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Show ii & I The Raiser as I Knew Him Arthur N.Davis.D.D.S. I I $ JV American Dentist I for Fourteen Years 1 - I (Copyright, 1913, by tho McClure Newapapor Syndicate.) CHAPTER II. Continued. 2 "And then," tho knlscr wont on, "when their grcnt offcnslvo was within n week of being launched wo broke through their lines on a slopo 3,000 feet high, covered with snow, whero they couldn't bring up their reserves or new guns, and wo surrounded thorn t "Wo took practically everything they possessed food enough to feed our cntlro army without catling upon our own supplies at nil. Novo'r before had our nrmlcs seen such an accumulation of ammunition. I must certainly go down to bco" ft. , "Wo cut off their northorn retreat nnd, as they swung their army to tho south, wo captured 00,000 of them up to their knees In tho rlco fields. Ono of tho grcnt mistakes they tnado was ' In carrying their civilian refugees with them clogging their narrow roads. nnd Impeding tho retreat of their soldiers. Wo had taken possession of their most productive regions, and their rctrcnt was through territory which yielded them nothlf.g. Just think of that retreating re-treating nrmy thrown upon tho already impoverished Inhabitants of that section. sec-tion. Why, thoy'll stnrvo to death I "Kvcrywhcro wo went wo found their big guns abandoned. In ono small village wo enmo upon n gun dec- crated with llowers and surmounted " with n portrait of Emperor Vmnr. Josef. Jo-sef. It hud been put there liy tho Italian Ital-ian Inhabitants of tho vlllngo to show their happiness at being released nt last from tho yoko of tho Intolerable Italian lawyer government I How terribly ter-ribly tho Italians must hnvo treated them I Itnly will novcr got over this defeat. This was real help from God I Now, wo'vo got tho nlllcsl" and 'ho istruck his left hand with his right with great forco to cmphaslzo his nppnrcnt conviction Unit thu turning point In tho war had been reached with Italy's collapse. That tho kaiser now regarded him-isclf him-isclf pnd his armies as Invlnclblo I felt, and I feared that tho success In Italy would bo followed nt tho first favorn-bio favorn-bio opportunity by a gigantic offensive 7 -on tho western front. Indeed, on n subsequent occasion, . when ho called at my, olllco for further , treatment, nnd again referred to tho Italian triumph, ho remarked: "If our smiles could cnpluro 800,000 Italians and Uioso 300,000 might Just ns well bo dead as fur ns Italy Is concerned wo can do tho sumo thing against our enemies on tho west I" This was ono of tho interviews I was so anxious to report to tho representatives representa-tives of tho American Intelligence .department .de-partment nt our legation In Copenhagen Copen-hagen nnd, later on, when I flnnllynr-rived flnnllynr-rived in that city, I related It in great detail to thorn. I rcmnlncd In Copenhagen Copen-hagen cloven days and during tho grentcr part of that tlmo I was being Interviewed by ono or another of tho i representatives of our Intelligence department. de-partment. Kxactly two months Inter, ' o;i March 21, tho western offensive broko out ns I had fcured. I called at Potsdam n day or two later la-ter to attend tho kaiser again, and found him still in tho sumo triumphant mood, and so nnxlous was ho to get . down to Itnly that ho called nt my of-flco of-flco threo times that week to cnablo . rno to complete my work on his affect- ed tootli. On November 20 tho knlscr called at my ofllco for what proved to bo his last sitting. I had received word on tho 20th that my pass for America had been granted nnd that I could leave on tho Uptli. nnd I accordingly told tho knlscr that It was my Intention to leavo for Copenhagen on that day. I explained that I was completely run down and I certainly looked It and thnt It was necessary for rao to s get to Copenhagen anyway, so that I f-yV could got In touch with America rc- carding a porcelain iootU patent which iC had been granted to mo In July, 1015, but which a largo dental company was seeking to wrest from roe. Tho