The first months of the Emperor’s reign were devoted largely to visiting the heads of the confederated German states and in cultivating the acquaintance of foreign rulers. His main purpose, as he tells us on a later occasion, was to combat the idea that it was his intention to enter upon a career of war.
The workingman’s insurance act, which has been referred to, was one of the most important legislative provisions ever made in the interests of labor. The cost of this insurance was distributed between the employer, the employed, and the state. In spite of its undoubted benefits, it had failed to disarm the Social Democrats, and the party had continued to increase. They complained that the proportion of the cost borne by them was too great, and, as they had been previously and were soon again to be treated as enemies, they were inclined to look upon it as a bribe. By his “social-political” legislation the Emperor meant to forestall the Socialist programme. When this well-intentioned movement failed to dissolve the party, which continued to increase, he was not slow to show his resentment.
Honored Gentlemen:
When I greeted you for the first time, at the beginning of my reign, you stood with me under the weight of the severe visitations which my house and the empire have experienced in the course of the present year. The sorrow over this loss will never be wholly extinguished during the lifetime of the present generation, but it cannot hinder me from following in the footsteps of my late ancestors and completely fulfilling the demands of duty with manly vigor and fidelity.
Buoyed up by this sense of duty and assuming that this exists in you to the same degree, I give you my greeting and bid you welcome as we again take up our common labors.
My travels have carried me into different parts of the empire, and everywhere I have found evidences, both on the part of my exalted colleagues and of the people, that the princes and the population of Germany are, with absolute trust, devoted to the empire and its institutions and find the pledge of safety in their union. From such testimony you have doubtless come to the conclusion, no less satisfying to you than to me, that the organic union which now binds the empire together has taken deep and firm rooting in the people at large. I therefore feel the need of gratefully expressing on this occasion the pleasure which it gives me.
It fills me with great satisfaction that, after difficult and laborious negotiations, the inclusion of the free Hanseatic cities, Hamburg and Bremen, into the customs union of the empire has now been realized. I see in this the blessed fruit of our combined efforts. May the expectations which we count upon from this extension of the empire’s customs districts be realized in fullest measure, both for the empire and for these two most important seacoast towns!
The government of the Swiss Federation has suggested a revision of the commercial treaty between Germany and Switzerland. Filled with the desire of confirming the existing friendly relations between the two countries and of extending them also into the realm of their commercial policies, I stand ready to meet their proposal. The negotiations have been conducted through the offices of representatives from the states bordering upon Switzerland, and their result consists in a further agreement through which the treaty regulations for reciprocal trade will be extended and the exchange of industrial products will be made easier. After its successful acceptance by the Bundesrat the agreement will be presented to you with the proposal, in order that you may bestow upon it your constitutional sanction.
The budget for the next fiscal year will be laid before you without delay. The draft gives proof of the satisfactory condition of the imperial finances. As a result of the reforms instituted in the last few years, with your co-operation, in the way of tariffs and internal revenues, surplus receipts may be expected, and upon this basis we shall not only be provided with a new means of fulfilling the inevitable obligations of the empire but it may be possible for our constituent states to expect an increase of means for their own purposes.
I greet with joy the signs of a revival of economic activity in various fields. Even though the pressure which bears upon the farmer is not yet relieved, nevertheless, as I look forward to the possibility which has lately appeared of a greater utilization of certain agricultural products, I hope that an amelioration also of this most powerful branch of our industrial work will be brought about.
The bill which has already been announced on the regulation of the industrial and agricultural societies will be laid before you for your decision. It is to be hoped that the enfranchising of associations with limited liability which the bill proposes will prove itself beneficial in increasing agricultural credit.
Certain shortcomings which have appeared in connection with the insurance against sickness call for legal remedy. The necessary preliminary investigations for this have so far progressed as to make it possible, in all probability, to lay before you in the course of this session an adequate presentation of the case.
