The German Emperor As Shown In His Public Utterances - free ebook by German Emperor William II

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...

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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

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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 no

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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 a

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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, j

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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,

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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 com bat 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

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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 West phalian 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 ea

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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

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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

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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

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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 con

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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 t

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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 governme

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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 th

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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 inter ested in agriculture; and his estate in East Prussia has been in a sense an experiment station. He prides himself on being a pioneer

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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 t

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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

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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 468,98

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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 t

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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,

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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 Chr

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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 dil

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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 un

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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 de velopment of inland waterways and has rendered a great service to the industrial development of his country in t

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THE BEGINNING OF WORLD POLITICS

Berlin, June 16, 1896 It is difficult to fix any definite date at which any new movement in politics may be said to have begun. Toward the close of the year 1894 there appear unmistakable signs of a new dispensation. In this year Caprivi, Bismarck’s successor as Chancellor, retired in favor of Prince Hohenlohe. The latter appears in his new office for the first time in the session of the Reichstag which opened December 5, 1894. In that session the insufficient protection of Germans residing in f

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TO THE RECRUITS FOR THE NAVY

Wilhelmshaven, February 21, 1896 On the occasion of administering the oath to the naval recruits at Wilhelmshaven the Emperor delivered the following address: In the sight of God and of His servants you have sworn to me the oath of allegiance, and I expect from you that you will become good and sturdy sailors. Keep to what you have sworn, for “one man, one word.” The soldiers of the army frequently have the occasion to show what they have learned and what they are capable of under the eyes of th

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A TOAST TO THE RUSSIAN EMPEROR AND EMPRESS

St. Petersburg, August 8, 1897 The visit which the Czar had paid Emperor William at Breslau the year before (September 5, 1896) had led to unfortunate consequences. The Czar, in his answer to the wishes of the Emperor that the two empires might draw more closely together, had announced, according to the official report, that he was animated by the same traditional sentiments as his Majesty, Emperor William II. Certain important papers printed a reading which made it appear that the Czar had said

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THE ARMY TRADITION

Coblentz, August 30, 1897 On this date the Emperor reviewed the great parade of the Eighth Army Corps, under the leadership of the commanding general, the Grand Duke of Baden. At the dinner after the review the Emperor offered the following toast. The address illustrates what Doctor Liman calls the romanticism of the Emperor. He is easily impressed by his surroundings and speaks with particular animation and fervor on the occasions (and they are frequent) in which the memories of his ancestors a

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TOAST TO THE ITALIAN KING AND QUEEN

Homburg, September 4, 1897 On this day the Emperor reviewed the Eleventh Army Corps, which was under the command of General von Wittich, in the presence of the Empress and of the King and Queen of Italy. At the banquet which followed in the Castle of Homburg, the Emperor offered this toast: My Dear Wittich: I am happy to be able to express to you before our royal and princely guests and to the whole army corps my heartiest congratulations on this day. I am pleased to be able to say that the pres

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ADDRESS AT A DEDICATION OF FLAGS

Berlin, October 18, 1897 On this occasion sixty-three new flags were dedicated to the newly formed regiments of the guard, of the First to the Eleventh and of the Fifteenth to the Seventeenth Army Corps. The Emperor and people celebrate this anniversary of the battle of Leipzig, 1813, with particularly patriotic demonstrations, and he almost invariably makes it the occasion for a military address. After the religious ceremony the Emperor addressed the following words to his troops: The flags whi

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ON ADMINISTERING THE OATH TO THE RECRUITS

Berlin, November 18, 1897 After the administering of the oath to the recruits of the garrisons of Berlin, Charlottenburg, and Spandau by the representatives of the Evangelical and the Catholic churches, the Emperor took the occasion to deliver the following admonition: To-day I greet you as soldiers of my army, as grenadiers of my guard. With the oath to the flag you have sworn allegiance as German men, and even before the altar of God, under the open skies, and upon His crucifix, as good Christ