patent authorities had delayed action because of tho fact that I resided in an enemy country. On tho 28th I received n letter froro ,. tho court chamberlain stating thnt tho president of police hnd made It knowu to tho kaiser thnt I hnd applied for a pass to America and demundlng an ex-" ex-" planntlon ns to why"I had told tho knl- ' ser that I had planned to go to Copenhagen Copen-hagen nnd had i c mentioned Araor-lcn. Araor-lcn. I nt onco rep' 1 that It was indeed my intention, i.4 I had told tho kaiser, to go to Copenhagen, but that I had applied for tho pass to America bo- cnuso I wanted to bo In n position to . go thero If my patent affairs demand- t cd It nnd I expressed tho hopo thnt I . ( nothing would bo done to iuterfero with tl(o pass which had been prom-' prom-' ' . Ised mo for tho 80th. ; Nevertheless, tho 30th enrao around I : '' and tho pass dldu't, nnd tho boat which i sailed from Copenhagen on December j ; 7, wr.ich I hud planned to tako, sailed f without me. " Again tho weary weeks followed t - -"ach other without tlm slightest lntl-I lntl-I t matlnn from anyono thnt I would ever ' bo allowed o leave. Indeed. I Jd j . ' fully made up my mind thai the nu- tUorlt) had derided to koep me ln ." " Berlin for rensons of their own -nnd thnt nothing I could do could mend tho situation, when, early In January, I ret eclved tho Joyous tidings Uiat I could leave Janunry 21-23. I left on tho 22d, and ns far ns I have slnco been nblo to ascertain I wns tho last American Amer-ican male to leavo Germany with tho consent of tho officials, CHAPTER III. Tho Kaiser's Dual Personality. If I had como nway from Gcrmnny In Jnnunry, 1014, instead of In January, 1018, nnd hnd written tho Impression I had gained of tho knlscr In tho ten years I hnd known him, what n falso picture I would havo painted of tho man ns ho rcnlty 1st It would havo been n plcturo of n mnn who In general nppenranco and bearing was every Inch nn emperor nnd yet who could exhibit nil tho courtesy, affability and gentleness of tho. most democratic gentleman, a mnn soft of oye nnd kindly In expression, a man of wldo reading nnd attainments perhaps tho most versatllo mnn In tho world, n mnn who possessed n most nlcrt mind, n remnrkablo memory nnd tho keenest observation; a mnn who wns not generous gen-erous In nature and yet wns nt times consldcrnto of others; n mnn of charming charm-ing personality nnd amiability. It would havo shown n man of unpnr-nllclcd unpnr-nllclcd egotism, n man who was Impatient Im-patient of correction nnd who would brook no opposition. Thero might hnvo been In tho plcturo a suggestion of tho dlro lengths to which tho man would go to havo his way, but It would hnvo been only n suggestion. As fnr ns It .went, tho' plcturo would havo been nccuratc, but It would havo been sadly Incomplete with nil tho lights worked In but lacking all tho shadows. It 'took tho war and Its attendant horrors to reveal tho kaiser In his truo colors. Tho war did not clmngo his character; It uncovered It Early In my pructlco I happened to mention to tho kaiser that I appreciated appre-ciated tho friendliness ho showed mo In Invariably waving his hand at mo as ho passed my window when walking along tho Tlcrgartcn. "It's n good ndvertlscmcnt for you, Davis," ho said. ITho pcoplo sco mo waving to you nnd they know you must bo n good dentist or I wouldn't como to you; It will help your business busi-ness I" In every act, ho wns conscious of tho public. , During that period of my career In Berlin, ho showed tho utmost interest In my progress and frequently Inquired how my pructlco was developing. Tho first bill I rondcrcd him, ns I havo mentioned, ho doubled. On n number of subsequent occasions, he pnld mo moro than my bill called for. Theso overpayments novcr amounted to very much, but they Impressed mo because they were so out of keeping with tho stinginess tho knlscr displayed dis-played In other directions. From tlmo to tlmo tho knlscr sent or brought mo autographed pictures of himself or others. At the tlmo of tho ono hundredth anniversary of Fred-crick Fred-crick