Evening star., 1923-10-15
DUSSELDORF RIOT
LAID TO POLITICS
Plot of Former District Presi-
dent Ascribed as Cause
r.. by French.
Br the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
DUESSELDORF. October 15.--The
stores here remained closed today, but
the looting which terrorized the city
Saturday was not resumed. The mu-
nicipal authorities have called upon
the population to organize self
protective body that will be able to
help the police in case of further
trouble.
The police today raided a number
of houses situated near looted stores
and recovered large quantities of
merchandise. Sixteen alleged leaders
of the looters were arrested by the
authorities of occupation. Several of
the prisoners Will be court martailed
and the others surrendered to the
German authorities.
The widespread looting here and
elsewhere In the Ruhr during the
past three days is declared at French
headquarters to have been more of a
political maneuver arranged by con-
nivance between the nationalists and
the communists than due to real suf-
ferirg through unemployment. The
French officials lay the blame upon
DIR. Gruetzner, the former district
president, who since his expulsion
from Duesseldorf has continued to
exercise authority, indirectly, from
Barren, just across the border from
the occupied zone.
Transfer Relief OMce.
In this connection the French attach
great Significance TO a recent an
nouncement in the German press that
the executive offices for the relief of
the unemployed would be transferred
from Berlin to Barmen and also to a
semi-official agency dispatch from
Barmen quoting Mr.. Gruetzner indi-
rectly as predicting that within a few
days the economic situation in the
. Ruhr would be such that firearms
would be needed to dispense the
hungry demonstrators. This, accord
ing to the expelled official, would lead
to 4 situation so embarrassing to the
French that they would have to aban-
don the Ruhr occupation as a bad job.
With these and similar maneuvers
in mind, the French assert they have
good evidence that DR.. Gruetzner and
his henchmen conSpired to create a
situation embarrassing not only to
the French, but to the Stresemann
government, at which the nationalists
are extremely disgruntled. The French
believe that DR.. Gruetzner's plans
were known to a large section of the
population here, which. they point
out, would go far in explaining the
apparent good-natured diSinterested- J.
ness of the crowds of onlookers while
Saturdays vandalism was in progress.
Much Food Ruined.
Other evidences pointed to as indi-
eating that the plundering was not
entirely due to hunger are the facts
that hundreds of pounds of foodstuffs
were dumped in the streets, sacks of
nour were ripped open and left on the
floors of the stores and barrels of oil
were tapped and allowed to flood the
pillaged establishments.
The French statistical bureau also
announced today that the food sup
plies in the occupied-area were much
above the normal, 1850 carloads of
foodstuf1S having entered the oc-
cupied area Saturday, whereas the
average daily importations before the
abandonment of passive resistance
were less than 600 carloads and the
average before the Ruhr was oc-
cupied less than 500 carloads.
The French do not attempt to mini
nIize the difficulties confronting the
unemployed, but insist these are due
rather to systematic boarding and un-
restricted profiteering than to the un-
employment Itself. The French, at
any rate, insist that Saturdays piIlag-
ing must be charged largely to other
causes.
TWO KILLED IN RIOTS