Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-08

the peace relief rather tnan IN tn0
war offensive. Yet perhaps Hindenburg
enjoys Q prestige which no other com
mander IN the war obtained: In the
French camp, and only Blightly less In
| the English, determinations have been
| hurled generously back and FORTH Even
in the last IL months Foch has had his
Clemenceau. But Hindenburg goes Sc
renely on. He has not once been ac-
cuSed Of inefaciency. inaccuracy or in
A., those who, libeling him from extreme
monarchist circles, make him stronger
with the people.
Forbid Reproaches Of Kaiser.
at Is easy to kick dead lion," says
Hindenburg, and consequently he viii
neither utter nor hear word OF re-
proach spoken of the Kaiser. He him.
self has published an open letter to de-
fend the All Highest from the charge
OF having ANONYMOUSLY defeated his
cause In 1913. Hindenburg Is loyal
man. He Is even loyal to the oath which,
he took to the depoSed Wilhelm II, for
he would not have accepted once in the
republic had he not felt that honorably
he might had he not recalled that,
in retiring from Berlin on that fatal
November day the Kaiser had rendered
him back his allegiance. It Is Hinden-
burgs stand on this delicate matter OF
has most Influenced the more moderate
ex-off1cers to support the government
of Germany as 1t Is now constituted.
They feel they might safely follow their
old wartime leader.
Among the. bourgeois however well
he himself mey understand the KaiserS
retirement, he Is hailed as the strong
man who stayed and saved the country
when the Kaiser ran away. linden
burg is the man who saved the German
honor, who saved the face Of the Ger
man army, who brought home the
troops with flags flying and drums beat-
Ing, the columns unbroken, the homes
unmolested, the storehouses unsacked.
With the farmers Hindenburg u the
man who stands for policy of agricul-
tural relief and who has the power as
President to throw into one common
allegiance for the betterment of the
farmer even such discordant political
units rs Hugenberg's party and the
Center.
Furthermore, among the farmer boys
there are many former soldiers who
look upon Hindenburg as the French
poilu looked upon Papa Joffre-the one
man who came down from his position
in the rear to walk through the
trenches
There is. a coincidence about HinOen-
burg's fighting before the Russians
which German aristocrats are not slow
to introduce. Hindenburg happens to be
! the descendant OF Charlemagne, Who
defended the kingdoms of the Franks
and Teutons against invasion from the
East, by no less than eight lines Of de-
scent. It is as an aristocrat, as q man
stemning from imperial blood, as q
man predeStined to head armies and
to lead states that the PruSsian tunker
hailed Hindenburg at first. Now when
Won Hindenburg'S conciliatory state
: craft surpaSseS the narrow views of Ma
: tionalists, who council fanatic resist
{ ance when 1t Is impossible or futile
gestures when they would only imperil
the country. Hindenburg's vast prestige,
his personal accomplishments and his
! family name bring to his standard
5 many conservative who would oppose
} any lesser man.
t That Is why, perhaps, when one
speaks Of the old general with any one
: Of his officers today one sees the tough
: old skins go red and the bristling necks
arch with loyalty and pride. Hinden-
burg Is one OF them. And even IN spite
!, Of Ludendorff and Hugenberg he stiIl
holds their votes.
Man Appears "Ageless."
To those who have been admitted to
: speak with Hindenburg the impression
: Of age does not matter. This man Is
pageless. This man today is starting q
new career. Over the desk where he
; labors through his routine work for
. several hours each day he has the old
motto which his father gave him years
ago, Ora ct labora." It Is the eQuiva-
lent Of the Anglo-Saxon militarist's
maxim, Trust God and keep your
, powder dry"
Hindenburg puts in full eight-hour
day at his palace He Is up betimes,
| | Wnrkfn0 a tn IN
abreast Of political developments at
home and abroad. His powers as Presi-
dent are not as great as those Of the
American Executive, but much greater
than those OF the French. This octo-
genarian is no hgurehead. He is an &C.
tive servant of his people.
In conversation today he still sits as
he did during the war discussing ma
neuvers with Ludendorff. His face has
not changed. It Is still half leonine, the
jaw square. the eyes great, round, deep
circled. His mustache also has not
changed. It is the same Kaiser
liche dropping growth, twisted UP ut the
ends IN the old way. Hindenburg has
resisted the years with Nordic powers.
He has achieved something of the i'm
mortal through his dependence upon, q
measured vitality and q steady routine.
Every day he walks out into the gar
den behind the palace, shielded from
curious onlookerS, with his daughter
in-law or with one of the suite. He
stoopS to observe the flowers OF Spring.
When he straightens again one may OBJ
serve the height Of this person of per-
haps the most ancient Frankish-Te
tonic lineage now existing. He Is q fine
figure Of q man--an almost mythical
figure of o man.
And 1t is upon this that the German
mind OF today places the most empha-
sis in thinking of Hindenburg. It II
perhaps coincidence that during the
flve years of his administration the
German national income has been eSti-
mated to have increased $4,000, 900 900
marks. But 1t Is no coincidence that
the German morale has improved I'M
der his leadership; and here indeed may
be seen the bridge from his personality
to the general economic betterment o.
the country.
What do you think of him?" asked
q stolid German official standing beside
me by a window giving on the garden.
It had begun to rain. The President
and his daughter-in-law were, however,
not interrupting their walk.
What do I think OF himT he re:
peated. do you know the story Of
Barbarossa? Hindenburg ID the Bar
barossa Of our day. our leader and
our legend"