Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1918-10-25
The Kaiser as | Knew I linn
for Fourteen Years
b as9
By ARTHUR N. DAVIS, D. D. S.
copyright 1915 by the Mcclure Newspaper syndcate)

be United States and German!
through the establishment of the
Roosevelt and Harvard chairs at the
University of Berlin and corresponding
chairs at Harvard and other American
universities. Ostensibly the purpose OF
the project was to foster goodwill be-
tween the two nations. Actually, 1t
was intended to 0ermanize Americans
to such an extent that their co-opera-
ton might be relied upon in the event
of war for which Germany was sed-
ulously preparing. l I,
It was believed that the exchange OF
professors would accomplish the Ger
man purpose in two ways: not only
could the professors the kaiser sent to
America be depended upon to sow Ger
man seed in American soil, but the
American professors who were sent TO
Berlin, 1t was hoped, could be SO In
oculated with the German viewpoint
that when they returned to their ma
tive land they would disseminate 1t
among their associates and students.
Some time before the kaiser con.
ceived the scheme Of the Exchange
Professors, he sent his brother. Prince
Henry, to this country to draw the
two nations closer together and to In.
still In the heart of every child born
in America of German parents an
abiding love for the fatherland.
Just before the war broke out, he
was planning to send one Of his sons
here with the same object.
He told me of his project and asked
me to which part of the United States
thought he ought to send the prince.
"That depends, your majesty" re-
piled, upon the object of the visit.
If the purpose is to meet American
Dociety, 7 would recommend sucf
places as Newport in summer and
Palm Beach in winter. To come in
contact with our statesmen and diplO-
mats, Washington would naturally be
the most likely place to visit"
The, kaiser thanked me for the in
formation but did not enter into fur
Their details as to the object he had
in mind or which son he had planned
to send, across. IT,
It was to curry favor with America
that the kaiser had his yacht Meteor
built in our shipyards, and it is fact
that more American women were pre-
scented at The German court than those
Of any other nation.
When he presented a statue of
Frederick the Great to this country,
in McKinley's administration. it ere
ated a great stir in congress. What
could be less appropriate, It was ar.
gued, than the statue of a monarch in
the capital of republic? The statue
was not set up in McKinley's admins
tration, but Roosevelt accepted it in
the interest of diplomacy and had it
erected in front of the Army building.
Seeing that his gift had had just the
opposite effect to that intended, the
kaiser reprimanded his ambassador
for not having interpreted American
sentiment more accurately.
A few days after the death Of King
Edward, Roosevelt arrived in Berlin.
Despite the fact that all Europe was
In mourning, the kaiser arranged the
most elaborate military dress review
ever given in honor of q private citizen
to celebrate Roosevelt's visit. The re-
view was held In the large military
reservation near Berlin. More than
100000 soldiers passed in review be-
fore the kaiser and his staff and their
honored guest.
How far the kaiser would have gone
in his attentions to Roosevelt had he
not been in mourning it is impossible
ITO say, but I don't believe he would
have left anything undone to show his
admiration for the American expires.
ident and to curry favor with this
country.
But Roosevelt was not the only
American to whom the kaiser made
overtures. He was constantly inviting
American millionaires to pay him
yachting visits at Kiel or wherever.
else he happened to be.
He sat for a portrait by an Ameri-
can painter, which was exhibited with
q large collection Of other American
works under the kaiser's auspices.
There was nothing that the kaiser
did not do in his efforts to ingratiate
himself with this country in the hope
that he would reap his reward when
the great war he was anticipating
eventually broke out.
Taken individually, these various in
cidents seem trivial enough, but /
have every reason to know that the
kaiser attached considerable impor-
lance to them. 1 know that there was
a good deal Of chagrin in the TRADES
he delivered to me against America for
her part In supplying munitions to the
allies-chagrin at the thought that the
seed he had sown in America had
failed to bring forth better fruit.
When we finally entered the war and
he realized that all his carefully nuf-
tured plans of years had availed him
naught, he could not restrain his bit
terness nor conceal his disappoint-
ment.