From a photograph by Brown and Dawson

WILLIAM II

German Emperor

From a photograph taken since the beginning of the war of 1914

THE GERMAN EMPEROR
AS SHOWN
IN HIS PUBLIC UTTERANCES

BY
CHRISTIAN GAUSS
PROFESSOR Of MODERN LANGUAGES, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
1915

Copyright, 1915, by
CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS
Published February, 1915

[PREFACE]

Unlike his grandfather, who shielded himself behind his Chancellor, the present Emperor has always insisted upon making himself the storm-centre of the debates in his Reichstag and among his people. He has played with many, if not all, of his cards upon the table. In accordance with this policy he has gone through his country from end to end and into foreign lands, everywhere announcing his policies and his views on every possible subject of interest or controversy. Up to 1905 he had made upward of five hundred and seventy speeches, and since that time has made almost as many more. It was manifestly impossible to give all of these speeches, and it was also thought unfair to give merely extracts which might fail to represent the spirit of the entire pronouncement. They are all printed, therefore, in the completest form available. Particular speeches have often been reported to the press in widely differing versions. In all cases only those speeches are here presented which have received official or semiofficial sanction. The text followed for pronouncements made before 1913, with the one exception of the Daily Telegraph interview, October 29, 1908, has always been that of the recognized and standard edition in four volumes, edited by J. Penzler and published in the Reclam Universal-Bibliothek. Now and then only portions of certain addresses appear to have been reported, and on a few occasions parts of speeches are given directly and other parts are merely summarized. In all such cases the speech is translated from the form sanctioned in the official version. In no case has any change been made. Where significant differences exist in the versions of addresses as given officially and unofficially, the official version is in every instance printed first. It has been the aim to present faithfully the language and spirit of the speaker, and his phraseology and emphasis have been reproduced as closely as was at all consistent with fair English usage. The speeches have been chosen to represent in due proportion his many interests, and range therefore from agriculture and art to Biblical criticism, national and international politics.

The Emperor has, of course, not given titles to his speeches, and the headings have been assigned by the compiler. It has been his aim to explain the circumstances under which each address was delivered and to make plain the references to events embodied therein. Questions which have had a continuous interest, or which have had some lasting effect on Germany’s policy, such as the attitude toward Alsace-Lorraine, the Social Democratic party, the retirement of Bismarck, the development of the navy, the Morocco question, have been treated at greater length on the first fitting occasion. For the introductions, therefore, the compiler assumes responsibility. In preparing them he has had recourse to many incidental sources of information, and in many cases the true inwardness of certain situations is still as much a matter of controversy as the causes of the present war. For his facts generally, he has followed where possible, besides such incidental and contemporary sources, Bruno Gebhardt’s “Handbuch der Deutschen Geschichte” (1913), the “Cambridge Modern History—The Latest Age,” volume XII (1910), and the volumes of the “Statesman’s Yearbook.” In addition, for information concerning the internal development of Germany he has consulted and drawn upon the literature of this subject which has appeared in the last decade, but is more particularly indebted to Doctor Paul Liman’s “Der Kaiser,” Dawson’s “The Evolution of Modern Germany,” Barker’s “Modern Germany,” Price Collier’s “Germany and the Germans,” Forbes’s “William of Germany,” Gibbons’s “The New Map of Europe,” and the “Reichsgesetzblatt.”

As the Emperor has spoken upon almost every phase of German political life, with the editorial introductions which aim to set forth briefly the occasion and causes of each address, it is hoped that altogether the volume will offer a fairly accurate picture of the trend of German affairs for the last twenty-five years.

For help in the preparation of this volume, the writer is much indebted to his wife, whose assistance has amounted to collaboration.

Princeton, N. J.

December 20, 1914.

[CONTENTS]

[ILLUSTRATIONS]

[I]
THE HOHENZOLLERN TRADITION

Ernest Renan, the author of that once heretical “Life of Jesus,” was by temperament unenthusiastic and had further schooled himself to look upon all human events with high unconcern. The great sceptic had been born in 1823; he was therefore sixty-five at the time of the accession of William II, and his declining health, in Horatian phrase, refused to allow him to enter upon any long hope. In looking forward to his inevitable end one thing, he said, afflicted him. He regretted only that he was not to see, in its later and more decisive phases, the unfolding of the multiform personality of the new German Emperor. To him it was an intellectual puzzle, more intricate and more interesting than any he had encountered in the many cycles of the history of the Hebrews or in the complicated schisms of the church. In the early years of his reign the youthful Emperor was regarded with much interest and some concern by his contemporaries generally. He was the chameleon among the royal figures of Europe. One day he receives the Czar at Berlin and proclaims peace to the world. A few weeks later he visits the Sultan at Constantinople, and shortly thereafter he announces to his loyal Brandenburgers that he will lead them on to greater things. What did he mean? Now he is a soldier, jesting with his officers; and, with the rising of another sun, in workman’s garb, with the axe upon his shoulder, he goes forth as woodman or laborer on his own estates. At home he was regarded as Benjamin Constant regarded Madame de Staël. He was the “bel orage,” the beautiful storm which had come upon Europe in the dull and piping times of peace of the last decades of the nineteenth century. He cleared the air of Continental politics in the years of late Victorianism. He was a dilettante of dangerous activities, as Renan had been of antiquated heresies and harmless, outworn systems, and to him Fate seemed to have given the future as a toy. Such, at least, was the view of the famous Portuguese poet Eça de Queiroz, who cast his horoscope in 1891.

A quarter century of peace had removed much apprehension. After the dismissal of Bismarck he had shaped his own policy and gone his own way. To his great advisers he had seemed to say: “Ôte-toi que je m’y mette.” Yet his career had ceased to disquiet, and the youthful exuberance had given way to mature and conscientious labor. With unshakable confidence in himself and with a determined application he was making Germany the greatest state in Europe. To those who, unlike Renan, did not have the misfortune to have been born too soon to be his later contemporaries, the riddle seemed to be solving itself to the greater good of humanity. The Emperor’s army, so he tells us himself, is invincible. Never has Germany been defeated so long as she was united, and God, who has taken such infinite pains with us, will never leave us “in the lurch.” By means of this powerful, unconquerable army, at whose side he had now set one of the greatest fleets on the seas, he had, so he told us, laid firm and sure the foundations of peace.

Then suddenly “the abyss is opened, ... the sword is thrust into his hand,” and reluctantly and with a heavy heart he goes forth to do battle. Like a shuttle he flits from frontier to frontier, now planning an invasion of England, now supervising the readministration of Belgian industries, and now directing a battle in Poland. Surely such a destiny, so immense a power, has been granted to no man. It may be he is the great predestined victim; it may be that Time is preparing for him a final and well-earned European triumph.

What shall be the end, and where lies the responsibility? No ethical or political problem of our time forces itself upon us with greater insistence. His utterances may help to make the question if not the answer clear. Looking forward dispassionately twenty-three years ago that Portuguese student prophesied that this could not last, that there would be war; and in the light of later events that prophecy about “the allied armies” has been recently recalled. It was in these words that he closed his brilliant study of the youthful Emperor and King:

“William II runs the awful danger of being cast down Gemoniæ. He boldly takes upon himself responsibilities which in all nations are divided among various bodies of the state—he alone judges, he alone executes, because to him alone it is (not to his ministers, to his council, or to his parliament) that God, the God of the Hohenzollerns, imparts his transcendental inspiration. He must therefore be infallible and invincible. At the first disaster—whether it be inflicted by his burghers or by his people in the streets of Berlin, or by allied armies on the plains of Europe—Germany will at once conclude that his much-vaunted alliance with God was the trick of a wily despot.

“Then will there not be stones enough from Lorraine to Pomerania to stone this counterfeit Moses. William II is in very truth casting against fate those terrible ‘iron dice’ to which the now-forgotten Bismarck once alluded. If he win he may have within and without the frontiers altars such as were raised to Augustus; should he lose, exile, the traditional exile, in England awaits him—a degraded exile, the exile with which he so sternly threatens those who deny his infallibility.

“M. Renan is therefore quite right: there is nothing more attractive at this period of the century than to witness the final development of William II. In the course of years (may God make them slow and lengthy!) this youth, ardent, pleasing, fertile in imagination, of sincere, perhaps heroic, soul, may be sitting in calm majesty in his Berlin Schloss presiding over the destinies of Europe—or he may be in the Hôtel Métropole in London sadly unpacking from his exile’s handbag the battered double crown of Prussia and Germany.”

This drama of a life is twenty-three years nearer its climax than it was when Renan bade the world good night. With a certain finality of pathos a Greek poet whom Renan loved, thinking doubtless of his unhappy countrymen who had fallen in the long wars between Athens and Sparta, had said: “They that have died are not sick, nor do they possess any evil things.” If this be true, quite possibly, then, the world was kinder to this aged Frenchman than he shall ever know. For the disasters which were to follow the rising star of the Emperor, which he regarded so curiously, were to be far greater than he had ever dreamed. It may be, therefore, that it is he and not some of his younger countrymen who are to be congratulated on the bournes which marked the time of his coming and his passing.

The question of the responsibility of the Emperor and the limits of his power is one which perhaps only time can decide. Undeniably Germany has a written Constitution. But that Constitution is of comparatively recent date (April 16, 1871). It is not looked upon, as is the American Constitution, as the source of Germany’s political life. It is the empire and not the Constitution that is holy. Struggles for personal liberty find little place in the history of Prussia. They have no Cromwell, no Washington, no Robespierre, and, significantly too, they have had in times past no Ravaillac and no Guiteau. There, still, a certain majesty doth hedge about a king. The old idea of fealty, of deutsche Treue, which led the retainers of Teutonic chiefs or rulers to submit uncomplainingly to every abuse and all oppression and to follow their lords into misfortune and into exile, though it has doubtless waned, nevertheless retains some vestiges of its traditional force even to-day.

When, therefore, in 1878, by a curious coincidence, two attempts were made upon the life of Emperor William I (one by Hödel, an irresponsible person of diseased mind and body, who had been dismissed from the Social Democratic party; and another by Nobiling, who was not a Social Democrat), Bismarck immediately and easily seized this occasion to crush Social Democracy and increase the imperial power. He dissolved the Reichstag, and in one month the law-courts inflicted no less than five hundred years of imprisonment for lèse-majesté. Within eight months the authorities dissolved two hundred and twenty-two workingmen’s unions, suppressed one hundred and twenty-seven periodical and two hundred and seventy-eight other publications, and innumerable bona-fide co-operative societies were compelled by the police to close their doors without trial and with no possibility of appeal. With equal despatch numerous Social Democrats were expelled from Germany on a few days’ notice. This traditional attitude toward the Social Democrat, who from our standpoint is the German radical and liberal, appears again in the present Emperor when he declares (May 14, 1889) that every Social Democrat is synonymous with enemy of the country. How Social Democracy has grown in spite of the Emperor’s attempt to check it will be evident from a consideration of the following figures, in which the forty political parties are grouped into their four larger divisions:

In spite of this representation in the Reichstag, the power of the German political parties is slight. The power lies far more with the Emperor and the Bundesrat. According to Article II of the Constitution, the Emperor represents the empire internationally and can declare war if defensive (in German eyes the present is a defensive war), can make peace as well as enter into treaties with other nations, and appoint and receive ambassadors. When treaties are related to matters regulated by imperial legislation, and when war is not merely defensive, the Emperor must have the consent of the Bundesrat, in which, together with the Reichstag, are vested the legislative functions of the empire. But de facto, and through her power of veto, Prussia controls the Bundesrat, and as King of Prussia the Emperor controls Prussia.

That, even so, the Constitution is not the real and final source of political power, but a convenient political instrument, which in the mind of so great an authority as Bismarck might still easily be changed without consulting the people, we may gather from the fact that the Great Chancellor frequently debated the question of limiting the suffrage. “The blind Hödhur[1] [the German elector] does not know how to manipulate in his coarse hands the Nuremberg toy [the Reichstag] which I gave him, and through his voting he is ruining the Fatherland.” According to Hohenlohe, Bismarck considered setting aside the Reichstag and returning to the old Bundestag.