tho Grcnt, ho gavo mo a plcturo of that monarch. On another occasion, ho presented mo with u group plcturo of himself surrounded by his family and dogs. I remember his bringing to mo n largo unfrnmed plcturo In celebration cele-bration of his silver wedding. It wns about twenty-four by eighteen Inches In size. It showed tho knlscrln and lilmself In n sort of cloud floating nbovo a blrdseyo view of Berlin, with tho palaco and tho cathedral dimly seen below. "I don't know Just what this masterpiece master-piece was meant to signify, but I had It framed and placed It In my oDlce. It evoked from a llttlo boy who entered thp room with his mother tho following follow-ing astonished remark: "Oh, mother, look nt tho kaiser lu heaven I" A post-card plcturo of tho kaiser, signed fly his own hand, was In his own estimation ono of tho most priceless price-less gifts ho could bestow. I remember remem-ber his donating ono of them to an American charity bazaar In Berlin to bo auctioned off. IIo thought that the fact that tho card came from his Imperial Im-perial majesty gavo It a value which could npt be measured In dollars and cents. A piece of Jewelry or n sum of money might havo been duplicated or even excelled by n gift of similar character from any American millionaire million-aire for whoso wealth tho kaiser frequently fre-quently expressed tho utmost contempt but what could surpass tho valuo of an nutogriiph of the kalscrl No doubt tho royal banquets were prepared much upon the snmo principle, prin-ciple, for It was a common saying among tho German aristocracy that ono hnd better feel well before going to a banquet at tho palace. ' I happened to mention to tho kaiser tho reputation his banquets held among his people. IIo was not at ull taken abnek. "That's good I" ho commented. "Tho Germans nre too fnt, anyway. Tho ma-Jorlty ma-Jorlty of tho people eat too much." Long after uutomoblllng became moro or less general, tho knlscr still employed n horso and carriage for ordinary travel, relying upon his free- - ' ' '''.' - uso of tho railways .for longer distances. dis-tances. When, however, tho rclchstng passed a law compelling royalty to pay for their railroad travel, tho kaiser took to automobiles. They chargod him 11,000 marks, ho told mo. for the uso of n train on ono of hh dhootlng trips, and that apparently wns moro than ho could stnnd. , "Autos nro expensive" ho declared, "hut they don't cost mo thnt much I" Tho kaiser speaks English with but thd"sllghtc3t trnco of n foreign accent. His diction. Is perfect. Ho speaks French, too, very fluently, nnd, I believe, be-lieve, Itnllnn. He Is widely rend on almost all subjects and knows tho literature lit-erature of England, Franco and America Amer-ica as well as that of Germany. Mark Twain was ono of his favorlto American Amer-ican authors nnd Longfellow his cholco of American poets. Ho prides himself on his acquaintance acquain-tance with history nnd has llttlo respect re-spect for tho political opinions of others oth-ers whoso knowledgo of history Is less complete. Shortly after Cnrncglo had donntcd flvo million mnrks to Germany to further fur-ther world-pence, I happened to bo talking to tho knlscr of American millionaires mil-lionaires nnd tho stcclmnstcr was mentioned. "Of course, Cnrncglo Is n nlco old mnn nnd means well," remarked tho kaiser, condescendingly, "but ho Is totally to-tally Ignorant of world .history. He's Just advanced us flvo million for world-pence. Wo accepted It naturally, hut, of course, wo Intend to continue our policy of maintaining our nrmy nnd nnvy In full strength." inuceu, tncre is naruiy any suuji-ci to which tho kaiser has dovotcd any considerable nttcntlon In which ho doesn't regard himself ns tho final authority. au-thority. As nn nrt collector arid nntlqunrlnn ho claims llrst placo nnd ho Is rnthcr Inclined to feel that second place should bo left vnennt. Ho aways resented re-sented very much the acquisition by American millionaires of nrt treasures and antiquities which their wealth enabled en-abled them to buy, but which tbtlr, limited acquaintance with