1' Christmas Crisis''

GERMANY

" Christmas Crisis''

The hoodoo which has brought so many German cabinet crises in December* brought down the Cabinet of Chancellor Marx last week. In recent years nearly all German cabinets have been based on unstable "Little Coalitions," and so have been liable to fall at any moment; but there was no good reason why last week's crisis should not have been delayed till after Christmas. President von Hindenburg recognized this fact, instructing Dr. Wilhelm Marx who resigned as Chancellor last week to carry on ad interim. Thus by a comfortable and quite orthodox German stratagem the Herr President was able to free himself from weighty cares at Yuletide and play Kris Kringle to his grandchildren.

Crisis. When Foreign Minister Stresemann returned from Geneva a fortnight ago, bringing important concessions from the Allies/-, the Marx Cabinet seemed secure amid generally favorable comment from the press and Reichstag deputies. Those who sought the Cabinet's overthrow had no quarrel with the foreign policy of able Dr. Stresemann. They left him out of the debate last week, and he will almost certainly succeed himself as Foreign Minister in whatever cabinet may be formed. Instead, the storm of opposition burst upon War Minister Otto Gessler, who has ten times filled that post.

The Cabinet's "Little Coalition" was of the Centre, shrewdly designed to weave and weasel between the Socialist Left and the Nationalist Right. The Nationalists have been supporting Herr Gessler because they thought he was preparing in secret an army of revenge; while the Socialists have credited him with building up a force to bulwark the Republic against Nationalist attempts to restore the Monarchy. Since Herr Gessler's activities have been carried on in secret these two antithetical impressions could exist. The facts about Germany's "secret army" have, however, been rather thoroughly aired at a series of military trials. War Minister Gessler has been shown to have no great secret resources at his disposal; but to have used what he had for reactionary ends. This antagonized the Socialists, who threw their vote against the Cabinet last week. The Nationalists, disgruntled at Herr Gessler's half-hearted militarism, voted with their enemies the Socialists to oust the Marx Cabinet. This temporary "union of enemies," which flung the cabinet out 249 to 171, was, of course, partly due to the long standing resentment of both the Nationalists and Socialists that they have not been represented in the "Little Coalition" Cabinets.

Luther. President von Hindenburg took the sensible course of biding his time before choosing a new Chancellor, and cabled stolid, pink-faced, sterling public servant, onetime Chancellor Hans Luther, to return by the first boat from Buenos Aires where he has been vacationing. Dr. Luther has been the outstanding Finance Minister of Germany since the War in numerous Cabinets;* and he held together a cabinet of his own during almost the whole of 1925, forming, another which lasted from January to May, 1926. A ponderous German "crisis" which may last for weeks or months before a new Chancellor is chosen loomed. During this period one more attempt will be made to form a stable "Big Coalition": the goal toward which successive Chancellors have striven in vain. The Reichstag adjourned last week until January 19.

*(TiME, Dec. 3, 1923; Dec. 29, 1924; Dec. 14, 1925.)

*Promising speedy termination of Allied Military control in Germany (TiME, Dec. 20).

/---Covering the entire inception of the Dawes Plan.