Garland City Globe | 1918-09-19 | Page 2 | The Kaiser as I Knew Him for Fourteen Years

I The Kaiser as I Knew Him for Fourteen Years l I By ARTHUR N. DAVIS, D. D. S.-American Dentist to the Kaiser from 1 904 to 1 9 1 8 I (Copyright, 1913, by tho McCluro NewtfApor Syndicate.) I PREFACE For l'i years tlio knlsor was my patient. All I know of liltn ami nil that liu told mo emtio to mo wlillo tlio relation of potlont and dentist existed between lis. For Hint renson I felt nt II rut Hint, no mutter how vital to tlio allied cntiso might bo tho Information Infor-mation I could glvo ns to tlio kal-bit's kal-bit's viewpoint, ambitions nnd plans, tho requirements of professional pro-fessional ethics must senl my lips nnd compel mo to withhold it from tho world at lnrge. When, however, I considered tho grave crisis Hint confronts tho world and In which my own country Is playing so Important n pnrt, and realized that what I knew of the knitter might provo of 80IH0 vnluo to civilization, I concluded that my patriotic duty wan paramount nnd roso superior su-perior to any of .tlio ordinary demands de-mands of professional ethics. In this conclusion 1 was strengthened by tho urgent solicitation solici-tation of tho lenders of my pro-' pro-' fesslon who were most emphatic In their contention that my ethical qualms wcro entirely unwarranted un-warranted In view of nil tho circumstances. cir-cumstances. AUTIIUU N. DAVIS, D. D. S. CHAPTEn I. ' "America Must Be Punished!" When wnr broke out between tho United Stntes mid Germany, on April 0, 1017, I wns In Ilerlln. I had lived and practiced my profession ns n dentist dent-ist thero for 1-1 ycnrs, nnd tho kaiser had been one of my patients during nil that time. I don't know exnetly how many visits the kaiser paid mo professionally, profession-ally, hut I know I am snfo In saying they wcro nut less tlinn 100, nnd tho probabilities nro they wcro closer to ITiO. 'Almost Invnrlnhly, after my work was done, tho kaiser remained nny-where nny-where from ten minutes to an hour nnd n hnlf to discuss tho topics of thu "hour'wiurmor When wo declared wnr ngnlnst Oor-mifny, Oor-mifny, therefore, whllo I was still an American citizen ns patriotic an American, I believe, ns might bo found anywhere I had lived In Ocrmnny go long, had dovcloped so many professional profes-sional friendships In Germany's most favored circles nnd wns so generally regnrded ns a particular fnvorlto of tho kaiser himself, that I found It hard to reultzo that nevertheless I had be-co be-co mo nn alien enemy. Tlio same dny tho breaking off of diplomatic relations was announced, tho German newspapers had published tho provisions of nn old treaty between be-tween Germany and tho United States which gave Amcrlcnns In Germany nnd Germans In America ntno months nfter a declaration of war between tho two nations within which to settlo their affairs and leavo thu country. I 'This treaty," tho. newspapers point-ed point-ed out, "wus miulo In tho tlmo of Fred- urlclc tlio Great. It has never been repealed. Germany will respect It." Ah thero wero so many inoro Gcrmnns In America than thero were Americans In Gcrmnny, this prompt unuoiiiico-meat unuoiiiico-meat of Germany's Intuitions regard-Ing regard-Ing this treaty was quite understand-nblo understand-nblo mid It seemed most Improbable that Germany would adopt nny harsh measures toward Americans nnd thereby Invito reprisals. Had tho situation been reversed, of courso, tho Germans would undoubt-fl undoubt-fl edly luivo thought It expedient to In- tern American no matter what Imp-"pened Imp-"pened to their own countrymen In America, and, In that event, this an-clcnt an-clcnt treaty would have shared tho fato of that which guaranteed Bel-Klum's Bel-Klum's noutrallty. Ono "scrap of pa-per" pa-per" 'more or less would never hnvu been allowed to Interfere with Gcr-many's Gcr-many's "destiny." Inllucntlnl Germans who called 'to seo.mo professionally during that po-' rlod almost Invariably expressed tho hopo that I was uot planning to leavo "N'o matter what happens, doctor," thoy