“The toot of the Teuton is tootin’ no more,
All sober sits Berlin, beside the wild Spree;”
The words of this classic were never more apropos. The ebullition of
German indignation over their Kaiser’s indiscreet interview, published
in the London Daily Telegraph recently, the salient features of which
were summarized in the December Jeffersonian, has subsided and the hard
words, as proverbial, have “broken no bones.” That something drastic
should be done to prevent such outbreaks in future, as well as to
reprimand the “Great War Lord” for the unfortunate garrulity, was the
generally held, resentful opinion; but _doing_ it, was another matter,
unless the mincing of words between the Emperor and his Imperial
Chancellor could so be construed. After their meeting for the purpose
of discussing the matter, Von Bulow announced to the Reichstag that
he was convinced the Kaiser would hereafter “observe that reserve,
even in private conversations, which is equally indispensable in the
interest of a uniform policy, and for the authority of the Crown.”
This assurance was further bolstered by an official publication that
Emperor William “approved this statement” and “gave Prince Bulow the
assurance of his continued confidence.” This pacification the Reichstag
was apparently glad to accept, in lieu of a constitutional guarantee
of a check upon the Kaiser. During the national hysteria, when all
were alike guilty of lese-majeste, it was safe to join the popular
clamor. In his official capacity, no member of the Reichstag seemed
bold enough to attempt to storm the fortress of “Divine Right.” It
would have required a now impossible unification of opposing forces
in that body, under leadership fearless of the consequences to self,
to have magnified the disturbance into a real revolution in the
German government. So, on all sides, there was a refluencing tide of
displeasure—but the water-mark will remain for many a day to show that
patience has its limits even in a people of almost unexampled docility.
And, after having enjoyed a very carnival of free speech, they will
never again submit to the gagging which has heretofore obtained.
Whether the Kaiser feels the humiliation accredited to him or not, is
rather doubtful. At any rate, he viewed the storm with superb outward
indifference, causing it to be understood, while he was enjoying
himself on a hunting trip with the heir to the Austrian throne, that
he was “heedless of the exaggerations of public criticism which he
regarded as incorrect.” He is still The State—chance confidences with
interviewers notwithstanding. But his subjects may not be quite so
passive as before.
[Illustration: Freight Rates Increase]