Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 92, Number 239, 7 October 1922 — Page 10

PAGE TWELVE

THE RICHMOND PALLADIUM AND SUN-TELEGRAM, RICHMOND, IND., SATURDAY, OCT. 7, 1922.

Ex-kaiser Falsely Accuses England of Trying to Check Naval Program by Suggesting Limitation " ?- ; -

Deposed Monarch Traces Negotiations Between Two Coun- . tries to Limit Naval Programs Von Bethmann's Inde--" pendence Irritates Emperor's Ease and Poise, Forcing Him to Resign Opposed Action of Prince of Wied in Assuming Rule Over Albania Insisted on Increasing Navy in Face of General Opposition in Many Quarters, He Savs.

BY WILHELM HOHENZOLLERN I In the first half of 1912 came the sending of Sir Ernest Cassel with a verbal note in which England offered to remain neutral in case of an "unprovoked" attack upon Germany, provided Germany agreed to limit her naval construction program and to drop her new naval bill, the latter being darkly hinted at. Owing to our favorable answer to this Lord Haldane was entrusted with the negotiations and sent to Berlin. The negotiations finally fell through owing to the constantly more uncompromising attitude of England (Sir E. Gray), who finally disavowed Lord Haldane and withdrew his own verbal note, because Grey was afraid to offend the French by a German-English agreement and jeopardize the Anglo-French-Russian understanding. Here are the details of the case: On the morning of Jan. 29, 1912, Herr Ballin had himself announced to me at the palace in Berlin and asked for an audience. I assumed that it was a case of a belated birthday greeting, therefore I was not a little astonished when Ballin, after a short speech of congratulation, said that he had come as an emissary of Sir Ernest Cassel, who had just arrived in Berlin on a special mission and wished to be received. I asked whether it was a political matter, , and why, if so, the meeting had not been arranged through the English Ambassador. Ballin's answer was to the- effect that, from hints dropped by Cassel, he knew the matter to be of great importance, and the explanation for Cassel's acting without the intervention of the ambassador was because the earnest desire had been expressed in London that the official diplomatic representatives, both the English and the German, should not be apprised cf the affair. I declared that I was ready to receive Cassel at once, but added that, should his mission have to do with political questions, I should immediately summon the Chancellor, since I was a constitutional monarch and not in a position to deal with the representative of a foreign power alone without the Chancellor. Ballin fetched Cassel. who handed me a document which, he stated, had been prepared w,ith the "approval and knowledge of the English Government." I read the short note through and was not a little surprised to see that I was holding in my hand a form al offer of neutrality in case Germany I c became involved in future warlike complications, conditioned upon certain limitations in the carrying out' of our program of naval construction, which were to be the subject of mutual conferences and agreements. Walking with Ballin into the next room, I handed over the document for him to read. After he had done so both of us exclaimed in the same breath: "A verbal note!" It was plainly apparent that this "verbal note" was aimed at the forthcoming addition to our naval law and designed in some way to delay or frustrate it. - No matter how the matter was interpreted, I found myself confronted with a peculiar situation, which also amazed Ballin. It reminded me of the situation at CronbergFriedrichshof in 1905. when I was obliged to decline the demand, made to me personally by the English under secretary, Hardinge, that we should forego our naval construction. Surprise at British Note. Now, an intimate business friend of Edward VII appears, without previous announcement through official diplomatic channels, before the German emperor with a "verbal note" inspired by the English government, with explicit instructions to evade all the diplomatic officials of both countries. He hands over an offer from the English government to maintain neutrality in future warlike complications provided certain agreements regarding limitation of naval construction are made. And this is done by England, the mother of "Constitutionalism"! When I pointed this out to Ballin, he exclaimed: "Holy Constitutionalism! What has become of you? That is 'personal politics' with a vengeance!" I agreod with Ballin to send at once for Herr von Bethmann, in order that he might learn what was transpiring and decide what to do in this peculiar situation. Bethmann was called up on the telephone and soon appeared. At first the situation aroused in him likewise a certain degree of astonishment; it was interesting to watch the play of expression on his face as he was told ab6ut the matter. The Chancellor suggested that Grand Admiral von Tirpitz also bo summoned, for the proper dispatching of the business, and recommended that an answer be drawn up in English, in the same manner and terra as the note delivered by Cassel, and that it be handed to Sir Ernest who wished to return home that night. 'Enelisb. was chosen because there was fear of obscurity and misunderstanding if the note were translated in London.) The Chancellor asked me to draw up the note, since I knew English, best. After some objection I had to make up my mind to be myself the writer of the answer. And now the following scene took place: I sat at the writing table in the adjutant's room; the other gentlemen stood around me. I would read a sentence from the note aloud and sketch out an answer, which was. in turn, read aloud. Then criticisms were made from right and left: one thought the sentence too complaisant, another too abrupt; it was thereupon remodeled, recast, improved and polished. The Chancellor particularly subjected my grammar and style to much torture, owing to his habit of probing things philosophically, to his methods of profound thoroughness, which caused him to be most particular with every word, in order that it, having been" studied from every angle, should later on afford nobody cause for criticism. After hours of work the note was finally finished, and, having been passed a couple of times from hand to hand and then read aloud by me half a dozen times more, it was signed. When our group broke up, the Chancellor asked Sir Ernest who was to be expected from England to conduct the negotiations. Cassel replied that It

