The Washington times. [volume], October 06, 1918, NATIONAL EDITION, The American Weekly Section, Image 23

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

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The Deceased Wife of Crown Prince
Rnnnlit P RairnhB iXTLn.Al P-jm.t
ature Death Is Said to Have Beenlh-ll
Hastened by His Brutality.
THE cruel persecution ot the pretty
young Grand Duchess Marie Ade
laide, pt Luxemburg, by the Kaiser
and his, agents is one of the most heart
rending tragedies of the war one of those
tragedies which make a plain American
with red blood In his veins swear that he
will put an end to the horrible system of
military autocracy forever. .
The maiden tribute of ancient Athens
to the Cretan i Minotaur was not a more
dreadful sacrifice of girlhood than the
treatment of the Grand Duchess and all
her five little sisters by the Kaiser.
After the Germans lad virtually robbed
the Grand Duchess of her little country,
fcept her practically a prisoner, brow
beaten her and insulted her in many ways,
they committed the 'crowning-outrage of
endeavoring to force a husband upon her.
The Kaiser's plan was to have a German
Prince marry the young Grand Duchess,
control the country In the interests of Ger
many and raise a family who would con
tinue that policy. The Grand Duchess had
fought all the other attempts to enslave her
with great spirit, and this one she rejected
with all the force of her souL
Now the Kaiser has given up his plan of
bullying the little Duchess out of her rights
and has resorted to ruse and treachery.
The astonishing news has Just been of
ficially given to the world of the betrothal
of the Princess Antoinette of Luxemburg,
third sister of the Grand' Duchess and the
Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria.
This reveals the scheme by which the
Kaiser and the German militarists propose
to secure control of the Grand Duchess and
her territory.
Even if there were no political intrigue
behind it this match would be an outrage
upon humanity, for the Crown Prince Is a
brutal, self-indulgent man of fifty, while
the Princess Is an Innocent lltfle girl of
eighteen. But the match Is evidently part
of a deep-laid plot.
If the Grand Duchess does not marry, the
succession to her throne will pass to her
next sister and to her sister's children.
Between herself and the destined bride
there are two other sisters, the Princess
Charlotte, aged twenty-three, and the Prin
cess Hilda, aged twenty. When these two
sisters are eliminated the bride of .the
Bavarian Crown Prince becomes the heir
'to the duchy. No one who is familiar with
Prussian imperialist methods doubts that
the Kaiser's agents are capable of eliminat
ing them. Indeed, there are thousands of
Bavarians who take that view of Prussian
methods, for they believe that their ro
mantic. If eccentric. King Louis was falsely
represented as insane In order that he
might be removed from the path of Prus
sian Imperialist designs.
In the veil of mystery which has bung
over Luxemburg since its seizure by the
Germans there is much uncertainty as to
what has happened to the Grand Duchess
and her sisters. The Princess Antoinette
Is in Munich, and therefore under the con
trol of the Germans, and particularly of
the Bavarian royal family, to which she Is
to be announced. No doubt the doctrine of
Hohenzollern invincibility has been ham
mered into her little head.
Reports have stated at various times
that the Grand Duchess and her two sis
ters, Charlotte and Hilda, saddened by the
conditions that surrounded them. Intend to
enter convents, but this has been denied on
behalf of the girl ruler.
It Is certain, however, that unless the
United. States and the Allies take the settle
ment of all such questions entirely Into
their own hands, a gloomy fate awaits the
Grand Duchess Marie Adelaide, her sister
and her people.
We have evidence that he German Ira-
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"The Prussian imperial vulture has seized the little
sister of the heroic sovereign of the persecuted state
in his horrible claws and there is no hope for her
unless the Allies can intervene quickly."
