St. Louis Post-Dispatch
February 24, 1918

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Bd SPS) 33 Eye Pea a oe betes cdi! wnt ee ee SO LT ae oe - +R og ‘PF 0 & pe a peters SsSVUNDAW ST.LOUIS POST-DISPATCH | Ste Fiala lititttnttete craters ¥e 0 > 44 vo ah rtbns > Shoes a _ VOL. 70. NO. 185. . ST. LOUIS, SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 24, 1918. SSS PAGES 1—12. Ambassador Gerard’s New Book: “Face t Fy ace With Kai =? = oO “The Personal Side of the German Emperor as | Have Known Fim | For Years He Has Fed His Ambition by Imagining Himself Entering Fallen Cities With the Keys to Their Citadels and Treasure Repositories Borne Humbly Before Him. “Others Have Failed, but I Dreamed a Dream of German World Empire and My Mailed Fist Will Succeed”---He Loves the Pomp and Cir- cumstance ot: War. This is the first installment of Mr. Gerard’s new book, which will be printed in full in the Post-Dispatch. An installment will appear daily, including Sundays, un- til the entire volume is presented. Mr. Gerard did not use half of his observations and experiences while at the German Court in “My Four Years in Germany” (which the Post-Dispatch printed in serial form also), and his new book will be quite as in- teresting as was his first. By JAMES W. GERARD, American Ambassador at the German Imperial Court, July 23, 1913, to Feb. 4, 1917. Author of ‘‘My Four Years in Germany.’’ 1918. by Public Ledger Company. CHAPTER I. O the American mind the Kaiser is the per- sonification of Germany. He is the arch- enemy upon whom the world places the responsibility for this most terrible of all wars. I have sat face to face with him in the palace at Berlin where, as the personal representative and envoy of the President of the United States, I had the honor of expressing the viewpoint of a great nation. I have seen him in the field as the com- . manding General of mighty forces, but I also have seen him in the neutral countries through which I passed on my return home and in my own be- loved land—in the evidence of intrigue and plot- ting and which is today ‘‘the Thing,” as President Wilson calls it, which has brought the American people face to face with Kaiseriam.in.thegreatest conflict of all history. ’ “What manner of man is he? What is his char- acter? How much was he responsible for what has happened? How much his General Staff? What of the Crown Prince and what of the neutral peoples and their rulers whom Germany has intimidated and would fain subjugate if it suit- ed her purpose? These are the questions I shall attempt to answer out of my experiences in Ger- many and my contacts with the rulers of other countries in my journeys to and from Berlin and Washington. To illustrate the craft of the Kaiser, I believe I can perform no better service to Americans than to reveal an incident which has not hitherto been published. It occurred at the New Year's recep- tion of 1914, when the. Ambassador’s of all the foreign countries represented at the German court were ranged in a large room at the palace. They stood about six feet apart in the order of their residence in Berlin. The Kaiser and his aids entered the room, and the Emperor spoke a few minutes to each envoy. He varried longest with the Turkish Ambassador and myself, thereby arousing the curiosity of the other diplomats, who suspected that the Kaiser did more than merely exchange the greetings of the season. He did. Copyright. rite Kaiser Personally Strove to Sow Discord Between U.S. and Japan What the German Emperor said to me interests every American because it shows his subtlety of purpose. The Kaiser talked at length to me about what he called Japan’s designs on the United States. He warned me that Mexico was full of Japanese spies and an army of Japanese Colonels. He also spoke about France, saying that he had made every effort to make up with France; that he had extended his hand to that country, but that the French had refused to meet his overtures; that he was through and would not try again to Beal the breach between France and Germany! All this was in 1914, six months before the out- y break of the European war. Little did I know - then what the purpose was back of that conver- sation, but it is clear now that the Emperor wished to have the Government of the United States persuaded through me that he was really trying to keep Europe at peace and that the re- sponsibility for what was going to happen would be on France. The German is so skillful at in- trigue that he seeks even in advance of an ex- pected offensive to lay the foundation for self- justification. But the reference to Japan and alleged hostility against us on the part of fanciful hordes of Jap- anese in Mexico made me wonder at the time. There were many evidence subsequent to that New Year's day reception of an attempt to alie- nave us from Japan; as a climax to it all as a clarification of what the Emperor had in mind came the famous Zimmermann note— the tnstruc- tions to the German Minister in Mexico to align both Japan and Mexico against us when we en- tered the war against Germany! Plotting and intriguing for power and mastery! Such is the business of absolute rulers. E-Delieve that had the old Austrian Kaiser lived a | Cooyright Canada. 