(2 of 3)
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.