The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-07-29
WHY is HARDEN ALIvE1

don't the Huns shoot Harden?
They went to what passes for thei,I
parliament" handcuffed LiebnechtI
and hurled him into prison for exl
pressing sentiments with which Hard
en- wouldn't dilute his vitriol. TheirI
answer to most pointed criticism Isl
usually delivered by a firing party,
unless the critic has the foresight oil
Muehlon and escapes over the front
tier into Switzerland. But Hardea|
seems immune, except for an occa|
sional suppression of his vest pocket
capsule Of TINT" published under
the caption of "zukunft." It is about
as big as a pocket pamphlet advertisl
ing life insurance or shaving soap
but it has the hitting power of al
Krupp siege gun.
What is Harden's "puI1?"
Harden was the close friend of thel
great Bismarck. Bismarck was his|
deity, his master statesman. the
Titan who made the German empire|
When Bismarck fell, Harden went
into permanent opposition, even tol
the young kaiser who had dared toll
dethrone his demigod. He said his
say, fearlessly, impiously, with a senI
sational audacity that attracted the
attention of all Germany-and all
Europe. Doubtless the young kaiser|
would have liked to silence him; butt
the Bismarck cult was still strong I'M
Germany-the grim old tunker still
lurked in brooding retirement-andl
it would have been damaging to the
precarious but progressively growing
prestige of the "brash boy kaiser" tol
prosecute and gag a Bismarckian|
Journalist Harden did spend year.
in fortress, but he was not more|
silenced than he Is now.
Thus Harden gained a hearing and
gradually built up a constituency.
Then, just as the kaiser's personal
power was gathering way and he
might have ventured to brush aside
the gadfly, Harden sprang his ex.
posures of the rotten circle OF ignoble
noblemen who surrounded the EN-.
peror, shattered the kaisers clique
and fairly set the throne itself rock.
ing. After that, who dared attack
the redoubtable Harden? To do col
was to invite the suspicion that
Harden's next shaft was personally
feared.
Harden henceforth was an insti,r
ton. So firmly established and wide
ly respected was this institution
that, even amid the smelling fa1nesl
been fused He has become the con-
science OF Germany which she dars|
not silence.
What. other man within the reach
Of the German sword dare tell the
kaiser that his recent hash of hyper
bole and hypocrisy supplied the world
with the missing link in its proof that
Germany wil1ed and plotted and
launched this war? Harden does|
this with the insouciance OF al &C.
customed critic, and then proceeds
to elaborate his charge Of diIlomaticl
stupidity against the all highest by|
pointing out that his frank admission
that this war was intended by Ger.I
many to triumph absolutely overl
the Anglo-Saxon pagan worship oil
money fatally destroys the official
legend that this same war took al
peaceful (German) people by sur
prise" He tells the kaiser not only
that he is liar and a hypocrite, butt
that he is a clumsy liar and an easily
detected hypocrite
Then he takes the kaiser to task
for having, by his inopportune and
laundering bluring forth of the truth.
rendered the position OF the Austrian
government almost impossible. Hel
goes so far as to intimate that thel
kaiser may have been drunk! For
is not this the suggestion when he
says that Hertling. Kuehlmann orl
somebody should have had the cour-l
age to disavow expressions of opin-
ion given wings by festivfty?" I'M
other words, the kaiser was in an
after-dinner mood
But Harden remains at liberty. He
is not sent to face firing squad at
daylight.