This is an account of an alleged incident of the Kaiser's school days and the author concludes that the facts set forth (probably untrue) show that the Kaiser as a boy had the "root of a fine character in him," possessed "that chivalrous sense of fair play which is the nearest thing to a religion" in boys of that age and hated "meanness and favouritism." The Chicago Board of Education end the eulogy by stating, "There is in him a fundamental bent toward what is clean, manly and aboveboard."
"Chivalrous sense of fair play and hates meanness!" "Fundamental bent toward what is clean, manly and aboveboard!" How about the enslavement of women and girls in France, the use of poison gas, the deportations of the Belgians, the sinking of the Lusitania and the killing of women and babies by Zeppelins and submarines.—Sickening!
A number of the books used in the public schools of New York have so much in them favourable to kings and emperors, have so much of German patriotism and fatherland, that the hand of the propagandist must have had something to do with the adoption of these books.
Of course, it is only in the books of the advanced courses that propaganda appears. It is not possible, however clever the author, to incorporate much propaganda in simple exercises, or in such sentences as "Have you seen the sister of my cousin's wife?" or "The bird is waiting in the blacksmith shop on account of the rain."
But the following extracts from books used in the public schools of New York should not be without interest to those who know that the impressions given to persons under the age of sixteen or seventeen are the impressions that often persist through life.
For instance in the "Deutscher Lehrgang, First Year," by E. Prokosch of the University of Texas, "Die Wacht am Rhein" is printed with music.
I should be very much surprised to hear that the "Star Spangled Banner," with music, had ever been printed in any school book in Germany.
On page 109, of this book, there is an article in German entitled, "The German Constitution." It begins with the sentence, "The German Empire is a union State like the United States of America." How far the German Empire is from the United States of America in political liberty can be answered by any German immigrant or Jewish merchant who has voted under the circle system or been denied access to court because of his religion!
The second paragraph commences with the sentence, "The German Kaiser is not monarch of the Empire. He only is President of the Union." I am quite sure that if the Kaiser ever saw this sentence he would very soon convince the author that he was something more than the President. The article continues:
"He is the over-commander of the army. Through him is war declared and peace made, but he can declare war only with the consent of the Bundesrath."