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The Quaint City of Luxemburg, with Its Parliament House, Capital of
the Little State That Has Been Stolen, Like Belgium, by the Germans
perlal Government would stop at no crime
at no murder, however abhorrent. The
United States Government has shown by
documentary evidence that the German
Imperial Government planned the assas
sination of Russian statesmen not suffi
ciently subservient to Its policy, even after
It had made peace with Russia. In other
countries it has condoned the torture and
murder of women and children by whole
sale. Therefore there is no reason to be
lieve thaj the Kaiser's government would
hesitate at the removal by foul means of
a group of young girls. Princesses of Lux
emburg though they be. who stood in the
path of imperial ambition.
The Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria
is of course well known to the world as the
commander-in-chief of the German armies
facing the British on the Flanders front.
He is considered a successful general, as
princes go, although there is no reason for
regarding him as a genius. He has con
ducted many terrific offensives against the
British, however, and has held his own ob
stinately on the defensive. Certainly he has
made no such horrible failures as the
Prussian Crown Prince has done In his at
tacks at Verdun and his recent attempt on
Paris.
As the heir to Bavaria's throne Rupprecht
is one of the greatest personages In Ger
many, for Bavaria is the second state In
the empire, and Berlin, moreover, is very
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anxious to insure its fidelity, which is not
particularly certain. How strained the re
lations have been can be guessed from the
fact that Rupprecht's father received a
Prussian bullet in the leg while opposing
the advance of the Prussians against Aus
tria in 186G.
Rupprecht, however, has been a consist
ent supporter of Hohenzollern supremacy,
although he also sticks out for a good
share of power for Bavaria. It would be
clever policy from the German imperialist
point of view to place him In control of
Luxemburg, which dominates the eastern
frontier of France and is the strongest nat
ural fortress in Europe.
Beyond admitting that he Is a compe
tent soldier, there is little that is pleasant
to b3 said about Crown Prince Rupprecht.
He has spent most of his life with the
army, and his habits are those of the most
overbearing German cavalry officer. His
first wife, who was ten years younger than
himself, died In early middle age. She
had suffered many illnesses, due to his
brutal treatment of her. At one time she
ran away from him, and European courts
were threatened with another scandal like
that caused by Crown Princess Louise of
Saxony, but before this could happen the
Bavarian Crown Princess was forcibly
brought back to her husband.
In addition to Ill-treating his wife In
various ways, Rupprecht was shameless in
his Infidelity to her. He caroused with
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Fifty-Year-OId Crown Prince Rup
precht of Bavaria, Commander-in-Chief
of the German! on the Flan
den Front, Who Has Become En
gaged to a Girl of Eighteen in Order
to Get Possession of Her Sister'
Territory.
every siren that caught his fancy as reck
lessly as any old time pirate spending hi3
Ill-gotten gold in port
Such is the man into whose clutches an
eighteen-year-old slip of girlhood is to bo
confided in pursuance of militarist policy.
Luxemburg has been a bone of conten
tion between stronger countries for years,
and it has not ceased to be so. In area It
is less than a thousand square miles, and
it has a population of 250.000. The people
are very mixed In origin, having French,
Belgian, Dutch and German relationships.
They are, however, like the Swiss, unanl
Great Britain Rights Reserved.
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The Grand Duchess Marie Adelaide of Luxemburg (in Chair oa the
Right) with Her Sisters, the Princesses Charlotte, Hilda1, Antoinette, -Elizabeth
and Sophie. The Princess Antoinette, Affianced to
Prince Rupprecht, Is the Standing Figure al the Extreme Left,
The Cynical "Romance" of Fifty-Year-Old
Prince Rupprecht of
Bavaria and the Child Sister of
the Unhappy Grand Duchess
Who Has Withstood All
Attempts to Bully or Trick Her
Into a Marriage with a German
Prince and the Threat It Holds
Against Her and Her Sisters
mously opposed to annexation to any
stronger neighbor. .
