The Project Gutenberg eBook of Face to Face with = Kaiserism, by James W. Gerard

LATE AMBASSADOR TO THE GERMAN IMPERIAL = COURT,
AUTHOR OF=20 "MY FOUR YEARS IN GERMANY"

COPYRIGHT, 1918,
BY GEORGE H. DORAN=20 COMPANY

COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY THE PUBLIC LEDGER=20 COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, CANADA, 1918, BY THE PUBLIC LEDGER = COMPANY
PRINTED IN=20 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

TO
COLONEL=20 EDWARD M. HOUSE
STATESMAN AND FRIEND
THE=20 AUTHOR
DEDICATES THIS BOOK

PAPER MONEY USED IN PRISON CAMPS	<= IMG=20 title=3D"POSTAGE STAMPS ISSUED AT RUHLEBEN PRISON = CAMP. USED BY PRISONERS WRITING TO EACH OTHER IN THE CAMP.Y"=20 alt=3D"Prison Camp Money"=20 = src=3D"http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21991/21991-h/images/stamps_th.jpg"= > POSTAGE STAMPS ISSUED AT RUHLEBEN PRISON CAMP. = USED BY=20 PRISONERS WRITING TO EACH OTHER IN THE CAMP.
FACSIMILE OF A PRISON CAMP MONEY CERTIFICATE = ISSUED AT THE=20 PRISON CAMP OF NEUHAMMER
PAPER MONEY ISSUED AGAINST PROPERTY IN GERMANY. = REALLY A=20 "GREENBACK" OR ALMOST FIAT = MONEY

INTRODUCTORY = NOTE[vii]

In some measure this book is a continuation of MY FOUR YEARS = IN=20 GERMANY, the narrative here being carried up to the time of my = return=20 home, with some observations on the situation I have found in the United = States.

What I want especially to impress upon the people of the United = States is=20 that we are at war because Germany invaded the United States=97an = invasion=20 insidiously conceived and vigorously prosecuted for years before = hostilities=20 began;=97that this war is our war;=97that the sanctity of American = freedom and of=20 the American home depend upon what we do NOW.

CONTENTS[ix]

CHAPTER		PAGE
I	Personality of the Kaiser and Something of the = King=20 Business	13
II	Who Does the Kaiser's Thinking and Who Decided = on the=20 Break with America?	32
III	Who Sank the "Lusitania"?	42
IV	The Kaiser and "L=E8se-Majest=E9"	49
V	When the Kaiser Thought We Were Bluffing	55
VI	The Inside of German Diplomacy	73
VII	Germany's Plan to Attack America	84
VIII	Germany's Early Plots in Mexico	111
IX	The Kultur of Kaiserdom=97The German Soul	129
X	The Little Kaisers	143
XI	Royalty's Recreation	148
XII	The Eternal Feminine	157
XIII	Home Life and "Brutality" of the People	166[x]
XIV	Aims of the Autocracy	174
XV	Austria-Hungary=97the Kaiser's Vassal State	196
XVI	German Influence on the Northern Neutrals	217
XVII	Switzerland=97Another Kind of Neutral	230
XVIII	A Glimpse of France	237
XIX	My Interview with the King of Spain	251
XX	German Spies and Their Methods	263
XXI	En Route Home=97Kaiserism in America	273
XXII	That Interview with the Kaiser	300
XXIII	The Future Kaiser=97The Crown Prince and His = Brothers	312
XXIV	When Germany Will Break Down	323
XXV	The Errors of Efficient Germany	340
XXVI	President Wilson and Peace	346
XXVII	After the War, What?	368

ILLUSTRATIONS[xi]

	PAGE
The=20 Kaiser and von Treutler	Frontispiece
The=20 Iron Cross	36
The=20 United States Embassy Staff, Berlin	50
F= acsimile=20 of an Order Issued by Commander of German Prison Camp of = Doeberitz	78
Cover=20 of Pamphlet by John L. Stoddard	104
Photograph=20 Taken in Courtyard of Embassy, August, 1916	126
E= xample=20 of a Commemorative Medal Offered for Sale	152
Views=20 of a Typical Holstein Country Home	188
Main=20 Stairway in the American Embassy, Berlin	210
Ambassadors=20 Sharp and Gerard, Paris, February, 1917	240
The=20 "Infanta Isabella"	274
Photograph=20 Taken after Banquet Given Ambassador Gerard on January 6th, = 1917	304[xii]
= The=20 Crown Prince and Crown Princess	316
Reproduction=20 of Zeppelin Post Card of Patriotic Sentiment	336
Zeppelin=20 Post Card Sold in Germany	336

FACE=20 TO FACE WITH KAISERISM[13]

CHAPTER I

PERSONALITY OF THE KAISER AND SOMETHING OF THE KING BUSINESS

To=20 the American mind the Kaiser is the personification of Germany. He is = the arch=20 enemy upon whom the world places the responsibility for this most = terrible of=20 all wars. I have sat face to face with him in the palace at Berlin = where, as the=20 personal representative and envoy of the President of the United States, = I had=20 the honor of expressing the viewpoint of a great nation. I have seen him = in the=20 field as the commanding general of mighty forces, but I also have seen = him in=20 the neutral countries through which I passed on my return home and in my = own=20 beloved land=97in the evidence of intrigue and plotting which this = militaristic=20 monarch has begotten and which is to-day "the Thing," as President = Wilson calls=20 it, which has brought the American people face to face with kaiserism in = the=20 greatest conflict of all history.

What manner of man is he? What is his character? How much was he = responsible=20 for what has[14]=20 happened=97how much his General Staff? What of the Crown Prince and what = of the=20 neutral peoples and their rulers whom Germany has intimidated and would = fain=20 subjugate if it suited her purpose? These are the questions I shall = attempt to=20 answer out of my experiences in Germany and my contacts with the rulers = of other=20 countries in my journeys to and from Berlin and Washington.

To illustrate the craft of the Kaiser, I believe I can perform no = better=20 service to Americans than to reveal an incident which has not hitherto = been=20 published. It occurred at the New Year's reception of 1914 when the = Ambassadors=20 of all the foreign countries represented at the German court, were = ranged in a=20 large room at the Palace. They stood about six feet apart in the order = of their=20 residence in Berlin. The Kaiser and his aides entered the room, and the = Emperor=20 spoke a few minutes to each envoy. He tarried longest with the Turkish=20 Ambassador and myself, thereby arousing the curiosity of the other = diplomats who=20 suspected that the Kaiser did more than merely exchange the greetings of = the=20 season. He did.

What the German Emperor said to me interests every American because = it shows=20 his subtlety of purpose. The Kaiser talked at length to me about what = he=20 called Japan's designs on the United States. He warned me that Mexico = was full=20 of Japanese spies and an army of Japanese colonels. He also spoke = about=20 France, saying that he had made every effort to make up with France, = that he had=20 extended his hand to that country but that the French[15] had refused to meet his = overtures, that=20 he was through and would not try again to heal the breach between France = and=20 Germany!

All this was in 1914, six months before the outbreak of the European = War.=20 Little did I know then what the purpose was back of that conversation, = but it is=20 clear now that the Emperor wished to have the government of the United = States=20 persuaded through me that he was really trying to keep Europe at peace = and that=20 the responsibility for what was going to happen would be on France. The = German=20 is so skilful at intrigue that he seeks even in advance of an expected = offensive=20 to lay the foundation for self-justification.

But the reference to Japan and alleged hostility against us on the = part of=20 fanciful hordes of Japanese in Mexico made me wonder at the time. There = were=20 many evidences subsequent to that New Year's Day reception of an attempt = to=20 alienate us from Japan. As a climax to it all, as a clarification of = what the=20 Emperor had in mind, came the famous Zimmermann note, the instructions = to the=20 German Minister in Mexico to align both Japan and Mexico against us when = we=20 entered the war against Germany!

Plotting and intriguing for power and mastery! Such is the business = of=20 absolute rulers.

I believe that had the old Austrian Kaiser lived a little while = longer, the=20 prolongation of his life would have been most disastrous both for = Austria and=20 Hungary. I believe after the death of Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo and = after a=20 year of war the[16]=20 German Emperor and autocracy were brooding over a plan according to = which, on=20 the death of Francis Joseph, the successor should be allowed to rule = only as=20 King or Grand-Duke of Austria, the title of Emperor of Austria to = disappear and=20 German Princes to be placed upon the thrones of Hungary and of a new = kingdom of=20 Bohemia. These and the king or grand-duke of Austria were to be = subject-monarchs=20 under the German Kaiser, who was thus to revive an empire, if not = greater, at=20 least more powerful, than the empires of Charlemagne and of Charles the = Fifth.=20 Many public utterances of the German Kaiser show that trend of mind.

Emperor William deliberately wrote and published, for instance, such = a=20 statement as this: "From childhood I have been influenced by five men, = Alexander=20 the Great, Julius C=E6sar, Theodoric II, Frederick the Great and = Napoleon. Each of=20 these men dreamed a dream of world empire. They failed. I have dreamed a = dream=20 of German world empire and my mailed fist shall succeed."

Could any declaration of a life's ambition be more explicit? It seems = impossible for human ambition to stand still. Either a man loses all = stimulus of=20 self and becomes as spiritless as a fagged animal or ambition drives him = always=20 on=97he is never content with any success achieved. The millionaire to = whom the=20 first million, when he was a boy, seemed the extreme limit of human = wealth and=20 desire, presses on insatiably with the first million in his[17] pocket, = more restless,=20 more dissatisfied, than the hungry farmer's boy who first carries his = ambitions=20 to the great city.

When these zealous, scheming men gain the power of kingship, they = usually=20 bring disaster to their country. Their subjects find no compensation in = the=20 personal ambitions which hurry a nation into the miseries of war. Better = Charles=20 II, dallying with his ringletted mistresses, than an Alexander the = Great; better=20 Henry the Fourth of France, the "ever-green gallant," than Frederick the = Great,=20 bathing his people in blood. "Happy nations have no history."

William the Second, the present German Emperor, might well be called = the=20 Restless Emperor. He is never satisfied to remain more than a few days = in any=20 place or in any occupation. He commands his armies in person. He has won = distinction as a writer and a public speaker. He is an excellent shot. = He has=20 composed music, written verses, superintended the production of a = ballet,=20 painted a picture; the beautiful Byzantine chapel in the Castle of Posen = shows=20 his genius for architecture; and, clothed in a clergyman's surplice, he = has=20 preached a sermon in Jerusalem. What ruler in all history has exhibited = such=20 extraordinary versatility?

