PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
To present an exhaustive description of Albert Ballin's life-work within
the compass of this volume is an impossible task, and the more the
writer entered into the details of his attempt to do so, the more
thoroughly did he realize this impossibility.
The story of a life comprising thirty-two years of incessant hard work,
only interrupted when nature's law or a very imperative behest of his
medical adviser made it necessary, and spent at the head of an
undertaking which, as a result of this work, developed into one of the
greatest that the economic history of the generation just passed has
known, cannot be told in full by means of a mere description unless it
be accompanied by volumes of statistics which, however, convey no
meaning to anyone except the initiated.
The author, therefore, had to content himself with delineating a picture
of his hero with a background formed by the events which he himself had
helped to shape, and which, in many instances, had received their
distinguishing stamp through his own genius. The essence of his
character, and the importance of his work to his contemporaries, must
stand out from this background as the portrait of a painter--as seen by
himself--would stand out from a mirror. What the mirror does not show,
and cannot show, is the immensity of the mental forces hidden below the
surface which alone give expression to the portrait; all the factors
which have brought about the final result--the strength, the courage,
the daring, and the feeling of responsibility without which it would
never have been achieved.
Still more difficult it is to interpret the very essence of the
character of him whose work we see before us, or, indeed, to give a
comprehensible account of it to the stranger.
The only way of doing justice to a man of such commanding genius as
Ballin is to try to discover first of all the one essential root
principle of his personality. Having succeeded in that, we shall find no
more difficulty in reconciling the great number of apparently mutually
contradictory traits of his character. This principle is the focus where
all the rays of light are collected from all directions, and which forms
the source of light, warmth, and vital energy.
Albert Ballin was a born business man if ever there was one. To him the
noble words of Schiller's lines apply: "The treasures which his ships
carry across the oceans spell untold blessings to all who receive them."
His whole mind was drawn towards the sea; his inborn inclinations and
the surroundings amidst which he grew up had destined him to be a
shipping man. To the boy Ballin the Hamburg harbour was the favourite
playground; and the seven seas were just large enough to serve as a
field of action for the youth and the man. There was his real home, and
there he felt at rest. How often, indeed, has he assured us that the
sleeplessness to which he fell an unfortunate victim whenever he was
ashore left him as soon as he was on board ship, and that a miserable
river barge was sufficient to have this effect on him. He was proof
against sea-sickness, both bodily and mentally. Thus he became a
shipping man, because it was his natural vocation; and in this chosen
profession of his he became one of the greatest and most brilliantly
gifted rulers the world has ever seen.
Whenever there was a problem to be solved he attacked it in a spirit of
boldness, yet tempered by the utmost conscientiousness and caution. No
task he encountered was so big that his daring could not tackle it and
overcome its difficulties; nothing was so insignificant that he would
not attend to it somehow. Whatever decision his infallible instinct
intuitively recognized as right, and to whatever idea his impulsive
nature had given practical shape, had to pass muster during the
sleepless hours of the night before the tribunal of his restless mind
when, as he used to say, "everything appears wrapt up in a grey mist."
At such times his reason began to analyse and to criticize the decisions
he had reached during the day. Then he would often shudder at his own
boldness, and the torments of doubt would be aggravated by the thought
of the enormous responsibility which he bore towards his company. For it
must be understood that from the day he joined the Hamburg-Amerika Linie
his interests and those of the company became parts of an inseparable
whole.
The company's affairs absorbed all his thoughts at all times; the
company's well-being was the object of his constant care; he devoted
himself exclusively to the service of the company, and the opinions
which he formed in his mind regarding persons and things were
instinctively coloured according to their relationship to the company's
affairs. The gradual progress during its infancy, the later expansion,
and the final greatness of the company, were as the events of his own
life to him; when the proud structure which he had raised collapsed his
life was ended. His thoughts incessantly converged towards this very
centre of his being. All his work, all his words and deeds, were devoted
to the furtherance of the company's interests. He identified himself so
completely with the company that he actually was the Packetfahrt, and
the Packetfahrt was he. Even his love and hatred were rooted in the
company. He remained a grateful and lifelong friend to anyone who had
been of service to the company or to him as representing it.
This highly subjective and indissoluble relationship between himself and
the company--which it had been the dream of his life to raise to the
highest pinnacle of prosperity--is the key to the fundamental principle
which lies at the root of his whole complex personality. But however
well-defined his personal individuality stood out, his subjectivity was
nevertheless animated by a strong sense of duty. His views, for
instance, on the essential principles governing the most perfect
organization which modern capitalism has produced--i.e. the joint-stock
company--were free from any tinge of personal considerations whatever.
He was himself the responsible head of a big joint-stock company, and
instinctively this fact exercised such a powerful influence on all his
thoughts and feelings that it is quite impossible to arrive at a just
appreciation of his character unless this circumstance is borne in mind.
His character which appears so complicated to the cursory onlooker, but
which is in reality of singular simplicity and consistency, is best
illustrated by his reply to a question of one of his friends who had
asked him why he did not allow some piece of scathing criticism which he
had just expressed in private to be made public. "My dear friend," he
said, "you forget that you are not the chairman of the board of
directors of a joint-stock company." What he meant to convey was that
the enmity which he would incur by expressing those views in public
would adversely affect the firm of which he was the head, and that the
interests of his company compelled him to impose upon himself
restrictions which he could ignore in his private capacity.
Although he had nothing but scorn for the very suggestion that this
company should receive at any time any subsidies from public funds, he
made it to the fullest extent subservient to the needs of the public and
of the nation at large. He often remarked that such gigantic concerns
as, e.g., the Hamburg-Amerika Linie, are no longer private ventures
purely and simply. The ties that bind them to the whole economic life of
the nation--and, for the matter of that, to the world in general--are so
close and so manifold that it would be disastrous to ignore them or to
sever them. Hundreds of industrial, commercial, and agricultural
enterprises were lavishly supplied with work through the orders they
received from the Hamburg-Amerika Linie in connexion with the building
and the equipment of its steamers and with the needs of its
organizations on shore. Its hundreds of thousands of passengers and
emigrants, and the huge volume of German-made products and manufactured
articles carried on board its vessels, spread the German name and German
fame throughout the civilized world. Hence, to Albert Ballin the
national flag and that of the Hapag were two symbols expressive of but
one idea.
A man who, like Ballin, was at the head of the biggest German shipping
company and therefore also, by implication, one of the leading spirits
in the economic life of Germany, could not very well hold himself aloof
where high politics were concerned. The more the economic problems
gained in importance, the greater became their bearing on the course of
the country's politics. Ballin, however, would never have become a
professional politician from inclination, because he invariably refused
to be mixed up with the strife of parties. He never officially belonged
to any political party; and although he made friends with members of all
the non-Socialist parties, his general outlook on politics was mainly
coloured by Liberal views, and he was a firm believer in Free Trade.
Whenever questions dealing with the interests of shipping and trade were
involved, he had no difficulty in making the responsible people listen
to his claims and to his suggestions, but he never tried to make his
influence felt on purely political affairs unless they affected the
country's vital international interests. His lengthy and extensive
travels to the countries of Europe, to the North American continent, and
to the Far East, had broadened his outlook. His profession as a shipping
man not only brought him into frequent contact with the heads of the big
shipping companies all the world over, but also with a number of the
financial magnates and industrial captains of Great Britain, the United
States, and other countries of economic importance. He took rank with
the greatest economic leaders as an equal, and this unchallenged
position of commanding authority was reflected by the esteem in which he
was held by the principal statesmen and parliamentarians. He was
familiar with the essential and vital needs of other nations, and he
therefore not only stood up for the national rights whenever they
appeared in jeopardy, but he also raised his warning voice against a
policy provocative of conflicts whenever he thought it possible to avoid
them. Whoever is conscious of his strength is also aware of the
limitations set to his power.
In politics as well as in business he held that "a lean compromise was
preferable to a fat lawsuit," as the German proverb puts it. It has been
mentioned elsewhere in this volume that Ballin was essentially the man
of compromise. It is very probable that the experiences of his early
life had helped to develop this outstanding feature of his personality.