deplored "even If the worst comes to tho worst nnd war Is do-clnrcd do-clnrcd between America and Germany you may feel quite sure tho kaiser I will never let anyone harm you." I bad not let thu matter rest there, however. J had called tit tho Amcrl-can Amcrl-can embassy, whero It was pointed out to mo that, whllo diplomatic ro-latloiis ro-latloiis had been severed, It was not at nil certain that war would result and thero wns, therefore, no reason for me to leavo Ilerlln precipitately. Hud tho kaiser been In Ilerlln nt tho time, I might, of course, havo hfld ii n opportunity to put the question to hlm squureliiii to what my fato, might H, be If wnr were declnrcd, but l'o was nwuy, Tho. court chamberlain had been appointed but n short tlmo before (Kid I did not know him personally, juit his predecessor, Count August von H. Kulenburg. ono of tho wisest nnd most resnected men In Germany, was ono '" Bp. , of my oldest patients nnd I decided to discuss tho situation with him. Unfortunately, Un-fortunately, however, I found him too 111 to rccelvo me. Ho wns eighty ycnrs old and, although unusually well pro-served, pro-served, wns In no condition on this occasion to rccelvo visitors. Another Inllucntlnl patient of mlno whom I sought out nt this tlmo wns ex-Ambassador von Sturm. Although bo wns now retired from ofllelnl life, ho had formerly been n powerful fig-uro fig-uro In German stale circles nnd stilt kept inoro or less In touch with the now court chamberlain and others In' high omcc. Ills nephew was under secretary of foreign nffalrs. I found tho cx-ambassndor nt his prlvnto apartment In tho Adlun hotel. "Whnt will happen to Americans," I nsked, "If my country declares war against Gcrmnny?" "That, doctor, will depend entirely upon how America trcnts our subjects," sub-jects," ho replied, somewhat 'moro coldly than I hnd expected of him. "if America Interns Gcrmnns, of course, we shnlt mdoubtcdly treat Amcrlcnns tho sumo way, and you could hardly expect nny special consideration, although, al-though, If you will write a letter to tho court chamljcrlaln, who Is n personal friend of mine, I shall sco that ho gets It." "But, excellency," I replied, "thero Is n treaty between Germany and America, Amer-ica, I undcrtdniid, which gives tho subjects sub-jects or citizens of ono country who hnppen to bo sojourning In tlio other when wnr Is declared iiluo months within which to closo up their affairs nnd leave. Would not that protect mo?" "Of course, doctor," ho answered, "Gcrmnny will respect the treaty If Anicrlcn docs, nnd then there will be no trouble. It seems to mo you must uwnlt developments and, In tho meantime mean-time you hnvu no enuso for worry." "Supposo no mo of your subjects In America should net tip nnd stnrt blowing up bridges or munition factories fac-tories and should bo lynched, which they probably would be," I suggested, "what would Germany's courso bo?" "Whnt Germany would do then, doctor," ho replied, slowly and thoughtfully, ns though such u contingency contin-gency hud never occurred to him before-"really, dkfotor, I Unn't JSUQW whrtt wo wctold do I" This somewhat unsatisfactory Inter-view Inter-view with Von Sturm might havo worried wor-ried mo more, pcrhnps, had It not been for n visit I received only n day or two Inter from l'rlnco von IMcss, one of tho kaiser's closest friends nnd advisors, ad-visors, who called on mo professionally. profession-ally. For n year nnd n hnlf tho kaiser had had his great army headquarters nt the prince's pnlaco nt I'less, In southeastern Germany, nnd I know that ho enjoyed his monarch's confidence. confi-dence. When I nsked him regarding the possible Internment of Americans, ho assured mo that, como what might, I mid my family had not tlio slightest reason for alarm. "No matter what may befall other Americans, doctor," ho asserted, In u confidential manner, "tho kaiser has gone on record to tho effect that you and your fumlly lire nut to bo molested." Another Incident which mnde mo 1 feel that I could proceed with my prep-I prep-I uriilloiis for