友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
合租小说网 返回本书目录 加入书签 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 『收藏到我的浏览器』

part05+-第37部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!









I may say; before closing this subject; that Thomas Jefferson's



famous letter to Governor Langdon; describing royal personages as



he knew them while minister to France before the French



Revolution; no longer applies。 The events which followed the



Revolution taught the crowned heads of Europe that they could no



longer indulge in the good old Bourbon; Hapsburg; and Braganza



idleness and stupidity。 Modern European sovereigns; almost



without exception; work for their living; and work hard。 Few



business men go through a more severe training; or a longer and



harder day of steady work; than do most of the contemporary



sovereigns of Europe。 This fact especially struck me on my



presentation; about this time; to one of the best of the minor



monarchs; the King of Wurtemberg。 I found him a hearty; strong;



active…minded manthe sort of man whom we in America would call



〃level…headed〃 and 〃a worker。〃 Learning that I had once passed a



winter in Stuttgart; he detained me long with a most interesting



account of the improvements which had been made in the city since



my visit; and showed public spirit of a sort very different from



that which animated the minor potentates of Germany in the last



century。 The same may be said of the Grand Duke of Baden; who; in



a long conversation; impressed me as a gentleman of large and



just views; understanding the problems of his time and thoroughly



in sympathy with the best men and movements。







Republican as I am; this acknowledgment must be made。 The



historical lessons of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries;



and the pressure of democracy; are obliging the monarchs of



Europe to fit themselves for their duties wisely and to discharge



them intelligently。 But this is true only of certain ruling



houses。 There seems to be a 〃survival of the fittest。〃 At various



periods in my life I have also had occasion to observe with some



care various pretenders to European thrones; among them the



husband of Queen Isabella of Spain; Prince Napoleon Victor; the



heir to the Napoleonic throne; the Duke of Orleans; Don Carlos;



the representative of the Spanish Bourbons; with sundry others;



and it would be hard to conceive persons more utterly unfit or



futile。







As to the conduct of Germany during our war with Spain; while the



press; with two or three exceptions; was anything but friendly;



and while a large majority of the people were hostile to us on



account of the natural sympathy with a small power battling



against a larger one; the course of the Imperial Government;



especially of the Foreign Office under Count von Bulow and Baron



von Richthofen; was all that could be desired。 Indeed; they went



so far on one occasion as almost to alarm us。 The American consul



at Hamburg having notified me by telephone that a Spanish vessel;



supposed to be loaded with arms for use against us in Cuba; was



about to leave that port; I hastened to the Foreign Office and



urged that vigorous steps be taken; with the result that the



vessel; which in the meantime had left Hamburg; was overhauled



and searched at the mouth of the Elbe。 The German Government



might easily have pleaded; in answer to my request; that the



American Government had generally shown itself opposed to any



such interference with the shipments of small arms to



belligerents; and had contended that it was not obliged to search



vessels to find such contraband of war; but that this duty was



incumbent upon the belligerent nation concerned。 This evidence of



the fairness of Germany I took pains to make known; and in my



address at the American celebration in Leipsic on the Fourth of



July declared my belief that the hostility of the German people



and press at large was only temporary; and that the old good



relations would be restored。 Knowing that my speech would be



widely quoted in the German press; I took even more pains to show



the reasons why we could bide our time and trust to the



magnanimity of the German people。 Of one thing I then and always



reminded my hearersnamely; that during our Civil War; when our



national existence was trembling in the balance and our foreign



friends were few; the German press and people were steadily on



our side。







The occasion was indeed a peculiar one。 On the morning of the



Fourth; when we had all assembled; bad news came。 Certain German



presses had been very prompt to patch together all sorts of



accounts of American defeats; and to present them in the most



unpleasant way possible; but while we were seated at table in the



evening came a despatch announcing the annihilation of the



Spanish fleet in Cuban waters; and this put us all in good humor。



One circumstance may serve to show the bitterness at heart among



Americans at this period。 On entering the dining…hall with our



consul; I noticed two things: first; that the hall was profusely



decorated in a way I had never seen before and had never expected



to seenamely; by intertwined American and British flags; and;



secondly; that there was not a German flag in the room。 I



immediately sent for the proprietor and told him that I would not



sit down to dinner until a German flag was brought in。 He at



first thought it impossible to supply the want; but; on my



insisting; a large flag was at last found。 This was speedily



given a place of honor among the interior decorations of our



hall; and all then went on satisfactorily。







As the war with Spain progressed; various causes of difficulty



arose between Germany and the United States; but I feel bound to



say that the German Government continued to act toward us with



justice。 The sensational press; indeed; continued its work on



both sides of the Atlantic。 On our side it took pains to secure



and publish stories of insults by the German Admiral Diederichs



to the American Admiral Dewey; and to develop various legends



regarding these two commanders。 As a matter of fact; each of the



two admirals; when their relations first began in Manila; was



doubtless rather stiff and on his guard against the other; but



these feelings soon yielded to different sentiments。







The foolish utterances of various individuals; spread by sundry



American papers; were heartily echoed in the German press; the



most noted among these being an alleged after…dinner speech by an



American officer at a New York club; and a Congressional speech



in which the person who made it declared that 〃the United States;



having whipped Spain; ought now to whip Germany。〃 Still; the



thinking men intrusted with the relations between the two



countries labored on; though at times there must have recurred to



us a sense of the divine inspiration of Schiller's words;



〃Against stupidity even the gods fight in vain。〃







Of course the task of the embassy in protecting American citizens



abroad was especially increased in those times of commotion。 At



such periods the number of ways in which American citizens;



native or naturalized; can get into trouble seems infinite; and



here; too; even from the first moment of my arrival in Berlin as



ambassador; I saw evidences of the same evil which had struck me



during my previous missions in Berlin and St。 Petersburgnamely;



the constant and ingenious efforts to prostitute American



citizenship。 Among the manifold duties of an ambassador is the



granting of passports。 The great majority of those who ask for



them are entitled to them; but there are always a considerable



number of persons who; having left Europe just in time to escape



military service; have stayed in America just long enough to



acquire American citizenship; and then; having returned to their



native country; seek to enjoy the advantages of both countries



while discharging the duties of neither。 Even worse were the



cases of the descendants of such so…called Americans; most of



them born in Europe and not able even to speak the English



language; worst of all were the cases of sundry



Russianssometimes stigmatized as 〃predatory Hebrews〃who;



having left Russia and gone to America; had stayed just long



enough to acquire citizenship; and then returned and settled in



the eastern part of Germany; as near the Russian frontier as



possible。 These were naturally regarded as fraudulent interlopers



by both the German and Russian authorities; and much trouble



resulted。 Some of them led a life hardly outside the limits of



criminality; but they never hesitated on this account to insist



on their claims to American protection。 When they were reminded



that American citizenship was conferred upon them; not that they



might shirk its duties and misuse its advantages in the land of



their birth; but that they might enjoy it and discharge its



duties in the land of their adoption; they scouted the idea and



insisted on their right; as American citizens; to live where they



pleased。 Their communications to the embassy were; almost without



exception; in German; Russian; or Polish; very few of them wrote



or even spoke English; and very many of them could neither read



nor write in any language。 For the hard…working immigrant;



whether Jew or Gentile; who comes to our country and casts in his



lot with us; to take his share not only of privilege but of duty;



I have the fullest respect and sympathy; and have always been



glad to intervene in his favor; but intervention in behalf of



those fraudulent pretenders I always felt t
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!