Evening star., 1937-09-14
FrOth and Fact.

Nuremberg is still reveling in swastika-
waving, Heil-Hitlering, goose-stepping
and all the other punch and pageantry
which distinguish the annual festival of
Nazi -glorification, but there is
ghost at the banquet-or rather there
was, for Reichsbank President Hialmar
Schacht quit the scene no sooner than
the curtain had risen on it. His abrr,pt
return to Berlin, without patching up
his chronic differences with Hitler.
strengthens the belief that the man who
for four years has kept the listing and
leaking German economic ship afloat
has at length, disguised and DISCOURAGED,
decided to relinquish the helm. DR..
Schacht has long planned to resign. He
actually did so in April, 1896, after
Colonel-General Goering was clothed
with dictatorial powers over raw mate
rials and foreign exchange, which re-
duced Schacht's authority to the vanish
ing point. At Der Fuehrers request.
amounting to a command, he remained
IN of1lce on the understanding that
Goering would support his stand against
the Nazi radicals.
1t was a truce, and a precarious one
not peace, which ensued. Schacht main
tanned his opposition to the reckless
government outlay on ornaments and
public works demanded by the National
Socialist party high command for the
purpose of retaining political strangle-
hold. He insisted that money should be
spent for constructive purposes. mainly
to obtain raw materials abroad for de-
velopment of export trade. Schacht also
frowned upon the ruthless anti-Semitic
program and upon military and foreign
policies which created enmities instead
OF friendships, credits and markets. AS
Germany, by hook or by crook, averted
internal collapse, the Reichsbank presi-
dent seemed to be riding the storm that
necessarily surged about him, while OBJ
serving practices which he knew were
heading the Reich for the abvss Now
1t appears, either he has tired of the
hopeless fight, or his enemies have con-
trived to bring about his Liquidation"
Authorities, inside and outside of Ger
many, agree that it will be sorry day
for the Reich if Hitler drops the pilot
who has charted its financial course amid
conditions that often called for nothing
snort OF genius. But for Schacht's
achievement in obtaining moratorium
on foreign debts and applying stringent
foreign exchange controls, the Germans
long since would have been on the rocks.
Unhampered by party zealots of the
Goebbels-Ley-Darre ilk, with more zeal
1or the NaA cult than capacity for
economic understanding, the Reichsbank
president would in all probability have
gradually steered Germany not perhaps
INTO safe waters, but at least away from
the reefs and shoals Schacht was
steadily winning the confidence of
Europes great money centers-London
and Parls-and rehabilitating German
credit there. Now, in the midst of an
artificial boom resting on the quicksands
OF rearmament and public works, accom-
panied by rising living costs, food scare
ity raw material shortages and ire
sistible depletion of economic and none
tary reserves, the one German who
revealed ability to cope with the con-
comltant evils of totalitarianism is
headed for the discard. If Schacht is
allowed or forced to go, the Nazis will rue
the hour they let theological froth
triumph over bread-and- -b,ltter fart