VON KAHR’S PUPPET.

There was a time when Von Kahr was not Poehner’s gaoler, but his puppet. At any rate many people believe that it was the Police Prefect of Munich who was really responsible for putting the present dictator into the position of Minister-president in the spring of 1920, and who inspired his policy while he remained there. They certainly worked hand in glove in those days, and were joint authors of those beautiful plans for smashing Red Berlin and saving the Fatherland, which began with the Civic Guards and the Orgesch and had their logical culmination in Hitler’s lion-taming performance in the brewery hall at Munich. It cannot be doubted that if Poehner at the trial told all he knew Von Kahr would have a very uncomfortable time of it.

Either the higher official who blurted out that Poehner was to be “removed” (the usual Bavarian euphemism for assassinated) thoroughly deserved his present suspension from duty, or was incredibly indiscreet, for sympathisers with the defendants in the forthcoming trial swarm everywhere in Bavaria. Two of them heard his remark, put it into writing, with the attestation of their signatures, and handed it over to a member of the Chauvinistic Oberland League, who ran off with it to Ludendorff. Hearing of this the higher official followed hot on the footsteps of the envoy, and endeavoured to persuade the general that “his remark was of a purely private nature, was not intended to bear the meaning which might be inferred from its text, and was not a proper instrument to be made use of in legal proceedings.” Ludendorff, however, was inflexible. He declared that, “after the infamous treatment to which he had been subjected, he must make use of every means that presented itself to him.”