1915, for instance, he remarked to me: 1918, by Public Ledger Company. a little while longer, the prolongation of his life would have been most disastrous both for Austria and Hungary. I believe after the death of Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo and after a year of war the German Emperor and autocracy were brood- ing over a plan according to which, on the death of Francis Joseph, the successor should be allowed to rule only as King or Grand Duke of austria, the title of Emperor of Austria to disappear and German Princes to be placed upon the thrones of Hungary and of a new kingdom of Bohemia. These and the King or Grand Duke of Austria were to be subject monarchs under the German Kaiser, who was thus to revive an empire, if not greater, at least more powerful, than the empires of Charlemagne and of Charles the Fifth. Many public utterances of the German Kaiser show that trend of mind. —a Predicted He Would Succeed Where Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon Failed | es —_— Emperor William deliberately wrote and pub- lished, for instance, such a statement as this: “From childhood I have been influenced by five men: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, The- doric II, Frederick the Great and Napoleon. Each of these men dreamed a dream of world empire. They failed. I have dreamed a dream 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 self and becomes as spiritless as a fagged animal or ambition drives him always on— he is never content with any success achieved. The millionaire, to whom the first million, when he was a boy, seemed the extreme limit of human wealth and desire, presses on insatiably with the first million in his pocket, more restless, more dissatisfied, than the hungry farmer’s boy who first carries his ambitions to the great city. When these zealous, scheming men gain the power of kingship they usually bring disaster to their country. Their subjects find no com- pensation in the personal ambitions which hurry a nation into the miseries of war. Better Charles II dallying with his ringleted mistresses than an Alexander the Great; better Henry the Fourth of France, the “‘ever-green gallant,”’ than Frederick the Great bathing his p@ople in blood. “Happy nations have no history.” William the Second, the present German Em- peror, might well be called the Restless Emperor. He is never satisfied to remain more than a few days in any place or in any occupation. He com- mands his armies in person. He has won distinc- tion as a writer and a public speaker. He is an excellent shot. He has composed music, written verses, superintended the production of a bal- let, painted a picture; the beautiful Byzantine chapel in the Castle of Posen shows his genius for architecture; and, clothed in a clergyman’s sur- plice, he has preached a sermon in Jerusalem. What ruler in all history has-~exhibited such extraordinary versatility? Puts on His Nightshirt and Sleeps Two Hours Every Afternoon 5 In my conversations with the Emperor I have been struck by his knowledge of other countries, lands which he had never visited. He was fa- miliar not only with their manners, customs; in- dustries and public men, but with their commer- cial problems. Through his conversation one can see the keen eye of the Hanseatic trader iook- ing with eager envy on the trade of a rival mer- chant. The Emperor incidentally, while in- stinctively commercial, has an inborn contempt. if not for the law, at least for lawyers. [n October, “This is @ lawyer's war—Asquith and Lloyd George in Engiand, Poincare and Briand in France.” In appearance and conversation Emperor Wil- liam is very manly. His-voice is strong, with a ‘forth his appearance This is one of the few photographs _of the German Emper- or in civilian attire. It is a snapshot and was made in the Island of Corfu, off the Grecian coast, when he was on a visit to Achil- leion, his great es- tate there, that for- merly belonged to the murdered Em- press Elizabeth of Austria. The Em- peror dees not often appear in civilian clothing because he realizes that he cuts a disappointing fig- ure in it. Ih uni® Is imperial, but in mufti he is really vy vat inbaald _ quite ordinary, look- Fr tne weet i eg” ~_ pa reese: ing not at all: the Ca SA sie 3 part of the Kaiser of the Germans. ring in it. Following the ? He is a good rider. P. Pr ran oo } ( » s ; ewe e+ es 4h s* ve ek ie el Ge eS Ra ~~ « . ee - ri ms ? eae 4 oe e: Si: i wae Z + = +s *) ‘ ‘ s se? 4 a-f sg a ee . 