A BERLIN DIARY.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVII, Issue 16524, 20 April 1918, Page 5

A BERLIN DIARY.

.AVAR NOTES BY AN AMBASSADOR. -A section of a new book . on Ger- . -manyvby Mr J. W. Gerard, formerly "■ American: "Ambassador in Berlin, is devoted to a hitherto unpublished -diary kept by'hinj"'from./June,. 1915, to January, 1917., Appended are fome extracts. A Kaiserdom is an institution with which tlio* American peoplo arc reaJly unacquainted—a complex institution the parallel of which does not exist elsew'bieue. -How. it sought to play double with the ignited States is in a general way-familiar to Americans, but ' I think the record of what happened in tlio eighteen months preceding cue break with Germany will illustrate exactly 'the currents and cross-currents of official opinion which led the United States to be scrupulously cautious in its course before Pilfering tlie war. As I talked with the Emperor or the (ChaaoelVpr or tlio. Foreign Minister I jotted down from time, tio time notes of ithei'r conversation as well as brief summaries of .'the information available to me from, other sources. Naturally 1 cabled to _ the Department of State the most significant news, but much of this was not published because our * Oovernment was proceeding cautiously and did, not wish to be embarrassed by the publicity*.of its negotiations. There is every reason now, however, why the facts, should be knfown. I am reproducing h'ere the diary I kept; from June, 1915, to tlio end' of January, 1917, when unrestricted submarine warfare was resumed, and our.break with Gernjany came. I did not have the idea then of ever, publishing, my memoranda, so lhy. comments were written without, restraint. They show, I am sure, what the general trend of sentiment was in Germany for and against submarine wirinrej and disclose, too, that while the 'Emperor was often in' the background and seemingly not the most) powerful factor in the situation, it was ill's system that domiiKiited Germany his spirit tihat bred the lust for military gain at whn.tev.er cost —even tHie je_ spelot of the whole civilised world. .; JUNE, 1915. ~ regrettable to be compelled to ■ tmnk thaio the Germiin nation, knows no treaty- <fr j a w except tjie limit of jts own diesires. AVc are _still awaiting the second Lusi-ania Note, and I fear that Gern,a,ny will novel- consent to abandon its pi eient hideous method of submarine i\ai. It is extraordinary t 0 hear G. c r. force as ft , br « te

life. It is a warning to us to create, and increaso our, fiecc " and coast dc- i fences. ' ;

Tlie Germans net only do not fear • war witih us, but -state frankly tliey do : nut believe wo dare to declare it, calL i us cowardly bluffers, and say our Notes are v.orsc than waste papsr. Breaking ] diplomatic relations means nothing. | Germany lias ample food and gets all copper, etc., necessary for war pur?; poses through Sweden in exchange for ! potash and other commodities. ■ An officer cf the War Ministry, who comes to see mo absut prisoners, etc., told mo last nighlt that because the French have kept several hundred Germans as prisoners in Dahomey aiul otiher places in Africa 15,000 French • prisorerS will be sent to work in the I unhealthy swamps cf Holstein. Germans cannot be beaten on reprisals. T. do not believe all the atrocity ■ stories, but one of our servants in this l:ouse came back from the East front recently and said the orders were to kill all Cossacks. Our washerwoman reports that- hi&r son was ordered to §lioot a woman in Belgium, and I myself have, heard an officer calmly describe tlio shooting of a seven-year-old Belgian girl child, the excuse Jjeing that sb.o hod tried to fire at an officer. There is plenty cf food in Germm'v now and enough raw materials to oarry v on the war. Raw materials for peaceful industries ar? needed. Perhaps it is worth- a war to'have, it ! decided that the United States of America is not to be run from Berlin. Germans in authority foel that our ! "'New Freedom" is against their ideas ; and ideals. They hate President "Wil- r son because' his . c-mbodics peace and learning rather than war.

JULY. I think that the firm tone of the President's Noto (of June 9, 1915) wil! make tlie Germans climb down.' There seems general disposition to bci pleased wit-hi the Note and an expectation that matters can be arvamged. The great danger is that the Germans may again set tho idea that we do not dare to declare war. In such case they will again become difficult to handle.

Zimmermaim and von Jogow are both quite pleased with the tone of the. Note. They., both talk now cf - keeping Belgium, the excuse being that tho Belgians hate the Germans so that if Belgium again became independent- it would bo only an English outpost. Meyer Gerhard,, Bernstorff's special envoy, has arrived and lias broken into print over the sentiment in America.. I am afraid lie makes it -too peaceful, and,. therefore, the Germans will be encouraged to despise America.

