Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1919-01-10
The Kaiser as | knewHim
for Fourteen Years
49,
H. By ARTHUR N. DAVIS, D. D. S.


ten years older, ne nad aged more
than l would have expected. There
were lines on his face which made him
look older than his thirty.three years.
In the outer world he was generally
believed to be one of the leading spir-
its of the military party in Germany,
but among his own people he was not
credited with sufficient ability or in.
fluence to be much of factor. In.
deed, within the past year he had been
criticized rather severely in army cir
cles for his Indifference to the crisis
in which his country was involved and
for not taking the war seriously
enough, and from all was able to
observe of him during the visits he
paid me after the resumption of our
relations, these criticisms were well
founded. The newspapers, however,
which were naturally inspired, always
brought his name to the front when
ever the army he was accredited to
made any successful showing just as
they did in the case Of the kaiser.
During his various visits to me I
tried to draw him out little on diff.
ferent aspects of the International sit
uation. but the ideas he expressed
were not of much moment. g..
"The allies think we will run short
Of man-power," he said on one occa-
sion, "but we've got 100000 youths
growing up and We'll soon be able to
put them In the war. There's no dan
ger of our running short of men, but,
really, wish it were all over. This
war is a lot Of damned nonsense, you
know!' He talked as If the two mill
lion growing-up youths of Germany
were created for the Hohenzollerns to
use as they pleased. ,...l @.
Another remark he made which in.
dicated how sadly he misconstrued the
epoch-making significance Of the great
war in which the whole world was
involved was quite Characteristic.
with SO many men at the 'front.'"
he said, "the men at home ought to be
having a fine time with the women,
eh, what? Do you see many. good
looking girls IN Berlin now?"
In this conaectiOn I may mention
that many OF the more sober officers
tola me that they were disguised with
the manner in which the crown prince
was aEtiDg at tlis headquarters. 1T is
reali. disgrace" they complained,
for the crown prince to have SO many
questionable wo1nen visiting him. It
certainly doesn't set much of an ex-
ampfa for the rest of the starr
TAe whole aii uation appeared to the
.crowa prince very much in the light
Of q Joke.
'Tra just conc from the western
front" he toid me. my men are up
to tier knees ir water and mud.
We've been having lots Of fun pumH
ing the wafer Out OF our trenches into
the French trenches"
"Well, suppose the French pump
It right back again, don't they7"
"You're quite right, quite right.
That's exactly what they do. Really.
It's great lark"
Remarks of this kind rather slckened
me of this self-satisfled young man.
realized. of course, that his part in |
The war was played at such a safe
distance from the front lines that he |
was probably not familiar with all the |
horrors of trench warfare, and yet it |
Gould not be possible that. he was I'm.
lware Of the terrific loss of life and |
he untold agony and suffering which
Millions of his people had to endure
While the "nonsensical'' war contin-
led. 81
After diplomatic relations were
'roken off between America and Ger.
many, the crown prince and his fam.
ly ceased coming to me. They were
Ifraid, no doubt, of public criticism,
Though the kaiser was not.
OF the kaiser's other children,
'rince William Ethel Frederick and
'rince Oscar were the only ones
ever met.
Prince Adelbert, the kaiser's third
on, was a very handsome and charm
ng man. He always came to me at
[red in a naval officers uniform. L
aw him but few times, as he was
eldom in Berlin, and he never talked
q matters Of general importance.
ever saw him after America entered
be war.
Prince August Wilhelm, the fourth
on, was perhaps the most democratic
t them all. He sometimes came to
exc me in an ordinary taxicab and he
7as the only one Of the kaiser's sons
HON I ever saw In civilian dress. He
'as the first member Of the royal fam.
y to come to me after the murder
t the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. and
e was in mourning when he called.
[e looked very sad and detected and
ave me the first intimation that the {
ragedy of Sarajevo would almost in I
vitality lead to general war. II
In January, 1913, in speaking Of the {