Evening star., 1939-10-09
BY G. WARD PRICE.

LONDON, Oct. 8 (NA.N.A0.-
The revelations about the "emer-
gency reserves" of money placed by
some Of the Nazi leaders in the
United States and South American
countries are interesting.
A similar list of such secret boards
was shown to me in Paris some
weeks before the war began. I did
not then write anything about 1t,
for in peacetime it was no business
Of other nations what German min
listers did with their money, and,
in any case, the statement then
lacked confirmation.
But a much more detailed account
has now come independently from
America, giving particulars Of the
holdings abroad Of seven Of the
chief figures of the Reich.
The importance of this revelation
lies in the fact that the German
people already have very serious
suspicious that their rulers have
been enriching themselves at their
expense.
Collections go on almost perma-
nently throughout Germany for the
Winterhilfe, which is supposed to be
a voluntary fund for the relief of
distress. Burly young Storm Troop
ers rattle their money boxes in pub
lie places and make the round Of
cafes and restaurants. Few Ger
mans venture to decline to con-
tribute few small coins, which, in
the aggregate, must amount to a
large sum.
Must Come From Somewhere.
There is also a system Of selling
lottery envelopes from tray. They
cost siXpence, and some Of them are
supposed to contain bonus for the
cheerful giver, though I have never
seen any one draw winner at this
game
No accounts of the ALLEGATION OF
the Winterhilfe are published, and
Germans often whisper among
themselves that it is one of the main
sources of luxury in which the Nazi
chiefs and their families live.
Another Illicit source of their
wealth might well be the party sub
scriptions that are automatically de-
Quoted from the wages and salaries
of all employees, and are collected,
on an arbitrary assessment, from
merchants and manufacturers.
Obviously. the money that the
high Nazi officials spend must come
from somewhere. None of them,
with the exception of Herr Won Rib
bentrop and Dr. Dietrich, the head
Of the press service, is man Of pri-
vate fortune-yet all have town
houses and country villas.
Nor is it only the upper 10 Of
Nazidom who enjoy unexplained
supplies of wealth. Herr Christian
Weber, a prominent local Nazi Of
fetal in Munich, was, until the
party came to power. a groom He
now has racing stable of his OWL,
and foreigners who have had deal
ings with him in connection with
the Brown Riband Derby" which
he founded as an annual event, tell
me that he lives in spacious style.
Stories Circulate in Reich.
Stories have long been in circula-
ton about the sudden enrichment
Of the party chiefs. DR.. Ley, who
was an analytical chemist before
he became leader of the Labor
Front, and who is credited by the
American press with possessing
f378, 900, of which f2l0,0OO is in
cash, used to live in a two-room
fiat in the Ruhr
One of his first actions after OH
tanning his present post was to
build himself comparatively mod
est country house in Bavaria, cost
ing 100000 marks, or about 5000.
1t was hardly finished when =
placard was found nailed to the
front door one morning with the
inscription:
Tell us, Ley, where did you get
the 100000 marks this house has
cost?'
The labor minister was furious.
He complained to the police, and
offered reward of 1000 marks for
the discovery of the person respon-
sible for this outrage to his dignity.
Next morning, 1t is said, the pla-
card had been replaced by another,
reading:
Tell us. Ley, where did you get
the 101, 900 marks?"
Ribbentrop, who heads the list of
alleged depositors abroad, is himself
a wealthy man by reason of his
marriage with the daughter of Herr
Henckell, the proprietor of the most
widely sold brand of German cham
payne.
Goering Lives Lavishly.
I cannot myself believe that any
funds he may have banked abroad
are derived from party sources. He