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THE CHINESE SITUATION AND THE MAILED FIST

December 15, 1897 In accordance with her general colonial policy, Germany had for some time been attempting to obtain a footing in China. Already in 1895 the German consul-general had arranged an agreement with the Chinese authorities which was to allow the establishing of a base at Hangchow. German explorers had examined the coast and had noticed the favorable situation of the harbor of Kiaochow. In November, 1897, two German Catholic missionaries were murdered. Admiral Diedrichs, who is rememb

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ADDRESS TO THE REGIMENTS OF THE BODY-GUARD

Potsdam, June 16, 1898 On the day of the tenth anniversary of his coming to the throne the Emperor assembled the regiments of the guard in the gardens of Potsdam and made them the following address: The most important heritage which my noble grandfather and father left me is the army, and I received it with pride and joy. To it I addressed my first decree when I mounted the throne. As I enter into the next decade of my reign I again address it in these words: You who are now assembled here const

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ON THE DEATH OF PRINCE BISMARCK

Friedrichsruh, August 2, 1898 After the founding of the German Empire Prince Bismarck, who initiated and carried through many of the policies which brought great prosperity to the German people, was looked upon with much favor and enjoyed great popularity. Emperor William II, as has been noted, dismissed him from his post as Imperial Chancellor in the second year of his reign. His attitude toward Bismarck has already been discussed (March 26, 1895). In most of his speeches which recount the prog

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“OUR FUTURE LIES UPON THE WATER”

Stettin, September 23, 1898 A previous address shows that in the mind of the Emperor the idea of world-empire carried with it the idea of naval supremacy. In this period he was increasingly interested in the industrial and especially the naval and maritime expansion of Germany. A number of his speeches take up this subject; so, for instance, he was present at the opening of the new harbor at Stettin and delivered this address: With full heart I congratulate you on your completed work. You began

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THE JOURNEY TO THE HOLY LAND

Bethlehem, October 30, 1898 On the 12th of October, 1898, the Emperor and Empress set out on their journey to the Holy Land, accompanied by many representatives of the church. In Venice they visited the Italian King and Queen and passed on by way of Messina and Constantinople. They reached Jerusalem on October 29. During his stay at Constantinople the Emperor obtained the rights to a piece of land, the Dormitio Sanctæ Virginis , and turned it over to the German Catholics in Jerusalem. On Novembe

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DEDICATION OF THE CHURCH OF OUR REDEEMER

Jerusalem, October 31, 1898 The Church of Our Redeemer at Jerusalem was dedicated in the presence of the Emperor by the general superintendent and head court chaplain, Doctor Dryander, of Berlin. The church had been planned by King Frederick William IV. After the dedication there was a special church service, and after the prayer by the general superintendent the Emperor offered the following address: God has been gracious enough to allow us to dedicate in this city, which is holy to all Christi

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THE HAGUE CONFERENCE

Wiesbaden, May 18, 1899 On the Czar’s birthday the Emperor was present at the banquet given in Wiesbaden, to which the Russian Ambassador, Count Osten-Sacken, had been invited. The Emperor proposed the following toast. On the same day the peace conference at The Hague had been opened and the Russian delegate De Staal had been elected its president. At the end of August, 1898, the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs had issued the following communication to all the representatives of the powers

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THE HOUSING OF LABORERS

Early June, 1899 Kadinen is one of the Emperor’s many farming estates and is situated in the neighborhood of Elbing, in East Prussia. It was here that he expressed the following sentiment: Many things must be changed at Kadinen; especially the housing of the laborers must be changed. Here in the east this seems still to be a particular evil. The fine cattle stable in Kadinen is a veritable palace compared to the homes of the laborers. We must see to it that the pigsties are not better than the l

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FRENCH HEROISM AT ST. PRIVAT

