The Washington herald., 1911-10-09
THE KAISER'S WAY
OF DEALING WITH
THE CROWN PRINCE

On Ine Nlstula RIVER, near Ine 6aIIlc
Sea, and the capital city of the most
northern Prussian province Of West
Prussia. When the announcement was
first given out that Crown Prince Fried
rich Wilhelm would be assigned to the
active command of the famous Black
Hussars, whose symbol, carried on their
big, brimless fur hat. is a skull and
crossbones, as a reminder that they en-
Enthusiastically rode to their deaths in the
NapoleonAc wars under the command OF
the famous Luetzow, the hero Of the poet
Koerner's historic songs (the poor fellow
died himself in one OF those raids Of
"Luetzow's wilde, verwegese Jagd'O. gos-
sip quickly found the true" reason for
such 'banishment" to the eastern bor-
ders of the empire. THE Kaiser was
jealous of his sons great popularity"
or course, that is arrant nonsense.
No one knows better than the Kaiser
that his heir is given far more to play
Ing golf and polo and tennis than to the
serious matters of state. Friedrich Will
helm is a good fellow" Every one with
whom he comes in. contact likes him and
his sunny disposition. But he takes life
bit too easy for the stern views Of the
HohenZollerns, and the Kaiser, after CIV
ing in to the pleadings Of his Empress
at last had to come to the conclusion that
the time had arrived when the future
ruler Of Germany and Of Prussia ought
to do something that would show the
world that he could do other things be-
sides travelling and playing the society
lion at Potsdam. The father is we'll
aware of the fact that his eldest son is
no diplomat. Hence the next best thing
he could do was to give him one Of the
most prominent commands in the Ger
man army. And as the son is still young
and inexperienced, he could not very well
make him a general. A Colonelcy suf-
feed. and, OF course, the most famous of
the crack regiments was picked out and
the youth made a dashing hussar.
1t was only the other day that the En-
peror personally went to Danzig to hand
over the command to the crown prince.
The elite Of the provincial nobility had
journeyed to the fine old town to witness
the ceremonial and to show their pleasure
at the prospect of having the future en-
peror reside in their midst The Kaiser,
Of course. made one OF his bombastIc
speeches. but the crown prince contented
himself with a short reply. and no sooner
had his father left the town when he gave
his command over to his lIeutenant-col-
onel. and departed for Potsdam. The
statement in a London paper that he
fooled" his father. is ridiculous. The man
who wrote such nonsense knows little OF
the iron discipline in the German army,
which governs high and low alike. and We
all know from history that Frederick the
Great. when crown prince, came near los
ing his life, and to be shot by order OF
his own father for leaving the place Of
abode assigned him by his father, the
MI
and threats OF the then King Of England
saved the life of the man destined to
become the greatest warrior and diplomat
| Prussia has ever had. What is far more
| feasible is that the crown prince hastened
| TO his wife, who is not in a condition to
has decided for. family reasons not to go
to Danzig this season. and Frederick Will
helm will have to do his own entertain
ling there for quite a while.
! It is true the handsome, tall. and will
lowy figure of the young man is fitted
much better for the uniform Of the
Cuirassier Guards, the finest uniformed
riders in the army, than for that of the
! Hussars, whom popular wit has dubbed
| ''Strippenjungens," because there is so
much braid and tassels on their attilas.
| but there is no appeal from the word OF
the Kaiser. and the future ruler knows
enough to give public exhibition of the
! iron rule to obey under all circumstances.
/ There is another reason why the Kaiser
| insisted that his heir be stationed at
| Danzig. got the story from one high in
/ German diplomatic circles. His idea was
! to see him in close proximity to Gen.
| Count Mackensen. who for years has en-
| joyed the imperial favor and friendship,
! and who II Is the Kaiser's wish, Is to be
| Friedrich Wilhelm's military drillmaster,
I A task which he gladly will undertake to
| please his imperial friend, and which, in
his own opinion, he is perfectly capable
. of carrying through successfully. Yet 1t
is no secret among members OF. the gen
eral staff at Berlin that this general is
not looked upon as a shining light in the
strategic art Despite his martial bear
ing Count Mackensen is a very diplo-
matte courtier. who is at home much
more on the polished parquet of the
"Weisse Saal" in the "Schloss" at Berlin
than on the drill ground. At the impe-
rial maneuvers last year the Seventeenth
Army Corps, whose commander he is,
was whipped badly by the enemy" un-
der the leadership of the much more
competent Gen. Won Kluck and his Flrst
Army Corps. The Kaiser condoled with
Won Mackensen with these sympathetic
words: ''Old man, everybody meets WIN
misfortune some time" This in itself
shows the high favor in which this gen.
eraI is with the Kaiser, for only rev
years ago, when a similar misfortune De-
fell Gen. Freiherr Won Bissing, the war
lord would hear of no excuse, but de'
manded his resignation at once
J The future drillmaster Of the crown
prince owes his brilliant career to the
fact that the Kaiser, seeing the hand
some. weII-made, tall, and soldierly stan
officer one day at a revue in Breslau' OF
the Sixth (Silesian) Army Corps, picked
him out as one of his "huegel-adjutan-
ten Caid-de-camp) for his immediate en-
tourage. In those days his name was
plain Mr.. Mackensen. He was ennobled
only in 1899, on the Kaiser's birthday
anniversary. He Is one of family OF
coIIiery. owners in the former kingdom
Of Hanover, which, in 1866, was annexed
by Prussia He was a student at Halle
on-the-Saale in 1870. when war with
France broke out when he took service
as a ''einiaehrig- -freiwilliger" (the one
years privilege accorded college and
high school students more than seven
teen years of age in times of war;. Al
one of the battles-I think 1t was al
Chalons-sur-Marn was made q
lieutenant of the reserves, and when
peace was declared he remained IN ac-
tive service in the Second Life Hussars-
In 1889 he married the daughter oi
the governor general Of the Prussian
province of East Prussia Dr. Won Horn