The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13
By STEPHEN ASPEN


 ~7ERLIN, September 12.-CspeciaD I'M Who are the men about the k-2 amazing Kaiser upon whose ad- lak4k1 vice he has plunged his country into what promises to be the greatest and bloodiest war on record2 No one who knows very much of the personal life of the German ruler believes that he has entered upon this war gainst such tremendous odds without consulting every one of the dozen or more super-clever men-diplomats, soldiers, sailors. strateg- ists. bankers and business men-with whom he has surrounded himself and who have played so great part in tho development of modern Germany. If the Kaiser has made a mistake, has invoked the arbitrament of arms at the wrong moment and in the wrong conditions it is they and not he who are responsible, how ever ready the German public may be In clned to shoulder the responsibility upon the war lord. But not one of the men belayes that a mistake mas been made Thes are unanimous in their faith that Gerxany will emerge victorious from this critihl struggle. Who are these mer. who lave such faith in the character, ths resources, the skill and the genius of the Fatheiland that they can thus embron it in Titanic battle with almost the whole of the rest of Europe?
 or course full list of the striking fig ures that stand behind the picturesque Kaiser is impossible, but 10 can be named without exhausting the list of men of the highest rank and importance. One of these, whose work has been vital to Germany and whose life la5ors are about to be put to the real test is tsrand Ad- miral Won Tirpitz, creator of the Germa,l navy, the growth of which has been i constant bogey to British statesmen and people, and which was probably the de- ciding factor in enbroiling England in the present war. Side by side with him stands Grand Admiral Won Rooster, presi- dent of the German Navy league, whose efforts. propaganda and patriotism have made Won Tirptz' work possible. von der Goltz, one of the greatest of living strateFists and the man who tried so hard against almost insuperable odds to reorganize the Turkish army of Abdul Hamid, stands out among the men who have modelled the German army which, on paper at least, is admitted to be the sreatest war machine eyer evolved out of the efforts of man. Among the diplo- mats with whom, when the war is draw ing to a close, so much will rest; Prime Z Non Buelow, former imperial chancellor; Won Jagow. present secretary, and Dr. Von Bethmann Hollweg, present imperial chancellor, are the leaders, while in this war in which finance and dislocation of trade will play such important parts, Arthur von Gwinner, head of the great Deutsche bank, and Albert Ballin, the Napoleonic head of the Hamburg-Ameri- can line, the largest shipping and steam ship organization in the world, inevitably become prominent. Finally, in the back ground but none the less important are Hans Delbruck, the Kaisers mentor ia political science, and Prince Tuerstenbere. the Kaiser's boon companion and adviser. and often mentioned as a possible im- perial chancellor
 Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz is truly remarkable parsonage. In a country where it is an accepted axiom that high birth is a necessary quail fication for important office Won Tir- pitz, of common origin, began his ca reer as naval cadet and by indom- itable will, energy and almost uncanny forethought has forced his way to