Chapter V: Part 5

A glance at our flags will explain the reason, for they embody our history. At the beginning of the last century what was the position of our army? The glorious army of Frederick the Great had become ossified and was interested only in petty and insignificant details; it was led by generals feeble with age and no longer capable of conducting active campaigns; its corps of officers had lost the habit of invigorating labor; through a life of luxury and comfort and foolish exaltation of self it had fallen asleep upon its laurels. In one word, the army was not only no longer capable of carrying out its task, but had forgotten it.

The punishment of Heaven was grievous, for it was suddenly visited upon our entire people. Cast down into the dust, Frederick's glory vanished, and the army's standards were broken. In the seven long years of grievous slavery God taught our people to take thought, and under the pressure of the foot of an insolent conqueror developed the idea of universal military service, the idea that the greatest honor lies in dedicating our services in arms and in sacrificing our blood and our possessions for the Fatherland. My great-grandfather gave the idea form and life, and new laurels crowned the newly established army and her recent flags.

But the idea of universal military service reached its full significance only under our great departed Emperor. In spite of opposition and lack of comprehension he quietly went to work at the reorganization, and at the re-establishment of our army. Victorious campaigns, nevertheless, gave his work an altogether unexpected sanction. His spirit filled the ranks of his army, even as his trust in God carried them on to unheard-of victories. With this, his own creation, he brought the Germanic peoples together again and gave us the German unity for which we had prayed. We owe it to him that, thanks to this honor, the German Empire commands respect again and takes up its appointed place in the council of the nations.

It is for you, gentlemen, to cherish and exemplify in the new century the old qualities through which our forefathers gave greatness to the army. This means that you must make few demands in daily life,[28] that you must practise simplicity and give yourselves up unconditionally to the royal service, that you must in ceaseless labor offer all the powers of body and soul to the building up and development of our troops, and, just as my grandfather labored for his land forces, so, undeterred, I shall carry through to its completion the work of reorganizing my navy in order that it may stand justified at the side of my army and that through it the German Empire may also be in a position to win outwardly the place which she has not yet attained.

[28] "To the Americans the pay of the German troops, officers and men,
is ludicrously small. It is evident that men do not undertake
to fit themselves to be officers, and do not struggle through
frequent and severe examinations to remain officers, for the pay
they receive. A lieutenant receives for the first three years $300
a year, from the fourth to the sixth year $425, from the seventh
to the ninth year $550, and after the twelfth year $600 a year.
A captain receives from the first to the fourth year $850, from
the fifth to the eighth year $1,150, and the ninth year and after
$1,275 a year. Of one hundred officers who join, only an average
of eight ever attain to the command of a regiment. In Bavaria and
Würtemberg promotion is quicker by from one to three years than
in Prussia. In Prussia promotion to _Oberleutnant_ averages 10
years, to captain or _Rittmeister_ 15 years, to major 25 years,
to colonel 33 years, and to general 37 years. It would not be
altogether inhuman if these gentlemen occasionally drank a toast
to war and pestilence."--PRICE COLLIER, "Germany and the Germans."

When both are united I hope to be in a position, firmly trusting in the leadership of God, to carry into effect the saying of Frederick William I: "If one wishes to decide anything in the world, it cannot be done with the pen unless the pen is supported by the force of the sword."

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 task in the far East, and could only hope that God would give you His protection and bring the work to a successful issue. The joyous and enthusiastic reception which all classes in my home city, Berlin, give you is a testimony to the loving interest which our entire people have in the completion of the task which you had set yourself.

But this reception has a still deeper significance. It is an unambiguous indication which proves how deeply the people have come to understand the need of strengthening our sea power. The German people is of one mind with its princes and its Emperor in the feeling that in its powerful development it must set up a new boundary post and create a great fleet which will correspond to its needs.

Just as Emperor William the Great created the weapon by whose help we became again black, white, and red, so the German people is now lending its efforts to forging the weapon through which, God willing and in all eternity, both here and in foreign countries, it will remain black, white, and red.

On your return you find a little lad[29] in the arms of your faithful wife. As sponsor for the growth of our young fleet may you see him grow up to full maturity under the protection of God! Hurrah!

[29] Prince Henry, born January 9, 1900.

