Interview With Kaiser Wilhelm II., Oct. 28, 1908, and Its
Consequences.
_An interview between the German Emperor and "a representative
Englishman, who long since passed from public to private life,"
appeared in The London Telegraph on Oct. 28, 1908, and was the next day
authenticated by the German Foreign Office in Berlin with the comment
that it was "intended as a message to the English people." This last
expression of the Kaiser toward Great Britain--until his declarations on
the eve of the present war--deeply stirred the German people in protest
and resulted in the Kaiser's pledge to Chancellor von Buelow that
henceforth the imperial views would be subject to the bridle of the
Ministry and the Council of the Empire. The interview as recorded by the
"representative Englishman" was as follows:_
Moments sometimes occur in the history of nations when a calculated
indiscretion proves of the highest public service. It is for this
reason that I have decided to make known the substance of a lengthy
conversation which it was my recent privilege to have with the
Emperor.
I do so in the hope that it will help to remove that obstinate
misconception of the character of the Emperor's feelings toward
England, which I fear is deeply rooted in the ordinary Englishman's
breast. It is the Emperor's sincere wish that it should be
eradicated. He has given repeated proofs of his desire by word and
deed. But, to speak frankly, his patience is sorely tried now; he
finds himself so continually misrepresented and has so often
experienced the mortification of finding that any momentary
improvement in relations is followed by renewed outbursts of
prejudice and a prompt return to the old attitude of suspicion.
His Majesty spoke with impulsive and unusual frankness, saying:
"You English are as mad, mad, mad as March hares. What has come
over you that you are completely given over to suspicions that are
quite unworthy of a great nation? What more can I do than I have
done? I declared with all the emphasis at my command in my speech
at the Guildhall that my heart was set upon peace and that it was
one of my dearest wishes to live on the best terms with England.
Have I ever been false to my word? Falsehood and prevarication are
alien to my nature. My actions ought to speak for themselves, but
you will not listen to them, but to those who misinterpret and
distort them."
Resents a Personal Insult.
"This is a personal insult which I resent; to be forever misjudged,
to have my repeated offers of friendship weighed and scrutinized
with jealous, mistrustful eyes taxes my patience severely. I have
said time after time that I am a friend of England, and your press,
or at least a considerable section of it, bids the people of
England to refuse my proffered hand and insinuates that the other
hand holds a dagger. How can I convince a nation against its will?"
Complaining again of the difficulty imposed on him by English
distrust, his Majesty said: "The prevailing sentiment of large
sections of the middle and lower classes of my own people is not
friendly to England. I am, therefore, so to speak, in the minority
in my own land, but it is a minority of the best element, just as
it is in England respecting Germany."
The Englishman reminded the Kaiser that not only England but the
whole of Europe viewed with disapproval the recent sending of the
German Consul at Algiers to Fez and forestalling France and Spain
by suggesting the recognition of Sultan Mulai Hafid. The Kaiser
made an impatient gesture and exclaimed: "Yes? that is an excellent
example of the way German actions are misrepresented," and with
vivid directness he defended the aforesaid incident, as the German
Government has already done.
The interviewer reminded the Kaiser that an important and
influential section of the German newspapers interpreted these acts
very differently, and effusively approved of them because they
indicated that Germany was bent upon shaping events in Morocco.
"There are mischief makers," replied the Emperor, "in both
countries. I will not attempt to weigh their relative capacity for
misrepresentation, but the facts are as I have stated. There has
been nothing in Germany's recent action in regard to Morocco
contrary to the explicit declaration of my love of peace made both
at the Guildhall and in my latest speech at Strassburg."
Kaiser and the Boer War.
Reverting to his efforts to show his friendship for England, the Kaiser
said they had not been confined to words. It was commonly believed that
Germany was hostile to England throughout the Boer war. Undoubtedly the
newspapers were hostile and public opinion was hostile. "But what," he
asked, "of official Germany? What brought to a sudden stop, indeed, to
an absolute collapse, the European tour of the Boer delegates, who were
striving to obtain European intervention?"
"They were fêted in Holland. France gave them a rapturous welcome.
They wished to come to Berlin, where the German people would have
crowned them with flowers, but when they asked me to receive them I
refused. The agitation immediately died away and the delegates
returned empty handed. Was that the action of a secret enemy?
"Again, when the struggle was at its height, the German Government
was invited by France and Russia to join them in calling upon
England to end the war. The moment had come, they said, not only to
save the Boer republics, but also to humiliate England to the dust.
What was my reply? I said so far from Germany joining in any
concerted European action to bring pressure against England and
bring about her downfall Germany would always keep aloof from
politics that could bring her into complications with a sea power
like England.
