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1

CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

BOOKS BY HERMAN BERNSTEIN

IN THE GATES OF ISRAEL, Stories of the Jews.
CONTRITE HEARTS, a Novel
WITH MASTER MINDS, Interviews.

THE WILLY-NICKY CORRESPONDENCE, Telegrams Between
the Kaiser and the Tsar.

(With a Foreword by Theodore Roosevelt]

THE HISTORY OF A LIE, an Expose of the Protocols of the
Wise Men of Zion.

Translations by Herman Bernstein

THE FORGED COUPON AND OTHER STORIES, by Count Leo
Tolstoy.

FOMA GORDEYEV, A NOVEL, by Maxim Gorky.
TWENTY Six AND ONE, STORIES, by Maxim Gorky.

THE SEVEN WHO WERE HANGED, A STORY, by Leonid
Andreyev.

ANATHEMA, A PLAY, by Leonid Andreyev.

THE SORROWS OF BELGIUM, A PLAY, by Leonid Andreyev.

THE CRUSHED FLOWER AND OTHER STORIES, by Leonid
Andreyev.

THE WALTZ OF THE DOGS, A PLAY, by Leonid Andreyev.
SAMSON IN CHAINS, A PLAY, by Leonid Andreyev.
KATERINA, A PLAY, by Leonid Andreyev.

CELEBRITS&
OF OUR TIME 1

INTERVIEWS

BY

HERMAN BERNSTEIN

JL

NEW YORK
JOSEPH LAWREN

PUBLISHER

Copyright, 1924, by
HERMAN BERNSTEIN

PBIWED IN XT. S. A.

VAIL-BALLOU PRESS, INC.

BINQHAMTON AMD NEW YORK

To

EDWARD M. HOUSE

The liberal American statesman

Who is intimately familiar with

American and Foreign affairs

and deeply interested in their betterment

This volume is inscribed
as a token of friendship and admiration.

HERMAN BERNSTEIN.

JAN 14 1943

Acknowledgment is due to The New York Times,
The New York Herald, The New York Sun, The
New York World, The New York American and
Our World for permission to reproduce these inter
views which originally appeared in these publi
cations.

A few of my interviews reproduced here ap
peared also in 1913, in a privately printed little
volume entitled "With Master Minds" the entire
edition' of which has been exhausted since

H.B.

PREFACE

During tie past fifteen years, I have met celebrities under
all conditions and in many lands. Some were only get-
notorious-quick celebrities, made suddenly by some unusual
situation, wearing the garments of momentary grandeur,
their glories dimming and their personalities fading in a
descent as rapid as their rise.

In contrast to these were other celebrities whom I trav
elled thousands of miles to meet. These were the men who
by their genius for art, science and government, touched
close to the springs of life; 'who were the real, even though
sometimes unrecognized, hewers of circumstances.

I have thus met practically every outstanding figure of
my time who has influenced thought and shaped important
events. I have experienced the stimulating pleasure of dis
cussing with these geniuses in their own work-shops, in the
studies where they conceived and executed their great work,
those questions which had been raised in their writings,
researches, or by their political activities.

Always and everywhere I have gone to the f ountainhead.
What gratified me most is that acquaintance with a number
of these men deepened into friendship, establishing relation
ships that I treasure with pride.

I do not know how many tens of thousands of miles I
have traversed in the course of these journeys, during the
past fifteen years. Though at times beset with numerous
hardships, it has been in the main a pleasant road. The

viii PREFACE

days enroute were spiced with incident and color. I have
come to know the sea at all times of the year the Atlantic
and the Pacific, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the
Arctic Ocean. I have seen the little comedies of tourist
and professional travel, as well as the stark tragedies of
the war, which I viewed not only on military and diplomatic
fronts, but also in the homes of the people involved in
the war.

What were the emotions experienced on meeting these
celebrated men? I am often asked. Some of them have
been to the mind what a dip in the surf is to the body on
a hot day, or like the clean, strong, invigorating November
wind. Some I am thinking principally of Leo Tolstoy
have been like the calm effulgence of the setting sun, illumi
nating heaven and earth as the day is dying. A visit to one
was like a day in a fairyland grotto, a place where magic
arts were thriving. With one's intellect and vision I was
millions of miles away from the earth, gazing with a cold,
detached laboratory view upon the vanities of the human
species. Another showed me the world as a circus, of which
he was the clown, the rest of mankind the donkeys in the
show, and the Olympian gods as the laughing audience.
Some of them were electric currents transmitting their high-
powered voltage of revolution through the minds of mil
lions of human beings. Among them were apostles of
peace and leaders of unrest.

I have seen the war at close range I have seen the
militarist diplomats and politicians, blind with passion,
wild with vengeance, savage from the sight of blood, craving
conquest and power. They turned the world into a mad
house, into a huge cemetery, while all of them were reading
the same Bible, praying to the same God to destroy the

PREFACE ix

enemy the people who did not know one another, who had
no real grievance against one another, who wanted peace
and work and happiness. I have seen the real victims of
the war the children. And I wondered as I looked at
them : What will the young generation think of us when
it grows up and sees the truth behind the war? What
ideals will it have? What standard of morality? What
respect for law and order? What sense of sympathy?
After the most bloody war in history, in which the very
dreams of inventors were harnessed for destruction, what
respect will the children have for the life of a human being?
The tears and the blood that irrigated the devastated fields,
what harvests will they yield?

And I have seen the peace. I have seen the victims of
peace in various lands. And though five and a half years
have elapsed since the armistice, peace has not yet been
restored. The war spirit is not yet demobilized in many
lands. New conflicts, new strife and new hatreds have
sprung up. Instead of peace without victory, we have
victory without peace.

The interviews included in this book are perhaps the most
characteristic among the hundreds of talks I have had with
celebrities in various lands. I have made no attempt at
fine writing, but have endeavored to secure from the celeb
rities their views on problems which interested them and
me, and on which they could speak with authority. I
have also tried to present their views faithfully.

I have not changed these articles, and have indicated in
each instance the time and place of the interview, so that

x PREFACE

the reader may be able to judge who of these celebrities
read the future clearly and who was short-sighted.

The subjects touched in this book are varied and are of
necessity treated in a fragmentary manner. Yet the flashes
of thought of the men occupying such conspicuous posts
in the activities of the world during the most stirring period
in history may prove of peculiar interest to all sorts and
conditions of readers.

If the interviews in this collection should lead the reader
to a closer study of the work of some of these famous men,
I shall feel that this book has served its purpose.

HERMAN BERNSTEIN.
New York, June 21, 1924.

CONTENTS

PREFACE vii

LEO TOLSTOY 3

"The only man in Russia who dares to tell the truth" Idol of the
people A priest's homage "A man not of this world" Opposed to
violence Disciple of Henry George The Single Tax ideally suited
to Russia Decadence in literature Jewish Question Darwinism
Religious treatises Letters from Tchertkoff and Tolstoy.

SERGIUS WITTE 17

The man who could not be downed "Operation" to save Russia
Nothing in Pan- Slavism The Amur Railway a blunder European
literature declining Prophecy of bright future for Russia.

The most acute and painful problem Product of Russian imperial
ism Complicated by peasant land problem Equal rights only solu
tion of Jewish question Witte hated by Tsar, reactionaries, and
revolutionists Arbitration as substitute for war Armed peace little
better than war "The next war" Sin fulness of war not admitted
Religion not applied to life.

LEONID ANDREYEV 43

Most popular writer Denounced by Countess Tolstoy Life
stronger than truth or falsehood No drama in Russia Gorky and
America Russia, a lunatic asylum '"The Seven who were hanged."

ELIE METCHNIKOFF 56

His arrival in St. Petersburg a front page sensation Apostle of
optimism Welcomes return of youth to science Gift of Osiris,
Jewish banker, to Pasteur Institute Fighting premature senility
Science must bring happiness His "sour milk'* theory His opinion
of American scientists His biography What Russia loses by her
anti-Jewish policy His visit to Tolstoy Religious views Women
are superior "in matters of the heart."

MAXIME KOVALEVSKY 68

A constitution in chains Tsar or Duma? An architect-builder
of the new Russia Has the revolution failed? Agrarian questions
Cynical pursuit of class interests in Duma The Myth of Jew-
hatred Literature does not flourish in periods of transition.

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM 75

The spiritual chief of Islam His authority greater than that of
Parliament A scene in the Sulieman Mosque A modest leader Are
Constitution and Koran compatible? Sultan and Kaiser Islam
and other faiths The emancipation, of women Zionism Turkey a
field for American capital.

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 88

Prophet of discontent Best known commoner in Berlin German
writers spoiled by prosperity The Americanization of Europe

3d

xii CONTENTS

Germany must have colonies War inevitable America erred in
Japanese policy Mohammed and Robespierre do not rhyme well
Only a war can bring Russia to a new uprising:.

Harden during the war America not "Dollarland" Germany and
America misunderstand each other Hyphenated citizens out of place
in America The last war or madness Nations in war without definite
objective Great nations cannot be destroyed by war An age of
small statesmen America to be Mistress of the world Germany's
Polish policy.

BERNARD SHAW no

Shaw on Tolstoy The Henderson biography "America is a land
of unthinking; bigoted persecution" He favors an American religion
Periodic peace movements Drama in England hopeless Anti-
Semitism and massacres The Life Force.

ATJOUSTE RODIN 120

Creator of an art epoch "Rodin's Muse" an American woman
The contribution of Thomas F. Ryan Ancient art alone is
perfects Art museums a mistake Mission of Art is morality,
religion America's future as an art center Woman unchangeable
What is art? Hands Rodin's modesty Art's future is hopeful
Patience, perseverance in art Art and woman A definition of
Genius Eroticism in art.

HAVELOCK ELLIS 136

Tactics of British "suffragettes" incorrect Woman's surprises
No special aptitude for the arts Russia and Spain Roosevelt and
Race suicide Poe, supreme American writer.

HENRI BERGSON 143

Popular philosopher Bergsonian sumrnariaer America's contri
bution His method of working John Dewey and Felix Adler
Religion in America Mind and immortality His tastes in literature
Woman suffrage He believes in experimenting Immigration and
the American type Jewish question Zionism Racial qualities
largely habits.

POPE BENEDICT XV

An unceremonious audience The Polish-Jewish tragedy Ger
many's peace terms in 1915 The lost archbishop Uncoiling to
prophesy Difficulties of neutrality Letter of American Jews to
PopeThe Pope's message.

HANS DELBRTJECK 167

Who began the war? Germany to bring- liberty to oppressed
nations Russia responsible for militarism Germany needs colonies
Not militaristic Annexation of Belgium German plans for
Poland and Baltic provinces Separate peace.

ISVOLSKY . . , 175

^ The man who made the war His intrigues as related by a French
diplomat Jaures, martyr to peace Four invasions of France.

ALEXANDER KERENSKY 186

On the top of the wave of Revolution The "hope of the new
Russia** German intrigue against him Main problem revolutionary

CONTENTS xiii

defense Plea for America's help His opinion of President Wilson.

A fugitive from Russia in London Have the Allies' forgotten
Russia's services? Russia ignored Barriers and partitions.

Among the Russian "saviors" in Paris Living on a pearl a week
America's lost opportunity President Wilson and the Diplomats
Bolshe-vism's horrors past Russia's needs Japan's occupation of
Siberia an international outrage World War only the first of a
series Normal relations with Russia will break Communist regime.

PRINCE PETER KROPOTKIN 197

The exile's return to Russia A revolutionist persecuted by "revo
lutionists" Bolsheviks not Socialists Not the time for writing
or speaking Effect of Brest-Litovsk treaty Russia becoming vassal
of Germany How arrest this movement? America's help in the
west Corn, tractors, rolling stock.

LEO TROTZKY 205

A man hard to reach Allies misunderstood revolution and are
helping Germany A secret agreement between Germany and Japan
A peace that is no peace Remobilization 'Letter to Lenin and
Stalin.

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 213

""How are the mighty fallen!" Bolshevist vigilance Who began
the war? Interviews with the Kaiser A scapegoat Insight into
Russian intrigue Extracts from the memoirs of a deposed minister
Khvostoff on Rasputin The blunders and intrigues of Grand Duke
Nicholas.

MARQUIS OKUMA 232

Japan's mission in Siberia The salvation of Russia China and
Muscovy Sees future United States of Russia Bolshevism diagnosed
Possibility for durable peace.

ROBERT CECIL 239

Military intervention Insane economic arrangements in German
peace treaty Treaty may have to be amended Greatest criminal
in world's history Sir Edward Grey's letter If nations had been
united and dispute referred to conference, there would have been no
war.

LEONID KRASSIN 244

What is Russia? Disorganization due to upheaval Other coun
tries similarly affected Allied assaults against Russia Majority of
population better off Peasants adhere to Soviet Regime indestruct
ible Willing to discuss foreign debts* America's importance in
regeneration of Russia.

CHAIM WEIZMANN 254

His pledge to the world Recent progress in Palestine The
pioneers Influence of Zionism in Near East Arab-Jewish relations
Future seat of League of Nations?

ALBERT EINSTEIN 267

Relativity of nationality Hebrew University in Jerusalem a neces
sity Condition of European-Jewish students Preserving neglected
Hebrew learning The initial scheme of organization.

xiv CONTENTS

MAX NORDAU 272

Modern Jewish prophet The Jews in the war Their number
Their casualties Their sufferings Why did they fight? The
War's balance sheet What have the Jews gained? Their conditions
in all countries The Miracle of Palestine Two tragic problems
The Eastern Jew The Western Jew Zionism the only solution.

WALTER RATHENAU 285

Rapallo Treaty between Germany and Russia Eve of Rathenau's
assassination Can Soviet Government keep a secret? Motive behind
Russo-German pact Essentials for readjustment Demobilization of
prejudiced opinion United States is responsible for the peace and
must help.

GEORGE CHICHERIN 291

Rapallo treaty a model of future Russian pacts "Let bygones be
bygones" American government misinformed Cannot dictate form
of government Intervention of foreign states hopeless Trotzky
and Radek on Rapallo treaty America's attitude toward intervention
Colonel House's plan to help Russia.

EDUARD BENES 298

Only an Anglo-French understanding on Germany can save Europe
The Czecho-Slovaks in. Siberia Four Empires destroyed Europe
cannot be reconstructed through Russia The failure of Bolshevism
Futility of Genoa conference Collapse of intellectual life The
Little Entente Germany key to Europe's problems Russia's sal
vation to come from within.

STEPAN RADICZ 308

Serb and Croatian differences A nation which honors intellect
An international blunder A divergence of views Serbs Militaristic
and Royalists; Croats peaceful and republican Serbian tyranny
Americanization of Croatia,

ARTHUR SCHNITZLER 318

His standing The letter of August i, 1914 Good will needed
Man worst of the animals His, Mind may improve, his Soul never
Intellectual pacifism -What old newspapers reveal The reckless
nurse On journalistic writing "Reigen."

ROOSEVELT LETTERS t ...... 326

Confidential documents relating to Russo-Japanese Treaty Roose
velt's cablegrams to the Tsar His wish for peace His letter on
the "Willy-Nicky" Telegrams.

WOODROW WILSON 335

The Ten Commandments and the Peace Conference One definite,
concrete service Principles in back of Americanism The wrong to
Jewish citizens The spiritual side of America The penalty for
extemporaneous speaking Aiding the Holy Land The injustice of
a literacy test for immigrants Letters.

THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

LEO TOLSTOY

St. Petersburg^ June, 1908.

BEFORE my departure for Yasnaya Polyana, Prof. Maxime
Kovalevsky, one of Russia's foremost editors and author
ities on international law, said to me :

"You will see the only man in Russia who dares to tell
the truth, even to the Tsar, and is not punished for it."

I left St. Petersburg on the day after the first convention
of the representatives of the Russian press. The elite of
Russian publicists had come together for the purpose of
considering the most adequate ways and means of celebrat
ing the eightieth anniversary of Tolstoy's birthday. Young
and old, men and women, offered suggestions of how best
to honor the man who is at present the Russian people's
only pride. They spoke with boundless enthusiasm, with
fire, with zeal and earnestness with which an enslaved peo
ple, suddenly set free, speaks of freedom.

A young journalist rose and in a forceful speech declared
that the most suitable means of honoring Tolstoy would
be for the entire Russian press on the 28th day of August,
the birthday of Tolstoy, to condemn the wholesale execu
tions that are being committed daily in the Russian Empire
and to issue a general appeal that these death sentences be
abolished. Then an officer walked over to the chairman
and informed him that unless the delegates stopped talk
ing of the executions he would disperse the Convention.

But Russia all Russia, except the Government, the
Holy Synod, and the Black Hundreds seems to have for-

3

4 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

gotten for a while its helplessness and its misery in its
preparations to do honor to Tolstoy. The people through
out Russia are infinitely more interested in the Tolstoy
celebration than in the work of the Russian "Parliament/ 3
Only from time to time the Union of the Real Russian
People, composed of bands of dark reactionaries, in their
organs, which are patronized by the Government, but which
are despised by the people, attack Tolstoy in the vilest
terms, branding him as an anti-Christ and a traitor. The
Church has done all in its power to hinder the jubilee, and
on the day that I started for Yasnaya Polyana I read in
the newspapers that the St. Petersburg authorities had
refused to legalize a society which was to be formed in
honor of Tolstoy and which was to be known as the Leo
Tolstoy Society.

On the way to Tula, in the train, a stout, red-faced "man
with long hair" a Russian priest was seated opposite
me. Eager to hear a Russian priest's view concerning con
ditions in Russia, and particularly his opinion of Tolstoy,
I entered into conversation with him. When I told him
that I was going to see Tolstoy I noticed how his face sud
denly brightened, his red cheeks turned still redder, and
bending over to me he said in a low voice, so as not to be
overheard by the other passengers :

**You are a lucky man. . . . When you see that saintli-
est man in Russia, tell him that you met a Russian village
priest who sends him greetings from the bottom of his
heart. Tell him that the priest you met bowed his head
with shame for the manner in which the Church has treated
Tolstoy. And tell him that the few peasants who have
learned to read, read nothing but the Bible and Tolstoy.
They understand his works even better than the Bible."

LEO TOLSTOY $

As we turned past the little blue church at Yasnaya
Polyana, I saw five women in bright parti-colored loose
dresses, laughing and singing and whirling about as they
worked in the field, and the group, as well as the colors of
their clothes, reminded me of Malyavin's masterly paint
ing, "The Whirlwind," which is symbolic of chaotic, red
Russia. Finally, at about half past nine in the morning,
after having passed through numerous labyrinthine roads,
I found myself at the door of the little white house where
lives and works the greatest artist and the most remarkable
man in the world to-day Leo Tolstoy. I was met by
Nicholas Gusev, Tolstoy's secretary, an amiable young
gentleman, who took me into his room.

Presently he entered. I cannot recall what I said when
I shook hands with Tolstoy, but he put me at my ease im
mediately, and he strengthened my conviction that the
greatest men are the simplest, even as the chief character
istic of the greatest masterpieces is their simplicity. In
the corner, like a striking painting by Rembrandt, sat the
grand old man, a black, soft silk turban on his head, his
wide-open eyes bright with kindness, such as I have never
seen in any painting or photograph of Tolstoy.

"You will pardon me if I will drink my coffee as we
speak," he said to me in English. Then, changing from
English to Russian, he asked me about my impressions of
Russia, and particularly about the popularity of Henry
George's works in America.

I related to him the incident that occurred at the Con
vention of the Representatives of the Press.

"Yes," he said, "an appeal by the press for the aboli
tion of executions in Russia would please me better than
any other honor." He spoke in a soft, caressing voice, and

6 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

the peculiar radiance of his face, the far-away look in his
eyes all really gave him the appearance of a saint, "a man
not of this world/' as Repin had aptly described him.

''Count, I should like to know your views upon the fu
ture of Russia," I asked.

"One of the most horrible superstitions," answered Tol
stoy, after a minute's pause, "more harmful than all re
ligious superstitions one which has caused rivers of blood
is that very strange superstition which sprang from the
use of violence, and which makes people believe that a
small number of men can now establish the social life of
the whole community. This activity to transform the
present order of things not only fails to help, but actually
hinders the course of progress. The activity of revolu
tionists, like the deeds of violence committed by the Gov
ernment, will not lead to any improvement in the life of
our people. On the contrary, Stolypin, who hangs hundreds
of people, and the revolutionists, who are trying to kill
Nicholas II, are only interfering with the natural develop
ment of events. History is full of examples to prove this.
The French Revolution produced Napoleon. The civil
war produced the terrible negro problem in America."

Count Tolstoy shook his head, brushed back a tuft of
white hair from under his turban, and added, as though
to himself:

"Strange very strange."

"Nearly fifty years ago," he went on slowly, "the great
question that occupied all minds in Russia was the emanci
pation of the serfs. The burning question now is the own
ership of land. The peasants never recognized the private
ownership of land. They say that the land belongs to God.
I am afraid that people will regard what I say as stupid,

LEO TOLSTOY 7

but I must say it : The leaders of the revolutionary move
ment, as well as the Government officials, fail to do the
only thing that would pacify the people at once. And the
only thing that would pacify the people now is the intro
duction of the system of Henry George. I have outlined
a plan according to which the agrarian question can be
solved, and have submitted my plan to the Government as
well as to the Duma. I have written about it to one who
occupies a high post in the official world, and whose family
I have known very well. But his hands are tied. His at
titude toward the Court and toward his enemies is such that
he cannot do anything in this direction. I do not reproach
him. I only feel sorry for him. They do not understand
that the proper solution of the land question is the only
means of pacifying nine-tenths of the Russian population.

"As I have pointed out in my introductory note to the
Russian version of c Social Problems,' Henry George's great
idea, outlined so clearly and so thoroughly more than thirty
years ago, remains to this day entirely unknown to the great
majority of the people. This is quite natural. Henry
George's idea, which changes the entire system in the life
of nations in favor of the oppressed, voiceless majority, and
to the detriment of the ruling minority, is so thoroughly
convincing, and, above all, so simple, that it is impossible
not to understand it, and, understanding it, it is impossible
not to make an effort to introduce it into practice, and,
therefore, the only means of fighting this idea is to pervert
it, or pass it in silence. And this has been done to the
Henry George theory for more than thirty years. It has
been perverted or passed in silence, so that it has become
difficult to induce people to read his works attentively and
to think about it.

8 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"It is true that there are in England, Canada, the United
States, and Germany very good little journals devoted to
the single tax idea, but they have only an insignificant num
ber of subscribers. Among the majority of the intelligent
people throughout the world, the ideas of Henry George are
Tin known, and the indifference toward them is even increas
ing. Society does with ideas that disturb its peace exactly
what the bee does with the worms which it considers dan
gerous, but which it is powerless to destroy. It covers their
nest with paste, so that the worms, even though not de
stroyed, cannot multiply and do more harm. Just so the
European nations act with regard to ideas that are danger
ous to their order of things, or rather, to the disorder to
which they have grown accustomed. Among these are also
the ideas of Henry George. 'But light shines even in the
darkness, and the darkness cannot cover it. 3 A truthful,
fruitful idea cannot be destroyed. However you may try-
to smother it, it will still live, it will be more alive than all
the vague, empty, pedantic ideas and words with which peo
ple are trying to kill it. Thus it will also be with Henry-
George's ideal.

"It seems to me that just now is the proper time to intro
duce this idea now, and in Russia. This is just the time
for it, because in Russia there is a revolution, the serious
basis of which is the rejection by the whole people, by the
real people, of the ownership of land. In Russia, where
nine-tenths of the population are tillers of the soil, and
where this theory is merely a conscious expression of that
which has always been regarded as right by the entire Rus
sian people in Russia, I say, especially during this period
of reconstruction of social conditions, this idea should now
find its application, and thus the revolution, so wrongly

LEO TOLSTOY 9

and criminally directed, would be crowned by a great act
of righteousness. This is my answer to your question about
the future of Russia. Unless this idea is introduced into
the life of our people Russia's future can never be bright."

Thus ended our first conversation. Tolstoy advised me
to meet Nikolayev, the translator of Henry George, who
lives a little distance away from the Tolstoy home.

"Talk this matter over with him and then we will con
tinue our conversation. By the way, you had better finish
your breakfast," added Tolstoy with a smile, leading me to
the dining room.

In the doorway I met Countess Tolstoy, holding a bunch
of fresh white roses, and as she passed she said :

"Leo Nikolayevich is very fond of these flowers."

I came out on' the porch, where I met Tolstoy's physician,
Dr. Dushan Makowitzky. I inquired about Tolstoy's
health.

"Three days ago Count Tolstoy had a hemorrhage, which
weakened him very much," he said. "But he is recovering
very fast. Until a few days ago he walked a great deal and
took long rides on horseback."

We had passed the beautiful flower-bed in front of the
porch and turned into the "alley 1 of oaks," a straight, long
alley, with spreading century oaks on each side.

"Here Leo Nikolayevich prays every morning," Dr.
Makowitzky told me. From the "alley of oaks" we went
through the forest, where the physician showed me a beauti
ful bit of scenery, which Tolstoy described in "Anna
Karenina."

After an interesting conversation with M. Nikolayev,
with whom I visited the homes of the peasants of Yasnaya
Polyana, I returned to Tolstoy's room. He spoke to me of

10 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

his latest work, "I Cannot be Silent," and of another essay,
which is to appear shortly. I asked him what he regarded
as his most important work thus far.

"I consider my artistic works as insignificant. My most
important works are those dealing with religious subjects
which I have written during the past ten years," replied
Tolstoy.

"And the artistic works which were produced during the
past ten years'?"

Cf You refer to such works as 'Resurrection 7 ? They are
important insofar as they treat of religious self-perfection.
That which is called artistic is aristocratic art. Therefore,
I am against it. I should have said that I value greatly
all my plain folk stories. But my very best work is the
'Cycle of Readings/ Only one-tenth of it is my own work.
It is composed of extracts I have made from the writings
of the greatest masters of all time. This I consider as my
most important and most useful work. It is my prayer-
book. I use the selections for every day as my daily
prayers. It is in every respect my favorite work."

In discussing the state of Russian literature at the pres
ent time, Tolstoy said :

"I have a very poor opinion of it." He hesitated for a
while, then added: "I am re-reading Pushkin now. My
God, what a downfall, what a terrible downfall, from Push
kin to the present-day writers ! When I think of Russian
writers I stop on Dostoyevsky, Turgenev and Ostrovsky.
Chekhov*? Chekhov was a graceful writer, a master of
great irony, but his work is not sufficiently substantial; it
lacks deep feeling."

Tolstoy smiled, halted a while, and said slowly:

"The value of a fraction is determined by the numerator.

LEO TOLSTOY 11

The smaller the numerator, the smaller the fraction. If
the numerator is zero, no matter what the denominator is,
the result will be zero. The decadent school of literature
in Russia, as well as in all other countries, is made up of
nothing save the greatest self-conceit, and this is the
numerator which reduces it to zero. Ibsen, Oscar Wilde,
and others (Tolstoy enumerated many well-known French,
English, and American writers, but later he asked me not
to mention their names in this article), they are all
decadents all full of enormous self-conceit. When I
read Pushkin I see modesty and beauty in every line.
When I read the English or American writers like William
Dean Howells, I involuntarily think of Dickens and
Thackeray, and the comparison is fatal to the new writers.
In Dickens, as in Pushkin, the shortest piece is carefully
conceived, elaborated and polished. There is no greater
enemy of aristocracy in art than your humble servant my
self. Yet I must say that when art was supported and
patronized by aristocrats the artists made all efforts to ap
peal to the refined tastes of those patrons of art, but when
the masses became the patrons of art the artists, in their
desire to appeal to the masses, have lost their refinement.

"There is a saying, "You must value the opinion of the
stupid people, for they are always in the majority/ And
this is the rule by which present-day writers are guided.
Personally, though I appreciate them, I am against such
forms of art as those of Dickens. I believe in art for the
masses, but I cannot see even the symptoms of it as yet."

I asked Tolstoy to express his views on the Jewish ques
tion in Russia. He said:

Cf Most of the things ascribed to me as my expressions on
this question are exaggerated. To me all questions are

12 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

solved by my religious view of life. All people are equal.
Therefore, there should be no such thing as a Jewish ques
tion. It is as if you asked me about the Russian question,
the German question, or the Japanese question. There
should be no Jewish question, no Polish question, no Rus
sian question all people are brethren. It is very sad and
painful if we must make an effort to realize this. If there
are any bad traits in the Russian Jews, they were called
forth by the horrible persecutions to which we have sub
jected them. How do I account for the anti- Jewish feel
ing in Russia? We often dislike more those whom we
harm than those who harm us. This is exactly true of the
attitude of the Russians toward the Jews."

At dinner Tolstoy brought up the Jewish question once
more. He said:

"Herzen used to tell a story of a dispute he had heard be
tween a Greek Catholic, a Roman Catholic, and a Protes
tant. The Greek Catholic declared that all the witches came
from Kiev. The Roman Catholic said that the witches
came not from Kiev, but from Tchernigov. And the
Protestant swore he was sure that the witches came neither
from Kiev nor from Tchernigov, but from Vologda.
Herzen was asked to settle the dispute. His reply was :

" C I cannot answer your question, for I do not believe in
the existence of witches/

"That is how I look upon the Jewish question. - Just as
I do not believe in witches, so I do not believe in these vari
ous national and political questions."

After dinner Tolstoy played several games of chess with
his friend, Dr. Golden weiser, a young composer, while
Countess Tolstoy was telling me of the autobiography she
was writing.

LEO TOLSTOY 13

"We have been married forty-six years now. Another
four years and we shall celebrate our golden wedding/' said
the Countess. "In my autobiography I am describing only
those incidents in my life which have a direct bearing upon
Leo Nikolayevich and his work. I have already written
two volumes, but am only as far as the year 1890. This
work of mine will be published only after my death."

Soon the young composer and M. Tchertkov, Tolstoy's
most intimate friend, who lives but a vew versts from Yas-
naya Polyana, took their leave. Tolstoy rose, and, look
ing out of the window for some time, said ecstatically :

"What a wonderful sunset!"

It was indeed the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen.
Tolstoy stood for several minutes, absorbed in thought.
Then, turning to me, he said, in a low voice :

"Yes yes, I am growing old and weak. My end is
nearing rapidly. But the older I grow the happier I am.
You cannot understand it. When I was as young as you,
I did not understand it. Yes, the older I grow the hap
pier I am."

Suddenly he asked, in a soft yet searching tone :

"Tell me, what are your religious views on life? But
be sincere. Few people are sincere when they answer this
question."

I answered sincerely, as well as I could.

"Religion must be the highest form of love," said Tolstoy
after a while, "or love is merely a word. All religions are
based on love, but Christianity is based on the highest form
of love."

"In life as well as in theory?" I asked.

"Meanwhile only in theory. But the world is growing
ever more perfect. It cannot become perfect unless our

1 4 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

inner religious consciousness is directed toward this highest
form of love. With the highest form of love as our law
we will be perfect."

During the following half hour Tolstoy commented on
several subjects. He spoke of Repin's latest paintings, ex
pressed a lively interest in the coming elections in the United
States, and was enthusiastic in his praise of William
Jennings Bryan, who had visited him several years before,
and whose photograph I noticed in a conspicuous place in
Tolstoy's study.

In speaking of the latest books he had read, Tolstoy said :

"I have recently read Haeckel on capital punishment.
He says that capital punishment is a very good thing, for
it coincides with Darwin's theory about the survival of the
fittest. It is very strange. Who is to judge as to who is
fit and who is unfit? I may think Haeckel is unfit.
Haeckel may think that I am unfit. Numerous things
which are now regarded as scientifically true seem to me
ridiculous. It is my belief that in two or three hundred
years from now Darwinism will be laughed at.' 3

I asked Tolstoy about his latest work, and whether it was
true that he was writing a new novel, the central figure of
which was a priest, "Father Sergius," as the newspapers
had reported.

"I am working at present on several things that interest
me more religious treatises. The story mentioned in the
newspapers is an old one. I worked on it some ten years
ago and it is still unfinished. I may finish it before I
die. I have several works of fiction which will not be pub
lished before my death. I have another plot for a novel
which I may write soon."

And as Tolstoy spoke his voice rang with notes of youth-

LEO TOLSTOY 15'

ful vigor and I felt that notwithstanding the long straggle
between Tolstoy the preacher and Tolstoy the artist, the
artist within Tolstoy often asserted himself strongly and
often came out victorious.

I shall never forget the impressions I received that day
in Yasnaya Polyana. The wonderful sunset that I was
fortunate enough to watch in the presence of the great
master is one that can never be effaced from my memory.
Nor shall I ever forget the kindly words of encouragement
that Tolstoy said to me as I bade him farewell.

On July 20, 1908, I received the following letter from
Vladimir Tchertkoff, Leo Tolstoy's most intimate friend:

"Dear Mr. Bernstein;

"Leo Tolstoy has requested me to answer your letter of
July loth.

"He is quite satisfied with the way in which you have re
produced the thoughts he expressed during his interview
with you.

"Will you allow me to profit by this occasion in order to
ask you whether you could see your way clear to help Tol
stoy's friends in your country desirous of expressing their
sympathy toward him on the occasion of his forthcoming
jubilee by putting before them the suggestions contained in
the enclosed article of mine on the subject? In order that
the position should be well grasped, and that no misunder
standing should occur, I would be very happy to furnish
any further information on the subject or act as intermedi
ary agent in this matter which it would be at present a want
of tact to broach again direct to Tolstoy until the final
communication to him on the day of his jubilee, for reasons

i6 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

I have endeavored to state as clearly as possible in my
article.

cc With best wishes for yourself and your work,

"Yours cordially,

"V. TCHERTKOFF."

"P. S. The last deletion I have made about Tolstoy
'preacher' and Tolstoy 'artist/ struggling between them
selves in Tolstoy, is a commonplace error which most critics
who do not know and understand Tolstoy sufficiently and
closely keep continually repeating. In reality the two ele
ments are so blended in his character as well as in all his
writings that you cannot separate them. They do not
struggle they harmonize in Tolstoy.

"P. P. S. Concerning your request that he should express
some thoughts addressed to young writers, Tolstoy wishes
me to say that he will bear your desire in mind, but he is
now absorbed in other work. Should any thoughts in this
connection demand expression in him, he will think of
you."

In May, 1909, I received the following note from Leo
Tolstoy :

"I received in due time the translation of Leonid An
dreyev's book "The Seven Who Were Hanged,' and thank
you very much for it, as well as for the dedication.

"As to the 'Cycle of Readings/ it did not reach me, of
which I am very sorry. Of all my books I think that it
is the one that is most useful, and I would be most glad to
see it translated.

"LEO TOLSTOY."

SERGIUS WITTE

Sf. Petersburg, June, 1908.

THE man who but a short while ago was the idol of the Rus
sian masses, hailed as the hero of the peace, and the savior
of blood- and tear-stained Russia, the man who is more than
any other responsible for the change that has come over
Russia, for the so-called Constitution and the Duma
Count Sergius Witte is not only not at the helm of the
Russian Government, but he stands almost alone even in
the Council of the Empire.

A prominent Russian statesman, in speaking of Witte,
said: "A mighty mind like Witte's cannot be downed for
a long time, especially amid Russian official mediocrities.
Even in falling he never loses himself, and he is bound to
rise again."

I met Count Witte at his home on Kamenostrovsky Pros
pect. His large study, furnished with dark-red, massive
furniture, holds a collection of paintings and engravings of
the rulers of Europe. A fine print of President Roosevelt
occupies a conspicuous position. Above Mr. Roosevelt's
picture is an etching of Lord Salisbury. Czar Nicholas II
is there in various poses on the right of Witte's desk. A
large painting of Alexander III is on the left side, and the
wall in front of his desk is almost entirely covered with por
traits of the Count's ancestors. His huge desk was heaped
with books.

Count Witte has aged considerably since his visit to
America* and at first sight he gives the impression of a very

17

i8 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

old man. But as he speaks, his eyes brighten up, the pres
ence of a master mind is felt, and only at times, when he
spoke of death, was a note of hopelessness faintly heard.

My first question was about the Duma.

"The third Duma is the best we have had thus far," an
swered Count Witte slowly. cc lt is perhaps not intelligent
enough, not sufficiently experienced, but it is better to have
a Duma like this than to have no Duma at all/'

Count Witte paused awhile, and then added :

"The third Duma is also better in another sense. It is
not as revolutionary as the previous Dumas. But in finan
cial questions the Deputies are like children they know
absolutely nothing."

"Minister of Finance, Kokovtzoff, in a recent speech in
the Duma thanked God that there is no Parliament in
Russia. Is there a Parliament in Russia*?" I asked.

"Let us better not speak of this," said the Count, as he
shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"In America you are regarded by many as the man who
gave the Constitution to Russia. Would you tell me some
thing about this?"

"That is quite true, I am responsible for it," answered
Count Witte. "This is a matter for the future historian.
But let me explain to you what prompted me to decide that
such a step was the only adequate one. Personally, I am
opposed to such Parliaments and constitutions. I do not
like all these disputes, these discussions, these arguments.
I am not against listening to the opinions of other people,
but after I have listened to all the advice and the opinions
of others I act according to my own lights. Look at
these," and the Count pointed to the portraits of his an
cestors on the wall. "I have been brought up in environ-

SERGIUS WITTE 19

ments to which constitutionalism and parliamentarianism
were entirely foreign. I served under the most autocratic
of recent Russian Emperors, Alexander III.

"I cannot say, therefore, that I love constitutionalism
and parliamentarianism. But I urged it as a physician
would urge a patient to undergo an operation. I realized
that this operation, if it may be called so, was absolutely
essential. Without it, the Russian Government was on
the point of" and the Count lowered his hand to the
floor cc do you understand? On the point of crumbling
away. There are many people who cannot forgive me for
having signed the Portsmouth treaty, for they believe that
if I had not signed it at that time Russia would have come
out victorious in the end. ... It is their patriotic feeling
that speaks in them, although they are convinced that this
could never have happened. But I am quite satisfied with
these achievements of mine the signing of the Portsmouth
peace treaty and the 'operation 3 by means of a constitution."

"I understand that there is at present a Pan-Slavic Con
vention in Prague. What are your views as to the efforts
made in the direction of a federation of all Slavic nations?"

CC I regard this movement as of very slight importance.
All that was characteristically Slavic in our religion and
culture has been submerged in Western European culture,
so that there is no longer anything distinctly peculiar to
Slavic nations. The time when nations were actuated by
ideals is past. Now nations are guided solely by their ego
tistical interests, not by ideals. The tendency among the
Poles to join the Slavic federation and cling even to Russia
is due simply to the setback they have received in Germany.
But I regard this movement on the whole as rather insig
nificant."

20 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"Could you tell me something about the Amur Railroad
affair? 3

"You probably know that I have opposed it all along,
and that I am in the minority in this matter. Rut I feel
that a tremendous blunder is about to be committed. Here
J am looking over the speeches that were made in favor
of this road. They have said that unless the Amur Rail
road is built Russia would within four years be devoured
by Japan, or by England, or by the United States. The
only thing they did not say, which would have made their
arguments complete, is that within four years the moon
will fall down on Russia and destroy it, if the Amur Rail
road is not built. The future will show whether I was
right or they. We shall see. , But it is possible that we
shall not be able to tell this very soon, for I understand
that it is planned to extend the time for constructing the
road from four to fifteen years. That would be more*
sensible* 53

Speaking of Russian literature, Count Witte said:

"I am not a specialist in this line. Perhaps it is because
I am a little too old, but I cannot adapt myself to the taste
of the reading public. To me the younger Russian writers
appear like youngsters who daub paintings made-to-order-
while-you-wait, which the public likes. These young men
are suffering from enormous self-conceit. I am speaking
of such writers as Gorky and Andreyev. Of course, Tol
stoy is the greatest artist in the world, though his philosophy
is absolutely childish. We read his naive treatises on eco
nomic questions merely for the flashes of his great genius
which penetrates everything he writes. Our younger
writers are going through a period of decadence."

SERGIUS WITTE 21

"How do you account for the decline of Russian litera
ture during the past few years?" I asked.

"How would you account, for instance, for the fact that
the crops in France are sometimes good and sometimes poor*?
How would you account for the fact that we have no
Washington now? If we must account for it, perhaps the
decline of Russian literature, even as the decline of the
literatures of other countries for decadence has of late be
come the characteristic feature of almost every European
literature is due to the fact that this is the age of technical
development and growth. In my younger days perhaps
eight hundred of every thousand intelligent youths dreamed
of becoming poets. Nowadays it is quite different. I have
just been playing with my grandson. He is four years
old. He does not like story books as the children of our
days did. He is interested in automobiles and all sorts of
mechanical devices. I can remember when I was a child
in Caucasia the emotion I experienced when I saw the
first telegraph erected there."

A flash of youthfulness brightened up his face for a
while.

"No, no/ 3 he added after a pause, "you can't account for
the decline of our literature, even as you can't account for
the failure of crops, even as we do not know why we have
no Napoleon, no Washington now."

cc What of the future of Russia? Do you think that the
present situation will regain unchanged for some time, that
there will be no fresh outbreaks?" .

"Russia was great and powerful, and I 1 think that in time
it will become greater than it ever was. A country that is
recovering from such a horrible, disgraceful, stupid, crimi-

22 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

nal war as we had is a country with a future. There will,
of course, be outbreaks from time to time. At times the
waves of discontent will rise mountain high, and then they
will sink again. For some time to come there will be a
periodic rising and falling of the waves. But this indi
cates life. A smooth surface would be a sign of death.
I cannot say definitely how soon this bright era will com
mence. Nor can I say that it will be during my lifetime.
Perhaps in fifteen years. Perhaps in five years. Perhaps
even sooner."

St. Petersburg, June, 1908.

Last night I had a lengthy conversation about the Jewish
question with Count Sergius Witte, the former Premier of
Russia.

"The Jewish question is the most acute and painful prob
lem before the Russian people to-day," said he. "One-
third of the population of Russia is composed of non-
Russian elements, such as Poles, Jews, Finns, Armenians,
Tartars, and others. Yes, we have more than fifty mil
lions of people whom Russia took unto herself in her eager
ness to expand, to enlarge her territory, and yet we are
pursuing a narrow Russian nationalist policy. Empress
Catherine II wanted more land, therefore she took the
provinces peopled by the Poles and the Jews. But nothing
was done to make their life tolerable.

"Nicholas I started a policy of reform with regard to the
Jewish question. Alexander II carried on the work of re
form along this line in a mild and admirable manner and
if his policy had been continued we would have had no
such thing as a Jewish question to-day.

C But during the past twenty years Russia, instead of
going forward in this respect, has made rapid strides back-

SERGIUS WITTE 23

ward, so that now the Jews in Russia have no rights what
ever.

"I have just recalled a very characteristic incident.
When I served under Alexander III, who was the most
autocratic of Czars, he said to me one day:

" 'Sergey Yulievich, is it true that you are so fond of the
zhidi [a degrading name for Jews] ?'

" Termit me to answer you by another question/ I said.
"Could you gather all the Jews of Russia, place them in
ships on the Black Sea and then sink the ships? You
would not do that, would you? The Jews must live among
us, with us. Therefore, we must give them the opportunity
to live as we do. In my opinion, the only way of solving
the Jewish question is to give the Jews equal rights/

"Alexander III was silent for awhile. Then he re
marked :

" Terhaps you are right/

"But as I said before, we have gone backward for the
past twenty years, the Jews have no rights of any kind at
present, and it is impossible to go farther back than Russia
has gone.

"In official spheres I have always been almost alone
whenever the Jewish question came up for consideration.
The same is true of the situation to-day. There is not a
single repulsive thing conceivable that has not been at
tributed to me. The Union of the Real Russian People,
through its organs, has conducted and is still conducting
a bitter campaign of slander against me. According to
them, I should have been hanged a thousand times. They
have sought to discredit me before the Emperor as well as
before the people, and in a measure they have perhaps
succeeded."

24 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"How can the condition of the Jews in Russia be reme
died now?" I asked.

"The Jewish question cannot now be solved at one
stroke/ 3 answered the Count. "Now that the Jews have
been deprived of all rights for twenty years it would be
dangerous to give them equal rights at once. Such a step
would lead to terrible pogroms/ 3

"Do you regard the Russian masses as anti-Semitic and
do you believe that if equal rights were given to the Jews
of Russia, the people would start massacres of the Jews of
their own accord, without any 'outside 3 encouragement?' 3
I asked.

"There is no anti-Semitism among the Russian masses.
But if the Jews were given the right to buy land, there
would be a terrible conflict between the peasant population
and the Jews. The agrarian question is a most painful
wound in the body politic of Russia. The peasant is re
duced to a state of despair because he has not enough land
to maintain himself. It is quite easy to foresee what the
outcome of such a conflict would be in Russian provinces
where Jews are entirely unknown. This, of course, must
be averted. When I was in America I explained to Schiff,
Seligman, Straus and Kraus that now the Jewish question
in Russia must be settled gradually, but they did not agree
with me. Not being Russians they could not realize the
danger of a hasty solution of the Jewish problem/ 3

"But what is to be done now to ameliorate the condition
of the Jews in Russia? 33 I asked again.

cc ln my opinion, the Jewish question can be solved en
tirely within twenty-five years. The first essential thing in
the Jewish question, as in the agrarian question, is that the

SERGIUS WITTE 25

official spheres should begin to realize that these questions
must be solved. Thus far there is no such feeling. My
project would be to abolish the Jewish Pale of Settlement
immediately, but on one condition that the Jews shall not be
allowed to buy land in the real Russian provinces, say, for
twenty-five years to come, so as not to stir race-hatred in
the down-trodden peasantry. At the same time all educa
tional institutions and government positions should be
opened to the Jews. In a word, the only way of ameliorat
ing the Jewish question is to give the Jews equal rights
with the Russians/ 5

June, spur.

There are many opinions about Count Sergius Witte in
Russia. The Czar, it is known, hates him for having
hastened the conclusion of peace with Japan and for hav
ing overestimated the strength of the revolutionary forces.
The Czar and the reactionaries still believe that but for
Witte the Russian army would have defeated Japan, and
but for Witte there would have been no Constitution in
Russia to-day.

Not that there is a real constitutional Government in
Russia now, but there is, after all, a semblance of a Parlia
ment, and the more progressive members of the Duma from
time to time criticise the Government in their speeches, and
these speeches are published in the newspapers and read by
the people. All this is a tremendous step forward for the
Russian people and the Czar will not forgive Witte for hav
ing curtailed his powers as an autocrat.

The revolutionists have blamed and criticised Witte, be
lieving that if he had not concluded the peace treaty at

26 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Portsmouth the revolution would have triumphed because
of the inevitable defeats of the Russian troops in Man
churia.

The Constitutional Democrats, whom Witte summoned
to his assistance when he was Premier, did not respond,
fearing that he was not sincere in his promises of reform
in 1905. Prof. Maxime Kovalevsky, a man of great learn
ing and unblemished repute, in speaking of Count Witte,
said to me recently :

"The part he has played in the history of Russia has not
yet been properly estimated, nor even realized. I happen
to be familiar with certain episodes of his activities in 1905,
and I believe him to be one of the best patriots Russia has
had, in the best sense of the word/ 5

Whether people believe that Count Witte is an oppor
tunist or a patriot, one thing is certain, the former Premier
of Russia, as a statesman, towers head and shoulders above
those who are ruling Russia to-day. Whether Witte be
called "the father of the Russian Constitution" ironically
or in earnest, there is no doubt that it was he who wrung
the manifesto of October 17, 1905, from the Czar, and
though most of the reforms promised then have not yet been
fulfilled, and some of the reforms introduced have since
been revoked by Premier Stolypin, Russia is bound to work
out its destiny as a liberated people, and, notwithstanding
the machinations of the reactionary forces, the Constitution
can no longer be revoked completely.

In the course of the numerous conversations I have had
with Count Witte, he has made upon me the impression
of a man of great imagination, of picturesque viewpoints,
wide horizons, deep religious feeling, and remarkable sa
gacity. Though no longer at the helm of the Russian Gov-

SERGIUS WITTE 27

eminent, Count Witte is still regarded as Russia's foremost
statesman, and his views on national or international af
fairs are eagerly sought in Europe as well as in Russia.

I met him again in his house on Kamenostrovsky Pros
pect, "the White House" of Russia at one time. Count
Witte would not discuss the present condition of Russia at
home or abroad, but expressed a keen interest in the efforts
of President Taf t as a peacemaker.

"The proposed arbitration treaty is in principle not a
new idea," he said. "The ideal of peace is as old as Chris
tianity, if not older. It is older than nineteen centuries
and yet what little progress it has made ! The real essence
of Christianity is based on peace, on the prohibition of mur
der. I am with all my heart in favor of arbitration as an
idea, but it is difficult to believe that it can now be applied
in our life, that it is not merely a vague though beautiful
dream."

The Count rose from his armchair and, pacing his
spacious study, continued:

"As I study the cost and the tremendous burden of armed
peace, to which all nations are striving even more now that
arbitration and peace are talked about; as I scrutinize the
meaning of armed peace, of standing armies and navies, I
am wondering whether armed peace is not much worse
than war. This may sound strange, but it is true, if we
look into the matter more deeply than the people who talk
of peace are usually in the habit of doing.

"Let us examine the budget of the different nations. I
believe that from 40 per cent to 50 per cent of all expendi
tures of Governments are absorbed by the standing armies
and navies, by armed peace. I often ask myself whether
armed peace is not really worse than war, with all its blood-

28 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

shed and its horrors and its enormous costs. 40 per cent
or 50 per cent of the budget go to cover the expenses of
wars in the past and the maintenance of armies and navies
for wars in the future.

"Now imagine what mankind would gain if the power
ful nations were really in earnest in their professions of
peace and would do away with their enormous standing
armies and navies, with armed peace. Think of the money,
which represents the labor, the brains, the courage of man
kind, that would be saved. Imagine to what great pur
poses such enormous sums of money could be put.

"I shall say nothing of the fashionable words 'education
of the masses/ but if these sums of money were used on im
proving the sanitary and hygienic conditions of the people,
mankind would be a hundredfold happier than it is now.
The people would live healthier, better, purer lives, and
they would live longer, too. Then we should have real
progress.

"The best of our people are ruined, the best efforts, the
greatest minds, the strongest intellects are now wasted
contriving and perfecting new life-destroying instruments.
People are learning to fly. What is the first thought of
those brave conquerors of the air? Are they inspired by
any lofty sentiments? No. These airmen, encouraged by
the Governments, at once contrive to turn the airship into
a terrible, death-dealing machine.

cc We are perfecting ourselves in the art of murder. Com
pare the wars of to-day with those of yesterday, with those
of the remote past. We have fewer wars nowadays, but
one modern war is more terrible, more costly in human life,
than a score of wars in the past.

"The Russian-Japanese war was, perhaps, the most

SERGIUS WITTE 29

brutal war of the nineteenth century, and the next war,
when it comes, will far outstrip the preceding wars in
cruelty, horrors, bloodshed. For we have made progress in
the art of warfare. Now, if one nation gets airships for
purposes of war, planning to destroy the enemy by hurling
explosives upon his camps and his battleships, the other
nations, not to be caught napping, naturally hasten also to
provide themselves with similar life-destroying devices.

"We have fewer wars now, it is true. But is it because
we have advanced, because we have grown more Christian
in spirit, because we realize the brutality of war? Not at
all. We are not conscious of any such feelings. We have
fewer wars because of our economic and commercial rela
tions. So long as the idea that war is a crime against the
best qualities of mankind is not realized by the powers, all
these talks about arbitration and peace will remain mere
empty words.

"See how a man who preached real peace was looked upon
in these days of ours. Take Tolstoy for example. He
preached 'Thou shalt not kill. 7 He advocated peace and
good will to all men, but everywhere people regarded his
philosophy as unsound, his doctrines as those of an insane
man. They all said: c Oh, Tolstoy is a great artist; he is
a wonderful writer of stories and novels; he is a great
student of the human soul, but he is not sane in his moral
sermons, in his philosophy of life.'

"To me, I must admit, Tolstoy as a preacher seemed
quite ordinary. I also admired him as a great artist, but
as a teacher of life he gave me nothing new.

"He was paraphrasing Christ. He was repeating the
things I first learned as a child. In the course of my first
lessons in religion I was taught that man should be kind

30 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

to his fellow man, I was taught the principles of peace and
love. Tolstoy was merely stating in simpler form that
which Christ and other religious reformers before had
preached thousands of years ago.

"I had learned these things as a child, but I have been
spoiled by life. When I grew up I saw that human
beings, instead of taking seriously these fundamental
truths, deceived and harmed one another in their efforts
to achieve what they called success. I was spoiled by life
when I realized that none of the lofty ideals, none of the
truths which constitute the essence of true religion, were
applied in life.

"Therefore, I say, if the United States, or England, or
Germany, or any other great power, in coming to an un
derstanding of settling disputes and differences by means
of arbitration, would show its sincerity by disarmament,
that would be quite another matter. But for a long time
to come the nations will not do it, and therefore these
peace negotiations are not serious.

"Armed peace is the heaviest burden humanity is carry
ing on its back. Look at the greatest efforts of the best
minds that are wasted on infernal inventions on the
invention of smokeless powder, noiseless guns, and so
forth.

"And what is more important than the budget, the heavy
cost of standing armies, millions of people are torn away
from agriculture and other useful work. The armies and
navies are robbing the nations of their best physical, mental
and moral strength, which is, of course, far more impor
tant than the budget.

cc lf a million men, now in the army, were working and
earning, say, for instance, 50, or even 30, copecks a day

SERGIUS WITTE 31

each, what a vast increase in the capital of the land ! For
the main wealth of a country is its labor, and yet millions
of the strongest young men are forced to lead unproductive'
lives under the present state of affairs."

Count Witte paused at the window of his study, facing
the street.

"Look at the people passing there," he said.

"Perhaps if the enormous sums absorbed for armed
peace were spent more wisely we should have more happi
ness everywhere.

"The state of armed peace is also responsible for the
growth of Socialism, and even Anarchism, in most coun
tries. These two armed peace and Anarchism go hand
in hand. The burden of standing armies, the heavy taxes
thus imposed upon the people in one form or another, make
their life intolerable, and the result must express itself in
movements of discontent, protest, and revolution."

I reproduce here a number of letters which I received
from Count Witte from time to time and which contain in
teresting comments on various subjects.

In 1909 Count Witte wrote:
"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I will be in St. Petersburg in March and will be ex
tremely glad to see you. I hope that you are feeling well.
I envy the peace which is prevailing in your beautiful
country.

"Sincerely and respectfully yours,

"COUNT WITTE.
"January 2&-February 10."

In 1909 Count Witte wrote about the revolution in
Turkey as follows:

32 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I am glad to learn that you arrived in Constantinople
at the same conclusions which I reached without my ever
having been in Turkey, but only through the logical course
of events.

"In general, it seems to me that there can be nothing
more dangerous than a military autocracy. It lacks the
good qualities of an autocracy of traditions, hereditary
culture and complete personal independence, and it has all
the defects of such a form of government. The armed
forces of modern governments serve as the chief support of
their existence (perhaps that is bad, but it is so) ; therefore
the military element is considered the most respected; but
heaven defend us if the armed forces of a government
should begin to occupy themselves with internal revolutions !

"I hope that you have arrived safely in America and I
extend to you my best wishes.

"COUNT WITTE."

"July 3, 1909.

In March, 1911, Count Witte wrote me the following
letter, in which he referred to the Russian-American treaty,
which had just been abrogated:

"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I am sending you my book with: pleasure.

"As far as the sad conflict which has occurred between
Russia and America, I am inclined to believe that reason
will triumph and in the end grounds will be found for an
agreement. I am convinced that in this matter passions
have played a greater role than reason. Because of my
position in Russia, I cannot state anything for publication
on this subject, but at the same time I cannot share the

SERGIUS WITTE 33

viewpoint of our official spheres on this question. I would
be very glad to have the pleasure of seeing you in St.
Petersburg.

"Accept my best wishes. If you should have an occasion
to meet Mr. Roosevelt, extend to him my greetings.

"COUNT WITTE."

"March 9, 1909.

"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I was very pleased to receive your letter of June 24.

cc When I am abroad you may write me freely, but when
you write to me in Russia you must bear in mind that Stoly-
pin and his pack of hired agents read the entire correspond
ence. Such is the regime of Stolypin.

"I am writing my memoirs, but I am writing very lazily.
My memoirs cannot be published so soon. Under no cir
cumstances can they be published before my death. But
if we meet next year in St. Petersburg I can let you have
certain important documents.