Luxemburg is somewhat like Switzer
land on a smaller scale, a mass of moun
tains, woods and swift rivers. It contains
some of the most valuable coal mines in
Europe. i
Being so rough and mountainous, Lux
emburg is a country In which an army
cannot maneuvre. On the other hand, as
a defensive position it is nearly impreg
nable. It lies just off the northeastern corner of
France. North of It Is the flat country of
Belgium. South of It is the flat plain in
which Sedan Is situated, through which
Prussia Invaded France In 187Q. Hence it
will be seen that control of Luxemburg
gives an enormous advantage to Germany
or France, as the case may be. Since 1870
the Germans -have const-ucted strategic
railroads concentrating in Luxemburg, so
that they could make It a point of attack
on France.
Immediately on the outbreak of war they
rushed their troops into Luxemburg. The
Grand Duchess met them in her carriage
in- the middle of the road at the frontier
and forbade them to enter. Of course
they turned her back, ordered her Into her
palace and put a German guard over her.
Resistance by Luxemburg was out of the
question, for the little country maintained
an army of only 250 men.
Chancellor von Bethmann Hollweg admit
ted in the Reichstag: "The occupation of
Luxemburg is contrary to the law of na
tions and the protest of the Grand Ducal
Government is justified. Wo shall repair
the harm we caused as soon as our mili
tary object is attained."
In spite of this assurance the Germans
took everything they could lay their
hands on In Luxemburg coal, iron, food,
money, everything worth taking. Hun
dreds of Luxemburgers were executed for
acts displeasing to the Geman-.
And then the German Government paid
Luxemburg $100,000 as compensation,
while the German newspapers bragged
about their generosity. The property
taken was worth millions!
From the first Invasion of Luxemburg
the personal persecution of the Grand
Duchess began. No Luxemburger was al
lowed to ride In a carriage or auto in his
own country without a permit from the
German authorities. This rule was applied
to the Grand Duchess herself, although
she protested most vigorously to the Kai
ser. The Kaiser has spent a great deal of his
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time In Luxemburg since the outbreak of
the war. It Is convenient to the occupied
region of northern France, and offers a
rather safe and pleasant retreat. It is an
exceedingly picturesque, romantic corner
of the world, and its capital city, also
called Luxemburg, Is one of its greatest
gems.
The Grand Duchess is a very bright as
well as pretty young girl and has en
deared herself to the people by her simple,
unaffected manners.
Entertaining stories are told of verbal
encounters between the Grand Duchess
and the Kaiser. It Is related that the "All
Highest,' looking out of the Duchess's pat
ace window, asked:
"What is that interesting old building
over there?"
"Ah!" said the Grand Duchess, "that Is
where Louis XIV.'s general, the Marquis
de Crequy, dictated peace to the Elector of
Brandenburg" (the Kaiser's ancestor).
The Grand Duchess Marie Adelaide be
longs to a very remarkable family group.
She Is one of six sisters, and has, of course,
no brothers. All the sisters are attractive.
The mother was known as one of the most
beautiful princesses of Europe, but her
life was -made miserable by the long and
unbroken series of daughters she bore.
Immediately after the Germans had
stolen Luxemburg the Kaiser began his
cruel attempts to force the Grand Duchess
into marriage with a German prince, in
order that he might kept his clutches per
manently on the little state.
He first suggested that she should mar
ry his young nephew. Prince Waldemar of
Prussia, son of his qrother Henry. His
Majesty considered it an honor to permit
ner to marry tnis young princeling,
thought otherwise.
She
"I will die before I will marry htm," an
swered the Grand Duchess.
Other German princes were proposed as
husbands, but with the same result.
The Kaiser, It Is reported, then tried to
marry his kinsmen to the next two
princesses, Charlotte and Hilda, hut they
answered:
"We will die before we will marry them."
They stayed close to the grand ducal
home and defied their perseuctors, bufc the
fourth sister, Antoinette, allowed herself to
tbe lured Into Germany, as we have seen,
with the result that she has oeen affianced
to the elderly Crown Prince of Bavaria.
The remaining sisters, the Princesses
Elizabeth and Sophie, are only eight and
six years old respectively.
Our Yankee soldier boys will fight with
even more fury when they know that they
are helping to save the pretty little prin
cess of Luxemburg from cruel persecu
tion. """ K