Der Ehemalige Kronprinz

The German Government instructed its Amsterdam Consul to issue a visa to former Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, if he applied for one. The ex-Crown Princess Cecilie sent the following telegram to her children at Oels in Upper Silesia: " Happy tidings. Father is coming home."

Apparently the Government gave Prince Friedrich Wilhelm permission to return for Christmas only, but rumor has it that once the Prince returns to his Fatherland his exile will be at an end. At the time of receiving permission to return he was ill in bed with influenza. Nothing was known as to the date of his departure.

The political aspect of the former Prince's return to Germany is, of course, important. Chancellor Stresemann was reported to have given the permission as a " sop" to the reactionaries. The Prince himself is no doubt anxious to settle down and farm his estate at Oels, since it is very much in his interest to do so; but, with reactionism in the ascendency, he is likely to have a hard time in maintaining a neutral attitude. Moreover, it was reported with some veracity that if the Prussian and Imperial Crowns were offered to him, he would be the last man to refuse them.

There is no reason why the Crown Prince should not return to Berlin. Nothing in the Versailles Treaty prevents him from so doing. The attitude of the German Government concerning his exile has been that he went voluntarily to Holland in order to avoid causing trouble to his country. His latest appeal to the Government was said to have been made on the basis of the permission granted him by the then Chancellor Wirth. He also pointed out that " he considers it necessary for the sake of his children, and that it is also his right to return to his wife and family."

The Government's permission to enter Germany placed a number of restrictions on the ex-Crown Prince, some of which are: that he must not live at Potsdam but on his estate, Oels, in Silesia; that he must travel in an automobile from the Dutch frontier to Silesia, to avoid public attention; that there must be no demonstration by his friends on his arrival; that the day of his arrival and departure must remain secret.