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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 9, 1963)
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOHD, OREGON THURSDAY. MAY S. 1983 Adenauer Fails in Stubborn Fight to Name Successor By WELLINGTON LONG United Prm International Bonn IL'PD Alone as al ways, proudly erect as ever, the old man walked stiffly from the caucus room. But the usual barbed wise cracks for the press were missing, and even the brash est reporters fell back from the stern countenance. It is embarrassing to look too closely at a champion just defeated, and this man was West German Chancellor Kon rad Adenauer, finally and for ever whipped - at age 87 -in his fight of many years to name his own successor. Economics Minister Ludwig Erhard. the architect of West Germany's post-war prosperi ty, the man whose name Ade nauer personally painted on his party's banners, would no longer be denied his political inheritance. The day was April 23, 1963, the time of defeat 5:20 In the afternoon. Travel Long Way The two had come a long way since the afternoon of Feb. 21, 1940, when Adenauer rammed Erhard's new-fangled economic theories down his party's throat. On that afternoon 14 years earlier, Adenauer introduced Erhard to a meeting in Ko- enigswinter of the top leaders of the Christian Democratic union. Erhard was then advisor to the economic council for the British and American zones of occupation. He was preaching something called "social mar ket economy," saying that if controls were ended, produc tion would rise and prices find a reasonable level. The state, Erhard argued, could prevent inflation through proper tariff, finance and tax policies. His policies had been fol lowed in part by the economic council and were being suc cessful. The British and Amer ican zones, at least, already were rising out of the ashes of the devastating second world war. Teacher in 1949 Erhard in 1949 was a little known Bavarian teacher of economics who so far had shown no interest in any po litical party. Adenauer set out to get him into national politics, and on his side. By silencing discus sion, he overruled those at Koenlgswinter who complain ed that Erhard's ideas ran counter to the party's official platform, and he said if the party adopted Erhard's ideas, it was bound to reap millions of votes from a people sick of years of rationing. Most Christian Democratic party workers approved with enthusiasm. Adenauer won the day - and won Erhard, who became a member of the party which had adopted him and went to work for it in the election campaign, first since the war. Preaching Erhard s econom ic ideas at every crossroads, the Christian Democrats baf fled all the experts and, in that first election since Hitler, on Aug. 15, 1949, defeated the Socialists. Set Records Together, Adenauer and Erhard won three more elec tions for their party. In 1953, the Christian Democrats be came the first political party in German history to win more than one-half the votes in a free election. The two made a good team. Adenauer's one aim was to unite Germany with the West ern powers, and in return re gain Germany's sovereignty. He handled all the difficult political problems - ending the foreign occupation, reach ing a settlement with world Jewry, starting rearmament, gaining partnership in NATO, and so on - while Erhard watched over the economy. Neither man could have achieved the success he did without the other. Their fame spread abroad as West Germany boomed eco nomically and regained an ever stronger position in the Western world. By I960, their policies had made the nation so wealthy that the United States was asking Bonn for help. The German mark was revalued a move Adenauer said, and other experts agreed, actually was German devaluation of the dollar. Relations Strained Even before they reached that high-water mark, rela tions between the two men were showing strain. Erhard, 20 years Adenau er's junior, was not willing always to remain in the shad ows. He made it plain that as long as Adenauer wanted to be chancellor, he would make no effort to unseat him. But he also made it clear he intended to succeed Adenauer when the old gentleman final ly did step down. A majority Device Gives Assist In Throat Treatment New York-flJPD - An x-ray and sound-recording device that enables surgeons to "see" and "hear" the inner function ing of the human mouth and throat has been installed at at New York university's col lege of dentistry as a guide in treatment of cleft-palate victims. The system makes fluoro scopic "movies" of the throat and mouth while the patient talks, chews and swallows and at the same time records the patient's speech on tape. More than 5,000 babies with cleft lips or palates are born in the United States each year and the new system de veloped by the Picker A-ray Corporation of White Plains, N.Y., will be part of the lengthy program of plastic surgery, . dental care and speech training needed to help such children. Handicapped Compete In National Games New York 4UPD More than 200 handicapped men and women athletes will compete in the seventh annual Nation al Wheelchair games sched uled here June 14-16. The meet will be sponsored by the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking, in coopera tion with the Paralyzed Vet erans of America and the Na tional Paraplegia foundation. The University of Illinois student rehabilitation center will be defending the team title it has won the last three years. Individual athletes will enmnete for places on the U.S. team In England's annual International Stoke Mande- ville games in July- 'Clickety-Clack' of Trains Soon May Go New York-IOT-You'll have to walk a quarter-mile along some railroad track before finding the first bolted joint, reports Chemctron corpora tion's NCG division, which has welded standard 39-foot rail sections into continuous quarter mile "strings" for more than 2.000 miles of trarV Welded rail saves about $1,000 per mile per year due to longer wear and reduced damage to cars and ireigni IVa i-nmnsnv rlntmc. and Ciim- inates