Quarrel

When Hugo Stinnes, the John Davison Rockefeller of Germany, died, last year (TIME, Apr. 21, 1924), his vast interests were left to his Witwe (widow), Frau Klaire Wagenknecht Stinnes, and direction of the estate was divided between Dr. Edmund Hugo Stinnes, the eldest of Herr Stinnes' five children, and "Junior" (Hugo Hermann) Stinnes, the second son.

The will enjoined the two brothers not to quarrel, appointed their mother sole arbiter of their disputes.

About the time of Stinnes' death, Dr. Edmund H. Stinnes was described as "a youth of engaging personality and winning urbanity," a marked contrast, be it said, with his omnipotent father. "Junior" Stinnes, in the words of the deceased magnate, "is much more gifted and efficient than his father -- he will succeed me."

Evidently, according to the will, quarrels were foreseen and specifically guarded against. Moreover, with two temperamentally opposed men directing the Hugo Stinnes estate, a quarrel seemed only a matter of time.

Months ago, vague rumors of bickerings were heard, but not until last week was it reported that the brothers had quarreled. Wild rumors circulated in Berlin that a definite disruption of the complex Stinnes estate was in sight, but the facts did not bear out the fears.

According to agreement, presumably dictated by Witwe Stinnes, Edmund Stinnes will continue, with the cooperation of his younger brother, to head the insurance and automobile industries, "Junior" will manage the vast industrial, shipping and commercial interests, apparently without his brother's aid. But, so long as the entire estate belongs to Witwe Stinnes, reports of a dislocation are to be considered premature and improbable.