It may be assumed that he, a young man of unknown Jewish family, found
his path beset with difficulties in a city-state like Hamburg, where the
influence of the wealthy patriciate of the merchant classes was
supreme, and that he was looked upon as an upstart even after he had
reached a prominent position himself. The casual observer is far too
much inclined to underestimate the conservative character--both
politically and socially--of the three Hanseatic cities. Still, evidence
is not wanting that Ballin's unusual gifts were occasionally recognized
and appreciated even in the days of his early career. An English
journalist, for instance, who met him some time about 1895,
characterized him by the following words: "He struck me as a great man;
otherwise nothing so incongruous as such a type of man at the head of a
big steamship line could be imagined." That Field-Marshal Count
Waldersee honoured him by his friendship at an early period has been
mentioned in a different chapter of this volume. And even in patrician
Hamburg he found an immensely powerful friend and patron shortly after
he had entered the services of the Packetfahrt. This was no less a man
than the shipowner Carl Laeisz, the most eminent representative of the
"House of Laeisz."
The firm of F. Laeisz, which was successfully owned by its founder,
Ferdinand, his son Carl, and his grandson Carl Ferdinand, has stood
sponsor to all the more important shipping companies established in
Hamburg, and through its great authority helped them all to get over the
critical years of their early youth. The sound principles by which the
firm was guided might sometimes lead to much disappointment on the part
of the shareholders, but they proved to be of unsurpassable benefit to
the companies concerned, and nothing illustrates them better than the
oft-told episode of the shareholder who went to see Carl Laeisz,
complaining that the Hamburg South American S.S. Company did not pay any
dividend. "The object of the company is to carry on the shipping trade,
and not to distribute dividends," was the blunt but characteristic
reply. Being thoroughly unconventional in his habits, Carl Laeisz--no
less than his singularly gifted son, who was one of those rare men whom
it was really impossible to replace--nevertheless did invaluable service
in connexion with the establishment of new firms in Hamburg, and with
the encouragement of existing ones.
It was a great compliment to Ballin that in 1888, when he had only been
associated with the Packetfahrt for a couple of years, and when the
directors asked for authority to increase the joint-stock capital of the
company from 20 to 25 million marks, Carl Laeisz informed them in
advance that, at the general meeting of the shareholders, he would move
an increase of 10 instead of 5 millions, and that this motion was
unanimously carried. Those who have known Carl Laeisz personally will
appreciate what it meant to Ballin when, by way of giving him an
introduction to the London firm of Messrs. J. Henry Schröder, Laeisz
scribbled the following note on the back of one of Ballin's visiting
cards:
"It gives me pleasure to introduce to you the bearer of this card,
whom I am proud to name my friend, and to recommend him to your
protection and to your unfailing kindness.
"Sincerely yours,
"(_Signed_) LAEISZ."
As this card was found among the papers and documents which Ballin left
at the time of his death, it would seem that it was not used for its
intended purpose, but that he preferred to keep it as a souvenir of the
man whom he always remembered with gratitude and affection, and of whose
life he could tell a good number of characteristic anecdotes. The
telegram of which the text is given below is also highly typical of Carl
Laeisz. I have not been able to discover what was the occasion of
sending it, but I am inclined to think that it must be in some manner
connected with the conference held in the Berlin Royal Castle, and
referred to on an earlier page, at which Ballin first attracted the
Kaiser's attention. The text is as follows:
"Persons who give in without a protest are miserable creatures, and
being such, they are deserving of nothing but contempt. Suggest
that you obstinately stick to Hamburg point of view, not only from
personal conviction, but for other weighty reasons as well. Meeting
hardly convened simply to induce you to give in."
Although there is scarcely anyone to whom the name of a Hamburg patriot
can be applied with greater justice than to Ballin, and although there
are few people who have done more to promote the well-being and the
prosperity of their native city, and who have had a better appreciation
of one of the most lovable features of her inhabitants, viz. their dry,
unconventional, and kindly humour, it would be wrong to assume that this
local patriotism of Ballin made him blind to the shortcomings and
deficiencies of his native city. On the contrary, his eminent sense of
the realities of life made him see most clearly the points of weakness
in the position of Hamburg, e.g. those connected with the system of her
finances. The so-called Köhlbrand agreement, which, after a hard
struggle, put an end to the long controversy between Hamburg and Prussia
by stipulating that the course of the lower Elbe should be regulated
without detriment to the interests of the town of Harburg, imposed such
a vast amount of expenditure upon Hamburg, and the Prussian local
authorities concerned insisted on securing the payment of such large
compensations to the owners whose rights were adversely affected by the
improvement of the waterway, that it might well be doubted whether
Hamburg could shoulder these enormous burdens.
It speaks volumes for Ballin's unprejudiced mind that he frequently
maintained nothing would be of greater benefit to Hamburg than her
renunciation of her sovereignty as a city-state in favour of
incorporation with Prussia. Prussia, he argued, was her natural
hinterland, after all; and if she consented to be thus incorporated, she
would be such a precious jewel in the crown of Prussia that she could
secure without an effort all the advantages and privileges which
Prussia, by pursuing the strictly Prussian line in her politics, now
actually prevented her from acquiring. In course of time, however, her
present isolation would undermine the foundations of her existence,
especially if and when the increasing volume of traffic passing through
her port should demand a further expansion of the latter, and,
consequently, a further rise in the financial burdens. In that case the
unnatural position which resulted from the fact that the "Elbe delta"
belonged to two different states, and which had its origin in the
political history of the district, would make itself felt with all its
drawbacks, and the ultimate sufferer would be the country as a whole of
which Hamburg, after all, was the connecting link with the nations
beyond the sea.
These are the same arguments and considerations which are used when the
modern problem of a "Greater Hamburg" is under discussion, with this
difference only, that in Ballin's time the only solution which was
regarded as possible was that Hamburg should cast in her lot with her
Prussian neighbour.
Ballin repeatedly vented the full force of his sarcasm against the
advocates of an "out-and-out Hamburg policy" to whom his own views
sounded like heresy, a policy which found perhaps its most comic
expression in the speech of a former Hamburg burgomaster who referred to
the King of Prussia as "our illustrious ally." Ballin did not recognize
the existence of a line of demarcation which, as many lesser minds
imagined, separated republican Hamburg from the rest of Germany. In
reality there is no such separation; Hamburg, indeed, receives year
after year a constant influx of human material and of ideas from her
German hinterland, without which she could not exist at all, and in
spite of which she has never had a superfluity, but--at times, at
least--rather a deficiency of specially gifted citizens. This latter
circumstance and the frequent absence of that quality of mental
alertness which Bismarck, in speaking of the German character in
general, used to designate as the missing "dash of champagne in the
blood" once made Ballin say: "I quite see that what this town wants is
10,000 Jews. I do not, by any means, shut my eyes to the disagreeable
qualities of the Jewish character, but still, another 10,000 of them
would be a decided advantage." This utterance confirms how free from
prejudice he was where the Jewish question was concerned. Although not
at all orthodox, but rather indifferent in his religious views, he was
far too proud to disavow his origin or his religion, or to change the
latter. Of someone who had changed his name, he said, in a tone of
bitter reproach, that he had insulted his father.
Ballin's relations with the working classes and his attitude towards the
Labour question were not such as the Socialist papers were fond of
alleging, especially at the time when the Labour controversy was at its
height, and when strikes were constantly occurring or threatening. The
first big strike affecting Ballin's special sphere of activity was that
of the Hamburg dock labourers in 1896. It was caused by wages disputes
which the Packetfahrt tried in vain to settle by raising the wages paid
to the men. The interests of the employers in the ensuing struggle were
not, however, specially represented by the associations of the shipping
firms, but were looked after by the big "Association of Employers of
Labour," and therefore the attitude taken up by the employers as a whole
was not determined by practical considerations from the point of view of
the shipping companies. The Packetfahrt, however, seems to have
emphasized the necessity of being guided by such practical
considerations, as may be inferred from the fact that the Packetfahrt
was the only one among the large firms of employers which advocated from
the outset that certain concessions should be granted in respect of the
demands put forward by the workmen. Although, as has been remarked, the
company succeeded in seeing its recommendation adopted, the strike
started on November 18th, 1896. At first it was restricted to the
dockers, but the number of the strikers was soon swelled by the adhesion
of the quay-labourers and of several other categories of port-labourers
and seamen. When this had occurred, and when the Packetfahrt suggested
that steps should be taken on the part of the employers with the object
of reaching a friendly settlement, these suggestions did not secure a
majority in the counsels of the employers, and it was in regard to this
that Ballin's notes, under date of December 9th, contain the following
entry: "We are continuing our efforts to induce the Employers'
Association and the Shipowners' Association to give the strikers a
chance of an honourable retreat. What we propose in detail is that the
men should be asked to resume work of their own accord in consideration
of which the employers would promise to submit their grievances to a
_bona fide_ examination. All our efforts have failed because of the
attitude taken up by the Employers' Association. We can only hope that
the Senate will consent to mediate in the conflict." This body, however,
was afraid of being accused of prejudice in favour of the employers, and
declined to act as mediator. "It is very much against my wish,"
Ballin's notes continue, "that our own interests are represented by the
Employers' Association," and on December 23rd, he wrote: "Meanwhile, the
Senate, in reply to the resolution passed by the men, has asked them to
resume work unconditionally against the promise to look into their
grievances, and as far as they appeared to be justified, to redress them
after a joint conference had been held between the employers and the
strikers. This offer of a compromise was rejected by the workmen." The
employers were able to get the most urgent work done by substitute
labour, and the strike came to an end in the early days of February.