would certainly be a minister, which one he did not know perhaps Mr. Winston Churchill, minister of the navy, since the question was a naval one. Then the Chancellor arranged further with him that the unofficial method should be retained and that Ballin should undertake to transmit all the news regarding the matter which should emanate from England. Sir Ernest expressed his lively gratitude for his cordial reception and

ms satisfaction at the tenor of our reply. Later Ballin informed me from j his hotel that Cassel had expressed himself as completely satisfied over; the successful outcome of his mission, and that he would report to his government the good impression made upon him. When I thereupon conferred on the matter with Admiral von Tirpitz we both agreed that the naval bill was in danger and, therefore, that we must be very careful. Diplomatic Preparedness In perfect secrecy the material was collected which Admiral von Tirpitz was to present at the negotiations; it consisted of a short historical sketch of the development of the fleet and of the increasingly difficult tasks devolving upon it; the naval law and its aims, nature, enactment and extension; finally, the contemplated naval bill, its meaning and the method of putting it through. The Chancellor asked that the main negotiations should be conducted at the palace in my presence. In addition, I agreed with Admiral von Tirpitz that he should speak English, as far as possible, and that I, in case of difficult technical expressions, would interpret. Until England made known the name of the negotiator our time was spent in suppositions, and Ballin informed us of combinations in connection with which a number of names, even that of Grey, came up. At last the news arrived, through Ballin, that Haldane the minister of war, previously a lawyer had been entrusted with the conduct of the negotiations and would soon arrive. General" amazement! Just imagine, mutatis mutandis, that Germany had sent her minister of war (at that time von Heeringen) to London, instead of Admiral von Tirpitz, for the discussion of a naval matter! When this' point was discussed with Bethmann and Tirpitz a number of suppositions were advanced; the Chancellor said that Haldane was known in England as a student of Goethe and as a man versed in German philosophy and knowing the German language, so that his choice was a piece of politeness toward us. Tirpitz observed that Haldane had formerly spent some time in Berlin and worked with General von Einem at the war ministry, and hence knew the state of affairs in Germany. I suggested that all that was very well, but that the choice of Haldane showed that England looked upon the question as purely political, since he knew only superficially about naval affairs; that the whole thing was probably directed against Germany's naval policy in general and the new naval bill in particular; that it would be well, therefore, not to forget this, in order that the whole thing might not develop into a foreign assault upon our right of self-determination as to the strength of our defensive measures. Haldane arrived and was received as an imperial guest. Ballin, who accompanied him, solved the riddle cf Haldane's choice on .the basis of information received by him from England. He said that when Cassel had got back to London, reported on his reception, and handed over the German reply, the impression made was so favorable that no further doubt was entertained there as to the satisfactory course of the negotiations and their conclusion in the form of an agreement; that, thereupon a keen dispute had arisen among the ministers, es pecially between Churchill and Grey, as to who should go to Berlin and affix his name to this great historical document, in case the object should be achieved of making Germany completely give up the further development of her fleet; that Churchill thought himself the right man for the job, since he was at the head of the navy. But Grey and Asquith would not let their, colleague reap the glory, and. for this reason, Grey stood for a while in the foreground another proof that it was politics rather than the number of ships which was to play the leading role. Selection of Churchill. After a while, however, it was decided that it was more fitting to Grey's personal and official importance to appear only at the termination of the negotiations, to affix his name to the agreement, and as it was put in the information transmitted from England to Ballin "to get his dinner from the empercr and to come in for his part of the festivities and fireworks" which, in good German, means to enjoy the "Bengal light illumination." As it had been decided that Churhill was not to get this in any event, it was necessary to choose somebody for the negotiations who was close to Asquith and Grey and who, possessing their complete confidence, was willing to conduct the negotiations as far as the beginning of the "fireworks"; one who, moreover, was already known at Berlin and not a stranger in Germany. Churchill, to be sure, qualified in this, for he had been present a few times at the imperial manoeuvres in Silesia and Wurttemberg as a guest of the emperor. Ballin guaranteed the reliability of his London source of information. Before the negotiations began I once more pointed out to Secretary of State von Tirpitz that -Hadlane, In spite of being just then minister of war. probably had prepared himself for his task, and had surely received careful instructions from the English admiralty, in which the spirit of Fisher was paramount. In his "Handbook for English Naval Officers," Fisher had stated, among other precepts well worthy of being remembered, one which is characteristic of the admiral, his department and its spirit, which runs, word for word, as follows: "If you tell a lie, stick to it." Moreover, I said to Tirpitz, we must not forget what an amazing adaptabilv

