Face to Face with Kaiserism

by James W. Gerard

A Prince so fond of a good time, one who loves dancing and racing, hunting and shooting, with a shrewd eye and cool head, might make an ideal king, but the one dark shadow in the background is the Crown Prince's real love for war. From his seat in the Royal Box in the Reichstag, he has applauded violently and ostentatiously utterances looking toward war: he had made himself the head of the war party, and the Militarists look to him as their chief. The great danger is that if this war ends in the defeat of Germany without the democratisation of Germany then the Crown Prince will lead the party of revenge, of preparation for war, and if the war ends in what the Germans can call a success or ends in a draw (which means German success) then the Crown Prince and the Militarists, crying that the military system has been justified, will seek new excuses to enter once more on a war of conquest. All paths or speculations turn to one gate; if the German people continue slavishly to leave the power to drive them into war in the hands of the Crown Prince, or the Emperor, or the General Staff, there will be no prospect of such a world peace as can justify a universal disarmament. Absolute monarchs and Emperors and Crown Princes and their attendant nobles, all spell war. They are the products of war and they can only continue to rule if the desire for war animates their people.

While the Crown Prince has not set himself in direct opposition to his father or at any rate taken a part in public affairs with the view either to force his father's hand or take a dominant political part, nevertheless he has allowed no occasion to pass when he could encourage the army and war party even if this brought him into conflict with the policy of the Emperor, and so there have been periods of coolness between the Emperor and the Crown Prince son.

Thus after one scene in the Reichstag when the Crown Prince applauded those in favour of aggression it was reported that he was banished to Dantzig. At any rate during the winter of 1913-14 the Crown Prince and his family were at Dantzig, the headquarters of the regiment he commands, the famous "Death's Head Hussars."

Some say that it is a tradition in the Hohenzollern family for the Crown Prince to appear to oppose the King. Then, when the King dies, the Crown Prince enjoys a certain popularity in the first years of his rule from those who have been against the Government, and by the time this popularity has waned the new ruler is firmly seated on the throne.

The Crown Prince, born in 1882, will be thirty-five in May next. His military education began long before he was ten years old. In accordance with Hohenzollern custom, on his tenth birthday, he became an officer of the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards and on this birthday was introduced to the other officers and took part in a regimental dinner. Before this great event he had learned enough of military drill and usages to carry himself as an officer.

In 1895, he and his brother Eitel entered as cadets at Ploen in Schwerin, where they were subjected to very strict discipline. After leaving Ploen the Crown Prince entered Bonn University, and there became a member of the "Borussia" student corps.

I never heard that he took part in the corps duels. His face is not scarred, so I imagine as heir to the throne he was excused from a custom in which other corps members are compelled by public sentiment to take part. From photographs I have seen and from what I have heard I believe that the Crown Prince entered cheerfully into the student life of the place and lived on terms of college equality with his brothers of the "Borussia" corps. These corps members, however, hold themselves aloof from other students.

The Crown Prince attended the Technical High School of Charlottenburg, that large building just across the canal which separates Berlin from Charlottenburg. Here he gained some knowledge of machinery, chemistry, etc. In 1909, he went to work in the Ministry of the Interior, where he learned something of government administration, how to manage the constabulary and their activities,—something quite necessary for an absolute ruler in a country where every citizen's acts is noted in the copy books of the police.

Meantime, his military activities continued. He was gradually promoted and finally, in 1911, became Colonel in command of the Dantzig Black Hussars. This regiment owes its black uniform and white death's heads to the thrift of Friedrich II who utilised the black funeral hangings at the elaborate funeral of his father to make uniforms for this regiment. It has been in existence about 175 years. The white death's heads and bones which appeared in the funeral trappings were used to make ornaments for the front of the regimental headgear.

While stationed at Dantzig the Prince was taught agriculture so as to understand the needs of the Prussian Junkers. He even studied the methods of brewing beer in the Dantzig brewery. His education has been strenuous. He has not been coddled or spoiled and is far better fitted for the battle of life than most graduates of our colleges.