4 ; eK, : py. ‘ ak Bi ‘ae eS ty ‘ an. $s ‘ Harper and Brothers. bee Ra by pagne and wine are put in silver cups in” order Copyright German custom, he puts on his nightshirt -eyery | that those drinking wine with him do not gee that afternoon after lunch and sleeps for two hours—) he consumes no appreciable quantity of aicoholic for the German is more devoted to the siesta than | the Spaniard or Mexican. The hours of the Ber- lin Foreign Office, for example, were from 11 to 1 and 4 to 8.. After a heavy lunch at 1 o’clock all officials took a nap for an hour or two. Also, the hours of the bank where I did business were from 10 to 1 and from 4 to 6. This meant that. after 6 o’clock the clerks had to sit until perhaps 8 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 York Athletic Club given by President Page, with the members of the German commission who had come to America to study athletics and to see what could be done in Germany so that the Ger- ) mans could make a good showing at the games’ ergy is concentrated on the conversation. in their own city. After my arrival in Germany one of the mem- bers of this commission told me that it was im- possible, he believed, to organize the Germans as athletes until German meal and business hours bad been changed. He said that with us in Ameri- ca young men leaving business at 4:30, 5 or 5:30 had time in which to exercise before their evening meal, but that in Germany the young men ate’ so ( much at the midday meal that they required their , siesta after it and that they did not leave their offices until so late in the evening that exercise and practice were impossible: Rarely Wears Civilian Dress, Does =) Not Look Imperial When He Does: On the Emperor's table his wine glasses, rather cups, are of silver. Possibly this is “ cause he has been forbidden by his physician to drink wine. The Germans maintain the old- fashioned custom of drinking healths at meals. Someone far down the table will lift his glass, look at you and smile. You are then expected to lift your glass and drink with him and then both bow and smile over the glasses. As the Emperor must reciprocate with everyone present, his cham- } ; | liquor on the occasion of each health drinking. Some people in America may have often wished for a similar device. The Emperor is out of uniform only on rare oc- casions, Occasionally when in a foreign country he has appeared in civilian dress. He appears to much better advantage in uniform than in civilian attire. Although uniformed while at sea as an Admiral, his favorite uniform is really that of the Hussars. In conversation, the Emperor reminds one very much of Roosevelt, of a polite Roosevelt, talking with the same energy, the same _ violence of gesture and of voice so characteristic of our great ex-President. When the Emperor talks all his attention is given to you and all his mental en- In this violence of manner and voice he seems not at all German. The average German is neither exuber- ant nor soft-spoken, but mild-mannered. His favorite among his ancestors is William of Orange. Once he attended a fancy dress ball in costume and makeup copied from the well- known picture of that Prince. The Emperor is strongly built and is about 5 feet 9 inches tall. He sits well on his horse and walks, too, with head erect and shoulders thrown back—a picture of mil- itary precision. A friend of mine who was present at Kiel with bis yacht in 1910 tells me that when all the yachts and warships had been assembled along the long narrow waterway which constituted that har- bor, with the crews lined up on deck or manning the yards, with bands crashing and banners float- ing, the Hohenzollern slowly steamed into the harbor and passed lazily and majestically through the waiting ships. Alone on the upper bridge there stood the monarch, attired in full military uniform, with white coat and. tight breeches, high top Boots, shining silver breastplate and silver helmet, surmounted by an eagle, the dress of the Prussian Guard Regiment, so dear to those who portray romantic and kingly roles upon the stage, a figure on whom all eyes were fixed, as i 8% , in the world where German merchants were not ‘ranks, the Restless