In my conversations with the Emperor I have been struck by his = knowledge of=20 other countries, lands which he had never visited. He was familiar not = only with=20 their manners, customs, industries and public men, but with their = commercial=20 problems.[18] Through=20 his conversation one can see the keen eye of the Hanseatic trader = looking with=20 eager envy on the trade of a rival merchant. The Emperor, incidentally, = while=20 instinctively commercial, has an inborn contempt, if not for the law, at = least=20 for lawyers. In October, 1915, for instance, he remarked to me, "This is = a=20 lawyers' war, Asquith and Lloyd George in England, Poincar=E9 and Briand = in=20 France."

In appearance and conversation Emperor William is very manly. His = voice is=20 strong, with a ring in it. He is a good rider. Following the German = custom, he=20 puts on his nightshirt every afternoon after lunch and sleeps for two = hours=97for=20 the German is more devoted to the siesta than the Spaniard or Mexican. = The hours=20 of the Berlin Foreign Office, for example, were from eleven to one and = from four=20 to eight. After a heavy lunch at one o'clock all the officials took a = nap for an=20 hour or two. Also, the hours of the bank where I did business were from = ten to=20 one and from four till six. This meant that after six o'clock the clerks = had to=20 sit until perhaps eight making up the books for the day.

In 1916, the Olympic games were to have taken place at Berlin, and in = September, 1913, before sailing for Germany, I attended a luncheon at = the New=20 York Athletic Club, given by President Page, with the members of the = German=20 Commission who had come to America to study athletics and to see what = could be=20 done in Germany so that the Germans could make a good showing at the = games in=20 their own city.[19]

After my arrival in Germany one of the members of this commission = told me=20 that it was impossible, he believed, to organise the Germans as athletes = until=20 German meal and business hours had been changed. He said that with us in = America=20 young men leaving business at four-thirty, five or five-thirty, had time = in=20 which to exercise before their evening meal, but that in Germany the = young men=20 ate so much at the midday meal that they required their siesta after it, = and=20 that they did not leave their offices until so late in the evening that = exercise=20 and practice were impossible.

On the Emperor's table his wine glasses or rather cups are of silver. = Possibly this is because he has been forbidden by his physician to drink = wine.=20 The Germans maintain the old-fashioned custom of drinking healths at = meals. Some=20 one far down the table will lift his glass, look at you and smile. You = are then=20 expected to lift your glass and drink with him and then both bow and = smile over=20 the glasses. As the Emperor must reciprocate with every one present, his = champagne and wine are put in silver cups in order that those drinking = wine with=20 him do not see that he consumes no appreciable quantity of alcoholic = liquor on=20 the occasion of each health drinking. Some people in America may have = often=20 wished for a similar device.

The Emperor is out of uniform only on rare occasions. Occasionally, = when in a=20 foreign country, he has appeared in civilian dress, as shown in the = accompanying=20 photograph, taken in 1910 at the small town of Odde in Norway, where he = had=20 landed[20] from his=20 yacht. He appears to much better advantage in uniform than in civilian = attire.=20 Although uniformed while at sea as an Admiral, his favourite uniform is = really=20 that of the Hussars. In this picture he is accompanied by Baron von = Treutler,=20 Prussian Minister to Bavaria and Foreign Office representative with the = Kaiser.=20 Von Treutler is a German of the world. I met him at the Great General=20 Headquarters, at the end of April, 1916, when the submarine question was = being=20 discussed. He came to dinner several times at the Chancellor's house,=20 undoubtedly reporting back what was said to the Emperor, and I believe = that his=20 voice was against the resumption of ruthless submarine warfare and in = favour of=20 peace with America. Shortly after this period he fell into disfavour and = went=20 back to occupy his post of Minister in Munich.

In conversation, the Emperor reminds one very much of Roosevelt, = talking with=20 the same energy, the same violence of gesture and of voice so = characteristic of=20 our great ex-President. When the Emperor talks all his attention is = given to you=20 and all his mental energy is concentrated on the conversation. In this = violence=20 of manner and voice he seems not at all German. The average German is = neither=20 exuberant nor soft-spoken.

His favourite among his ancestors is William of Orange. Once he = attended a=20 fancy-dress ball in costume and make-up copied from the well-known = picture of=20 that Prince. The Emperor is strongly built and is about five feet nine = inches=20 tall. He sits well on his horse and walks, too, with head erect and[21] shoulders = thrown back=97a=20 picture of military precision.

A friend of mine who was present at Kiel with his yacht, in 1910, = tells me=20 that when all the yachts and warships had been assembled along the long = narrow=20 waterway which constitutes that harbour, with the crews lined up on deck = or=20 manning the yards, with bands crashing and banners floating, the=20 Hohenzollern slowly steamed into the harbour and passed lazily = and=20 majestically through the waiting ships. Alone on the upper bridge stood = the=20 Monarch, attired in full military uniform, with white coat and tight = breeches,=20 high top boots, shining silver breastplate and silver helmet, surmounted = by an=20 eagle, the dress of the Prussian Guard Regiment so dear to those who = portray=20 romantic and kingly r=F4les upon the stage, a figure on whom all eyes = were fixed,=20 as splendid as that of Lohengrin, drawn by his fairy swan, coming to = rescue the=20 unjustly accused Princess. And, alas, the Germans like all this pomp and = splendour. It appeals to something in the German heart and seems to = create a=20 feeling of affection and humility in the German breast.

When I talked at length one day with President Wilson on my visit to = America=20 in October, 1916, he remarked, half to himself, in surprise at my tale = of war,=20 "Why does all this horror come on the world? What causes it?" "Mr. = President," I=20 answered, "it is the king business."

I did not mean nominal kings as harmless as those of Spain and = England. I was=20 thinking of the powerful[22] monarchs. A German republic would never = have=20 embarked on this war; a German Congress would have thought twice before = sending=20 their own sons to death in a deliberate effort to enslave other peoples. = In a=20 free Germany teachers, ministers and professors would not have taught = the=20 necessity of war. What German merchant in a free Germany would have = thought that=20 all the trade of the East, all the riches of Bagdad and Cairo and Mosul = could=20 compensate him for the death of his first-born or restore the blind eyes = to the=20 youngest son who now crouches, cowering, over the fire, awaiting death? = For=20 there was no trade necessity for this war. I know of no place in the = world where=20 German merchants were not free to trade. The disclosures of war have = shown how=20 German commerce had penetrated every land, to an extent unknown to the = best=20 informed. If the German merchants wanted this war in order to gain a = German=20 monopoly of the world's trade, then they are rightly suffering from the = results=20 of overweening covetousness.

Experts in insanity say that the Roman Emperors as soon as they = attained the=20 rule of the world were made mad by the possession of that stupendous = power. The=20 sceptre of Emperor William is mighty. No more autocratic influence = proceeds from=20 any other monarch or ruler. But you will say how about our President in = time of=20 war? Great power can safely be given to a president. Our presidents have = all=20 risen from the ranks. Usually they have gone through the school of hard = knocks.=20 And there are ways of keeping them abreast of the people.[23]

It is told that hidden from public view, crouched down in the chariot = in=20 which the successful Roman pro-consul or general drove triumphantly = through the=20 crowded streets of Rome, was a slave celebrated for his impertinence, = whose duty=20 it was to make the one honoured feel that, after all, he was nothing = more than=20 an ordinary mortal blessed with a certain amount of good luck. Probably = as the=20 chariot passed by the forum the slave would say, after a thunderous = burst of=20 applause from the populace: "Do not take that applause too seriously. = That is=20 the T. Quintus Cassius Association whose chief received a hundred = sesterces from=20 your brother-in-law yesterday, on account, with a promise of a hundred = more in=20 case the Association's cheers seemed loud and sincere."

So in America the press, serious and comic, takes the place of the = humble=20 slave and throws enough cold water on the head of any temporarily = successful=20 American to reduce it to normal proportions. Besides, the President = knows that=20 some day he must return to the ranks, live again with his neighbours, = seek out=20 the threads of a lost law practice or eke out a livelihood on the = Chautauqua=20 circuit in the discomfort of tiny hotels, travelling in upper berths = instead of=20 private cars and eating on lunch stools in small stations instead of in = the=20 sumptuous surroundings of presidential luxury. These are sobering = prospects.

Kings, on the other hand, come to look on their subjects as toys. A = post-card=20 popular in Austria and Germany showed the old Emperor, Francis = Joseph,[24] seated at = a table with=20 a little great-grand-nephew on his knee, teaching the child to move toy = soldiers=20 about on the boards; and it is unfortunately true that the same = youngster=97should=20 the system of the Central Empires be perpetuated=97will be able to move = his=20 subjects across the map of Europe just as he did the toy soldiers on his = great-grand-uncle's table. He will be able to tear men from their work = and their=20 homes, to seize great scientists, great chemists, great inventors=97men = who may be=20 on the eve of discoveries or remedies destined to rid the human race of = the=20 scourge of cancer or the white plague=97and send them to death in the = marshes of=20 Macedonia or the fastnesses of the Carpathians because some fellow-king = or=20 emperor has deceived or outwitted him.

In a monarchy all subjects seem the personal property of the monarch = and all=20 expressions of power become personal. This extends throughout all = countries=20 ruled by royalty.

When, for example, a member of the royal family = dies, even=20 in another country, it must be lamented by the court circle of other = lands. Here=20 is the official notice sent to all diplomats and members of the Imperial = German=20 Court on the occasion of the death of the Queen of Sweden.

"The Court goes into mourning to-day for Her Majesty the Queen-Mother = of=20 Sweden for three weeks up to and including the 19th of January, = 1914.

"Ladies wear black silk dresses, for the first fourteen days, = including=20 January 12th, with black hair ornaments,[25] black gloves, black fans and black = jewelry; the=20 last eight days with white hair ornaments, grey gloves, white fans and=20 pearls.

"Gentlemen wear the whole time a black band on the left sleeve. = Civilians=20 wear with the embroidered coat, during the first fourteen days, = including=20 January 12th, on occasions of Grand Gala, black buckles and swords with = black=20 sheathes. During the last eight days bright buckles; on occasions of = 'Half Gala'=20 gold or silver embroidered trousers of the color of the uniform and in = the one=20 as in the other case gold or silver embroidered hat with white plume; = with the=20 'small' uniform, however, black trousers (or knee-breeches, black silk=20 stockings, shoes with black bows and the 'three-cornered' hat with black = plume).=20 During the first fourteen days gentlemen wear black woolen vests and = black=20 gloves, in the last eight days black silk vests and grey gloves.

"Berlin, December 30, 1913.
"The=20 Ober-Ceremonienmeister.
"Graf A. = Eulenburg.

"By command of His Majesty the Emperor, mourning = will be=20 suspended for New Year's Day and the 17th and 18th of = January."

