The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-03-19
General Won Plettenberg Gets
Appointment to Impor-
tant Post
ny Ia MARaUIsE DE FoNTENo,.

tdnt POSt.
BY IA MARQUISE DE: FONTEN0Y.
HHARLES BARON Won PLETTEN-
BERG, whose name Is well ltnown
IN tins country. has just been
appointed to one OF the most difficult
and delicate of posts of the German
army, namely. to that of general in
command of the Army Corps of Guards
It's difficulty lies in the fact that this
corps d'elite of the German army COM
prises among its officers all the sons
OF the Emperor and most of the princes
of the blood OF the other sovereign
states OF the German Confederation.
Brought up among courtiers to "a keen
sense or their own Importance, il is
no easy matter TO maintain among
| these youthful scions of royalty that
amount of discipline which the Kaiser
requires on the part of his guards who
garrisoning the metropolis and Pots
, Dam. are always more or less under his
eye. In fact. the Emperor himself
takes so active part in the supervi-
sion and control of what is called the
! Gardes Corps. that 1t is only by means
of the utmost diplomacy and tact that
the general intrusted with the com
mand thereof can avoid having his
authority clash with that of the mon
arch.
General Won Plettenberg succeeds
General Won Loewenfeld, who was over
here at the inauguration of the Car
negie Institute at Pittsburgh and at
the unwilling of the Frederick the
Great statue at Washington and who is
not only an excellent soldier, but n
courtier through and through. Baron
Won PlettenberC took part as an eigh-
teen year old ensign in the war of
1870. winning the Iron Cross by CON
spicuous gallantry at the battle of Me-
Zieres. He was for several years In
command of the First Regiment of
Foot Guards: those giants upon whom
frederick the Great and his father set
such store. and In which all the Prus-
sian princes make their military debut
1t was this that brought him into close
contact with the Emperor. who appoint
ed him member OF his military house
mold For the last two or three years
he has been In command OF the Ninth
army Corps. with headquarters at
hamburg. He is married to Countess
Clara Wedel. niece of the Governor
General OF Alsace-Lorraine.
Baron Karl Won Plettenberg his cou-
sin. spent some years in New York, i'm
the employ Of the North German
Lloyd Company. of which he is now a
director. living at Bremen. While liv-
ing over here he received an incognito
visit from the Grandduke OF Oldenburc.
which attracted a good deal OF atten-
ton by reason of its brevity and by the
atmosphere OF mystery with which the
grand duke endeavored TO surround it.
Gibraltar is one of the most impor-
tant strongholds of the British empire.
commanding as ii does the entrance to
the Mediterranean and consequently
the shortest route to India and the far
Orient. II is occupied by a large gar
rison of soldiers and there are always
some warships in port.
Among its civilian population, how
ever. natives of Great Britain are only
sparsely represented. The greater part
of 1t. in fact fully 90 per cent, is com
posed oil what can only be described
as the scum OF the Levant, who, al
though they only know few words
OF English, and talk jargon of Greek
Italian, Syrian, Arabic and a sort OF
bastard Spanish. nevertheless claim to
be British subjects. This civilian pop
ulation is supplemented during the day
by laborers from the mainland of
Spain, who arrive in tho town of Gil
braltar early in the morning and re-
turn across the lines TO the mainland
at night.
been manifesting "a. degree not only of
arrogance, but of actual ill-will and
INSTRUMENTATION. acting as if they were
the principal parties on the rock and
that the English authorities, anG above
all the English troops and sailors, were
merely there on sunerance They In
augura ted all sorts of pin-prck annoy
ances and attempts at obstruction
FINALLY matters reached such "a pass
that about three weeks ago the Gov
ernor. Sir Archibald Hunter found 1t
necessary to Institute certain very nee
essary restrictive measures in connec-
ton with the floating foreign popu-
lation The local chamber of com
merce sent deputaton to him To pro-
test. whereupon Sir Archibald. who is
extremely plain spoken. expressed him
self very freely to the deputation
causing his speech to be subsequently
promulgated In the official Gazette OF
Gibraltar. In his speech he declares
that the town OF Gibraltar is like "the
Augean stables" that it is n disgrace
to the English flag, that Gibraltar Il;
first and foremost a fortress and he
intends that order, cleanliness. disci-
pine and general decency shall he
maintained there. He states that he
intends to be responsible for every
body who comes into the stronghold
that he commands, and that he will
not have there people for whom he
cannot be responsible. and above all. |
mat he objects to the class OF transient
labor that the civilian population en-
pioys. which cannot be tolerated In a
fortress at moment when every
power Is arming for war
10 civilians at home the speech or
Sir Archibald Hunter may seem harsh
and autocratic. To army and navy
men and also to civilians who have
ever had occasion TO stay for few
days at Gibraltar. II VIII seem that the |
general could have put matters even |
much more strongly than he did. Just