"As for the cablegram published in one of the New York
newspapers to the effect that I have written a pamphlet
about Roosevelt, I would ask you to state in the newspapers
in my name that the information contained in that cable
is false; that I have never written any pamphlets against
anybody; that I am not devoting my time to such matters,
and that surely I would not have written any pamphlet
against Roosevelt, whom I remember with the highest es
teem and regard as a man, a public character and as the for
mer President of the great and sympathetic American
nation.

Cf With the very best wishes, devotedly yours,

COUNT WITTE."
"July 20 (August 2), 1911

34 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"July 20 (August 2). I am sure that the above-
mentioned cablegram emanates from one of the newspaper
men in St. Petersburg bribed by Stolypin there are many
of them here. He probably refers to the brochure of
Morskoy, which you know, but I learned of this brochure
only after it was published/'

In October, 1911, Count Witte wrote concerning the
conflict in the Balkans:

"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

<C L am very grateful to you for your letter.

"Concerning the situation in the Balkans, it is my opin
ion that this affair will lead to many serious consequences.
That which should have happened has happened, other
wise we should have to admit that our divine world was
created not by God but by Satan. But more than un
expected is not only the shortsightedness but rather the com
plete blindness of the official diplomats who failed to fore
see and prepare for this affair, and who are even to this
day groping in the dark. What a remarkable collapse of
talents!

"As far as Japan is concerned, there is not the slightest
doubt in my mind that, under the present state of affairs,
Japan will always go hand in hand with Russia. America
has always proclaimed the principle of the open door in
China (in Manchuria and Korea), and now after the Russo-
Japanese war these doors have become narrower for
America than before the war.

"With regard to the rumor as to my accepting the post
of Minister of Foreign Affairs, it is too late for me to start
my career anew. I have long ended it. Only extraor-

SERGIUS WITTE 35

dinary circumstances could compel me to change my view
point on this subject. With best wishes.

"COUNT WITTE."
"Biarritz, October 22.

"In about fifteen or twenty days I will leave for St.
Petersburg."

In October, 1911, Count Witte wrote the following
letter containing a remarkable characterization of the
Russian Prime Ministers, Stolypin and Kokovtzov:

"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I have received your letter. I may say about your
article on Stolypin and Kokovtzov that a better article
could not have been written by any one living outside of
Russia.

"Kokovtzov is a practical man of affairs, while Stolypin
was not. Kokovtzov has infinitely more knowledge than
Stolypin had. But Kokovtzov is, nevertheless, not a man
of big affairs. If he were to become Premier he would in
all probability not raise so many acute and absurd questions
as Stolypin raised. Still he is not in position to block the
way of the band which is now leading Russia to grave
blunders. Stolypin submitted to this band; he himself in
vented problems to please the spirit of this band. Ko
kovtzov himself would not raise foolish questions, but he
would obey and follow in the direction indicated by this
band.

"As far as the Jewish question is concerned, Kokovtzov
himself would not devise, for the sake of his prestige, new
persecutions against the Jews, but he will never dare, and

$5 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

even if he dared he will never be able to obstruct the course
of the now fashionable currents in Russia.

"I shall be very glad to see you when you come to us.
"With best wishes for your health.

"COUNT WITTE."

"October 3, 1911.

Other letters from Count Witte are as follows :

"Villa Narichkine, Biarritz,
"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I received your letter only to-day, as it was addressed
to St. Petersburg and I am in Biarritz, where I will stay
about two months and then return to Russia.

"Thank you very much for your statement about Mr.
Wilson.

"I do not think that in view of the present false 'nation
alistic 3 course of politics in our ruling spheres there will
be sufficient common sense to settle the question regarding
the commercial treaty with America before January i.
You say that no matter who will be the next President,
America will insist upon equal rights for all American
citizens with regard to the passport question. It seems to
me that in the present frame of mind the Russian govern
ment will maintain its point of view that is, it will not
want to equalize Jews with other American citizens.

"I am extremely sorry about this, and I believe that with
the slightest mutual prudence it would be altogether pos
sible to find a proper solution of the question.

"Returning to the question concerning Mr. Roosevelt, I
think that now America cannot help seeing that it made
a mistake by supporting Japan in her conflict with Russia.
Japan, instead of being grateful for this favor, has turned

SERGIUS WITTE 37

her back to America. With best wishes, sincerely yours.

"COUNT WITTE."
"October 3 (new Style), 1912.

"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

fC With regard to your questions, it seems to me that
America will make a mistake if it does not find a platform
for an agreement with Japan. It seems to me that America
could find important interests in China. It is much to be
regretted that apparently America is not sufficiently en
ergetic in the attention it is paying to China.

'There is no doubt that Mr. Roosevelt at the time of
our conflict, before my arrival in America, sympathized
more with Japan than with Russia and aided Japan by
loans. Such a state of affairs made my difficult task all
the more difficult. But I do not blame Mr. Roosevelt in
the least. President Roosevelt expressed the frame of
mind of the American people at the time. America fur-
nished Japan with money and America was more inclined
toward Japan than toward Russia.

"One of the causes of such a state of affairs in America
was the Jewish question. With best wishes yours,

"COUNT WITTE."

On August 23 Count Witte wrote from Biarritz as
follows:

"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I am very grateful to you for your statement concern
ing the insinuation sent out purposely from St. Petersburg,
that I had written a pamphlet against the esteemed Mr.
Roosevelt.

c *With regard to your desire to know my opinion about

38 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

the present condition of the Jewish question in Russia, I
must say that the situation of the Jews is now hopeless.
Not only is there no reason to expect any symptoms of
amelioration, but quite the contrary, in its efforts to please
an insignificant number of people now in favor, the govern
ment is devising new forms of persecution and restrictions
directed against the Jewish people. Such a state of affairs
may be changed only through certain internal and external
catastrophes, which, of course, fill me with fear, for they
would be accompanied by the greatest misfortune for my
fatherland and the empire.

"As far as the matter regarding passports for foreign
Jews is concerned, under certain circumstances which are
changing, this question could find a favorable solution,
especially if the claims of the American Government would
be supported also by the governments of other countries.
Even then the question would be settled by Russia not very
willingly, but under a certain measure of compulsion.

"The abrogation of the treaty of 1832 is not desirable,
for it would separate Russia from America still more, and
that would be in the interests of Japan.

"I should very much like to visit America again, but for
such a visit there would have to be a special reason. If,
for instance, they decided to erect some kind of monument
in Portsmouth in front of the palace where the peace con
ference was held or some other peace monument to com
memorate the Portsmouth peace conference, which had
such an important influence on the political events of the
world, I would be very glad to come to America on such
an occasion.

"Of course I would be very glad if I could meet you

SERGIUS WITTE 39

during the coming Winter. I could give you some docu
ments and facts of interest.

"Meanwhile accept my best wishes. Sincerely and
respectfully yours,

"COUNT WITTE."

On January 15, 1913, Count Witte wrote as follows:

"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"Concerning the commercial treaty, I think that in the
immediate future there is no hope for the possibility of an
agreement, because for reasons which are quite clear to
me the American Government cannot retreat from its prin
ciples and change its point of view, and Russia under the
influence of the present ruling spheres will not want to
lower its flag, even if it was raised unjustly. Therefore
it is necessary to wait, for time is the best means of heal
ing and rectifying blunders and appeasing passions.

"With regard to the Balkan situation, it appears to me
that in the near future there will be no general European
war as a result of this important world question, because
all the great countries, or rather their Governments, are
either unprepared for war or afraid of it. But the re
newal of military operations in the Balkans is possible,
though hardly probable.

cc ln this way the historical Eastern question will not be
settled, and within a few years (a year hence or perhaps
ten years or more) this universal question will arise again.
Then the question will in all probability be solved through
a general European war. At present such a war will prob
ably not break out, not because the nations have come to

40 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

the conclusion that war is in principle a terrible affair, but
merely because the Governments want either to prepare
themselves the better, or are waiting for a more favorable
juncture for themselves.

"Our fourth Duma will be in essence like the third,
but of a lower standard.

"Now I will ask you the following: In the European
newspapers there appeared a cablegram from America to
the effect that Roosevelt is about to publish a letter by the
late Mikado in which the latter asked him to negotiate for
peace with Russia because Japan could not continue the
war any longer. In other words, that Russia in 1905 was
less in need of peace than Japan, who could not go on with
the war any longer.

"I know that Roosevelt took upon himself the initiative
of peace negotiations at the pressure brought by Japan, but
I am convinced that that was done not because Japan
could not go on with the war any longer, but because she
considered the military successes already achieved as suffi
cient. Could you perhaps see Mr. Roosevelt and ask him
in my name to give a proper explanation, which I would
ask you to send me for publication? I think it is not in
the interest of Mr. Roosevelt that the European press should
spread inaccurate reports concerning his great role in this
great matter which present a historical picture of that time
in a wrong light. With best wishes for your health.

"COUNT WITTE."
"St. Petersburg.
"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

<c l received your two letters and your book. I am
grateful to you for the interesting information contained,
in your letter about the invented letter from the late Mikado

SERGIUS WITTE 4*

to Roosevelt. As soon as I read in the newspapers about
it I felt certain that the whole story was a fabrication.

"I am leaving for Biarritz (Villa Narichkine) within
the next few days, and I intend to remain there until the
end of April (May 13).

"If you are in Europe at that time I shall be very glad
to see you. With best wishes, devotedly yours.

"COUNT WITTE."

"March 3, 1913.

"Dear Mr. Bernstein;

"I am very grateful to you for your letter and for the
enclosures which I have received here only a few days ago.
Your letter has been traveling.

"How the present tragic political conditions of Europe
confirm that which I had occasion to tell you quite a long
time ago in Petersburg with regard to war by explosives
and powder and war by the burden of taxation, that is,
by war expenditures in times of seeming peace.

"As for the commercial treaty between Russia and
America, I may say that in view of the ever more acute
Jewish problem in Russia, in which passion rather than
reason plays an enormous role, I do not think that this
question will be settled so soon.

"Unfortunately the relations between America and Japan
are apparently not adjusting themselves. According to
the general world position of these nations, they have no
particularly strong points of unity, while having several
quite powerful points of difference.

"I think that the American people should recognize by
this time that they were dragged in by England into a too-
prejudiced sympathy in favor of Japan in 1903-5. It is
useless to deny now that before my arrival to Portsmouth

42 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

and during the first weeks of my stay there, the majority
of the American people and at any rate official America,
sympathized more with Japan than with Russia. And
during my negotiations I was treated politely, while Kamura
was treated in a spirit of friendship. They would not have
hesitated to deceive me if I would allow myself to blunder.

"Seven or eight years have elapsed, England is a greater
friend of ours even than Japan, and America has not seen
any gratitude from Japan. But let us hope that every
thing will adjust itself,

"I am taking the cure here and am not planning to return
to Russia before December. When you write you may
address your letters either to Petersburg or Biarritz.
"With best wishes,

"COUNT WITTE."
"Bad Salzschlirf, July 10, 1913.

LEONID ANDREYEV

St. Petersburg, June, 1908.

Two weeks after my visit to Count Leo Tolstoy at Yasnaya
Polyana, I went from St. Petersburg to Wammelsu, Fin
land, to see Leonid Andreyev, the most modern of modern
writers in Europe, the author of the great war story, "Red
Laughter," and of the remarkable morality play entitled
"The Life of Man/' The most popular writer in Russia
to-day, his popularity having outshadowed that of Maxim
Gorky, Andreyev is also, next to Tolstoy, the most gifted
of all Russian writers. If his work, which is in every
respect original, must be likened to the work of another
Russian, it would come nearest to that of Dostoyevsky.
His keen psychological insight, as revealed in his later
productions may be compared with the best work of the
author of "Crime and Punishment."

Andreyev's first steps in literature, his first short stories,
attracted but little attention at the time of their appear
ance. It was only when Countess Tolstoy, the wife of Leo
Tolstoy, in a letter to the Novoye Vremya^ came out in "de
fense of artistic purity and moral power in contemporary
literature," declaring that Russian society, instead of buy
ing, reading, and making famous the works of the An
dreyevs, should "rise with indignation against such filth,"
that almost everybody in Russia who can read turned to
the little volume of the young writer.

In her attack upon Andreyev, Countess Tolstoy said as
follows :

43

44 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"The poor new writers, like Andreyev, succeeded only in
concentrating their attention on the filthy point of human
degradation and uttered a cry to the undeveloped, half-
intelligent reading public, inviting them to see and to ex
amine the decomposed corpse of human degradation and
to close their eyes to God's wonderful, vast world, with the
beauties of nature, with the majesty of art, with the lofty
yearnings of the human soul, with the religious and moral
struggles and the great ideals of goodness even with the
downfall, misfortunes, and weaknesses of such people as
Dostoyevsky depicted. ... In describing all these every
true artist should illumine clearly before humanity not the
side of filth and vice, but should struggle against them by
illumining the highest ideals of good, truth, and the triumph
over evil, weakness, and the vices of mankind.

"... I should like to cry out loudly to the whole world
in order to help those unfortunate people whose wings,
given to each of them for high flights toward the under
standing of the spiritual light, beauty, kindness, and God,
are clipped by these Andreyevs."

This letter of Countess Tolstoy called forth a storm of
protest in the Russian press, and, strange to say, the rep
resentatives of the fair sex were among the warmest de
fenders of the young author. Answering the attack, many
women, in their letters to the press, pointed out that the
author of "Anna Karenina" had been abused in almost the
same manner for his "Kreutzer Sonata," and that Tolstoy
himself had been accused of exerting just such an influence
over the youth of Russia as the Countess attributed to An
dreyev. Since the publication of Countess Tolstoy's con
demnation, Andreyev has produced a series of masterpieces,
such as "The Life of Father Vassily," a powerful psycho-

LEONID ANDREYEV 45

- ^

logical study; "Red Laughter," a war story, "written with
the blood of Russia"; "The Life of Man/' a striking
morality presentation in five acts, and, finally, his latest,
and perhaps, also, his most artistic work, "The Seven Who
Were Hanged/' in which the horrors of contemporary life
in Russia are delineated with such beautiful simplicity and
power that Turgenev, Dostoyevsky, or Tolstoy himself
would have signed his name to this masterpiece.

Thus the first accusations against Andreyev have been
swept aside by his artistic productions, which are permeated
with sincere, profound love for all that is pure in life.
Dostoyevsky and Maupassant depicted more subjects, such
as that treated in "The Abyss," than Andreyev. But with
them, these stories are lost in the great mass of their other
works, while in Andreyev, who at that time had as yet pro
duced but few short stones, works like c< The Abyss" stood
out in bold relief.

Andreyev has often been accused of being the advocate
of pessimism, and it has been charged that his influence
upon the Russian youth is pessimistic. Not long ago,
nevertheless, Andreyev, in speaking of his own pessimism,
said: C T never believed in life so much as when I read
the work of the c father' of pessimism, Schopenhauer.
Since a man could think as he did and live, it is evident
that life is mighty and unconquerable."

In another place he said: "Neither truth nor falsehood
will conquer. That which is united with life itself will
conquer; that which strengthens the roots of life and
justifies it. Only that which is useful to life remains; all
that is harmful to it will sooner or later perish; perish in
evitably. Even if it stands to-day as an indestructible
wall against which the heads of the noblest people are

46 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

breaking in the struggle, it will fall to-morrow. It will
fall because it tried to impede life itself. . . ."

As I drove from Terioki to Andreyev's house, along the
dust-covered road, the stern and taciturn little Finnish
driver suddenly broke the silence by saying to me in broken
Russian :

"Andreyev is a good writer. . . . Although he is a Rus
sian, he is a very good man. He is building a beautiful
house here in Finland, and he gives employment to many
of our people."

We were soon at the gate of Andreyev's beautiful villa
a fantastic structure, weird looking, original in design,
something like the conception of the architect in the "Life
of Man."

"My son is out rowing with his wife in the Gulf of Fin
land/' Andreyev's mother told me. "They will be back in
half an hour."

As I waited I watched the seething activity everywhere
on Andreyev's estate. In Yasnaya Polyana, the home of
Count Tolstoy, everything seemed long established, fixed,
well-regulated, serenely beautiful. Andreyev's estate was
astir with vigorous life. Young, strong men were building
the House of Man. More than thirty of them were work
ing on the roof and in the yard, and a little distance away,
in the meadows, young women and girls, bright-eyed and
red-faced, were haying. Youth, strength, vigor every
where, and above all the ringing laughter of little children
at play. I could see from the window the "Black Little
River/' which sparkled in the sun hundreds of feet below.
The continuous noise of the workmen's axes and hammers
was so loud that I did not notice when Leonid Andreyev
entered the room where I was waiting for him.

LEONID ANDREYEV 47

"Pardon my manner of dressing," he said, as we shook
hands. "In the summer I lead a lazy life, and do not
write a line. I am afraid I am forgetting even to sign
my name."

I had seen numerous photographs of Leonid Andreyev,,
but he does not look like any of them. He has grown
much stouter. Instead of the pale-faced, sickly-looking
young man, there stood before me a strong, handsome, well-
built man, with wonderful eyes. He wore a grayish blouse,
black, wide pantaloons up to his knees, and no shoes or
stockings.

We soon spoke of Russian literature at the present time,
particularly of the drama.

"We have no real drama in Russia," said Andreyev.
"Russia has not yet produced anything that could justly be
called a great drama. Perhaps The Storm 5 by Ostrovsky
is the only Russian play that may be classed as a drama.
Tolstoy's plays cannot be placed in this category. Of the
later writers, Anton Chekhov came nearest to giving real
dramas to Russia, but, unfortunately, he was taken from
us in the prime of his life."

"What do you consider your own 'Life of Man 3 and 'To
the Stars'?" I asked.

"They are not dramas; they are merely presentations
in so many acts," answered Andreyev, and, after some hesi
tation, added : "I have not written any dramas, but it is
possible that I will write one."

At this point Andreyev's wife, a charming young' woman,
also dressed in a Russian blouse, came in. The conversa
tion turned to America, and to the treatment accorded to
Maxim Gorky in New York.

"When I was a child I loved America," remarked An-

48 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

dreyev. "Perhaps Cooper and Mayne Reid, my favorite
authors in my childhood days, were responsible for this.
I was always planning to run away to America. I am anx
ious even now to visit America, but I am afraid I may get
as bad a reception as my friend Gorky got."

He laughed as he glanced at his wife. After a brief
pause, he said:

"The most remarkable thing about the Gorky incident is
that while in his stories and articles about America Gorky
wrote nothing but the very worst that could be said about
that country, he never told me anything but the very best
about America. Some day he will probably describe his
impressions of America as he related them to me. By the
way, have you read Gorky's latest work, 'The Confession?'
It is a wonderful story. The Russian writers have un
learned to write like that nowadays/'

It was a very warm day. The sun was burning merci
lessly in the large room. Mme. Andreyev suggested that
it would be more pleasant to go down to a shady place near
the Black Little River.

On the way down the hill Andreyev inquired about Tol
stoy's health and was eager to know his views on contempo
rary matters.

"If Tolstoy were young now he would have been with
us," he said'.

We stepped into a boat, Mme. Andreyev took up the
oars and began to row. We resumed our conversation.

"The decadent movement in Russian literature/' said
Andreyev, "started to make itself felt about ten or fifteen
years ago. At first it was looked upon as mere child's play,
as a curiosity. Now, it is regarded more seriously. Al
though I do not belong to that school, I do not consider

LEONID ANDREYEV 49

it as worthless. The fault with it is that it has but few
talented people in its ranks, and these few direct the criti
cism of the decadent school. They are the writers and
also the critics. And they praise whatever they write. Of
the younger men, Alexander Blok is, perhaps, the most
gifted. But in Russia our clothes change quickly nowa
days, and it is hard to tell what the future will give us
in our literature and our life.

"How do I picture to myself this future?" continued
Andreyev, in answer to a question of mine. "I cannot
know even the fate and future of my own child, how can
I foretell the future of such a great country as Russia?
But I believe that the Russian people have a great future
before them in life and in literature for they are a great
people, rich in talents, kind and freedom-loving. Savage
as yet, it is true, very ignorant, but on the whole they do
not differ so much from other European nations."

Suddenly the author of "Red Laughter" looked upon me
intently, and asked: Cc How is it that the European and
the American press has ceased to interest itself in our strug
gle for emancipation? Is it possible that the reaction in
Russia appeals to them more than our people's yearnings
for freedom, simply because the reaction happens to be
stronger at the present time? In that event, they are
probably sympathizing with the Shah of Persia! Russia
to-day is a lunatic asylum. The people who are hanged
are not the people who should be hanged. Everywhere
else honest people are at large and only criminals are in
prison. In Russia the honest people are in prison and the
criminals are at large. The Russian Government is coin-
posed of a band of criminals, and Nicholas II is not the
greatest of them. There are still greater ones. I do not

50 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

hold that the Russian Government alone is guilty of these
horrors. The European nations and the Americans are just
as much to blame, for they look on in silence while the
most despicable crimes are committed. The murderer usu
ally has at least courage, while he who looks on silently
when murder is committed is a small, insignificant crea
ture. England and France, who have become so friendly
to our Government, are surely watching with compassion
the poor Shah, who hangs the constitutional leaders. Per
haps I do not know international law. Perhaps I am not
speaking as a practical man. One nation must not inter
fere with the internal affairs of another nation. But why
do they interfere with our movement for freedom? France
helped the Russian Government in its war against the peo
ple by giving money to Russia. Germany also helped
secretly. In well-regulated countries each individual
must behave decently. When a man murders, robs, dis
honors women he is thrown into prison. But when the
Russian Government is murdering helpless men and women
and children the other Governments look on indifferently.
And yet they speak of God. If this had happened in the
Middle Ages a crusade would have been started by civi
lized peoples, who would have marched to Russia to free
the women and children from the claws of the
Government."

Andreyev became silent. His wife kept rowing for some
time slowly, without saying a word. We soon reached
the shore and returned silently to the house.

Leonid Andreyev's brief autobiographical sketch is char
acteristic as it is interesting.

"I was born," he said, "in 1871, in Oryol, and studied
there at the gymnasium. I studied poorly; while in the

LEONID ANDREYEV 51

seventh class I was for a whole year known as the worst
student, and my mark for conduct was never higher than
4, sometimes 3. The most happy time spent at school,
which I recall to this day with pleasure, was recess time
between the lectures, and also the rare occasions when I
was sent out from the classroom. . . . The sunbeams, the
free sunbeams, which penetrated some cleft and which
played with the dust in the hallway, all this was so mys
terious, so interesting, so full of a peculiar, hidden meaning.

c *When I studied at the gymnasium, my father, an en
gineer, died. As a university student, I was in dire need.
During my first course in St. Petersburg I even starved
not so much out of real necessity as because of my youth,
"inexperience, and my inability to utilize the unnecessary
parts of my costume. I am to this day ashamed to think
that I went two days without food at a time when I had
two or three pair of trousers, two overcoats.

"It was then that I wrote my first story about a starv
ing student. I cried when I wrote it, and the editor, who
returned my manuscript, laughed. ... In 1894, in Janu
ary, I made an unsuccessful attempt to kill myself by shoot
ing. As a result of this unsuccessful attempt I was forced
by the authorities into religious penitence, and I contracted
heart trouble, though not of a serious nature, yet very an
noying. During this time I made one or two unsuccessful
attempts at writing; I devoted myself with greater pleas
ure and success to painting, which I loved from childhood
on. I made portraits to order at 3 and 5 rubles apiece.

"In 1897 I received my diploma and became an assist
ant attorney, but at the very outset I was sidetracked. I
was offered a position on The Courier^ for which I was to
report court proceedings. I did not succeed in getting any

52 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

practice as a lawyer. I had 'only one case and lost it at
every point.

"In 1898 I wrote my first story for the Easter number
and since that time I have devoted myself exclusively
to literature. Maxim Gorky helped me considerably in
my literary work by his always prcatical advice and sug
gestions."

In 1909 Andreyev wrote me the following letter as an
introduction to my translation of "The Seven Who Were
Hanged":

"I am very glad that The Story of the Seven Who Were
Hanged' will be read in English. The misfortune of all
is that we know so little, even nothing, about one another
neither about the soul, nor the life, the sufferings, the
habits, the inclinations, the aspirations of one another.
Literature, which I have the honor to serve, is dear to me
just because the noblest task it sets before itself is that of
wiping out boundaries and distances.

C As in a hard shell, every human being is enclosed in
a cover of body, dress, and life. Who is man? We may
only conjecture. What constitutes his joy or his sorrow?
We may guess only by his acts, which are ofttimes enig
matic; by his laughter and by his tears, which are often en
tirely incomprehensible to us. And if we, Russians, who
live so closely together in constant misery, understand one
another so poorly that we mercilessly put to death those
who should be pitied or even rewarded, and reward those
who should be punished by contempt and anger how much
more difficult is it for you Americans to understand distant
Russia? But then, it is just as difficult for us Russians
to understand distant America, of which we dream in our

LEONID ANDREYEV 53

youth and over which we ponder so deeply in our years
of maturity.

"The Jewish massacres and famine; a Parliament and
executions; pillage and the greatest heroism; 'The Black
Hundred/ and Leo Tolstoy what a mixture of figures and
conceptions, what a fruitful source for all kinds of misun
derstandings ! The truth of life stands aghast in silence,
and its brazen falsehood is loudly shouting, uttering press
ing, painful questions: 'With whom shall I sympathize?
Whom shall I trust? Whom shall I love? 3

"In the story of The Seven Who Were Hanged 5 I at
tempted to give a sincere and unprejudiced answer to some
of these questions.

"That I have treated ruling and slaughtering Russia with
restraint and mildness may best be gathered from the fact
that the Russian censor has permitted my book to circu
late. This is sufficient evidence when we recall how many
books, brochures and newspapers have found eternal rest
in the peaceful shade of the police stations, where they
have risen to the patient sky in the smoke and flame of
bonfires.

"But I did not attempt to condemn the Government, the
fame of whose wisdom and virtues has already spread far
beyond the boundaries of our unfortunate fatherland.
Modest and bashful far beyond all 'measure of her virtues,
Russia would sincerely wish to forego this honor, but
fortunately the free press of America and Europe has not
spared her modesty, and has given a sufficiently clear pic
ture of her glorious activities. Perhaps I am wrong in
this : it is possible that many honest people in America be
lieve in the purity of the Russian Government's intentions
but this question is of such importance that it requires

54 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

special treatment, for which it is necessary to have both
time and calm of soul. But there is no calm soul in Russia.

"My task was to point out the horror and the iniquity of
capital punishment under any circumstances. The horror
of capital punishment is great when it falls to the lot of
courageous and honest people whose only guilt is their ex
cess love and the sense of righteousness in such instances,
conscience revolts. But the rope is still more horrible when
it forms the noose around the necks of weak and ignorant
people. And, however strange it may appear, I look with
a lesser grief and suffering upon the execution of the revo
lutionists, such as Werner and Musya, than upon the stran
gling of ignorant murderers, miserable in mind and heart,
like Yanson and Tsiganok. Even the last mad horror of
inevitably approaching execution Werner can offset by his
enlightened mind and his iron will, and Musya, by her
purity and her innocence. . . .

"But how are the weak and the sinful to face it if not in
madness, with the most violent shock to the very founda
tion of their souls? And these people, now that the Gov
ernment has steadied its hands through its experience with
the revolutionists, are being hanged throughout Russia in
some places one at a time, in others, ten at once. Children
at play come upon badly buried bodies, and the crowds
which gather look with horror upon the peasants' boots that
are sticking out of the ground; prosecutors who have wit
nessed these executions are becoming insane and are taken
away to hospitals while the people are being hanged
hanged.

"I am deeply grateful to you for the task you have un
dertaken in translating this sad story. Knowing the sensi
tiveness of the American people, who at one time sent

LEONID ANDREYEV 55

across the ocean, steamers full of bread for famine-stricken
Russia, I am convinced that in this case our people in their
misery and bitterness will also find understanding and sym
pathy. And if my truthful story about seven of the thou
sands who were hanged will help toward destroying at
least one of the barriers which separate one nation from
another, one human being from another, one soul from an
other soul, I shall consider myself happy."

ELIE METCHNIKOFF

St. Petersburg, June,
IT was at the dinner table of Count Sergius Witte that I
learned that Elie Metchnikoff, the world's foremost biolo
gist, head of the Pasteur Institute, was in Russia. The
St. Petersburg newspapers did not mention for three days
that Russia's greatest scientist had come to visit Russia
after an absence of many years, during which he had be
come famous throughout the world.

"Metchnikoff came to St. Petersburg quietly, unheralded.
He has been in this city three days now, and none but
some of his immediate friends know about it. He dined
with us yesterday and will be here again this evening,"
Count Witte said to me.

Countess Witte spoke of Metchnikoff 's modesty, of his
tenderness, and of the simple life the Metchnikoffs were
leading near Paris. The ex-Premier of Russia commented
upon the meagre income of the world's greatest scientist,
remarking that if Metchnikoff did not have his little estate
in Russia, it would have been difficult for him to make
ends meet on the salary he was receiving as head of the
Pasteur Institute.

cr When you meet Metchnikoff, do not speak to him about
Russian politics. He has strange views on the subject,"
Count Witte warned me. ,

When the newspapers discovered that Metchnikoff was
in St. Petersburg, all the news of the day suddenly shrank
into insignificance, and from that day until the day of his

56

ELIE METCHNIKOFF 57

return to France Metchnikoff held the attention of all
Russia. Not even the official reports that flooded the news
papers about the meeting of Kaiser Wilhelm and the Czar
in the Finnish waters interested the Russian people so
much as the visit of Metchnikoff. When it was learned
that the great student of the human body had decided upon
a pilgrimage to the great student of the human soul, Tol
stoy, the press was occupied almost exclusively with the
meeting of the two monarchs of universal literature and
science, Leo I, and Elie I, Tolstoy and Metchnikoff. The
little village in the Government of Tula, Yasnaya Poly-
ana, and not the Standard the imperial yacht on which the
Kaiser and the Czar met, held the center of the stage in
chaotic Russia. This was the most effective rebuke to
the Russian Government that had forced Tolstoy to seclude
himself in Yasnaya Polyana, and Metchnikoff to seek and
grace another fatherland.

Prof. Metchnikoff received me in the house of his friends,
on Malaya Spasskaya, at 10 o'clock in the morning.

"I have just been tortured by the photographer," Metch
nikoff said to me good-naturedly. "I don't like these
forced poses."

"This is one of the penalties of fame," I remarked.

cc Very true," he said, wiping his glasses and smiling
broadly.

Metchnikoff, the man who has devoted his life to study
ing the problems of how to make mankind happy by com
bating and wiping out the most dreadful diseases, and who
writes his scientific treatises in a simple and vivid style
that many a famous novelist might envy, is indeed, in
whatever he says and does, so radiant and brimful of the
joy of living that he may be styled an apostle of optimism.

58 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Commenting on the changes he found in Russia, Metch-
nikoff said: "I find the most hopeful signs in the educa
tional institutions. A few years ago the youth of Russia
was occupied exclusively with politics. The universities
were not institutions of learning, but arenas for political
activities. After the storm of 1905 a reaction has set in.
The youth of Russia has returned to the more serious prob
lems that confront mankind. It has abandoned politics
and is studying human nature and life. The universities
and laboratories are again crowded with young people
thirsting for knowledge. While I was a student there were
two strong currents struggling against each other among
the Russian youth. On one side was the educational move
ment, which forced its way into Russia from Western
Europe. Many of us turned to science with enthusiasm,
believing that the salvation of Russia lay in that direction.

"On the other side the revolutionary propaganda car
ried away many of the best young minds, which were thus
lost to science. I went through that stage myself. I re
member one incident particularly well. When I was a
gymnasium student, about 16 or 17 years of age, I re
ceived a letter from abroad in which I was urged not to be
satisfied under any circumstances with a constitutional mon
archy, but to demand immediately and insist that Russia
shall be a republic. After the assassination of Alexander
II, it was impossible to continue any serious work in the
Russian universities, and it was then that I understood that
the youth of Russia could do more for Russia by devoting
itself to education rather than to politics. I am glad to
see that there are at present signs pointing to a normal con
dition in the educational institutions."
I asked Prof. Metchnikoff about his work.

ELIE METCHNIKOFF 59

"First of all," he said, "I am glad to inform you that I
have just received a letter from Paris telling me that the
Pasteur Institute has come into a fortune which will enable
us to carry on our work on a larger scale than before.
Osiris, the Jewish banker, who died in February, 1907, left
40,000,000 francs to the Pasteur Institute, and now the
formalities connected with the gift are at an end. By this
donation Osiris made himself one of the great benefactors
of mankind."

"Osiris, as far as is generally known, never took any
interest in philanthropic or educational institutions. He
had the reputation of a miser. Can you tell me something
about the man?' I asked.

"Osiris was indeed a very strange personality. He was
a Bordeaux Jew, became a widower early in life, and had
very few near relatives. After he had amassed his great
fortune he became interested in archaeology. He went to
Egypt with an archaeological expedition and brought some
valuable objects from there. Osiris was not his real name.
His name was Iffla, but he called himself Osiris in honor
of the most popular of Egyptian gods the god of light
and health.

"At first he wanted to give his fortune to the French
Government. He purchased a large number of Napoleonic
relics and the house in which Napoleon lived, and wanted
to turn it into a museum. But he met with so many ob
stacles in the shape of formalities and the attitude of the
government toward him was so cold that he became dis
gusted.

"It was then that some one advised him to donate his
fortune to the Pasteur Institute. A few months before his
death he became ill and invited Prof. Roux of the Pasteur

60 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Institute. He then informed him that he was planning to
leave his fortune to the Institute, and asked that the in
terest 600,000 francs annually be used especially for in
vestigations of tuberculosis and cancer. One of the con
ditions was that Prof. Roux and I visit him daily during
his illness. He was a very peculiar man. His reputation
as miser was well deserved. I recall a little incident dur
ing the time that I visited him when he was ill. The
physicians had prescribed for Osiris a portion of ice cream
three times daily. Osiris was greatly disturbed by this
prescription and he complained to me.

" "Where will I get the means for such luxuries? I
can't afford to have ice cream three times a day/

"He had no electricity in his house, but used candles in
stead, for the sake of economy. A niece of his, a very poor
girl, came to him one day and asked him to assist her.
Though she was penniless, Osiris refused. But when he
learned several months later that she had gone on the stage
he sent for her and, praising her for having found work,
gave her an allowance of 200 francs a month, and left her
a small fortune when he died, in February, 1907, at the
age of 82. He was almost a legendary figure, peculiar in
every way. In our case the formalities connected with his
donation were entangled for two years, and I am glad
that they are at an end at last. The Institute has already
expanded as a result of his gift. We have bought another
building which is to be used as a department for tropical
diseases. Special investigations will be made of the so-
called 'sleeping sickness/ "

"May I know whether you are pleased with the results
of your recent investigations concerning premature senil
ity?" I asked.

ELIE METCHNIKOFF 6 1

"We are working all along in this direction in the hope
of finding the most effective remedy for premature senility.
I am convinced the main cause of our growing old too fast
lies in the microbes within the intestinal canal. All our
efforts are therefore directed against these microbes which
we are endeavoring to fight."

Prof. Metchnikoff touched his gray beard with his fingers
and said lightly:

"I am only 64 years old, and yet see how gray my beard
is. I look much older than I really am. This should not
be. People will attain happiness only when they will grow
old naturally, not as they now grow old without years, and
when they will be able to use all their faculties, without
suffering or pain, until the time sets in for their natural
death. As I have pointed out in my introduction to the
Russian edition of my 'Studies in Optimism/ science brings
happiness to mankind. The relief that medical science
brings to suffering humanity should not be regarded as
merely a negative ideal. The absence of suffering, which
means that man can make use of his perfect health, con
stitutes a very positive ideal, which is appreciated all the
more as the years go by, and which makes it possible for
man to avail himself of the other advantages of life.

"The idea, which has become rather popular, that the
animal is happier than the human being is erroneous. Of
course, it is difficult to solve this question with any degree
of certainty, because it is impossible to compare the feel
ings and the sensations of animals and human beings. But
we can compare the different feelings and sensations of
man himself. We know that to many people the happiness
afforded by science and the solution of scientific problems
is undoubtedly higher than the happiness which animals are

62 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

capable of feeling and which is attained by them through
satisfying their hunger or other requirements. The con
sciousness of inevitable death, which animals have not,
and which often makes man so unhappy, is an evil that
can be remedied, that will be remedied by science.

"It is more than likely that science will teach us to live
in accordance with the principles of orthobiotics, and will
lead life to the moment of the approach of the instinct of
natural death, when there will be no longer the fear of the
inevitability of the end. Science can and must in the fu
ture give to mankind a happy existence. When science
will have secured for mankind a normal cycle of life, when
the people will forget the majority of diseases, even as they
need not worry so much about the plague, cholera, diph
theria, rabies, and other scourges that threatened them until
recently, then the efforts of gratifying the higher require
ments of spiritual life will come to the front even more
than now. But together with the quest after knowledge
for the sake of the highest pleasure, that is, together with
'science for science's sake,' mankind will then even more
than now seek happiness in the pleasure afforded by all
kinds of beauty, that is by c art for art's sake.' "

In speaking of his critics, Prof. Metchnikoff said:

"It may seem strange, but it is a fact, nevertheless. My
own countrymen, the Russians, have been my harshest
critics. Among others, K. K. Tolstoy, attempted to at
tack my theories, and especially my statements regarding
the use of sour milk bacteria for hindering the decay of
the intestines. He keeps repeating that I advise everybody
to use sour milk simply because I was attracted by some
foodstuff that appealed to me.

"As a matter of fact, I caution people against the con-

ELIE METCHNIKOFF 63

stant use of sour milk because, together with the helpful
and useful microbes, it frequently contains also undesirable
microbes. He argues that instead of the curdled milk
other things may be used, such as raw fruits, cider vine
gar, and even light wine, and that these would produce the
same effect. But I have explained very carefully in my
works that it is not merely a question of swallowing acids,
for they are absorbed before they reach the heavy intestines.
And that is just where they are needed in order to offset the
destructive bacteria. That is why I advise the use of live
pure sour milk bacteria cultures in boiled milk, which reach
the proper place alive and hinder the decay of the in
testine. This has been established beyond any doubt."

I asked Prof. Metchnikoff whether progress had been
made in the investigation of tuberculosis by the Pasteur
Institute.

"The experiments with preventative inoculation have
not proved successful. But even the simplest measures
adopted in France against the spread of the disease have
been very helpful. Thus, such things as isolating the chil
dren of tuberculous parents and separating the consump
tives in the advanced stages of the disease from those in
the less advanced stages, have already shown good results.
The number of consumptives is decreasing in France."

C T see that they have started an energetic campaign
against tuberculosis in America," Prof. MetchnikoS added
after a while.

"What is your opinion of American scientists?" I asked.

"It seems to me that Americans are rather fond of sensa
tionalism even in their science. When my volume ^Studies
in Optimism 3 appeared in English it was called 'The Pro
longation of Life/ I cannot understand why the title

64 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

should have been changed. But that is not important. I
have the greatest respect for American scientists.

" America has produced in recent years a number of first-
class scientists. Jacques Loeb is perhaps the most impor
tant of them. I can foresee the time when America will
outshine Europe by her scientists. I believe it is unfair
to the American people that they are regarded everywhere
in Europe as good business men only. As soon as a man
shows any signs of talent here, the Americans try to at
tract him to America, and as they are richer and have more
means for carrying on experimental scientific work, they
secure our best men. It will not be long before our best
scientists will be in America."

"When are you coming to America, Professor?"

"I am afraid the voyage across the ocean will not agree
with me," he answered with a smile.

Prof. Metchnikoff then spoke with great enthusiasm
about the "grand old man" of Russia and his prospective
visit to Yasnaya Polyana.

"I have always looked forward with the greatest pleas
ure and reverence to a meeting with Tolstoy, and I am
happy that my hope is about to be fulfilled now."

Upon my request for some facts concerning his biogra
phy, Prof. Metchnikoff said:

"I was born in 1845, * m tite Government of Kharkov. I
am a Little Russian, a son of the steppe. My father was
an officer of the Guards, who later became a general. My
mother was a Jewess. I ascribe my love for science to my
descent from the Jewish race. I studied natural science
at the gymnasium and the university in Russia. Later I
studied zoology and biology in Germany and Italy. I was
professor in St. Petersburg and Odessa. After the assassi-

ELIE METCHNIKOFF 65

nation of Alexander II, I found that it was impossible to
do any serious work at the university because of the politi
cal tendencies that crowded out the desire for study among
the youth. Soon the Russian universities had no serious
professors, and some of the best men in Russia who could
achieve much for their fatherland were lost to Russia.
I am speaking of the Russian Jews. The Russians have
the mind, but the Russian Jews have in addition to that
vivacity and energy to a remarkable degree. Russia has
lost many great talents by persecuting the Jews. Prof.
Minkowsky, the great mathematician, was a Russian Jew
who had to leave Russia simply because he was a Jew.
The same was true of the other Minkowsky. My own as
sistants, Bezredka and Weinberg, are men of great talent,
and I am sure that they will be shining lights in the scien
tific world. But as they are Jews, they could not develop
in Russia, and Russia has lost them."

Metchnikoff paused for a while and added optimistically:

"I feel quite certain that there will be a change even in
this. The Russian Government will realize its errors and
will improve the condition of the Jewish people, for its
own sake, if for no other reason."

Paris, jpop.

I met Prof. Metchnikoff again in Paris after his visit
to Yasnaya Polyana. He received me in his laboratory
at the Pasteur Institute.

"I am delighted with my visit to Tolstoy," he said. "I
must confess that I never expected he was such a splendid
man. He is really wonderful. His feelings, his heart, are
developed to the highest degree of sensitiveness and
delicacy."

"Did you discuss his works with him?"

66 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"Yes, I told him that I value his purely literary work
more than his philosophical work. Tolstoy replied that he
considered his philosophical work of more importance than
his artistic work. He said that it was very easy for him to
produce his artistic work, while his philosophical work
proved more difficult, and it was for this reason that he
loved it all the more. We spoke about religion and science.
He took a deep interest in my work and was particularly
eager to have me tell him what I knew about cancer. We
walked in his garden and I picked out some leaves with
wart-like growths upon them, and he was very much inter
ested in my explanations of these growths. In speaking of
religion and science, he said that people were wrong in be
lieving him to be opposed to religion or science. What
he opposed, he said, was the hypocrisy and the falsehood
that the Church had introduced into religion. As for
science, Tolstoy said that he opposed the narrow-minded
so-called scientists who believed that, having made some
small discovery, they should be considered as superior peo
ple benefactors and teachers of mankind."

"May I know your own views on religion?"

"I am an atheist, as you will see from my 'Studies in
Optimism.' The fact that the majority of the people be
lieve in God and in future existence is based not upon re
ligious instinct but may be explained by the influence of
education. That is why we often see that people who in
their childhood believed in what they had been trained to
believe, in time lose their faith in those things as their minds
develop."

"I understand that you expressed yourself very strongly
about the inferiority of women while you were in Russia.
May I know your views on this subject?"

MJfcTCJBiNIKOFF 67

cc Women are superior to men In affairs of the heart,"
said Prof. Metchnikoff, with a smile. "Genius, I believe,
is a masculine quality, just as a beard is, for instance, or
as strong muscles are. That women are inferior to men
they have demonstrated most effectively in the domains
where they have always reigned supreme music and cook
ing. Women have not produced a single composer of note,
and even in the kitchen they have not been able to maintain
their supremacy. If they want a good chef they get a man.
Of course I am not opposed to women studying the arts
and sciences, but I do not believe that women will ever
amount to much as scientists. I need hardly say that there
are exceptions, just as there are bearded ladies, but at any
rate, they are superior to men in affairs of the heart, and
that is a great deal. As for women scientists, it is better
that they occupy themselves with science than with
fashions/*

Before leaving, Prof. Metchnikoff presented me with a
set of his works in Russian.

C Do you think that a reading of 'Studies in Optimism*
will help to prolong life, Professor?" I asked.

"It may shorten your days during your voyage across the
Atlantic if you have nothing else to read," he laughed.

When I left the Pasteur Institute I carried away a deep
impression of a strong, simple, lovable personality, an
apostle of optimism, who has made a religion of science
even as Tolstoy has made a science of religion.

MAXIME KOVALEVSKY

St. Petersburg,

DURING my present visit to Russia I had occasion to discuss
Russian affairs with the leaders of the various parties in the
Duma and with members of the Gosundarstvenny Sovyet
the Council of the Empire. I found among them a num
ber of people who are undoubtedly able to accomplish great
things when the psychological moment arrives. But it
seemed the time for their activity had not yet come.
These people, intellectual giants, equipped with great learn
ing and earnestness of purpose, are architect-builders who
are able to erect structures according to beautiful projects,
but not before the ground has been cleared.

They are as yet surrounded with windfallen trees in a
very thick forest. The distance is enormous between the
so-called Parliament in St. Petersburg and the millions of
the ignorant masses, who are enmeshed in a dense net of
government organs and agencies, especially created to keep
them in darkness.

As a prominent member of the Duma said to me : "The
Russian Constitution is to be found solely upon a tiny-
island the Tavrichesky Palace the building where the
Duma holds its sessions. The autocracy does not allow the
Constitution to go beyond the walls of this palace." The
conceptions of Czarism and constitutionalism are incompat
ible. There are provincial places in Russia, not so very
far from St. Petersburg, where it is still dangerous to speak
of the Duma, for some official might overhear it and ask:

68

MAXIME KOVALEVSKY 69

"Are you for the Czar or for the Duma?" But a short
time ago in one of the Cossack settlements in the Don re
gion, a crowd listening to the reading of news from the
Duma was dispersed with whips.

But the distance between those who worked for the
emancipation of Russia and the masses is narrowing the
people have begun to realize who are their enemies and
who their friends.

One of the greatest of the architect-builders of the new
Russia is Prof. Mazime Kovalevsky, famous historian,
authority upon international law, publicist, formerly pro
fessor of the University of Paris, now a member of the
Council of the Empire. Prof. Kovalevsky is one of the
very few great figures in Russia who perceive clearly the
actual proportion and importance of events and who an
alyze them without either going into raptures or falling
into despair. A scholar of the highest type, he is at the
same time a practical statesman taking an active part in
the preparatory work of Russia's reconstruction. His opin
ions upon the Russian situation are accordingly of the
greatest significance. Prof. Kovalevsky presented his
views to me as follows :

"The dispersion of the first two Dumas has created a
spirit of skepticism among the people. And while the old
peasants still remain faithful to God and the Russian Czar,
the majority of the young people have come to the conclu
sion that everything must be taken by force. In fact, they
have become a little too violent.

"Looking over the legislation of the Third Duma I must
say that it has not shown any necessary economy. The
budgets have not been diminished. The Duma, however,
was wrong in refusing an appropriation for the four battle-

70 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ships. Our fortresses at Revel and at Kronstadt are not
efficient. They could not withstand an attack for more
than three weeks. The four men-of-war we are to have
now will be of the same type as the Dreadnaughts and will
constitute to a certain extent a defense in the event of an
invasion by Germany.

"You ask me why has the Russian revolution failed? I
begin by denying the fact. My opinion is that it has not
failed, but is going on at the present time, and, if some
are despairing, it is because they do not realize the real na
ture of the movement. The movement is far from being
only political it is essentially social. It began years ago,
and its chief result will be the creation of a Russian de
mocracy. Centuries ago Harrington, in his 'Oceana,' ex
pressed the idea, new for his time, that power belongs to
those who own the land. Now Russian soil is rapidly pass
ing into the hands of the peasants. The first Duma in
tended to accelerate the movement through legislation.
The reaction which followed was chiefly created by the
fact that Russian nobility was frightened by the radicalism
of the measures proposed.

"But the movement, which has for its ends the transfer
ence of the land into the hands of the peasants is none the
less going on, perhaps more rapidly than before. The
Ministers, with M. Stolypin at their head, are buying the
lands of ruined noblemen in order to .resell them at lower
prices to the peasants. This measure is certainly more
ruinous to the Russian treasury than the one we had in
view, but it achieves the same end. The dissolution of
village communities another obnoxious measure of the
same Ministry is yet on the whole advancing the day of
democratic rising; upon one side it creates a numerous class

MAXIME KOVALEVSKY 7*

of peasant proprietors, and upon the other, a much more
numerous class of rural proletariats. A collision between
them becomes every day more probable.

"Our industries are unable to employ all those who, hav
ing no more settled interest in the land, are deserting the
villages. And Russian agriculture is not likely to become
a secondary branch of our national economy. In such con
ditions the rising of the country people in the near future
seems to me very probable, and all I hear from persons liv
ing in the country only confirms my apprehension. The
peasant is losing his confidence in the Czar as the natural
protector of the country people against the landed squires.
The orthodox church is each day losing even more its moral
hold upon the people, because of its total lack of inde
pendence from civil authority and the nobility. The
radical Protestant sects, such as the Dukhobors, the Men-
nonites, the Stundists (Baptists), are gaining every day
new adherents among the peasantry. All this is not cal
culated to suggest the idea that we have not to fear in the
future a new agrarian movement. And for that reason I
answer in the affirmative your question. Do I think that
the agrarian question will lead to new disturbances in the
near future? Yes, I am afraid it will.

"In the spontaneous revolution which shall have for its
chief object the creation of a peasant democracy instead of
a military empire, reliant upon bureaucracy, nobility and
orthodoxy, the Third Duma is likely to play a prominent
part, in this way only it will open the eyes of the peasants
to the dependence in which Czardom lives upon bureau
cracy, high orthodox clergy and landed gentry. I find no
instance in the past of a more cynical pursuit of class in
terests than the one of which the Third Duma is, and will

72 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

continue to be, the spectacle. From this point of view it
may be compared only with the c chambre introuvable' of
the French restoration. The Ministry is powerless to pur
sue its own policy. It does what it is ordered to do by the
reactionary alliance of 'king, bishop and nobleman.' To
give you an instance. We were told (Stakhovitch, Ar-
seniev and myself) by Premier Stolypin that he would do
everything he could to render possible a collection of money
in the whole empire to be employed for the creation of
some memorial associated with the name of Count Leo
Tolstoy and the same Stolypin later took rigorous
measures to prevent any demonstration in favor of our
'grand old man/ Of course, he did so against his own
will and only because he was ordered to do so by the ortho
dox clergy and the 'Real Russians,' who find a hearing at
the Court.

"I see, therefore, no reason to expect that the 'Govern
ment' will do anything in favor of the Jews, except propa
gating the myth that, once emancipated, the Jews are cer
tain to be exterminated by the peasantry. I call this a
myth, because neither at St. Petersburg, Moscow nor in the
province of Kharkov, where I own land, have I ever dis
covered the hatred which the workman and the villager
are supposed to entertain against the Jews.

"You ask me what influence the events in Persia and
Turkey are likely to exercise upon Russian affairs. I sup
pose they will induce the governing class I mean the Court
and the high bureaucracy to maintain the present state of
things I mean a Duma composed of persons devoted to
the interests of the minority of noblemen, high churchmen
and landed squires.

"The Russian Government is, to say the least, full of the

MAXIME KOVALEVSKY 73

most amazing inconsistencies. Thus, for instance, the
authors of articles distasteful to the Government are not
punished only the publishers of such articles are prose
cuted. Leo Tolstoy is not prosecuted for his writings, but
his son, who publishes them, is punished. If the Govern
ment were consistent the signers of the Viborg manifesto,
the Deputies of the First Duma who are now in prison,
should not have been prosecuted. They were merely the
authors of that document.

"How I regard the condition of Russian literature?
This question is more difficult to answer. Periods of transi
tion, such as the one we are experiencing now in Russia, are
not as a rule golden ages of literature. Why so*? The
riddle, if there is one, was disclosed to me at one time by
Turgenev. I was insisting upon his writing a new novel,
in which the men of my generation would be pictured.
Tt cannot be done,' he answered. Tt is impossible to give
a definite form in literature to persons and things which
have not yet taken a definite form in life.' Applying this
aphorism to the present state of our literature I am inclined
to think that our young authors do not find it easy to create
new types, with two exceptions, that of the 'hooligan,' so
admirably represented by Gorky and Arzibashev, and of
the social reformer and agitator of whom you will find a
less successful picture in Gorky's novel, c The Mother.'

c 'It is to the same cause, the want of definite form charac
terizing our present evolution, that I attribute the great de
velopment of lyrics. We have several dozens of young
poets who seek new forms and new symbols. Some of
them, such as Balmont and Valeri Brussov, have given ex
cellent translations of Shelley, Calderon and Lope de Vega,
and have written admirable Terses of their own, verses that

74 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

are comparable with those of our great Pushkin. In this
our revolutionary period reminds me of that of 17891800
in France, when the greatest writer (Andre Chenier) was
great on account of his lyrical verses and not of his novels.
We no doubt possess at this moment young writers who will
be highly appreciated in some ten or twenty years, but who
so far have not given, as the Frenchmen say, c toute la
mesure de leur talent. 3 "

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM

Constantinople^ June,
BUT a short time ago there existed a saying in Turkey that
the Sultan is the shadow of God on earth, and that the
shadow of the Sultan is the Sheikh-ul-Islam, the religious
head of all the Moslems. When in April, by order of the
famous Fetwa, presided over by the Sheikh-ul-Islam, Abdul
Hamid was deposed, the new Sultan, though very popular
with the people, ceased to be the shadow of God on earth.
The circumstances under which he has been proclaimed!
Khalif of the Ottoman Empire have made him a mere
figurehead.

The Parliament, or rather the Union and Progress Com
mittee of the Young Turks, is for the present the almighty
power in the land. But there is one man whose authority
has increased with the decline of the Sultan's power, and
that man is the Sheikh-ul-Islam. Indeed those who know
Turkey intimately, are of the opinion that his authority
is even greater than that of the Parliament, for while the
Parliament has at present the support of the army, the
Sheikh-ul-Islam has the masses behind him the blindly
believing, fanatic hordes, headed by the hodjas, the Turk
ish priests, who exert a tremendous influence upon their
followers, and who have on numerous occasions demon
strated their readiness to urge the massacre of those who
oppose Islam.

Who knows what would happen, what horrors would be
perpetrated, what outrages committed, and what bloodshed

75

76 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

caused, if for some reason or another the Parliament and
the Sheikh-ul-Islam should clash? The people of Turkey
are afraid even to speak of it. But the wisest minds of
the Ottoman Empire realize the danger of irritating Islam
at the present time, and, therefore, many reforms must wait
for the opportune moment, when they may be introduced
without shocking the religious sensibilities of the Moslems.

It is for these reasons that of all the Turkish statesmen
I was particularly eager to meet the Sheikh-ul-Islam and
to learn from his own lips whether a bridge can really be
built between Mecca and the Parliament and whether the
Constitution does not clash with the Koran.

The opportunity of securing an audience with the
Sheikh, the chief of the Moslems, presented itself to me
in the Yildiz, the palace of the deposed Sultan, which has
now been thrown open to the public. On Friday, after
the Selamlik, when the first concert was given for the benefit
of the public at the Yildiz, the occasion was turned into a
merry festival and a day of great rejoicing. The saviors
of the constitution were proudly walking up and down the
beautiful alleys of the park, and the people were rowing
in the boats which a few months ago had been used by Ab
dul Hamid. A band was playing and singing patriotic
songs, and the words of the songs, as well as the melodies,
though old, seemed to carry a new meaning to the people,
who cheered and applauded wildly. It was amid these
surroundings that I made the acquaintance of the son of
the Sheikh-ul-Islam. With him was Col. Galib Bey, the
head of the gendarmerie, one of the heroes of the new
regime and one of the three men chosen to notify Abdul
Hamid that he had been deposed.

Upon my inquiry whether it would be possible for me to

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM 77

secure an audience with the Sheikh-ul-Islam, his son ex
tended to me an invitation to the Islamate for the follow
ing day.

It was about 10 o'clock in the morning when I started
in a carriage from Pera to StambuL The narrow, crooked,
filthy streets of Constantinople were crowded with pedes
trians in parti-colored gowns and turbans, the women wear
ing chiefly the charchafs, black dresses, their faces covered
with black veils all walking in the middle of the streets.
A jarring noise hung continuously in the air. People were
crying their wares in desperate tones, little donkeys carry
ing heavy and bulky burdens were braying plaintively,
and from time to time a dog barked lazily.

