KAISER WILHELM II.

North Otago Times, Volume C, Issue 13145, 28 August 1914, Page 3

KAISER WILHELM 11.

.HI)RRY. ,v ,[By v JAMj!s'EDMOND, Editor of the "BuUetin,"] I l In the article published below, which > is reprinted, from the "Bulletin," the to, tho : : in any 'colonial .news- ;. ■-■■ ' ;; . wliQV.deseryes a lot. of symt —iii. the. upheaval is the Kaiser v^idfoiGej many//:, He, has apparently missed waiting for the wretched B:-^;. :r M!iicie ,/ar: contraption, during' a. !i!,;-^'f/9fllye\rs. './He has fallen in, and' he has. fallen'looks : ; lip'-lipttoni. Yet it must be William's credit that for f'iSS^felie/keptlHiepeace. Dnring.his ■' :: :' ; >%!.pi>;.'3.j;i.t'ainV:an allegedly harmless a long and desperate .|.:-:;Miuj^ : ostlyo;war,in South Africa, and r : ;!smallerV W ars in other places. Italy : Turkey, and four of.the.j Jpie" ; ;Bali(an States scrapped with; TiVrkey. the four little Bal- ' ifiBM&L sci'apped furiously among ' '^H^^BL^iissia 'and iapari. fought which. involved, was the tackled for something like ■ " Since the day when."aj ; mixcimrlniy of Romans, Visgof.hs,j i'ra'uks, afid sundries turned back,the. great Asiatic invasion when it was. in sight of I'aris there had been j ■ nothing like it. Spain had a campaign j with the United States. Portugal enjoyed a revolution. The Scandinavian " kingdom broke in two. The north-east-ern atom of Tlster started to raise anarmy with a \ iew to "making civil war in the Biitiah Tales, Amid all these trouble's the Kaiser of 'Germany remained peaceful. But his pose as the War Lord of Europe, his speeches,,his military! views, his helmet and cocked > hat and feathers, and his numerous uniI forms created an impression that he /was dangerous. There'was always a feeling that he proposed, to knock Sheol out of the universe.; And the multitude of newspaper and magazine articles which arose out of all this pose and cocked hat possibly went to

'., his head. lie. scurried around a good .' deal, At. the age of 55 he was still ■ regarded'as the Young-Man-in-a-Hurry.

' Awav back in 1577 and 1878 Eussia. aided 'bv . Bumauia, most justifiably kicked 1 the feet from under the Un-| • s'peakable Turk. The; result was a.con- j sid'e'rable. rearrangement of territory, in wliich. Eussia, Britain, Eumania, Bui-1 garia, and Greece all participated, either 'aspeopl'e who gathered in the prizes of j war or as people who collected payment | for,services rendered. But as the euri-j ous side issue of. the case,' Austria, j which hadn't rendered any visible ser-l vices or carried-a rifle iu the trouble,: "occupied" Bosnia -and Herzegovina.! The Unspeakable Turk hung his. bat-,; tered fez on a nail wlipn all the fib'iible,: 'was over, and said' that .his enemies 1 Were bad, but one of his friends,,wa^-a. great .deal worse. Germany got nothing j out of the. confusion. j

*'* ♦ * ; Then things drifted along until Sultan Abdul the Damned was dethroned, and tlie Young Turks and the new 'Su'ltau '■■ Mohammed V., who had been in a sort of prison for 30 -years, and hadn.'t even been allowed to see the newspaper:: regularly, created, a shocking .muddle which they, called, a Parliament, nt. t>,is. juncture Turkey

'hinte'cUbaf Austria should put, itseards : «ut" the'table, aiid explain whether it had J*full hand or a bob-tailed Hush. If Bosnia,and.. Herzcgovina-the "Occu\spied Provinces "-were still Turkish ■ territory, they must be allowed to elect ''members to'the new Parliament, and ; Austria would be due to clear out, If ",'th'ev. weren't Turkish territory then Austria must take .its courage in both '.".hands and'annex them as Britain an-. ■ nexed Cyprus. \Barou Aerentbiil, the Austrian' statesman of the moment, sat. ' mi. in the bed where he was dying,of ' kidnev disease, and did the annexation. Britain complained, but it didn't complain very hard. Russia, in its capacity 'of protector of the Slav, or semi-Slav races,'.grew, really angry. But Russia hadn't recovered from the disasters of its last war, and was hardly in a posi- ''■• tipiitojnake trouble on a large scale, Germany, .personified by the Young-Mftn:ili-'a-H.urry, put on its spiked helmet and warned Russia to back down

and be peaceful. Russia backed down, ; ■•■ anil..made an entry in its diary that it / ; would get square for the humiliation vporiie day., Germany made nothing out

ot: this deal either, except a certain

• aiiioiiiit of glory. Since the beginning ■ of the reign of William, the Youiig- ' Man-iii-a-liurry, Germany has never made anything worth mentioning out of jts foreign complications,

