Evening star., 1932-09-04
BY FRANK III. SIMONDS.

n Germany in the last few weeks
"A clearly indicates that the politi-
4 \ cal situation In the Reich is ap-
preaching the gravest crisis
since the end of the war. The posi-
bility and even the probability of a
domestic revolution is no longer dis
guised even in German comment itself.
Even the fiction of a constitutional
government such as endured during the
last days of the Breuning cabinet has
now been abolished and the single ex-
pedient discoverable to continue ad-
ministration is to adjourn the Reichstag
when it assemblies and proceed to a
new election. But since such new
election can only produce results similar
to the last, the operation must be re-
peated indefinitely.
There is no longer any semblance OF
q foundation for party government even
by coalition. Representation in the
Reichstag, which should supply the
basis for cabinet rule, is now hopelessly
divided into four completely irreconcila-
bic groups. There are the two great
parties of the Left, the Socialists and
the Communists, WHO together polled
over $4,000 900 votes in the recent elec-
ton. There are the Hitler Nazs, who
in the same election polled approx
mately the same number. The former
hold 222 seats, the latter 230.
In addition, there are the Center and
the Bavarian Peoples party, the two
Catholic groups, which together counted
nearly 100000 votes, and the National
lists, who fell short of 2,500,000. And
1t is this smallest group which has un-
dertaken to rule Between it and the
Left, the gulf is impossible. Nor can
the Nationalists find any common
ground with the Nazis, who, ever since
election, have demanded control. AS
for the Catholic parties, they have re-
fused alliance with the Nationalist and
have been driven away from the Nazis
by the recent violence OF Hitler.
Nazis Arm Youths.
But while this political chaos consti-
tutes the basic factor in the German
situation, the dangerous aspect is dis
closed in the social disintegration which
has taken place. With ever-increas-
ing energy the Nazis have been en-
gagged in arming their younger men,
bers. In every German city now, there
are literally thousands of armed youths
whose single occupation is parading and
demonstrating. And this performance
has in turn rapidly degenerated into
shooting and bombing.
In the last two or three months,
something like civil war has been going
on all over Germany. The fighting has
been chiefly between the Nazls and the
Communists, and in Koenigsberg and
Altoona there have been conflicts rising
to the dignity of battles. Since the
first of the year, thousands have been
wounded and hundreds killed in the
struggle and the fighting has become
more and more general and frequent.
As this situation has developed, too,
the Socialists and Communists have
drawn more and more closely together
to set up common front to Hitler.
Political murder has thus become
common circumstance in German life.
At the same time police control, which
was admirable until relatively recently,
has ceased to be efficient. And this is
the consequence of the recent advent
to power of the Nationalist government
Of Papen and his seizure of control of
Prussia. During all the time since the
founding of the republic, Prussia has
been ruled by coalition in which the
Socialists were the dominating factor
During the past IA years, there has
been constructed a police force thor
ough1y Republican and magnificently
disciplined. In addition, 1t has for sew
eral years been headed by Severing, who
has proved host in himself.
When the Nationalists ousted the
Republican cabinet from control in
Prussia. they proceeded to reorganize
the police in such fashion as to elm
mate the most conspicuous Republican
elements. Five thousand patrolmen were
dismissed in Berlin alone. The result,
of course, has been to destroy discipline
and reduce the police force to a mere
political tool. No longer to be reckoned
q Republican force. it is by no means
Nationalist in its character and in part
has already viSibly gone over to Hitler.
The Papen Nationalist group now in
control cannot, as a consequence, rely
upon the Prussian police to resist the
''Nazis" Nor is the army, which is the
real basis of the present cabinet, who'll
ly reliable. On the contrary, having
been brought in to do police work, it
has already shown evidences of the dis
organization such employment invari-
ably produces And the sympathy of
many of the younger officers with Hit
Ter is notorious.
When Hindenburg was prevailed
upon to dismiss Bruening and appoint
the present government headed by
Papen and dominated by Gen. Won
Schleicher, the calculation Of his ad-
visers was that this coup d'etat would
forestall the Nazis and that eventually
Hitler and his followers would be
brought INTO the new government in a
subordinate role. But this calculation
proved mistaken. Dominated by the
more radical of his followers, Hitler re-
fused all compromise and boldly de-
manded of Hindenburg the powers Of
Mussolini
r,hic ,,rocipito+ TOD O broaL t>o}uaar,
the Nationalists and Hitlerites and
abolished all present hope of Nazi
and Nationalist coalition which, with
out providing clear majority in the
Reichstag, would have supplied the
basis for a yiable compromise with the
Catholic parties. Meantime, the vio-
1ence of the Nazis following the death
sentences in Beuthen led the Catholics