Evening star., 1909-02-14

as matter Of etiquette. had to be invited
to the wedding festivities in Berlin. More
over. as matter OF etiquette she had to
be placed next to the kaiser at all the
court banquets and entertainments held to
celebrate the wedding. On every single
occasion the kaiser half turned his back
on her In an ostentatious way and demon
stratively refrained from addressing
single word to her. It was a terribD
humiliation for the brides mother. and
she suffered keenly. but bore II for tie
sake OF her daughter. When after the
wedding the crown prince and princess left
shortly before midnight on their honey
moon trip the Grand Duchess Anastasia's
patience had come to an end. Summoning
her maids. she packed her trunks, left the
palace in the middle Of the night and took
the other end of Cnter den Linden. She
got even with the kaiser but the crown
prince never forgave his father the slight
inflicted on his wife's mother.
In the recent political crises in Germany
the crown prince has made no secret OF
his sympathy with all the forces working
against his imperial father. When Maxi.
milan Harden. the brilliant editor Of the
Zukunft. published his first revelation OF
the predominance at court OF a group OF
perversely immoral men headed by Prince
Philip Eulenburg. 1t was the crown prince
who thrust this particular number of the
Zukunft before the kaiser's eyes It was
the crown prince who by thus setting the
ball In motion led up to all those scandals
which have now resulted in the kaiser's
public renunciation OF some OF his abso-
1utist privileges. More recently when all
the newspapers Of Germany were publish
ing article after article ridiculing the
kaiser's fndiscretions and mistakes ana
denouncing his personal regime the crown
prince had all these hostile expressions OF
opinion carefully collected for his own
amusement. He Just gloated over them.
and 1t may be safely said that no one In
Germany rejoiced so much over the
kaiser's discontinue as his son. On
numerous occasions the crown prince has
been heard to remark with an ironical
smile:
II never make speeches and I never
grant Interviews
Underlying these personal differences
and discords between the kaiser and his
presumptive successor there is a deep
political significance Judging from the
fundamental contradictions between the
characters OF the two men. there is every
reason to believe that the accession to
the throne OF the Crown Prince Frederick
William will bring about far-reaching
changes that cannot fail to affect not only
Germany herself, but all those countries
affected by German foreign policy. II, as
appears certain, the kaiser withholds
larger measure of constitutional liberties
from his subjects, Crown Prince Freder-
lex William will probably concede them
when he holds the reins OF government.
II the kaiser intimidates his French
neighbors Crown Prince Frederick Will
liam will endeavor to conciliate them. II
the kaiser looks upon England with sus-
picion and hostility Crown Prince Fred
erick William may be expected to extend
the hand Of friendship across the North
sea. The same political changes may be
anticipated in all phases OF domestic and
foreign policy. For these reasons Crown
Prince Frederick Williams accession to
the throne and his early years OF impe-
rial power will be full OF surprising in
terest to all students of the worlds prog
ress. They may indeed stand out promi-
nently In the history Of the constitutional
development Of the German empire.