The Washington times., 1922-07-11
BAVARIA READY
|. To BREAK WITH
|. BERLIN RULERS
Rupture Between North and
South Germany Seen by
Present Policy.
BY KARL H. Won wEIGAND.
Universal Service.


MUNICH, July LII the Ber.
lin government keeps to its present
policy In ignoring the rights OF
states that make UP Germ any and
continues trampling on the sensi'
bilities Of the Bavarian people.
break will come between the north
and the south"
Count Lerchenfeld, Bavarian pre-
mier, made that statement to me to-
day. I have been travelling IN Ba'
varia TO feel the pulse OF the people
and ascertain just how much lire 10
underneath the smoke of Separation
of which SO much is heard In Ber-
lin where lone foreign correspon.
dents sit and naturally give tone
and color to all reports on this ques
ton.
What Was Discovered.
Two things which I did not find
out were:
/. A secession movement worth
speaking Of.
2, Immediate danger OF the res
toration of a monarch In Bavaria.
What I did find, howerer, was al
most universal hatred toward Ber-
lin which reflected itself even In my
automobile being stoned by children
In villages because II carried q Der.
lin plate. In one village l reared
for my life for a moment when
rock came crashing through the
window Of my limousine.
In discussing this situation with
the premier whose wife is an Ameri-
7
Were my government to attempt
to enforce the so-called exception
DEGREES or should the drastic spe-
cial acts now in the Reichstag De
passed, centralizing all police and
other powers in Berlin without re-
gard to state rights, my govern
ment would be swept away by puoiic
opinion in a day"
In effect, the premier charged that
Berlin 10 creating the present Crisis
through sheer lack Of tact. Count
Lerchenfeld continued:
"I am convinced that had Berlin
hastily summoned the premiers OF
the various states Immediately after
the murder Of Foreign Minister
Rathenau and consulted with them
on necessary measures, this crisis
between the north and the south
could have been averted."
Touching upon the provisions in
the special laws. for the defense Of
the republic" calling for the re-
moval from public and state serV-
ice all persons Of monarchistic lean
ings, the premier said:
at believe that Il can be said that
with the exception Of a relatively
small proportion. the officials and
employees Of the state. civil service,
railroads and telegraph companies
are royalistic at heart but loyal to
the constitution. and serving the re-
public faithfully.
No Fear Of Monarchy.
Neither my government nor any
government that might succeed II
has power to make such wholesale
removals or would even attempt 1t
at the behest of Berlin"
us there danger of the restora-
ton Of a monarchy7" asked.
NO" the premier replied, and
there never has been any danger Of
the restoration Of a monarchy in Ba-
varia, Notwithstanding all reports to
the contrary. All reports that Rup-
precht has been in Munich twice the
last four weeks, each time only for a
few hours. The first time he was
here he attended a requiem service
in honor Of his father and mother,
the second time to attend a reunion
of Bavarian war veterans"
In conclusion, the premier said:
Bavaria, Of its ownw accord. will
never secede, but II can be driven
out OF the empire and in such a case
the wrong will lie with Berlin, not
with us. Should Berlin try with
force to carry its special laws into
Bavaria or should Berlin go over
completely to a radical government,
Bavaria would not issue a procla-
nation Of separation, but would sim.
ply shut herself off from the north
and be as much outside the rest Of
Germany as the rest Of Germany
was outside Of Bavaria when we had
the Bolshevik regime here in 1919"
Count Lerchenfeld convinced me
that he thought a way would be
found to bridge the present crisis,
and that he is doing everything pos.
aible In that direction