The Schemes of the Kaiser | Page 6

my might are as rocks of bronze."
Sire, beware! The God of the Hohenzollern will prove to you before long that your power and your might, those rocks of bronze, are no more in His hands than a feather tossed in the wind; He will show you that a tricky horse can unseat you, regardless of your dignity, when you take your favourite ride, the road to Peacock island, with your august brother-in-law.
Say what you will, the Prussians have not yet acquired either wit or good taste! There is proof of this not only in the speeches of William II at Konigsberg, but even more convincing, in that which was delivered before the Reichstag by that famous strategist, our conqueror de Moltke, on the subject of the proposed increase in the peace-footing effectives.
One must read the whole speech to get an idea of the sort of nonsense that "honorable" Germans are prepared to listen to. In urging the vote of credit, "the Victor" said: "Confronted with the fundamental problem of the army, the question of money is of secondary importance; for what becomes of your prosperous finances in war-time?"
Having proved that conquerors are the greatest benefactors of the human race, M. de Moltke goes on to declare that it is not the rulers, but the peoples, who want war to-day. In Germany, it is "the cupidity of the classes whom fate has neglected"; it is also the socialists who decline to vote more soldiers because they desire to trouble the world's peace and expect "to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of lives in the next war and to threaten the existence of morality and civilisation."
I do not know whether my readers can make head or tail of this speech--I certainly cannot--but its intention is plain enough. William II has been careful to emphasise it, by declaring that the increase in the peace strength of the army is intended to reinforce the eastern and western frontiers. Several officious newspapers (we no longer call them reptile, but to do so would make them more authoritative) sum up the matter in these words--
"The nearer the peace-footing of the troops on our frontiers approaches to war-strength, the more effectively these troops are provided with everything necessary to enable them to leave within three hours of receiving marching orders, the more secure becomes Germany's position."
Quite so! By next October there will be 200,000 men in Alsace-Lorraine. As you see, the new law adds to the security of Germany precisely what it takes from ours.

June 12, 1890. [6]
My readers will recollect that after a journey in Switzerland, two years ago, I proved by statements which could not be (and never were) refuted, that the Russian Nihilists established in Switzerland before the Federal Government's inquiry, were all either deliberate or unconscious tools of the German police.
On the one hand, M. de Puttkamer, Minister of the Interior, unable to refute the evidence brought forward by the socialist deputy, Bebel, had then been compelled to confess that the socialist agitators Haupt and Schneider were his agents in Switzerland. On the other hand, at the inquiry into the proceedings of these socialists, there was the evidence furnished by letters seized on Schmidt and Friedmann, associates of Haupt and Schneider, that Schmidt had been commissioned by M. Krüger of the Berlin Police to commit a crime. In one of the seized letters, the following words were actually used by Krüger: "The next attempt upon the life of the Emperor Alexander must be prepared at Geneva. Write to me; I await your reports." [7]
Whenever the alleged liberalism of William II finds its expression in anything else but speeches, it is easy to take its measure. He has just shown once more what it really amounts to, in the Treaty of Establishment with Switzerland, wherein restrictions are placed upon the issue of good moral character certificates by German parishes to their parishioners. These will no longer be available to enable a German to take up his residence in Switzerland. Henceforward it will be the business of the German Legation to pick and choose those whom it considers eligible to reside in Switzerland, either to practise a profession or to conduct an export business there. It will be for Germany to decide whether or not her subjects are dangerous abroad. This would be well enough if it were only a question of restraining rogues, but it is anything but reassuring when we come to deal with the ever advancing phalanx of German spies.

July 9, 1890. [8]
It seems to me that this Wagnerian Emperor, pursuing his legends to the uttermost parts of the earth, is doing his utmost to darken our horizon. Everywhere, always he confronts us, appearing on the scene to deprive us of the last remnants of good-will left to us in Europe.
In the Scandinavian