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 that now moves them. May the canal which they have carried through with their irresistible Hanseatic activity not fall short in any way of their expectations, and I am convinced that it will not do so. You see, as you look upon the completed work, how significant it is that a united German Empire now exists. Its past glories Lübeck owed to the German Emperors, and its present glory it owes to the German Empire, so I hope that everywhere in the empire and among the people the conviction may grow that through the re-establishment and strengthening of the German Empire we are now called upon to carry through those old tasks which could not be accomplished formerly and which were rendered impossible through the unfortunate lack of union of our ancestors.

I hope that in the future, under my protection, Lübeck may continue to develop. I could not express this hope with the same satisfaction if I did not now stand before you joyously buoyed up by the hope that we to-day have the prospect of at last possessing a German fleet.

An Emperor can only undertake to protect a seaport when he is in a position with his cannon to protect her flag, even in the farthermost corners of the world, whether it be that of Lübeck, or of Hamburg, or of Bremen, or of Prussia.

May it be granted us to maintain peace outwardly through our fleet, and may we succeed through the building of the necessary canals within to simplify the problem of transportation! A blessing will certainly always rest upon our waterways.

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 has mentioned the support which the house of Wittelsbach has given to the German Emperors. I would like to call attention in this connection to an episode in the early history of our houses.

On the fields before Rome it was granted to one of the ancestors of your Royal Highness in company with one of mine to be made the recipient of a very unusual distinction. Mounted upon their horses and clad in armor, in sight of the hostile squadron of knights, they received the accolade from Emperor Henry VII. The incident is immortalized in a picture upon my yacht _Hohenzollern_.

The descendants of those princes gave each other assistance at Mühldorf,[30] where the Hohenzoller won the battle for Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria. Just as at that time the houses of Wittelsbach and of Hohenzollern fought side by side for the good of the empire, so now, too, and in the future they will work together.

[30] Battle fought in 1322 between two competitors for the empire,
Louis V and Frederick the Fair.

Your Royal Highness has had the opportunity to be present during these days when we came to weighty conclusions and to be the witness of historical moments which mark a new point in the history of our people. Your Royal Highness has been able to convince himself how powerfully the wave beat of the ocean knocks at the door of our people and forces it to demand its place in the world as a great nation; drives it on, in short, to world politics.

Germany's greatness makes it impossible for her to do without the ocean--but the ocean also proves that even in the distance, and on its farther side, without Germany and the German Emperor no great decision dare henceforth be taken.[31]

[31] See the introduction to chapter IV, "The Beginning of World
Politics."

I do not believe that thirty years ago our German people, under the leadership of their princes, bled and conquered in order that they might be shoved aside when great decisions are to be made in foreign politics. If that could happen the idea that the German people are to be considered as a world-power would be dead and done for, and it is not my will that this should happen. To this end it is only my duty and my finest privilege to use the proper and, if need be, the most drastic means without fear of consequences. I am convinced that in this course I have the German princes and the German people firmly behind me.

It is of great significance that precisely at this time, when Bavarians and Würtembergers, Saxons and Prussians are going into the far East in order to re-establish the honor of the German flag, your Royal Highness should have accepted the honor of the _à la suite_ position to the naval battalion. Just as the house of Wittelsbach took up arms in 1870 to fight for Germany's honor, for her union, and her imperial dignity, so I hope that the empire may always be assured of the support of this noble race.

As a representative of this noble house I greet your Royal Highness with the wish that the close connection which the _à la suite_ position to my navy now gives you will always maintain your Royal Highness's interest for our fleet.

I drink to the health of his Royal Highness, Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria. Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

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 Hohenlohe, Secretary of State von Bülow, Minister
of War von Gossler, and Lieutenant-General von Bessel. Various
versions of this speech exist and in many of them the harshness of
the Emperor's expression has been toned down. We give first the
version which was printed in the _Reichsanzeiger_, the official
journal, and which seems to have been somewhat edited. In order
that the reader may realize more fully the impression conveyed by
the Emperor's farewell address to his troops, we print under it
the account which a volunteer of the 1st East Asiatic Regiment of
infantry sent home to his family.

Great tasks oversea have fallen to the lot of the newly arisen German Empire, tasks far greater than many of my countrymen have expected. The character of the German Empire makes it a duty for it to protect its citizens no matter how far they may have penetrated into foreign lands. The new German Empire is in a position to discharge the task which the old Roman Empire of the German Nation could not discharge. The instrument which makes this possible for us is our army.

