Before he slunk across the frontier the Emperor told a
correspon- dent of the Cologne Gazette that he had not wished for the war, and had not taken part in the Councils of July, 1914, at whioh the fatal decision was reached. Herr von Bethmann Hollweg, the Chan- cellor of that time, and Herr von Jagow were responsible for the war, said the Emperor ; he himself was kept in ignorance. Touch- stone would have desired no better example of the Lie Direct. As recently as June 15th last, when he celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of his accession at Main Headquarters, the Emperor boasted that he knew far better than his people what the war meant from the first, and that his plans and calculations were unchanged by the popular enthusiasm for the war. In June the Emperor gloried in " his war " ; in November he put all the blame on his civilian Ministers. Such a man is obviously devoid of any moral sense or any self-respect. His son, the Crown Prince, has also bared his craven soul in an interview with an American journalist. He denies that he wanted war, and blames the .General Staff for all Germany's crimes and blunders, and especially for not trying to make peace after the defeat on the Mame in 1914. The eon and the father are an ignoble pair.
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