[A PLACE IN THE SUN]
Hamburg, June 18, 1901
From his childhood the Emperor has been fond of the sea. Most of his vacations have been taken aboard his famous yacht Hohenzollern, and almost every year he has been an enthusiastic spectator, and occasionally participant, in the regattas on the Elbe. On this occasion the steam-yacht Prinzessin Victoria Luise was placed at his disposition by the directors of the Hamburg-American Line. He is using his famous phrase, “a place in the sun” with reference to the happy outcome of events in China, for on May 27 of this year China had finally accepted the terms of the powers. Of the 90,000 men sent by the powers, Germany had furnished 22,000, and the general direction of the expedition had been intrusted to the German general Von Waldersee. Ballin, of the Hamburg-American Line, had acquired 3,000 feet of water-front and had leased for twenty-five years most of the landings of a Chinese navigation company. The Emperor’s speech was delivered in reply to one by Burgomaster Mönckeberg of Hamburg.
I offer my heartiest thanks for the eloquent address of your Magnificence. I express to you and all comrades on the water the pleasure which I feel that I should once more be allowed to appear among you and take part in the races of the North German Regatta Association.
His Magnificence, in his short and pregnant speech, gave us as good and beautiful a picture as possible of the development of our Fatherland during recent years in the field of water sports and of our relations to foreign countries. It will be my sole task for the future to see to it that the seeds which have been sown may develop in peace and security.
In spite of the fact that we have no such fleet as we should have, we have conquered for ourselves a place in the sun. It will now be my task to see to it that this place in the sun shall remain our undisputed possession, in order that the sun’s rays may fall fruitfully upon our activity and trade in foreign parts, that our industry and agriculture may develop within the state and our sailing sports upon the water, for our future lies upon the water. The more Germans go out upon the waters, whether it be in the races of regattas, whether it be in journeys across the ocean, or in the service of the battle-flag, so much the better will it be for us. For when the German has once learned to direct his glance upon what is distant and great, the pettiness which surrounds him in daily life on all sides will disappear. Whoever wishes to have this larger and freer outlook can find no better place than one of the Hanseatic cities. What we have learned out of the previous history of our development amounts really to what I already pointed out when I sent my brother to the East Asiatic station (Dec. 15, 1897). We have merely drawn the logical conclusions from the work which was left us by Emperor William the Great, my memorable grandfather, and the great man whose monument we have recently unveiled.[35] These consequences lie in the fact that we are now making our efforts to do what, in the old time, the Hanseatic cities could not accomplish, because they lacked the vivifying and protecting power of the empire. May it be the function of my Hansa during many years of peace to protect and advance commerce and trade!
[35] Bismarck.
In the events which have taken place in China I see the indication that European peace is assured for many years to come; for the achievements of the particular contingents have brought about a mutual respect and feeling of comradeship that can only serve the furtherance of peace. But in this period of peace I hope that our Hanseatic cities will flourish. Our new Hansa will open new paths and create and conquer new markets for them.
As head of the empire I therefore rejoice over every citizen, whether from Hamburg, Bremen, or Lübeck, who goes forth with this large outlook and seeks new points where we can drive in the nail on which to hang our armor. Therefore, I believe that I express the feeling of all your hearts when I recognize gratefully that the director of this company who has placed at our disposal the wonderful ship which bears my daughter’s name has gone forth as a courageous servant of the Hansa, in order to make for us friendly conquests whose fruits will be gathered by our descendants.
In the joyful hope that this enterprising Hanseatic spirit may be spread even further, I raise my glass and ask all of those who are my comrades upon the water to join with me in a cheer for sailing and the Hanseatic spirit!