An Under Paid Emperor.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 30 July 1910, Page 4

An Under Paid Emperor.

WHY THE KAISER IS IN NEED

OE A RISE

" RICHES ABE ONLY RELA-

TIYE."

Tin! German Emperor will still b« relatively t-lio poorest monarch in the worid, even if ho succecds in obtalnin«r his long-awaited increase of salary a.s the King of Prussia. Ilia income lroni this souroo will r.iso from 0700,000 to £991.000 a year, anil this amount, vast _ >as t seems to the average ltwm, will not he sufficient for a monarch wdio has to maintain tho splendour and the which lio.s matlo llvo name of the Gorman Emperor famous tllio world over. His |H)sition, after his pockets have heen emptied by tho thousand nd one expenses of kingship, is, in comparison, little bettor than tha.t of the clerk who earns £?3 a week, and. indeed;, no clerk has felt tire need of a rise so much as the German Etnpeior. lie .has been walting for it for the last three years, ami tho stories of Imperial ])overty on £790.000 M year iiro common knowledge in Germany. In recent years stern economy Inns been practised by tho . Emperor's household. Tho climax was reached two years ago. when tho Emperor decided to offer five of his estates for sale. By this means ho hoped to avoid having to beg for a rise, lint German opinion rioted against their Emperor put tine; np tho splendid castles of Gormanv for auction. POVERTY'S PINCH.. Why should the pinch of poverty be felt in tho Imperial household!' ft is not because the Jvaisor indulges in the virions extravagances of the monarchs of history. Ho does not squander his thousands in meaningless luxury, nor in his mod© of living on a very high scale. Tho main reasons for the Kaiser's inability to live within his means are his unparalleled generosity, his lovo of ant and the endowment of it, and his desire, when travelling, to uphold tho dignity of tho German Empire. It must be remembered that a.s German Emperor ho roceivies not <a penny. He is an unpaid Emperor, I'ulliliing all tho costly duties of* his position free of charge. Whatever expenses he incurs in this n-ispect are paid for out of his own pocket t"rt;in his income as King of Prussia, augmented by his private income from estates. Ho is tho largest landowner in Germany. His property extemls over more than 'ioO.OOO acres, and his castles number mow than fifty. Vet with all this, ho derives comparatively little income from this source. His many castles cost a fortune to keep up. Thev are dotted about all over tlvo Empire - throe in, Berlin, thirteen in Potsdam, three in Cassel, and great residences in Stettin. Stiasbnrg, Charlottenbiirg, Ooblenz. and other cities. Me has had to abandon the building of further palaces. Ther was one which was to have been built on a gorgeous scale at Babelberg—a fit resident for tho Crown Prince, for whom it was intended. This plan was givem up. The Emperor was too poor to pay for it. LANDED ESTATES.

So. too, in spito of tlio Kaiser's business aptitude, his lancl'od estates do not p;iy him much. Hero it. is tho fault of his geiiorosity. His i work in en are paid exceptionally high wages, and they have pensions in their old ago; the widows nud children of the Emperor's workmen arc supported out of his private purse. Mi- prefers to lie the modvl employed 1 of labour rather than economiso in tin's direction. ft is bis lore of .nil that pertain." to the arts which has l»t ought libirencrosicy to I lie verge of fantastic extravagance. Tho Sieges Allee (T.nno of Victory), in Berlin, with its thirty-two marble .statues of the Kings and Electors of Brandenburg and the bronze figures ol animals in the Thiergarten — the •.tafiies evervw li. Ie- all these paid IVr by the Kaiser himself--a re witness to where some of the money giK's. A man must needs ho a millioiniiv to build a whole street id statues. ht't'lier he can afford it: or not, he impulsively buys a highpriced. pietine a.nd gives it to 11; e picture gallery. Me .subsidises theatres and an opcr.i-housH for tho sake of tie.! drama- - thesa also are a dram on the Imperial purse, for his.theatres are only partially conducted for profit. If there is one thing which lays the Emperor open to a. charge of extravagance it is his love of Imperial '•pi ui'.our - thai same splendour which led him to acquire his fifty castles. MAXV OFFICIALS. Xo King of Prussia, ever liad a Count more inagniii'-ent than William I!. Besides the many Councillors to every Department, there are a score of important officials in the liouseh.ohl. They include: — .Minister of l!:e Imperial Mouse. Director of the Imperial Mouse. Director of the I'oyal Archives. President of Heraldry. Court. Marshal. Ma-tor of the Hunt. Master of the Kitchen. Master of tho Stab'le.s. Master of Ceremonies. Then there are relatives whom Ik has to support, and for whom lu must provide Courts. The cost oi tho Crown Prince's Court alone is estimated at CoO.OOO a year. The Emperor travels with moro oi ijoni] and splendour than he can woll afford. Mis retinue is like a regiment. [11 .addition to his suite, he takes with him his coachmen, grooms, stablemen, saddlers, his secretaries, and often his Ministers. Thos ejourneys to the Meditterailea n and to Palestine which cre-atc so much sensation a few years ago. cost nearly a hundred thousaiu pounds each, and wherever he went the Emperor distributed gifts la.vislily. Ho has given away hundreds ol diamond rings and. pins, gold cigarette eases and necklaces golr watches and bracelets, and thousands of decorations. Ho is tlu German Emperor, and though lie i: not paid for it. lie must make •. bravo show of his position. But when all this necessary show is stripped awav, behind the glibtei and pomp of the Emperor tihiero i: the Man who finds his income ail to< small for his position. Ho must make little economies. Ho mus' even deny himself tho luxuries o tho flesh pots. The Imperial tabli is notoriously one of tho least extra vagant in European Courts. Small wonder that, with iall hi: castles, his estates to keep up, tin Courts of his relations to support his magnificent patronage of the arts and the splendour of his own Im perial Court, the Kaiser yearns for ; rise in hu .salary to help him mak< both ends meet.