[1] In Norse mythology Hödhur was the powerful blind god who slew Balder.

The late Price Collier, an enthusiastic admirer of Germany, is therefore quite justified in saying: “This Reichstag is really only nominally a portion of the governing body. It has the right to refuse a bill presented by the government, but if it does so it may be summarily dismissed, as has happened several times, and another election usually provides a more amenable body.” And if the following judgment seems somewhat downright, it is none the less substantially true:

“The fact that the members of the Reichstag are not in the saddle but are used unwillingly and often contemptuously as a necessary and often stubborn and unruly pack-animal by the Kaiser-appointed ministers, the fact that they are pricked forward or induced to move by a tempting feed held just beyond the nose has something to do, no doubt, with the lack of unanimity which exists. The diverse elements debate with one another and waste their energy in rebukes and recriminations which lead nowhere and result in nothing. I have listened to many debates in the Reichstag where the one aim of the speeches seemed to be merely to unburden the soul of the speaker. He had no plan, no proposal, no solution, merely a confession to make. After forty-odd years the Germans, in many ways the most cultivated nation in the world, are still without real representative government.”

History, to be sure, may be read in many ways, but from one standpoint it is perfectly possible to regard the framing of the present Constitution and the building up of the present German Empire not as the last stage in the attempt to give freedom and self-government to the German people, but to guarantee and maintain the supremacy of Prussia. Whether or not this is a possible view, it is, in any case, one occasionally to be found implied in the speeches of the Emperor, and it came to open expression in the statement of William I that the empire was merely a “greater Prussia.” So, too, when a few years ago Alsace-Lorraine proved itself recalcitrant to the wishes of its imperial master, he threatened that he would make of it a “Prussian province.”[2]

[2] On this occasion a Socialist orator declared in the Reichstag: “We salute the imperial words as the confession, full of weight and coming from a competent source, that annexation to Prussia is the heaviest punishment that one can threaten to impose upon a people for its resistance against Germany. It is a punishment like hard labor in the penitentiary, with loss of civil rights.”

It need, therefore, not appear as startling as would otherwise be the case if on occasions which to us would seem peculiarly appropriate (as, for instance, the famous Königsberg speech, August 25, 1910) the Emperor makes no mention whatever of the Constitution. The sources of his power and the sanction for his authority he finds not in this instrument but in the history of his ancestors.

To understand the personality and the speeches of the Emperor it is, therefore, necessary to recall that he is also King of Prussia and that the foundation of his ancestors’ rule was laid in the province of Brandenburg, of which they became some centuries ago the margraves and electors. In 1300 Prussia was a wilderness inhabited by savages who were ruthlessly massacred by the Teutonic knights. It was looked upon as lying outside the German Empire. Through the knights the country was converted to Christianity, and the reduced native population was largely augmented by immigration from other German states.

Although the Emperor is not slow to accept traditions with regard to his house, he never mentions the old shoot in the genealogical tree of an elector which carries us back to one of the fugitives who fled from Troy with Æneas. For our purposes, it was not until 1273 that a count of Hohenzollern first came into prominence, when, after a fortunate marriage, he became burgrave of Nuremberg and prince of the Holy Roman Empire. With the exception of Frederick William II, they have been a thrifty race. A little more than a century later there appears in history that one of the Emperor’s ancestors to whom he frequently refers as the founder of his house and that one who began to acquire for it divine right.

Frederick VI of Hohenzollern had already come into prominence through the fact that he had cast in his lot with King Sigismund of Hungary. The services which he rendered the King, however valuable, were not altogether disinterested, and it is said that he largely increased his fortune thereby. He seems not to have been content with mere promises, and it is a matter of record that Sigismund pledged to him certain districts in Hungary as security for 40,000 gulden. As Frederick was to lay the foundation for the greatness of the house of Hohenzollern and as Emperor William is fond of repeating that he came to Brandenburg in obedience to a summons from on high, this chapter in the history of the Emperor’s house is particularly significant and interesting.

For some time previously Brandenburg had been unfortunate in its rulers and had frequently changed hands. In 1373 it had been sold for 500,000 gulden to Emperor Charles IV, who turned it over to his son Wenceslaus. In 1378 it passed to Wenceslaus’ half brother, the Sigismund mentioned above. Sigismund was in financial difficulty. A few years later, therefore, he pledged the mark of Brandenburg to his cousins Jobst and Procop of Moravia as security for a loan of 500,000 gulden. Sigismund defaulted payment in 1393, so that the margraviate passed to them. In 1410 Sigismund eagerly desired to be elected Emperor of Germany. He entrusted the management of what might quite properly be called his “campaign” to Frederick of Hohenzollern. Jobst of Moravia, who, as we have seen, now had claims to Brandenburg was a rival candidate. Sigismund, without deigning to make repayment, coolly declared that the transaction with Jobst concerning Brandenburg was null and void and instructed Frederick to cast the vote for the mark. To this vote Frederick clearly (if anything in these complicated proceedings is clear) had no right. He none the less managed the campaign and in a “snap” election cast the vote of Brandenburg with assurance. This at least was the view of other electors, and this high-handed performance did not meet with their approval. They called a rival council and elected Jobst to the imperial dignity. For both Sigismund and Frederick it was “fortunate” (we take the word from the Prussian historian Eberty) that Jobst died shortly after. It is perhaps unfortunate that it should have been suspected ever since that he died of poison.

Sigismund himself seems to have been somewhat doubtful about the validity of that election which Frederick had compassed and after the death of Jobst had himself re-elected and was finally acknowledged as Emperor. If the times were bad, Sigismund and Jobst were no better than their times. It was this same Sigismund who, after having granted a safe conduct to the great reformer John Huss, allowed him to be judicially murdered, a proceeding which made even Charles V blush for the empire.

For the purpose of electing Sigismund, Frederick had incurred considerable expense, amounting to some hundred thousand gulden. It is perhaps again fortunate for all concerned and for the honor of the venal empire that no bill of particulars specifying the uses of this fund is now available, if any was ever rendered. That Frederick, however, had not served Sigismund “pour l’amour de Dieu” is plain from the fact that he again took security for his advances. This time he was given the unhappy mark of Brandenburg which, as we have seen, had belonged to Jobst by virtue of a mortgage which Sigismund had never taken the trouble to discharge.

If, then, the law of God is at all similar to the law recognized by men, Sigismund had no right to give and the ancestor of William II no legal right to accept that province. The right by which Frederick came into possession of this first state of the later German Empire was, consequently, a right quite different from rights generally recognized. This, therefore, must be that “divine right” which William II is so fond of proclaiming. At its best, the document of June 7, 1411, which gave the Hohenzollerns their first claim to their first province was in reality a mortgage to a piece of property of doubtful title, and if the rather florid style of that document seems to bring in the business transaction as something quite incidental, it is altogether similar to the forms in which other mortgages were couched in those days. That this was so is further evidenced by the fact that the Brandenburg cities looked upon Frederick as the holder of a mortgage and did homage to him “zu seinem Gelde”—“for his money”; that is, they recognized that they were bound to him only until he should be paid. The nobles did not do homage to him at all. After “the rain of margraves” of the previous decades, it is not strange that they should have been slow to recognize their latest overlord. Emperor William II is, therefore, quite right when he describes the mark of May, 1412, as devastated, unruly, and altogether unpromising. It could hardly have been otherwise. Before Frederick was invested with Brandenburg (and he was formally invested only after a further payment of 400,000 gulden), in 1417, his princely possessions included merely partial claims to smaller districts like Ansbach and Bayreuth, which he shared with his brother John. In spite of Frederick of Hohenzollern’s devotion to the cause of religion, the Shakespearean motto, “Thrift, thrift, Horatio,” may be taken to explain satisfactorily his conduct in this regard. That the nobles would be unruly he must have expected. His own activities and his acceptance of the mark had helped to make them so. Frederick’s later service consisted in dispelling a confusion which he had helped to create.

In these larger transactions the first great Hohenzollern does not seem to have been given to listening to the still small voice. Incidentally, he was later to turn against Sigismund. The assumption, therefore, that he left his southern home for the mark out of heed for a divine call, as Emperor William in his speech of February 3, 1899, tells us that he did, is historically, like Laplace’s God, a useless hypothesis. Self-interest, for which he seems to have had a fairly keen sense, would have impelled him to do no less. Yet it is upon the faits et gestes of Frederick of Hohenzollern that Emperor William II bases his claims to rule Germany by divine right.

As we have seen, the mortgage was not discharged, and Frederick had been formally invested with the margraviate and electorship in 1417. He lifted the mark out of the deplorable condition in which he found it, compelled obedience, and during the period of his rule—he died in 1440—its lot was much improved and the power of the house of Hohenzollern much strengthened. History must give him credit for his ability and his difficult achievement if not for his motives.

In the process of establishing himself, his rule, like that of his successors was the rule of the sword and his policy the Machtpolitik, or policy of force. In spite of her comparative poverty, therefore, Prussia in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries maintained an army larger than that of Austria or France. The connection between the ruler and the army in a state which was founded and maintained by force of arms was, therefore, and remains in modern Prussia so close that the Emperor is from the standpoint of tradition justified in repeating that “the only pillar on which the empire rests is the army.” It was literally ein Volk in Waffen, a people in arms. The first really outstanding ruler of the province was the Great Elector (1620-88), who has always been cited by William II as his model and of whom he speaks with a respect that amounts to veneration.

He was born in Berlin and, after passing part of his youth in the Netherlands, became ruler of Brandenburg and Prussia in 1640, before the close of the Thirty Years’ War. He restored the prestige of the army and centralized the government and, we are informed by recognized authorities, by a clever but unscrupulous use of his intermediate position between Sweden and Poland, procured his recognition as an independent Duke of Prussia by both powers and eventually succeeded in crushing the stubborn and protracted opposition which was offered to his authority by the estates of the duchy. His success in organizing the army was proved by his great victory over the Swedes at Fehrbellin, 1675.

From childhood the Emperor has worshipped the Great Elector as his favorite hero. In their policies there is a striking similarity, for the elector was the first to recognize the importance of sea power and is praised by William II for having founded the Prussian navy and for having encouraged commerce. He built the first great German canal, from the Oder to the Spree (another lead which the present Emperor was to follow), and he inaugurated the colonial policy by founding a settlement on the west African coast. This, likewise, was to be revived by the present Emperor, for it was allowed to lapse even under Frederick the Great, who considered a “village on the frontier” a much greater asset than a state oversea. The aim of the Great Elector was to make himself an absolute ruler, as he regarded this best for the internal and external welfare of the state. But he raised Brandenburg and Prussia to a high place and laid the basis of their later power.

Under these lords and their followers the progress of Prussia was amazingly rapid. In 1650, when London and Paris were cities of a little more or less than half a million inhabitants and Amsterdam counted 300,000, Berlin was a village of 10,000. The population of Prussia itself, which, to be sure, had been more than doubled in size, increased from 1,500,000 in 1688 to 19,000,000 in 1865. It was in the time of Frederick the Great, however, that her power as a state was first firmly established. His military genius (he is usually said to have originated “the oblique order” of battle) and his policy of dissimulation here stood him in good stead. He sowed discord among his neighbors and awaited the favorable opportunity to attack even on very slight pretexts and in the case of Silesia without the formality of a declaration of war. Like William II, he was a patron of the arts and sciences and invited noted littérateurs and scientists, especially Frenchmen, to his court. The scientist Maupertuis and Voltaire were his protégés, and the exiled Rousseau for a time found refuge in his domains. He himself wrote in French. It is probably because of his French sympathies and the fact that he was, in this regard, not a kerndeutscher Mann that William II rarely speaks of him personally and mentions usually only his services to his country.

