The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-09-17

Seven hundred years ago a
band of brigands lived in the FOL
lern highlands along the Danube.
These were the original Hohenzol-
lerns, ancestors in a direct line
backward of William, present en-
peror of Germany and king of
Prussia. They used to levy toll
presumably by divine right
upon the travellers who were
foolhardy enough to cross the
passes through their country. In
other words, they lived by high
way robbery. Sometimes, when
picking was poor in the mountains
they would swoop down and
plumber the villages of the low
lands.
Thus, according to the testi-
mony of history, the Hohenzol-
lerns got their start. Count
Burchard of Zollern was the first
of the family to make name for
himself. A generation or so, and
then the head of the house
changed his name to Count So
and-So of Hohenzollern. In 1892
Count Frederick of Hohenzollern
married-under special divine
guidance evidently-since the girl
he married had no brothers, and
thus it was that Count Frederick
fell heir to the burgraviate of
Nuremberg.
That cinched the destiny of the
Hohenzolelrns.
In 1411 the sixth Frederick was
made encouragement of what is
now Brandenburg. Sigismond,
the overload of the territory,
owed Frederick some money. The
governor-generalship was the
settlement.
In 1415, firearms being a nov
city, Frederick got in on the
ground floor and bought a little
cannon. With this divinity ap-
pointed gun he battered down the
walls of Friesack. He found the
inhabitants thereof in compliant
mood when he told them that he
was going to be the elector, and
thus he rose to a semi-royal
state.
In 1903, the reigning family of
Prussia having died out, Joachim
Frederick of Brandenburg, polish
ing-u a moth-eaten claim to the
duchy of Prussia, moved over the
boundary line and became duke
of Prussia, still sticking to the
title of elector, however.
Then came Frederick William,
'"The Great Elector," who laid
about him with such divine siren
uosity that he came to be gener-
ally recognized by other rulers as
q. near-king.
Elector Frederick III, son of
Frederick William, was the first
king" of Prussia. He got his
crown by consent of the Haps-
burgs, of Austria, after having
literally fabricated the way to the
purple with money and political
promises. Even bribery may
sometimes be divine, 1t seems.
So the kings of Prussia pros
pered till after the Franco-Prus-
sian war. Then came the confed-
eracy Of the German states, and
King Ludwig of Bavaria Divine
ly inspired, no doubt, in psite of
the fact that he was mad as hat
ter, like most of the Ludwigs) !,
proposed that King William of
Prussia be the president" of the
states, and that the presidency"
be made hereditary-it being
quite obvious, of course, that the
Hohenzollerns were divinely APP
pointed to rule.
But old William, grandfather
Of the present William, said he
could not stand for a presidency,
but could be induced to accept an
smperorship. So they made him
that.
Thus, by highway robbery, by
shrewdly marrying, by barter, by
conquest, by bribery, by the NOM
ination of a mad king-and by
the grace of God-may brigands
rise to the pinnacle of human
glory, even to the imperial pur-
pie; may come to think them
selves the vicegerents of the AL
mighty, even as William III, en-
peror of the Germans, king of