The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-09-26
BY WILHELM HoHENzoLLERN

When was Prince William l was
placed for long time under the Chief
President of the Province of Branden-
burg, Won Achenbach, in order that
might learn about home administra-
ton, get experience in economic Ques-
tons, and, moreover, take an active
part in the work. Spurred on by the
captivating discourses of Achenbach,
derived from this period of my life a
special interest in the economic side of
the inner development of the country,
whereas the purely judicial side of the
administration interested me to les
ser degree. improvements, canal con-
struction, highway building, forestry,
improvement in all kinds of transporta-
ton facilities, betterment of dwellings,
introduction of machines into agricul-
ture and their cooperative develop
mental of these were matters with
which l busted myself later on; this
being especially true of hydraulic work
and the development of the network
of railways, particularly in the badly
neglected territory of Eastern Ger
many.
l discussed all these matters with
the Ministers of State after l had as
cended the throne. In order to spur
them on, l allowed them free rein in
their various domains. But it turned
out that this was hardly possible as
long as Prince Bismarck remained IN
office, since he reserved for himself
the main deciding voice in everything,
thereby imparing the independence OF
those working with him. | soon saw
that the Ministers, being entirely I'M
der Bismarck's thumb, could not come
out in favor of innovations or ideas
of the young master" Of which Bis
marck disapproved.
The Ministry, in short, was nothing
but a tool in the hands of Bismarck,
acting solely in accordance with his
wishes. This state of things was, in it
self, natural enough, since a Premier
of such overwhelming importance, who
had won for Prussia and Germany such
great political victories, naturally dom
mated his Ministers completely and led
them despotically. Nevertheless,
found myself in a different position
the typical answer with which my sug
gestions were met was: Prince Bis
marck does not want that done: we
cannot get him to consent to that: I'm
peror William l. would not have asked
such a thing; that is not in accord
ance with tradition, ETC." | understood
more and more that, in reality, | hac
no Ministry of State at my disposal
that the gentlemen composing it, from
! long force of habit, considered them
selves officials of Prince Bismarck.
! Here is an example to show the att
| tude of the Cabinet toward me in those
| Bismarck days: The question came W
of renewing the Socialist law, a politi
cal measure devised by Prince Bis
marck for fighting socialism. A Ger
: tain paragraph therein was to be toned
down, in order to save the law. Bis
marck opposed the change. There
were sharp differences of opinion.
summoned Crown Council. Bis
marck spoke in the antechamber Will
my adjutant; he declared that hi!
Majesty completely forgot that he was
an officer and fore a sword-belt; tina
he must fall back upon the army ant
lead it against the Socialists, in cas'
the Socialists should resort to revolu
tionary measures; that the Empero
should leave him a free hand, which
would restore quiet once for all. A
the NIOMll SOuIICIl DlSludIOh STUN "
his opinion. The individual Ministers
when asked to express their views
were lukewarm. A vote was taken
the entire Ministry voted against me.
This vote showed me once more tn
absolute domination eXerted by tn
Chancellor over his Ministers. Deepl
dissatisfied, | talked over the matte
with his EXcellency, Lucanus, who wa
as much struck as | was by the situe
ton. Lucanus looked up some of tn
gentlemen and took them to task TO
their attitude, whereupon they made
, clear that they were mot in a pos
ton" to oppose the Prince and de
= clared that it was quite impossible fo
anybody to expect them to vote agains
the wishes of the Prince.
Handling Coal Strike
The great Westphalian coal workerl
strike in the Spring of 1889 took tn
civil administration by surprise, eau!
ing great confusion and bewildermen
} especially among members of tn
: Wesphalian provincial administration
L From all sides came calls for troops
: every mine owner wanted, if possibl
5 to have sentries posted outside h
room. The commander of the trooI