I firmly
believe that there is no soul in this wide world upon whom the burden
and grief of this great catastrophe so heavily rest as upon the German
Emperor. I have heard him declare with the greatest earnestness and
solemnity that he considered war a dire calamity; that Germany would
never during his reign wage an offensive war, and that he hoped God
would spare him from the necessity of ever having to conduct a defensive
war. For years he has been conscious that British diplomacy was seeking
to isolate and crush Germany by an alliance of Latin, Slav, and Mongol
under British direction, and he sought in every way to avert it. He
visited England himself frequently. He sent his Ministers of State over
to cultivate the acquaintance and friendship of the British Ministers,
but rarely would the British King go himself to Germany or send his
Ministers to return these visits. More than once have I heard him say
that he was most earnestly desirous of close friendship between Germany,
Great Britain, and the United States, and had done, was doing, and would
continue to do, all in his power to promote it; but that while the
Americans were cordially meeting Germany half way, the British were
cold, suspicious, and repellent.
Pages:
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310