Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-06-04

ndG the cOnUuence ana JTtenG-
ship of the former Kaiser and the
Hohensollern family. In the fol-
l0tDtng dispatch, Mr.. Lochner re-
calls some OF his impressions and
conversations 1Oith the lUood-
chopper OF Doom during more
than decade)
BY LOUIS P. LOCHNER,
| Associated Press Foreign Correspondent.
BERLIN, June Any personal
contacts with wilhelm II date back
to 1928 when the former German
ruler was in his seth year.
From all I'd heard and read about
the Kaiser, I expected to find an
austere, unapproachable, self-willed,
opinionated, naughty, fire-eating,
merciless individual.
Instead I encountered a mellowed,
affable, sociable old gentleman-a
man who captivated one by the
charm of his personality, who
listened eagerly to what anybody
coming from the outside brought
into the quietude and uneventful-
ness of his exile, who accepted his
| lot in humility, whose concern for
others was often touching.
Time and tribulation evidently
had changed greatly this erstwhile
self-reliant autocrat:
Never once while I was at Doom
did hear one bitter word said
| about America nor about England,
who in the last analysis was re-
Sponsible for his dethronement. On
the contrary, he seemed genuinely
| happy when on the occasion of his
18th birthday anniversary the late
| King George v and Queen Mary
for the first time sent him con-
gratulatory messages Familiarity
signed George and Mary" thereby
indicating bygones were bygones.
One day during the Italian-Ethi-
opian War he said to me with great
concern:
Puzzled by English.
81 don't understand the English.
They're otherwise always so clever
about winning other peoples over
to their cause. Why don't they
rouse the Mohammedan world
against Italy"
Noting my surprised look he con-
tinued, THE trouble is they don't
remember history. Why, when some
of Mohammed's followers in 622
sought refuge from persecution, the
then Ethiopian king took sides with
Mohammed and gave the prophets
followers shelter. Mohammed never
forgot this and enjoined upon Mos
lens everywhere not to harm any
Ethiopian. You see how easily Eng
land could have reminded the Mos
lem world of this historic episode
and stirred 1t up against Italy as the
country making war upon the great
prophets friends"
AS regards the United States,
Wilhelm followed its progress and
development with the greatest inter-
est. I was luncheon guest one day
at time when the midwestern dust
bowl was causing great concern to
the administration.
I've seen this coming for some
time" Wilhelm observed. In Ger
many we've always paid the greatest
attention to reforestation. In your
country fear the forests were ruth
lessly cut down with no concern for
the future. The dust bowl was In
evitable. We should gladly have
loaned you some Of our experienced
foresters."
"On Right Track" he Says.
I reminded him that a quarter
century ago President c. r. Vanhise
Of the. University of Wisconsin had
written sensational volume on The
Conservation of Our Natural Re-
sources for which he was de-
nounced as radical His warnings,
| said, then went UNDECIDED but pres
emily America was engaged n great
public reforestation. river regula-
ton and amelioration projects such
as the T. V. A.
Wilhelm nodded, You're on the
right track now" he observed.
adding he was familiar with
Vanhise's work. Two years later,
after spending part of my American
leave visiting Tennessee, I got pic
lures illustrating the Norris Dam
and other projects. Through his
Berlin adjutant he asked me to
bring them along the next time I
came to Doom. Unfortunately other
assignments interfered and these
pictures never were given to him.
One day we were talking about
reforestation when there was a big
National Congress of German divin-
ing rod specialists at Wiesbaden. |
The aged emperor observed, "Of
course, I don't believe in many
claims of the divining rod people
such as their being able to discern
diseases with their rods and so or. |
But there is one thing about divin- |
ing rods: they indicate where there
are subterranean springs about |
whose existence We might otherwise
not know. Now, it's very important |
in planting trees to know whether |
or not such springs are underneath.
Some trees die Of too much |
water. while others need more than
is yielded by ordinary rains. Hence |
before starting out on a new forest |
project I often had divining rod |
experts summoned to search for
subterranean springs"
Knew American Books.
I have already referred to Will
helms knowledge Of Vanhises
theories on conservation. During
my talks was surprised again and |
again how marVelOISly the eXiled |
monarch kept up with current |
American literature. He seemed to |
know all the best sellers. He liked |
American detective stories for light |
after-dinner reading.
At luncheon that day the ques-
ton of detective stories took q |
slightly different turn. And, by
the way, if anybody thinks table |
formalities at Doom were such |
that nobody dared to speak except |
his majesty or that the whole pro-
cedure was rendered boring by I'M