Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-12-02
BIGGEST OF THE GERMANS
Hugo SHINES Continues as the Man
Of the Hour.
TO SOME A AINT 10 OTHERS 4 DEVIL
= y.
Master of industry, He Controls the
Nations Goal, Iron and Steel as
Well as the Banks and Newspapers.

Outranhin8 III lnportance the pio-
ceedings of Ithe Washington Confer
ence this week, including even Mr..
Brands diatribe against Germany as
an excuse for keeping the French ma
ton in arms; outranking interest in
the presence Of the reparations COM
mission in Berlin, were the blazing
headlines in type in the newspapers
announcing that "Stinnes has gone to
London-Lloyd George wanted to talk
things over with him."
SHINES stands alone, so writes
Maximillian Harden, Germany's FORE
most publicist. Never has such pow
err capital, boldness' and enterprise
been concentrated in ore German. To
the Socialists he is Satan embodied,
who desires to Stinnesize the whole
nation. To the pan-Germans he Is
Messiah, sent to avenge and save
Germany.
In reality, he is quite different. He
is neither devil nor savior. He is
far from being a world benefactor like
Carnegie, nor has he Harriman's
sceptic wisdom and majestic common
sense. SHINES has never given large
ly to charity, nor has he ever written
an aphorism.
PurposeIy Dresses shahbiIy.
He gets his eyes from his mother,
an intellectual, artistic woman who
Hugo loves tenderly. SHINES pur-
posely dresses shabbily. Albert Bal
lin, creator Of the Hamburg -Ameri-
can Line, to whom personally intro
duced SHINES, only persuaded him in
the last year of the war to buy din
ner jacket. He despises luxury.
He drinks only light dinner wines,
does not smoke, and IL he occasionally
goes to the theatre 1t is only for his
wife's sake. He does not care for
music or art, and smilingly admits
that he never reads books, adding: My
business has enough claims upon my
imagination" ~
SHINES resides at Mulheim- on-the-
Ruhr and leads simple family life.
He arrives at the breakfast table at
o'clock fully dressed. His workrooni
is scarcely larger than cell.
But SHINES always disdains osten-
tation and cares only for power. He
was a great industrial power even be-
fore the war and was regarded as hav-
ing the boldest head in the Rhineland
He was at Castein, an Austrian resort,
when war was declared. He had new
er delved in politics, but had shared
with his Rhine colleagues a distrust
of the weak, moody and ostentatious
Kaiser. =
Was Adviser of LudendorH.
So SHINES hastened back, to the
Ruhr and sat telephoning for four
teen hours daily in his narrow study
until industrial mobilization was
ready. For four years thereafter he
was director of all commercial war in,
stitutions and confidential adviser OF
Won Tirpitz and Ludendorff. 1t was
he who provided the cruisers Goeben
and Bruslau with the coal which en-
abled them to reach Turkey. 1t was
he also who provided Italy with. coal
in an endeavor to- prevent her enter
ing the war. The same was true OF
Holland and Scandinavia
SHINES fostered all inventions that
were sumbitted to him, and enabled
Germany, though blockaded, to con-
tinue the war by substituting iron for
"copper" nitrogen for saltpetre, soaked
paper for munitions cotton, and even
coal by-product for oil.
He never learned to think politically
and believed in the threat of force to
break all resistance.
He was sure that Beatty's Skagerrak
losses would force England to sue for
peace and he smiled incredibly at the
danger Of Americas entering the war.
having no idea of Americas youthful
and almost sentimental idealism, nor
even of her productive power. SHINES
thought America would not diminish
her war profits by mobilizing.
Had Stinnes's advice prevailed the
war would not have lasted so long,
but he would only have consented to
peace giving Germany control Of all
raw materials necessary for her in
dustries. This remains the ideal OF
the man who, though a national pa
triot, mocks at every suggestion OF
human feeling or the humanizing Of
state policy as mere childish phrase
ology.
This man Stnnes's patriotism is
identical with his personal advantage,
just as it is with many great person.
ages. Since the defeat his power has
grown enormously. He Is the master
Of great banks whose directors trem-
BILE when SHINES orders them to come
to see him at o'clock in the morning.
During the war SHINES manufac-
tured cannon end munitions, built
foundations, new harbors built up a
trade in ore and oil and foodstuffs,
bought lands and factories, hotels and
houses, bought forests and created for
Germany a new type of super -busi-
nessman. He now controls our coal,