Frederick died in 1786. He had raised Prussia to the position of a first-rate power and, in Disraeli’s phrase, left it “regarded if not respected.” His successor, Frederick William II, is remembered mostly because of the scandalous character of his life, and he showed none of the characteristics of the energetic Hohenzollerns. A contemporary says of him: “He bears the greatest resemblance to an Asiatic prince, who, living within his harem with his slaves of both sexes, leaves the business of the state to his viziers. The wall, twelve feet in height, by which the new garden at Potsdam is enclosed, reminds one of the enclosure of a seraglio.” He was succeeded by his son, Frederick William III, in 1797. This conscientious but ill-starred ruler was to be rendered famous through his misfortunes in the time of Napoleon and has been overshadowed somewhat in history by his beautiful, devoted, and heroic wife Louise. They stand closer to modern history than is generally realized. The present Emperor often mentions them for their heroism and the brave part they played in the War of Liberation and in freeing their country from the incubus of the Napoleonic Empire. They were the parents of Emperor William I, the illustrious grandfather of the present sovereign. If, then, Emperor William II frequently takes occasion to recall the memory of 1813 it should be remembered that in his own family these events were very near to him, since his grandfather had spent his childhood in those years of humiliation and had served in the allied armies in the time of Napoleon. The man who was to become Emperor William I had been born as the second son of Frederick William III in 1797. He was to be preceded on the throne by his elder brother, Frederick William IV, who, like the present Emperor and like Frederick the Great, was an accomplished lover of the arts, but who lacked the strength to guide his country with a sure hand through the troubled years of the forties. He became afflicted in his last years with hopeless mental disease, and his brother, after having served as regent, became King of Prussia as William I in 1861.

The idea of uniting Germany into a single empire had already been seriously agitated in the time of Frederick William IV, but it was under his brother, largely through the tireless activity and wonderfully successful diplomacy of Bismarck, that this great aim was to be achieved in the lifetime of the present Emperor. It was in the chapel at Königsberg that William I arranged for and held his coronation. He cannot be said to have been crowned; for although his brother had granted Prussia a constitution William himself raised the crown from the altar, set it on his own head, and announced in a loud voice: “I receive this crown from God’s hand and from none other.”

It was such a legacy that the present Emperor inherited when, after the few months’ reign of his father, he succeeded to the imperial office; and it is this legacy and this tradition which, in fairness to the Emperor, we must remember in reading such seemingly strange pronouncements as his own address at Königsberg in 1910.

The later events in German history and the subsequent policies of the empire are touched upon in such detail that further preamble is hardly necessary. That the Emperor has everywhere energetically taken the lead is undoubted. That he should be held responsible in general for German diplomacy is implied in his position. That he has urged and directed the movement in nearly every field of endeavor is plain from the varied character of his addresses. No one can doubt after reading him that he desired peace, in the sense that he preferred peace to war. The question that will undoubtedly interest the reader most is the problem of the consistency of his various policies; whether, for instance, the exaggerated worship of the army, the devout desire for peace, and the insistent imperialism of his later years can be brought into harmony; whether they can be reduced to any common denominator. However that may be, that he has been one of the most devoted and conscientious servants of the German cause as he sees it cannot possibly be denied.

[II]
PRELIMINARIES

June 15, 1888—October 30, 1889

[THE FIRST OFFICIAL ACT OF THE EMPEROR]

Schloss Friedrichskron, June 15, 1888

The aged Emperor William I, grandfather of William II, departed this life March 9, 1888. He was succeeded by his son, Frederick III, who, after a reign of only a few months, died on June 15 of the same year. The present Emperor, who was born on January 27, 1859, was, therefore, twenty-nine at the time of his accession to the throne. It is characteristic that his first official act should have been an order to the army.

The close connection between the army and the Prussian Kings is a tradition which William II sedulously maintained. In later speeches he will frequently give evidence of this desire on his part and will quote characteristic sayings of his ancestors to the effect that the army is the “rocher de bronze,” that it is “the only pillar on which the empire rests.” He will repeat to the army officers that phrase of his grandfather: “These are the gentlemen upon whom I can rely.”

If the extraordinary versatility of William II is one of his most striking qualities, a reading of his speeches will convince us that it is none the less true that he is first and foremost a soldier. By far the great majority of his speeches are on military occasions, and it is the martial triumphs of his ancestors that he is most fond of commemorating. He seems to be most at home with his officers, and although at one time or another differences have arisen between him and every party or caste in the empire, even including the Prussian nobility, this close relationship with the army has never been clouded by even a momentary estrangement. More than any other one subject, army reviews have provided the occasion for his speeches. If but a few of these are given here it is because his sentiments in this regard have suffered no change and these addresses are largely repetitions of his sense of satisfaction and the expression of his good-will. That he intended to be the virtual leader of his own host is perhaps best indicated by the fact that Von Moltke (who was, to be sure, an old man) resigned six weeks after his accession to the throne. The present war has proved his capacity in this regard, and the army has certainly lost nothing in efficiency and has probably gained somewhat in confidence since he took over the direction from his ancestors and their advisers. The present order was issued on the very day of his father’s death. On that same date a somewhat similar proclamation was addressed to the navy.

THE EMPEROR IN THE YEAR OF HIS CORONATION, 1888
[Age 29]

Even ere you, my troops, had put aside the external signs of mourning for your Emperor and King, William I, who lives ever in your hearts, you are called upon to suffer another heavy blow through the death this morning, at five minutes past eleven, of my dear and deeply beloved father, his Majesty, the Emperor and King, Frederick III.

It is in these serious days of mourning that God’s will places me at the head of the army, and it is from a heart stirred deeply, indeed, that I address my first words to my troops.

I enter with implicit confidence, however, upon this duty to which God has called me; for I know what a sense for honor and duty has been implanted in the army by my glorious ancestors, and I know to what degree this sense has ever and at all times displayed itself.

The absolutely inviolable dependence upon the war lord [Kriegsherr] is, in the army, the inheritance which descends from father to son, from generation to generation. I would direct your gaze to my grandfather, who stands before the eyes of all of you, the glorious war lord, worthy of all honor—a spectacle more beautiful than any other and one which speaks most tellingly to our hearts; I would direct your gaze to my dear father, who even as Crown Prince won for himself a distinguished place in the annals of the army, and to a long succession of famous ancestors whose names are resplendent in history and whose hearts beat warmly for the army.

So are we bound together—I and the army—so are we born for one another, and so shall we hold together indissolubly, whether, as God wills, we are to have peace or storm.

You are now about to swear to me the oath of fidelity and obedience, and I vow that I shall ever be mindful of the fact that the eyes of my forefathers look down upon me from that other world and that I one day shall have to render up to them an account of the fame and the honor of the army.

William.

Castle Friedrichskron, June 15, 1888.

[TO MY PEOPLE]

Potsdam, June 18, 1888

Three days after his pronouncements to the army and navy Emperor William II issued the following proclamation to his people. In temperament the son was quite unlike his father. The wife of Frederick I and the mother of the present Emperor was an English princess, Victoria (daughter of Queen Victoria), and through her Frederick is generally said to have been influenced by the more liberal English tradition. Critics of William II have occasionally annoyed him by repeating, justly or unjustly, that his father regarded certain elements in his character with disapproval. However that may be, it is true that the people regarded Frederick in a different light from that in which they have come to regard his son. In reading the speeches of William II one is conscious of the fact that he is speaking from a certain eminence, that the Emperor never forgets that he enjoys the advantage of position. He has, therefore, put between himself and his people a certain distance which did not exist in the case of his father. The father treated his subjects as if he were one of them, and it is this fact that led them fondly to call him “Unser Fritz.” However great the respect which they feel for the son, none of his subjects would think of bestowing any such title on William II, and, even if they did, it is doubtful whether he would feel in any way complimented thereby. He is in this respect more like his ancestor Frederick the Great than like his father or grandfather, and it is a striking fact that in all his speeches he never once mentions this somewhat familiar title, of which his father was proud.

God has again hung about us the pall of deepest mourning. Hardly had the grave closed upon my ever-memorable grandfather, than his Majesty, my dearly beloved father, was called from this earthly sojourn to everlasting peace. The heroic energy, born of Christian humility, with which, unmindful of his sufferings, he accomplished his royal duties seemed to leave room for the hope that he would be spared still longer to the Fatherland. God has willed it otherwise. To the royal sufferer whose heart was moved by all that was great and beautiful, only a few months were allotted in which he might display upon the throne the noble qualities of heart and soul which have won for him the love of his people. The virtues which adorned him and the victories which he gained on fields of battle will be gratefully remembered as long as German hearts beat, and undying fame will illumine his knightly figure in the history of the Fatherland.

Called to the throne of my fathers, I have taken over the government, looking to the King of all kings, and have vowed to God, following the example of my father, to be a righteous and gentle prince, to foster piety and the fear of God, to maintain peace, to further the welfare of the country, to be a help to the poor and oppressed, and to be to the righteous man a true protector.

If I pray God for strength to fulfil these royal duties which He has laid upon me, I am buoyed up by that faith in the Prussian people which a consideration of our past history confirms in me. In good and in evil days Prussia’s people have ever stood faithfully to their kings. I, too, count upon this fidelity, which has ever been preserved inviolable toward my fathers in all times of trial and danger; for I am conscious that I reciprocate it whole-heartedly, as a faithful prince of a faithful people, and that we are both equally strong in our devotion to a common Fatherland. From this consciousness of the mutual love which binds me to my people, I derive the confidence that God will give me wisdom and strength to exercise my kingly office for the welfare of the Fatherland.

William.

Potsdam, June 18, 1888.

[FIRST DECLARATION OF POLICY]

Berlin, June 25, 1888

After the death of Frederick III the Reichstag was summoned to meet in extraordinary session. Most of the affiliated sovereigns of the German states assembled to pay homage to the youthful Emperor. On this occasion he made from the throne a declaration of policy which is interesting as showing his ideas before he was subjected to the pressure of events. Before he had succeeded to the throne it had been generally reported, possibly because of his known fondness for the army, that he was by nature bellicose. This report seriously distressed the new sovereign, and he began his reign with declarations, which have often been renewed since, that he would work for peace. He likewise outlines his foreign policy and expresses the hope that he may further develop friendly relations with Russia. In this he was to achieve but little success, and a few years later the agreement which bound Russia to observe neutrality in case Germany were involved in war was allowed to lapse, much to the disgust of Bismarck, who at that time had been superseded by Caprivi. Frederick the Great had warned his successors that in the future, in case Prussia wished to wage any war, she would first have to assure herself of the neutrality of Russia. Bismarck had followed this policy and had established it on the basis of an agreement. As the relationship to Russia was to be of particular consequence, it will be interesting to have before us an article which appeared October 26, 1896, in the Hamburger Nachrichten, recognized as expressing the views of the great Chancellor. It announces that already in Bismarck’s time the wire between Berlin and St. Petersburg was cut and takes up certain events of the year 1890. “Up to this time,” we are told, “both empires were fully agreed that in case one of them should be attacked the other would preserve a benevolent neutrality. After the departure of Bismarck this agreement was not renewed, and if we are correctly informed about events in Berlin, it was not Russia, piqued at the change in chancellors, but Count Caprivi who declined to continue this mutual assurance, while Russia was prepared to do so.”