ity the Anglo-Saxons had, which fitted them for occupying positions which had no relation to their previous life and training. Furthermore, the interest in England in the navy was generally so intense that almost every educated man was an expert up to a certain point on naval questions. In the course of the negotiations Haldane proved himself admirably well informed and a skillful, tenacious debater, and his brilliant qualities as a lawyer came to the fore. The conversation lasted several hours, and brought about 1 a general clarifying, as well as a preliminary agreement as to postponement of time limits of ship construction, etc. The details concerning it are , deposited in documents at the Imperial Naval Office. Tirpitz was splendid. After some more conferences at which, likewise, Ballin was present Haldane returned to England. Ballin

miormea me that Haldane had expressed himself to him as entirely satisfied with the outcome of his mission, and had stated that in about a week or two the first draft of the agreement could be sent to us. Time passed the date set for the lnircauction of the naval bur ap proached. Tirpitz suggested, in case me agreement were concluded pre viously, that the naval bill be altered accordingly; otherwise, that it be introduced without alteration. Suspects English Purposes At last we received, not the draft of the agreement, but a document asking all sorts of questions and expres; sing a desire for all sorts of data, a reply to which required many consultations and much reflection. Little by little the suspicion grew in me that the English were not in earnest with regam to tne agreement, since question followed question and details ! u-or- cn.,aM v, r, a .;.. were sought which had nothing direct ly to do with the agreement. England withdrew more and more from her promises, and no draf of the agreement came to hand. In Berlin a big agitation set in against the naval bill. Tirpitz and myself on the part of the foreign office and from other quarters, both qualified and unqualified. The Chancellor also, who hoped to achieve the agreement and affix, his name to a document which would free Germany from "encirclement" and bring her into a regular and better relationship with England, came out in favor of dropping the naval bill. But that would simply have meant allowing a foreign power enormous influence in matters of German national defense and jeopardizing thereby the national right of self-determination and our readiness for battle in case of a war being forced upon us. Had we allowed this it would have amounted to our consenting to permit England, Germany's principal foe, to grant us whatever she Wished, after consulting her own interests, without receiving ourselves the guarantee of any equivalent concession. In this confused state of affairs differences of opinion and violent disputes arose, which, especially in those circles which really knew little about the navy, were conducted with much violence and not always in a practical manner. Admiral von Tirpitz, all through that winter, which was so hard a one for him and me, fought his fight like a genuine, patriotic officer, realizing the situation and seeing through his opponents with clear vision and supporting me with complete conviction to the limit of his ability.All the government officials agreed that no foreign country could be allowed any voice in helping decide what we had or had not to do toward insuring our protection. The hope of bringing about the agreement grew ever fainter, England continually showed lessening interest and kept eliminating important parts of her original verbal note. And so it came about that Admiral von Tir pitz and I realized that the whole pro posal was merely a "manoeuvre." The fight over the German Naval bill grew steadily hotter. I happened at this time to meet at Cuxhaven. Dr. von Burchard, President of the Ham burg Senate, whom I respected great ly, as he was the very model of an aristocratic citizen of a Hanseatic city, and who had often been consulted by me in political matters. I described to him the entire course of the affair and the disputes in Berlin as to the introduction or non-introduction of the bill, and asked him then to tell me, with his usual complete frankness, what he thought the right thing to do in the interest of the national welfare, since I greatly desired to hear an objective opinion, uninfluenced by the rival camps of Berlin. ' Dr. Buchard replied in his clear keen pointed, convincing manner that it was my duty toward the people and the Fatherland to stick to the bill; that whosoever spoke against its introduction was committing a sin against them; that whatever we thought necessary to our defense must be unconditionally brought into being; that, above all else, we must never permit a foreign country to have the presumption to interfere with us; that the English offer was a feint to make us drop the naval bill; that this must, in no circumstances, be allowed; that the German nation w-ould not understand why its right of self-determination had been sacrificed; that the bill must unquestionably be introduced; that he would work in its favor in the Federal Council (as indeed he did in a brilliant, compelling speech) and also otherwise press its acceptance in Berlin; that the English would naturally resort to abuse, but that this made no difference, since they had been doing so for a long time; that they certainly would not get into a war for such a cause; that Admiral von Tirpitz was merely doing his duty and fulfilling his obligations, and that I should support him in every way; that the Chancellor must give up opposing the measure, otherwise he would run the risk of finally forfeiting public esteem on account of ebing "pro-English." Thus spoke the representative of the great commercial city, which was threatened before all ethers in case of war with England. The genuine Han seatic spirit inspired his words. Strangely enough, this opinion of Dr. Burchard concerning the English offer has recently been corroborated to me in Holland by a Dutchman who heard from Englishmen at that time the English point of view. I and Tirpitz guessed right the offer of neutrality in case naval expansion was curbed, was a political manoevre. Countercharges of Cheating Soon news also came from Berlin that the matter was not going well in England; that, according to information received, a dispute had arisen about the agreement: that there was dissatisfaction with Haldane,- who,