The Battle-Field of St. Privat, August 18, 1899 The following noble address of the Emperor’s was delivered at the dedication of the monument to the soldiers of the 1st Regiment of the Guard, who fell in the battle of St. Privat (August 18, 1870). In it he speaks of the splendid heroism of the French troops who were fighting for their Emperor. It should be remembered that the monument was erected in the provinces which had been conquered from France by Germany. At this time the Emperor had adopte

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“BITTERLY WE NEED A POWERFUL GERMAN FLEET”

Hamburg, October 18, 1899 The Kaiser Karl der Grosse was launched in Hamburg on the 18th of October, 1899. It will be noticed that the Emperor is always careful to observe the anniversaries that commemorate the military prowess, the birthdays, and the achievements of the members of his house. The present date is again an anniversary of the battle of Leipzig, 1813. In the evening the Emperor spoke as follows at the banquet in the Rathaus: It is with particular pleasure that I find myself among yo

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ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE NEW CENTURY

Berlin, January 1, 1900 The military New Year’s celebration took place near the armory, and the standards of the entire Berlin garrison were for this purpose brought from the Royal Palace. The Empress and her younger children watched the celebration from the windows of the armory. The first day of the new century sees our army, that is our people under arms, gathered about its standards and kneeling before the Lord of Hosts. And, indeed, if any one has particular cause for bowing down to-day bef

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NEW BOUNDARY POSTS

Berlin, February 13, 1900 On the occasion of the return of Prince Henry from the Orient, whither he had been sent at the time of the troubles in Kiaochow, the Emperor greeted him at a dinner held in the Royal Palace in Berlin. The question of the imperial foreign policy, as during all this period, is evidently here uppermost in the Emperor’s mind. Your Royal Highness, My Dear Brother: I bid you a hearty welcome to our Fatherland and our capital! Two years ago I sent you forth to carry out your t

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SEAPORTS AND CANNON

Lübeck, June 16, 1900 The opening of the Elbe-Trave Canal took place at Lübeck in the presence of the Emperor. He again took up the question of the development of the German Empire. On this day I congratulate the city of Lübeck most heartily. First of all I offer my heartiest thanks for the wonderful reception which you prepared for me. I have seen in the attitude and the faces of the citizens how joyously their hearts are moved to-day; for they know that I, too, take a lively interest in all th

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THE OCEAN KNOCKS AT OUR DOOR

Kiel, July 3, 1900 The ship of the line “Wittelsbach” was launched on this day. As the house of Wittelsbach is the reigning house of Bavaria, Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria was present at the christening and gave the boat its name. A banquet took place in the evening at the officers’ casino. The Emperor replied to Prince Rupprecht as follows: I thank your Royal Highness for the friendly words which you have been good enough to address to me. At the christening of this new ship your Royal Highness h

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OPEN THE WAY FOR CULTURE

Bremen, July 27, 1900 Events in China touched upon in the speech delivered on December 15, 1897, had finally brought about the Pekin crisis. Baron von Ketteler, the German Minister, had been shot down in the streets on June 20. The following is one of five speeches which the Emperor delivered on the occasion of the departure of the German troops for China. This particular one was delivered to the troops at Bremen in the presence of the Empress, Princes Eitel Friedrich and Adelbert, Chancellor Ho

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CIVIS ROMANUS SUM

Imperial Limes Museum, Saalburg, October 11, 1900 Limes was the Latin name for the boundary wall extending for about 300 miles from the Rhine to the Danube and separating the Roman Empire from the free Germanic peoples. At Saalburg, in the Taunus Mountains, there stood on the Limes an old Roman citadel which was excavated and restored. The Romanized ceremony at the laying of the corner-stone of the Imperial Limes Museum struck certain German critics as somewhat theatrical. The guards had been dr

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CABINET ORDER TO THE PRUSSIAN ARMY

January, 1901 The relationship of the army to the Prussian Kings here referred to is treated in chapter I. To My Army: To-day, at the celebration which commemorates the two-hundredth anniversary of our taking over of the royal power of Prussia, my thoughts are directed first of all to my army. In Prussia the King and the army belong indissolubly together. This close personal relationship between me and every single one of my officers and soldiers rests upon a tradition that dates back 200 years.

