The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1918-11-14
The Kaiser as ! Knew Him
For Fourteen Years

| man as he really is
1t would have been a picture Of a
man who in general appearance and
bearing was every inch an emperor and
yet who could exhibit all the courtesy,
affability and gentIeness of the most
democratic gentleman, a man soft of
eye and kindly in expression, a man OF
wide reading and attainments-perhap
the most versatile man in the world,
man who possessed a most alert mind,
remarkable memory and the keenest
observation; man who was not gen.
erOuS in nature and yet was at times
cOnsiderate of others a man of charm
ing personality and amiability. It
would have shown man of unpar-
alIeled egotiSm, u man who was i'm
patient of correction and who would
brook no opposition There might have
been in the picture suggestion of the
dire lengths to which the man would
go to have his way, but it would have
been only a suggestion.
AS far as it went, the picture would
have been accurate, but it would have
been sadly incOmplete-with all the
lights worked in but lacking ali the
shadows.
1t took the war and its attendant
horrors to reveal the kaiser in his
true cOlOrs. The war did not change
his character; 1t uncovered it.
Early in my practice 1 happened TO
mention to the kaiser that 1 appre-
ciated the friendliness he showed me
in invariably waving his hand at me
q 9 no
along the Tiergarten.
Its a good advertisement for you,
Davis" he said ''The people see me
waving TO you and they know you must
be a good dentist or 1 wouldn't
come to you. 1t will help your bust
ness!' In every act, he was conscious
of the public
During that period of my career in
Berlin, he showed the utmost interest
in my progress and frequently inquired
how my practice was developing.
The first bill I rendered him, as I
have mentioned, he doubled. On a
number of subsequent occasions, he
paid me more than my bill called for
These Overpayments never amounted
to very much, but they impressed me
because they were so out of keeping
with the stinginess the kaiser dis
played in other directions.
From time to time the kaiser sent
or brought me autographed pictures of
himself or others. At the time of the
one hundredth anniversary of Fred
erick the Great, he gave me a picture
of that monarch. On another occasion,
he presented me with a group picture
of himself surrounded by his family
and dogs. l remember his bringing to
me q large unframed picture in cele-
bratiOn OF his silver wedding. 1t was
about twenty-four by eighteen inches
in size. 1t showed the kaiseriu and
himself in d sort of cloud floating above
a birdseye view of Berlin. with the
palace and the cathedral dimly seen
below.
81 don't know just what this master
piece was meant to signify, but had it
framed and placed it in my office. It
evoked from a little boy who entered
the room with his mother the follow
ing astonished remark: "Oh, mother,
look at the kaiser in heaveni"
A postcard picture of the kaiser,
signed by his own hand, was in his
own estimation one of the most price
less gifts he could bestow. 1 remem-
Der his donating one of them to an
American charity bazaar in Berlin to
be auctioned off. He thought that the
fact that the card came from his i'm
perial majesty gave it a value which
could not be measured in dollars and
cents. A piece Of jewelry or Il sum
of money might have been duplicated
or even excelled by a gift of similar
character from any American million
aire-fOr whose wealth the kaiser fire.
Quently expressed the utmost contempt
but what could surpass the value of
an autograph of the kaiseri
No doubt the royal banquets were
prepared much upon the same prin-
ciple, for it was a common saying
among the German aristocracy that one
had better feel well before going to
banquet at the palace.
I happened to mention to the kaiser
the reputation his banQuets held among
his people. He was not at all taken
aback
That's good! he commented. "The
Germans are too fat, anyway. The ma
jority of the people eat too much"
Long after automobfIing became
more or less general, the kaiser still
employed a horse and carriage for
ordinary travel, relying upon his free
use OF the railways for longer dis
tances. When, however, the reichstag
passed law compelling royalty to pay
for their railroad travel, the kaiser
took to automobiles. They charged
him II 900 marks, he told me, for the
use OF a train on one of his shooting
trips, and that apparently was more
than he could stand
autos are expensive he declared.
''but they don't cost me that much I''
The kaiser speaks English with but
the slightest trace of a foreign accent.
His diction is perfect He speaks
French. too. very Huentiy. and, 1 be-
heve, italian. He is widely read on
almost all subjects and knows the lit
erature of England, France and Amer
lea as well as that of Germany. Mark
Twain was one of his faVorite Amer
lean authors and LongfelIow his choice
of American poets.
He prides himself on his acGuain-
lance with history and has IfttIo -