Evening star., 1918-07-02
Poli's.

Ireland has a proyerb which says,
Saddle q pig and he'll lead you to
hell"
MY Four Years in Germany" a Aim
adapted from the book of the same
title by former Ambassador Gerard,
which opened a run this week at
Polls Theater, proved conclusively
that the German people have saddIed
the kaiser with autocracy, Prussian-
ism and kultur and he is leading them
along the road of the proverbial pig.
Camoufiage has no part in the pic
ture. 1t is based on fact and vouched
for by Ambassador Gerard. who passed
trying days during his tenure of Office
among the war lords of Germany.
Painstaking care has reproduced, even
to the most minute detail, events of
through to the almost overnight
change of front on the part of Ger
many from a 'peace-loving" nation TO
the war beast"
The kaiser is depicted as are the
various other principal characters.
who have played an important part in
the German political and war events,
The crown prince, who from infancy
has idolized Napoleon and desires to
emulate that hero, is continually seen
logging the footsteps of his father a
la Robinson Crusoe and his man Fri
day. The crown prince. with a huge
army and navy, and desiring to fol-
low the trail of Napoleon, is obsessed
with the idea of provoking a war to
try out the mettle of the country. 1t
matters not on whom the force of
arms may fall SO long as the TOYS.
which are the people and Instruments
OF death, may be put to use He
pours words of war into the ready
ears OF his father. the kaiser, and
when the opportunity is offered by the
Staying of the Austrian archduke
war is declared.
Intrigue and sinister plotting abound
In the picture. When Ambassador Ge-
rard first appears to present his ere
dentlals as ambassador from the
United States to Germany, he is re-
ferred to as "coat-tail diplomat" The
attempt to bottle up the British fleet
IN the kiev canal, where the British
ambassador. Sir Edward Goschen, and
officers Of the fleet are being enter
tanned by Germany's high officials
shows the. cunning of the kaiser.
Fortunately the fleet left the canal
before Germany had chance to act.
Of the ablebodied men and women.
and the shooting Of those made use
less for work because of infirmities
are shown. The ill-treatment of the
prisoners OF war at Wittenberg
caused by the intermingling with the
British of the Russians, who were
stricken with typhus, were also de-
picted. The brutality OF the guards
toward the prisoners. the lack of nour-
ishing food and finally the liberation
Of civilian prisoners and the improy-
ing of conditions in the camp through
the Intervention of Ambassador Ge-
rard are shown.
The kaiser was for humorine the
Americans, even though he also was
conviced that they would not fight.
Though Germany accepted Ambassa-
dor Gerard. she only tolerated him.
This was known by the ambassador.
so that when the time came for him
to act for the country he was thor
oughly prepared.
The kaiser and his rocking horse
which he mounts as a reminder that
war is a pretty good pastime brings
out forcibly the state of minds of the
autocratic rulers of Germany. Admi-
raj Won Tirpitz and his submarines
play an important part. although his
boast that he would close the waters
to ships carrying ammunition from
the United States to England still re-
mains unfulflled.
Throughout the picture the German
mind Is depicted as egotistical, anx-
ious for war, brutal and imbued with
the idea of Germany over ALL"
There are two performances daily.
matinee and evening performance.