So, it is apparent what a close corporation all = the royal=20 families make and the peoples are simply viewed as the personal property = of the=20 ruling princes. In his telegram which the German Kaiser wrote to = President=20 Wilson on August tenth, observe that all is personal. The Kaiser says, = "I=20 telegraphed to His Majesty the King, personally, but that if, = etc., I=20 would employ my troops elsewhere.... His Majesty answered that he = thought=20 my offer...."[26] He speaks of the King of the Belgians = "having=20 refused my petition for a free passage." He refers to "my=20 Ambassador in London."

This telegram shows, on the other hand, another thing,=97the great = ability of=20 the Kaiser. Undoubtedly he knew why I was coming to see him=97to present = the offer=20 of mediation of President Wilson=97but from our conversation I do not = think that=20 he had even in his mind prepared the answer, which sets forth his = position in=20 entering the war.

He said, "Wait a moment, I shall write something for the President." = Then=20 taking the telegraph blanks lying on the table, he wrote rapidly and = fluently.=20 It was a message in a foreign language, and, whatever we may think of = its=20 content, at any rate it is clear, concise, consecutive and forceful.

The personal touch runs through that extraordinary series of = telegrams in the=20 famous "Willy-Nicky" correspondence between Kaiser Wilhelm and the last = of the=20 Romanoffs, discovered in Petrograd by Herman Bernstein. These reveal, = moreover,=20 the surpassing craft of the German Kaiser. He was the master schemer. = Touting=20 for German trade, always for his advantage, he twists the poor half-wit = of the=20 Winter Palace like a piece of straw.

Emperor William was not satisfied with a quiet life as patron of = trade. As he=20 studied the portraits of his ancestors, he felt that they gazed at him = with=20 reproachful eyes, demanded that he add, as did they, to the domains of = the=20 Hohenzollerns, that he return from war in triumph at the head of a=20 victorious[27] army=20 with the keys of fallen cities borne before him in conquering march.

One-tenth of Frederick the Great's people fell, but to the = poverty-stricken=20 peasant woman of Prussia, lamenting her husband and dead sons, did it = matter=20 that the rich province of Silesia had been added to the Prussian Crown? = What was=20 it to that broken mother whether the Silesian peasants acknowledged the = Prussian=20 King or the Austrian Empress? Despots both. And what countless serfs = fell in the=20 wars between the King and the Empress! I once asked von Jagow when this = war=20 would end. He answered, "An old history of the Seven Years' War = concludes, 'The=20 King and the Empress were tired of war, so they made peace.' That is how = this=20 war will end." Will it? Will it end in a draw, to be resumed when some = king=20 feels the war fever on him? No, this war must end despots, and with them = all=20 wars!

It is all such a matter of personal whim. For instance before = Bulgaria=20 entered the war on the side of Germany, even the best informed Germans = predicted=20 that King Ferdinand would never join Germany because of an incident = which=20 occurred in the Royal Palace of Berlin. This is how it happened:

It is the custom for one monarch to make his pals in the King = business=20 officers of his army or navy. Thus the German Emperor was General Field = Marshal=20 and Proprietor of the 34th "William the first, German Emperor and King = of=20 Prussia" Infantry, and of the 7th "William the Second, German Emperor = and King=20 of Prussia" Hussars, in the Austro-Hungarian[28] Army; Chief of the "King Frederick = William III St.=20 Petersburg Life Guards," the 85th "Viburg" Infantry and the 13th "Narva" = Hussars, and the "Grodno" Hussars of the Guard, in the Russian Army; = Field=20 Marshal in British Army; Hon. Admiral of the British Fleet and = Colonel-in-Chief=20 1st Dragoons; General in the Swedish Army and Flag Admiral of the Fleet; = Hon.=20 Admiral of the Norwegian and Danish Fleets; Admiral of the Russian = Fleet; Hon.=20 Captain-General in the Spanish Army and Hon. Colonel of the 11th = "Naumancia"=20 Spanish Dragoons; and Hon. Admiral of the Greek Fleet.

The King of Bulgaria was Chief of the 4th Thuringia Infantry Regiment = No. 72,=20 in the Prussian Army. As per custom, on a visit to Berlin he donned his = uniform=20 of the Thuringian Infantry. He had put on a little weight, and military=20 unmentionables, be it known, are notoriously tight. So as he leaned far = out of=20 the Palace window to admire the passing troops, he presented a mark so = tempting=20 that the Emperor, in jovial mood, was impelled to administer a = resounding spank=20 on the sacred seat of the Czar of all the Balkans. Instead of taking the = slap in=20 the same jovial spirit in which it was given the Czar Ferdinand, a = little=20 jealous of the self-assumed title of Czar, became furiously angry=97so = angry that=20 even the old diplomats of the Metternich school believed for a time that = he=20 never would forgive the whack and even might refuse to join Germany. But = Czar=20 Ferdinand, believing in the military power of Germany, cast his already = war-worn=20 people in the[29] war=20 against the Allies, much to the regret of many Bulgarian statesmen who, = having=20 been educated at Robert College, near Constantinople, a college founded = and=20 maintained by Americans, and having imbibed somewhat of the American = spirit=20 there, were not over-pleased to think of themselves arrayed against the = United=20 States of America.

But there is no monarch in all Europe who is more wily than Czar = Ferdinand.=20 At a great feast in Bulgaria at which Emperor William was present, Czar=20 Ferdinand toasted the Emperor in Latin and alluded to him as "Miles=20 Gloriosus"=97which all present took to mean "glorious soldier"; but = the exact=20 Latin meaning of "gloriosus" is "glorious" in its first meaning and = "boastful"=20 in its second, a meaning well known in Berlin where, at the "Little = Theatre," in=20 a series of plays of all ages, the "Miles Gloriosus" of Plautus = had just=20 been presented=97a boastful, conceited soldier, the "Miles = Gloriosus," the=20 chief character of the comedy.

Nothing illustrates more vividly the belief of the royal families of = the=20 Central Empires in their God-given right to rule the plain people than = those few=20 words of Maximilian written before his ill-fated expedition to Mexico. = Speaking=20 of the Palace at Caserta, near Naples, he wrote, "The monumental = stairway is=20 worthy of Majesty. What can be finer than to imagine the sovereign = placed at its=20 head, resplendent in the midst of these marble pillars,=97to fancy this = monarch,=20 like a God, graciously permitting the approach of human beings. The = crowd surges=20 upward. The King vouchsafes a gracious[30] glance, but from a very lofty elevation. = All=20 powerful, imperial, he makes one step towards them with a smile of = infinite=20 condescension. Could Charles V, could Maria Theresa appear thus at the = head of=20 this ascending stair, who would not bow their heads before that = majestic,=20 God-given power?"

What was the condition of the people under Maria Theresa, whom = Maximilian=20 spoke of as possessing a power that, according to him, was so God-given = no one=20 could fail to bow the head before her majestic presence? The peasants, = under her=20 rule, were practically slaves, as they could not leave the lord's lands = nor even=20 marry without his permission, nor could they bring their children up to = any=20 profession other than that of labourer. In other words, the children of = the=20 slave must remain slaves.

Poor Maximilian! He was a brother of the late Emperor Francis Joseph = and a=20 member of that Kaiserbund and royal system which, while America was busy = with=20 domestic difficulties between the North and South, sought to wrest from = Mexico=20 her liberty. I wonder if the Mexicans have forgotten the incident and = its=20 implications.

But one-man power always fails in the end. No man, king or president, = whatever he may himself think, has a brain all powerful and all knowing. = There=20 is wisdom in counsel. Too much of some favourite dish may lead to = indigestion=20 and that to bad judgment at a critical time and disaster. Napoleon III, = just=20 before 1870, was suffering from a wasting disease and so allowed himself = to be=20 ruled[31] by the=20 beautiful, narrow, fascinating, foolish Spanish Empress whom he gave to = the=20 French in a moment of passion because, as she said to him, "The way to = her room=20 lay through the church door." Colonel Stoffel, the French Military = Attach=E9 to=20 the Berlin Embassy, wrote confidentially report after report to the = Emperor=20 telling him of the immense military strength of Prussia and of her = readiness for=20 immediate war. But most of these reports were afterwards found unopened = in the=20 desk of the doting, sick and fallen Emperor.

For, after all, however divine the King, Emperor or Kaiser may = consider=20 himself, he is but a vulnerable human being=97and no accident of birth = should give=20 even a small number of people on this earth into the hands of a single=20 mortal.

CHAPTER II[32]

WHO DOES THE KAISER'S THINKING AND WHO DECIDED ON THE BREAK WITH=20 AMERICA?

Because the German Emperor possesses = talents of no=20 mean order, because of his fiery energy, because of the charm of his=20 conversation and personality, his ambitions for world conquest are most=20 dangerous to the peace of the world.

Certainly of all the ruling houses of the world, the Hohenzollerns = have shown=20 themselves the most able, and of the six sons of the Kaiser there is not = one who=20 is unable or unworthy from the autocratic standpoint to carry on the = traditions=20 of the house. They are all young men who in any field of human endeavour = are=20 more than a match for men of their age, and by reason of these = qualities, so=20 rare in kings and princes, it has been easy to arouse a great feeling of = devotion for the royal house of Prussia among all classes in Germany, = with the=20 possible exception of the Social Democrats. The other kings and princes = of=20 Germany have been overshadowed, mere puppets in the king business, by = the=20 surpassing talents of the Hohenzollerns, and so the task of those who, = in=20 Germany and out, hope for that evolution towards liberalism or even = democracy=20 which alone can make the nations of the world feel[33] safe in making peace with = Germany, is=20 beset with numerous difficulties.

Before the war the Emperor turned much of his enterprising talent = into=20 peaceful channels, into the development of commercial and industrial = Germany. No=20 one has a greater respect for wealth and commercial success than the = Emperor. He=20 would have made a wonderful success as a man of business. He ought to be = the=20 richest person in the Empire, but the militaristic system which he = fostered gave=20 that distinction to another. For the richest person in Germany before = the war=20 was Frau Krupp-Bohlen, daughter of the late manufacturer of cannon. She=20 inherited control of the factories and the greater part of the fortune = of her=20 father and was rated at about $75,000,000. It was a contest between = Prince=20 Henckel-Donnersmarck and the Emperor for second place, each being = reputed to=20 possess about sixty to sixty-five million dollars. Most of the Emperor's = wealth=20 is in landed estates, and of these he has, I believe, about sixty = scattered=20 through the Empire. The Emperor is credited with being a large = stockholder in=20 both the Krupp works and the Hamburg-American Line. What a sensation it = would=20 make in this country were the President to become a large stockholder in = Bethlehem Steel or the Winchester Arms Company!

The earnings of the Krupp's factory since the War have been immense = and=20 doubtless the fortune of the Krupp heiress since then has more than = doubled. The=20 subscriptions to war loans and war charities, thrown by Frau = Krupp-Bohlen and=20 the[34] = Krupp=20 directors as sops to public opinion, are mere nothings to the fat = earnings made=20 by that renowned factory in this war.

