The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1891-07-23
TALKING WITH MOLTKE,
Ex-PRESlDENT ANDREW D. WHITES
DESCRIPTION OF HIM.

the Occasion of the Golden Wedding of
the Old Emperor William-Baron No
thomb's Felicitous Introduction.
BY many people ex-President Andrew
ID. White, of Cornell university, ex-min-
lister to Germany, is regarded as one of
the best authorities on German affairs in
the United States. Years of patient study
and observation give great weight to his
views on the new Germany of today.
Regarding the great German soldier
and strategist the ex-president says:
| first saw Won Moltke Just after nv
arrival at Berlin at the festivals attend
ant upon the golden wedding of the old
Emperor William. The first of these
was great theatrical representation at
the Royal Opera house, at which the
emperor and empress and Very nearly all
the crowned heads of Germany, with
representatives of the various royalties
of Europe, were present, and besides
these, attracting even more attention,
Bismarck, Won Moltke and the leading
generals of the Franco russian war.
The appearance of these people comes
back before me very wildly, but no one
is more distinctly present to me than Won
Moltke. He seemed absolutely different
from every other parsonage in that great
hall. He was a tall, spare man, his face
mixture Of determination and kindli-
ness, his whole appearance, as more than
one person has said at various times
being that of an intelligent, kindly col
lege professor or. schoolmaster.
There was something singularly gen
tie about his whole bearing, yet it was
impressive. He sat very quietly, exchang-
ing some little conversation with his next
neighbor, Manteuffel, the dreaded vice
roy of Alsace-Lorraine. The contrast
between the two was very marked-Man-
teuffel, apparently, all keenness and Sc
verify, Won Moltke firm, but gentle
INTRODUCED BY BARON NoTHoMB.
When | next saw him it was at an
evening gathering where there was not a
large number present, and where had
the opportunity to converse with him.
was introduced to him by the dean of the
diplomatic corps. Baron Nothomb, some.
times called 1.-The father of constitution
al liberty in continental Europe" man
of very wide political knowledge and
who more than once, as | sat at the table,
gave me accounts of his conversations
with Talleyrand and other men of the
first Napoleonic period.
Baron Nothomb in presenting me to
Won Moltke took advantage of a little
sketch published in one of the German
,x,l 4 1Cys.. i
| wish to make you acquainted with a
gentleman who was born in Homer, who
lives in Syracuse and who has aided in
founding university at Ithaca"
At this Won Moltke laughed pleas
antly, and evidently did not understand
the allusion, whereupon told him that
in the earlier days of this country we
had way of naming our townships and
villages after noted heroes of antiquity,
but at present we did better, naming
them after the great men of these times,
and telling him that no doubt in the
newer states he would find his own
name and that of Bismarck attached to
some of our younger towns. He.seemed
interested in this and talked on very
pleasantly.
look back to that evening as one of
the most interesting during my stay in
Germany.
MOLTKE IN PARLIAMENT.
At various other times | met Won
Moltke, but do not recall anything of es-
peclal interest. No man was more free
from the slightest tincture of vanity. AS
ha 1lynI fLror,cpl, h. IL
parks, going to and from the Office of the
general staff, he was undistinguishable
save by his tall, scholarly form from the
crowd of military men about him. He
evidently wore just as little in the shape
of orders and decorations as was permis-
sibla
At court he was expected, of course,
to appear in more splendid attire but
even then there was always the same
quiet modesty and simplicity. He seemed
to me in some respects ''the noblest Ro-
man of them all"
But perhaps his most impressive ap-
pearance was as a member of the i'm
perial parliament. From time to time
as l happened in to hear the discussions
"a " I'LL IA LIS SStC, QuAeI, 1ulpoILurDa
BILE; but on two occasions heard him
speak, and on each of these his subject
was the necessity of larger votes of
money and men to maintain the mill
tary supremacy of Germany.
Nothing could be better in their way
than these speeches of his. He looked
and spoke as | could imagine julius
Caesar looked and spoke in the Roman
senate. Nothing could be more simple
AID yet nothing more effective. He was
listened to by men of all parties with the
utmost respect
He seemed to stand in a sense afoof
from all parties, and to be guided simply
and solely by what he considered the
best interests of the German empire. On
hearing him speak one could not resist
this conclusion, and as his manner was
simple, voice good and statements very
clear, direct and strong, but without the
slightest tendency to exaggeration, his
words carried great weight.
remember hearing him say in sub
stance in one of these speeches that
Germany must be prepared for any
emergency, and must maintain the very