We neared the tower of Stambul, and as it was some
what too early to go over to the Islamate, I entered the
Sulieman Mosque nearby. It was a mercilessly hot day,
but within the mosque it was very cooL On the floor, in
one of the corners, sat a group of four softas, theological
students, and, swaying backward and forward, studied
the Koran. They were reading softly, in a sing-song, but
the extraordinary acoustics carried their voices from one
corner of the tremendous building to the other. A little
distance away from the students several men lay out
stretched on the floor, fast asleep. These were workmen
who had come to the Mosque in quest of shelter from the
heat. Men in picturesque garb walked in and, turning
toward the direction of the sun, knelt, kissed the matted
floor, and prayed fervently. Suddenly the shrill voice of
a little boy studying the Koran by heart resounded. He
swayed backward and forward with dizzying rapidity.
Near him a Turkish army officer, his sword, his coat, and
shoes removed and placed in a heap at his side, sat on the

78 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ground, also studying the Koran. The workmen, some
twenty-five or thirty in number, were sleeping, undisturbed
by the sing-song of the students. Now and then one of
the workmen would stretch himself, rise slowly and walk
out, yawning.

I started from the Mosque to the house of the Sheikh-ul-
Islam. The square was crowded with beggars, cripples of
all kinds side by side with strong, strapping men, seated
on the ground with outstretched hands. A woman clad in
black, her face veiled, dropped a coin into the hand of one
beggar, made a few steps forward, then paused. The
happy recipient of the coin bowed his head in gratitude.
Suddenly the woman, surrounded by a crowd of beggars,
young and old, walked up to the man on the ground and
shouted :

"Pray, you rascal! Why don't you pray?"

And he rattled off a prayer mechanically in a tone that
sounded like a sob.

Near the beggars lay clusters of yellow dogs one of
the most characteristic features of the streets of Constanti
nople, the dogs having been aptly styled the Street Cleaning
Department of the Capital of Turkey.

The headquarters of the Islamate consists of several large,
low, yellow-colored buildings. At the entrance of the yard
men are selling beads and cakes. In the hallways of the
building where the religious head of the nation attends to
the business of Islam, hodjas in fine cloaks and underlings
in tattered clothes, and old women in black, chiefly widows
of priests, are lounging around the walls, in various posi
tions, waiting for their monthly allowances and pensions.

My companion, a young Turk, a former schoolmate of
the Sheikh-ul-Islam*s son, led the way to the old Turk who

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM 79

took my card to the Sheikh, eying us suspiciously. In the
corridor we had to remove our shoes and put on huge
slippers. The priests and the women walked about in their
stockings.

Two minutes later I found myself in the presence of the
man who guides the destinies of Islam.

The new Sheikh, whose name is Sahib Molla Effendi,
and who before his appointment to this highest post had
been a member of the Council of the Empire, admired by
those who know him for his liberal views, for which he was
hated and persecuted by Abdul Hamid, is a tall, white-
haired man of about sixty-five. He wore a white turban
on his head and a loose brown cloak. His white beard was
beautifully shaped, and his remarkably youthful and
searching eyes were smiling from under his large jet-black
eyebrows. He rose when we entered and stretched out his
hand.

"My son spoke to me about you. I am very glad to
meet you," he said warmly, pointing to a seat on the lounge
opposite him.

My young companion kissed the Sheikh's hand and made
a low bow. When we took our seats, the Sheikh bowed
to us again, as is the custom in Turkey.

"I am glad to make the acquaintance of the Sheikh-ul-
Islam of new Turkey," I said.

The Sheikh smiled, bowed low, and answered:

"Turkey is going through a crisis now. There is a
dearth of men of strong, great men. I realize that this
high office needs a greater man than I am/'

He paused for awhile. Then he added:

"I know quite well that I have been selected by the
Sultan not because I am the right man for the post, but

8o THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

rather because there are so few real men in Turkey at
present."

An old Turk entered and whispered something to the
Sheikh. The Sheikh then turned to us and said:

"You will forgive me, I hope, if I will receive a few
people here and attend to some pressing affairs. It will
take but a few minutes, and then we can speak without
being disturbed."

The Sheikh rang the bell and ordered that tea be brought
in. He poured it into small glasses himself, sweetened
it, and handed me one of the glasses.

In the meantime a white-haired hodja entered, kissed the
Sheikh's hand and, not daring to sit down in the chair near
the Sheikh's low table, bent down toward the Sheikh,
speaking softly, in a cringing tone. The burden of his re
quest was that his pension be given to him regularly.

"Allah knows my pension is small enough, and now I
am not getting it all," he said tearfully.

The Sheikh lifted his hand to his lips quickly and
whispered tenderly:

C Hush! You must not speak of such matters in this
way. Everything is being straightened out now. I shall
see to it that your pension will be given to you regularly
henceforth."

The old priest sank down to the ground, kissed the hem
of the Sheikh's cloak, and stepped out of the room back
ward, bowing reverently.

One after another a half dozen men came in. Some
had come to ask the Sheikh to promote them, another begged
to be transferred to a district closer to Constantinople. I
had seen the priest who wished to be transferred, a while
before in the corridor. His black robe was of the finest

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM 81

cloth and on his head was a beautiful turban. In the cor
ridor he stood alone, away from the crowd, his pose be
speaking an air of haughtiness, a look of sternness in his
eyes. Now, in the presence of the Sheikh, his tall figure
contracted and bent down all the while he spoke, an un
natural smile played in his eyes and on his lips as he cringed
and kissed the Sheikh's hand, kneeling before him and kiss
ing the hem of his cloak.

The Sheikh settled the various questions with a smile, a
word or two, and a stroke of the pen.

Finally, he turned to me, his face beaming with smiles,
as he said:

"Now, we shall not be disturbed. I am glad, indeed,
that you have come to see me. There is nothing better on
earth than to come and see the truth with one's own eyes,
instead of believing in hearsay. Especially is this true of
Turkey, now more than ever before.

"Unfortunately so much is being written about us by
people who do not know us and who do not take the pains
of learning something about us."

The first question I asked was whether it was true that
according to the Koran there could not be a constitutional
form of government in Turkey, as the Koran prohibited
any legislation to emanate from anybody save the Sultan.

"Why, no, that is all wrong," replied the Sheikh-ul-
Islam, with a smile. "The Constitution has grown out of
our religion. In fact, the Moslem religion orders a con
stitutional government. The Koran tells us that the wise
men of the nation shall come together and decide what is
best for all the people. Thus it may be said that the Koran
actually gave birth to the Constitution."

He lit a long cigarette and added :

82 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"The Sultan, of course, is our chief, for our religion tells
us that a great nation cannot be without a chief."

As I sat there I recalled how the former Sheikh-ul-Islam
had defined the importance of the Khalif . It was at the
time of the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm to Constantinople and
the Holy Land.

"The Sultan is superior to all the other rulers/' said the
old Sheikh. "The Sultan is God's representative potentate
on earth. But as it is impossible for the Sultan to be pres
ent everywhere, such rulers as the Kaiser of Germany, the
King of England, the President of France, and the Presi
dent of the United States have been made his assistants.
Under such circumstances," declared the Sheikh, "it is not
proper for the Sultan to be the first to greet the Kaiser."

When the Sultan and the Kaiser met, and Abdul Hamid
stretched out his hand first to greet his royal guest, the
Sheikh-ul-Islam, who stood at his side, declared in a burst
of anger:

"The Sultan is degrading God by degrading himself !"

The difference in the definitions of the Sultan, as given
by the former and the present Sheikhs, mirrors the attitude
of the religious Moslems toward their rulers in the past and
the present.

In the following question I asked how Islam looked upon
people of other faiths and upon non-believers. His an
swer came slowly, in measured tones:

"There is no difference between Mohammedan, Jew, or
Christian in the eyes of a true Moslem. All are equal.
The only place where our ways part are at prayer we go
to the mosque, while they go to a synagogue or church. In
fact, as far as we are concerned, our ways need not part
even then, for we Moslems are at liberty to pray anywhere.

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM 83

We do not make the slightest discrimination against those
who do not believe as we do. We look upon their goods
as our goods, and upon their life as our life, and we try to
protect them in every way. The Moslem who does not
believe in Moses, the founder of Judaism, and Christ, the
founder of Christianity, as prophets, is not a true Moslem.
Of course, Mohammed, who came later than Moses and
Christ, and who found the world in a dreadful state of de
moralization, has improved upon their teachings. Other
wise, all the prophets are equal. As for non-believers, we
feel sorry for them, we pity them, but we do not persecute
them. Our sympathies are naturally with believers, but
we are not angry at agnostics. Their conscience is their
own affair."

"Have you written any works on religious subjects ?"
I asked.

"No, I have not written anything. I have never had
a moment of unoccupied time. , I believe it is a sad waste
of time to write, unless one is sure that he can produce a
great and useful work."

"May I know who are your favorite writers in Europe?' 5

The Sheikh-ul-Islam hesitated.

"May I know your opinion of the works of such writers
as Goethe, Voltaire, Tolstoy?"

The Sheikh smiled, and it was evident from the expres
sion of his face that he had not heard these names before.

"I have not read their works, for the same reason that
I have not written any books myself, I have not had
any unoccupied time. But I am, of course, familiar with
Arabic literature."

I explained to him Tolstoy's place in modem literature,
the nature of his latest writings, 'and the reason why

84 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

he had been excommunicated by the Russian Church.

<f What would be your attitude toward a Moslem, a
man of the calibre of Tolstoy, who would criticise Islam?"
I asked.

"Our religion is liberal. Our religion is free. Any one
may write whatever he pleases. We are not afraid. We
would excommunicate no one for criticising us. We look
upon the skeptic and non-believer with a sense of compas
sion. We feel sorry for our critics, but we have not the
slightest fear. And do you know why we have no fear?
No one has yet written a better book than the Koran, nor
can anybody ever write a better book."

In my next question I asked the Sheikh-ul-Islam to ex
press himself concerning the rights of the various religious
heads, such as the Greek and Armenian Patriarchs and the
Haham Bashi (Grand Rabbi) under the new regime.

"My position does not permit me to discuss political
questions," he said. "Of course, I could enumerate to you
their rights under the present regime, not in my official
capacity. But I have not yet familiarized myself suffi
ciently with this subject, and it is my rule never to speak
on anything unless I know it thoroughly."

At this point I decided to ask the question to which no
Turkish statesman is willing to give a frank answer. The
Young Turks are afraid to commit themselves on the sub
ject concerning the amelioration of the condition of women
ia Turkey, realizing that nothing might so arouse the Turk
ish masses against the new government as even the mention
of reform in this direction.

"Everywhere in Europe and America there are move
ments for the emancipation of women. Do you intend to

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM 85

introduce in time any reforms which would tend to improve
the condition of women in Turkey?" I asked.

The Sheikh's large, dark eyes smiled. Then he lowered
his heavy, black eyebrows over his eyes and, after a pause,
answered :

"This is a very important question. The emancipation
of woman? Ah! that is a most serious problem. But
do you know? The idea that such reforms are necessary
has not yet been born in Turkey.' 5

"Is it because the men themselves are not yet emanci
pated?"

"The idea of equalizing the women with the men is not
yet born in Turkey and will not be born for a long time to
come. At the present time the character, the customs, and
habits of our people make it impossible for such ideas to
develop in our midst."

"You say, "at the present time/ Do you believe that
the Parliament will take up this question in the near future
and introduce reforms in this direction?"

"I am not so sure that this will ever happen in Turkey,"
replied the Sheikh slowly.

"What is your attitude toward Zionism?" I inquired
after a while.

The Sheikh-ul-Islam looked as though he did not under
stand my question. So I modified it.

cc How do you look upon the emigration of Jews from
countries where they are persecuted, such as Russia and
Roumania, to Palestine?"

"We regard all people as our equals," said the Sheikh.
"We make no discrimination against Jew or Gentile. The
Jews have always lived comfortably in Turkey, and the

86 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Moslems like them very much. But as much as we sym
pathise with a suffering race, we Moslems treat all people
equally, and if a large emigration of Jews or Gentiles to
Palestine would commence, it would become a problem for
the Parliament to solve. It is certainly not a religious
question."

Suddenly the Sheikh turned the conversation to America
and Americans, and spoke with great enthusiasm.

cc The Americans are the most progressive people in the
world," he said. "They are quick to perceive their oppor
tunities, they possess more initiative and energy than any
other people. Let the American capitalists bring their
money to Turkey. Turkey is in great need of money just
now. They would earn great profits and would at the same
time help us to develop along the lines of liberty. They
would help us to help ourselves."

Just before I left, the Sheikh-ul-Islam said to me :
" "Remember, our religion orders that there shall be a
constitution. It does not order this form of constitution or
that. Time may change the constitution and improve it.
But what is most important, our religion orders liberty,
and I assure you that Islam will be the protector of
liberty/'

After a visit to the various departments of the Islamate
and to the room where a few months before the Fetwa had
decided to depose Abdul Hamid, I came out on the street.
The sun was burning. The beggars and the dogs almost
covered the square now. The women with their faces cov
ered, a mass of black from head to foot, walked slowly, and.
in passing, some of them dropped coins to the beggars and
waited for their prayers.

As I passed the Sulieman Mosque on my way from the

SHEIKH-UL-ISLAM 87

Sheikh, I saw new groups of people entering the cool house
of prayer to sleep.

From time to time a wild outcry rent the air, and some
phlegmatic Turk would bestir himself about his little shop.
In the distance a Muezzin, stationed on the minaret, was
calling the faithful Moslems to prayer :

"Allah is great! Allah is most great!"

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN

Berlin, May, 1908.

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN scarcely needs any introduction in
America. But it may not be generally known that through
out Germany the name of Harden has become a household
word. Among the people at large his name is associated
with fearlessness and courage and victory. When, after
his second trial, a crowd of about 5,000 people waited for
him at the Court House and carried him, amid cheers, on
their shoulders, it was but an expression, in a small way,
of the feeling of the masses, who everywhere applauded
the man who dared to stir up the hornets' nest, to expose
the rottenness in the highest places, and who came out
triumphant.

Since then the success of Harden and his small but in
fluential weekly journal, Die Zukunft^ called forth a most
bitter animosity among Harden' s already numerous ene
mies, chiefly inspired by a sense of envy. Men like Harden
have enthusiastic admirers, but they also make deadly ene
mies. Thus Harden has been called by some "the savior
of Germany," while by others he is styled "the betrayer of
the German Empire.' 3 Harden has been compared with
Couzier and Rochefort, with Girondin and Lasalle, with
Sainte-Beuve and Taine; he has been called a harlequin and
a prophet, and his speeches as well as his writings have been
described as containing "fire and force, thunder and
lightning."

But, whatever Harden may be, one thing is certain he

88

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 89

is the greatest moulder of public opinion in Germany. His
intimate friendship with Bismarck gave him a peculiar posi
tion as a "private authority" concerning the inner workings
of politics and statesmanship in Germany as well as in
other European States. Since the passing of Bismarck,
Harden has become the centre toward which gravitate all
German statesman and high officials who for one cause or
another are discontented. To him they unburden them
selves, and Harden himself has been called the prophet of
discontent.

His fight against "the Knights of the Round Table" has
proved successful, even though at the fourth trial, but a
little while ago, Harden was found guilty and sentenced to
a fine of 600 marks. The men he accused in his articles in
Die Zukunft are disgraced and dismissed from office. As
Harden himself put it :

"The decisive has happened. The German Emperor
showed these men the door. Why"? This will never be
'established' here. . . . No details are necessary. Can you
believe that only the articles in Die Zukunft have led to
this step? Do we live in an empire where the most fa
vored gentlemen are driven away because a moderately dis
tinguished journal, by no means favored by the Kaiser,
contained a few articles against them*? Are old, intimate
friends simply thrown out on this account? Is this suf
ficient for the Kaiser to say to the representative of the
former President of the Police Department: c You need
not tell me any more about Eulenberg, Moltke, Hohenau,
or Lecomte; these are settled. But I want at once a list
of the others of the Court and the Guards'?"

IA his last speech at the trial just closed Harden wound
up with the following words:

go THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

cc . . . When you condemn me, use your judgment, not
your right, for you have not proved against me the slightest
guilt. Do it! I have nothing against it. Such things
must end in this way; such things have always ended thus
in history. ... It must always be thus. Do it again, if
you would take the responsibility upon yourself. Let it
be known that the Imperial Court has once more tried to
disgrace Harden and has convicted him again. I only
wish that the sentence be severe (from your viewpoint
there can be no question of a fine; such a decision would
be incomprehensible) and I am sorry that you cannot go
above the four months* limit. Imprison me, brand me,
strike me: that's the punishment. ..."

Next to the Kaiser, Maximilian Harden is perhaps the
best known figure in Berlin. If you call up "Wilmensdorf
366" the telephone operator will ask: "Harden?" That
is not the number of ~Die Zukunft^ it is the telephone num
ber of his house. The German barber, who is quite as
talkative as his American colleague, while shaving me no
ticed that I had with me a copy of Die Zukunft, and he
immediately went into raptures over Harden. When I
hailed a cabman and told him to drive to Wernerstrasse,
16, he looked up importantly and asked: "Herr von
Harden?"

As I came to Grunewald, Berlin's most beautiful section,
where Harden's villa is located, I noticed the following leg
end painted on his door: cc Walk in lively! You may
enter with dust-covered shoes ! But if your heart and your
mind are covered with dust, leave us alone !"

This legend was not recently inscribed it showed con
siderable signs of age.

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 91

Mr. Harden received me in the room adjoining his li
brary, and through the open door I could see Franz von
Lenbach's famous painting of Bismarck on the wall fac
ing Harden's writing table. From the photographs I had
seen of Harden, and from what I knew of his work, I had
pictured him as a strong, imposing, rather theatrical
figure. Instead, he is small in stature, unassuming, and
modest-looking. But when he speaks there is something
in his face, in his eyes, that reminds one of the Napoleonic
cast of features.

We began to speak about German literature and the
drama of to-day.

"I have been ten days in Berlin and have noticed that
perhaps nine-tenths of the dramas produced in your
theatres are translations or adaptations from other lan
guages. French comedies, farces, and detective plays are
in the lead. Shakespeare is given, the Ibsen plays are
produced, Goethe's Taust' has been revived by Max Rein-
hardt in a most elaborate form. Occasionally an original,
new German play is also produced. What is the state of
the drama in Germany to-day?" I asked.

"German literature cannot be said to be in a flourishing
condition," said Harden. "Some of our dramatists are
writing novels now, but they have not produced anything
of importance. Sudermann's 'The Song of Songs' is a
fiasco. It was a cheap appeal to the lower tastes of the
people, but it failed, nevertheless. As in his dramas,
Sudermann was here also striving merely for outward ef
fects. Hauptmann's latest play, 'Griselda, 3 also failed of
success. The trouble with all our dramatists is that as
soon as they have met success with one of their plays they

92 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

set up a high standard of living, and in order to maintain
it they must keep on turning out play after play. They
must produce even when they have nothing to produce.

"Take Hauptmann, for instance. He has bought eight
villas and has grown accustomed to a luxurious life. He
is thus compelled to produce unripe work upon the stage.
German literature would be in a better state if our novelists
and dramatists would rest more than they do. In France
Rostand, the most gifted of all French poets and dramatists,
produced only one drama after his great success, T/Aiglon.'
In Germany all Halbe, Hauptmann, Sudermann, and
others have been writing too fast. Only a genius can
produce a drama at one stroke. No other form of litera
ture requires so much careful work as the drama. The
great Ibsen always worked intensively; he re-wrote every
dialogue three or four times; he reconstructed his scenes
until they were dramatically perfect.

"This dearth of good dramas and novels is all the more
to be regretted because there is at present a great interest
in the drama and in literature in general to be noticed
among the people. Many books are bought now and the
theatres are thriving."

"Are there any new tendencies, new currents, in German
literature? I see that Russian pornographic literature is
finding its way into Germany in translations. Do you
think this will exert some influence upon the modern Ger
man literature?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, too much space and importance are
given to eroticism, to sexualism, in our literature. I am
not a preacher of prudery. But I detest a work whose
success is attained through pornography. Eroticism does

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 93

not play so important a part in the life of the people as
may be gathered from this sort of literature.

"The fault of modern literature is that it mirrors real
life too little. After all the power and efforts spent by
the German people on inventions and the development of
our industries, the future historian will not find anything in
the books written during the past ten years that would give
him even the slightest idea of what the people have really
been doing. He will find only conflicts of Bohemians;
stories of little girls and artists and literary folk. The
treatment of real life, in artistic form, has been sadly
neglected.

"There is a strong movement now for 'native literature/
for typically German literature. I regard this movement
as worthless. Who wants to resist outside influences upon
art to-day 4 ? Assimilation is felt in all arts at present, and
narrow nationalism is becoming impossible. People of dif
ferent nations and countries are growing ever more similar
to one another. The national differences are less pro
nounced than the social differences. People of the same
economic conditions living in different countries understand
one another better than the people who live in luxury under
stand those who live in the cellars of the same houses."

f "Which literature do you regard at present as one that
is likely to exert a determining influence upon other
literatures?"

"Certainly not current German literature. It is an in
dividual who looms up and introduces a new note. Haupt-
mann cannot influence others. He is himself a conglomera
tion of other literatures. You will find in him the influ
ences of French and Russian literatures. Heine was a

94 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

strong influence, especially on the young French lyrical
poets. Now Nietzche is influencing the minds of young
writers. Victor Hugo and Ibsen have had powerful in
fluence everywhere. With Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy came
the great Slavic wave over European literature."

"And now?"

"Now we are waiting for the American wave. It will
surely come. It must come. It is with literature as with
life and with politics/ 3 said Mr. Harden. "The influence
of America is beginning to be felt in Europe. A great deal
is being said about the Americanization of Europe, but the
accusation that the Americans are money-mad, that they are
nothing but dollar people is but a vulgar prejudice which
is rapidly disappearing. There are dollar people every
where. Nine-tenths of the efforts of all people everywhere
are bent on moneymaking, and it is childish to speak of
Americans as introducing commercialism into the arts.

"Paul Bourget was the first to weaken the prejudice that
the Americans are merely business people. I know several
American business men myself, and I am astounded at the
interest they take in art. The higher spheres, the nobility,
in Germany are not interested in art or literature; they
have no libraries and they buy no paintings. If not for the
wealthy Jews almost all our artists would have to starve.
This abnormal state, caused by the indifference of our upper
classes, has certainly had a retrogressive effect upon our
art."

Finally our conversation turned from literature to poli
tics. I asked him for his views on the future of Germany.

"It is hard to foretell the future of Germany," replied
Mr. Harden. "Germany is strong, colossal, and it is
growing ever stronger. But the population of Germany is

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 95

growing, and It is becoming necessary for Germany to ex
pand. Germany must have colonies, it needs colonies for
its natural development, and it will make an effort to ac
quire them. When? Not immediately, but in the near
future."

Mr. Harden paused awhile, and then went on :

"The best and most natural thing would be for the
Germanic nations, the Anglo-Saxons and Americans, to
unite and go hand in hand together. But England is op
posed to such a union because of her antipathy for Ger
many. Therefore, it is probable that England will form
a close friendship with the Slavs and the Japanese.

"With a view to the future, if America is sufficiently
far-sighted, it should reflect and consider carefully as to
what would be best for herself. It would be best for
America to look to her own interests, and therefore not go
with England and thus help her carry out her policies,
which would work to the detriment of the United States.

"If there is mutual good-will between England, America,
and Germany, these three great industrial nations will find
the possibility for natural and pacific development. But
I fear that it will be impossible to avoid a war. The situa
tion will not be straightened out without a war. It must
come to it, because Englishmen are not yet accustomed,
they have not yet learned from history to divide power;
they are determined at any cost to hold by force and vio
lence that which they regard as theirs.

"The English statesman, who could see clearly the rela
tions between Germany and England, must ponder care
fully over everything that England has experienced with
both South African republics since 1900 till the present
time, and then reproduce this experience in world politics.

96 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Then he would see that it is better to come to an agreement
with a great power in the beginning instead of waging
war in an effort to kill it off.

"As to Japan, I believe that the United States has made
the gravest mistake by allowing it to become so great and
powerful. Roosevelt was a very able and energetic Presi
dent, but I do not think that he had very keen political
foresight.

"It was the natural antipathy for Russia that allowed
Japan to become great. But the Americans rejoiced al
together too much over Japan's victory.

"I think that America, which has settled the negro prob
lem, will also manage to settle the yellow race problem.
The great difficulty for America is how to check pacifically
the invasion of the yellow races. But the danger of the
yellow-race problems will lose its acuteness as soon as the
Panama Canal is ready. Then America will be able to resist
Japan. Until then America will have to be careful."

I asked Mr. Harden to express himself concerning the
Turkish situation.

"I do not regard this liberalism in Turkey as definitely
settled. It was said of the Jesuits that they either remain
as they are or they can't exist at all. The same is true of
Islam. The liberalism in Turkey is not liberalism in the
American or English sense. Turkey is a religious State.
It is impossible to make such an important change as has
been made in Turkey so quickly. It was brought about by
officers and journalists, and the people had no hand in it.
I believe there will soon be another uprising and the old
Sultanate will reinstate itself. The Turks gravitate to
Asia. In European Turkey the Turks are in the minority.
The officers furnish- the sinews, and the journalists, schooled

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 97

for years in London, Paris, and Brussels, furnish the brains
of the new system in Turkey. But the people have played
no part in the revolution. Mohammed and Robespierre,
the Koran and Contrat Social these do not rhyme well.
I fear that reaction and revolution will alternate for some
time to come.

"The situation in Turkey shows the weakness of Europe.
Turkey belongs in Asia. Islam either remains as it is or
it can't exist at all. Turkey is in Europe because of the
rivalry among the European powers, because of their weak
ness. It is just the same as if Japan would be tolerated by
America to settle down along the Pacific. Americans, be
cause of this example, may be counseled against permitting
the Japanese invasion in the very beginning/'

"Do you think that the recent change in Turkey will
serve as an impetus to a change in Russia?" I asked.

"I do not believe that anything will come about in Rus
sia," answered Harden. "The Russian people, all classes
of the Russian people, want peace and rest. Only a war
can bring Russia to a new uprising. Russia, too, is an
Islam. Nothing save a change in the inner life of the Rus
sian masses will lead to the reconstruction of Russia.
There must first be an awakening of their inner conscious
ness, there must first be an inner revolution. But this, I
fear, is a long, hard road. The Russian masses have still
to learn the difference between the life of the Czar and the
life of an apostle."

Berlin^ 1916.

In these days even the great and independent and cou
rageous men of the countries involved in the war, the master
minds of the various nations are not at liberty to speak the
truth as they see it. They dare not comment on facts as

98 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

they desire, they must not find fault even when they feel
that their criticism might help their own countries, which
they love passionately.

When the voice of cannon speaks the voice of reason
must be silent. Silent now are the truly great men who
are the conscience of the nations at war, and those who
speak often distort the truth, believing that they are there
by helping their fatherlands.

When the machine guns are kept in action, mowing down
the strongest and the weakest alike, when Zeppelins come
in the stillness of the night over unfortified cities and hurl
bombs upon women and children, the voices of the thinkers
and the creative genius of the nations must be muffled, and
it is regarded almost as high treason to utter words and ex
press sentiments that might lead the maddened world back
to sanity.

In the course of my journeys through Europe, in Eng
land, France, Italy, Germany and Austria I noticed that the
people everywhere are thirsting for peace and for the
restoration of order and reason in blood-drenched Europe.
And even those who are blinded by their sympathies for
this nation or that are agreed that the European catastrophe
is the most ghastly nightmare of madness and blood and
horrors in history.

The military parties of the Governments at war have
started a diabolical game which they do not know how to
stop. So the slaughter goes on.

The people of all the warring nations believe that they
are shedding their blood for humanity, and they sincerely
expect the aid of God for their arms, and when the people
of one nation pray for their men in the trenches, on sea
and in the air, the prayers of the other nations go up in the

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN gg

same terms to the same God, and if God should heed all
their prayers He would have to destroy them all.

The passions of the people are fanned by falsehoods so
that their hatred and spirit of vengeance might grow.

A German statesman spoke to me about the enthusi
asm with which his people went to the trenches to certain
death. I remarked:

"In your country the people seem to hate by order and
to love by order. Now their hatred is directed against this
nation. Suddenly it is directed against another nation.
The Government gives the order and the people hate
accordingly.

"And yet the statesmen themselves do not seem to hate
the statesmen of the nations they are fighting."

"Yes," replied the statesman, "it is quite true. But
how could you expect the people to fight, to sacrifice their
lives, if they were not made to hate the enemy?"

Under such circumstances the real representatives of the
people, the thinkers and the scientists, cannot make their
voices heard, and many of them have even been so carried
away by their chauvinism that they too spur on this spirit
of hatred and violence among the people.

But in all the countries at war there are a few brave men
among the great leaders of public opinion who dare to speak
the truth because they love humanity as well as their own
countries.

Among these few men is Maximilian Harden, the famous
and courageous German editor and publicist.

During my stay in Berlin I had the keen pleasure of a
few interesting meetings with Maximilian Harden in his
home in Grunewald, where we discussed various phases of
the war and the prospects for peace. On the night before

ico THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

I left Berlin, on my way back to America, I visited him
again.

"I envy you because you are returning to America," he
said when he learned that I was to start for New York the
following day. "I have always longed to visit America.
I wanted to familiarize myself more closely with the life
of the American people, of the young, growing nation. I
believe that America is misunderstood and misinterpreted
in Europe.

"I am always disgusted with attacks on the 'Yankees'
and on 'Dollarland' that people so delight in making in va
rious European countries. I can see in the American peo
ple a strong will for good and a great idealism. It is a
younger state and thus it has all the faults and all the
virtues of youth. Even in the question of ammunition,
which has been in this country very acute, and which has
made the Americans extremely unpopular in Germany, I
feel that if it were wrong for America to sell ammunition
to the Allies, the American Government would not have
permitted it.

"The real cause of the differences between the Americans
and the Germans has been the lack of knowledge of the facts
concerning the attitude of these countries toward each
other. There has been so much misinformation in Ger
many concerning America, and I dare say there has been so
much distorted information in America about Germany,
that it was extremely difficult for these nations to check the
growing irritation, and serious consequences might spring
from misinformation.

"The American note to Austria regarding the question
of ammunition was an admirable document, which pre
sented the attitude of America in this matter with splendid

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 101

clearness. This point of view should have been presented
in some form or another in Germany long ago and much of
the hatred that has developed for America in Germany
would not have taken root.

"The military authorities are incensed at America over
the question of ammunition and the people at large, fed on
newspaper accounts inflaming the passions of the mob
against Americans on this point are, of course, also aroused.
Only this evening as I came in from the city one of the
railroad guards remarked to me: c Those cursed Ameri
cans are again supplying ammunition to the French and the
British, with which thousands of our men are killed. But
we will teach them a lesson for this. We will give them
the whipping they deserve.'

"This is the attitude of the ignorant people. But if the
Germans here knew a little more of the truth about Amer
ica, and if Americans knew a little more of the truth about
Germany, I feel certain that such a state of public opinion
could not prevail/*

cc But this view is shared not only by the people who are
not familiar with the facts," I remarked. "I understand
that in high political spheres in Germany such views have
been expressed openly. I have learned from a most reli
able source that a well-known German diplomatist said to
a prominent American several months ago: 'It would be
well for America to realize that there are 500,000 German-
Americans in the United States who would rise at a mo
ment's notice from the German Government. The sooner
America realizes this the better for America. 5

"The American replied to the German statesman : 'You
are mistaken. There are no German-Americans, or any
other hyphenated Americans who would rise against Amer-

102 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ica by order of another Government. And I can assure
you that if there were, if so-called Americans would rise
against America by order of another Government, there
are enough lampposts in America on which to hang them
all/ "

Harden shrugged his shoulders and said :

"I am astounded to hear that a statesman should have
dared to make such a statement. But then in these days
of madness people seem to have forgotten how to speak and
think rationally. My feeling concerning the German-
Americans is this: If the Germans in America want to
be so thoroughly German that they are displeased and
openly discontented with America, they should have re
mained in Germany.

"There is no denying that the Germans in America con
stitute one of the best elements of the American people,
and I know that most of them are patriotic Americans. It
is quite natural that their sympathies should be on the side
of their old home. It is human. But the German-
Americans should employ in a crisis of this magnitude all
the tact and good judgment at their command, and they
ought to realize that the best way in which they can serve
their old home is by showing that they are good Americans,
by actually being and acting as good Americans to-day.

"If they have gone to America they must have come there
to find something which they could not find in their old
homes, and if they stay there they must have found there
what they sought. They are guests in America. They
have been welcome guests there before the war and they
will be welcome after the war is ended, but they should be
tactful"

Of the European catastrophe, he said:

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 103

"What can a man say at this time of all the unspeakable
horrors that have come upon Europe? I had expected that
a war would break out before long, but not a war of such
magnitude.

"As far as Germany is concerned, whatever may be said
of our success on the battlefield, the Allies have had prac
tically no success at all. They are still compelled to fall
back on the Marne battle when they speak of their suc
cesses. But from whatever point we may view this war
I feel that if it will not bring about a change in Europe it
is madness, nothing but criminal madness. This should be
the last war. Nothing else would justify the millions of
human lives and the billions that have been sacrificed."

"May I know upon what terms you believe Germany
would agree to stop this war?" I asked.

"The German people are not an impatient people, and
this war is unlike any of the previous wars. There is no
definite aim for which any of the nations is fighting.
Usually there was a definite purpose and aim. When that
was attained the war was practically ended. In this war
it is altogether different. None of the nations knows just
what it is striving to attain through this war. The Ger
mans can fight on. Of course the German people cannot
be expected to return home without gaining any advantage
after such enormous loss of life, after such extraordinary
sacrifices.

"But it is a misfortune that all the Powers consider peace
talk as a sign of weakness. Peace negotiations should be
started at once. Peace talk, or rather the desire for peace,
is not a sign of weakness but rather a sign of strength, of
the restoration of sanity, a sign that madness has reached
a point beyond which it ought not to be permitted to go.

104 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"I believe that all thinking people of every country are
in favor of peace. How can any sensible and honest man
be in favor of this hate? How is war started? How is
this hate brought into being and forced onto the people?
The people wake up one beautiful morning and find that
their honor has been assaulted, that their country is in dan
ger, that a cruel enemy has designed to annihilate them.
The patriotism of the people suddenly begins to manifest
itself in various forms of passionate hatred and violence.

"In time of war everybody is suspected of desiring to
betray his country. Even the most devoted sons and the
leading thinkers are suspected of treason if they dare to
speak calmly and reasonably. There should not be any
doubt but that every thinking man loves his country and
wishes it to succeed and to grow in power and influence.

"Patriotism is a matter of fact, it is a natural feeling;
but in our patriotism we must not forget that in addition
to our love for our country there is mankind to which all
countries should be responsible. This is the higher patri
otism. And this higher patriotism makes the thinking re
alize all the more keenly that this war is sheer madness,
and if there will be no change for the better, if as a result
of this slaughter war will not be made impossible within at
least the average lifetime of a man, it is the most ghastly
and inconceivable madness.

"People have considered me a militarist, an advocate of
war. But I am not. I always thought that another
great war was inevitable, on account of the wrong ways
and methods of the diplomatists, but I never expected
that we should be the witnesses of such a terrible war as
this, of such downright madness. It is absurd to speak
of bringing the great nations to their knees, of crushing

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 105

this great Power or that. It cannot be done. Neither
Germany, nor England, nor France, nor even Russia, can
be crushed.

"The people who speak of destroying nations are not
taking history into consideration. A great nation cannot
be destroyed by war. And even if it could be ruined it is
absurd for the other nations to try to do it. It is as
though I would destroy everything in the house in which I
expected to live simply because I was angry at one of the
neighbors living in the same house, The nations now at
war will have to live as neighbors in the house which they
are now destroying, and the more terrible the hatred and
the more extensive the destruction, the worse for all of
them.

C T want to see the factors of culture in every nation
maintained and not destroyed. The nations, the people,
have within them the qualities of right and justice and
love; but this zoological war, this atavistic slaughter, has
been brought about by elements unfortunately represented
in the spheres of diplomacy everywhere. The passions that
have been aroused, the hatred that has been spread, have
poisoned the people everywhere. The French are as un
reasonable against Germany as Germany is unreasonable
against France.

"After all it cannot be denied that Germany has certain
virtues. Nor can it be denied that France has certain
virtues. The same is true of England. Although there
are some foolish people among us who still say f Gott strafe
England 7 (God punish England), we must not forget that
after all we have emulated England in many ways. It is
ridiculous to speak of cultured nations as savages, to close
our eyes to the achievements of the various nations, to their

106 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

contributions in different ways to the welfare of mankind,
but the people everywhere seem to be acting and speaking
as though they were all intoxicated. We are destroying
the house in which we expect to live in peace.

"I find that the time has come when this terrible catas
trophe must make similar catastrophes impossible. It
seems to me that mankind should no longer permit such
catastrophes to be brought about by the mistakes of the
politicians. All great Powers must get together in order
to make an end to this unparalleled crime.

"History will some day fix the responsibility and record
the truth as to the real criminals who have started this
war. But now the great minds of all the countries at war,
and especially of the neutral Powers, ought to make every
effort to set aright this calamity which has befallen Europe
Do not try to go into details as to who started the war, for
if you do you will not have peace for a long time to come.

"As to the terms of peace, no one can tell whether a na
tion has concluded peace upon satisfactory terms or not
for at least twenty years. The terms of peace that may
seem satisfactory at the time of their conclusion may prove
very unsatisfactory.

"The politicians and statesmen who sit in their nooks
and intrigue and plot see only one side of the big questions,
and it is high time for mankind to guard itself against
calamities resulting from the machinations of such politi
cians and diplomatists.

"The great minds of the countries at war instead of fight
ing with their pens, instead of emulating their brethren
who are fighting with guns, should employ their intellectual
weapons to restore order and peace rather than to stir up

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 107

new hatreds and to encourage violence. It is easy for them
to be heroes by shouting and clamoring for vengeance.
Blind passion may be a blessing in the trenches, but not in
the study. The great sacrifices of human life on both sides
of the Powers at war are in vain, for no purpose will be
achieved by them. And those of us who are too old or too
weak to go in defense of our country on the battlefield, and
those of us who can exert influence upon the world, must
strive to restore peace as speedily as possible.

"Unfortunately this is the age of small statesmen. The
nations are guided by mediocre men. In Europe I regard
Sir Edward Grey as one of the saner and better minds 1
among the statesmen."

I pointed to the portrait of Bismarck over Maximilian
Harden' s desk and said: "Do you think we would have
had this war if we had a Bismarck to-day among the
diplomatists of Europe?"

"I am convinced that we should have had no war if
Bismarck were alive," declared Harden. "The secret of
lasting peace is that the power of might shall after this war
be curbed. This cannot be done in war but in peace. It
is against the genius of the times."

I asked Mr. Harden about the efforts in behalf of peace
by neutral countries. He answered:

"The Pope's plans for peace, his impassioned appeals
for peace, are fine, but they are largely of a decorative na
ture. I believe that the United States, that President
Wilson, can do more for the peace of the world than any
other power. Of course many people everywhere are dis
pleased with America's attitude in this war, but you can
not please all the people with any policy, however just

io8 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

and righteous it may be. I believe America's attitude has
been correct, and that is why America can help in bring
ing about peace.

''America will be the mistress of the world after the war.
Europe will be bankrupt, ruined. America will be in su
preme command in commerce as well as in other matters.
It is most important for the world that such a young,
powerful part of it has kept out of this war."

In answer to the question regarding the Polish provinces
now occupied by Germany, Mr. Harden said :

"The Polish provinces are for us perhaps the most dif
ficult problem. We must settle it in such a manner as to
assure peace in our eastern provinces. I personally would
be opposed to a Polish state under Austrian sovereignty, as
has been contemplated. I hope that we may make no mis
take in this direction. We must make the life of the na
tionalities in Germany so agreeable that they should not
long for the old mode of life in the countries where they
lived before. We cannot make them German by force.
We must not repeat the same mistake that England made
with regard to the Irish.

"The Poles have disgraced themselves during this war by
the wholesale acts of treason, especially in Austria, where
numerous Polish leaders betrayed their country. The
cowardly way in which they accused the Jews of the crimes
they themselves had committed makes their crimes all the
graver."

Before I left his home he remarked once more :

fc lf this war will not be the last great war, it is nothing
else than criminal madness. Europe will be absolutely
bankrupt if the war continues until April. I believe that
if the question concerning Belgium could be settled now,

MAXIMILIAN HARDEN 109

the war would be at an end. As for indemnities, it should
be quite clear that if the war is ended three months earlier
all the Powers would save sums constituting large
indemnities."

BERNARD SHAW

London,

OF all the English writers, I was particularly eager to meet
Bernard Shaw, the man who was hated or admired; re
garded either as a great genius in advance of his time, or as
a brilliant literary buffoon; either as a great reformer
employing startling methods of expression to attract at
tention to what he had to say, or an insincere scoffer, jester,
cynic and destroyer.

I visited him at his home, at Adelphi Terrace, London.
As I walked up the staircase, I saw a sign over the small
gate on the first story, bearing the name of "Mrs. Bernard
Shaw." His own name was not there. I rang the bell
and a rather pretty maid opened the door. As Mr. Shaw
was expecting me at the appointed hour, the maid ushered
me into his study a spacious, bright, cheerful room. Mr.
Shaw was seated on a couch, and near him, on a low stool,
sat his secretary, a young woman, taking dictation. When
I entered, the secretary rose and walked out, and I re
mained alone with Mr. Shaw.

Bernard Shaw is a rather tall, well-built, kindly-looking
man ; gray yet youthful, almost always smiling. He wore
a neat brown suit of the latest cut, which gave him quite
a dashing appearance.

He commenced by asking me questions about Russia.
Then he spoke of Tolstoy, and finally gave vent to his feel
ings about America. He still seemed to feel the sting

no

BERNARD SHAW 111

caused him by the suppression of "Mrs. Warren's Profes
sion" in New York several years before.

In the course of our conversation I asked him what he
thought of Tolstoy's essay on Shakespeare in which the
great Russian tried to prove that Shakespeare was not only
not a great dramatist but even a mediocre writer.

"That was a silly little book," replied Shaw. 'Tolstoy
took one of Shakespeare's very best plays and tried very
hard to prove that it was worse than the play from which
he had drawn his theme. As a matter of fact, 'King Lear 5
is an excellent play, and Tolstoy was entirely wrong in his
analysis of Shakespeare.

"Tolstoy was a prodigious genius," he went on as he re
clined on his couch, with a smile. "Rut he was devoid
of any humor or fun. That's why he could not understand
me. He was too dead serious and he was almost childish
in the philosophy he evolved and the doctrines he preached.

"I cannot understand how so profound a student of hu
man nature and close an observer as Tolstoy was could ex
pect people to follow his rules of life which even a child
would at once recognize as impractical, as hopelessly in-
feasible. Yet he went on with his theories notwithstand
ing that his followers suffered disaster.

"Rut as an artist he was wonderful. With one stroke
he knew how to make certain things appear ridiculous.
He made no comments. He simply pointed at some thing
in passing, as it were, and the effect was tremendous.

"I shall never forget the reference to the manner of ex
ercises made by one of the jurors in the jury room in
'Resurrection/ Without the slightest comment he made
the thing thoroughly ridiculous. Or, in his story, 'The
Death of Ivan Hyich,' where he describes the blue velvet

112 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

thrown over the coffin he makes no comment whatever,
but somehow after reading it you feel how ridiculous
funeral ceremonies are."

Much interest was centered on Bernard Shaw on account
of the authorized critical biography of him that had ap
peared a short time before. In referring to it, Mr. Shaw
said with an air of great seriousness:

"This is a very good book. One can really get an ex
cellent idea of myself and my works by reading this book,
but there is not a single accurate statement in it.

"Dr. Henderson has published in this volume pictures of
houses in which I had never lived, and if he mentions a
newspaper in connection with some of my work, he in
variably mentions the wrong one. He often gets me into
trouble by quoting things which I had never said.

"In one place, for instance, he refers to a statement which
I am supposed to have made about my unfriendly relations
to women. Now, even I would hesitate to say that I had
unfriendly relations with women. On the whole, how
ever, the book is very good, but it has what I would call
the inaccuracies of higher mathematics. Dr. Henderson,
you know, is a mathematician."

When our conversation turned to America and things
American, I asked Mr. Shaw why he has never visited the
country where some of his plays were so successful.

cc Why should I go to America?" wondered Mr. Shaw.
"There is nothing there that can interest me. When Amer
ica will be a real American nation, when the American type
becomes fixed, when the American's skin turns red and his
forehead recedes, then it will be interesting to go to Amer
ica. But at the present time, what are the Americans?
An appalling, narrow lot.

BERNARD SHAW 113

"Take such a small detail as the incident with the women
who wore 'harem* skirts in New York. They were jeered
at and had to run for their lives. Now, the 'harem' skirt
is really a splendid thing, and there is not the slightest
cause for jeering those who wear them. But America is
a land of unthinking, bigoted persecution.

"Take another incident, the Gorky affair. Even if
Gorky had come from a country where divorces are easily
granted, the treatment he received at the hands of Amer
icans was brutal. But Gorky came from Russia, the land
of barbaric laws. Therefore, I say America's outrageous
treatment of Gorky put her outside the pale of civilization,
if she ever was within the pale. This should be said to
America. It may do her some good/'

"Are you not interested in the development of the Amer
ican people in their achievements?" I asked.

"But they are not developing," he answered. "That is
why they don't interest me. I am sure they would not be
interested in me if I came there. I am not an elephant,
so I would not arouse their curiosity. They have much un
trained religious enthusiasm, and the trouble with Amer
icans is that each one is working out his own ideals in
dividually instead of having one common religion or ideal
for all."

"Are you opposed to individualism, to individual self-
perfection?" I asked,

"We must be guided by certain standards. Anything
silly or rotten that I write is smashed by public opinion and
done for. If I lived on a desert island I would perhaps be
writing silly and sentimental romances which are of no use
to anybody. But I am working hard. I argue and de
bate and weigh every phrase, and work on it and reconstruct

114 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

it; it is quite simple. It is absolutely true that easy writ
ing is hard reading and hard writing is easy reading.

"Now to return to America, I believe she ought to have
a religion of her own. The Pilgrims took the Bible along
with them when they emigrated to America. The Chris
tian religion was a real religion in the Middle Ages; then
a state of skepticism set in at the time of Shakespeare.

"Since the Pilgrims left their countries because of reli
gious persecution, it was quite natural that they should take
their religion along with them. But it would have been
much better for them if they had taken the religion of the
Indians and developed it. At the present time we all wear
clothes that do not fit us. We have the Christian religion,
which is the Jewish religion, an Oriental religion and it
does not fit us. It was good for us when we were Orientals,
when Judaism and later Christianity came into the world.

"America is overridden with old-fashioned creeds and a
capitalist religion. Mr. Roosevelt is a typical expression
of what I mean.

"There is not a single credible religion in the world to
day. No educated man in Germany or here, or even in
America, believes in the things our religions would have us
believe. A new religion is necessary."

Mr. Shaw spoke with apparent seriousness, but there was
a peculiar smile in his eyes.

I asked him for his views on the peace movement which
was then also attracting considerable attention everywhere,
particularly in England and the United States. He burst
into laughter.

"Do you take this seriously? I am fifty-five years old
now, and I have passed through this peace wave several
times. I recall one peace meeting in particular. It was

BERNARD SHAW 115

several years ago. I believe Sir Arthur Conan Doyle pre
sided at that meeting. I was an invalid and came to the
meeting on crutches. They spoke of peace there. Every
body was in a peaceful frame of mind. People were send
ing Christmas cards to one another. Though I was on
crutches, I believe I smashed that meeting. You see, we
were building torpedo boats at the time, and anyone who
would have dared to be opposed to our building those tor
pedo boats would have been mobbed.

"International war will be stopped some day as duels
have been stopped. All countries should combine, and the
one that fires the first shot should be dealt with severely.
But all this talk at present is nonsense. We talk of our
command of the sea. This is ridiculous. We may as well
talk of our command of the sun and the moon/ 7

Mr. Shaw leaned back comfortably on the couch and,
after a brief pause, went on with a smile :

"But you must not think that we don't like the Amer
icans who come over here. We like them very much that
is, our hotelkeepers and shopkeepers do. The Americans
come over here and spend so freely the money made for
them by the unfortunate people of America. We live on
your earnings, on the sweat of your people, of the little
children out in South Carolina and other states. That is
all very nice for our hotelkeepers and shopkeepers. Also
for France and Germany. We do like the Americans very
much."

Mr. Shaw spoke for some time in this strain. Then our
conversation turned to the drama in England.

"The drama in England is hopeless," he said. "I should
have said the drama in England is hopeless just now. You
see, I was born at an extremely unfortunate moment for

1*6 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

myself. I came to England when I was twenty years old,
in 1876. Compulsory education was introduced in Eng
land in 1870. The newly literate needed and bought th$
same kind of literature we used to buy in the penny num
bers sentimental novels dealing with criminal heroes.
The serious works of the dramatist and the novelist ap
peal only to a very few.

"That is why Stevenson's Treasure Island' was success
ful he gave the newly literate a story of the type they
liked in their penny thrillers, but of course it was beauti
fully written. He had to stoop to the masses. There are
several really fine writers in England to-day who are com
pelled to write sentimental stuff to keep from starving.

"The same is true of the drama to-day. The old senti
mental novels are turned into dramas, and these popular
dramas drive out the higher drama. The only difference
between the drama of to-day and the drama of yesterday is
that the criminal heroes are somewhat better to-day. It is
quite natural that these plays as well as the silly society plays
are successful. If you or I go to see such a play we may
find it dull, and would be bored by it, but the large mass
of the people do not want to think; the intellectual play
drives them away. The clerks, the hard-working people
like to see fine clothes and elegant manners and society life
portrayed on the stage. They find pleasure in such plays
and therefore go to see them. That is why I told Froh-
man when he planned to give serious dramas here, that he
would not succeed. Such plays should be given in an en
dowed theatre."

"What of your own plays, Mr. Shaw? Are you pleased
with the reception they are getting?" I asked.

BERNARD SHAW 117

"Germany, Sweden, Austria these are the countries that
stand by me. France, the most backward country, and
Paris, which is a hundred years behind other capitals of
Europe, may soon see one of my plays produced there.
A French manager has made a contract with me for the pro
duction of my play, but I shall not believe that they will
produce it until I see it.

" 'Mrs. Warren's Profession' is being produced in Vienna.
They are also producing some of my plays in Russia, par
ticularly c Mrs. Warren's Profession/ This is a good old-
fashioned play to bring children to see.

"When 'Mrs. Warren's Profession' was published in
book form, I was afraid that some stupid people might buy
the book and, without reading it, send it to the children as
a Christmas present. People are generally in the habit
of doing such things. So I called the volume 'unpleasant
plays' to prevent adults from giving it to children. In the
following edition I marked it still more strongly by a quo
tation on the title page which I felt sure would make cau
tious mothers hide the book from their children.

"Imagine my surprise when one day a lady I know said
to me : 'Mr. Shaw, your book is a great favorite with my
children.' c What book is that?' I asked. TVTrs. Warren's
Profession,' she answered.

"I asked her to tell me why the book was such a favorite
with her children. She said they liked the story, partic
ularly the love scenes, and they were especially happy when
it turned out that the lovers were sister and brother. When
I asked what they thought of Mrs. Warren, she told me
that they considered her a very funny and amusing person
who kept a fried fish shop. Thus you see they found noth-

Ji8 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ing but purity in the play. You must be careful as to
what books you give to adults, for they may be corrupted,
but children may read anything."

In discussing the drama abroad Shaw touched upon the
anti-Semitic demonstration that took place at that time in
Paris in connection with Henri Bernstein's play. And
then he talked of the Jewish question in general.

"I could never understand what they call the Jewish
question. I think the Jewish question everywhere is due
to the Jew's business ability and honesty. If a Jew makes
a bargain with you he means to keep it, and means you to
keep it, too. The Englishman will sign away everything
when he needs money, but he does not mean to keep his
promise when he makes the bargain.

"Of course, there is no special antipathy against the Jew
in England, but whatever there is simply comes from the
Jew's straightforward business integrity, which infuriates
some of the thick-headed Englishmen. I think that Shake
speare sized up the situation to a nicety in The Merchant
of Venice. 7 Shylock made a bargain with Antonio, kept
it, and meant that Antonio should keep it. Antonio, who
is really a sentimental Englishman, was ready to sign away
everything in order to get the money from the Jew, with
out the slightest intention of ever returning it. When the
Jew wanted Antonio to fulfil his end of the contract, the
mob jeered and mocked him.

"This, I believe, is true everywhere. The Jew is in
telligent, industrious and hard-working, and when he makes
a bargain he knows exactly what he is doing.

"The prejudice against the Jewish race is still deep-
rooted because people do not pause to analyze the prejudice.
I think Macaulay was right when he said that if you start

BERNARD SHAW 119

a prejudice against red-headed people there would soon
develop a general hatred of them, and they might be
massacred.

"The massacres of the Jews in Russia was managed ex
actly as the massacres of the Armenians in Turkey. The
Sultan gave the order in Turkey and the Tsar gave the
order in Russia."

Mr. Shaw then reverted to the New Religion in his
whimsical manner and wound up by saying:

"I say that Life Force is God. But the Englishman ob
jects to this. He says that Life Force is a foreigner, while
God is an Englishman. That is where we disagree/*

AUGUSTE RODIN

Paris, May,

AUGUSTE RODIN, the world's foremost sculptor to-day, the
energetic Rembrandt in sculpture, who but yesterday had
to straggle like a novice and defend his art against the
prejudice of his colleagues and those people who always
condemn the man who dares to speak his own word, is
seventy one years young. Some people are always young.
They have no time to grow old. They do their work, they
say their word in literature or in life, in sculpture, in paint
ing, or in music, regardless of the censure and condem
nation of the few or the multitude; they work even
more energetically in the face of such hardships, and
their efforts are always identified with youthfulness. Such
a man is Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor.

The famous painter, Paul Laurens, said of Rodin :
"He belongs to the race of those men who march alone."
Rodin has not only marched alone, but has made the
multitudes, even his former enemies, march behind him.
He has created an art epoch that will, in the future, charac
terize the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth
centuries. In the words of a very gifted painter, Rodin,
in his living creations of bronze and marble, has produced
a natural and moving race of people.

A poet of passion, an interpreter of the human, Rodin
is yoxing in his intense admiration of the old, the undying
art of the Greeks, which was also human. Rodin has made
his life one long, continuous effort to attain the ideal of

120

AUGUSTE RODIN 121

art. Though a Frenchman, Rodin Is universal in his art.
His power and immensity spring from his individuality,
rather than from his surroundings.

A keen art critic, Gustave Kahn, has said :

"All great sculptors seek to reproduce life, but not all do
it in the same spirit. Some pay more attention to the clear
ness of expression than to exactness. Michael Angelo is
great, mighty and exact; others, like Carpeaux, for instance,
are great and elegant; Rude and Rodin are great and pa
thetic. French sculpture, which together with Italian
sculpture of the Renaissance, represented works of
the greatest beauty, declined in the beginning of the nine
teenth century, until Rodin appeared as an artist. He
made motion the chief characteristic of his works."

From his very first productions, beginning with "The
Man with the Broken Nose," to his very latest, which is
not yet completed, and which is to be dedicated by Rodin
to the "Martyrs of the Air," he kept on shocking the placid
academicians and conventional judges of art. His "John
the Baptist" and his statue of Balzac roused storms of in
dignation against Rodin in his own country as well as in
other lands.

Nevertheless, Rodin forged ahead, creating masterpiece
after masterpiece, until he has made a place for himself as
the foremost among the sculptors of the age.

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Rodin
in Paris. I was invited to his studio at a quarter past five
in the afternoon, when his day's work is ended. The spa
cious yard in front of his studio looked rather like the yard
of a busy warehouse, with heavy trucks and many work
men going quickly about their work. Within, many artists,
young and old, were waiting for the master.

122 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Passing through a number of enormous rooms, contain
ing statuary of various sizes, antique and modern, I was
met by the Duchess de Choiseul, a great admirer of Rodin,
who informed me that Rodin would see me in a little while.

I had heard that the Duchess de Choiseul, regarded by
prominent French people as one of the most brilliant
women in France, was called "Rodin's Muse." Also that
she was an American. So I asked her :

"Is it true that you are known as Monsieur Rodin's
Muse and that you are an American?"

"Yes, I am proud to be both the Muse of the greatest
sculptor in the world and a daughter of the greatest country
in the world."

"May I know your maiden name?"

"When I was a little girl I used to say that I was the
daughter of the Coudert Brothers of New York," replied
the Duchess with a smile.

