The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-02-14
Get Home or Not Makes Little
Difference to Him.
EMBASSY SETS SAIL TODAY
Ambassadors Wife in
Banished Party.
Won IgeI, Indicted and Under
$4,000 Bond, Goes, Too.


II. Won Bernstorff, with his wife and
200 German diplomatic and consular
officials was safely aboard the Scan
dinavian liner Frederik VIII here to-
day waiting to depart for Copenhagen
| on his way home to Germany.
| The liner was expected to get away
| late this afternoon. Count and Count
ess Won Bernstorff retired to their
cabin Immediately upon reaching the
ship and the former sent out word by
! Dudley Field Malone, collector of the
| port, that he had nothing to say but
goodbye to a host of waiting news
paper men, and therefore hoped they
| would excuse him. To photographers
he sent word that he thought every
body in the United States knew what
he looked like and therefore he saw
no necessity for having his picture
| taken again. Prior to his arrival at
Hoboken, however, the former am
bassador outlined on various occasions
| to a representative of the Associated
Press his personal views regarding the
war in Europe, the possibility of the
United States being drawn into it and
| the doubts he held regarding his
reaching home safely.
You ask me- said Count Won
Bernstorff in reply to a question,
right? Well, time only can tell OF
course we will get thru the British
and French blockade and there
should be danger from our own
submarines I guess they will know
we are coming and will let us alone,
even if they should happen to see us.
Ambassador Fatalist.
However, whether 1 get home or
4not- does not really make much diff
ference L have had my fun. have
had my play at politics. I have en-
! joyed myself and l am no longer as
young as I once was. The only dan
| ger so far as l can see as attached to
the trip, is that we might strike a
mine. You know they float all around
on the sea and we may strike one.
One can never tell about that.
But, if We do hit a mine and go
down, 1 am ready to go, too. After
all, what difference will it make? If
! it is to come it will come; that's all.
THE future? That is so indefinite,
too OF course, 1 shall go directly to
Berlin as soon as 1 arrive in Ger
many. Maybe they will find some
thing for me to do, and maybe they
! won't.
1T is quite probable that my Off
cial career is finished. L may retire
for good. I have been turned out by
your government for something over
which 1 had no control and no blame
Alta hed to me, personally. Perhaps
| this is. a good time to step down.
However, [ am a German and my
plans may be changed by the wishes
of my government"
In regard to the former ambassa-
doris views on the possibility of the
United States entering the war, it
should be explained that several times
| in the days Immediately following the
severance OF diplomatic relations be-
tween the United States and Germany
he indicated his belief that it was only
u question of hours before some overt
act would bring about hostilities At
ore time he asked:
! ''Do you think I will be able to get
out of the country before war is de-
clared? ~
Pardons American Partisanship.
AS the days passed, however, and
no overt act appeared to have been
committed, the former ambassador be-
came more and more optimistic, final
| ly saying:
Maybe it is possible that war may
be averted. The president is repre-
sented in the newspapers as having
made it clear that the next time he
went to congress it would not be to
ask for war, but in connection with
protection to American shipping.
What does that mean? To me, per-
sonally, that means but one thing
the conveying of Ships
Altho Count Won Bernstorff does not
p0Ac'o Iiie't SillPs COlNOylnS would be
subject to attack, he feels a great
amount of danger is attached to sueh
a procedure. Personally. the former
ambassador feels that many Ameri-
cans have not always been strictly
neutral He told his friends, however
that he believed sentiment in the
United States was influenced by con-
ditions brought about by the war.
You have shipped your goods to the
allies because they had command of
the seas" he said. IF the condition
had been reversed and the German
navy instead of the British had that
command. you would have shipped
your goods to US. Naturally, any per
sons sympathies are where he does
that
Let US consider humanity and in
ternational law. There has been a cry
against Germany on the ground that
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