The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-02-17
COUNT Won BERNSToRFF.
Cannot Be Acquitted of Blame for In
trigues and Conspiracies.

fered to the public with considerabl,
more freedom and frankness than woul,
have been advisable before his depart
ure. 1t was singular that the coun
had much the same diplomatic mission
as his father before him. The eide,
Bernstorff was the Prussian ambassador
at London when the Franco Prussiar
war of 1901 broke out, and Great
Britain was the great neutral whose IN
PREVENTION it was the determined purpose
of the Berlin government to prevent. The
war was so short and Prussias victory
was so crushing that the present counts
father had little difficulty in scoring a
diplomatic success at the British capital
But his task was child's play compared
with that of the son in America more
than generation later. That the son
has failed in the effort to maintain
friendly relations between Germany and
| the greatest of neutrals must be adj
mitted to be no great discredit to his
| diplomatic reputation, for the final
course of the German government with
reference to the United States seems to
have been dictated by supreme military
consideration which forced the foreign
office to sacrifice its ambassador in
| Washington.
| In view of the fact that very much
of Count Won Bernstorff's diplomacy in
this country during the war has neces-
sarily been hidden from the public and
will not be given complete publicity per-
haps for generation, it would be idle
to pass judgment upon him at this time.
One can speak only of surface impress
sions concerning his activities. Person
ally gifted with certain deftness in ac-
ton as well as with high degree OF
intellectual smartness Count Won Berns-
torff came to us in 1908 with all the
highly specialized training of the profess
sional diplomatist, educated under the
eye of his father and saturated from
childhood with the traditions and the
ideals of the school of diplomacy made
celebrated by Bismarck. In self posses.
sion, manners, knowledge of the world
and audacity even, he was a finished
product. He had, also, Prussian indus
try and persistence Nor was there lack.
ing a certain suavity and wit, joined
with genuine imperturbability of tenn
per in critical moments, calculated to
arouse the admiration of spectators. One
could not help observing the cleverness
with which he played the game.
1t must be remembered that Count
Won Bernstorff bore an exceptionally
heavy weight of care on account of the
distance between Berlin and Washington |
and the limitations imposed by war con- |
diftaps IN sha communion inns baf,raan |
himself and his home government. Yet |
in corresponding degree was he per
sonally responsible for the way in which /
German interests were managed in this /
country. In a peculiar sense, he was |
Germany personiiied in the relations
between the two counties and in pc
auliar sense was he in fun control OF all
other representatives of Germany, diplo-
matte or consular, and unofficial agents
and spies who have been active not only
IN the United States, but throughout
North America in the past two and
lalf years.
In view of the exceptional power
3ernstorff undoubtedly possessed among
German agents and subjects in this coun-
ry, it seems impossible to acquit him
II blame for the intrigues and criminal
onspiracies in defiance of our. laws which
we're traced at one time or another to
serman consuls or to the military and
laval attaches of the German embassy
i Washington. Capt Won Papen, who
worked as Bernstorff's lieutenant, had to
e arbitrarily sent home by our govern
nent Secret documents seized by the
eeret service, now in the possession Of
he government are understood to dis
lose nefarious activities on the part of
ierman agents which in some cases in
olved fragrant abuse of our govern
rents hospitality, ana il is incredible ,
hat all this plotting was not indirect ,
: encouraged by the German embassa i,
or The president never reached the
ONT of dismissing Count Won Berns-
orff as persona non grata-the fate i.
hich deservedly befell Dr. Dumba. the :,
AMBASSADOR of Austria Hunghry-b the /
reater success OF Berrstorff as compared
18th Dumba was due to superior smart
ess rather than higher morality. i.
1t can be said with conviction that
cunt Won Bernstorff worked ineessant- ;,
: for peace between Germany and the :.
nted States, but he cannot be credited
it'll having worked so indefatigably for :;
lie maintenance of peace because he !,
we'd peace he was for peace because peace
it'll America was advantageous to Ger
any All the time, however, the am
lssador was limited in his secret &C. =
vities for his imperial master by moth :,
q whatever save the necessity of not =
ing found out in Legitimate enter :.
ises. Bernstorf was thorough going II
sciple of Bismarck in diplomacy, that y,
to say, he was without neral scruple :;
attaining his end and wholly subserv- 4,
ut to the Machiavelliau principle of the -
ain chance in statecraft. Bernstorff, i
re his greater contemporaries in Ger
an diplomacy, Buelow and Bethmann- +.
,llweg, was possessed with the Prus- :. :,
IN doctrine that the supreme inter
Is of the state are paramount to the 10
.tates of individual morality. and, con- II
luentIy, from the Prussian viewpoint,
has fully earned the iron cross with
e white ribbon. recently given him
the kaiser and all the other honors di
at are likely to be awarded to him sn
ter his return home. of
That the count carries back with him te
: honorary degrees of eight American m
iversities, is a detail that affords one, al
this moment, merely a grim sort of wi
lusement-S Springfield Republican. w