The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1922-10-14
BY WILHELM HoHENzoLLERN


My close relations with the army are
a matter of common knowledge. In
this direction / conformed to the ira
dition of my family. Prussias Kings
did not chase cosmopolitan mirages,
but realized that the welfare of their
land could only be assured by means
of real power protecting industry
and commerce. II, in a number of
utterances, l admonished my people
to keep their powder dry" and their
swords sharp" the warning was ad-
dressed alike to foe and friend.
wished our foes to pause and think a
long time before they dared to en-
gage with US. wished to cultivate
manly spirit in the German people;
l wished to make sure that, when the
hour struck for US to defend the fruits
'es cur industry against an enemy's
last Of conquest, it should find strong
race.
In view of this attached high value
to the educational duty of the army.
General compulsory military service
? has social influence upon men in
the mass equaled by nothing else. 1t
brings together rich and poor, sons
of the soil and of the city; it brings
acquaintanceship and mutual under
standing among young people whose
roads, otherwise, would lead them
far apart; the feeling that they are
serving one idea unites them.
And to think what we made out of
our young menl Pale town boys were
transformed into erect, healthy, sport
hardened men; limbs grown stiff
through labor were made adroit and
pliable
I stepped direct from Brigade Com
mander to King-to repeat the we'll
known words of King Frederick Will
liam III. Up to then / had climed the
steps of an officers career. l still
think with pleasure of my pride when,
on the End of May, 1869, during the
Spring Parade, | first stood in the
ranks before my grandfather. Rela-
! tions with the individual man have
always seemed valuable to me, and,
therefore. l particularly treasured the
assignments, during my military ser
vice, where / could cultivate such re-
lations. My activities as commander
of company, squadron and bat
terry likewise as head of a regiment,
are unforgetable to me.
| felt at home among my soldiers.
In them, placed unlimited trust. The
painful experiences of the Autumn of
1918 have not diminished, this trust.
do not forget that a part of the Ger
man people, after four years of un-
precedented achievements and priva-
tions, had become too i'll to withstand
being corrupted by foes within and
without. Moreover, the best Of the
Germans lay under the green sod;
the others were thrown into such con-
sternation by the events of the rev.
Init ryh Oh, ho1 kAn h1Id ~ hr
impossible that they could not spur
themselves ia act.
Compulsory military service was the
best school for the physical and NOR
al toughening of our people. 1t created
for us free men who knew their own
value. From these an excellent corps
of non-commissioned officers was
formed; from the latter, in turn, we
drew our Government officials, the
like of whom, in ability, incorruptib-
ity and fidelity to duty no other nation
on earth can show.
Believes Officers Still Loyal
And it is from these very elements
that | receive nowadays signs of loyal
ty, every one of which does me good
= My old Second Company of the First
Infantry Guard Regiment has shared
through good and evil days, the vic
issitudes of its old Captain. l saw
them for the last time in 1913, in close
formation-still 125 strong-under that
excellent Sergeant, Hartmann, on the
occasion of the celebration of the
twenty-fifth anniversary of my acces-
sion to the throne.
In view of its proud duty as an edu-
Gator and leader of the nation in arms
the officer corps occupied a particu-
nrf nj in hn ~
Empire, The method of replacement,
which, by adoption of the officers
vote, had been lodged in the hands o
the various bodies of officers them
selves. guaranteed the needed homo
, geneity. Harmful outcroppings of the
idea of caste were merely sporadic;
wherever they made themselves felt
they were instantly rooted out
entered much and willingly into
relations with the various officer
corps and felt like a comrade among
them. The materialistic spirit of our
age, to be sure, had not passed over
the officer corps without leaving trac-
es; but, on the whole. it must be ad-
mitted that nowhere else were self
discipline. fidelity to duty and sim
plicity cultivated to such an extent as
among the officers.
process or wedding out such as
existed in no other profession allowed
only the ablest and best to reach posi-
tions of influence. The commanding
Generals were men of a high degree
of attainment and ability and-what
is even more important-men of char
- acter. 1t is difficult matter to single
out individuals from among them.
Though the man in the ranks at the
front was always particularly close to
my heart, ! must. nevertheless. give
special prominence to the General
Staff as school for the officer corps.
| have already remarked that Field
Marshall Count Moltke had known
how by careful training to build up
men who were not only up to require
ments. technically speaking. but also
qualified for action demanding willing
ness to assume responsibility. indie
pendence of judgment. and far-sight-
edness. ITO be more than you seem"
IS written in the preface to the
Pocket Manual for the General Staff
Officer
Field Marshall Count Moltke laid
. the foundations for this training; and
his successers-Count Waldersee, that
great genius, Count Sch;effen and