Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1918-10-18
we underestimate no one! W

know exactly what we are dOlng!
How seriously he was mistaken In
this respect has since been sufficiently
proved.
No matter how gloomy the outlook
for Germany, the kaiser seldom show
ed concern. 1t is true that whenever
things were going wrong, as when the
Russians in the early part of the war
were sweeping everything before them
in their advance on the Carpathinns,
he and the rest Of the royal family
kept as far in the background as pos
sible, whereas when the German cause
was triumphant, as in the case of the
offensive against Italy, he could not
make himself too conspicuous at the
front.
But even when Germany's adversely
was greatest, the kaiser always put on
a brave front. At such times have
seen him stop in the street, after leav-
ing my Office, and before the hundreds
of people waiting outside to greet him,
ostentatiously put cigarette in his
mouth and light it, that everyone might
notice how steady his hand was and
how little he was worried by the turn
things were taking. t..r
At the same time, on one or two &C.
casions after the war started, noticed
that he acted differently when in the
dental chair than had been his custom
when everything was serene.
The kaiser once boosted to me that
not building was erected in Germany.
not bridge built. not street opened,
not a park laid out, but what the prot
ect was first submitted to him. He
kept posted on everything that was
going on, not only In Germany, but in
the world at. large, and. as far as he
was able, he endeavored to have his
finger in every development of world
wide importance. I cannot imagine
that he was less interested in what his
countrymen were doing in connection
with the war than he was in their
achievements in time Of peace.
If he did not actually order the sink
ing of the Lusitania, therefore, am
convinced that he was thoroughly
aware of the plan to blow it up and
sanctioned it. That he could have
averted it If he had been prompted to
to do so Is clearly indicated by another
incident which left a very deep i'm.
preston upon me. ,s."
I was informed by one of the Ger
man aviators that plans had been
made to drop gas bombs on London
which contained deadly gas which
would penetrate the cellars Of houses
in which civilians were in the habit
of hiding during air raids. +,
Shortly before this hideous idea was
to be put into effect the papers an.
nounced that bombs of this character
had. been dropped by the allies on
Baden. Baden, but that, fortunately,
they had fallen in q clump of woods
in the center of the town and had fail.
ed to explode. which had given the
Germans an opportunity to take them
apart and ascertain their nature.
The purpose Of this announcement,
Of course, was to forestall the storm OF
condemnation which the Germans
knew would follow their use of the
bombs on London-a ruse which they
had Invariably employed whenever
they contemplated some fresh violation
Of the rules of international law and
the dictates of humanity.
It happened that one of my patients
who resided in Baden-Baden called to
see me the day after the bombs had
been dropped on her town. and sne
told me oil about it.
"The airplanes which dropped the
bombs had been flying over the city all
| the morning." she declared. 1--WE
thought they were our own machines
out for practice and paid no particular
attention to them. Then they dropped
the bombs and they landed in the
woods, and we. knew we had been at
tackled. What q dreadful thing FOL
them to do"
What q foolish thing for allied air
planes to do-to spend whole morn
ing studying the layout of the town
and then to drop those deadly bombs
on clump of woods where they could
not possibly hurt anyone, and how
careless Of the Germans not to modest
them while they were engaged In thell
devilish work!
:. But the point I wanted to bring out
was this: these gas bombs were never
! used on London!
"Just as everything was in readiness
for the raid,", the officer told me re
gretfully, 1--WE received orders direct
from the kaiser to hold Off saw bis
signature to the order. OF course
there was nothing for us to do but
comply, but If we had had the kaiser
there, I believe we would have strung
him up by the neck! We still have
those bombs, however, and you may
be sure they will yet be used"
For some unknown reason the kaiser
stopped the use of those lethal gas
bombs for the time being. Why didn't
he move to save the women and chill
| dren on the Lusitania?
When I went back to Berlin In the
| fall Of 1916, after visit to the United
States, the kaiser was very anxious tc