The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-08-23
The Crown Princes Vacation

The crown Prince vacation
Frederick William, until 1914 destined to oc-
cupy the Imperial German throne after the
death of the Most High, is taking vacation.
His father granted" him the respite from his
arduous duties after public agitation reached
such proportions that the emperor could no
longer stay its clamor.
The Crown Prince, it will be remembered, is
the Hohenzollern scion who sacrificed about
million Germans in his vainglorious efforts to
capture Verdun. He it is who to have lead
the Huns into Paris on the crest Of the fifth Of
fensive of 1918-an exploit that was ingloriously
wrecked on the reefs of the American line.
Ever since the marines earned their title OF
''devil dogs" and American infantry made cannon
fodder of the best troops in the Hun army, fore
ing the Germans out of the Soissons-Rheims sec
tor and enabling Marshal Foch to strike at will
all along the line from the North Sea to SWltzer-
land the Crown Prince has lost prestige at home.
He never has lived down the defeat admins
tered by the Franco-Americans in the Marine
sector The ill-starred crown prince, who al
ways has supplanted some able leader when a
victory seemed imminent in order that the
house of Hohenzollern might annex the honor,
has spelled defeat for the Hun hordes so often
when success seemed within grasp that the Ger
man public is now insisting that real soldiers
command the army and that the heir to the
throne take vacation. Press dispatches say
the vacation" is to be for six months. By the
time the Allies are through with him, he will en-
Joy much longer one
Another prnceling who is enjoying an en-
forced vacation is the crown prince of Bavaria,
commander of the German northern armies that
were taken by surprise when the French nipped
off the Montdidier salient and hooked up the
Marine front with the Picardy line. He is en-
joying the calm and peaceful air of Munich.
Allied generals, we venture to assert, would
prefer to have the two crown princes command
ing armies, for it would facilitate immensely the
task of cracking the German machine. But if
the German people prefer having the two crown
princes at home all Of us must acquiesce to their
wish.
German mothers, seeing Crown Prince Fred
erick William and Grown Prince Rupprecht of
Bavaria riding about in their automobiles, will,
of course, be ecstatic in their JOY. We can i'm
agine German mother who has lost all her sons
in the war crying "halleluja" and hail the con-
quering hero as she sees these two striplings
with unbroken skins enjoying their vacations.
German morale will be immensely stimulated to
know that the successors to the Prussian and
Bavarian thrones have proved conclusivey. that
safety first is their motto. 1t is not too sar-
castle to assert that the two royal fedglings are
of no use to the German people either at the
front or at home
If the kaiser's six sons had fought man to
man with their enemies, and given the sons of
the former presidents of the United States and
of other high officials in this country a shining
example of their manhood by standing on the
front lines and seeking the most dangerous posts,
even bitter enemy would be chivalrous enough
to respect their virtues but so long as they let
the sons of German peasants do the real fighting
while they collect medals and decorations for val
or which they did not earn, the world is justified
in visiting upon them ridicule and mockery.