Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-03
1.-THE
GERMAN
ADVANCE


RERI.IN. August 2O.-Although for near
~ two wears the star Of his destiny mas
heen In partial eclipse. the German en-
n.ror atm remains the most interesting
and picturesque figure on the stage OF the
world.
william II is not only emperor ana
r,ng for the world knows him also as a
soldier and a sailor, preacher and
prophet. a journalist and an artist
stage manager and an orchestra leader
factory manager and q merchant. stu
6ent philosopher and q hard-riding sports
man.
He believes in his soul that he Is the
divinely appointed priest. prophet ana
prince who is to show to the world the
wav to Gods salvation. He considers
any man who dares to oppose his will TO
he not only an enemy Of king and coun-
try. but also an enemy Of God.
-.
And vet he is so pitifully, so painfully
and 40 frailly human. His withered arm
hangs use
Hohenzollern Blood less at MS
Tainted With Disease. slant re-
minder Of the sins OF his fathers and the
daily despair Of court photographers, VINO
must not let the inhrmity be manifest In
the portraits of their august kaiser.
His blood Is bad. There is ever the fear
Of the dread malady which cut short his
fathers reign after only three months OIL
the throne.
A common plebeian boil on the majestic
knee of the emperor is terror to him
and to his people. For whether or not
the Hohenzollerns take their crown from
God alone, as William has boosted. II Is
most terribly certain that the Hohenzoi-
lerns' bodies are cursed with disease.
Yet II Is his humanness more than MS
divine commission that makes the Ger
man emperor a figure of such command
ing interest. .He Is intensely human, ana
he is what every Prussian would like to
be IL he had the opportunity-soldfer. art
ist philosopher and business man In one.
First of all. William Is soldier he
Is never happier than when mingling with
army officers in their messes, not as COM
mander-in-chief. but as brother omcer.
exhibiting a fraternal spirit which ne
never permits q German civilian to see
An American journalist. now dead, VINO
knew the kaiser well. and who often was
his guest on yachting or shooting expedi-
tons, said that the kaiser was most
democratic In his demeanor when in COM
pany Of foreigners. especially americans,
and OF German military men, but tnat
whenever a German civilian, De ne even
high cabinet officer. came suddenly into
the room william Immediately was
TRANSPORTED and the man was lost In the
emperor.
This duality of character is shown in
the fact that the kaiser frequently has
admitted British and American journalists
to his most intimate personal circle, all
the while maintaining the ban which Tor
bids a German Journalist even to appear
at court on the most formal occasion.
There has been this strange mixture OF
autocracy and democracy in the career
Of the en-
Autocrat and Democrat peror. both
United in One Kaiser. since he
came to the throne. The remarkable
feature OF his versatility Is that he has
been able to maintain his imperial isola-
ton and superiority in all Of his demo-
cratic activities. He can manage pot
terry factory and conduct a retail china
ware store, and all the while be quite as
much an emperor as when projecting a
plan to make his empire the supreme
naval power Of the world.
He Is an interchangeable worker. He will
appear i'm the Royal Opera House at Ber-
lin at 8 o'clock in the morning. and
usurping the place Of the stage manager
will rehearse the company until after
midnight without giving either himself
or the singers any opportunity for rest
or refreshment.
He has been known to leave the theater
after one Of these all-day rehearsals
without showing fatigue. leaving the
opera company in a state Of complete ex-
haustion. 1t Is said that the opera sing
ers dread his appearance at a rehearsal
more than anything else that possibly
can befall them.
He believes himself to be a painter of
merit and q composer Of no mean order,
and of course there Is no one who dares