TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 8, 4 October 1927, Page 9

TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS

OF HINDENBURG THROUGH BERLIN

EIGHTIETH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS POMP OF OLD REGIME FOR A DAY President Hindenburg was accorded a wonderful reception during his triumphal progress through Berlin on his eightieth birthday, the pomp and splen. dour of the old t regime being reborn for a day. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Copyrig h>. Berlin, October 2. No royal Kaiser was accorded such a reception as President Hindenburg in his triumphal progress through the city.. The pomp and splendour of the old regime were reborn for a dAy. The seven miles of streets through which he drove from the Palace to the Stadium were thronged from daylight with young and old, anxious to show respect to the veteran President and warrior on his eightieth . birthday. More than a hundred thousand ex-soldiers in semimilitary uniform, with martial banners, standards, and war flag?, decorated with green oak leaves, many men with Iron Crosses pinned to their breasts, marched through the streets to take up their position as guard of honour. There were also top-hatted, frock-coated, and bemedalled veterans of the older wars, numerous ex-offi-cers, full of military pomp, with glittering medals and orders, Bavarian and Tyrolese peasants in picturesque national costumes, and students in gala attire. Behind a double row of these the public looked on, cheering wildly as the open car with President Hindenburg and the Chancellor, Dr. Marx, passed on to the Stadium. The President wore a frock coat and top hat, and showed, as always, no emotion, but remained upright and immobile. Great Gathering at the Stadium. On arrival at the Stadium, where were gathered forty thousand children, brightly attired, he drove slowly round the arena, while a gigantic chorus, amid a heap of garlands of flowers, sang patriotic songs. _ Thea the President arose, amid deep silence, and thanked the children. He urged them not to forget the Fatherland, and called for three cheers for Germany. There was a deafening response, and the multitude joined in with “Deutschland über Alles.” The President returned by the same route to the Palace. The enthusiasm was boundless, clearIv indicating a popularity such as no German idol has attained since Bismarck. Republican flags were equally displayed, while every shop window, advertisement, and hoarding contained a photograph. Street traders retailed tens of thousands of portrait buttons. The generals of the old army, Mackensen, Von Kluck, and Linsingen, and Admiral Shroeder, were among the well-wishers. A notable absentee was Field-Marshal yon Ludendorff. Replying to Field-Marshal Mackensen’s congratulatory speech, President Hindenburg, said: “The spirit still lives, and by this spirit we shall work our way up again.” He received 16,000 telegrams from all over the world. CONGRATULATIONS OF ■ CABINET Berlin, October 2. The Chancellor, Dr. Marx, and members of the Cabinet, congratulated President Hindenburg, Dr. Marx eulogising the President as a symbol of devotion to duty, whose faith in Germany’s future was unshakable. . President Hindenburg, replying, said that his thoughts to-day were first with his countrymen in occupied Rhineland, whose continuance . under foreign domination filled him with disappointment. He greeted them with a full heart, and trusted that soon they would be freed. It was his greatest wish to see Germans united, in order to become strong and free. The Papal Nuncio presented an address, signed by all foreign Ambassadors and Ministers. Field-Marshal von Mackensen, on behalf of the generals of the war-time army, congratulated his old war comrade.—A.P.A. and “Sun.”