Among the subsequent Labour troubles those of 1907 are of special
significance. In that year, after a strike of the dockers and the
seamen, all those employers who had occasion to employ any workmen in
the port of Hamburg founded an organization somewhat on the lines of a
Labour Bureau, called the _Hafenbetriebsverein_. The termination of the
strike just referred to was brought about by Ballin's personal
influence, and it was he who conducted the prolonged negotiations with
the heads of the Labour organization. Later on, in 1911, when the
_Hafenbetriebsverein_ began to conclude agreements with this
organization by which the wages for the various categories of dock
labourers were fixed--a policy which did not exactly meet with the full
approval of large sections of employers, it was again due to Ballin's
influence that these agreements were generally accepted. It is just
possible that a certain event, insignificant in itself, may have
strengthened Ballin's natural tendency towards a settlement along the
lines of a compromise. As has been said before, the year 1907, which,
from the business point of view, had been excellent (at least, during
the first six months), and during which the above-mentioned strike
occurred, was succeeded by a year which brought exceedingly
unsatisfactory earnings to the company. Ballin did what he had done on a
previous occasion, in 1901: he sent a memorandum to all the employees of
the firm asking them to cut down expenses to the lowest possible extent,
to contribute their share towards a more economical working of every
department, and to submit to him any suggestions of their own as to how
the necessary retrenchment could be effected. I was instructed to
examine the general expenses account with a view to finding out in what
way a reduction would be possible, and I drew Ballin's attention to the
fact that the considerable sums which had to be spent in 1907 in
consequence of the strike would, of course, not appear again in the
balance-sheet for 1908, so that this would lead to an automatic
reduction of the working expenses. Ballin was surprised to see how large
this particular item was, and the whole occurrence proved once more that
a lean agreement would have been preferable to a fat lawsuit.
As Ballin was pre-eminently a man whose mind was bent on practical work
and on the production of practical results, it is but natural that he
was greatly interested in the practical aspects of social politics, and
that he applied its principles to the activities in which he was engaged
as far as he thought he was justified in doing so. Not in peace times
only, but also during the war did he hold these views, and when he was
connected with the work of provisioning the civil population, and,
later, with that of preparing the economic post-war reconstruction, he
was frequently brought into contact with men who occupied prominent
positions in the world of Labour.
His capacity for work was enormous and seemed wellnigh inexhaustible. He
made a most lavish use of it, especially in the early part of his life,
and the personal assistance he required with his work was of the
slightest. His greatest aid, indeed, was his marvellous memory, which
almost enabled him to do his work without ever referring to the files of
letters and documents. He could always recall to his mind every phase of
past events, and every detail of all the ships he had built or
purchased, and he was never wavering in the opinion he had formed of
anyone who had ever crossed his path, because such opinion was founded
on facts.
Very gradually only did his fellow-members on the Board of Directors
succeed in persuading him to refrain from putting in an appearance at
his office on Sundays, and to do such Sunday work as he wanted to do at
home. The telegraph and the telephone always kept him busy, both on
weekdays and on Sundays. Even on his travels and on his holidays he
wanted to be informed of all that was going on, and he could be very
annoyed when any important news had been withheld from him, or when he
believed that this had been the case, so that his secretariat, to be on
the safe side, had gone rather far in forwarding on his correspondence
when he was away from town. When I first entered upon my duties with him
he had just returned from a rest cure at Kissingen. He pointed at the
huge pile of letters that had been forwarded to him on his so-called
holiday, adding, in a tone of bitterness: "You see, every expansion of a
business becomes a curse to its leader." Sometimes his absences from
Hamburg would amount to as much as eight months per annum, and it was
certainly no easy task always to know what to send on and what to hold
over until after his return. To do so one had to be well acquainted with
all the details of each transaction and to know what was important,
especially what was important to him; and if one wished to see his mind
at ease it was necessary never to let him think that anything was kept
back from him. Any apparent neglect in this respect he was apt to
regard as a personal slight. And yet the time which he had at his
disposal for attending to current correspondence, both when at the
office and when travelling, was but limited.
The waiting-room outside his private office was nearly always crowded
with intending visitors. The callers were carefully sifted, and all
those who were strangers and those who had come without having an
appointment were passed on to someone else as far as this was possible.
Great credit is due to his ever faithful personal attendant at home and
on his travels, Carl Fischer, for the perfect tact which he showed in
the performance of this difficult task.
In spite of all this sifting, however, the time left for getting through
a day's mail was not sufficient. I therefore, shortly after entering the
company's services, made it a point to submit to his notice only those
letters which I considered of real importance. According to the mood in
which he seemed to be I then acquainted him with the contents of as much
of the remainder as I thought it wise to do. I believe I gradually
succeeded in acquiring a fair amount of skill in reading his mind, and
this facility enabled me to avoid more dangerous rocks than one. I tried
to proceed along similar lines when he was away from Hamburg, especially
when he was taking a holiday. On such occasions I forwarded on to him
only the important letters, taking great care, however, that he was not
kept out of touch with any matter of real consequence, so that he should
never feel that he was left in the dark about anything. After some time
I had the satisfaction of being told by him when he returned from a
holiday that that had been "his first real holiday since he had joined
the Packetfahrt."
Once one had learnt to understand his way of reasoning and his
individual traits, it was not difficult to know how to treat him. If a
mistake had been made, or if some oversight had taken place, the most
foolish thing would be not to tell him so at once. To act otherwise
would mean the immediate and permanent forfeiture of his confidence,
whilst an open admission of the mistake would strengthen his faith
enormously. He hated to be shut out from the actual practice of the
company's business by a Chinese wall of bureaucratic control. Whenever
such a wall was in process of erection he quickly and inexorably pulled
it down, and he always remained in personal contact with every
department and with every prominent member of the staff as far as the
size of the huge undertaking enabled him to do so. For this reason he
but rarely, and only when the pressure of other business was encroaching
too much on him, omitted to receive at his private office the captains
who came to make their reports to the directors. He knew, of course,
every one of them personally, as he had appointed many of them himself
years ago. He was no stranger to their various idiosyncrasies, and he
knew all their good qualities. He was also personally acquainted with a
great many of those unconventional and often somewhat blunt but always
good-natured individuals of humble rank who seem to thrive wherever much
shipping is going on. He was not too proud to write an appreciative
article on the death of one of them, which, since it reflects high
credit on his own generosity and kindness of heart, ought not to be
allowed to be forgotten altogether. It was published by the _Hamburger
Fremdenblatt_, to the staff of which the subject of his appreciation
might, in a sense, be said to have belonged.
KUSKOP.
"It was not until my return from England that I learnt, through
reading the _Fremdenblatt_, the news of the death of Karl
Kuskop--news which made me feel very sad indeed. Kuskop ranked high
among the few remaining real 'characters' of whom he was a type,
and as I was not able to pay my last respects to him I feel a
desire to do honour to his memory by a few words of personal
recollection, although Dr. Obst has already done so by means of an
excellent article of his own. For I believe I owe a few words of
farewell to a man of whom I have heard nothing but what was good
and generous throughout the better part of thirty years.
"Karl Kuskop was a 'character' in the best sense of the term. He
was as harmless as a big child; and although he could scarcely be
said to be prominently gifted for his work, he did, indirectly at
least, a great deal of good within his humble sphere. His
popularity amongst all sorts and conditions of men connected with
shipping was tremendous. My personal acquaintance with him dates
back to the early trial trips of our steamers and similar
occasions--occasions at which Kuskop was present as the
'representative' of the _Fremdenblatt_. I still have a vivid
recollection of a magnificent summer evening when we, a party of
about eighty people, left the passenger reception halls by our
saloon-steamer _Blankensee_ on our way to Brunshausen where we
intended to go on board one of our new boats which was ready for
her trial trip. Kuskop, who was wearing his yachting cap and was
armed with a pair of huge binoculars, had taken up a position on
deck. He stood out very conspicuously, and a port labourer who was
working on board an English steamer as soon as he saw him, raised
the cry of _'Fremdenblatt_.' This cry was immediately taken up by
the people on the quay-sides, on the river-vessels, on the
ferry-boats, on the barges, and all other vessels in the
neighbourhood, and developed into quite an ovation which was as
spontaneous as it was popular. The worthy Kuskop appeared to be
visibly gaining in importance; he had taken off his cap, and the
tears trickled down his kindly face.
