The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1918-11-21
Sought England'S Aid.

ldsh Ol craving England 10 MS Slde
well he thought he had succeeded in
this may be gathered from letter
he wrote to President Wilson in
| 1914 in which he said King George
had promised Prince nenry of Prus-
sia, on July. 20, 1914, that England
would remain neutral in war in
Xolvlng Xt.I the central powers with
Perhaps the most alrect and au-
thoritative of the accusations
against the German emperor and the
pan,Germans are contained in the
published secret memorandum Of
Prince Charles ajax Lichnowsky, who
was German ambassador at London
prince uneGuivocally placed the
blame of the war on Germany, and
for his franEness was imprisoned in
a Sllesian chateau, permanently eX-
PEELED from the Prussian house of
lords. which action was sanctioned
by the emperor; and, finally, was ex-
lied to Switzerland.
Emperor Williams domination ov-
er German statesmen, diplomats and
the high command Of the German
army was emphasized by DR.. Will
helm Muehlon, a former director OF
the Krupp works, the great German
munitions mn, factory, in his book on
II
this he not only laid blame upon
Germany for bad faith and criticized
the German army for it's brutality
but asserted that in the German for
eign office "only he who did the
emperor's bidding was allowed to
remain They, could not do better,
he. he DECLARED, t, & nbeeause Gf the charae; III
kaiser . It was Dr.. Muehlon who
asserted the authenticity Of the
statement that Emperor William
stated at meeting of German army
officers that he had plenty Of pris-
would see that no more prisoners
were taken.
Shifting the Blame.
liberal leader, declared the German
ruler brought on the war because of
his desire "for something like world
rule"
William often proclaimed his in
nocence, and endeavored to put the
onus of the war on the shoulders
Of the entente allies. In his speech
from the throne after the war, began
he said:
''In pursuing it's interests the Rus
sian empire stepped in the way OF,
Austria Hungary. Our duty as an
ally called us to the side of Austria
Hungary The situation arose not
from temporary conflicts of interests
or diplomatic combinations but is the
result of ill-will existing for years
against the strength and prosperity
of the German empire
The emperor, despite his previous
expressions of good will for America,
gave vent to his anger against the
United States when it became eyi
dent no official action would be |
taken to stop the shipment of muni-
tions and supplies to the entente al
lies by declaring to the American
James w. Gerard, Il
shall stand no nonsense from Amerl-
ca after the war"
Williams designs to. spread Ger
man dominion in Asia found express
sion in his famous visits to Constan-
tinOple when he was proclaimed as
protector of the Moslems. In this
the world saw a cunning step toward
achievement of the German ambition
Bagdad.
Pupil Of Bismarck.
Friedrich Wilhelm Victor Albert
was born Jan. 27, 1859, and became
Emperor William II on the. death OF
his father, Frederick ILL.,. June Is,
ity Of Bonn fully prepared to enter
the school of statecraft. Set to work
in the government bureaus, he was
early taught the routine Of officia
business under the tutelage OF the
great Bismarck
At the death of his father, the i'm
perial throne devolved upon William
years of age. Bismarck continued
as chancellor but not for long;
Though the great stateman had
made every effort to instill his young
pupil with his own ideas of govern
ment and diplomatic policies. the
new emperor soon found that he
disagreed with his ;grandfatheir,s ln11a i,n
portant respects. In 1890 the dis
agreement of the two men reacned
crisis, rupture came and Bismarck
went. The relations between the two
men remained strained for several
years, but before Bismarck died
peace was made between ntilea them; M, tho
emperor's real reign began. AS 4
military man he was a stickler for
efficiency, discipline and the obsery-
ance of etiquette to the last detail.
And of the details of all the COM
ponents of army life and training ne
was familiar to the smallest point.
views he was able to detect the
slightest imperfection in the equip
ment or training of a regiment or
squadron and called attention to the
dereliction sharply. With the prin-
ciples of tactics and maneuvers, too.
he was thoroughly acquainted.
Studied Naval Science.
Besides being we'll versed in armv
matters, the emperor was. thorough
ly familiar with naval affairs, having
technical mastery of the details
that go to make up the efficiency OF
fleetA Study @ Of naval naval t,dns problems H;s
influence was potent in fostering the
development of German commerce,
art and science. His interference IN
these affairs as we'll as in statecraft
often embarrassed German leaders
and evoked from them admonltlons
to leave diplomacy to his chancel-
lOrs. :,
In everything he was described as
thorough and, withal, one of the
hardest workers in the empire. HIS
rising hour was 6 o'clock sharp and
long days work, which frequently
extended we'll into the night, follow
o6 Cfofod hnnr9 were devoted TO