Evening star., 1945-06-17
Kaiser's Grandson
SAYS He Aided Peace
Move by Roosevelt
By LOUIS P. LOCHNER,

Associated Press War Correspondent.
BAD KISSINGEN, Bavaria. June
16.-Prince Louis Ferdinand Hohen-
zollern, grandson OF the last Kaiser
asserts that he served as messenger
In confidential move by President
Roosevelt in 1898 to preserve peace
He says the President, by the early
autumn of 1888, was so worried con-
corning the international situation
and the possibility of a world wal
that he took measures to inform the
German government of his willing
ness to meet Adolf Hitler, Benito
Mussolini and Neville Chamberlain
then Britain's Prime Minister, in the
Azores for conference.
Gn Washington President
Roosevelt's secretaries and
former Undersecretary Sumner
Welles said they never had heard
of the reported message. Mrs.
Roosevelt. through her secretary,
said at Hyde Park, N. Y, that
she had no commentD
The Hohenzollern prince. one
time employe of the Ford Motor
Co. in Detroit, who knew Mr. Roose-
velt from the time the latter was
Governor of New York, says the
President chose him as his ennis
sary on this occasion.
First Told Story in 1888.
He first told me of this mission
In 1888; at that time l promised
to keep it confidential (Mr. Loch-
ner was chief of the former Asso-
.ciated Press bureau in Berlin up
to the time of Pearl Harbor) But
with President Roosevelt dead. Hit
Ter reported dead and his foreign
minister, Joachim Won Ribbentrop
now in Allied hands, Prince Louis
Ferdinand has agreed that there is
no longer any reason for withhold
ing this interesting detail of recent
history.
The prince, now 81. is the second
son of the crown prince of World
War days, Friedrich Wilhelm More
or less a refugee, he is living in
modest comfort with his wife. the
former Russian Grand Duchess
Kyra, and their five children in the
home of a former physician to the
Kaiser.
This Is the story of the Roosevelt
peace gesture as the Prince tells it:
When he and his bride went on
their honeymoon trip around the
world in 1888 they were house guests
of the Roosevelts and he had many
confidential chats with the Presi-
dent on the dangers of Nazism and
its imperalistic and militaristic
threats. The President and Prince
found themselves in complete ac-
cord.
Gave Message Orally.
Before the young couple departed
for Germany. Mr.. Roosevelt. as was
sometimes his practice. bypassed
official channels to convey a delicate
proposal which. on account of its
unofficial nature, could at any time
be disavowed by either the pro-
ponent or the recipient. The Prince
said Mr.. Roosevelt gave him the
Hitler message orally.
He entrusted Louis Ferdinand
with sounding out Won Ribbentrop
on the possibility of a personal,
heart to heart meeting of the Amer
lean President. the German Fuehrer,
the italian Duce and the British
Prime Minister.
"Ribbentrop. of course. was to take
The matter up with Hitler" Louis
ferdinand said. IF he (Hitler) re-
acted favorably, the proposal then
could be transformed into an off,
cial one through the customary
channels.
Returning to Germany late in the
autumn of 1888 the Prince prepared
a. careful memorandum to Won Rib
bentrop setting forth, without re-
vealing details, that he was charged