"I said that I am proud that I am an American. I am
also proud that I persuaded an American millionaire,
Thomas F. Ryan, to do something really worth while for
his country. I am referring to his gift of Rodin works to
the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"Mr. Ryan had his bust made by Rodin. Then an in
spiration came to me. I said to him one day: 'Mr. Ryan,
don't be a dead man forever. You are a millionaire, but
your millions will be of no avail when you die. Why
shouldn't you do something that will help your country?'

"I talked and talked to him in this strain until I suc
ceeded. Mr. French and Mr. Robinson, on the committee
of the Metropolitan Museum, were the judges, and they
purchased for Mr. Ryan the works of Rodin which now
form the Rodin gallery in New York.

ATJGUSTE RODIN 123

"This collection of Rodin masterpieces in America is of
the utmost importance to young American artists. For I
believe, just as Monsieur Rodin does, that we have more
real artists in America, more talent, more genius, than other
countries have.

"Here in Europe we have dried fruit, while in America
we have vigorous, young talents but they are spoiled when
they come over here, amidst these surroundings, away from
the environments under which they could develop natu
rally. America is the greatest country in the world, but if
every rich American were really interested in the develop
ment of his country, America could be made still greater.

"America could be made greater than Greece and Rome
ever were; we have enough millions there now we want
artists. By bringing over such works as those of Rodin or
of other masters the young American artists could have the
best examples of Europe's greatest works amidst their own
surroundings, and this would tend to build up a great
American art."

At this point the door opened and Rodin walked in.
With his long gray beard and gray hair, with his fine
penetrating eyes, a dark velvet cap on his head, and in a
brown velvet jacket, he looked like a Rembrandt painting,
striking and picturesque. As he seated himself upon a
sofa, there stood behind him his latest work, as yet un
finished, which he is dedicating to the martyrs of the air,

After some preliminary conversation, I asked Rodin for
his views as to the future of sculpture.

"Sculpture is an eternal art," he said, speaking slowly.
"At some periods it will assert itself more strongly than at
others, but it will exist forever.

"The art of sculpture was perfected by the Egyptians,

124 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

the Assyrians, and the Greeks, who brought it to Its highest
point. In modern times different styles have been intro
duced in this art, and different names given to them, but
these styles have deviated from the school of the Egyptians,
the Greeks, and the Romans. Therefore, our works are
inferior, for the antique art is nearly perfect."

Rodin paused awhile, then continued, speaking more
quickly :

"The sculpture of our day is approaching a terrible
crisis. Modern sculpture is losing all the best qualities of
the art in the past. It is also separated from that which
belonged to it when it was a perfect art.

"In these days of ours there is a new manner of placing
works of sculpture in public buildings called museums.
This is a grave mistake. The works of art thus placed
there are only fragments, and art, to be perfect, must be
complete.

* 'Sculpture and architecture belong together, and the
deterioration of the one art affects the other. I believe
that sculpture will rise again to its former position only
after our architecture has regained its equilibrium. It
seems to be a peculiarity of our time to put works of sculp
ture in the wrong place.

"In France there is a movement at present striving to
restore this art to its former state and to free it from these
new tendencies of our age, which have been instrumental in
its decline. The very fact that we have commenced to real-
i2e this error leads me to believe that there is hope for prog
ress by going back to the older conception of this art."

"May I know what you regard as the mission of the
sculptor and his art, if there is any such mission?"

"The mission of art is morality, religion. It is the finest

AUGUSTE RODIN

expression of human intelligence, the noblest expression of
the thought of the whole of humanity. The epochs that
preceded the eighteenth century brought beauty into the
world, into life. The confusion of the nineteenth century,
which upset everything, which overthrew old standards and
created no new standards, entered also into art.

"Confusion reigned supreme in all the arts. The nine
teenth century was the epoch of but a few individualities.
It was an epoch without any particular style, without any
characteristic standard, either in sculpture or in architecture.

"But I feel optimistic as to the future. For I see signs
pointing to new and better ways."

"What is your opinion of American sculptors'?" I asked.

"American sculpture is still French," replied M. Rodin.
"But it is making great progress. America has produced
a number of very remarkable artists, such as Sargent, Saint-
Gaudens, Whistler.

"There is no doubt in my mind that America has a great
future as an art center. There are many fine artists there,
artists of unusual qualities, and American art, in all forms,
will surely grow ever greater and greater if it does not be
come commercialized. There lies the great danger.

"The commercialism of our age, especially in America, is
ruining the best talents that would have made this age an
art epoch. The commercial spirit, characteristic of this pe
riod, is the tomb-stone over the noblest strivings of the
artists."

Our conversation turned to his own works, and I asked
what he considered his most important production.

"The most difficult thing in the world is to judge your
own self and your own works. All my life has been de
voted to a continual study of the human body and the soul.

126 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Therefore, each one of my works represents something that
is part of all my work, and I cannot say which is better and
which is worse.

"There are people who consider 'The Kiss' as my master
piece; there are others who regard c The Thinker' as my
most important work; still others believe 'Victor Hugo' to
be the best thing I have done. To me it is simply a dif
ferent name, for all these works, as I said, are only a part
of my studies of humanity, of passion, and thought."

Speaking of types of women and models, M. Rodin said :

"The type of woman has not changed since the days of
the ancient sculptors. It remains always the same al
ways beautiful. In general the women of the Mediter
ranean were preferred by the artists as models, but women
of the North are just as perfect.

"For what is art? Always the great truth of nature
seen by a human mind. Photographs are not art, because
they do not pass through a human brain.

"Everything in nature is beautiful for the real artist,
for the man of imagination. Nothing is more ridiculous
than the effort of an artist to produce something beautiful,
something perfect, by combining perfect parts of different
models into one. Thus the artist who reproduces the eyes
of one model, the hands of another, the feet of a third, the
neck of a fourth, produces perhaps a beautiful doll, but it
is lifeless and worthless.

"There is no such thing as ugliness in nature, in life.
Everything is beautiful if seen through the artist's mind.
The imperfections become perfect. There is nothing more
wonderful than life."

M. Rodin was fatigued after a hard day's work. The
Duchess de Choiseul suggested that we look over some of

AUGUSTE RODIN 127

the sculptures in the studio. There was "The Benedic
tion." Two women, with wings, rising out of the waves of
the ocean, their heads bent in prayer. This is Rodin's
latest work, intended as a memorial for dead aviators
who sacrificed their lives as martyrs to the great future of
aviation.

Another statue represents "Psyche et 1'Amour." Near
it was a striking figure of a girl, seated upon a rock, listen
ing. This was entitled "The Echo."

Another work that attracts much attention in Rodin's
studio is "The Mystery." Two hands, a man's and a
woman's, clasping each other, form a sort of dome, and
represent the mystery of life.

M. Rodin always interested himself deeply with studies
of the expression of the hand. He produced hands that
seemed to clutch at space, ready to hurl it somewhere; he
produced terrible hands that seemed to commit acts of
violence; he formed fingers that groped greedily yet hope
lessly under the burden of Fate; he produced hands that ap
pear to be clutching at the shadow of mystery. At one
period of his life, Rodin attached special significance to
these studies of the human hands, but while Rodin never
neglects details, his art strives above all for harmony, and
these studies formed but part of his complete works.

The Duchess de Choiseul then removed the cloth from
an unfinished bust of herself which Rodin is working on.

"The master really regards this bust as his masterpiece,"
said the Duchess.

It is indeed a most wonderful work, representing
laughter.

Rodin's Muse laughed. The great sculptor came into
the room, looked at the uncovered bust, and smiled.

128 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

c 'It is not yet finished, but I expect to complete it before
long," he said.

Many students, artists, and other visitors were waiting
for Rodin in the adjoining room. He went out to see
them.

Duchess de Choiseul covered the bust and said :

"We have only one Rodin. He is old. We cannot af
ford to lose him. We must have him, we must have as
much of his work as possible. Therefore, when he is tired
or indisposed, I keep on urging him: "Work! Work!
Work!' 37

And Rodin's Muse laughed.

Paris, May, ipjr2.

Just as I was leaving Paris the postman handed me a
letter from Auguste Rodin, containing an invitation to
visit him in his studio on the following afternoon. My
grips were in the automobile and I was on my way to the
railroad station.

A gifted painter and keen art critic who was with me
said:

"I hope you are not hesitating. I would give up a dozen
other important engagements for a meeting with the
Michel Angelo of modern times. Besides Rodin is 72, and
there is only one Rodin."

I was not hesitating. I remembered the great pleasure
I had derived from my meeting with the vigorous, intel
lectual seventy-one-year young genius of France.

At 2 o'clock I came to the studio where the greatest
masterpieces of the famous French sculptor have been pro
duced and where they are still produced.

Before meeting the master I met his "Muse."

AUGUSTE RODIN 129

"Has M. Rodin completed the bust of his Muse?" I
asked the Duchess as she came out and assured me that M.
Rodin would soon return to the studio.

"That was a most unfortunate affair. A number of ac
cidents happened to that bust before it was completed and
finally when it was ready and was to be shipped to the
exhibition another accident occurred and the work was de
stroyed. That bust was one of the very finest works of
the master. But he is working on a new bust."

Saying this she removed the cloth from an incomplete
bust of herself, her face laughing broadly.

"I am afraid that this one is not such a happy likeness
of me," she added with a smile. "I am almost sure that
no accidents will happen to this bust."

The "Muse" commenced to speak with enthusiasm about
Rodin's great success everywhere in Europe, in America*
and especially in France.

"Rodin has just returned from Lyons," she said. "He
has loaned to the city of Lyons his private collection of
about two hundred and fifty of his favorite drawings for
the exhibition. All the rooms and the salon are brilliantly
illuminated and the impression made by the Rodin exhibi
tion there is one that can never be forgotten. The sur
roundings and the atmosphere are so delightful, and the
works of the master seem to be moving and going around.
It is a gigantic exhibition."

Then she spoke about the numerous people who are dis
turbing Rodin with various requests, and robbing him of
his precious time.

"There are some who come here in the hope of getting
souvenirs," she said, "and if they do not get any they are
quite ready to steal them. Sometimes I fear that a crank

130 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

might attack the master. I have been planning how to
guard M. Rodin against such people. Now we have solved
this question, I have secured a wonderful police dog to
watch Rodin. People with criminal tendencies had better
beware of that dog. And now that we have that dog here
I feel that the master is safe. There was never a more in
telligent bodyguard nor a more loyal one."

Finally Rodin came in. His short stature, his left shoul
der somewhat lower than the right, the deep furrows on his
face might disillusion his admirer at the first glance, but
as soon as Rodin begins to speak and his eyes brighten you
see before yourself the genius. You realize that the
enormous struggles and hardships and disappointments he
had experienced before he could gain recognition had im
printed those deep wrinkles on his face. You feel the
deep, sincere note in all he says. And you also feel that,
unlike many great artists, he knows how to say things
effectively.

Rodin is very modest. Several years ago, when he visited
England for the first time, the modesty of the famous
French sculptor assumed an amusing aspect. He was in
vited to London. A deputation of prominent artists and
a representative of the King went out to meet him in Dover
and to greet him as he stepped on English soil. A special
car was in readiness to take the master to London; but the
deputation failed to find Rodin. Finally, they noticed him
seated in a third class car with his huge valise.

He was taken to the special car. In London a banquet
was given in his honor. A great number of celebrities
were present. One of them delivered a speech in English
which seemed to make a profound impression. Rodin did
not understand a word of it. As the speaker referred to

AUGUSTE RODIN 131

the greatest sculptor in the world, who was among them,
all applauded enthusiastically. Rodin also applauded,
for he did not know whom the people were applauding.

I asked M. Rodin whether he would not care to say some
thing to the American people, among whom his works are
beginning to attract so much attention.

The great sculptor answered :

"The American nation has created a Rodin Museum at
the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Being now a part of
the Metropolitan Museum it may increase and grow in
time. The Rodin Museum, I understand, is now visited
by many working people, by artisans and students. This
pleases me immensely. I think that such museums render
great services and are very useful, for I notice that in all
countries in Europe and in America efforts are now being
made to restore art to its former place. Until recently art
has been declining.

"The trouble is that among the students of art there are
many who are not seriously devoting themselves to the
study of art; there are so many idlers and nobles who pose
as art students. I, therefore, have more confidence, and I
expect real results from the actual apprentices. These
have more courage, more perseverance; they make more se
rious efforts, and they want to make progress and accom
plish ever better results. And this is what we need nowa
days. We must try to find again the energy that
art students had in former days. Such energy is still
to be found in those working for the progress of sci
ence. But among the students of art this energy has been
declining.

"The fine arts must go on developing with the greatest
sincerity. Sincerity should always be the keynote of all

132 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

works of art. Art brings happiness into life, for it is for
the most part a rational admiration of nature.

"Art is like religion, And the best religion is that which
gives happiness at the smallest cost, almost without money,
for after all the different ways of happiness are chiefly
intellectual.

"It is upon such principles as this that one realizes the
beautiful productions of art which have come down to us
from the great epochs in the past. Sincerity in the ad
miration of nature has brought us all great masterpieces of
all times. The finest architectural works, the finest sculp
tures are those suggested by beauties of nature, and the
finest adornments of architecture are made of the graceful
body of woman. This I have been trying to explain in my
works."

Speaking of his own methods of work, M. Rodin said:

"As I have stated before, I believe that art requires first
of all patience and perseverance. Nowadays the young
people want to make progress in the arts too quickly. They
do not even find the time for learning to know themselves.
The young people are striving for originality, or what they
believe to be originality, and they hasten to imitate it.
Forced originality, like the bizarre, has no reason for
existence.

"A real artist builds his artistic work upon nature. Only
after he has done that can he infuse his own temperament
into the wort Many young artists will go to a museum and
examine quickly a number of works of art, and then they
will say to themselves, 'Now we have found ourselves, we
have discovered our souls, we will create something new/
It may be that they really have souls, but these souls are
the souls of thieves.

AUGUSTE RODIN 133

"We must try to do the very best we are able to do. We
cannot become perfect artists within a few days. Artists
need an enormous deal of patience. And they must work
hard. Nothing can be achieved without hard work. If
an artist is hasty, if he is hurrying to accomplish something,
if he does not regard his work as its own end, if he thinks
only of the success that will come to him as a result of his
work, if he thinks only of the money he will get for his
work, of the honors that may be showered upon him, of the
orders he will secure, the artist is at an end, he will never
accomplish anything really worthy.

"Such people will never be artists. They may make
things that will appeal to the masses because these things
will be mediocre, they will stoop to the lower taste of the
masses and to their short-sighted intelligence. But they
will never be real artists. And how easy it is for the
artist to go astray ! The artist who loves women too pas
sionately is lost.

"You cannot serve two passions at the same time; you
cannot serve art and woman at the same time. And yet
it has always been the opinion that artists derive their in
spiration from the fire of life. Inspiration ! Oh, that is
an old, romantic idea which is devoid of any meaning.
According to that old idea a youth of twenty is smitten with
an inspiration to create a marble statue, to build it out of
the delirium of his imagination at night. This is nonsense.
"Artists do not love their work if they do not understand
it. All that is done in haste and in a state of excessive
exaltation should be destroyed. Lombroso and others who
imagine that genius borders on insanity are absolutely
wrong. Genius is order personified, the concentration of
the abilities and level-mindedness of the masses. My work

134 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

has often been styled the product of inspiration and exalted
enthusiasm. I am just the opposite of an enthusiast.

"My temperament is even. I am not a dreamer. I am
rather a mathematician. My sculpture is good because It
is geometrically correct. I do not deny that I am emo
tional in my work, but that is only because my emotion is
aroused by the beauties of nature which I am reproducing.
I admire nature and I find it so perfect that if God called
me and asked me to suggest a change I would answer : 'All
is perfect. Nothing should be changed. 3

"People have often accused me of having made erotic
sculptures. I have never made any erotic works. I have
never made a sculpture for the sake of the erotic element.
Most of the people cannot conceive this because they are
forever looking for literary and philosophical ideas in
sculpture. Sculpture is the art of forms.

"I have created human bodies in various forms, in various
natural forms. Nature is always beautiful. If nature
sometimes appears too ugly it is simply because we do not
understand it. And what a great number of artists are
deforming nature by trying to interpret it !"

"Have you noticed any new tendencies in art that show
any promise?" I asked.

"I think that we are becoming more sincere and I hope
that our epoch will be marked by a growing sincerity, for
all our hope and the future of art depend upon sincerity.

"Much is being said about various new schools in art,
about the 'Futurists' and others. But these do not exist.
All these new styles and fads are devoid of any power.
They are paradoxes."

"If you were asked to give a few rules of advice to
young sculptors, what would you suggest to them?" I asked.

AUGUSTE RODIN 135

"First of all, I must recommend study. We must study
hard and be sincere. We must learn to admire nature, and
admire the Greeks, who were in this respect sincerer than
all of us. We must copy them or rather no, not copy
them, that would be bad. We should introduce the sin
cerity and the methods of the Greeks into the different arts.
In modelling a Dutch woman we can employ the methods
of the Greek. The Greek power of modelling must be suc
cessful even if the subject be an American woman. It is
the form and the sincerity and the power of modelling that
have made Greek art so perfect."

I asked Rodin to mention the names of his favorite
authors who influenced his life,

"The Romans, the Greeks, Dante and Shakespeare," re
plied the French sculptor.

Toward the end of the interview, Mr. Rodin said of the
feminist movement:

"There is something very good in that campaign. They
want to have men understand and appreciate that they pos
sess a value. They want to demonstrate to men that there
is some value in women which men lose by not understand
ing them. The suffragettes are only trying to prove their
value. Man has weakened in the course of his work of
research and eager quest for money, while women have in
the meantime become superior to men in their love."

HAVELOCK ELLIS

London,

HAVELOCK ELLIS has long been recognized as an authority
on woman. His works on "Man and Woman/' "The
Psychology of Sex," his scientific studies in the psychology
of women are widely known throughout the world and have
been translated into almost all languages used by civilized
peoples. Aside from these important works, he depicted
in masterly manner more than twenty years ago the new
spirit of literature as voiced by Diderot, Heine, Whitman
and Tolstoy. He was also the first to direct the attention
of English reading people to the philosophy of Friedrich
Nietzsche.

I met Mr. Havelock Ellis in his Brixton home. He
looks a little older than he really is. He is only fifty-three
years of age. But he is youthful and vigorous in spirit
and he speaks with the simplicity and modesty character
istic of really great men.

"Fortunately for America and for American women, you
have not the same problems to contend with, and American
women do not employ the methods that are used by the
leaders of the woman's movement in England," said Mr.
Ellis. "There is not the slightest doubt in my mind that
these methods are causing a great deal of injury to woman's
cause. Personally I have great admiration for the women,
but I believe that their tactics of concentrating on the vote
as the only solution of their problem and their use of vio
lence are not calculated to help them."

136

HAVELOCK ELLIS 137

"What methods would you suggest that would help
their cause?" I asked.

'Wherever women have secured their rights, as in Fin
land, for instance, they have attained their aims because
they stood beside the men, not against them. Besides,
they should not try to emulate men in their methods, but
should rather go along their own lines, and they would be
much more successful. I quite agree with Olive Schreiner,
who believes that women should not concentrate on the
suffrage."

"What, then, are the ends women ought to work for in
stead of concentrating on the suffrage?"

"I regard economic independence as far more funda
mental than the franchise/ 3 replied Mr. Ellis. "Women
ought to do everything instead of doing one thing, harping
on the right to vote. They ought to be active in the arts,
in literature, in social work, and they will also get the
suffrage in the right way.

"England is a very old country, we are old fashioned
here, in a good sense, and everything moves slowly. This
is why the methods of the suffragettes do more harm than
good to the cause of woman. It is, of course, different in
new countries, such as America, for instance. There you
may attain results more rapidly, because you are accustomed
to doing new things. It is hard to understand why the
leading suffragettes in England are forever attacking the
politicians. As a matter of fact the politicians have al
ways been in favor of woman suffrage more than any other
portion of the community,

"The chief point against the movement demanding votes
for women is that the majority of women in England do
not want the franchise. Therefore, I think it will be much

138 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

better when the desire on the part of the women to vote
comes naturally, and I feel sure that when the majority of
English women really want the suffrage they will certainly
get It"

Mr. Ellis said that people are in mast cases wrong in
their estimates of women and their views.

"I have observed that women will sometimes do exactly
the opposite of what they are expected to do. The women
whose views were asked at a large meeting with regard to
divorce proved quite a revelation to those who consider
themselves judges of women's ways and thoughts. The
majority of the women present at that large gathering ex
pressed themselves in favor of divorce by mutual agree
ment. At another congress the majority of women declared
against the religious education of children. And the
women in the Finnish Parliament surprised the male rep
resentatives of the people by talking about 50 per cent, less
than the men,

"Thus you can never tell what women will do, but in my
opinion they are making a grave mistake by morbidly con
centrating on the point of the vote, caring for nothing else.
The longest way around is very often the shortest way
home. Mill said many years ago that women have to edu
cate themselves. This is true to-day as well.

"After all, it is only a small section of women that cares
for politics. Women who have had the municipal vote
have not used it. The vote is only of minor importance.
In Germany the woman's movement is conducted along
different lines there it is a movement for giving women
emotional rights. And the list of names of representative
people all over the world, indorsing the methods and
aims of the German woman's movement, is one that the

HAVELOCK ELLIS 139

English suffragettes could hardly secure for their cause."

"What do you think of the work of women in art and
literature in recent years?" I asked.

"I think that a good drama written by a woman or an
important novel produced by a woman does more good for
the woman's cause than any of the militant methods of the
suffragettes. But I must say that too many women who
have no business to devote their time to writing are giv
ing themselves to what they call the artistic life. They
are thus wasting their lives and doing things that are
useless.

"I do not think women have any special aptitude for
the arts, though they have produced some good novels.
But there is such a great field for women in which they
really excel I mean social work. They are specially
gifted for this sphere of activity and such work is
much more important than art. Art is after all merely a
luxury."

Cf Would you call the great artistic masterpieces merely
a luxury?" I asked.

"No, I would not go as far as that. But it is more
important to have a healthy home than to write a novel.
Real art, as I pointed out years ago, as a many-sided and
active delight in the wholeness of things, is the great re
storer of health and rest to the energies distracted by our
turbulent modern movements. Thus understood it has the
firmest scientific foundations. Its satisfaction means the
presence of joy in our daily life, and joy is the prime tonic
of life. - . " --^

"It is the gratification of the art instinct that makes the
wholesome stimulation of labor joyous. It is in the grati
fication of the art instinct that repose becomes joyous. We

140 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

have already an art in which our desires and struggles and
ideals are faithfully mirrored for the great mass of people.
But nowadays too many women, for that matter too
many men, are devoting themselves to what they call art
without having the slighest aptitude for it and they
are merely wasting their energy."

Mr. Ellis spoke of the influence of Nietzsche and Tolstoy
upon life and literature and then related how he had
planned to visit the great Russian at Yasnaya Polyana
fifteen years ago.

fc Of all your meetings with distinguished men I envy
you your meeting with Tolstoy/' said Mr. Ellis. "Tolstoy
was the only man of letters I was really eager to meet. He
was not only the greatest writer of his time, but also the
greatest personality. And that is even more important
than to be a great writer.

"I was in Moscow about fifteen years ago and was to
leave for Yasnaya Polyana when I received word from
Tolstoy that one of his children was taken ill with typhoid
and, therefore, he could not receive me. I visited Russia
and I visited Spain a number of times and I admire both
the Russian and the Spanish peoples they are both
unfortunate."

"Perhaps that is the reason why you admire them above
others?" I suggested.

"Perhaps. Some of their best qualities are thus brought
out. They are of course not perfect from a political view
point. I certainly do not admire the politics of these
countries. But the political activities of a nation do not
always mar it or make it perfect. The trouble is that peo
ple speaking of Russia often confound the people with the

HAVELOCK ELLIS 141

Government. There the line between the Government and
the people is drawn very distinctly."

Mr. Ellis referred to Mr. Roosevelt's views on race
suicide. He said :

"We have bishops in England unmarried, of course,
who are preaching large families. Mr. Roosevelt ought to
go to Russia and to China, the countries with an enormously
high birth rate and all its dreadful results. To my mind
civilization, progress and a low birth rate go together."
"There has been progress in China of late/'
"Yes, and in connection with this let me tell you what a
lady who recently returned from China has told me. The
English lady visited a Chinese school. She asked the chil
dren what they wanted to know about her country. The
children begged her to tell them all about the suffragettes.
Now, little girls that want to hear mainly about suffragettes
are not likely to have large families when they grow up."
Of the unrest among the working people of England,
Mr. Ellis said:

"The wave of unrest here as well as elsewhere is the
result of prosperity. It is only when working people are
better off that they can better afford to strike. I am, of
course, in sympathy with bettering the condition of the
working people, but I believe they are like the suffragettes,
especially in England, where things move so slowly. They
should also go more slowly and they will attain their aims
naturally."

Speaking of American literature, Mr. Ellis said :
"I cannot say who is my favorite American author. The
writers in America are not keeping pace with the greatness
of their country. America produced one supreme artist

142 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Poe. The other great writers produced by America were
Whitman, Emerson, Thoreau. But the Americans are too
busy to produce a real literature. You must not be too
busy, you must have more dreamers if you would produce
a literature of Importance. The atmosphere of America
does not seem to be favorable to literature to-day. It was
more so half a century ago. The conditions of New Eng
land were certainly favorable in this sense, but those condi
tions have now almost disappeared."

HENRI BERGSON

Paris,

DURING my stay in Paris I was delighted to receive an in
vitation to meet the man who is regarded as the profoundest
and most original thinker in France to-day, Prof. Henri
Bergson.

Bergson's works, 'Time and Free Will," "Matter and
Memory," "Creative Evolution," and his essay on "Laugh
ter," have been translated into many languages and his
influence is making itself felt in many lands. In England
Bergson is well known and well liked and the English claim
a special share in him, for they believe that Bergson's mode
of thinking was determined by his close study of the Eng
lish philosophers, by the influence of Herbert Spencer and
John Stuart Mill, of Locke, Berkeley and Hume,

In Germany Bergson's works are attracting much atten
tion. Hermann Graf Keyserling, the distinguished Ger
man writer, says of Bergson's work: 'His philosophy is
perhaps the most original work since the days of Immanuel
Kant." In Russia various editions of his works have ap
peared and numerous studies by the foremost Russian pub
licists are published from time to time. In France Prof.
Bergson is extremely popular. Unlike most philosophers
that preceded him he is a prophet honored in his own land.
He is the most popular of lecturers and his lecture room is
always crowded with students as well as with women of
fashionable society. The Bergson school of philosophy is

143

144 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

in great vogue. It appeals alike to the deep student and
to the faddist.

An acute thinker, Prof. Bergson possesses a masterly,
clear and direct style. He presents his views on most diffi
cult themes with fascinating clearness. Every great thinker
treats the eternal problems in some new way, and though so
many influences are claimed to have shaped the thoughts
and philosophy of Bergson, he is original, for he has treated
the great problems of life in an entirely new way.

Bergson does not give us a definite system. But he opens
wide the door of the future and shows us a great variety
of new ways and new aims and new possibilities.

Mr. Carr, in his able little work on Bergson's "Philosophy
of Change," which was revised by Bergson himself, has
summarized the philosophy of Bergson in the following
terms :

"Philosophy reveals to us a reality that is consistent with
the satisfaction of our highest ideals. It discloses the life
of the spirit. It may give us neither God nor immortality
in the old theological meaning of these terms and it does
not show us human life and individual conduct as the chief
end, purpose and center of interest. But the reality of life
is essentially freedom. Philosophy delivers us from the
crushing feeling of necessity that the scientific conception
of a closed mechanical universe has imposed on modern
thought. Life is a free activity in the open universe. We
may be of little account in the great whole. Humanity
itself and the planet on which it has won its success may be
an infinitesimal part of the universal life, but it is one and
identical with that life and our straggle and striving is the
impetus of life. And this, above all, our spiritual life

HENRI BERGSON 145

means to us, the past has not perished, the future is be
ing made."

I met Prof. Bergson in his home, in Villa Montmorency,
in Auteil, Paris. He spoke with enthusiasm about America
and American thinkers and never tired of expressing his
admiration for the late William James. Prof. Bergson
is looking forward with great interest to his first visit to
America, next January, when he will come both to teach
and to study us.

"You are doing such an immense deal of work in philoso
phy and psychology in America, and such splendid work,"
began the French philosopher. "The quality of the work
done by American philosophers and psychologists is really
remarkable. I consider William James one of the greatest
men America has produced. I may even say, one of the
great men of all countries and all times. I knew him well.
I met him and spoke with him a number of times and I cor
responded with him considerably. He was a wonderful
man. But there are a number of other great psychologists in
America. You have Muensterberg, Royle and many
others."

CC I understand that you are engaged upon a new volume
in the form of dialogues. May I know with what subject
you are dealing in your forthcoming work?" I asked.

"I have a special way of working," replied M. Bergson.
"I may call it an anarchistic way. When I take up a new
subject I just work it out in my own way. I take several
avenues in my efforts to attain results. Very often I gain
much information in the course of my work upon certain
subjects, but no precise work comes out of it. So I really
cannot say whether the book upon which I am engaged now

146 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

will come out or not, for I am only in the process of build
ing it. As yet I cannot say whether I shall succeed in
building it up or not.

"I have no system in philosophy. I have no simple set
of rules from which I could evolve my philosophy. In
philosophy there are different problems and each problem
must be solved by special methods. The methods em
ployed in solving one problem will not do when you attempt
to solve another problem. I cannot always deduce from
answers I have already given the answers to other prob
lems. There must be a new answer to every new question.

"I was once interviewed by a correspondent who wanted
me to answer a number of questions. I told him that I
had no opinion on those questions. I said that each of
those questions would take from ten to fifteen years to an
swer, and if he would come back fifteen years later I might
be able to give him the answer."

"But there are general questions on which you have
formed opinions, and I would like to know your views on
some of these questions," I remarked.

if Oh, yes, there are provisional answers. But an opin
ion is of no great importance if it is given in an offhand
manner. One must be impregnated with the subject; one
must study and analyze it thoroughly and have intuition.
Now, intuition is not at all guess worL Many mistakes
have been made by those who speak of my theory of 'in
tuition* as guess work. I believe it is necessary to be im
pregnated with the subject if we would find a solution to
it. We must constantly learn. We must become students
again. We must start the subject anew. And that may
lead us to a new science. I have several times become a
student again. I have several times taken up a new sub-

HENRI BERGSON 147

ject. My present work will deal with ethics and aesthetics,
with the principles of morals and the principles of art.

"I have been greatly impressed with a work on ethics
written by Prof. Dewey. I find the book very interesting,
very original and quite new."

Prof. Bergson paused a while. Then he added :

"I am interested in the various religious movements in
America, as far as they touch upon the ethical questions.
I am interested in the ethical culture movement. I have
met Prof. Felix Adler and am greatly interested in his
work. He impressed me as a very penetrating and earnest
man, and I think he will succeed, for I believe that his move
ment has a future.

1 am interested in the religious movements in America
because it strikes me that there is more life in America in
this direction. In America religious and ethical questions
are becoming a living study, while with us in Europe they
remain theoretical questions. But to my great regret I
shall have no time during my brief stay in America to
study closely any of these movements."

<c What accounts for this difference in religious move
ments between America and Europe?"

"First of all the Americans are practical people. They
are supposed to be the most practical people in the world
to-day. They want definite rules for conduct and ethics.
It is a curious fact that modem philosophers have neglected
this. Leibnitz and others have given us systems of ethics,
but their systems are too general. Even Kant in his great
work on ethics, in his masterpiece on practical reason, laid
down formulas that are far too vague to be of any use in
practical life. Kant said: "Always act so that your ac
tion may become a universal law/

148 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"This Is not quite easy to apply in practical life. Try
to apply this formula to the problem of capital and labor,
to the differences between employer and workman. Each
one would attempt to act so that his action might become
a universal law. How are we to judge who of the two is
right? Each of them would claim that his action should
be the universal law. And there is no real ethics without
real answers to these most difficult questions. Of course,
a philosopher's answers cannot be as precise as the answers
of a mathematician.

"America seems to realize that the philosophers have not
given the real answers to the vital questions. And, there
fore, there is a great feeling for these religious and ethical
movements in America, I am deeply interested in Ais re
lation between religion and ethics."

"You have written in some of your works about the im
mortality of the soul," I said. "Have you made any
further investigations into this subject?"

"I have studied the diseases of the mind and the dis
eases of memory and of certain cases in which I could see
the precise relation between mind and memory. I have
come to the conclusion that it is a mistake to think that
the work of the mind and of the brain is identical. Only
a small part of the work done by the mind is done by the
brain. The brain is only a province of the mind. The
mind represents a country and the brain is only one of its
provinces. The work done by the country is immensely
wider in scope than that done by the province. The death
of the brain is a probability. But I have found that the
mind goes on living after the brain has died. From this
I concluded that the mind survives the body. I cannot say

HENRI BERGSON 149

definitely that the mind is immortal, but there is a strong
probability that it is.

"Modern philosophy is a study that can go on doing
further work in this direction. Philosophy, like science,
can make progress. There is still progress to be made in
science; there is still some distance to go in that domain."

"Are you interested in any of the new movements in art
and in literature?"

"I am interested in anything that shows talent," replied
M. Bergson, with a smile. "Any school is interesting if
it shows talent. I do not believe in any special schools of
art, in any special methods. In literature and in art
schools, methods are nothing. Genius is everything.

"I fecall one day a correspondent came to interview me
about the original exhibition of the 'Cubists/ Their idea
was that any painting must be made of squares. He
wanted to know my opinion about the 'Cubists.' My an
swer was that I preferred genius. The same I may say
about the "Futurists. 3 As far as I know, the fashion has
been to have genius first. Then a system and methods
were evolved. I believe that real genius creates its own
methods. So with regard to all new movements and new
schools, I must say that they must first have genius."

"Who are your favorite authors of to-day?" I asked.

"We have quite a number of geniuses in our literature.
Maeterlinck, Pierre Lotl, Bourget. But perhaps the most
remarkable writer, who is not exactly as good a novelist as
a musician in words, is Maurice Barres. In this respect,
as a prose poet, he can rank with the greatest. But his
style is so unique that it would be difficult to translate him
without losing much of the beauty of his work.

150 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"Then there is, of course, Anatole France. I have men
tioned chiefly French writers, for I understand French litera
ture best. I am not very familiar with Anglo-American
literature. You see, it is impossible to do two things well
at the same time, and I must choose between one and the
other between my work and the reading of foreign litera
ture. I consider Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky the greatest
masters of fiction. Dostoyevsky was almost unconscious
in his art. He did not describe things but he somehow
made you see and feel them. His works are most impor
tant to psychologists. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky have seen
the human soul naked and they have seen it in action and
have reproduced it. Of the two Tolstoy was the more
many-sided genius.

t l have great admiration for Emerson and Poe. The
work of Poe is so vivid and his poetry is so musical, and
it is charged with such deep feeling, that I remember it
distinctly although I read it many years ago. Emerson I
have re-read recently. I am not familiar with the works of
Henry James, but his brother told me that Henry re-wrote
his prefaces and parts of his works for his new edition.
To me this is a sign of a great writer. Only great artists
go to the trouble of doing this. They are moved by really
artistic feelings. Shaw? Yes, I certainly admire him. I
have not read all his works, but I have laid them aside and
intend to take them up upon the first occasion."

"What are your views on the feministic movement in
Europe and America?"

"I have not found any difference of level between the
male and female mind," replied Bergson. "Women have
not yet had the chance to produce philosophic work. But
judging by the average aptitude, men and women are equal.

HENRI BERGSON

When I lectured to male and female students I experi
mented by giving the same subject for compositions to men
and women. The results were that the papers could be
mixed up and it would have been difficult to tell which were
written by the men and which by the women. There is no
real difference. The question whether women could give
as many philosophers as men have given will be seen in
time. I see absolutely no reason why women could not
produce work of the same quality. Only now we shall see
what they can accomplish, now that they are getting the
same education. We shall be the witnesses of a great ex
periment.

"Half of mankind is now submitting to the same edu
cation that the other half has been getting. The growth
of the woman's movement, the rapidity of its development
socially and politically, is astounding. When I was a
young man I could not even conceive that such a movement
could grow so rapidly. Therefore, when you ask me about
the woman's movement, I say I am for experimenting, but
I must add that it is a dangerous experiment; since half
of the people would suddenly get votes, I think it should
be done gradually. Women have thus far not had the
interest in politics and could not be expected to have the
aptitude for it. I certainly do not approve of the militant
methods of the suffragettes. I know that wherever there
is enthusiasm there is violence, but the women are injuring
their own cause."

In speaking of the many races emigrating to the United
States and the effect of immigrants upon the American type
the great French philosopher said:

"I have been much struck by the fact that though dif
ferent races have come to America there is an original type

152 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

there ; though so many elements go to shape the population
of your great centers there is a distinct American type.
Since there is no tendency on the part of the immigrants
to remain separate I feel that much good will come from
this mixture of the races. You have more reading of news
papers, current literature, and you have more schools.

"To my mind, the richer a temperament the better. The
more elements constitute the population of America the
more privileged America will be, the richer and the stronger.
I am greatly struck by the generosity and broad-mindedness
of the American people. It is certainly a great moral
lesson to Europe."

Concerning the Jewish question and the Zionist move
ment Prof. Bergson, who is himself a Jew, said:

"To us French people this question seems paradoxical.
We are so assimilated. If there were a new Zion I do not
think many Jews would go there. A prominent Jewish
statesman when asked in 1848 what he thought of Zionism
replied that he would be in favor of Zionism if he were
given the post of Jewish Ambassador to Paris."

"But for the oppressed and the persecuted?" I asked.

"That is another question. Oppressed people must look
for ways and they are justified in seeking a home. Whether
it would be possible to solve the Jewish question in that
way I cannot answer. Russia may become more tolerant.
The Jews of other countries have attained equal rights.
After equal rights have been secured by the Jews I believe
the Jewish question will be solved. I do not much be
lieve in permanent special qualities of races. Nature is
very often nothing else than habit and education.

"There are racial differences between the white, yellow
and black races, but there is no difference in the white races.

HENRI BERGSON 153

People can adopt the qualities, the defects and the habits
of the people among whom they live. In Europe we see
that the difference in races is nothing but habit, education
and the degree of living together. It is a mistake in psy
chology that much is ascribed to nature which should be
ascribed to habit.

"I doubt whether the Jews have any special hereditary
defects or qualities, considering that their blood has been
so mixed very much more than is believed. Whole tribes
in Russia were converted to Judaism. I believe the Jewish
question will be solved when the Jewish people will have
attained equal rights in the countries where they are being
persecuted. And the sooner that is attained the better for
the Jews of course, and also for the countries where they
live."

POPE BENEDICT XV

Rome,,

DURING my visit to London in 1915 I made the acquaint
ance of a French statesman who informed me of the deep
interest the Vatican was taking in the plight of the Jewish
people in the war zone. I was investigating for my news
paper the condition of the Jews in the war-stricken coun
tries and was naturally eager to ascertain at first hand
the views of the Holy See on this subject and to ob
tain, if possible, the information the Vatican had re
ceived concerning the Jews in Poland and the provinces oc
cupied by Russia, Germany and Austria.

I was also eager to learn the circumstances under which
the Pope had made his forceful appeal to the rulers of the
belligerent nations in July, 1915.

The French statesman, to whom I was introduced by a
friend of mine, a prominent London editor, expressed his
readiness to arrange for me an audience with the Pope.
On my arrival in Paris several days afterward I found a
telegraphic communication informing me that the Pope
would receive me in private audience,

I started for Rome immediately. Before my audience
with Pope Benedict I had several interviews with Cardinal
Gasparri, the Papal Secretary of State, who impressed
me as a brilliant statesman, closely familiar with interna
tional affairs, and as a man of deep sympathies.

On August 21, 1915, at eight o'clock in the morning, I

154

POPE BENEDICT XV 155

had the good fortune of a private audience with Pope
Benedict which lasted one hour and a quarter.

Pope Benedict received me most cordially in his large
and beautiful library. Through the courtesy of Cardinal
Gasparri, an exception was made in my case, and I did
not have to go through the ceremonies with which an
audience with the Pope is usually surrounded. It was a
simple yet most impressive meeting. The Pope, dressed
in a white robe, was at his writing desk when Cardinal Gas
parri introduced me. The French statesman was also with
us. After an exchange of greetings the Pope inquired first
about conditions in America, about the attitude of the
American people toward the war and then he asked about
the Jews in the war zone.

I gave him my views on the subjects in which he was
interested. I also called his attention to the fact that un
der the influence of the Russian autocracy, which always
sought to incite one portion of the population against an
other, the Poles conducted an intense anti-Jewish campaign,
which was cruel and far reaching in its effects upon Jewish
life in Poland, and which also alienated the sympathy of
many friends of Polish independence and freedom.

I pointed out that the militant anti-Jewish campaign in
Poland helped only the Russian autocracy, while injuring
both the Jews and the Poles themselves.

The Pope displayed a keen interest in the subject and a
familiarity with conditions in Russia that was amazing.
He said in a soft tone, apparently deeply moved:

"I know about the tragedy of the Jewish people in Rus
sia. Their sufferings have touched my heart. I have re
ceived reports from my bishops about the persecution of
the Jewish people in Russia. I know about the wholesale

156 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

expulsions of entire communities, about the wholesale un
founded accusations against the Jewish people, about their
great sacrifices and their terrible sufferings.

"I am aware of the fact that this anti-Jewish manifesta
tion has been stimulated in Poland by the Russian govern
ment. The Polish people are themselves suffering untold
hardships, niy heart is bleeding for their sorrows in this
war, and my own bishops have been treated cruelly and
mercilessly by the government of the Tsar."

The Pope then referred to several petitions he had re
ceived from Galician Jews and to letters he had received
from distinguished Jews in various belligerent countries
depicting the plight of the Jewish people in the war zone.
He declared that if the American Jews, representatives of
the Jewish community of the greatest neutral Power, would
present some of the facts in the form of an address he would
be glad to answer by a public letter and send a circular
letter to various countries stating that it was un-Christian
to be anti-Jewish. He said he was an energetic enemy of
anti-Semitism and would denounce it upon every occasion.

"I am, and we all are always for liberty. I am a
power for liberty," he said. "Also a power for peace."

It was at this point that I mentioned the remarkable
appeal of Pope Benedict addressed to the nations then at
war and to their rulers, in July, 1915.

"Yes," he repeated, "we must remember that nations do
not die. Humbled and oppressed, they chafe under the
yoke imposed upon them, preparing a renewal of the combat
and passing down from generation to generation a mourn
ful heritage of hatred and revenge."

The Pope expressed his great admiration for President
Wilson as a brilliant statesman, as a great leader and power

POPE BENEDICT XV 157

for peace. He declared that he had watched his efforts in
behalf of peace and that he himself would continue his
work for peace.

He said he understood the Kaiser was at that time ready
to propose peace to France upon the following conditions :

1 . The evacuation of Belgium and France.

2. The reconstruction of Poland as an independent State.

3. The cession of Alsace-Lorraine in exchange for a

French colony.

4. The internationalization of Constantinople.

The French statesman who was present at the audience
declared it as his opinion that France would not accept
peace in any case admitting the cession of Alsace-Lorraine
in exchange for a French colony.

"I believe," remarked Cardinal Gasparri, "Germany
would not insist upon the colony."

"The arrangements made by the French government with
England and Russia will not allow a separate peace, such
as these terms would seem to indicate, 33 said the French
statesman.

The Pope then spoke again of his absolute neutrality.

"We reprove injustice, on whatever side it may have been
committed," he said. "I love all the children of God
equally and I suffer when they suffer. I have pointed out
in my recent letter to the rulers of the nations at war that
it is high time to weigh with a serene mind the rights and
aspirations of the peoples, to initiate an exchange of views
with the object of holding in due account, within the limits
of possibility, those rights and aspirations, and thus succeed
in putting an end to the monstrous struggle.

"The equilibrium of the world, and the prosperity and
assured tranquillity of nations rests upon mutual benevo-

158 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

lence and respect for the rights and dignity of others much
more than upon hosts of armed men and a ring of formi
dable fortresses."

The Pope then wished me success in my investigations
concerning the condition of the Jews in the war-stricken
countries and said that he would do everything within his
power to aid in ameliorating their condition.

"But I know it is a difficult task to ascertain the facts
just now, 57 he remarked. "With all my Catholic agents I
have not been able to learn what has become of the arch
bishop of Lemberg, who was seized by the Russian troops."

"You really do not know at this moment where he is?"
I inquired.

"No," replied the Pope, "I do not even know whether
he is alive."

Then he told the story of the unfortunate archbishop of
Lemberg and also that of Cardinal Mercier. He pointed
out how the Vatican was affected by the war both by the
Allies and the Central Powers, which made his neutrality
imperative.

I asked the Pope whether he believed the end of the war
would see the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah of
universal and lasting peace.

"It is hard to prophesy," said the Pope.

fc Under these august vaults prophecy is a tradition," re
marked the French statesman.

"Not now," said the Pope with a smile. "Not now."

The Pope then inquired about conditions in Mexico.

"In Mexico, as elsewhere, all we want is liberty," he said
slowly. "Liberty and justice,"

In answer to my question about his views regarding the
aspirations of the Zionists the Pope said:

POPE BENEDICT XV 159

Cl l am In sympathy with the Jewish national aspirations
in Palestine. We want liberty and justice, just as the
Jews want liberty and justice everywhere."

After a cordial handshake the pontifical audience ended.

Cardinal Gasparri told me he was greatly interested in
the United States. He spoke in terms of great admiration
for President Wilson and expressed a profound sympathy
for the Jewish people whose plight in the war zone was
tragic.

I remarked that the Pope had rendered a great humane
service by calling attention to the terrible persecutions of
the Jews in Russia during the war, especially by making
known the fact that fifteen hundred Jews, men, women and
children had been placed in front of the Russian armies on
one occasion and fired upon by the troops of the Central
Powers.

Cardinal Gasparri said the Vatican had received informa
tion from its own Catholic correspondents concerning the
horrors perpetrated by the Russian government. He de
clared that the Vatican had endeavored through those cor
respondents to do everything possible to end the atrocities,
but all efforts proved futile. Cardinal Gasparri said the
Jewish persecutions in Russia were part of a governmental
policy and that the Catholics also suffered severely at the
hands of the Russian government shortly after the outbreak
of the war, particularly hi the provinces occupied by the
Russian troops in Galicia. He then spoke of the Catholic
archbishop of Lemberg, who, without the slightest cause,
was brutally removed from his home and banished, to
gether with five hundred Catholic priests.

"We cannot make any official protest out of courtesy to
France and England, the allies of Russia," said the Cardinal

160 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Secretary of State. "At the same time, we were reproached
by the governments of those two nations for not having
registered a more vigorous protest against the German gov
ernment for the imprisonment of Cardinal Mercier, arch
bishop of Malines."

Cardinal Gasparri added that it was very difficult for
the Vatican to receive complete reports from Russian ter
ritory and that the Minister of Russia at the Vatican had
evidently been instructed by his government to deny every
thing. He again expressed a deep interest in my own in
vestigation of the condition of the Jews.

"The Vatican will be glad to help any such investigation
to the limits of its neutrality," said the Cardinal. "His
Holiness has been accused on several occasions, by one side
or the other, of having violated such neutrality, just as
President Wilson has been accused of being unneutral, but
I can assure you His Holiness has pursued a policy of ab
solute neutrality in every respect, and I am pleased to ob
serve that in such cases as the sinking of the Lusitania, both
President Wilson and the Pope acted along the same lines.

'As for the Jews," remarked Cardinal Gasparri, "the
Papacy has not changed its views and Its attitude toward
them. The Old Testament is the father of the New.
Whenever an appeal came to the Vatican from persecuted
Jews, especially in recent years, the Popes never failed to
speak In their defense. You doubtless recall the statement
of the Holy See in the outrageous Beilis affair, in which the
Vatican denounced the ritual murder accusation against the
Jews."

I asked about the reports to the effect that the Pope de
sired to be a member of the peace congress at the close of
the war. Cardinal GasparrFs answer was:

POPE BENEDICT XV 161

"It should be clearly understood in the United States
and elsewhere that there is no truth at all in any reports
that the Pope wishes to go to the peace congress to re
store temporal power. His Holiness declares solemnly
that if he should go to the congress, nobody will raise the
question of temporal power. If he were not to go there,
there would be at least two belligerent nations, one of
them Germany, who will ask for the restoration of that
power.

"His Holiness would like to see the United States act as
the peace mediator."

Then he added:

"I have no doubt that you could do me a service. You
have read the pontifical letter on peace. We sent that let
ter to the rulers of the belligerent nations. We have not
yet sent it to the neutral Powers. I am authorized by His
Holiness to hand you a copy of that letter with a personal
dedication to His Excellency, President Wilson, and I
would be grateful to you if you would present it to him
when you return to America."

I declared that I would be glad to do this.

Pope Benedict left with me the impression not only of
a great religious and moral leader, but also of a brilliant
statesman. It was evident that he was suffering because
of the horrors of the war and his efforts for peace seemed
to me prompted by a wholehearted desire to see a just and
durable peace on earth and real good will to men.

Upon my return to America, I presented the autographed
letter to the President, who expressed his appreciation and
thanks to the Pope.

I also informed The American Jewish Committee that
the Pope was willing to issue a declaration regarding anti-

1 62 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Semitism, denouncing anti-Jewish persecutions as un-
Christian, if he received an official request from a rep
resentative Jewish organization. I arranged for a meeting
of members of the executive committee of the American
Jewish Committee with Monsignor Bonzano, then papal
delegate to the United States, and the matter of anti-
Jewish persecution was discussed.

The following letter was forwarded to Pope Benedict
XV by the American Jewish Committee :

"New York December 30* 191$*
"YouR HOLINESS:

"The petitioners, who are citizens of the United States
of America and adherents of the Jewish faith, have learned
with increasing horror of the unspeakable cruelties and
hardships visited upon their co-religionists in various bellig
erent lands since the outbreak of the present world-conflict.
Far beyond the sufferings which this calamity has inflicted
upon those of other faiths, and in addition to the ravages
and destruction occasioned by the clash of the contending
armies to all who come within the sphere of their hostilities,
the Jews have been marked for special persecution and have
been subjected to oppressive measures not borne by their
compatriots of other creeds. Passion and prejudice have
been fomented against our unhappy brethren, frequently by
those who bear the same political allegiance, until their lot
has ceased to be endurable. In some of the lands where
they have long resided their neighbors are bent upon their
annihilation, practicing against them the most refined
cruelty, and in many instances by means of an economic
boycott omdenming them to literal starvation. We submit

POPE BENEDICT XV 163

herewith ascertained facts which tell but in small part the
hideous truth.

"Fully persuaded that had Your Holiness been ac
quainted with these facts the Holy See would at once have
exercised the profound moral, ethical and religious influ
ence with which the Roman Catholic Church is endowed,
upon those who regard Your Holiness as their Shepherd,
but who have unfortunately participated in this persecu
tion, with all due veneration we now approach the Supreme
Pontiff for succor in this the bitter hour of our need, know
ing the exemplary humanity for which Your Holiness is
justly distinguished. It is our sincere prayer that the oc
casion may be deemed a fitting one for resort to the au
thority vested in the Sovereign of the great Roman Catholic
Hierarchy, to urge his Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, and
Priests to admonish their flocks to hold in abhorrence these
acts of persecution, of prejudice and of cruelty, which have
overwhelmed our unfortunate brethren.

cc We recall with admiration and gratitude that on many
occasions in the past some of the revered predecessors of
Your Holiness have under like conditions extended pro
tection to those of the Jewish faith, in the interest of right
and justice. Appreciating the transcendent importance
which the entire civilized world attaches to any utterance
from so exalted a source of morality and wisdom as that
which Your Holiness represents, we confidently express the
hope that timely action will be taken by the Vatican, to
the end that the sufferings under which millions of our
brethren in faith are now weighed down may be terminated
by an act of that humanity to which Your Holiness is so
passionately devoted, and that the cruel intolerance and the

164 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

unjust prejudice which have been aroused against them may
forever vanish before this glorious exercise of Your Su
preme Moral and Spiritual Power.

c 'We beg Your Holiness to believe us to be,

"Your most respectful petitioners,
THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE.

cf Louis MARSHALL, President.

"JACOB H. SCHIFF, CYRUS ABLER, JULIUS ROSENWALD, JACOB H. HOLLANDER,
A. LEO WEIL, OSCAR S. STRAUS, J. L. MAGJTES, ISAAC W. BERNHEIM, SAMUEL

DORF, ISADORE SOBEL, MAYER SULZBERGER, JULIAN W. MACK, HARRY CULTER,

CYRUS L. SULZBERGER.

"Executive Committee."

This petition called forth a reply from the Holy See,
which was a virtual encyclical, and was followed by direc
tions to the Catholic clergy of Poland, admonishing them
to use their best endeavors to put an end to the persecution
which prevailed.

Among all the papal bulls ever issued with regard to
Jews throughout the history of the Vatican, there is no
statement that equals this direct, unmistakable plea for
equality for the Jews, and against prejudice upon religious
grounds. The bull issued by Innocent IV declaring the
Jews innocent of the charge of using Christian blood for
ritual purposes, while a striking document, was after all
merely a statement of fact, whereas this declaration by
Pope Benedict XV was a plea against religious prejudice
and persecution.

Thus Pope Benedict XV displayed a deep concern in
the tragedy of the Jews in the war. Passionately striv
ing to bring peace to the bleeding nations, he also spoke
for the Jews, for the most wronged and most violated of
peoples in the war zone.

POPE BENEDICT XV 165

The remarkable document follows:

"SECRETARY OF STATE TO HIS HOLINESS.

"THE VATICAN
"No. Jj, 726 February gth, 1916.

"The Supreme Pontiff has with interest taken notice of
the letter bearing date of December 30, 1915, which you
have been pleased to address to him in the name of the three
million Jewish citizens of the United States of America, in
order to communicate to him generally the treatment to
which your co-religionists complain that they have been ex
posed in various regions, and at the same time you have re
quested him to interpose the weight of his supreme moral
and spiritual power in order that these sufferings may be
terminated by an act of that humanity to which the Holy
Father is so passionately devoted.

"The Supreme Pontiff is unable to express himself con
cerning the special facts referred to in the memorandum
submitted with your letter, but in principle, as the head of
the Catholic Church, which, faithful to its divine doctrine
and to its most glorious traditions, considers all men as
brethren and teaches them to love one another, he will not
cease to inculcate the observance among individuals as
among nations the principles of human right, and to re
prove every violation of them. This right should be ob
served and respected in relation to the children of Israel as
it should be to all men, for it would not conform to justice
and to religion itself to derogate therefrom solely because
of a difference of religious faith.

"Moreover, in his paternal heart, pained by the spectacle
of the existing horrible war, the Supreme Pontiff feels in
this moment, more deeply than ever, the necessity that all

166 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

men shall recollect that they are brothers and that their
salvation lies in the return to the law of love, which is the
law of the Gospels. He also desires to interest to this noble
end all who, especially by reason of the sacred attributes
of their pastoral ministrations, are able to bring efficient
aid to this important result.

"In the meantime His Holiness rejoices in the unity
which in civil matters exists in the United States of America
among the members of the different faiths and which con
tributes so powerfully to the peaceful prosperity of your
great country. He prays to God that peace may at length
appear for the happiness of that humanity of which you
truly say the Holy Father is the guardian.

"Accept, gentlemen, the assurances of my most distin
guished and devoted sentiments.

(Signed) "P. CARDINAL GASPARRI.

"To MR. Louis MARSHALL, President,

and to the Members of the Executive Committee
of The American Jewish Committee."

HANS DELBRUECK

Berlin, 1915.

PROF. HANS DELBRUECK, the famous German historian and
the tutor of the Kaiser in his youth, was one of the few
statesmen in Germany who correctly foretold the present
war.

In interviews and statements which I made public at the
time Professor Delbrueck declared that while other Powers
were dividing the world among themselves, taking all
available colonies, Germany, the growing German nation,
was asked to stand by and remain a mere unconcerned on
looker. He said that to grow in peace and develop Ger
many must have colonial possessions like the other great
Powers.

Prof. Delbrueck has written extensively on this sub
ject in the "Preussiche Jahrbuecher." He is one of the
important moulders of public opinion in Germany.

I sought his views on war and peace, for his views are
representative of a great element of the thinking German
people. He is a conservative, progressive force, not a
"militarist.'*

I said to him: "So many books have been published
books of all colors, red, white, blue, green, in fact, all the
colors of the rainbow concerning the outbreak of the war,
that I should like to know from you the real cause of the

war."