was said, had let himself be cheated by Tirpitz! This was plain evidence

of the indignation felt because Tir pitz had not walked into the trap and simply let the bill drop, and that Haldane had been unable to serve up the bill to the English Cabinet on a platter at teatime. It is useless to say that there was any "cheating" on Germany's part, but the reproach level ed at Haldane justifies the suspicion that his instructions were that he should seek to "cheat" the Germans. Since his fellow-countrymen thought that the reverse was true, one can but thank Admiral von Tirpitz most sincerely for having correctly asserted the German standing to the benefit of our Fatherland. Toward the end of March the fight about the bill took on such violence that finally the Chancellor, on the 22d, asked me for his dismissal as I stepped out of the vault in the Charlottenburg Park. After long consultation and after I had told him Dr. Burchard's view, the Chancellor withdrew his request. , When, some time afterward, I paid a visit to Herr von Bethmann in his garden, I found him quite overcome and holding in his hand a message from London. It contained the entire disavowal of the verbal note delivered by Cassel, the withdrawal of the offer of neutrality, as well as of every other offer, and at the end the advice that 1 should not dismiss Herr von Bethmann from the Imperial Chancellorship since , he enjoyed to a marked degree the confidence of the British Government. In the manuscript as received bv The Palladium the words, "should not" are omitted, and the passage reads that England advised Bethmann's dismissal from the Chancellorship. This to be a clerical error. It apI?ears not onI--' from Tirptiz's book, but t T m the ex-Kaiser's own Comparative Historical ailes published last yaar, that the recommendation, in whatever form or lanaruage, was really that Bethmann be retained, as griven In the amended text above. Haldane while in Berlin had grot the impression that Bethmann was likely to be dismissed in the dispute oyer the naval bill and replaced by Tirpitz. which probably explains the British action Tears of anger shone in the eyes of the Chancellor, thus badly deceived in his hopes ;the praise accorded to him by a foreign government with which Germany and he had just had such painful experiences, hurt him deeply. For the second time he offered me his resignation; I did not accept it, but sought to console him, I then ordered that the Ambassador in London be asked how he could have accepted and forwarded such a message under any conditions. Now the Chancellor was in favor cf the bill, but it was honorably proposed with the limitation, upon which had been decided to impose upon it in case of the conclusion of the agreement. In England, on the other hand, the full naval construction program was carried out. This "Haldane episode" is characteristic of England's policy. This whole manoeuvre, conceived on a large scale, was engineered for the sole purpose of hampering the development of the German fleet, while, simultaneously, in America which had an almost negligible merchant fleet; in France whose navy was superior in numbers to the German; in Italy, in Russia which also had ships built abroad vast construction programs were carried out without eliciting one word of protest from England. And Germany wedged in between France and Russia, certainly had to be at least prepared to defend herself on the water against those nations. Defends Naval Program For this our naval construction program was absolutely necessary; it was never aimed against the English fleet, four or five times as strong as ours, and assuring England's superiority and security, to equal the strength of which no sensible man in Germany ever dreamed. e needed our fleet for coast defense and the protection of our commerce; for this purpose the lesser means of defense, like U-boats, torpedo boats and mines, were