Children of my guard, to-day you have become incorporated into my army; you now stand under my command and have the privilege of wearing my uniform. Wear it honorably. Think of the famous history of your Fatherland; remember that the German army must be armed against the internal as well as the external foe. More and more unbelief and discontent raise their heads in the Fatherland, and it may come to pass that you will have to shoot down or stab your own relatives and brothers. Then seal your loyalty with your heart’s blood! And now go to your homes and fulfil your duties.
—(According to the Breslauer Lokalanzeiger of December 8.)
According to the Neisser Zeitung, the second paragraph ran as follows:
Recruits! You have now before the consecrated servant of the Lord and before His altar, sworn fealty to me. You are still too young to understand the true meaning of what has just been said; but be diligent now and follow the directions and instructions given you. You have sworn loyalty to me; that means, children of my guard, that you are now my soldiers, you have given yourselves up to me, body and soul; there is for you but one enemy, and that is my enemy. In view of the present Socialistic agitations it may come to pass that I shall command you to shoot your own relatives, brothers, yes, parents—which God forbid—but even then you must follow my command without a murmur.
Entirely similar, but shorter, is a clipping from the Berlin paper Das Volk, according to the account of one who heard the speech.
You have sworn to me the oath of loyalty; that means, from now on you know only one command, and that is my most high command; you have only one enemy, and that is my enemy! And so I may sometime—which God forbid—have to bid you to shoot upon your own relatives, yes, brothers and parents—then remember your oath!
[THE EMPEROR’S FIRST ARMY BILL]
Berlin, July 4, 1893
The opposition between the Reichstag and the government reached a climax when the session which opened in 1886 was dissolved in January, 1887, because it refused to vote for the bill fixing the army status for the ensuing seven years. The next Reichstag, elected in February, voted the bill. In spite of the fact that the new arrangement was to have been effective until March, 1894, as early as the session of 1890 changes were introduced which fixed the peace footing at 468,983 men, exclusive of the one-year volunteers. In November, 1892, a new army bill was presented, to run for six years, fixing the peace footing at 492,068. All infantrymen were to serve two years. In the debates of 1887 it was announced that Russia was an ally of Germany. The failure to renew the neutrality agreement with that power and the growing rapprochement between France and Russia seems to have been most in the Emperor’s mind in calling for an increase. The increased appropriation of 1887 was covered by a tax on spirits, sugar, and grain. The new increase was to be met by indirect taxes, mostly on beer and brandy. When the Reichstag refused to vote the bill as it stood, it was dissolved and a new one called. The new Reichstag, which is here addressed, accepted the bill on July 15. As much of the opposition had been due to the fear of the less-favored classes that the increased cost would fall heavily on them through indirect taxes, the Chancellor assured the representatives (as the Emperor here indicates) that there would be no tax on beer or brandy nor any other necessities of life.
Since you have been called to work in common with the confederated governments, it is my desire at the beginning of your deliberations to greet you and bid you welcome.