In thirty years of faithful and peaceful labor it has been developed according to the principles of my late grandfather. You too have received your training according to these principles, and are now called upon to give proof before the enemy whether or not you have observed them well. Your comrades of the navy have undergone this trial; they have shown you that the principles of our training are good, and I am proud of the praise which has come from the mouths of foreign leaders, in recognition of the service which your comrades out there have given. It is now for you to do likewise.

A great task is waiting for you. You are to right the grievous wrong which has been done. The Chinese have overthrown the law of nations; in a way which has never been heard of in the history of the world, they have scorned the duties of hospitality and the sanctity of the Ambassador. This is the more revolutionary, as this crime was committed by a nation which is proud of its very ancient culture. Preserve the old Prussian thoroughness; show yourselves as Christians in joyfully bearing your trials; may honor and glory follow your flags and weapons! Give the world an example of manliness and discipline.

You know very well that you are to fight against a cunning, brave, well-armed, and terrible enemy. If you come to grips with him, be assured quarter will not be given, no prisoners will be taken. Use your weapons in such a way that for a thousand years no Chinese shall dare to look upon a German askance. Show your manliness.

The blessing of God be with you! The prayers of an entire people and my wishes accompany you, every one. Open the way for culture once for all!

And now take up your journey! Adieu, comrades!

We here subjoin the account of this speech as given in the letter
of a volunteer in the 1st East Asiatic Regiment of infantry:

After the Emperor had gone down the front and had greeted separately every battalion, every division or squadron, he pictured the present situation in eloquent words and called attention to the fact that no crime which so cried to Heaven had been recorded in the history of the world, but he also set in their proper light the difficulties of the task which we had set for ourselves and emphasized the fact that we had before us an opponent equal in equipment and fame but ten times superior in numbers. But, and his words ran about as follows, "you will and must defeat him with the help of God and, indeed, in such a way that the Chinese in thousands of years will not presume to raise his hand against a German"; and his voice became deeply moved and powerful as he spoke the following words: "On the strength of the oath to the flag which you have sworn to me I demand that you give no pardon, that no prisoners be taken, for you shall be the avengers of the abomination which has been committed in this present time." Then followed certain words of farewell, and the speech of the Emperor which for me and for many others will be unforgettably closed with the phrase, "Adieu, comrades."

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
drilled to clash their swords on their shields after the manner of
the Pretorian guards, the rector of the school offered his homage
in Latin verses, and boys whose hair had been dressed in Roman
fashion swung their censers. The Emperor's historical references
here about the relation of Germany to Rome are somewhat one-sided.
It may be recalled, in connection with the Emperor's remarks about
Augustus and his salutary influence on Germany, that in the Forest
of Teutoburg there is a great monument to commemorate the fact that
the united German tribes, struggling victoriously against this
"Roman culture which fell so fruitfully upon Germany especially,"
there annihilated the forces of the general of Augustus, Quintilius
Varus.

My first thought to-day goes back in solemn gratitude to my father of everlasting memory, Emperor Frederick III. It is to his creative will and to his activity that Saalburg owes its restoration.

Just as in the far east of the monarchy at his bidding the powerful stronghold, which once had implanted German culture into the east, rearose and is now nearing completion, so, too, here in the beautiful Taunus Mountains the old Roman citadel has arisen again like a phoenix from its ashes. It is a testimony to the Roman power, a link in the great chain which the legions of Rome built about the powerful empire which, at the bidding of the Roman Emperor Cæsar Augustus alone, forced its way upon the world and opened the whole world to that Roman culture which fell so fruitfully upon Germany especially.

With the first blow of my hammer I therefore dedicate this stone to the memory of Emperor Frederick III; with the second I dedicate it to German youth, to the generations now growing up who may learn here in this restored museum what a world-empire means; with the third I dedicate it to our German Fatherland, to which I hope it will be granted, through the harmonious co-operation of princes and peoples, of its armies and its citizens, to become in the future as closely united, as powerful, and as authoritative as once the Roman world-empire was, and that, just as in old times they said, "_Civis romanus sum_," hereafter, at some time in the future, they will say: "I am a German citizen."

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. The spirit which from the time of Frederick the Great has been fostered in the army by all the Kings, the spirit of honor, of fidelity to duty, of obedience, of courage, of chivalry has made the army what it is and what it ought to be, the sharp, reliable weapon in the hand of her Kings for the protection and the blessing of the Fatherland's greatness.