not sufficient. In addition, the coast batteries on the Baltic were so antiquated and miserably equipped that they would have been razed within fortyeight hours by the massed fire of the heavy guns of modern battleships. Thus, our Baltic coast was practically defenseless. To protect it the fleet was necessary. The Skagerrak (Jutland) tattle has proved what the fleet meant and what it was worth. That battle would have meant annihilation for England if the Reichstag had not refused up to 1900 all prosposals for strengthening the navy. Those twelve lost years were destined never to be retrieved. Before we take our leave of Haldane I wish to touch upon another episode in his activities. In 1905 he came, with the permission of the German Government, to Berlin, to inform himself concerning the Prussian defense conditions, recruiting, general staff, etc. He busied himself at the Ministry of War, where the Minister, General von Einem, personally gave him information. After about two or three week's work there he returned, well satisfied, to England. When, after the outbreak of the World War. tha "pro-German" Haldane, the friend cf Goethe, was boycotted and treated with such hostility that he could no longer show himself in public, he had a defense written of his term of office as Minister of War by the well-known litterateur and journalist, Mr. Begbie, entitled "Vindication of Great Britain." Therein his services toward forming a regular general staff and preparing the British Army for the World War are placed in a bright light and emphasis is laid on the skill with which he utilized the permission obtained from the Prussian War Ministry in order to learn in Germany about Military matters and to reorganize the British Army and General Staff, to the minutest detail and on the German model, for the coming war against the erstwhile German hosts. Here we see the sly, adroit lawyer, who, sheltered under the hospitality of a foreign country, studies its military arrangements in order to forge weapons against it out of the material and knoweldge thus acquired. Quite characteristically the book is dedicated to King George VIL, whose intimate, emissary and tool Haldane was. In those days Berlin saw in Haldane's mission a "raprochement" with Eng land, toward which Germans were always bending their efforts; in reality, however, it was a "reconnoitring expedition" under the very roof of the German cousin. England showed her gratitude by the World War, which Haldane helped to prepare; in this case Haldane "cheated" the Germans. That is the history of the Haldane mission. Later it was summarily main it'tained by all sorts of ignorant dab-

blers in politics, belonging to the

press and the general public, that the promising "rapprochement" with Eng land through Haldane had been wrecked by the obstinacy of the Emperor and Admiral von Tirpitz and by their clinging to the naval bill against the wishes of all "sensible counselors." Kingship of Albania At that time (in 1912) the question of the establishment of an independent Albanian State and the choice by the powers of a head for it, was brought to my attention also. A number of candidates lusting for a crown had already presented themselves before the tribunal of the powers, without getting themselves accepted; a number of candidates, . considered by the powers, wer declined by the Albanians. I looked upon the matter in itself with indifference, and was of the opinion that as in the case of every creation of a nation the greatest possible attention should be paid' to historical development, also to geographical peculiarites and the customs of the inhabitants. In this peculiar land there has never

been any united nation under one ruler j nis domain having at his saddle bow and one dynasty. In valleys, encircled 1 the famous "bag of sequins" mentionand cut off by high mountain ranges, ed in all Oriental tales and legends,

