Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-27
ALL KINDS OF TROUBLE
RELATIONS OF NEWSPAPERS
WITH THE GERMAN EMPEROR.
Special o.blesram to The Star.

Special Cablesram to The Star
BERLIN. August 27.-Just at present the
German emperor is having all kinds OF
trouble with the newspapers and the news
papers are having all sorts of trouble with
the German emperor.
At the present moment the discomfort
with the fashion in which the kaiser 10
kept informed of the trend Of public opin-
ion. both In Germany and abroad. II be-
coming more and more acoentuated. For
his knowledge Of the press opinion In Eu-
rope and in Germany his majesty 10 de-
pendent on the press bureaus Of the for
eign Office and the ministry of the in
terror. In each ministry there is a spe-
cial oficial whose business 1t 10 to go
through the papers and cut out all that
he thinks would interest the kaiser. or that
1t 10 advisable he should read. II. how
ever. this oiiiciai. as is likely. develops into
sort of censor who decides what the
kaiser should or should not read. his ma
testy ends by having q completely false
Idea Of what is happening In the world.
Kaiser's Mental Pabulum.
Your correspondent used to watch the
process Of the preparation OF the kaiser's
mental pabulum in the Wilhelmstrasse a
matter OF dozen years ago. At that time
supervision was intrusted to . Herr Ga
briel. one Of the assistants OF Geheimrath
Lindau. and later Of Lindau's successor.
Geheimrath Rossler. Your correspondent
first met Herr Gabriel In Sofia, In Bulgaria.
when he was German vice consul in that
principally. He was q young and pushful
German diplomatist Of considerable intel
ligence; intelligent enough at least to give
the kaiser q fair selection from the Eu-
ropean press. He il now back In the east
as consul In Varna. His successors are
distinctly inferior Just as Geheimrath
Hammann. the present chief of the press
1t
Geheimrath Rossler as the latter was to
Geheimrath Lindau. Under these circum-
stances 1t is not to be wondered at IL the
kaiser occasionally goes of at a tangent.
His knowledge Of the trend of European
public opinion is poisoned at the source.
Recently the German emperor has given
indications that he Is breaking through
this false MISUNDERSTANDING over the
traces. as you would say IN America
For instance, there was the remarkable
interview with M. CASTOR Menier of choc-
olate 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, speaking French all
the time. showed that he knew Paris and
tips. He discussed the theater hat question
with keen interest. and proved an uncom-
promising opponent of big millinery. He
did not talk much politics. but did not
upon the Franco-German incident of last
year. he said that his intentions had been
misunderstood and misconstrued," and ac-
cused the press in the matter.
Alleged Responsibility.
The responsibility prevailing In jour-
nalsm the kaiser considered most singular.
In other professions certain conditions must
be fulfilled Journalists require neither
study nor examination. A young man Of
twenty-five can write in the greatest and
most respected journal in the world arti-
cles which make the deepest impression
on his contemporaries.
While employing all the necessary cour-
tesy of language in criticising the kaiser's
views. there is much indignation expressed
here that his majesty should resort to these
regrettable generalizations on such insult
Client evidence The Berliner Tageblatt.
for example. wants to know where those
twenty-two-year-old Underwriters are.
According to the Hamburger Nachrichten
the kaiser. early In his reign. did really try
to understand the press, but relinQuished
the idea after he had set on foot investi-
cations regarding the antecedents and quail
if1cations of the men who wrote fori His
inquiries at the time were. conducted by
military men, and it is believed that the
kaiser's lingering dislike to the fourth es-
tate is largely due to the influence of his
military advisers. who nourish traditional
suspicious of newspaper men and their
work. -...-