To serve the Fatherland at the head of the army, that is my will and that also was the foremost wish of all my predecessors. It is to their care that the army owes its power and the consideration which it enjoys. For 200 years she has proven true the sentence of the great King: "The world does not rest upon the shoulders of Atlas any more securely than the Prussian state upon the shoulders of the army!" It has sealed with its blood its love and gratitude for its Kings!

For all this I thank the army deeply. I thank it for the devotion which it has unselfishly shown me and my house year in and year out, in its unceasing service for the Fatherland. So long as this spirit binds the army to its Kings, so long we need fear no storms; and Prussia's eagle will proudly pursue its lofty and undeflected flight for the good of Prussia, for the good of Germany! May God grant us this!

WILLIAM, I. R.

BERLIN ROYAL PALACE.

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 give first Penzler's more or less official
account of the speech as it appeared in the _Kreuzzeitung_. If the
extract which we quote from Doctor Liman's work "Der Kaiser" may be
considered at all authentic, the speech seems to have been somewhat
edited before publication.

MEMBERS OF THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER REGIMENT:

To-day a new period in your history begins. May the spirit of the memories which you leave behind you in the old barracks live on in your new home. They are memories of beautiful days of peace and of fierce days of conflict. Like a firm bulwark, your new barracks stand in the neighborhood of the palace, which it is primarily your duty to be ever ready to defend. The Emperor Alexander Regiment is called upon in a sense to stand ready as body-guard by night and by day and, if necessary, to risk its life and its blood for the King and his house; and if ever again (the Emperor here called to mind the faithful bearing of the Alexander Regiment at the time of the revolts against the King in 1848) a time like this should reappear in this city, a time of uprising against the King, then I am convinced the Alexander Regiment will be able energetically to force back into bounds any impertinence and rebelliousness against its royal master.[32]

[32] This last sentence reads as follows in Doctor Liman's work:
"But if the city should ever again presume to rise up against
its master then will the regiment repress with the bayonet the
impertinence of the people toward their King." Doctor Liman states
that it was currently reported that this sentiment had been
expressed in phrases which were even more objectionable to the
citizens who were standing outside the circle of soldiers.

I hope that a brilliant and beautiful existence may be in store for the regiment in its new home, and that such an existence will be reserved for it in the future. May it cherish above all things its memories of its earlier leaders and its enduring relationships to them. These memories can only be fostered through courage, fidelity, and unconditional obedience. And if this old spirit lives on in the regiment then must its acts always win for it the satisfaction of its royal master.

(After the banquet in the officers' mess the Emperor turned over to
them a large painting of the Alexander Regiment on the evening of
the battle of St. Privat. The official report gives the Emperor's
speech partly in his own words and partly in summary.)

He was convinced that the officers had brought the old spirit into their new quarters, and that they would continue to foster it. He, too, on his side, wished to contribute something to the decoration of their new home, and to this end had chosen an episode out of the victorious history of the regiment, and in doing so he wished to carry out a wish of the officers.

"In most of the pictures based upon the martial history of Prussia the Prussian troops are represented in victorious advance when, under their powerful shock, they are overthrowing the enemy. I thought it fitting for once to have the Prussian toughness and endurance on the defensive represented in the battle of a smaller body against an overwhelmingly superior force. The picture represents how a small number from the Alexander Regiment defended themselves with heroic spirit against an entire brigade and finally victoriously repulsed it. My grandfather expressed to the body-guard as a whole his gratitude for its brave conduct in the face of the enemy and for all its heroic deeds. I am firmly convinced that the officers of the Alexander Regiment will always be mindful of its task, seeing that it educates soldiers for the one moment when it is a question of sealing with their life-blood their fidelity toward King and Fatherland. This consciousness gives me the certainty that we shall conquer everywhere, even though we be surrounded by enemies on all sides; for there lives a powerful ally, the old, good God[33] in heaven, who, ever since the time of the Great Elector and of the great King, has always been on our side."

[33] _Der alte, gute Gott._

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 friendly gathering the Emperor took occasion
to discuss the history of the empire and especially the reasons
for the failure of the older empire because of its cosmopolitan
character. The new empire must be based upon a recognition of the
characteristic German traits and will be possible only through the
whole-hearted support of the constituent states of the realm.