And what a sensation, too, would be caused in America if the = Bethlehem Steel=20 Company or the United States Steel Corporation were to purchase = newspapers or=20 take over The Associated Press in order to control public opinion! Yet = the=20 German nation stands by, apathetic, propagandised to a standstill, = stuffed and=20 fed by news handed them by the Krupps and the alliance of six great = industrial=20 iron and steel companies of western Germany.

A question which interests every inhabitant of the = world=20 to-day is, where does the ultimate power reside in Germany?

Where is the force which controls the country? The Reichstag, of = course, has=20 no real power; the twenty-five ruling princes of Germany, voting in the=20 Bundesrat through their representatives, control the Reichstag, and the=20 Chancellor is not responsible to either but only to the Emperor.

Consider, for a moment, the personality of von Bethmann-Hollweg, = Chancellor=20 of the Empire for eight or nine years. He lacked both determination and=20 decision. Lovable, good, kind, respected, the Chancellor, to a = surprising=20 degree, was minus that quality which we call "punch." He never led, but=20 followed. He sought always to find out first which side of the question = seemed=20 likely to win,=97where the majority would stand. Usually he poised = himself[35] on middle = ground. He=20 could not have been the ultimate power in the State.

I have a feeling that the Kaiser himself always felt in some vague = way that=20 his luck lay with America, and I imagine that he himself was against = anything=20 that might lead to a break with this country. What, then, was the = mysterious=20 power which changed, for instance, the policy of the German Empire = towards=20 America and ordered unrestricted submarine war at the risk of bringing = against=20 the Empire a rich and powerful nation of over a hundred million = population?

The Foreign Office did not have this decision. Its members, made up = of men=20 who had travelled in other countries, who knew the latent power of = America, did=20 not advise this step=97with the exception, however, of Zimmermann, who, = carried=20 away by his sudden elevation, and by the glamour of personal contact = with the=20 Emperor, the Princes and the military chiefs, yielded to the arguments = of=20 military expediency.

The one force in Germany which ultimately decides every great = question,=20 except the fate of its own head, is the Great General Staff.

On one side of the K=F6nigs-Platz, in Berlin, stands the great = building of the=20 Reichstag, floridly decorated, glittering with gold, surrounded by = statues and=20 filled, during the sessions of the Reichstag, with a crowd of = representatives=20 who do not represent and who, like monkeys in a cage, jibber and debate=20 questions which they have no power to decide. Across the square and = covering the=20 entire block in[36] a=20 building that resembles in external appearance a jail, built of dark red = brick=20 without ornament or display, is the home of the Great General Staff. = This=20 institution has its own spies, its own secret service, its own newspaper = censors. Here the picked officers of the German army, the inheritors of = the=20 power of von Moltke, work industriously. Apart from the people of = Germany, they=20 wield the supreme power of the State and when the Staff decides a matter = of=20 foreign policy or even an internal measure, that decision is final.

The peculiar relations of the Emperor to the Great General Staff make = it=20 possible for him to dismiss in disgrace a head of the Staff who has = failed. But=20 at all times the Kaiser is more or less controlled in his action by the = Staff as=20 a whole and at a time when the chief of the Great General Staff is = successful,=20 the latter, even on questions of foreign policy, claims the right then = to make a=20 decision which the Emperor may find it difficult to disregard. This is = because=20 in an autocratic government, as in any other, personality counts for = much. Von=20 Tirpitz controlled all departments of the navy, although only at the = head of=20 one. The Ludendorff-Hindenburg combination, especially if backed by = Mackensen,=20 can bend the will of the Emperor.

Yet while the head of the Great General Staff may fall, the system = always=20 remains. An unknown, mysterious power it is, unchanging, and relentless, = a power=20 that watches over the German army with unseen eyes. It seeks always = additions to=20 its own ranks from those young officers who have distinguished[37] = themselves by their=20 talents in the profession of arms. What does it mean to them?

It is January twenty-seventh, the birthday of the Kaiser in a German = garrison=20 town. The officers of the regiment are assembled in the mess-hall, the=20 regimental band plays the national air of Prussia, "Heil Dir im Sieger = Kranz"=20 (Hail, thou, in the conqueror's wreath). (The music is familiar to us = because we=20 sing it to the words of "America." The British sing the air to the words = of "God=20 Save the King." This music was originally written for Louis XIV.) The = health of=20 the Emperor is proposed and drunk with "Hurrahs" and again "Hurrahs," = and then=20 comes a telegram from Berlin announcing the promotions and decorations = granted=20 to some of the officers of the regiment: the most envied of all is that = younger=20 officer, perhaps the student among them, who receives the laconic = despatch=20 telling him that he is detailed to the Great General Staff!

Then commences for the young officer a life of almost monastic = devotion. No=20 amusements, no social obligations or entertainments must interfere in = the=20 slightest with his earnest work in that plain building of mystery which = so=20 calmly, and with such mock modesty, faces the garish home of the = Reichstag on=20 the K=F6nigs-Platz, in Berlin.

Who decided on the break with America? It was not the Chancellor, = notoriously=20 opposed; it was not the Foreign Office, nor the Reichstag, nor the = Princes of=20 Germany who decided to brave the consequences of a rupture with the = United=20 States on the submarine question. It was not the Emperor;[38] but a personality of great = power of=20 persuasion. It was Ludendorff, Quartermaster General, chief aid and = brains to=20 Hindenburg, Chief of the Great General Staff, who decided upon this = step.

Unquestionably a party in the navy, undoubtedly von Tirpitz himself, = backed=20 by the navy and by many naval officers and the Naval League, advocated = the=20 policy and promised all Germany peace within three months after it was = adopted;=20 unquestionably public opinion made by the Krupps and the League of Six = (the=20 great iron and steel companies), desiring annexation of the coal and = iron lands=20 of France, demanded this as a quick road to peace. But it was the = deciding vote=20 of the Great General Staff that finally embarked the German nation on = this=20 dangerous course.

I do not think the Emperor himself, unless backed by the whole public = opinion=20 of Germany, would dare to withstand the Great General Staff which he = himself=20 creates. They are so much his devotees that they would overrule him in = what they=20 consider his interest.

Whatever thinking the Emperor does nowadays is more or less on his = own=20 account. There is to-day no shining favourite who has his ear to the = exclusion=20 of others. The last known favourite was Prince Max Egon von = F=FCrstenberg, a man=20 now about fifty-four years old, tall, handsome, possessed at one time of = great=20 wealth and a commanding position in Austria as well as Germany, with the = privilege of citizenship in both countries. The Prince in his capacity = as Grand=20 Marshal accompanied the Emperor,[39] walking in his train as the latter = entered the=20 White Hall at a great ball early in the winter of 1914. The Emperor was = stopping=20 at the Prince's palace in southern Germany at Donnaueschingen when the = affair at=20 Zabern and the cutting down of the lame shoemaker there shook the = political and=20 military foundations of the German Empire. Prince Max together with = Prince=20 Hohenlohe, Duke of Ugest, embarked, however, on a career of vast = speculation in=20 an association known as the Princes' Trust. They built, for instance, = the great=20 Hotel Esplanade in Berlin, and a hotel of the same name in Hamburg, and = an=20 enormous combined beer restaurant, theatre and moving picture hall on = the=20 Nollendorff Platz in Berlin. They organised banks, and the name of the = princely=20 house of F=FCrstenberg appeared as an advertisement for light beer. They = even,=20 through their interest in a department store on the east end of the = Leipziger=20 Strasse, sold pins and stockings and ribbons to the working classes of = Berlin.=20 As this top-heavy structure of foolish business enterprise tumbled, the = favour=20 of Prince Max at the Imperial Court fell with it. For the Emperor never = brooks=20 failure.

During the present war Von Gontard, related by marriage, I believe, = to brewer=20 Busch in St. Louis; von Treutler, who represented the Foreign Office; = von=20 Falkenhayn, for a while head of the Great General Staff and Minister of = War, and=20 the Prince of Pless, and von Plessen with several minor adjutants, have=20 constituted the principal figures in the surroundings of the Emperor. = Falkenhayn=20 fell because[40] of=20 his failure in the attack of Verdun, ordered by him or for which he was = the=20 responsible commander. Von Treutler probably told the truth; he was = against the=20 breaking of the submarine pledges to America; and Prince Pless, who = remains=20 still in favour, never took a decided stand on any of these questions. = Prince=20 Pless, as Prince Max was, is rich. His fortune before the war, = represented=20 mostly by great landed estates in Silesia, mines, etc., amounted = approximately=20 to thirty million dollars. His wife is an Englishwoman, once celebrated = as one=20 of the great beauties of London, daughter of Colonel and Mrs. = Cornwallis-West,=20 and sister of the Duchess of Westminster and Cornwallis-West, formerly = married=20 to Lady Randolph Churchill, and now the husband of Mrs. Patrick = Campbell, the=20 well-known actress. And therefore the position of Princess Pless has not = been=20 enviable during this war.

Emperor William does not, like many kings and dictators, confine = himself in=20 his search for general information regarding men and conditions to the = reports=20 of a few persons. He always has been accessible, seeking even to meet = strangers,=20 not merely his own people but foreigners, thus escaping the penalty of = those=20 rulers who shut themselves up and who have all their information and = thoughts=20 coloured for them by the preferences and desires of prejudiced = counsellors.

The chiefs of the army are always in close touch with the Kaiser, but = he is=20 consulted on army commands[41] and promotions much less than on civil = and even=20 naval promotions.

Always with him is the head of the Civil Cabinet, who advises with = the=20 Emperor on all appointments and promotions on the civil side of the = Government,=20 helping even to make and unmake Ambassadors and Chancellors. Admiral von = Mueller, head of the Marine Cabinet, is constantly in the Emperor's = company. He=20 is a shrewd, capable, reasonable man; for a long time Admiral von = Mueller was=20 against taking the chance of war with America and perhaps, even to the = end,=20 persisted in this course. After the fall of von Tirpitz, von Mueller = acquired=20 more real power. But in a sense it is incorrect to speak of the forced=20 retirement of von Tirpitz as a "fall," because from his retirement he = was able=20 to carry on such a campaign in favour of "ruthless" submarine war that = the mass=20 of the people, Reichstag deputies, the General Staff, and all came over = to his=20 point of view and von Bethmann-Hollweg, who had brought about his = dismissal, was=20 forced officially to adopt the policy first sponsored by this skilful = old=20 sea-dog and politician.

CHAPTER III[42]

WHO SANK THE "LUSITANIA"?

