The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-17


 Herald.
 uE German Kaiser is one of the
 l9 most opproa'haDle , ,,san,,nsncs oa TD
 eigns. No man of prominence in public life in Europe is more genial anu democratic in his treatment of newspaper men as I have reason to know l kno" of a certain newspaper correspondent who spent two hours with his lmperiai n'"' esty by invitation some years ago. anu discussed all kinds of topics with nun as freely as he would discuss them "i'n President Roosevelt. The latter mas ho secrets and he always talks without tne sl,obtest reserve. The Kaiser is usually more reticent. but on this occasion he seems to have released himself from re- straint as he did in talking with the cor respondents of the London Telegraph ana the Century magazine.
 The most interesting subject he dis- cussed with the correspondent l refer to was his attitude toward naturahzeo uei man citizens of the United States. lie had recently refused to receive congress man Bartholdt of St. Louis, who brought to Berlin an invitation from the German Americans of St. Louis to William Il to attend the St. Louis exposition as their guest. That invitation was never pre- sented. pr. Andrew D. White, who was always blamed for his failure to secure an audience for MT. Bartholdt, and that is a penalty men in such exalted positions often have to pay, and sometimes they are placed in an embarrassing position without being able to explain. The Elm peror had spoken to Dr. White very frankly with regard to MT. Bartholdt s mission and absolutely refused to receive the invitation without giving Dr. White the privilege of explaining why He gave inc same reasons to the correspond ent at the interview, but prohibited him from publishing them at the time.
 The Emperor said he would not receive an invitation from "German-American' under any circumstances, because such thing as a German-American was nor possible and could not even exist. If a man was subject of Germany heIwas German: If he was a citizen of tr.e United States, he was an American citizen; but no man could be both a German and an American, for it was g contradiction of terms If the German citizens of St. Louis-that is. natives of Germany resid- ing in that city ygho had not taken out naturalization pgpers-should send him an invitation, he3 would be very glad to re- ceive it, ana he would feel complimented to receive. an invitation from naluralized Americans of German birth, but he had no syYnpathy with and could receive no contradictions from people who called thep1selves German-Americans.
 He said that he could not blame younr German from breaking away from |, his home ties and the conservative condi- tions that existed in German villages and farming communities and going over to the United States, where there is more room for him to grow and more oppor- tunities for him to acquire wealth and in- 1uence. He had the deepest sympathy for such ambitious young fellows, and believed that if he had been born in their class he would have done the same thing when he was young man; but when such people settled in America, too kout naturalization papers and became Ameri- can citizens, they should consider them | selves Americans and cut off relations with the nation from which they came. If they are not willing to do that; if they are not willing to become Americans in every sense of that word both in fact and in name, they should not be natural ,zed. for the day they become Americans they cease to be Germans. or Englishmen, ar italians They could not be German Americans, or Anglo-Americans. or Ital- ian Americans. and people who call them selves such either do not appreciate their situation and their obligations or they do not realize the significance of the term. 1 The Kaiser expresser great satisfaction l at the success of the German cmigrsnts