File No. 763.72119/187
The Chargé in Germany (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 30, 11.10 a. m.]
4662. Referring [to] my 4652,1 November 25, to which a reply has not yet been received from the Department, I have now obtained from Hale the revised text of his interview with the Chancellor which he informed me was finally approved by the Chancellor this afternoon, after having been revised five times, and now definitely released for telegraphing to the United States. Hale informs me he believes that the interview has passed the censor and will be forwarded to-day, but as I cannot make sure of this, and in view of the information contained in the Department’s 3606, November 22,2 it seems to me unsafe to send it in the blue code, and in the absence [Page 72] of advice from the Department I am therefore cabling it in the green code as below, after having slightly paraphrased the text. The sense or essential parts have not been altered.
To-day I had the honor of being received by the Imperial Chancellor. It was an external picture of the sternness of life that met my eyes when I looked out of the garden windows of the historic palace in the Wilhelmstrasse, the bare branches of the elms outlined against the bleak November sky, but everything was cheer, confidence, and courage inside this workshop of the chief executive of His Majesty the German Emperor and the German people who celebrate his sixtieth birthday to-morrow. The gigantic frame of Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg moved about the room, and his alert and swiftly glancing eye, quietly grasping each new turn of events and controlling Germany’s interests in ail their endlessly diversified ramifications, was a symbol of the German Fatherland’s ever-present watchfulness and unconquerable vitality.
The outside world’s wintry aspect was responsive to the topic which at the moment was naturally uppermost in the Chancellor’s mind—the death of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. Musingly, it seemed, Mr. von Bethmann-Hollweg remarked with deliberation:
The departure from earth of the illustrious and historic personage whose life has exceeded, and whose rule over the destinies of the peoples of Austria-Hungary has nearly spanned the biblical three score years and ten, seems like a mighty change fallen upon the consciousness of Europe.
There is scarcely a parallel in history for the extraordinary career of this monarch whose rule extended from the eventful year 1848 to the present hour of tragedy. He was occupied in receiving despatches up to the middle of the afternoon of the eve of his death, and it was not until he had ordered that he be called at his accustomed hour of 3 o’clock in the morning, retired to rest. Such devotion to high duty has rarely been equaled in human history for the emulation of mankind. Possibly you may match somewhere among the documents and monuments which record the rule of the sovereignties of the earth the story of this great and dearly beloved monarch, but I hardly know where this would be.
The passage to the successor who now ascends to the thrones of Austria-Hungary nevertheless means merely the handing over to younger hands of the identical firmness of purpose and determination with which our friends and faithful allies have been imbued since the outbreak, of the war under the glorious reign of Franz Joseph. The people of Austria-Hungary form a unit, firm in purpose and will, determined, actuated by one common impulse to vindicate their destiny of empire, and under their new leadership, as under the old, they will stand shoulder to shoulder with the German people and our gallant and faithful Turkish allies, everywhere steadfast.
The Chancellor remarked, in reply to my suggestion that the retirement of Mr. von Jagow and the succession of Mr. Zimmermann to the office of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs would of course attract attention in the United States:
The loss of the services of the devoted, talented, and distinguished Von Jagow is contemplated by us with sincere sorrow. You know yourself that on account of the acuteness of his ailment he has for some months been anxious to retire so that his health may be restored. He is entitled to the relief which his health imperatively demands by his long and signal services to his country. It is only natural that Mr. Zimmermann should succeed him; he has been the close and constant associate of the Secretary for the past three years and a half; the meaning of his promotion is that his indomitable energy, his proven sagacity, and his clearness of vision will be applied to the carrying on of the identical policies with which his predecessor was occupied.
Here it should be explained that the Secretary is the executive of the Chancellor who himself is the German Minister of Foreign Affairs.
I said: “It is too bad that the historic speech of your excellency on November 9 apparently has not been reported as it should have been in the United States, all available newspaper space having been taken up on account of the uncertainty then surrounding the result of the presidential elections.”
[Page 73]The fact that a document of such importance had not been published in full in the United States caused the Chancellor to show some surprise. He asked: “For what reason is it your opinion that the American people would have evinced any particular interest in anything I said at that time?”
“My belief is, indeed, that my countrymen would attach the greatest possible interest to your declarations, particularly the acceptance by you of the idea of a world tribunal to enforce peace.”
The Chancellor stepped over to his desk under a great window, and
selecting a number of sheets from a file of documents said: “These are
the words I used. But perhaps it would be better for me to read to you
declarations made by the responsible heads of three great powers—the
United States, Germany, and England—instead of quoting my own
declaration by itself. Here is the first of them,” and the Chancellor
read:
With this declaration you might associate these which I will read to you:
Of these utterances one is from a speech by President Wilson, another is from a speech by Mr. Asquith, the British Premier, and the third is from one of my speeches before the Reichstag. I am curious to know whether anyone not acquainted with the documents could tell which one of us said which. You try it.
Once I was successful in answering the old examination question at Oxford, “Who pursued whom around the walls of what how many times?” but the Chancellor’s puzzle was too much for me.
I brought some of the comment on the Chancellor’s speech, made by the English press, to his attention. The Chancellor remarked:
It would almost appear from my first glance at these comments that an intimation had been directed to them to misinterpret deliberately my words concerning Germany’s readiness to join in, even to put herself at the head of, a league of peace, as if those words of mine concealed some reprehensible and wicked political aspiration. Now what do you suppose is at the bottom of this curiously unanimous chorus of English misinterpretation and disparagement against what obviously was nothing but a sincere and enthusiastic declaration of Germany’s readiness to cooperate in the preservation of the peace of the world?
The subject of the epoch-making measure which is to be introduced in the Reichstag to-morrow, incorporating the entire strength of the manhood of Germany between the ages of 17 and 60 into the direct service of the country was then taken up by us. The Chancellor remarked:
[Page 74]I suppose there never has been a mobilization of national energy on so great a scale. You see, the German people are absolutely determined to carry this war through, and in this resolve we are summoning the whole power of a united people.
However gigantic the scope and certain the result of this resolution, it nevertheless should not be interpreted as a repudiation in any sense of my words of November 9, or of the sentiments which during more than a year I have been expressing in the name of the German Government and people. We have declared again and again our willingness to enter into negotiations of peace. Our expressions have never been responded to. They have even been represented in some quarters as dictated by weakness and fear. The events of the past year surely suffice to demonstrate that we did not a year ago speak out of weakness or fear, just as the events of the twelve months to come will demonstrate that we are obeying the simple dictates of humanity and not of apprehension, if we still adhere to our willingness to consider a cessation of the struggle.
I speak utterly without concern over the ultimate issue of the struggle, however prolonged it may be, but under a solemn consciousness of the sanctity of the flame of life, lit from on high, and not lightly to be extinguished by human misunderstandings, to discontinue which common counsel might avail.
Mr. von Bethmann-Hollweg continued, shrugging his great shoulders:
But of course if our enemies are obdurate and elect to continue their hopeless endeavor, we can only continue to make them pay the bitter price of their folly. Resolute and undaunted is the German soul. The billows of attack break in vain against our firm far-stretching lines. There is nothing to affright us in any quarter. We embark to-morrow upon an epoch of defense, the magnitude of which is staggering. And yet, while the will of the German people grows even more determined to carry the struggle on to any length which may be necessary to the complete vindication of our national integrity and destiny, our desire now is, and has ever been, to resume the amicable exertions of peace as soon as we are allowed to do this.
Bayard Hale