Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1919-01-24
The Kaiser as | knewH linn
for Fourteen Years
BY ARTHUR N. DAVIS. D. D. S.
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(opyrght 1919 BY the Mcclure Newspaper Syndlcata)

| Lie 1icL IudI tIl0 kilScE COuucSCcuu>
ed to acknowledge the plaudits of his
people by a salute or wave of the
hand was cited as proof Of his gra-
ciousness and kindness; their god was
smiling on them, and their gratifica-
| ton was overwhelming.
To maintain this state Of generation
was one of the kaiser's principal con-
Germs. That was why he never ap-
peared in public except in full uniform {;
why he always rode white horse,
while the rest of his staff rode dark
ones; why the pictures Of him that
were allowed to be circulated always
showed him to the very best advan-
tage;. why every case of lese majestic
was punished with the utmost severity
why, in short, every possible precau-
ton was taken that the exalted ideas
which the public held regarding their
kaiser should never be undermined.
With this spirit Of devotion dominat-
ing the people generally, it was only
to be expected that they should have
stood solidly behind their emperor
when he sought to achieve the one
ambition of his life-his dream of
world dominion.
There is no doubt that the war was
planned and made possible by the mill
tarists and the junkers, and that every
effort was made to conceal from the
people it's real purpose and ultimate
goal; but if anyone imagines that the
people at large would have held back
had they realized the truth, he fails to
understand the underlying spirit Of the
Teutonic race. .p-
The Germans are the most quarrel
some people in the world. 1t is mis-
leading to speak of the German mill
tarists. All Germans are militarists.
The records of their civil courts tell
the story. In 1913 there were no less
than 100000 petty cases tried in the
courts, and as every case naturally in.
volved at least two parties, the aston.
ishing fact is disclosed that some TO-.
100000 Germans, or One-seventh of the
entire population, appealed to the
courts in a single year! VI
The bellicose character of the people
was evidenced in countless other ways.
1t was the natural result of what
believe to be the most pronounced ma.
tiOnal observation-disclosures. The
average German is the most selfish In.
dlvidual in the world. He thinks of
himself and his own comfort first, last
and all the time. have noticed it on
the street cars, in the theaters, In the
public highways, In the restaurants and
hotels, where people cOngregate.
Every one looked out for himself first
and pushed aside those who stood in
his way. In civil life, just as in state
of war, the German practiced the prin.
ciple that might makes right.
Chivalry, courtesy, magnanimity are
as foreign to the German makeup as
they are characteristics of the French.
A keen desire to make something out
Of nothing Is another national trait Of
the Germans, If my observation has
been accurate. What is commonly re-
ferred to as German thrift is only
polite name for German stinginess, and
1 have seen so many Illustrations of
the petty meanness of the German peO-
pie that it seems idle to specify single
instances. - y a
One of the first impressions I re-
ceived about the German people, when
1 went to live among them fourteen
years ago, was the lack of cOmrade-
ship among them. Class distinctions
are drawn so fine, and there are so
many gradations, that it was almost
impossible to find two Germans ON the
same social plane. One was always the
others superior. After my fourteen
years. experience among these people,
l cannot say that that early impression
has been removed; if anything, it has
been deepened.
Anyone who has lived in Berlin, and
is familiar with conditions in other
European capitals, will bear me out
that the German policeman is the most
arrogant police official in the, world.
His word is taken in court In prefer
ence to that Of six civilians, and his
power is such that it might very easily
be used Oppressively; but strangely
enough, despite the cupidity of the
German character, graft and cOrrup-
ton among the German police and
other officials were practically I'M
known before the war.
Such were the people behind the
kaiser when the great war started.
shall never forget the sentiments ex-
pressed to me by private individuals
in every walk of life as the various
phases of the war developed.
No measure that was taken by Ger
many, no matter how atrociOus or in
consistent with the worlds idea OF
what is permissible in civilized war
fare, ever brought word of condem-
nation from the German public as q
whole, although, of course, there were |
sore notable exceptions. The great
ma jority of Germans who discussed
these matters with me, however, not |
only defended everything Germany did,
but complained because more rigorous |
measures were not taken.
Merely by way of example, and not
because her suggestion was any worse |
than hundreds of others raised by my |