Emperor William’s announcement with regard to his personal friendship and the interests of the realm may be taken as heralding a new era in German foreign policy. He inaugurated what has been called “personal diplomacy,” and felt that it was possible to arrange the relationships between states by personally visiting and conferring with other sovereigns. Shortly after his accession, therefore, he set out on a tour of the European capitals. Bismarck, who planned his foreign relations on the basis of race psychology and possible future clashes of interests, opposed this strenuously. The visit to St. Petersburg (19th to 24th of July, 1888) gave rise to certain unpleasant scenes and was only returned by the Czar in a very perfunctory manner fifteen months later (October 11, 1889). The effect of the friendly attentions shown the Czar on this occasion was doubtless weakened by the fact that, less than three weeks later, Emperor William felt called upon to visit the Sultan, by whom he was most enthusiastically received in Constantinople. Even though the Emperor was most sincere in his desire to preserve friendship with Russia, events were to prove that his method of cultivating diplomatic relations was far less successful than Bismarck’s way of working in silence and waiting for events.

With regard to the internal administration of the realm, the problem that seemed most pressing to William II was the rapid growth of the Social Democratic party. This problem had already engaged the attention of William I and of Bismarck, who recognized its gravity. But here, too, the Emperor and Chancellor were to disagree. The former felt that he could easily master the situation, as may be seen from his remark to Bismarck: “Leave the Social Democrats to me.” He was doubtless sincerely concerned for the welfare of the laborer and recognized in it one of the sources of the prosperity of the state. His policy was to be patriarchal and, bluntly put in Shakespearian phrase, amounted to giving them medicine to make them love him. But if, to change the metaphor, he offered them his hand in a velvet glove, they were, as may be seen from his speech, soon to discover that it was a hand of iron.

Honored Gentlemen:

I greet you with deep sorrow in my heart, and I know that you grieve with me. The recent memory of my late father’s sufferings, the astounding fact that three months after the death of his Majesty, Emperor William I, I am called upon to mount the throne, arouses the same feeling in the hearts of all Germans, and our grief has found a sympathetic response in all countries of the world. Under the weight of this sorrow, I pray God to give me strength to fulfil the high office to which His will has called me.

As I follow this command I have before my eyes the example which Emperor William bequeathed to his successors when, after serious wars, he ruled with a love of peace. This same example the reign of my late father strove to maintain in so far as he was not thwarted in his aims by his illness and death.

I have called you together, Honored Gentlemen, in order in your presence to announce to the German people that I am determined, as Emperor and as King, to follow in that same path by which my late grandfather won for himself the trust of his allies, the love of the German people, and the kindly recognition of foreign countries. It lies with God whether I shall be successful in this or not; but earnestly shall I strive to that end.

The most important tasks of the German Emperor lie in the province of establishing military and political safety for the realm from without and in supervising the execution of the laws of the empire within. The Constitution of the empire forms the highest of these laws. To guard and defend it and all those rights which it secures to both of the legislative bodies[3] of the nation and to every German citizen, as well as those which it secures to the Emperor and to each of the states of the union, and to the reigning princes, is the most important right and duty of the Emperor.

[3] Bundesrat and Reichstag.

With regard to legislation in the realm, according to the Constitution I am called upon to act more in my capacity as King of Prussia than in that as the German Emperor; but in both it will be my aim to carry out the work of imperial legislation in the same spirit in which my late grandfather began it. Especially do I take to heart in its fullest application the message published by him on November 17, 1881,[4] and shall proceed in that spirit to bring it about that the legislation for the working population shall make more secure the protection which, in accordance with the principles of Christian ethics, it can afford the weak and oppressed in the struggle for existence. I hope it may be possible in this way more nearly to eliminate unhealthy social distinctions, and I cherish the hope that in fostering our internal welfare I shall receive the harmonious support of all true subjects of the realm, without division of party.

[4] As this message of Emperor William I was practically the beginning of labor legislation in Germany and is several times referred to, its significant portion is given below. Emperor William I had already failed in his policy of crushing Socialism through drastic measures of repression. He was now to initiate a policy of attempting to kill it with kindness. In spite of certain admirable provisions, this too was to fail. The Social Democrats had learned from bitter experience that they did not enjoy the good-will of either the grandfather or the grandson, and for this reason the projects of social legislation were looked upon with suspicion and accepted without enthusiasm. The awkward and compromising nature of the Emperor’s position is evident in the preamble.

“Already in February of this year we expressed the conviction that the healing of social grievances was not to be sought exclusively in the repression of Social Democratic excesses, but also in the direct advancement of the welfare of the laborer. We hold it to be our royal duty to impress this matter upon the Reichstag, and we would look back with greater satisfaction upon all the achievements with which God has blessed our reign if we could carry away with us the conviction that we had left to the Fatherland new and lasting pledges of internal peace and to those in need of help greater security and provisions for support, upon which they may make rightful claim. In our attempts to this end we are sure of the support of all the affiliated governments and count upon the support of the Reichstag without distinction of parties. To this end a draft of a bill for the protection of laborers against accidents, which was presented by the affiliated governments in the previous session, will be reformulated in view of the discussions held in the Reichstag and will be offered for further consideration. As a supplement to it, a project will be brought forward which proposes a similar organization of the funds for laboring men’s sick insurance. But those, too, who on account of age or infirmity are no longer able to work have just claim upon the community for a higher degree of governmental protection than it has previously been possible to accord them. To find the proper ways and means for making such provision is one of the most difficult but one of the highest tasks of any society which is based upon the foundations of a Christian national life. By calling upon the sources of this strong national life and organizing it into incorporated associations under state protection we hope to bring about the solution of problems which the state alone could not solve with the same success. But even in this way the goal cannot be reached without the employment of important means.”

I hold it, however, likewise my duty to see to it that our political and social development proceeds according to law and to meet with firmness any attempt which aims at undermining the order of the state.

In foreign politics I am determined to keep peace with every one in so far as in me lies. My love for the German army and my position in it will never lead me into the temptation of robbing the country of the benefits of peace, unless some attack upon the empire, or her allies, forces war upon us. The army is to make our peace secure; yet if that should, nevertheless, be threatened, the army will be able to re-establish it with honor. And it will be able to do so by reason of the strength which it has received from the last army bill, which you voted unanimously. To make use of that force to wage a war of aggression lies far from my thoughts. Germany needs no new martial glory nor any conquest of whatever sort after she has, once for all, established her right to exist as a single and independent nation.

Our alliance with Austria-Hungary is publicly known; I hold fast to this in German faith not only because it is concluded but because I perceive in this defensive alliance a basis for European balance of power as well as a legacy from German history. The public opinion of the entire German people supports this alliance, and it is founded upon the European law of nations, as it prevailed undisputed until 1866. Similar historical relations, and the fact that we have similar national needs to-day, ally us with Italy. Both nations wish to hold fast to the blessings of peace in order to devote themselves undisturbed to the strengthening of their newly acquired unity, to the development of their national institutions, and to the furtherance of their prosperity.

To my great satisfaction, our existing agreements with Austria-Hungary and Italy permit me to foster carefully my personal friendship for the Russian Emperor and the friendly relations which have existed for a hundred years with the neighboring Russian Empire, a course which accords with my own feelings as well as with the interests of Germany.

I stand as ready to serve the Fatherland in the conscientious promotion of peace as in the care for our army and rejoice in the traditional relations with foreign powers through which my efforts in the former direction are being furthered.

Trusting in God and in the ability of our people to defend themselves, I entertain the hope that for an appreciable time we may be allowed to preserve and strengthen through peaceful labor what my two predecessors on the throne had acquired through their efforts on the field of battle.

[OPENING OF THE REICHSTAG]

Berlin, November 22, 1888

The first months of the Emperor’s reign were devoted largely to visiting the heads of the confederated German states and in cultivating the acquaintance of foreign rulers. His main purpose, as he tells us on a later occasion, was to combat the idea that it was his intention to enter upon a career of war.

The workingman’s insurance act, which has been referred to, was one of the most important legislative provisions ever made in the interests of labor. The cost of this insurance was distributed between the employer, the employed, and the state. In spite of its undoubted benefits, it had failed to disarm the Social Democrats, and the party had continued to increase. They complained that the proportion of the cost borne by them was too great, and, as they had been previously and were soon again to be treated as enemies, they were inclined to look upon it as a bribe. By his “social-political” legislation the Emperor meant to forestall the Socialist programme. When this well-intentioned movement failed to dissolve the party, which continued to increase, he was not slow to show his resentment.

Honored Gentlemen:

When I greeted you for the first time, at the beginning of my reign, you stood with me under the weight of the severe visitations which my house and the empire have experienced in the course of the present year. The sorrow over this loss will never be wholly extinguished during the lifetime of the present generation, but it cannot hinder me from following in the footsteps of my late ancestors and completely fulfilling the demands of duty with manly vigor and fidelity.

Buoyed up by this sense of duty and assuming that this exists in you to the same degree, I give you my greeting and bid you welcome as we again take up our common labors.

My travels have carried me into different parts of the empire, and everywhere I have found evidences, both on the part of my exalted colleagues and of the people, that the princes and the population of Germany are, with absolute trust, devoted to the empire and its institutions and find the pledge of safety in their union. From such testimony you have doubtless come to the conclusion, no less satisfying to you than to me, that the organic union which now binds the empire together has taken deep and firm rooting in the people at large. I therefore feel the need of gratefully expressing on this occasion the pleasure which it gives me.

It fills me with great satisfaction that, after difficult and laborious negotiations, the inclusion of the free Hanseatic cities, Hamburg and Bremen, into the customs union of the empire has now been realized. I see in this the blessed fruit of our combined efforts. May the expectations which we count upon from this extension of the empire’s customs districts be realized in fullest measure, both for the empire and for these two most important seacoast towns!

The government of the Swiss Federation has suggested a revision of the commercial treaty between Germany and Switzerland. Filled with the desire of confirming the existing friendly relations between the two countries and of extending them also into the realm of their commercial policies, I stand ready to meet their proposal. The negotiations have been conducted through the offices of representatives from the states bordering upon Switzerland, and their result consists in a further agreement through which the treaty regulations for reciprocal trade will be extended and the exchange of industrial products will be made easier. After its successful acceptance by the Bundesrat the agreement will be presented to you with the proposal, in order that you may bestow upon it your constitutional sanction.

The budget for the next fiscal year will be laid before you without delay. The draft gives proof of the satisfactory condition of the imperial finances. As a result of the reforms instituted in the last few years, with your co-operation, in the way of tariffs and internal revenues, surplus receipts may be expected, and upon this basis we shall not only be provided with a new means of fulfilling the inevitable obligations of the empire but it may be possible for our constituent states to expect an increase of means for their own purposes.

I greet with joy the signs of a revival of economic activity in various fields. Even though the pressure which bears upon the farmer is not yet relieved, nevertheless, as I look forward to the possibility which has lately appeared of a greater utilization of certain agricultural products, I hope that an amelioration also of this most powerful branch of our industrial work will be brought about.

The bill which has already been announced on the regulation of the industrial and agricultural societies will be laid before you for your decision. It is to be hoped that the enfranchising of associations with limited liability which the bill proposes will prove itself beneficial in increasing agricultural credit.

Certain shortcomings which have appeared in connection with the insurance against sickness call for legal remedy. The necessary preliminary investigations for this have so far progressed as to make it possible, in all probability, to lay before you in the course of this session an adequate presentation of the case.

As a precious legacy from my grandfather, I have taken over the problem of carrying out the social-political legislation begun by him. I do not allow myself to be carried away by the hope that through legal measures the exigencies of our time and human misery can be abolished from the world. I judge it to be a duty, however, of the executive power to strive with all its faculties toward the mitigation of existing industrial grievances and through organized measures to emphasize the fact that love of our neighbor, which has its foundations in Christianity itself, should be a recognized duty of the entire state. The difficulties which stand in the way of the state’s assisting in the universal insurance of all workers against the dangers of age and sickness are great; but, with God’s help, they are not insurmountable. As the result of extensive investigations a bill will be presented to you which reveals a possible means of attaining this end.

Our settlements in Africa have imposed upon the German Empire the duty of converting that part of the world to a Christian civilization. The friendly government of England and her Parliament has known for a hundred years that the fulfilment of this obligation must begin with combating the hunting of slaves and the trade in negroes. I have, therefore, sought and concluded an understanding with England, whose meaning and aim you shall learn. On it depend further negotiations with other friendly and interested governments and further proposals for the Reichstag.