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DEDICATION OF THE BARRACKS OF THE ALEXANDER REGIMENT

March 28, 1901 On the 6th of March the Emperor had been struck in the face by a piece of iron hurled at him by an irresponsible youth, Weiland, in the streets of Bremen. It was doubtless this incident coupled with the increasing strength of the Social Democrats that made him think of the possibility of an uprising and deliver the following address to the population of Berlin. The Social Democrats and many others resented his suggesting the possibility of turning the troops upon the citizens. We

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TO THE STUDENTS AT BONN

April 24, 1901 Emperor William had himself been a student at Bonn. On this day the Crown Prince was matriculated at that university and in the evening the students held a Festkommers , a kind of banquet of the student societies, at which the Emperor appeared with the Crown Prince and his brother- inlay, Prince Adolph von Schaumburg-Lippe. After singing two student songs, the student leader of the Kommers , “Studiosus” von Alvensleben, greeted the Emperor with a speech of welcome. In this friendl

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A PLACE IN THE SUN

Hamburg, June 18, 1901 From his childhood the Emperor has been fond of the sea. Most of his vacations have been taken aboard his famous yacht Hohenzollern , and almost every year he has been an enthusiastic spectator, and occasionally participant, in the regattas on the Elbe. On this occasion the steam-yacht Prinzessin Victoria Luise was placed at his disposition by the directors of the Hamburg-American Line. He is using his famous phrase, “a place in the sun” with reference to the happy outcome

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THE GREAT ELECTOR

Kiel, June 20, 1901 Because of his activity in founding the Brandenburg fleet, a monument was erected to the Great Elector at Kiel. His history has been touched upon in chapter I. In connection with the services of the Dutch admirals it is interesting to note that one of the Emperor’s heroes was the God-fearing Dutch admiral De Ruyter, who always offered prayers before battle. The Emperor once laid a wreath upon his grave, and to-day on board the battle-ships the Dutch prayer before going into a

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ENTRANCE OF PRINCE EITEL FRIEDRICH INTO THE ARMY

July 7, 1901 The second son of the Emperor took up his service in the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Guard on the completion of his eighteenth year. On this occasion, in the presence of many princes, officers of the army, and military attachés, the Emperor turned over his son to the regiment with the following words: My second son, Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia, having applied himself eagerly to his studies, has now, according to the verdict of his superiors, passed his examination with a “goo

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TRUE ART

Berlin, December 18, 1901 The family of the Hohenzollerns has possessed undoubted genius in many lines. Frederick the Great and the Emperor’s great-uncle Frederick William IV were particularly gifted on the artistic side. The present Emperor, whose versatility is amazing, has taken a particular interest in things literary and artistic, and has himself occasionally assumed the rôle of creative artist. The symbolic picture, representing the coming of the “Yellow Peril,” which he is said to have pa

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MONUMENT TO GENERAL VON ROSENBERG

April 20, 1902 A monument was erected to the famous cavalry general Von Rosenberg, in Hanover. After the unveiling of the monument the Emperor responded to Count von Waldersee’s toast as follows: To-day I greet all the cavalry of the German army. Even from his grave the general’s personality has issued so magic and so powerful an appeal that it has called the horsemen together from all quarters of the German Empire and from the contingents of my affiliated rulers, so that to-day for the first ti

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THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH

Aix, June 19, 1902 The Emperor, accepting an invitation from the city, came to Aix with the Empress and the Crown Prince. It was here that Charlemagne was probably born and here that he died. The present Rathaus was built upon the ruins of his palace, and it was in the so-called Coronation Room that the Emperor delivered his address. In the name of her Majesty, the Empress, and in my name I thank you particularly for the indescribably patriotic and enthusiastic reception which has been prepared

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ALFRED KRUPP AND THE SOCIALISTS

