The state herald., 1909-01-15
dRI77JT HR17ZLERY III me- HEzDH
GkR/z4NYsJ R0X4L JNOUIJ

The most important factor in coz.
sidering the German strength is the
personality of William II. He Is COM
monty believed to be an impulsive
oiician. jack-of-all.trades. a journal
ist with an actors personality who Is
never happy unless In the limelight.
No solid foundation exists for this
view of the character of the COM
mander-in-chief OF the German army.
and the lord high admiral of the Ger
man fleet. The atmosphere surround
ing the magnetic personality of the
Emperor William II. is mystical and
religious. The German war lord be.
iieves in the Divine right OF kings,
and in absolutism as sincerely as did
Charlemagne or Charles " Being in
his own view sacrosanct as the agent
of the Most High, he is as convinced
as Mahomet as to the reality of his
high mission. The commander-in- chief
of the German army is probably the
beat informed white man In existence.
He and his brother, Prince Henry OF
Prussia, speak English with only the
faintest accent or no accent at all.
The German emperor. like Napoleon,
is the greatest factor In his army. He
Is Its soul: he created his navy him.
self. his army he inherited and I'm.
proved until II is the largest and best
organized fighting-machine In the
world. To form an intelligent antici.
patton OF how that army will be led
In time of war we must Judge the EN-.
peror's personality: not by his FIRE.
qucnt speeches. but by his unequaled
knowledge, fiery energy. pure life. and
substantial judgment. On all the ques.
tlons of European policy the com
mander-in-chief OF the German army
Is better Informed than any other liy.
Ing person. He speaks the languages
Of the great European states. Unlike
the late and present czar OF Russia
his majesty never suffers himself to
be submerged In the sea OF detail, or
TO be hedged In by a zareba OF forms.
Twelve experienced men In his cab.
inct, for example. devote their lives
TO the study OF English military re.
sources all the world over. The wis.
dom that comes from intelligent study
OF history is the emperors He knows
that Napoleon threw away his chances
Of the dominion OF the world by en-.
gaging In war with England. when he
had two or three other wars on his
own hands. The emperor avoids that
mistake.
His majesty's recreation Is the read.
Ing OF history. II is no slight tribute
10 the emperor's genius that ms early
as 1890 he had extracted from the
teachings OF history the Irresistible
conclusion that the future OF Germany
was on the water.
The kaiser's position Ms commander.
in.chief OF the German army to-day Is
that OF Napoleon at his zenith. The
British fleet alone stands between him
and the dominion OF the world. He is
master OF Europe On her western
frontier Rusisa is undcfended. For
n century and a half the Russian west.
ern frontier has been scdulously
guarded. The troops and guns with
drawn through ne exIgencics OF the
war with JapaL have not been re.
placed. and both Moscow and Peters.
burg nj the time OF writing nre vul.
ncrable To German attack. On Ger.
many's western frontier. facing France
and Belgium. mobilization In nm In.
Simultaneous process. Everything is
ready The troops are ON war foot.
ins.
To one who doubts the great genius
of the German emperor the existence
Of the German navy IN evidence 10 rc.
futc him. The emperor Inherited no
navy to speak Of. The obstacles IN
the way OF It's creation were ntnpcn.
dous. A lesser mind than the cmpcr.
or's might have bought or built quite
as many ships of war M Germany now
possesses. The emperor did more. In
vivid contrast TO his friend. the ear.
he brcathcd into the German fleet hir
own indomitablc spirit.
In considering the relative strength
Of national defcnsea. II Ii important
10 remember that ships. guns. and
munitions are not the most important
factors In organized national forces. A