"THE MAILED FIST"

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 105, 11 January 1912, Page 7

"THE MAILED FIST"

— j IXDISCRETIOX OF THE KAISER'S ! SOX. I APPLAUDING THE ANGLO- J PHOBES. London, November 18. Friedrich Wilhelm, of the Death's. Head Hussars, sou and heir of the Kaiser, obtained four days leave from his command of the cavalry division at Danzig to come to Berlin to hear the debate in the Reichstag on the relations 1 of England and Germany regarding the affair at Agadir. Fritz sat in the Royal box with his skull and cross-bones aggressively apparent on his helmet, and while the Chancellor made his statement declaring that Germany had not backed down and that England had not threatened, Fritz said "Push" and "Tush" in an audible whisper. When the leader of the Opposition followed, and smote the Chancellor hip and thigh and declared that the enemies of Germany lay right over against her on the other side of the German Ocean, and baulking and jeering, Fritz clapped with approval and said "Hear, hear," and '"Hoch." And all the newspapers of Germany saw and. took note, and were'aghast at his indiscretion. The Emperor, too, was chagrined ; so that Fritz, instead of sitting in the Royal box for four days and saying "Push" and "Tush" and "Hoch," went off unexpectedly to Danzig to ride again at the head of the Hussars. . GERMAN" PRESS FURIOUS. «The next morning there was an outburst of fury on the part of the German press,' which generally demanded that the ! Crown Prince should be ; prevented from ever again making such a demonstration. The Tageblatt says: "With the, utmost vigor we oppose the Chancellor's policy as decidedly!as anyone can; . nevertheless, we must say that what was ] witnessed yesterday in the Royal box appears open to objection in, a high degree. I The repetition of such spectacle had bet- j ter be avoided.. At every wprd directed I against France and England, especially j England, the Prince, with an entire abI «ence of restraint, manifested his assent, and now applauded with his hands and j then enthusiastically nodded, and some- ', j times with a gesture of his hand seemed to say to the House: 'That is so! That must be so!'" The paper says that such a thing has never been seen in any tolerably ordered State. The Vossische Zeitung: "When Dr. '•* von Heydebrand struck in the sharpest | .tones against the excessive devotion to l peace, against the utterances of the Am- | bassador. (Sir Fairfax*Cartwright), and against British provocation to war; when j he praised Herr von Liddequist, when he | cried, 'We must be ready at .the right, ■ ; moment to draw the sword,' when ■•he < declared that the'.German people. wouh|,., not tolerate Mr. Lloyd George's after& dinner speeches, which were a threat • \ and a challenge, the Crown Prince constantly expressed his approval, by nodding, ;by pleased smiles, and clapping his ■ hands. It is possible that abroad it ' j will be said that no less a person than I the future Emperor stands, at the head,, of the German war party. This view ■ cannot be too emphatically contradict- ( ed." | , And so, on. The papers one and all condemned the stage spectacle. .'> REBUKED AT HOME. The failure of the Prince to attend any of the further debates on the Morocco question is ascribed to the chiding in- i fluence of his Imperial father. The foi- > lowing day he busied himself with airships, and made an ascent in one of them. Then he went to picture galleries, theatres, and everywhere except to the Reichsta,g, which saw him no | more. According to the ' Central News, it had been decided "in a high quarter" j that lie should not make another ap- I I pearance. ]

The Tageblatt complains that the entourage of the Crown Prince is too PanGerman in character, and that he consequently does not hear anything of the other side. He was under the impression, this paper adds, that the people of Germany all took the same view th[at he did. It would''certainly be a grejat advantage if a change were made in t«he entourage of the Crown Prince, and, above all, if real, ripe experience occa-' sionally had an influence on it." The Pan : German press, on the other hand, poured forth , paeans of delight over the incident. t .! THE DARLIXG OF THE GODS. '

Meanwhile the Crown, Prince was having quite a good time, In the opinion of a large section of the middle classes he, became.right away the most popular man in Germany for echping sentiments regarding England which so many Germans feel. .When, .with his brother, jhe attended the Schumann Theatre in ijhe evening, the audience of nearly 10,000 ' persons;rose.to-.their feet;wtyh''6ne-great,;, shout which almost shook ihe" building. For quite five minutes the "Hochs" and "Huzzas" continued, while the Crown Prince and his brother stood smiling in /L |he box-. So enthusiastic had the aiicti"ence become that in different parts of the building groups of people rose again and again to acclaim their future ruler. The Kaiser tried to bring about a reconciliation between his son and Herr von Bethmann-Hollwegg, who is understood to have been persuaded not to resign or show publicly his mortification at the rebuff which he experienced in the Reichstag. Replying to criticism, he stated that "a strong man did not need to carry his sword.in his mouth."