: It is very simple/' he replied. "Russia's desire to se-

167

168 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

cure Constantinople, to destroy Austria and to conquer the
northern part of Sweden led to this European conflict.
This was Russia's purpose, and Germany simply would not
let her accomplish It. England desired to maintain the
Entente, and by the 'mechanism* of the Entente she is in
this war.

"To put it briefly, the war was started by Patchitch in
Belgrade, through Russian machinations. Then Russia
came in. Then France and England joined.

"Germany could neither permit the destruction of Austria
nor the growth of Russia, particularly at the expense of the
Turkish Empire.

"Aside from these causes we are really in this war help
ing to bring liberty not only to the Poles and the other peo
ples inhabiting the provinces we have conquered, but we
shall also bring liberty to Russia herself, to the Russian
people. See what Russia Is doing at this moment with
the Duma, with the chosen representatives of the Russian
people, strangling every effort at reform in that country!

"But the German victories in the Russian provinces, or
rather the defeat of the Russian system, will open the eyes
of the Russian people and cause their awakening and per
haps also their emancipation. Thus we shall bring liberty
to Russia even as we liberated France from Bonapartism
in 1870."

"Do you think German militarism will become stronger
after this war, or will this grave human crisis, with millions
of human lives lost, tend to check the spirit of militarism?"
I asked.

"German militarism?" he repeated. "Militarism, as
far as it does exist in Germany, has come to us from Russia,
and for that matter, militarism has come everywhere from

HANS DELBRUECK 169

Russia. Russia's enormous army has been the cause of
militarism in Europe. The Russian army was much
greater than the German, Italian and Austrian armies
combined.

"In order to be able to defend ourselves and Europe
against the tremendous Russian army and the domination
of the Cossacks, we were compelled to have a great army.
And since we had a large army, France followed suit, and
then England wanted to protect France.

"If Russia is curbed, if Russian greed for territory is
checked, if Russia is dissolved and the smaller nationalities
in Russia liberated, then the danger of militarism will have
been removed. It may be that then it would be possible
to have armaments reduced in every country. Russia has
been the real military menace, responsible for the great
burden of armaments everywhere."

I mentioned to Prof. Delbrueck that three years ago
he practically foretold the present catastrophe in his inter
view on Germany's aims. He said :

"As I told you then, the natural aims of Germany are to
have colonial possessions as the other great nations, for in
stance, in Central Africa. It is my personal opinion that
the moment the other powers realize this and are willing
to make reasonable arrangements with Germany In this di
rection the war will end.

"As I have pointed out, of all the armies In the world,
the German army is the best trained and most powerful
instrument of war, and yet, at the same time, the least
available for mere political ambition and lust for power.
Our army is strong only in a political defensive movement,
when the existence and honor of the Empire must be de
fended against an enemy's attacks.

i 7 o THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"When they speak abroad so much about the German
aggressiveness and refer to German military writers, they
mean aggressiveness in a strategical and tactical sense.
But for political aggressiveness which would lead to such
a war as this, for the purpose of attaining world supremacy,
our people could never be used. And of what avail would
have been all our technical skill and all the discipline of
our army without the spirit which must come of the peo
ple's own free will and which cannot be anything but the
expression of the whole nation?

"Not more than 15 per cent, of the army in the field now
had uniforms on the day of mobilization. The other 85
per cent, are peasants and workmen and scholars, for the
most part heads of families. Would such people be pre
pared to be led to death for the sake of mere plans of
political ambition?

"The charge of 'militarism* applies least of all to Ger
many, unless you refer to the fact that every German sub
ject is a bom defender of his Fatherland. It was this
spirit that made it possible for Prussia to guard Europe
against the universal supremacy of Napoleon and then
against the domination of the Czar.

cc When we take into consideration the fact that during
the past 100 years Germany (Prussia) has had an army
constituting only one per cent, of the population, the charge
of the growth of militarism in Germany can hardly be
substantiated.

"In order that Germany should not be excluded from
international affairs, in order that Germany should not
have to remain a mere onlooker while the other great powers
are dividing Africa and Asia among themselves, and in or
der to protect our growing oversea commerce, Germany

HANS DELBRUECK

commenced to build her navy in 1888 and thereby aroused
England's jealousy In the highest degree.

"During the last 150 years the English people have lived
in constant dread of an invasion. At one time it was the
Spaniards, then the French, then the Russians, and now it
is the Germans who have disturbed the peaceful slumbers
of the British. They could not understand why Germany
was building a large navy, unless she had intentions of at
tacking England. In their opinion the German navy would
have been merely a luxury if Germany had no intentions
of such an attack on England,

"There may have been dreamers in Germany who
dreamed of an immediate landing in England, but in re
sponsible quarters Germans have thought much more so
berly. It is true, we wanted more than merely to defend
our own coasts with our large fleet, but there was never any
intention on our part to attack England. What we wanted
to impress upon England, as well as upon the other powers,
was that Germany must have her proper place among the
great nations, in accordance with her greatness and power.

ff New colonial possessions have been acquired in Africa
and in Asia by the English and the French, the Russians,
the Americans and the Japanese. Germany did not want
to be excluded from this division of the world forever. If
Germany had built no navy she could not have prevented
the division of Turkey."

"I understand that you were one of the signers of the
petition to the Imperial Chancellor recently, in which the
idea of the annexation of Belgium by Germany was op
posed. May I know what the attitude of the German peo
ple toward this question is at the present time*?" I asked.

"The men who signed that petition belonged to the

172 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

minority," said Dr. Delbrueck. "The majority of the Ger
man people desire the annexation of Belgium by Germany.
At all events the war must go on till Poland and the Baltic
provinces are liberated and the freedom of the sea is secured.
"Then the cause of militarism will have been removed,
and armaments could be reduced everywhere at the close
of this war. It is quite possible that peace could be se
cured by ceding to Germany such colonies as Uganda and
Nigeria by England and the French and Belgian Congoes,
as a ransom for the evacuation by Germany of northern
France and Belgium.

"Then there would probably have to be an indemnity
to Germany, and I think England ought to pay it, for the
cost of another year of war would be far greater than the
price of peace to-day."

"You speak of the liberation of Poland. May I know
what, in your opinion, the German Government intends to
do with the newly acquired Polish provinces?" I asked.

"So far as Poland is concerned," replied Professor Del-
braeck, "you may be quite sure that these provinces will
never belong to Russia again. They have been liberated.
It is, of course, one of the most difficult tasks to handle the
new Polish problem adequately. Poland either will be
autonomous, or, which is more probable, it will be an in
dependent State, under the sovereignty of Austria. I
hardly believe that Germany will want to take up this new
problem herself. Personally, I should not like to see Ger
many take upon herself this burden.

"Of course, the Baltic provinces where the population is
to a great extent German will remain in the hands of Ger
many. They will not be dominated by Russia any more.

HAXS DELBRUECK 173

As I have stated before. Germany Is going to liberate the
smaller nationalities in this war,

'The Jews will, of course, see their condition greatly im
proved after this war in the Polish provinces. Their posi
tion in Russia was intolerable. The horrors perpetrated
upon them were inhuman. I do not say that all anti-
Semitism will be eradicated in Germany after the war, but
I can state definitely that it is diminishing now, and that
it will continue to diminish in the German Empire."

"What do you think of the likelihood of a separate
peace with Russia? Do you believe that now that the
Grand Duke has been eliminated from the Russian sphere
of influence, the Czar, who has been inclined from the start
in favor of a separate peace with Germany, may commence
negotiations for peace with Germany?" I asked.

"A separate peace with Russia would mean the end of
the war. England would be forced, and so would France
be forced, to conclude peace within four weeks after a
separate peace with Russia. 5 '

'"What is your view with regard to the German-American
misunderstandings?" I asked.

"I am glad to see that these misunderstandings are being
cleared up and that the irritation on either side is subsid
ing. I must say that there has been a strong anti-American
feeling in a certain class of this country on account of the
question of ammunition. I belong to that class myself,"
replied Professor Delbrueck with a smile.

I remarked that the feeling of President Wilson is, in
all likelihood, that since the Germans believe the American
government to be pro-Allies, and the Allies believe America
to be pro-German, he is pursuing the right course.

174 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"I know that America is acting in accord with interna
tional law in this matter," said Professor Delbnieck. "I
know that legally the United States is in the right. But
I cannot understand how the sale of ammunition, even
though legally sanctioned, could be reconciled with the
lofty ideals embodied in the American notes, in which the
American government speaks of humanity, Christianity, of
moral rights and the glory of peace.

"If international law permits the sale of ammunition
and this is the only thing that prolongs the war then
America should simply stand upon her legal rights, but
should not preach idealism and lofty sentiments. If, how
ever, President Wilson is really in favor of an interna
tional policy of idealism and I have no doubt that he is
sincere he surely must have the right to substitute Amer
ican law for international law."

"But this would be interpreted as a violation of neu
trality, if changed during the war," I said.

"Legally, America is in the right," he repeated. "My
complaint is only upon moral grounds."

"How soon do you think peace negotiations will begin?"
I asked.

"I believe that peace could be had within a very short
time, peace under reasonable terms. In fact, the German
Chancellor declared recently that Germany is ready at any
time for peace upon reasonable terms. I believe that
President Wilson and the Pope could be the peace medi
ators and practically bring about a speedy peace."

ISVOLSKY

Paris, 1915.

THERE is a man in Paris who may justly say to himself:
"This war is mine!"

In the stillness of the night, in the great city that a little
more than a year ago harbored within itself so much care
free gayety, frivolity, playfulness and brilliancy, now
wrapped in mourning, a veritable graveyard, that man may
be rejoicing over the c * victor}* " he has achieved by the
realization of his dream and ambition, and if his nerves
have not been shattered by the phantoms of the millions
of men, dead or crippled, of millions of bereaved and heart
broken mothers and wives and children, he may be repeat
ing to himself, with a diabolical smile :

"It is my war!"

For years he has planned it. For years he has craved it.
For years he has schemed to provoke it. Spiderlike he kept
weaving incessantly his network of intrigues, the moving
spirit of the machinations and schemes and cunning devices
contrived to make this war.

And now he can say to himself: "I have made this war.
It is my war."

Perhaps it has turned out not as he conceived it. He had
hoped for victories, but has found defeats, reverses, humili
ations instead an almost complete collapse of his plans,
but nevertheless he may boast in his own heart :

"It is my war!"

175

176 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

He is not a great statesman, nor is he a great warrior.
He is not a Napoleon in any sense. This is the age of
mediocrities and of machines.

A small man, the son of a priest, moved by selfish am
bitions, persevering, unscrupulous and unhesitating in his
methods he has succeeded, strangely enough, in drawing
the great powers into the network of his "diplomatic" in
trigues, and now there is flowing upon the fields of battle
the blood of millions of human beings, representative of
the most civilized nations.

Humanity is destroying itself, devastating all it has been
creating cities, towns, and villages, fields and shops and
factories, commerce and industry spreading hatred and
bitterness and cruelty, killing the human in man. And be
hind the scenes of this awful calamity there is one man, a
so-called diplomat, who can laugh at the whole world and
say:

"Yes, it is my war! I have called it into being!"

That man's name is Alexander Isvolsky. He is the Rus
sian Ambassador to France.

When I arrived in Dieppe f rom London I stood in line
at the railroad station for some time before I reached the
officers examining the passports. Around a long table sat
six men, three in French uniforms. But the Englishmen, in
plain clothes, seemed to be in authority. They cross-
examined the passengers. Their manner was rude, insult
ing and their questions were often silly.

When they looked at my passport the officers passed it on
to a red-headed Englishman, who made a significant grim
ace, scrutinized me and demanded to know the purpose of
my trip to Europe, especially to France. I told him the
purpose of my journey to Europe, named the newspaper I

ISVOLSKY 177

represented and added that I was particularly interested
in ascertaining the facts concerning the condition of the
Jews in the various countries at war.

He looked at me askance, stood up officiously and led me
by the arm to a small back room in the railway station.
He locked the door and whispered something in the ear of
the French officer, who sat there at a small desk.

Then he commenced to ask a number of questions, and
from time to time again whispered something in the offi
cer's ear.

Several times the door was opened and a soldier was ad
mitted, bringing reports. As the door opened I saw several
soldiers stationed outside.

The mysterious air and the rude manner in which they
conducted their cross-examination were, to say the least,
quite embarrassing. They disregarded the letters of intro
duction I carried, declaring sneeringly they knew how much
it was necessary to pay for letters of introduction in
America.

Though I had, in addition to the American passport, the
special French passport issued to me by the French Consul
General in London, after a most minute examination of
my papers, I was kept for an hour in suspense, locked in a
little room, guarded by French soldiers.

Finally the Englishman asked me brusquely:

"Where do you intend to stop in Paris?"

"In the Grand Hotel," I replied.

"See that you stop there," he threatened. "If you don't
report to the police to-morrow, or if you don't stop at the
Grand Hotel, you will be taken back to-morrow on this
same boat. 33

Then the French officer added :

178 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"You must not go near any of the places of military
operations under any circumstances."

The British officer opened the door and said:

"You may go now, but remember what I've told you."

In the train waiting at the station for more than two
hours I met several Americans who had come from London
on the same boat. There was an American newspaper man,
with his family, and three apparently wealthy American
women, who were going to France as volunteer Red Cross
nurses. They asked me about my experience, for they had
seen the officer leading me away. They told me they also
had been treated rudely.

I was wondering at the threshold of the great French
Republic whether I was in France or in Russia.

After a brief stay in Paris I knew what influences were
dominating the Republic of France, and I was no longer
surprised at the rudeness and stupidity of the officers ex
amining the passports in Dieppe. It was uncharacteristic
of the French.

During my stay in France I met a prominent French dip
lomatist with whom I discussed the war. He spoke of
France with deep emotion, with tears in his voice, for he
loved his fatherland passionately.

In a quivering voice he said:

"My unfortunate country is almost prostrate. Hun
dreds of thousands of our best people, of our youngest and
strongest men have already laid down their lives, have be
come disfigured, crippled, maimed; have shed their own
blood and that of the enemy, all on account of an intrigue."

"An intrigue?" I asked.

"Yes, a Russian intrigue," he answered. He paused a
while, and then added:

ISVOLSKY 179

"France is not free now; It is dominated by Russia the
press, the Government and all."

"Do you really mean to say that a Russian intrigue has
led to this universal slaughter, to this most terrible
tragedy?" I asked.

The Frenchman answered:

"It may seem strange and incredible, but it Is true. It
is so simple that people would hardly believe it possible,
but it Is a fact, nevertheless."

He paused again, as though hesitating to speak frankly
on a subject that was painful to him. Then he went on:

"If it is possible to fix the responsibility for so horrible
a catastrophe upon one man, that man is Isvolsky. He Is
now the Tsar's Ambassador to France. But the idea of
this war was born in his mind when he was Russia's Min
ister of Foreign Affairs. He commenced to plan this war
on the day Bosnia and Herzegovina were annexed by
Austria. He then made up his mind to avenge himself on
Austria. Not that he was so sorry for the smaller States,
or that the Russian government felt sorry for them, but
he saw his opportunity of furthering his pet Pan-Slavist
movement.

"The first part of his plot was to become the Russian
Ambassador to France, so that his activities might generate
from that country. As soon as he became Ambassador to
Paris he started to organize the French press for Russia's
purposes. Within a very short time he succeeded in muz
zling it, in making it servile to Russian interests. He had
large sums of money for this purpose at his command.

"To further his ambition of vengeance against Austria,
Isvolsky formed a secret alliance with Titoni, the Italian
Ambassador to France, who was always known as distinctly

i8o THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

anti-Austrian. The plan of these two diplomats was to
provoke a war of Italy and Russia against Austria without
drawing France or Germany into it. This turned out to
be a vain hope and a dream. They failed in the very first
stages of their conspiracy.

"Then the two diplomats changed their plans. Titoni
suggested the Tripoli operations, with Isvolsky's sanction,
in order to involve Austria, through the Balkan States and
Turkey. Italy was eager to occupy Albania, but England
and France blocked the scheme and prevented it.

"The war between Italy and Turkey was limited to
Tripoli, and thus the two accomplices were defeated in
their machinations once more.

u Then came the Agadir affair, the blow of Germany
against France in Morocco. Isvolsky sought to influence
the French Premier to go ahead and declare war, but Eng
land urged thai the affair be settled peacefully. This was
done, and Isvolsky's plot was upset again.

i In the beginning of 1912 Poincare became Premier.
He had already been interested in Isvolsky's pet schemes
and was now ready to assist him.

In August, 1912, Poincare went to St. Petersburg and
met the Tsar. When the Tsar asked him whether he
would lend his aid to Russia in her efforts to secure control
of Constantinople, Premier Poincare replied:

ec f l am only the French Premier. You know that a
Premier, who is only the temporary head of the Cabinet,
cannot give you a definite answer to this question. Only
the President of France could give you a definite and per
haps also a satisfactory answer/

"Isvolsky and the Tsar understood the meaning of Poin-
care's words.

ISVOLSKY 181

"Soon large sums of Russian money made themselves
felt In France. Isvolsky handed enormous sums to the
French newspapers, and with the aid of about six million
francs, Poincare was elected President of the French Re
public in 1913.

"Isvolsky, encouraged by Poincare, influenced Russia to
allow Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece to declare war on Tur
key, in October, 1912. Poincare sent to Austria the note
in which he practically demanded that Austria remain
neutral and keep out of the conflict. That note was quite
offensive to Austria.

'Then Isvolsky, by his methods of provocation for the
purpose of involving Austria in the war, expressed his opin
ion that Austria should intervene, but England succeeded
in influencing the great powers to act calmly and wisely,
and the intervention of Austria was prevented.

"Thus Isvolsky and Titoni lost their game once more.
"But if Austria acted wisely and kept out of the conflict,
it was due not only to the pressure brought to bear upon
her by the other great Powers who counselled peace, but
also to the influence of the heir to the throne, the Archduke
Ferdinand, who was a resolute and firm adherent of peace.
"Isvolsky knew this and commenced a new campaign.
Before long the Pan-Slavists, led by Isvolsky, resolved to
remove the Archduke who stood in the way of their plans
and ambitions. This was accomplished. It is now an es
tablished fact that the leader of the plot against the arch
duke was the Russian Minister to Serbia, who died three
days after the assassination of the Archduke. That man
was Isvolsky's agent in Serbia.

"Then came the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia.

c 'On the day of the ultimatum Poincare was in St. Peters-

182 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

burg. When the Tsar asked him this time about Con
stantinople, whether France would help him to secure it,
Poincare answered:

" "Now that I am the President of France I can promise
to help Russia to secure Constantinople/ "

"It was then that Russia, under the pretext of protecting
little Serbia, commenced to mobilize upon a large scale,
thus practically starting the war.

"Isvolsky accomplished what he wanted. And now
Titoni also realized his hope a war with Austria. But
they had miscalculated. They had not counted on Ger
many coming to Austria's rescue.

"Isvolsky, the son of a Russian priest, had long been a
fanatical adherent of the Pan-Slavic movement and has
dreamed of a Europe dominated by the Slavs.

"The French Republic, through the President and cer
tain members of the Cabinet, has become a pawn in the
hands of this Russian intriguer.

"Under these conditions you will not be surprised that
the French press has not published anything about the Jew
ish atrocities committed by the Russian government dur
ing the war.

"Of course, the people of France are beginning to real
ize the blunders that have been made. But it is too late.
Russia's defeats, and the causes of these defeats, have
opened the eyes of the French people, and there are many
now who are quietly expressing their indignation. But the
mass of the people do not know of the intrigues that led
to this most dreadful of all wars."

Thus ended the French diplomatist's account of Isvol-
sky's part in the world catastrophe.

The military parties in all the countries now at war sud-

ISVOLSKY 183

denly came into their own element. Some were prepared.
Others only boasted of their preparedness. Some kept pre
paring quietly and efficiently. Others threatened, prepar
ing in a haphazard manner.

About a month before the outbreak of the war certain
newspapers In Russia boasted of the preparations Russia
was making, of the reforms she introduced in her army,
and of her readiness to measure her strength with Ger
many's in 1916.

The powder was dry. The air was electrified. The mil
itary parties everywhere commenced to assert themselves.
And when the Russian Intriguer, spurred on by the dream of
Pan-Slavic domination and Russia's greed for Constanti
nople, dropped the match all of Europe was set aflame.

The dogs of war were suddenly unchained. Passions
broke loose. The efforts of the statesmen to save the situ
ation proved futile. It was too late to check the enormous
wave of war-madness that had come upon Europe.

There was a man in France who worked for peace and
for reason till his last breath.

On the eve of the war he addressed 100,000 persons in
the city of Brussels. He spoke of peace he brought them
a ray of hope that there may be no war. On the following
afternoon came the news that Germany was determined to
enter the war. He rushed back to Paris to the Foreign
Office where he was received by Under Secretary of State
Abel Ferry. He said to the representative of the Minister
of Foreign Affairs:

"The stronger you are bound by your treaties, the firmer
must be your will to do everything possible to spare us this
war. I fear you have not told our ally, Russia, that in
the event she does not accept England's proposal for medi-

184 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ation she must not count on our aid against Austria. We
make this demand loudly in the hour of the gravest danger.
We will do it even if we are threatened to be shot down.
For in this way we clear Socialism of the responsibility
and at the same time point out the only way in which peace
may be saved."

The Foreign Office answered :

"We assure you that we have never stopped bringing
pressure upon Russia in the manner you have indicated/'

But another man, M. Ferry, of the Foreign Office, re
marked a little later:

"It cannot be stopped!"

On July 31, 1914, the man who labored so passionately
to save the peace of Europe declared that the Russian Am
bassador, Isvolsky, was the .chief instigator of the war.

On the same day he declared to the Under Secretary of
State, M. Ferry, that he was determined to resume an ener
getic campaign against France entering the war. He was
warned against this in the following phrase :

"You may be shot down In the street."

On that same day the man who sought to save his coun
try from war madness planned to commence his campaign
by a powerful appeal in the form of "J'accuse !" This be
came known in the reactionary spheres In the afternoon,
and in the evening of July 31, 1914, this hero of peace,
M. Jaures, was murdered in a restaurant in Paris shot
through a window.

The famous and courageous champion of justice in the
Dreyfus affair now paid with his life for his courageous
fight to save the peace of Europe. This time Isvolsky,
Poincare and Delcasse won.

Before I left France a witty Frenchman said to me :

ISVOLSKY 185

"We have three Invasions in France. First, the Ger
man invasion, then the Belgian invasion caused by the
tragedy of Belgium and, last but not least, the British in
vasion. The British seem to be trying to ran France, as
if they were the masters here."

"But you have forgotten to mention another invasion/ 3
I remarked, "the Russian invasion of France. And this
invasion was probably responsible for the other invasions."

ALEXANDER KERENSKY

Petrograd, 2917*

THE man of the hour was Alexander F. Kerensky. Simple
and dominating, he was idolized everywhere. His sin
cerity and fiery eloquence won for him universal confidence
among soldiers and civilians. The most picturesque popu
lar figure brought out by the great revolution, he was hailed*
as the "sweetheart" and the "hope" of the new Russia.
He was its composite hypnotic force, concentrated in one
soul.

Kerensky really participated in the preparatory work
for the revolution, then rose to the very top of the revolu
tionary wave, above other Russian leaders, and became the
inspiration of liberty-loving Russia.

A member of the socialist revolutionary party, he had
grown more or less conservative under the burden of the
great responsibility he had assumed. Because of this he
incurred the animosity of certain members of his own
party. The extremists despised him even as the counter-
revolutionists among the reactionaries feared him more
than any other Russian leader.

The German government, realizing Kerensky's tremen
dous influence and power, used every means of discrediting
him. Vile stories were spread about him, accusing him of
having accepted bribes of British and French gold, of hav
ing sold out to the bourgeoisie. For months the press of

the world was fed on stories of Kerensky's critical physical

186

ALEXANDER KERENSKY 187

condition. Vivid descriptions of his illness and his suffer
ings were published. As a final attempt, it was even sought
to discredit his influence by circulating a story that he was
a Jew, in order to arouse the reactionary elements against
him.

Kerensky paid little attention to the gossip and wild
rumors circulated about him. He went on with his work,
strenuously trying to consolidate Russia, to reorganize the
army in order to continue the war efficiently, to guide the
ship of state safely to the Constituent Assembly.

His popularity meanwhile assumed legendary propor
tions.

Then came the July riots. Nicholas Lenine and Leo
Trotzky challenged his strength in the first, futile attack
on the Provisional Government,

July 13, 14 and 15 were days of horror in Petrograd.
The bolsheviki organized riots, in which hundreds of men,
women and children were killed or wounded in the streets
of the Russian capital. Petrograd was in the grip of the
bolsheviki for three days and all Russia felt the shock.

With cinematographic picturesqueness and rapidity Rus
sia's political situation was changing. Sensation followed
sensation, so that thousands stood in line, buying the eve
ning newspapers. Long lines were fashionable then.
There was a bread line, a shoe line and a tobacco line.
Hundreds of thousands were waiting, waiting, waiting.

Only heroic men and measures could save Russia and her
liberty, Mr. Kerensky, who rose on the top of the revo
lutionary wave, still remained on top. He was still the
nation's Idol, full of revolutionary fervor and courage.
All looked to the special defense committee, composed of
Kerensky, Savinkov and Nekrasov, co-operating with Gen-

i88 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

eral Korniloff, to act energetically in reorganizing the army
for a continuation of the war.

When the Premier was still in control of the situation,
with the cabinet reorganized and the leaders of the Work
men's and Soldier's Council, as well as the constitutional
democrats, supporting him and the new government, I
sought his views. He received me on August 13, in the
library of the former Tsar Nicholas, at the Winter Palace.

"The main problem before us now," he said, "is the na
tional revolutionary defense of our country. Whenever
those who fall into despair here or abroad think Russia
has collapsed and is falling apart, I would remind them of
the French Revolution, pointing to documents of history
and comparing them with the present picture.

"In the army thus far we have no Lafayette or other
generals who remained loyal to the fallen monarchy. Our
officers and army are worthy of the highest praise. De
spite misfortune, at the front, and disorders, they have
shown great heroism.

cc Our offensive attack opened a great wound, which is
discharging the decay. The Russian organism is now un
dergoing a painful operation. We are applying energetic
radical remedies to heal and strengthen it.

"Such is the inevitable course of revolution. All that
was secretly falling apart under the old regime is now il
lumined under the bright but burning rays of truth and
liberty.

"I am convinced that we shall have enough strength and
power to come out of these extraordinary trials with
honor. The birth of a free nation is always very painful.

"I value particularly American aid and support. Amer
ica is thus far the best organized democracy. It is free

ALEXANDER KERENSKY 189

from European prejudices, and we ourselves are inclined
to become a nation without historical prejudices.

i: l wish the great democracy would, especially at this
moment, come to our assistance energetically; for only In
the hour of need can we best test our friends. A deep,
strong source of moral power is insufficient just now. It
is necessary to add material support. If the old Russian
regime was unable to crush the spirit and the soul of the
Russian people, it did succeed in demoralizing the body
and robbing the wealth of Russia.

"Among all modern statesmen I consider President Wil
son the most worthy of emulation, deserving the world's
attention and praise."

London, April,

In an exclusive Interview with me to-day Mr. Alexander
F. Kerensky made his frankest statement since he escaped
from Russia. He had just returned from seclusion in the
country, having reached London yesterday.

"How easily the people of the Entente countries have
forgotten Russia's sacrifices and contribution in the war for
the Allied cause," Mr. Kerensky lamented. "To-day Rus
sia is considered a conquered country, like Germany."

"If the people do not know, surely the Allied statesmen
must know what the Russian armies did until after the
1917 offensive, which upset LudendorfFs plans to strike
with his full force against the western front," he continued.

"The Russian revolution of March, 1917, was an attempt
to save Russia from a separate, peace with Germany. In
January, 1917, there were 1,800,000 deserters from the
Russian army. Demoralization continued, enabling Ger
many to continually withdraw her armies from the eastern

190 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

front. Within two months after the revolution the Rus
sian army was almost regenerated. By the middle of
May Germany stopped withdrawing her troops from our
front. By June the normal condition of the Russian army
was restored, and when I began the offensive against Ger
many her forces opposing us were larger by ten divisions
than they had been ever before.

"The German General Staff had planned to attack the
western front before the Americans could come in, but
Russia blocked Ludendorffs designs.

" Allied statesmen know revolutionary Russia could have
made an advantageous separate peace, but we knew no
Russian front. To us it was the Allied front. We fought
not only for Russia, but for the Allies. We made supreme
sacrifices but we held the front for some time.

"Allied statesmen knew that Russia was more isolated
than Germany was. They could not help us effectively.
We were absolutely blocked during the first two years of
the war. Indeed, French and Russian troops practically
bore the burden of the war on land during this time. Of
course, the British fleet did wonderful work on the seas,
but the British army was adequately organized only after
Russia had carried even a greater burden than Germany did.

"Many Russians now blame me because I would not
make a separate peace with the Central Powers. Do you
realize what a separate peace concluded by Russia with Ger
many at that time would have meant to France?

"Now all this is forgotten- Russia is ignored and treated
as if she were non-existent."

Mr, Kerensky declared that no nation can forgive when
its sacrifices are ignored and the blood of its sons betrayed.

"Statesmen at the peace conference are busy creating

ALEXANDER KERENSKY 191

barriers," he continued. "They are giving Roumania ter
ritory almost down to Odessa and giving to Poland almost
up to Moscow. They are dividing Russia into little states.
They are doing that which Napoleon tried to do more than
a century ago.

"They should understand that a combination of the
Powers with Poland against Russia means a combination
of Russia and Germany against France, Then neither
America nor England could save the situation.

"Russia's catastrophe and chaos usually are attributed to
barbarism and the tinge of Asiatic blood, but almost the
same has happened in Germany. When the limit of a
nation's exhaustion and destruction is reached state organ
ism collapses.

"Compare what America contributed to France and what
was contributed to Russia, You will then realize under
what hardships we fought and lost more men than any
other one of the belligerents.

"Now small states are created around Russia, artificially,
but there is nothing terrible in that. Russia is experiencing
her gravest crisis now, but the Russian people, whose con
tribution to the world's literature and art and science is
considerable, will be regenerated.

"That which is taken from Russia now will come back.
The history of the beginning of the nineteenth century
will repeat itself."

Paris, May j, 1920.

Paris is now the center of Russian leaders and "saviors."
Each of them has a remedy of his own, and each of them
considers his remedy as the only one that can save Russia.

There are Russian leaders here of every shade and color.

192 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

from radicalism to ultra-reaction and monarchism beaten
generals of the Tsarist regime, statesmen trained in the
ways and intrigues of the autocracy, ambassadors "repre
senting" non-existent governments, politicians and officers
praying and working for a new Tsar, and Russian demo
crats who believe that only a constituent assembly could
reconstruct Russia upon a democratic basis.

There are Russian nobles here who live on their pearls
a pearl a week and they are rapidly coming to the end of
their strings.

All these Russians are divided on almost every question
affecting Russia, for each of them wants a different Russia
but on one point they are all united. They all believe
that the Allies, instead of helping, have injured Russia.

Among all the Russian leaders here Alexander Kerensky
is beyond doubt the most picturesque and dramatic figure.
On the crest of the wave of the Russian revolution he rose
to dizzy heights and became the favorite of the Russian
people immediately after the collapse of the Romanoff
dynasty.

I met him as Premier, when he was in his glory; I met
him several times since then, and now I find him in his
modest little room in Paris, where he lives in seclusion.

I asked him about Russia, about the Allied policy toward
Russia, about the recognition of the Soviet Government.

There was a tinge of bitterness and a certain degree of
cynicism in his comments on the Allied attitude, but it was
clear that his love for Russia was as profound as his con
fidence in the eventual readjustment of Russia as a great
and powerful countiy.

"America," he said, "had the greatest opportunity to save
Russia, but she lost it. Immediately after the overthrow

ALEXANDER KERENSKY 193

of the Romanoff dynasty Germany supported the Bol-
shcviki, while England and France supported the monarch
ists and reactionaries in Russia. Then America had the
greatest opportunity, and we Russians hoped that she would
help the democratic elements that sought to rebuild Russia.

**The Wilsonian peace policy was patterned after the
policy of the Provisional Government of which I was the
head. We outlined it first immediately after the revolu
tion, but It was a policy distasteful to England and France.
So they did everything they could to undermine us. They
did not want us to participate in the liquidation of the war
along the lines of our peace program. And we would
not have been puppets at the Peace Conference.

C When President Wilson proclaimed his fourteen points
the Allies maintained silence. They were glad that Presi
dent Wilson created such sentiments. They knew what
effect his speeches must have on the morale of the German
people, and upon certain elements of the people in the
Allied countries. But the Allied statesmen themselves did
not regard President Wilson's statements seriously, They
plotted to carry out their own program.

"Before President Wilson arrived in Europe the first
time, a prominent British official said to me : 'We are not
afraid of Wilson. He is not sufficiently familiar with
European affairs. Lloyd George will be able to accomplish
whatever he pleases/ And so it actually happened.
Lloyd George has done whatever he pleased.

"England Is now pursuing with regard to Russia the
same policy that Germany pursued. England Is now eager
to dismember Russia, almost along the lines of the Brest-
Litovsk treaty, and England will soon recognize and help
the Bolshevist government, as the Germans did in 1918.

194 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"I am asked by Allied statesmen whether it would be
wise to recognize the Bolsheviki and whether such a move
would not lead to the spread of Bolshevism to other coun
tries.

"My answer to them is this : "Why did you not ask these
questions two years ago, and why did you not take the ad
vice given to you at that time?

" "You have done nothing for Russia. On the contrary,
you have caused us grave injuries. What difference does
it make to us whether you recognize the Bolsheviki or not,
whether Bolshevism will spread to France and England
and Italy?

tf 'Russia has had her Bolshevism, has suffered from it,
has passed its worst stages; the terror is already a matter
of the past our concern is for Russia, not for other coun
tries which have not only failed to help us, but have actu
ally harmed us/

"Russia needs locomotives, clothing and boots, and if she
gets these things, so much the better for Russia. If gov
ernments based upon the system of private property dis
credit themselves through such deals, it is now of little con
cern to Russia.

"Either Russia is dead or she will come back stronger
than ever. Among the Allies there are many who think
that Russia is already dead, and they trample upon her
grave. But we Russians believe that Russia is recovering.
She is experiencing the pains of growth.

"And there is no nation that can help Russia except the
Russian people themselves. The Allies have pursued only
selfish interests in Russia, and have thus contributed to her
ruin. Now the Russian people themselves must work out
their salvation.

ALEXANDER KERENSKY 195

"I have long been opposed to military intervention and
to the blockade. I pointed out long ago that these things,
and the fronts of the reactionary generals, would galvanize
the Bolshevist regime and make it stronger.

"Open Russia to the world, open the frontiers, and the
world will then discover the myth that is so popular that
Russia can feed Europe.

"Europe is demoralized and exhausted. France Is quite
helpless. Italy is on the brink of a volcano. England is
now conducting the same policy that Germany would have
conducted if she had won the war.

"England is now the supreme dictator of the world, out
side of America. Of course, she does it skillfully and she
has indeed a democratic system of government, in England.

"Italy needs Russian trade badly, and she is urging the
recognition of the Soviets, not only to please her own radi
cal elements, but also her reactionaries and her financiers.
Italy has practically recognized Soviet Russia.

"Japan's recent occupation of Siberia is a new interna
tional outrage, and even America has not done anything to
curb Japan's policy of aggression there.

"In Siberia Japan is fighting not a Bolshevist govern
ment, but a democratic representative government of the
Zemstvos which has been recognized by the Bolsheviki.
There Japan is crushing Russian democracy.

"People spoke of the great war as the last war. It was
only the beginning of a series of wars. Instead of disarma
ment the nations will have to build ever more new big
guns, aeroplanes and dreadnaughts.

"Russia can be revived only by her own powers, within
Russia. She cannot be helped to come to herself by any
other Power or group of Powers.

196 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"The establishment of normal relations with Russia must
lead to the failure of the Communist regime. Either they
will quit of themselves or they will be overthrown. And
I am sure that England will help the Communists as Ger
many helped them in the beginning/ 3

PRINCE PETER KROPOTKIN

^ 1918.

I TRAVELLED from Petrograd to Moscow to see Peter
Kropotkin and some of the other great champions of Rus
sian emancipation. This journey, under the Bolshevist
rule, was connected not only with numerous hardships and
inconveniences, but also with risks and dangers. But if it
was difficult to reach Moscow from Petrograd it was much
more difficult to find the address of the famous Russian
leaders. Most of them were in hiding. No one knew the
whereabouts of Tchaikovsky, the "father" of the Russian
revolution, or of Catherine Breshkovsky, the "grandmother"
of the Russian revolution. No one could tell where Milu-
kov, Boris Savinkov or Kerensky was.

After the brutal murder of Shingaryev and Kokoshkin,
two of the noblest liberal leaders, who had devoted all their
energies to the service of the Russian people, it became un
safe for prominent Russian revolutionists to walk in the
streets or even remain in their homes.

After considerable difficulty I found Prince Peter
Kropotkin, the world-renowned scientist and revolutionist,
the author of "Memoirs of a Revolutionist." The genial
"Grand Old Man," who was one of the most feared per
sonalities during the reigns of Alexander in and Nicholas II
was now classed among the counter-revolutionists.

Kropotkin, exiled by the Tsarist government, lived in
England about forty years.

197

198 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

When the revolution broke out last year he returned to
his native land, where he was received with the greatest
honors a free nation could bestow upon her favorite sons.
Now, Prince Kropotkin lives with his wife in two rooms
and but few intimate friends know their address. Twice
the Kropotkin couple were forced from their rooms by the
Bolsheviki and their little home was searched.

On rny way to Kropotkin I saw the armored trucks
crowded with Red Guards rushing toward the headquarters
of the anarchists, who were supposed to have organized an
uprising against the Soviets. They fired shots at random,
killing and wounding many innocent people in the neigh
boring houses,

I asked Kropotkin for his views on the conflict between
the Bolsheviki and the anarchists. He replied :

"The Bolsheviki are not Socialists, and the Anarchists
are not Anarchists, they are expropriators, ordinary crimi
nals."

When I asked him for a statement on the present condi
tion of Russia for publication in America, he said:

"Much as I should like to give such a statement to you,
especially for America, I cannot do it now. I make no
statements now. I deliver no speeches. I give no inter
views to anybody. This is not the time for writing or
speaking."

I told him that if the real leaders of Russia maintain
silence, when their utterances might help Russia, their state
ments later would be of little significance or avail, as Rus
sia was rapidly drifting into chaos. He agreed with me
and said :

"I will try to write a few words to-night in the form of
a message to the American people. Just a few words."

PRINCE PETER KROPOTKIN 199

Discussing the condition of Russia at that moment he said
that as a result of the Brest-Litovsk treaty an enormous
feudal capitalistic empire was created in the center of
Europe, haughty because of Its victory, full of hatred for
its neighbors.

"We do not know what this empire will be in the near
future," he went on, "but until now Germany and Austria,
together with Russian autocracy, were the main strongholds
of willful monarchical government in Europe and Asia.
Their "Holy Alliance' in 1815, and then the 'Alliance of
the Three Emperors' in the sixties of the last century were
the bitterest enemies not only of a republican but even of a
constitutional form of government. They worked openly
and secretly against any manifestation of the spirit of
equality and freedom In Europe. They opposed in every
way possible the democratization of any State, and espe
cially worked energetically against socialism. And wher
ever the socialists in Switzerland, Italy and Spain, or even
in France, showed an inclination to translate some of their
ideals into life, the German government demanded im
mediately and demanded rudely that the governments
of these countries make an end to this propaganda of the
working people.

"The Russian autocracy naturally considered the Ger
man and Austrian emperors its chief supporters and allies,
and a Russian democratic republic must be considered by
Germany and Austria as their most dangerous enemy. Re-
fore the declaration of this war, Wilhelm wrote Nicholas
that their own safety and the safety of their thrones de
manded that they unite in an attack upon France and
England.

"There is but one thing we can do just now and this

200 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

is, while controlling ourselves in pain and agony, we must
start an uninterrupted, daily, hourly struggle against the
forces that have led Russia to the present condition of a
vassal State of German imperialism and German capitalism,

"But first of all we must not reconcile ourselves to the
thought of a possible monarchical restoration. Against
this we must exert all our efforts. We do not want a repe
tition of the hangings and shootings by Nicholas and
Stolypin.

ec But it is still more urgent that we commence a powerful
fight against all the forces that bring the victory of Germany
into Russian life. And especially in the villages, through
the co-operative organizations, the peasants may become the
strangest fighters against Germany her spirit, her culture,
her commercial domination.

"First of all we must rid ourselves absolutely of our sense
of worship of Germany in our schools, in our literature,
in our political life, in the circles of our intellectuals, which
have developed in Russia since the Napoleonic France was
defeated by Germany,

<C I know the Tsarist government, with its Ministers of
Education, encouraged this worship, but we are also to
blame for it to a great extent. Our intellectuals were
carried away too much by German kultur and forgot that
above kultur stands civilization the striving toward equal
ity, toward an ideal. Instead of familiarizing our people
with the kultur of Germany, we must familiarize them
with the Western World, its history, its life, its ideals of
self-government."

On the following day Prince Kropotkin said to me:

"I want to thank you for having made me work all night.

PRINCE PETER KROPOTKIN 201

I have prepared a message to the people of America, which
I ask you to transmit to them."

And he handed me the following message, written in his
own hand:

"Russia Is now living through one of those great com
motions which have taken place in different countries of
Europe at intervals of from one hundred and thirty to one
hundred and forty years. After England, which lived it
through in 1639-1648, and France in 1789-1795, it fell
now upon Russia to overthrow by means of a revolution
her antiquated forms of life and to take a new departure in
all her development.

"The social reconstruction, which is now to be accom
plished in Russia, had been so long postponed and prevented
by her rulers that it necessarily took on a violent character.
Some historians have made the remark that once a social
and political change, which has become necessary, is
made to assert itself with violence in the streets, the
change takes the form of a revolution, with all its conse
quences. This remark is confirmed now in Russia unfor
tunately under the most disastrous conditions.

"The Russians have to fight an enemy who was schem
ing for forty years the conquest of Russia military, com
mercial and financial. And that conquest was prepared not
only in Germany herself, not only in her army, her trade,
her banking system, her science, and so on. It was also pre
pared in Russia by the intellectual demoralization of the
Russian democratic thought. And this was done with the
aid of the autocratic government of Russia, which not only
opposed the spreading of general education, but worked
also to prevent a close intercourse of its subjects with the

202 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

advanced thought of the Western democracies. What the
Russians were permitted to learn they learned from Ger
many.

"The results of this double policy are now so awful and
I feel them so painfully that I am quite unable to write
about them. It is too hard to write about the sufferings of
a beloved mother.

"I can say only one thing. After all, Russia will recover
from her terrible illness in the shape of a federal demo
cratic republic, moving toward the higher ideals of equal
ity and fraternity.

"But what is to be done now? What can Russia's
friends do for her? In what way can they help her?
Full of vigor and working capacities, animated with the
best and friendliest intentions toward the Russian nation
as I know it is what can the American nation do to
help us? It can do very much, and already it does it in
France, where every blow that the Allies will strike at the
German invaders, both on land and on the sea, will help
Russia and all the Slavonian nations to free themselves
from the claws of the two imperial birds of prey.

"As to the help that the nation of the United States can
give directly to Russia, it is immense.

"The pressing need of the moment is to save Northern
Russia from imminent starvation. We still receive in
Moscow our quarter of a pound of bread every day and one
pound for the factory operatives; but even this insufficient
allowance is supplied under the greatest difficulties, and in
the provinces around Moscow whole populations cannot get
even that regularly. Conditions much ivorse than these are
imminent. And, with her population reduced to starva
tion, Russia risks to lose even the liberties she has conquered.

PRINCE PETER KROPOTKIN 203

"Send us corn. Make it on a large scale. And be sure
that the mass of the Russian people will fully appreciate
this manifestation of friendship. Dissipate in this way
the insinuations of the German agents who fluster in the
ears of our people that the Allies use Russia as a catspaw
for their imperialistic aims.

"Then send us at once as many tractors as you can spare.
They are badly needed for plowing in the fall already
in August. Do it at once there is no time to lose. . . .
You see, I speak to you frankly, openly, as a brother must
speak to a brother.

"And with the tractors, if you can spare men (I know
they are needed there in the west of Europe, where the two
different civilizations meet now in a mortal fight!) if
you can spare men and women, send us small brigades of
energetic, active people to show our plowmen how the
work is to be done. Send also seeds your splendidly or
ganized experimental stations know already what sorts of
seeds are needed for the different regions of Russia.

"All over the northern half of Russia the conditions are
such that the wheat and rye which were left for the spring
sowing will be eaten during this month and the next, and
the same is expected to happen by the end of next summer.

"Finally and this is as important as the above men
tioned, if not more so help us to bring our dilapidated
railways and rolling stock into a working order. The help
you gave us by sending railway engines was invaluable.
What we need now is fully equipped railway brigades of
trained men for rapidly repairing our railways and engines.
Of course, there will be grumblers and agents to spread
and to repeat the German insinuations concerning the im
perialist schemes of the United States. But, after what

204 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

has happened in Russia on her western front, such insinua
tions will find less echo than they found a year ago.

<c And then/ the disinterestedness of the United States be
comes every day more and more evident. And it will be
still more so if all that you do to help the Russian nation
takes the character of a popular work, coining from the
depths of the American nation itself. A direct gift and a
friendly service from nation to nation.

"And be sure that such a step which will be soon fol
lowed by other steps of mutual intercourse will do more
to put an end to wars than anything else could do.

C I beg you to transmit my heartiest greetings to the
American nation and my deep-felt respect for the atti
tude it took in the present struggle between two different
worlds the democracies of Western Europe and the two
Central Empires, dominated by the military and financial
castes of Germany.

"P. KROPOTKIN."

LEO TROTZKY

Petrograd^ March,

I WENT to Russia to see what the Russian people thought of
Bolshevism.

I interviewed a large number of representatives of fac
tions, groups and parties of every political shade of thought
in Russia.

I was particularly eager to meet Leo Trotzky, the clev
erest among the Bolshevist leaders.

I sent a card to him by messenger, stating that I wanted
to interview him for the American newspaper which I
represented. The messenger returned to my hotel
saying:

"Comrade Trotzky asks you to meet him to-niorrow at
eleven o'clock in the morning at the Smolny Institute."

Next morning on my way to the Smolny Institute, the
Headquarters of the Bolsheviki, I read in the newspapers
a dispatch from Moscow stating that Trotzky had arrived
in the new capital of the Bolsheviki, together with the other
Commissaries, to be present at the conference of the Council
for the ratification of the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty. I
hesitated awhile, then decided to go to Smolny, notwith
standing the report that Trotzky had left the city.

The Smolny Institute, guarded by troops, with machine
guns in front of the huge buildings, was almost deserted.
The corridors were dirty. No one seemed to know any
thing about the departments that still remained in the

Smolny.

205

206 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Finally I found my way to the rooms occupied by
Trotzky, who still was Commissary of Foreign Affairs, al
though he had resigned several days before. A young Red
Guard in a fur cap, leaning on his gun, stood at the door
reading a Russian version of a Conan Doyle detective story.
I asked him whether Trotzky was in his office. He replied
he didn't know.

"Can you find out whether the Commissary is here?" I
asked.

"No," he said, turning to his novel again. Then I sug
gested that he send for Trotzky's secretary. He answered
that he could not do that, because the bell was out of or
der, and he had no right to leave his post.

I waited awhile. Finally some one entered and I asked
him to send out Trotzky's secretary. Within a few min
utes a young woman came out. She had bobbed hair, a
man's coat was thrown over her shoulders and she smoked
a cigarette.

"Is Commissary Trotzky in?' 3 I asked.

"Comrade Trotzky is not in," she answered, without re
moving the cigarette from her mouth.

"Are you sure he is not in?" I asked.

"He is not in," she replied, ready to go back.

I handed her my card and asked her to give it to Mr.
Trotzky. Without saying another word she went away.

About two or three minutes later Leo Trotzky came out.
He whispered something to the guard and opened the gate.

He extended his hand and said in English :

"Do you speak English?"

"We may speak Russian if you like," I answered. Then
he led me through the spacious bare rooms of the Srnolny
Institute and apologized for the appearance of the rooms.

LEO TROTZKY 207

"You know we moved to Moscow and things are in dis
order here," he remarked.

He took me to his room. There was a bare writing table
and three chairs. A man was cleaning the large window
of his room at the time. Several times some one would
enter without knocking and tell him that he was wanted
on a very important matter.

i We want you there for only five minutes/' the man
persisted.

"I am busy now/' Trotzky said.

Trotzky looked pale, exhausted.

I asked him how he was pleased with the Russian situa
tion on the day the Brest-Litovsk peace was being ratified
in Moscow. He stared at me awhile, then said:

"Russia's position is more affected now by foreign than
internal affairs. We have been called German agents, as
you know "

"Yes, I know, we published a number of articles dealing
with this matter/'

"But/ 3 he interrupted, "the Allied representatives in Rus
sia did everything to spoil things for us and for themselves,
and in that way they helped Germany more than we did."

"What are you referring to?" I asked.

"Certain members of the French and British missions
blundered by supporting the Polish legions, the Ukranians,
by stirring up the Roumanian armies against us, but the
Polish legions, the Ukranians and Roumania all helped
Germany/' Trotzky answered quickly.

"The American representative took no initiative in any
of these matters/' he went on, "but he permitted foolish
things to be done. We have been called German agents,
but I can tell you that Germany has no greater enemy than

208 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

our party. Nevertheless, the Allies helped General
Kaledin. Of course, Ambassadors always deny that they
are interfering with the internal affairs of the country to
which they are accredited. So they also denied they in
terfered with the internal affairs of Russia. The Amer
ican Ambassador acted honestly, but he didn't understand
the situation in Russia."

"According to your opinion, then, the Allies are to blame
for all the things that are happening in Russia to-day?"
I asked.

"No, the Allies are not altogether to blame for it. There
have been other mistakes, too. Revolution is necessarily
accompanied by violence and disorganization, but we have
creative forces which they overlooked. It was our inten
tion to carry the revolution to Germany. The general
strikes in Berlin and Vienna show that we have already
accomplished much in that direction. But we lacked power
of organization and Lenine favored a breathing spell for the
revolution. So we accepted peace."

Trotzky paused awhile, then he added quickly:

"Now the Allies are preparing to make a new blunder.
Japan is about to strike at Russia, but this will be a terrible
blow to the Allies themselves."

"Just what do you mean?"

Trotzky looked at me fixedly as he answered:

"I have information that Japan has an understanding
with Germany regarding the division of Russia."

"When was such an agreement signed?"

"I don't know that," answered Trotzky.

"Do you know that such an agreement was signed?" I
asked.

LEO TROTZKY 209

"I don't know that, either," he answered. "But I have
reason to believe that there is an agreement which is based
upon Germany's interests in the West and Japan's interests
in the East. Germany wants a part of European Russia
and Japan wants a part of Siberia. The Allies know of
this understanding between Germany and Japan, but they
close their eyes to it, fearing lest the secret agreement may
become an open agreement. Other countries are prompted
by the motive of crushing the social revolution/'

Then the Bolshevist leader remarked :

"I must say that though Germany is employing methods
of violence she deals after all with the realities of life, and
that is why Germany is successful. The Allies, on the con
trary, deal with appearances, with dreams rather than
realities. Besides, they are six months too late. Any one
who tells me that Japan is pursuing unselfish interests in
Siberia is using a wretched diplomatic phrase. Japan is
striking at Russia while we are organizing an army to resist
German domination."

I looked at Trotzky in amazement. He was making
this statement on the day the Bolsheviki were ratifying the
Brest-Litovsk peace treaty.

"How long do you think your peace with Germany will
last?" I asked.

"We are continuing the war against Germany in the
Ukraine right now," answered Trotzky. "Neither we nor
Germany consider our peace of long duration."

"May I know how you expect Bolshevism to work out in
Russia side by side with German imperialism?" I asked.

"The Russia of Soviets and militaristic Germany are ab
solutely incompatible," replied Trotzky. "We are not yet

210 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

in the position of Persia or Armenia, but Russia is being
torn to pieces and our party is now working for national
defense. We will continue the war."

ec Do you really think that the army you demobilized,
that the peasants who have been sent to their homes, could
be induced to fight for Russia again?" I asked.

Trotzky answered :

"We are taking the military experts of the old regime.
We are not afraid of them. We want their experience,
their knowledge, but not their politics in the army. We
will have a much smaller army than before. It will be
composed of young peasants and workingmen."

He opened a telegram which lay on his table and said :

"I have just received this telegram informing me that I
was appointed head of the Military Committee. In fact,
I consider the reorganization of the army so important
that I resigned my post of Commissary for Foreign Affairs
in order to take charge of this work."

I asked Trotzky what the Bolshevist government was
planning to do in the near future.

rr We will move from Moscow if necessary. We will
make the Ural our base if we must. We will fight until
the social revolution triumphs."

"How soon do you expect that to happen?"

"Before the end of the war," he snapped.

Several days after this interview I succeeded in securing
the historic letter which Leo Trotzky sent from Brest-
Litovsk to Lenine and Stalin, in which he suggested the
famous formula, "We announce the termination of the war
and demobilization, without signing any peace," and in
which he predicted the revolution in Germany.

LEO TROTZKY 211

The following is a translation of this remarkable
document :

Ci Dear Vladimir llyitch:

"It is impossible to sign their peace. They already
have agreed with fictitious governments of Poland, Lith
uania, Courland and others concerning territorial conces
sions and military and customs treaties. In view of 'self-
determination' these provinces, according to German
interpretation, are now independent States, and as inde
pendent States they have already concluded territorial and
other agreements with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

"To-day, I put these questions squarely and received a
reply leaving no room for misunderstandings. Everything
is stenographed. To-morrow, we shall present the same
questions in writing. We cannot sign their peace. My
plan is this :

"We announce the termination of the war and demobili
zation without signing any peace. We declare we cannot
participate in the looting war of the Allies, nor can we
sign a looting peace. The fate of Poland, Lithuania and
Courland we place upon the responsibility of the German
working people.

"The Germans will be unable to attack us after we de
clare the war ended. At any rate, it would be very dif
ficult for Germany to attack us, because of her internal con
ditions. The Scheidemaimists adopted a formal resolu
tion to break with the government if it makes annexationist
demands of the Russian revolution,

"The Berliner Tageblatt and the Vossiche Zeitung de
mand an understanding with Russia by all means. The
centrists favor an agreement The internal strife is de-

212 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

moralizing the government. Bitter controversy is raging
in the press over the struggle on the western front.

te We declare we end the war but we do not sign a peace.
They will be unable to make an offensive against us
Verteidigungskrieg. If they attack us our position will be
no worse than now, when they have the opportunity to an
nounce kuendigung and declare us agents of England and
Wilson (after his speech) and to commence an attack.

"We must have your decision. We can still drag on
negotiations for two, three or four days. Afterward they
must be broken off. I see no other solution than that pro
posed. I clasp your hand.

"Your TROTZKY.

"Answer by direct wire : T agree to your plan' or I don't
agree/ "

In Christiania the captain of the vessel on which Leo
Trotzky left New York last year described to me how he
was taken off by the British authorities at Halifax, who
suspected that he was going to Russia to carry on a cam
paign for separate peace. Trotzky refused to leave the
vessel when the officers asked him to follow them ashore.
He was carried off by several men.

'*Who knows?" said one of the British officers to me at
Halifax. "If we had kept Trotzky here perhaps the war
would have been over long ago and history might have
taken a different course. We wanted to hold him, but
Milukov and Kerensky insisted upon our releasing him."

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF

) 1918.

I MET General Sukhomlinoff, former Minister of War, in
the Prison of the Crosses in April. With him, in the same
ward, were former Minister of Justice Scheglovitoff and
former Minister of the Interior Khvostoff. These men
were characteristic representatives of the autocracy that
committed suicide.

General Sukhomlinoff, wfto was Minister of War for
eight years under the Tsar, was made the scapegoat for
the reverses of the Russian forces in 1915 and was thrown
into prison by the government of the Tsar charged with
high treason and graft. He was accused of making mis
leading statements to the effect that the Russian armies
had all the necessary munitions at a time when Russian
troops were forced to fight the Germans and Austrians
with sticks and stones instead of guns and bayonets.

