President of Germany

“ He is the Kaiser on the background of the Sièges Allée, who has first promoted himself, then the Hohenzollerns, and then the interests of Germany with all the zest of the foremost shareholder and president of the corporation. No German in the German hothouse of industry has worked harder than he. He has kept himself up to the mark and tried to keep his people up to the mark. ”

“ On assuming office, the Federal President shall take the following oath in the presence of the assembled members of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat:
"I swear that I shall dedicate my strength to the well-being of the German people, enhance what is to its advantage, ward off what might harm it, uphold and defend the Basic Law and the laws of the Federation, fulfil my duties conscientiously and do justice to every man. So help me God." ”

“ The President's accounts of difficulties in finding men for responsible positions in various branches of the service, and his clear statements of the proper line to be observed in political dealings between the United States and Europe where South American interests were concerned, showed him to be a broad-minded statesman. During my stay with him, we also discussed one or two points in his forthcoming message to Congress, and in due time it was received at Berlin, attracting general respect and admiration in Germany, as throughout Europe generally. ”

“ They would form the Universal United States, with an hereditary and all-powerful president—the Emperor of Germany—receiving all the benefits of Germanic culture, working disciplined under his industrial direction. ”

“ This letter I forwarded to Roosevelt; but although he was ever ready to vitalize the machinery of the Hague Tribunal, advice coming from Mr. Schurz at this time was not regarded with favor, possibly because of their previous differences. In his reply to me, however, the President showed what a clear and prophetic insight he had into Germany's attitude and purposes:
Modern Germany is alert, aggressive, military and industrial. ”

“ The ruling classes in Germany have begun of late to profess a like liberality and justice of purpose, but only to preserve the power they have set up in Germany and the selfish advantages which they have wrongly gained for themselves and their private projects of power all the way from Berlin to Bagdad and beyond. ”

“ If the great and enlightened German States, occupying, as they do, a central and commanding position in Europe, shall succeed in establishing such a confederated government, securing at the same time to the citizens of each State local governments adapted to the peculiar condition of each, with unrestricted trade and intercourse with each other, it will be an important era in the history of human events. Whilst it will consolidate and strengthen the power of Germany, it must essentially promote the cause of peace, commerce, civilization, and constitutional liberty throughout the world. ”

“ Ultimately, after almost three decades of division, the Berlin Wall came down and the people of Germany were reunited. Today, Americans and Germans are working together to ensure that democracy will be an abiding legacy for future generations throughout Europe. ”

“ The Berlin Airlift demonstrated the American commitment to the defense of freedom when, still recovering from war, Berlin was threatened by strangulation from the Soviets.
Today, the Federal Republic of Germany is a bulwark of democracy in the heart of a divided Europe. Germans and Americans are rightfully proud of our common values as well as our shared heritage. ”

“ These German-Americans, co-operating with some of the Americans in Berlin, kept informing the Foreign Office, the army and navy as well as influential Reichstag members that the real power behind the government over here was not the press and public opinion but the nine million Americans who were directly or indirectly related to Germany. ”

“ The German people will never forget that its unity, personified in the Empire, is the principal condition of its power, its greatness and its prosperity. And the Empire will infallibly find the surest guarantee of its stability in the progressive development of free institutions. The Germans are like every other strong people—fidelity will increase with freedom. So we wish most sincerely and we confidently hope, that united Germany may flourish and blossom forever, a glory and a blessing to herself and to all the world! ”

“ It is hardly necessary to demonstrate the political importance of such cooperation for Germany and for the world at large; the importance is self-evident in view of the numerical strength of the German social democracy. ”

“ I frankly admit that the perfect form of government does not exist, and that the genius of Germany may evolve some form as good as, or even better than, existing constitutions.
But Germany must understand that it will take time to convince the world, which has so much reason to distrust her, that this sudden change is to be a permanent reality. Fortunately the stages which I have described do not require for their accomplishment more than the hope that Germany has set out on the right path. ”

“ When once the German people have a controlling voice in the government, then, and not till then, can other governments believe the word of the statesmen at Berlin. But at present the citizens of Germany have little real power. For, while they can elect members of the Reichstag, the Reichstag can pass no laws, for above this body is the national council, whose members are appointed by the Kaiser and the other kings and grand dukes. ”

“ But, as I have time and again reiterated, the Reichstag has only the power of public opinion; and the Germany of to-day is ruled by officials appointed from above downwards. All of these officials in Germany must be added to the other classes that I have mentioned. There are more officials there than in any other country in the world. As they owe their very existence to the government, they must not only serve that government, but also make the enemies of that government their own. Therefore, they and the circle of their connections are opponents of the Social Democrats. ”

“ They, the élite of Germany, would soon be able to drive onwards the senile Lieutenant of the Empire, and his vacillating ministers, and in case that was impossible they would—there could be no doubt about it—by force of the sovereign right of the people, depose that impotent Government, and replace it by an energetic, indefatigable Executive, who would assure the salvation of Germany. ”

“ To some German thinkers the conception of the State presents itself in a manner which by no means comes natural to the Englishman. To the German the State is an entity as obvious, real, and apparent as the individual citizen. It is not just the head of Germany, or the sixty-five millions of Germans, or the Kaiser, or the army, or the Government. It is just itself, the State, and it has attributes and powers, is the object of duties and possessor of rights just like any Hamburg merchant or Prussian Junker. ”