the old "clickety-clack," too. of Christian Democrats agreed that then it was Erhard's turn. But Adenauer always eni grated Erhard as chancellor material. He felt - and still does - that Erhard was a specialist, a fine economist but lacking in the all-around talents, toughness and finesse needed to lead the govern ment. Move Recognised In February, 1959, Adenau er moved suddenly to elim inate Erhard from the succes sion by having the economic minister nominated for the figurehead office of the fed eral president. Erhard saw through the move, and declined. His friends then urged Ade nauer to accept the presiden cy - a post more honorary than effective in the West German scheme of things and let Erhard move up to the chancellory. Thus, it was contended, Adenauer could supervise an orderly transi tion. Surprisingly, the chancellor agreed and in April, 1959, ac cepted the nomination for president. But it turned out to be only an Adenauer ma neuver. He intended to use the situation to bring Finance Minister Franz. Etzel into the chancellory. Etzel would do just what Adenauer told him. But Etzel was unknown be yond Bonn's city limits and Christian Democratic back benchers wanted a chancellor who would get them reelect ed. The man, they said, had to be Erhard. Adenauer Acts On June 5 that year, while Erhard was in Washington and so unable to mobilze his forces rapidly. Adenauer with drew from the presidential race, and announced he in tended to remain chancellor. Erhard was furious. But, whether for reasons of loyalty or caution, he refused to make a fight except to demand, and get, an Adenauer declaration that he was not disqualified to be chancellor some day. So the feud simmered, and came to a head again after the 1961 election. The Christian Democrats, skidding at t h e polls, won just less than a majority, and so needed the few votes of the liberal Free Democrats to form a government. Several young ministers at tempted to use this situation to get Adenauer out. But at the critical moment Erhard again refused to help. Under the party pressures Adenauer gave a vague promise to re tire in time to give his suc cessor opportunity to prepare for the 1965 election. Oldest Chief The grumbling within Ade nauer's parly ""ks contin ued, grew louder. He was now the oldest chief of gov ernment in the world. His an nual bouts with grippe were lasting longer. His leadership was under question, his firm hold of national affairs loos ening. Washington seemed more and more to be marking time on matters involving Germany or western Euro pean unity, appearing to be awaiting the inevitable trans fer of power. In late 1962, Adenauers gradual yielding of power was given a shove by a political storm that ensued when De fense Minister Franz Josef Strauss sparked a government charge of treason against the "Spiegel," the republic's most popular news magazine, for an attack it made on the country's military leadership. Several of the magazine's edi tors were arrested for alleged treason. As the weeks went by, the case appeared flimsier and flimsier. The Free Demo crats walked out of the gov ernment until Strauss him self was forced to quit. Throne Shaken Now Adenauer, his throne still more rudely shaken, seemed almost possessed of the need to deny the ever more popular Erhard the chancellorship. During the "Spiegel" crisis he even au thorized a negotiation with the Socialists, though he had argued for years they were little better than Communists. The attempt failed. But it did give new fuel to those Christian Democrats who thought the time had now come to settle the matter of the succession. All this past winter the pressure grew. Adenauer gave ground only slowly. He told a foreign press association din ner he would definitely step down this autumn, but gave no date. To all visitors, Adenauer gave the same assurance - his successor would be named in the Fall, and under no circum stances would it be Erhard But now the forces in the party who refused to give Adenauer the last say would wait no longer. On April 22 last the fight was joined for the final time. Asks for Delay The Christian Democratic party executives met. Ade nauer proposed it discuss the French-German friend ship treaty that he regards as one of his ;rowning achievements, The executive decided instead to consider the succession. Ad enauer proposed the designa tion of a successor be formal ly postponed till till: tail. The executive insisted on imme diate consideration. Adenauer, still fighting said Erhard was a great eco nomics minister but unsuit able to be Chancellor. There were others, he said, better suited. Let their names be put in nomination. He called on them one by one, including Foreign Minister Gerhard Schroedcr, and each declined to oppose Erhard. The sense of the executive was that the parliamentary party meeting the next day should immediately name Er hard Chancellor-Designate. Interior Minister Hermann Hoecherl suggested Adenauer ought to personally put Er hard's name in nomination. But the old man stuck to his guns. "Do you think anyone out there would believe me?" he said caustically: "The people don't think I'm that decent." On Last Try Tile next afternoon Adan auer made one last try, fore doomed though it was. He re peated his objections to Er hard. Provincial leaders stood one by one to dispute him. When the vote came, Aden auer lost by a nearly three to one margin. At 5:30 p.m. on that black Tuesday when his party de serted him, the 14-year "Aden auer era" in Germany was for all intents and purposes over. Even after retirement from the Chancellorship Adenauer will keep his seat in Parlia ment and his term as National Chairman of the Christian Democratic party runs until July, 1964. But in Bonn, now, there is a well-used political joke for sale or - as some wits have wryly suggested - for lend lease to the France of Gen eral Charles de Gaulle: Adenauer, dangling a great- grandson on his knee, asks the ( replies. "Well, that's impos- little boy, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" 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