The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-09-13

league was then in great danger of disruption Von Rooster took charge and with his genius for organization and leadership he gave it new life. Since then he has done a work of in- calculable benefit to his fatherland, a work which in another field is being done for England, although with much less success. by an equally picturesque old fighter weighed down by years and horors--to- wit Lord Roberts.
 Field Marshal Baron von der Goitz, in spector general of the Second army in spection, is generally considered by high army officers In Germany as the great est of the Kaiser's commanders and strategists. It was while he was com handing the German troops on the Rus sian frontier that he laid the foundation for his great reputation and 1t is prob able that he will be found in supreme command of the operations against Rus sia. Ever since the Balkan war the Ger man staff have been aware that. in the inevitable war with France and Rus sia, Germany could depend but little upon Austrian help. The $250 100000 recently raised was for the purpose of strengthen ing the German forces on the Russian frontier and it has been Von der Goltz who has had charge of that work.
 Won der Goltz will be best remembered by the world outside Germany as the man who reorganized the turkish army. Anyone who knows anything of the real conditions that surrounded his efforts to whip the army of Abdul Hamid Into shape will agree that he accomplished al- most a miracle. Since the Balkan war there has been a disposition on the part of poorly informed ''experts" to write Non der Goltz down as q failure. I can only say that that view is by no means held by any of the nigh commanding generals on the continent and least of all by those who have the most at stake and who have the best means of judging his worth-namely, the German general staff
 He is above all things a hard worker and one of his sayings Is that a soldiers life should be all work and no play It IS generally believed that ne accomplished wonders on the eastern frontier nf Ger many and that a genuine surprise awaits the Russian troops. He has for years fought for the belief that Germany should be self-contained in a military sense and should be prepared to fight any possible combination of forces without the assist ance of an ally. The present war will prove how much his country has profited by his preaching.
 Non der Goltz would be famous as a writer were he not renowned as a sol d1er. He has written many books, be- ginning with novels as 8 young officer to support a widowed mother. Probably hls best known volume is "A Nation in Arms splendid defense of universal military service. He is a firm dlsbelIever Tn Napoleon's dictum that the Lord is with the biggest battalions He believes as do so many of his fellow German mill tary leaders. that the German army ot we'll trained, disciplined warriors can withstand any number Of hals trained troops.
 Despite the fact that Prince Bern hard von Buelow. since his resignation or the imperial chancellorship more .han rive years ago, has been little Tn the public eye, largely through his own choice. he is far and away the most astute diplomatist in Germany Six months of every year he spends With his Italian wife In their beautiful Villa near Rome and he has persistently refused to be interviewed on any na- tlonal or international subject. Now that the fatnerland Is in trouble he one of the most trusted of the Kaiser's advisers, will rally to his support. My Bernhard" as the Kaiser always calls him, with an affectionate ring in his voice, will undoubtedly play a large part in the framing of the terms of peace whichever way the fortunes of War incline.
 Von Buelow, because of 6his natural ability and an exceptional experience, probably understands more about the main currents of European diplomacy than any living German. He served as ambassador or minister at St. Peters, burg. Paris, Rome and Bucharest be- Tore taking up the reins at the chan cellory He is a man of the world before all else. wonderful master of men and diplomat in the highest sense or the word, who understands to the iuil the motives and considerations that move men to action.
 It was Von Buelow. of course. who was German chancellor when the X aiser visited Tangier and thereby brought on the Moroccan crisis. It was von Buelow who inflicted upon France then the worse humiliation of her re- cent history. and on the day when Del case, unable to back up his protests by force. resigned from the French foreign office the Kaiser made his chancellor a prince of Prussia
 There is probably no office in the German government more coveted than that of foreign secretary. In most cases it proves too big a job for its occupant and has been the graveyard of more than one reputation. Won Jagow, the present foreign secretary. succeeded Won Kiderlen Waechter. a man who proved too big for the job. It has often been said that the Kaiser is his own chancellor and foreign secretary, and 1t could never have been said with greater truth than at the present mo- ment. It is well known that Won Jagow accepted the post unwillingly and although he has been foreign sec retary for more than a year and half he has made little or no impress sion upon German diplomacy.
 German foreign secretaries are usu- ally judged by the amount of territory they add to the German empire. Sub mitted to that test Won Jagow has been a complete failure. but those who have any acquaintance with diplomatic af- fairs in Germany know that he has proved eminently satisfactory to. the Kaiser. Probably at no previous time during his reign has the Kaiser had so complete charge of the higher pol itics of his country. Readers will read fly remember the outburst of indigna- ton in Germany following the now famous letter to the London Telegraph In which the Kaiser's personal inter- ference in the foreign affairs of his government was plainly revealed. The sovereign was then popularly supposed to have given a grudging undertakings to lead more constitutional life, but he has really taken over almost auto cratic control of the government
 with very little experience. The only ambassadorship which stands to his cred 1t is that at Rome. However. he repre- sented Germany in the Italian capital with conspicuous ability. It was dis tinctH to his credit that during the crisis