KAISER’S LIMPING SON

Taihape Daily Times, 5 December 1918, Page 7

KAISER’S LIMPING SON

Tin' sons and daughters of the Kaiser arc the subject o. an article by Air, A. N. Davis, the Kaiser's American dentist, in the “Times.” Mr. Davis speaks highly of the Crown Princess; Prince August Wilhelm was the most democratic of the family. As to Prince Joachim, the youngest son, the American dentist says: — I This Prince was the only member of I the Royal family to get near enough j to the firing line to get shot. The injury, which he received while at the ■ Eastern front, was only a slight flesh j wound of the thigh, but it was enough j to start him limping through history. It was such a superficial wound that it could not have caused him one-half as much pain as it gave the whole Royal family pleasure. The fact that one of the Kaiser’s own sons had actually been wounded and shed his Royal blood in active service was sonr*thing that the inspired Press will never 1 stop crowing over, but by just what accident the Prince happened to Come within range of the bullet has never been disclosed. Nevertheless, he received the Iron Cross of the First Class, or, as someone who realised the significance of the incident remarked: “A first-class Iron Cross for a second-class wound.” As he limped into my office. the young Prince —he is now only 28—remarked: “Sec what one of your damned American bullets did to mo!” i “How do you know it was an American bullet T ’ I asked. “The Russians have nothing else!” How the Russians ever got a chance to reach him if he were even half as afraid of their bullets as lie was of dental work, I cannot conceive. All th 6 time he'was in my office he kept nervously twisting a front lock of hair. I tried to draw him out on political questions, but he showed no inclination to discuss them. “I know nothing | about politics,” he admitted. “It ! would be better if a great many other ‘people paid less attention to them.” He did not impress me as knowing much about anything. I told him on one occasion that the people wore complaining of the food shortage. “They have food enough.” ho answered. “The best thing they do is to complain! Don’t they complain in America? The fact is they have too much to oat, anyway. They don’t know what thev want.”