763.72/2275½
The Ambassador in Germany (Gerard) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 23.]
Dear Mr. Secretary: Kirk duly arrived here.7
There have been uneasy movements among the people in Leipzig, a great industrial center, and the Volkszeitung, a Socialist paper there, has been put under permanent preventive censorship.
All these movements start with the question of the price of food.
The Prussian Junkers, however, are really benefiting by the war. They get, even with a high “stop price”, three times as much as formerly for their agricultural products and pay only a small sum, 60 pfennigs daily, for the prisoners of war who now work their fields. They may in addition have to pay the keep of the prisoners, but that is very small. Camp commanders are allowed 66 pfennigs per head per diem.
[Page 667]Some of the prison camps are still very bad. I visited one of these at Wittenberg yesterday.
There is much talk of peace and the shares of the Hamburg America Line and the shares of the Hamburg South America Line have risen enormously in price, from I think 56 to 140 in one case. This may be caused by an advantageous sale of some shares of the Holland America Line or by promise of a subsidy or by hopes of peace.
There is no question but that every man under 45 that can drag a rifle has been impressed for the Army, with the possible exception of men working in railways, munitions, etc.
Yesterday I noticed many women working on the road bed of the railway.
The new Peruvian Minister is named von der Heyde; his father was a German.
The Greek Minister still thinks Greece will stay out of the war. His father is one of the Zaimis cabinet.
The Germans are very glad to get rid of Brand Whitlock—they have been looking for an excuse for some time.
The dyestuff and other chemical manufacturers are getting quite scared about possible American competition. I hope the Democrats will give protection to these new industries and will also enact some “anti-dumping” legislation.
The German cities are adding to the general weight of debt by incurring large debts for war purposes, such as relief of soldiers’ families, etc.
I have a shooting tract ¾ of an hour by motor from the door. On it there is a village which gives an index of the number in war and the killed. Inhabitants, 600. In war, 60. Killed, 8. Prisoners, 3. 1 only badly wounded, others all recovering and going back.
The former Turkish Ambassador who is against the Young Turks is living here. He is afraid to go back and also the Germans are keeping him in stock in case the Young Turks go out of power— also possibly to stir up trouble in Egypt as his wife is a daughter of one of the Khedives.
Yours ever
- Alexander C. Kirk, secretary of embassy.↩