The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-12-27
The Mistakes of the Kaiser
By RENE VIVIANI
Premier of France When the War Broke Out
Copyright 1922 by The Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate.

ulating that the treaty should not be
valdi in case of a war between France
and Germany.
The trick had failed. William had
been unable to get himself into the
Franco-Russian alliance in order to
dominate it, and, by this means, to
destroy the Entente Cordiale.
Efforts to Destroy Entente
AS to France. William, who up to
1904 had given evidence of apparently
more friendly sentiments and who had
not ceased to preach to all French
men passing through Germany the adj
vantages of an agreement, or even al
lance, between France and Germany,
suddenly changed his attitude after
the formation of the Entente Cordiale,
and by rude spectacular plays with re-
gard to Morocco, sought to destroy the
Entente.
Germany had no special interests in
Morocco; at that time Germans had
but little part in Moroccan affairs.
Spanish agreement of October 3, 1904,
pretext for complaint that he had
been excluded from the Morocco set
Element.
In February, 1905, he declared,
through his ambassador to Paris, that
he, ignoring all the agreements
reached, did not consider himself
bound in any way. Then it was that
he decided to stop at Tangier, in the
course of a cruise in the Mediterran-
can; and a few days before his de-
parture, on March %, he said, in a
shall a110TIr
bayonets and cannon to rest as long
as l can, but the bayonets must be
kept sharp and the cannon in good
condition"
Nine days later, on March 81, he
landed at Tangier, despite, the wise
counsels given him by Queen Amelia,
while he was stopping at Lisbon. Re
ceived by an envoy of Abdul-Aziz, he
declared publicly that he would deal
/ only with the Sultan of Morocco, an
absolutely free and Independent SOW
/ ereign, in order to safeguard German
/ interests in Morocco efficaciously
against all kinds of monopoly and
! schemes of annexation.
! William Causes Fall of DeIeasse
| This brutal blow at France was
soon followed, on April IL, by a de-
mand from Bulow for an international
conference. Abdul-Aziz. at the insti-
CATION of Germany, addressed com
munication on May 30 to the powers,
but Delcasse, minister of foreign af.
fairs of France, replied to it with a
formal refusal.
Thereupon William wished to be rid
/ at any price of that "Anglophile," Del
casse. so he dispatched an official go
between, Count Henckel-Donners-
'marck, husband of La Paiva," an ad.
ventures of the Second Empire, to
Paris. Henckel prevailed upon the
French premier, Maurice Rouvier, to
leave his minister of foreign affairs in
the lurch, and on June IL, 1907, the
resignation of NJ. Delcasse was &C
cepted. Notwithstanding M. Rouvie1
continued to uphold the French gov
ernment's point of view, and, although
he finally accepted in principle the
proposal of a conference, he likewise
obtained from Germany the formal
recognition of the preferential position
of France in Morocco.
| The Algeciras conference was not &
success for Germany. But France, or
Inc JULIET LudLhS W uCI uOnC0
policy, had the satisfaction of seeing
other nations draw closer to her. The
Entente Cordiale, which, as Coun-
White said, was the target at which
William was aiming when he paid his
visit to Tangier, emerged unscathed
:. The regime of uncertainty created
by the Algeciras agreement soon gave
: opportunity for further German
: meddling Though France had pre-
ponderant privileges in Morocco, Mo
rocco had been internationalized ant
its sultan left without any real power
and now, whenever troubles aros'
|, there, fomented by German agents
: France was blamed because she di;
not put an end to them, yet, when
!; ever she took hand, she was blame,
for her police measures.
Foreign Legion Deserters
One OF the most serious of the Incl
dents that arose was that of the Cas-
ablanca deserters. On September q
1906, some members of the ForeigI
Legion tried to desert They receives
assistance from the chancellor of tn
German Consulate, since tire of Their
were of German origin, but French OF
ficers succeeded in recapturing them
These acts, carried out by subordinate
, were made much of by the Berlin Fol
eign Office, which agreed to their b
ing arbitrated only after considerabl
show of reluctance. But, when tn
facts came out, there was nothin
to do but declare Germany in tn
: wrong.
GERMANY AGITATES WAR
: After that it looked as if there wa
) to be an era of quiet in Franco-Ger