The intimate papers of Colonel House arranged as a narrative by Charles Seymour.

CONVERSATION WITH THE KAISER

255

or fifteen feet away, quite out of hearing. At first I thought
I would never get His Majesty past his hobbies, but finally
I drew him to the subject I had come to discuss.... I found
him much less prejudiced and much less belligerent than von
Tirpitz. He declared he wanted peace because it seemed to
Germany's interest. Germany had been poor, she was now
growing rich, and a few more years of peace would make her
so. "She was menaced on every side. The bayonets of
Europe were directed at her," and much more of this he
gave me. Of England, he spoke kindly and admiringly.
England, America, and Germany were kindred peoples and
should draw closer together. Of other nations he had but
little opinion....
'He spoke of the folly of England forming an alliance with
the Latins and Slays, who had no sympathy with our ideals
and purposes and who were vacillating and unreliable as
allies. He spoke of them as being semi-barbarous, and of
England, Germany, and the United States as being the only
hope of advancing Christian civilization....
'I thought Russia was the greatest menace to England and
it was to England's advantage that Germany was in a position to hold Russia in check, and that Germany was the
barrier between Europe and the Slavs. I found no difficulty
in getting him to admit this.
'He spoke of the impossibility of Great Britain being able
to make a permanent and satisfactory alliance with either
Russia or France. I told him that the English were very
much concerned over his ever-growing navy, which taken
together with his enormous army constituted a menace; and
there might come a time when they would have to decide
whether they ran more danger from him and his people
making a successful invasion than they did from Russia, and
the possibility of losing their Asiatic colonies. I thought
when that point was reached, the decision would be against
Germany.