The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1918-09-21

Piled, rs rnaI IaJner rs always IIgnl
/ never knew him to make a mistake
in judgment"
When the crown prince called to see
me again / was surprised to find a
considerable change in his general ap-
pearance. Although, OF course, he was
ten years older. he had aged more
than / would have expected. There
were lines on his face which made him
look older than his thirty-three years.
In the outer world he was generally
believed to be one of the leading spir.
its of the military party in Germany,
but among his own people he was not
credited with sufficient ability or In
fluence to be much of q factor. In
deed, within the past year he had been
criticized rather severely In army cir
cles for his Indifference to the crisis
In which his country was involved and
for not taking the war seriously
enough, and from all I was able to
observe of him during the visits he
paid me after the resumption Of our
relations, these criticisms were well
founded. The newspapers, however,
which were naturally inspired, always
brought his name to the front when
ever the army he was accredited to
made any successful showing just as
they did in the case of the kaiser.
During his various visits to me
tried to draw him out little on diff
ferent aspects of the international sit
uatiOn, but the ideas he expressed
were not of much moment.
1.-THE allies think we will run short
of man-power," he said on one Occa-
sion, "but we've got 100000 youths
growing up and well soon be able to
put them in the war. There's no dam
ger of our running short Of men. but,
really, / wish it were all over. This
war is lot of damned nonsense, you
know! y He talked as If the two mill
lion growing-up youths of Germany
were created for the Hohenzollerns to
use as they pleased.
Another remark he made which In
dicated how sadly he misconstrued the
epoch-making significance of the great
war in which the whole world was
involved was quite characteristic.
with so many men at the 'front.'"
he said, 1.-The men at home ought to be
having fine time with the women,
looking girls in Berlin fowp'
In this connection l may mention
that many of the more sober officers
told me that they were disguised with
the manner in which the crown prince
was acting at his headquarters "It is
really disgrace" they complained,
''for the crown prince to have so many
questionable women visiting him. 1t
certainly doesn't set much of an ex-
ample for the rest of the staff"
The whole situation appeared to the
crown prince very much in the light
OF joke.
i've just come from the western
front" he told me. 'My men are up
To their knees in water and mud.
We've been having lots of fun pump
ing the water ont of our trenches into
the French trenches"
"WellyI suppose the French pump
1t right back again, don't theyy
you're quite right, quite right.
That's exactly what they do. Really.
it's a great lark"
Remarks of this kind rather sickened
me of this self-satisfied young man.
l realized, of course that his part in
the war was played at ssch safe
distance from the front lines that he
was probably not familiar with all the
horrors of trench warfare, and yet it
could not be possible that he was I'M
aware of the terrific loss of life and
the untold agony and suffering which
millions of his people had to endure
while the "nonsensicar war cOntin-
ued.
After diplomatic relations were
broken off between America and Ger
many, the crown prince and his fam
lily ceased coming to me. They were
afraid. no doubt. of public criticism,
although the kaiser was not.
Prince William Eitel Frederick and
Prince Oscar were the only ones I
never met.
Prince Adelbert, the kaiser's third
son, was very handsome and charm
ing man. He always came to me at
tired in a naval officers uniform.
saw him but few times, as he was
seldom in Berlin, and he never talked
on matters of general Importance.
never saw him after America entered
the war.
Prince August Wilhelm, the fourth
son, was perhaps the most democratic
of them all. He sometimes came to
see me in an ordinary taxicab and he
was the only one Of the kaiser's sons
whom ever saw in civilian dress. He
was the first member OF the royal fam
lily to come to me after the murder
of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and
he was in mourning when he called
tragedy of Sarajevo would almost tnp
evitabiy lead to a general war.