history and their lack of culturo and refinement mndo them unablo to appreciate In tho kaiser's estimation. Of his own tnsto In nrt llttlo need bo said. Tho monuments which ho caused to bo erected to his ancestors and their ndvlsors nnd which ndorn tho Sieges Alice, tho street ho had opened through tho Tlcrgartcn especially for them, aro at tho samo tlmo a monument to tho kaiser's Ideas of art. They nro tho laughing-stock of tho artistic world. They havo been so frequently defaced by vandals whoso artistic tasto they offended that It wns necessary to station sta-tion policemen In tho Sieges Alice to guard them. Not long ago n burglary occurred In tho vicinity. Tho burglars wcro observed whllo nt work and n startled civilian rushed to tho Sieges Alice to summon ono of tho officers who wcro known to ho on guard thero. "If you hurry," exclaimed tho civilian, civil-ian, excitedly, "you can catch theso burglars red-handed." "I'm sorry," replied tho policeman, "But I cannot leavo tho statues." Ilcnllsm Is tho kaiser's Idea of what Is most deslrablo in dramatic nrt. When ho put on "Sardannpal," n Greek tragedy In pantomime, nt tho Berlin opera house, ho sent professors to the British museum to secure the most detailed Information nvnlloblo regarding regard-ing tho costumes of tho period. Every utensil, every nrtlclo of wearing apparel, ap-parel, every button, every weapon, In fact, every property used In the play wcro to bo faithfully reproduced, particular par-ticular pains being taken to produco n most realistic effect In n funeral pyre sccuo In which a king ended his life. Tho knlscr sent mo tickets to seo It. King Edward attended tho perform-nnco perform-nnco 'nt tho Berlin Royal opera and I nsked tho knlser how tho king of England Eng-land enjoyed it. "My gracious," tho knlscr replied, unnblo to repress Ills satisfaction at tho effect the pantomime had bad on his royal uncle, "why, tho king wns very much alarmed when tho funeral pyre scene came on. IIo thought tho wholo opera house was on flro I" rerhnpa tho kaiser's lovo for details might bo attribute to his kecu observation. obser-vation. Nothing, no matter how triv? lal, escaped his attention. A couplo of years before tu wnr I had tho cmplro furniture In my waiting wait-ing room reupholstercd. On tho very first occasion of tho kaiser's calling nt ray ofllco after tho change ho noticed It. "My, my, how beautiful the chairs look I" ho exclaimed. "Good enough for Napoleon himself." On another occasion, between two of tho kaiser's visits, I had had put up In tho waiting room n new portrait of Mrs. Davis. Tho kaiser noticed It tho moment he came into tho room and mado some complimentary remark about It. Tho kaiser frequently accused tho Americans of being dollar-worshipers and tho English of being ruled by Mammon, but that he lilmself was, not totally unmindful of the valuo and power of money wns clearly revealed by the manner In which no entered to people of wealth In recent years. Tho richest maa In Berlin and ono I of the richest In Germany wns n nc-brew nc-brew coal mngnato nnmcd Fried-lander. Fried-lander. Tho kaiser ennobled him and mado him Von Frledlnndcr-Fuld. Another An-other wealthy Hebrew to whom the kaiser catered was Schwabach, head of tho Blclchrocdcr bank, ono of tho strongest prlvnto banks In Germany, nnd he, too, was ennobled, becoming Von Schwabach. A number of other wealthy nebrews In Germany wcro nlso honored by tho kaiser In another way. Although ho was averse to visiting tho homes of prtvato Individuals who lacked social standing, ho departed from his rulo In their favor nnd visited their mansions ostensibly to view their nrt collections, but actually to tlcklo their vanity. Shortly after Lclshnmn becamo Ambassador Am-bassador to Germany, the kaiser called on me. "Your new ambassador's daughter Is tho best looking young lady who has attended our court In many n day," ho declared. "Half n dozen of my young staff officers aro very anxious to marry her. Can you tell me, Davis, whether theso Lclshmans havo money?" If tho knlscr despised tho American propensity