Emperor. in any »lace or in any occupation. —FORMER AMBASSADOR GERARD. won distinction as a writer and a public speaker. posed music, written verses, superintended the production of a ballet, painted a picture the beautiful Byzantine chapel in the Castle of Posen shows his genius for architecture and, clothed in a clergyman’s surplice, he has preached a sermon in Jerusalem. What” ruler in all history has exhibited such extraordinary versatility? In my conversations — with the Emperor I have been struck by his knowledge of other countries, lands, which ~ he had never visited. He was familiar not only with their manners, customs, industries and © public men, but with their commetcial problems, Through his conversation one can see the © keen eye of the Hanseatic trader looking with eager envy on the trade of a rival merchant. | ILLIAM THE SECOND, the present German Emperor, might well be called : : Wy He is never satisfied to remain more than a few days He commands his armies in person. He has He is an excellent shot. He has com-_ 4 splendid as that of Lohengrin, drawn by his fairy swan, coming _to rescue the unjustly accused Princess. And, alas! the Germans like all this pomp and splendor. It appeals to something in the German heart and seems to create a feeling of affection and humility in the German breast. When I talked at length one day with President Wilson on my visit to America in October, 1916, he remarked, half to himself, in surprise -at my tale of war: ‘‘Why does all this horror come on the world? What causes it?” “Mr. President,” I answered, “it is the King business.” I did not mean nominal Kings as harmless as those of Spain and England. I was thinking of the powerful monarchs. A German republic would never have embarked on this war; a German Con- gress would have thought twice Saal sending its own sons to death in a deliberate effort to en- slave other peoples. In a free Germany teachers, ministers and professors would not have taught the necessity of war. What German merchant in free Germany would have thought that all the trade of the East, all the riches of Bagdad and Cairo and Mosul could compensate him for the death of his first-born or restore the blind eyes to the youngest son who now crouches, cowering, For there was no I know of no place ever the fire, awaiting death? trade necessity for this war. free to trade. The disclosures of war have shown how German commerce had penetrated every land, to an extent unknown to the best informed. If the German merchants wanted this war in order to gain a German monopoly of the world’s trade, then they are rightly suffering from the results of overweening covetousness. ~ a No More Autocratic Ruler in the World Than the Emperor | Experts in insanity say that the Roman Em- perors, as soon as they attained the rule of the world, were made mad by the possession of that stupendous power. The scepter of Emperor Wil- liam is mighty. No more autocratic influence proceeds from any other monarch or ruler. But, you will say, how about our President in time of war? Great power can safely be given to a Presi- dent. Our Presidents have all risen from the Usually they have gone through the school of hard knocks. And there are ways of keeping them abreast of the people. It is told that hidden from public view, crouched down in the chariot in which the suc- cessful Roman Proconsvl or. General drove fri- umphantly through the crowded streets of Rome, was a slave celebrated for his impertinence, whose duty it was to make the honored one feel that, after all, he was nothing more than an ordinary mortal blessed with a certain amount of good luck. Probably.as the chariot passed by the forum the slave would say, after a thunderous. burst of applause from the populace: “Do not take that applause too seriously. That is the T. Quintus Cassius Association, whose chief received a hundred sesterces from your brother-in-law yes- terday, on account, with a promise of a hundred more in case the association’s cheers seemed loud and sincere.” So in America the press, serious and comic, takes the place of the humble Roman and throws enough cold water on the head of any temporarily successful American to reduce it to normal pro- portions. Besides, the President knows that some day he must return to the ranks, live again with his neighbors, seek out the threads of a lost law practice or eke out a livelihood on the Chautauqua circuit in the discomfort of tiny hotels, traveling in upper berths instead of private cars and eating on lunch stools in smail stations instead of in the sumpttious surroundings of presidential lux- ury. These are sobering prospects. Monarchs