The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1918-09-03
The Kaiser as | Knew / linn
for Fourteen Years

By ARTHUR N. DAVIS. D. D. S.

wou' do the most good in the event
Of II world war.
The German military preparation
was more or less obvious. The kaiser
was always it's warmest advocate and
frapkly admitted that 1t was his inten.
tiOn to remain armed to the teeth, al
though he protested to me many times
that his sole object was to maintain
the peace of the world.
In 1913, for instance, I was in The
Hague when Carnegie delivered a
speech at the opening Of the Peace
palace. in the course Of which he de-
clared that the kaiser was stum-
bling-block In the way Of world peace.
When I got back to Berlin mention
ed the fact to the kaiser. hoping to
draw him out.
Yes. know exactly what Carnegie
said at The Hague" he replied rather
testify, "and 1 don't like the way he
spoke at all. He referred to me as the
war lord and said was standing In
the way Of world peace. Let him look
at my record Of twenty-five peaceful
years on the throneI No, the surest
means to maintain the peace Of the
world is my bi lrmy and navy! Other
nations will think twice before going
to war with us" The fact that he had
previously accepted 100000 marks
from Carnegie for the furtherance of
universal peace didn't seem to occur
to him.
And the world at large learned more
or less Of German intrigue and propa-
ganda since the war, but 1t is not gen.
orally known that the same sort of
thing was going on even more actively
In time of peace. Countless measures,
OF the most subtle and insidious char
acter. were taken TO lull into sense OF
false security the nations she intended
eventually to attack and to inspire fear
In or command the respect of nations
which she hoped would remain neutral
or might even be induced to throw in
their lot with hers In the event Of
war.
In this phase of Germany's prepara-
tion for war, the kaiser took q leading
part.
1t Is fact. for instance, that prac-
tically every officer In the Chilean
army Is German, and the kaiser has
spared no pains to foster the friend
ship Of the South American republics,
commercially and automatically.
One Of the South American minis
ters told me of an ex-president of
Peru who had visited Berlin. This
Peruvian had previously visited Lon
don and Paris aud had received little
or no official attention In either of
those capitals. For reasons best
known to himself the kaiser decided
to cater to this gentleman. and accord
ingly arranged an audience.
In the discussion which took place
when they met, the kaiser displayed
such remarkable acquaintance with
Peruvian affairs and the family his
tory and political career of his visitor
that the South American was stunned.
When he returned home he carried
with him most exalted idea OF the
alFpervading wisdom OF the German
emperor. To what extent the kaiser
had spent the midnight oil preparing
for this interview have no knowledge.
but knowing the Importance he placed
upon making a favorable impression
at all times have mental picture OF
his delving deeply into South Ameri-
can lore In preparation for his guest.
There is nothing dearer to the kaiser
than caste and social distinction. Nor
ganatic marriages were naturally alb
horrent to him. Nevertheless, before
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the sue
ceSsor to the Austrian throne, was
murdered, the kaiser not only recog-
niZed his morganatic wife, who was
only countess, but went out of his
way to show her Difference. He placed
her at his right at all state functions
which she attended. To bring Austria
and Germany closer together. he was
willing to waive one Of his deep-rooted
prejudices.
The significance Of the kaiser's
many visits to Italy, his presentation
OF statue to Stockholm. his yachting
excursions In Scandinavian waters,
his fiirtations with Turkey from his
castle on the Island OF Corfu, and sim
ilar acts OF fngratiation, becomes quite
apparent In the face of more recent
developments, but his efforts to curry
favor with America. during all the
years of peace which preceded the war
were so much more elaborate that they
deserve more than passing mention.
No more subtle piece Of propaganda
was ever conceived than the kaiser's
plan of exchanging professors between
the United States and Germany
through the establishment of the
Roosevelt and Harvard chairs at the
University of Berlin and corresponding