As a precious legacy from my grandfather, I have taken over the problem of carrying out the social-political legislation begun by him. I do not allow myself to be carried away by the hope that through legal measures the exigencies of our time and human misery can be abolished from the world. I judge it to be a duty, however, of the executive power to strive with all its faculties toward the mitigation of existing industrial grievances and through organized measures to emphasize the fact that love of our neighbor, which has its foundations in Christianity itself, should be a recognized duty of the entire state. The difficulties which stand in the way of the state’s assisting in the universal insurance of all workers against the dangers of age and sickness are great; but, with God’s help, they are not insurmountable. As the result of extensive investigations a bill will be presented to you which reveals a possible means of attaining this end.
Our settlements in Africa have imposed upon the German Empire the duty of converting that part of the world to a Christian civilization. The friendly government of England and her Parliament has known for a hundred years that the fulfilment of this obligation must begin with combating the hunting of slaves and the trade in negroes. I have, therefore, sought and concluded an understanding with England, whose meaning and aim you shall learn. On it depend further negotiations with other friendly and interested governments and further proposals for the Reichstag.
Our relations with all foreign governments are peaceful, and my efforts are continually directed toward cementing this peace. Our treaties with Austria and Italy have no other aim. It is incompatible with my Christian faith and with the duties which as Emperor I have assumed toward the people needlessly to bring upon Germany the sorrows of a war, even of a victorious one. In this conviction I have looked upon it as my duty soon after I ascended the throne to greet not only my affiliated rulers within the realm but also the friendly neighboring sovereigns. I have sought to find an understanding with them concerning the fulfilment of this trust which God has placed upon us, of preserving, so far as in us lies, the peace and welfare of our people. The confidence with which I and my policies have been received at all the courts which I have visited leads me to hope that, with God’s help, I and my allies and my friends will succeed in preserving the peace of Europe.
Berlin, May 14, 1889
The Emperor’s change of attitude toward the Socialists is evident from his conduct in the conflict which had arisen in the Rhenish and Westphalian coal districts between the miners and their employers. He personally received delegations from both sides. The miners’ delegation consisted of Schröder (spokesman), Siegel, and Bunte. In answer to Schröder’s speech, the Emperor announced:
It goes without saying that every subject, when he presents a wish or a petition, has the ear of his Emperor. Of this I have given evidence in that I have invited the deputation to come here and to set forth their wishes in person. You have, however, placed yourselves in the wrong, because your agitation is unlawful for no other reason than the fact that the fourteen days of warning have not yet expired, after which the workers would have been legally justified in ceasing work. In consequence of this you are guilty of breaking a contract. It is self-evident that this breach of contract has angered and injured the employers.
Further, there are workers who do not wish to strike and who, either through force or by means of threats, are hindered from continuing their work. Also, certain of the workers have seized upon organs of the authorities and upon property which did not belong to them and have even, in individual cases, offered resistance to the military force called to protect them. Finally, you wish that work should be generally resumed again only when your combined demands shall have been fulfilled at all the mines.
As for the demands themselves, I shall, through my government, carefully examine them and have the results of the investigation delivered to you through the appointed authorities. Should, however, there occur transgressions against the public order and peace, or should the agitation ally itself with the Social Democrats, then I should not be in a position to reconcile your wishes with my good-will as ruler. For, to me, every Social Democrat is synonymous with an enemy of the realm and of the Fatherland. Should I, therefore, discover that Social-Democratic tendencies become involved in the agitation and instigate unlawful opposition, I will step in sternly and ruthlessly and bring to bear all the power that I possess—and it is great.
Now go to your homes, think over what I have said, and seek to influence your comrades to reflection. Above all, however, you must not, under any circumstances, hinder your comrades who wish to return to their work.
Berlin, May 22, 1889
At the time of the great spring review of this year, King Humbert came to Berlin to return the Emperor’s visit. A state banquet was held, at which the Emperor proposed the following toast to the King of Italy:
May it please your Majesty to accept from me and my people our heartiest thanks for the proof of the friendship which your Majesty has given me by this visit!