November 26, 1902 The present speech and the one which follows it, to the working men in Breslau, may conveniently be taken together, as they both concern the Emperor’s attitude toward the Socialists. Of all his policies, his attempt to destroy this political party has been least successful. It had increased from 763,000 in 1887 to 4,250,000 in 1912, when it numbered more than twice as many voters as its nearest competitor, the Centre party, 1,996,000. The Emperor had tried to introduce repeated

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THE WORKING MAN ONCE MORE

Breslau, December 5, 1902 That the working men of Breslau have decided to come to me, their King and father, fills me with the greatest satisfaction, for two reasons. In the first place, you have not disappointed the expectations which I expressed in Essen; in the second, you have helped thereby to maintain free from reproach the memory of my late friend Krupp. From my heart I thank the spokesman for his cordial, patriotic words. You show thereby that an honorable attitude and a dependence upon

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SCHOLARSHIP AND RELIGION

Berlin, February 15, 1903 As a result of a lecture before the Oriental Society of Berlin, a very serious controversy arose in religious circles in Germany. The Emperor gave his opinion in the following open letter, which was printed in the Grenzboten . It is said that this very significant letter shows the influence of the court chaplain, Doctor Dryander. Certain of the ideas are, however, thoroughly characteristic of the Emperor. My Dear Hollmann : My telegram to you must have removed the doubt

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FREDERICK THE GREAT AND HIS ARMY

Döberitz, May 29, 1903 After conducting the manœuvres of the guard the Emperor dedicated the obelisk to Frederick the Great. The character and achievements of Frederick have been summarized in chapter I. One hundred and fifty years ago, on these same fields, his Majesty, Frederick II, who even in his lifetime was called “the Great,” gathered together a considerable part of his army in order to train and steel it for the mighty struggles which he foresaw in spirit through his prophetic vision. So

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THE FUTURE OF GERMANY

Hamburg, June 20, 1903 The equestrian statue of Emperor William I was dedicated in Hamburg, June 20, 1903. The Emperor’s interest in glorifying and occasionally even in sanctifying his ancestors is frequently noticeable. He has tried to assure to his grandfather the title of William the Great, and the Emperor’s friend Ballin, of the Hamburg-American Line, has given this title as well as that of Imperator to the well-known transatlantic steamers. It is perhaps significant that Bismarck is not men

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THE REASONS FOR JAPAN’S VICTORY

March 9, 1905 It will have been noted that the Emperor usually addresses his recruits in very simple language. On the occasion of administering the oath to the naval recruits at Wilhelmshaven, he was concerned about explaining to them the reasons for the Japanese victory, for he had repeatedly told them that only a good Christian can be a good soldier. The speech was reported through a letter of one of the recruits. The Emperor spoke, among other things, of the heroic deeds of the Japanese and e

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THE SALT OF THE EARTH

Bremen, March 22, 1905 The following address was delivered at the Rathaus in Bremen on the occasion of the dedication of the monument to Emperor Frederick III. The Emperor here presents his views on the mission of Germany in much the same spirit in which it is expounded in a number of his addresses of this time. He has become increasingly conscious of her “manifest destiny” in the decade which had passed after the celebrations of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Franco-Prussian War. Germany h

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THE MOROCCO QUESTION

Tangier, March 31, 1905 On the 8th of April, 1904, an entente which had settled all outstanding questions between France and Great Britain and gave to Great Britain a free hand in Egypt and to France a free hand in Morocco was formally signed in London. The German Government officially declared that the settlement between France and Great Britain concerned only these two countries; but the Pan-German Society, the Colonial Society, and the Navy League began so insistent an agitation that the gove

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THE GREAT ALLY

September 8, 1906 On this date the Emperor and his four sons dedicated a monument to Frederick the Great on the site of his famous bivouac at Bunzelwitz. In the evening he addressed a banquet in Breslau, in which he took up especially the services of the Silesians to the crown. He particularly recalls the support they gave Frederick William III in 1813, at the lowest ebb of that King’s fortunes. Divisions of patriotic volunteers, “free corps,” were organized in the province, who, not being Pruss

