The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-09
NEW BOOKS.
r,,,.ror Williams speeches.

..a,,or tho compliment ID deserved which
" na,d in the thick volume entitled The
w.i@ars speeches" translated and edited
nth anno,atons by Wolf Won Sch'erorand
,uarnersI But while it may be question:
ahle whether the work was worth doing at
III /, will be denied by no one that the task
hos been admirably performed. The au-
,hor who is we'll and honorably known to
american journalists, has succeeded IN
nu,tinu the Kaiser's idiomatic German into
s,cellen, English. II Is no fault of his that
,he German sovereign's IDEAS do not strike
"a as important contributions topolitical
.cisnce II is true. however, that, owing'to
Ma pover of transmitting thoughts into
ads the Kaser's notions are invested with
son,s practical Importance, and we may,
therefore,, take for granted that a great
many American readers will buy the book
and turn with curiosity to that part OF 1t
-hcb deals with the Kaiser's attitude tow
ard the United States.
Mr. Won Schierbrand tells Va that the
Ksisers views regarding the great Ameri-
ran Republic underwent change after our
war with spain. UP to that time his con-
crude and faulty. According to the author
Of the book before us, he had been misled
nv his advisers, and misinformed by his
diplomatic and military representatives
abroad about the naval and military eadi-
Mas of our Commonwealth and concerning
the warlike and ambitious spirit OF our
people. The war with Spain opened his
ewes 1T brought within his ken wealth
OF amazing facts to which his immediate
tntourdge and the Conservative party in
Prussia, both looking askance at the Kaiser's
juster appreciation of the resources and
latent power Of this republic. had for years
systematically tried to bl nd him. Since
Dewey's dashing victory in Manila Bay and
since the day Of Santiago and the utter an
initiation OF Cervera's feet, William III. of
Germany holds largely modified opinion
Of these United States, and he is not likely
to commit any more serious and far-reaoh-
Ing bunders in his estimate Of this nation,
or in HE dealings with US" The recent
publication Of British Blue Book has borne
out Mr.. Won Schierbrand's prediction that
snTossing the attention and the jealousies
Of the American people, will be found. when
the whole truth about the Kaiser's part in it
shall become known. to have been a matter
In which he has been more sinned against
than shining"
On page lls, the author recalls that soon
after Prince Henry return from the United
6tates the Kaiser gave notice Of his inten-
ton to present as a gift statue Of his sire
Frederick the Great" The word sire" is,
OF course. slip of the pen. In the tele-
gram on the subject, which was addressed
10 President Roosevelt, the Kaiser makes
an assertion for which there is no historical
foundation. which Mr.. Roosevelt was
careful to avoid confirming in his reply
Tie Kaiser said: In the speeches In which
lie Prince Henry WAS welcomed, mention
vas made repeatedly Of the fact that my
ancestor. Frederick the Great, consist emily
assumed q friendly attitude toward the
Young American Republic at the time Of its
formation" The facts are that the diplo-
natic representatives 10 Europe Of the thir-
cen revolving colonies repeatedly besought
Frederick the Great to follow the example
set by France. Holland and, Spain. and to
acknowledge the independence Of the United
states. This he persistenty refused 10 do,
and never did until the Independence OF the
colonies was recognized by Great Britain
itself. after which his acknowledgement
was, OF course, superhuous. We observe
with satisfaction that the Kaiser does not
aude to the ridiculous legend about the
Of sword from Frederick the
Treat to Washington, inscribed, From the
1dest to the ablest General"
By way Of proof that before our war with
spain the kaiser's views OF the American
people were not particularly fattering, we
eproduce certain remarks which we find
quoted in Mr.. Won Schierbrand's book For
example, the Emperor said to Ambassador
White on one occasion: America Is a coun-
Try Of contrasts-piercing lights and deep
shadows" One would have liked to hear
the shadows specified. To ex-President
Harrison he expressed the conviction that
Your whole country Is an experiment-an
intensely interesting one, admit, but still
IN experiment. Whether IT will stand the
storms Of time Is the older monarchies Of
Europe have done, remains still to be SEEN
If We may judge from the enormous number
Of votes cast by Socialists at the last election
Tor the Reichstag. We ehould say that our
have better prospect Of dura-
bty than have those Of the German Empire.
In the same interview with e1-President
Harrison, the Kaiser said: "One Of tho
doubtful features Of American life is its lack
Of cohesion and homogeneity. You are
. bubbling cauldron. We
should be glad to hear the Kaiser indicate
my section OF our population which 10 no
utterly unassimilated, and. apparently, 60
'a from assimilation, az are the Danes in
or the Poles in Posen.' We make
ohe more quotation from the interview
with ex-President Harrison: 'Such seething
party politics as yours are not conducive
10 calm, weIl-halanc~d public opinion"
Would the Kaiser adduce the wild tariff
demands Of the German Agrarian party AZ
proofs Of sober and well-balanced public
opinion?
We repeat that whether or no the kaiser's
'peeches were worth translating. the YER
ZION ia we'll executed, and the editors an
rotations are the most creditable features
v the book. NJ W. H.
Vagabonds Of the Deep Sea.
Mr.. Albert Sonnichsen is an able seaman
md he is al.o a capable story-teller The
"ad"r OF his book Deep Sea Vagabonds'
Mcclure, Phillips 4 Coz will find himself