The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-09-26
MIR. Gerard's Prophecy O
U-Boat Warfare and Voy-
age to America.

d. q w &Al1Oi 4NtRs
Chancellor Won Bethmann -Hollweg
while at Charleville always desired to
make any settlement OF the subma-
rine question contingent upon our do
ing something against England. but |
again and again insisted that we could
not agree TO do anything against some
other power as a condition of obtain
ing a recognition Of our rights from
the German empire.
During my stay at the general head
quarters, General Fslkenhayn, al
though he was there at the time. care
fully avoided me. which / took to he
Il sign that he was in favor of war
with America. In fact. / heard after
ward that he had insisted on giving
his views on the subject, but that
very high authority had told him to
confne himself to military operations.
After We had been a day or 30 at
Charleyille, the vice-chancellor,- Helf-
ferich, arrived. ! have always be-
lieved that he was sent for to add
his weight to the arguments in favor
OF peace and to point out that IL was
necessary for Germany to have the
friendship of America after the war
TO have markets where she could
place her goods. Aud l am convinced
THAT at this time. at any rate. the
influence OF Helfferich was cast in
the scale in favor of peace.
LUNCHEON WITH
THE EMPEROR
Finally, I was told that on the next
day, which was Monday, May l.
was to lunch with the emperor. Grew
was invited TO accompany me and the
chancellor said that he would call
for me about an hour hefofe the time
n h1
to have talk with me. In the after
noon an extract from the log of a
German submarine commander was
sent to me. In which the submarine a
commander had stated that he had
sighted a vessel which he could easily
have torpedoed, but as the vessel was
one hundred and twenty miles from
land he had not done so because the
crew might not be able from that dis
lance to reach a harbor. When the
chancellor called for me the follow
ing morning, he asked me If / had
read this extract from the submarine
officers log, and noted how he had
refrained from torpedoing a boat one
hundred and twenty miles from land.
l told the chancellor that | had read
the extract, but that I had also read
IN the newspaper that very morning
that ship had been torpedoed In
distance from land and the crew com
PEELED to seek safety in the ship's
boats, that anyway "one swallow did
not make a summer and that re
ports were continually being received
or boats being torpedoed at great dis
| lance from land.
We then got in the motor and mo-
tored to the chateau about a mile off,
where the kaiser resided We got ont
of the motor before going into the
courtyard and immediately l was TAX
en- by the chancellor into a sort of
garden on the gently sloping hillside
| below the chateau. Here the emperor,
dressed In uniform. was walking.
As drew near the emperor he said
Immediately. DO you come, like the
great proconsul, bearing peace or war
in either hand?" BY this he referred
| of course, to the episode In which
| Quintus Fabius Buteo, chief OF the
Roman ENJOYS sent to Hannibal In
the First Punic war. doubled his toga
In his hand. held IT up and said; I'm
| this fold l carry peace and war;
choose which you will have" Give
us which you prefer" was the reply
Then take war" answered the Ro-
man, letting the toga fail. we &C
I cept the gift cried the Carthaginian
senator. and welcome"
! Il sAlo, NO your majesty. only
/ hopino that the differences between
| two friendly nations may be adjusted. -
! The emperor then spoke OF what he
! termed the Ancourteous tone OF our
! notes, saying that we charged the
/ Germans with barharism In warfare
/ and. as emperor and head of ths
church, he had wished to carry or
the war In knightly manner. He
referred to his own speech to the
members OF tho reichstag at the com
mencement OF the war and said that
the nations opposed to Germany had
used unfair methods and means; that
/ the French, especially. were not like
the French OF 40. but that their of