Who=20 is responsible for the sinking of the Lusitania, for the = deliberate=20 murder which has always remained deep in the consciousness of every = American,=20 and which at the outset turned this great nation against Germany?

In the first place there was no mistake=97no question of orders = exceeded or=20 disobeyed. Count von Bernstorff frankly, boldly, defiantly, and = impudently=20 advertised to the world, with the authority of the German Government, = that the=20 attempt to sink the Lusitania would be made. The Foreign Office, = no=20 doubt, acquainted him with the new policy. Von Tirpitz, then actual head = of the=20 Navy Department and virtual head of the whole navy, openly showed his = approval=20 of the act, and threw all his influence in favor of a continuation of = ruthless=20 tactics. But a question which involved a breach of international law, a = possible=20 break with a friendly power, could not be decided by even the Foreign = Office and=20 Navy together.

The Great General Staff claims a hand in the decision of all = questions of=20 foreign policy which even remotely affect the conduct of the war. = Similarly it=20 was the duty of the Foreign Office to point out[43] the possible consequences under the rules = of=20 international law; but when the question of submarine warfare was to be=20 determined, the consultation was usually at the Great General = Headquarters. At=20 these meetings von Tirpitz or the navy presented their views and the = Great=20 General Staff sat with the Emperor in council, although it was reported = in=20 Charleville at the time of the settlement of May, 1916, that Falkenhayn, = speaking in favour of submarine war, had been rebuked by the Emperor, = and told=20 to stick to military affairs.

All the evidence points to the Emperor himself as the responsible = head who at=20 this time ordered or permitted this form of murder. The orders were = given at a=20 time when the Emperor dominated the General Staff, not in one of those = periods,=20 as outlined in a previous chapter when the General Staff, as at present, = dominated the Emperor. When I saw the Kaiser in October, 1915, he said = that he=20 would not have sunk the Lusitania, that no gentleman would have = killed so=20 many women and children. Yet he never disapproved the order. Other boats = were=20 sunk thereafter in the same manner and only by chance was the loss of = life=20 smaller when the Arabic was torpedoed. It is argued that, had the = Emperor=20 considered beforehand how many non-combatants would be killed, he would = not have=20 given the order to sink that particular boat. But what a lame excuse! A = man is=20 responsible for the natural and logical results of his own acts. It may = be too=20 that Charles IX, when he ordered, perhaps reluctantly, the massacre of = St.=20 Bartholomew, did[44]=20 not know that so many would be killed, but there can be no=20 Pilate-washing-of-the-hands,=97Emperor William was responsible. He must = bear the=20 blame before the world.

Blood-shed in honorable war is soon forgotten; but the cowardly = stroke by=20 which the Kaiser sought to terrorise America, by which he sent to a = struggling=20 death of agony in the sea, the peaceful men and women and children = passengers of=20 the Lusitania, may ever remain a cold boundary line between = Germany and=20 America unless the German people utter a condemnation of the tragedy = that rings=20 true and repentant.

We want to live at peace with the world when this war is over, to be = able to=20 grasp once more the hands of those now our enemies, but how can any = American=20 clasp in friendship the hand of Germans who approve this and the many = other=20 outrages that have turned the conscience of the world against = Germany?

To Americans in Berlin, the sinking of the Lusitania came like = a=20 lightning stroke. No Bernstorff warnings had prepared us. I believed I = would be=20 recalled immediately. In making preparations to leave, I sent a = secretary to see=20 the head of one of the largest banks in Germany, a personal friend, to = ask him,=20 in case we should leave, to take for safe-keeping into his bank our = silver,=20 pictures, etc. He said to my secretary, "Tell Judge Gerard that I will = take care=20 of his valuables for him, but tell him also, that if the = Mauretania comes=20 out to-morrow we shall sink her, too."[45]

That was the attitude of a majority of the business men of Germany. = German=20 casualties at that time had been great so that the mere loss of human = life did=20 not appal as would have been the case in a country unused to the daily = posting=20 of long lists of dead and wounded. Consequently the one feeling of = Germany was=20 of rejoicing, believing indeed that victory was near, that the "damned = Yankees"=20 would be so scared that they would not dare travel on British ships, = that the=20 submarine war would be a great success, that France and England deprived = of=20 food, steel and supplies from America soon would be compelled to sue for = peace,=20 especially since the strategically clever, if unlawful, invasion of = France by=20 way of Belgium had driven the French from the best coal and iron = districts of=20 their country.

I do recall that one Imperial Minister, a reasonable individual whose = name I=20 think it best not to mention, expressed in private his sorrow, not only = for the=20 deed itself, but for the mistaken policy which he saw, even then, would=20 completely turn in the end the sympathies of America to the Entente = Allies. And=20 there were others,=97among the intellectuals, and, especially, among the = merchants=20 of Hamburg and Frankfort who had travelled in the outer world both on = pleasure=20 and business, who realised what a profound effect the drowning of = innocent men,=20 women and children would have on our peace-loving people.

Many of these men said to me, "The sinking of the Lusitania is = the=20 greatest German defeat of all[46] the war. Its consequences will be = far-reaching; its=20 impression, deep and lasting."

The Teutonic Knights, from whom the ruling class of Prussia is = descended,=20 kept the Slavic population in subjection by a reign of physical terror. = This=20 class believes that to rule one must terrorise. The Kaiser himself = referring to=20 the widespread indignation caused by German outrages of the present war, = has=20 said: "The German sword will command respect."

Terrorism=97"Schrecklichkeit"=97has always formed a part, not only of = German=20 military inclination, but of German military policy. I often said to = Germans of=20 the Government, "Are you yourselves subject to being terrorised? If = another=20 nation murdered or outraged your women, your children, would it cause = you to=20 cringe in submission or would you fight to the last? If you would fight=20 yourselves, what is there in the history of America which makes you = think that=20 Americans will submit to mere frightfulness; in what particular do you = think=20 Americans are so different from Germans?" But they shrugged their = shoulders.

I have heard that in parts of Germany school children were given a = holiday to=20 celebrate the sinking of the Lusitania. I was busy with = preparations, too=20 anxious about the future to devote much time to the study of the = psychology of=20 the Germans in other parts of Germany at this moment, but with the = exception of=20 the one Cabinet Minister aforementioned, and expressions of regret from = certain=20 merchants and intellectuals, it cannot be denied that a[47] great wave of exultation = swept over=20 Germany. It was felt that this was a master stroke, that victory was = appreciably=20 nearer and that no power on earth could withstand the brute force of the = Empire.

Mingled with this was a deep hate of all things American inculcated = by the=20 Berlin Government. And we must understand, therefore, that no trick and = no=20 evasion, no brutality will be untried by Germany in this war. It was = against the=20 rules of war to use poison gas, but first the newspapers of Germany were = carefully filled with official statements saying the British and French = had used=20 this unfair means. Coincidentally with these reports the German army was = trying=20 by this dastardly innovation to break the British lines. It was not a = new=20 procedure. Months before the Lusitania crime, the newspapers and = people=20 had been poisoned with official statements inflaming the people against = America,=20 particularly for our commerce with the Entente in war supplies.

It was the right, guaranteed by a treaty to which Germany was a = signatory, of=20 our private individuals to sell munitions and supplies, but as Prince = von Buelow=20 once remarked on December 13th, 1900, in the Reichstag, "I feel no = embarrassment=20 in saying here, publicly, that for Germany, right can never be a = determining=20 consideration."

Indeed the tame professors were let loose and many of them rushed = into=20 government-paid print to prove that, according to law, the murders of = the=20 Lusitania were justified. A German chemist friend of mine told me = that=20 the chemists of Germany[48] were called on, after poison gas had been = met by=20 British and French, to devise some new and deadly chemical. Flame = throwers soon=20 appeared together with more insidious gases. And it is only because of = the=20 vigilance of other nations that German spies have not succeeded in = sowing the=20 microbes of pestilence in countries arrayed against lawless Germany.

Remember there is nothing that Kaiserism is not capable of trying in = the hope=20 of victory.

CHAPTER IV[49]

THE KAISER AND "L=C8SE-MAJEST=C9"

The=20 talents and ability and agreeable personality of the German Emperor must = not=20 blind us to the fact that he is the centre of the system which has = brought the=20 world to a despair and misery such as it never has known since the dawn = of=20 history. We must remember that all his utterances disclose the soul of = the=20 conqueror, of a man intensely anxious for earthly fame and a conspicuous = place=20 in the gallery of human events; envious, too, of the great names of the = past,=20 his ears so tuned for admiration and applause that they fail to hear the = great,=20 long drawn wail of agony that echoes around the world. His eyes are so = blinded=20 with the sheen of his own glory that they do not see the mutilated = corpses, the=20 crime, the pestilence, the hunger, the incalculable sorrow that sweeps = the earth=20 from the jungles of Africa to the frozen plains of the North, from = Siberia to=20 Saskatchewan, from Texas to Trieste, from Alaska to = Afghanistan=97everywhere he=20 has brought the dark angel of mourning to millions upon millions of = desolate=20 homes.

Do you remember that picture of the Conquerors, C=E6sar and = Alexander, Attila=20 and Napoleon, Charlemagne and Cambyses, astride their horses or in[50] chariots = in the centre=20 of the picture, dark, gloomy, menacing? On each side of them, lining a = vast=20 plain that fades in the distance, lie the dead=97stiff, cold, grey,=20 reproachful;=97yet all the victims of those conquerors, as well as all = their=20 battalions do not equal the countless number that have already drenched = a=20 forgiving earth with their dying blood in this war:=97victims all of the = vain-glorious ambition of a single mortal=97the German Kaiser.

But the despot who sends his subjects to die, as Frederick the Great = said,=20 "in order to be talked about" is not indigenous to any one particular = country.=20 Like conditions produce like results. The career of Louis XIV, the "Sun = King,"=20 for instance, whose wars and extravagances sowed the seeds of the French = Revolution, is epitomised in two phrases uttered by him: "I am the = State" and "I=20 almost had to wait."

After the French Revolution, another despot, the first Napoleon, not = only=20 sought the conquest of the world, but made his ex-waiter and ex-groom = marshals=20 and his washerwomen duchesses ape the manners and customs of the old = r=E9gime.=20 Despotism has been characteristic of many generations but the world had = thought=20 itself rid of the worst offenders.

Royalty still lives to torture and retard civilisation. Its methods = of=20 perpetuation are unchanged from the middle ages. What is = l=E8se-majest=E9 but a=20 survival of feudalism, a kind of slavery to inviolable tradition=97the = immunity of=20 the monarch and his family from that criticism and freedom of discussion = which=20 is the essence of democracy?[51]

To commit l=E8se-majest=E9, to speak slightingly of royalty in = Germany, is a very=20 serious offence.