#v * ... * * * . \.A little while ago certain Servians,! who had. never got over the fact that | Bosriiil and Herzegovina had become! .Austrian instead of Servian territory, killed the heir of the Austrian throne ,mi hi? wife. Then Austria went into a j f .cold frenzy, and the Emperor, who.is Almost-the'oldest inhabitant of Europe, t .drifted with.thfl tide.. It was easier jo ■ declare war on Benin than to be shot ' v j)y|/his own loyal suhjeetH, so he made WW, He is a futile old perflon—the re-of-a man who was once really '-"great—flud tlie four winds of Circumstance blew him in front of them. Over the border.the four winds of Cirenm- : stance blew on another ruler, No one i'eyer accused the present fsnr of posing oeedlessly as a War Lord, of issuiug any Cfpolish ultimatum, or of wearing, the h.eluiet of military display for ■;:ihe mere love of the thing. Yet Russia ■ began to collect its.army, .Public. opinion;, wouldn't permit, the : Muscovite's tellow-Slav in Servia to be trodden, on Htjiout' some semblanco of aid. The -., Reading-oil business was bsing ovorQftme.': It is 1000 chances to one.that "riieJaged Austrian Emperor, who is long past -the days' of ambition, would .have ~ backed out: of'the Servian war as soon 'lgs hia: dignity was satisfied. So many of bis have died by violence that., the. death ; of two more .probably' /.'oiijjteil for less than might hay e~been; 'expected. A man who etfrne to tlie throne iu 18-JS eouldn 't have much de- , pire.rtor.rusli: into Homeric conflict in il&lj!.. '-And the Tsar would almost eerhave met him more than half■ nobody had intervened. Unsomebody is always'liable, to \-;iri«ryene. .'.■'■ ".;..\i l -' ■#.' ■.* *:' '.."».

\: i;;The one which.called for.the ggraceV • p'fttfc'e most brilliant and geii'liars in the diplomatic Mcfiß; ; of■ Europe,' But,,unhappily, Sthe liiddlerAgßu:;: youiig->fftn-ifi-a-prry' I;came on tbe ; scene, Possibly he-ffllt ; tliatshe is,..;getting old—-for he-is older, Vttian-ius"yeaf s—and.that lie-has really, , jp'-flihurry, ••;•. He wtsortbfi^citpj^li^ H^hk] I ;and. had;all;the evening -.before. would fitter thelwrjiii •;■ he would .bruise j his ■:■ ptomaghviagajnst-the cpuater,,^or^2J3 :'yeJr&^-#peaceful;' but".^raloer'aQisj^

i years—the thj'rd German Emperor has Tieeu the large, kitten' of Europef-a kitten being" defined us an animal that mshes at oiotjung and stops before U gets? theie. Hc,has fiequentljjiocn a peacemaker, brit it is complained that the manner of Ins benevolence is too much like that of Dickens's famous Mrs Paldiggle, who insisted on leading the Bible to nn infuriated family of brick makers. This brilliant but ill ballasted monarch took up his usual attitude, fjnil ordered Russia to disarm. Unfortunate h for tile Hurried,Peison there are 'great' ajid.iebiiW.; ageous- 'nation]; (fan 't go.!. Governtnent. stood, firm, Pi;obal>V>p ihe niost stuiiue'irpersoji i ut Eiirope'was Qei'many's 'Middle-Aged;. tou'iig-Man-iri-a-Hurry when his.bjuff was called at.last,'' Hclouidii't .back', out except by riiak'jng; liiinseff. Germany arid' 'Europe'.in aiid : .giving ;up his pose as aJYar'-L.ord-for.-;tlie;.testj.of liis (lavs, So lie declared/par, and probali'ly. wished lie had riot'been..so or else he wished that lie was dead.

