''Something More Important"

The oldest Deputy opens each new Reichstag, and old people's tongues are tart. Last autumn the 6th Reichstag since the founding of the Republic was opened by drooling Frau Clara Zetkin, 75, "Grandmother of the German Revolution," who screamed Communist abuse of President von Hindenburg, demanded his impeachment (TIME, Sept. 12). Last week the new (7th) Reichstag was opened in equally abusive fashion by grizzled, gimlet-eyed, grey-mustached General Karl Litzmann, 82, the Fascist Party's specially acquired official parliamentary oldster.*

As usual the Fascist Deputies goose-stepped into the Reichstag, wearing brown uniforms with red swastika armbands -- all except General Litzmann. Conspicuous in an ordinary business suit pinned with all his medals, Speaker Litzmann climbed the rostrum amid Communist boos & shouts of "Defeated General!", rapped sternly for order and proceeded to roast President von Hindenburg as only one old soldier can roast another.

"Hindenburg became the savior of Germany in November 1914 due to the valor of Litzmann's brigade at Lodz -- my brigade!" cried Speaker Litzmann. "That battle won Hindenburg his Field Marshal's baton. Today, Meine Hcrren, something more important than a baton is at stake! . . .

"Millions of Germans revere Hitler as the outstanding German, as the man who' after 14 years of study alone knows how Germany can be saved. . . . Yet the President has blocked Hitler's path to the Chancellory with impossible condi tions." Jeered a Communist Deputy, "I thought Hitler could do everything!"

"I repeat, impossible conditions," growled General Litzmann. ". . . Meanwhile the distress of the times has grown so keen that in Berlin 193 persons committed suicide in October!" Interrupted another Red, "Ja, 193 persons--but not one pensioned general!"

"For Hindenburg," concluded General Litzmann, "it is a question of escaping a curse which history may lay upon him-- the curse, Meine Herren, of having driven the German people to despair and delivered Germany to Bolshevism!"

"Disability, Demise or Resignation?" That Germany has not been driven to the last extremes, became cheerfully apparent when General Litzmann ended his harang as Speaker pro tem, and the Reichstag proceeded quietly to re-elect as its regular Speaker huge Hauptmann (Captain) Hermann Wilhelm Goring, a Fascist who has put on at least 75 Ib. since he took over command of the late, great Baron von Richthofen's squadron of German flying aces in 1918.

With Hauptmann Goring at the gavel, the Deputies proceeded to elect their three Vice-Speakers, were told that Socialist Paul Loebe and People's Partyman Otto Hugo had tied for the third Vice-Speakership. To break this tie the two men drew lots from a bowl. Just at that moment the official tellers announced that a recount showed there had been no tie, awarded the third Vice-Speakership to astonished Dr. Loebe who had lost the draw.

Speaker Goring, in his opening address, took a moderate line, failed to make good the Fascist Party's threat to support an immediate motion of "no confidence" in the Cabinet of Germany's astute new Chancellor, General Kurt von Schleicher (TIME, Dec. 12). During the previous night Hauptmann Goring, representing Adolf Hitler, had secretly conferred with General von Schleicher and agreed on a policy of mutual toleration in the Reichstag for a few days. This left unpopular Chancellor von Schleicher free to hope that the truce could be extended by further secret parleys, left the Fascist Party free to introduce a bill which stood a fine chance of passing. If passed it would become the first law enacted by the Reichstag since 1930 when President von Hindenburg embarked on his policy of dissolving the successive Reichstags which have opposed him and ruling Germany by decree (TIME, July 28, 1930 et seq.).

Ingenious, the Fascist bill cut two ways. Entitled the Presidential Succession Bill, it provided that upon the "disability, demise or resignation" of the Reichsprasident he should be succeeded not by the Chancellor but by the Reichsgerichtsprasi-dent (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), sad-eyed, impartial Dr. Erwin Bumke.

By cutting the Chancellor out of possible succession to 85-year-old Paul von Hindenburg the Fascist bill would: 1) scotch prevalent German fears that should President von Hindenburg suddenly die and be succeeded by General von Schleicher the latter might resign in favor of his friend ex-Crown Prince Wilhelm, thus in effect restoring the House of Hohenzollern; 2) remove a curious objection to the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor which the President voiced (it was revealed last week) during his recent secret parley with the Fascist leader. In effect the President said that he may yet bring himself to appoint Herr Hitler as Chancellor, but only if assured that his own death would not make Hitler President!

Faced by this quaint two-sided situation, all Reichstag parties except the Communists and the Nationalists (Monarchists) swung into line behind the Presidential Succession Bill and passed it through first, second and final readings. During debate on the bill Fascist and Communist Deputies clashed in the Reichstag lobby, tore telephones from their moorings, fought with them as clubs, hurled spittoons at each other, smashed an enormous cut glass chandelier.

"Christmas Truce." Party leaders, though they sat in the Reichstag by day, sat up nights with General von Schleicher over his ruby-hued Burgundy and pale Havanas. Because of the Chancellor-General's reputation as the Fatherland's master intrigant, Germans gave him credit for the next dramatic development--a split in the Fascist Party.

Before the public knew what was happening this split had so alarmed Osaf* ("Supreme Leader") Hitler and Speaker Goring that they consented to join the moderate parties in a vote which adjourned the Reichstag until next January, thus giving Chancellor von Schleicher the "Christmas Truce" for which he had been angling.

As Germans read of the adjournment, they read also of the split: Gregor Strasser, national organizing director of the Fascist Party since it was founded in 1920, had suddenly resigned his Party office (though he remains a Party member) and Gottfried Feder, chairman of the Party's Economic Committee, had asked for a "long leave of absence."

Rumors flew that Chancellor von Schleicher had offered to make Herr Strasser the Reich Minister of Interior if Herr Hitler would consent, that Leader Hitler had refused to let any Fascist enter a Cabinet until he, Hitler, should be Chancellor and that Herr Strasser, disgusted by this stand, had made his feelings known in the only way he could. Herr Feder and about 50 of the Party's 195 Reichstag Deputies were said to support Herr Strasser, arguing that it is madness to deny job-hungry Fascists government jobs.

In a blunt communique, Osaf ("Supreme Leader") Hitler claimed again that his leadership of the Party is supreme, personally assumed the office resigned by Herr Strasser and declared: "I shall soon make known new objectives and orders . . . for increasing the striking power of our movement."

* Oldster Litzmann began his new career by opening the Prussian State Diet for the Fascist Party last May.

* O. S. A. F. are letters plucked out of Adolf Hitler's official German title Oberste Sturmab-teilungenjuhrer (literally "Supreme Storm Troops' Leader") in his brownshirt army.

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