The New York herald., 1922-12-24
By KARL FRIEDRICH NowAK.
t was the 29th of October. 1913.

BY KARL FRIEDRICH NOWAK.
TT was the Goth of October. 1918.
Emperor William ii. had de-
= cided to leave for General STAFF
headquarters at Spa. His decision was
made suddenly, influenced. no doubt.
by the urfavorable military situation
as well DIS by agitation going on even
in his immediate circle.
Two days before he had parted COM
pany with Gen. Ludendorff after an
angry scene. Ludendorff had been dis
missed as Quartermaster- General on
the suggestion of the Chancellor.
Prince Max of Baden. and OF the For
eign Ofiice, who hoped to improve the
political situation thereby. The For
eign Munster advised that Ludendorff
be dismissed, but that Field Marshal
Hindeuourg be persuaded TO remain.
Two days. later Prince Max was sum-
monvd by the Kaiser to Potsdam.
"You must thank me-" had been the
words or greeting of the monarch. "for
doins what you recently advised me
TO do. The operation was successful.
l have cut the Siamese twins apart;
Hindenburg viii remain
More tired than angry, the Kaiser
had answered the threat of Luden-
dorff 10 resign with the sharp words
of acreptance
Very well, then go!"
Hand III hand with the dismissal Of
Ludendurff went another portentous
event--the plea for q separate peace
addressed to the President of the
United States by the Kaiser's Austro-
Hungarian ally. Thereupon Prince
Max insisted that the Generals be In
vited 10 give their estimate of how
long the German armies could hold
out, especially since the pressure Of
Marshal Foch's forces was constantly
increasing. The Kaiser and his ad-
visers found some comfort in their re-
port. for Gen. Won Gallwitz had de-
clared TO the Cabinet:
"a complete turn of fortune in our
favor through u big offensive that viii
spell victory is no longer possible.
But we can hold out firmly in a de-
fensIve position"
Even oreaconfident were the words
Of t=en. Won Mudra:
"An we need to do is to give our
armies rest. Once that has been
offered them our opponents simply
cannot defeat us or break through
Kaiscr's Abdication Demanded; tog
He Goes Secretly to Spa
Everything seemed to call the En-
peror out TO the army, and away from
his gloomy surroundings in Berlin,
where the suggestion had already been
made that he abdlcate. Indeed, the
Prussian Minister to Bavaria, Won
Treutler, had telegraphed to the Chan
cellor that in the Bavarian capital
both the people and the Government
were demanding his resignation In no
uncertain terms. The Kaiser sum-
moned Secretary of State Solf for a
second time and demanded that he
read the riot act to the Minister, and
declared it an outrage that his Min
lister shoul report such things to him.
When Solf interposed that even In
Berlin such thoughts were difficult
TO suppress the Kaiser hared up, say
ing:
What do the people want Of me7
AS an old soldier ! cannot leave the
trenches. Before me on the table is
a mass of kilograms that Delbrueclx
has laid before me and which prove
TO me that the people are Loyalty and
faithfully behind me. Then why should
/ Iabdicate?"
To which Solf replied:
"After the last note Of Wilson the
people have feeling that they will
get better peace terms without the
fsi.4S. L.. xxtdo ",
Berlin too"
All solace, all dynastic loyalty. and
even the personal safety OF the mon
arch, then seemed to lie with the
army. Besides, that very noon the ex-
press wish OF General Field Marshal
Won Hindenburg had been transmitted
TO him TO come TO the front as Com
mander in Chief. "The army does not
know what 1t is at" Hindenburg had
counseIed. "There Is danger OF its
break up"
Accordingly the Kaiser suddenly
and quickly decided to go TO Spa
So unexpected was the decision that
even n few hours before his departure
there were men In his immediate en-
tourage who did not know about 1t.
b. NO itSS u PcfcOn NAhu AAiSu NhshN
was kept in the dark, and only learned
Of II accidentally at o'clock in the
afternoon. several hours before the
projected departure. The Chancellor
was nonplusscd. He foresaw dire con-
sequences Of such an action. 1t would
mehn the kaiser's removing himself
from the influence OF the Government
and cutting himself Off from all pos
slbilities OF conference.
Immediately he set out TO prevent
the departure OF the monarch. At the
Ministry of War he learned to his
dismay that there, too, nothing was
known about the decision. When as
sured that the War Department. while
unable to influence. the Kaiser to give
up his decision, would do everything
possible TO make him return TO Berlin
within two or three days Prince Max
exclaimed skepucally: Mote my
words. the Emperor will never re-
turnr
Overworked and sick though the
Chancellor was, he kept up every ef-
fort to work upon the Kaiser through
various channels. But In vain. He
even decided 10 seek an audience with
tho KAISER, fully realizing that this
also meant bringing up tho question
Of abdication. Several times he re-