American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-11-22
CHAPTER XIII.
The Kaiser at Army Headquarters.

direct the military policy, he at least
kept closely in touch with everything
that was going N. From the very be-
ginning of hostilities he lived the ma
jor part of the time at the great army
headquarters and was in constant con-
sultation with his military leaders.
/ had several opportunities to see
the kaiser while he was at the various
great army headquarters.
In the spring Of 1916 l received a
long-distance telephone message from
the great army headquarters, which
was then in the palace of the Prince
Won Pless at Pless, to the effect that
the kaiser wanted me to go there.
During the course of my work one
of his private secretaries came in re-
peatedly with kilograms and messages
for the kaiser, and he would usually
excuse himself and read them. Some
times he would be summoned outside
to consult with important persons who
were there to see him, but he vas
never gone mort nan ten minutes at a
time.
i did not think he looked exception
ally well. He seemed to be very tired
and he had very little to say-in itself
an indication that he was not exactly
normal.
When my work for the morning was
over and his valet, who had assisted
me, had been excused, the kaiser
gazed at me for a moment or two and
then. apropos of nothing, burst out
with the rather remarkable announce
ment: THE man who brought this
catastrophe on the world, Davis,
should be strung up by the neck, and
that man Is not l, as the world seems
to think The czar of Russia and he
king of England, when they we're at
the wedding Of my daughter-guests
at my own house. mind you. and my
blood relatives-hatched this plot
against me. They were envious of
my power. but they will now learn
what that power is"
In the same breath almost he made
the inconsistent remark: England
will never be able to raise an efficient
army; 1t took Germany one hundred
years to accomplish what she has
done! !"
Some time after this, one Of the big
gest merchants in Berlin told me that
he had heard on the stock exchange
that the kaiser had made the remark
that the king and car had Matched
the plot against him, and as l had
repeated the kaiser's statement to no
one, / realized that he must have told
the same thing to others. If this YER
sion of the starting of the war was put
into circulation with the idea of alb
solving the kaiser, 1t certainly didn't
carry conviction even among the Ger
mans themselves. The merchant who
spoke to me about II, at any rate, made
fun OF the idea, and l never heard the
point seriously raised by anyone else
of influence.
Before l left the kaiser that morn
Ing he spoke Of the Anglo-French loan
which had been fioated in America
and condemned US severely for coun-
tenanclng 1t. When 1 told him that
Germany had also 1oated a loan in
America. he replied: But ours was
only S10.000.000, while theirs is $780,
OOO,000l" to which l naturally rejoined
that the size of the loan could GER
tainly not affect the question OF our
neutrality in floating 1t.
He criticized our bankers who han.
died the loan, and when 1 asked him II
he had EVER seen the number of Ger
man names that appeared on the list
of bankers who were interested in it
he said he hadn't read the list. but he
was quite sure there was one bank in
New York which wouldn't touch Ii
THAT bank wouldn't touch anything
that would be detrimental to Ger.
% many !" he added.
Several months later 1 was called
to Pless again and was shown to the
same room l had visited on the former
occasion. When the kaiser entered he
stood erect. with his hands to his side
clicked his heels together and saluteC
me as a soldier salutes a superior OH
Ger, smiling as he did so, and l knew
he vas in good humor.
Nevertheless he had but little to say
His criticism of Mr.. Wilson or this oc
casion L have recorded elsewhere il
these pages.
In June Of 1917. after the great army
headquarters had been removed tC
Homburg v. d. Hohe. and Krenznacf
1.-TWO neighboring ~villages) l was called
there to see the kaiserin, and thre'
weeks later 1 went there again to see
the kaiser. I noticed at the station th'
kaiser's private train composed of tiv,
dark green cars upon each of which
was plainly marked the imperial Goa
Of arms. The ears had special folding
stems.