Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1918-10-03

his royal uncle, "why, the king was
very much alarmed when the funeral
Dyre scene came on. He thought the
whole opera house was on fret"
Perhaps the kaiser's love for details
might be attributed to his keen obser-
walton. Nothing no matter how triv-
ial escaped his attention.
A couple of years before the war !
had the empire furniture In my wait
ing room reupholstered. On the very
first occasion of the kaiser's calling at
my office after the change he noticed it.
MY, my, how beautiful the chairs
look he exclaimed. "Good enough for
/ Napoleon himself"
! On another occasion, between two of
! the kaiser's visits, l had had put up
! in the waiting room new portrait Of
| Mrs. Davis. The kaiser noticed it the
/ moment he came into the room and
made some complimentary remark
about it.
! The kaiser frequently accused the
Americans of being dollar-worshipers
and the English of being ruled by
Mammon, but that he himself was not
totally unmindful of the value and
power of money was clearly revealed
by the manner in which he catered to
people of wealth in recent years.
The richest man in Berlin and one
of the richest in Germany was a He
brew coal magnate named Fried
lander. The kaiser ennobled him and
l. T,,Tl
other wealthy Hebrew to whom the
kaiser catered was Schwabach, head
of the Bleichroeder bank, one of the
strongest private banks in Germany,
and he, too, was ennobled, becoming
Won Schwabach.
A number of other wealthy Hebrews
in Germany were also honored by the
kaiser in another way. Although he
was ayerse to visiting the homes of
private individuals who lacked social
standing, he departed from his rule in
their favor and visited their mansions
ostensibly to view their art collections,
but actually to tickle their vanity.
Shortly after Leishman became am
bassadOr to Germany, the kaiser called
on me.
'Your new ambassadors daughter is
the best looking young lady who has
attended our court in many a day" he
declared. "Half dozen of my young
staff officers are very anxious TO marry
her. Can you tell me, Davis, whether
these Leishmans have money!"
IF the kaiser despised the American
propensity for money-making, he was
certainly not averse to acquiring
American dollars.
He told me once that every trip the
Hamburs-American liner Amerika
made from New York to Hamburg re-
suited in transferring $4,000 from
American to German pockets, and
added: "We're mighty glad to get some
of your American money, can tell
YOU"
OF the kaiser's versatility I had
convincing evidence. In his conversa-
tions with me we usually wandered
from subject to subject in the most
haphaZard manner, and he invariably
displayed a surprising store of infor
nation on every topic we touched, and
1 am not vain enough to believe that
he was so anxious to make a favorable |
upon me that he prepared |
for these discussions in advance.
Indeed, the kaiser discussed so free
ly almost every subject that suggested !
itself that 1 often wondered what his |
advisors would have said had they |
overheard our conversations. His read |
mess to talk to me was undoubtedly |
due to a tendency he had to trust |
every one with whom he came in init
mate contact. For q man who was apt |
to have so many enemies, he was less
suspicious than anyone 1 had ever
met. He seemed to trust every one, and |
his sense of security unloosened his
tongue and made him more talkative, |
perhaps, than was always discreet.
The kaiser was very fond of listen
ing to and telling stories with a point
and would frequently invite me TO tell
him any new one that 1 might have
heard. Some of the stories we eN-
were more or less riSQue and
would be out of place in these pages,
but l do not mean to intimate that |
there was anything very much amiss
with them. They always amused him
very much and he was quick to catch
the point.
The kaiser's sense of humor fire.
quently exhibited itself. He told me
of a conference between representa-
tives of all the powers regarding the
selection of a king for Albania after
the Balkan war. Some of those present
thought the incumbent ought to be a
Catholic, others insisted that a Greek
was essential, still others
that a Mohammedan would
be most logical.
1t seemed quite impossible to come
TO any agreement as to just what re-
ligion the king of Albania should pro-
fess, and the kaiser had ended the dis
cussion, he said, with the suggestion:
"Well, gentlemen, if a Protestant
won't do, and Roman Catholic won't
do, and Buddhist is out of the Ques-
fiAn 1rhN- NOT Sa1ank.o low. onl coll him |