My troops, likewise, are filled with grateful pride that they have been able to conduct themselves with honor in the eyes of your Majesty, an experienced soldier.
Full of the happy remembrance of the army manœuvres at Rome, I raise my glass and drink to the health of your Majesty and of her Majesty, the Queen; to the health of your brave troops as well as to the unchanging friendship with the house of Savoy, whose motto, “Sempre avanti, Savoja,” has led to the unification of the kingdom of Italy. Long live his Majesty, King Humbert!
Sandown Bay, August 5, 1889
On this date the Emperor was created admiral of the English fleet by Queen Victoria. On the same day he was present at a regatta on Sandown Bay, where he replied as follows to a toast offered by the Prince of Wales:
I prize most highly the honor which has been shown me by the Queen in appointing me admiral of the English fleet. I sincerely rejoice to have seen the manœuvres of the fleet, which I consider the finest in the world. Germany possesses an army which answers to her needs, and if the British nation possesses a fleet sufficient for the needs of England, this in itself will be considered by Europe in general as a weighty factor in the maintenance of peace.
Aldershot, August 7, 1889
On his mother’s side, who was a princess royal of England, the Emperor was a grandson of Queen Victoria, to whom he paid frequent visits and whom he held in high regard. William II began his reign with cordial feelings toward his island neighbors. If the friendship between the two nations was never particularly close, the estrangement of modern times may be said to have begun in colonial and commercial rivalries in the last decades of the nineteenth century and to have been sharpened by events in China and especially by the Boer War. The situation became more acute after the Morocco incident, in 1904-5, and when on that occasion England sided with France she was by a large portion of the German people definitely aligned with their enemies. The present toast, which was reported in this form in the Kreuzzeitung of August 9, 1889, was received with no protest or denial. The Emperor had been present at the manœuvres of 29,000 English troops at Aldershot, under General Sir Evelyn Wood. The toast was offered in the camp tent of the Duke of Cambridge, in response to one by that officer.
It gives me particular satisfaction to have appointed the Duke of Cambridge, the commander-in-chief of the English army, as a member of the 28th Regiment, since this same regiment had as chief at one time our comrade at Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington.
The friendship with the English, which had been sealed in blood, my honored grandfather maintained to the end of his life.
The British army fills me with the greatest admiration. If ever the possibility of counting upon volunteers is doubted, I shall be in a position to give testimony to their capacity.
At Malplaquet and at Waterloo the Prussian and British blood was shed in a common cause.
Berlin, October 11, 1889
On the occasion of Alexander III’s visit to Berlin the Emperor offered the following toast at the banquet in the White Room of the Royal Palace. It may be “considering too curiously to consider so,” but to many there will seem to be something matter-of-fact in the Czar’s reply, which is printed below. This friendship between the rulers of the two neighboring countries was, however, outwardly preserved up to the time of the present war, as is evident to those who will consult the telegrams exchanged between William and Nicolas on the eve of the outbreak.
I drink to the health of my honored friend, his Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, and to the continuation of the friendship which has existed for more than one hundred years between our houses and which, as a legacy received from my ancestors, I am determined to foster.
The Czar replied in French, as follows:
Je remercie Votre Majesté de Vos bonnes paroles et je partage entièrement les sentiments que Vous venez d’exprimer. A la santé de Sa Majesté, l’Empereur et Roi—Hourra!
The Piræus, October 30, 1889
On visits to his English relatives the Emperor had, as a lad, made occasional sojourns in Great Britain, and that romantic temperament of which he was to give indications even in much later years was much impressed by the sight of English ships. He recalls the memory on many occasions. As will be plain later, he early conceived the idea and realized the necessity of a powerful fleet. As this is his first reference to the navy in the present volume it is interesting to note the attitude of humble discipleship which in the mid-years of the next decade is to give way to quite another conception.
