Washington sentinel., 1898-03-05
NO 81
The Hungry HohenzoIIerns.
L. HgsrfoH, fn TIE "Nezv Century
Reyfez., -

man Emperor to turn his murdered
missionaries to account for the obtaining
OF Chinese territory be explained BY
what Mr.. Barring Gould, in his Ger
many" C'Stories Of the Nations''), calls
"the insatis bic 9reed of increasing their
power, which seems to have been inner.
ent IN the Hohenzollerus9" At all
events, the fact is clear that William II.
Is only carrying out the policy which
has been hereditary in his family ever
since its founder came down from his
castle on the thimble" in the Swabian
taoleland, and started on that c reer of
pawnbroking. intrigue, deceit and
downright robbery hich his SUCCESSORS
have so prottably continued during the
intervening seven hundred and odd
years. There is no more instructive or
consistent record an all history than this
OF the craft and unscrupulousness by
which the Hohenzollerns--origi
belonging to the pettiest nobility of the
Middle Ages-moveu through the
stages Of Burggrave of Nuremburg,
Markgrave OF Brandenburg, Elector of
Brandenburg, and King Of Prussia to
the Imperial throne of Germany, the
dominant position amongst the German
peoples, and the military supremacy OF
Europe, The faculty of facquisitiveness
has never failed or lapsed in the Hohen-
zollern race. Habits, long persisted in,
become second nature, and a policy
pursued through several centuries tends
to make tseli permanent; so that here
we have an ample explanation of the
Emperor Williams restless craving for
new dominion, whether on the land or
on the sea; for his passionate appeals for
soldiers and ships; of his apparent
erratic actions in Asia, Africa, the Wesl
Indies, and other parts of the non
European world. There is 70 doubt
whatever as to what he wants He wants
the mastery Of the earth, and to this
purpose he is applying methods which
have never varied with the Hohenzol-
Terms during their long performance on
the stage of history.
The date ITO is assigned as that in
which Conrad of Hohenzollern. the first
OF the name Of " hom we have authentic
record, set out from his little Swabian
iastness to seek his fortune. This
Conrad, Says Carlyle, "riding down from
Hohenzollern, probably with no great
stock ofluggage about him, little dreams
OF being connected with Brandenburg,
on the other side of the world; but is
unconsciously more so than any other
of the sons Of Adam. Why should
young fellow who has capabilities stay
at home in hungry idleness, with no
estate but his javelin and buff jerkiu and
no employment but his hawks, when
there is a wide, Opulent world waiting
to be conquered" But Conrad did not
start without a plan. He intended as a
beginning, to see whether he could not
be useful 10 the great Barbarossa. In
this he succeeded so well that he very
soon got high promotion, and finally
obtained permission to marry the heiress
OF the VohDurg family, in whom vested
the Office and possessions of the Burg
grafs OF Nurnberg. This office Conrad
got; and so became at once a "Prince
OF the Empire" basis from which, says
Carlyle, "If man happened to nave
talent OF his own and solid resources Of
his own (Which are always on the grow
ing hand with this family, he may go
far enough" In this Office the Hohen
zollerns ablded and grew for many long
century.
The weak and irresolute Frederick
William II. lost the Rhine PROVINCES to
France, and although he managed to
get some considerable Polish pickings
at the second and third partitions in
1898 and 1895, they rather weakened
than strengthened his kingdom, and by
no means afforded compensation for the
losses he sustained in the West. Matters
Jared still worse with Frederick William
Ill, who was ground under the heel OF
Napoleon at Jena and Auerstadt in
1907, and was deprived of half his king
dom. The disastrous Peace OF Tilsit
sliced of the Ill gotten Polish pickinxs
and the whole Of Prussian territory west
Of the Elbe. In fact il seemed as If
Prussia's extinction as a separate State
was near, and one is reminded of Heine's
feelings as he saw the French Emperor
ride through Leipsic-pale, immobiIe,
II
''yet one shuddered to think chose lips
had but to whistle, ef La PyHsSs s'eafs.
kait46k1si" But the Hohenzollern star
was not to sink after ALL The fatuOus
ambition of Bonaparte drove him to
madness after madness, and it being
finally the luck of Prussia to share in the
battle of Waterloo, she got back the
northern half OF Saxony, her old pos
sessions west of the Elbe, Swedish
Pomeranis, the duchies of Berg and
Julich, and other territories in West
phalia and on the Rhine. giving the
kingdom a total area of no less than
IoS, 900 square miles.
From this point the history of the
HOhenzollerns becomes too recent to
need going through IN detail. With
William l., Bismarck, and Moltke, there
began a new area OF Prussian aggran-
dizement. The Austro-Prussian war OF
1866 gave Prussia the kingdom of Ham
over, Hesse Cassel, Hesse Nassau,
Frankfort, and Schleswig Holstein--the
last named being the spoil OF piece Of
barefaced robbery. The Franco.Prus-
sian war of 1870 added Alsace Lorraine
to the effective strength OF Prussia,
although, nominally, territorial integ-
rity has not been established. It should
be pointed out, too, that this war really