I do not need to emphasize or even to mention to you, my dear young comrades, what emotions thrill my heart at finding myself again among students in beautiful Bonn. There unrolls before my mind's eye the glimmering picture of sunshine and happy contentment with which the period of my own sojourn here was filled. It was the joy of living, joy in people old and young, and, above all things, joy in the development of the young German Empire!

It is therefore my wish at this moment, when I place my dear son among you, that he, too, may have as happy a time as a student as was once vouchsafed to me. And, indeed, how could it be otherwise? For Bonn, the lovely city, is so accustomed to the presence of young men full of life and seems by nature to have been designed to no other end. Here the Crown Prince will find memories of his glorious grandfather who could not forget Bonn--his kindly eyes brightened whenever the name of the city which had become so dear to him was mentioned--memories of his great-grandfather, the noble prince consort, the companion of that now sanctified royal lady,[34] who always strove to maintain a peaceful and friendly relationship between her people and ours, which are both of German stock--memories of many another noble German prince who here prepared himself for his later career.

[34] Queen Victoria.

But even more than that--Bonn is situated on the Rhine; it is here that our grapes are gathered; our legends cluster about it, and every castle, every city, speaks to us of our past. The magic of Father Rhine will certainly exercise its power upon the Crown Prince likewise. And when you joyfully pass the cup and sing a new song, then I hope that your spirits may rise and enjoy the beautiful moments as becomes happy German youths! But may the source from which you draw your joys be as clear and pure as the golden juice of the grape, may it be deep and constant as Father Rhine! If we look about us in the joyous Rhineland, our history rises up before us in very palpable form. You may well rejoice that you are young Germans, as you travel through the stretch from Aix to Mainz, that is, from Charlemagne to the time of Germany's splendor under Barbarossa.

But why did all this glory come to naught? Why did the German Empire dwindle away? Because the old empire was not founded upon a strictly national basis. The universality idea of the old Roman Empire of the German Nation did not admit of any development in the spirit of German nationality. The life of a nation depends upon its frontiers, upon the personality of its people, and upon its racial traits. And so the glory of Barbarossa had to fail, and the old imperial structure had to fall, because through its idea of universality it hindered the process of crystallization which might have made it a rounded and completed nation; for the smaller units crystallized into the form of powerful principalities and laid the foundation for new states. But through this process their rulers unfortunately came into conflict with the empire and the Emperor, who dreamed of universal dominion, and internal peace was lost to the ever weakening empire. Unfortunately, at the head of this chapter in the development of our German people we must write the telling words of Tacitus, that great student of Germany: "_Propter invidiam_." The princes were envious of the power of the Emperors, just as once they were envious of the power of Arminius in spite of his victory. The nobility was envious of the cities which had become wealthy, and the peasant was envious of the noble. What unhappy consequences and what grievous woes our dear and beautiful Germany had to suffer "_propter invidiam_"! The shores of Father Rhine can tell you long stories about this. But finally God allowed one to accomplish what before had been impossible. Aix and Mainz are for us historic memories; the longing to be brought together into a single nation remained in the German breast, and Emperor William the Great, in union with his faithful servants, achieved it. So cast your eyes from Coblentz to the German Eck and from Rüdesheim to the Niederwald! The pictures teach and prove to you that you are now Germans in a German land, citizens of a definitely bounded German nation. You are here to prepare yourselves to contribute to her future welfare and development. In its proud flower the empire stands before you. May you be filled with joy and grateful happiness, and may you be thrilled with the firm and manly resolve, as Germans, to give your service to Germany, to support, strengthen, and elevate her! The future waits for you and will need your strength; it does not expect that you will waste it in idle cosmopolitan dreams or enlist it in the service of selfish party tendencies, but that you will devote it to strengthening the national idea and our own ideals. Powerful, indeed, are the intellectual heroes which the Germanic stock, through the grace of God, has produced, from the time of Boniface and Walter von der Vogelweide to Goethe and Schiller; and they have become a light and blessing to all humanity. Their influence was exerted universally, and yet they were strictly Germans, set apart by themselves; that is, personalities, men. We need them to-day more than ever. May you strive to become such as they were!

But how is this to be possible, and who is to help you? Only one, our Lord and Saviour, whose name we all bear and who has borne our sins and redeemed us, has provided us with an example, and labored as we are to labor. He has implanted moral earnestness in you so that the springs of your activity may remain pure and that your aims may be lofty! The love of father and mother, of the ancestral home and Fatherland, is rooted in the love for Him. Then will you be provided with a charm against temptations of every sort, above all against pride and envy, and you can sing and say: "We Germans fear God, nothing else in this world." Then will we stand firm and spread culture through the world, and I shall close my eyes in peace if I see such generations growing up and gathered about my son. Then "_Deutschland, Deutschland über Alles!_" With this prospect in mind I call out: Long live the University of Bonn!