I have taken the following examples of decisions in l=E8se-majest=E9 = cases not=20 from the records of the lower courts, the decisions of which may be = reversed,=20 but from the records of the Imperial Supreme Court at Leipzig, the = highest court=20 in the land.

For instance: The defendant, a speaker at a meeting consisting = chiefly of=20 sympathisers with the socialist cause, made the following statement in = reference=20 to a speech of the Kaiser:

"Under the protection of the highest power of the State the gauntlet = has been=20 flung before the (socialist) Party, the gauntlet which means a combat = for life=20 and death. Well, then, so far as the insult concerns our Party, we are = so far=20 above it, that the mudslinging=97no matter from what direction it may = come=97cannot=20 touch us."

The defence pointed out that the defendant "had considered each word=20 carefully before he had made the speech, and that in doing so, wanted to = avoid=20 any possibility of l=E8se-majest=E9."

The Supreme Court held that although the defendant carefully selected = his=20 words and tried to evade prosecution, he must be adjudged guilty, = because his=20 audience could not have misunderstood the insinuation. The sentence was=20 affirmed.

Dangerous as it is to say anything that can be construed as = derogatory of the=20 authority, of the Kaiser it is equally dangerous to attack the dead = members of=20 the Royal House.[52]

The editor of the Volkswacht had published in his paper an = article=20 entitled "The German Characteristics of the Hohenzollerns" which the = Lower Court=20 interpreted to be a reply to a statement of the Kaiser, which had = referred to a=20 group of people considered unworthy by him to be called "Germans." = Without doubt=20 the editor was alluding to the Kaiser's speech, made at Koenigsberg to = the newly=20 enlisted army recruits, in which he called the socialists = "vaterlandslose=20 Gesellen," i.e., scoundrels without any country. The writer, however, = discussed=20 "the conduct of the Elector Joachim of Brandenburg and of his brother = Albrecht,=20 Elector of Mainz, before and during the election of Emperor Charles = V."

The defence claimed that the defendant could not be held guilty of=20 l=E8se-majest=E9 against the Kaiser since the defendant "criticised the = Kaiser's=20 ancestors and not the Kaiser himself." But the Court held that it was = the intent=20 of the defendant to discredit the "House of the Hohenzollerns, and that = the=20 Kaiser by implication, being the living head of the Hohenzollern family, = was=20 thereby insulted." The Court further states that the defendant's article = could=20 not be regarded as a scientific or historical contribution since the=20 Volkswacht's subscribers, consisting chiefly of workingmen, had = neither=20 any understanding of nor interest in dynastic intrigues of the sixteenth = century.

Even those Americans who have expressed themselves freely about the = Kaiser=20 will, after the war is over, be compelled to take their "cures" in = some[53] country = other than=20 Germany, for in one case it was held that an American citizen was = rightfully=20 convicted in Baden of l=E8se-majest=E9 because of statements made by him = in=20 Switzerland.

The Court held that the judgment of the Lower Court must be = sustained, since=20 the German Imperial Laws have precedence over any treaties engaged in by = the=20 Grand Duchy of Baden and the United States and "that the fact that the = defendant=20 had become a citizen of the United States does not exempt him from = prosecution=20 in the German Imperial Courts."

In another case a newspaper editor criticised a speech delivered by = the=20 Kaiser before the Reichstag on December 6th, 1898. The defendant did not = refer=20 to the person of the emperor himself, but simply attacked and ridiculed = the=20 propositions and proposals made by His Imperial Majesty. The defence = pointed out=20 that the Kaiser's speech was not an act of the Kaiser's own personal = will, but=20 only an act of government for which the Imperial Chancellor should be=20 responsible, and that the defendant was not conscious of the fact that = the=20 criticism contained in his article could be an insult to the person of = the=20 Kaiser.

It was held, however, by the Court that a criticism of the Kaiser's = speech at=20 the opening of the Reichstag is always to be regarded as a = criticism of=20 the Kaiser's person, and that the plea that the Imperial Chancellor = should be=20 responsible for acts of government of this sort is not sustained.[54]

In other words it is, in Germany, a crime to criticise or ridicule = any=20 proposition uttered by the sacred lips of the Kaiser.

If the Kaiser announces that two and two make five, jail awaits the = subject=20 who dares to ridicule that novel arithmetical proposition.

It is because of these convictions for l=E8se-majest=E9 that the = Berliners, when=20 discussing the Emperor at their favourite table or "Stammtisch" in the = beer=20 halls and caf=E9s, always refer to him as "Lehmann."

CHAPTER V[55]

WHEN THE KAISER THOUGHT WE WERE BLUFFING

Kaiserdom is an institution with which the = American=20 people are really unacquainted=97a complex institution the parallel of = which does=20 not exist elsewhere. How it sought to play double with the United States = is in a=20 general way familiar to Americans, but I think the record of what = happened in=20 the eighteen months preceding our break with Germany will illustrate = exactly the=20 currents and cross-currents of official opinion which led the United = States to=20 be scrupulously cautious in its course before entering the war. As I = talked with=20 the Emperor or the Chancellor or the Foreign Minister, I jotted down = from time=20 to time notes of their conversation as well as brief summaries of the=20 information available to me from other sources. Naturally I cabled to = the=20 Department of State the most significant news, but much of this was not=20 published because our Government was proceeding cautiously and did not = wish to=20 be embarrassed by publicity of its negotiations. There is every reason = now,=20 however, why the facts should be known. I am reproducing here the diary = I kept=20 from June,[56] 1915,=20 to the end of January, 1917, when unrestricted submarine warfare was = resumed and=20 our break with Germany came. I did not have the idea then of ever = publishing my=20 memoranda, so my comments were written without restraint. They show, I = am sure,=20 what the general trend of sentiment was in Germany for and against = submarine=20 warfare and disclose, too, that while the Emperor was often in the = background=20 and seemingly not the most powerful factor in the situation, it was his = system=20 that dominated Germany, his spirit that bred the lust for military gain = at=20 whatever cost=97even the respect of the whole civilised world. Here are = the notes=20 as I penned them at the time:

June, 1915. Lincoln never passed through a = crisis=20 greater than that with which the President is contending. He is = fighting, first,=20 for humanity and some decency in war, and, second, determining whether a = European Emperor shall or shall not dictate the political attitude of = certain of=20 our citizens.

It is regrettable to be compelled to think that the German nation = knows no=20 treaty or law except the limit of its own desires.

We are still awaiting the second Lusitania note and I fear = that=20 Germany will never consent to abandon its present hideous method of = submarine=20 war. It is extraordinary to hear Germans of all classes extoll mere = brute force=20 as the only rule of international life. It is a warning to us to create = and=20 increase our fleet and coast defences.

The Germans not only do not fear war with us,[57] but state frankly they do = not believe we=20 dare to declare it, call us cowardly bluffers and say our notes are = worse than=20 waste paper. Breaking diplomatic relations means nothing.

Von Wiegand, the newspaper correspondent, is just back from Przemysl = and says=20 the Russians were defeated by woful lack of artillery and ammunition. = Their=20 power for offence is broken for many months. From the West I hear the = French are=20 rather discouraged.

Germany has ample food and gets all copper, etc., necessary for war = purposes=20 through Sweden in exchange for potash and other commodities.

An officer of the war ministry, who comes to see me about prisoners, = etc.,=20 told me last night that because the French have kept several hundred = Germans as=20 prisoners in Dahomey and other places in Africa, fifteen thousand French = prisoners will be sent to work in the unhealthy swamps of Holstein. I = have=20 cabled the State Department often about this Dahomey business, = transmitting the=20 request of Germany that these prisoners be sent to Europe. Germans = cannot be=20 beaten on reprisals.

Two or three German-Americans have attacked the = President,=20 Secretary Bryan and our Government, some publicly. I have ordered their=20 passports taken away and hope to be sustained. To permit them to = continue=20 poisoning the atmosphere would be taken as a sign of weakness here. No = one who=20 abuses his own country, its government or its Chief is entitled to = protection=20 from that country.[58]

We have the visiting of British prisoners in good shape now, that = prohibition=20 put on our visiting and inspecting the camps was abolished in March by = the=20 "treaty" I arranged between England and Germany. It was not until March=20 twenty-ninth that we finally got passes to visit camps under the = "treaty." The=20 prisoners say they are badly treated when they are first captured, but = we know=20 only of their treatment in the camps.

I do not believe all the atrocity stories; but one of our servants in = this=20 house came back from the East front recently and said the orders were to = kill=20 all Cossacks. Our washerwoman reports that her son was ordered to shoot = a woman=20 in Belgium and I myself have heard an officer calmly describe the = shooting of a=20 seven-year-old Belgian girl child, the excuse being that she had tried = to fire=20 at an officer.

If the Lusitania business settles down, I hope the suggestion = made to=20 me by the authorities here and cabled to the State Department, will be = carried=20 into effect. This was that each American and Spanish Ambassador, having = charge=20 of prisoners in belligerent countries, should meet in Switzerland and = discuss=20 the whole prison situation. Each Ambassador would be accompanied by=20 representatives of whatever authorities deal with prisoners (here the = War=20 Ministry) in the country to which he is accredited. To prevent unseemly=20 discussions the actual talking would be done by the Ambassadors (coached = by=20 those representatives). In addition to doing away with many = misunderstandings=20 and helping the prisoners, there are great possibilities in[59] such a = meeting. We=20 could all give each other useful "tips" on the caring for prisoners,=20 inspections, camps, package delivery, mail, etc.

There is plenty of food in Germany now and enough raw materials to = carry on=20 the war. Raw materials for peaceful industries are needed.

A suggestion=97why not start a great government chemical school or = give=20 protection for a certain number of years to dyestuffs, medicine, = chemical, and=20 cyanide material? All these industries are run here by the trustiest = trusts that=20 ever trusted, and by their methods keep American manufacturers from = starting the=20 business. A Congressman represents one of the best firms, hence his = statements=20 that it is impossible to start such manufactures in America. Our annual = tribute=20 to these trusts is enormous. One dyestuff company here employs over five = hundred=20 chemists. Only big or protected business can compete. This war has shown = that we=20 should not be dependent on other countries for so many manufactures.

I fear that Germany will not give up its present = method of=20 submarine war. Each month new and more powerful submarines are = added.

Perhaps it is worth a war to have it decided that = the United=20 States of America is not to be run from Berlin.[60]

Germans in authority feel that our "New Freedom" is against their = ideas and=20 ideals. They hate President Wilson because he embodies peace and = learning rather=20 than war.

In regard to prisoners, Mr. Harte reports = prisoners in=20 Russia and Siberia better treated than was reported.

I hear for the first time of growing = dissatisfaction among=20 the plain people, especially at the great rise in food prices. Germany = is=20 getting everything she wants, however, through Sweden, including copper, = lard,=20 etc. Von Tirpitz and his Press Bureau were too much for the Chancellor; = the=20 latter is not a good fighter. Zimmermann, if left to himself, would, of = course,=20 have stopped this submarine murder.

