Omaha daily bee., 1918-09-03

The Lichnowskys are family of Uppel
Burgundian origin, branch OF the house o.
Granson. They have held estates both ir
Austrian and in Prussian Silesia since the
seventeenth century. AS late as l848 they
were described in the Almanach de Gotha as
2l go inhabitants. The title of prince was
first conferred by the king of Prussia to-
ward the close of the eighteenth century
Early in the nineteenth century the Lich-
nowskys became princes in Austria also
Karl Maximilian, sixth Prince Lichnowsky,
was born in 1860 He served for time in
the Prussian army, in which he holds the
rank Of major, and then entered the diplo-
matte service. In 1885 he was attached to
the German embassy in London; later he
held diplomatic positions in Constantinople,
in Bucharest, and in Vienna: During the
latter part of his residence at Vienna he was
| first secretary of the embassy. Transferred
in 1899 to the Berlin foreign Office, he served
| there, as he tells US in his memorandum, for
| several years O899-1904). After eight years
of retirement from the diplomatic service, he
was sent to London in 1912 as German am
bassador.
AS his memorandum shows, Prince Lich-
nowsky is, in many respects, diplomat of
the older school, He is not of that oldest
oSHoOi, uCoSilOCu ds HlcH sent dDTOdu 10 lie
for their country's good, for he is obviously
truthful man; nor is he of the Frederician
school, cynically described by the Great
Frederic himself as spies, for he is clearly
an honorable gentleman He tells US, in fact,
that he had no espionage fund. That fund
was expended in England by other agents,
with whom he had no relations. The prince
is old-school in his belief that the relations
between states, and even the great issues of
peace and OF war. are mainly determined by
the relations established between their dip
lomatic representatives and the persons who
play leading roles, in society as we'll as in
politics. in the countries to which the repre-
sentatives are accredited. He is, en- the other
hand, modern diplomat in his recognition
of the Importance of keeping in touch with
the leading men in commerce, industry, and
finance and OF influencing general opinion, at
least so far as this can be done by public
speeches reported in the daily press.
In his general view of German foreign
policy, Lichnowsky is distinctly of the Bis
marckian school. He declares, indeed, that
Bismarck made a mistake in allying Germany
with Austria and with Italy; but, given the
situation created by those alliances, the pol
icy which Lichnowsky steadily advocated
and still defends is that which Bismarck con-
sstently followed in the later years of his
chancellorship and insistently recommended,
after his retirement from office, in public
speeches, in the press, and in his post
humous memoirs. Germany's duty to Aus
tria- Hungary, according to Bismarck, was
limited to defending the integrity of the dual
empire. Germany had not undertaken and
should not undertake to support Austrian
schemes of expansion in the near east, for
Germany had no interests in the Balkans
In all collisions of interests and of ambitions
between Austria and Italy, Germany's role
was that of the disinterested friend, and,
therefore, that of possible umpire. SINH
larly, in all collisions of interests and ambi-
tons between either of its allies and Russia,
Germany was impartial. So only cCuld Ger
many maintain its traditional friendship with
Russias which seemed to Bismarck, as to
Lichnowsky, of the highest importance.
Bismarckian, again, is Lichnowsky's con-
viction. clearly implied, although not definitely
stated, that the German empire should have
been satisfied with the position it held in
Europe before the present war. He also be-
leved, with Bismarck, that Germany's colo
NAL expansion should BE- limited to such
gains as could be secured without war, par
ticularly without conflict with Great Britain.
His chief efforts, during his two years in
London, were directed to this end, and were
attended by degree of success which he
does not overstate.
In his acceptance of these Bismarckian
traditions. Lichnowsky was, at least from the
q The FGmllu an the War