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 of events in China,
for on May 27 of this year China had finally accepted the terms
of the powers. Of the 90,000 men sent by the powers, Germany had
furnished 22,000, and the general direction of the expedition had
been intrusted to the German general Von Waldersee. Ballin, of the
Hamburg-American Line, had acquired 3,000 feet of water-front and
had leased for twenty-five years most of the landings of a Chinese
navigation company. The Emperor's speech was delivered in reply to
one by Burgomaster Mönckeberg of Hamburg.

I offer my heartiest thanks for the eloquent address of your Magnificence. I express to you and all comrades on the water the pleasure which I feel that I should once more be allowed to appear among you and take part in the races of the North German Regatta Association.

His Magnificence, in his short and pregnant speech, gave us as good and beautiful a picture as possible of the development of our Fatherland during recent years in the field of water sports and of our relations to foreign countries. It will be my sole task for the future to see to it that the seeds which have been sown may develop in peace and security.

In spite of the fact that we have no such fleet as we should have, we have conquered for ourselves a place in the sun. It will now be my task to see to it that this place in the sun shall remain our undisputed possession, in order that the sun's rays may fall fruitfully upon our activity and trade in foreign parts, that our industry and agriculture may develop within the state and our sailing sports upon the water, for our future lies upon the water. The more Germans go out upon the waters, whether it be in the races of regattas, whether it be in journeys across the ocean, or in the service of the battle-flag, so much the better will it be for us. For when the German has once learned to direct his glance upon what is distant and great, the pettiness which surrounds him in daily life on all sides will disappear. Whoever wishes to have this larger and freer outlook can find no better place than one of the Hanseatic cities. What we have learned out of the previous history of our development amounts really to what I already pointed out when I sent my brother to the East Asiatic station (Dec. 15, 1897). We have merely drawn the logical conclusions from the work which was left us by Emperor William the Great, my memorable grandfather, and the great man whose monument we have recently unveiled.[35] These consequences lie in the fact that we are now making our efforts to do what, in the old time, the Hanseatic cities could not accomplish, because they lacked the vivifying and protecting power of the empire. May it be the function of my Hansa during many years of peace to protect and advance commerce and trade!

[35] Bismarck.

In the events which have taken place in China I see the indication that European peace is assured for many years to come; for the achievements of the particular contingents have brought about a mutual respect and feeling of comradeship that can only serve the furtherance of peace. But in this period of peace I hope that our Hanseatic cities will flourish. Our new Hansa will open new paths and create and conquer new markets for them.

As head of the empire I therefore rejoice over every citizen, whether from Hamburg, Bremen, or Lübeck, who goes forth with this large outlook and seeks new points where we can drive in the nail on which to hang our armor. Therefore, I believe that I express the feeling of all your hearts when I recognize gratefully that the director of this company who has placed at our disposal the wonderful ship which bears my daughter's name has gone forth as a courageous servant of the Hansa, in order to make for us friendly conquests whose fruits will be gathered by our descendants.

In the joyful hope that this enterprising Hanseatic spirit may be spread even further, I raise my glass and ask all of those who are my comrades upon the water to join with me in a cheer for sailing and the Hanseatic spirit!

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 action is often read by the
chaplains of the navy.

What extraordinary progress has been made in naval matters
under the Emperor we may judge when we remember that before the
Franco-Prussian War there were in Germany no construction bureaus
and no wharves in which cruisers could be built. The first armored
cruisers, _König Wilhelm_, _Kronprinz_, _Friedrich Karl_, were
bought from England and France. In thirty years Germany has here
achieved not only complete independence but something approaching
very nearly to supremacy. His service in this field has been
generally recognized. A German critic not usually favorable to the
Emperor speaks thus: "Perhaps nowhere in the development of our
political life does the personal activity of the Emperor stand out
so strongly as in the building up of the German fleet. From the
beginning he has displayed so much energy and perseverance, in
this respect, and has so emphatically carried his will into effect
that history will certainly credit him with a great and unique
service."