Our relations with all foreign governments are peaceful, and my efforts are continually directed toward cementing this peace. Our treaties with Austria and Italy have no other aim. It is incompatible with my Christian faith and with the duties which as Emperor I have assumed toward the people needlessly to bring upon Germany the sorrows of a war, even of a victorious one. In this conviction I have looked upon it as my duty soon after I ascended the throne to greet not only my affiliated rulers within the realm but also the friendly neighboring sovereigns. I have sought to find an understanding with them concerning the fulfilment of this trust which God has placed upon us, of preserving, so far as in us lies, the peace and welfare of our people. The confidence with which I and my policies have been received at all the courts which I have visited leads me to hope that, with God’s help, I and my allies and my friends will succeed in preserving the peace of Europe.

[THE EMPEROR AND THE STRIKING MINERS]

Berlin, May 14, 1889

The Emperor’s change of attitude toward the Socialists is evident from his conduct in the conflict which had arisen in the Rhenish and Westphalian coal districts between the miners and their employers. He personally received delegations from both sides. The miners’ delegation consisted of Schröder (spokesman), Siegel, and Bunte. In answer to Schröder’s speech, the Emperor announced:

It goes without saying that every subject, when he presents a wish or a petition, has the ear of his Emperor. Of this I have given evidence in that I have invited the deputation to come here and to set forth their wishes in person. You have, however, placed yourselves in the wrong, because your agitation is unlawful for no other reason than the fact that the fourteen days of warning have not yet expired, after which the workers would have been legally justified in ceasing work. In consequence of this you are guilty of breaking a contract. It is self-evident that this breach of contract has angered and injured the employers.

Further, there are workers who do not wish to strike and who, either through force or by means of threats, are hindered from continuing their work. Also, certain of the workers have seized upon organs of the authorities and upon property which did not belong to them and have even, in individual cases, offered resistance to the military force called to protect them. Finally, you wish that work should be generally resumed again only when your combined demands shall have been fulfilled at all the mines.

As for the demands themselves, I shall, through my government, carefully examine them and have the results of the investigation delivered to you through the appointed authorities. Should, however, there occur transgressions against the public order and peace, or should the agitation ally itself with the Social Democrats, then I should not be in a position to reconcile your wishes with my good-will as ruler. For, to me, every Social Democrat is synonymous with an enemy of the realm and of the Fatherland. Should I, therefore, discover that Social-Democratic tendencies become involved in the agitation and instigate unlawful opposition, I will step in sternly and ruthlessly and bring to bear all the power that I possess—and it is great.

Now go to your homes, think over what I have said, and seek to influence your comrades to reflection. Above all, however, you must not, under any circumstances, hinder your comrades who wish to return to their work.

[VISIT OF THE KING OF ITALY]

Berlin, May 22, 1889

At the time of the great spring review of this year, King Humbert came to Berlin to return the Emperor’s visit. A state banquet was held, at which the Emperor proposed the following toast to the King of Italy:

May it please your Majesty to accept from me and my people our heartiest thanks for the proof of the friendship which your Majesty has given me by this visit!

My troops, likewise, are filled with grateful pride that they have been able to conduct themselves with honor in the eyes of your Majesty, an experienced soldier.

Full of the happy remembrance of the army manœuvres at Rome, I raise my glass and drink to the health of your Majesty and of her Majesty, the Queen; to the health of your brave troops as well as to the unchanging friendship with the house of Savoy, whose motto, “Sempre avanti, Savoja,” has led to the unification of the kingdom of Italy. Long live his Majesty, King Humbert!

[THE ENGLISH FLEET AND THE GERMAN ARMY]

Sandown Bay, August 5, 1889

On this date the Emperor was created admiral of the English fleet by Queen Victoria. On the same day he was present at a regatta on Sandown Bay, where he replied as follows to a toast offered by the Prince of Wales:

I prize most highly the honor which has been shown me by the Queen in appointing me admiral of the English fleet. I sincerely rejoice to have seen the manœuvres of the fleet, which I consider the finest in the world. Germany possesses an army which answers to her needs, and if the British nation possesses a fleet sufficient for the needs of England, this in itself will be considered by Europe in general as a weighty factor in the maintenance of peace.

[THE ENGLISH ARMY]

Aldershot, August 7, 1889

On his mother’s side, who was a princess royal of England, the Emperor was a grandson of Queen Victoria, to whom he paid frequent visits and whom he held in high regard. William II began his reign with cordial feelings toward his island neighbors. If the friendship between the two nations was never particularly close, the estrangement of modern times may be said to have begun in colonial and commercial rivalries in the last decades of the nineteenth century and to have been sharpened by events in China and especially by the Boer War. The situation became more acute after the Morocco incident, in 1904-5, and when on that occasion England sided with France she was by a large portion of the German people definitely aligned with their enemies. The present toast, which was reported in this form in the Kreuzzeitung of August 9, 1889, was received with no protest or denial. The Emperor had been present at the manœuvres of 29,000 English troops at Aldershot, under General Sir Evelyn Wood. The toast was offered in the camp tent of the Duke of Cambridge, in response to one by that officer.

It gives me particular satisfaction to have appointed the Duke of Cambridge, the commander-in-chief of the English army, as a member of the 28th Regiment, since this same regiment had as chief at one time our comrade at Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington.

The friendship with the English, which had been sealed in blood, my honored grandfather maintained to the end of his life.

The British army fills me with the greatest admiration. If ever the possibility of counting upon volunteers is doubted, I shall be in a position to give testimony to their capacity.

At Malplaquet and at Waterloo the Prussian and British blood was shed in a common cause.

[THE CZAR AT BERLIN]

Berlin, October 11, 1889

On the occasion of Alexander III’s visit to Berlin the Emperor offered the following toast at the banquet in the White Room of the Royal Palace. It may be “considering too curiously to consider so,” but to many there will seem to be something matter-of-fact in the Czar’s reply, which is printed below. This friendship between the rulers of the two neighboring countries was, however, outwardly preserved up to the time of the present war, as is evident to those who will consult the telegrams exchanged between William and Nicolas on the eve of the outbreak.

I drink to the health of my honored friend, his Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, and to the continuation of the friendship which has existed for more than one hundred years between our houses and which, as a legacy received from my ancestors, I am determined to foster.

The Czar replied in French, as follows:

Je remercie Votre Majesté de Vos bonnes paroles et je partage entièrement les sentiments que Vous venez d’exprimer. A la santé de Sa Majesté, l’Empereur et Roi—Hourra!

[ON BOARD AN ENGLISH FLAG-SHIP]

The Piræus, October 30, 1889

On visits to his English relatives the Emperor had, as a lad, made occasional sojourns in Great Britain, and that romantic temperament of which he was to give indications even in much later years was much impressed by the sight of English ships. He recalls the memory on many occasions. As will be plain later, he early conceived the idea and realized the necessity of a powerful fleet. As this is his first reference to the navy in the present volume it is interesting to note the attitude of humble discipleship which in the mid-years of the next decade is to give way to quite another conception.

I am proud of the rank which Queen Victoria has bestowed upon me. It might be supposed that my interest in the British navy dated from my appointment as admiral; that, however, is not so. From my earliest youth, when as a boy I ran about on the wharves at Portsmouth, I was much interested in British ships. My inspection of the ships to-day has afforded me great satisfaction, and I congratulate you on their appearance. Nelson’s famous watchword is no longer necessary. They all do their duty, and we as a young sea power follow England in order to learn from the English navy.

[III]
AFTER BISMARCK

May 6, 1890—June 21, 1895

[OPENING OF THE REICHSTAG]

Berlin, May 6, 1890

This address to the Reichstag is of particular importance. The Emperor had now visited most of the sovereigns of Europe and felt that he had established himself. He was here definitely outlining a policy which he himself had framed. In that period when the Emperor was still Prince William, Bismarck had said: “In him there is something of Frederick the Great, and he is also able to become as despotic as Frederick the Great. What a blessing that we have a parliamentary government!” He had likewise prophesied that the Emperor would be his own chancellor, and he had discovered in his own case that the prophecy was a true one. In the spring of this year, after numerous misunderstandings, Bismarck had himself been forced into retirement, and henceforth his name will be mentioned but rarely. One of the points on which they had disagreed was precisely this project for labor legislation, which was, unfortunately, not destined to fulfil the hopes entertained by William II. A number of the projects here laid down were carried out only partially and others not at all. So, for instance, in this same year the Emperor had issued the following decree:

“For the fostering of peace between employers and laborers legal regulations are contemplated regarding the forms in which the laborers shall, through representatives who possess their confidence, participate in the regulation of matters of common concern and the protection of their interests in negotiations with employers and with the organs of my government. By such institutions the laborers are to be enabled to give free and peaceful expression to their wishes and complaints, and the state authorities are to be given the opportunity of continually acquainting themselves with the conditions of the workers and of cultivating contact with the latter.”

As late as 1905 it had not been carried into execution, though chambers of labor have since been established which partially carry out this end.

The industrial courts of which the Emperor speaks have been far from successful in arbitration disputes. They are established in all cities of over 20,000 inhabitants and consist of equal numbers of employers and employees. Dawson holds that unwillingness to mediate lies with the employers. During the year 1905, 406 courts acted as boards of conciliation on 350 occasions, all told, and in only 128 cases were they successful. Part of the failure lies in the fact that no wage agreements existed. Of 219 “aggressive” strikes in Berlin in 1905, organized by the “free” trades federations, 55 were for the introduction of wage agreements.

The Emperor’s disappointment at the failure of his policy to check the growing disaffection of the laboring classes will later be evident.

It is significant that in this address, though measures for the army are strongly urged, there is as yet no mention of the navy.

Honored Gentlemen:

Since you have been chosen in the recent elections to work in common with the allied governments, I bid you welcome at this the opening of the eighth legislative session of the Reichstag. I earnestly hope that you may succeed in finding a satisfactory solution for the important problems of legislation which here confront you. A number of these problems are of so pressing a nature that it did not seem possible to defer longer the summoning of the Reichstag.

I consider as most important among them the further enlargement of the bill concerning the protection of the laborer. The strikes which have occurred in different parts of the country during the past year have given me occasion to bring about an investigation of the question as to whether our present legislation has, to the fullest extent, taken cognizance of those wishes of the working people which are really just and reasonable and within the state’s power of regulation. The question of first importance concerns the guarantee of Sunday as a day of rest for the laboring man, as well as the limitation of woman and child labor in accordance with consideration for humanity and with regard to the natural laws of development. The governments of the affiliated states are convinced that the proposals in this connection made by the last Reichstag can, according to their present content, be given legal effectiveness without harm to other interests. In this connection, however, numerous other provisions have shown themselves unsatisfactory and capable of improvement. To this category belong especially the legal provisions for the protection of the laborer against danger to his life, health, and morals, as well as the laws concerning the announcement of regulations of labor. The prescriptions concerning the working men’s books need amplification with the aim of insuring the respect due the older men against the increasing impertinence of the younger laborers. The consequent changes demanded and the further expansion of the trade regulations find their expression in a bill which you will shortly receive.

A further proposal endeavors to secure the better regulation of the industrial arbitration courts and, likewise, an organization of these which shall make it possible to use them as mediators in cases of dispute between employers and employees over the terms on which labor shall be continued or resumed.

I trust that your willing co-operation will secure an agreement of the law-making bodies concerning the reform laid before you and thereby take a step forward toward the solution of our relations to the laboring class. The more the laboring population recognizes the serious earnestness with which the government is striving to render their status satisfactory, so much the more will they be conscious of the dangers which must arise from their insistence upon extravagant and impossible demands. In the proper provision for the laborer lies the most effective means of increasing the strength which I and my associated rulers are called upon and willing to use in opposing with unyielding determination any attempt to shake the provisions of the law.

