Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1918-11-08

them guns aHQ dIImuHllIou anu
trained their officers, but If they won't
fight we can't make them. We've done
our best!"
The defeat of the Turks lessened
their value to the kaiser as an ally
and he Immediately put into effect
measure for increasing the German
standing army from 100000 to 100000
to restore the balance Of power, they
said. For this purpose a "Wehrbei-
trag," or increased armament tax, was
levied on capital and, incidentally, l
was informed that would have to
Day my share. The idea of paying
tax to upbuild the German army,
which was already so powerful that
It mcnaced the peace of the world,
did not appeal to me at all and L
:nnke to Ambassador Gerard about it.
- advised me to pay it under protest,
agreeing with me that there was no
,rason why an American should be
REQUIRED to contribute to the German
war budget. However, I had to pay it.
The German efforts at colonization,
which were more or less of failure
because the Germans refused to in
hn:J..; the German possessions, ana the
measures adopted to conquer the CON-
ncrclal markets of the world were an
important part Of the program of world
domination which Germany planned
for herself, and it is not unlikely that
f size had confned her efforts along
thoz, lines she might have progressed
:rr:her along her chosen path than she
has advanced by bathing the world in
blood.
II have nearly 100000 people"
he kaiser said to ME on one occasion,
and we shall have to find room for
hen somewhere. When we became
! erlpire England had her hands Oh
"a.ly everything. Now we must
1t 10 ret ours. That is why l an
."vclopi!n; our world markets, just as
e.: Country secured Hawai-! nn4 I'll
4:.MDp!n,., as stepping stones to TIN
.na!,rts OF the far east, as IaiicE'
star! ii That's why developed tie
wonderful city of Kiao-Chau."
His plans in this connection were
han:ed somewhat apparently by the
| developments of the present war; for
1c. t2id me that when it was over til
Germans would nct eD?!Crate to tie
! .!uitod States any more.
NO more American emigration for
& after the war;" he said. My
,eople will settle in the Balkans and
Ievclop and control that wonderful
.ountry I have been down there and
( know it is a marvellous land for Our
purposes"
The kaiser's vision of the part he
would take in the reconstruction OF
stricken Europe was indicated by a
cemark he made to me il 1916 Wheh
I was visiting him at the army head
quarters at Pless.
Here l am nearly sixty years OF
.ce," he soliloquized, "and must re-
build the whole of Europe?"
Although the kaiser so freely admit
red his designs on the world at large
:e was impatient Of any expansion
IN the part of other nations. He often
poke of England's grabbing" pro-
Density and viewed with suspicion our
annexation of Hawaii and the Philip
2ines and our development of Cuba
.fter the Spanisn-American war. nc
orofessed to see in our new policy
striving after world power which was
inconsistent with the principles upon
which our government was founded.
He objected to our interference IN
Mexican affairs, although, as was dis
closed by the Zimmerman note to Won
Eckhardt, he was making every effort
10 have Mexico interfere with ours.
"What right has President Wilson
to attempt to dictate the internal poll
cies of Mexico?" he asked. "Why not
let them fight their battles out alone"
Abiding to Americas threat to en-
ter the present war, he asked: "What
right has America to insist upon the
Monroe doctrine of America and then
mix in European affairs? Let her rec
0rn;ze also a Monroe doctrine OF Eu-
rope and keep her hands out of this
confict!'
There is no doubt that the kaiser
Imagined that the great army and navy
he had built up would enable him to
carry out his ambitious program will
out effective resistance.
The one power he most feared but
for which he protested the utmost con-
tempt was England. He had an idea
that England would never dare to
measure swords with Germany and
that he could provoke war when the
opportune moment came without much
fear of England's intervention.
Tn 1911, when the international stu
alton over the Moroccan affair was
particularly acute as a result of Ger
nany's having sent a gunboat to Aga
dir to demonstrate that she was seri-
Gus in her demands, the kaiser had
great hopes that war with France
might thus be precipitated and he was
confident that England would keep out
of it.
England would be afraid to war
with u.s. h, told me at the time, " for
fear of losing Egypt, India and Ireland.
Any nation would think twice before
fighting my armies, but England par
ticularly because she would not dare
% risk the loss of her overseas colo
MES"
When the kaiser's ambitious project
to dominate the world is considered,