The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-11
Ex-Kaiser Dodges Blame For
World War by Asserting His
Mind Was Burdened With Art

What wonders he has achieved as head
of the Royal Library and Dean of the
Senate of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society,
where he, the theologian, delivered the
most learned and most substantial
talks on exact sciences, research, in
ventions and chemistry | shall al
ways look back with pleasure on the
personality of Harnack and on his
labors.
Professor Erich Schmidt OF the Uni
versity of Berlin was also a friend OF
mine and was often at my home:
owe many an enjoyable evening to
the learned discourses of this savant.
Professor Schiemann enjoyed my
particular confidence An upright
man, a native of the Baltic Provinces,
champion of the Germanic idea
againt Slavic arrogance, a clear-sigh-
ted and brilliant historian and writer,
Schiemann was constantly asked by
me for advice on political and his
torical questions. To him l owe much
good counsel, especially regarding the
East. He was often at my home and
often accompanied me on Journeys
as, for instance, to Tangler-and he
heard from me in our talks much i'm
portant confidential matter not yet
known to others on political questions.
His unsuitable capacity for keeping
his mouth shut justified my trust in
him. 1t was a source of satisfaction
to me to appoint this tried man Cur
ator of the University of Dorpat, after
the liberation of the Baltic Provinces.
kaisre's Russian Foresight
How well he and | agreed in our
political views regarding Russia is i'll
ustrated by the following incident:
After the Peace of Portsmouth, be-
tween Russia and Japan, brought about
by me in conjunction with President
Roosevelt in 1905, there was much
official (Foreign Office and unofficial
puzzling of heads at Berlin as to what
political line Russia would take. In
general it was thought that Russia,
angered at her defeat,- would lean to-
ward the West-and hence toward
Germany-in order to find there new
connections and strength to help her
in striking a blow for revenge against
Japan and reconquest of her lost ter
ritory and prestige.
| My opinion was quite different-but
/ | could not make the official world
share it. / emphasized the following
/ points: That the Russians We're
Asiatics and Slavs; being the first
they would be Inclined to favor Japan
/ in spite of their defeat; being the
| second, they would like to ally them
selves strong. Hence l thought that
after while, Russia, despite the
/ Bjorko Agreement would join Japan
not Germany, and later turn against
Germany. On account of these fan
tastic' ideas, ! was actually ridiculed
officially and unofficially.
l summoned Schiemann and ques
! toned him on this subject, without re
vealing to him what l thought about
it. | was much pleased when his an
swer agreed absolutely with the views
held by me. For a long time Schie
mann and | stood almost alone wher
this weighty matter of foreign politics
came up in discussions
/ The event justified us. The so-called
Russian Experts" of Berlin, as vel
as the official world, were mistaken.
/ During the very first years of my
reign there was occasion for much i'm
pOrtant building work.
| First, there was the question Of
erecting a worthy monument over the
tomb of my grandparents. Since the
old mausOleum at Charlottenburg was
inadequate, it was necessary to cree
an addition. Unfortunately, the funds
left by Emperor William the Grea
for such extra construction''-the so
called Extra Construction Fund-haC
been used up during the ninety nine
days on something else. Hence | wa!
obliged to burden the Crown revenue!
with unforeseen building expenses. Thu
mausoleum of my parents at Mari,
was erected by the Empress Frederick
according to her own sketches and de
signs. and for this, too, had to pro
vide the funds.
A thorough examination of the roya
!, Understanding those in the pro-
inces-had revealed, particularly a
the palace of Berlin. such deplorabl
/, conditions in sanitation, comfort ant
so on, that there could be no NOR
r delay in Temedying them. In tn
course of my thirty years reign I re
stored these palaces to good condition
working in accordance with careful
, ly prepared budgets. examined, col
rected and supervised by myself wit
the help of architects (such as Ihney
, and of artists with due regard for tn