I am proud of the rank which Queen Victoria has bestowed upon me. It might be supposed that my interest in the British navy dated from my appointment as admiral; that, however, is not so. From my earliest youth, when as a boy I ran about on the wharves at Portsmouth, I was much interested in British ships. My inspection of the ships to-day has afforded me great satisfaction, and I congratulate you on their appearance. Nelson’s famous watchword is no longer necessary. They all do their duty, and we as a young sea power follow England in order to learn from the English navy.
May 6, 1890—June 21, 1895
Berlin, May 6, 1890
This address to the Reichstag is of particular importance. The Emperor had now visited most of the sovereigns of Europe and felt that he had established himself. He was here definitely outlining a policy which he himself had framed. In that period when the Emperor was still Prince William, Bismarck had said: “In him there is something of Frederick the Great, and he is also able to become as despotic as Frederick the Great. What a blessing that we have a parliamentary government!” He had likewise prophesied that the Emperor would be his own chancellor, and he had discovered in his own case that the prophecy was a true one. In the spring of this year, after numerous misunderstandings, Bismarck had himself been forced into retirement, and henceforth his name will be mentioned but rarely. One of the points on which they had disagreed was precisely this project for labor legislation, which was, unfortunately, not destined to fulfil the hopes entertained by William II. A number of the projects here laid down were carried out only partially and others not at all. So, for instance, in this same year the Emperor had issued the following decree:
“For the fostering of peace between employers and laborers legal regulations are contemplated regarding the forms in which the laborers shall, through representatives who possess their confidence, participate in the regulation of matters of common concern and the protection of their interests in negotiations with employers and with the organs of my government. By such institutions the laborers are to be enabled to give free and peaceful expression to their wishes and complaints, and the state authorities are to be given the opportunity of continually acquainting themselves with the conditions of the workers and of cultivating contact with the latter.”
As late as 1905 it had not been carried into execution, though chambers of labor have since been established which partially carry out this end.
The industrial courts of which the Emperor speaks have been far from successful in arbitration disputes. They are established in all cities of over 20,000 inhabitants and consist of equal numbers of employers and employees. Dawson holds that unwillingness to mediate lies with the employers. During the year 1905, 406 courts acted as boards of conciliation on 350 occasions, all told, and in only 128 cases were they successful. Part of the failure lies in the fact that no wage agreements existed. Of 219 “aggressive” strikes in Berlin in 1905, organized by the “free” trades federations, 55 were for the introduction of wage agreements.
The Emperor’s disappointment at the failure of his policy to check the growing disaffection of the laboring classes will later be evident.
It is significant that in this address, though measures for the army are strongly urged, there is as yet no mention of the navy.
Honored Gentlemen:
Since you have been chosen in the recent elections to work in common with the allied governments, I bid you welcome at this the opening of the eighth legislative session of the Reichstag. I earnestly hope that you may succeed in finding a satisfactory solution for the important problems of legislation which here confront you. A number of these problems are of so pressing a nature that it did not seem possible to defer longer the summoning of the Reichstag.
I consider as most important among them the further enlargement of the bill concerning the protection of the laborer. The strikes which have occurred in different parts of the country during the past year have given me occasion to bring about an investigation of the question as to whether our present legislation has, to the fullest extent, taken cognizance of those wishes of the working people which are really just and reasonable and within the state’s power of regulation. The question of first importance concerns the guarantee of Sunday as a day of rest for the laboring man, as well as the limitation of woman and child labor in accordance with consideration for humanity and with regard to the natural laws of development. The governments of the affiliated states are convinced that the proposals in this connection made by the last Reichstag can, according to their present content, be given legal effectiveness without harm to other interests. In this connection, however, numerous other provisions have shown themselves unsatisfactory and capable of improvement. To this category belong especially the legal provisions for the protection of the laborer against danger to his life, health, and morals, as well as the laws concerning the announcement of regulations of labor. The prescriptions concerning the working men’s books need amplification with the aim of insuring the respect due the older men against the increasing impertinence of the younger laborers. The consequent changes demanded and the further expansion of the trade regulations find their expression in a bill which you will shortly receive.