The Germans are bscorning more strict; even women now entering Germany must strip to the skin and take down their back hair. The. wife of Hearst's Correspondent here listd to submit to this the other day.

I: * * *' The Germans are making,, a yreat ] effort to take Warsaw, even old Land- ! Sturm men are in the fighting line; I think they will get it, and then they hope to turn two million men and strike a great blow ia ' France—thus -'they ex- , pect to end the war by October. I * * * |- I-notice now a slight reaction from annexation toward giving up all .or part of. Belgium; ' but I must Si.y 1 v hear very little of popular liissasisfac- , tion 'with' tlio war. . Everything seems I to'- be ■ goin,g smoothly; but jtiey are jscraping tbie, bottom of the bogc ting; men for the Ariny. ./. ' " '../ It is not- pleafeai«.Ao bo bated by so many millions. The Germans naturally make me the object of their concentrated hate., 1 received an anonymous letter in. which the kindly writer rejoices that so many Americans were drowned in the Chicago disaster. This . skpws the stajiio of mind. J The Eimperor is at the front, "Some- ; where' in Galici.a."' They keep him very much in the background, 1 think with tlia idea of disabusing the popular mind of the idea that tbis is "his war." After all, acciciients may happen, and even after a victorious war there may be a day of reckoning.. .. * * * " AUGUST. I bad a conversation last week of one hour and a half with thie Chancellor. He sent for me because I had writ- ' ten him to take no more trouble about, my seeing the Emperor. He explained, of course, first that he did not know I .wanted to see t'hle Emperor, and, second, that it was impossible to sen?,, the Emperor. They kept the Emperor wel| .surrounded. Now I do not want to see him. He is hot against Americans and the matters I wanted to talkof are settled —one way. I cabled ant interesting report on' the Emperor's conversation regarding America. . | The CliancelW is still wrong in his head ,* says it was necessary to invade Belgium, break all international laws, inc. I think, however, that he. was porgonally against the fierce Dcrnbuvg propaganda in America. 1 judge thai von Tirpitz, througu his Press Bureau, has egged on the-people to that tiiis submarine war will continue. . *■ * - The Chancellor talked rather freely, but again said it was impossible to leave Belgium to( become an outpost of the English, but possibly with Germans in possession of the forts, the railways, and with commercial rights in Antwerp it might be arranged. There is a faction hero led by Deputy Bassarmann, Stresemann, Fah'rmann, etc., who aro attacking the Chancellor. They represent great industrials who ' want to annex Belgium, Northern | •France, Poland, and anything else tHias I can ba had, for their own ultimate! ad- ' vantage. A man named Hirscli is hired by the Krupp firm to 'Accelerate" this i work, lvrupp's also pay tine expenses | of the "Oversea Service" which is feed- I ing news to America.. * * # "I

Personally, I think tliat Germany ncnv wants peace, but does not want to say so openly. A relative of a Field-Marshal told me to-day that Germany's killed to date were 600,000 and 200,000. crippiqd for life. I must say that the plain people still teem perfectly tame, and ready to continue the war. ,* * *

Successes in Russia have made the people hero very cocky. Hence, probably, tho torpeuomg of the Arabic. Also great hops of .Bulgaria" coming in .with Germany; there is no moro dissatisfaction heard over the war. * * * If Bulgaria comes in, Germany will undoubtedly take a strip in Serbia, and keop a road to Constantinople and the East. Tho new Turkish Ambassador has just arrived. The old one was not friendly to Enver Bey. and so was bounced; ho remains liore, however, as he fears if he went to Turkey he would get some "special" coffee. The hata for Americans grows daily. * * * The defeat of the Russians is undoubtedly crushing. Is England waking up too late? There -will be a big offensive soon against tho West lines. ,# * # Great airship attacks on London may be expected. In one of the receipt attacks 9.800 bombs (fire and explosive"* were dropped. I get this from good authority.

OCTOBER. There is a tendency here to say Bernstorff went too far. But this is all for tbo public, von Jagow told a correspondent so to-day ; but, of course, he did not know about tbo note of Austria to Serbia cither! The Marino people are positively raging. " There- is talk now of marching to Egypt. More and more men are being called to Colours. But Germany seems to be able to take care of all fronts. The Emperor is now in the West.'. The: Foreign Office leads the rejoicing over the Entente's invasion of Greece, and the violation of its neutrality, find says that talk about Belgium is now shown to be cant. Weather is rotten and we shall 'have a melancholy winter. Feel tli'o war mors —deaths and priors. Six hundred and eighty thousand killed to October first, and many crippled. Food way up, but tliey cannot starve Germany out. •