The Albanian tribes live seperated to j a considerable degree fro each other, i Their political system is not unlike the clan system of the Scotch. Christians and Mohammedans are represented in equal numbers. The custom of "vendetta" is an ancient one, sanctified by tradition, which is no less true of robbery and cattle stealing. Agriculture is still in a backward stage of development, farming is in its infancy, the implements used therein date from before the flood. The head man of the clan dispenses justice in the open, under the village tree, as it used to be done once upon a time among the ancient Germans. Every man is armed and most are excellent shots. Whenever the head man of the clan turns up while on a horse back tour through his territory in cnmo v,,,ot tTfQ ,vu"J. some hamlet, the inhabitants expect a blessing from him in: the form of jingling coins, which sometimes are scattered about him from the saddle. This, of course, is particularly customary at the outset of a new government's term, and great is the dissatisfaction when it does not happen. Up to the time of the Balkan War many Albanians entered the Turkish service, where they rose to high importance, being greatly prized on account of their diligence and keen intelligence, as well as their tenacious energy. They supplied the Turkish Administration with a large number of officials, also with a certain percentage in the diplomatic corps and the army. The young Albanian nobles were proud to serve in a splendid company of palace guards of the Sultan, which scarcely had an equal for size, martial appearance and manly beauty. These were partly relatives of the Sultan, since the latter used to have noble Albanian women of the principal clans in his harem in order that he protected by blood brotherhood might be safe from the "vendettas" of the clans, and, also, that he might find out everything that might serve to influence the feelings of the Albanian chieftains. The desires of the Albanians which reached him by this road for instance, as to supplies of arms and ammunition, school houses, building of highways, etc. were thereupon granted in an inconspicuous manner. Thus the Sultan was enabled to keep the usually turbulent Albanians quiet and loyal by means of "family ties." With this knowledge of the state of affairs as a foundation, I sought to bring my influence to bear toward having a Mohammedan Prince chosen, if possibel perhaps an Egyptian Prince not forgetting that he should have a well-lined purse .which is an absoI Iute necessity in Albania. My advice was not heeded by the "Areapagus of the powers," whose members were not bothering themselves with the interests of the Albanians, but seeking, first of all. for pretexts and opportunities lor fishing m the troubled Albanian waters in such a way as to benefit their own countries. Opposed Choice of German Therefore, I was not at all pleased when the choice fell upon Prince William of Wied. I esteemed him as a distinguished, knightly man of lofty sentiments, but considered him unfitted for the post. The Prince knew altogether too little about Balkan af fairs to be able to undertake this thorny task with hope of success. It was particularly unpleasant to me that a German Prince should make a fool of himself there, since it ws apparent from the start that the Entente would place all sorts of obstacles in his path. Upon being questioned by the Prince, I told my cousin all my doubts, laying stress upon the difficulties awaiting him, and advised him urgently to decline I could not command him, since the Prince of Wied, as heard of the family, had the final word in the matter. After the Prince's acceptance of the candidacy offered him by the powers, I received him in the presence f the Chancellor. A certain irresolution in tliA Ur f TJ: 1. T::rl? " '.:r. ""iu: plated his new task with anything but enthusiasm, strengthened the resolve in me and the Chancellor to try hard once more to dissuade the young candidate from ascending the recently invented Albanian "throne." But in vain. The ambitious, mystically excited wife of the Prince saw in Albania the fulfillment of her wishes. And "ce que femme veut, Dieu le veut" (what woman wishes, God wishes.) Carman Sylva the Queen of Rumania) also worked toward having him accept; she went so far, in fact, as to publish an article in the newspapers beginning "Fairyland wants its Prince" So even the best meant warnings were useless. I had also strongly advised the Prince not to go to Albania before the settlement of the financial question, since the reasons which had led me to suggest the .selection of a rich ruler now came to the fore. The Prince was not very wealthy and the powers had to supply him with a "donation," concerning the amount of which and the method of paying it by instalments, an unpleasant quarrel arose. At last a part payment was made.. Danger lurked for the Prince and his eventual Government in the person of Ess?d Pasha, an unreliable, intriguing, greedy soldier of fortune, who himself had designs on the Albanian throne and held sway over a certain number of armed adherents.. - From the start he was an opponent of the new Prince and he plotted secretly with Italy, which was not favorably inclined toward the Prince of Wied. Now, it would have been quite ntural and a

matter of course if the new ruler had

taken with him in his suite men from Germany whom he knew and who were faithful to him. But he did not. An Englishman and an Italian were attached to his person as "secretaries" and they had nothing better to do than to work against his interests, to give him bad advice, and to intrigue against him. Requirments of a Ruler Durig the time that the Prince of Wied was making his preparations the excellently written pamphlet of an Austrian General Staff officer.-dealing with his travels in Albania, appeared. The officer described, in a lively and clear style, the geographical and climatic drawbacks, the population and customs, the general poverty and backwardness of the land. He pointed out that a future ruler of the land must in no circumstances reside on the coast, but must show himself to the inhabitants and travel about in the country. Owing to the primitive means of transportation, he went on the lord of the land must sit all day on horseback and ride through in order to sway public opinion in his favor in the places visited by the expected shower of gold. The ruler must be sure, the author continued, to bind!

