The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1917-07-07


ser to me with a laugh as
Il sat one summers afternoon with him
in the business cabin aboard the Ho-
henZOllern.
We were going on our annual cruise
PUP the Norwegian fjords as far as
IHammerfest, and even farther north,
ito the island of Spitzbergen, if weather
permitted. =
1t is strange how often small things
OCCUPY great minds. The reason of
lthe emperOr's good humOr that after
moon was because he had learned that
the cafe-restaurant in POtsdam of
(which he was proprietor had paid a
handsome profit. The place is called
1.-THE Historic MILL" and was and still
tis managed by Herr Moritz, one of the
tOld stewards of the Neues Palais. The
emperor, on purchasing the place,
called old Moritz and ordered him to
serve the best coffee procurable in
iPotsdam. And, even today, anybody
lcan go there and pay 80 pfennigs for
cup that is unequaled in all Germany.
In consequence, the place is well pat
lronized, and on many occasions his
majesty will halt upon his walks and
sample it.
r A Mania for Travelling.
| At that moment the emperor was
busy making up his diary for the forth
coming month, a diary of constant
travel. Such a mania has the kaiser
for travelling that upon occasions he
has been known to sleep in the impe
rial railway saloon kept at the Wild
park station at Potsdam, ready for an
early journey next morning. On such
occasions the whole railway traffic is
disorganized, for express trains must
not run on that line. There must be
no shunting or whistling lest it dis
&urb the imperial sleep, and so on. In
deed, the socialists once made a pub
lie protest against the emperor's habit
of holding up traffic by preferring to
sleep in railway car to reposing in
his own bed half a mile distant.
That summers afternoon as we
sat together, and while he smoked his
very rank cigar, he dictated certain
entries into his private diary.
Suddenly he grumbled about the ex-
penses Of a Journey which he had to
make to Vienna to see the sovereign
whom he so openly ridicuIed, Francis
Joseph.
ST must be there on September the
eighteenth" he said. "Even though
j hold the old idiot and his empire in
the hollow of my hand, I suppose !
must grace his capital with my pres
ence. But begrudge the money, Helt-
zendorff. / have no further influence
to gain in Austria-Hungary. 1t is in
England that my future work lies. Ev-
cry mark spent there is to our advan
tage. We shall have much yet to dc
in Germanizing Great Britain"
The kaiser and his imperial spouse
were a parsimoniOus pair in most di
rections. Only when it was in the in
terestS OF the empire were they Lavish
in their expenditure. The German
public have never yet realized thai
since William II assembled the throne
they have paid 10000. 600 marks int
the civil list, and of these 10000, O0(
have been expended upon pageant o.
Vainglorious SplendOr, with a staff o.
1900 persons, that goes to make tn,
all-higheSt the great war lord
The general public have no concep
ton of the extent of the German i'm
perial court, the immense suite of la
dies and gentlemen in waiting, mar
shals, eQuerries. masters of the hunt
chamberlains, treasurers, overseers o
the plate, gentlemen OF the cellars
gun chargers, chief chefs. with tn
crowd of footmen, coachmen, chaut
feurs, grooms> and imperial couriers.
And most of them were usually
grumbIing crowd, being upon starvs
ton diet. their remarks approachin
dangerously near lese majesty.
At the emper0r's orders, as we sa
on board the Imperial yacht that af
ernoon, l rang for Herr Won Wedell
A short, thickset man In uniform to
tight for him entered the cabin, bow
ing. To him the emperor compIaine
of an undue expenditure in regard I
the last court ball, WhereupOn Vo
Wedel pointed out that while hug
sums were spent upon his majesty
Journeys little was spent at home.
In a moment the emperor. with b
keen brows narrowed. silenced him +
excIaiming: