Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-26
WILHELM WORRIED
BY NEWSPAPERS
KAISER AND THE PRESS HAVE
THEIR TROUBLES
King Depends Upon Officials to Clip
His News and They Become Pet
ty censors--He Is Disposed
to "Klck over"
BY FRAsIER DOUGLASS
Il Gable to The Herald.

special Gable to The Herald.
BERLIN, Aug. 23.--Just at present
the German emperor is having all
kinds of trouble with the newspapers
and the newspapers are having all sorts
of trouble with the German emperor.
At the present moment the discomfort
with the fashion in which the kaiser is
kept informed Of the trend Of public
opinion, both in Germany and abroad, is
becoming more and more aocentuated.
For his knowledge of the press opinion
in Europe and in Germany his majesty
is dependent on the press bureau of
the foreign office and the ministry of the
interior. In each ministry there is a
special official whose business 1t is to
go through the papers and cut out all
that he thinks would interest the kaiser
or that 1t Is advisa BILE he should read.
If, however, this official, as Is likely,
develops into AZ sort of censor who de-
cides what the kaiser should or should
not read, his majesty ends by having
completely false idea of what is hap
pening in the world.
Your correspondent used to watch the
process of the preparation of the kali
ser's mental pabulum in the Wilhelm
strasse a matter of a dozen years ago.
AT that time supervision was entrusted
10 q Herr GdDTlel, one OIL I0e dSSlSL-
ants of Geheimrath Lindau, and later
of Lindau's successor. Geheimrath Ros-
sler. Your correspondent first met
Herr Gabriel in Sofia, in Bulgaria,
when he was German vice consul in that
principally. He was a young and
pushful German diplomatist of consid-
erable intelligence, intelligent enough
at least to give the kaiser fair Sc
lection from the European press. He
is now back in the east as consul in
Varna. His successors are distinctly
inferior Just as Geheimrath Ham
mann, the present chief of the press
bureau, is as far inferior to his prede-
cessor, Geheimrath Rossler, as the
latter was to Geheimrath Lindau. I'm
der these circumstances, 1t is not to
be wondered at If the kaiser OCCASION
ally goes off at a tangent. His knowl-
edge of the trend of European public
opinion is poisoned at the source.
Would Kick Over
Recently the German emperor has
given indications that he is breaking
through this false environment-"kick-
ing over the traces as you would say
in America. For instance, there was
the remarkable interview with M. Cas-
ton Menier Of chocolate fame While
on a cruise in northern waters on
board his yacht Ariane he met the
kaiser and was imperially entertained
by him. The kaiser, talking French all
the time, showed that he knew Paris
and it's latest fashions or fads to his
| finger tips. He discussed the theater
hat question with keen interest, and
proved an uncompromising opponent
of big millinery. He did not talk much
politics, but did not avoid them. On
the contrary, touching upon the Franco
German incident of last year, he said
that "his intentions had been misunder-
stood and misconstrued," and accused
the press in the matter.
Too irresponsible
The responsibility prevailing in
journalism the kaiser considered most
singular In other professions certain
conditions must be fulfilled. Journal
lists require neither study nor examina-
ton. A young man of % can write in
the greatest and most respected jour-
nal in the world articles which make
the deepest impression on his contenl-
poraries.
While employing all the necessary
courtesy of language in criticising the
kaiser's views there is much indigna-
ton expressed here that his majesty
should resort to those regrettable gen.
eralizatiohs on such insufficient evil
dence. The Berliner Tageblatt, for ex-
ample, wants to know where those 22-
year-old leader writers are.
According to the Hamburger Mach
richten, the kaiser, early in his reign,
did really try to understand the press,
but relinquished the idea after he had
set on foot Investigations regarding the
antecedents and qualifications of the
men who wrote for it. His inquiries Mt
the time were conducted by military
men, and it is believed that the kaiser's
lingering dislike to the fourth estate
is largely. due to the influence of his
military advisers, who nourish tradi-
tional suspicious of newspaper men
and their work.