some of the clans of the region close- Herr von Stephan also was at logly to himself, so as to have at his gerheads with the Academy of Buildback and call an armed force for asert- ing. He wanted to alter many Post ing his will and overcoming any op- Offices, or build entirely new ones, esponents wishing to rebel, since this pecially in the big cities, but, in view was the only way to maintain his pow- of the fearful slowness and devotion er, in view of the utter lack of "troops" to red tape of the aforesaid official or an "army" in the European sense body, he used to receive no answers of the word. at all, or else refusals, when he This meant that the ruler of Albania brought these matters to its attention, must lead at first a nomadic, horse- The rule of the thumb was supreme back life, and. in addition, provide there.- Herr von Stephan was of tha himself with a wandering camp, with opinion that, in its buildings as wellrt, tents and other accessories and the as in other directions, the youthfufS1 necessary horses. Plenty of men adapt- German Empire must give an impresed to this sort of life might have sion of power, and that the Imperial been found in his squadron of the Post Offices must be built accordingly; Third Guard Uhlan Regiment, since he believed that they should harmonmany of his Uhlans, who were v.ery ize with the general style of the fond of the Prince, had declared that towns where they were located, or, at they were ready to accompany him least, conform to the style of the oldest as volunteers. Surely, they would and most important buildings there, have served him better and' been Tr eculd I do otherwise than agree more useful to him than what he did wh such a view, in preparing to take over the overlord- Academy's Shackles Broken

ship of Albania, without knowieage At last there came a rupture with of the country. the aforementioned Academy. His ExI advised my cousin urgently to cellency von Stephan lost patience and study this pamphlet and to follow its informed me that he had freed his recomendations, especially with regard office, and the buildings erected by it, to his residence, which should be fixed from the supervision of the Academy; at some point as far as possible from that he had even formed a committee the warships of the Powers, in order from among his own architects and that he might not be forced to act officials for supervising purposes; and under pressure and arouse suspicion that all he asked of me was to subamong the Albanians that their ruler ject the more important plans for needed these ships for protection buildings to a final inspection. I did against his subjects. Did the Prince so willingly. ever read the pamphlet? In any Stephan was an enthusiastic huntsevent, the course adopted by him sub- man, so that I had additional opporsequently was contrary to its advice tunities, while on the court hunts, to and the adivce given by me.. enjoy association with this refreshing. The Prince and his wife journeyed unchanging, faithful official and counto Albania, and things turned out as selor. I had foreseen. According lo reports! Among the Ministers whom I pardescribing the arrival of the sovereign ; ticularly esteemed his Excellency Miqcouple, the Princess, although she wasjuel took first place. He it was who,

a German, aaaressea me asseniDiea Albanians from her balcony in French, since they understood no German. The "court" remained at Durazzo under the guns of foreign ships, ThePrince did not travel on horseback through the land, nor did he scatter gold sequins about not even from his balcony on the day of his arrival nor did he push Essad out of the way. So the adventure ended as one might imagine.

I nave gout; il.u sunif urun m ut- ; . . u. ouun mawiii-ai ucut scribing my opinion and attitude to-1 ran .like a red thread, through his ward the question of the choice of the ! quotations. In history and ancient ruler of Albania because, from every languages he was marvtlously well possible quarter, false rumors have equipped, so that, in his reports, he been circulated for the purpose of im- was able often to hark back to the puting to me motives which were ut- times of the Romans and quote from terly foreign to me. In thi3 matter, I nis store knowledge not out of Buchalso, I gave honest advice when ques-!mann (a German philologist who comtioned, based on sound knowledge of Piled a well-known book of quotations ) mankind. i Pieces of Latin in support of his The year 1912 also witnessed the i arguments. Even when he was inmeeting with the Czar at Baltisch- structing he was never tiresome on Port, whither I repaired on board mv; account of his brilliant dialectics, but vacht at the invitation of Nicholas n.'used to hold his hearers spellbound Our two yachts anchored side by side, ! to the very end. so that visiting from ship to ship was' l was hls Excellency Miquel likeeasy. The Czar, his children and his;wise who incited me to favor the entire entourage vied with each othe-; Erat canal projects and supported me in evidences of good will and hospit-1 when, the 'Prussian Conservatives opality. The Russian and German escort-;P"ed the Central Rhine-Wesser-ing squadrons were inspected, tura E;bf Canal and caused the failure and turn about, by the Czar .and my- j plan to build it. He lent self together, and we took our meals j ftfeng'h tho4 4KlP& and made the either at the Czars table or mine. la"r decide nct ! up m this, fight We spent one morning on land near "n ,1. v,"r' won- fe knew, a3 Baltisch-Port. The Eighty-fifth "Vi- d blessings hf fanals m borg" Infantry Regiment, whose com- ollaM and the splendid canal netmander I was. had been drawn up in r.k ' r?? TT thf a field and was inspected first in j "dld hat a r'!ef thr Wf re ta