General Sukhomlinoff was placed on trial by the provi
sional government, headed by Alexander Kerensky, and
was sentenced to imprisonment for life. Mme. Sukhom
linoff, his beautiful young wife, who was kept in solitary
confinement in the fortress of Peter and Paul for about
six months, charged with having aided her husband in
affairs involving graft and treason, was acquitted.

Recalling the sensational trial and some of Sukhom-
linoffs references to the causes of the reverses of the Rus
sian armies, I was eager to hear his story and the details

213

214 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

concerning the outbreak of the war. But the problem was
how to enter the Prison of the Crosses.

I had heard of the terrors that prevailed in the prisons
under the Bolshevist regime. I had heard how prisoners
were taken out at night by the guards and shot in the yard
without any trial or hearing. I had heard of prisoners
shot on the way by the soldiers who were to transfer them
to other prisons or hospitals. And I felt that perhaps be
cause of this chaos it might be easier to visit the Prison of
the Crosses, where members of the Tsar's regime were kept
together with the members of the Kerensky government.

I soon convinced myself that the affair was much simpler
than I had imagined. I spoke to several friends about my
desire to interview Sukhomlinoff. One of them told me
that he knew the commissary of the prison, as he had fre
quently visited his friend, who had been imprisoned by the
Bolsheviki. I asked him to accompany me and introduce
me to the commissary.

We came to the Prison of the Crosses in the afternoon.
A large crowd was waiting outside the iron grating, with
cards in their hands- It was visiting day and those who
had permits had to wait for their turn. There were many
women in mourning, pale-faced and sad-eyed.

We walked to the head of the line and asked the soldier
at the gate for the commissary. I mentioned that I rep
resented the New York Herald, and he opened the gate.
My friend led me through the stifling corridors to the office
of the commissary. The commissary and his assistant
were eating at the time. My friend introduced me to the
commissary and asked whether I could see Sukhomlinoff.
The commissary exchanged glances with his assistant and
said:

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 215

"I don't think I have the right to permit you to speak
to him."

The assistant added: "No. We can't let you see
him."

"I just want to see how you keep the symbols of the
Tsar's regime in prison," I said.

Suddenly the commissary asked :

"Didn't you have an interview with Trotzky 4 ?"

"Yes."

"What would you talk about with Sukhomlinoff?"

"I will talk to him only about the past about the Tsar's
regime and the war. Not a word about present
conditions."

He hesitated, then said :

"Well, you may go in, but do not discuss with him any
thing concerning present conditions."

My friend and I went into the ward where the former
members of the Tsar's Cabinet were sitting. Sukhomlinoff
was drinking tea near his cot. A little distance away
Sheglovitoff and Khvostoff were talking quietly.

My friend introduced me to all the three. Sukhomlinoff
invited me to have tea with him and we talked for more
than two hours. General Sukhomlinoff, who is seventy
years old, but looks older, commenced by saying:

"From a Minister of War I have become a proletariat
in the real sense of the word. My trial was slow in com
ing and the judges were neither just nor merciful."

"During your trial you mentioned that the Tsar tele
phoned you about a telegram from the Kaiser asking him
to stop mobilizing the Russian army. Can you give me
the details of that conversation?" I asked.

"It was on July 1, past midnight," replied General

216 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Sukhomlinoff, "I was called to the telephone to speak
with the Emperor at Peterhof. The Emperor said to me
that he had received a telegram from Wilhelm informing
him that he did not start the mobilization of the German
army and asked him to stop mobilizing our army. I re
plied that according to the information of our General
Staff the mobilization of the German army was going on
In full swing and that it would be impossible to stop our
mobilization just now, because for technical reasons It
would delay our mobilization at least two months, and by
that time the Germans could take Petrograd.

* c Do you think the Kaiser is deceiving me when he
writes that he has not commenced mobilizing the German
army?* asked the Emperor.

" T think he is not telling you the truth/ I answered,
advising him to communicate with the Chief of the General
Staff concerning the information In his possession on this
subject. This ended my conversation with the Emperor
over the telephone that night.

"I immediately telephoned to Chief of General Staff
Yanushkevitch and told him that the Emperor would call
him on the telephone soon and asked him to give the Em
peror all the information in his possession about the course
of the German mobilization and the danger of stopping our
mobilization.

"About twenty minutes later Yanushkevitch telephoned
to me, Informing me that the Emperor had spoken to him,
that he told the whole truth to the Emperor, but the Em
peror Insisted that the mobilization of the Russian army be
stopped.

fc 'And I am telling you not to stop the mobilization of

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 217

our army! 5 I said to Yanushkevitch. Next morning we
received official information that the mobilization of the
German army was going on rapidly throughout the coun-
try. Then the Emperor thanked me for my firmness. It
was quite clear that the Kaiser tried to deceive the Tsar in
order to gain time."

"I understand that you met the Kaiser several times
and that you discussed with him the question of the secret
treaty between Germany and Russia. Is it true?" I
asked.

"I met the Kaiser three times. Twice I met him at
Russian manoeuvres, and the third time I lunched with him
at Potsdam. We did not discuss the Russo-German treaty.
The only thing the Kaiser seemed interested in was the
question of Turkey. After lunch he invited me to his
study, and taking out a map of Turkey he asked me a num
ber of questions regarding that country."

I noticed that General Sukhomlinoff did not want to talk
frankly about his interview with the Kaiser. I turned our
conversation to his own case. Then he spoke freely.

"Our reverses in Eastern Prussia were due entirely to
the blunders made at our headquarters," said the former
Minister of War. "They looked around for a scapegoat.
They wanted to find as big a scapegoat as possible, and
they selected me, the Minister of War. It was embar
rassing to hold the commanders at the front responsible for
the reverses, because the Commander-in-Chief directed their
activities and interfered even with their instructions.
Since affairs took a sad turn at the front they looked around
for a scapegoat in the rear and they held me responsible
for everything. They blamed me for all the reverses, al-

2i8 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

though Grand Duke Nicholas never confided any of his
plans to me, and even arranged matters so that I could not
be present while he was reporting to the Tsar when he came
to the headquarters.

cr When people familiar with military affairs were aston
ished at the absurd experiments of the Grand Duke which
resulted in the defeat of our three armies, those responsible
for the fiasco explained that everything was due to the lack
of munitions and provisions in our armies. They con
trived this intrigue and insisted upon my removal. But
it was necessary for them to prove that I had neglected my
duties. They appointed in my place an enemy of mine
and organized a commission under the chairmanship of the
senile General Petrov for the purpose of investigating the
causes of the lack of munitions.

"General Polivanoff, with the aid of A. Gutchkoff, com
menced to attack me in the press and in the Duma, cir
culating all sorts of gossip and slanders. The past master
in shady affairs and espionage, Prince Andronikoff, man
ufactured an anonymous denunciation of myself and my
wife and sent it to the investigating commission.

"Among other things, I was convicted on the ground
that I had neglected my duties. I was appointed Minister
of War in 1909. During the five years preceding this war
I succeeded in accomplishing a great deal for the Russian
army. In 1904 the Germans did not yet consider them
selves ready for a war at two fronts, and they rejoiced that
we were being beaten in the fields of Manchuria, even
though their factories supplied us with munitions. But
that war left our armed forces so disorganized that after
the conclusion of peace our most important problem was
the reorganization of the Russian army/'

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 219

I asked General Sukhomlinoff, former Minister of War,
in his prison cell, whether the Grand Dukes interfered with
the War Department, and whether their work during the
war was helpful. The old man, who but a short time ago
was one of the most powerful figures in the Russian Em
pire, replied:

"During my stay in prison I have worked upon my
memoirs, in which I describe in detail the blunders made
by the Russian government during the war. I have not
the manuscript with me, but my wife knows where it is.
If you like, I will be glad to give you a note to my wife,
and she will let you examine the manuscript. You are at
liberty to select for publication any passages you may be
interested in."

He gave me a note to Mme. Sukhomlinoff. On the fol
lowing day I familiarized myself with General Sukhom-
linoffs memoirs and selected a number of extracts for
reproduction.

Speaking of Grand Duke Sergius Mikhailovitch, Gen
eral Sukhomlinoff said:

fr When he was appointed Inspector of the Artillery it
was understood that he was to co-operate with me and fol
low my instructions. Instead of this he took charge of the
entire artillery department, gave instructions without con
sulting me or General Polivanoff, who was really re
sponsible for the work of the department, and reported to
the Tsar personally without informing us of the contents
of his report.

"I criticised such an abnormal state of affairs, and the
Grand Duke never forgave me, mobilizing all his talents
for intrigues against me. For instance, when I visited the
Perm munition works and found that certain guns were

220 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

not made in eighteen months because no reply was received
from the Grand Duke regarding a misunderstanding in the
design I criticised the c red tape 3 in his department. Then
the Grand Duke insinuated that I travelled to the Perm
munition works and to other places merely for the purpose
of getting travelling expenses from the government.

C He was personally so partial to the Schneider-Krezo
munition works that the mention of other firms which could
produce munitions more quickly and reasonably aroused his
indignation and he again insinuated that I was materially
interested in these firms. Thus a vicious circle was cre
ated and the strongest opposition to the establishment in
Russia of any new great munition works, as in other Euro
pean countries. The Schneider orders were filled also
through the Putiloff works. The Grand Duke interfered
directly with any orders placed by other departments with
out his knowledge. When I criticised him he tried to
prove that I interfered in behalf of other munition works
because I was personally interested in them.

"As to the accusations that I betrayed Russia, it is an
absolute fabrication, and however hard the judges tried to
convict me on this point they were unable to do it. My
work was interfered with by the grand dukes, especially
Nicholas and Sergius. On account of them we lost four
years of most valuable time. Grand Duke Nicholas mis
led the Emperor and failed to do his work as chairman of
the Council of Defense of the Empire. He hindered the
work of the commanders in their preparations in the event
of war. He kept me from being present when he reported
to the Tsar, fearing that his prestige as commander might
be affected. He wasted war supplies unnecessarily when
he knew that we had to use them judiciously.

GENERAL SUKHOMLINQFF 221

"He permitted the inexcusable operations in Eastern
Prussia and the march to the Carpathians, thus destroying
three of our splendid armies, He abused his authority
with regard to military courts and stopped at nothing in
order to rehabilitate himself. He could hardly boast of
chivalrous conduct becoming a Commander-in-Chief.

"My trial was a travesty on justice. Instead of placing
me upon the bench of the accused they should have tried a
few grand dukes and other high dignitaries of that
government.

"I am seventy years old now. Under the old laws of
the Tsar's government any criminal reaching the age of
seventy in prison is set free. But here I am in prison under
a socialist regime."

Before leaving the Prison of the Crosses, I had a brief
talk with former Minister of Justice Scheglovitoff, who
was responsible for staging the Beilis affair. I also spoke
with Khvostoff, Minister of the Interior of the Tsar's
government.

"I understand that you, as Minister of the Interior,
tried to organize the assassination of Rasputin. Is that
true?" I asked.

C Rasputin was the evil genius of the Tsar," he replied.
"He made and unmade members of the Cabinet and ex
erted the most terrible influence upon the Tsar, even in
matters relating to the war. I did make an attempt to
have him 'removed/ but I failed. I didn't do it cleverly
enough. So they caught me."

This is the simple story Khvostoff related as to how he,
as Minister of the Interior, tried to bring about the assas
sination of Rasputin. The reasons he gave for his attempt
on the life of the lewd, illiterate Siberian peasant who dom-

222 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

inated Russia for many years is an eloquent commentary
on the last days of the Tsarist regime.

"Do you think the Germans are coining to Petrograd? 3
he suddenly asked me.

"Why do you ask this question now?" I asked.

"Because I am in a most peculiar position," he answered.
"When I was a member of the Duma for several years, I
fought in every way possible Germany's commercial dom
ination of Russia. I prepared an exhaustive memoran
dum on the subject and outlined a plan of combatting this
German invasion even before the war. And now I find
myself in the peculiar position that I may be freed from
this prison by the Germans if they enter Petrograd. Such
is the irony of fate."

As I walked out of the prison I heard some of the re
turning visitors say that there had been disturbances in
the prison the night before and that several prisoners had
been shot by the guards. Outside the prison gates, here
and there, the sidewalk was stained with blood.

"Every night they shoot prisoners here," said one of the
women visitors dressed in mourning. "They always give
an excuse that the prisoners attempted to escape/ 3

Mme. Sukhomlinoff related to me how she was kept in
solitary confinement in the fortress of Peter and Paul for
six months.

C It was filthy and stifling there, and the food they gave
us was unfit to eat," she said.

The young wife of the former Minister of War had a
taste of what some of the noblest men and women who
had dreamed of Russian freedom experienced for years.
Then she told me of her efforts to obtain her husband's re
lease from prison.

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 223

"I have visited most of the Bolshevist Commissaries,"
she said. "I have pointed out to them that under the
Tsar's laws my husband, who is seventy years old now,
would have been released, and I asked them to free him.
I said to them General Sukhomlinoff is not only too old to
be dangerous to any political party, but he is so discredited
by the stories brought out before the trial and at the trial
that you could not find three men who would support him
or any movement in which he might be interested. Each
one of the Commissaries I visited agreed with me, and said
that he would have no objection to set him free. I asked
each of them to give me these statements in writing, but
they all declined. They said they were afraid that my
husband would be killed by the soldiers if they released
him."

General Sukhomlinoff, Minister of War under Tsar
Nicholas, who spoke to me so frankly in his prison cell about
the blunders of the Russian autocracy, continued his re
markable revelations which he made in his hitherto unpub
lished memoirs. Describing his removal from the post of
Minister of War, he said:

"During 1914 I reviewed at a special audience with the
Tsar all that had been done in my department. He ex
amined the report I submitted and expressed great surprise
that so much had been accomplished during five years.

"But Grand Duke Nicholas, to rehabilitate himself both
at home and abroad as Cominander-in-Chief, considered it
of the greatest importance to place upon me all the blame
for all his unsuccessful experiments, and endeavored to
stage the whole affair so that he could not be held in any
way responsible for our defeats.

224 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"He urged the Tsar to have me removed. Instead of
an official order I received a personal letter from the Tsar,
which shows clearly that he removed me not because he be
lieved I had neglected my duties, but because of the pres
sure brought upon him by Grand Duke Nicholas.

"This is the letter the Tsar wrote me in his own hand:

" 'Headquarters^ June n,
" 'Vladimir AlexandrovitcTi:

" 'After long consideration I have come to the conclusion
that the Interests of Russia and the army demand your
leaving the post of Minister of War at this moment. Hav
ing had a conversation just now with Grand Duke Nicholas
Nikolayevitch, I am convinced of this definitely.

" f l am writing to you so that you may learn of this
from me first. It is painful for me to express to you this
decision, especially since I saw you only yesterday.

" 'We have worked so many years together and there
have never been any misunderstandings between us. I
thank you heartily for all your work and for all the energies
you have spent for the welfare and upbuilding of our army.
Unprejudiced history will give you a verdict more generous
than that of your contemporaries,
" 'God be with you.

" 'Respectfully yours,

" 'NICHOLAS.' "

cr When I became Minister of War in 1909 the Russian
army was not fit to fight. In 1914 the army was in con
dition to mobilize rapidly and to fight," General Sukhom-
linoff continued. "The reason why Russia was not prop-

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 225

erly equipped with war supplies was that none of the bellig
erents had expected so long a war. All that could be done
in less than five years was done, but we had neither the
time nor the means for better preparations in a country so
backward in her industrial development as Russia.

"But Grand Duke Nicholas interfered with my depart
ment much more than that. He was a Grand Duke, but
not at all a great commander. But he exerted tremendous
influence upon the former Tsar and hated me because I had
predicted the failure of his project to reorganize the army.

"The tutor of Grand Duke Nicholas, General Skalon,
thus characterized his pupil: c He is cruel by nature,
heartless, haughty, impulsive, base and cowardly.' This
characterization is merciless, but true. I may say that he
spoiled whatever he undertook to do.

"The late Premier Stolypin, speaking of the Grand
Duke's work as chairman of the Council of the Defense of
the Empire, said it was the work of an inmate of an insane
asylum. He introduced a number of measures which
served as the beginning of the liquidation of the Russian
army and which culminated in the downfall of our mili
tary prestige.

"Grand Duke Nicholas was my enemy ever since my
appointment as Minister of War, and I could not depend
upon his co-operation. Besides, he was accorded the priv
ilege of making personal reports to the Tsar concerning the
military district of Petrograd without the knowledge of the
Minister of War. As a result of this a number of serious
blunders were made.

"Thus, for instance, General Hazenkampf, the assistant
to Grand Duke Nicholas, lost the plans of the Fortress

226 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Committee concerning the defense of the Gulf of Finland.
All the efforts of the secret police department to find these
most important documents proved futile.

"Not a word was said to me at the time the papers
were lost. When I learned of this I mentioned it to the
Tsar, but he remarked that the Grand Duke had already
adopted measures to find the documents. It is quite pos
sible that these documents fell into the hands of the Ger
man Embassy and proved very useful to the German gov
ernment during the war.

"In reviewing the troops the Minister of War is re
garded higher than the commander of the army. In my
case the Grand Duke viokted this rule. I considered it
an insubordination and mentioned this to the Tsar. The
Grand Duke, who was very ambitious and vain, never con
cealed his animosity to me and deliberately tried to offend
me. When I reviewed the troops and greeted them he
turned away demonstratively and continued to talk to the
members of his staff.

"Taking advantage of the weak character of the Tsar,
he acted as he pleased, and my assistant, General Poliva-
nov, eager to ingratiate himself with the Grand Duke
Nicholas, betrayed me.

"In 1911 I suggested to the Tsar that the commanders
of our armies meet in Petrograd for a strategical conference
in view of the possibility of war at our western front. The
Tsar liked the idea very much and ordered half of the Win
ter Palace set aside for this purpose, as he desired to partic
ipate in the conference in the role of Conmander-in-Chief .
The General Staff prepared an elaborate program for
the conference. The commanders of the armies arrived in

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 227

Petrograd. Then the Grand Duke Nicholas invited them
all to dinner and told them that he was opposed to the con
ference. After the dinner he presented them to the Tsar,
and an hour before the opening of the conference I received
a note from Tsarskoye Selo informing me that the con
ference was postponed.

"I explained to the Tsar that the questions to be con
sidered at the conference would be of great importance to
him personally, that he would thus be able to familiarize
himself with the commanders who might have to lead mil
lions of men to fight, that in the event these commanders
were not sufficiently equipped for their important tasks we
would have time to replace them by abler men.

"But the Grand Duke did not like this plan. He said
that the Minister of War wanted to examine the com
manders and that such a thing should not be permitted*
He urged Count Frederiks to tell the Tsar that the holding
of such a conference at the Winter Palace was almost a
sacrilege.

"The Grand Duke succceeded in convincing the Tsar
that the conference should not be held. Thus I was placed
in a position where I had to resign. Unfortunately, the
Tsar refused to accept my resignation. Although the com
manders had been ordered to return to their posts the Tsar
despatched new orders to the commanders and the con
ference did take place under my chairmanship. The Tsar
was not present, nor was Grand Duke Nicholas. He was
afraid of the examination, and, unfortunately for Russia,
he proved during this war that he failed to pass his
examination.

"As chairman of the Imperial Defense Committee, he

228 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

wasted four years, interfering with my work, and after
ward blamed me for all his blunders at the front, after he
had practically mined the three armies,

"The Grand Duke's animosity toward me was so widely
known that even the German press frequently published ac
counts of my leaving the post of Minister of War on ac
count of the differences existing between Grand Duke
Nicholas and myself.

"In addition to his weaknesses as Comrnander-in-Chief,
he was so influenced by his passion for spiritualism, in
which his wife, Anastasya Nikolayevna, believed blindly,
that he frequently sought in spiritualism solutions for some
of the most serious military problems.

"My stand with regard to the mobilization of the Rus
sian army averted a grave danger.

"At first the Tsar wanted to assume the chief command
himself, but the Council of Ministers persuaded him to
remain in Petrograd. Then the Tsar offered me the post
of Commander in Chief of the Russian armies. I did not
accept it because I knew that with Grand Duke Nicholas
remaining in Petrograd near the Tsar, upon whom he ex
erted an enormous influence, my work would be constantly
hindered.

f Then the Grand Duke was appointed Commander-in-
Chief.

"The beginning of our campaign of 1914 was very fa
vorable to us. Our army was so quickly concentrated that
the Germans believed we had undertaken our mobilization
secretly long before the wan

"The energetic operations of our northern armies in
Eastern Prussia, our successful resistance of the German
forces by our centre and the occupation of Galicia by our

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 229

southern armies all this indicated that the march of our
armies to Berlin might be successful.

"The Austrians were driven to the Carpathians. Then,
instead of the plan of action I elaborated, which would
have assured our success, operations were undertaken by
our northern armies in Eastern Prussia, which led to a
catastrophe, and at the southern front we left Lemberg for
some reason and undertook an offensive beyond the Car
pathians, where we suffered another great defeat and thus
definitely paralyzed our center.

"An old philosopher once said that in war many claim
credit for a victory, while defeats are usually heaped upon
one man, who is made the scapegoat. In this instance I
was made the scapegoat. And yet Grand Duke Nicholas
Mikhailovitch, in his memoirs published in 191 7, describ
ing his own impressions of the army, wrote: 'The
Commander-in-Chief made many blunders not only from a
strategical point of view, but because he failed to co
ordinate his operations with those of the Allies/

"No great commander is insured at all times against a
defeat, but the Grand Duke did not want to bear the re
sponsibility for any of his failures and looked about for a
convenient victim. Then the Grand Duke commenced to
urge the Tsar that I be removed from the post of Minister
of War.

"Grand Duke Nicholas offered his services to the Tsar
and submitted a project for the reorganization of the War
Department.

"In 1905, when I came from Kiev to Petrograd, the Tsar
asked my opinion concerning the Grand Duke's plan of
reorganizing the army, I considered it my duty to oppose
the plan of the Grand Duke. The project concerning the

230 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Chief of the General Staff was prepared by General
Palltzin and was a poor translation of the German plan.
Without hesitation I declared that such a plan was worth
less for Russia, and that while it might be suitable for
Wilhelm it was not for Nicholas.

'"The Emperor agreed with me at the time, but after I
had returned to Kiev the Grand Duke Nicholas insisted
upon his plan and it was adopted. The Grand Duke never
forgave me for my criticism, According to his project, the
various departments in the War Office worked independ
ently and there was no unity of action. In 1909 every
body recognized that the Russian Army was not fit to fight.
The reports of the various commanders submitted to the
Emperor left no room for doubt on this point.

"My prediction came true, and I had to undertake to re
pair that which was so thoroughly spoilt. We had no
army and no fleet which could guard our country against
an enemy's attacks, and we surely were not in a position to
threaten any other Power with an attack.

"Just before I was appointed Minister of War, in
March, 1909, there was a conference at Tsarskoye Selo
under the chairmanship of the Emperor regarding the an
nexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. General Rediger
was asked whether our army was ready for active opera
tions. He replied that our army was not ready. When
Minister of Justice Scheglovitov, who is sitting right here,
asked General Rediger whether our army was in a position
to defend our country against attacks upon us the General
answered categorically that the Russian army was not fit to
fight. The Japanese war exhausted us, and the immediate
demobilization completely disorganized our army."

After I had left Russia I learned that General Sukhom-

GENERAL SUKHOMLINOFF 231

linoff and a number of other prisoners of the old Tsarist
regime had been released by the Bolshevlki.

The story of Sukhomlinoff Is a characteristic page of the
incompetence, intrigues and rottenness of the Tsar's regime,
which collapsed so easily.

MARQUIS OKUMA

Tokio> September^ 1918.

BEFORE entering Siberia I sought the views of Japanese
statesmen concerning the Allied expedition in Russia. I
interviewed Marquis Okuma, formerly Premier and the
Chancellor of Wasada University, perhaps the foremost
Japanese statesman best known as the "Sage of Wasada' 5
or the "grand old man" of the land of the Rising Sun.

I asked Marquis Okuma what Japan was doing for Rus
sia and what Japan's motives were in this expedition.
Marquis Okuma said:

"It is most important to restore Russia as a great state.
It Is most important for the world to adjust the balance of
power by restoring Russia. Russia may readjust herself
as a constitutional monarchy or as a republic of federated
states like the United States, but I have not the slightest
doubt that Russia will be once more a great state.

"Recently I outlined the way of saving Russia. I urged
the Allies, and particularly the United States, which en
tered the war for motives of justice and humanity, to pay
more serious attention to the present disordered state of
Russia and to do their utmost to save Russia from complete
ruin. In order to save Russia there is nothing that is more
urgent than the reorganization of her army. Japan, as
Russia's close neighbor, is geographically best situated to
take the lead in relieving Russia. If Russia is saved and
her disbanded troops are reorganized, how much would it

232

MARQUIS OKUMA 233

conduce to the welfare of the hundred and eighty million
people of Russia who would again prove themselves worthy
supporters of the Allied cause !

"There is only one way to save Russia and that is to
reorganize her troops and supply them with munitions and
war materials. The territory of Russia is so vast that a
victorious Allied expedition into Siberia could hardly ex
pect to pass the Urals. The Allies themselves can hardly
rehabilitate Russia completely, but they can act as advisers
and guardians. In my opinion it is our task to help re
organize the Russian troops and then the Russian people
themselves will take in hand the rebuilding of the national
structure of Russia.

"If left alone Russia is sure to come into her own at
some future day, but we cannot afford to lose time by
waiting.

"When I compare Russia with China," went on Marquis
Okuma, "I find that it will be much easier for Russia to
adapt herself to the present conditions of the world.
China has her own ancient civilization. She neglected to
adopt the new civilization, therefore it is so difficult for
China to adjust herself to the standards of other great na
tions. Her own old civilization has made things com
plicated for her. But it is quite different with Russia.
Russia is comparatively young. Russia has no such ancient
traditions to hinder her. The Slavic people have assimi-
liated Western culture and civilization. Therefore Rus
sia's plight is, after all, not quite so complicated as that of
China.

"Russia is so vast that it will be hard to restore a monar
chical sovereignty. I believe that a democratic form of
government would be far better for the restoration of Rus-

234 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

sla. I really feel that a form of government similar to
that of the United States would be ideal for Russia. And
it is most important for the entire world that the various
forces within the Russian people should be united under a
democratic government indeed it is most important for
the future of civilization that Russia shall be a great
factor in the affairs of the world. The restoration of
Russia as a great state will contribute much to the welfare
of the world and maintain universal peace."

Marquis Okuma paused for a time. Then his face
brightened with a broad smile, his eyes beaming good-
naturedly, as he continued :

C When I was a boy I had the impression that Russia
was terrible- That was the general impression in those
days in Japan. We looked upon Russia as upon a great
Power full of terrors for MS. We firmly believed that some
day she would spring upon us and crush us. The people
of Japan always feared Russia believing that she was
bent on aggrandizement. Naturally we had to prepare
ourselves for self-defense,

"But when we came into closer contact with Russia,
when we commenced to understand her, we realized that
she was not terrible at all. The Russian people are honest,
simple, innocent; on the whole they are good people. The
fear we entertained of Russia was due to a great extent
to the machinations of several bureaucrats, who were am
bitious and selfish and who were the power behind the Rus
sian throne.

"I feel absolutely confident that Russia will become our
friend, just as the United States and Japan have become
good friends. Russia has experienced and is still experi
encing an awful misfortune. We have a deep sense of

MARQUIS GKUMA 235

sympathy for the Russian people. And, as I have said be
fore, since Russia is not burdened with deeply rooted tradi
tions, she will soon shape her new destiny under a demo
cratic form of government/ 7

I asked Marquis Okuma for his views on Bolshevism,
and whether he thought that it would spread to other
countries. He replied:

"The disease of Bolshevism is a product of special en
vironment and special circumstances. Bolshevism in Rus
sia was caused by the excesses of the former Russian gov
ernment. Bolshevism seems to contain a part of the doc
trines of Karl Marx. Now consider how Marxism is op
erating even in Germany, the home of Marx. The social
democrats there modified Marxism to a great extent.
When we examine the program of the social democrats
we find that it is nothing else than simple democracy, with
out extremism. Circumstances alter and modify theories,
and actualities mitigate doctrines even in Germany. All
these extreme theories in the United States and in England
and France are greatly modified. But in Russia the former
government was bad beyond belief. Thus extreme reac
tion gave birth to extreme Bolshevism. On the one hand
Russia had Tolstoyism, with the doctrine of non-resistance,
and on the other Russia has Leninism with the doctrine of
terrorism. These sprang as a result of terrible oppression
and the unfair distribution of wealth and land. It is most
deplorable that men like Lenine, who had dreams and
fancies of social reconstruction, should be working indirectly
as the instruments of militaristic Kaiserisin.

*Tt is possible that new forces may find a response among
various nations, but these theories will be modified under
health}" conditions in England or the United States, for

236 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

instance for Bolshevism cannot thrive in these countries,
for the very simple reason that there are no grounds to
justify such extreme ideas. It is true that the distribution
of wealth is not perfect anywhere and a period of recon
struction must come, but it will not be accompanied by
extremism."

I asked whether Bolshevism was not spreading to Japan.
Marquis Okuma answered:

We have no reason to fear the spread of this disease in
Japan. Moderate socialism may meet with some success
here, but there is no room for extremism in Japan. After
the war there will be a tendency in every country for more
democracy and for a more just distribution of wealth, but
Japan has little to fear Bolshevism, for, though our country
is a monarchy, the fundamental principle of our govern
ment is democracy. It has been so for many years. Our
government is concerned with the general welfare of the
people. Ours is indeed a government for the people. We
have a real democracy without using the term democracy.
It is the very keynote of our government. Therefore there
is no place in Japan for such extremism as wrecked Russia."

Regarding the readjustment after the war Marquis
Okuma said:

^ "I have always admired America's spirit of justice, espe
cially her participation in this war for humanitarian, un
selfish motives in the struggle for the allied democracies
of the world. If Germany is completely defeated and the
militarism of Frederick the Great is swept away it will not
be difficult to secure durable peace. There have been cer
tain groups of bureaucratic statesmen, especially the mili
tarists of Germany, who were prompted by the mistaken
idea of aggression, and these people have frequently been

MARQUIS OKUMA 237

the cause of trouble. Wars have almost always been the
products of such mistaken ideas. Now the most important
issue before the world is whether militarism can be com
pletely crushed or not. If this war ends by crushing such
dangerous militarism absolutely the peace conference will
find smooth sailing in the new adjustment. As a rule in
ternational conferences have been burdened with difficulties
and have proved unsatisfactory. The diplomatic tricks,
intrigues and secret ambitions that prevailed at such con
ferences were caused by militarism and so long as inter
national conferences are ruled by such tricks and mistaken
ideas no real readjustment is possible. But when the fun
damental cause is removed, when militarism is crushed, the
international conference will find a proper solution for the
world problems. There will be no room for the spirit of
military aggression in such a conference. The conference
will be ruled by a new spirit by the spirit so often and so
eloquently expounded by President Wilson. When the
purpose of the Allies is achieved there will be real national
freedom. The national map of Europe will be changed.
Even then the readjustment will be easy, because the spirit
of national freedom will prevail. New nations will come
up, small nations will secure their independence and the
peace of the world will not be disturbed.

"I am looking forward not only to a political but also to
an economic improvement and readjustment after the war.
When the world order will be readjusted at the close of
this war commercial and economic relations will no longer
be dictated for political purposes. Economic relations will
become independent of political intrigues. Then free
competition in the best sense of the term will prevail,
and the welfare of masses will be promoted everywhere.

238 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

For the general welfare of the world I hope that peace will
be concluded by the achievement of America's purposes and
by the realization of President Wilson's plans for universal
durable peace and world justice."

ROBERT CECIL

ON the day of my arrival in London I interviewed one of
Europe's foremost statesmen, Lord Robert Cecil.

My first question was about the League of Nations, but
this he declined to discuss, saying:

"I am afraid I cannot speak on this subject as there is
danger that whatever I say about it might be misconstrued
in America particularly at this moment."

I then asked Lord Robert Cecil whether there would be
a change of policy toward Russia in the near future and
whether he was in favor of resuming trade relations with
Soviet Russia. He replied:

rc l have always been opposed to a policy of military in
tervention in Russia after the armistice. Since we are not
going to fight the Soviet Government of Russia, why not
trade with Russia? Even if we disagree with that govern
ment, why should we starve the Russian people*? Such
a policy is both unfair and unwise. It seems to me that
trade relations with Russia will be resumed before long.
In fact, I understand that considerable commercial relations
have already been established with Russia through Esthonia
which concluded peace with the Soviet Government. Eng
land has not yet been trading there, as far as I know, but
I am told that other countries, including America, are
dealing with Russia right now that is, they are dealing
with Esthonia which is dealing with Russia. I can of
course understand the difficulty and embarrassment on the

239

240 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

part of some governments in treating officially with the
Soviets, in giving them official recognition just now, but
I cannot see why the Russian people should be made to
suffer because of this. We have no quarrel with the
Russian people/'

I asked Lord Robert for his views concerning the terms
of the peace treaty of Versailles. He said :

'The territorial arrangements affecting Germany as
stipulated in the treaty are not so bad. The territorial
arrangements with Austria are of course much worse.
But the economic arrangements with both are utterly in
defensible. It is only right to say that the device
adopted the undefined indemnity was not an American
invention."

cc Could not the United States, then, exert sufficient in
fluence at the peace conference to prevent this device from
being embodied in the treaty?" I asked.

Lord Robert Cecil answered :

"Of course strong efforts were exerted, but in the end a
compromise was made/ 7

"Would you say, on the whole, that you are pleased
with the outcome of the war?" I asked.

To which he answered :

"Of course it was better to win the war than to have
been defeated by Germany."

"That goes without saying," I remarked. C What I
meant was whether you are pleased with the outcome of the
peace as worked out in Paris/ 5

"I certainly am not," he replied. "The economic ar
rangements of the German peace treaty are an insane
policy. In effect the Allies have said to the Germans:
THowever hard you work, you cannot count on reaping any

ROBERT CECIL 241

benefit from your exertion. The more money you make
the more will we take from you by way of indemnity/
This has contributed to the demoralization of the will and
energy of the German people which so many observers re
port. It has helped to render a section of them desperate
and hopeless, ready for any adventure which may change
their lot. It has been I am convinced one of the greatest
incentives to German Bolshevism. It has also made it
difficult if not impossible for Germany to obtain outside
credit. Who would lend to a debtor the whole of whose
assets are already pledged to others? Finally, by keeping
alive in the minds of some of the belligerent nations a
hope of receiving very large indemnity it has prevented
them from making the efforts and sacrifices required by
their financial position/'

"Do you think there will be any changes in the terms of
the treaty with Germany?" I asked.

"Yes, I believe there will be changes," he answered.
"Our Prime Minister has recently asked Germany to sub
mit new economic proposals and has promised to consider
them favorably if at all reasonable. Strangely enough,
the most important questions were not those that attracted
most attention at the Peace Conference. The questions
that were most widely discussed for instance, as to what
shall be done with Danzig and the Saare Valley were com
paratively unimportant. The really vital matters were
economic. The result was deplorable and some way out
will unquestionably have to be found. It may be that the
Reparation Commission will make a drastic use of its
powers in modifying the terms of the indemnity. It may
be the Treaty itself will have to be amended. But what
ever is done, no time should be lost. The economic

242 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

position in Europe is steadily , getting worse and may
become past remedy. What a pity we have not the full
influence of the United States to prevent the threatened
disaster."

The following letter from Lord Robert Cecil is charac
teristic:

"Foreign Office,

"October //A, 1915.
"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I am much obliged to you for your letter from Rotter
dam, as well as that from Berne. I am sorry that I did
not reply to the Berne letter; I quite thought that I had
done so, but I suppose I must have overlooked it.

"I am most grateful to you for sending me the further
information about the position of the Jews in Russia.
Everyone must sympathize with them in the sufferings
which they have endured. Indeed, quite apart from any
other cause, the mere evacuation of the conquered terri
tories both by Jews and Russians has entailed, I am afraid,
terrible hardships. Great efforts are, I understand, being
made to assist these poor people, both by sympathizers out
side Russia, and by the Russians themselves. It is inci
dents of this kind which make one realise what really lies
underneath the glories and glamour of war, and the man
who is responsible, whoever he may be, for having loosed
upon the world this terrible series of calamities, is surely
erne of the greatest criminals in the world's history.

C Your sincerely,
"ROBERT CECIL."

In response to a letter of mine, accompanied by my

ROBERT CECIL 243

article entitled cc ln Sackcloth and Ashes," depicting the
tragedies of Belgium, Poland and the Jewish people in the
World War, Sir Edward Grey sent me the following
remarkable note :

"Foreign Office,

"June $ih^ 1916.
"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

"I am much obliged for your letter enclosing a pamphlet
which you have written and which has safely reached me.

"As regards the questions which you asked in the last
two paragraphs of your letter, since the latter was written
I made a speech in the House of Commons with regard to
terms and prospects of peace. There is really nothing I
can add to this when it is taken in conjunction with the
other pronouncements made both by the Prime Minister
and myself on the subject. In case what I said has not
been reported fully in the United States press, I enclose
a copy taken from the official records of the House of
Commons in case you care to have it.

"I believe the best work neutrals can do for the moment
is to work up opinion for such an agreement between
nations as will prevent a war like this from happening
again.

"If nations had been united in such an agreement and
prompt and resolute to insist in July, 1914, that the dispute
must be referred to Conference or to the Hague and that
the Belgian Treaty must be observed there would have

been no war.

"Yours very truly,

"E. GREY."

LEONID KRASSIN

London, 1920.

SEVERAL days after Leonid Krassin's arrival in London in
1920 I met him and discussed with him the problems which
stirred the whole world at the time. He was in the midst
of conferences with the British Foreign Office and was be
sieged by interviewers representing the leading newspapers
of the world. He refused to give any interviews for pub
lication. Finally I succeeded in meeting him at midnight
and secured the following important statements from the
ablest and most reasonable representative of the Soviet
Government abroad:

You ask me to describe contemporary Russia. Soviet
Russia Is the State of the working people and the peasants
who have taken away the land from the estate-owners and
made It the property of the laboring people, who have ex
propriated the factories and the shops and given over their
management into the hands of the workers themselves and
to the organs of the Government which they have estab
lished,

The war, which was started in 1914 by the Tsar's Gov
ernment and which hastened the wrecking of the Tsarist
throne, has exhausted the entire country, has cost millions
of lives and undermined the very foundations upon which
the economic life of the people rested. It was the war that
called forth the revolutionary eruption, which did not stop
at the overthrow of the autocracy, but ended, toward the

244

LEONID KRASSIN 245

close of 1917, in the victor}' of the peasants and workers
who removed from the Government the weak bourgeoisie
which was incapable of guiding the ship of state, and have
taken the Government Into their own strong hands. The
storm of the revolution, accompanied by the quaking of
social foundations, naturally brought about disorganization
of the economic and industrial life, and of the transport
system of Soviet Russia. Thus the economic condition of
the country at the moment the Soviet Government came
into power was extremely critical indeed. In this respect,
however, Russia is not an exception among the other coun
tries of Europe which participated In the world war.
Neither In Austria nor in Germany, at least until 1919, did
communism play any significant role in the direct conduct of
their governments, nevertheless the economic and industrial
conditions of those countries are desperate. The absence
of Bolsheviki in the Governments of these countries has not
made their condition any better than ours, and even some
of the victorious countries, such as France or Belgium, for
instance, are struggling against a desperate crisis in every
domain of their economic life.

But Soviet Russia, aside from the miseries caused by the
war of 19141917, had to drink a still more bitter cup.
During the very first months of the existence of the Soviet
power in Russia, it was subjected to a series of attacks and
attempts to overthrow the Soviet Government, first on the
part of Germany, and afterward, on the part of the Allies
who mobilized against Soviet Russia some of their own
troops, as well as those of other Governments, aided by
those elements of the old landowners of capitalistic Russia
who could not be reconciled to the overthrow of Tsarism
and were Interested in the restoration of their lands and

246 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

their property. These separate attempts shaped them
selves in 1918 into a series of desperate military campaigns
organized against Soviet Russia, requiring enormous finan
cial and material expenditures, munitions, all their per
fected arts of warfare, aiding the armies that attacked
Soviet Russia with technical and military experts and ad
visers sent by the Allies who had already won their war.
Soviet Russia had to resist a number of attacks in the West,
East and South. The front in this war of Soviet Russia
against her enemies was about ten thousand kilometers
long. Toward the end of 1918 Soviet Russia was cut off
from the provinces where bread, coal, metal and naphtha
were in abundance, and yet more than eighty-five per cent,
of locomotives of the Russian transport system depended
on coal and naphtha for their operation. Not contenting
themselves with attacks from without, the Governments of
the Allies endeavored to organize within Russia itself a
number of conspiracies for the overthrow of the workers 7
and peasants' Government. Until the end of 1919 Soviet
Russia was indeed a besieged fortress, and the only ma
terials which Soviet Russia received during that time con
sisted of the bullets which the enemies directed against it
from the other side of the fronts. It seemed that there
was nothing that could save Soviet Russia, and yet owing to
the indirect support of the proletariat of Western Europe,
who expressed their will unmistakably on a number of oc
casions, refusing to ship materials and supplies needed for
the war against Soviet Russia, stopping trains and ships,
interfering with the sending of troops destined for the fronts
against Russia, Soviet Russia succeeded in defeating and
crushing the greater part of the armies that fought against
it. The war would have been completely over and the

LEONID KRASSIN 247

workers and peasants of Russia would have had the oppor
tunity to concentrate the work of the entire government ap
paratus and all the local organizations for the purpose of
improving the economic welfare of the country, if in April,
1920, Poland did not start her attempt at overthrowing
Soviet Russia.

All the efforts of the Russian people had to be directed
again in defense of their country against the aggression of
their enemies. Again all the industries and the trans
ports had to work chiefly for the needs of the war. But our
position is already infinitely more favorable than before.
Siberia, Turkestan, the Baku region and Kuban are again
united with Soviet Russia, and the crisis caused by the lack
of necessities, that ring with which It was intended to
strangle Russia in 1918 is already broken and can never be
set up again. Soviet Russia will not end the war before
the Polish Government of landowners and capitalists is
overthrown the Government that incited the Polish peo
ple into fratricidal war against the Russian people who did
not and do not want to violate the independence of the
Polish State.

The internal condition of Russia is, of course, very diffi
cult, particularly as far as the industrial centers of Central
and Northern Russia are concerned. A considerable por
tion of the employees of the factories and shops are con
tinually serving in the army at the fronts, defending the
socialist state with their breasts, organizing and leading de
tachments of the Red Army, regulating the transport of
troops and war supplies. The delivery of foodstuffs to
the cities is difficult because the greater part of the trans
port must be used for purely military materials. The posi
tion of the city population was particularly hard during the

248 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

past winter owing to the lack of fuel. But when we con
sider the majority of the Russian population, the peasantry,
it must be said that their condition had never before been
so favorable as during the past few years. The peasant
not only secured his land, but the greatest portion of his
products which used to be sent to the cities before, remains
in the villages now. The Soviet regime absolutely pro
tects the vital interests of the farmer. Having experi
enced the regimes of Kolchak, Yudenitch, Denikin and other
Tsarist generals, who had tried to wage war against Russia,
the Russian peasant who en masse is of course not a com
munist, has nevertheless become the most enthusiastic ad
herent of the Soviet regime and the Soviet State, because
the Soviet regime protects to the fullest extent the vital in
terests of the peasantry. In the fact that the Russian
peasants have become adherents of the Soviet regime, you
will find one of the main causes of the invincibility of
Soviet Russia. An even more important role in the suc
cess of the great struggle was played by the splendid or
ganization of the Russian working class, whose endurance,
heroism and superior discipline manifested themselves both
in the military struggle and in the organization of labor and
industry.

The further slow or rapid development of Russia now
depends upon the foreign relations with Russia. Without
machines, tools of production and materials for the re
organization of our transport, the reconstruction of our
economic and industrial life will progress but slowly. For
years to come the Russian workman and the Russian peasant
are doomed to a comparatively wretched existence, but Rus
sia has nothing to fear for its future, even under such cir
cumstances. Russia is great and vast. Her resources of

LEONID KRASSIN 249

all sorts of raw materials, bread, lumber, fuel are enormous.
The population of Russia, notwithstanding the privations
caused by the war, Is increasing more rapidly than the
population of any other country. The Russian people has
within It great forces which will manifest themselves in
various spheres of human endeavor. And as now all the
fruits of the work of the Russian workmen and peasants
belong to themselves, the lack of necessary supplies, in the
absence of support from abroad, will to a certain degree be
replaced by a greater perfection of Its own social organiza
tion, If, however, the Western European Governments,
and particularly the Government of the United States, will
realize that any further efforts to destroy by force the es
tablished Soviet regime of Russia will lead only to useless
and hopeless waste of money and supplies, to the loss of
hundreds of thousands of human lives, and the interrup
tion of the economic development of Russia at the cost of
the further impoverishment also of Western Europe, then
there Is hope of a more rapid economic and consequently
also cultural development of Russia with the support of
the more industrially advanced countries.

The aims and ideals of contemporary Russia consist of
the rapid and complete development and utilization of all
our economic possibilities in order to raise the cultural
and spiritual level of the entire working people.

As for the demands made of the Soviet Government in
various countries, especially in France, concerning the pay
ment of the debts contracted by the defunct Tsarist Gov
ernment, the Soviet Government of Russia is ready to dis
cuss and examine them only at the beginning of official
negotiations regarding the restoration of peaceful relations
between Russia and other countries. There is no sense in

250 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

considering this question before the opening of such negoti
ations.

The progressive elements of the Russian people warned
the bourgeoisie of the whole world as far back as 1905 that
the Russian people will not pay the debts which the Tsarist
Government contracted in Western Europe for the pur
pose of securing the necessary means to enslave and op
press the Russian people or to prepare for such wars as the
Russo-Japanese war which the Russian Government started
in order to divert the storm of national wrath from prob
lems of international reconstruction to the alleged danger
which threatened Russia from other nations. The Petro-
grad Soviet of Workmen's Deputies in 1905 made public
an appeal addressed to all the powers of Western Europe
in which it was specifically pointed out that the loans then
made to the Tsarist Government would not be recognized
by the Russian people, and that when the Russian people
will take the reins of government into their own hands, the
Russian people will not honor these debts. That appeal
was signed not only by all the socialistic parties, but also
by the group of "Liberation" and the Constitutional Demo
cratic party organized at the time, and by such representa
tives of that party as Strove and Milukov.

The Soviet Government does not decline to discuss these
and other demands which may be made, but such discus
sions cannot be conducted in newspaper interviews or in
private negotiations, not even during the negotiations for
the resumption of commercial relations. These questions
we will discuss only at an official peace conference of all
the Powers where we are willing to examine all demands
and where we will present also our own demands for the
damage and losses caused us by the two years of war which

LEONID KRASSIN 251

we did not want and for the termination of which we ap
pealed to the Governments of all the countries from the
very first day of its start.

The importance of America for the economic regenera
tion of Russia and for the liquidation of the consequences
which Russia, like other countries of Europe, received as
an inheritance of years of war, is very great. America has
enormous resources, highly developed industries and tech
nique, the most scientific modern methods of production,
and, above all, great initiative, daring and quickness of
decision, which the cultured countries of Western Europe
lack. The importance of the American market to Russia
is very great even at the present time, as a large number of
the most vital industrial enterprises in Russia, particularly
our transport, could quickly be readjusted with the aid of
American materials and machines. America is perhaps the
only country which, notwithstanding her participation in
the war, has materials and machines in quantities which
admit of exportation abroad. Leather, coal, cotton, vari
ous sorts of steel could be exported to Russia in considerable
quantities. America is perhaps the only country which
could furnish to Russia quickly a considerable number
of ready locomotives and thus within a few months radi
cally improve the condition of our railroad transportation,
and consequently render tremendous help to our industrial
development. The delivery of cars* of railway materials
of every kind, as well as machines and supplies necessary
for the repair of boats and railways, various factories and
shops, could also be easily accomplished by American in
dustries.

Rut the importance of America's aid to the industrial
regeneration of Russia is not exhausted by furnishing these

252 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

materials during the coming months, for some of these ma
terials may be secured also in other countries. American
industry could play even a more Important role through its
supply of capital, of technical powers in the exploitation of
the natural resources of Russia and in organizing upon a
large scale the factories working on the production or secur
ing of raw materials. The industrial utilization of the
most promising naphtha region on the Ukhta could be
brought about in the near future only with the aid of Amer
ican enterprise. Another great project is the building of a
railroad from the port of Soroki on the White Sea to Kotlas
and from Kotlas along the parallel to Obi, thus crossing
many millions of acres of the richest forests as yet un
touched by human feet. In those regions various ores and
metals could be exploited, large factories and mills estab
lished for the production of paper, celluloid, etc. There
is an enormous opportunity for American enterprise in the
world's richest coal fields, in the Kuznetsk basin and the
Southern part of the Government of Tomsk. That region
bordering on one side of the province of Altay, abundant in
all sorts of ore and mineral wealth, and on the other of
Minusinsk, the granary of Siberia, which is connected with
all Siberia by navigation.

The proper exploitation of naphtha in Baku, Grozny,
Maikop and also in the region of Emba and the Urals may
be brought about upon a large scale only with the partici
pation of American capital.

The Soviet Government has often considered the possi
bilities and conditions upon which American industries and
enterprises could be attracted for the purpose of elaborating
the natural wealth of Russia and in this connection certain
conditions have been worked out which enable me to state

LEONID KRASSIN 253

definitely that this task can be realized absolutely, and that
the Soviet Government is in position to present to Amer
ican representatives of industry such conditions for the ex
ploitation of the natural wealth of Russia under which the
establishment of the above-named factories will prove ab
solutely practical, commercially sound and sufficiently
profitable.

CHAIM WEIZMANN

April, 1921.

DR. CHAIM WEIZMANN, the president of the World Zionist
Organization, Professor of the University of Manchester,
Is a famous chemist, who rendered invaluable services to
the cause of the Allies by most important discoveries at a
very critical period of the war.

Dr. Weizmann has been conspicuously identified with the
Zionist movement for many years. During the World
War the Zionist Organization was crippled because of the
peculiar position of the Jews, who found themselves in the
armies of all the nations at war, In the ranks of both the
Allies and of the Central Powers.

The mantle of Dr. Theodor Herzl, the brilliant founder
of the modern Zionist movement, fell on the shoulders of
Dr. Chaim Weizmann, whose achievements for Zionism
have gained for him the recognition of the Zionists through
out the world as the leader who actually succeeded in trans
forming the dreams and hopes of the Jews into a reality.

It was he who secured the Balfour declaration in 1917
in favor of making Palestine the National Homeland of
the Jews. It was he who was most instrumental in the
San Remo decision of the Supreme Council which ratified
the Balfour declaration on April 24, 1920.

On that historic day for the Jewish people Premier Lloyd
George and other Allied statesmen said to Dr. Weizmann
at San Remo:

354

CHAIM WEIZMANN 255

<c We have given yon the start. Now it Is your task
to bring about the rebuilding of Palestine. If you fail,
the fault will not be ours."

To this Dr. Weizmann replied:

"The Jewish people will not fail."

I was with Dr. Weizmann at San Remo at the time.
Humble and modest despite his great achievements, he
fully realized the enormity of the task before him and the
Jewish people. On that occasion he outlined to me some
of the work that must be done by the Jews without delay in
order that Palestine be made rich and great again, that it
be developed economically, industrially, culturally and
agriculturally.

On the day of the San Remo decision Dr. Weizmann
wrote the following lines in my notebook:

cc To-day Israel entered once more as an active factor on
the world's stage. No more a passive sufferer, but with a
great opportunity to apply his energies and the accumulated
experiences of ages for the upbuilding of his ancient home,
which he ought to make into a shining beacon. Judea
capta is no more."

After the San Remo conference I travelled with Dr.
Weitzmann in Switzerland. The Jews everywhere were
hailing the San Remo decision as the redemption of Israel,
and Dr. Weitzmann as the redeemer. He sought the quiet
of Switzerland to escape the first demonstrations and the
praise that was showered upon him from various parts of
the world. During the days that we were alone, I had
occasion to discuss with him Palestinian problems from
practically every angle. In the course of these interviews
Dr. Weitzmann said:

"The restoration of Palestine to Israel now is nothing

256 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

short of a miracle. It is up to the Jewish people to make
good the golden opportunity that is offered to them by
the world. We can rebuild Palestine by hard work only,
and I know that the Jews are ready to make enormous
sacrifices for the regeneration of their ancient home.

"As for the Arabs, the differences between them and
ourselves will be more easily removed now that they know
our status. They used to look upon the Balfour Declara
tion as a war promise that would not be kept when peace
came. I hope they will no longer be misled by irresponsi
ble agitators. We need the Arabs and they need us, and
with good will on both sides we can adjust our differences.
As some one has wisely said, once we get out of the talking
stage and start on the working stage, all these misunder
standings will disappear."

I asked Dr. Weitzmann to describe the beginning of the
work on the Balfour Declaration. He answered:

cc When the war broke out, the Zionist organization was
concentrated on plans of work in Palestine, with no politi
cal horizon, with indifference on the part of the Powers,
and opposition on the part of Turkey. The war divided
our forces, as we were separated by gulfs and trenches.
Russian Jewry was practically broken up. The pale of
settlement became the theatre of war, and in the wake of
the contending armies came ruin and misery.

"There was a small band of our workers in England
who thought it their duty to utilize their position to save
what could still be saved. We were a small, unofficial,
unrecognized band of workers, but we knew that we voiced
the sentiments of the great masses of the Jewish people,
and we set out to create a political position for the Zionist
movement.

CHAIM WEIZMANN 257

c We reasoned thus: It is possible that as a result of
this war Turkey will disappear. It is therefore possible
that the territories constituting the Turkish empire may be
considerably readjusted and recast. The whole political
structure of the Old World will go by the board. There
fore, the Jewish claims must be clearly formulated, and
we must secure the recognition of these claims by the
Allies. We further thought that the war was really a duel
between Germany and England.

"We felt that if we could get England to understand
the achievements of the Jews in Palestine and thus secure
England's support for Zionism, half the battle would be
won. That was our theory. I agree it was a gamble, but
a gamble worth taking. We had strong opposition. We
were a small band of foreign Jews and against us were the
might and prestige and bank accounts of the established
leaders of the British Jewish community.

"But we were inspired by the righteousness of our cause,
and we said to the British statement: 'The Jews will get
Palestine, whether you want it or not. There is no power
on earth that can stop the Jews from getting to Palestine.
You gentlemen can make it easy for them, or you can make
it hard for them, but you cannot stop them/

"They asked us how many Jews there were in Palestine,
and what they had accomplished there. We opened our
books to them. It is true, we had very little to show as
yet. We said, f All that you see has been achieved under
most trying circumstances, always in the teeth of opposi
tion on the part of the Turkish government, and also of
your rich Jews who tell you that the Zionist movement is
merely the fancy or hope of a few enthusiasts.

" We tell you we have behind us the millions of Jews

258 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

who are Inarticulate now and we speak on their behalf/

"It took at least two thousand interviews with British
statesmen to get them to understand Zionism. I myself
made more than a thousand visits to British statesmen in
order to familiarize them with the true meaning of Zionism.
Of course, we had the great support of American Zionists,
which was most helpful. People have criticised me be
cause I asked only for a national home for the Jews and not
for a Jewish state. They said the Balfour plan did not
mean a Jewish state. It certainly did not mean a Jewish
state.

"The Jewish colonists who went to Palestine years ago
and who have done there such wonderful work really
prepared our political claim for Palestine. They were
the real political leaders of the Zionist organization. We
only supplemented their work."

In answer to my question whether it was true that the
British military authorities in Palestine were at that time
more sympathetic to the Arabs than the Jews, Dr. Weitz-
rnann said:

"It may seem strange, but it is true that almost all
Englishmen, after visiting Jerusalem, were at first unsym-
pathetically inclined to the Jews. But I can easily under
stand the reasons for that. The first reason is due to the
appearance of the Jews in Jerusalem. The Englishmen
saw long-coated, long-bearded, old Jews, with earlocks
the so-called Chalukah Jews. They had expected to find
there the Jews of the Bible. So the officers and soldiers
asked themselves, Ts it for these Jews that we were called
upon to make so many sacrifices, and shed our blood that
they shall have Palestine?'

CHAIM WEIZMANN 259

"The Arabs, on the contrary, seemed to them to fit much
better into the scenery of the Orient by their picturesque
garb.

