But it was not only the propaganda work for the Imperial Navy to which the Kaiser contributed by his own personal efforts: the range of his maritime interests was much wider. He gave his assistance when the problems connected with the troop transports to the Far East and to South West Africa were under discussion; he studied with keen attention the progress of the German mercantile marine, the vessels of which he frequently met on his travels; he often went on board the German tourist steamers, those in Norwegian waters for instance, when he would unfailingly make some complimentary remarks on the management, and he became the lavish patron of the sporting events known as Kiel Week, the scope of which was extending from year to year. The Kiel Week, originally started by the yachting clubs of Hamburg for the encouragement of their sport, gradually developed into a social event of the first order, and since 1902 it became customary for the Hamburg-Amerika Linie to dispatch one of their big steamers to Kiel, where it served as a hotel ship for a large number of the visitors. From 1897 Kiel Week was preceded by a visit of the Kaiser—and frequently of the Kaiserin as well—to Hamburg, where their Majesties attended the summer races and the yachting regatta on the lower Elbe. In 1897 the Kaiser had the intention of being present at a banquet which the Norddeutsche Regatta-Verein was giving on board the Packetfahrt liner Columbia, and he was only prevented from doing so at the last moment. In the following year the Hamburg-Amerika Linie sent their s.s. Pretoria to Kiel. On this vessel the well-known “Regatta dinner” took place which the Kaiser attended, and which, on future occasions, he continued to honour with his presence. Ballin received a special invitation to visit the Kaiser on board his yacht Hohenzollern. He could not, however, avail himself of it, because the message only reached him on his way home to Hamburg. The year after, the Kaiser commanded Ballin to sit next to him at the table, and engaged him in a long conversation on the subject of the load-line which he wanted to see adopted by German shipping firms for their vessels. The Packetfahrt carried this suggestion into practice shortly afterwards, and in course of time the other companies followed suit.
On the occasion of these festivities the Kaiser in 1904 paid a visit to the new premises of the Hamburg-Amerika Linie. In 1905 and in subsequent years he also visited Ballin’s private home and took lunch with him. The speeches which he made at the regatta dinners given in connexion with the regatta on the lower Elbe frequently contained some political references. In 1908, for instance, he said:
“Although we do not possess such a navy as we ought to have, we have gained a place in the sun. It will now be my duty to see to it that we shall keep this place in the sun against all comers.... I, as the supreme head of the Empire, can only rejoice whenever I see a Hanseatic citizen—let him be a native of Hamburg, or Bremen, or Lübeck—striking out into the world with his eyes wide open, and trying to find a spot where he can hammer a nail into the wall from which to hang the tools needed to carry on his trade.”
In 1912 he quoted the motto from the Lübeck Ratskeller:
“It is easy to hoist the flag, but it costs a great deal to haul it down with honour.”
And in 1914, after the launch of the big steamer Bismarck, he quoted Bismarck’s saying, slightly altered:
“We Germans fear God, but nothing and nobody besides.”
Kiel Week never passed without a great deal of political discussion. The close personal contact on such occasions between Ballin and the Kaiser furnished the former with many an opportunity for expressing his views on politics. Much has been said about William II’s “irresponsible advisers,” who are alleged to have endeavoured to influence him in the interests of certain cliques, and it cannot, of course, be denied that the men who formed the personal entourage of the monarch were very far from representing every shade of public opinion, even if that had been possible. The traditions of the Prussian Court and of princely education may have contributed their share to this state of things. The result, at any rate, was that in times of crises—as, for instance, during the war—it was impossible to break through the phalanx of men who guarded the Kaiser and to withdraw him from their influence. Events have shown how strong this influence must have been, and how little it was suited to induce the Kaiser to apply any self-criticism to his preconceived ideas. Added to this, there was the difficulty of obtaining a private conversation with the Kaiser for any length of time—a difficulty which was but rarely overcome even by persons possessing very high credentials. It has already been mentioned that the Kaiser did not like to be contradicted in the presence of others, because he considered it derogatory to his sovereign position. Ballin repeatedly succeeded in engaging the Kaiser in private conversations of some length, especially after his journeys abroad, when the Kaiser invited him to lunch with him, and afterwards to accompany him on a walk unattended.
Ballin’s notes more than once refer to such conversations with the Kaiser, e.g. on June 3rd, 1901, when he had been a member of the Imperial luncheon party:
“After lunch the Kaiser asked me to report on my trip to the Far East, and he, in his turn, told me some exceedingly interesting pieces of news relating to his stay in England, and to political affairs connected with it.”