Albert Ballin

“ If German shipping is to flourish again, and if German steamers are now ploughing the oceans once more, credit is due to Albert Ballin. His work it is from which new life is emanating, and it is to be hoped that his spirit will continue to animate German shipping both now and in the future. ”

“ The African shipping business had been jealously nursed by its founder, Adolph Woermann, who had always tried hard to guard this special domain of his against the encroachments of all outsiders. However much Ballin and Adolph Woermann differed in character, they were akin to each other in one essential feature—viz. the jealous love they bore to the undertaking with which they had identified themselves. Both men, grown up in absolutely different environments, yet resembled each other in the daring and the fearlessness with which they defended the interests of their businesses. ”

“ In the realm of shipping it has always been customary for each company to profit by the experience gained and the progress made by its competitors. This applies to the Packetfahrt and its management also; but in their case they have given infinitely more than they have received, and in the whole history of shipping there has never been one single person who has exercised a more stimulating influence on its technical progress than Albert Ballin. ”

“ The casual observer is far too much inclined to underestimate the conservative character—both politically and socially—of the three Hanseatic cities. Still, evidence is not wanting that Ballin’s unusual gifts were occasionally recognized and appreciated even in the days of his early career. ”

“ Whoever is conscious of his strength is also aware of the limitations set to his power.
In politics as well as in business he held that “a lean compromise was preferable to a fat lawsuit,” as the German proverb puts it. It has been mentioned elsewhere in this volume that Ballin was essentially the man of compromise. It is very probable that the experiences of his early life had helped to develop this outstanding feature of his personality. ”

“ An intimate personal friendship sprang up between these two men which lasted a lifetime. These close relations gave him an excellent opportunity for studying the business methods of the British shipping firms, and led to the establishment of valuable personal intercourse with some other leading shipping people in England. Thus it may be said that Ballin’s connexions with England, strengthened as they were by several short visits to that country, were of great practical use to him and that, in a sense, they furnished him with such business training as until then he had lacked. ”

“ Politics Notwithstanding the many business controversies in which Ballin took an important part, it has occasionally been said that he was not really a “fighter.” This statement may be allowed to pass quite unchallenged, provided that by the term “fighter” we mean a man whose habit it is to fight to the bitter end. Ballin never indulged in fighting for its own sake, nor was it ever his object to see his vanquished opponent lie prostrate before him. Such a mental attitude he, in his own drastic way, would have described as a “perverted pleasure.” ”

“ The only way of doing justice to a man of such commanding genius as Ballin is to try to discover first of all the one essential root principle of his personality. Having succeeded in that, we shall find no more difficulty in reconciling the great number of apparently mutually contradictory traits of his character. ”

“ Being himself, as has been pointed out elsewhere, gifted with a strong faculty for appreciating things beautiful, and raising no less high demands as regards the beauty and the comfort of all his surroundings, Ballin constantly endeavoured to make use of all the results of his own observations and of his own experience for the greater comfort of the passengers. ”

“ How keen it was may be inferred from an incident which happened early in his reign, and to which Ballin, when describing his first experiences on this subject, referred in his above-mentioned speech on the occasion of the trial trip of the Meteor. Ballin said: “Even among my most intimate associates people were not wanting who thought that I was not quite right in my mind when, at the head of 241 intrepid travellers, I set out on the first pleasure cruise to the Far East in January, 1891. ”

“ A seaport growing in importance from year to year is always a scene of busy life, and the early days which the boy Ballin spent in his father’s house and its interesting surroundings near the river’s edge left an indelible impression on his plastic mind. ”

“ What was the general public to think of a man who was watching the progress of the war with the greatest pessimism, whilst at the same time bringing all his influence to bear on the passing of a law which was to make possible the reconstruction of Germany’s merchant fleet, knowing that such reconstruction could only be achieved if the Empire which was to set aside the funds were to remain intact. ”

“ If I think of the lessons of the past forty years—a period during which the freedom of trade, the freedom of industrial enterprise, and the freedom of shipping have led to marvellous successes and to the accumulation of huge wealth—I ask myself: ‘How is it possible that a wise statesman could seriously occupy himself with the plan of establishing a Government-bound system in place of it?’ How, I ask you, can a State-managed industrial organization avail itself of the advantages to be had when trade is booming, or to guard itself against the losses when there is a slump? ”

“ What the mirror does not show, and cannot show, is the immensity of the mental forces hidden below the surface which alone give expression to the portrait; all the factors which have brought about the final result—the strength, the courage, the daring, and the feeling of responsibility without which it would never have been achieved. ”

“ It is not because I am at the head of the biggest German shipping concern that I tell you these things, but I do so with the disinterestedness of a man who hopes to be allowed to retire into private life when this terrible war is over. No one can perform his life’s work more than once, and no one can make a fresh start at the age of sixty. ”

“ Ballin’s appreciation of the probable gain which Germany would derive from a peace by compromise has now been amply confirmed by the undeniable fact that the rest of the world has been tremendously impressed by Germany’s achievements, an impression which has made foreigners regard her chances of recovery with much more confidence than she has felt herself, stunned as she was by the immensity of her débâcle. ”

“ It must be admitted in this connexion that perhaps no shipowner has ever been more favoured by fortune than Ballin where the sale of such difficult objects as obsolete express steamers was concerned. The value which these boats had in relation to the prestige of the Company was very considerable; for, as Ballin expressed it to me one day: “The possession of the old express steamers of the Packetfahrt certainly proved to be something like a white elephant; but just consider how greatly they have enhanced the prestige of the Company.” ”

