The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-01-18
The KAISER's SPITz-REDEN

All German JunKerQO1n IS aLuaZeu anu
distraught over the proceedings of the
kaiser during the past few days. Junker-
dom cannot understand how the kaiser
can bring himself to request, in the most
polite manner, the president of the United
States to permit his eldest daughter to
be the central and active figure in the
christening of the new imperial yacht.
This was bad enough, but when the kaiser
commanded his royal brother, Prince
Henry of Prussia. to proceed to New York
and be present at the ceremony, junker-
dom was beside itself and began to ex-
press the belief that the present head of
the ancient house Of Hohenzollern had lost
the spirit of old Conrad of Hohenzollern.
Jun1erdom, as is well known, has been
wildly raying against the dreadful Ameri-
cans and cannot conceive how the kaiser
can show such civility as is indicated
by his kindly conduct and evident good
will toward the Americans, while he has
favored iunkerdom and the whole agrarian
element with what they believe to be a
hearty Endorsement of the proposed new
tariff which is aimed chiefly at American
trade in Germany, designed, indeed, to
exclude American breadstuffs and pro-
visions. Has the kaiser no knowledge
of the "American peril that he deliber-
ately courts the goodwill of the pre-
datory Americans? Is it all for naught
that the meat inspection law was enacted
in 1900 to discriminate against American
packed and canned meats, sausages and
beef; that a special tariff was enacted to
block the shipments of American lumber
on the Prussian Imperial railway from
Hamburg and Bremen to the interior
points? Aggravating is it indeed to know
that the kaiser has been using Pennsyl-
vania anthracite coal all this winter to
heat the imperial palace and that coal by
tens OF thousands of tons is going into
Germany under the activities of German
Importers who are about to establish a
regular line of ocean freighters to bring
American coal to Germany. And the nu-
merous cartels or trade combines in
Germany are astonished over the
kaiser's effusive friendship for a
country they are warning against COM
mercially and have in view the employ
ment of the new tariff to increase the du-
ties on pig iron and manufactured articles
from the United States -ew
Well, the kaiser is wiser than junker-
dom and the cartels. He contemplates the
bitter anti-American amendments now Of
fering to the new tariff bill, like that of
Baron Heyl Zu Hernsheim, quite philo-
sophically. He notes the caustic threats
of Count Won Posadowsky Wehner and
gives his upturned moustache a twist as
he hears DR.. Hahn speaking savagely
against giving the United States any
preferential treatment when the CONNER
cial treaties are renewed in the next year
or two. The kaiser has revealed his true
inwardness by the spitz-reden, the
pointed words Of his recent communica-
lions with our government. 1t was an act
of extraordinary courtesy for him to re-
quest the president to allow his daughter.
Miss Alice, to christen his new yacht. 1t
was an additional courtesy to command
his brother to proceed to New York and
represent him at the ceremony Of chris
tening the new imperial yacht
1t is true the sincerity Of the kaiser
has been questioned; but his courtesies
bear the stamp Of sincerity and they
should be accepted in the same spirit With
which they are rendered. Even Siegfried