Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-11-30
IS THE KAISER INsANEY
An Account of the German Emperor's EC
ccntricities That Comes by Way of Paris.

An Account Of the German Emperor's Ec-
ccntricities That Comes by Way of Paris.
The Paris correspondent Of the New York
| Herald telegraphs: I. is suspected that the
kaiser is insane. Various recent events have
| given rise to the fear that the imperial mind is
unhirged, The pessimIsts at court look back
| with regret e the tilues of the old Emperor
| William They have noticed something strange
and shifty IN the eyes OF the young sovereign
for some time past, something which reminds
| one strongly OF the late iuckless Louis Of Ba-
varia- Nor have their fears been greatly
4 lessened by the kaiser's growing taste for the
drama, in which they see another sinister anal
ogy between the two monarchs. They were
particularly struck last spring by the intense
interest shown by the kaiser in Wildenbruch s
play OF Der Meme Herr, III which reference
| was made to his conflict with Prince Bismarck.
| Since then be has had the production OF a new
ana worthless piece postponed In order to at
| tend the performance,
Although this play failed signally the kaiser
sent for the author and talked with him for a
full hour, disregarding the impotence of the
public at the abnormal length of the wait
Everything relating to the stage seems to
| fasclnate him just now. Some months ago he
| deputed a general to teach the ballet at the
opera house a military dance short time
after he issued his rescript against immortality
and gave orders that the business" in certain
plays in which the military characters had to
| put their arms round the waists of pretty viii
lage maidens should DO altered.
| The kaiser well-known mania for changing
! his uniforms Is another odd symptom. In Lon
| don have seen him in as many as eleven diff
ferent military and civilian costumes in one
| day On another occasion lie donned an adj
miral uniform at Potsdam to go boating in.
This craze of his grows on him. When he
gave audience to Prince Damrong Of Siam in
Berlin lately he affected the grand tenue of the
mead OF the order OF the Black Eagle, an eigh-
teenth century costume worn only once year
at the festival OF the order He evidently
wished to impress his oriental guest by the
splendor of the Berlin court.
HIS fondness for reviews for ''aarums
and excursions is no secret. He delights in
| surprising his garrisons awakening his troops
ard then officers at unexpected moments
When the wh'm takes him he will keel them at
their drill all night and day
Last winter he travelled all the way TO Han
over one day In baggage car to startle the ma
tiyas. In the spr'ng Of this year, after d ban.
quet with the officers of the Franz Josef rcGi-
| ment. he forced the troops to turn out aud
maneuver from 10 in the evening till the next
morning.
Even these eccentricities have just been out
done by his majesty. One night lately he
aroused regiment OF grenadlers: made the
men march out of one of the town gates in
dead silence and Eide behind wall. Then
having awakened THEN officers he asked them
what had become of their troops and threatened
to punish them for neglect of duty.
Moved by their wretched and despairing
faces, however, he relented and laughingly re-
| marked, 1t was all joke. l made your men
hide themselves TO hear what ycu would say
More serious than ali, however, is the kaiser 8
tendency to extend his freaks to home poll
ties
A very painful impression was caused when
1t became known that the kaiser had written
the following line III the Golden Book" at
Munich:
'Suprema lex voluntas regis"
Freedom runs strange risks in the hands of a
monarch who prOclaims the will of kings the
supreme law OF nations
1t would now seem that William repeated the
same idea III an even more emphatic form when
he received the conservative delegations which
presented him their homage at the recent
maneuvers
The duty of Germans" said the kaiser. sis
to follow their emperor Jlindly and e, cry
where. He reminded them that there was
only one master in the land-himself. And be
recalled speech which he had made before
tile downfall Of Prince Bismarck
Il will break any one who thwarts me as
would a straw"
Who can wonder if all these scattered facts
have produced feeling approaching conster-
nation III Germany! Or If that feeling has
been deepened by the latest imperial utter
'''NS' hA''iiS " tIOOpo tldL YET
be called on TO repress internal disorder.
Extreme measures may be expected of the
young sovereign II the progress of socialism
continues. Aud !; is hard to see what means
can be devised TO check the movement. which
Is sweeping on and on throughout Germany
The greatest of ali the perils 10 which Ger
mans are exposed by Williams restlcssness lie
| In his conduct of foreign affairs.
The Germans know now that during the En-
press Fredericks visit to Paris the kaiser be-
llevins that his mother had been insulted Or
dered the mobilization of four army CORPS
This order was actual Y on the way when the
kaiser received dispatch from Queen Victoria
lmploring her grandson not to let loose the
dogs of war. William Gained down after read
ing this message and couutermanded his in
structions
fortnight later peace was once more i'm
perllled. But this time it was Russia. not
France, who was threatened. On learning tina;
the car had decided not to halt in Berlin OH
his recent journey the kaiser's dignity took
umbrage, another mobilization order was is
sued to avenSe the supposed slight to his per-
son, and 1t was only through second inter
vehton OF Queen Victoria that a conflict was
averted. The wiseacres say that the queen 8
influence over her grandson will not last. They
fear that some daya tritiing incident will cause
the threatened mobilization to become a fact
| and that war will result.