"The second reason is that the British officials found the
Jews more difficult to deal with than the Arabs, who
obeyed their orders. They found the Jews intellectually
their equal, and they resented it.

"The third reason is a personal one. Among the British
troops there were clerks and businessmen who naturally
looked for future opportunities, and some of them regarded
Palestine as a good field for their activities after demobiliza
tion. Some of them had their eyes on certain concessions,
but when the Zionists stopped these concessions, the British
soldiers did not realize that it was done for the purpose of
preventing speculation and exploitation. They simply
attributed that to the eagerness of the Jews to grab every
thing in Palestine.

"I can understand the reasons why they liked the Arabs
better than the Jews. But, then, I am not pleased with
Jerusalem as it is, either. Jerusalem must be cleaned up.
The Chalukah Jews, the Jews depending upon alms from
abroad, must be changed. I know it is difficult to change
the old generation. But the young generation can still be
changed. We shall build Yeshivahs, houses of Jewish
learning, for the younger element, for we must not destroy
before we build.

"There are so many fine intellectual qualities in these
Jews that we cannot afford to lose, now that so many of
the important institutions of Jewish learning have been
destroyed in Russia and Poland. We must build them
anew in Palestine. We must introduce the most modern

260 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

methods In our schools there, but we must make every
effort to preserve some of the finer traditions of Israel in
the educational institutions."

I interviewed Dr. Weizmann in Washington in April,
1921, after he had been received by President Harding to
whom he explained his mission to the United States and
described his recent impressions of Palestine.

Answering my questions, Dr. Weizmann said:

''Since the decision of San Remo, we have had the ap
pointment of Sir Herbert Samuels as High Commissioner
of Palestine, and the beginning of immigration to Palestine.

"Since the doors of Palestine were opened for immigra
tion, Jews have come there at the rate of from 1,000 to
1,200 a month. They are mostly young men and women,
sturdy, educated, open-air people, from Poland, Bessarabia
and Southwestern Russia. Some of them have come from
no man's land.

"Most of these immigrants have been through the war,
have seen and lived through all the hardships and tribula
tions of present-day Eastern Europe. No work is too hard
for them, and the very rigorous medical examinations have
yielded about 86 per cent, of people fit for the hardest work
possible, in which they are actually engaged.

"They are breaking stones and building the roads of
Palestine. They are organized in camps, in various parts
of the country, and one can hear on the roads of Palestine
their merry Hebrew songs mingled with the sounds of the
hammers and shovels.

"That these people took their immigration to Palestine
seriously, and that they have not come there merely as
refugees, may be gathered from the fact that though the

CHAIM WEIZMANN 261

majority of them are intellectuals, they are prepared for
agricultural pursuits, and about 70 per cent, of them have
learned the Hebrew language before coming to Palestine.

"This immigration is at present limited, but we know
that there are about 30,000 young men and women of this
same type living in the hell called the Ukraine. Some of
these are managing to escape at great peril. And thus we
get a stream filtering through Bessarabia and Poland.

"About 50.000 are waiting in Bessarabia to be admitted
to Palestine. To our great sorrow we are not in a position
to bring them all to Palestine at present, as we must reckon
with the present limited resources and undeveloped state
of the country. And also with our limited means.

"But we feel certain, and we have the authority not only
of our own experts, but also of the Administration of
Palestine, that if we had but the means, room can be made
in Palestine for a very considerable immigration to that
country within a comparatively short time.

"The Executive Committee of the World Zionist Or
ganization is in possession of elaborate plans for coloniza
tion, the establishment of hydro-electrical power, house
building, education and so forth.

"Palestine seems to be at present the only place in the
Near East which is beginning to settle down to constructive
work, and although it is surrounded by countries disturbed
by unrest, the new settlers in Palestine are permeated by the
spirit of building up a commonwealth socially just, eco
nomically healthy, and intellectually high.

"This would serve as a great stabilizing factor in a part
of the world which is destined once more to play an impor
tant role in the development of mankind. This is symbol
ized already in the effort to erect a university on Mount

262 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Scopus. Great Jewish intellectual forces like Albert Ein
stein are endeavoring to make it a success.

"The Jews of America can give not only financial aid,
but also some men and experience in the task of reconstruc
tion. We see the beginning of this in the work of the
American Zionist Medical Unit.

"I am sure that the Jews of this great country will make
a glorious contribution to the ancient Jewish Homeland.

"Almost a year has passed since the Supreme Council
at San Remo made its decision with regard to Palestine.
The Jewish people is on trial. We are scrutinized by all
the nations of the world, and we must make good, for we
have both the forces and the resources necessary for the
upbuilding of Palestine.

'"While opportunities in Palestine are numerous and most
enheartening, two-thirds of the Jewish race in Eastern
Europe are living at this moment under intolerable con
ditions.

"On the eve of its renaissance Jewry stands wounded
and mutilated. It has only one hand free for constructive
labor, and with the other it is desperately struggling to
ward off blows that threaten it with destruction. The Jews
of America are providentially the remnant that may now
liberate the larger part of Israel."

In 1923 Dr. Weizmann discussed the situation of Pales
tine and the Arab-Jewish problems in the Holy Land as
follows:

"The mandate has been ratified. It has met with the ap
proval of the civilized world. The resolution of the Amer
ican Congress will rank with the Balfour Declaration, and
to us Jews this is one of the most important documents in
the annals of our history.

CHAIM WEIZMANN 263

f We are attempting to build a home in Palestine and
we are conscious that this building can only be successful if
it will be done in co-operation with the peoples and popula
tion of Palestine. We are coming into Palestine not as
conquerors. We are coining into Palestine not to domi
nate anybody. We are coming to build up Palestine to
gether with the people there, taking our place according to
our merits and our achievements. The other people in
Palestine, the Arabs and Christians, have to recognize that
we have a right to do what we intend to do. Just as we
recognize that Palestine is going to be the common home
land for Jews and Arabs, we want the Arabs to recognize
that we have a right to come into Palestine to establish our
selves there, not on the back of anybody, but with them,
,to work and create new values of which Palestine is capable.

'Palestine has a population of about 7 00,000 non-Jews,
an overwhelming majority of Moslems, a small minority
of Christians and another small minority of Jews. Roughly
speaking there are 500,000 Moslems, 100,000 Christians
and 100,000 Jews. Since the war and even before the
war there has been a striving on the part of the Arab people
for a revival, and being anxious for the revival of the
scattered Jewish people, we treat with respect and rever
ence any attempt of revival amongst other people.

C We recognize to-day, that between us and the Arabs in
the Near East, and particularly in Palestine, stand many
forces perhaps destructive forces which try to empha
size this estrangement that has taken place between these
two races which are akin to each other. But we also see
as present in Palestine that the tendency which was so
marked three or four years ago the tendency of two en
trenched camps watching each other with suspicion, is grad-

264 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ually declining. We are trying to cooperate with them.
We work with them. We are looked upon with a certain
amount of suspicion. We are looked upon with suspicion
particularly because we represent to the Eastern races the
West, and the West is looked upon with suspicion at present
in the Near East. The various tribulations through which
Europe and the East is passing to-day, Bolshevism, Kemal-
ism, the unsettlement of European affairs, all these reflect
on the fancy of an Oriental people. Every rumor in the
East is exaggerated. Every vibration in the political
world is reflected and exaggerated in Palestine. Pales
tine is a peculiar country. There is no country in the world
where the distance between the sublime and the ridiculous
is so small as in Palestine. One stands constantly with
one leg on the sublime. Eighty generations look down
upon you. Palestine is like a sounding-board. Every
noise goes forth over all the world. If a Jew is killed in
Piccadilly, the Ukraine, or run over by a motor car on
Broadway, it is an ordinary affair. If something of that
kind happens in the Holy Land, it becomes an act of state,
an act of violence, two races clashing. All these factors,
the tribulations of Europe, mental and moral strife, contrib
ute to make life in Palestine much more difficult than it is
elsewhere, but making allowances for all that there is a
growing tendency to co-operate, to meet, to work together,
and I think the Arabs are beginning to accept us, as we have
made it quite clear that we have got to live with them, work
with them, not to establish our home on their back, but to
co-operate with them. Every unbiased observer would con
firm and bear out this particular point of view. It is a
difficult task. We must work slowly, and we must over
come a great deal of friction and prejudice, but I think

CHAIM WEIZMANN 265

we are a sufficiently tenacious and stiff-necked people and
we shall cany through.

"As for the Jewish side of the problem, we knew the
Jews were capable of coming into a civilized country,
of adapting themselves very rapidly to this civiliza
tion and performing a very useful role in this civilization,
but whether the Jews would be capable of laying the
foundations of a civilization and doing all that is neces
sary in the fight with nature, overcoming all these diffi
culties in order to build up a country from its very elements,
that we did not know.

cc We have now convinced ourselves that we can do it.
We have to-day in Palestine a generation of Jews that come
from everywhere, by the most complicated roads. I can
almost hear the tramp of these people over the various
roads of Europe and Asia, finding their way and knocking
at the gates of Palestine. They come from the Ukraine,
from Morocco, from Mesopotamia, from Canada, from
India and Russia. They are divergent in their culture and
education, language and habits. They are different in
types. The one thing that unites them is the upbuilding
of this Home. You see these people coming from *No
Man's Land,' politically and morally, you see them on the
swamps of Palestine, on the hills and valleys, working as
common laborers on the roads people with high standards
of education, sometimes with university degrees, and here
they are draining swamps, breaking stones, building roads,
afforestating the country, doing all that which is known to
American or European civilization as pioneering. Here
you have all these scattered people, suspended morally,
politically and physically, finding not only a mere refuge
for refuge is a tent but finding a center for their spiritual

266 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

life, application for their energies their constructive ener
gies become more constructive. The swamps are being
drained, the hillsides are blossoming, the roads are being
built by the idealistic onslaught of these people. They
come in thousands and thousands will follow. Behind these
thousands stand other thousands and behind these, others.
"I was in Jerusalem three years ago at the time of the
so-called 'pogrom/ I have seen pogroms in many parts of
Europe, but there was one distinctive feature in the Jeru
salem pogrom. We counted our dead. There were 20,
and the Jews of Jerusalem said to me, Tor the 20 who have
been killed there will be 20,000 coming in to take their
place and take the same risk and face it all/ That is a
real force and more than that it is a force which makes
for civilization, which makes for stability. For a long
time to come the Near East will be a troublesome region.
In Egypt, Mesopotamia, Trans jordania and Central Arabia
there are many forces which defy European civilization and
culture. Coming not as conquerors but with peace in our
hearts and minds, we who still have a great deal of the
East and who have gone through Western schools, could in
terpret the West to the East and the East to the West and
we could perform an act of civilization which no other peo
ple could perform to serve as a bridge between two cul
tures that watch each other to-day with suspicion but might
be united to-morrow. And perhaps the day will come
when there will be another seat of the League of Nations,
a real seat of peace, harmony and justice, a seat for
all these humanitarian ideals which have formed the bed
rock of our civilization in Jerusalem. The prophets are
not dead yet. They are silent to-day but they may speak
to-morrow."

ALBERT EINSTEIN

New York,

PROFESSOR ALBERT EINSTEIN, who introduced a new sci
entific conception of space and time and of their relation
to the physical world, has come to America not to expound
his theory of relativity, but to interest the Jews of America
in the building of a Hebrew University in Palestine.

The foremost Jewish genius of our age is a modest, un
assuming, kindly gentleman, almost childlike in his sim
plicity, with a keen sense of humor.

Professor Einstein, who is a Swiss citizen and a professor
of the University of Berlin, suffered from attacks directed
against him by German anti-Semites when their agitation
was intense. Writing to the London Times he thus char
acterized wittily the present tendency to discriminate be
tween men of science on nationalist grounds:

"The description of me and my circumstances in the
Times shows an amusing feat of imagination on the part of
the writer. By an application of the theory of relativity
to the taste of the readers, to-day in Germany I am called
a German man of science, and in England I am represented
as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bete noire,
the description will be reversed and I shall become a Swiss
Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for
the English."

I interviewed Professor Einstein regarding the purpose of
his mission in America and the needs of the University of

267

268 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Jerusalem. Answering my questions, Professor Einstein
said:

"The purpose of my visit to America at this time is to
enlist both the moral and material support of the Jews of
America for the building of a Hebrew university in Pales
tine.

"Such a university would assist enormously in the up
building of Palestine, for it would become a spiritual center
of Jewish education and culture for the Jews in the Holy
Land. Later this university would also attract Jewish stu
dents of other lands, who would come to study in Palestine.

"But, above all, I consider it most important that there
exists this great common Jewish cultural enterprise, which
is of the utmost significance for all Jews.

"Through my contact with Jewish students in various
parts of Europe I have arrived at the decision that such an
institution of learning in Palestine is essential.

"I have met the Jewish students of Austria, Hungary
and of Russia, who are clamoring to complete their educa
tion in European universities. I have seen the difficulties
and hardships which these young men and women are ex
periencing. I have observed the discriminations, which
have become intensified since the war.

"Poverty, the economic collapse in Central European
countries, has fanned the flames of national hatreds, and the
Jewish students have suffered in Germany, in Poland and
especially in Hungary. A large number of Jewish students
are barred from the universities on religious grounds.

"The situation has been aggravated also by the fact that
a number of universities in Eastern Europe have been closed
altogether.

"Many of the students have come to me for aid. I have

ALBERT EINSTEIN 269

seen their helplessness, their hardships and their needs.
And in this way I came to the realization that a Hebrew
University in Palestine is an absolute necessity for the Jew
ish people.

"The traditional respect for knowledge which we Jews
have maintained intact for many centuries of severe perse
cution makes us feel all the more keenly the present dis
crimination against so many talented sons and daughters
of the Jewish people who are knocking in vain at the doors
of the universities of Eastern and Central Europe.

"And those who have gained access to the spheres of
free research had to do so by undergoing a process of as
similation which has crippled the free and natural develop
ment of the spiritual character of our people and deprived
them of their cultural leaders.

"It seems to me, it is also the duty of the Jewish people
to preserve, through the university we are planning to estab
lish in Palestine, the neglected branches of Hebrew litera
ture, language, archaeology and history.

"Distinguished Jewish scholars in all branches of learn
ing are waiting to go to Jerusalem where they will lay the
new foundation of a flourishing spiritual life and will pro
mote the intellectual and economic development of Pales
tine.

"The Hebrew University in Palestine would become a
new { Holy Place" to our people.

"Despite the crude realism and materialism of our times,
there is a glimmer of a nobler conception of human aspira
tions. The American people exemplified this by the part
they played in recent years in the affairs of the world.

"The Jews of America are at this time the most fortu
nate portion of the Jewish people. Europe is sick and suf-

270 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

fering, and the Jews of Europe are experiencing greater
sufferings, discriminations and persecutions than ever be
fore.

e 'So I have come here with feelings of hope that my
spiritual aims with regard to the university in Jerusalem
will find a sympathetic response in America, and will be
realized through the support of American Jewry.

"A group of physicians has been formed for the purpose
of raising funds for the medical faculty of the university.

"A general committee is also being organized, including
a number of prominent academicians and financiers. With
the help of these people I hope to secure the required moral
and material support to enable us to build the university
without delay.

"Not only Zionists are realizing the importance of this
university, but a number of distinguished American Jews
not identified with the Zionist movement have expressed
their interest and sympathy for this cultural enterprise and
have promised to assist me in making it a success.

"I am not an organizer myself. The university will be
organized by specialists. I shall be glad to work with
them, and help them in every way possible. I am at the
disposal of the university, and am prepared to participate
in the scientific department.

"Not being a prophet, I cannot foretell whether my mis
sion in this country will be successful. All I can do is to
do what I can. But the sympathy and interest for this
work I have found in this country both among the Jews
and the Gentiles is most encouraging.

'"Various considerations have led to the selection of the
following University Institutes for the initial scheme:

"i A department of Jewish, and Oriental studies

ALBERT EINSTEIN 271

philology, literature, history, law, archseology, religion and
philosophy, mainly Jewish but including also Arabic and
Semitics in general. This department is to be a university
school for scientific studies, able to offer training to both
graduates and post-graduates and empowered to confer de
grees.

"2 A research institute for the Hebrew language, the
object of which will be to guide and assist its modern de
velopment by the study of its vast treasure-house of litera
ture.

rc On the scientific side it was decided to begin with Re
search Institutes, as suggested in 1913 by Dr. Weizmann
and the University Committee, in which the chief scientific
adviser was the late Prof. Paul Ehrlich, and not with teach
ing faculties. The initial plan comprises the institutes for
physics, chemistry and microbiology.

"In the advancement of science Jews have always taken
a noble part, but the fruits of their labors have not been
reaped by Jewry.

"Is it conceivable that, in addition to the tragedy of
Jewish science without a home, there could exist a Jewish
National Home without science? The traditional pride
of the Jewish people in their learned men would never suf
fer such humiliation.

"And there is no doubt that to those non-Jewish ideal
ists and believers in spiritual values who have supported
Zionism a Jewish Palestine means, perhaps mainly, a real
renaissance of that Jewish genius of which they have seen
so many examples scattered in many lands."

MAX NORDAU

London^ 1921*

I HAVE met Dr. Max Nordau many times. I visited him
practically every time I came to Europe before the World
War, and since the war. I corresponded with him while
he was in exile in Spain during the war.

Dr. Nordau, one of the intellectual giants of our time,
the brilliant philosopher, publicist and critic, and one of
Israel's most courageous leaders, discussed in the course of
our numerous meetings literature and art, war and peace,
and particularly the Jewish question in its various aspects.
A modern Jewish prophet, fiery and eloquent, fearless and
far-sighted, he was nevertheless almost childlike in his sim
plicity, which is the outstanding characteristic of all true
greatness.

Our last meetings took place in London, in 1921. I
visited him in his little room in the Zionist offices there, and
he called on me at my hotel. He talked about his latest
works and complained of the indifference with which some
of his more serious productions were treated.

CC I do not read the reviews of my books," he remarked
on one occasion, with a smile. cc What can the critics tell
me about my work that I do not know myself? If they
praise me, I could praise my own work better than others
could, and if they damn me, I could damn myself more
effectively than others could, for I know my own faults and

my qualities better than the critics do."

272

MAX NORDAU 273

During the last interview I had with him he analyzed
the Jewish problems after the war, the tragedy of the Jew
ish people and the hope that lay in the realization of the
Zionist ideal of rebuilding Palestine as a National Jewish
Homeland. He said:

"The World War was a war of the Jewish people. There
have been proportionately more Jews in the firing-line than
even Frenchmen, although these have furnished the highest
percentage of mobilized soldiers. They have fought at
least as heroically as the English and the Americans who
have covered themselves with the greatest glory, to judge
by the number of distinctions and honors they have won.
They have suffered more than the Serbians and the Bel
gians who were considered to be the most lamentable victims
of the conflagration, and the conclusion of the peace treaty
leaves them in a worse condition than the Austrians, the
Germans and the Russians who are justly, if cruelly, pun
ished for having been the cause of the scourge which has
tortured and martyred mankind for five years.

"It is easy to substantiate these affirmations with figures
and facts. The number of Jewish soldiers in the ranks of
all the contending armies is estimated as being between
850,000 and 900,000. Assuming that there are thirteen
millions of Jews in the world, including those of the neutral
countries, this means that approximately seven per cent, of
the whole Jewish population has worn uniforms, which is
more than can be said of the English and the Italians, and
far more than the Americans. Eighty thousand Jews have
fallen in battle or died from wounds, while the casualties
amount to a little under two hundred thousand. These are
the direct losses which do not include the numberless victims

274 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

of that Infamous scoundrel, the chief commander of the
Tsarist Russian army, the mass-murderer Grand Duke
Nicholas who, at the beginning of the campaign, ordered
the whole Jewish population of the war area in Poland to
be driven out of their homes and to be hunted in the in
terior of Russia where half of these unfortunate women,
children and old men perished along the roadside, like
beasts of the wilderness, from cold, hunger, exhaustion and
ill treatment.

"So much as to our active and passive share in the war.
But now the tragic difference between Jews and the other
nations that participated in the horrifying adventure.
These people all fought for an interest which they under
stood, which was clear to them, which they felt to be worth
every, even the supreme, sacrifice. The aggressors broke
the peace in greed for domination, for profit, for conquest,
for glory, for gratification of vanity. The assaulted na
tions knew that they were bound to risk everything, all that
they possessed and their life as well, in order to defend
their national existence and honor. But we Jews, what did
we fight for? For one thing only for the accomplish
ment of our duty toward the state of which we were citizens
or subjects. Far be it from me to minimize this reason
of our heroic effort. We had always protested of our
patriotism, we had boasted of it, we had gloried in it, it was
only fit and just that in the hour of supreme danger, when
feelings are tested as to their sincerity and vigor, we should
prove by acts the value of our words.

C But if this holds good of the Jews of such countries as
the United States, England, France, Italy, where the laws
make no difference between natives of different creeds and
races and where all citizens enjoy the same rights, it is

MAX NORDAU 275

heartrending to think that our brothers had also to brave
death for states like Germany and especially Russia where
they were despised, hated and persecuted, where the Gov
ernments treated them worse than criminals. Yet even in
the German and Russian armies the Jewish soldiers did
more than their share, as is proved by the number of casu
alties as well as distinctions bestowed on them, surely not
out of favor, but because even the most hardened, unjust
and anti-Semitically biased superiors could not help ac
knowledge, most reluctantly, with a bit of ribbon or a cross
of inferior rank, conspicuous deeds of valor accomplished
under the eyes of their comrades in arms.

"And now that the war is over, at least theoretically, the
nations draw up their accounts and establish the balance
sheet of profits and losses. The vanquished, of course,
have no reason to rejoice. They are inexorably punished
for their sins, they have to atone for the abominable crimes
of their rulers, whom they have enthusiastically cheered
when they were led on to murder, arson and pillage, whom
they have followed, not only without revolt or even mere
reluctance, but with overbrimming joy. They are ruined,
humiliated, dishonored, and it will take a century of honest
work and decent behavior before they will be pardoned for
their misdeeds.

"The victors in the struggle, although badly damaged,
also have good reason to be dissatisfied. The United
States has the proud consciousness of having fought with
sublime disinterestedness for justice, right and freedom, of
having been the glorious champion of the noblest causes,
and of having saved civilization. England has crushed the
most dangerous rival she had ever encountered in her way,
and destroyed the naval power which disputed with her

276 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

flag the rule of the seas. France has gained back her lost
provinces, immensely augmented her colonial empire and
vindicated her ancient world position. Italy has com
pleted her national unity and stretched her frontiers be
yond Triest, to the long coveted Trentino, and probably
Fiume. Poland has been re-established to an extent she
never would have dared dream of in these last 150 years.
A swarm of small nations has been called into existence and
begins, full of glee and expectations, a new political and
cultural life. They have obviously paid a big price for this
achievement, but they have obtained it and cannot fairly
complain of the bargain.

"But how are we Jews rewarded for our sacrifice?
What have we gained with our superhuman efforts? What
are our assets against our dead, our maimed, against the
destruction of the health and property of an appalling
number of our brothers in all the warring countries?

<c Even in the victorious states of Western Europe with
the express exception of Italy, which forms an admirable
contrast to her neighbors and allies, a deep ground wave
of anti-Semitism is welling up furiously and threatens to
drown us.

"In France there is perhaps no open discrimination
against the native Jew; but the foreign Jew is ever sur
rounded by an atmosphere of suspicion and contempt; he is
the permanent object of police vexations, and in some parts
of the country and the protectorates, even the native Jew
has to suffer ignominious treatment. In Algiers Jewish
students who served in the war as officers and won distinc
tion for their gallantry have been rudely Denied admission
into the university associations, and in Tunis the Jews suf
fered from street riots and violent attacks of French and

MAX NORDAU 277

Arab mobs without the local authorities lifting a finger to
protect them against brutal assaults.

cc ln Germany they are made the scapegoat of all national
crimes and follies. It is charged they have undermined
the army, they have caused the cowardly flight of the
former Emperor, the downfall of the empire, the domina
tion of the Socialists, the Communist troubles, the famine,
the depreciation of the German currency. They must be
expelled from the Fatherland, or better still, exterminated
on the spot.

"In Austria bitter hatred of the Jew vents itself on every
occasion. He is hunted in the streets of Vienna, he is as
saulted in the lecture rooms of the university, he is hei
nously libelled in the press.

"In Hungary pogroms of the most frightful character
have occurred in dozens of places. Thousands of innocent
Jews have been slaughtered with bestial fury. Those that
remain are frightened out of their senses, so much so that
they rush in panic-stricken throngs to the baptismal fonts
and seek salvation in conversion, a collective cowardice and
degradation without precedent in the annals of our history.

"The horrors of Poland, Russia and foremost, the Uk
raine, are too well known, alas ! A hundred thousand mu
tilated corpses of Jews men and women, old people and
children are strewn over the cursed soil of those countries
which have drunk streams of Jewish blood shed by fiendish
mobs. Unutterable terror is maddening those that have
not yet been actually killed, tortured, sullied or robbed of
all they possess, but are day and night trembling under the
present menace of death in its ghastliest shape. Millions
of Jews are condemned to perish most miserably. Their
only chance is rapid flight. But where to? Even America,

278 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

the land of refuge, the haven of salute, the Mother that has
ever opened her arms to human beings, even America takes
on a sternly hostile rnien and extinguishes the torch of the
gigantic statue at the entrance of New York Harbor
Liberty enlightening the world!

"There would be no redeeming point in this desolate pic
ture of the present unparalleled distress of our race, but for
one event which I would unhesitatingly call a miracle if I
were inclined to use mystic language. England, with the
consent of her allies and associates, has promised the Jew
ish people Palestine, to establish there their national home.
Interpret this term as you like at all events it means that
as soon as England receives from the League of Nations
the mandate for assuming the administration of the country
of our fathers, she will throw it open to us, so that our
threatened, ill-treated, ruined, famished despairing masses
may find a spot on the face of God's earth where they may
know rest, peace, security and comfort, perhaps joy of life
again. The blessed land where the shade of Rachel will
welcome with maternal tenderness her returning children
and where the hallowed memories of our great ancestors
will inspire and guide them, will hold out before them
bright hopes and magnificent ideals.

"The most tragic, the most burning problem is that of
East European Jewry. You know the fearful plight of
the millions of our people living in the former Russian and
Austro-Hungarian empires and in the Roumanian kingdom.
Did I say that they lived there? The word life is too fine
for the miserable existence to which they are condemned.
They are unprotected and rightless. Even if they are the
oretically recognized as citizens of their birthland, they are
practically outlaws. They are treated as pariahs. Gov-

MAX NORDAU 279

ernments and administrations cruelly discriminate against
them. They bear all the burdens of the state, but en
joy none of its benefits. Their Christian countrymen
look at them with eyes of contempt and hatred, constantly?
threaten their personal security and often actually attack
their life and property. They are practically excluded
from the public schools, and compelled to go abroad in
search of higher instruction. The respect of the human
personality, the dignity of free men are brutally denied
them and they have ever to tremble before the whimsical
hostility of the ruling class and the sanguinary instincts
of the mob.

"The problem of the Western Jew is of a different char
acter. It is a moral problem. They are not materially
endangered. If they are callous, they may be content and
happy. If they methodically shut their eyes, they may
dream themselves in a fool's paradise. But those among
them that have reached a higher degree of mental develop
ment, that are sensitive and delicate, that strive after unity
and harmony of feeling, have their heart rent and their
soul torn. They persuade themselves that they are legit
imate sons of their country, they are proud of their political
nationality, they are the most loyal, the most enthusiastic
patriots, often to the point of vicious chauvinism, but they
experience permanently the mortification to be faced by the
undeniable fact that their Christian fellow citizens con
sider them as a distinct element, as half strangers, if not
as total aliens. They distrust the sincerity of their attach
ment to their homeland, do not think one moment of iden
tifying them with their own breed and nationality, and do
not credit them with the same color of emotions, the same
trend of thought, the same views of the world and life, the

280 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

same motives of action, the same ideals which they know
or imagine themselves to possess.

"The notion of this abnormality, of this strange aloof
ness of their Christian environment, inflicts on the culti
vated Jews an uneasiness which, in too many cases,
reaches the stage of despondency and even despair and
destroys the equilibrium of their being. Some are prompted
to become contemptible renegades, others degrade them
selves to rabid anti-Semites, many make desperate efforts
to overcome their innermost nature and to change the
deepest foundations of their sentimental and intellectual
structure, with the result that they become enigmatic,
suspicious and antipathetic to Christians and loathsome, or
at best an object of pity, to Jews.

"The problem of East European Jewry seems the more
urgent of the two. There it is a question of life and honor.
For generations the Jews of the East have clamored for
emancipation, convinced that this would be their salvation.
In Russia they were slaves. They were pent up in certain
territories where there was no room for development, for
profitable exercise of their natural gifts, for wholesome
manifold activities. They were excluded from all official
careers. The percentage norm of all higher schools de
barred them from the possibility of quenching their burn
ing thirst for knowledge or forced them to seek in foreign
countries, at the price of humiliation, of unbearable dis
comfort, of ruinous outlay, the opportunities which Russia
roughly denied them. Infamous police practices, the
Damocles sword of Oblavas, of arbitrary expulsion and in
carceration, incessantly suspended over their heads, de
plorably educated them to habits of bribery, of dodging, of
all kinds of doubtful contrivances which in the long run

MAX NORDAU 281

could not fail to exercise a corrupting influence on their
character.

"Now Russia has broken down. But the revolution and
the destruction of the Tsarist state have not brought the
Jews the liberty they have so long sighed for. In Great
Russia the Bolshevist terror has indeed created the full
equality between them and the Christian population, but it
is an equality in misery and utmost distress. In Ukraine
the most t abominable pogroms have taken place and the
Jews have been victims by the tens of thousands of the un
speakable horrors of torture, slaughter, shame and robbery.
In Poland they have been hunted, vexed, ill-treated, and
are now subjected to a disastrous economical boycott
which must end in utter ruin, if continued for any length
of time. Finland dishonored itself by an hostility which
takes all sorts of forms, also the most cowardly and con
temptible that of mass expulsion.

"Hungary, which was, for so long, considered a sort of
paradise, at least for lukewarm Jews, which was a strong
hold of extreme assimilation, even more so than the coun
tries of the Occident where Judaism had drifted the
farthest away from its national traditions, Hungary, whose
capital, Budapest, was sneeringly nicknamed 'Judapest' by
the anti-Semitic idiots of Austria, has rushed with the lust
of a preying hyena into the ranks of the pogrom-lands and
does its best, or its worst, to make up for lost time, with
particularly enraged carnage.

"Roumania, and what is left of Austria and Germany, do
not go to the length of murder and open pillage, but there
is no kind of moral ill-treatment which they do not inflict
on their Jewish inhabitants. They surround them with a
suffocating atmosphere of hatred and contempt; they hin-

282 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

der them by all sorts of cunning devices in the peaceable
pursuits of their callings; they put officially or officiously no
end of insurmountable obstacles in the way of their careers ;
they expel war refugees by the thousands and hermetically
shut their frontiers with locks and bars against all Jewish
immigrants, even those that in Austria come from the prov
inces which were formerly parts of the empire^and have now
become Roumanian, Czecho-Slovakian or Polish territories.

"What hope is there for these eight millions of stricken
Jews in Central and Eastern Europe to see their unbearable
situation ameliorated? What remedy is available for the
healing, or be it only for some relief, of their moral ills?
The civilized powers have made attempts, which, how
ever, give an impression of being make-believe rather than
prompted by a really serious purpose, to intercede in their
favor with their tormentors. Great Russia must remain
outside of these considerations. For the time being, it is
inaccessible to Western influence or intervention, and in or
der to excuse in their own eyes and in those of the world
their pitiable inactivity in the face of the heart-breaking
sufferings of so many millions of innocent human beings,
the Occidental powers favor the spreading of the infamous
lie that Bolshevism is a Jewish movement, that the Russian
Jews have invented it, and propagate it, so if they suffer
and perish in Russia, they have only what they deserve,
and the conscience of the idle onlookers remains at rest.

"Denikin has been mildly advised to curb somewhat the
gangs of cowardly murderers and thieves under his com
mand; but there is no indication that either he*or his bestial
officers and men have paid the slightest attention to these
soft whispers from the West.

"With the new states that owe their existence or ag-

MAX NORDAU 283

grandizement to the good will of the Allied Powers, the
latter have dealt somewhat more authoritatively. They
have inserted in the peace treaties, which constitute the
fundamental charters of the states, clauses prescribing re
spect for the rights of national minorities. These articles
should in reality bring about the full emancipation of the
Jews and their equality before the law with all other citizens
of the several countries. But the governments of the new
independent states established by the grace of the peace
conference, demurred as long and as obstinately as was pos
sible against this obligation, and when finally they could
not help signing the treaties, they manipulated matters so
that the solemn document remains a scrap of paper as far
as the Jews are concerned. Roumanla is an old adept at
the sport of poking fun at accepted stringent obligations,
and Poland, Finland, Austria, as well as Hungary, bid fair
to compete successfully with her in this role. As to the
Allied Powers, they connive benevolently at this shame
ful breach of faith and contempt of given pledges.

"This is the Eastern Jewish problem. And its solution?
I see only one emigration! It is difficult to move mil
lions? Undoubtedly; it is much easier to let them perish
on the spot without lifting a finger to save them. But
where shall they go? There is the rub. Australia and
America, where there is still room for some two or three
hundred millions of human beings, will not consent at pres
ent to receive our unhappy wandering brothers in search
of a home. So they must stay and submit to the awful
conditions of their present existence? This would be ter
rible. I am still an optimist, in spite of the actual ghastly
aspect of the world; I still believe in progress and do not
abandon the hope that even the sub-human Slav peoples

284 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

will rise some day to the human level. But this will take a
long time, and in the meantime our unhappy brothers will
perish if they are not led out from their hell.

"At the root of this attitude of the non-Jews lies the
new-fangled preposterous theory of the superiority of the
so-called Aryan races, which condemns the Jew, on the
ground of inferiority, to the role of a Pariah. For this
problem there is also a solution, and only one: the exist
ence of a Jewish nation, recognized formally as such, re
ceived on terms of equality in the League of Nations, qual
ified by this status to claim the treatment of peers by all the
other nations of the world.

"Zionism is the only solution of the Jewish problem.

"Zionism opens to the millions of the East, the land of
refuge Palestine. Zionism gives the Jews a legitimate
place in the League of Nations and guarantees their real
equality."

WALTER RATHENAU

Berlin, July, 1922.

WHEN the Rapallo Treaty was signed between Germany
and Russia, the Allied statesmen were thrown into con
sternation. Germany was sharply rebuked for having up
set the plans of the economic conference. In France
protests and threats were hurled against both Germany and
Russia. The Rapallo Treaty was denounced as a new
evidence of Prussian treachery. It was branded as the first
step to a Russo-German military alliance replete with the
gravest consequences.

In the course of my recent travels through Europe I dis
cussed the Rapallo Treaty with the men who signed it for
Germany and for Russia, and with others who are familiar
with the inner workings of the various political and eco
nomic conferences that have vainly endeavored to readjust
Europe.

One of America's best informed statesmen, who played
a most important role during the war and the f>eace con
ference, and who had the greatest opportunities to observe
European diplomacy at close range, discussing the Russian
situation and the Rapallo Treaty, said to me :

"It is as sure as fate that Russia and Germany will get
together, that the Rapallo Treaty is but a prelude to a
military alliance between these two nations in the future.
All that the Allies have done with regard to Russia and
Germany necessarily forced these two nations to combine.

285

286 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"Such an alliance holds within it the seeds of the gravest
consequences, for the Atlantic powers some day will be con
fronted by a new and formidable combination of powers.
The Allies by their action have practically forced such an
alliance among all the nations on the other side of the
Rhine Germany, Russia across Siberia, as far as the Pacific,
with perhaps Japan and even China, and the Islamic world,
against the Atlantic powers. What a regenerated Russia, a
readjusted Germany, an aroused and irritated Islam, with
Japan and China as their allies, could do in a conflict
against the Atlantic powers within twenty-five or thirty
years is a situation too terrible to contemplate."

Several days before the assassination of Walter Rathe-
nau, Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and one of Eu
rope's foremost constructive statesmen, I had a long inter
view with him at the Foreign Office in Berlin. At first he
was willing to give me a frank expression of his views, but
not for publication. Afterward, however, he consented to
my publishing an interview, provided I submitted to him a
copy of the manuscript. He revised this interview on the
eve of his tragic death. I received the manuscript, with his
revisions, at eleven o'clock on Saturday morning at the
Foreign Office. About ten minutes before, Rathenau had
been murdered by agents of the monarchist organization
near his home in Grunewald, on his way to the Foreign
Office. His secretary had not received the news of his
chief's assassination when he handed me the interview
which Rathenau had revised during the previous day.

As Rathenau was practically the father of the Rapallo
Treaty between Germany and Soviet Russia, I was partic
ularly interested in his views on Russo-German relations.
He denied that the Treaty was a step to a military alliance

WALTER RATHENAU 287

between these two nations. He was particularly emphatic
in denying that the Treaty contained any secret provisions.
Then he asked me, with a smile :

"Do you think we would sign a secret treaty with the
Soviet government of Russia? The secret would be out
in twenty-four hours."

In revising the manuscript, Rathenau changed these
words to read as follows :

cc We have made no secret treaty with Russia, and we
will not make any."

He explained to me his reasons for concluding the treaty
with Russia at Rapallo while the Genoa conference was in
session, as follows:

"The treaty 7 we signed is a peace treaty between Germany
and Russia. It is neither a military, political, nor even a
trade treaty. We negotiated it some time before the
Genoa conference and could have signed it before. But
we did not desire to prejudice the work of the Conference.
We signed it during the Conference because we learned that,
according to a memorandum prepared in London before the
Genoa Conference, it was planned to make Russia also a
creditor of Germany. Russia was to be asked to insist also
on reparations perhaps not for herself, but for the other
powers she was to be asked that Germany's debts to Rus
sia should be paid to the other powers. Practically all the
great nations were our creditors, and Russia was to be added
among our creditors. Before the Genoa Conference this
was decided upon by the powers. Germany was the only
power that was kept out of a series of secret preliminary
conferences held at the Villa d'Alberti. It was then that
we resolved to sign the Rapallo Treaty. We were blamed
and sharply criticized for having done what we were actn>

288 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ally forced to do. Two other powers did the same thing
they also negotiated treaties with Russia at the same time,
only they signed them later, but they were neither criticized
nor censured in any way.

"After the Rapallo Treaty we acted as mediators be
tween Russia and other powers, and some of the statesmen
of the other powers thanked us for our efforts in that direc
tion. We helped to bring Russia closer to the Western
powers. We encouraged the more conservative elements
of the Russian government, as is evidenced by the fact that
the only criticism in Russia against the treaty came from
the ranks of the extreme Left."

In answer to my question whether there was any ground
for the opinions that the Rapallo Treaty was but a prelude
to a Russo-German military alliance in the future, Dr.
Rathenau replied:

"The Rapallo Treaty is nothing else than a peace treaty,
by which we recognized the Soviet Government. We have
no secret treaties of any kind with Russia, and we will not
make any.

"Russia's reconstruction can come about only through the
united efforts of the powers, and the sooner that is started
the better for all. Every day of delay now will cause much
more than a day of delay afterward in bringing about such
a reconstruction. Germany, knowing Russia well, and hav
ing come into closer contact with Russia in the past, will
naturally be in a position to do most for Russia's readjust
ment, through our organization ability, our technical expe
rience and our familiarity with the required methods."

cc What is most essential for the purpose of the re
adjustment of Europe and its reconstruction?" I asked.

Dn Rathenau replied:

WALTER RATHENAU 289

"First of all It is essential to demobilize the public opin
ion created during the past seven years. Thus far the
demobilization of this public opinion has not yet begun.
For seven years the Allied countries and the United States
heard only one side of the case. It was not a fair trial.
The other side has really not been heard to this day.
Whatever was said by us or in our favor was immediately
branded as propaganda. As soon as any statement pre
senting our case appeared in any newspaper outside of
Germany, hundreds of other newspapers declared such a
statement to be a falsehood inspired by German pro
pagandists.

"We are now going to publish twenty-two volumes of
documents relating to the World War. We are throwing
open the archives of our Foreign Office to the whole world.
It is to be a scientific work, prepared under the supervision
of unprejudiced historians. What other government is
going to do the same*? For seven years our side of the case
was not heard. Now the 'criminal' is telling everything,
while the innocent lambs will be taciturn on this subject.
They are not going to open the archives of their Foreign
Offices which could reveal some very interesting facts. The
demobilization of prejudiced public opinion should begin at
once, if the world is to be readjusted.

"The United States will have to help in- the recon
struction of the world. The United States will eventually
discover that It cannot disregard the plight of Europe. I
can understand why the United States dislikes Europe now,
or why It is disgusted with It, or tired of it, but it will
find out that it cannot continue to maintain this attitude of
of indifference. The United States decided the outcome
of the war and the United States decided the peace. The

290 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

United States is thus really responsible for the consequences
of the peace. It is true that it did not ratify the Treaty
of Versailles, but the Treaty between the United States and
Germany contains the stipulation that the advantages
secured by the Treaty of Versailles shall not be forfeited
by the United States, and in this way the United States
recognized that peace treaty.

cc The condition of Europe is now worse than it was be
fore the war. Before the war Alsace-Lorraine was per
haps the sorest spot. How many sore spots are there now
after the end of the world war?

"The only sign of returning reason was to be seen in the
recent conference of the bankers in Paris. They have
practically made it clear that the reparation clauses in the
treaty would have to be revised to meet facts instead of
theories. The money-lenders understand this question
better than anybody else. Without them the world can
hardly be readjusted now. At present there is so much un
employment, idleness and laziness. Instead of working,
people seem to be holding one another by the throat.
Under such circumstances nothing can be accomplished.
The beginning must be made by the demobilization of pre
judiced public opinion created during the war. For seven
years the world was fed on falsehoods, and the atmosphere
must now be cleared in order that reason may prevail."

GEORGE CHICHERIN

Berlin, July, 1922.

I INTERVIEWED George Chicherui, tiie Commissary for
Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Republic of Russia, who
signed the Rapallo Treaty for the Russian government.
He received me at the Esplanade Hotel in Berlin and dis
cussed the Russian situation at considerable length. An
swering my question about the impression that the signing
of the Rapallo Treaty produced in Russia, Chicherin said :

"The Russian people regard this as the model of all
treaties to be concluded with other states by Russia. The
principle of wiping out all claims, as fully laid down in
the Russo-German Treaty, is considered by us as the only
basis for future relations between Russia and other states.

"The ruling idea is that we must now build our new
future. The needs and interests of foreigners are guar
anteed by our new legislation and by the agreements with
other governments and concessionaires all these, of course,
within the limits of our system of nationalized property,
transport and soil.

"But the past must remain the past. We cannot take
upon ourselves the old burdens. We also have our
counter claims, resulting from the invasion of Russia and
from intervention. The mass of our people is extremely
sensitive with regard to these counter claims. Our people
felt the calamity of intervention. It is therefore impos
sible for them to consent that the claims of Russia's cred-

291

292 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

itors shall be recognized, while our counter claims are not
recognized. It is the reciprocal wiping out of all claims
as in the Russo-German treaty that the Russian people
consider the only possible solution."

When I remarked that the fear has been expressed that
the Rapallo Treaty was the beginning of a military alliance
which may become a serious danger in the future, Chicherin
answered slowly:

The Russian government desires peace with every
body. Its wishes regarding Germany are directed to eco
nomic collaboration, and we are equally desirous of secur
ing economic collaboration with other countries. If other
countries are afraid that we will unite ourselves too closely
with Germany, the best way of preventing this is for them
to enter into friendly relations with Russia. If everybody
is hostile to us and only Germany is friendly to us, such
hostility is imposed upon us by the other powers/'

Discussing America's attitude toward Russia, Chicherin
said :

"The American government is very poorly informed
about Russia. It still seems to think that a change of gov
ernment is imminent there. Every careful observer will
absolutely refute this idea. The enormous majority of the
Russian people is completely behind the government. It
is impossible to maintain indefinitely a wall between the
United States and Russia. It is inevitable that the Amer
ican government will realize that it will have to deal with
our government. It would be much better for both if that
were done sooner. American trade can only profit from
such an arrangement. At present, business between Amer
ica and Russia is impossible, because American business
men feel that since there are not even de facto relations,

GEORGE CHICHERIN 293

there can be no protection and every business man wants
trade relations resumed.

"If the American government were fully informed of the
present state of things In Russia, it would not continue to
wait for a change of government there. In some utter
ances made by the American government it is stated that
there will be no relations with Russia until the Soviet gov
ernment is replaced by another. In other utterances it is
only a change of system that is demanded. So far as this
change of system refers to security for foreigners and the
guarantee of personal rights, it is already provided for in
our new legislation. But so far as the American govern
ment demands a complete change in our system of property
and the full reestablishment in Russia of private property
instead of our national ownership which means that the
American government demands a fundamental change of
our whole economic system In other words, the abandon
ment of our present regime that is obviously impossible.
The mass of workers will not reestablish private property
in the factories, and the mass of peasants will not permit
the restoration of big land properties. The national con
trol of foreign trade and big production in Russia Is ab
solutely essential for the protection of our people against
their enslavement by the predominant capitalist states.
Our system Is one of self-defense and of the protection of
the political and economic freedom and Independence of
Russia."

Of intervention, Chlcherin said :

Cf We are not at all sure that the French government has
abandoned the idea of a new intervention. The French
government is persistently hostile to us. The idea natu
rally arises that .either the French government still hopes to

294 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

overthrow our government, or it must try to come to terms
with our government. Since the French government is re
jecting all our offers for an agreement, our natural assump
tion is that it still entertains hopes to overthrow the Soviet
government of Russia. Of course, I do not know the plans
of the French government but experience has shown that all
attempts to overthrow us by force were doomed to complete
failure^ and on the contrary helped to cement more strongly
the solidarity of the Russian people"

Those who regard the Rapallo Treaty as the beginning
of a Russo-German military alliance found their opinioin
confirmed by Leo Trotzky's recent threat. When it was
reported that France was on the point of exerting military
pressure on Germany by invading the Ruhr, Leo Trotzky,
in a statement to the foreign press representatives, declared
as follows:

"Suppose France brings military pressure on Germany.
In that event Poland can hardly remain passive. If Po
land acts against Germany^ I question whether we can re-
main passive ourselves"

Karl Radek, the Soviet government's leading propagan
dist, discussing the Russo-German treaty, recently wrote :

"Many silly things have been said about a military
agreement between Soviet Russia and Germany. We are
alleged to have obligated ourselves to maintain an enormous
army. If Poland and its more or less sincere friends de
cline to reply to the question concerning the limitation of
armaments, it must begin to dawn even on the simplest
mind that it is not because of a secret agreement with Ger
many, but because of a secret agreement between France
and our neighbors that we must keep our army intact."
That Russia and Germany would some day be drawn to-

GEORGE CHICHERIN 295

gether after the world war, was a foregone conclusion to
those who knew the temper of the Russian and the German
peoples after the Peace Conference. The Rapallo Treaty
was but a gesture on the part of the two exhausted nations.

After the Russian revolution many solutions of the Rus
sian problem were attempted by friends and enemies of
Russia. Numerous blunders were committed in these at
tempts at saving Russia in fact, few blunders were left
uncommitted. The Russians knew the new Russia just as
little as the non-Russians did. The blunders that were
made forced Russia into the arms of Germany, and helped
to keep the Soviet government in power.

An American friend, intimately familiar with the at
titude of Col. Edward M. House toward the Russian prob
lem, after the Revolution, during the war and at the peace
Conference, said to me:

"Colonel House is one of the very few statesmen who
understood the Russian problem immediately after the
Revolution, who advocated a sane course in the treatment
of Russia, and who in 1917 and 1918 cautioned the Allied
statesmen against the dangerous consequences of the mis
taken Russian policy pursued at that time.

"Colonel House was asked by French and British states
men to agree to their policy of intervention, when he was
in Paris. He told them at that time that the planned in
tervention would only help to keep the Soviet government
in power. He was opposed to the French and British policy
adopted toward Russia, and when he returned to the
United States and presented his views on this subject, he
was sustained by the President.

"Some time afterward, while Colonel House was away
in Europe again, various French and British commissions

296 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

came to the United States and kept impressing President
Wilson with the urgent need of intervention in Russia.
It was then that the President finally agreed to the sending
of troops to Archangel and to Siberia, with the sad result
that everybody knows.

"The policy of intervention by which the Allies sought
to crush the bolshevist government of Russia, produced ex
actly the opposite effect. Various Russian emigres and Al
lied statesmen tried to convince Colonel House in order
that he might influence the President that all that was
necessary was to raise the Allied flags in Russia, and the
Russian people would rally to the anti-bolshevist forces and
overthrow the Soviet government. Colonel House pointed
out to them that their theories would only lead to greater
confusion.

"Some time later, after several attempts at intervention
had failed, Allied statesmen endeavored to convince
Colonel House again that intervention on a huge scale was
essential, and that this time their plan was bound to prove
successful. They were anxious to have him exert his in
fluence with the President in that direction. In answer to
his question where they intended to get an army for such
purpose, they assured him that they could raise an army
of about two million men in Poland, Czecho-Slovakia and
Yugo-Slavia, under the leadership of French officers, in or
der to invade Russia. His next question was, c But where
will you get funds to finance this enterprise? Naturally
they looked to the United States to supply the necessary
money. Colonel House shattered their hopes by informing
them that they could not get a nickel in the United States.
"Colonel House's plan to help Russia at that time was
that the United States should do for Russia what it had

GEORGE CHICHERIN 297

done for Belgium, that Herbert Hoover should organize in
Russia a system of relief upon a large scale, to aid the Rus
sian people, helping province after province, without the
slightest interference with the internal affairs of Russia.
The Russian people needed relief even then, and he be
lieved that first of all the Russian people who had just
liberated themselves from the worst autocracy that had op
pressed them should be aided in their distress, and sec
ondly, he regarded it of the utmost importance that the
world should know exactly what was going on in Russia.

"All of the information which came from Russia, with
but few exceptions, was based on propagandist materials
sent broadcast by the Bolsheviki, painting rosy pictures of
the blessings of the dictatorship of the proletariat, while
the inspired Allied and Russian anti-bolshevist propaganda
outside of Russia distorted the truth quite as much on the
other side.

"All that served to confuse the Russian situation in the
minds of the people everywhere, and the solution grew ever
more complicated and difficult. But the effect of it all
was that Russia and Germany were forced into each other's
arms."

EDUARD BENES

Prague, July., 1922.

"!T is a mistake to think that the reconstruction of Europe
can come through the reconstruction of Russia.

"The Genoa conference has shown it. The Hague con
ference now confirms it-

c 'The trouble is that there has not yet been advanced any
definite constructive program for the rebuilding of Europe.
Genoa has proved it. The Hague confirms it.

"Thirty-four nations came to the Genoa Conference with
good intentions, but without any program/ Even Lloyd
George's program the only more or less definite plan
was inadequate.

"My plan of the Little Entente was conceived for the
purpose of establishing peace and friendship with our neigh
bors. After we have signed our treaties, nothing can hap
pen in Central Europe without us or against us. We are as
strong as the ancient Austro-Hungarian empire ever was.

e *The main problem in Europe is not Russia but Germany.

"There must be a complete political and economic agree
ment between Great Britain and France. Only that would
bring peace and stability to Europe."

These striking statements were made to me in Prague by
Dr. Eduard Benes, the Premier of Czecho-Slovakia, the
foremost of Europe's younger statesmen.

Though Dr. Benes represented a new state one of the
smaller states of Europe he was nevertheless one of the

298

EDUARD BENES 299

most conspicuous and influential factors at the conference
in which he participated. He is daring, picturesque, con
structive, practical. Even his enemies admit his courage
and his genius.

Benes, the father of the Little Entente a sort of United
States of Europe believes in force in the force of friend
ship united for peace. He realized that the strength of his
country lay first in work and then in the good will and
friendship of its neighbors. Czecho-Slovakia was sur
rounded by enemy states that had suffered economically
and territorially because of the creation of this new state.
It was surrounded by peoples that hated and envied the
new state which started to work so industriously and which
is making better progress than any of the new states and
many of the older states in Europe.

A patriot, a philosopher, a publicist of note, a worthy
pupil of Professor Masaryk, Benes suddenly rose to the
task and responsibility of true statesmanship, so sadly lack
ing in Europe just now and his fame and influence are
rapidly growing throughout Europe.

Masaryk in Washington and Benes in Paris really created
Czecho-Slovakia during the war and at the peace conference.
Their eloquent pleas and their forceful arguments won to
their cause the Allied statesmen, and particularly the deep
sympathies of President Wilson and Colonel House.
Czechoslovakia was created and set up as an important
new state.

The story of the 40,000 Czecho-Slovak "prisoners of
war" in Russia, whom the Russian Red Armies sought to
disarm after the Brest-Litovsk treaty had been signed be
tween Germany and Russia, and who were going through
Siberia to the Western Front to aid the Allies, was one of

3oo THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

the great dramatic events of the world war. The Czecho
slovaks resisted the superior force of the Red Army, seized
practically the whole of Siberia and became the masters of
the situation along a line of about five thousand miles
from the Urals to Vladivostock. Their popularity with the
Russian population of Siberia testified to the fact that
they were not only courageous but also tactful and con
siderate as victors. They displayed extraordinary energy
and genius for organization.

Shortly after the creation of the new state the people of
Czecho-Slovakia employed the same energy, perseverance
and organization ability to put their country In order.
Amidst the chaos, confusion and idleness In Europe, they
started to work and build; they created new centers of
learning and culture, and also gave shelter to thousands of
students and hundreds of professors, who had been de
prived of the means of continuing their educational work
in Soviet Russia.

Czechoslovakia worked, prospered and has grown strong.
And this was accomplished so quickly mainly through the
efforts of Masaryk, that practical Idealist and savant, the
President of Czecho-Slovakia, beloved by the people of
Czecho-Slovakia, known as their "dear little father," and
of Benes, the courageous young master builder of an empire
of peace of a united states of Europe.

This young man of 38, Dr. Eduard Benes, has become
ttc most interesting and dominating figure in the affairs of
Central Europe.

I sought his views regarding the questions that stir the
minds of all who know the seriousness of Europe's ailment
and who strive to find a solution of the puzzling and per-

EDUARD BENES 301

plexing problems of the reconstruction of Europe. In the
course of a long interview, Dr. Benes said:

"As you are travelling through Europe, you see that
Europe is in bad shape. Europe is going through a period
of political, economic and intellectual decadence.

'The World War was the worst In all history. More hu
man lives, more property, more values were destroyed than
in any other war in the past. It is quite natural that a
period of terrible decadence, unrest, confusion, and chaos
should follow in the wake of this destruction,

"But I am not pessimistic as to the outcome. It could
hardly be expected that after such an enormous catastrophe,
the reconstruction of Europe could come about in four
years. Confidence and credits have been destroyed the
most vital things so essential for the restoration of normal
international relations have been completely upset.

'Tour great empires were destroyed Germany, Russia,
Austro-Hungary and Turkey. Austro-Hungary was partly
destroyed. Russia Is practically destroyed and ruined, and
Germany is also destroyed economically.

"Out of the Austro-Hungarian empire new states have
been formed* Ours is an entirely new state. We had to
build everything, and we have built, and we are building.
How far we have already succeeded may be judged from
the fact that in 1920 we had an active export balance ex
ceeding our imports by three billions of crowns, and in
1921 our exports exceeded our imports by five billions.
No other country in Europe, with the exception of England,
can point to such a record after the war. And our currency
is stabilized. Our people are working hard, and as soon
as there is a restoration to more normal conditions in our

302 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

neighboring states, our own situation will naturally be still
better.

"Europe cannot be reconstructed through Russia. If
other powers give money to Russia, that may help Russia
to a certain extent, but it cannot help Europe for many
years to come. Russia is unable to give anything to Europe
for a long time. It simply means that we would re-enforce
the Bolsheviki. The Bolshevist theories and experiments
have failed. Everybody knows it now. But the Soviet
representatives cannot admit that much. They didn't ad
mit it at Genoa, nor do they admit it at The Hague. They
went as far as they could go, at Genoa. But the facts
make their admissions unnecessary.

"The Russian communists went forward too fast, and
they must retreat rapidly in order to save themselves. So
they had to resort to all sorts of compromises and methods
of evolution for the purpose of going back.

