Evening star., 1934-04-21

interview to an American newspaper
man in 1908. The German foreign
Office, according to the story, blue
penciled much of the dynamite. The
expurgated version was announced for
publication in the December, 1908,
Century Magazine. Before it appeared.
however, the foreign office requested
suppression and sent cruiser to New
York to pick up the pages and consign
them to Davy Jones locker. When
the crates containing the sheets failed
to sink. they we're fished out and
the copies burned. The 'lost inter-
view" is now published for the first
time.
BY the Associated Press.
BOSTON, April 21.-What the
Kaiser said to William Bayard Hale,
journalist, that night back in 1903
an international mystery for a quar-
ter of a century-waS revealed yeSter-
day.
The famous "lost interview" which
caused so many headaches and so
much speculation. is presented in the
May issue of the Atlantic Monthly
Magazine, by William Harlan Hale,
son of the man to whom Emperor Will
liam II of Germany spoke so freely,
and. as his country thought, so in
diScreetly.
Summary Of Views.
This is the gist of the Jews ex-
pressed by the Kaiser:
The inevitable world crisis was a
clash between Japan and Occidental
nations; East and West must meet
and the West must conquer.
Great Britain was guilty of a sort
of political miscegenation in allying
herself with Japan.
War was necessary War was Chris
tian. The Bible was full of fighting.
The greatest soldiers were Christians.
Theodore Roosevelt, then President of
the United States, was his hero-the
dominating. militaristic leader he
hoped he himself was.
The course of history was largely
determined, not by the clashing OF
social forces and economic trends, but
by the deeds of great men and per-
sonalities.
Met on Yacht.
Thus the Kaiser spoke. It was one
evening in July, 1908, that he con-
Sented to the interview by Hale, close
friend of Theodore Roosevelt. The
meeting was on the imperial yacht
Hohenzollern, at anchor in the Fjord
of Bergen.
In the Atlantic Monthly. Hale writes
that the Emperor voiced "the most
amazingly indiscreet statements ever
uttered by the head OF a great ma
ton"
The world situation was precarious
at that time. The first-rate powers
were In fine state Of balance.
Thoroughly Edited.
The Hale interview was to appear
in the Century Magazine, December
1908. The German foreign office gave
II thorough editorial securing, re-
moving most of the dynamite.
Then, it was decided the inter-
view should be suppressed. Just be-
fore publication the pages were yankec
out. Grated and stored in a warehouse
The German cruiser Bremen came t.
/ New York, loaded the crates aboarc
. and in midatlantic tossed them over.
! board.
The crates did not sink, and the
Bremen lowered boats and took them
aboard again. Eight imperial German
officers, according to the story. stripped
and went down into the engine room
| from which enlisted men temporarily
were barred. and fed the printed page.
to the fire boxes.
Urged to Use Article.
Theodore Roosevelt was supposed tc
have had copy of the interview, but
1t has not been located. During thu
World War Hale was urged to USE
the article as anti German propa-
ganda, but declined.
In the Atlantic Monthly article the
original interview, before expiration
is used. w. H. Hale found it afte,
his fathers death In 1924.
The Kaiser's first remarks concerned
Theodore Roosevelt.
What a man he Isl" the Emperor
told Hale. "Mr. Roosevelt is an in
spring example Of the force of per-
sonality.
1T isn't genius the world needs
nor brilliancy, nor profound learning
half so much as personality. The big
things in the world are always done
by just man-one man-one strong
personality"
Roosevelt, he declared, was zone OF
the greatest leaders Of men the world
has ever SEEN"
Discussed War.
The conversation then turned to
war
I'm a world of practical facts" the
Kaiser said, I'VE have to fight, even
for Righteousness sake. The Bible /,
full Of fights-jolly good fights some
OF them were. 1t is a mistaken idea
that Christianity has no countenance
for war"
He contended the sword should
clear the way for the missionary.
With the assertion that the worlds
greatest warriors had been Christians
the Kaiser turned to the Japanese
'The trouble with them" he said
is that they don't want any religion
They constitutionally are incapable Oh
religion They are utterly without
sentiment-practical, cold, unsympa-
thetic."
The Asiatic situation was the
Emperor's chief theme.