Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-03-15

XSSSrsEt[ atS{SEt& CTcOTRO. LII 1OlI, nav
.&$SSS% ing first undergone
49, the most careful prep
KAISER "iLHELM' aration, he was given
a seat and voice in the Council of State.
In 1910, and after the accession of his child
lie 8 brother FIR ,derick William the Fourth,
TO the thron :, the subject of this sketch be-
came known as the heir apparent and
PrIn e of Prussia About the same time
he was ppointed Governor OF Pomerania
and two years later, during the absence Of
his broth er in England, the conduct of the
civil as well as the military affairs of the
Kingdom was intrusted to him.
In March, 1913, when the instruction
broke out in Berlin, he with lrew for awhile
to England in order to escape tho popular
Odium then fastened upon him OF being an
sRbSolutist. In the summer Of the follow
ing year he returned to Prussia and COM
-manded the army which was sent to put
down the Instruction in Baden and the Pal
satinate, a task which, difficult as it proved,
he accomplished in six weeks. It was
while on his way from NieduS Ingelheim
TO Baden, June II, 1885, that an unsuccess-
ful attempt was made to assassinate him.
In October of the same year he was APP
pointed M Iitary Governor in Westphalia
and on the Ra ne, with his headquarters at
Coblentz, also Governor of the federal
Fortress Mlyence or Mentz. About the
same time, too, he was made Grand Master
OF the FIR Ma3ons, in which order he,
during his whole life, took the liveliest in
terest-
Meanwhile, his answering loyalty to
his brotner, the King as well as his rec
-Ognized alb lily as a counselor, was such
that on ali imp )rtant matters his opinions
were sought, and not infrequently his adj
vice taken, or his suggestions adopted. In
1857, when the King was taken i'll, Prince
William actel in his stead; in October,
1855, he was formally installed as Regent,
and was finally crowned King January 2,
1851 Prior to his ascending the throne
Prince William had been recognized as the
silent head of the party which was striving
- effect The union of Germany, and accord
ingly in HIM were centered the fondest
hopes of every German patriot. How COM
pietely those hopes were realized, the his
tory of his reign will tell. His policy from
the outset, wniie far from satisfying the
extreme Lib erals of his subjects, yet
showed the grandness of the mans aims
ami idea, and indicated plainly the reforms
he contemplated bringing about July ID,
1851, the student, Oskar Becker, a Liberalist
. extremely fanatical in his views, made
-4ni a. attempt 10 aSSassnate the King
SUthiie he was walking ON the Promenade
AT Baden-Baden He urged, as an excuse
for t,lo deel, the utter incapacity of Will
I'm To effect the union of Germany, the
nccDmpl shrnent of which, however, may
Now b pointed to as one OF the notable acts
OF a long and splendid rcign.
In 1862 he placed Bismarck at the head of
his Cabinet, as Minister of Foreign Affairs,
and iwo years later, after procuring the
cooperation of Austria in the Schleswig-
Hoislen war, achieved o splendid victory
Tor Prussia His sagacity in selecting able
state smen and killed Gen erals, was only
seqI;.led by his unyielding support, sustain
in-s them against all opposition. His I'M
bounded confidence in Bismarck, as well
~ in Won X on and Moltke, was fully con-
firm by the rapid and brilliant successes
AIT nding his iorces in the war against
Austria. Th war, in which he personal
Iy l. ok an active part, exti'-guished Aus
'tria us a German Power, and placed him at
the head of the new North German confed-
Grafton with sch eswig- II olstein, Hanover,
iies Sc Cassel, Nassau and Frankfort added
10 his PIussian dominions.
On the 24th of February, 1867, he opened
the Con itltuent Reichstag, and on July l
%. the same year made Bismarck Chancel-
4or:
i'm June, 1867, ii company with his neph-
ew, Alexander tho Second, of Russia he
visited Pdr.S, anu while Sojourning in that
city Was received as tho honored guest of
Napoleon the Third, then on the throne of
France. From that time on, the friendly
rel .tionS between Prussia and Russia were
siren gthened, especially as the two Chan
cello S iSmirc41 and Gortschakoff were as
much IN accord as were their respective
1Soye eigns, AS viii be seen later on, this
mu usl feel ng between the two Powers was
no small fat tor in the ultimate victory over
FIR ne, and in the final realization of Ger
man unity. 1t has been claimed by some
writers thai King William, in his determi.
nation to have his dynasty maintain it's
position as he protector of the Protestant
IA til, that he therefore sought to crush out
=. I
that his efforts were not directed against
the freedom, nor the existence of the
Catholic Church, but only against domi-
Dant party in that Church, which sought to
stlfie popular education, forbid free
thought, and with the consequences nee
4essarily TO lowing, seriously effect the hap
pin IS and Welfare of his people.
The candidacy of Prince Leopold, of
Hob nzolIern, for the throne of Spain, and
the Kings objections against further in
<erview with the French Ambassador at
his court, Count Benedetti, became the
pretext upon which the French Govern
ment declared war against Prussia; al
though the real reasons lay in the fact that
Napoleon Was far from satisfied with the
results of the war of 1885, while he also
viewed the rapidly-growing power of Ger
vnaly with jealousy and alarm. The South
g 5rinan States at once Joined the North
German confederation against France I'M
der the lead OF Prussia. aud, as is now
well known, the war, SO far as the former
Powers were concerned, was only a sue
acession of brilliant victories. King Will
lam. accomp mid by Bismarck, Won Room
and Moltke, was in the field with the Ger
man armies from the beginning until the
close of the contest, receiving at Sedan.
September 2, 1870 the surrender of Napo-
leon On III 5th of October he made his
headquarters at Versailles in the palace of
the former French Kings, and it was here,
ON the 18th of january, 1871, that he was
p-oclaimed Emperor of Germany.
After signing the preliminaries of peace,
February ~, he took occasion to express to