Evening star., 1935-01-21
TOWN HALL HEARS
MASTER SNOWMAN
British Lecturer MimiCS Hit.
Ter and Arouses Warm
Debate.

A master Snowman took over the
Town Hall last night. He played the
piano, sang songs, tapped his chest,
pointed his fingers, donned a monocle
to read excerpts from book-in short,
did everything but walk tightrope
while carrying an umbrella Then he
left for Pittsburgh.
The ShoWman-and neither he nor
his friends need apologize for the quail
ity Of his entertainment-Was Lieut..
Col. Stewart Roddie, c. v. O., of Lon
dcn soldier and author The central
theme of his exhibition was Adolf
Hitler and Germany.
A seven-year resident of Germany
as a member of the Interallied Com
mission of Control, the colonel de-
scribed the change in the German
mass consciousness during the war,
the food blockade in late stages of the
conflict, the armistice, the period of
hopefulness which preceded announce
ment of the peace terms, the period Of
financial Generalization which re-
suited from initiation, few years of
hope while StreSseman and other en-
41SIiCCllCN oIdICoIIICII NCLe u yllS "
bring a new deal to the nation. then
period of blank despair which fol-
lowed their failure. With the nation
thus prepared for anything, the colonel
pointed out, Hitler walked in.
NaZi Rise Laid to Allies.
One sufficiently generous gesture"
by the allied governments during these
postwar years, particularly during
preparation of the peace terms or in the
regimes of StreSseman and Bruening,
would have forestalled the present
plight of Germany, Col. Roddie de-
clared.
Hitler knew his best foundation was
the hopeleSsness of youth, Col. Roddie
continued, and he built we'll upon it.
First he promised them jobs, and he
deposed Communists, Republicans,
MonarchistS and finally the Jews in
order to provide these jobs. He gave
them uniforms, ordered them to
march, made them feel important, then
he taught them a song.
At this point the colonel went musi-
cal, slipped some orange juice and
went to work On convenient grand
piano. First he played Mussolini's
marching song. then he turned to Hit
ler's typically Teutonic anthem
playing and singing while his audience
stamped the time and applauded.
Sees Flaw in Nazi Policy.
Up to this point the Englishman
had refrained from a very critical
tone, but in the purge Of last June
he found flaw in Hitler's policy
which, he declared, marked the first
check in the loyalty of the German
youth. From now on, he warned,
may happen, and even
though he believed Hitler sincere in
not wanting war the force of youth,
which has no recollections of the past
conflict, constitutes a dangerous one.
With final display of his dramatic
ability, vivid description and MINI
icry of a reception Of Hitler and a
speech by the dictator before 1900
of his youthful troopers, the speaker
concluded his address. Waving off
several questions, he pounced upon a
final one to proclaim his freedom a
birthright he would not willingly ex-
change for the mess of potage" Of
fered by any dictator, then bowed
himself out.
AS mildly critical as the colonel
seemed to have been, two members of
the questioning panel expressed regret
that his departure prevented them
from throwing back at him his cenSure
of the German leader. Deprived of
the opportunity, they made speeches
of their own, the two being Oswald
Schuette, one-time war correspondent,
and Prof. Frederick Auhagen, wartime
German soldier, now connected with
the Foreign Policy Association and Co.
lumbia University.
In their defense of the dictator they
were Joined by a third member of the
panel, Prof. Rex B. Hersey of the
Wharton School of Commerce and
Finance in Philadelphia.
A single voice rose in opposition to
the present German regime, as George
T. ODell, newspaper man and war
time correspondent, voiced an un-
answered doubt as to the success of
any government that oppresses its
people.
The fifth place on the panel was
filled by Robert Lincoln O'Brien,
chairman of the United States Tariff
Commission.
Charles J. Brand presided over the
meeting.