Nevertheless, in the case of this reform there can be question only of such measures as are feasible without endangering the Fatherland’s industrial activity and with it the most important vital interests of the laborer himself. Our industry forms only one department in the economic work of all the peoples who take part in the competition in the market of the world. With this in mind, I have sought to bring about an interchange of opinions on the matter, among the states of Europe where similar economic conditions prevail, as to how far a general recognition of the legislative problems relative to the safety of the working man can be established and brought to pass. I am compelled to gratefully acknowledge that these suggestions have found favor in all states concerned and especially in those where the same idea was already being agitated and was approaching execution. The course of the international conference which met here fills me with especial satisfaction. Its conclusions are the expression of a general attitude with regard to this most important province of our contemporary civilization. The principles there laid down will, I have no doubt, prove a rich field which, with God’s help, shall blossom to the blessing of the workers of all countries and which will also bear fruit in drawing all nations together.

The continued preservation of peace is ever the goal of my efforts. I dare express the conviction that I have succeeded in securing the confidence of all foreign governments in the good faith of this policy of mine. Like myself and my esteemed affiliated rulers, the German people recognize that it is the problem of the empire to preserve peace by cultivating the alliances already concluded for our defense, and the friendly relations now existing with all foreign powers, in order to further prosperity and civilization. For the accomplishment of this task, however, we need an armed force compatible with our position in the heart of Europe. Every postponement of matters pertaining to the army endangers the political balance of power and with it the success of our policy directed toward maintaining peace.

Since the basis of our army organization was decided upon for a definite period the military organization of our neighbors has been broadened and perfected to an unforeseen degree. Indeed, we, too, have neglected nothing in our attempt to strengthen our forces, in so far as this was possible within the limits prescribed by the law. Nevertheless, what we could do within these limits was so little that we cannot postpone a consideration of the whole question without danger to ourselves. An increase of the present peace strength and an increase of the bodies of troops—especially for the field-artillery—must not be longer deferred. A bill will be laid before you according to which the necessary measures for strengthening the army will go into effect on the 1st of October of this year.

The plan which has been instituted in West Africa toward the suppression of the slave-trade and for the protection of the German interests has, during the last months, made progress, thanks to the self-sacrificing activity of our officers and officials who are stationed there. The complete restoration of peace in those districts may be expected very shortly. The expense thus incurred will be covered by an additional grant.

The budget for the current fiscal year already needs a corresponding enlargement on account of the plans referred to. Furthermore, the increase of salary for a part of the officials of the realm, which has long been projected and which has become ever more pressing, can no longer be delayed. The supplementary budget which is to be submitted to you will give you an opportunity to prove your friendly interest in satisfying this need.

If the labors hereby imposed upon you come to a successful issue, new and sound guarantees for the inner welfare of the Fatherland will then have been won. May it be granted to us through common effort to achieve this end!

[REVIEW OF THE NINTH ARMY CORPS]

Flensburg, September 4, 1890

The review of the Ninth Army Corps took place in the presence of the Empress, Princes Henry and Albert, of Archduke Karl Stephen of Austria, and Count Moltke at Flensburg. It will be remembered that in 1864 Bismarck succeeded in enlisting Austria to aid Prussia in a war upon Denmark, which was at that time deprived of Schleswig-Holstein, the harbor of Kiel, and more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. One of the battles of the war to which the Emperor refers was fought in this district. The address was made at the banquet following the review.

My opinion of to-day’s performance of the Ninth Army Corps under the command of your Excellency [General von Leszczynski] I have already expressed to you and your officers.

Whoever, like myself, has for any length of time stood at the front or partly at the front and partly as spectator has been present at many imperial manœuvres knows what such a parade means to an army corps. I know very well what arduous preliminary labor is involved, the agitation, the attention, the exertion of the troops. I know very well how each individual officer, high or low, every soldier, rejoices in and yet with a certain solicitude looks forward to the moment when he shall parade before his war lord.[5]

[5] Kriegsherr.

I know from my own experience when I was still a captain what satisfaction I felt when my adjutant could call to me that the Emperor had nodded as the company passed by him. This is true to-day, likewise, in the case of every officer.

I repeat to you my hearty thanks and express to you my congratulation for the magnificent parade. This army corps which you have marshalled before me has a bearing and discipline which I must demand unconditionally from every army corps. I do not doubt for a moment that the work done in preparing for a review will prove useful in the preparation for battle.

We stand here upon historic ground, on which our armies, united with those of Austria, jointly won a bloody victory.

I raise my glass and drink to the Ninth Army Corps in the expectation that here and hereafter, in war as in peace, it will maintain its famous traditions. Long live the Ninth Army Corps!

[ACCIDENTS WITH AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY]

Berlin, November 11, 1890

The following address shows the Emperor in one of the little-known phases of his amazingly versatile career. It exhibits, likewise, his command of detailed knowledge in a field where we should least expect it and his solicitude for the welfare of faithful subjects. Besides his interest in the sea, he has also for many years been much interested in agriculture; and his estate in East Prussia has been in a sense an experiment station. He prides himself on being a pioneer and in personally supervising his domain and is occasionally pleased to call himself a farmer. He attended the meetings of the Prussian Agricultural Commission and at one of the sessions took part in the discussion on the means of safeguarding the life of the laborers.

Two points have occurred to me which I would like to ask you to consider. It is worthy of note that during my reign there have been brought to my attention many striking cases in which laboring women have been killed through accidents with machinery. I receive regularly from the Minister of Justice tabulated lists of requests[6] for pardon, and it seems to me that there is among them a striking number of cases of women farmhands who have met with accidents in tending machines. As has already been said, I am not granting these pardons as freely as formerly. It is to be noted, furthermore, that a great difference prevails in the adjudication of the cases in which penalties may be inflicted and in the penalties themselves. I next inquired why these women workers—it was especially girls working with the thrashing-machines—were killed, and it usually appeared that the girls were caught by their dresses in the transmission pulleys and so became entangled in them. Then I asked if there were no means of protection there. Yes, indeed, they said, according to the police regulations the pulleys must have a cover or a box must be put over them, but in each of these cases this had not been attended to. There also appeared here, on the one side, a certain indifference either on the part of the owner or of the person who was conducting the work concerning the life of the women in his employ and, on the other side, an indifference on the part of the women themselves, who had become accustomed to working near the moving parts of the machines and to stepping over the pulleys, and finally the accident happened. Therefore, may I ask you that in using the word “machines” these provisions regarding power transmission be not forgotten. Many of the machines stand in one place and the apparatus for transmission is in another place or in the yard, and that is a chief cause of the accidents. For every one passes through the yard, and especially if there are children playing there, all too easily some misfortune may occur.

[6] From employers, of course.

Let me, therefore, remark, concerning what one of the preceding speakers has said, that I myself have come to the same conclusion as Professor Schmoller. I believe that it is not sufficient that the state should lay upon the worker the obligation to be careful and that it should give him directions how to conduct himself with regard to the machines. This cannot be carried out.

I am much more of the opinion that, if such is your desire and if it is plain that harm has resulted from the fact that the workers move about too carelessly, it is much better that the obligation should be put upon the owner or upon the person commissioned to conduct the machines and that he be required to watch over the employees more carefully. If the owner cannot burden himself with it then he should have such officials as would have sufficient influence with the worker to make him be careful. We must not forget what, for the most part, such a worker is like and what he knows of machinery. Frequently he knows only that it cuts or that it is otherwise dangerous. A certain grip is shown him—he must do it like this—but the rest he does not understand and regards with indifference. Consequently regulations which concern only or more particularly the laborer would not help, for the people would not understand their aim and when the regulation caused them annoyance or trouble would fail to consider it and thus render themselves liable to accident.

I believe, therefore, that it is most important in the question of the conduct of agricultural machinery that we should work toward proper supervision over the laborer by the employer. When this happens accidents will begin to diminish.

It has interested me very much to learn here that it is not the machines but altogether different circumstances which cause most of the accidents in agricultural operations and that particularly in all provinces where horses are employed accidents are frequent. I am therefore pleased that this phase of the question of protecting against accident has also come up here and that the gentlemen are now engaged upon it.

For the rest it has been a great pleasure to me to take part in these deliberations.

[ALSACE-LORRAINE]

Berlin, March 14, 1891

On this occasion a deputation from Alsace-Lorraine presented a protest against the continuance of the Passzwang, a rule which made it impossible to leave Alsace-Lorraine except under very special circumstances and on receiving a pass from the imperial agent. The rule was particularly obnoxious, and the strictness with which it had been enforced was much resented, even by subjects favorably disposed to the empire. It was, however, merely one of many grievances. Since the time of the Franco-Prussian War, Alsace-Lorraine had been governed like a conquered province—by a governor appointed by, and responsible to, the Emperor alone. Up to this time the policy had been one of repression, save for a very brief period. It is possible that the Emperor might have been inclined to give them some relief had it not been for the unfortunate result of the visit of his mother to Paris. After a visit in London, the Empress Frederick, in February, 1891 (it is supposed on the advice of her son), visited Paris and, while there, was to ask certain of the French artists to exhibit at the Berlin exhibition. It had evidently been assumed that the time had come for a rapprochement. The Empress descended at the German embassy very quietly and had received promises from several artists, when her presence in Paris became known to the League of French Patriots and to the germanophobe Déroulède, who immediately started a violent agitation and demonstrations against Germany. The artists withdrew their promises under the pressure of outraged patriotic opinion, and the situation became so tense that the Empress was forced to depart very hastily in a manner that suggested flight. The incident tended to make bad feeling on both sides and reacted unfavorably upon the attitude of the empire toward the former French provinces. The difficulties of circulation were increased, and the regulations about passes were made particularly trying. These difficulties were removed in 1899, but the provinces continued to protest, as they were not given equal rights with the other German states and have not enjoyed them up to the present. In May, 1911, a new so-called constitution was given to Alsace-Lorraine. The executive power is exercised by the Emperor in the name of the empire; the province has three votes in the Bundesrat, which are so restricted that they give very little satisfaction to Alsace-Lorraine and are so far under the control of Prussia that they give considerable dissatisfaction to other German states. The Emperor appoints officials, including the Statthalter, or governor, and the delegates are instructed by the Statthalter and must vote according to instructions. The votes do not count in any vote concerning the imperial Constitution. There was much protest because the new constitution did not grant the provinces sufficient independence. The previous Provincial Assembly (Landesausschuss) had been summarily closed on the 9th of May, 1911. Affairs were but little improved under the new arrangement, and the Emperor came to Strasburg in great anger, May 13, 1912, and made the following threatening address: “If this keeps up I shall knock your constitution to bits. Up to the present you have known me from my good side, but you can perhaps learn to know me from the other side also. If things do not change, we will make of Alsace-Lorraine a Prussian province.” This speech of the Emperor’s is not printed officially, but it was made the subject of an interpellation in the Reichstag on May 17, 1912, and the burgomaster of Strasburg admitted that the sense of the imperial utterance was properly given. With regard to Alsace-Lorraine, the Emperor has tried both kindness and severity. The Zabern incident proved that in neither of these policies had he succeeded in winning either the love or the subjection of the inhabitants.

The following is the estimate of Dr. H. A. Gibbons on the situation in Alsace-Lorraine immediately before the outbreak of the European War:

“One could easily fill many pages with illustrations of senseless persecutions, most of them of the pettiest character, but some more serious in nature, which Alsace and Lorraine have had to endure since the granting of the constitution. Newspapers, illustrated journals, clubs, and organizations of all kinds have been annoyed constantly by police interference. Their editors, artists, and managers have been brought frequently into court. Zislin and Hansi, celebrated caricaturists, have found themselves provoked to bolder and bolder defiances by successive condemnations and have endured imprisonment as well as fines. Hansi was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment by the High Court of Leipsic only a month before the present war broke out and chose exile rather than a Prussian fortress.