Cf lt was a grotesque picture to see the Soviet representa
tives, after having criticized old Europe most sharply and
having declared that it was doomed to utter destruction,
asking that same old Europe for money in order that they
may save themselves. In this way the Soviet regime ad
mitted its failure. The Bolsheviki had sentenced Europe
and its capitalism to political and social death. They de
clared war on capitalism, they prophesied its immediate
collapse, and now these fundamental enemies of capitalism
ask the capitalists for help, for money. What a wonder
ful theme for satirical caricaturists !

"The Rapallo Treaty between Russia and Germany is of
no importance either to Russia or to Germany. Russia
cannot give anything to Germany, and Germany in her
present condition cannot do anything to aid Russia.

EDUARD BENES 303

"The trouble is that no definite, constructive program and
no plan of method for the rehabilitation of Europe have as
yet been advanced by any of the statesmen.

"Thirty-four nations came to Genoa. They came with
the best of intentions, with enthusiasm, with the desire for
peace and for reconstruction, but without any program
without any plan or method of rebuilding Europe and re
storing normal conditions.

"The only man who had some plan was Lloyd George.
His plan was first to reconstruct Russia and through Russia
the rest of Europe, and second, to have a pact for non-
aggression signed by the nations.

"That plan was not adequate. Europe may be able
to help Russia, but Russia does nothing now to help
Europe. And as for the non-aggression pact, it is really
of no importance, for no nation wants any new wars
now.

"The intellectual life of Europe is in a state of almost
complete collapse, too. In Vienna, for instance, there are
22 chairs vacant at the universities because economic con
ditions and the inadequate remuneration make it impossible
for professors to exist there. Intellectual intercourse is
practically at a standstill in Europe. In Germany, for in
stance, very few scientific books can be published because
it is too expensive to produce them, and only very few
scientists can afford to buy books and periodicals in Europe
nowadays. The governments are unable to give any sub
sidies for these things now. They must help first of all
the unemployed in order to avert disturbances and check
unrest, and they must help the crippled veterans of the
war.

"As for our own state, we first of all commenced by

304 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

eradicating the war psychology in our country. That is
really the first requisite of peace.

"As a new state we were surrounded by enemies. Ger
many, Austria, Hungary, and Poland were our enemies
when Czecho-Slovakia was set up as a state.

"In the chaos, in the anarchy in Central Europe, un
chained by the war, we decided to build the spine the
backbone of a new organization, first on a basis of force,
so that our neighbors should see that we were strong, that
we were healthy, that we were working and building, that
we settled down for peace; and then I knew they would
realize that they could collaborate .with us. We set out
to establish a policy of friendship, first with Yugo-Slavia
and Roumania. After our treaties with these countries
were concluded, nothing could happen in Central Europe
without us or against us. We became the center with which
all other states in Central Europe were obliged to come into
contact. It was easy then to negotiate with Austria. We
were in position thus to prevent war with Hungary when
Charles made two attempts to return as King. We were
also abk then to show Poland the insecurity and danger
of her own position between Germany and Russia, and her
advaatages in joining the Little Entente.

cr We made economic treaties with Austria, Poland, Rou
mania, Yugo-Slavia, Italy, Spain, France, and even Russia.
The results of our Russian treaty are of no particular sig
nificance or value as yet.

'The rebuilding of Europe from the bottom up is neces
sarily a slow process, but after the destruction of four great
empires, after .the destruction of the achievements of many
centuries, it is foolish to think that we can rebuild Europe
in the short space of a few years.

EDUARD BENES 305

"We must be patient. We must be strong. We must
be industrious and energetic. We must oppose all dema
gogy, all unreasonable nationalism and chauvinism. We
must be practical.

"In Austria, for instance, the question of reparations has
so overwhelmed the people that they have lost all their
courage, all desire to work, to grow rich. They have lost
their energy, their nerve. They say, 'What is the use of
working, if we are actually working for others? 5 With
such ideas and in such a state of mind, Europe cannot be
reconstructed. There is too much demagogy, too much of
war psychology still prevailing in many countries of Europe.

"I prefer to work hard and grow rich, and give part of
my wealth to my neighbors rather than lie down in idleness
and drift to utter ruination.

"The main problem in Europe is not Russia but Germany.
If Germany were helped toward readjustment, Europe
would really be helping itself. If you give money to
Russia, you cannot get anything in return for many years,
and Europe cannot be helped that way. But if we find
a plan for helping Germany, the effect on Europe would be
immediate and helpful all around.

"I repeat, I believe in starting with the simple in order
to have enough strength to cope with the more complex
problems afterward.

"The Russian problem will require many years to be
solved. There will be chaos and anarchy there, but Rus
sia's salvation will come from within, from the Russians in
Russia. So many blunders have already been made by
various statesmen that the wisest thing is to let the Russian
experiment prove its failure completely and unmistakably.
In the meantime democratic sentiment among the Russian

3o6 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

people is gathering strength, and I foresee a strong repub
lican Russia emerging out of the ruins. But that, it is
obvious, cannot come suddenly.

"If Russia were now recognized politically, she would
become a political factor in the world, without being an
economic factor in the reconstruction, on the contrary, the
disorder and uncertainty would be intensified. The Bol-
sheviki would gain in prestige and power, and the labor
organizations everywhere may again be misled, and thus
the unrest might grow everywhere. It would mean that we
would give Russia a voice in political affairs, without any
economic advantages to be gained from such a measure for
any other country.

"As for America's attitude to Europe and to Russia in
particular, I can easily understand her reserve and caution
in European affairs now. But my opinion is that the
United States have thus far refused to participate in the
conference for the reconstruction of Europe mainly because
no concrete, practical program has yet been submitted to
them.

cc What can be done for the reconstruction of Europe?
What are the preliminary steps which must be taken?

<c First of all, there must be a complete agreement between
Great Britain and France. Italy would fall in line with
such an agreement. These powers must have a definite and
reasonable economic and political understanding and agree
ment. That would immediately serve to restore peace and
stability in Europe. Without such an agreement there can
be no reconstruction.

cc When these powers agree among themselves, they will
finally have to take the first step in the direction of a definite
understanding with regard to reparations. When that

EDUARD BENES 307

question is definitely and reasonably settled, there would
be a real basis for Germany to start along new economic
lines. That would also form a basis for an international
loan, and the stabilization of the German currency, which
would surely have an immediate and most beneficent effect
everywhere and would hasten the re-establishment of peace
and order in Europe."

STEFAN RADICZ

Zagreb, Croatia, July, 1922.

to Yugo-Slavia to familiarize myself with the
blunder that was made there by the Peace Conference. It
is a very serious blunder, for the population is in a state of
intense unrest, and an explosion may occur there at any
moment if precautionary measures are not taken in time to
avert the new catastrophe where the World War was
started.

The trouble in Yugo-Slavia is due to the fact that one
portion of the population is for a militarist state and the
other for a republic. The Serbians are trying to establish a
strong military Serbia under the name of Yugo-Slavia,
while the Croatians and the Slovenians want a peaceful
national existence as a republic. Though they speak the
same language, their ideals and aspirations differ widely.
They are divided by differences of religion and their history.
The Serbians belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, while
the Croatians are Catholics. The Serbians lived for cen
turies under the rule of the Turk; they had hardly any
opportunity for cultural development, and they see their
glory in a powerful military state; while the Croatians,
though only oppressed, by Hungary, enjoyed a certain de
gree of autonomy and assimilated Western culture.

After the lessons of the World War, the Croatians see
their salvation and their opportunity for development under
a republican form of government. Besides, there are about

308

STEFAN RADICZ 309

three quarters of a million Croatians in the United States,
and through them the influence of their Americanization is
felt practically in every village of Croatia. The Croatian
peasantry dream of a United States of Slavs under a re
publican form of government. But if that is impossible, if
the Serbians must have their king, the Croatians want a
republic in Croatia, with Zagreb as its Capital, and they are
willing to be associated with the Serbian kingdom upon
terms of friendship and equality.

The Serbians, flushed with victory and eager for a greater
Serbia, are imposing their will upon the rest of the popula
tion by force of arms. Hence the grave danger of a new
explosion, of a new war.

I discussed the Yugo-Slav blunder with various leaders
and I talked with the peasants in the Croatian villages.
There is no doubt that their movement for liberty is strong
and genuine. Fortunately, the leaders of the peasants are
level-headed men, with a profound sense of responsibility.
They are courageous, they are conscious of their power, but
they are not firebrands.

'The most picturesque, influential and popular leader in
Croatia is Stepan Radicz. A publicist of note, a philoso
pher, he is the idol of the Croatian peasants who constitute
the vast majority of the population. The Serbians regard
him as their most dangerous enemy they call him a rebel
and they kept him in prison for almost two years. The
Croatian peasants regard him as a martyr. They call him
their President. They love him as their friend and their
teacher. Seventeen times he was thrown into prison by
the Austro-Hungarian authorities for championing the
cause of the people's independence, and after the World
War he was imprisoned for 21 months by the Siberian Gov-

310 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ernment for a speech he made, advocating a republic for
Croatia.

Stepan Radicz is not a revolutionist, as the Serbians call
him. He is religious, though not a fanatic. He believes
in progress, but he is not an advocate of violence. He is a
real responsible leader of the people and he is inspired by
a real sense of justice. He is a brilliant orator and a vig
orous writer. He knows how 'to talk to the peasants in
terms they best understand. His appearance in any village
in Croatia is hailed with enthusiasm and joy. The peas
ants' homes are ornamented with his pictures. I travelled
with Radicz through a number of villages in order to speak
to the peasants themselves. Before going to the villages,
Radicz wanted me to see the cemetery at Zagreb. He
showed me the monuments erected years ago to Croatian
poets, scientists, philosophers, martyrs champions of just-
tice and liberty. He said: "Before you see our people
in the villages, you must see that our nation always honored
our intellectual leaders rather than our military heroes."

Then we went from village to village and talked with the
people. Wherever we came the peasants dropped their
work and greeted their "president." The children and the
women in the villages greeted him with exclamations, "Long
live the Republic !** The men complained of the high taxes
imposed on them by the Serbian Government to maintain
a huge army. They all said they wanted a republic, in
order to be able to work in peace.

Stepan Radicz spoke to them. His speeches were brief
and eloquent. He advocated liberty, but he always begged
them to be patient and not to launch on any rash adventures.

During our trip through the villages Stepan Radicz out
lined to me the aspirations of his people, the cause of unrest,

STEFAN RADICZ 311

and his fears of an explosion which may lead to a new
catastrophe.

He said : f 'Those who have learned something from the
war are the victors. Those who have learned nothing from
the war are the losers, whether they are among the Allies
or the Central Powers. Our people saw that the Tsar of
Russia, the Kaiser of Germany and the Kaiser of Austro-
Hungary had been overthrown. They saw that republican
ism was the order of the day. Our simple people reasoned
simply. They said that since the big monarchies were
ended, it would be unwise to start smaller monarchies now.
My own teacher, Professor Masaryk, made a grave mistake
when he told the Allied statesmen that the Serbians were
the most important factor in Yugo-Slavia, and that the
Croatians were slaves, and that a union of these peoples
under the leadership of Serbia was the best way of solving
the problem. Thus a monarchy was forced upon us. Our
people were not consulted. There was no plebiscite of any
kind.

"A week before the armistice, on October 29, 1918, we
Croatians proclaimed our independence. A month later the
Constituent Assembly for Yugo-Slavia met. It was domi
nated by Serbia. One thing had been decided in advance
that all must recognize the monarchy the dynasty.
That was an insult to our intelligence and also to our spirit
of democracy.

"Our people, the Croatians, the most cultured of the
entire Yugo-Slav group, see and feel how the Serbians are
forcing the monarchy and terrorist rule upon us by violence
by force of bayonets. The Serbians say that Serbia is
surrounded by enemies, that seven nations are their enemies,
and therefore a large standing army is absolutely essential.

312 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

Our people say, 'If all your neighbors are your enemies,
you must be at fault.' Our people say that pigs do not
grow on bayonets, that armies do not build a country, that
peace and work are the only roads to prosperity. They are
perplexed, because the Serbians who have learned nothing
from the war have been made the masters in Yugo-Slavia.
cc We Croatians received the majority of votes in our
territory, but our views were not consulted and our wishes
were not honored. The King is Serbian, the entire govern
ment is Serbian. We have a higher culture than the Ser
bians, who were for centuries oppressed by the Turk. They
acquired some of the savage methods of their oppressors,
and are now imposing a tyranny upon us even as it was
imposed upon them by the Turk. Our peasants are perse
cuted for expressing opinions favoring a republic. We,
the intellectuals, holding these views, were also thrown into
prison, but we were liberated, while the peasants are still
being persecuted, and herein lies the real tragedy. Our
peasants see that the common people are handled uncere
moniously, while the leaders are treated with consideration.
Leaders, even revolutionary leaders, are ready to compro
mise when they find themselves in an awkward predica
ment. They sometimes even stoop to corruption. Not so
the people. They want no compromises. They say, 'We
are working hard, we are prosperous because of our work.
The Serbians are concentrating all their energies on the
army, on violence. We want democracy, freedom, while
they want a monarchy, oppression. We cannot and will
not bear their burdens!'

cc We, the leaders, know that we have both the force and
the ability to impose our will the will of the people on
the government. But we have a higher sense of duty. We

STEFAN RADICZ

313

know where we would start, but we do not know where we
would end. We cannot tell what temptations other govern
ments may develop when they see civil war in our country.

"Politics, like business, must have a certain measure of
idealism otherwise it cannot succeed. We must think not
only of the present but also of the future. A business man
who thinks of the future must necessarily possess a certain
degree of idealism, honesty and morality. These qualities
are entirely lacking in the Yugo-Slav administration.

"I was kept 2 1 months in prison by the Serbian govern
ment. For eleven months not a soul was permitted to see
me. My family was not sure that I was alive. I was im
prisoned for a speech in which I said, "Long live the King
in Serbia not in Croatia. Our people want freedom
a republic! 5

"At the end of 21 months, on election day, when it be
came apparent that I would get an enormous majority of
the votes, I was pardoned by the King. I was asked
whether there was anything I wanted. I said C I want noth
ing for myself. I am fifty years old now I need much
less now than when I was twenty. I want nothing for my
self. But I want freedom for my people. If you want my
views on this subject I shall gladly give them to you. You
are spending millions on an army. You have a bigger army
than Great Britain has. You have an army three times
as large as that of the United States. You have more than
three times as many gendarmes as the empire of Austro-
Hungary had. You are spending the greater part of the
budget to maintain an organization of force and violence,
and there is hardly anything left for schools and other con
structive measures. This strength of yours is your greatest
weakness. As for the King, I have nothing against him as

3H THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

a man, nor have I anything against him as a King, if the
Serbians want him. But my people want a republic. We
are willing to recognize and honor him in every way we
are even willing to be associated with the Serbian state, but
equally as a federated state/

"The state as constituted in Yugo-Slavia to-day not only
fails to solve the oriental problem, but it aggravates it, and
there will be no real peace here until this situation is ad
justed through the moral pressure of the Great Powers who
desire peace in Europe."

The vice-president of the Croatian Peasants' Party said :

''Serbia has an army of 200,000 men. She has a huge
number of gendarmes, and then she has the Wrangel army
of more than a hundred thousand reactionary Russians.
The Serbian government has started out with a wrong for
mula raw centralization of violence. They want to erect
a great Serbian state by destroying the Croatian people a
historic, cultural and economic unit which had its own in
dependent state thirteen centuries ago. Therefore, since
the Serbians constitute only four millions of the population
of Yugo-Slavia, and the other nations together constitute
more than eight millions, the Serbians had to create a wild
military state. In Dalmatia and Bosnia the Wrangel gen
darmes are flogging the people and plundering them.
Serbian troops are doing that, too.

"Besides, the government is organizing so-called patri
otic bands, maintained on government funds, instructed by
Serbian officers. They are supplied with firearms, and are
used for the purpose of intimidating the people by methods
of terrorism. Serbian chauvinism is rabid now. Exper
ienced and capable Croatian officials are dismissed from
government posts, and replaced by incompetent and dis-

STEFAN RADICZ 315

honest Serbs. The worst forms of corruption and graft
are practiced openly. The security of the rights of person
and property is destroyed by the militarist regime of Bel
grade. Even religion is employed for political purposes.
Many Greek Catholics are forced to join the Greek Or
thodox Church. They think they can build a greater Serbia
in that way.

"Corporal punishment has been introduced. Thousands
of people have been beaten with sticks for no other reason
that they said they were in favor of a republic. Many
villages have been destroyed and thousands of people killed
in Bosnia and Sandjak, as so-called enemies of the State."

Professor Shurmin, editor of the Zagreb Obzor^ for 16
years a representative of the Croatian people, and a former
member of the Cabinet, said:

"Croatia, as the most cultured of the nations in Yugo
slavia, was always Western in culture and education.
During the World War Croatia was heart and soul against
Prussianism, because Prussianism always helped to oppress
the Slavs.

<r We are not opposed to the Serbs. They have the same
language we have, though not the same culture. But we
are opposed to the government that resorts to violence to de
stroy us as a nation. We are in favor of finding a way for
co-operation. We are willing to remain together with
them, but as equals. Our people are republican in spirit.
Let the people, through the plebiscite, decide the form of
government, and form of union to be established. Then
peace will prevail in our country. We cannot submit to
an oriental, Asiatic rale now. We always gravitated
to Western ideals, and we cannot start on the dangerous
road of militarism now that we see so clearly what has hap-

316 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

pened to the great military autocracies of Russia, Germany
and Austro-Hungary."

The opening paragraph of the Constitution of the Neu
tral Peasant Republic of Croatia, adopted in March, 1921,
reads in part as follows :

cc We Croatians, as a nation of a very old peasant culture,
have by the inevitable course of events of the World War
been delivered from the oppressive aristocratic feudal
Magyar centralism, and from the German militarist sover
eignty of the Hapsburg monarchy.

" . . . Aware of all these factors in the emancipation
of the country and in unison with the conservative West,
we are preserving the foundations of civilization and of
the production of wealth, and with the revolutionary East,
we are simultaneously creating a State in which all cultural
as well as wealth-producing elements, but particularly the
peasant and working classes, shall have their fullest share
in all branches of government and administration. ..."

As we travelled through the villages, I met many Croa
tians who had been in America and who returned to their
native land after the war. They had worked in American
shops and factories, and brought the spirit of America to
their native villages. Most of them were disillusioned.
They had hurried back in the hope of finding liberty in their
old home. I saw several homes decorated with American
flags.

One of these peasants who had only recently returned
from the United States said :

C T was in America about fifteen years. I have come back
to my native country thinking that it was free now. I
learned to work in America, and this makes me rich here.

STEFAN RADICZ 317

But we are not free, and that makes me unhappy. I can't
get used to this life/'

A woman who came from America to her native village
said:

"I love America because it is a republic. And I love a
republic because I love my children. I don't want to lose
them in the next war, and I don't think republics will have
any more wars after this dreadful war we had."

As we rode through the villages we saw the fertile soil
of Croatia. We saw the peasants at work. We saw their
hospitality. We heard their folk songs and watched the
national dances of the girls and young men after the day's
work was done.

Late in the evening, on the way back to Zagreb, our auto
mobile broke down. We waited all night in the fields. It
was cold and dark, and a distance from a village.

The sun rose at about three o'clock. Shortly afterward
we saw here and there young men and women coming out to
the fields, beginning their new day's work. At first they
were silent, and then we heard them singing as they worked.

At about five o'clock in the morning we found a pair of
horses and a hay wagon and rode back to Zagreb, the capital
of Croatia, fatigued but profoundly impressed with the
industrious and picturesque little peasant nation that wants
liberty and peace.

ARTHUR SCHNITZLER

Vienna^ July, 1922.

I MET Arthur Schnitzler in his study in Vienna. A fine
copy of Mona Lisa was conspicuous among the numerous
portraits on the walls, and on his desk stood a statuette of
Goethe. The brilliant Viennese dramatist and novelist,
whose sixtieth birthday was recently celebrated by his
friends and admirers, is youthful despite the gray in his
hair and beard, and his kindly smile is as full of charm as
ever. During the past few months many eulogies by the
foremost dramatists, novelists and critics appeared in var
ious European periodicals and newspapers.

Schnitzler is beloved by all who know him. All agree
that his artistic works are marked with a peculiar charm and
are of lasting value, He has portrayed men and women as
they really are with their dreams and their passions, their
foibles and their follies.

Gerhardt Hauptmann, summing up the achievements of
Schnitzler thus far, writes that to have an appreciation of
Schnitzler is to have an appreciation of art and culture.
Hermann Bahr predicts that Schnitzler will fare better than
other writers a hundred years hence, for when future gen
erations will want to study the traits, the modes of life and
thought during the years of Austria's sunset, they will have
to go back to Schnitzler who mirrored that sunset most
clearly, who reproduced as no one else the last charm of

318

ARTHUR SCHNITZLER 319

Vienna in the shadows, who was the doctor at her death bed,
who loved her more deeply than anyone else, who was the
last poet of her agony.

Schnitzler spoke with deep emotion of Austria's pathetic
plight, of the beauty and grandeur of her landscapes and of
her still undeveloped opportunities, of the curse of too much
politics in Austria, and for that matter in the whole of
Europe, and then he pointed to the growth of prejudice and
hate after the war.

"What is becoming of Europe?" he said. "The hate
which has been intensified by the war is growing and spread
ing, and the most dreadful feature of it all is that people
are talking of new wars in the near future.

"On August i, 1914, on the day of the declaration of
war I wrote a letter to my brother of which I should have
been ashamed a little later. I gave him my reasons why
it was impossible that such a world war could take place.
It was a foolish letter in view of the events that followed
so rapidly, and that involved practically the whole world
in the war. But only now after several years of so-called
peace, we see clearly that the war was really impossible.
It was the most brutal of all wars. It destroyed more
values than any previous war, and it has left the world in
a much worse condition than it was before the war. We
see chaos, poverty, ruination everywhere in Europe. And
we see more hate than before the war.

"To check this spread of hate in various countries, it
seems to me that it is urgent for intellectual leaders every
where to create good will and a better understanding among
the nations. A great campaign of education is essential in
that direction. We have seen that Socialism has failed to
meet the problems of war and peace effectively and has not

320 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

exerted such an influence either in the war or in the making
of peace.

"We must realize, first of all, that man is the worst of
all animals the most cruel of them all. The difference
between the human being and other animals is that the
human being possesses such traits as joy at another's mis
fortune, and false indignation. Animals have no such
terrible traits. We must also realize that while the human
mind may be improved by education, the human soul can
not be improved for it cannot be changed. We may
therefore hope that human beings will some day become
wiser, but they cannot become better. The mind may be
improved, but not the soul. Human beings are born
egotists. They do not love one another unselfishly they
hate one another. All we may hope is that the intellectual
leaders may succeed in showing the people that they must
stop wars because it would be best for them to have no wars
because they would benefit more from peace than from
war.

"Pacifism should not be sentimental. That is useless.
Pacifists should not say that it is wrong to kill, that it is
unethical to destroy human life- that it is immoral to com
mit such a crime that other people suffer from such
destruction and that war is terrible on that account.
Everybody knows that war is terrible, that it leaves dead
and maimed in its wake that it destroys property, and re
tards what is known as civilization. But such methods of
reasoning, such arguments are of no avail. Human beings
are not impressed by them. Human beings do not change
their nature on that account. Instead of sentimental paci
fism, it is essential to convince them by education that peace
would benefit them and save them that in a roundabout

ARTHUR SCHNITZLER 321

way they themselves or their children may be the victims of
war the wounded, the mutilated, the dead.

c Tt is of very little value to preach love and the brother
hood of man, for it does not help. There are some people
who believe that it is enough for them to preach or to lis
ten to sermons on loving one's neighbor as themselves and
that by this they have already discharged all their duties
to their fellow men. The quality of unselfish love is not
inherent in human beings and it is useless to demand of
human beings to change that which cannot be changed.
Besides, it is not necessary at all. I do not want people to
love me. I do not want their kisses. I don't think it nec
essary that there should be too much love among the nations.
The important thing is that people should realize that they
must not wrong one another that they must not hurt or
injure one another. The important thing is that people
should have the opportunity to work, undisturbed, in peace,
that they should not interfere with others, that they should
not destroy others, that they should not rob others. They
must learn to realize that war will affect them directly in
some way or other just as they believe war would affect
their enemy their neighbor.

"Yesterday, while my daughter was packing to go to the
country, we found a batch of old newspapers published dur
ing the war. I looked at the headlines. 'The battle

of . We captured 0,000 men. Tens of thousands

slain. 3 And the jubilation over each victory! I remember
how our people rejoiced when they heard that thousands of
Russians were drowned in swamps. I was filled with terror
as I recalled all this. Of course, the other side did exactly
the same. They rejoiced when hundreds of thousands of
our people were slaughtered. And I recalled with horror

322 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

the indifference with which people afterward read about
those battles. When, for instance, they read that fifty
thousand men had been slain, and on the following morning
the revised figures showed that instead of fifty thousand
there really were sixty thousand casualties, did that differ
ence disturb the people's sleep, or did it affect their ap
petites? Not in the least. They went on eating, drinking
and smoking their cigars. In fact, the men at the front
hated the 'enemy' less than the people in the rear we know
that at the front the men often fraternized with the 'enemy/
while the people in the rear hated the 'enemy 5 intensely
and this hate is continuing. And in certain places it is even
encouraged deliberately fanned and spread artificially.

rc lf we read about some distant island sinking into the
ocean with a population of a half a million human beings
we would actually be affected by such news much less than
by the natural death of someone on our block. If a fire
breaks out in our neighbor's house, we are upset and worried
to the extent that we fear lest the fire should spread to our
own house. If a fire breaks out somewhere in our city, we
are worried because it may destroy the house of one of our
relatives or friends. If we hear of a fire in a distant part of
our city where we have no relatives or friends, we go on
smoking our cigars undisturbed.

"I recall a simple, quite unimportant incident, but it is
so characteristic that I will tell it to you. Some years ago
my wife had scarlet fever. We had a nurse who attended
her. The nurse was very correct, devoted, efficient and in
telligent. When my wife recovered and the nurse was to
leave, she had to wait about a quarter of an hour for an am
bulance which was to fumigate her clothes in order that she
may not infect other people.

ARTHUR SCHNITZLER 323

"When I went out of the house a few minutes later, I
noticed to my great amazement that the nurse entered a
crowded street car, without having waited for the am
bulance. She had no patience to wait fifteen minutes, an(J
she went home by car without having taken the necessary
precaution. She probably infected a number of people in
that car with scarlet fever. Here was a nurse who knew
well the dangers of such contagion. She was intelligent
and it was her profession to look after patients, and to be
careful. But that did not matter to her. She went into
the crowded street car because the passengers were just
ordinary people whom she did not know. 'They were
strangers to her, and she did not care. But if, for instance,
she were to learn that someone was infected in that car by
her, and that such person carried the disease to a child who
happened to be a schoolmate of her own child, and in that
way infected her own child and her own child died as a
result of her recklessness and neglect then she would think
and act differently in the future. Of course, if such a thing
happened, people would say that it was an unusual case,
a rare coincidence. But if people were to figure things out
logically they would find that the wrong they do others in
some way or other necessarily reacts on themselves they
would understand that, and would stop wronging others.
As I have said before, human beings may become wiser, but
they will never grow better. It is therefore the important
task of intellectual leaders everywhere to organize them
selves and start a campaign to enlighten the people that
peace is in their own interests that war will ruin them,
while peace will benefit them."

"Why don't you develop this idea more elaborately in an
article?" I suggested.

324 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

"I can't write articles," replied Dr. Schnitzler. "I have
often been asked to write articles for the Neue Freie Presse.
I have often discussed certain subjects with the publisher
and editor of that newspaper, and he often said to me : 'Let
me have an article on this subject. This is just what I
need/ I have always declined to write articles. I often
wonder why journalists and publicists underestimate their
own ability to write articles and believe that novelists or
dramatists must necessarily know how to write articles."

"But in this instance you have advanced the best reasons
why you should write something on this theme, particularly
when you pointed out that the intellectual leaders should
at this juncture do the utmost to make people realize the
effects of war and peace on themselves," I said.

"I am afraid you would be disappointed if I wrote an
article on this subject. I really could not do it," he replied.

Our conversation turned to Schnitzlefs dramatic works.
Suddenly he asked:

cc How would you account for the fact that some of my
plays which were written 20 or 25 years ago are being pro
duced only now? They seem to attract more attention
now than when I wrote them."

c Your works were at least a quarter of a century ahead
of their time," I answered. "Only now people are be
ginning to understand and appreciate them fully."

When I mentioned "Reigen," his sex play which created
a sensation last year in Berlin and Vienna and which was at
first suppressed by the German censor, Schnitzler remarked
modestly: cc 'Reigen' is an ordinary play. The dialogues
were written more than twenty five years ago. When this
play of mine will long have been forgotten, the record of
the Berlin trial connected with 'Reigen' will live. The

ARTHUR SCHNITZLER 325

stenographic report of the testimony at that trial is the most
amazing satire of our time. The four or five figures that
revealed themselves in that extraordinary document are
types of hypocrisy that the greatest of satirists could hardly
have invented or improved upon."

ROOSEVELT LETTERS

IN the course of one of my interviews with Count Witte
in 1908 in Petrograd I asked him to permit me to examine
the more important documents relating to the Portsmouth
Peace Treaty, in which Theodore Roosevelt played so con
spicuous a role. Count Witte took out a large portfolio
from his desk and said:

"There are only two sets of these documents in existence.
This is the original, and the Tsar has the copy. The time
has not yet arrived to publish these documents. 35
He hesitated a while, then added:

"I have another appointment now which will take about
an hour. If you like, you may go into my library with
these documents and examine them. You are at liberty
to use any of the documents you can copy during this hour.
But do not mention that you received them from me."

I examined the documents for half an hour, and then
copied for half an hour. Among the various reports I found
unpublished cablegrams which President Roosevelt had sent
during the Portsmouth Peace Conference direct to the Tsar,
through American Ambassador Meyer. I knew that these
cablegrams, which threw a most interesting light on Roose
velt as peacemaker, had not been made public in America,
and later I learned that Roosevelt had sent them to the
Tsar without the knowledge of Count Witte, Russia's chief
plenipotentiary at the Portsmouth Conference. So I se
lected these documents for reproduction. Exactly at the

326

ROOSEVELT LETTERS 327

end of the hour, the huge figure of Count Witte appeared
in the doorway of the library.

"Now I am interested to see what you have chosen," he
said, smiling.

I pointed to the Roosevelt cablegrams.

"I must compliment you. You have selected the most
interesting of all these documents," he remarked. "Roose
velt did not know that the Tsar transmitted the cable
grams to me."

I brought these documents back with me to America and
published them in The New York Times.

Some time afterward, when Roosevelt became the con
tributing editor of The Outlook^ he asked me how I had
secured his cablegrams. I told him that while I was not
at liberty to divulge the name of the man from whom I
had secured the copies, I was absolutely certain that they
were authentic, and therefore I published them.

He smiled broadly and said:

"They are authentic, but I am curious to know who gave
them to you. The only reason I am sorry you published
them is that I intended to publish them first in my auto
biography."

The following is President Roosevelt's First Cablegram
to Ambassador Meyer, August 9, 1905':

"Please see his Majesty personally immediately and de
liver the following message from me :

"I earnestly ask your Majesty to believe that in what I
am about to say and to advise I speak as the earnest friend
of Russia and give you the advice I should give if I were
a Russian patriot and statesman. The Japanese have, as
I understand it, abandoned their demands for the interned

328 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

ships and the limitation of the Russian naval power in the
Pacific, which conditions I felt were improper for Russia to
yield to. Moreover, I find out to my surprise and pleasure
that the Japanese are willing to restore the north half of
Saghalien to Russia, Russia, of course, in such case to pay
a substantial sum for this surrender of territory by the
Japanese and for the return of Russian prisoners.

"It seems to me that if peace can be obtained substan
tially on these terms, it will be both just and honorable,
and that it would be a dreadful calamity to have the war
continued when peace can thus be obtained.

"Of the twelve points which the plenipotentiaries have
been discussing, on eight they have come to a substantial
agreement. Two, which were offensive to Russia, the
Japanese will, as I understand it, withdraw. The remain
ing two can be met by agreement in principle that the
Japanese shall restore or retrocede to Russia the north half
of Sakhaline, while Russia of course, pays an adequate sum
for this retrocession and for Russian prisoners. If this
agreement can be made the question as to the exact amount
can be a subject of negotiation.

cr Let me repeat how earnestly I feel that it is for Russia's
interests to conclude peace on substantially these terms.
No one can foretell the continuance of war, and I have no
doubt that it is to Japan's advantage to conclude peace.
But in my judgment it is infinitely more to the advantage
of Russia. If peace is not made now, and war is continued,
it may well be that, though the financial strain upon Japan
would be severe, yet in the end Russia would be shorn of
those East Siberian provinces which have been won for her
by the heroism of her sons during the last three centuries.
The proposed peace leaves the ancient boundaries absolutely

ROOSEVELT LETTERS 329

intact. The only change in territory will be that Japan
will recover that part of Saghalien which was hers up to
thirty years ago. As Saghalien is an island, it is, humanly
speaking, impossible that the Russians should reconquer it,
in view of the disaster to their navy, and to keep the north
half of it as a guarantee for the security of Vladivostok
and Eastern Siberia for Russia.

"It seems to me that every consideration of national self-
interest, of military expediency, and of broad humanity,
makes it eminently wise and just for Russia to conclude
peace substantially along these lines, and it is my hope
and prayer that your Majesty may take this.

'THEODORE ROOSEVELT."

President Roosevelt's Second Cablegram to Ambassador
Meyer, August 13, 1905:

"My second cable was forwarded after the arrival of
your first. Japan has now on deposit in the United States
about 50,000 of the last war loan. Please tell His Majesty
that I dislike intruding my advice on him again, but for
fear of misapprehension I venture again to have these state
ments made to him.

"I, of course, would not have him act against his con
science, but I earnestly hope his conscience will guide him
so as to prevent the continuance of war, when this con
tinuance may involve Russia in a greater calamity than has
ever befallen it since it first rose to power in both Europe
and Asia.

"I see it publicly anounced to-day by the Minister for
Foreign Affairs that Russia will neither pay money nor
surrender territory. I beg His Majesty to consider that

330 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

such an announcement means absolutely nothing when
Sakhaline is already in the hands of Japanese. If on such
theory the war is persevered in, no one can foretell the re
sult, but the merged representatives of the Powers most
friendly to Russia assure me that the continuance of the
war will probably mean the loss not merely of Sakhaline,
but of Eastern Siberia, and if after a year of struggle this
proves true, then any peace which came could only come
on terms which would indicate a real calamity.

"Most certainly I think it will be a bad thing for Japan
to go on with the war, but I think it will be a far worse
thing for Russia. There is now a fair chance of getting
peace on honorable terms, and it seems to me that it will be
a dreadful thing for Russia and the civilized world if the
chance is thrown away. My advices are that the plenipo
tentiaries at Portsmouth have come to a substantial agree
ment on every point except the money question and the
question of Sakhaline.

"Let it now be announced that as regards these two points
peace shall be made on the basis of the retrocession of the
north half of Sakhaline to Russia on payment of a sum of
redemption of money by Russia, the amount of this redemp
tion of money and the amount to be paid for the Russian
prisoners to be settled by further negotiations. This does
not commit the Russian Government as to what sum shall
be paid, leaving it open to further negotiation.

cc lf it is impossible for Russia and Japan to come to an
agreement on this sum, they might possibly call in the ad
vice of, say, some high French or German official appointed
by or with the consent of Russia and some English official
appointed by or with the consent of Japan, and have these
later then report to the negotiators. This, it seems to me,

ROOSEVELT LETTERS 33*

would be an entirely honorable way of settling the diffi
culty. I cannot, of course, guarantee that Japan will agree
to this proposal, but if His Majesty agrees to it I will en
deavor to get the Japanese Government to do likewise.

CC I earnestly hope that this cable of mine can receive His
Majesty's attention before the envoys meet to-morrow, and
I cannot too strongly say that I feel that peace now may
prevent untold calamities in the future. Let me repeat
that in this proposal I suggest that neither Russia nor
Japan do anything but face accomplished facts, and that
I do not specify or attempt to specify the amount to be
paid as redemption money for the north half of Sakhaline
to be settled by further negotiation. I fear that if these
terms are rejected it may not be possible that 'Japan will
give up the idea of making peace or of ever getting money,
and she will decide to take and to keep Sakhaline and Har
bin and the whole Siberian Manchurian Railway, and this,
of course, would mean that she would take Eastern Siberia.

"Such a loss to Russia would, in my judgment, be a dis
aster of portentous size, and I earnestly desire to save Rus
sia from such a risk. If peace is made on the terms I have
mentioned, Russia is left at the end of this war substan
tially unharmed, the national honor and interest saved, and
the result of what Russians have done in Asia since the
days of Ivan the Terrible unimpaired.

"But if peace is now rejected, and if Japan decides that
it is better she will give up the idea of obtaining any re
demption money or any other sum, no matter how small,
the military situation is such that there is at least a good
chance, and on estimate of most outside observers a strong
probability, that though Japan will have to make heavy
sacrifices she will yet take Harbin, Vladivostok, and East-

332 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

em Siberia, and if this is once done the probabilities are
overwhelming that she could never be dislodged.

"I cannot too strongly state my conviction that while
peace in accordance with the suggestions above outlined
is earnestly to be desired, from the standpoint of the whole
world and from the standpoint of both combatants, yet that,
far above all, it is chiefly to Russia's interest and perhaps
to her vital interest that it should corne in this way and
at this time.

"THEODORE ROOSEVELT."

After interviewing Roosevelt at the request of Witte,
in 1913, in regard to a report that Was circulated abroad
to the effect that Japan was really tottering at the time of
the Portsmouth Peace Conference and that she had induced
Roosevelt to assume the role of peacemaker, Roosevelt
wrote me the following characteristic letter:

February TO, 1913*
"Dear Mr. Bernstein:

" . . . You could have added to the statement you made
to Count Witte, that it was also a preposterous falsehood
to assert that any representative of the Japanese Govern
ment had directly or indirectly asked me to forward the
negotiations on the ground that Japan was getting exhausted
and could not continue the war.

"Faithfully yours,

"THEODORE ROOSEVELT."

In 1917 Theodore Roosevelt wrote the following intro
duction to my volume containing the "Willy Nicky Tele
grams," the secret correspondence between the Kaiser and

ROOSEVELT LETTERS 333

the Tsar, which I had secured in Russia and which I made
public throughout the world:

Sagamore Hill, November 6tk, 1917*

"My dear Mr. Bernstein^

"I congratulate you on the noteworthy service you have
rendered by the discovery and publication of these letters.
They illuminate, with a glare like a flashlight, the dark
places of diplomacy of despots; they show what diplomacy
in autocratic nations really is, and what it has done and
sought to do, right up to the present time. The whole
world ought now to understand that the despotism of Ger
many was one of plot and intrigue no less than of ruthless
brutality and barbarism, and that with a cynically com
plete absence of all sense of international morality and good
faith it sought to bend to its purpose of evil the poor feeble
puppet who at the moment embodied the despotism of Rus
sia. These letters should be made familiar to all civilized
peoples.

"They show the folly of the men who would have us be
lieve that any permanent escape from anarchy in Russia
can come from the re-establishment of the autocracy, which
was itself the prime cause of that anarchy for the gov
ernmental condition was so intolerable that they put a
premium on the production of lawless violence in the ranks
of the lovers of liberty and justice and fair play to all.

"They show, furthermore, the wicked folly of all who
would now treat with the German despotism for a negoti
ated peace, a peace without victory, a peace into which the
wrong-doer and the wronged would enter on equal terms.
This war was made by the militaristic and capitalistic
autocracy of Germany, and it was acquiesced in and even

334 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

promoted by the German socialistic party, which thereby
proved itself traitorous to the workingmen and farmers of
the world. With these documents before them, no Amer
icans who hereafter directly or indirectly support the Prus
sianized Germany of the Hohenzollerns can claim to stand
in good faith for human rights, for equal justice, and for
the liberty of small well-behaved nations.

"Let me repeat, my dear sir, that in publishing these
letters you have rendered a signal service to this nation and
to all mankind.

cc Very sincerely yours

"THEODORE ROOSEVELT."

WOODROW WILSON

WOODROW WILSON was a great idealist, and as a great
idealist he was disillusioned. His tragedy lay in the fact
that he was so far ahead of his time. The future genera
tions of America will learn how to value the fine heritage
of idealism he has bequeathed to the world.

"Fifty years from now there will be more plays written
about Woodrow Wilson than there have been about Na
poleon or any other distinguished personage in history.
There is in his life a greater drama than Shakespeare ever
pictured."

This statement, made several years ago by Alexander
Moissi, the famous European actor, displayed a deep under
standing of the dramatic in the life of the greatest Amer
ican of our day, the supreme idealist who died this year,
and who is destined to rank with Lincoln in the history of
America.

The dramatic rise of Woodrow Wilson to heights rarely
before reached by a human being, and his disillusionment
will be better estimated in the years to come, for the events
are too close at present to be seen in their proper perspective.

When Woodrow Wilson entered American political life,
a new force made itself felt immediately, a great moral
force with a passion for righteousness, for social justice,
for a new freedom, for universal peace. Woodrow Wilson
was a new type of American politician-statesman, strong
and keen, determined to translate into life his lofty theories
and humanitarian doctrines. But he was not a mere

335

336 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

dreamer. His idealism and his dreams had a practical
basis. He looked farther into the future than most of his
contemporaries, and his tragedy lay in the fact that he
was far ahead of his time and therefore he was so often
misunderstood.

During the World War, Wilson grew into the most im
portant world figure, not only as the President of the great
est, richest and most powerful republic, but as the voice of
mankind. His utterances carried a new hope to the world.
It was as though in the madhouse of slaughter in Europe
there suddenly appeared the conscience of a great young
people the aroused conscience of America and President
Wilson's simplest words, his finely-woven phrases embody
ing lofty ideals, sounded like a new gospel preached from
Sinai. His formula of "self-determination of nations,"
though borrowed from the Russian radicals, thrilled the
oppressed peoples everywhere with new hopes and filled
them with yearnings for national self-expression. His ad
vocacy of the League of Nations throbbed with sincerity,
with almost naive simplicity and with deep faith.

Out of the turmoil of combat, amid bloodshed and tears,
above the din of cannon, came his ringing words that
sounded like a new Sermon on the Mount, a new Ten
Commandments. And the people, clamoring for a ray of
hope, trusted Wilson's ideals implicitly.

I do not know whether the following anecdote is true or
not. It is said that Clemenceau once asked President Wil
son lightly: C Why do you insist upon your Fourteen
Points when Moses gave only Ten Commandments to the
world?" To this Mr. Wilson is said to have re
plied: "If you will guarantee that we can carry out the
Ten Commandments at the Peace Conference I would be

WOODROW WILSON 337

only too willing to give up my Fourteen Points." This
story may be a legend, but it is characteristic that such
legends have grown up around the personality of Woodrow
Wilson.

He came to Europe as the great peacemaker. The peo
ple, particularly the oppressed nations, saw in him one of
the world's greatest prophets the embodiment of their
hope and their salvation. The people worshipped him in
Italy, in Belgium, in Czecho-Slovakia; they lighted ikons
for him even in distant Siberia, and the defeated peoples
saw in him their redeemer. His tour through Europe
called forth a spontaneous ovation such as no king or re
ligious leader ever received.

The statesmen and politicians of the victorious nations
feared and respected him. They knew the energy, enter
prise and determination of America the great young giant
across the seas, and they feared Wilson as the head of that
giant. They dared not oppose him, even when they
shrugged their shoulders at his excessive idealism. Dur
ing the war they realized the effect of his sermons to hu
manity, they knew that those sermons were breaking down
the morale of the Central Powers because the people every
where believed him, and the Allied statesmen tried to con
vey the impression that they agreed with him by maintain
ing silence.

There is one definite, concrete service which Woodrow
Wilson rendered to the world and which will be remem
bered after most of the statesmen of to-day have passed
away and are forgotten. It will be recorded by future
historians among the greatest achievements of our age. It
was Wilson who actually broke down the Hohenzollern
dynasty and crushed Kaiserism. It was he who first dared

338 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

raise his voice against the militarist autocracy of Germany
when the other statesmen were silent. They never wanted
the downfall of Kaiserism, they could' not conceive that it
was possible to overthrow it. Wilson directed the moral
and physical forces of America against Kaiserism and
crushed it. It was a monumental achievement.

When it became known that Mr. Wilson would per
sonally conduct the peace negotiations in Paris, the Euro
pean statesmen became alarmed at first. They feared
America as a new dictator in international affairs.

But Wilson was not familiar with the petty intrigues
of European diplomacy, with its age-old rivalries and
jealousies, and the great peacemaker, caught in the laby
rinth of European diplomatic entanglements, found himself
forced to yield and yield for the sake of maintaining peace
in the Peace Conference. He believed in himself, in his
ideals, he felt absolutely convinced that he was but voicing
the desires and hopes of the American people, and for the
sake of attaining his great ideal, the instrument through
which a durable and righteous peace could be secured, he
forced himself to make concession after concession. But
when he raised his voice in protest against secret treaties
in the matter of Fiume it was too late. His utterances
seemed to have lost their charm. The miracle seemed at
an end. And the concessions which Wilson was forced to
make led to compromises that prevented the peace treaties
from becoming real instruments of righteousness and dur
able peace. Europe, with millions of bodies strewn over
her fields during the war, was now strewn with dead hopes.

I saw President Wilson in the Hotel Crillon, in Paris,
on the day before he returned to America. I heard him
speak to a group of American correspondents about the

WOODROW WILSON 339

peace treaty. He was still inspired. He defended his
acts and his concessions on that occasion much more effec
tively than at any time after his return to America. He
realized that the peace treaty was not a perfect document,
but that it was the best that could have been secured under
the circumstances. He had fought for his ideal, and while
he was compelled to yield on numerous points, the others
at the Peace Conference were compelled by him to yield
still more.

I shall never forget his brief answer to one of the cor
respondents who asked him whether he believed that Amer
ica should concern herself with all the troubles of the world.

cr Wherever injustice is done, whether it be done to a
large group or to a small group, the moral force of Amer
ica must be there to defend those who are wronged or
oppressed."

When the Russian passport question began to stir the
sense of justice of the American people, when Russia dis
criminated against a certain portion of the people because
of their religious belief, and the spirit of the best Amer
ican people was aroused against such discriminations, Wil
son delivered an address that was the most inspiring and
most important contribution to the cause of equal rights
for all American citizens. In that famous speech he said:

"There lies a principle back of our life. America is
not a mere body of traders; it is a body of free men. Our
greatness is built upon our freedom is moral, not ma
terial. We have a great ardor for gain; but we have a
deep passion for the rights of man. Principles lie back of
our action. America would be inconceivable without
them. These principles are not incompatible with great
material prosperity. On the contrary, unless we are deeply

340 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

3

mistaken, they are indispensable to it. We are not willing
to have prosperity, however, if our fellow citizens must suf
fer contempt for it, or lose the rights that belong to every
American in order that we may enjoy it. The price is too
great.

"Here is a great body of our Jewish fellow citizens,
from whom have sprung men of genius in every walk of
our very life ; men who have become part of the very stuff
of America, who have conceived its ideals with singular
clearness and led its enterprise with spirit and sagacity.
They are playing a particularly conspicuous part in build
ing up the very prosperity of which our Government has so
great a stake in its dealings with the Russian Government
with regard to the rights of men. They are not Jews in
America; they are American citizens. In this great matter
with which we deal, we speak for them as for rep
resentatives and champions of principles which underlie the
very structure of our Government. They have suddenly be
come representatives of us all. By our actions for them
shall be tested our sincerity, our genuineness, the reality
of principle among us."

In a letter, dated July 5, 1911, Governor Wilson wrote
me about the Russian passport question as follows:

. . "I do not see how there can be any divergence of
feeling among patriotic Americans regarding the situation
in Russia with regard to the religious discriminations made
by the Russian Government. The principle involved ad
mits of no argument."

On January 23, 1912, Mr. Wilson wrote to me on the
same matter as follows :

"We have certainly abundant reason for thinking that

WOODROW WILSON 341

Russia has failed to keep her obligations under the
treaty. . . ."

In September, 1911, when Woodrow Wilson was a can
didate for the Presidency, I had the privilege to introduce
him at the National Arts Club to a delegation of about
one hundred journalists and editors of foreign language
newspapers who gathered there for the discussion of the
problem of immigration. Addressing the editors, I
said: "You who have come to this country from various
parts of Europe in quest of a home and of liberty, you are
all American or striving to be American. You have
brought with you your best traditions; your lofty ideals;
your energy and earnestness; your love for your great liter
atures and your great cultures; the great past of your na
tions, and here in the land of tolerance and equal oppor
tunity you are working out your future together with the
great future of the American people. We are all deeply
interested in a better America, and the better America will
be, the better will be the rest of the world."
And Woodrow Wilson said on that occasion:
"I have always pleased myself with the idea that Amer
ica in some degree exists in spirit all over the world, and
that there are men coming to these shores who have dis
played their force in our affairs, who bring to America a
more vivid conception of what it means than those of us
who were born and bred here ourselves entertain. ... If
I go to the country reputed to be a country of equality and
liberty, I must expect to find constant visible and open signs
of liberty and equality; and therefore, I carry to that coun
try a demand which that country must satisfy. I carry it
because I was really, without knowing it, born an American.

342 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

I wanted that thing that I thought I could get in America,
and therefore broke the tender connections of old associa
tions, the intimate connections of a birthplace and went
to a far country looking for an Ideal.

"I close as I began, by a very respectful protest against
calling yourself foreign editors or anything with the word
foreign in it. Your newspapers and magazines are pub
lished in languages which are not the general language of
America, which is modified English, but at this stage of the
melting-pot process every language in which you print a
paper is largely used in the United States, and is used for
the conveyance of American ideas. Now, I would just as
well Americanize a language as Americanize an individual,
and I welcome the process by which you are Americanizing
other foreign languages as the rest of us have Americanized
English, or speaking as someone wittily said, the 'English
Slanguage/ All my interest is that you shouldn't regard
the language in which you print your periodicals as a
foreign language when printed in America for the convey
ance of American thinking. Then we will have taken an
other step toward that combination of elements which is in
the long run going to make America more varied, I dare
say, in its natural gifts, more variegated in its genius than
any other country in the world/'

In July, 1914, President Wilson was reported to have
made the following statement in the course of an address at
the dedication of the American University:

"That is the reason why scholarship has usually been
most fruitful when associated with religion, and scholar
ship has never, so far as I can at this moment recall, been
associated with any religion except the religion of Jesus
Christ."

WOODROW WILSON 343

I wrote him a note inquiring whether he was quoted cor
rectly in the press, adding:

"I feel quite certain that you know that true scholar
ship has ever been and is now the very essence and founda
tion of Judaism, the religion which gave birth to Chris
tianity. It seems to me that it would, therefore, be unfair
to exclude Judaism from the religions with which scholar
ship has been intimately associated."

On July 9, President Wilson made public the following
letter addressed to me :

"I am sorry that there should have been any unfair im
plication in what I said at the opening of the American
University last week. You may be sure that there was
nothing of the kind in my mind, for there certainly is noth
ing in my thought that would discriminate in the important
matter you speak of, against Judaism.

"I find that one of the risks and penalties of extempo
raneous speaking is that you do not stop to consider the
whole field but address yourself merely to the matter di
rectly in hand."

Woodrow Wilson has often been described as a cold,
unfeeling, thinking machine. The people who character*
ized him thus did not know him. They knew neither his
wonderful sense of humor, nor his deep sympathies for the
suffering and the oppressed.

I remember how deeply he was moved when I related to
him the sufferings of the people in Palestine during the
early stages of the war, when they needed food and medi
cines and there was no way of sending these to them at the
time. The Jewish relief committee had made vain ef
forts to secure a boat to send food supplies and medicines.
At the request of Dr. Magnes, of the Relief Committee,

344 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

I took the matter up with the big-hearted, fair-minded
Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, who was sym
pathetically inclined to help the suffering people of the
Holy Land Jews, Christians and Moslems but he feared
that it would be impossible to send the food supplies and
medicines on a Government boat, as that would establish a
precedent, and other nations might ask for the same form
of relief.

I then called on President Wilson and familiarized him
with the tragic situation that prevailed in Palestine at the
time. I told him that I had discussed the matter with
Secretary Daniels and that Mr. Daniels had explained to
me the difficulty of having such supplies sent on an Amer
ican transport. President Wilson was moved to tears.
Then he said :

"It may be that an American ship will go in that direc
tion before long. Ask Secretary Daniels to let you know
when such a ship will start for the Mediterranean, and he
will arrange to have space for food supplies and medicines
to be shipped to the suffering people in the Holy Land."

Within two weeks I received a telegram from Secretary
Daniels notifying me that the Vulcan was starting for the
Orient and that the Relief Committee would have space for
nine hundred tons of food supplies and medicines at its
disposal.

When I sent President Wilson a message of thanks, he
wrote me as follows :

"Your telegram gratified and touched me very deeply.
You may be sure I was exceedingly happy to do what I
could to help and I was delighted to find that one of our
ships was bound in that direction/'

WOODROW WILSON 345

I met Woodrow Wilson many times, both as Governor of
New Jersey and as President of the United States.

Discussing the literacy test for immigrants, he said to me
one day: "This is an unfair and unjust test for immi
grants. Criminals and charlatans, who come to these shores
to carry on injurious propaganda here or to enrich themselves
by questionable methods, will not be barred by the literacy
test. They can all read and write. But many of those
who come here to flee religious or political persecution, who
have been denied the opportunity to acquire the knowledge
of reading and writing, would be barred from America by
this test, even though they are honest and hard-working
men and women, seeking equal opportunity, eager to adapt
themselves to American standards of life and ready to con
tribute to America's wealth."

During the early period of the World War, before the
United States had entered it, President Wilson remarked
to me at the White House :

"Since the Germans accuse me of being pro-Ally, and the
Allies believe that I am pro-German, I know that I am
pursuing the right course of neutrality the right course
for America."

In 1914, when I established The Day, the national
Jewish daily, President Wilson sent me the following

letter:

"The White House, Washington,

"October 7, 1924.

"My dear Mr, Bernstein:

"I am greatly interested in what you tell me of the pro
jected daily to be entitled The Day and am heartily glad
to know that you are to be its editor and moving spirit. I

346 THE CELEBRITIES OF OUR TIME

have learned to entertain the highest esteem for you and
to believe that you are devoted sincerely not only, but in a
disinterested way, to the advancement of the highest inter
ests of the Jewish people in America. I congratulate them
upon having such an editor for such a paper as that which
you are planning to issue.

"Cordially and sincerely yours

"WOODROW WILSON."

The following are a few characteristic letters I received
from President Wilson:

"The White House, Washington^
"March 18, jrprj.

"My dear Mr. "Bernstein:

"I have your telegram of yesterday about my little essay
just republished. I doubt my right to authorize its pub
lication as you suggest, but would be very glad if the pub
lishers would give their consent.

"If you should publish it, pray let me know. There is a
passage which ought to be changed. I had not read the
essay since it was first published many years ago in the
Century Magazine.

"Cordially and sincerely yours,

<c Wooi>ROw WILSON."

"The White House, Washington,
"June 16, 1916.
"My dear Mr. Bernstein:

"Your letter of June twelfth is appreciated and has had
my careful consideration. I hope sincerely that the plank
which is to be inserted in our platform will seem to you to

WOODROW WILSON 347

speak the right doctrine. It certainly seems to me to do
so. One has to be very careful nowadays not to commit
the governing party of the country to any course of action
which might interfere with, rather than set forward, its
hopes in this matter by seeming to foreshadow a course
which would irritate,, rather than help.

* 'Sincerely yours
cc WooDROw WILSON/'

"The White House^ Washington ,
"Shadow Lawn, September 20^ 1916.
"My dear Mr. Bernstein:

"Your plan for a special issue of your magazine has in
terested me very much and I avail myself of the opportu
nity to express my deep interest in the work you are doing
for the Jews of America. I hope that they feel, as I am
sure you do, that America is a real home in which all forces
work together for justice and fair dealing, and I am sure
that I need not assure you or them of my genuine interest
in my fellow-citizens of Hebrew extraction. No man who
knows the history of America, or, indeed, of the world,
could fail to appreciate their notable contributions to in
dustry, philanthropy, intellectual development, and polit
ical liberty.

"Cordially and sincerely yours

"WOODROW WILSON."

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