Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-09-28
BY HERB ALTSCHULL
Associated Press Correspondent

BONN, Germanys-When Par
lament opens its new session this
week, Konrad Adenauer - the
worlds busiest octogenarian-win
launch his 10th year at the helm
of West Germany.
For a decade now Chancellor
Adenauer, who will be 80 in Janu-
airy, has been a seemingly ageless
champion of unity and strength in
Western Europe. His solemn stony
face is familiar around the world
and that stern visage has gener-
ated the widespread legend that
he is a man stiff, deliberate, for
bidding.
But the legend Is all wrong; the
exterior is a mask.
Konrad Adenauer has a wild
passion for speed and q kittenish
sense Of humor, q man who likes
nothing better than a good Joke or
q glass Of good wine. And what's
more, he is sometimes as impul-
sive as q schoolboy.
1t Is. no doubt, the look Of the
man that has caused the legend
to arise. When in repose his face
is about as expressive as a wrir-
kled cabbage.
His expression, however, by no
means mirrors what is inside the
man. In a literal sense it is a
false front. Forty years ago his
passion for speed led to a serious
automobile accident and the facial
mask was carved by plastic surgery.
There are few persons inside
this country who see Chancellor
Adenauer as an ordinary human
being. His passionate supporters
consider him a kind of saint. His
equally passionate opponents be-
labor him as an arrogant If
Observation-Disclosures.
He is neither saint nor dictator
but there is truth on both sides.
A Mon Of Contradictions
His devotion to Roman Catholic
principles is absolute and his views
are thoroughly colored by Catholic
dogma. And he can be as SUI
premely handed as Caesar.
They call him "der Alte"-or
"the old man"-but that's just a
name.
He is an astonishing human
phenomenon whose physical stam-
ina has been known to wear out
men many years younger than
himself.
Up every morning at the crack
of dawn, he has his bedroom lights
burning long after the residents
of his sleepy village of Rhoendorf
across the Rhine from Bonn have
gone to sleep.
But it isn't often high-level pol
itics that keep the lamp glowing.
More frequently it's detective
thriller in his lap.
Chancellor Adenauer fancies
himself an expert on all sorts Of
things, including such assorted
items as 18th century painting, the
intricacieS Of flower cultivation,
mystery stories and the complex
ties Of wine growing.
Whot Is His Secret? @
One of this country's most pop
ular guessing games is what keeps
Chancellor Adenauer going at an
age when most men would be con-
tent to languish in their arm
chairs and quietly contemplate the
lives behind them.
Some suggest the chancellor's
striking physical proves is due to
injections Of monkey gland fluid,
but there is no evidence to support
this.
One of Chancellor Adenauer's
doctors told this reporter: Its
Just his constitution. It's pure
iron"
Another cause is certainly his
capacity to relax when necessary
That's where the mystery thrillers
and gardening and music appear.
Il listen to music nearly every
day." the Chancellor said the
other day as he lounged back in
a chair in his superbly ordered
Office. "Three-quarters Of an hour
to an hour"
His favorite music is classical
baroque. II need some Haydn
regularly" he said, "as a man
needs a glass of sparkling fresh
water"
And the mysteries. The Chan
ceilor has an almost complete set
of the works Of the prolific Edgar
Wallace and numerous copies Of
the writings of Agatha Christie