The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-01-27
EMPEROR WILLIAM, 81 TO-DAY,
HAS REIGNED NEARLY rs YEARS

Der Kaiser's health will be toasted
today in many brfmning mug of the
national joy drink of the fatherland,
for this is the f1fty-fourth birthday of
that Puissant Parsonage whose four
by-six visiting cards read, Wilhelm,
Deutscher Kaiser and Koenig Won
Preussen.'' While the birthday of
Victor Albert Wilhelnn-to give the
Emperor his full assortment of names
is a legal holiday throughout Ger
many, and is marked by a twenty
four hour chorus Of 'Hoch der Kais-
err" to an accompaniment of clinking
Gagons and "boos'' from the Social
Democrats; today's Observance is but
prelude to what is to come later in
the year. Wilhelm II. assembled the
throne on June 10, 1888, and will
round out a Quarter-century of his
reign next June. Berlin plans to take
a holiday of a month to properly OBJ
serve that anniversary, and to make it
tn most lavish demonstration of mod
ern times. surprising the Queen Vic
toria Jubilee and the coronation fes-
tivities of King George and King Ed
ward. The $1,5oO,00O stadium now
being constructed for the 1916 Olym-
pic games is expected to be in readi-
ness by June, and will be the center of
the popular part of the program. Ber-
lin, eager to get it's share Of the cash
of American tourists, intends to set up
as rival Of Paris, and the celebration
in honor of the Kaiser will serve as a
send-off to the scheme.
Emperor Wilhelm is heartily in
sympathy with this plan, for he enter
tains no aristocratic prejudices against
trade. The Emperor has finger in
many a German commercial pie, and
his stock holdings include many shares
In prosperous breweries. Great as is
his income, the Kaiser is not the rich
est man in Germany. Frau Bertha
Krupp Won Bohlen und Ha1bach, who
inherited the Krupp millions, has a
greater reserve against a rainy day
than her sovereign, Prince Egon gu
Prince Henckel Won
and Prince Christian
Kraft gu Hohenlohe- Oehringen are al
so the financial superiors of Wilhelm.
Still, the Kaiser has enough of worldly
goods to enable him 1oR maintain fifty
one palatial estab 1ishments. His last
and ffty-f1rst palace, at Posen, cost
$1,33O,O0O, and contains more than
500 rooms Others of his establish
ments are even larger and more mag
but some of the imperial
homes are dinky little novels with no
more than a hundred rooms. So far
as finances go, the Emperor may say,
in the language of the day, ST should
worryi"
wilhelm IL has more decorations
than any other person in the world.
He has all the imperial and Prussian
orders of distinction, and most of
those of other countries, including thu
English Order of the Garter. the Ita1-
ian Order of Annunciation, the Nor
wegian Order of the Lion, the Spanish
Order of the Golden Fleece, the Dan
ish Order of the Elephant and the
Russian Order of st. Andreas.
1T is expected that a feature of to-
days birthday celebration will be the
promotion of Maj. Friedrich Wilhelm
otherwise Crown Prince
With elm, to the rank of colonel in the |
German army. It is also announced
that the Kafser's recently completed
ballet, Corfu" will be produced to-
night at the Royal Opera in Berlin. |
This is the second attempt of Wilhelm
to achieve success on the stage. Sew |
era1 years ago he wrote the scenario |
of another ballet, 'fSardanapale," and |
it was performed in Berlin. The Kais-
er spent vast sums in boosting the |
offspring of his mind, but it fell flat. |