A further proposal endeavors to secure the better regulation of the industrial arbitration courts and, likewise, an organization of these which shall make it possible to use them as mediators in cases of dispute between employers and employees over the terms on which labor shall be continued or resumed.
I trust that your willing co-operation will secure an agreement of the law-making bodies concerning the reform laid before you and thereby take a step forward toward the solution of our relations to the laboring class. The more the laboring population recognizes the serious earnestness with which the government is striving to render their status satisfactory, so much the more will they be conscious of the dangers which must arise from their insistence upon extravagant and impossible demands. In the proper provision for the laborer lies the most effective means of increasing the strength which I and my associated rulers are called upon and willing to use in opposing with unyielding determination any attempt to shake the provisions of the law.
Nevertheless, in the case of this reform there can be question only of such measures as are feasible without endangering the Fatherland’s industrial activity and with it the most important vital interests of the laborer himself. Our industry forms only one department in the economic work of all the peoples who take part in the competition in the market of the world. With this in mind, I have sought to bring about an interchange of opinions on the matter, among the states of Europe where similar economic conditions prevail, as to how far a general recognition of the legislative problems relative to the safety of the working man can be established and brought to pass. I am compelled to gratefully acknowledge that these suggestions have found favor in all states concerned and especially in those where the same idea was already being agitated and was approaching execution. The course of the international conference which met here fills me with especial satisfaction. Its conclusions are the expression of a general attitude with regard to this most important province of our contemporary civilization. The principles there laid down will, I have no doubt, prove a rich field which, with God’s help, shall blossom to the blessing of the workers of all countries and which will also bear fruit in drawing all nations together.
The continued preservation of peace is ever the goal of my efforts. I dare express the conviction that I have succeeded in securing the confidence of all foreign governments in the good faith of this policy of mine. Like myself and my esteemed affiliated rulers, the German people recognize that it is the problem of the empire to preserve peace by cultivating the alliances already concluded for our defense, and the friendly relations now existing with all foreign powers, in order to further prosperity and civilization. For the accomplishment of this task, however, we need an armed force compatible with our position in the heart of Europe. Every postponement of matters pertaining to the army endangers the political balance of power and with it the success of our policy directed toward maintaining peace.
Since the basis of our army organization was decided upon for a definite period the military organization of our neighbors has been broadened and perfected to an unforeseen degree. Indeed, we, too, have neglected nothing in our attempt to strengthen our forces, in so far as this was possible within the limits prescribed by the law. Nevertheless, what we could do within these limits was so little that we cannot postpone a consideration of the whole question without danger to ourselves. An increase of the present peace strength and an increase of the bodies of troops—especially for the field-artillery—must not be longer deferred. A bill will be laid before you according to which the necessary measures for strengthening the army will go into effect on the 1st of October of this year.
The plan which has been instituted in West Africa toward the suppression of the slave-trade and for the protection of the German interests has, during the last months, made progress, thanks to the self-sacrificing activity of our officers and officials who are stationed there. The complete restoration of peace in those districts may be expected very shortly. The expense thus incurred will be covered by an additional grant.
The budget for the current fiscal year already needs a corresponding enlargement on account of the plans referred to. Furthermore, the increase of salary for a part of the officials of the realm, which has long been projected and which has become ever more pressing, can no longer be delayed. The supplementary budget which is to be submitted to you will give you an opportunity to prove your friendly interest in satisfying this need.
If the labors hereby imposed upon you come to a successful issue, new and sound guarantees for the inner welfare of the Fatherland will then have been won. May it be granted to us through common effort to achieve this end!