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OPTIMISM AND LITERATURE

Münich, November 12, 1906 One of the men of letters whom the Emperor has been particularly delighted to honor and in whom he sees one of the glories of German literature is Doctor Ludwig Ganghofer, who is certainly not more than an able writer of the second rank. After a performance in the Hoftheater in Münich the Emperor expressed the desire to see him, and the following conversation took place which was reported in a confusing combination of direct and indirect quotation. The Emperor said that

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TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF LABOR LEGISLATION

November 17, 1906 The policy of introducing legislation in the interest of the laboring classes may be said to have been inaugurated by Emperor William I in 1881. If one of its aims was to alleviate the condition of this class and to promote the welfare of Germany generally, another and perhaps its most important aim in Bismarck’s eyes was to stem the growth of the Social Democratic party and bring about a greater sense of solidarity within the empire. In this latter aim of “taking the wind out

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IMPERIALISM VERSUS SOCIAL DEMOCRACY

Berlin, February 5, 1907 A number of scandals in army and colonial administration had been exposed in 1906. It will be remembered that for years back the Emperor had been insisting on union between the various religious creeds. This was perhaps due in part to a spirit of toleration, but to a larger extent it was due to the fact that the Centre party (Catholic) had for a number of years been in control. The Reichstag of 1906 was dissolved, ostensibly over the government’s quarrel with the Centre

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THE NECESSITY OF FAITH

Münster, August 31, 1907 The following address of a general character, which represents the Emperor’s faith in God and in Germany, was delivered at a banquet in the Westphalian Provincial Museum. It is somewhat similar in its general attitude to the one delivered about a month later at the unveiling of the national monument at Memel. I wish to express to the representatives of the province whom I have gathered about me to-day my warmest thanks for the way in which I have everywhere been received

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ENGLISH JOURNALISTS

London, November 16, 1907 In November and December, 1907, the Emperor paid a visit to England. On this occasion the degree of Doctor of Civil Law was conferred upon him by Oxford University. Ever since the Morocco incident, in 1905, the feeling between the two countries had been somewhat strained and newspapers on both sides of the channel had helped to foment discontent. To a group of English journalists who had visited Germany during the summer the Emperor gave an audience and addressed them a

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ALSACE-LORRAINE

Strasburg, August 30, 1908 The Emperor delivered the following address at a banquet after the imperial manœuvres in Alsace-Lorraine. The general situation in Alsace-Lorraine has been discussed in connection with the address to the delegates of the Landesausschuss on March 14, 1891. I bid you, gentlemen, heartily welcome and express to you the warmest thanks of the Empress and myself for the beautiful reception through which, here as in Metz, the people of Alsace-Lorraine have given so telling an

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THE “DAILY TELEGRAPH” INTERVIEW

October 28, 1908 Perhaps the most startling incident in the Emperor’s reign and the most extraordinary evidence of what may be called his “personal diplomacy” policy was brought out by the publication of an interview in the Daily Telegraph of London. German sympathies before and during the Boer War had been strongly pro-Boer. On the third of January, 1896, the Emperor had telegraphed to President Krüger: “I beg to express to you my sincere congratulations that, without help from foreign powers,

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THE EMPEROR AND COUNT ZEPPELIN

Manzell, November 10, 1908 With Prince Fürstenberg the Emperor journeyed from Donaueschingen to Manzell in order to be present at a flight of the dirigible Z-1. Count Zeppelin received the Emperor and conducted him in a motor-boat to the dirigible hangar. Prince Fürstenberg, Admiral von Müller, and General von Plessen ascended with the count. The Emperor did not make the flight. After the landing of the airship he bestowed upon Count Zeppelin the order of the Black Eagle with the following words

