RAEMAEKERS AND THE KAISER

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3189, 13 September 1917, Page 5

RAEMAEKERS AND THE KAISER

FAMOUS WAR CARTOONIST ON THE DESPOILER OF EUROPE -i'-' AN INTERESTING TALK '.' ~~ '{From • the New York "Evening Post.") Louis Raemackers, .'cartoonist-tho Dutchman who can draw pictures saw to be,worth two army corps apiece to tho Wlies; cartoons that mako tho Germans snuirm and the whole world feel-lias arrived in New York.-'Tho .day.after ho. .arrived ho bought an case Land crayons, set them up and began .to draw, lie sat in front of his window at the Hotel Vandcrbilt the morning I saw'him (said his interviewer), with a half loaf of bread, pinched and crumbled in front of hin, ■putting on the Kaiser, a face that will show America what 'ho really is,, and ■putting in the Raemackers touch-tho ■ touch which ho. hopes will make us realise what war teally ls-tho kind of war ho has seen-and felt over thorp.-alio picture of lonis Raemaekers at work in New York is ono which is not altogether unknown to Americans. The thousands who' have been stirred by his published cartoons knon fall well that the Dutchman is bent over his easel with a fierceness of purpose tliat neither editors, nor chancellors, nor Governments yet ha™ been able to stem. As for tho remainder of the picture, he is a typical Dutchman —blue eyes, serious face, rjiddy cheeks, light'hair,.and a stocky .figure, if that makes any difference. What does add to the .picture is his complete poise and intimate knowledge of the great war and '. international politics, .a .knowledge winch •to Mm is a living, breathing matter, : makimr a-flamo of desire to lot the world know it'as. he knows it—hence tho master strokes ho draws. . .'

Why His Visit.

Raemaekers has come to America be-1 cause, as he says, America'to-day is tho centre of gravity of 'the war, and here js where he can do tho most good m bringing realisation of the fact to.every ".American. To .a representative of the : Post" he gave his.views regarding the conflict as ho recently has seen ' it at the fronts; he sketched in words j lu's portrayal of the;' Kaiser; his conception of Pan-Germanism. He said that there wore in.' the-■ world'. H>-day. just two Teal things—Prussian despotism and Jiberty-and' democracy. .'America,', he believed, cannot half save liberty and democracy • for civilisation any more than n Battery policeman can pull a; drowning man half out of /water and let the ' rescue, stop there. Nearly ten years iigo, Raemaekers saw the great war coming, saw the spread of pan-German policies, which were planned to submerge tho ■ vorltL And when he spoke of it he was told that!ho was seeing ghosts in the sunshine. His awakening to the Germanic idea and the story, of his \ beginning in. cartoon work were almost simultaneous: ' ' "When I "thought I could do the most, good in England, I. wont to London to, . try. to show' the jpebple. what the war . Teally was. They did not realise it either. They said they were . fighting for the Belgians, for liberty;'but they .■were really fighting for themselves. And lam here because America.is tile centre . of gravity, for the war; hero is where I can do the most good-to-day. Americans to-day believe that they arc waging ■war for the tragedy of Belgium; th'ey are yet merely at war for themselves. . But dp not misunderstand. Not in one .' of my "six. or seven'.hundred cartoons is i here, a line of distrust of the American people and of their feelings. I am only convinced that America is so far away the people don't know what it is all libput, so far as they are cdncmed. 'Hie Germans have crushed - Belgium—they wanted to crush France, crush Enclanil, and then the whole world would 'be crushed for them. .':