“The greatest effort during the past few years has been made in the schools to influence the minds of the growing generation against the ‘souvenir de France,’ and to impress upon the Alsacians what good fortune had come to them to be born German citizens.

“Among the boys, the influence of this teaching has been such that over twenty-two thousand fled from home during the period of 1900-13 to enlist in the Foreign Legion of the French Army. The campaign of the German newspapers in Alsace-Lorraine and, in fact, throughout Germany was redoubled in 1911. Parents were warned of the horrible treatment accorded to the poor boys who were misguided enough to throw away their citizenship and go to be killed in Africa under the French flag. The result of this campaign was that the Foreign Legion received a larger number of Alsacians in 1912 than had enlisted during a single year since 1871!

“Among the girls, the German educational system flattered itself that it could completely change the sentiments of a child, especially in the boarding-schools. Last year the Empress of Germany visited a girls’ school near Metz which is one of the best German schools in the Reichsland. As she was leaving she told the children that she wanted to give them something. What did they want? The answer was not sweets or cake but that they might be taught a little French!

“The former French provinces have been flooded with garrisons and have been treated just as they were forty years ago. The insufferable spirit of militarism and the arrogance of the Prussian officers in Alsacian towns have served to turn against the empire many thousands whom another policy might have won; for it must be remembered that by no means all the inhabitants of the Reichsland have been by birth and by home training French sympathizers. Instead of crushing out the ‘souvenir de France,’ the Prussian civil and military officials have caused it to be born in many a soul which was by nature German.

“The Prussian has never understood how to win the confidence of others. There has been no Rome in his political vision. As for conceptions of toleration, of kindness, and of love, they are non-existent in Prussian officialdom.”

It gives me great satisfaction that the committee of the provinces has turned to me in an important question concerning the interests of Alsace-Lorraine. I see in this fact a valuable proof of the increasing understanding which my good-will and my interest in the development of your home country has begotten in the minds of its representatives. I am also pleased to accept this assurance that the people of Alsace-Lorraine, satisfied for the time being with the existing political relations, spurn every interference by foreign elements and look to the empire alone for the protection of their interests.

While I offer you my thanks for this expression of loyal sentiment, I regret that for the present I cannot fulfil your wishes. I must confine myself in this matter to expressing the hope that in a not too distant future our relations may make possible the alleviation of conditions on the western boundary. This hope will be the sooner realized the more the people of Alsace-Lorraine are convinced of the inviolability of the union which binds them to Germany and the more decidedly they exhibit their resolution to remain forever faithful and immovable in their loyalty to me and to the empire.

[SWEARING IN THE RECRUITS]

Potsdam, November 23, 1891

Every year the Emperor is present at the swearing in of the recruits to the guard and to the navy. He has made innumerable speeches on such occasions. The present somewhat striking pronouncement was delivered at a time when his feeling toward the Socialists, who had been guilty of no particular outrage, still ran very high. Tolstoi saw in it the worst excesses of militarism and issued shortly after the following criticism of the Emperor’s attitude:

“This man expresses what all wise men know but carefully conceal. He says frankly that men who serve in the army serve him and his advantage and must be prepared for his advantage to kill their brothers and fathers.

“He expresses frankly, and with the coarsest of words, all the horror of the crime for which the men who enter into military service are prepared, all that abyss of degradation which they reach when they promise obedience. Like a bold hypnotizer, he tests the degree of the hypnotized man’s sleep: he puts the glowing iron to his body, the body sizzles and smokes, but the hypnotized man does not awake.

“This miserable, ill man, who has lost his mind from the exercise of power, with these words offends everything which can be holy for a man of our time, and men—Christians, liberals, cultured men of our time, all of them are not only not provoked by this insult but do not even notice it.”

It is possible that such criticism and the resentment aroused in the minds of the law-abiding Socialists led him later to tone down his utterances, though on one subsequent occasion, again with the Socialists in mind, he made a somewhat similar address (March 28, 1901).

Recruits to the Regiment of My Guard:

You are brought together here from all parts of the empire to fulfil your military duty, and in this holy place have just sworn fealty to your Emperor to your last breath. You are still too young to understand all this. You will, however, little by little, be made familiar with its significance. Do not imagine it too difficult, and trust in God; occasionally also say the Lord’s Prayer—that has frequently given many a warrior fresh courage.

Children of my guard, to-day you have become incorporated into my army; you now stand under my command and have the privilege of wearing my uniform. Wear it honorably. Think of the famous history of your Fatherland; remember that the German army must be armed against the internal as well as the external foe. More and more unbelief and discontent raise their heads in the Fatherland, and it may come to pass that you will have to shoot down or stab your own relatives and brothers. Then seal your loyalty with your heart’s blood! And now go to your homes and fulfil your duties.

—(According to the Breslauer Lokalanzeiger of December 8.)

According to the Neisser Zeitung, the second paragraph ran as follows:

Recruits! You have now before the consecrated servant of the Lord and before His altar, sworn fealty to me. You are still too young to understand the true meaning of what has just been said; but be diligent now and follow the directions and instructions given you. You have sworn loyalty to me; that means, children of my guard, that you are now my soldiers, you have given yourselves up to me, body and soul; there is for you but one enemy, and that is my enemy. In view of the present Socialistic agitations it may come to pass that I shall command you to shoot your own relatives, brothers, yes, parents—which God forbid—but even then you must follow my command without a murmur.

Entirely similar, but shorter, is a clipping from the Berlin paper Das Volk, according to the account of one who heard the speech.

You have sworn to me the oath of loyalty; that means, from now on you know only one command, and that is my most high command; you have only one enemy, and that is my enemy! And so I may sometime—which God forbid—have to bid you to shoot upon your own relatives, yes, brothers and parents—then remember your oath!

[THE EMPEROR’S FIRST ARMY BILL]

Berlin, July 4, 1893

The opposition between the Reichstag and the government reached a climax when the session which opened in 1886 was dissolved in January, 1887, because it refused to vote for the bill fixing the army status for the ensuing seven years. The next Reichstag, elected in February, voted the bill. In spite of the fact that the new arrangement was to have been effective until March, 1894, as early as the session of 1890 changes were introduced which fixed the peace footing at 468,983 men, exclusive of the one-year volunteers. In November, 1892, a new army bill was presented, to run for six years, fixing the peace footing at 492,068. All infantrymen were to serve two years. In the debates of 1887 it was announced that Russia was an ally of Germany. The failure to renew the neutrality agreement with that power and the growing rapprochement between France and Russia seems to have been most in the Emperor’s mind in calling for an increase. The increased appropriation of 1887 was covered by a tax on spirits, sugar, and grain. The new increase was to be met by indirect taxes, mostly on beer and brandy. When the Reichstag refused to vote the bill as it stood, it was dissolved and a new one called. The new Reichstag, which is here addressed, accepted the bill on July 15. As much of the opposition had been due to the fear of the less-favored classes that the increased cost would fall heavily on them through indirect taxes, the Chancellor assured the representatives (as the Emperor here indicates) that there would be no tax on beer or brandy nor any other necessities of life.

Since you have been called to work in common with the confederated governments, it is my desire at the beginning of your deliberations to greet you and bid you welcome.

The draft of the bill concerning the peace footing of the German army, through which a strengthening of our available force would have been achieved, was presented to the last Reichstag. To my great regret the project did not meet with the approval of the representatives of the people. The conviction, unanimously shared by my corulers, that in the face of the development of the military arrangements of the other powers this government could no longer put off such a shaping of its military status as should guarantee its safety and its future led to the decision to dissolve the Reichstag and, by the calling of new representatives to attain the end recognized as necessary. Since the proposal of this law the political situation of Europe has undergone no change. To my great satisfaction, the relations of the empire to the foreign states are altogether and everywhere friendly and free from any cloud. The organized military force of Germany, however, compares still more unfavorably with that of our neighbors than it did last year. Since her geographical position and her historical development impose upon Germany the duty of taking thought for a proportionately large standing army, the further development of our defensive strength, therefore, with regard to the progress of other countries becomes a pressing necessity. In order to satisfy the duties constitutionally laid upon me, it seemed to me incontrovertible that I should exercise every existing means at my command toward the restoration of a sufficient and effective defense of the honor of the Fatherland.

There will, therefore, be laid before you without delay a new bill concerning the peace footing of the army. In it the wishes which were strongly expressed during the discussion of the former bill are taken account of, and, in accordance with this, demands made upon the personal capacity and upon the people’s ability to pay taxes have, in so far as this could be done without endangering the end sought, been lessened.

The interest of the realm demands, especially in looking forward to the impending expiration of the seven-year arrangement next spring, that the bill should be decided upon with all possible despatch, in order that this year’s recruiting can be undertaken on the new basis. A delay in carrying out this proposal would be felt for more than twenty years, to the detriment of our defensive strength.

To make it possible for you to give your undivided attention to the discussion of the bill, the confederated governments will refrain from burdening the session with other important matters.

I and my honored corulers are still of the opinion that the means necessary for the reorganization of our military equipment can be raised properly, and without overburdening the people, in the manner brought forward last autumn in the draft of the proposed taxation bill. Nevertheless, the question of making good the deficit is still the object of continued discussions. I expect that a proposal will be set before you by the beginning of the next winter session in which is expressed, even more strongly than in the former bill, the principle that the providing of the necessary means must be carried out with the utmost regard for the individual’s ability to pay and with as little draft as possible upon our power of levying taxes. Until the expiration of the present official year the contributions from the various states may be drawn upon to cover the excess.

Honored Sirs, we have succeeded in the difficult task of welding the German race into a strong union. The nation honors those who have given their possessions and their blood for this work and who have brought the Fatherland to political and industrial prosperity—a prosperity which is the pride and the pleasure of their contemporaries and which, if they build in the same spirit as their fathers, will guarantee to the generations to come the greatness and the happiness of the empire. To protect the glorious acquisitions with which God has blessed us in our struggle for independence is our most sacred duty. We can, however, only fulfil such a duty toward the Fatherland by making ourselves sufficiently strong in military power to defend ourselves, so that we may remain a reliable guarantor of the peace of Europe. I trust that your patriotic, self-sacrificing assistance in the pursuance of this aim will not fail me and my honored corulers.

The Emperor followed the formal address from the throne with the following:

And now, gentlemen, go forth. May our ancient God look down upon you and bestow upon you His blessing to the end that you may bring to successful issue an honorable work for the welfare of our Fatherland! Amen.

[ARRIVAL IN METZ]

Metz, September 3, 1893

On the 3d of September the Emperor, accompanied by the Crown Prince of Italy, paid a visit to Metz. To Burgomaster Halm’s speech of welcome the Emperor replied as follows:

It is with a heart deeply stirred that I enter the city of Metz, and if I could not come last year, as I wished,[7] I see, nevertheless, that the reason for my remaining away has been rightly understood.

[7] The Emperor came to Metz ordinarily to review the Eighth and Sixteenth Army Corps. Because of the cholera scare, the imperial manœuvres had not taken place in the previous year, 1892. The Emperor, who was anxious to conciliate his subjects, had taken up a domain in Urville.

I rejoice to see the monument to my late grandfather at length finished and to be able to allow my troops to pass before it. Metz and my army corps are a corner-stone in the military might of Germany, destined to protect the peace of Germany—yes, of all Europe—and it is my firm purpose to maintain this peace.

I thank the city of Metz for its festive welcome, and I pray you that my thanks be made known to the citizens through an official announcement. If I have removed my headquarters to Urville it is because as a landholder in Lorraine I could not do otherwise, since my subjects in this province wish to have me there. In token of my imperial favor I extend to the burgomaster a golden chain of office which the burgomasters of Metz shall be entitled to wear from this time forth. It gives me especial pleasure, however, to be able to bestow this chain upon the present burgomaster.

