Chapter 3 AFTER BISMARCK

May 6, 1890-June 21, 1895

OPENING OF THE REICHSTAG

Berlin, May 6, 1890

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

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

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

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

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

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

Honored Gentlemen:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

REVIEW OF THE NINTH ARMY CORPS

Flensburg, September 4, 1890

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

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

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

[5] Kriegsherr.

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

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

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

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

ACCIDENTS WITH AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY

Berlin, November 11, 1890

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

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

[6] From employers, of course.

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

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

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

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

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

ALSACE-LORRAINE

Berlin, March 14, 1891

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SWEARING IN THE RECRUITS

Potsdam, November 23, 1891

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

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

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

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

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

Recruits to the Regiment of My Guard:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE EMPEROR'S FIRST ARMY BILL

Berlin, July 4, 1893

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ARRIVAL IN METZ

Metz, September 3, 1893

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

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

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

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

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

DEDICATION OF FLAGS

Berlin, October 18, 1894

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

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

[8] Emperor Frederick III.

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

NAVY RECRUITS

Kiel, December 3, 1894

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

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

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

CHRISTENING OF A CRUISER

Kiel, March 26, 1895

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

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

VISIT TO BISMARCK

Friedrichsruh, March 26, 1895

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

Your Highness:

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

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

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

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

Bismarck replied with more pith:

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

OPENING OF THE EMPEROR WILLIAM CANAL

Kiel, June 21, 1895

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

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

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

He proposed this toast at the banquet:

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

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

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

However, we have worked not only for our own interests. In accordance with the great cultural mission of the German people, we open the locks of the canal to the peaceful trading of the nations with each other, and it will give us great satisfaction if its increasing use shall prove not only that the intentions by which we were led are understood but that they are becoming fruitful in increasing the welfare of the people.

The interest in our celebration on the part of the powers whose representatives we see among us, and whose magnificent ships we have to-day admired, I greet with greater joy the more I have the right to see in it the complete justification of our efforts directed toward the righteous maintenance of peace. Germany will also place the work inaugurated to-day in the service of peace and will consider herself fortunate if the Emperor William Canal strengthens and promotes in this service for all time our friendly relations with the other powers.

I empty my glass to the friendly sovereigns and powers. Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

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