Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-03-29
KAISER TO QUIT
THRONE, He SAYS
War Lord Worries Over Enemies
at Home Forced Into
War by Crown
Prince.

Paris. March 26.-The abdiCatlOn OF
the German emperor is forecast by the
former German magistrate who wrote
the celebrated book j. Accuse in an
interview published at OeuVre. lie
says:
The kaiser is ohsessed by the
hough that he is responsible for the
war, a thought which poisons his whole
existence. He feels that he is menaced
by three enemies at home. without
counting those abroad. First. is the
crown prince, the real author OF the
war. Second. is the Junker-Pan-Ger-
manist-you cannotf imagine the
smouldering hatred of the emperor for
| those whoin he believes to be the
maniacs who are driving him into an
| abyss. Third, are the people, not the
socialist party, but the people VINO are
starving and who. he feels. are growing
in numbers and raising little by little
against those who organized the war.
Sub War Will Fail.
"The other day at the meeting OF the
parliamentary presidents and the MN
listers of the federal sovereiSns, at
which the submarine war was decldea
upon, the struggle between the lsaiSers
party and that of Won Tirpitz was
most bitter. The majority against the
emperor was so great. however, tina he
was obliged to submit and pretend that
he was convinced. In particular, ne
was personally opposed to a break with
President Wilson, but he was forced
to consent. Documents will be pub
lished one day which will prove that
secretly he did everything not to bring
America down upon him and that he
considers that the rupture was an IRE
parable mistake. The failure of the
submarine war will soon show that he
was right. but it will be too late.
The people he fears most are the
antiinilitarists, anti-Prussiaa, liberal
republicans, who want the reichstaG to
be based on universal suffrage. That
is why Wilhelm is SO anxious to con
vince the nation that he did not want
war. All his proteStationS are made to
appease the liberals and his famished
and ruined subjects whose murmurings
are growing stronger. He wants to
continue popular at any price and tina
is why he spoke the first word of peace
The people were grateful for it, but the
submarine war came and spoiled. every
thing.
cit is hard to realize how this an
peror, who enjoyed 81 popularity unex-
anpled in u epoch, suffers in his
pride. He alone perhaps in Germany
knows the whole truth: since he alone
has in his possession the elements fol
forming a judgment on the situation as
a whole. How can he resist morally
and physically under such a strain
Certainly he hopes sometimes. but les:
and less, for the success of the unre.
stricted submarine war which he op.
posed. He sees the isolation of Ger
many become more and more complete
"Once he tried to initiate peace nego
tiations and failed. TO try again would
be to admit and proclaim to the Who'll.
world, but above all to the German PEG.
pie, which he fears most. Gernany's
real situation. If the allies solemn,
declared, as they did with Napoleon il
1915, that they would refuse to trea
for peace with the Hohenzollerns, i
would be a knockout blow. Our German
people, who still believe, in him, would
abandon him, for peace at n pric,
will soon be unanimous and hide,
thought of tortured Germany.
Only Abdication Remains.
what recourse is left to him, bu
dramatic abdication in order to retain
the sympathies of the German peopl
and save the political future of Prus
STA. He will say:
Il sacrifice myself to make peace
Without me those only are responsible
who desired 2 savage war and the com
plete isolation Of Germany, those VIII
took at the beginning my son as thei
party leader and forced me to mobilize
a measure / hesitatcd to take"