Flensburg, September 4, 1890
The review of the Ninth Army Corps took place in the presence of the Empress, Princes Henry and Albert, of Archduke Karl Stephen of Austria, and Count Moltke at Flensburg. It will be remembered that in 1864 Bismarck succeeded in enlisting Austria to aid Prussia in a war upon Denmark, which was at that time deprived of Schleswig-Holstein, the harbor of Kiel, and more than 1,000,000 inhabitants. One of the battles of the war to which the Emperor refers was fought in this district. The address was made at the banquet following the review.
My opinion of to-day’s performance of the Ninth Army Corps under the command of your Excellency [General von Leszczynski] I have already expressed to you and your officers.
Whoever, like myself, has for any length of time stood at the front or partly at the front and partly as spectator has been present at many imperial manœuvres knows what such a parade means to an army corps. I know very well what arduous preliminary labor is involved, the agitation, the attention, the exertion of the troops. I know very well how each individual officer, high or low, every soldier, rejoices in and yet with a certain solicitude looks forward to the moment when he shall parade before his war lord.[5]
[5] Kriegsherr.
I know from my own experience when I was still a captain what satisfaction I felt when my adjutant could call to me that the Emperor had nodded as the company passed by him. This is true to-day, likewise, in the case of every officer.
I repeat to you my hearty thanks and express to you my congratulation for the magnificent parade. This army corps which you have marshalled before me has a bearing and discipline which I must demand unconditionally from every army corps. I do not doubt for a moment that the work done in preparing for a review will prove useful in the preparation for battle.
We stand here upon historic ground, on which our armies, united with those of Austria, jointly won a bloody victory.
I raise my glass and drink to the Ninth Army Corps in the expectation that here and hereafter, in war as in peace, it will maintain its famous traditions. Long live the Ninth Army Corps!
Berlin, November 11, 1890
The following address shows the Emperor in one of the little-known phases of his amazingly versatile career. It exhibits, likewise, his command of detailed knowledge in a field where we should least expect it and his solicitude for the welfare of faithful subjects. Besides his interest in the sea, he has also for many years been much interested in agriculture; and his estate in East Prussia has been in a sense an experiment station. He prides himself on being a pioneer and in personally supervising his domain and is occasionally pleased to call himself a farmer. He attended the meetings of the Prussian Agricultural Commission and at one of the sessions took part in the discussion on the means of safeguarding the life of the laborers.
Two points have occurred to me which I would like to ask you to consider. It is worthy of note that during my reign there have been brought to my attention many striking cases in which laboring women have been killed through accidents with machinery. I receive regularly from the Minister of Justice tabulated lists of requests[6] for pardon, and it seems to me that there is among them a striking number of cases of women farmhands who have met with accidents in tending machines. As has already been said, I am not granting these pardons as freely as formerly. It is to be noted, furthermore, that a great difference prevails in the adjudication of the cases in which penalties may be inflicted and in the penalties themselves. I next inquired why these women workers—it was especially girls working with the thrashing-machines—were killed, and it usually appeared that the girls were caught by their dresses in the transmission pulleys and so became entangled in them. Then I asked if there were no means of protection there. Yes, indeed, they said, according to the police regulations the pulleys must have a cover or a box must be put over them, but in each of these cases this had not been attended to. There also appeared here, on the one side, a certain indifference either on the part of the owner or of the person who was conducting the work concerning the life of the women in his employ and, on the other side, an indifference on the part of the women themselves, who had become accustomed to working near the moving parts of the machines and to stepping over the pulleys, and finally the accident happened. Therefore, may I ask you that in using the word “machines” these provisions regarding power transmission be not forgotten. Many of the machines stand in one place and the apparatus for transmission is in another place or in the yard, and that is a chief cause of the accidents. For every one passes through the yard, and especially if there are children playing there, all too easily some misfortune may occur.
[6] From employers, of course.
