Meanwhile,
the people of Berlin hiss him and sing rebel songs about him on the
review ground at Tempelhof.
Beyond all doubt the King of Prussia got the better of much opposition
when he secured the vote for his commercial treaty with Russia. Our
friends of the north cannot doubt that they have our best wishes, that
their commercial and agrarian position may be improved thereby, but the
more favourable the treaty proves for them, the more we would beg them
to profit by its advantages, but not to allow themselves to be
entangled in its dangerous consequences. If they act thus, if
Germany's sacrifices should prove of benefit only to her neighbours, if
the advantages of influence and penetration aimed at by William II
under cover of this treaty, should be revealed to Russian patriotism,
Germany may prove to be the party deceived.
If William II is clever it is only because of our lack of cleverness
and foresight. It is because we leave the door open that he is able to
make his way in. Prussian policy is completely lacking in honesty. It
forces an entry by all possible means, keeps listening ears at every
door, and weakens its rivals by the dissensions which it creates,
maintains and fosters.
Neither French influence in Russia, nor Russian influence in France,
has ever made use of such methods of procedure as Germany employs in
both our countries. The unwholesome and dangerous penetration of
reptile influences and of espionage, in all its multitudinous forms,
produce effects on our two allied nations, whose consequences are
impossible to over-estimate.
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