Look Upon Their Subjects as Their Own Personal Property ——— Kings, on the other hand, come to look on their subjects as toys. A postcard popular in Austria ‘ and Germany showed the old Emperor Francis Joseph, seated at a table with a little great-grand- nephew on his knee, teaching the child to move toy soldiers about on the boards; and it is un- fortunately true that the same youngster—should the system of the Central Empires be perpetuated —will be able to move his subjects across the map of Europe just &s he did the toy soldiers on his great-granduncle’s table. He will be able to tear men from their work and their homes, to seize great scientists, great chemists, great in- ventors—men who may be on the eve of discov- eries or remedies destined to rid the human race of the scourge of cancer or the white plague and send them to death in the marshes of Mace- donia or the fastnesses of the Carpathians, be- Poa sci onto 2s SORE Oe ange manger memes eee ? sci Nig eae St WAGs ee se oF REAR, $i See 0. idly ie est din — cause some fellow King or Emperor has deceived or outwitted him. In a monarchy all subjects seem the pensonal property of the monarch and all expressions of power become personal. This extends throughout all countries ruled by royalty. x3: §When, for example, a member of the royal fam- ily dies, even in another country, it must be © lamented by the court circle of other lands. Here — is the official notice sent to all diplomats and members of the Imperial German Court on the occasion of the death of the Queen of Sweden: ©~ “The court goes into mourning today for her majesty the Queen Mother of Sweden, for three weeks, up to and including the 19th of January. , 1914. “Ladies wear black silk dresses for the first uu days, including Jan. 12, with black hair orha- ments, black gloves, black fans and black jew elry; the last eight days with white hair Orman. ments, gray gloves, white fans and pearis. - “Gentlemen wear the whole time a black beni on the sleeve. Civilians wear with the em- ~ broidered coat, during the first 14 days, includiag — Jan. 12, on occasions of ‘grand gala,’ black buckles and swords with black sheaths. During the last eight days bright buckles; on occasions of ‘half gala,’ gold or silver embroidered trousers of .the color of the uniform and in the one as in the -other case, gold or silver embroidered hat with white plume; with the ‘small’ uniform, how- ever, black trousers (or knee breeches, black silk — stockings, shoe with black bows and the ‘three- cornered hat with black plume). During the . first 14 days gentlemen wear black woolen vee and black gloves, in the last eight days black ~ silk vests and, gray gloves. | “Berlin, Dec. 30, 1913. ; “The Ober-Ceremonienmeister Seaing. “GRAF A. RG. “By command of his majesty the Emperor, mourning will be suspended for New Year's day and the 17th and 18th of January.” —E Royalties a Close Corporation 5 With Word My Ever on Tongues So it is apparent what a close corporation a the royal families make and the peoples are simply viewed as the personal property of the ruling Princes. In his telegram which the Ger- man Kaiser wrote to President Wilson on Aug. 10, observe how all is personal. The Kaiser safe: “I telegraphed to his majesty the King, personally, but that if, etc., I would employ my troops else- where. * * * His majesty answered that he thought my offer. * * *” He speaks of the King of the Belgians “having refused my petition for a free passage.” He refers to “my Ambassador in London.” This telegram shows, on the other hand, another thing—the great ability of the Kaiser. Undoubt- edly he knew why I was coming to see him—to present the offer of mediation of President Wilson —but from our conversation I do not think that he had even in his mind prepared the which sets forth his position in entering the He said: “Wait a moment; I shall thing for the President.” Then taking tel graph blanks lying on the table, he wrote rap idly and fluently. It was a message in a language, and, whatever we may think of its is tent, at any rate it is clear, concise, pares a and forceful. a The personal touch runs through that dinary series of telegrams in the famous “Wil Nick” correspondence between Kaiser Wilbelth and the last of the Romanoffs, discovered in ia Petrograd by Herman Bernstein. These. reveal, 4 moreover, the surpassing craft of the German Kaiser. He was the master schemer. Touting a for German trade, always for his advantage, he twists the poor half-wit of the Winter Palace like a piece of straw. a Emperor William was not satisfied with a quiet — ~ amg &, ats life as patron of trade. As he studied the por- —