Evening star., 1934-08-05

able day, when the soundness OF that
code was 10 be put TO the test, he
met for the first time that prince with
whom he was to be associated In such
great and grave hours. Prince william
Of Prussia attended the maneuvers at
zossen 1880. Within two years. this
prince would be King and Kaiser:
under his rule this Maj Hindenburg
would do great things; In time, would
supplant in Germany the very mas
ter" who now SO proudly and critically
viewed the troops; Hindenburg wss
IL years older than william Hohenzol-
lern.
For many things were drawing 10
a close. william I, Frederick III, Won
Moltke, all were passing from the
stage Only Bismarck would linger
to watch grimly the new imperial star
shooting across the inscrutable
heavens. The Emperor William was
the first to 60. Hindenbmg shared
the vigil at his bier; meditated on
the things they had done together,
King and soldier: reflected with mel
ancholy pride that. only a year be-
fore, he had held up his 5-year-old
son and, telling him to look long at
the aged monarch, said ''If you never
forget this moment so long as you
live, you will always do right" The
son was Oskar. A block of gray mar
BILE from the spot in the cathedral
on which the dead Emperor lay in
state became the property OF Hin
denburg; on it he never could gaze
unmoved.
And. while the young Emperor and
the fading Bismarck were waging that
bitter, ungrateful struggle which was
to give Germany new and fatal di-
rection, on the Austrian side of the
River Inn. from Bavaria, a boy was
being born, to be known as Adolf
Hitler. He, too. would have some
thing to do with history.
Disliked Red Tape.
Gen. Won Verdy, becoming minister
OF war, plucked forth Hindenburg,
who thus, while yet major, became
director of a section of the common
war department. He never there
after lost his distaste for red tape;
but comforted his soul with the issue
of field engineering regulations, and
the initiation of the use of heavy
artillery IN an ordinary action.
No appointment ever gave him
greater satisfaction than the COM
mand OF the 91st Infantry Regiment
at Oldenburg, in 1898. THE position
OF a commander of a regiment" he
always insisted. in lyrical retrospect,
"is the finest in the army" There
fore, he sighed when, at the end of
three years, he received the consid-
cradle appointment of chief of staff
to the 9th Army Corps at Coblenz.
Within year, he was a general, and
could look into the shadows of time
for an infantry brigade, seniority
alone making that certain. In 1900
ne assumed command of the 29th
Division at Karlsruhe where, with all
three arms under one command, he
pleasantly diverted himself by deyis-
ing exercises suitable to preparA-
tion for war.
In 1905 Hindenburg left Karlsruhe
to command the 4th Army Corps, but
shrewd judge of his profession, he
could see nothing but peace. He had
built up his reputation in his own
way; his character also. And, to his
son, as he began to contemplate his
own retirement, he said, "Remain
content, faithful to duty and taking
pleasure in its performance . pel
thoroughly down to work ."
In 1911 he retired: MY military
career had carried me much farther
than had ever dared to hope" he
said, with characteristic humility, and
added. wistfully There was no pros
pect of war 80
He was in his 64th year.
(Copyright. 1894. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc,