Omaha daily bee., 1919-01-06
'HERTL|NC,
C { R N A n
LEADER IN
1918,DEAD
Former Imperial Chancellor
Expires at RuhpoIding,
Bavaria, After Illness
of Only Six Days.
BY Associated Press.

Copenhagen, Jan. 5.-Count
George F. Won Hertiing, the former
imperial German chancellor, died
Saturday night at Ruhpolding, Ba-
varia. He had been i'll for six days.
Count George +. Won Hertling
was considered the most learned
man of all the men called to the
chancellorship of Germany since
1871. He had won for himself a
scholars reputation before he en-
tered political life and up to 1912.
when he became Bavaria's minister
president, he had combined educa-
tional and literary work with his
political activities. Won Hertling
was appointed imperial German
chancellor in October, 1917, succeed
ing DR.. George Michaelis. He re-
signed in the fall of last year and
Emperor William conferred upon
him the Order of the Black Eagle
and his warm thanks for the self
sacrificing faithfulness" with which
Won Hertling had served the coun-
try.
Student of Philosophy.
Won Hertling was born in August.
lS43, in Darmstadt, of a well-known
family. He passed through the gym
nasiun, or high school, of his home
city, studied philosophy and history
at Munster, Munich and Berlin and
received the degree of doctor OF
philosophy in 1864. Later he visited
Italy and studied the dogmatic his
tory of the Roman Catholic church
and in 1867 became teacher of phil
osophy in the University Of Bonn.
He was we'll known as writer on
catholicism.
Count Won Hertling was men,
Der of the reichstag continuously
from 1875 to 1912, with the excep-
ton of the period of 1890 to 1896.
He became the clerical party leader
in 1909 after the death of Count
Hompech. During the chancellor
ship of Count Won Buelow he en-
trusted Won Hertling. whom he con-
sidered an able and resourceful dip
lomat, with negotiations with the
Vatican. Won Hertling also was
often the semi-of6cial Intermediary
between his party and the govern
ment.
Assailed b. Socialists.
In the latter months of his oc-
cupancy of the chancellorship Won
Hertling was assailed by the social
lists in the reichstag and the German
newspapers, the socialists charging
that he had entered the chancellor
ship with understanding that he
would speak for the whole of the
German people, but that he had gone
over to the junkers and represented
ideas that were obsolete The press
generally attacked the chancellor as
a result of the increasing friction be-
tween the Berlin and Vienna govern
ments. The feeling of the news
papers was intensified when the
chancellor, early in September. said
the government saw no possibility
of approving a bill for general equal
suffrage as it came from the Prus-
sian lower house. The workers
unions also turned against the chan
cellor, accusing the government of
being responsible for lack of food
and of putting the interests of the
producing interests above those of
the people.
In his last speeches before the
reichstag Won Hertling dwelt on the
possibilities of peace being brought
about These addresses were char
acterized by the newspapers of al
lied countries as peace feelers, and
even were attacked by German
writer's and politicians as insincere
or untruthful.