_Berlin, Thursday, December 3d._ Donait and I had a whole compartment
to ourselves last night, which shows how normally German railroads are
running. We arrived in Berlin at eight o'clock this morning, bathed,
dressed, and had breakfast, at eleven o'clock presented ourselves at
the American Embassy and delivered our precious dispatch pouch to Mr.
Grew, the First Secretary....
The Emperor is in popular estimation not much lower than God Almighty,
and the two seem inextricably mingled in the public mind. The
world-wide amusement created by "_Me und Gott_," or by the Emperor's
firm conviction that he and he alone is worthy of divine aid and
approval, is an amusement not shared by any Germans. If you say to
them, "the Emperor seems to think the German people are the one race
chosen of God and that He works only for them and their advancement,"
the Germans will promptly and emphatically reply: "Why, of course; all
our past history proves that." The God they appeal to, however, is the
God of Battles of the Old Testament and of the ancient Hebrews, who
slew His enemies, destroyed nations, and annihilated races, who was
cruel and vindictive.
* * * * *
_Berlin, Friday, December 4th._ In Berlin, restaurants, cafés,
theaters, and concerts are going at full blast. Donait, Iselin, and I,
who have for months been working like dogs in Paris, which is as dull
as a country village and where cafés close at eight and restaurants at
nine and no places of amusement are open other than a few poor cinemas,
are thoroughly enjoying the contrast....
People who one day read the announcement of the death of a son, a
father, or a brother, are seen the next day in the streets or cafés
going about quietly, expressing or betraying neither sorrow nor regret.
The loved one has died "_für Gott, für König, und für Vaterland_." That
is glory enough, and neither the Emperor nor the people feel that it is
appropriate to mourn for one who has died for his country....
_Berlin, Sunday, December 6th._ About the atrocities in Belgium there
is, apparently, no question, but considering the way the Germans
controlled themselves in France, some explanation of their brutality
farther north in Belgian Flanders is necessary. The Germans say that
the cruelties were not all on one side; that the Belgians practised
sniping, impeded the German army, and mutilated German wounded. The
only one of these charges that seems to have been proved is that
of sniping, but even if other cruelties were committed it must be
remembered that the moral status of the Belgians was entirely different
from that of the Germans. The Belgians were aroused to blind fury by
the disregard of their neutrality rights and the unwarranted invasion
of their peaceful country....
Recently I had a long conversation with a German statesman of
ambassadorial rank, who spoke with intense feeling of the plight
of the thousands of German subjects, men, women, and children, who
had been caught in France at the opening of the war and interned in
detention camps. He said: "It is ridiculous for the French to suspect
any of these people of being spies, for German spies are not weak or
unprotected, but strong, picked men and women, highly trained to make
technical observations."
_Tuesday, December 8th._ I went to the American Embassy this morning to
obtain the necessary paper for my departure to-morrow for Vienna. Mr.
Grew called me into his private office and said that Ambassador Gerard
was particularly anxious that I should go to London instead as he had
dispatches of the utmost importance to send and would feel indebted to
me if I could take them. He warned me that the undertaking would not be
pleasant or altogether safe. I promptly accepted the mission,--indeed
such requests are, in the Army, the Navy, and the Diplomatic Service,
made only to be accepted. I am to leave Berlin Thursday morning at 8:59
and go through Germany and Holland to Flushing, where I shall take a
boat across the North Sea to Folkestone and thence to our Embassy in
London.