"He well deserved this popularity. For years and years he
unfailingly saw to it that the Hamburg steamers, at whatever port
of the globe they arrived, found a _Fremdenblatt_ waiting for them,
thus providing a valuable and much appreciated link between the
crews and the old home. I myself have also reaped the benefit of
his attentive care. Years ago when I was making a trip round the
world I found the _Fremdenblatt_ waiting for me wherever I went;
and after having been so much out of touch with the civilized world
for weeks, that even Kuskop's genius could not discover my
whereabouts, I was agreeably surprised to find on arriving at
Vancouver all the old copies of the _Fremdenblatt_ that had failed
to reach me, carefully piled up in one of the sleeping compartments
of the saloon carriage which had been placed at my disposal for the
railway journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic seaboard.
"At that time I personally experienced the pleasant sensation--of
which our captains and the other officers had often spoken to
me--which one feels on reading the back copies of old newspapers,
calling up, as it does, vivid recollections of home. In company
with my wife, and some German officers who were returning from the
scene of unrest in China in order to complete their convalescence
at home, I greedily devoured the contents of the old papers from
beginning to end, thus passing in a delightful way the time taken
by travelling the long distance from Vancouver to Montreal. The
idea, which was afterwards made use of by Oskar Blumenthal in a
witty article, occurred to me to edit a paper which would publish
the news of the day a week after it had been reported, and even
then only as much of it as had proved to be true. Such a newspaper
would save us a great deal of unnecessary worry, as the contents of
this 'Periodical for the Dissemination of Truthful News' would be
sifted to a minimum.
"But it is time to cut short this digression. When I met my friend
Kuskop again after my trip, it was at Stettin on the occasion of a
launch. He happened to be in especially high spirits, and even more
communicative than usual. He then told me the tale of his friend
Senator Petersen, and it is such a good story that it would be a
pity not to record it here.
"It had become customary for the ships' captains and the other
ships' officers who could boast his friendship to treat poor Kuskop
to the wildest canards in return for his supplying them with
reading matter from their far-away home. One afternoon, when they
were sitting over a bottle of old port in Hermann Bade's wine
restaurant at Stubbenhuk and it was getting late, one of them--he
always referred to them as 'them young fools'--told him that a
river barge loaded with arsenic had just sprung a leak in the
harbour, so that it might become necessary to prohibit the use of
water for drinking purposes for some time. It was about five
o'clock and Kuskop, according to his own account, did not even stop
to finish his glass of port, but hurried to the offices of 'his'
paper which, in its next edition, published it as a fact that a
quantity of arsenic had vitiated the water of the Elbe. Next
morning, when Kuskop was still soundly asleep, two detectives
appeared at the house in which he lived, and escorted him to
headquarters, where he was locked up. At ten o'clock he was taken
up before Mr. Livonius--or whoever was the chief of police at that
time--who, with much abuse, demanded particulars concerning the
arsenic affair. Kuskop, seeing at once that one of 'them young
fools' had been pulling his leg, refused to supply any information
whatever. He was then brought before Senator Petersen, who, with a
great display of persuasion, tried to make him reveal the name of
his informant. Kuskop, however, remained obstinate, and the
Senator, changing his methods from persuasion to coercion, had him
locked up again. He remained in confinement till five o'clock in
the afternoon, and was then taken before Senator Petersen for the
second time, who now peremptorily demanded that he should state his
informant's name. Kuskop replied: 'Herr Senator, if you were in my
position, you would not give him away yourself.' The Senator turned
round to the police officials and said: 'Mr. Kuskop is a gentleman,
you see. We shall not get anything out of him. The best thing you
can do is to chuck him out,' which suggestion was thereupon
promptly and most efficiently carried out by some of those who were
present.
"Another of his adventures he confided to me when a trial trip had
taken us right out into the North Sea. One of 'them young fools,'
he said, whom he regularly met at Mutzenbecher's tavern, had told
him as the very latest news that Captain Kier had been taken into
custody at Rio on the unfounded allegation of having committed
theft. Kuskop, feeling somewhat sceptical on hearing this
intelligence, but not believing himself justified in depriving the
readers of the _Fremdenblatt_ of such a highly interesting item of
news, thought he would be extra careful this time, and so did not
mention the captain by name, but merely referred to him as 'a Mr.
K----, captain of a Hamburg steamer.' This happened in the good old
times when there were still real winters in Hamburg, and when the
Elbe was sometimes ice-bound for months. The Hamburg steamers were
then compelled to take up winter quarters at Glückstadt--of all
places--and Kuskop used to establish a 'branch office' at that town
on such occasions. As bad luck would have it, he was fated one day
to meet Captain Kier there, who, with some of his friends, was
dining at his hotel. A huge tureen of soup with an enormous ladle
stood on the table in front of the captain, who was just about to
serve the soup when Kuskop entered the room. Without a moment's
hesitation the captain seized the ladle, the tureen, and everything
he could lay his hands on, and hurled them at him. He was, as the
latter afterwards confessed to me with the most innocent
expression, offended by the newspaper report, because, as it
happened, he was the only captain K---- on the route from Hamburg
to Rio at that particular time. He subsequently brought an action
against Kuskop, who had to retire from his business for some weeks
in order to get over the consequences of the mistake he had made.
"These are only two of the minor adventures from Kuskop's ample
store of reminiscences. It is a pity that our sea-faring men are so
reticent; otherwise they would be able to furnish a volume of
material concerning Kuskop that would far exceed that relating to
Kirchhoff, that other well-known Hamburg 'character.' I wish
someone would collect all the Kuskop stories; for I do not believe
that we shall ever again come across such a perfect specimen of his
kind as he was, and it would be sad to allow such a man to be
forgotten.
"Kuskop, however, was not only a 'character': he was also a 'real
good sort,' and he has been of real service to all those who have
ever travelled on Hamburg vessels. Because of that it is certain
that he will long be remembered; for it is not to him that the
following quotation can be applied: 'May each one of us--whether he
works with his hands or with his brain to earn a living
wage--always bear in mind that all that is best in him is gradually
lost in the process of toil, and that, after he has departed this
life, nobody will remember that he ever existed.'
"Our friend Kuskop never lost his good qualities in the process of
toil, and he was always a friend and a helpmate to all decent
people. I am sure in saying this I have the support of all who knew
him, and so with us his memory will always be kept green."
Ballin very frequently went to New York--which might be called the most
prominent outpost of the company--because he recognized the value of
being in constant touch with every aspect of the many activities carried
on by the Packetfahrt, and especially with those persons whose interests
it was of importance to the company to cultivate. The numerous pool
conferences often took him to London, where he always made a point of
keeping on friendly terms with the leading British shipping firms, and,
later on, with some of the leading politicians as well. There were few
people in Germany who could rival him in his knowledge of the psychology
of the American or the British mind. This knowledge resulted from his
great capacity for rapidly and correctly summing up the character of
anyone with whom he had to deal. He had developed to a high degree the
art of treating the different types of people he met according to their
different individualities. His kindness of heart, his brilliant powers
of conversation, his prodigious memory, his quickness of repartee, and
his keen sense of humour made him a favourite wherever he cared to be
one. One felt his charm as soon as one came into personal contact with
him. His wonderfully alert eye, which could express so much kindness,
the soothing tones of his melodious voice, and the firm and friendly
grip of his hand, made one forget that he was not a handsome man,
although his powerfully developed forehead and his head which, in later
years, was almost bald, were of classic perfection.
Albert Ballin would never have gained the commanding position he held if
the keenness of his intellect and the force of his character had not
been supplemented by that pleasing amiability which distinguishes all
really good men. To him was given a large measure of that noble courtesy
which springs from the heart. He who could be hard and unyielding where
the business interests entrusted to his care were at stake, was full of
generosity and sympathy towards the members of his family circle and his
friends. Nothing delighted him more than the happiness of others. Those
whom he cared for he treated with a tender regard which was deeply
touching. He loved to give presents, and did so with the most delicate
tact. He never expected any thanks; it was sufficient for him to see the
happy face of the recipient. And if he ever met with ingratitude or
spitefulness, he ignored it and dismissed it from his mind.