for money-making, ho was certainly not nvcrso to acquiring American dollars. IIo told mo onco thnt every trip tho Hamburg-Amcrlchn liner Amcrlka mndo from New York to Hamburg resulted re-sulted In transferring $150,000 from Amcrlcnn to Gcrmnn pockets, nnd added : "Wo'rn mighty glad to get Bomo of your Amcrlcnn money, I can toll you." Of tho kaiser's versatility I had convincing evidence. In his conversations conversa-tions with mo wo usually wandered from subject to subject In tho most hnphaza'rd manner, and ho Invariably displayed n surprising storo of Information Infor-mation on every topic wo touched, nnd I mil not vain enough to bcllevo that ho was so nnxlous to mako n favornblo Impression upon mo that ho prepared for theso discussions In ndvnncc. Indeed, tho kaiser discussed so freely free-ly almost every subject that suggested Itself that I often wondered what his ndvlsors would hnvo said had they overheard our conversations. Ills rend-Inoss rend-Inoss to talk to mo wns undoubtedly duo to a tendency ho hnd to trust every ono with whom ho enmo In lntl-mnto lntl-mnto contact. For a man who was apt to havo so many enemies, ho wns less suspicious than anyono I had ever met Ho seemed to trust every one, nnd lils senso of security unloosened his tongue and mndo him moro talkative, perhaps, than was always discreet. Tho kaiser was very fond of listening listen-ing to and telling stories with n point nnd would frequently Invito me to tell hlin nny now ono thnt I might havo hrnrd. Soino of tho stories wo ex-chnnged ex-chnnged wero moro or less rlsquo nnd would bo out of plnco In theso pages, but I do not mean to Intimate thnt thero wns nnythlng very much nmlss with them. They always amused him very much and ho wns quick to catch tho point. Tho kaiser's senso of humor frequently fre-quently exhibited Itself. Ho told mo of' n conferenco between representatives representa-tives of nil tho powers regarding tho selection of a king for Albania after tho Balkan war. Soma of thoso present thought tho Incumbent ought to bo n Catholic, others Insisted thnt n Greek Catholic was essential, still others maintained that a Mohammedan would bo most logical. It seemed qulto Imposslblo to como to nhy agreement as to Just what religion re-ligion tho king of Albania should profess, pro-fess, nnd the knlser had ended tho discussion, dis-cussion, ho Bald, with tho suggestion: "Well, gentlemen, If a Protestant won't do, and n Roman Catholic won't do, and a Buddhist Is out of tho question, ques-tion, why not select n Jew nnd call him Jacob tlo Firs t J He'll have his throat cut, anywny, in threo months I" The powers did not select n Jew, but tho prlnco of WIed, tho kaiser's nominee, nomi-nee, was put on tho throne, and within n month or two afterwards had to fleo for his lite. In referring to Roosevelt's patriotic offer to lead an nrmy In France, tho kaiser declared that ho admired him for his courage nnd zeal. "I hear," ho said, "that ho Is now on his way to Itnly, It Is too bnd wo did not postpone our offensive there. Fer-hnps Fer-hnps wo might havo captured him. Wouldn't Teddy look funny in n gas mask?" Shortly nfter tho U-boat Deutsch-land Deutsch-land mado Its successful trip to America, Amer-ica, tho kaiser called on roc, and ho was In u very Jocular frame of mind. I happened to mention to him that I planned to go to America tho following summer In connection with tho porcelain porce-lain tooth I had' patented. "Well, It won't be necessary now, Davis," ho commented. "Wo can send tho Deutschland over and bring back n boatload of teeth I" "Fix my teeth well, Dnvls," ho declared de-clared on another occasion, "so that I can bile. There nro lots of people I would nice to bltol" and ho flapped his Jaws together In n way that would havo boded 111 for tho victims ho had In mind, nltliQUgh his remark was evidently evi-dently moro facetious than vicious. Tho fourUay nnd affability which .,. i r NJIJ tho knlscr almost Invariably displayed In his relations with me did not prevent pre-vent him on ono occasion from show-lug show-lug his Indignation when I