Let me, therefore, remark, concerning what one of the preceding speakers has said, that I myself have come to the same conclusion as Professor Schmoller. I believe that it is not sufficient that the state should lay upon the worker the obligation to be careful and that it should give him directions how to conduct himself with regard to the machines. This cannot be carried out.
I am much more of the opinion that, if such is your desire and if it is plain that harm has resulted from the fact that the workers move about too carelessly, it is much better that the obligation should be put upon the owner or upon the person commissioned to conduct the machines and that he be required to watch over the employees more carefully. If the owner cannot burden himself with it then he should have such officials as would have sufficient influence with the worker to make him be careful. We must not forget what, for the most part, such a worker is like and what he knows of machinery. Frequently he knows only that it cuts or that it is otherwise dangerous. A certain grip is shown him—he must do it like this—but the rest he does not understand and regards with indifference. Consequently regulations which concern only or more particularly the laborer would not help, for the people would not understand their aim and when the regulation caused them annoyance or trouble would fail to consider it and thus render themselves liable to accident.
I believe, therefore, that it is most important in the question of the conduct of agricultural machinery that we should work toward proper supervision over the laborer by the employer. When this happens accidents will begin to diminish.
It has interested me very much to learn here that it is not the machines but altogether different circumstances which cause most of the accidents in agricultural operations and that particularly in all provinces where horses are employed accidents are frequent. I am therefore pleased that this phase of the question of protecting against accident has also come up here and that the gentlemen are now engaged upon it.
For the rest it has been a great pleasure to me to take part in these deliberations.
Berlin, March 14, 1891
On this occasion a deputation from Alsace-Lorraine presented a protest against the continuance of the Passzwang, a rule which made it impossible to leave Alsace-Lorraine except under very special circumstances and on receiving a pass from the imperial agent. The rule was particularly obnoxious, and the strictness with which it had been enforced was much resented, even by subjects favorably disposed to the empire. It was, however, merely one of many grievances. Since the time of the Franco-Prussian War, Alsace-Lorraine had been governed like a conquered province—by a governor appointed by, and responsible to, the Emperor alone. Up to this time the policy had been one of repression, save for a very brief period. It is possible that the Emperor might have been inclined to give them some relief had it not been for the unfortunate result of the visit of his mother to Paris. After a visit in London, the Empress Frederick, in February, 1891 (it is supposed on the advice of her son), visited Paris and, while there, was to ask certain of the French artists to exhibit at the Berlin exhibition. It had evidently been assumed that the time had come for a rapprochement. The Empress descended at the German embassy very quietly and had received promises from several artists, when her presence in Paris became known to the League of French Patriots and to the germanophobe Déroulède, who immediately started a violent agitation and demonstrations against Germany. The artists withdrew their promises under the pressure of outraged patriotic opinion, and the situation became so tense that the Empress was forced to depart very hastily in a manner that suggested flight. The incident tended to make bad feeling on both sides and reacted unfavorably upon the attitude of the empire toward the former French provinces. The difficulties of circulation were increased, and the regulations about passes were made particularly trying. These difficulties were removed in 1899, but the provinces continued to protest, as they were not given equal rights with the other German states and have not enjoyed them up to the present. In May, 1911, a new so-called constitution was given to Alsace-Lorraine. The executive power is exercised by the Emperor in the name of the empire; the province has three votes in the Bundesrat, which are so restricted that they give very little satisfaction to Alsace-Lorraine and are so far under the control of Prussia that they give considerable dissatisfaction to other German states. The Emperor appoints officials, including the Statthalter, or governor, and the delegates are instructed by the Statthalter and must vote according to instructions. The votes do not count in any vote concerning the imperial Constitution. There was much protest because the new constitution did not grant the provinces sufficient independence. The previous Provincial Assembly (Landesausschuss) had been summarily closed on the 9th of May, 1911. Affairs were but little improved under the new arrangement, and the Emperor came to Strasburg in great anger, May 13, 1912, and made the following threatening address: “If this keeps up I shall knock your constitution to bits. Up to the present you have known me from my good side, but you can perhaps learn to know me from the other side also. If things do not change, we will make of Alsace-Lorraine a Prussian province.” This speech of the Emperor’s is not printed officially, but it was made the subject of an interpellation in the Reichstag on May 17, 1912, and the burgomaster of Strasburg admitted that the sense of the imperial utterance was properly given. With regard to Alsace-Lorraine, the Emperor has tried both kindness and severity. The Zabern incident proved that in neither of these policies had he succeeded in winning either the love or the subjection of the inhabitants.
