Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-02-02
HUGO SHINES

III ~ = sD~~s -
New York, Feb. IAN exasperat-
Ing feature Of Gsrmanys inability to
pay its war debts. at least In the eyes
Of III victorious neighbors. Is the pres-
ent enormous prosperity OF one Ger
man-Hugo SHINES. The old Germs ny !
OF tho HohcnzoIlerns u crushed and /
beaten and bankrupt, but the new
Germany. which IL largely under the
control OF SHINES, Is quite lively and
vigorous and by no means povdty
stricken. Yet It cannot be attached by
It's creditors. because. while the idea
has been suggested. the Allies do not
feel at liberty 10 attach the property
OF private Individual.
ITS really quite annoying" ex-
plains an American who has juet
returned from Europe. THE Allies
have found themselves in much the
same position an the creditors OF the
man who thoughtfuIly transfers all
OF his valuable property 10 his WE
few days before declaring his In
| solyency. OF course, Germany did not
act deliberately; but the fact remains
that the majority of it's natural and
industrial resources seem TO have
passed into the hands OF SHINES dur
ling the war. It was case OF when
the Allies got there the cupboard was
bare"
Just how much Of Germany SHINES
owns is not precisely known. Some
say he owns practically all OF H.
Others assert that his wealth and pow
CT have been greatly oyeresImated
One hears all sorts OF strange and
fantastic rumors concerning him
There are those who insist that he
plans for the reinstatement Of this
Hohepzollerns with himself in the po-
eitlon Of premier while others declar.
that no IL working for the complete
Specialization Of the German state
Some see in him the most stabiiizini
factor In the new relations OF Europe
and others point TO him as the new
shadow on the world" At any rate
Whatever may be his secret aims, n
is unquestionabiy The most pic
p. turesque and disturbing personality fl
: Europe today.
!. His Many Enterprises.
{ In the first place Europe is not a
:. accustomed to billion dollar capitals,
G az we are hero in America, and IN
s sudden rise Of such n phenomena
/, against the general. poyerty-stricke
background OF Germany IL sufficient
Q novel 10 attract attention all owe
e the world. In the second place, Stinne
I has not limited his activities 20 or
= Industrial I4se, but is engaged in a wiz
y variety OF enterprises, including mir
2. ing. coal trade. ocean and riverr shiI
Al ping. electric power plants, gas plant
9. export and import, lumber mills. irc
s. and steel foundrles. hotels, touri
,e travel, the development OF health r
IN sorts and the publication OF newspi
D. pers. He is said 10 own a chain Of
T. newspapers. scattered througho
re Germany and neighboring countris
Indeed, there Is no important indu
Or trial enterprise in Germsy. 20 all a
al counts, with which Hugo SHINES
A. not connected. To keep the concer
"a in which. ne Is interested going he c:
90 use his own coal. his own steel, /
is own timber. He is gradually accurn
40 lating mercantile feet which. II
20 predicted, VIII be twice the size OF [,
n pre-war fleet OF the Hamburg Amer
a can line, and which win be entire
outside the control OF the Allies" 7
k Is reported 70 have an agent, or
nd stan OF agents, in every inporta
A foreign port many OF whom are r
ar openly but secretly in his employ. I
- agencies in Russia are said 70 be pr
20 tcularly important and powerful. a
,;s IL Is believed that his clever negof
ks lions with British capitalists are
,,s sponSible for the fact that the .
: government has been recogniz
that Russia Is ence more In c.
ctai communication with "a
In short, SHINES appears TO be =
nation IN himself.
etp His sudden Rise.
1t Is no wonder. then. that he
zen captured the imagination % Eur,
a and that even the German peoele m
lo4 vel at his energy and abiilty-espeC
at ~ since the man was scarcely kna
at before the war. His rise has been 3
of den, and achieved solely through
the own extraordinary ability and Ell
ma AS an American newspaper man D
1t, "Stinnes burst Ike comet Il,
ght the astonished postwar world"
ich ne Is not what We Americans cal
we'd self-made man, for ne inherited C
his siderable fortune. as well as his
ing perior business genius, from
ope gra ndfather. When he was born
urn February %. 1870" writes his adm
ing biographer. DR.. Herman Bri
cry meyer, there lay ready to his h
Itor the means by which he might aeh.
the the tremendous results upon which
can now look back
The grandfather. Matthias Slim
saccor5fuQ r Ir Qrickrna.-a,. cat