Personally generous to the limit of extravagance, he never spent a penny
of the funds of his company without being convinced that it would be to
its benefit. He left nothing undone when he thought he could realize a
profit to the company, or cut down expenses. Money, to him, was only a
means to an end; and the earnings of the company were in the first place
intended to be spent on increasing its scope and prosperity wherever
possible. Those who know what remuneration the heads of other concerns
receive may well be surprised to see how little Ballin made for himself
out of his position, but they would do him a great injustice if they
thought he ought to have made more out of it. He even spent the greater
part of his income for purposes of representation in the interests of
his company. His amiable charm of manner and his brilliant
conversational gifts did much towards making the entertainments he
provided the successes they invariably were; and even if so much
representation, especially that in connexion with Kiel Week, became
somewhat of a burden to him, his company reaped rich benefit from his
munificence.
But to appreciate to the full the charm of his personality one must have
been his guest at his beautiful home in Hamburg or at his beloved
country seat near Hamfelde, and have listened to his conversation while
sitting round the fire of an evening, or been his companion on his long
walks and rambles through the neighbouring Forest of Hahnheide. His
conversation was always animated, his witty remarks were always to the
point, and he was unsurpassed as a raconteur. He was excellent as a
speaker at committee meetings, and he always hit upon the right words
suitable for a political toast. The skill with which he wielded the pen
is proved by numerous newspaper articles, memoranda, and descriptions of
his travels, but above all by his voluminous correspondence. He was
probably one of the most versatile letter-writers, and yet so
conscientious in this as to be almost pedantic. In his early years he
had also tried his hand at poetry. His beautiful home, which was adorned
with pictures and sculptures by eminent masters, was a source of great
pleasure to him. He was very fond of music and congenial company, and he
knew how to appreciate the pleasures of a full and daintily arranged
table.
When I intimated to one of Ballin's old friends that I intended to write
his Life, he told me that this would not be an easy task, and that he
hoped I would not forget to depict Ballin as the amiable _charmeur_ to
which side of his character so many of his successes were due, and which
was the secret of much of his great popularity. The number of people
who claimed to be his friends, both before and after his death, but
especially when they were trying to get some advantage out of the
company, was surprisingly large. They were, in fact, so numerous that
such a claim, when put forward, was generally--and rightly--looked upon
with a great deal of suspicion. Very often, when such self-styled
friends were announced to him, Ballin would reply: "I do not know the
man," or "I do not remember him, but I may have met him." Ballin may
justly be described as a man of world-wide fame, and whenever he went
abroad the papers eagerly followed his movements. In New York especially
it required all his cunning and resourcefulness to escape from the
reporters desiring to interview him.
Owing to his prominent position before the public he received an
abundance of honours during his life. The many distinctions and presents
which the Kaiser bestowed on him were a source of gratitude and delight
to him, and he valued them because they were a symbol of the personal
ties that linked him to the Kaiser; but the foreign decorations, of
which he also received a great many, were of so little interest to him
that he did not even trouble to have those of them replaced which once
were stolen from him. It was a great disappointment to him, however, not
to be able to recover the Japanese ornamental swords which were taken on
the same occasion, and which he had always carefully treasured because
of their high artistic value. They were a present from the Marquis Ito,
whom Ballin had once helped to obtain an audience of the Kaiser--an
audience which, he hoped, would lead to the establishment on a permanent
footing of Germany's relations with the Empire of the Mikado. It would
appear, indeed, that, if the leaders of Germany's political destiny had
shown some more circumspection, the same friendly relations might have
been brought about between Germany and Japan as were entered into later
on between Great Britain and the latter country. Personal souvenirs,
like those just mentioned, were prized so highly by Ballin that no
persuasion would induce him to part with them, and even Professor
Brinckmann, the Director of the Hamburg Museum for Arts and Crafts, who
was one of the leading authorities on the subject of Japanese applied
art, and who tried hard to secure possession of them for his museum, met
with a flat refusal.
Every year Ballin spent at least six months, and often more, away from
Hamburg, and during such absences the work he had to accomplish was not
less, but rather more than that which he did when in Hamburg.
Conferences followed upon each other in quick succession at all times of
the day, and the time that was left was filled up by visits. Often the
amount of work was so great that he had to get through a whole series of
difficult problems in a single day. The number of visits he had arranged
was always considerably augmented by numerous others not allowed for in
his arrangements for the day; because wherever he went the news of his
arrival spread immediately. He could never even think of travelling
incognito. It is literally true that he was known to every hotel porter
all over the world. He was in the habit of extending his hospitality
twice a day to a larger or smaller number of business friends when he
was travelling. At first his love of congenial society had prompted him
to do this, but in after years he continued it because he wanted to
secure some benefit for his company even in his hours of relaxation.
Still, he was often quite glad when, late at night, he had come to the
close of his day's work, and when he could let the happenings of the day
pass before his mind's eye in the quiet solitude of his room, or, as he
liked to express it, "to draw the balance of the day's account."
Even before 1900 the never-tiring energy of his mind and the excessive
strain on his nervous system brought about a practically permanent
insomnia which never left him either in Hamburg or on his travels. Only
when he was on the sea, or was staying at his country house, did he
obtain any relief; and at such times he could dispense with the drugs to
the use of which he had become a victim more and more regularly and
extensively as time went on. The fact that this habit did not entirely
ruin his nervous system proves that he was possessed of an iron
constitution, which only gave way under the huge strain caused by the
war. When he saw that his life's work had been broken to fragments, and
when he felt that he had not enough strength left for a second attempt
of such magnitude, even his immense nerve force collapsed under the
blow.
The anxieties caused by the war--a war which he knew would be
lost--weighed more and more heavily on his mind the longer it lasted.
Outwardly he bore himself bravely and steadfastly, but his mind was full
of dark forebodings, especially when he was by himself. If he had not
had the unvarying sympathy of the faithful partner of his life, with
whom he shared thirty-five years of mutual happiness, and if he had not
always derived fresh consolation from his beloved adopted daughter and
from his grandchildren, he would indeed many a time have felt very
lonely. In spite of his apprehensions as to the result of the war, he
yet remained faithful to the task of his life, and he hoped against
hope. His ardent love of his work was constantly struggling with his
reason, which foretold him the ruin of the Empire and in consequence
that of German shipping.
This fact explains some apparent contradictions in his views and
actions. What was the general public to think of a man who was watching
the progress of the war with the greatest pessimism, whilst at the same
time bringing all his influence to bear on the passing of a law which
was to make possible the reconstruction of Germany's merchant fleet,
knowing that such reconstruction could only be achieved if the Empire
which was to set aside the funds were to remain intact. In this matter,
as in others, it was the intuition of the born business-man which guided
him, or perhaps a sort of instinct which made him discover new ways when
the old ones had failed. These forces of his mind had nothing in common
with logical reasoning, and they prevented him from drawing the
practical inference from the sentiment so often expressed by us during
the war: "If the Empire falls to pieces, we shall all be ruined; and if
the Empire becomes bankrupt, we shall be insolvent too." Events have
shown that this sentiment was not justified by facts. Empires and
individuals may perish; but the nations, and their trade and commerce
which are the outcome of their economic needs and of their geographical
position, will outlast them.
Neither is it likely that the life-work of those men who have left their
mark on their epoch will ever be in vain. There are two great
achievements which, it appears, will always stand out like two pillars
in the wreck of destruction that has fallen upon Germany, viz.
Bismarck's work of political unification, and--a necessary preliminary
of it--the powerful economic foundations laid with incessant toil by the
great industrial leaders of whom Germany had so many during the era of
her prosperity.
Albert Ballin was one of the most gifted among their number, and the
world-wide fame of his achievements has outlived his death. When, after
five years of isolation from the rest of the world, Germany appeared
once more amongst the nations, she did so with the knowledge that the
foundations of the proud structure which Ballin had built up were still
unshaken, and this knowledge has proved one of her greatest assets when
she entered upon the task of reconstruction.
If German shipping is to flourish again, and if German steamers are now
ploughing the oceans once more, credit is due to Albert Ballin. His work
it is from which new life is emanating, and it is to be hoped that his
spirit will continue to animate German shipping both now and in the
future.
