police to his assistance, commandeered cabs for the officials and their wives, who hung on to their husbands and said they would follow them to prison or even to death, and the cabs were driven to the army headquarters at Berlin to await the captain. When the prisoners arrived at their destination headquarters knew nothing about the affair, and were very much surprised at what had occurred, but were not surprised that the "captain" did not, in fulfilment of his promise, rejoin his prisoners with the cash of Koepenick. Of course the mayor and treasurer were sent back, looking rather foolish, and ultimately the "captain" was caught and, amidst the laughter of the world, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Could any Englishman in the wildest flights of his imagination imagine the town clerk and treasurer of a town twelve miles from London submitting, as did these officials of Koepenick, to arrest and the seizure of the town's money under such circumstances? Nothing can illustrate better than does this incident the absolutist character of Prussian-German government.
The Kaiser, the autocrat of the Germans, is one of the most complex personalities of modern times His ideas in regard to government and war are mediaeval and even somewhat barbaric. In the year 1900, in an address to the German soldiers about to leave for the front in China, he said: "When you meet the foe you will defeat him. No quarter will be given, no prisoners will be taken. Let all who fall into your hands be at your mercy. Just as the Huns a thousand years ago, under the leadership of Attila, gained a reputation in virtue of which they still live in historical tradition, so may the name of Germany become known in such a manner in China that no Chinaman will ever again even dare to look askance at a German." On another occasion he told some recruits: "You may have to fire on your own parents or brothers. Prove your fidelity then by your sacrifice."
On the other hand, his ideas in regard to trade and commerce are extremely modern. He regards Germany as a commercial undertaking of which he is the head and leader. So he surrounds himself with merchant and financial princes, delighting in their company, and eager to co-operate with them in their enterprises. He is himself the owner and actual manager of many industrial concerns, including a great brewery. His most intimate friend, Prince Furstenburg, is one of the greatest of Germany's commercial heroes and one of the richest men in the empire.
He countenances Pan-Germanism, one of the chief objects of Of which is to engender hatred of Britain, and, at the same time, he himself professes the greatest personal friendship for this country and her people.
