The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-09-12
THE KAISER AS KNEW HIM"
Continued from Second Page)

In his attentions TO Roosevelt hao ne
not been in mourning it Is impossible
TO say, but / don't believe he would
! have left anything undone to show his
admiration for the American express
ident and to curry favor with this
| country.
But Roosevelt was not the only
| American to whom the kaiser made
| overtures. He was constantly inviting
,, American millionaires to pay him
yachting visits at Kiel or wherever
else he happened to be.
He sat for a portrait by an Ameri-
can painter, which was exhibited with
a large collection Of other American
works under the kaisers auspices.
There was nothing that the kaiser
| did not do In his efforts to ingratiate
himself with this country In the hope
that he would reap his reward when
the great war he was anticipating
| eventually broke out.
Taken Individually, these various in
| cidents seem trivial enough, but !
| have every reason to know that the
| kaiser attached considerable impor-
| lance to them. / know that there was
a good deal Of chagrin in the TRADES
| he delivered to me against America for
her part in supplying munitions to the
! allies-chagrin at the thought that the
| seed he had sown in America had
| failed to bring forth better fruit.
| When we finally entered the war and
| he realized that all his carefully nur-
tured plans Of years had availed him
naught, he could not restrain his Bit
| terness nor conceal his disappoint-
| ment.
"All my efforts to show my friend
| ship for Observation-Disclosures profess
sors with your colleges, sending my
| brother in your country, all-al for
nothing" he exclaimed, disgustedly,
after we had entered the war.
| On another occasion he showed even
more clearly how far America had fall
| len short of his expectations:
"What has become of those rich
Americans who used to visit me with
| their yachts at Kiel and come to my
entertainments in Berlinr' he asked,
| sarcastically. snow that we have
England involved, why aren't they
| utilizing the opportunity to serve and
| TO make their own country great? Do
they think put myself out to enter
| tain them because / loved them? /
am disguised with the whole Anglo
| Saxon racer
The kaiser couldn't understand why
| the United States did not seize both
Canada and Mexico. Apparently, from
| the way he talked from time to time,
if he had been sitting in the White
House he would have grabbed the en-
tire Western Hemisphere.
That the kaiser followed American
politics very closely, especially after
the war broke out was very natural.
The fact that there was q great Ger
man-American vote in this country
was not overlooked in Potsdam, and ]
haven't the slightest doubt the kaiser
imagined that he could exert consider
able influence In our elections through
his emissaries In this country.
| l returned to Berlin late in October
of that year. Within a day or two
| after my arrival l received telephone
|
| Bethmann-Hollweg to the effect that
the kaiser had sent him word of my
return and that he would like me to
| call at his palace either that noon or
| at four p. m.
| / was ushered into a very large room
in the corner of which was a business
J like looking fiat-topped desk. but which
| was otherwise elabOrately furnished.
| The reichskanzler, tall, broad-shOu1-
dered, handsome specimen of a man,
came over to me and, putting his arm
in mine, walked me to seat beside
| the desk. He asked me what would
smoke, and upon my taking cigar
cite, he did likewise.
1.-The kaiser's been telling me, doc
tor" he said, "of your recent visit to
America, and would like to ask you
few questions"
/ said that was always glad to talk
of America. Indeed, was particular
ly glad of the opportunity to speak
with the prime minister of Germany at
that time.
Then followed a bewildering success
sion of questions, the purpose OF
which was not at all clear to me. We
had peculiar conversation-haif in
German, half In English. The reichs-
kanzler did not speak English partic,
ularly well.
i "How are things in American" he
asked. did you have any opportu,
nifty to gauge the political situation
Who do you think will be the next
president? Do you think that Ameri,
cans are opposed to peace because
that would end their chance to make
money out of the war? Are your
people so mercenary that they would
like to see the war prolonged for the
sake of the money they can make out
Of it?'
mo, your excellency," 1 replied
you are quite wrong IL you imagine
that my countrymen would like to pro
long the war for the sake of war
profits. That is very far from beinf
the case. On the contrary, the coun