[Illustration: Extract Annotated by William II]
INDEX
Aden, 85
Adler Line, 7
Aehrenthal, Count, 141
Agadir incident, 162
Agents, emigration, work of, 8
Alsace-Lorraine, problem of, 272
_America_, 12
_Amerika_, 25, 106, 129
Andersen, Mr., and the Danish Royal Family, 99
Anglo-American Alliance, Ballin's opinion of, 256
Anglo-German rapprochement, 134
shipping agreement, 18
understanding, 164, 165
advantage of, 136
Ballin as negotiator, 136
failure of, 133
Anglo-Russian agreement, 137
Antwerp, 81, 82
_Aquitania_, 113
Asquith, Mr. H. H., 262
on Lord Haldane's mission, 177
speech on Navy, 154
Atlantic Conference, 111
Atlantic Transport-Leyland Co., enlargement of, 45
_Auguste Victoria_, 25, 27, 72, 75, 193, 196
_Australia_, 12
Austria, need of compromise with Italy, 242
Austria-Hungary, strained relations between, 251
Austro-German _Zollverein_, 251
Baden-Powell, General, and the German menace, 138
Bagdad Railway, 189
Baker, B. N., American shipping magnate, 42
comes to Europe, 44
Baker, B. N., discusses terms of community of interest agreement, 42
Balkan States, and Germany, 251
Ballin, Albert, adopts Lord Pirrie's advice, 44
advises peace overtures, 245
after the war problems, 255
agreement with Harland and Wolff, 122
American appreciation of, 308
an English journalist on, 293
ancestry of, 2
and Admiral v. Tirpitz, 237
and Adolph Woermann, 107
and Anglo-German rapprochement, 134
and Carl Laeisz, 294
and Count Tisza, 252
and Count Waldersee, 194
and Government subsidies, 60
and Hamburg-Amerika Linie, 69
and Hugo Stinnes, 280
and Mr. Gerard, 246
and labour questions, 297
and politics, 131
and North German Lloyd, 116
and Princess Marie of Denmark, 99
and Reichstag, 279
and submarine warfare, 252, 254
and the Russo-Japanese War, 104
and Union Line, 19
and working classes, 297
and world war, 132
anxiety as to Roumania, 244
article in _Frankfurter Zeitung_ on blockade, 234
as Anglo-German negotiator, 136
as arbitrator, 79
as general representative of Carr Line, 12
as head of Packetfahrt passenger department, 18, 21
at Constitutional Club, 140
at Neues Palais, 204
at the German front, 266
attempts at mediation during war, 233
boldness of, 289
business principle of, 132
capacity for work of, 300
chairman of Pool Conference, 36
complains of German official high-handedness, 232
conducts London emigration discussions, 1898, 38
death of, 286
defends himself, 235
dines with Danish Royal Family, 100
disagrees with use of submarines, 229
discusses Morgan Trust with William II, 53
early biographical details of, 6
education of, 3, 4
establishes German-Japanese Bank, 204
estimates British naval staying-power, 253
Far East investigations, 84
favours peace by compromise, 236
forcing the British Lines, 36
friendliness of William II toward, 206
further reports on Morgan Trust negotiations, 49-50
grave warning in 1918, 279
Hamfelde, his country home, 310
handling of labour troubles, 298-9
his father's death, 5
his life-work, 115
his 1901 trip epitomized, 95
his observation of details, 123
his view on evading war, July 27, 1914, 216
ideal in forming Pool, 66
impressions of Paris after Morocco affair, 181
in London discussing Austrian ultimatum, 215
in Vienna, 1916, 249
Ballin, Albert, intense patriotism of, 291
international services of, vii
interview with Bethmann-Hollweg, 152
interview with Grey, Haldane, and Churchill, 215
last diary entry, 286
last meeting with William II, 209, 280
letter from William II, 175
letter to Kiderlen-Wächter, 163
letters to General v. Falkenhayn, 244
made Packetfahrt Director, 27
meets Sir Ernest Cassel, 138
mental versatility of, 2
mission to Vienna, 1915, 242
negotiations with Booth Line on Brazilian trade, 83
notes of conversations with William II, 203
official thanks to, 141
on Agadir incident, 163
on _Blücher_, 60
on death of Edward VII, 160
on engineering problems, 121
on foreign exchange, 274
on _Hohenzollern_, 202
on London in election time, 158
on naval armaments, 147
on neutrals, 245
on peace problems, 239
on sale of confiscated fleet, 230
on Sandjak Railway, 142
on security of William II, 241
on Serbian situation, 214
on war's failures, 258 _et seq._
opinion of German Chancellor, 259
opinion of war's duration, 237
personal characteristics of, 287
pioneer in steerage business, 11
policy of, 79
political views, 291
premier position at twenty-nine, 19
present from Marquis Ito, 311
prodigious memory of, 4
report on British attitude to Germany, 161
report on development of German shipping, 47
reticence of, 3
reviews war position in 1916, 258
ridicules submarine warfare, 268-9
stimulating influences of his life, 2
strain of war on health, 313
sturdy honesty of, 309
suggested as negotiator of peace, 286
suggests Pool, 24
talks with Prince Bülow, 271
talks with William II on submarine war, 248
threatens British traffic, 22
trip round the world, 83
value of wonderful memory, 35
views on character of William II, 285
visits London in 1914, 184
war problems of foreign policy, 241
William II discusses politics with, 203
William II writes to, on Navy Bill, 183
William II's personal interest in, 198
wire from Leopold de Rothschild, 163
with Prince Henry of Prussia on the _Hohenzollern_, 57
with William II at Front, 266
with William II in Italy, 204
with William II on _Kaiser Wilhelm II_, 55
work in _Reichseinkauf_, 224
writes frank letter on war to William II, 1916, 252 _et seq._
writes on Morgan Trust, 46
writes to William II, April, 1917, 264
Bauer, Lieut.-Col., 280
Beck, Edward, 27
Berg, Herr von, 282
_Berliner Tageblatt_ on Anglo-Russian naval agreement, 213
Bernstorff, Count, 264
Bethmann-Hollweg, von, 151, 152, 156, 262, 270, 277
attacked respecting Agadir, 162
on British delegation, 166-7
telegram to Mexico, 271
_Bismarck_, launch of, 202
Bismarck, Prince, 114
Blockade, German, futility of, 267
Blohm and Voss, 113
_Blücher_, Ballin on trial trip, 60
Boer War, European move to stop, 143
lesson of, 139
Bohlen, Krupp v., 282
Bolten, August, 10
British argument against German naval expansion, 133
Cabinet and German naval expansion, 182
confiscation of German merchant fleet, 229
convoys, how they outwitted the Germans, 267
emigration, comparison with German, 15
excitement over Morgan Trust, 60
feeling in Russo-Japanese war, at German attitude, 104
Ludendorff's promise to crush, 266
Navy, Ballin on, 239
opinion on shipping deals, 67
rivalry with Germany, 133
shipbuilding, developments in, and Hamburg-Amerika Linie, 128, 208
shipbuilding, German move against, 17
shipping companies, Pierpont Morgan and, 55
shipping lines, and emigration, 7-14;
agreement with, 23;
join the Continental Pool, 23;
offered to German companies, 67
supremacy, Ballin on, 241
Bülow, Prince, 141, 247, 270
Canadian Pacific Railway, 62, 111
Cargo and steerage shipping, 13
Carr, Edward, 12
Carr Line, the, 12 _et seq._
and Packetfahrt, 12
Cassel, Sir Ernest, 134
and Winston Churchill, 165
meets Ballin, 138
on Anglo-German understanding, 165
on naval problem, 179
on Sandjak Railway, 142
report of interview with, on Navy, 171
work for reduction of naval armaments, 134 _et seq._
Cholera, epidemic at Hamburg, 36, 72
Christiansand, port of, 21
Churchill, Mr. Winston, 166
at Kiel, 1914, 192
complains of Germany, 180
Sir Ernest Cassel on, 165
speech on Navy, 175
suggests a naval holiday, 186
Colombo, 86
_Columbia_, 77, 201
Community of interest agreement (_see_ "Pool" and "Morgan Trust")
Congo, Franco-German agreement, 162
Coolies, Chinese, 89
Cunard Line, and Austrian Government, 65
and Hungarian Government, 63
effect on Pool, 65
introduces turbines, 111
new liners, 113
opposition to cabin Pool, 61
refuses to join Pool, 37
Cuxhaven, development of, 69
regatta at, 205