touched him upon whnt was evidently a very soro point the part that Amcrlcn was going go-ing to play In tho war, although he always al-ways claimed to bo unperturbed about tho American situation. Ho had pointed put that America at that tlmo had only 30,000 men In Franco and he believed that the U-boats U-boats would effectively prevent any great addition to our forces abroad, If, Indeed, they, ever loft our shores. "As n matter of fact, however," ho added, "your countryen would bo very willing, no doubt, to fight for their country to protect It from Invasion, but I don't bcllevo you'll nvor get ninny of them to lenvo home to flght nbroad. America will really be a very smalt factor In the war, Davis I" "Your majesty Is underestimating the power of America I" I ropllcd. Ho turned to mo Indignantly, nnd In his most Imperious manner exclaimed: "Wo underestimate no onol Wo know exactly what wo aro doing 1" How seriously ho was mlstakon in this respect has Blnce been sufficiently proved. No matter bow gloomy tho outlook for Germany, the kaiser seldom showed show-ed concern. It Is truo that whenever things wcro going wrong, as when tho Russians In the early part of tho war wcro sweeping everything before tlmm In their advanco on tho Cnrpathlnns, ho nnd tho rest of tho royal family kept ns far In tho background as possible, pos-sible, wherens when the German causo was triumphant, nn In tho caso of tho offcnslvo against Itnly, ho could not mnko himself too conspicuous nt tho front. But oven when Germany's adversity wns greatest, tho kaiser always put on n bravo front. At such times I hnvo seen him stop In tho street, nfter leaving leav-ing my office, nnd beforo tho hundreds of pcoplo waiting outsldo to greet him, ostentatiously put n cigarette In his mouth nnd light It, that everyone might notlco how steady his hand was and how llttlo ho wns worried by tho tura things wcro taking. At tho samo time, on ono or two occasions oc-casions nfter tho wnr started, I noticed thnt ho nctcd differently when In tho dental chair than had been his custom when everything wns acrenc. Tho kaiser once boasted to me that not a building wns orcctcd In Germany, not n brldgo built, not a street opened, not a park laid out, but what tho project proj-ect wns first submitted to him. Ho kept posted on everything that was going on, not only In Germany, but In tho world nt lnrgc, nnd, as far as ho was able, ho endeavored to havo bis finger In every development of world-wldo world-wldo importance. I cannot Imagine that ho wns less Interested In what his countrymen were doing In connection with tho wnr thnn ho wns In their achievements In tlmo of peace. If ho did not actually order tho sinking sink-ing of tho Lusttunln, therefore, I am convinced that ho was thoroughly nwaro of tho plan to blow it up nnd snnctloned It. That ho could havo averted It If ho had been prompted to to do so Is clearly Indicated by another Incident which left a very deep Impression Im-pression upon me. I was Informed by ono of tho German Ger-man nvtators that plans hnd been mado to drop gas bombs on London which contained n deadly gas which would penetrate tho cellars of houses In which civilians wero lu tho habit of hiding during air raids. Shortly beforo this hideous Idea was to bo put Into effect tho papers announced an-nounced that bombs of this character had been dropped by tho allies on Baden-Baden, but that, fortunately, they had fallen In n clump of woods In thu center of tho town nnd hnd failed fail-ed to explode, which had given tho Germans an opportunity to take them apart nnd ascertain their nature. The kaiser for many years lost no opportunity to curry favor with Americans In the hope, declares Doctor Davis, that he would reap tils reward when the great war which he was then anticipating broke out. When war came and America did not rush to his aid ha was grievously disappointed and took no pains to conceal his bitterness bitter-ness toward this country. Doe-tor Doe-tor Davis tells some Interesting facts about this situation In the next Installment of his story. (TO BE CONTINUED.) |