Prussian Despotism! "There are only -two real things, in tin. world. to-day—most' awful Prussian despotism pitted against democracy and liberty for civilisation. You over here havo -photographs, movies, and reports, Ihavo seen what it is with my eyes. Six weeks 1 passed at the English and French fronts ■under permit. I know what war means. I have talked with the mothers, with tho fathers of the warring populations! I know what they think about their girls Vvlio have: been' taken to Germany to work in, the fields, as the Bodies say. Work in the fields! The German officers can. select their 'orderlies' from the girls of Lille. I made- a cartoon for tho Paris "Johrnal" about the girls of Lille who 'were dragged to Germany. The Parisian editors said it. was ' tod cruel. Later '■' they said go ahead, it was all right, perfectly aU right. I drew the picture, Slaves of Lille, in two parts—Departure at Lille'and Arrival at Germany.' Tho French said I was tearing open their wounds. But Iliad to doit. There is no people in the world like the French. I wouhl do, anything for them, to spare them. But I had to draw that picture; must- do it. Must show the world what the Germans did; must show what they are. I have not done half of what I ought to have done. "I find out what is happening; then I must draw to explain it to the people nil over the world and give ;hem the .whole "story in one picture. People Tead a newspaper in the train for a halfhour, but that is not all the story. I read from tho news of all the world, then and combino the whole situation. I must simplify the :picture v of the history of the moment.' Every day we are making a living history; Let the Waterloo.? rest. 'W© must take care ot I to-day. I am working ;to nwke the greatest number of people in the world understand the struggle for liberty—not the street man alone, nor the professor, but everybody. Sometimes the ; more educated will understand better than the man in the street. Sometimes the man in tho street will know better. And please make it understood that I am not.trying to be witty or trying for personal success as an artist or a cartoonist. I Want people to know, to think, to see the war as it is.

"I want the world to know the Kaiser as he is." (Raemaeker's has never seen the Kaiser, but has studied the man foryears, so that it is current talk that there is not an artist who depicts Wilhelra more correctly tlfci ho does—even friends of the Kaiser have admitted as much.) "I have studied his doings, and' the doings of the Crown Prince, so that I know them inside and out," he said. '.'Sketch the Kaiser in words? Well, ho is a versatile man, a man wh0,.1 believe, exactly fits the description his father gave him: 'Be careful of Wilhelm because lie is just as stupid as ho is sqnare-headed. He has a religious manii, is full of bigotry and conceit/"

Not a Strong Man, He Says. "He is hollow. He poses ijor a strong man. He is not a strong man. The persons who want to lead him can do so I y lotting him think he is acting voluntarily and then giving: him tho credit of his actions. He is too conceited to bo strong. ; ' 'J'hey say that the Kaiser arid the whole German people will niako Holland nay for each ono of my cartoons, ai'tor the war. This is just talk. If Germany is not beaten, all Holland is done for, whether or not I over drew one cartoon. If I had drawn cartoons in. favour of Germany, Holland would jl>o dono for because they want our colonies. I did think a while ago that tho end of the war might come this winter. Bivfc the Russian situation has complicated it. The great 'factor is that people do not realise that Germany may offer early peace terms, but, mark you,'not for a reasonable peace, not the real thing. Ger- ' man peace proposals will be snch as will leave the Kaiser in full power to begin tho war at any-time in full strength with tho credit of a successful campaign. You cannot almost save the world for civilisation or save democracy in bits. America, must not try to half-savo iiberty for ■ civilisation, like bringing a drowning to, the' surf ace and then letting "go." . ' Kaemaekers looked out of tho window and said ho' supposed everyone here thought New York looked warlike. "Oh, yes, I saw lots of war posters," ho said. "But in a year's lime you will see what a difference there is between tho New York of then and now. New York warVffeo to-day? Nonsense. When people begin to realise you Trill ecu tho streets

full of soldiers." To help towards this realisation Raoniaekers brought 0110 hundred now cartoons with him, to ho part of sin exhibition io be held later, together with .fifty coming; on another ship, becauso, as he said, he "had tho chanco to bo sunk" coming over. So ho went to his chamber beyond to finish tho cartoon on tho easel to add to tire collection. Ho rolled a- bit 'of Bread into a ball and rubbed away on Uncjo Sam. Wilhelm, Scheidemann, tho Socialist catspaw of tho Kaiser, niitf Uncle Sam are grouped together. This is the caption: "Wilhelm: Tako it from me, old Scheidemann, what America is doing does not trouble me.' "Uncle Sam: 'AVa-al, then, I'll double it.'"