At the unveiling of the monument to the Great Elector, the founder
of the German navy, the Emperor spoke as follows:

Downtrodden fields, desolate plains, razed villages, disease, poverty, and misery; these were the conditions in the sandy mark when the young Elector in his earliest youth was called to the throne by the sudden death of his father. Truly, no enviable heritage; a task that called for a man who was mature, experienced, and conversant with all branches, and one which, even so, might have proved too difficult.

Undismayed, the young man entered upon his mission, and with wonderful ability he succeeded in discharging it. With an iron energy, keeping the goal which he had once set for himself ever before his eyes, allowing nothing to turn him aside, the Elector raised up and strengthened his country, put his people in a position to defend themselves, freed his borders of enemies, and soon acquired for himself such a position that the contemporary world, and even his enemies, gave him while still living that title, "The Great," which in other cases a grateful people only bestows after an arduous life of service upon a departed ruler.

And this youth who grew up to powerful manhood, who had directed his country in this work, was the first prince who called our attention to the sea; he was the founder of the Brandenburg fleet.

If the German fleet, then, sets up a monument to him, and if her officers and crews educate themselves and learn steadfastness of purpose by looking at his statue, they are merely discharging their honorable duty. God had so disposed that the Elector should pass his youth in the Netherlands and learn to foster and appreciate labor, industry, foreign relationships, and the advantages of trade. He carried over into his own country what he had acquired among that industrious and simple folk of seafarers who come from German stock. At that time it was, indeed, a most important decision, and one which at first his subjects and contemporaries could hardly understand.

Under his powerful will and protection, and in the hands of tried Netherlanders, the Admiral Raule and his brother, the Brandenburg fleet flourished. Only after the death of the Elector did his creation fall to decay. They were not destined to harvest the fruits of their labor. His successors in power had first to establish through battles their rights, in order to have a voice in the world and to be allowed to rule, undisturbed and in peace, the people within their borders. As a result, our eyes were turned from the sea again in order that after centuries of fierce conflict the mark and Prussia might finally be welded together.

Thus, through the guidance of God and through the labors of the successors of the Great Elector, the power of his house was founded on that firm foundation and with the corner-stone which he had laid. It was this princely power that made it possible for the house of Hohenzollern to take up the German imperial dignity. They founded that dynastic power which the German Emperor must have in order to be in a position to care for and protect powerfully the welfare of the empire everywhere and to force its opponents to respect its flag.

His monument now stands before the academy. That younger generation to whom the future belongs, which is to cultivate the seeds that we have sown and to reap the harvest of our labors, may now direct its gaze toward this prince and be edified by his example.

He was God-fearing and stern, inflexibly stern toward himself and toward others; he trusted firmly in God and allowed God to direct him, undismayed by any reverse or by any disappointment; as a Christian, he looked upon these merely as trials sent him from on high. In this way the Great Elector lived his life, and this is the example which we are to follow. The motto which made it possible for him never to lose his hope and courage, in spite of all vexations, in spite of all reverses and all grievous experiences and trials, was the red thread which ran through his life and which is expressed in his phrase: "_Domine, fac me scire viam, quam ambulem._"

May this be true also of the officers and crews of my navy! So long as we work on this basis we can overcome, undismayed, every grievous phase in the development of the navy and of our Fatherland which God's providence may have in store for us. Let that be the way that you shall go! Let that be the foundation on which my navy is built up! This will enable you to conquer in battle and to endure all vexations until the sun again breaks forth from the clouds.

I therefore turn over this new monument to the navy. May she protect, cherish, and honor it, so that in the future she may develop characters which are like his who now stands before her! Let the monument be unveiled!

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 "good." His childish years lie behind him, and to-day he takes up the tasks of life for which he has prepared himself--his foremost task the defense of the Fatherland--his noblest weapon the sword, his noblest uniform the Prussian soldier's uniform, the uniform of my 1st Infantry Regiment of the Guard.

The qualities which the Prince has shown in the course of his youthful development, as well as his oath, are a pledge to me that he will be a thoroughgoing officer and a faithful servant of his Fatherland. Particularly gifted for the military life, with a quick eye for detail, the Prince, as soon as he has passed his examination as an officer, will in the ranks of the regiment devote himself actively to the service for which he longs.

