The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-12-27
earth could now interfere with the ex-
ecution of the program.

~
e was revealed throughout the Who'll
: course of his life, and in his converse
r lions with me he frequently gave e.
t preston to views which disclosed ho'
, | thoroughly he believed in the "divin
} right of kings"
saw him shortly after Wilson
, election in 1912.
"What will America ever accomplish
with a professor at it's head?" h
asked, sneeringly. ''Davis, your coun
try will never be truly great until
becomes a monarchy"
On another occasion he sneered a
conditions in England.
'Iook at England today" he re
marked. "She is ruled by Lloyt
George, a socialist! Why, England is
virtually republic, as bad as France
What's become of the king of Eng
land? One never hears of him any
more! Why doesn't he assert him.
self?" The tone of disgust with which
he gave vent to these sentiments was
more significant, perhaps, than the
words used might imply.
"Your president is trying to over
throw me and my family from the
| throne of Germany by his notes." he
commented bitterly, when / saw. him
shortly after the publication of the
presidents reply to the pope, "but he
little understands how loyal are my
people and now futile his efforts will
prove. They held meetings recently
all over the empire. in every city and
village, and showed their allegiance
to me in no uncertain way, and your
president received the answer from
my people that he deserved" I won
dered whether the kaiser was unaware
of the fact that all these meetings
had been inspired by the government
and their useful agent, the press, or
whether he was once again making
use of his histrionic ability.
Although Germany is regarded as
the cradle of socialism, to the kaiser
1T was cancer which was slowly eat
ing away the foundations of his en-
pire and he viewed its progress with
the direst misgivings.
Before the war he steadfastly re-
fused to receive a deputation of So
cialists and never once gave an audi
ence to the leaders of the socialist
party in the reichstag, although the
heads of committees of all the other
political parties were at times re-
ceived in conference.
While the reichstag was little more
than q children's debating society, the
growth and increasing power of the
socialistic party, which was constantly
for the reform vote, could
not be ignored, and no doubt had a
great deal to do with the militarists'
anxiety not to postpone the war too
ong.
After mobilization was ordered,
however, the kaiser decided to recede |
rom his position somewhat, and from |
he balcony of the palace in Berlin, in
'ront of which an enormous crowd |
lad gathered, he declared significant |
y: 81 recognize no parties. We are
low all Germans"
If anyone imagines, however, that
lis kowtowing to the socialists in this
was evidence of a permanent
hange of heart, he little appreciates
low deeply rooted is the kaiser's abb
florence of socialism and democracy.
indeed, one of the principal things the
.aiser hoped to accomplish by prose
uting the war to a triumphant con-
fusion was the blow it would deal to
ocialistic progress. He felt that
ictory would make his army the idol
f the people and that their monarch
yould shine in the reflected glory OF
heir martial achievements. A sue
essful war, he believed, would set So
ialism back q hundred years.
Certain it is the war brought no
hange in the kaiser's personal habits.
wen to curry favor with the socialis-
C element he never unbent to the
ightest degree in his outward dis
lay of kingly attributes. In all his
lreer the German people had never
zen their kaiser other than in his
)yal uniform, and at all military pa
ides or reviews he always rode q
hite horse, that he might be most '
)nspicuous, and bore the royal mace
hich his ancestors had carried centu-
es before him. With the death
ruggle between medieval monarchy
nd democracy raging about him the
aiser was determined to yield not a
tile of his prerogatives. His auto |
obile still made it's coming known by /
S distinctive "tade-tada-ta-ta' and I
le royal palaces were maintained in t
| their accustomed pomp.
But while the kaiser's armies were {
iumphant in the field, the principle t
hich he was combating was every I
here gaining ground. On March Is,
W, the car abdicated and Russia, {
hose autocratic form of government {
I'd long been the envy of the German {
became republic! t
ssThe downfall of the Russian en- I
re was brought about by England I
cause she feared that the car was t
,out to make a separate peace" the i
User comm ented to me. "As mat ]
r of fact, however, neither the car f
II his government ever approached r
on that subject, and when England b
erthrew the Russian monarchy she '
H. hn