The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-10-03

NneD ne returned nome he carried
with him a most exalted idea Of the
all~-pervading wisdom of the German
emperor. To what extent the kaiser
had spent the midnight oil preparing
for this interview l have no knowledge,
but knowing the Importance he placed
upon making a favorable impression
at all times l have q mental picture OF
his delving deeply into South Ameri-
can lore in preparation for his guest.
There Is nothing dearer to the kaiser
than caste and social distinction. Nor
ganatic marriages were naturally alb
horrent to him. Nevertheless, before
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the uc-
cessor to the Austrian throne. a
murdered, the kaiser not only recOg-
nized his m%organatic wife, who was
only q countess, but went out Of his
way to show her Difference. He placed
her at his right at all state functions
which she attended. To bring Austria
and Germany closer together, he was
willing to waive one of his deep-rOOted
prejudices.
The significance of the kaiser's
mnnv visits to Italy, his presentation
of Il statue to Stockholm. his yachting
excursions in Scandinavian waters,
his firtations with Turkey from his
castle on the Island of Corfu, and SIM
liar acts of ingratiation, becomes quite
apparent in the face of more recent
developments, but his efforts to curry
favor with America during all the
years of peace which preceded the war
we're so much more elaborate that they
deserve more than passing mention.
No more subtle piece of propaganda
was ever conceived than the kaiser's
plan of exchanging professors between
the United States and Germany
through the establishment of the
Roosevelt and Harvard chairs at the
University OF Berlin and corresponding
chairs at Harvard and other American
universities. Ostensibly the purpose Of
the project IA to foster goodwill be-
tween the two nations. Actually, 1t
was intended to Germanize Americans
to such an extent that their co-opera-
ton might be relied upon in the event
Of war for which Germany was sed-
ulously preparing.
1t was believed that the exchange Of
professors would accomplish the Ger
man purpose in w ways: not only
could the professors the kaiser sent to
America be depended upon to SOW Ger
man SEED in American soil, but the
American professors who were sent to
Berlin, it was hoped, could be so in
oculated with the German viewpoint
hat when they returned to their ma
tive land they would disseminate it
among their associates and students.
Some time before the kaiser con-
ceived the scheme Of the Exchange
Professors, he sent his brother, Prince
Henry, to this country to draw the
two nations closer together and to in
still In the heart of every child born
In America Of German parents an
abiding love for the fatherland.
Just before the war broke out, he
was planning to send one OF his sons
here with the same object
He told me Of his project and asked
me to which part of the United States
I thought he ought to send the prince.
"That depends, your majesty" l re-
piled, upon the object Of the visit.
II the purpose is to meet American
society, l would recommend such
places as Newport in summer and
Palm Beach in winter. To come in
contact with our statesmen and diplO-
mats, Washington would naturally be
the most likely place to visit"
The kaiser thanked me for the in-
formation but did not enter into fur
Their details as to the object he had
In mind or which son he had planned
to send across.
It was to curry favor with America
that the kaiser had his yacht Meteor
built in our s%hipyards, and it Is a fact
that more American women were pre-
sented at the German court than those
Of any other nation.
When he presented a statue of
Frederick the Great to this country,
In McKinley's administration. it Gre
ated a great stir In congress. What
could be less appropriate. 1t was ar.
gued, than the statue of a monarch in
the capital Of q republic? The statue
was not set up in McKinley's admins
tration. but Roosevelt accepted it in
the interest of diplomacy and had 1t
erected in front Of the Army building.
Seeing that his gift had had just the
opposite effect to that intended. the
kaiser reprimanded his ambassador
for not having interpreted American
sentiment more accurately.
A few days after the death Of King
Edward, Roosevelt arrived in Berlin.
Despite the fact that all Europe was
In mourning, the kaiser arranged the
most elaborate military dress review
ever given in honor of a private citizen
to celebrate ROosevelt's visit. The re-
view was held in the large military
reservation near Berlin. More than
100000 soldiers passed in review be-
fore the kaiser and his staff and their
honored guest.