Evening star., 1918-08-04
NO VISIBLE MILITARY ACTIVITIES
AT GERMAN ARMY HEADQUARTERS
never gone more than ten minutes
a time.
Kaiser Tired and Silent

never gone more than ten minutes at
time.
Kaiser Tired and Silent.
I did not think he looked exception
ally well. He seemed to be very tired
and he had very little to say-in itself
an indication that he was not exactly
normal.
When my work for the morning was
over and his valet. who had assisted
me. had been excused. the kaiser
gazed at me fo1 q moment or two and
then, apropos of nothing. burst out
with the rather remarkable announce
ment:
The man who brought this catas-
trophe on the world. Davis. should De
strung up by the neck, and that man
is not I, as the world seems to think!
The Gar of Russia and the King OIL
England, when they were at the we'd
ding OF my daughter-guests at my
own house. mind you, and my blood
relatiyethatched this plot against
me. They were envious of my power,
but they will now learn what that
power iSr
In the same breath almost he made
the Inconsistent remark:
England will never be able to raise
an efficient army: 1t took Germany
one hundred years to accomplish what
she has done"
How ridiculous it was to suppose
that the Gar of Russia and the King
of England could have Matched a
plot which neither of them was the
least prepared to carry out and which
Germany was apparently powerful
enough to foil!
Some time after this one of the big
gest merchants in Berlin told me that
he had heard on the stock exchange
that the kaiser had made the remark
that the king and czar had Matched
the plot against him. and as I had
repeated the kaiser's statement to no
one, realized that he must have told
the same thing to others.
If this version of the starting Of the
war was put into circulation with the
idea of absolving the kaiser it GER
rainly didn't carry conviction even
among the Germans themselves. The
merchant who spoke to me about it.
at any rate. made fun of the idea, and
l never heard the point seriously
raised by any one else Of influence.
Before 1 left the kaiser that morn
ing he spoke of the Anglo-French loan
which had been f1oated in America
and condemned US severely for coun-
tenancing it. When 1 told him that
Germany had also fioated a loan in
America, he replied:
But ours was only S10.000.000. while
theirs is $780, ,00o. .0O0r' to which
naturally rejoined that the size of the
loan could certainly not affect the
question of our neutrality in float
ing it.
Confidence in One Bank.
He criticised our bankers who han
dlsd the loan. and when / asked him il
he had ever seen the number of German
names that appeared on the list of
bankers who Mt ip he
said he hadn't read the list, but he was
quite sure there was one bank in New
York which wouldn't touch it.
That bank wouldn't touch anything
that would be detrimental to Germany"
he added.
In the afternoon. after the kaiser had
had his invariable afternoon nap. 1 at
tended him again, and that night 1 re-
turned to Berlin. 1t was with regret
that I left such a beautiful, restful
place. for although Berlin in war times
was almost deathlike in its quietness, it
couldn't excel the army headquarters
for restfulness.
Several months later / was called to
Pless again and the place was just
as peaceful as it had been on my first
visit. Not even the ordinary precau-
tions which one might expect to be
taken at a place where the kaiser was
so)ourning were enforced and l was
allowed to travel the entire distance
and to enter the palace without ever
once showing my pass.
When l got out of the train I saw
one of the kaiser's motors there. 1
stepped up. spoke to the driver, had
my bags placed inside and was about
to drive Off when another motor, with
four officers in it, arrived One of
them asked me who I was and where
was going. and when / told him he
said there must be some mistake, as
the car I was in had been sent to
meet some officers who were arriving
on the train.
While we were still discussing the
point, a third car came up and the
officer who had addressed me then
asked the driver Of the third car what
he was sent for. He said he didn't
know; he had been told merely to
drive to the station. 1 accordingly
transferred my baggage from the car
l was in to this third car and was
driven of to the palace. We went
through the gates without any one
asking to see my credentials. The
whole incident was sad reflection
on Germany's boasted efficiency.
Gave Soldiers Salute.
was shown to the same room 1 had
visited on the former occasion. When
the kaiser entered he stood erect. with
his hands to his side, clicked his heels
together and saluted me as a soldier
salutes a superior officer, smiling as
he did so, and knew he was in good
humor.
Nevertheless he had but little to
say. His criticism Of Mr.. Wilson on
this occasion / have recorded else
where in these pages.
In June of 1917, after the great army
headquarters had been removed to
Homburg v. d. Hohe and Krenznach
(two nefghborfng villages) I was
called there to see the kaiserin, and
three weeks later I went there again
to see the kaiser. I noticed at the
station the kaiser's private train
composed of five dark green cars upon
each of which was plainly marked the
imperial coat of arms. The cars had
special folding steps
Two rooms were assigned to me on
one of the upper floors of the palace
and my meals consisted of the same
kind of food as l. had always had be-
fore the war, although a hunger cpl
demic was raging throughout the
country. 1t was almost worth the trip
for the sake Of the meals alone.
After I had treated the kaiser In
the morning I went to mYroom, as
knew it would be 3 o'clock before he
would be ready for me again. He
never allowed anHthing to interfere
with his after-dinner nap.
I lay down on a couch in my room
mating painting on one of the walls. II
showed a rowboat with four men in IL
going over a waterfall. Apparently
the fate of the occupants Of that boat
was sealed. Nothing could keep the
boat from going over the edge and