The Delta independent., 1916-01-28
KAISER is MEDIEVAL
AND SELF-DELUDEO

d u. ".
Colorado college, Prof. H. Conrad
Blerwith, a classmate of Professor
Gle, states that Prussia is to blame
for the war and that the Prussian en-
thusiasm is in reality fanaticism. Pro-
lessor Bierwirth is instructor in Ger
man at Harvard and a close friend
of Professor Gle. He says the Kaiser
! is a man with ideals of the middle
ages. LAS for the emperor" writes
/ Professor Bierwirth, have always
the throne as thoroughly medieval
fellow, opinionated and self-deiIded to
an etreme" Extracts from the letter
are as follows:
And now as to the war. When it
began was in Germany at my sisters
home in the little village not far from
Hamburg where my father had his last
farm and where as a boy of II heard
the declaration of war in 1870.
stayed there for five weeks after the
beginning and then returned by way
of Rotterdam and Liverpool to New
York in an American steamer.
On the day the war was declared a
friend and relative of mine, as good
German as there breathes in the
good old Fatherland. said to me land
he took the words out of my mouth.
as it were): 81 tell you, If the Ger
mans win this war. there will be no
more dealing with them; they will
lord 1t over ALL" / believe he was
right, or is right.
When / returned and was asked by
one of my colleagues whether there
was much enthusiasm in Germany.
said: 1T wasn't enthusiasm, but sim
ply fanaticism." Then I met another
colleague. who said: Il understand
you are strongly anti-German." ans
wered so I am. for the good OF the
dear old FatherIand and the good Ger
man people who did not want this
war" You see my position
have always held, at least for 10
years past, that Prussia was leading
Germany into trouble. I have always
hated the Prussian regime. though I
have also admitted that Prussia. up to
with Is years or so did great deal of
good for Germany. A people so given
are, can never educate a nation into
the truest and best uses of liberty.
for the simple raeson that It does not
grant true liberty. But by all sorts of
military and despotic devices. Prussia
has succeeded in making a sufficient
number OF hurrah-patriots believe that
the country was being corralIed by
enemies on all sides, that an iron
, ring had been forged around them and
that they were in constant danger of
| being overwhelmed: hence the fanat-
icism l spoke of above; hence the
feeling of relief when at last the Day
dawned for which they thought they
had longed. ] heard more than one
OF these deluded men eclaim: THANK
the Lord, now we've got what we
wanted"
The common people, however, told
me over and over again: I'VE do not
want war. we want peace" AS for
the emperor I always regarded him
ever since he came to the throne. as
thoroughly mmediaeval fellow opinion
ated and self-deIuded to an etreme.
| But given a temperament such as he
has and given such surrounding as he
has been paced in. and such one-sided
education as he has received, never
getting into contact with his real peo-
lple, never having chance to rub
against his fellows, what other crea-
ture can you expect than he now
shows himself to be? In way he is
more sinned against than shining and
can forgive hi ma great deal. But
what / cannot forgive and what | re-
gard as much sadder. is the deporable
exhibition which many of Germany's
men of light and leading have made
of hemselves-Harnack, Eucken Tiny
good old teacher at Jena). Lasson Ost-
valid, and many others. Where is now
that boosted independence of German
thought an thinking.
There is only one thing sadder and
more pitiful than all this. and that is
that we in this country. free and
great people. should raise the cry OF
,militarism under the mask of pre-
paredness" and say; Let us do as the
Prussians have done" instead of say
ing: Now we see what this damable
Prussian militarism leads to, let us