leaving Ilerlln without nail na-il no haste was tho receipt early lu the year of n most extraordinary post card from tho kaiser which, It occurred to me, wns quite significant ns to his Intentions In-tentions regarding my welfare. On ono side wus his picture nnd on the other, wrltteu and signed In English lu his own handwriting, wus the mc.unge: "Denr Doctor Davis : "Wishing you u very pood year for 1017. WII.l.lAM I. It." This was the first message of Its kind that I had ever received from the kaiser. Even In peace times, thu picture pic-ture postals which ho hnd sent to me from tlmo to time mid which wero autographed by him, were always 1 signed In German. When, on February 1, the Germans resumed their ruthless ruth-less submarine warfare a move which wns Immediately followed by the brenklng off of diplomatic' relations I felt that tho kaiser must have foreseen fore-seen this consequence nnd had sent mo the postal us an Intimation that ho wunted mo to remain In Ilerlln nevertheless. When the Germans sank tho LusI-tnnla, LusI-tnnla, living ami practicing In Germany Ger-many lost many of their attractions for me. I mado up my mind then that I would rather return homo and commence com-mence my professional career all over again, If necessary, than remain In a country which could sanction such a hideous form pf warfare tho wanton destruction of women nnd children. To that end, I went to New York' in the summer of 1010 to Invcstlgato the requirements re-quirements for tho practice of my profession pro-fession In that state. I had nn Illinois license, but I wanted to bo In a position posi-tion to practice In Now York, nnd tho following year I went to New York aguln nnd took tho state dental examination. exam-ination. I returned to Germany late In tho autumn of 1010 and later I learned that my certificate hnd been granted. Then I commenced active preparation to dispose of my German prnctlco and return homo. 1 My second reason for wanting, to' get .out of Germany as soon as posslblo was the fact that food conditions In Germany wcro becoming more precarious pre-carious every day. My wife nnd I feared that our child, who was two years iold, might suffer from lack of proper nourishment If wo remained nnd I determined that no matter how long It might bo necessary for mo to remain In Ucrlln, my wlfo nnd child at nny rato should leavo nt tho earliest possible moment. My third renson, however, was by far tho most Insistent of nil. I had becomo convinced that it I knew of thd kaiser nnd his plnns, now that wo wero nt war, ought to bo communicated com-municated to Amcrlcn without delay and that tho only way to do that adequately ade-quately would bo to get home as soon ns I possibly could, no matter what personal sacrifice might bo Involved In nbnndoulng my Europcnn practice nnd Interests. It Is truo thnt In tho early years of my relationship with tho knlser our conversations nnturnlly embraced only tho most general of subjects, but In Inter years, when ho cumo to know mo better, he enst nshlo nil reservo and talked to mo on whatever wns uppermost upper-most In his mind nt the tlmo. After the wnr storied that, of course, formed tho principal Bttbjcct.of our discussions discus-sions nnd tho part that America was playing lu tho conflict was frequently brought up becnuso of tho fact that I was an American. Ono memorable Intcrvlow I bad hnd with him Influenced mo perhaps moro than any other tingle factcr to hasten the settlement of my Europcnn affairs and return home. It was lit tho fall of 1010. Tho kaiser kai-ser had come to mo for professional nttentlon.nnd nfter my work was completed com-pleted ho remained to discuss somo of tho nspecls of fho wnr. I'orhnpj tho fact that I had Just returned from n visit to America mndo him moro than usually eager for n chat with me. Wo had discussed various phases of tho war, when tho kaiser changed tho subject abruptly with tho qucstlotV. "Davis, what's the matter with Up r country?" "In whntresficcr, your naitLi. nsked. v "Why Is It that your country Is so unfair to Germany? Why