The San Francisco call., 1898-12-25
GERMANY SEEKS
 TIE FRIENDSHIP
 OF UNCLE SAM Berlin Would Avert
 ariff War. EEE0pTC AT H0NHU lATI0M
EFFORTS AT CANCELLATION
LOCAL INSPECTIONS OF MEATS
 TO BE ABOLISHED.
Belief That the Emperor Caused the Acquittal of the American Who Called Him a
 "Blockhead."
Copyrighted. 1898. by the Associated Press.

subjects discussed throughout the week by the newspapers was the present and future relations between Germany and the United States, more particularly to the commercial side of the question The correspondent of the Associated Press here has interviewed a high Ger man official who has exceptional sources of information. He said:
 'The reports current in the press of both countries. on this subject are la mentally ineXact. In Washington they seem to have jumped at the conclusion that Germany is on the point of legis- lating specifically against American ag- ricultural products, and they are talk ing the bull by the horns in order to forestaH us. The fact is there is no such intention here, at least not in Gov ernment circles. The meat inspection bill is only on the point of reaching the Bundesrath, which is the first legis- lative stage. Then it goes to the Reich stag. So it probably will not pass, if at all until the end of the session next spring. Even then the bill may not be framed to hit the Americans particu- larly. On the contrary, MT. White, the United States Ambassador at Berlin, has received conditional assurances that the integral feature of the bill will be the abolition of the repeated local inspections of American meats, of which the Americans have complained The bill provides for a strict inspection, but it will be perfectly fair and will be applied as equally to the domestic trade as to imported meats"
 The officials of the United States Emoassy generally express the opinion that the German Government sincerely desires to improve its relations with the United States and sees indications pointing to a successful issue of these efforts, though the bills simultaneously Introduced in the House of Representa- tives and in the Senate at Washington 1oreshadoWing retaliation have been re- celVed With a great show of indignation by the Government and Government press, while the Liberal, and especially the commercial papers, have unani- mously expressed fears that the legis- IatlVe action on both sides will culmi- nate In a regular tariff war
 The Vorwaerts says: 'The greed of the agrarians has disturbed our rela- tlons With America for years past Un- der pretext of protecting the health of the German people, the importation of American products has been prevented In spite of the treaties"
 OOHtlAulH6, lne NOrWdertS demon strateS that German exports of sugar. textiles and wines to the United States are worth 1S,O0O,000 marks, and says:
 AS the financially weaker of the two, Germany will undoubtedly be the loser. But the agrarians ignore this Pro- Vided the enhanced food prices flow into their pockets they snap their fingers at the hungry masses
 The Boersen Courier, a leading com- i- 6a,,t that the United States is preparing for commercial war with Germany. which the German agrarians seem to regard as a trlf1ing matter. We hope the Ber- lin and Washington governments are more conscious of their responsibility. We fear the German export trade will have to pay the score the Federation of Husbandry has run up.''
 The agrarlanS are jubilant at the prospect of a tariff war, which has been their dearest aim for years. A num- Der of insulting articles have been pub lished in their newspapers deriding the United States in every possible way. The kreuz-Zeitung even throws mud at the American people on account of the recent war and its results, calling the American troops utterly inefficient and saying the Government is corrupt to the core. These utterahces, however, are exceptions. The majority of the press is discussing the question calmly and fairly.
 The emigration bill introduced in the Reichstag by Professor Hause and Count von Arnim affects the interests of the United States. It advances the policy of "once German, always Ger man." and refuses to any German the right to become a naturalized citizen Of any other country. The United States Embassy officials, however, say that if the bill is adopted it cannot override the German-American treaty of 1868, eXempting German Americans from such legislation.
 The German Cabinet at recent meet ings has discussed the question of facilitating imports of Russian petro- leum, and it is said from a reliable source that 1t has been decided to in- crease the test points and thus exclude inferior grades Lof American petroleum, provided the Russian Government grants an equivalent.
 The result of the trial of Frank Knaak of New York, who was ac- quilted of the charge of referring to Emperor William as a "blockhead" on the ground that he was in no position to realize his offense. came as a great surprise, even to counsel for the de- fense, as the testimony was precisely similar to that of the majority of such cases, which have ended in convictions. AG pl CSlOlllS DenSO, con- victed R. K. Kneebs, the American horseman charged with ringing the mare Bethel on the German turf, and sentenced him to nine months impris- onment and to pay fine of 1000 marks. Judge Dense is considered to be very severe and learned, and there is the best authority for saying that the ac- quittal and unusual leniency shown Mir Knaak were due to hint from Elm peror William that his acquittal, if legally possible, would be appreciated by both his Majesty and the German Government, in view of the present del- icate relations between the United States and Germany.
 The Emperor and his family will spend the holidays at the Stadtschloss at Potsdam. The elder Princes have arrived there from the military acad- emy at Ploen. His Majesty, in order to celebrate his formal occupation of the estate at Codinen, recently be- queathed to him. has ordered a liberal spread to be given to the poor and to the children on the estate on Christ, mas.
 The Minister of Education, Dr. Bosse, has evoked chorus of condemnation from all sides by ordering disciplinary proceedings to be taken at the Berlin University against the well-known Dr. DelbpHck, for the latter's scathing criti- cisms'of the expulsion of Danes from North Schleswig in public writing. Dr.