The- theory that Germany, blundered into the Great Trouble rigainHt its Sovereign 's intention—that it. was';, a/mere matter of pride iindpoulp anil froth and bubble and'.cocked hat and feathers and. misadventure—is,based on, the: miserable kick'".'of,, preparation. .To:begin with;, it hadn't even beeiy decided that ■Austria should declare' war in due form, consequently Europe saw the amazing, spectacle .of Germany war against Russia-oil bclial.f of Austria, long before Austria l|a'd made any formal itself.;.. This was,a-' strange.,and wonderful ''.business.. Further, no ■attempt, had: been .made in. the , scuffle: to, liii'd -."out whether' Italy j would stand by ' its .■.partners in Jhej Triple Alliance or \voul<l take'tlie back' , track : . for home, yet ■ the.'aid..of; the : j great-Italian.': fleet .was a matter of I supreme/' importance.'' As it., happened, i 1 t'aly took' the • back ' track for ilidiiic,' and, 'as'' a, disreputable. warrior said in'Scotl's "Ivanhoe,'' "a i great anii was lopped off the enterprise" —or words to that effect. Rumania, which is a small:' Power but a very strong one for its size, is sup.: posed to be in the , Geriii|iu-Austrian-Italian alliance, but not having been'consulted about matters,. it also lies low and plays;its own game. Swe'deu might have, been roped in by reason of its long-standing, dislike; to Russia, and its help woiildiiave beenini valuable'in. the Baltic, but no one-had time to .send, a postcard to Sweden; or ring it up on the long, distance arrange-, merit. Amid a haze, of doubt and a great dust' of recrimination Germany committed itself'to "a" struggle in a cause that wasu't its; own. It went to battle with the strougest and least accessible of its possible enemies; and the one from whom it had-the smallest possible hope of .extracting a dividend either; in, land or money. ,

The situation expounded the difference between a professional War Lord and an amateur one, Bismarck would have died of old age.and cold feet;at the telephone rather than plunge into ■strife without first locating all his pos-, sible. friends and all', his reliable enemies,. . .When he dropped on Denmark iu 18G4 he had secured Austria'as an ally, and had made reasonably certain that; iWmark" had no possible allies. Before he turned'dog onAustria'in 1860-he'hacl secured-Italy as an

ally, and collected fairly solid assurances..thaf neither Britain, Eussia, nor the decayed' French , Emperor would make serious trouble, When he fell on Frauce.iii JS7olie had gotall the smaller. German'Stites on-his'side,'had secured Kussia.aa a guardian hi the rear, and had assured himself, so far as.it eouid be.done,.of the neutrality of ithe other'great Powei;. . The man who, made'.Hie present. German Empire 'was aiV. animal of : large discourse, looking before and after. 'i • tr * *

Apparently,'when the war "'.with Bus-', sia really started, through a lamentable misconception .of,the possibilities,of bluft'j the Elderly Yoirng-Ma'u-in'-a-Hurry lost his head. It is hard to believe that there.was any immediate need to'nroybke a quarrel with, France, The trouble might' be' inevitable,' but at atime of.great possibilities it seemed absurd -t.o'.rtish at the French fortresses instead, of.letting the, French rush at (the German fortresses, Also.'.the demented policy by which Belgium, and Britain were dragged into the complication was a - ease, of looking for accumulated disaster,.' , But there.. is' a ; theory that fortune belongs to the" person wjio" strikes hard ami strikes first—which is .reasonable, provided he doesn't : strike an.yi.wjy,. twice his size ami 1 doesn't, strike too many people at once. No" man should hit 12-policemen fit. the same moment. During 2fi years the Kaiser had posed—probably with an hoi'iest belief ill- himself—as the man of action, the. arbiter, tlie dictator, the ■ keeper of the peace, the prompt, deeis- ; iv'p soldier, and a lot of other things, | He was the inlluence \yho made tlic.fiiss | in Morocco! the sovereign, who created ithe German Navy) tlie potentate -who i squashed the war that threatened to | convulse Europe in 1909! the,magnificent (IglM'P wlio went on a visit to Jorusnfeiii.aiid had a section of the wall torn down to inake room fqr his entry; the person who cnbhid toj'aul Kruger—for winch attention plain old Paul had ;no reason to feel grateful, Yet'whet

lipwns called uppn jo- live up to ]ns ]», tllP. I'PSHIt .almost implicated.;the record of Napoleon 111. in !87(i, .Then it was Frajicp ffhicli stumbjfld into ruin without making sure -thai Its' friends were ready ; ' MX

This writer is sincerely sorry, for the poor, inififfll'tu.nntp, Old i'oiing-Man-iii-,' a-ITurry. lie has been, all his life',, a well-meaning mass,of incongruous ambitions nmj scattered ideals.. The war is probably far from .oiulpd; stlU.lt is possible, that the empire whlch : was built on Nflpolepn 's incapacity' may fall through'exactly tjip saftie brand incapacity. W.illlam bids fair, tp undo Bismarck's great work,. A'pf'ophet who.pnco hung out in, Germany foretold that' tliejiPW Empire wouid ; go to'pio'ces about this • tiinp, .pd'. a prophet qt that sort is a'depressing creature tq have on the premises, Nobody ilkos oltlier his company or his prognostications, Meanwhile it is up to Australia to reineniber that, pvpn if Britain's'enemies are,scattered and.Sydnpy isn't slielletl, and Melbourne isn't burned, and the Northern Territory,isn't annexed, the matter is one of pure .luck,;: It may be the amazing', fortune'of the.momerit to have for our pnQjhy an ,Man:in-o'Hurry,' , But. up-one. can, feel certain that that sort ■ of", fortune will last . '....;