Evening star., 1943-09-10
BY GUY RAMSEY,

LONDON. (By Mail to North
American Newspaper Alliance
Rudolf Hess, once Hitler's deputy,
has not discussed the progress of
the war since the collapse of
Tunisia: he has not listened to
the news since the fall of Sicily.
He is guarded night and day by a
special force of officers and men,
tended by six medical orderlies and
cared for by two specialists.
Hess spends his days reading and
writing and taking compulsory ex-
excise from 10 am, when he gets
up, to past midnight, when he goes
to bed.
The bulk of his hours are passed
In a room 20 feet by 20 feet in the
separate wing of one-time lunatic
asylum which, in peacetime, was re-
served for border-line cases. The
asylum itself now is used as mill
tary hospital,
But the separate wing, set amid
gracious trees and bright with
flower borders that edge the build
ing, still fulfills its ancient func-
ton. For Rudolf Hess is a border
line case"
He was a border line case before
he left Germany. His wife, Klare,
already had taken house in the
Bavarian Alps in which he could
restore his broken nerves and, per-
haps, repair the ravages which his
life of intolerable strain had
wrought on his brain.
Loved Hitler.
Hess loved Hitler-but he always
declared the rest of the Nazi gang
were too tough for him. He COM
mented on them once in a phrase
from the Bible: These sons of
Zeruiah, they be too hard for me-"
Medically speaking, Hess is
paranoiac, suffering from persecu-
tion-mania, convinced that people
are in league against him, hearing
voices which do not exist whispering
to him now from this corner of the
room, now from that, fearing poison
in his meals.
The only game he plays is darts,
and even then he is not free from
his hallucinations. He does not
throw the dart, he hurls it so hard
that it is difficult to drag it from
the board-hurls it with consider
able accuracy.
But when he goes to collect the
darts he will look around and see
his opponent, perhaps, preparing to
sight his shot and poised to throw.
At that instant Hess will duck and
dodge and cover.
Fears Poisoning.
At his meals he knows his ancient
fears: He will not eat until one of
the officers comes to share his dish.
If the officer is detained on duty,
Hess will wait. He never eats alone,
lunch or dinner.
His rations are those of any pris-
oner of war; but he cares nothing
for made-up dishes. The plainest
of the plain, with water to drink
wine or beer or whisky clouds the
Judgment" he says. My job was
to estimate public opinion for the
Fuehrer; you need judgment for
that"
He will not smoke: Tobacco ruins |
the palate" he says, and it pre-
vents you from smelling the coun-
tryside"
He is old-maidiSh in his tidiness |
and If anything is moved while he |
is out at exercise he objects.
Notes Are Filed.
Although he is, in common medi-
cal parlance. mental" he has no
paroxysms of violence. He is, 1 am
told, a quiet man, All he will say
If he is angry is-with a trace of |
NaN rrogance-"that is what I |
wish. Those are my orders" He
will bang the arms of his chair and |
add: I'm future I will write my
orders"
His papers are filed as they were
when he was deputy fuehrer His
letters 60 regularly to his Klare and !
as regularly come to him from her.
His notes, his occasional verses, his |
many drawings-the bulk of them
architectural designs constructed |
with considerable skill and delicacy
are all tabulated.
Today, he reads almost inces-
sanity books sent over from Ger
many and occasionally an English |
book of the more serious type. He
reads two newspapers a day. He
always used to listen in to the news
bulletins, but turned the loud
speaker down to a whisper "lest he
should be heard listening in to the
BBC''-the penalty for which is
death in his country.
You could spend 48 hours with
Rudolf Hess and not realize any,