“ Once appointed, there is no way of getting rid of them against the will of the President, no matter how inefficient or even harmful they may be to the best interests of the country. The German constitution confers much more effective power upon the people and the people's representatives. Its article 54 provides:
"The Chancellor and the ministers of the Reich require the confidence of the Reichstag for the conduct of their offices. ”

“ Almost totally deprived of political spirit and personal judgment the German people had let themselves be convinced that it was only in the hands of the monarchy, the army, and the bureaucracy that the affairs of the nation were best and most safely conducted; and they naturally came to think that the prosperity in Germany in economic and in technical matters, as well as its development in social matters, was undeniable proof of the excellence of the monarchical system. No political party dreamed of incorporating in its program the establishment of a republic. ”

“ This week, our Government is breaking ground for a new Embassy in historic Berlin, exemplifying America's support of a unified Germany. Sharing a common commitment to freedom, peace, and prosperity, the citizens of Germany and America can build a better future for the benefit of all nations. ”

“ At the Congress which will meet after the war it will be easy for the nations of the world to deal with the representatives of a liberal Germany, with representatives of a government still monarchical in form, but possessed of either a constitution like that of the United States or ruled by a parliamentary government. I believe that the tendency of German liberalism is towards the easiest transition, that of making the Chancellor and his ministers responsible to the Reichstag and bound to resign after a vote of want of confidence by that body. ”

“ It is a mistake to suppose that there are dissensions or differences of opinion in the German nation, or that the Kaiser or the military party has imposed war on the people. In modern times [Pg 216] it would not be possible for even an absolute monarch to force an unwilling people into such a momentous step. The German Government is the product and expression of the German people. They have made it and, having created it, they are proud of their work. ”

“ The cherished aspiration for national unity which for ages has inspired the many millions of people speaking the same language, inhabiting a contiguous and compact territory, but unnaturally separated and divided by dynastic jealousies and the ambition of short-sighted rulers, has been attained, and Germany now contains a population of about 34,000,000, united, like our own, under one Government for its relations with other powers, but retaining in its several members the right and power of control of their local interests, habits, and institutions. ”

“ Truth will hew a way for itself—mightily, irresistibly, like an avalanche. Whoever does not close his ears to it against his better judgment must admit that, during my twenty-six-year reign previous to the war, Germany's foreign policy was directed solely to the maintenance of peace. Its one and only aim was to protect our sacred native soil, threatened from the west and the east, and the peaceful development of our commerce and political economy. ”

“ In this respect they are false to the logic of the origin of German political unity. The union was accomplished with the assistance of the democracy and on a foundation of universal suffrage. As Germany has become more of a nation, the democracy has acquired more substantial power; but its increase in numbers and weight has not been accompanied by any increase of official recognition. The political organization of Germany is consequently losing touch with those who represent one essential aspect of the national growth. ”

“ There is, in the mind of the public generally, a theory that Germany with its Bundesrath and Reichstag has a government akin to that of England and even the United States, but the impression is an erroneous one. It is true that Germany has a dual system of government and independent state sovereignties. There is, however, nothing democratic about the system.
To begin with, the Kaiser is a constitutional monarch in his capacity as German Emperor, but as King of Prussia he is a self-appointed and arrogant ruler—all that he advertises himself to be in the way of a God-chosen ruler. ”

“ To-day political Germany as a whole is a thinly disguised military despotism, and the Reichstag, the popular assembly, is not much more efficacious than any respectable debating society. But outside the form of German political life are two million workingmen, including three-fourths of the trade-unionists of the country, who have had an excellent training, through their local organization, their annual congresses, and their press, in the methods and procedure, in the problems and responsibilities, of democratic self-government ”

“ As one in Germany senses efficiency, one as quickly becomes conscious of the all-seeing eye and the all-guiding hand of the Government. We have nothing like that in America, and for an American in France there is no such supervision. Life in Prussia is at present, for the diplomat of a neutral country, much like skating on thin ice. Several of the younger diplomats in Berlin have unconsciously committed acts considered indiscreet by the German Government, and so ended their usefulness in Germany. ”

“ Questions which have had a continuous interest, or which have had some lasting effect on Germany’s policy, such as the attitude toward Alsace-Lorraine, the Social Democratic party, the retirement of Bismarck, the development of the navy, the Morocco question, have been treated at greater length on the first fitting occasion. ”

“ Up to the present time this responsibility and power have on the whole been deserved by the manner in which they have been exercised. German nationality as an efficient political and economic force has been wrought by skillful and patriotic management out of materials afforded by military and political opportunities and latent national ties and traditions. During the eighteenth century the Prussian monarchy came to understand that the road to effective political power in Germany was by way of a military efficiency, disproportionate to the resources and population of the Kingdom. ”

“ For the success of these institutions, we must suppose a sufficiently firm political education and intelligence, a public that knows its wishes and how to make them prevail, a Parliament and a Cabinet skilled in recognizing the wishes of the nation and ready to submit to them. Because of the mistrust of parliamentarism, it has been decided that the President shall be elected directly by the people. He is endowed with power by the nation and placed near to the Reichstag in order to control it. ”

“ The German royal family is of the blood of the nation; it always had the picturesque qualities of military leadership; and it represented, even more than in England, the magnificence of national success and the new unity of German patriotism. Although the growth of the Socialist party has gone on{137} surely, inside these very evident aspects of loyalty, it would seem that so long as Germany had to be organised on a war basis it would accept a dictatorship that is intelligent. Only when the Throne became stupid, the trouble would begin. ”