_Daily Telegraph_, sent to William II, 270
the William II interview, 144
Dardanelles, the, operations in, 245
de Freitas and Co., A. C., 79
de Freitas Line, purchase of, 80
Denmark, emigration from, 13
Royal Family of, their interest in shipping, 99
_Deutschland_, 25, 78, 130
Diesel engine, application to steamship, 102
Dreadnoughts, 200
Eastern Asiatic Co., 98
Edward VII, 134
and Morgan Trust, 61
Edward VII, chances of Anglo-German war, during reign of, 139
death of, 158
policy of, 135
the Kiel week, 206
visit to Wilhelmshöhe, 136
visits Berlin, 145
visits Kaiser at Friedrichshof, 142
Elbe, enlargement of harbour facilities on the, 69, 70, 79
Ellerman, Mr., of Leyland Line, 45
Emden, rise of, 83
Emigrants, early accommodation of, 7, 8, 14
Emigration, anti-British action, 17
Ballin's work for, 9
beginnings of pooling, 12
British and German, 15
British rates, 22
business, how controlled, 8
comparisons of Carr Line and Packetfahrt, 15
cost of, 12
Danish, 13
Hungarian, 63
in the 'seventies, 8
medical control established, 74
on pre-paid basis, 9 _et seq._
rate war begins, 14
statistics of, 103
stopped by Hamburg cholera epidemic, 36
Emigration Law, German, 23
Erzberger, Herr, 244
Esher, Lord, and the Admiralty, 138
Europe, concerted inquiry to Germany, 140
situation in September, 1916, 262
Falkenhayn, General v., Ballin and, 244
Finland, 278
Forced draught, first vessels under, 26
Foreign exchange, Ballin on, 273
Francis Joseph, Emperor, 250
and Count Tisza, 250
Frederick the Great on experience, viii
Frisch, Geheimrat, 223
Furness, Sir Christopher, and Morgan Trust, 61
_Fürst Bismarck_, 193
Fürstenkonzern, 110
George V, King, Ballin's letter respecting, 160
George, Mr. Lloyd, speech on Agadir incident, 162
visits Germany, 143
Gerard, Mr., and Ballin, 246
German-British shipping agreement, 18
German emigration fleet, in 1882, 10
German Government, note to British Government, 170
German Naval Bill, 137
German Navy, the 1908 affair, 138
Germany, and Belgian Relief Committee, 231
and the Merchant Service Bill, 228
bad feeling among neutrals to, 245
Ballin cries "everything is being gambled away," 257
Ballin discusses after-the-war problems, 255
big naval programme, 143
British agitation against, 137
confiscation of merchant fleet, 229
control of trade and industries, 274
failure of political leaders, 264
favourable shipping situation of, 80
feeling towards British, 143
food problem, September, 1918, 284
habit of premature actions, 273
ignorance of British character, 260
internal condition in August, 1914, 223 _et seq._
lack of effective administration during war, 233
mental attitude of, 134
plans to approach President Wilson, 283
Germany, state in 1916 "like living in a madhouse," 257
useless sacrifices of, 229
war condition of, 257
war-hopes in ruins, 269
Germany's industrial growth, 7
_Gigantic_, 113
Goschen, Sir Ernest, 153
Gothenburg, port of, 21
Grey, Sir Edward, 262
on Lord Haldane's mission, 177
on naval armaments, 157
on the Navy, 138
Great War (_see_ World War)
Grumme, Capt. v., joins Hamburg-Amerika Linie, 199
with William II at Morgan Trust discussion, 53.
Hague Conference, 137
Hahn, Dr. Diederich, Chairman Agrarian League, 59
Haldane, Lord, 171
and British neutrality, 190
Cabinet's attitude toward, 184
explains to Ballin, 191
German opinion respecting, 187
success of his mission, 177
visits Berlin, 134, 167
William II's discussions with, 174 _et seq._
Hamburg, absorption into Prussia, 296
birthplace of Ballin, 1
cholera epidemic in, 36, 72
dock strike, 299
in the nineteenth century, 1-6
Hamburg-Amerika Linie, and Great Britain, 207
and Persia, 107
and Russo-Japanese war, 105
buys foodstuffs for isolated Germany, 223
far-reaching alterations, 98
fate of ships when war broke out, 220
financial stability of, 116
fleet of, 116
instructions to ships on eve of war, 220
new premises, 202
sixtieth anniversary, 117
William II and, 195
Hamburg-Amerika Linie (_see also_ Packetfahrt)
Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft, 7
Hamburg Regattas, William II at, 201
Hamburg-South American S.S. Co., 79
Hammann, Geheimrat, 138, 141
_Hammonia_, 24
Hansa Line, 69
taken over by Hamburg-Amerika Linie, 70
Hansemann, v., director Disconto-Gesellschaft, 55
Hansen, President, Chief of Arbitration Court Pool, 35
Harbou, Major v., 282
Harland and Wolff, 112, 121
Henckell-Donnersmarck, Prince, Kaiser's interest in, 47
Hintze, Herr v., 283
_Hohenzollern_, 194
Holland-America Line, 7
Holland, Queen of, offers mediation, 283
Holtzendorff, Admiral v., 246
Hongkong, 88
Huldermann, Bernhard, and Count Witte on averting war, 217
and Navy Bill, 170
Immco Lines, Pool name for Morgan Trust, 65
Immigrants, Scandinavian trade, 36
_Imperator_, 31, 113, 125, 126
International Mercantile Marine Company (_see_ Morgan Trust)
Inverclyde, Lord, and Morgan Trust, 64
Italia Company, the, started, 79
Italy, agreement with, necessary to success of war, 241
Germany's failure in, 242
Jagow, Herr v., 213, 214
Jewish ancestry of Ballin, 2
Jones, Sir A., and the Morgan Trust, 6
Jonquières, Herr v., 231
_Kaiser Wilhelm der Grösse_, 77
_Kaiser Wilhelm II_, 205
_Kaiserin_, 113
_Kaiserin Auguste Victoria_, 25, 106, 129
Kaiserin, the, and the war, 211
opposition to private life, 285
Kiautschou, 97
Kiel Canal, widening the, 200
Edward VII at, 206
Week, origin of, 201
Kirchheim, Chief Inspector Emil F., viii
Köhlhrand, agreement the, 295
Kühlmann, Herr v., 189
Kunhardt, M., 27
Kuskop, Karl, 303
Laeisz, Carl, 293
Laeisz, F., 293
Laird's, orders to, 26
Law, German Emigration, of 1887, 23
Leuthold, Prof., 199
Leyland Line, acquired by Pierpont Morgan, 48
Liberal Cabinet, and naval armaments, 149
Liberal Government, and Anglo-German understanding, 136
Lichnowsky, Prince, 188
view on Haldane's "neutrality" conversation, 191
Liners, developments in, 125 _et seq._
Lohmann, Mr., 10
Director-General of Lloyd Line, 32
Ludendorff, and the Crown Prince, 280
and "to her knees" promise, 266
_Lusitania_, 62, 113
Marie, Princess, of Denmark, 99
Marine engineering, Ballin's enterprise in, 122
development of, 119
Packetfahrt types, 125
progress in, 127
Marschall, Bieberstein v., 188
_Mauretania_, 62, 113
Mediterranean Conference, 111
_Meteor_, 197
Metternich, Count, at St. James's, 212
on Anglo-German understanding, 187
predicts Great War, 188
sees Sir Edward Grey, 178
Morgan, Pierpont, guest of William II at Kiel, 61
Morgan, Trust, the, 40 _et seq._
agreement reached, 52
announced to British Press, 59
effect of freight slump, 61
final discussions in New York, 55 _et seq._
financial aspect, 45
inception of, 45
International Mercantile Marine Co., formal name of, 65
King Edward VII and, 61
outline of draft agreement, 51
Pierpont Morgan at London Conference, 49
Pierpont Morgan's operations attract public attention, 46
telegram from William II, 56
terms of agreement, 58
William II discusses, 53
Morris and Co., 1 _et seq._
Mutius, Herr v., 247
Nanking, 92
Naumann, Dr., and "Berlin to Bagdad," 276
_Nautikus_, naval propaganda in, 200
Naval armaments, a cause of unrest, 133
Ballin's report on, 146 _et seq._
big navy propaganda, 133
Reichstag and reduction of, 145
Naval Bill of 1912, 155
Ballin writes to Sir Ernest Cassel on, 168
British alarm at, 166
Naval holiday, Mr. Churchill suggests a, 186
Navy, a bigger British, 171
Navy League, German, 137
_New York_, 49
New York, emigration to, in the 'eighties, 7 _et seq._
steerage passengers to, statistics, 29
_Normannia_, 77
North Atlantic Steamship Lines Association, history of, 32
_North German Gazette_, 157
North German Lloyd, 7, 98, 106, 111
competes with Packetfahrt, 10
jubilee of, 117
Oertzen, Herr v., 91
_Olympic_, 113
Packetfahrt, the, a founder of, 10