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REGATTA AT HAMBURG

Hamburg, June 22, 1909 The Emperor, as an enthusiastic yachtsman, has made it a point to be present, as we have seen, at nearly all of the Hamburg regattas. As he was this year to visit the Czar in the furtherance of his “personal diplomacy,” he had already been forced to decline their invitation; but finding it possible to attend at the last moment, he made all possible speed to arrive at Hamburg, where his recently constructed yacht Meteor was to make her first start. The banquet, at which the

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REVIEW OF THE FOURTEENTH ARMY CORPS

Karlsruhe, September 11, 1909 The following address was delivered at Karlsruhe by the Emperor after his return from Austria in 1909. I extend to you my heartiest thanks for the friendly words of welcome which in the name of the citizens of Karlsruhe you have offered me. I have so often stopped here at Karlsruhe that I am no longer a stranger among you. With you I have lived through joyful and sorrowful days. On the present day, as you have said, I am here to inspect this portion of our army. We

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EMPEROR BY DIVINE RIGHT

Königsberg, August 25, 1910 It was at Königsberg that the coronation of the Emperor’s grandfather took place, or rather, it was here that William I crowned himself King of Prussia. This express disclaimer of any responsibility to the people may be found in several speeches, but nowhere was the ex me mea nata corona attitude more forcibly expressed than on this occasion. Ordinarily there had been no coronations in Prussia, as they were considered a useless expense. As the predecessor of Emperor W

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THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN

Berlin, October 11, 1910 The active interest which the Emperor has always taken in higher education in Germany is evident in the following address. If he has given it a powerful organization he has taken from it by unconscious processes a large measure of its earlier freedom. The professorial caste has always been highly influential. During the Emperor’s reign it has been pressed into his service. Its present system of organization and its connection with the government puts the Emperor, or at l

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THE EMPEROR IN BRUSSELS

October 27, 1910 The Emperor and Empress, accompanied by the Princess Victoria Luise, came to Brussels in order to repay the visit which the King and Queen of Belgium had made to Potsdam in May, 1910. At the time of the visit of King Albert to Berlin the Emperor did not take part in the festivities, as he was suffering from a wound in the hand. The honors were done by the Crown Prince. The Emperor’s speech at the banquet at the Royal Palace in Brussels calls for no comment. The sincere words of

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ALCOHOL AND THE SCHOOLS

Cassel, August 19, 1911 The Emperor had been a student at the Friedrichs Gymnasium in Cassel, and in 1875 his parents had presented a flag to the school, which had now to be replaced. In turning over the new flag to the first man in the upper class, the Emperor took occasion to give the students certain advice, particularly with regard to the use of alcoholic beverages. His attitude here marks a decided innovation in Germany, and if his address is compared with the one delivered at Bonn (April 2

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INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Hamburg, August 27, 1911 After a religious service for the army, the Emperor and Empress visited the race-course at Grossborstel. The relations between Germany and England were becoming strained. At the time of the uprising in Morocco on the twenty-first of May, 1911, the French general Moinier took measures, so he said, to protect Europeans in Morocco and later besieged certain native cities. Germany, pursuing her world-policy, immediately sent the gunboat Panther and later the cruiser Berlin t

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IMPERIAL GLORIES

Aix, October 18, 1911 The special fondness of the Emperor for Aix is indicated in the address of June 19, 1902. With his assistance the cathedral had been restored in this year, and a marble tablet had been set up in his honor. If the Emperor’s father was concerned about restoring the splendor of the crown, it is also true that he was by nature one of the most liberal of the Hohenzollerns. The book which Frederick I gave his son to read was in all probability the magnificent volume, “Die Reichsk

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OPENING OF THE REICHSTAG

Berlin, February 7, 1912 As a result of the Morocco crisis and the increasing imminence of international difficulties, the war footing of the German army had been increased to 3,860,000 men. The navy had been steadily extended, and projects for further increases in both army and navy were to be introduced at this session of the Reichstag and to be granted. The question of taxation was becoming more and more serious. In view of the project for increased armament and higher taxation, Chancellor vo