do you persist per-sist In supplying munitions nnd money to the allies? Why doesn't your president pres-ident treat tho European warring nations na-tions tho snmo an he treated Mexico by putting an embargo on munitions and letting us light this thing out ourselves? our-selves? You do not ship munitions to us, why do you ship them to tho other side?" I was on such terms with tho knlsor thnt I did not. hcsltnto to answer his question with nnnthcr, "I havo ulvays understood, your majesty, that during the Mussina-Jap nncso wnr, Germany continually sup-piled sup-piled munitions to Itussln. Why wns that nny moro Justifiable than America supplying munitions to tho nlllcs? Then ugnln, In tho Spanish-American it "Davis, you surprlso mo!" tho kaiser kai-ser Interrupted, rising from tho operating oper-ating chair, In which ho had remained, walking towards mo, throwing back Ids shoulders nnd rising to his full height. "The eases nro entirely different. differ-ent. When wo helped Itussln against Japan wo were helping a whlto roco against, u yellow rare, don't ever forget for-get that don't ever forget that, nut with America,' that Is certainly not the case. Your country Is nctlng from purely mercenary motives. It Is n ense of dollars, dollars, dollars I" and each time he repeated tho word he struck bis partially' helpless left hand violently with his powerful right. I "America val.ies dollars more than film values German lives I She thinks It I right to shoot down my people., ! Ho hnd worked himself up to a degree de-gree of Indlguntlon which I hnd seen him display only on two or three previous pre-vious occasion, and I must confess I wns reluctant Vo start a fresh outburst by answering. Ift, arguments. .His eyes, usually soft and kindly, Unshed llro ns ho advanced towards mo and slowly and Incisively declared: "Davis, America must -lio punished for her actions I" In that expression, which ho repented repent-ed on subsequent occasions In pre: elsely the same words mid with tho same measured emphasis, I knew that ho revealed mostly clearly what ids attitude at-titude was and will over bo toward this country. CHAPTER II. The Kaiser at Potsdam. Getting out of Germany proved to bo n far more difficult proposition than I hnd Imagined. Itcnllzlng that It would probably bo soverul months before I could finally settlo up my affairs, ind that my child, who was anemic, ought to bo taken out of Germany with as little delay as posslblo becauso food conditions wero fast going from bad to worse, I applied ap-plied to the kommandantur for leavo to havo my wlfo and child go to Hon-treux, Hon-treux, os Lako Geneva, Switzerland, where T hoped to Join them nt the earliest posslblo moment nnd accompany accom-pany them home. I did not relish the Idea of their going across tho ocean without me. That was in May, 1017. Weeks passed while our application wns going from ono offlclnl to another, lying, perhaps per-haps for days at n tlmo under a pile of other applications of n slmlllnr char-nctcr char-nctcr or awaiting the Investigation of our personal histories, and It wns not until the end of Juno that wo received nny word regarding It Then wo learned that It had been denied. This wns my first Intlmntlon that we might havo dlfllculty In getting out of Germany. A day or two later tho knlser called on me professionally and I told him of our plight, hoping thnt ho would Inter-ccdo Inter-ccdo for us. It wns tho only favor of n personal character I had ever nsked of him. ' "My child Is ailing, your majesty," I snld, "and I feel thnt sho, nee'ds a cbnngo of climate. I applied to tho kommandantur for leavo for my wife and child to go to Moutrcux, but I hnvo Just heard that It has been' refused I" "Davis, I will sco what I con do In the matter," ho replied reassuringly", nnd ns he was leaving my olllco ho turned to mo nnd snld lu the presence of his two adjutants: "Itcgardlng that matter you spnko of, leavo it to mo nnd I will sco whnt I can dot" Tho kaiser's Influence would rendlly solve our problem, I thought, nnd I wns very much relloved. Two