Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-11

| BERLIN, July 3C.-Stretching from the
low frontier of Holland and Belgium
eastward over the valleys of the Rhine
| of the Weser, of the Elbe and of the
Oder, surrounding and engulfing other
German kingdoms and principalities, still
eastward on over the grave of Poland tc
the borders of giant Russia, lies the king
dom of Prussia The territory of this
kingdom is as large as that of Missouri
and Iowa together, and it has a popula-
ton of 3S,O00,O00, or more than slx
times as much as the two middle
western American states may boast
Every foot of this territory Is
conquered territory. Every one OF these
So 100000 inhabitants is the vassal sub
ject of an absolute monarch. who is I'M
willing to admit that they have any
| rights whatever except such as he Is
pleased to vouchsafe to them out of his
royal grace. This is the kingdom OF
Prussia, which controls and rules the
great German empire. the most powerful
state of continental Europe, and the rival
of Great Britain for absolute supremacy
among the nations of the world.
William II, the reigning king of PruS-
STA, is one of the most remarkable men
now living in the world. Outsiders gen.
him best as the German emperor. 1t is
in that capacity that he appears when
discussing problems of international
politics. But it is as the King of Prussia
that he rules his people most effectively.
1t is as the King of Prussia that he
claims to be the representative and vicar
of God. A cartoonst in Prussia dare
not lampoon the German emperor be-
cause he knows he would be punished
for the crime of lese ma jeste against the
PruSSian king.
A Bavaran newspaper may caricature
the kaiser in perfect safety, because IN
the kingdom of Bavaria the King of
Prussia is not sovereign, although Ba-
varia is a. part of the German empire. AS
a matter of fact Bavaran newspapers
emperor, and all that the imperial house
hold can do is to forbid army officers to
buy the paper. This seemingly trif1ing
circumstance illustrates the puZzllng fact
that while Prussia dominates and rules
the German nation, the non Prussian Ger
man states still retain a great deal OF
their political independence, as we'll as
their separate institutions and their Pc
cullar local customs.
i
But since the union in 1871 Prussia has
cient and classic
Olu 4Idu1G1UUS EefiildH u dui-
Are Stamped Out. subs. substitute anu for or
them the distinctive Prussian ideals. The
old Germany-the Germany of poets and
philosophers, of pamphleteers and pro-
fessors, of students and singers-is pass
ing away. The Germany of the popular
Imagination of a half century ago is now
to be found in Austria more than in the
German empire. Germany has become
Prussianized.
The kaiser is fond of referring to the
prospective world supremacy of his en-
pire as the mastery of Hohenzollern
world power In his eyes, at least,
Prussia is not nation-it is nothing more
than the vassal appendage of the no
henzollern family The Hohenzollerns
trace their origin to Count Thassilo OF
Zollern. one OF the generals of Charlie
magne. His successor, Count Frederick
I, built the castle of Hohenzollern, near
the Danube, in the year $50. Count
Frederick Ill of this line was made a
prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1913
and became the Burggrave of Nuremberg.
HIS great-grandson, Frederick VI was
given the province of Brandenburg by
the Kaiser Sigmund in 1415 and two years
later obtained the rank of Elector OF
Brandenburg.
While the Hohenzollern family was
making it's way upward from the possess
sion of an insig-
Prussian Converted nihcant county in