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BRANDENBURG ONCE AGAIN

May 30, 1912 The indications of particular good-will which the Emperor had always exhibited for the Brandenburgers and the marks of special favor which he had seemed to accord to them have occasionally aroused a certain suspicion, not to say ill will, in the minds of some of his South German subjects. In his hereditary provinces, Brandenburg and Prussia, it will be noticed that the Emperor had always expressed himself most freely with regard to his personal pretensions that he ruled by divine ri

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HAULING DOWN THE FLAG

Hamburg, June 18, 1912 As usual, the Emperor was present at the meeting of the North German Regatta Association. Since 1897 he had been absent but once. Certain references in his address here doubtless refer back to the outcome of events at Agadir. It is difficult to tell whether or not he is on the defensive. Whatever his qualities or defects, it cannot properly be said that he has often or indeed ever publicly weakened in a position which he had once taken. He has, however, occasionally shifte

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ACCIDENT TO A ZEPPELIN

Bonn, October 17, 1913 Nineteen hundred and thirteen was a jubilee year in the history both of Germany and in the Emperor’s reign. In the first place, it was the one-hundredth anniversary of the famous battle of the nations at Leipzig, which marked the turning of the tide in the fortunes of Napoleon. On innumerable occasions the Emperor, in the speeches already printed, has referred to this crisis in the affairs of Germany; he was, curiously enough, not to make the address on this famous occasio

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WE GERMANS FEAR GOD, NOTHING ELSE

Hamburg, June 23, 1914 The following speech is, we believe, the last one delivered by the Emperor before the murder of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand (June 28), which precipitated the war. True to his custom, the Emperor is again at Hamburg at the regatta which usually marks the beginning of his summer holiday. This year his yacht Meteor was to win the Hamburg prize. The banquet at which he ordinarily delivered his address was to be held on board the Victoria Luise , and the president of the assoc

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FORCING THE SWORD INTO HIS HAND

Berlin, July 31, 1914 On the 31st of July the Emperor made the following address from the balcony of the Royal Palace in Berlin: A grievous situation has come upon Germany. Envious nations on all sides are forcing us to justified defense. They are forcing the sword into my hand. If my attempts are not successful in bringing our opponents to their senses and in keeping peace at the eleventh hour, I hope that with God’s help we may so use the sword that we may be able to sheathe it again with hono

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AN END OF PARTIES

Berlin, August 1, 1914 After the order of mobilization, the Emperor made the following brief speech from the window of the Royal Palace: If we must have war, all parties cease. We are only German brothers. In times of peace this or that party has attacked me; I forgive them now with all my heart. If our neighbors are not satisfied to leave us in peace, then we hope and pray that our good German sword will come out of the struggle victorious....

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OPENING OF THE REICHSTAG

Berlin, August 4, 1914 The Emperor opened the special session of the Reichstag with the following address: Honored Gentlemen : At a time big with consequences I have assembled the elected representatives of the German people about me. For nearly half a century we have been allowed to follow the ways of peace. The attempts to attribute to Germany warlike in tentions and to hedge in her position in the world have often sorely tried the patience of my people. Undeterred, my government has pursued t

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TO THE ARMY AND NAVY

Berlin, August 6, 1914 On this date the following statement was issued to the army and navy: After forty-three years of peace, I call all the available forces to arms. We must defend our most sacred possessions, the Fatherland, and our own hearths, against ruthless attack. Enemies round about us! That is the characteristic of the situation. We must expect a great conflict and to make great sacrifices. I have confidence that the old warlike spirit still lives in the German people, that powerful w

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PROCLAMATION TO THE GERMAN PEOPLE

Berlin, August 6, 1914 The following proclamation was issued on the evening of this date: To the German People : Since the founding of the empire, for forty-three years it has been the earnest aim of my ancestors and myself to maintain peace with the world and to further our powerful advance in peace. But our opponents envy us the fruit of our labors. In the consciousness of our responsibility and our strength, we must endure overt and covert hostility from east and west and from across the sea.

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