The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-09-13
The Kaiser Defends German War
Methods

Methods.
The kaiser was always very careful
about everything which might affect
his health, and even after the war
started, when his attention was natu-
rally occupied by many pressing prob
lens, he did not neglect his teeth, but
came to me as regularly as he had al
| ways done.
| OF this / was very glad, because it
| gave me an opportunity to draw the
kaiser out on many of the interesting
questions which the war suggested
| and which / found him always ready
to discuss. Perhaps the fact that /
was an American led the kaiser to
greater lengths in his justification of
German war methods and measures
than he might otherwise have thought
necessary.
The first time saw the kaiser after
the war started was about August 10,
| 1914. Between eleven and twelve
o'clock the night before, I had been
notified by telephone that the kaiser
would like me to attend him at the
/ Berlin palace the following morning
at nine o'clock. He was about to make
his first visit to the front and wanted
his teeth examined before he went.
! The work / had to do for him was
nothing of a serious character and did
not occupy more than twenty minutes.
| One of his Wallets stood by to give me
any assistance might need, but left
the room when was through.
"Have you been reading in the pa
| pers, Davis" the kaiser asked when we
were alone, "how our soldiers have
been treated by the Belgians?'
/ said had not had a chance to
read the papers that morning"
swell, you must certainly read them.
| They've been gouging out the eyes Of
| our wounded and mutilating my men
horribly They call it modern, civil
lized warfare. That's savageryi
hope your president is taking notice
| of these atrocities"
OF course / was in no position to
| contradict the kaiser's assertions, as
/ was not in possession of any of the
| facts, but / learned afterward that
| four American newspaper correspond
| ents had secured Germany from one
| end of the country to the other in an
effort to run down these reports. They
| left no rumOr uninvestigated, no mat
ter how far they had to travel to YER
| ify 1t. When they had finally exhaust
| ed every clue and followed every lead
| they had not found a single case to
| justify the charge the kaiser had made
| against the Belgians and which, of
| course, the inspired German press con-
! tinued to report from day to day.
The object of these lies was to JUS
| tify the outrages which the Germans
| were committing in their plan to ter
! roriZe the inhabitants of the countries
| they were overrunning. According to
! reports the activities of franc-tireurs
! in the occupied territories were met
| by the Germans with the most bar
| barrie punishments, crucifxiOn and
| similar atrocities being very common.
| Undoubtedly the kaiser was aware of
| what his soldiers were doing, and to
| ear to the unfounded charges made
| against the Belgians.
81 have already framed a message
| which l intend sending to your presi-
| dent regarding the use of dumdum
| bullets by the Belgians and French"
! the kaiser went on. '.We have ample
! proof TO establish this charge not only
| in the character of the wounds suffered
by my soldiers but in the shape of I'M
used cartridges which we found in the
captured forts"
| Strangely enough, the kaiser sent
| off his protest to President Wilson
about the same day that President
| Poincare forwarded a similar protest
7 based upon the use of dumdum bullets
| by the Germans.
| Regarding the violation of Belgium's
=, neutrality, the kaiser was able to of
| fer no reasonable argument. The fact
| that he was willing to pay Belgium for
| permission to allow his armies to go
| through that country was apparently
! sufficient justification in his eyes for
| taking by force what Belgium refused
| TO sell.
"How foolish of Belgium to have re-
! sisted us!" he declared. in this con-
/ nection. Had they consented to let
| US walk through we would have paid
| for everything-everything! Not a
| hair of their heads would have been
| touched and Belgium today would be
| in the same happy financial condition
| that Luxembourg is"
At a subsequent interview we re-
| ferred to Belgium again, and the kali
| ser alleged that Japan had violated
| the neutrality of China when she sent
/ troops through Chinese territory to
| seize Kiao-Chau.
/ 1T is all right for the allies to do
| these things" he commented SarcaS-
ticalIy, but when Germany does them