The Washington herald., 1914-08-22
The Imperial Ego.

German Emperor's use Of the personal pronoun. In
his speech before the German law-msking body, he
says, @My friend, the Archduke Ferdinand, as
sassinated" and then "My ally, the Emperor Francis
Joseph" Further on this naughty language proceeds,
I'T was compelled to mobilize my army against a
neighbor with whose troops mine had fought side
BY side" and my government and my chancellor
tried to prevent the worst
How far removed is this use of words, eonceit of
kings and absolute rulers from any address Pres-
dent of the United States would employ to ma
tonal congress.
The ghost of absolutism fingers II is vigorous
and active spirit The German Emperor is quite
sure in his own mind, that he IS by some divine
right" sole arbiter Of his nations affairs.
And il is true that the German people assent to
such concentration of vast national human living
in one single unit 1t must be true that the millions
of population feel that they compose my people,
and that the first person poSsessve pronoun is prop
erly employed If they did not consider themselves
so owned and possessed, body soul, welfare, happi
ness property would they not resent such proprietor
ship? And do they not confess that they are my
army" when, without legislative action they rise up
as the monarch says rise upi
How leagues on leagues away, on the road to
freedom, the action of President Wilson when
in person he appeared before Congress to ask that
are totally different, in national life We are
not owned nor could any elected executive in these
United States bring his tongue to so phrase his
authority. We never had chief officer who in his
secret thought conceived of forces my army"
Nor did President ever imagine that any member
lof his Cabinet was my Secretary of State" my
Secretary of War"
1t is these geographically accurate touches of
human interest that show the exact state of En-
peror Williams mind. No matter what reforms, nor
constitutional safeguards to legislators there may
he in Germany he feels that he is the proprietor Of
the state He would willingly dispense with legsla-
tors if Providence would so direct In fact it is in
his, mind that Providence did so direct for many
years of old Prussia And that it has been quite i'm
pertinent in the people that they did not leave
Providence and the king still to have their own
divine order, uninterrupted.
Would it not that the vast majority of the
German people agree with their Emperor on this
point? From democratic point of view how ut
terly impossible is any sudden personal call to
in this republic. The sovereign people must be
WINGED of the line of duty Our candidates for office
must argue their convictions and persuade to
action by the all-compellng authority of the truth
We bow to facts. We may be misled for time
but we must be led by an appeal to consciences
The whole atmosphere of this republic is modern, in
an exalted attempt toward the freedom Of the ndi-
vidual citizen. He is my people" to no man. The
other pronouns are the ones preferred, We Our.
And is it not the mighty invitation of this free
dom that has called so many vital German to
America? That they might be proprietors of their
own bodies minds, welfare and estates, these, the
most vigorous of that German lineage have crossed
the sea.
They have promptly assimilated with the Ameri-
can citizenship. Here they have become one with
US, we, the many direct our own affairs, answer
ing only the Creator. 1t is national creed that
is the real OF Providence regards every
man the globe am no mans man. I am every
mans brother.
In our American eyes today the most shocking
tragedy of the European war is the frightfu au-
thority of three men, Before heaven such authority
cannot be right. 1t is an usurpation. And pray
God go down in this sea of blood never to be
resurrected.
How different the process of events in grand old
England. 1t is indeed new England, country of
the people. That Parliament house by the Thames
is like capitol in Washington. These two mighty
self-governing peoples stand the opponents of
popular government in contrast with of sbso-
lutism of time gone by forever.
There is no room on the crowded earth for
colossal figure which these three emperors assume
to be. The civilized world will rise up to annhilate
parsonage, as it did just ninetynne years ago at
Waterloo. The insolence of it all, too, is that
Hohenzolern is not overlapping genius, as was
Bonaparte And it is century later on the clock
of progress. $1,000.
A great wave of content and thankfulness should
sweep over this nation All the petty contentious that
were fretting US, class hatreds suspicion in trade
and social dscontents should rise up like fogbanks
that disperse before the sunrise of happy summer
day.