Omaha daily bee., 1919-05-14
Hun Emperor Abdicated to
Prevent Civil War, Aide Says
Announcement of Hohenzollern's Abdicaton AS King
of Prussia Called Coup D'Etat By the German
Chancellor Prince Macmillan of Baden.

BY Universal Service.
Zurich, May l3.-Count Frederick
Won der Schulenberg, personal adj
jutant and military aide to ex-
Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, whose
dramatic eyewitness .ccount of the
scene at which the kaiser's abdica-
ton was demanded, has been Sc
cured by Universal Service. con-
tinues his narrative thus:
II stayed in the room with Field
Marshal Won Hindenburg and Cen
eral Groener. While the field
marshal assented to my proposition
and even defended my contention
that the emperor must never ahdi-
cate as king of Prussia, General
Groener expressed different views.
He said action of that sort on the
part of the kaiser might have saved
Germany two weeks ago, but now
it was too late for that. Events
in Berlin and elsewhere had changed
conditions to an extent unknown
to US.
an the meantime Colonel Heye
reported the result of his consulta-
ton with the army commanders. He
stated, as a result of his inquiries,
all commanders had given it as their
opinion that the attempt to lead
the armies back to Germany for
the purpose of waging civil war
would be useless. As to this the
army commanders had been most
positive, Colonel Heye declared.
Some of the commanders, besides,
had expressed doubt as to whether
their troops could be trusted at all.
Troops Joined Rebels.
"At the same time the governor
of Berlin called upon the telephone.
He confirmed what the chancellor's
office had reported previously.
There had been fighting in the
streets of Berlin, the governor stet-
ed. Some of the troops had joined
the rebels and the rest of the troops
were unreliable and might join the
insurrectionists any minute.
prince Max, the chancellor, again
called no and said civil war would
be inevitable if he could not an
nounce the Ekaiser's abdication the
very next minute.
"The field marshal, General
Groener, and Minister of Foreign
Affairs Won Hintze. went into the
garden to report the latest news
to the kaiser. I myself ran out to
meet the crown prince who just
drove up. | explained the situation
to him and asked him to use his in
fluence with his majesty and to
prevent any hasty action to be
taken. l made this request very
urgent and added he should fight
to the utmost against the kaiser
abdicating as the king Of Prussia.
If the kaiser's abdication was abb
solutely necessary, he should bdi-
cate as the kaiser. brit he should
never give up the throne of Prussia.
Consults With Prince.
1.-THE kaiser and his son there
upon had a private conversation.
After a while the kaiser called US
and asked us to step up. Colonel
Heye was asked to repeat the re-
port he had given to the field
marshal and General Groener be-
fore. Colonel Heye stated en-
phatically all army commanders
were against using the army against
the Germans. They had said the
soldiers would refuse to fight
against their brethren.
Then the kaiser motioned to me,
asking my opinion. replied there
was big difference in for what
purpose the troops were to be used
when it came to the question of
loyalty and trustworthiness. There
was no doubt, | said. that some
of the troops were absolutely re-
liable. If the question was put up
to the soldiers whether they were
going to forget the oath they had
sworn and whether they would de-
sert their war lord, the army would
unuuestionably stick to the kaiser.
There might be exceptions, some
in spots, but that the
same sort Of disloyalty had been
in open battle. The bulk
Of the army, however, was true
blue, loyal to the kaiser and obedi-
emit in the hands of its leaders.
Oath Mere Words.
General Groener replied. Oath
and war lord are mere words.
These words don't go any longer
with the army
II told him to his face he did not
know the soul and pulse Of the army
at the front. In the trenches and
under heavy fire, | said, one was
bound to find out the real spirit and
sentiment of an army. The princi-
pal books found in the possession of
the men were the Bible. and the
hymn book. The men were filled with
! deep-seated sense of duty. With
them discipline was their second re-
ipjon. OF course. the men were now |