Evening star., 1919-04-26
|SAGE Of YESTERDAY
| NOW LACKS GRASP
Prof. Lujo Brentano's Mis-
conception of Changes Co.
ing On in Germany.
By BEN HECHT.
Cabiegram to The Evening Star n
Chicago Daily News. Copyright. 1915

| By BEN HECHT.
Cabie9ram to The Evening Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright. 1919.
/ BERLIN. Germany. April 81 (de-
layed).-I listened to Prof. Lujo Bren-
! tano explain the Bavarian revolution,
explain Munich. explain Russia and
explain the chaotic vibrations in the
human race from Vladivestok to Key
West. DR.. Brentano Is the presiding
elder of the German supermen. Be
fore the war he was benevolent old
professor who probably knew more
about German finance. economics and
resources than any ten of his CO.
temporaries under the kaiser. Before
| the war Prof. Brentano could tell to
! the square inch the extent Of the Ger
man coal regions. outline the exact
output of German grains and foreco st
velopment of the fatherland.
He sat, that adventurous day in Mu-
mich. a white haired old man in a
white woolen cloak. chuckiing mirth-
things he looked at the GobeIn tapes
tries surrounding him and stared
at the exquisite bric-a-brac on the
shelves and at the fine old volumes
glowing from open cases.
His Views Prove Erroneous.
And what he said of Munich was
wrong. The next day disproved 1t.
What he said of Bavaria was wrong.
events disproving it. A sparkling brew
of wisdom. il was phrased as only a
German professor can phrase such
things-keen. humorous, persuasive.
1t is perhaps not the height of cour-
tesy to argue with professors after
the enemy is safely out of their sight.
but l have decided to write Of Lujo
Brentano instead and to quote him. be-
cause Brentano in Germany is a new
type-yesterday's savant
For three months have been listen
ing with fanatical persistence to the
savants of yesterday Their chief oc-
cupat1on at present is to argue every
body who will listen into the belief
that there is no political bolshevism in
Germany. I interviewed Prof. Bren-
tano on April 3, but was unable to
send the interview owing to the seri-
ous,y honest soviet censor at Munich
who could neither be bribed nor ca
joled.
No Mass Movement. He Says.
There is no mass movement in Ger
many" said Prof. Brentano What
you see here in Munich is only the froth-
Ing Of shiftless intellectuals who have
hothfHS ~ w Will t1e masses. herman
workers are rot belshevist. The great
ideal Of German workers is not bolshe-
vism; the great ideal of German work.
ing men is order. Each nation has its
religion. The English have equality: !:
the Germans have order. Rc!shevism is
no longer inspired by ideals. but are
vibrating in a neureethenic state"
And twelve hours later I watched TO-
600 working men from Munich and the
surrounding territory marching through
shouting soviet battle cries and estab,
fishing firmly the Bavarian soviet re-
public.
This little Munich intermezzo." Prof.
Hrentano went on; will play itself out
government will sweep through Bavaria
and re-establish order IN a few days"
More than two weeks have passed
The soviet republic is steadily grow
ing stronger. while the Hoffman,
regime is hanging on by its eye
brows.
Playing With Broken Furniture
F: This Muhsam is a third rate poet
and dilettante." continued the profess
sor They are ali dilettantes-chil-
factories and Germany's broken fur
niture. They know as much about
conducting a government as do
about playing Hamlet" And SO on.
Yesterday's savant was measuring
the chaotic present with yesterdays
little old economic yardstick. Munich
ts full OF them. Germany teens with
them-owls Of the past hooting dole
fully and meaninglessly in the crisis
Of today. They flourish one sinister
weapon-the word dilettante. With
1t they slay from sunrise to sunset
everybody from Lenin to Muhsam-
everybody not recognized as a distinc-
tive specialist in German science We
talked for an hour in Brentano's study
about the errors Of the entente and
the resulting European chaos: about
ships. food. blockades. U-boats and
civilizations. There was nothing new
In the talk There were no sugKes-
tions OF reforms which might avert
the bolsheviet crisis facing Germany
of the political or economic changes
pecessary.