TaÌˆgliche Omaha tribuÌˆne. [volume] (Omaha, Nebr.) 1912-1926, 1914-10-23

- AHtN W FANNMMNN0NNM4 III
IN the third place, The Emperor
Impressed mo as a mar Of heart, OF
warm affections and u great consld.
Grafton for the feelings and web.
belng Of others. He can not. at
least does not. conceal his reverence
for. and devotion 10. the EmpreHs. or
bis love for his children, or his
attachment 70 bis friends. he always
speaks Of Queen Victoria and OF the
Empress Friedrich with the greatest
generation, and, 0nee when speaking
10 me IF an old American friend who
had turned upon him, he said that II
vas difficult for him 10 give up an
old friend, right or wrong. and impos.
Bible when he believed him 10 be In
the right. His manifest respect and
affection for his old and tried officials,
such as LucanuB and "a Eulenburg
and Won sudt. end Beseier and
Althod. give strong evidence OF the
warmth and depth Of HIS nature. His
confederation for Americans. espe-
oially. has always beon remarkable.
II was at his suggestion that the
exchange OF educators between the
universities OF Germany and Or the
United States was established. and
II has been his custom 10 be present
at the opening lecture OF each new
incumbent Of these positions at the
University of Berlin, and 10 greet
him and welcome him 10 his work
He Is also the first to extend to these
foreign educators hospitality and
social attention, To any one who
has experienced his hearty welcome
10 his land and his home. the asser-
ton that ~ Is arrogant and auto.
cratic Is 70 far away from truth as
10 be %ludicrous. Again [ must say
that | have never met a ruler, IN
monarchy or republic. in whom gem
uine democratic genialty vas q so
predominant characteristic.
But the Characteristic Of the En-
peror which struck me most fOrcibly
is his profound sense OF duty and his
readiness for s~elf-saerlhce for the
welfare of his country. This Is 8
general German trait. II Is the most
admirable side Of German nature.
And the Emperor is, In this respect
especially. their Prinoeps. / remember
sitting beside him one day, when
n Of the ladies of his household
asked me IL | were acquainted with
q certain wealthy uitra.fashionable
New York social leader. replied.
by name only, She pressed me to
know why not more nearly, why not
personally. And 10 this | replied that
l was not Of her class; that I could
not amuse her, and that | did not
approve of the frivolous and demon
alizing example and influence Of one
so fayorably circumstance for doing
good. The Emperor had heard tho
conversation, and he promptly said:
you know in Germany We do not
rate and classify people by their
material possessions, but by the i'm
portance Of the service they render
to country, culture. and civilization.
One OF his son once told mo that
from his earliest childhood his father
had instilled into his mind the lesson
that devotion to duty and readiness
for sacrifice were the cardinal virtues
OF a German, especially Of a Hohen-
zollern. His days are periods Of
constant labor and severe discipline.
He rises early, lives abstsmiously
and works until far into the night.
There is no day laborer in his entire
empire who gives so many hours per
diem to his work. His nature Is
manifestly deeply religious and, In
every sentence he speaks, evidence of
his consciousness that the policeman's
club cannot take the place Of religious
and moral principle is revealed. His
frequent appeal for Divine aid in the
discharge Of his duties is prompted
by the conviction that the heavier the
duty, the more need there is OF thar
aid.
His Passion for German Greatness.
He undoubtedly has an intense
desire, almost a passion, for the
prosperity and greatness of his
country, but his conception OF thar
prosperity and greatness is more
spiritual and cultural than materia,
and commercial. More than once
have | heard him say that he desired
70 see Germany a wealthy country,
Put only as the result Of honest and
perly requited toll, and that
h acquired by force or fraud
was more a curse than a blessing,
and "a destined to go as It had
come. His conception of the great
Of Ges ay Is as a great intel
lectual ana Aa vi POWER rather thar
anything else. lis physical power he
values chiefly as the creator and
maintainer Of the car fitlons neces-
sary to the production and influence
this higher power. | have often
heard him express this thought. .
And In spite Of this terrFbla war.
the responsibility for which 10 by sd |
many enormously laid at his door. RI
firmly believe him to be a man j,
peace. am absolutely sure that
has entered upon this war only unds
the Arm conviction that Great Britain
France, and Russia have %conspirea
to destroy Germany as a world power
and that he is simply defending, as
he said in his memorial speech to the
Relchstag, the place which God had
given the Germans 70 dwell on. For
seven years / myself have witnessed
the growth Of his conviction In his
mind and that Of the whole German
as the evidences of II have
multiplied from year to year until at
last the fatal hour at Sarajevo struck.
| firmly believe that there Is no soul
In this wide world upon whom the |
burden and grief OF this great
catastrophe so heavily rest as upon