Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1920-11-18
PLANNED new
WAR ON BRITAIN
Kaiser Talked of Second CLASH
While First Was Raging,
Says Erzberger.
SOUGHT WORLD SUPREMACY
Parliamentary Leaders Stunned by
Unexpected Display of Imperial
MentaIity-Was Hardest
Blow to Old System.

Berlin, Germany-FOrmer German
Emperor William confidently expected
to emerge victorious from the world
war and then marshal his continental
armies against Great Britain in what
he termed "the second Punic war"
says Matthias ErZberger in his volume
of war recollections just published at
Stuttgart. The emperor evidently
used the term "Punic war" in the
sense of a conflict for world suprem-
acy between two great nations
Herr ErZberger, who was formerly
minister of finance but who has tenn
porarily retired from public political
activities, set forth in detail the meet
ing between the emperor, William and
the reichStag leaders after the fall of
Chancellor Won Bethmann-Hollweg and
following the adoption of the peace
resolution in July. 1917
"compromise" Means "Take ALL"
He says the emperor became enthu-
siastic over the phrase peace or
compromise, which he assumed was
WHAT lllC iclIIStdS lHdJOllty uCIlihuCu.
Excellent word = Compromise
William stated ut means that we
take the money, raw products, cot
ton, Oil and ores out of the pockets
of our enemies and transfer them to
our own"
The parliamentary leaders, Herr
Erzberger continues, were astonished
by this unexpected display of imperial
mentality and felt that they were be-
ing made the victims of his mockery.
The emperor's further remarks were
in the same channel, he declares.
William asserted that the United
States and Great Britain had entered
into an alliance for the purpose of
reckoning with Japan after the war.
He was also reliably informed that
Russia would join Japan in warding
off the Anglo-SaXon blow. He admit
ted that Great Britain would not
emerge from the war defeated, but
said the final accounting would come
when he led his continental armies
against her in "the second Punic war"
PROMISED french Entente.
The amazement of the parliamenta-
rians grew as the kaiser continued,
Herr Erzberger reports. The mon
arch asserted that "a complete under
standing would be reached with
France when the war was over"
Referring to a battle in Galicia
which occurred only few days pre-
vious, the kaiser claimed that the
Prussian guard under the command
of his son Fritz had brushed the
democratic dust off the vests of the
Russians"
"Wherever the guards appear there
is no longer any democracy left" he
exclaimed.
The Roumanians got their just des-
serts, the war lord told Herr Err
berger when the latter suggested that
the poor Roumanians had probably
lost everything but their shirts.
Herr Erzberger adds that the whole
meeting between the kaiser and the
parliamentary leaders was not only
grave misfortune, but it proved "the
deepest cut with the spade that ulti-
mately resulted in the overthrow of
the prevailing regime"
He concludes the chapter with the
statement that the reichstag veterans,
who up to that time were opposed to
the parliamentary system, that very
night openly avowed that the old sys-
tenn would inevitably plunge Germany
into disaster.