New-York tribune., 1911-12-03
Kiderlen- Waechter Defeated
in Duel of Statecraft

Tor which neither the Kaiser nor his
chancellor should bc held responsible
and for which The Fo,cisA Minister
seems 10 have been wholly to blame
It seems that it was Won Kiderlen-
Wacchter who was accountable for the
dispatch Of the German warship Pan
thor 10 Agadr. which inaugurated tho
crisis between Germany on the one
hand and France and England on the
other. re did not take the trouble to
inform the German ambassadors in
Paris and London Of the fact, and the
consequence was that they were unable
10 respond 10 any verbal demands for
explanations until some weeks after
ward. by which time not only the Eng
liSh and French governments. but also
people all over the world. had become
convinced that the presence Of the
Kaisyrs cruiser at Agadir was for the
purpose Of reorening the entire Mo
rocco imbroglio which had eliminated
i'm the congress of Algeciras three years
ago; also OF insuring for Germany
sphere Of interest. or rather a slice Of
the Moorish empire and OF establishing
powerfully fortified German naval
warships would have been able to mem
ace the lines of communication between
The United Kingdom and the Cape and
with South Amerlca-eyen with India,
in the event of anything occurring to
block the Suez Canal.
Nor was it until the Chancellor of the
British EXchequer, Lloyd George, had
delivered his memorable speech at the
Guildhall in July. regarded as so full Of
menace at Berlin as to call for an eX-
planation. and Sir Edward .Grey's quiet
calling Of his bluff by refusing to afford
that explanation as inconsistent with
the dignity Of the British Empire. that
Won Kiderlen- Waechtcr receded from his
position, and, announced through the
Kaisers cmbassie- in London and ip
Paris that Germany had no intention of
remaining at ASaGir Or of establishing
naval base there. or even of persisting in
her demand for any portion of the Moor
ish empire
1t is difficult To conceive any more
striking contrast than that which exists
between Sir Edward Grey and \. Won
Kiderlen- Waechter. But when the diff
ferences existing between their char
acteristics, their personality. their train
ing. their breeding. and their birth are
taken into consideration. it viii he speed
ily realized that from the outset the ad-
vantaGes were all on the side of the Eng
lishmaB Whereas Sir Edward Grey is a
man of the ancient Northumbrian line
age and of blue blooded ancestry. cult
ured. clean lived. quiet in manner.
somewhat reserved of speech-the per-
fecti0n, indeed, of the Woll bred English
man, with but little disposition TO gay
ETY. since the tragic death of his wife in
a carriage accident some years ago-A. ,
Won Kiderlen- Waechter is a self-made
man, Of brusque. bluff, breezy and rathcr'
loud manner, completely devoid Of the
polish and courtliness of the true Ger
man patriCian. His Taiment is equally
noisy and lacking in sobrety, while his J
private life is such that when he was
minister at Bucharest it became the sub
ject Of a good deal of unpleasant notori-
ETY. and brought him into the black
books Of the Kaiserin,. who regards him
with aversion.
His principal claim upon the Kaiser's
attention consists in what English mill
tary men are wont'to describe as "parlor
tricks is to say, his capacity for
organizing practical jokes, amusing
pranks and buffooneries Of one kind and
another, by which he used to entertain
his sovereign on the latter's annual
yachting parties on board the Hohenzol-
lern. where he was wont to keep every
body, even the very sailors, in continual
roars Of laughter by his mimicry and his
antics. 1t is on this account that he is
known at the court of Berlin by the
nickname of August" that being the
sobriquet given TO the clowns belonging