Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-06-22
LIFE STORY OF A DICTOGRAPH
Karl Rosner Wa Just Naturally Born the Congenial Job of
Press Agent to the Kaiser
By SIMEON STRUNSKY
EENIEVER will permit myself to forget"


UNIEvER will I permit myself to forget
~ writes Karl Rosner in his Memoirs of
Dictograph,' "that unparalleled May
afternoon when the All-Highest. in his most
gracious mood honored me with a place in
the footman's seat at the back of his high
powered runabout On 1t roifed without fear,
and without hesitation down the Linden. 1t
was an unostentatious vehicle entirely in
keeping with the Paraifal- simple character
of its august master. 1t had not more than
two tires in front and the same number
behind a single steering apparatus and only
one chauffeur actually at the wheel.
las we turned n corner swiftly there ap-
peared in the middle of the road the figure
of a street urchin leading his dog by a rope
about the animals neck Without moments
hesitation his Majesty said to the chauffeur,
Fritz, avoid running over that young boy,
which Fritz did Whereupon his Majesty
turned to me. smiled and said, Far better
my Rosner, that the chauffeur should exert
himself to change his direction than that the
brains Of an innocent child should be spat-
tered all over the pavement"
when one considers how 1t is daily
habit with NJ Poincare to run down blind
men. on the Champs Elysees and how Lloyd
George induges in pistol practice against
long line of soldiers widows lined up In front
of ti1e Horse Guards, this revelation of
truly peculiar German humaneness in our
sovereign cannot but fil every Prussan
heart with pride
What is this Karl Rosner. from whose
Memoirs have just quoted one OF the
most profoundly moving incidents III medl-
eyal and modern history? Whence this spe-
| cial correspondent Of the lokal-Anzeiger
who forms one-haf of the Kaisers back
ground on the battlefields of France, the
| other half being thermos bottle full OF pea
soup?
T/ARI. ROSNER was born in Umaut-am-
| n Daeckel July Is, 1906, and Is now there
| fore rounding out his twelfth year. fact
which is corroborated by the striking unpre-
| tentiousness of his style. his charmingly IN
nocent outlook on life, his highly developed
sense of reverence and his gift for being
| always in the way. From the first he gave
| signs of his life's career. When six days oid
| he developed collie and his nurse administered
\ a spoonful of castor oil which the child alb
| sorbed without winking. Thereupon the wise
| old nurse remarked, He will grow UP 20
| associate with the rulers of earth and ne VIII
| swallow anything.
| At the age of three and half young
| Rosner was Gent TO a private school kept by
| Herr Wahnfried Chadband. The only source
| of complaint on the part OF his master was
| that the child's excessive sweetness OF tenn
per and rensonableness occasionally got on
| ones nerves About'that time our hero began
| to keep a diary copious extracts from which
1 are reproduced in the Memoirs. They re-
| veal, at an early age, that extraordinary
| grasp OH matters of fact that systematic
| attention to detail which have enabled the
| Lokal-Anzeiger to scoop every one OF ts
| competitors 365 days in the year. We quote
/ at random:
| Monday. Ate one half-minute egg. forty
| grams of bread, five grams OF butter
| set out for school. Walked on south side ot
| Chariottenstrasse. The first house from the
| corner Is No. /. The second house NO.
| The third house has red balcony and II
| No g. The fourth house Is No. Z. The nftf
| house is. No. g. and In front Of 1t ligh
| yellow dog with limp In his on-hind leg
| was worrying green banana peel. The SIKH
| house is No. H." etc.
| TUESDAY. Ate one half if-minute egg. thirty
| eight grams of bread. grams of but
| ter set out for school. Walked on the north
| side of Charlottenstrasse. The first house
| from the corner is No. 2. The second hous'
Is No. L. The third house Is No. 8 and Ia
| cook was washing down the steps. Tit
| fourth house is No. 8. The fifth house II
| No. TO-" etc.
TTERE we catch a glimpse of those extraor
Il dinary powers OF observation which wer'
L to blossom out in full plentude in our hero
account of how the Kaiser ate cervelat sand
wiches on the battlefield of Wytschaete.
AT the age Of ten Karl Rosner Joined tn
STAN Of the Berlin Lokal-AnSeiger. at mrs
In the capacity OF military critic. but did no
acquit himself to tha Gatisfactton Of his EN-
ployerR His knowledge OF terrstn an
i Woathoy Wape WA excfllonf. ~ knrQ ~
- 11g 1ffyeeo ~ u1Qo ~ ~