[DEDICATION OF FLAGS]

Berlin, October 18, 1894

Through a reorganization of the army which was to be made effective in the next legislative session, a large number of partial bodies of troops were created which were later to be increased to bring up the peace footing of the army from 538 whole and 173 half battalions to 624 whole battalions. Every two of these constitute a regiment and every two regiments a brigade. On the anniversary of the battle of Leipzig the Emperor, in the presence of a large number of princes, including the young King of Servia, turned over flags to these troops. His statement that the only pillar upon which the empire rested was the army was strongly resented by many of his loyal subjects of the empire who happened to be merely peaceful merchants or farmers or laborers. The Emperor was doubtless provoked into making the statement from the fact that some of his legislative policies had met with determined opposition on the part of representatives of the people. This he has always regarded as disloyalty and as boding disaster to the empire. Since the army’s tradition for loyalty to the imperial war lord renders opposition here impossible, he saw in it the only salvation of the state.

In order that they may serve as a shining symbol of glory for the troops, we have had the blessing of Heaven called down upon the ensigns which I have bestowed upon every fourth battalion of my regiments, and I now turn them over to the regimental commanders and to the regiments themselves. This inspiring day is one whose memories move the world and which marks an epoch in our German history. I first salute the mausoleum of him[8] whose birthday was once wont to fill the entire German Fatherland with jubilation, the mausoleum of him to whom it was granted to win glorious victories under the eyes of the great, heroic Emperor, his father, and to cover the flags which were consecrated in 1861 with glory. They were nailed to their staffs in the rooms in which the history of Brandenburg and Prussia is immortalized in paintings. The monuments of the rulers and of the generals who created the glory of Prussia have looked down upon them. These flags have now been brought before the monument of the Prussian King who focussed the eyes of the world upon them in years of fierce conflict and whose last breath was a wish of blessing for his army. In the year 1861, when my grandfather undertook the reorganization of his arms, he was misunderstood by many and attacked by even more; nevertheless, the future gave him his splendid justification. Just as at that time, so now, too, distrust and discord are rife among the people. The only pillar on which the empire rested was the army. So is it to-day! The flags which are assembled here are destined for entire bodies of troops, and I hope that the half battalions to which they are to-day delivered will soon stand as entire battalions in the army of the Fatherland.

[8] Emperor Frederick III.

But you, gentlemen, now take over these ensigns and with them the obligation of maintaining the tradition of devotion, of discipline unto death, of unconditional obedience toward the war lord against all inward and outward enemies. Even as heretofore, may the blessing of the Most High rest upon our army, and may the watchful eyes of our ancestors look down upon and protect Prussia’s army and her flags! With God for King and Fatherland!

[NAVY RECRUITS]

Kiel, December 3, 1894

It is part of the Emperor’s duty to administer the oath every year to the recruits for the navy as well as to the recruits for the guard. He is inclined to talk to them usually in very simple language, as here, for instance. Indeed, though they are usually twenty years of age, he often addresses them as the “children of my guard.”

The oath is holy, and holy is the place in which you swear it. The altar and the crucifix bear witness to this; it means that we Germans are Christians, that we at all times first give the glory to God in every affair that we undertake, especially in the highest—that of strengthening the defense of the Fatherland. You wear the uniform of the Emperor; you are thereby preferred over other men, and take your rank equally with your comrades of the army and navy; you receive a special place and assume obligations. By many you will be envied because of the uniform which you wear; hold it in honor, and do not besmirch it; this you will accomplish best when you think of your oath—you especially, you people of the sea, who so often have the opportunity in your various journeyings upon the water to learn to know the almighty power of God!

Wherein lies the secret of the fact that we have often overcome our adversary with lesser numbers? In discipline. What is discipline? Single-hearted co-operation, single-hearted obedience. That our ancient forebears already clung to this ideal a single example will show: On one occasion they were marching to war against the Romans. They had climbed over the mountain and found themselves suddenly face to face with the huge masses of the army. Then they realized what a difficult moment was before them. They first prayed, giving God the glory, and then, bound together with chains, side by side, they fell upon the enemies and conquered them. To-day we no longer need the actual chains; we have a powerful religion and our oath. Remain true to it, and think of it, whether you are within the country or without. Hold your colors high, the black, white, and red which here stand before you, and think of your oath, think of your Emperor.

[CHRISTENING OF A CRUISER]

Kiel, March 26, 1895

The Emperor, as will be plain, took much satisfaction in the development of his navy and was to make innumerable addresses on these occasions. The present is a fair type of a number of the shorter speeches. Very soon they were to become occasions in which he was to broach the idea of the greater navy. The present address will serve to illustrate the spirit he was hoping to instil into this branch of the service.

As a testimony to the industry of the Fatherland, after the diligent labors of the imperial dockyards, this vessel now stands before us ready to be given over to its element. Thou shalt now be enrolled in the German navy. Thou shalt serve in the protection of the Fatherland to bring defiance and annihilation to the enemy. The names of the ships which belong to the same class are taken from the old Germanic sagas. Therefore thou also shalt hark back to the ancient time of our ancestors, to the powerful divinity who was worshipped and feared by all our German seafaring forefathers and whose mighty realm stretched from the north even unto the south pole, in whose province the northern battles were fought, and whence death and destruction were brought into the land of the enemy. Thou shalt bear the name of this great and mighty god. Mayst thou prove thyself worthy of it! So do I christen thee with the name of Ægir.

[VISIT TO BISMARCK]

Friedrichsruh, March 26, 1895

Historians of modern Germany have discussed and explained in various ways the causes of the retirement of Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor.” From the moment he became “Minister President and Minister of Foreign Affairs,” in 1862, his hand was the hand that guided German policy, and his was the genius that presided over and shaped the unification of Germany and the building of the empire. It has been truly said that the biography of Bismarck is the history of German union. He had been born in Brandenburg and spent his life in the service of the Prussian Kings. It was he who in the dark days preceding the victories of the sixties had given William I heart and had prevented him from giving up his task. It was, therefore, a great shock to the German world to learn that, two years after the accession of William II, the great founder of German unity had been forced into retirement. There had been rumors of previous disagreements. The German Chancellor is responsible not to the Reichstag but solely to the Emperor; he takes the responsibility of shaping the imperial policy. It was said that Bismarck resented certain interference with his authority in his own cabinet. It is certain that he looked with disfavor on the Emperor’s policy with regard to labor legislation. With regard to the attitude toward Russia there was likewise disagreement, and Bismarck opposed the Emperor’s visit to Constantinople. But aside from these questions of policy, there were deep psychological incompatibilities. Crabbed age and romantic youth could not live together. Furthermore, the Emperor wished to take the credit for initiating and carrying through his own policies. He was not content to be a shadow king. Bismarck, after nearly forty years of service, was not willing to be a puppet chancellor. He insisted on the form of cabinet government decreed in 1852. The Emperor’s disposition of mind may be gathered from the following extracts from a speech delivered shortly before Bismarck’s retirement, and it should be remembered that at this time Bismarck was far from being an enthusiastic supporter of certain measures then taking shape in the mind of William II. On the 5th of March, 1890, the Emperor announced to the Brandenburgers: “All those who wish to help me in this work I bid heartily welcome, whoever they may be; but all those (whoever they may be) who oppose me in this work I shall smash to pieces” (zerschmettern). Bismarck was forced to offer his resignation two weeks later. Besides his ducal title, he was given the honorary title of general of cavalry, with the rank of field-marshal. Because of his opposition, he was treated in the following years with extreme coolness and occasionally as an enemy. The German ambassador at Vienna was instructed from Berlin, on the occasion of the marriage of Bismarck’s son, not to accept an invitation to the wedding. Foreign ambassadors were informed that for the Emperor there were two Bismarcks: the former responsible servant and the present irresponsible subject. The honors given him were not generally honors due a great ex-chancellor, but honors due a military officer. “Living,” said Bismarck, “they give me the honors of the dead.” On this, his eightieth birthday, the Reichstag voted down the proposal that they send him their congratulations. The Emperor, with an exclusively military suite, however, paid him this visit and presented him with a sword engraved with his arms and with the arms of the conquered provinces, Alsace-Lorraine. In all probability, Bismarck felt the lack of mention of his services as Chancellor; his entirely diplomatic reply printed below would seem to indicate this.

Your Highness:

Our whole Fatherland decks itself out to celebrate your birthday. This day belongs to the army. Its first duty is to do honor to its comrades, to its old officers, whose efficiency made it possible for it to carry through the mighty deeds which found their reward in the crowning of a regenerated Fatherland.

The military host which stands gathered here is a symbol of the whole army, especially this regiment which has the honor of calling your Highness its commander, and especially that standard which reminds us of the fame of Brandenburg and Prussia, which dates from the time of the Great Elector and is consecrated by the blood shed at Mars-la-Tour. Your Highness will see in spirit, behind this gathering of troops, the collected army of the entire German race in battle array to celebrate this day with us.

In sight of this host, I come now to present to your Highness my gift. I could find no better token than a sword, this noblest weapon of the Germans; a symbol of that instrument which your Highness with my late grandfather helped to shape, to sharpen, and also to wield; the symbol of that great, powerful period of building whose mortar was blood and iron; that weapon which is never dismayed and which, when necessary, in the hands of kings and princes will defend against internal foes that unity of the Fatherland which it had once conquered from the foes without. May your Highness be good enough to notice the linking of your arms with those of Alsace-Lorraine here engraved and feel again all that history which found its conclusion in the events of twenty-five years ago!

But we comrades call out: His Highness, Prince Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg—Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

Bismarck replied with more pith:

Your Majesty will allow me to lay my humblest thanks at your feet. My military position with regard to your Majesty does not permit me to further express my feelings to your Majesty. I thank your Majesty.

[OPENING OF THE EMPEROR WILLIAM CANAL]

Kiel, June 21, 1895

In furthering Germany’s economic and industrial development, the building of canals has served an important function in reducing the cost of transportation and in making possible competition with other nations. Although the Emperor William Canal was an idea of Bismarck’s, his name is not here mentioned. Emperor William II has taken a very lively interest in this development of inland waterways and has rendered a great service to the industrial development of his country in this regard.

In memory of Emperor William the Great, I baptize the canal “Emperor William Canal.”

The Emperor then accompanied his three hammer strokes with the following words: “In the name of the Triune God, to the honor of Emperor William, to the blessing of Germany, and to the welfare of the people!”

He proposed this toast at the banquet:

I behold with pleasure and with pride this brilliant and festive gathering, and in the name of my honored colleagues I bid you all, the guests of the empire, most heartily welcome. We wish to express our inmost thanks for the interest you have taken in the completion of a work which, begun in peace and accomplished in peace, is to-day given over to general trade.

It is not only in our own day that the idea first existed of joining the North and Baltic Seas by a great canal; far back in the Middle Ages we find drafts and plans for the working out of this undertaking. In the past century the Eider Canal was built, which, while it affords a wonderful example of the ability of that day, still, as it was intended only for the passage of the smaller craft, could not satisfy the increased demands of the present day. It remained for the newly founded German Empire to find a satisfactory solution for this great problem.

It was my immortal grandfather, his Majesty, Emperor William the Great, who, thoroughly appreciating the significance of the canal for increasing the national welfare and strengthening our defense, devoted his unflagging interest to the plan for the building of an effective waterway between the North and the Baltic Seas and for overcoming the many obstacles which stood in the way of its accomplishment. Joyfully and confidently the affiliated rulers of the empire, as well as the Reichstag, followed the imperial initiative, and for eight years the work was industriously carried on which, as it approached completion, aroused in ever-increasing measure the public interest. What technic on the basis of its great development has been able to accomplish, what was possible through pride and joy in the work, what finally could be done in promoting the welfare of the numberless workers engaged in the task, in accordance with the principles of the humane social politics of the empire, has been accomplished in this undertaking. Therefore the Fatherland dare rejoice with me and my noble colleagues in the success of this enterprise.