Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1918-09-13

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 group picture
Of himself surrounded by his family
and dogs. ! remember his bringing to
me large unframed picture in cele-
braticn Of his silver wedding. 1t Yves
about twenty-foar by eighteen inches
In size. 1t showed the kaiserin and
himself in sort Of cloud floating above
a birdseye view Of Berlin, with the
palace and the cathedral dimly seen
below
Il don't know just what this master
piece was meant to signify but had it
framed and placed it in my Office. 1t
evoked from little boy who entered
the room with his mother the follow
ing astonished remark: "Oh, mother,
look at the kaiser in heaven!"
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. l 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 value which
could not be measured in dollars and
cents. A piece of jewelry or sum
Of money might have been duplicated
or even excelled by gift of similar
character from any American million
aire-for whose wealth the kaiser fire.
but what could surpass the value Of
an autograph of the kaiser!
No doubt the royal banQuets were
prepared much upon the same prin-
ciple, for 1t was a common saying
among the German aristocracy that one
had better feel well before going to
banquet at the palace.
! happened to mention to the kaiser
the reputation his banquets held among
his people. He was not at all taken
aback.
"That's good I" he commented. "The
Germans are too fat, anyway. The ma
jority Of the people eat too much"
Long after automobiling 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 1000 marks, he told me, for the
use Of q 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 foreign accent.
His diction is perfect. He speaks
French, too, very fiuently, and, / be-
lieve, 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 LongfellOw his choice
of American poets.
He prides himself on his acquain-
lance with history and has little re-
spect for the political opinions Of 9TH
ers whose knowledge of history is less
complete.
Shortly after Carnegie had donated
five million marks to Germany to fur
ther world-peace. I happened to be
talking to the kaiser of>American mil
lionaires and the steelmaster was
mentioned.
"Of course, Carnegie Is a nice old
man and means WE'LL" remarked the
kaiser, condescendingly, "but he is to-
tally ignorant of world history. He's
just advanced us five million for
world-peace. We accepted it naturally,
but Of course, we intend to continue
our policy of maintaining our army and
navy in full strength"
Indeed, there Is hardly any subject
to which the kaiser has devoted any
considerable attention In which he
doesn't regard himself as the final au-
thority.
AS an art collector and antiquarian
he claims first place and he Is rather
inclined to feel that second place
should he left vacant. He Always re-
sented very much the acquisition by
American milliOnaires Of art treasures
and antiquities which their wealth en-.
abled them to buy, but which their
limited acquaintance with history and
their lack of culture and refinement
made them unable to Appreciates
the kaiser's estimation.
OF his own taste In art little need be
said. The monuments which he caused
to be erected to his ancestors and their
ADVISORS and which adorn the Sieges
Alice, the street he had opened through