The following is the estimate of Dr. H. A. Gibbons on the situation in Alsace-Lorraine immediately before the outbreak of the European War:
“One could easily fill many pages with illustrations of senseless persecutions, most of them of the pettiest character, but some more serious in nature, which Alsace and Lorraine have had to endure since the granting of the constitution. Newspapers, illustrated journals, clubs, and organizations of all kinds have been annoyed constantly by police interference. Their editors, artists, and managers have been brought frequently into court. Zislin and Hansi, celebrated caricaturists, have found themselves provoked to bolder and bolder defiances by successive condemnations and have endured imprisonment as well as fines. Hansi was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment by the High Court of Leipsic only a month before the present war broke out and chose exile rather than a Prussian fortress.
“The greatest effort during the past few years has been made in the schools to influence the minds of the growing generation against the ‘souvenir de France,’ and to impress upon the Alsacians what good fortune had come to them to be born German citizens.
“Among the boys, the influence of this teaching has been such that over twenty-two thousand fled from home during the period of 1900-13 to enlist in the Foreign Legion of the French Army. The campaign of the German newspapers in Alsace-Lorraine and, in fact, throughout Germany was redoubled in 1911. Parents were warned of the horrible treatment accorded to the poor boys who were misguided enough to throw away their citizenship and go to be killed in Africa under the French flag. The result of this campaign was that the Foreign Legion received a larger number of Alsacians in 1912 than had enlisted during a single year since 1871!
“Among the girls, the German educational system flattered itself that it could completely change the sentiments of a child, especially in the boarding-schools. Last year the Empress of Germany visited a girls’ school near Metz which is one of the best German schools in the Reichsland. As she was leaving she told the children that she wanted to give them something. What did they want? The answer was not sweets or cake but that they might be taught a little French!
“The former French provinces have been flooded with garrisons and have been treated just as they were forty years ago. The insufferable spirit of militarism and the arrogance of the Prussian officers in Alsacian towns have served to turn against the empire many thousands whom another policy might have won; for it must be remembered that by no means all the inhabitants of the Reichsland have been by birth and by home training French sympathizers. Instead of crushing out the ‘souvenir de France,’ the Prussian civil and military officials have caused it to be born in many a soul which was by nature German.
“The Prussian has never understood how to win the confidence of others. There has been no Rome in his political vision. As for conceptions of toleration, of kindness, and of love, they are non-existent in Prussian officialdom.”
It gives me great satisfaction that the committee of the provinces has turned to me in an important question concerning the interests of Alsace-Lorraine. I see in this fact a valuable proof of the increasing understanding which my good-will and my interest in the development of your home country has begotten in the minds of its representatives. I am also pleased to accept this assurance that the people of Alsace-Lorraine, satisfied for the time being with the existing political relations, spurn every interference by foreign elements and look to the empire alone for the protection of their interests.
While I offer you my thanks for this expression of loyal sentiment, I regret that for the present I cannot fulfil your wishes. I must confine myself in this matter to expressing the hope that in a not too distant future our relations may make possible the alleviation of conditions on the western boundary. This hope will be the sooner realized the more the people of Alsace-Lorraine are convinced of the inviolability of the union which binds them to Germany and the more decidedly they exhibit their resolution to remain forever faithful and immovable in their loyalty to me and to the empire.
Potsdam, November 23, 1891