The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-07

was said, had let himself be cheated
by Tirpitz! This was plain evidence
of the indignation felt because Tir-
pitt had not walked into the trap and
simply let the bill drop, and that
| Haldane had been unable to serve up
| the bill to the English Cabinet on a
platter at teatime. 1t is useless to say
that there was any Cheating" on
Germany's part, but the reproach level
ed at Haldane justifies the suspicion
that his instructions were that he
4 should seek to cheat" the Germans.
Since his fellow-countrymen thought
that the reverse was true, one can
but thank Admiral Won Tirpitz most
sincerely for having correctly asserted
1 the German standing to the benefit
j of our Fatherland.
Toward the end of March the fight
about the bill took on such violence
! that finally the Chancellor, on the 22d,
asked me for his dismissal as l step
ped out of the vault in the Chariot
/ tenburg Park. After long consultation
and after l had told him DR.. Burchard's
view, the Chancellor withdrew his re-
quest.
When, some time afterward, l paid
visit TO Herr Won Bethmann in his gar
den, found him quite overcome and
holding in his hand message from
London. 1t contained the entire disa-
vowal of the verbal note delivered by
Cassel, the withdrawal of the offer of
neutrality, as well as of every other
offer, and at the end the advice that
should not dismiss Herr Won Bethmann
from the Imperial CHARACTERISTIC
since he enjoyed to marked degree
the confidence of the British Govern
ment.*
SIN the manuscript as received by
The Palladium the words, should not
are omitted, and the passage reads
that England advised Bethmann's dis
missal from the CHARACTERISTIC. This
seems TO be clerical error. 1t ap-
fro mthe eX-kaiser's own Comparative
Historical Tables published last year,
that the recommendation, in whatever
form or language, was really that
Bethmann be retained, as given in the
amended text above Haldane while in
Berlin had got the Impression that
in the dispute over the naval bill and
replaced by Tirpitz, which probably ex-
plains the British action
Tears of anger shone in the eyes
of the Chancellor, thus badly deceived
in his hopes the praise accorded
to him by foreign government with
which Germany and he had just had
such painful experiences, hurt him
= deeply. For the second time he offer
, ed me his resignation; I did not ac-
cept it, but sought to console him, l
, then ordered that the Ambassador in
| London be asked how he could have
accepted and forwarded such a mes
sage under any conditions.
Now the Chancellor was in favor of
the bill, but it was honorably proposed
with the limitation, upon which had
= been decided to impose upon it in case
of the conclusion of the agreement In
, England, on the other hand, the full
= naval construction program was car
, ried out.
This "Haldane episode" is character
istic of England's policy. This whole
: manoeuvre, conceived on a large scale,
was engineered for the sole purpose OF
) hampering the development of the Ger
t man fleet, while, simultaneously, in
| America-which had an almost negli-
= gible merchant fleet; in France
| whose navy was superior in numbers
} to the German; in Italy. in Russia
) which also had ships built abroad
vast construction programs were car
, ried out without eliciting one word OF
: protest from England. And Germany
; wedged in between France and Russia
/ to defend herself on the water against
: those nations.
! Defends Naval Program
j For this our naval construction pro
gram was absolutely necessary; it was
, never aimed against the English fleet
/ four or five times as strong as ours
t and assuring Englands superiority and
5 security, to equal the strength OF
D which no sensible man in Germany
: ever dreamed. We needed our fleet
= for coast defense and the protection
of our commerce; for this purpose the
/ lesser means of defense, like U-boats
/ torpedo boats and mines, We're not suf
: ficient. In addition, the coast batter
+ les on the Baltic were so Anticipated
: and miserably equipped that they
! would have been RACED within forty
r, eight hours by the massed fire of the
Y heavy guns of modern battleships
1 Thus, our Baltic coast was practically
r defenseless. To protect it the fleet
e was necessary.
e The Skagerrak (JutIand) battle has
:, proved what the fleet meant and wha
), it was worth. That battle would have
o meant humiliation for England if the
). Reichstag had not refused up to 1906
J. all proposals for strengthening the
G navy. 1uOS6 Twelve IOSL years N6It
destined never to be retrieved
q Before we take our leave of Haldant
s l wish to touch upon another episode
e in his activities. In 1906 he came, will
t the permission of the German Govern
, ment to Berlin, to inform himself con
t corning the Prussian defense condi
: tons, recruiting, general staff, etc
l. He busted himself at the Ministry o
t, War, where the Minister, General vol
It Einem, personally gave him informa
J. ton. After about two or three week
: work there he returned, well salts
p fled, to England.
o When, after the outbreak Of tt,
e World War, the 'pro-German" Hald
d ane, the friend of Goethe, was boy
d cotted and treated with such hostilit,
/ that he could no longer show him
e self in public, he had a defense writ
+ ten of his term of office as Ministe
a of War by the well-known litterateu
o and journalist, Mr.. Begbie, entitled
r ''Vindication of Great Britain" There
Y in his services toward forming
e regular general staff and preparing
J. the British Army for the World Wa
r are placed in a bright light and EN-
# phasis is laid on the skill with which
r he utilized the permission obtained
d from the Prussian War Ministry il
l order to learn in Germany about Mi