evolutions broMM to ick. rtlcl! wm.1(1 t,, "L" A

talinos, made an excellent impression. It was in field-quipment brown-gray air which brousht iov to the heart of I , - J .1 epry.foiaier,kno rf.u , In the course rse oi tue u. .uni ana; uv-wm-iw.j. -""

uiuus aim ..u x.lcJ have lessened the shortage of coal In jauntily cocked over one ear by aIl,itimeof also, for which he canal

fer 1 ,"iwas destined, it would have

or tne strong yuuug tuiuit-is a uuiu

i uii iw;tlve ear t0 hls Epjrjted handlin? of

nint oi tne uaman amance, conciuaea. a short time before. It was my last visit in Russia before riii7enk of the war. It behoves me to remark that I fouud particular pleasure an working with His Excellency von Stephan and in dealing with him. He was a man of the old school, who fitted in so well with me that he always grasped my ideas and suggestions and afterward carried them out with energy and power, "owing to his firm belief in them. A man of iron energy and unflagging capacity for work and joyousness; endowed, moreover, with refreshing humor, quick to perceive new possibilities, never at a loss for expedients, well versed in political and technical matters, he seemed to have been born especially for creative cooperation. I trusted him implicitly, and my trust in him was never betrayed. I learned much from my association with this stimulating, shrewd counselor. The Post Office Department reached an unimaginable degree of excellence and aroused the admiration of the whole world. The great invention of the telephone was utilized to the limit, was applied extensively to the public service, and was developed so as to facilitate it. Likewise in the domain of building it. Stephan brought about a decided improvement, which received my approval and support. All great State building projects depended on the vote of the investigat-

ing "Academy of Building," which, at that time, was a slow-moving, cumbrous and backward body. I had already had experiences of my owd with it. The "White Drawing Room," originally merely provisional, had been put up without much attention to -style it had been intended at first for an Indian masquerade, a "Lalia Rookh" festival, in honor of the Grand Duchess Charlette, daughter of Frederick William III., and her husband, later Czar Nicholas I. An investigation instituted at my order

snowea tne material to be spurious and inferior; the structure was in the worst possible state of decay and in danger of collapse; a new one was needed. With the co-operation and collaboration of the Empress Frederick, projjects and plans were made, and, finally, a big model was provided by Building Councilor Inne the "modern Schluter," as the Empress Frederick used to call him which won unanimous approval. Only the Building Academy opposed wearisome objections, stating that the "White Drawing Room" ought to be preserved "in its old historical beauty," and required no alterations. When the new structure was completed, however, it also met with the approval of tt J gentlemen who had been formerly so critical. , as my finance .Minister, put thorugh lor Prussia the great reform which placed the land on a sound basis and helped it toward prosperity. Intercourse with this astute political expert gave me great pleasure, and a wealth of teaching and stimulus. The degree to which Miquel was versed in all possible matters wa? astounding. In conversation he was brisk, humorous and keen in elucidat ing and arguing on a subject, in ad ithus relieving the railways. Hatter to transport troops on an evp-i i greater scalebeen.

for the

:most beneficial. W i Minister von Miquel was a most ar.i

dent enthusiast for the Imperial Ger jdea and th Gerrnan Empire f tne iionenzoiiems; 1 lent an attenth,8 theme. He was a man who rllnr. ing to the old tradition, thought in a great German imperial way; he was fully adequate to the requirements and demands of the new era, rightly appreciating when these were of value. (Continued Monday) Copyright by the McClure Newspaper Syndicate. Kntered at Stationer's Ha!!. London. Publication and Translation rights reserved, including Scandinavian. Reproduction in whole or in part without, permission prohibited. No Better Bread Than BETSY ROSS is found anywhere. Sold at All Groceries ZWISSLER'S 28 S. 5th St