I hope the President never gives in on the embargo on arms; if he = ever gives=20 in on that, we might as well hoist the German Eagle on the Capitol.

July, 1915. I think that the firm tone of = the=20 President's note (of June 9, 1915) will make the Germans climb down. = There seems=20 a general disposition to be pleased with the note and an expectation = that=20 matters can be arranged. The great danger is that the Germans may again = get the=20 idea that we do not dare to declare war. In such case they will again = become=20 difficult to handle.

Zimmermann and von Jagow are both quite pleased with the tone of the=20 note.[61]

They both talk now of keeping Belgium, the excuse being that the = Belgians=20 hate the Germans so that if Belgium again became independent it would be = only an=20 English outpost. Meyer Gerhard, Bernstorff's special envoy, has arrived = and has=20 broken into print over the sentiment in America. I am afraid he makes it = too=20 peaceful, and, therefore, the Germans will be encouraged to despise = America.

While the authorities here think the idea of freedom of the seas = good, they=20 think the idea of freedom of land too vague. They want to know exactly = what it=20 means and say the seas should be free because they belong to no one, but = that=20 land is the private property of various nations. They compare the = situation to a=20 city street, where every one is interested in keeping the streets free = but would=20 resent a proposal that private houses also should be made common meeting = ground=20 if not common property. Unfortunately for Germany and the world, the = German=20 armies are winning and this will be considered a complete vindication of = the=20 military and caste system and everything which now exists. As Cleveland = said, we=20 are confronted by a condition, not a theory. Germany, unless beaten, = will=20 never directly or indirectly agree to any freedom of land or disarmament = proposal.

The Emperor probably will see me soon. He has been = rabid on=20 the export of arms from the United States to the Allies, but like all = Germans,=20 when they see we cannot be scared into a change of policy, he is making = a nice=20 recovery.[62]

Was told by a friend at the Foreign Office that = the German=20 note would contain a proposition that regular passenger ships should not = be=20 torpedoed without notice, but must carry no cargo other than passengers' = baggage. Have heard Marine Department rather opposes this, but may favor = proposition as to ships inspected and certified to carry no arms or = ammunition.=20 No note until after July fourth, they say at Foreign Office, on tip from = Washington. (Note=97German note was delivered to me July 8, 1915.)

Chancellor and von Jagow have been in Vienna, = probably over=20 Balkan question. The situation there hinges on Bulgaria. Germany wants a = direct=20 strip of territory for itself or Austria to Constantinople. Thirteen = million=20 pounds in gold sent recently by Germany to Turkey to keep the boys in = line.=20 Principal Socialist paper, the Vorwaerts, has been suppressed = because it=20 spoke of peace; reason given is that this kind of talk would encourage = enemies=20 of Germany.

The Germans are becoming more strict, even women = now=20 entering Germany must strip to the skin and take down their back hair. = The wife=20 of Hearst's correspondent here had to submit to this the other day.

At first, newspaper correspondents had to promise = they would=20 not go to enemy territory, next that they would not go to neutral = territory=20 (after one[63]=20 correspondent went to Denmark and sent out dispatches about the movement = against=20 annexing Belgium). Now the correspondents must promise not to go home. = This is=20 to keep secret the internal conditions. The women stormed a butter shop = here the=20 other day and our Consul reports, in Chemnitz, quite a serious food = riot. The=20 military were called out and the fire department turned hose on the = crowd.

In Austria, I hear men up to fifty-five are being = called to=20 the colours and even the infirm taken for the army. There are said to be = seven=20 German and five Austrian army corps invading Servia. The losses of the = invaders=20 are reported to be heavy. To date, the German dead in this war number = about=20 seven hundred thousand. People who offered private hospitals at the = beginning of=20 the war and who were told these were not needed, have been requested to = open=20 them. I was told the remaining civil population of Vouziers, France (in = German=20 hands), had been removed to make room for German wounded.

The note of July 21, 1915, in which the President = said he=20 would regard the sinking of ships without warning as "deliberately = unfriendly,"=20 is received with hostility by press and Government. Of course, the party = of=20 frightfulness has conquered those of milder views, owing largely to the=20 aggressive newspaper campaign conducted by von Tirpitz, Reventlow and = Company.=20 The Germans generally are, at[64] present, in rather a waiting attitude, = perhaps=20 anxious to see what our attitude toward England will be=97but this will = not affect=20 their submarine policy. The Foreign Office now claims, I hear, that I am = hostile=20 to Germany, but that claim was to be expected. Of course, I had no more = to do=20 with the American note than they did, but it is impossible to convince = them of=20 that, so I shall not try.

Germany has the Balkan situation well in hand. = Roumania can=20 do nothing in the face of recent Russian defeats and has just consented = to allow=20 grain to be exported to Austria and Germany, but has, I think, not yet = consented=20 to allow the passage of ammunition to Turkey. The pressure, however, is = great.=20 If not successful, perhaps German troops will invade Servia so as to get = a=20 passage through to Turkey.

A minister from one of the Balkan States told me the situation of = Roumania,=20 Greece and Bulgaria was about the same, each state can last in war only = about=20 three months, so all are trying to gauge three months before the end and = then=20 come in on the winning side.

The Bulgarian Minister of the Public Debt got in here by mistake the = other=20 day, insisting he had an appointment; he had an appointment with = the=20 Treasurer, Helfferich, whose office is nearby. This shows, perhaps, that = Bulgaria is getting money here.

Also the Germans are sending back to Russia, Russians of = revolutionary=20 tendencies, who were[65] prisoners here, with money and passports = in order=20 that they may stir up trouble at home.

The Germans are making a great effort to take Warsaw, even old = Landsturm men=20 are in the fighting line; I think they will get it, and then they hope = to turn=20 two million men and strike a great blow in France=97thus they expect to = end the=20 war by October.

I notice now a slight reaction from annexation = toward giving=20 up all or part of Belgium; but I must say I hear very little of popular=20 dissatisfaction with the war. Everything seems to be going smoothly; but = they=20 are scraping the bottom of the box on getting men for the army.

It is not pleasant to be hated by so many = millions. The=20 Germans naturally make me the object of their concentrated hate. I = received an=20 anonymous letter in which the kindly writer rejoices that so many = Americans were=20 drowned in the Chicago disaster. This shows the state of mind.

The Emperor is at the front, "Somewhere in = Galicia." They=20 keep him very much in the background, I think, with the idea of = disabusing the=20 popular mind of the idea that this is "his war." After all, accidents = may=20 happen, and even after a victorious war there may be a day of reckoning. = The=20 Chancellor went to the front yesterday, probably to see the Emperor = about the=20 American question.[66]

August, 1915. I had a conversation last = week of one=20 hour and a half with the Chancellor. He sent for me because I had = written him to=20 take no more trouble about my seeing the Emperor. He explained, of = course, first=20 that he did not know I wanted to see the Emperor, and second that it was = impossible to see the Emperor. They keep the Emperor well surrounded. = Now=20 I do not want to see him. He is hot against Americans and the matters I = wanted=20 to talk of are all settled=97one way. I cabled an interesting report on = the=20 Emperor's conversation re America.

The Chancellor is still wrong in his head; says it was necessary to = invade=20 Belgium, break all international laws, etc. I think, however, that he = was=20 personally against the fierce Dernburg propaganda in America. I judge = that von=20 Tirpitz, through his press bureau, has egged on the people so that this=20 submarine war will continue. An official confessed to me that they = had tried=20 to get England to interfere, together with them, in Mexico, and Germans = "Gott=20 strafe" the Monroe Doctrine in their daily prayers of hate.

No great news=97we are simply waiting for the = inevitable=20 submarine "accident."

Unless there is a change of sentiment in the Government I think the = submarine=20 commanders will be careful.[67]

The Chancellor talked rather freely but again said it was impossible = to leave=20 Belgium to become an outpost of the English, but possibly with Germans = in=20 possession of the forts, the railways and with commercial rights in = Antwerp it=20 might be arranged.

There is a faction here led by deputy Bassermann, Stresemann, = Fahrmann, etc.,=20 who are attacking the Chancellor. They represent great industrials who = want to=20 annex Belgium, Northern France, Poland and anything else that can be = had, for=20 their own ultimate advantage. A man named Hirsch is hired by the Krupp = firm to=20 "accelerate" this work. Krupps also pay the expenses of the "Oversea = Service"=20 which is feeding news to America.

A paper against annexation of Belgium has been signed, I am told, by=20 Dernburg, Prince Hatzfeld and others, and will be presented to the = Chancellor=20 to-day. I believe many are to sign it; but of those who have signed are=20 Hatzfeld, who is one of the three big Dukes of Prussia; Prince=20 Henckel-Donnersmarck, who is the second richest subject in Germany=97(85 = years=20 old, he was in 1870 first Governor of Lorraine)=97von Harrach, who is a = man of=20 great ability, highly respected, as is also Professor Delbr=FCck.

The Reichstag meets in a few days. The Socialists = are=20 holding daily caucuses, but have not yet decided on any party action.=20 Undoubtedly they will vote for the new ten milliard loan, with = Liebknecht[68] and a few = others=20 dissenting. Probably a split will also develop in the National Liberal = Party;=20 Bassermann and others have been attacking the Chancellor, but I think = other=20 members will dissent. It is quite probable that there will be a = discussion about=20 the object of the war, and permission will be asked for public=20 discussion, the Socialists perhaps claiming that they have consented to = a=20 defensive war only, and that now that the war is on enemy territory = peace should=20 be at least discussed. There may also be talk about the annexation of = Belgium=20 and food prices. The Socialists are greatly incensed at those who are = holding=20 food for high prices.

Personally, I think that Germany now wants peace = but does=20 not want to say so openly.

A relative of a Field Marshal told me to-day that Germany's killed to = date=20 were 600,000 and 200,000 crippled for life.

I must say that the plain people still seem perfectly tame and ready = to=20 continue the war. However, there may also be a protest in the Reichstag = about=20 the treatment by non-commissioned officers of Landsturm men who have = never=20 served but who now, in the process of scraping the box, are called to = the=20 colors.

The Germans hope by a great movement to capture a great part of the = Russian=20 army; probably they will fail. They also entertain hopes that in such = case=20 Sweden will enter Finland and two Balkan States declare for them. Balkan = Ministers here tell me the defeat of Russia makes it impossible[69] for = Roumania to enter,=20 but they fear an invasion by the Germans. All diplomatic work is now = centred in=20 the Balkans.