Although still very youthful, he should, nevertheless, be an example of earnestness, an example in observing all military rules, an example above all as an officer and man. I can think of nothing more beautiful than this, that he may be an earnest officer who turns an experienced eye upon life, unbending as iron in everything which constitutes the chivalry of the officer's position, stern with himself and maintaining in strictest self-control the traditions of his house and of this great regiment. May he go his way untroubled by voices from without, with his eye firmly fixed upon his goal, and responsible only to his God and to his father!

But the regiment in which I have now enrolled my second son gives me the assurance that the young Prince will grow up in an environment, where from all sides the glorious traditions of Prussian history in good and evil days will be brought before him. The grenadiers of this regiment will be fully conscious of the honor which is bestowed upon them through the fact that once more a young Hohenzollern takes his place under her flag.

My son, I wish you happiness of this day. Up to the present you have given me joy, and from this time forth I hope that you will experience joy in the life and the work which lies before you. Step into the ranks and draw your sword!

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 painted for the Czar, caused much comment,
mostly unfavorable.[36] He has, however, assumed a prominent if not
a decisive rôle in directing sculpture, painting, and drama in his
capital. Just as he has directed modifications in battle-ships,
so also he has directed modifications in public buildings. As he
is in a position to distribute rewards, his advice is frequently
accepted without question. The following anecdote, told by a
prominent German architect and recounted by a recent writer, may
serve as an illustration: Drawings for a new church in Berlin were
submitted to the Emperor for assent or correction. His Majesty,
intending to make a marginal remark, with regard to the cross on
the top of the steeple, put a letter for reference above the cross
and drew a straight line from the letter down to the cross. Having
changed his mind, he drew an X vigorously through the letter. When
the architect received his plans again he studied carefully all
the Emperor's corrections, but mistook the cancelled letter for a
star. Knowing better than to ask questions, he built the church
and put a big star on a huge iron pole above the top of the cross.
This strange excrescence was in existence a few years ago and is
probably still visible.

[36] "Emperor William, one of the most comical persons of our
time, orator, poet, musician, dramatic writer, and artist,
and, above all, patriot, has lately painted a picture
representing all the nations of Europe with swords, standing
at the seashore and, at the indication of Archangel Michael,
looking at the sitting figures of Buddha and Confucius in the
distance. According to William's intention, this should mean
that the nations of Europe ought to unite in order to defend
themselves against the peril which is proceeding from there.
He is quite right from his coarse, pagan, patriotic point of
view, which is eighteen hundred years behind the times. The
European nations, forgetting Christ, have in the name of their
patriotism more and more irritated these peaceful nations and
have taught them patriotism and war, and have now irritated
them so much that, indeed, if Japan and China will as fully
forget the teachings of Buddha and of Confucius as we have
forgotten the teachings of Christ, they will soon learn the
art of killing people (they learn these things quickly, as
Japan has proved), and, being fearless, agile, strong, and
populous, they will inevitably very soon make of the countries
of Europe, if Europe does not invent something stronger than
guns and Edison's inventions, what the countries of Europe
are making of Africa. 'The disciple is not above his master:
but every one that is perfect shall be as his master' (Luke
6:40)."--TOLSTOI.

It is a curious fact that for all the Emperor's insistence upon
what might be called nationalism, in artistic matters at least,
in poetry, sculpture, and the drama, he has very little sympathy
with the modern German tendencies. Klinger and Stuck, Ludwig von
Hofmann and Thoma have found no favor, and no attention was paid to
Böcklin. His literary preferences will become more evident after a
reading of his talk with Ganghofer (November 12, 1906).

In the matter of sculpture, the achievement in which the Emperor
takes most pride is undoubtedly the famous Siegesallee in Berlin.
It consists of a number of monumental, heroic figures taken from
the history of his house. The avenue, the general scheme, and the
arrangement of many of the figures were planned by him, and the
figures were chosen in consultation with his historiographer. The
style is supposedly classic; there are many incidental animal
figures, and a sphinx and the sibyl help to represent Bismarck. The
attempt to make heroic and classic certain of the fairly mediocre
representatives of his line, like Albrecht, Otto and John, Joachim,
Frederick, and George William, seems to have been too difficult
a task even for that Berlin school of sculpture, which the
Emperor feels would bear comparison with that of the Renaissance.
Notwithstanding his own efforts to awaken art "from the cold sleep
of unculture," it is perhaps significant that powerful, independent
personalities, Michelangelos in sculpture and Bismarcks in
politics, do not seem to thrive under the Emperor's protection.