The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-03-09

THE EMPEROR WILLIAM.

THE 6MFEhUR W1IGlAMs
Frederick William Louis, of Hohenzollern,
officially known as William /, seventh King of
| Prussia and first Emperor of Germany: who is
| dying at Berlin, is one of the most illustrious
representatives of great house and the most
conspicuous figure in modern European his
tory. In family prolific of great men he
was one of the greatest. In long line of
hereditary rulers he was one Of the most
prominent. Yet his greatness was simply
that of professional soldier and his merit
that of an absolute ruler. The standard Of
greatness by which kings are judged is not
the highest, yet we must recognize kingly
standard. The Hohenzollerns were born
soldiers and rulers. Their ancestry from the
middle ages made them so. The birthplace
of the dynasty was q mountain fastness, and
their impregnable castle bred soldiers only.
Emperor William was as essentially soldier
and absolutist as Frederick the Great, and
represented the same dynastic ideas. It
was his good fortune to embody and
this, with adventitious circumstances,
made him greater man and 8. larger figure in
history than he might otherwise have been.
The idea he represented and embodied was
the unifcation of Germany, and his career
completely typifes it. Not that he alone or
chiefly accomplished it, for he had powerful
helpers, bnt he was the central figure and the
''divinely appointed agent" He was born to
greatness, he achieved additional renown,
and combination of circumstances helped to
magnify his greatness.
The Emperor's birth antedated the century.
and if he had lived till the 22d inst he would
have been ninety-one years old. His life
covered one of the most eventeul periods in
the worlds history. He was old enough to
accompany the armies which overthrow Ma
poleon Bonaparte and to imbibe in those
great campaigns the spirit that was to make
him in later years the person;fcation of Ger
many in arms Though he did not be-
come King of Prussia till 1861, he
had for nearly fifteen years before
that been invested with high and
responsible duties of state. But in the per-
Torrance of these he never forgot his first
love nor lost sight of his duty as a soldier
He was a soldier before he was ruler a
fighter before he was king, and he prided
himself more on his knowledge and observance
of military discipline and etiquette than he
did on his knowledge of statecraft. He loved
soldering and carried the rigid discipline of
the camp into the daily routine of palace life.
He never allowed body of soldiers however
small, to see him with the slightest appear
ance of disorder in his uniform. He said,
Gas the head of the army am bound to show
my soldiers an irreproachabIe example in the
way of form. They have never seen me with
my coat unbuttoned, and l do not intend that
they ever shall. For let me tell you that it
is the one button left unbuttoned that is the
ruin of an army" This was the spirit of
soldier and absolutist, the spirit that,
backed by Bismarck and Ven Moltke, has
unified Germany.
The history of the Emperors career since
his accession to power would be- in large
degree. that of Europe. One of its most
brilliant passages was the Franco-German
war; and perhaps its most dramatic incident
was his proclamation as Emperor, in January,
1871, from the palace of the former French
kings at Versailles. An eyewitness of the
ceremony says that tears rolled down his
cheeks he assumed the new title and
responsibility. forced upon him by the voice
of Germany, while French artillery unwit-
tingly Numbered approving salutes of
Hohenzollern's accession to imperial rank.
Less than two months later he reviewed
10000 victorious Germ an troops on the Long
champs racecourse near Paris, giving a
spectacular conclusion TO the humiliation of
France and the triumph of Germany
The Emperor always looked the soldier.
One who saw him at the age of seventy, when
he was almost in his prime, says 'his appear
ance at that time was singularly impressive
OF lofty stature-his exact height was
six feet, one inch and half-unusual
breadth of shoulder, and great depth
of chest, he was a magnificent type of
manly strength and symmetry" For many
years after this his vigor and endurance of
the hardships of camp life were an inexhaust-
ible source of wonder, not only to Germans
but to foreigners as well. To magnificent
physique and almost inexhaustible vitality he
added the devotion and enthusiasm in great
cause which were equally a source of physical
and moral strength to him.
The mission of the Emperor, aided by his
able Ministers and generals has been the
unifcation of Germany. This has been largely
military mission, and it has been, pc rhaps
his good fortune to reign during period
when the foreign policy of the state was OF
far greater Importance than its domestic pol
icy. 1t has been his business to help Ger