Successes in Russia have made the people here very = cocky.=20 Hence, probably, the torpedoing of the Arabic. Also great hope of = Bulgaria coming in with Germany; there is no more dissatisfaction heard = over the=20 war. I have as yet received nothing from Washington regarding the=20 Arabic.

I have just spent four half days at Ruhleben, = where civilian=20 Britishers are interned, so as to give every prisoner a chance to speak = to me=20 personally.

There is much talk of creating an independent = Poland. The=20 Reichstag session has developed no opposition.

A fac-simile of that infernal advertisement [A]=20 of the Cleveland Automatic Tool Company in the American Machinist = was=20 laid on the desk of every member of the Reichstag; and the papers are = full of=20 accounts of great deliveries of war munitions by America, possibly = preparing=20 people for a break. If Bulgaria comes in, Germany will undoubtedly take = a strip=20 in Servia and keep a road to Constantinople and the East. The new = Turkish=20 Ambassador has just arrived. The old one was not friendly to Enver Bey = and so=20 was bounced; he remains here, however, as he fears if he went to Turkey = he would=20 get some "special" coffee. The hate for Americans grows daily.

All rumours are that in the recent council at = Posen the=20 Chancellor, advocating concessions in submarine war, won out over von = Tirpitz.=20 But von Tirpitz will die hard, and there will be trouble yet, as the = Navy will=20 be very angry if the present methods are abandoned. Members of the = Reichstag=20 have telegraphed backing up the Chancellor; but it is hard for any = civilian idea=20 to prevail against Army or Navy.

Probably the Admiralty will say that the submarine which torpedoed = the=20 Arabic was lost, in order to avoid disgracing an officer.

If the Arabic question is not complicated with the = Lusitania a=20 solution will be easier. The common people have been aroused by von = Tirpitz's=20 press bureau and it will be simpler for the Chancellor to "back track," = taking=20 as an example a case like the Arabic when the ship was going West = and=20 carried no ammunition.

The defeat of the Russians is undoubtedly = crushing. Is=20 England waking up too late? There will be a big offensive soon against = the West=20 lines.

I have heard nothing up to to-day from the State = Department=20 re the Arabic, except one cable asking me to request a = report.

A correspondent has just been in and says that[71] the General Staff people = threaten to=20 expel him because he went to Copenhagen and sent out news about the = petition to=20 the Chancellor not to annex Belgium. The Foreign Office had no = objection; this=20 shows how the line is forming between the Chancellor and the Military. = All=20 correspondents to-day say the Germans are trying to dragoon them into = sending=20 only news which the General Staff wants sent, and the Military have = added their=20 censorship to that of the Foreign Office.

An official told me that Bernstorff, while not exactly exceeding his=20 instructions in his "Arabic Note" (of Sept. 1, 1915), had put the = matter=20 in a manner they did not approve.

Orders have now, apparently, been given to all = German=20 officials to say that the war will last a long time=97at least a year = and a=20 half.

It is expected that Persia will come in under German leadership and = attack=20 India.

Our Military Attach=E9, Colonel Kuhn, was finally = presented to=20 the Kaiser and had a pleasant chat with him. Colonel Kuhn says all = fighting on=20 the West is with artillery and hand grenades. Rifles are thrown = aside.

Germans have spies "piking off" our Embassies in Paris, London and=20 Petrograd.

Great airship attacks on London may be expected. In one of the recent = attacks=20 nine thousand eight hundred bombs (fire and explosive) were dropped. I = get this=20 from good authority.[72]

Foreign Office quite elated over their Balkan triumph. Personally, I = think it=20 was one of the most effective bits of German "diplomacy" in the history = of the=20 Empire.

CHAPTER VI[73]

THE INSIDE OF GERMAN DIPLOMACY

October, 1915. There = is a=20 tendency here to say Bernstorff went too far. But this is all for the = public,=20 von Jagow told a correspondent so to-day; but, of course, he did not = know about=20 the note of Austria to Servia either! The Marine people are positively = raging.=20 The paper which Reventlow writes for, the Tages Zeitung, was = suppressed=20 yesterday; I hear on account of an article on this Arabic = settlement, but=20 I am not yet sure.

More and more men are being called to colours. But Germany seems to = be able=20 to take care of all fronts. The Emperor is now in the West. The Foreign = Office=20 leads the rejoicing over the Entente's invasion of Greece and the = violation of=20 its neutrality and says that talk about Belgium is now shown to be=20 cant.

Weather is rotten and we shall have a melancholy winter. Feel the war = more=97deaths and prices. Six hundred and eighty thousand killed to = October first,=20 and many crippled. Food way up, but they cannot starve Germany out.[74]

Suppression of the Tages Zeitung means that the Chancellor has = at last=20 exhibited some backbone and will fight von Tirpitz. The answer of = Germany=20 depends on the outcome of this fight. It is possible that von Falkenhayn = and the=20 army party may sustain the Chancellor as against von Tirpitz. It is = quite likely=20 that a sort of safe conduct will be offered in the note for ships = especially=20 engaged in passenger trade. Much stress will be laid on English orders = to=20 merchant ships to ram submarines.

The Kaiser is at Pless, a castle of Prince of = Pless, in=20 Silesia, near Breslau, where he moved after the attempt of French fliers = to=20 bombard him at Charleville on the West Front. The Germans probably will = have=20 Lemberg in a few days. This may prevent Roumania coming in. There is = talk here=20 of an attempted revolution in Moscow. There is said to be jealousy of = Hindenburg=20 and on account of this, Mackensen was put forward to be the hero of the = Galician=20 Campaign. Captain Enochs, one of our observers in Austria, was forced = out of=20 Austria because of German pressure and our other military observers will = follow=20 soon.

Many commercial magnates have arrived in town to argue with the = government=20 against war with America; but some are in favor of the continuance of = bitter=20 submarine war, notably one who sees his Bagdad railway menaced by = possible=20 English success in the Dardanelles.

November, 1915. A man who saw Tisza tells = me the=20 Serbs inquired if they could get peace and[75] retain their territories. They were = answered,=20 "No."

It is said that Italy has also felt out for peace, but was answered = that she=20 must deal with Austria alone=97and Austria says that she will not = include Italy in=20 any general peace but will wallop her alone after general peace is = made.

I am working hard to get British prisoners = properly clothed.=20 Winter is already here. Efforts to starve Germany will not succeed. We = shall be=20 on meat and butter cards, but that is only a precaution. The people = still are=20 well in hand. Constant rumours of peace keep them hopeful. Men over = forty-five=20 not yet called. They seem to have plenty of troops. The military are = careless of=20 the public opinion of neutrals; they say they are winning and do not = need good=20 opinion. I am really afraid of war against us after this war=97if = Germany wins. We=20 had snow, ice, and cold weather at the end of October.

There have been uneasy movements among the people in Leipzig, a great = industrial centre, and the Volkzeitung, a Socialist paper there, = has been=20 put under permanent preventive censorship.

The Prussian Junkers, however, are really benefited by the war. They = get,=20 even with a high "stop price," three times as much as formerly for their = agricultural products and pay only a small sum, sixty pfennig daily, for = the=20 prisoners of war who now work their fields. They may, in addition, have = to pay=20 the keep of the prisoners, but that is very[76] small. Camp commanders are allowed = sixty-six=20 pfennig per head per diem.

There is much talk of peace. The shares of the=20 Hamburg-American Line and the shares of the Hamburg-South American Line = have=20 risen enormously in price from fifty-six to one hundred and forty in one = case.=20 This may be caused by an advantageous sale of some shares of the=20 Holland-American Line or by promise of a subsidy, or by hopes of = peace.

There is no question but that every man under = forty-five=20 that can drag a rifle has been drafted for the army, with the possible = exception=20 of men working in railways, munitions, etc.

The Greek Minister still thinks Greece will stay out of the war. His = father=20 is one of the cabinet.

The Germans are very glad to get rid of Brand = Whitlock. For=20 some time they have been looking for an excuse to expel him.

The dyestuff and other chemical manufacturers are = getting=20 quite scared about possible American competition. I hope the Democrats = will give=20 protection to these new industries and will also enact some = "anti-dumping"=20 legislation.[77]

The German cities are adding to the general weight = of debt=20 by incurring large debts for war purposes, such as relief of soldiers' = families,=20 etc.

The former Turkish Ambassador, who is against the = Young=20 Turks, is living here. He is afraid to go back and also the Germans are = keeping=20 him in stock in case the Young Turks go out of power, and possibly to = stir up=20 trouble in Egypt, as his wife is a daughter of one of the Khedives.

There are lots of suspicious looking Spaniards about, possibly = cooking up an=20 attack on Gibraltar.

Any German peace talk includes payment of a large subsidy by England, = Russia,=20 and Fran

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Face to Face with Kaiserism, = by James=20 W. Gerard

E-text prepared by Rick Niles, Irma Spehar,
and the = Project=20 Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading = Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)

FACE TO FACE
WITH KAISERISM

INTRODUCTORY = NOTE[vii]

CONTENTS[ix]

ILLUSTRATIONS[xi]

FACE=20 TO FACE WITH KAISERISM[13]

CHAPTER I

PERSONALITY OF THE KAISER AND SOMETHING OF THE KING BUSINESS

CHAPTER II[32]

WHO DOES THE KAISER'S THINKING AND WHO DECIDED ON THE BREAK WITH=20 AMERICA?

CHAPTER III[42]

WHO SANK THE "LUSITANIA"?

CHAPTER IV[49]

THE KAISER AND "L=C8SE-MAJEST=C9"

CHAPTER V[55]

WHEN THE KAISER THOUGHT WE WERE BLUFFING

CHAPTER VI[73]

THE INSIDE OF GERMAN DIPLOMACY

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Face to Face with Kaiserism, = by James=20 W. Gerard

E-text prepared by Rick Niles, Irma Spehar,and the = Project=20 Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading = Team(http://www.pgdp.net)

FACE TO FACEWITH KAISERISM

INTRODUCTORY = NOTE[vii]

CONTENTS[ix]

ILLUSTRATIONS[xi]

FACE=20 TO FACE WITH KAISERISM[13]

CHAPTER I

PERSONALITY OF THE KAISER AND SOMETHING OF THE KING BUSINESS

CHAPTER II[32]

WHO DOES THE KAISER'S THINKING AND WHO DECIDED ON THE BREAK WITH=20 AMERICA?

CHAPTER III[42]

WHO SANK THE "LUSITANIA"?

CHAPTER IV[49]

THE KAISER AND "L=C8SE-MAJEST=C9"

CHAPTER V[55]

WHEN THE KAISER THOUGHT WE WERE BLUFFING

CHAPTER VI[73]

THE INSIDE OF GERMAN DIPLOMACY

E-text prepared by Rick Niles, Irma Spehar,
and the = Project=20 Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading = Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)

FACE TO FACE
WITH KAISERISM