Relations with members of the Government here are quite agreeable but there is not an effective government at present. The Chancellor will take no decisive action and leaves matters to department heads who fight with other department heads. The Emperor saw fit to follow the traditions of 1870 and go to the field taking the Chancellor and heads of many departments with him, hence great governmental confusion, but this does not affect military organisation. He is bored by the Chancellor, a good man, but of no action or decision. Von Falkenhayn is the Emperor's favourite. He is the chief of the General Staff. Von Tirpitz and von Mueller (also naval) have great weight. The Kaiser is thus surrounded by military influences.
Saw summaries of the news published by the General Staff and given to the Emperor to read. He gets only German-American news from America and no bad news from anywhere. On the Lusitania case there is a disposition to think, because we were not warlike over Mexico, we will stand anything. The Kaiser will not see me because of the delivery of arms by Americans to the Allies and has so stated.
There is no shortage of food supply. I was told yesterday they did not need our Polish Relief Committee for German Poland as Germany can take care of this alone. The hate of Americans is intense. But this hate can be turned off and on by the Government. The people believe everything they see in the papers. The monetary situation is not bad. All the money for war supplies has been spent in Germany, except perhaps for a few horses, etc., from Scandinavia.
The Chancellor and von Jagow have been in Vienna. Von Jagow told me only on current business, but this was a diplomatic statement. I believe they went to settle the fate of Poland. I hear Prussia wants an independent Poland and Austria wants to make it part of the Austrian Empire. In any event I think Prussia will secure the organising of the army which will soon be raised. A prominent Pole told me two days ago that the peasants were coddled by Russia, whose motto in Poland was "divide et impera," and that they will violently resent being drafted into the Prussian army.
The bitter attacks on the Chancellor continue. At a recent meeting in Bavaria resolutions were passed that the first objective of the war was to get rid of the Chancellor and the second to "clean out the Anglophile Foreign Office," which prevented Germany from resorting to "reckless" methods for the swift winning of the war.
As a son-in-law of a high official told me to-day, the break between the military and navy on one side and the Civil Government on the other has widened almost into civil war. The same man told me that the Kaiser has lately become quite apathetic and lets events take their course.
One of my attachés has broken down completely, cries when spoken to; living in a fiercely hostile atmosphere is not agreeable and I wonder how long the rest of us can hold out.
The harvest is very good, but does not provide fat, and as yet, meat. But the starving out business I have always said was an "iridescent" dream.
New men, 80,000 in this vicinity alone, are being called to the colours.
Every one here is getting more on razor edge, prisoners are treated more roughly and get worse food. Bavaria is getting restless and dissatisfied, this will not amount to anything definite but is a sign of the times.