“ What Germany has achieved in this war is beyond all praise. A glance at the map shows how small she is compared with her opponents in the field; and yet she is bravely struggling against a world in arms in which even the few countries that have remained neutral are not our friends. It is, indeed, one grand epic. But unfortunately the position at home becomes more untenable every day. ”

“ But if we are going deliberately to dismember the Russian Empire and to parcel it out into a number of independent units, our political influence after the war will be slight indeed, and the result must necessarily make itself felt to the detriment of our whole economic life. ”

“ Let us by all means sink as much enemy tonnage as possible, let us lay mines, and let us proceed with our submarine warfare as hitherto, or even with more energy, but let the people who are at the head of the whole movement be aware of the immense responsibility that rests on their shoulders. If our leading men speak of a war with America just as cheerfully as though San Marino or Montenegro were involved, I cannot help viewing such an attitude with the utmost apprehension. The British will use all their astuteness and all their energy to exploit any mistakes committed by Germany. ”

“ If it is borne in mind how strong, how masterful, and how self-reliant a man has passed away with Adolph Woermann, it is sad to think that in the end he was not strong enough after all to bear on his own shoulders entirely the immense burden of responsibility which he had taken upon himself, and that he received nothing but ingratitude as the reward of his life’s work, although he was actuated by truly patriotic motives throughout. ”

“ Within the next few months the problem will have to be solved how to put an end to this devastating catastrophe which is ruining the progress of the world. There is no need for me to tell you that the position of Germany has grown considerably worse through the active intervention of the United States. The fact that this enormously wealthy country with its one hundred million inhabitants has turned against us is fraught with the most dangerous consequences. ”

“ The war, which was something absolutely uncongenial to his whole nature, has had such bad effect on his health that it would be desirable in his own interest if he were enabled to retire comfortably into private life. ”

“ For hundreds of reasons an early peace is imperative to us. As matters stand at present only Great Britain and Russia can conclude peace, because France and Italy must be regarded as mere British vassals. ”

“ What would it profit you to risk a naval battle on the high seas? Not only our own, but British experts as well, believe that our ships, our officers, and our crews are superior to the British, and King Edward emphasized at every opportunity that the crews on British warships are not a match to those on German vessels. But what are you going to do? Are you going to make them fight against a numerically superior enemy? ”

“ It is such a pity that Mr. Andersen had to attend to so many other things. If you and he alone had had to deal with it, and if it had been purely a business matter, the agreement would certainly have been concluded at once. Perhaps you and Andersen will shortly discover a basis on which you can co-operate. I personally should highly appreciate an understanding between my company and yours if it could be brought about, so that you could work together hand in hand like two good friends. You must help me with it. Mr. Andersen was so charmed with your amiability when he came back. ”

“ If we were to arrive at an understanding with Russia to-day, we should be able to go on with the war against Great Britain for a long time to come, and, by means of unimpeded submarine activity, to carry it to a successful issue. ”

“ Although he had nothing but scorn for the very suggestion that this company should receive at any time any subsidies from public funds, he made it to the fullest extent subservient to the needs of the public and of the nation at large. He often remarked that such gigantic concerns as, e.g., the Hamburg-Amerika Linie, are no longer private ventures purely and simply. The ties that bind them to the whole economic life of the nation—and, for the matter of that, to the world in general—are so close and so manifold that it would be disastrous to ignore them or to sever them. ”

“ I am quite convinced that everything hangs on the future development of trade and traffic. To-day, as I have said before, Tariff Reform and a Zollverein with the Colonies are the catchwords that are on everybody’s lips, and the anti-German feeling is so strong that it is scarcely possible to discuss matters with one’s oldest friends, because the people over here have turned mad and talk of nothing but the next war and the protective policy of the near future. ”

“ Ballin did not recognize the existence of a line of demarcation which, as many lesser minds imagined, separated republican Hamburg from the rest of Germany. In reality there is no such separation; Hamburg, indeed, receives year after year a constant influx of human material and of ideas from her German hinterland, without which she could not exist at all, and in spite of which she has never had a superfluity, but—at times, at least—rather a deficiency of specially gifted citizens. ”

“ Political and military considerations make it plain beyond any question of doubt that Italy, who will be armed to the teeth in March, will not be able to lay down her arms again unless Austria arrives at an understanding with her. ”

“ But naturally, I always look upon things from the business man’s point of view, and so I always think it better to come to some kind of an agreement with a competitor rather than allow him an unlimited measure of expansion. ”

“ Although it seems that for the moment our differences with the United States will be smoothed over, there can be no doubt but that at times the tension has been so great that a wrong move at the critical moment would have caused America to take up arms against us. ”

“ A really far-sighted policy which would make it its principal object to assist the progress of our foreign trade would have to guard against the mistaken idea that the levying of high rates was the only means of obtaining interest on the capital invested. ”

“ Each of the men who are at the head of their respective Governments has to play to his gallery, and if these men desire to give their audience a convincing proof of the completeness of the success they have achieved, they can do no better than demand condign punishment for the man who has been held responsible for the war, and inflict it upon him. I do not believe that the Kaiser would grieve very much if he were given a chance now of retiring into private life without much loss of dignity. ”