234 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-XIX 



a great merchant navy, and compares it with what has been 

 accomplished during the last fifty years by the steady, 

 earnest, honest enterprise of Germany, with merely its 

 little strip of coast on a northern inland sea, and with 

 only the Hanseatic ports as a basis, he may well have 

 searchings of heart. The &quot;Shipping Trust&quot; seems to be 

 the main outcome of our activity, and lines of the finest 

 steamers running to all parts of the world the outcome 

 of theirs. There is a history here which we may well 

 ponder; the young Emperor has not only thought but 

 acted upon it. 



As to yet broader work, the crucial test of a ruler is 

 his ability to select men, to stand by them when he has 

 selected them, and to decide wisely how far the plans 

 which he has thought out, and they have thought out, can 

 be fused into a policy worthy of his country. Judged by 

 this test, the young monarch would seem worthy of his 

 position; the men he has called to the various min 

 istries are remarkably fit for their places, several of them 

 showing very high capacity, and some of them genius. 



As to his relation to the legislative bodies, it is some 

 times claimed that he has lost much by his too early and 

 open proclamation of his decisions, intentions, and wishes ; 

 and it can hardly be denied that something must be par 

 doned to the ardor of his patriotic desire to develop the 

 empire in all its activities; but, after all due allowance 

 has been made, there remains undeniable evidence of his 

 statesmanlike ability to impress his views upon the na 

 tional and state legislatures. A leading member of one 

 of the parliamentary groups, very frequently in opposi 

 tion to government measures, said to me: &quot; After all, it is 

 impossible for us to resist him; he knows Germany so 

 well, and his heart is so thoroughly in his proposals, that 

 he is sure to gain his points sooner or later. 



An essential element of strength in this respect is his 

 acquaintance with men and things in every part of his 

 empire. Evidences of this were frequent in his public 

 letters and telegrams to cities, towns, groups, and indi- 



