The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-06-24
DR.. RATHENAU,.
MONEY WIZARD
ASSASSINATED
German Minister of Foreign
Affairs Shot and Instantly
Murderer Escapes
In Motor Car.
NO CLUE TO SLAYER
(Ry Associated Pressl

BERLIN, June 24.-Dr.Walter Rattle
nau, German minister of foreign af-
fairs, was assassinated today
The minister was shot and instantly
killed as he was leaving his residence
in Grunenwald, a suburb Of Berlin, for
the foreign Office in an automobile The
assassin escaped.
Official announcement of Dr. Rattle
nau's death was made in the reichstag.
The murderer, who was driving in
a motor car, slowed up as he was near
ing DR. Rathenau and shot twice at
the foreign minister, the shots taking
immediate effect. Putting on high
| speed, the assassin escaped.
No clue to the identity Of the muir
derer has been discovered up to noon
today.
Dr. Rathenau was a guest at dinner
last night of Alanson B. Houghton, the
American ambassador On receiving
news of the assassination of the for
eign minister this morning, the en-
bassy promptly hoisted its flag to half
mast.
The assination of DR.. Ratherau fol-
lowed hard upon a vitriolic attack on
the foreign minister by DR.. Karl Helf-
ferich in the Reischstag yesterday
when the Nationalist leader grilled the
government generally and DR.. Rath-
enau in particular concerning the cab.
inet's reparations policy and its atti
tude towards the populations of the
Rhine and the Saar valley.
Great Excitement.
News of the assassination reached
the reichstag at II o'clock just when
! the commission on taxation had con
/ vened. Chancellor Wirth announced
the assassination under which great
: excitement broke out among the var
ious party groups.
Two Socialists jumped up shouting
to DR.. Helfferich:
| 'You are the assassin"
: They threatened to pounce upon hin
? and DR.. Helfferich hastily left tht
committee room.
In one of the reichstag lounges {
! heated outbreak of recrimination oc
ieHrred~ d~between- deputies belonging t.
the left and party of representative.
, of the other extreme in the chamber.
i When the news was communicated
to the reichstag itself at 1925 o'clocl
{ it was received with deep emotion
/ Then amidst a turmoil, the reichsta,
! adjourned
81 DR.. Walter Rathenau was stylet
5 "the wizard of the German empire
E because by his high powers of argant
S zation and business efficiency he de
| vised expedients which kept 9TH
: people eating and the army shooting
when the blockade had shut off tn
4 importation of raw materials durin
;, the war.
f After the war, as minister of recor
t struction his meetings with the Frenc
J. minister, Louis Loucheur, brough
d about with business-like directnes
q adjustments and accommodation
which had been the despair of dipl<
mats
He was of Jewish birth and va
described as man of great force an
energy, business acumen, vision an
initiative. His father founded the A
Elegemeine Flaktrizitaets Gesellschat
German General Electric company {
] Berlin), commonly known as the 4
1 E. G.
Engages in Banking
Freed from business obligation
/, early in life he accompanied DR.. Der
= berg, then secretary of state for til
- colonies, on tour of the German DO
= sessions in Africa. He later repr
= sented German corcessionaries
= - mine exploitation in Morocco. BAN
n ing next engaged his energies and /
became the head of one of the lea
n ing German financial houses.
n At the outbreak of the World wa
ss while immersed in the developmel
g. OF big business on a large scale l
&C was offered the office of minister
,s raw materials. His work in that c
q. pacity obtained extraordinary result
Upon the success of his work depen
IN ed lot only the economic life of IL
ID interior of Germany but also the mai
n tenance of the far flung Germs
armies. His organization almost NJ
az lifted the allies blockade
N, Enters Political Life
ye The exactions and complexities
ST bureaucratic life never appealed
at him and he was glad to plunge in
the activities of the A. E. G. aft
peace had been declared. He dropp
his chosen work without a murml
however, wnen he was offered t
portfolio of minister of reconstructic
nj He held this post for sever
IV months, but when the cabinet was
formed in October, 1921, his porto
was eliminated. Although not me
ber of the cabinet, he represented t
81 German government subsequently
" various economic conferences wi
- the allies. He was appointed forei
IN minister on January 81, taking t
~ post that Chancellor Wirth had be
~, temporarily filling following the
oe tirement of DR.. Walter Simons
AS foreign minister DR.. Rathen
- was leading figure among the G
"a man, delegates at the Genoa conf
ence
y. Dr. Rathenau's prominence at {
-. - noa came rather from what he acco
- plished outside the conference th
- in it. The Genoa body had been
session only a few days when
startling announcement came, Az
IL, that as German foreign minis
he had signed at Rapallo treaty
tween Germany and soviet Russia