agreement with Philadelphia Shipping Co. and Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 77
and Ballin, 289
and Carr Line, 12
and emigrants, 10
and Harland and Wolff, 121
and Russian coal, 104
and the Russo-Japanese War, 103
Ballin made director of, 27
celebration of jubilee, 74
1886 Pool, 21
extension of South American business, 80
improved appointments and accommodation on vessels, 26
increase of capital, 26
letter from chairman of Cunard Company, 75
more new vessels built, 25, 74
New York branch established, 27
passenger department created, 19
service to Mexico, 83
statistics (1886), 19
(_see also_ Hamburg-Amerika Linie)
_Panther_, William II and, 210
Paris Economic Conference, 276
Passenger traffic, improvements in, 41
Peace negotiations, Ballin and, 286
Peters, Heinrich, central offices of, 34
secretary of Pool, 31
_Philadelphia_, 49
Pirrie, Lord, 121
advises Ballin, 44
discusses Morgan Trust, 63
Pleasure cruises, inception of, 70 _et seq._
Pool accommodation discussions (1898), 38
actuarial basis of, 34
agreement on (1891), 24
agreement with Allan Line, 74
agreement with Italian Lines, 74
agreement with Lloyd Line, 74
Ballin's opinions upon, 115
British Lines refuse (1892), 33
cardinal principles of, 30
Cunard Line refuses to join, 37
details of the, 28
Heinrich Peters, secretary of, 31
its most dramatic episode, 67
more internal troubles, 115
negotiations for a greater, 35
North Atlantic Steamship Lines Association, formal name of, 33
proposed by Ballin, 1886, 24
special, for Mediterranean business, 34
terms definitely made, 33
the General, 111
the transatlantic, 110
tonnage and passenger statistics, 29
U.S.A. Railway pool compared, 28
world war's effect upon, 111
Port Said, 85
_Pretoria_, 201
Princes' Trust, 110
_Prinzessin Victoria Luise_, 130
Prussia, Prince Henry of, 57
Rate war, the, 14, 110
Red Star Line, 7
_Reichseinkauf_, the, formation of, 223
Reuchlin, Mr., of Holland-American Line, 32
Richardson, Spence and Co., 9
Riga, fall of, 272
Roumania, anxiety regarding food from, 251
neutrality of, 244
supplies grain during war to Germany, 227
Rupprecht of Bavaria, Prince, 137
Russia, army of, 139
Russian East Asiatic S.S. Co., 101
Russian Press, outburst against Sandjak Railway, 141
Russian Volunteer Fleet, 111
Russo-Japanese War, 102
coaling problems for Russian fleet, 105
ships for, 25
_St. Louis_, 49
_St. Paul_, 49
Sandjak Railway, 141
Scandia Line, 21
Scandinavian emigration, 21
Schön, Herr v., 141
Schratt, Frau Kathi, 250
pro-English sympathies of, 252
Schwander, Dr., 272
Shanghai, 90
Shaughnessy, Lord, 62
Shipping agreement on rates, 17
agreements, enormous range of, 111
British tonnage in 1901, 49
crisis of 1907, 111
Imperial Government's interest in, 55
some tonnage comparisons, 49
statistics (1881-1885), 29
transatlantic business, trend of, 67
Ships, speed of, in 1882, 10
Singapore, 87
Skoda, Baron, 251
Sloman and Co., R. M., 18
South African War, 79
South America, development of, 82
Southampton, Packetfahrt service transferred to, 73
Spanish-American War, ships for, 25
Steinhöft, Hamburg, 1
Stettin, Vulkan Yard, 78, 113
orders to, 26
Stinnes, Hugo, 280
Storm, Director A., viii
Strasser, Mr., of the Red Star Line, 32
Stürgkh, Count, 243
Francis Joseph and, 250
Submarine warfare, 248, 252, 258
amazing achievements, 268
unrestricted, beginning of, 263
Thingvalla Line, 21
_Times, The_, on German neutrality, 104
Tirpitz, Admiral v., 151, 152, 199
and Ballin, 237
threatens resignation, 246
Tisza, Count, 243
and Count Stürgkh, 250
_Titanic_, 113
Tokio, 93
Trans-Andine Railway, completion of, 82
Tsingtau, 92, 97
Tweedmouth, Lord, and the Kaiser, 137
Ukraine, the, 278
U.S.A., application of Monroe doctrine in, 82
cholera and isolation in, 73
devastating effects of entry into war, 255
economic depression of the 'eighties, 9
enters the war, 269
German fears of intervention, 252
immigration from Scandinavia, 21
Railway Pool, 29
railways and shipping co-operation, 44
_Vaterland_, 113
Versailles treaty, German view of, 208
Vienna, conditions in, 249
Vulkan Yard, Stettin, 26, 78, 113
Waldersee, General Count Georg, and Ballin, 194
on rationing Germany, 221
_Westminster Gazette_ (article in facsimile at end), 163, 235
White Star Line, and Pierpont Morgan, 55
new liners, 113
Wiegand, Dr. Heinrich, 119
and Morgan Trust, 54
Wilding, Mr., Ballin's friendship for, 9
William II, and "a place in the sun," 202
and British Navy, British feeling aroused, 137
and _Daily Telegraph_ interview, 143
and Nicholas, suggested talk to avert war, 220
and President Wilson's note, 285
and the _Bismarck_, 114
at Hamburg, 193
Ballin explains situation in September, 1918, 209
Ballin reports to, on navy problem, 138
Ballin tells him the ugly truth in 1917, 267
blind to situation, September, 1918, 283
"brimful of optimism," 272
comments on _Westminster Gazette_ article, 163
designs excursion steamer, 196
discusses Morgan Trust with Ballin, 53
discusses Morocco question, 205
facsimile comments on _Westminster Gazette_ article (_see_ end of book)
interest in German shipbuilding, 196
interest in Morgan Trust, 197
intervenes in shipping struggle, 106
isolation of, 255
last meeting with Ballin, 280
letter on British Navy, 137
maritime interests of, 201
monarchical discussions, Ballin and, 285
on balance of power, 165
on Germany's Austro-Hungarian policy, 189
on the Churchill speech, 183
outspoken letter in 1916 from Ballin, 252 _et seq._
personal interest in Ballin, 198
persuaded to retire into private life, 285
sees Edward VII at Friedrichshof, 142
supports Ballin's mission of inquiry
to U.S.A., 54
telegram to Morgan Trust, 56
venerated in Austria, 251
visits Windsor, 136
wants apology from Great Britain, 183
writes to Ballin on Haldane interview, 175
Wilson, President, 263
Witt, Mr. Johannes, 27
Witte, Count, on situation July, 1914, 217
Woermann, Adolph, 107
character sketch of, 108
World war, the, 213
Ballin attempts mediation, 233
Ballin describes 1917 situation to William II, 265
Ballin favours a compromise, 236
Ballin on neutrals, 245
Ballin on the blockade, 234
Ballin on the crisis, 215
Bismarck's prophecy regarding, 133
British censorship in, 225
coal problems during, 102
Count Witte on situation, July 24th, 1914, 217
defection of German conscripts, 281
effect on Pool, 111
World war, the, entry of U.S.A., effect of, 253 _et seq._
food problems of Germany, 222
forced upon William II, 285
foreign policy and food during, 241
German mistakes in, 258-9
Germany stunned by _débâcle_, 236
grain from Roumania, 227
indemnities, 261
Mexico telegram, 271
outbreak of, 132
peace overtures, 245
position in 1916, 258
provisioning Germany, 221
shipping profits during, 65
submarine warfare in, 229
the British blockade, 224
Tyrol, failure in the, 259
Verdun and Italian campaigns, political and military failures, 258
World's shipping collapse, cause of, 229
Yang-Tse-Kiang, the, 91, 96
Zentral-Einkaufs-Gesellschaft, 226 _et seq._
PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LONDON, E. C. 4.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Gross registered tonnage.
[2] Then British Ambassador in Berlin.
[3] This refers to the political events in Berlin immediately prior to
the outbreak of war.
[4] The head of the Press Department of the Foreign Office.
[5] The telegram which the Foreign Office sent to the German Minister
in Mexico, and which was partly responsible for the entry of the United
States into the war.
[6] Director of the Hamburg branch of the firm of Hugo Stinnes.
* * * * *
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
aded to their fleets=> added to their fleets {pg 48}
in the era on the machine-gun=> in the era of the machine-gun {pg 266}
aready explained=> already explained {pg 270}