"Posterity will one day read the exact terms of a telegram, now in
the archives of Windsor Castle, in which I informed the sovereign
of England of the answer I returned to the powers which then sought
to compass her fall. Englishmen who now insult me by doubting my
word should know what my actions were in the hour of their
adversity.
"Nor was that all. During your black week in December, 1899, when
disasters followed one another in rapid succession, I received a
letter from Queen Victoria, my revered grandmother, written in
sorrow and affliction and bearing manifest traces of the anxieties
which were preying upon her mind and health. I at once returned a
sympathetic reply. I did more. I bade one of my officers to procure
as exact an account as he could obtain of the number of combatants
on both sides and the actual positions of the opposing forces.
"With the figures before me I worked out what I considered the best
plan of campaign in the circumstances and submitted it to my
General Staff for criticism. Then I dispatched it to England. That
document likewise is among the State papers at Windsor awaiting the
serenely impartial verdict of history.
"Let me add as a curious coincidence that the plan which I
formulated ran very much on the same lines as that actually adopted
by Gen. Roberts and carried by him into successful operation. Was
that the act of one who wished England ill? Let Englishmen be just
and say."
The German Navy.
Touching then upon the English conviction that Germany is increasing her
navy for the purpose of attacking Great Britain, the Kaiser reiterated
the explanation that Chancellor von Bülow and other Ministers have made
familiar, dwelling upon Germany's worldwide commerce, her manifold
interests in distant seas, and the necessity for being prepared to
protect them. He said:
"Patriotic Germans refuse to assign any bounds to their legitimate
commercial ambitions. They expect their interests to go on growing.
They must be able to champion them manfully in any quarter of the
globe. Germany looks ahead. Her horizons stretch far away. She must
be prepared for any eventualities in the Far East. Who can foresee
what may take place in the Pacific in the days to come, days not so
distant as some believe, but days, at any rate, for which all
European powers with Far Eastern interests ought to steadily
prepare?
"Look at the accomplished rise of Japan. Think of a possible
national awakening in China, and then judge of the vast problems of
the Pacific. Only those powers which have great navies will be
listened to with respect when the future of the Pacific comes to be
solved, and if for that reason only Germany must have a powerful
fleet. It may even be that England herself will be glad that
Germany has a fleet when they speak together in the great debates
of the future."
The interviewer concludes:
"The Emperor spoke with all that earnestness which marks his manner
when speaking on deeply pondered subjects. I ask my
fellow-countrymen who value the cause of peace to weigh what I have
written and revise, if necessary, their estimate of the Kaiser and
his friendship for England by his Majesty's own words. If they had
enjoyed the privilege of hearing them spoken they would no longer
doubt either his Majesty's firm desire to live on the best of terms
with England or his growing impatience at the persistent mistrust
with which his offer of friendship is too often received."
The Consequences.
On Nov. 17 following Prince von Bülow met the Kaiser at Kiel, taking
with him evidence of the feeling in Germany regarding the Emperor's
published interview and setting forth:
First, that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundesrat, or
Federal Council, is firm in the opinion formulated at the meeting
held yesterday that it would be wiser for the Emperor not to
express views affecting the relations of the empire with other
countries except through his responsible Ministers. This
expression, derives weight from the fact that the Governments of
Bavaria, Württemberg, and Saxony were represented on the committee.
Second, that the entire Reichstag assented to the declarations made
by the speakers on Tuesday that the Emperor had exceeded his
constitutional prerogatives in private discussion with foreigners
concerning Germany's attitude on controverted questions.
Third, that the feeling of the people at large on this matter was
accurately indicated by the press of the country.
The Kaiser's reply was published on the same date in the Reichsanzeiger,
in the form of a communication, which read:
During today's audience granted to the Imperial Chancellor, his
Majesty, the Emperor and King, listened for several hours to a
report by Prince von Bülow. The Imperial Chancellor described the
feeling and its causes among the German people in connection with
the article published in The Daily Telegraph. He also explained the
position he had taken during the course of the debates and
interpellations on this subject in the Reichstag. His Majesty the
Emperor received the statements and explanations with great
earnestness, and then expressed his will as follows:
"Heedless of the exaggerations of public criticism, which are
regarded by him as incorrect, his Majesty perceives that his
principal imperial task is to insure the stability of the policies
of the empire, under the guardianship of constitutional
responsibilities. In conformity therewith, his Majesty the Emperor
approves the Chancellor's utterances in the Reichstag, and assures
Prince von Bülow of his continued confidence."
* * * * *