Evening star., 1925-03-29

who was in Berlin on the day
~ of the death of President
IL Ebert, the first republican
executive of the postwar
Germany, the events of the next "a
hours were of intense and absorbin &
interest. The very atmosphere seemed
10 communicate something of a sense
of the unusual and even of the sup
pressed excitement of the moment.
While nothing that one might regard
as in the smallest degree disorderly
or disturbing actually happened, the
moment was one in which the Ger
man republic was manifestly passing
through crisis.
In the present article, then, briefly,
! am going to try to give a narrative
account of events as they fell under
my observation. beginning at the mo-
ment on Saturday morning, less than
15 minutes after the President ac-
fually died, when the foreign office
gave me notice over the telephone.
The time when this notice came was
when the sun had just dissipated the
early morning mists and there was
beginning one more of the marvellous
Spring days which have made Berlin
a Riviera during the present Winter.
Generally FlagIess City.
Going straight to my window l
Z =
ten and down in TO the garden of the
Presidents own palace. Almost i'm
mediately from the westward gate of
the palace the great and brilliant, red,
black and gold flag of the republic
appeared at half staff. Right away
to the north, over the Reichstag
building, the same thing happened
within few seconds, and through
the trees one could see here and
there similar display. But even in
this circumstance it is worth while
to recall that Berlin showed flags
very charity, and the only other dis
play of flags ! have seen was on the
days of mourning for the victims of
a WeStphalian mine accident. Other
wise Berlin has been a fagless city.
Going down to the street and out
upon the great Pariser Platz, at the
west end of the city. the gathering
place of many of the mass meetings
and the scene of not "A little of the
disorder of the revolution, | noted
that the French embassy had for the
first time during my stay shown its
nag, which was draped at half staff.
All along the Unter den Linden flags
were just coming out, including the
'"red of Soviet Russia on the nearby
embassy.
Papers Given Away.
EOl liit Nlo"uS, however, tne news
was Just arriving; up and down the
streets men dashed carrying little
leather cases from which they
brought out handfuIs of newspaper
extras, which they distributed with
out price to the bystanders; these
extras carried nothing but the name
of the newspaper across the top and
then in the midst of the white page
the single line, 'Reichspresident
Ebert died at 10:15:" no comment. no
other circumstances, just the bald
fact.
Around these puryeyors of news
crowds gathered instantly, but mere
ly to clutch the papers and then walk
to the side and stand studying the
fprinted page. In the next few min
utes you could almost feel the shock
of the news communicating itself
through the crowds, and people stood
a little stupefed, trying to calculate
the meaning. or. in the case of the
friends of the republic, uttering some
word of sorrow. By contrast, one
could see and hear quite the opposite
emotion among obvious foes of the re-
public, for one characteristic of the
German is that he does not sink his
political animosity at the grave.
Excitement in Air.
had to go to the office of Parker
Gilbert, who is agent general for
the Dawes plan and when / came back
out of the side street into the Lin
den again it was past noon and the
crowds had surged out of all the
buildings, the offices had emptied for
the Saturday half-holiday and half
Berlin was suddenly emerging upon
A public highways. The crowds were
Rdense, there was manifest excitement,
a sense that every one was waiting
with curiosity and perhaps little ap-
prehension to know what might hap
pen, what might be done, but quite as
obviously nothing was to be done; no
one was in the mood to do anything.
BY the end of the first two hours, it
was plain that there was to be no
political disturbance.
Meantime, there was also a clear
feeling that the police control of the
situation had not only frightened but
was in perfect readiness. Perhaps
you saw relatively few more of the
blue uniforms of the "schupo," the
police who preserve order, but there
was that in their bearing and manner
which suggested competent readiness
to deal with all trouble. Moreover,
Sn certain congested areas, they now
took a hand in dealing with the
traffic which tended to congregate and
crisply invited the crowds to keep
moving.
Crowd Grows Denser.
From o'clock onward the same
phenomenon continued to manifest it
self The crowds increased, all
th-aters, movie houses, dancing places
had been closed for three days and
this eliminated one direction in which
the crowds might have been absorbed.
Fer the people there was nothing
left to do but see the spectacle in
the streets and they came in growing
masses. But their very manner and
attitude showed that these people
were not out to make trouble. there
was, as time passed, an increasing
certainty that one would not see
another kapp Putsch, another mon
archist demonstration or any counter
demonstration from the Republicans.
Night came on without any partic-
>-ular change, and since all hotels,
: theaters and movies remained closed
for all forms of celebration, the best
part of 100000 of people were thus
drawn and even driven into the
streets. All Berlin was out to see
all Berlin. Never have I had such a
sense of masses of people every
where; it was like election night in
lower New York in the old days be-
fore the newspapers went uptown.
But still the people were utterly de-
erous, orderly, inquisitive.
Looked for Anything.
Nevertheless, the foreigner was
bound to feel something essentially
different, more electric in the air.
No such crowds would have come out
in American cities in such a case, for
example. / doubt if they did any
where when President Harding died,
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