dnys Inter, however, I received n letter from Count von Moltkc, ono of the kaiser's kai-ser's adjutants, stating that the kaiser kai-ser had spoken to him regarding tho Switzerland project, but, under tho circumstances, It wns out of the question. ques-tion. If, however, my child's condition wcro such ns to moko a chango of ell-mnto ell-mnto really necessary, ho ndded, tho knlser suggested thnt a trip to tho Austrian Tyrol might pcrhnps bo nr-ranged, nr-ranged, ns tho cllmato thero was Just as good as that of Switzerland, but be-foro be-foro permission would bo granted for that trip It would bo necessary to obtain ob-tain a certificate from tho district doctor doc-tor stating that It was necessary. As the food sttuntlon In Austria wns Just ns bad as It was In Germany, If t worst, that Idiyi didn't,' nppcnl to me nt alt, nnd I went Immediately to tho kommandantur nnd explained the situation to them. When thoy saw Count von MoltUo's letter tho officer In clmrgo throw up his hnnds. "That's Onnl," ho dcclored. "Thnt comes from a higher authority than ours. It is useless to pursuo tho matter mat-ter any further. Wo received u communication com-munication from his majesty regarding regard-ing your case, but tho matter was left entirely to our discretion. It was not n commnnd, only n request from his majesty. A commnnd, of course, would havo been different." Then I applied for n pnss for my wife, chlld'nud myself to go to Amcrlcn. Amcr-lcn. They pointed out nt the komman-duntur komman-duntur that us my wife's application to lenvo Ilerlln preceded mine, It wns posslblo she would be allowed to lenvo beforo mo. I told the officer thnt that would suit mo admirably, as I wanted tho pass for Mrs. Davis and tho child granted nt thu earliest posslblo moment mo-ment regardless of whnt action might bo taken on my own application. Again thero followed n long period of anxious waiting whllo tho German red tnpo slowly unwound, but eventually, eventu-ally, In September, wo received word that Mrs. Davis and the child might leavo Uerllu for Copenhagen between October 10 nnd VJ. They loft on tho tenth. A day or two Inter commenced tho German offensive against Illgn, on tho Ilaltlc. Within thrco or four dnys tho Gcrmnns captured successively the Oesel, Iluno, Obro nnd Moon Islands In tho Gulf of Itlgn and then carried their Invasion to the mainland. Their apparent objective was I'etrogrnd nnd on October 10 tho Itiisslans announced thnt the scat of tho government would bo removed from I'etrograd to Moscow. Mos-cow. Theso successes on tho nnltlc failed to overcome tho depression In Germany caused by the serious Internal situation situa-tion In Austria at this period. Munition Muni-tion factories wcro being wrecked by hunger-crazed and war-weary strikers mid tho populace was being shot down In great numbers In the food riots which developed In various parts of Austria. Not since, tho wnr bogun had tho outlook been so discouraging for tho Germans. Then, on October 21, Just as things wcro looking their bluckest, tho great German-Austro offcnslvo against tho Italians was started. In thrco days thu Italians wcro swept out of Austria aud tho Teutons pressed forward to the passes west of the Isonzo river leading to tho Venetian plains. By tho end of October tho Italian armies wero In full retreat. Beforo this offcnslvo wns over tho Germans captured, they claimed, .no less than 300,000 prisoners and several sev-eral thousand big guns, besides vast stores of munitions and supplies. Tho exultation of the Germans over the triumph of their armies In Italy know no bounds. Whllo It was nt its height I had an Interview with the knlser knl-ser which will ever remain ono of tho most vivid In my memory. It wns ubout three-thirty ono Sunday morning whetl I wns nrouscd by n ranld who, In nn uwc-strlckcn tone of voice, announced that the Nouo Paints, the kaiser's palace at Potsdam, wns on tho phone. I went to tho telephone and was Informed thnt tho kaiser wns suffering suf-fering from a bad toothache and would send his auto for mo within