The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-10-15
TITLES TO KAISER'S
ESTATES CLOUDED
German Officials Puzzled
to Separate State From
Private Property.
FAMILY ASKS RETURN
Radicals Would Confiscate All
and Government Bears
Upkeep.
FAMILY ASKS RETURN

Special Correspondence to THE New York
HERALD.
! BERLIN, Oct. -Four years ago
had the Princess Schoenaich Carolath
been betrothed to the King OF Prussia
and Emperor of Germany she could
have contemplated reigning over the
greatest royal estates of Europe. She
could have viewed prospective CO.
partnership in the administration of
thirty towering castles, nearly a
million acres of land and forest with
hunting lodges, villas, parks and pri-
vate houses, TO say nothing Of Jewels
and art treasures worth millions.
To-day not even William Hohen-
zollern knows whether he owns any
part OF the silent castles, the empty
country seats or the parks and forests.
He does not even know whether he
owns a stick OF the furniture in his
former palace. He cannot call the
easy chair in his library his own nor
could he promise his bride a single
adle from the once royal kitchens.
Estates Not Settled.
The ex-Kaiser, however. is not alone
in his lack Of information concerning his
former estates. Members of the present
! Government, who have been struggling
since the revolution to determine what
! should be done with the Hohenzollern
estates. are still probing the recesses of
historical libraries and scanning ancient
| documents TO find the r!ghtful title
holder. Political parties arr wrangling
over the procedure to b ADOPTED I'm
reaching any settlement And in the
meantime the Government Is hearing the
burden or \ keep. which Il bout 100,-
| 100000 marks year.
The castles themselves have fallen Far
from their former pcmp and splendor
Some retain n semoance Of dignity as
museums; others have become Office
buildings for crowded. Government de-
partments, while through the greater
ones gaping tourists file. lusty lunged
guides hlling them TO the brim with mis-
Information and fictitious anecdotes.
Crowded housing conditions have
forced residents into certain wings OF
the palaces who in pre-war times never
could have crossed the thresholds Sew
eral Of them. formerly army officers. call
the Crown Princes palace home" The
breakfast nonchalantly with the auto
graphed picture of the Emperor frown-
ing down upon the scene. At the end
Of each week one of the palace retainers
who formerly wore gorgeous uniform
and a sword. puts on a walters white
Jacket and hands them n bill
The Hohenzollerns have made repeated
| demands for the return of their prop
erty especially personal belongings such
as art Jewelry and private real estate
In return the radicals have presented
counter demands for confiscation of the
entire holdings. Hence the Government
is trying to reach solution to wnrcn all
can agree. The delay in final settlement
of the entire question is complicated by
many other than political angles.
snnrIs of Century.
1.-THE fault dates back to the year
1900" President Otto Braun Of the Prus-
sian Ministry told THE NEW YORK
HERALD. up to that time there was no
clear distinction as to what constituted
the treasure OF the Granddaughter Kur
Prince, who was later the Prussian
Regent. and what belonged to the State
Since then there have developed distinc-
lions between private property and Stat
treasure, but the dividing line Is sim
dim"
The question never really arose until
after the revolution OF 1918, when the
Government had to untangle the snarls
! Of a century.
at all would have been very simple"
said Ministry President Braun, III at
that time. in view OF the doubtful titles
the State had declared all the crown
property 10 be state possessions AMI
| given the Hohenzollern family a fixed
sum 70 meet their private needst In
stead the Government decided TO prove
conclusively which property belonged 90
the royal family and to take the re-
mainder
ITO do this Justly employees OF the
Ministry became involved in an extern
sive historical research. They had TO dig
from ancient. dusty documents the de-
tails OF the purchase and sale OF each
separate castle and art object. II was Il
gigantic task The complicated investi-
cations even now are not completed. but
Il appears that there are no moro serious
obstacles in the way OF complete set
Element"
worth 20 Bullion Marks.
! The president Of the Ministry de-
clared that on account OF the compiled
! lions In compiling an exact list, u Is
difficult 20 determine the exact extent
/ Of the Hohenzollern property. but be
4 ieves that n fair estimate would b.
| twenty billion marks at the present rate
I Of exchange. This includes thirty
castles. many OF which have extensive
\ parks There are about one hundred
I ordinary buildings mostly In Potsdan,
/ and Berlin. The land and forest posses
slons are from one-half to three-quarters
| OF a million acres. Besides these the
I movable property includes the valuable
| furniture of the castles. an important
asset TO the museums, especially IN
/ Berlin
I The crown archives, the crown library
/ and the priceless crown jewels as well
\ as all the accessories of the kings
/ theater are worth many millions II,
/ themselves The royal family's capital
/ Comprises a rambler OF funds Of various
| origin. thu right 20 which Is yet undeter-
mined
J All OF this property. which has cost
/ n fortune In research work in addition
I TO the continued upkeep which must be
| paid for by the Government, makes the
! Hohenzollern fortunes a white elephant
which. az funds grow less. has become
one OF the chief worries OF the German
| republic.