The Alaska daily empire., 1914-09-01
The Hohenzollerns
By Gertrude B, MalIotto

imp in their rOckbullt c0sllo AAO'-' which the present Austrian house .aros its name, the Hohenzollerns yare adding steadily to their wealth. and to their territories by taking ,way the possessions of their neigh ,orinq robber barons, From these an ,Ient aggressive Counts Of Hohenzoi- Tern comes the long line Of rulers which eliminates today in Kaiser William.
 Before the ele6tor Frederick III be- came King ef Prussia in 17Ol the only of the family who had at tained any prominence was Albert Achilles who had been an important ,oIItical figure seven generations earl fer Tn the latter part of the 18th century John III married Margaret he daughter of Charles " and the sister of the German Kings Wences' laus and Sigismund" In 1415 the Hohenzollerns stepped forward sever al paces through the appointment or John's brother to the rank of Mar grave of Brandenburg. and from that on the family gained steadily in pow CT. In 17O1 Frederick III, previously an Elector, became King of Prussia.
 Frederick III was one of the S2 grandchildren of William the Silent, the founder of the Dutch Republic. Later Frederick came to be known asI the Great Elector and his son. another Frederick. married Q second cousin, Sophia Charlotte by name, who was the daughter of the Great Duchess of Brunswick by the same name. Sophia Charlotte was a student, and a wo- man of considerable brllliancy in the realm of learning. Her son, Frederick William I of Prussia was a dullard and man who had supreme contempt for in the way of learning. Macaulay once remarked that Fred erlcu William would win fame for accomplishments never before exhibit ed outside of a madhouse, if he did for no other reason. Enemies of the Kaiser today frequently use this par ticular ancestral thorn lA trying to annoy him.
 But whatever his pranks may have been, and he once collected Europe's scattered giants of all races in order
 to form guard that would meet with his fancy, they did no harm to Prus-
 sia and the wayward son of Sophia
 Charlotte was the father of the nigh
 ty Hohenzollern Frederick the Great,
 who, like his grandmother, was bril-
 liant student, The young Frederick
 became King of Prussia in 1740 at the
 age of 2S. A few months later Elm
 peror Charles " died, leaving no son;
 but he had secured Q document called
 the Pragmatic Sanction, to which Flu
 rope has given her assent, by which
 his daughter Maria Teresa was recog-
 nized as queen over all of his domin-
 ions.
 This was FredericRs opportunity;
 he desired above all else to win mili-
 tary glory and he had at his back one
 of the finest armies in all Europe, as
 well as a coplously filled treasure
 chest. Without the formality of a
 declaration of war. in the dead of win.
 ter, he moved his army into Silesia,
 to which he had some very shadowy
 claims. It was sheer brigandage. Aus.
 tria could at first offer no resistance, and when her forces did appear they
 were deefated. The efficiency of the
 Prussian army was established and
 Europe recognized a new power.
 Then came his nephew to the
 throne, Frederick II, who added little
 glory either to Prussia or his family
 name. His two successors were like
 wise of little influence. But in 1871, the year to which all Germany points with pride, France was crushed and Germany became a united state and
 the Hohenzollerns were more than Kings of Prussia. The 18th of January of that year heard the proclamation which dubbed King William " of Prussia henceforth the German Em. peror. In that capacity he took the name of William the First and from that day to the present time is but a step. He died in March, 1888, his son Frederick III survived him only four months, and the man whom Europe is today designating as the "War Lord" took his place at the head of the German Ens pire.
 Towering aoove the nations and the statesmen of the nations in the present world conflict is one colossal personality-William u-by lhe grace of God, King of Prussia, and Emperor of the German people" History will find "The Great" inscribed after his name, and he will outshine all of his predecessors when the annals of the present war come to be written Prince Gortzchoff, the Russian Chan. ceuor once said of him He will be the mainspring of Germany and his in. iuence will be felt throughout the world" And when that prophecy was uttered the Kaiser was but a boy in -he nursery. The boy forsaw the task set out for him by fate and two war. ring races. and he bUilded himself for he part. He has lived a life of rigid morality rigid self-denial, regid driIl ne has kept himself ever superbly 'fit in the athletic term. and today ne world is watching him and the world rather dislikes to admit that Town in its heart 1t recognizes that he real source of the Kalser's present 'uperlative power is. for the world | would rather choose to brand the Ger. | nan Emperor an aggressor. greedy old. cruel. But a man has stood at he head of the German people these ast twenty-five years or so, a man lot merely a ruIer moi yneraI,, {, e..