an hour or so. I got up nt once nnd packed my instruments, in-struments, and nt slx-thlrty the enr, u big gray Mercedes limousine, arrived, llesides tho chauffeur there wns nn outrider carrying the buglo whoso distinctive, dis-tinctive, notes only the kaiser may use. Wlillo tho Shell room nnd other stnto rooms wcro ncccsslblo to visitors beforo be-foro the wnr, no ono wns ever permit? ted to visit the prhnto apartments of tho kaiser upitnlrs. On this occnslon, however, I was guided right through tho Shell room, through n door opening on tho left and up n wldo staircase to tho knlscr'fl gnrdcrobc, or dressing room. Thero I found brenkfast ready for me. It consisted of rcnl coffee, real whlto bread, butter, marmalade, sugar, cream nnd cold meats. It wns tho first food of tho kind I hnd cntcn In somo tlmo and practically no ono In Gcrmnny Gcr-mnny outside tho royal family and tho Junkers wns any better off than I in that respect While I was breakfasting, tho knlser wns dressing. Ills vnlct entered several sev-eral times, I noticed, to tnko out articles arti-cles of clothing from tho mnsslvo wardrobes which lined tho room. I had Just completed my meal when I received re-ceived word that my patient was ready to rccelvo me. As I entered tho kntscr's bedroom ho wns standing lu tho center of tho room, fully nttlrcd In nn army gray uniform, but without his sword. Ho looked more haggard than I had over seen him, except onco In 1010. Xack of sleep nnd physical pain wcro two things with which ho had had very little experience, nnd they certainly Bhowed their effects very plainly. Ho didn't seem to bo In the best of humor'but greeted mo cordially enough and shook hands. In all my life, Davis," ho said, "I Imvo novcrsuffcred so iiucli pnln." I expressed my sorrow and started to Improvise a dental cbatr out of an upholstered nrmchalr on which I plnccd some pillows and, ns tho knlser sat down, he lnughlngly remnrked: "hook here, Davis, you'vo got to do something for mo. I can't fight tho wholo world, you know, nnd have a toothachol" When I wns through and his pain was relieved, his spirits seemed to re-vivo re-vivo appreciably, nnd ho cxplnlued why it was ho was so anxious to havo his tooth trouble removed as quickly as possible. "I must go down to Italy, Davis," he said, "to sco what my noblo troops havo accomplished. My gracious, what wo havo dono to them down there I Our offensive nt Itlga was Just a feint Wo had advertised our Intended In-tended offensive lu Italy so thoroughly that tio Italians thought wo couldn't possibly Intend to carry It through. For tlireo mouths It was common talk In Germany, you remember, thnt tho great offensive would start In October, linil so tho Itnllnns believed It was all a bluff nnd wlttm wo advanced on Itlgn they wero suro of It. Thoy thought wo were so occupied there thnt we could pay no attention to them, and so wo caught them napping 1" Tho kaiser's face fulrly beamed as ho dwelt on tho strategy of his generals gen-erals and tho successful outcome of their Itnllan campaign. "For months Italy had been engaged In plnntlug her big guns on tho moun' tuln-tops uud gathering mountains of ammunition nnd supplies and food and hospital supplies In the valloys below, In preparation for their twelfth lsonzo offcnslvo. "Wo let them go, ahead and waited patiently for tho right moment They thought thnt their contemplated offensive offen-sive must Inevitably bring our weaker neighbor to her knees and force her to make a scporuto pence I" By "our weaker neighbor" tho knlser, of courso, referred to Austria, and bow accurate wns his Information regarding Italy's expectations nnd how easily they might havo been realized wero subsequently subse-quently revealed by the publication of that famous lottcr from Kaiser Karl to Prlnco Sextus. In the next Installment, Doctc Davis tells of the kaiser's dual ' personality, showing how the war, whllo not changing, uncovered uncov-ered the emperor's true character. charac-ter. Don't miss this Interesting study of the German "war lord." (TO BE CONTINUED.)