The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1918-09-13
CHAPTER XIII.
The Kaiser at Army Headquarters.

credit for the successes of his armies
in the present war, | am not in po-
Sition to say, but If he did not actually
direct the military policy, he at least
kept closely in touch with everything
that was going on. 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-
su'tation with his military leaders.
L 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 i'm re-
peatedly with kilograms and messages
for IL, EaiSer, and he would usually
excuse himself and read them. Some.
times he would be summoned out side
TO consult with important persons whu
were there to see him. but he was
never gone more than ten minutes at a
time.
did not think he looked exception
ally we'll 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 ana his valet, who had assisted
me, mad been excused, the kaiser
gazed at me for moment or two and
then. apropos OF nothing, burst out
with the rather remarkable Announce
ment: 1.-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 were at
! the wedding of my acknowledgements
at my own house, mind you, and nv
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 10 accomplish what she has
, done"
Some time after this, one Of the big
gest merchants in Berlin told me that
ne had heard on the stock exchange
that the kaiser had made the remark
that the king and cZar had hatchcd
the plot against him, ana as | had
repeated the kaiScr'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 pui
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, mt any rate. made
fun OF the idea, ana | never heard the
point seriously raised by anyone else
of influence.
Before / left the kaiser that MORN
lag he spoke of the Anglo French loan
which had been fOated in America
ana condemned us severely for cOun-
tenanclnS II. When j told him that
Germany had also iloated loan in
America, he replied: "But ours was
only SlO,OOO,OOO, while theirs is $500
oOOOOO"' to which naturally reioined
that the size of the loan could GER
tainiy not affect the question of our
neutrality in floating it.
He criticized our bankers who ham
d!ed the loan, and when asked him il
he had ever seen the number of Ger
man names that appeared on the list
OF bankers who We're interested I'm il,
he said he hadn't read the list. but he
was quite sure there was one bank iI,
New York which wouldn't touch 1t.
THAT bank wouldn't touch anything
that would be detrimental to Ger
many!" he added
Several months later / was called
to rpiess again and was shown to the
same room | had visited on the former
occasion. When the kaiser entered he
stood erect, with his hands to his side,
clicked his heels together and saluted
me as soldier salutes n superior Off. |
Ger, smiling as he did so, and / knew
he was in good humor.
Nevertheless he had hut little to saw.
His criticism of MIR. Wilson on this oc- |
casion 1 have recorded elsewhere in
these pages.
In June of 1917, after the great army
headquarters had been removed to
Homburg v. d. Hohe, and Krenznach
two neighboring villages) was called
there to see the kaiserin, and three
weeks later I went there again to see
tne kaiser: noticed at the station the !
l - 70 49,