The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1918-06-13
Some Lessons from History
The Personality Of the Kaiser
WILLIAM F.. FREELAND

II a bard Of outlaws we're inlesiine
this community aud under the leader
snip of brutal and cold bloodt d tyrant
were numbering men, oulragi0g women
and slaughteripg children we would
naturally seek to understand something
Of the character Of the man directing
their outrages that we might the better
oppose them. So in meeting the
present crisis it behooves America to
give some thought to the personality
Of The cold blooded and brutal kaiser
who is responsible for the blood Of
more men and the tears Of more
women than all the evil minded men
who had lived before him. For a
number Of years before the present
war | had believed him to be a dan
gerous man coldly plotting his own
purposes though it did not seem pos
sible that any person now living could
be guilty Of the brutality that has
marked the progress Of the German
arms. Never in his history has the
kaiser shown any sense Of human love
or sympathy. I have previously refer
red to his treatment Of his father and
mother. Just the other day the death
Of James Gordon Bennett released a
story that has not before been told to
the world. In previous article men
ton has been made OF his treatment
Of Bismarck. 1t appears that shortly
before the kaiser's father died that the
son appeared in the sick room bring
ing a paper Tor the diving king to sign.
The document was a virtual abdication
giving the crown prince the right to
asume the power inherent in the crown.
Bismark was so angered that he put
the inhuman son out Of the room BY
force. II is to be expected that a
man so coldlY selfish as TO annoy his
dying father in such a way as this
would Stoop to cruelty that astoundS
the world. II ever anything would ap'
peal TO the cold heart Of this selfish
man it should have been the tragedy
OF his dying father still trying TO gen'
der some service to the oppressed
people Of the empire, But it did not
The unnatural son was anxious for the
end 10 come. Nor was this all, he
treated bis mother with cruel hardness
on account Of her English blood
Such was the early character ot this
man. Every day he has grown more
arbitrary, more cruel, more intolerant
Of any liberty remaining in the world,
more determined to impose his will
upon all people by the power Of the
sword. Into the keeping Of this sell
fish man passed the machine Bismarck
had spent a lifetime in perIecting.
The blighting Influence Of philosophy
that had no place for love, truth or
justice in its scheme Of things reacted
on It's teachers until they ceased to
understand that slch a thing as a
moral conscience existed in the world.
The kaiser and his hsnchmen forgot
that there remained warm hearted men
and women who could not be cowed
BIZ the rafting Of the Prussian saber
and who possessed the courage to die,
il need be, rather than submit 10 slav'
cry or disnonor So deep did the
poison Of the Prussian teaching sink
into the mind Of the autocracy that
they were unable TO understand the
mower Of an aroused moral impulse
Even their diplomats had so far losI
touch with this spirit that they could
chsracteriza the plighIed word ct
nation as a Scrap Of paper" VIII
liam the Second OF Germany is th'
leader Of these moral bankrupls. Oh
his inoral side we cannot express at
opinion without righteous anger
There ate no redeeming traits.
But in dealing with such powerIu
tyI1nt it becomes vitality important tha
we take a careful measure oi hi
mental personality. In a peaceiu
contest for supremacy moral force
likely 10 be the determining elemen
because it can have time 10 mold tn
intelligence of man into a dehuii
form and purpose that will become S
po,ent that !, Uil destroy materialisr