foolish little school
girl. from every old comrade Of the army
and from every ambitious school boy
He devoted to this correspondence many
hours that he sorely needed for rest.
Finally the government forbade further
letters to Won Hindenburg
For be it understood the while they
laughed at the rugged, grizzled general,
military men and populace alike always
loved him-loved him for his bombast
and good fellowship, for his cantanker-
Gus defiance, with his obsession of the
lakes of the more elegant gentlemen Of
the general staff, for his roaring protests
that came from time to time against his
retirement from the army when he felt
he was still full of vigor and usefulness
and keenly seeming the coming Of the
tremendous conflict that is now waging
For many years the Mazurian lakes of
East Prussia formed a cause Of hot de-
bate among German military men. The
Mazurian lakes are a vast chain, with
bodies Of water ranging from the size
Of Lake George to a city park pond and
with marshes intervening. They lie Just
on the other side of the Russian border,
with the Baltic sea a little beyond. The
debate was whether in the event Of an
invasion by Russia this country could be
defended. Won Hindenburg always in
sisted that II could. And for a long time
years ago there were those that sided
with him. But one by one these adher-
ents fell away and among the younger
men who came up and went higher up
until they grouped themselves as the
emperor's immediate advisers. was none
who would agree with Won Hindenburg.
They pointed out countless impossible
iificulties as they saw them. Won Hin
ienburg isn't possessed OF an overstock
81 patience. He was intolerant Of these
critics. He few into red-faced RACES, he
.reated portfolio after portfolio OF maps
81 the region, as lecturer in the war
lists HIS belief that an invading Russian