The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-12-12
CHAPTER Ix-contlnu.d.

The Turkish defeats were naturally
. great disappointment to him.
"These Montenegrins. Serbians and
Bulgarfnns are wonderful fighters" he
confessed to me, shortly after the wal
began. They're out-of-door people
and they have the strength and stam-
ina which fighters require. If they
keep on the way they're going they'll
be In Constantinople in q week. Con-
found those Turksl We furnished
them guns and ammunition and
trained their officers, but If they won't
dght we can't make them. We've done
our bestT
The defeat Of the Turks lessened
their value to the kaiser as an ally
and he Immediately put into effect a
measure for increasing the German
standing army from 10000 to 100000
to restore the balance of power, they
said. For this purpose a "Wehrbei-
trag."" or increased armament tax, was
&vied on capital and, incidentally, /
was Informed that I would have to
pay my share. The idea of paying a
tax to upbulld the German army.
which was already so powerful that
It menaced the peace of the world,
lid not appeal to me at all and /
spoke to Ambassador Gerard about It.
He advised me to pay it under protest,
agreeing with me that there was no
reason why an American should be
required to contribute to the German
war budget. However, l had to pay it.
The German efforts at colonization.
whichewere more or less of a failure
habit the German possessions. and the
measures adopted to conquer the COM
mercial markets of the world were an
important part of the program Of world
domination which Germany planned
for herself, and 1t is not unlikely that
II she had confined her efforts along
those lines she might have progressed
further along her chosen path than she
has advanced by bathing the world in
blood.
II have nearly 70,OO0.OO0 people,"
the kaiser said to me on n occasion,
"and we shall have to find room for
them somewhere. When we became
an empire England had her hands on
nearly everything. Now we must
fight to get ours. That ia why ! am
developing our world markets, just as
your country secured Hawaii and the
Philippines as stepping stones to the
markets Of the fur east, as l under
stand It. That's why I developed the
wonderful city Of Kiao-Chau."
His plans In this connection were
changed somewhat apparently by the
developments of the present war, for
he told me that when it was over the
Germans would not emigrate to the
United States any more.
"No more American emigration for
us after the war;" he said. my
people will settle In the Balkans and
layelop and control that wonderful
country ] have been down there and
I know It IL A marvellous land for our
purposes"
The kalser's vision Of the part he
would take In the reconstruction o
stricken Europe was indicated by Q
remark he made to me In 1915 when
I was visiting him at the army head
quarters at Pless.
Here I am nearly sixty years OF
age" he soliloQuixed. 'and must re-
build tho whole Of Europe"
Although the kaiser 90 freely admit
ted his designs on the world at large.
he was Impatient Of any expansion
on the part Of other nations. He often
spoke Of England's grabbing" pro-
pensity and viewed with suspicion our
annexation of Hawaii and the Philip
pines and our development of Cuba
after the Spanish-American al He
professed to see In our new policy a
striving after world power which was
inconsistent with the principles upon
which our government was founded.
He objected to our interference In
Mexican affairs, although. as was dis
closed by the Zimmerman note to Won
Eckhardt, he was making every effort
to have Mexico interfere with ours.
"What right has President Wilson
to attempt to dictate the internal poll
cies Of Mexicof" he asked. "Why moi
let them fight their battles out aloneT'
Abiding to Americas threat to en-
ter the present war. he asked: "What
right has America to insist upon The
Monroe doctrine Of America and then
mix In European affairs? Let her rec
ognize also q Monroe doctrine OF Eu'
rope and keep her hands out OF this
conflict"
There Is no doubt that the kaiser
imagined that the great army and navy
he had built up would enable him te
carry out his ambitious program with
out effective resistance.
The one power he most feared blu,
for which he professed the utmost con
tempt was England. He had an idef
that England would never dare Il
cas- swords with Germany ant
that he could provoke a war when thu
opportune moment came without mucf
soar NJ Enpland's Intervention.