Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-11

civil service to which they may be ap-
pointed on quitting the army, is given
non-commissioned officers after hve or
six years service The attendance Is
German. history, arithmetic. mensura-
ton. geography. map reading and mill.
tary correspondence. certlncate OF
proficiency is awarded to every non
commission officer who has success
fully taken this course or has passed
an examination in the subjects en-
braced therein"
Fortifications Dismantled.
The latest fortifcations to be dis
mantled in Germany were those at
Posen, capital of Polish Germany, a
fortified city of the first rank, and the
headquarters of the fifth army corps,
with a permanent garrison OF 1O,OOo
men. Posen has about 10000 inhabl-
tants. of whom so per cent are Poies,
so per cent Germans ana ~ per cen.
Jews 1t is one of the most anclens
towns in Europe, and was the t 60 the
wear 1886. That part of Poland was
annexed to Prussia in 1898. put the
Poles have never become reconG!leu.
The present generation is as reDeiilous
and discontinued as their toreIa.nens
were. and they never will be happy un-
til they are Independent and the an
Gent throne of Poland is restored.
The walls and castles that protected
and defended the city were torn do"n
in 1866 and a splendid structure Oh reu
Sandstone of romanesque design was
erected on the site of the old citaoei d
cost of nearly six million dollars. II
contains 600 rooms and the 1nest nan
in Germany. 1t was announced ny .nS
kaiser at the same time tnas taka I'm his
Fritz. his second son, would take up IN, ms
,as;denca there as a compliment to his
Polish subjects The inauguration OF inc
ca stle took place with great ponip anu
ceremony on the Goth of last Augus.' anu
the emperor, accompanied by the entire
imneriai family, with the exception o..
two of his sons. was present. ne was
attended by the imperial chanceiior, se.
eraI ministers Of state. group oi .an n1ar
generals and other dignitaries IN oraer
to impress the Poles with the iriehuis
disposition of the government:
The kaiser made two speeches. one a.
the opening of the castle, ana the otn Osi
at the banquet in the evening, out NE
hopes of conciliating the r0ies Va
doomed to disappointment Ineir . .h"i,
orc did not attend the ceremonies; thell
newsna pers did not hesitate to conuet . ll,
the extravaganza Of erecting %o.u",u -
building i'm their city, or to constIue .he
friendly overtures Of the emperor % Ga
DC an arrogant demonstration IN the eyes
Of their children of the hated Prussiah
domination"
Polish Action Discussed.
Tho extent to which the Polish section
- Tho nonulation participated in the dec
t;on of the city and in the welcome
o,,anded RI the emperor and empress has
s;,,oe heen q question of earnest discus
s;on Attempts have been made by the
rodica, section of the Polish press and
members of the patriotic societles 10 pfo t,.e
that the emperor was snupoeu. h;
non-nartisan newspapers descflpeu MS
,ecention as enthusiastic and genuine.
THO sneech of his majesty at the pan
onet had been awaited with eager inter,
est because it was expected that ne "ou'u
make some declaration cohce.s the
att;tude of the government toward the
rastless Poles, but if he ever had such
an intention it was suppressed. ne oe.
ciarad himself as usual the partner OF
Diyine Providence and the anointeo ot
the Lord He thanked the art e., Tee anu
struction of he castle for showing what
the applied arts in Germany were capa-
HE of producing" He trusted That the
large expenditure would be regarded as
q token of the interest which he took in
th;s fair German province, upon the CO.
oneration of whose inhabitants he reck-
oned for the promotion OF its prosperity"
and concluded:
announcement for each one in this prov
;nce who is DESTROYS of taking part with
his body. his heart and his whole mind
in the work of the development and I'M
nroyement of this beautiful land. May
Goa gave His blessing to this work, and
may the province of POsen flourish. pros
ner and develop, a precious stone in my
crown
Emperor Directs Improvements.
There is no question that the city of
posen has been very much improved
through the initiative of the emperor. not
only in appearance. but in commercial
conditions From an antiquated and pic
t,lresnue old city encircled with fOrtifi-
cations. with narrow. winding streets.
and a depressing. musty atmosphere it is
rapidly becoming an active. enterprising,
prosperous community. and the military
authorities are spending vast sums of
money for current expenses. for commits
sary and quartermaster supplies and
for labor at the several barracks and
fortifications 1t takes a large sum Of
money to support military CORPS of TO-
OlO soldiers, and the people of Posen get
nearly all of it: nevertheless it is not
money they want but political autonomy
If they cannot have independence, and
the Polish leaders have chosen to inter-
pref the new castle as exemplifying Ger
man extravaganza and German SUI
premacy. which are Doth offensive in
their eyes.
The position of Prince Eitel Frederick is
rather embarrassing and his life as gov
ernor of Posen is not likely to be
happy one. The Polish aristocracy are
holding aloof. and, while they have not
exactly boycotted him, very few have
responded to his advances. Since he
took up his residence in the new six
million -dollar-castle most of them have
avoided the city and have either re-
NAMED upon their estates or have gone
to Paris or italy. / am told that almost
every residence OF the nobility In Posen
is closed this winter, and the prince Is