Re. 2. The military caste has always ruled the world. Therefore, it is astounding that we have a civilian governor in Alsace; but that is not at issue here. The German Reich presents a military face to the outside world, and it is not accident that Bismarck has always presented himself to the world as a soldier. The soldier as such is also closest to the Kaiser. Moreover, the soldier stands above the parties, not only in the Reichstag but also in the Federal Council, in the ministry. Particularly in light of the great power concentrated in the office of chancellor, the latter ought not to come from those parliamentary and bureaucratic elements striving for power, but only from among the Kaiser's people.
Re. 3. Only if the chancellor is the Kaiser's man is his great power tolerable and possible. If this keystone of German unity, the chancellor, is secure and unshakable in his position, only then is the edifice of the Reich strong enough to withstand all the assaults that target it. If it were possible to scheme with the Kaiser against the chancellor, if one could assume that in the case of draft legislation the Kaiser and the chancellor were not in complete agreement, then the latter is powerless and would have to be removed promptly.
Re. 4. The unshakable relationship between the Kaiser and a new chancellor would also supply the necessary stamp of approval on those measures deemed essential to provide Bismarck's successor with broad support among public opinion. Without that, his authority would prove rather shadowy.
Despite all of the continuing appreciation for Bismarck's services in the past and for the future, in recent years the chancellor has lost public support; his subordinates have also become less willing to toe the line, because he has become an obstacle to the domestic development of Prussia and the Reich. Age has made him egotistical and work-shy. Where his own interests come into play, for instance with regard to changing the income tax, he holds things up. Where a subordinate's assistance is required to draft a piece of legislation, he displays a hostile attitude because he fears that the person he recruits might cast a shadow on him. For example, the creation of a civil code unifying Germany's legal system is not getting anywhere. – If Bismarck's successor immediately applies the wand of power to these neglected issues and yearnings, he can be certain that his appointment will receive enthusiastic approval from well-meaning circles in Germany.
Source: Aus dem Briefwechsel des Generalfeldmarschalls Alfred Grafen von Waldersee [From the Correspondence of General Field Marshall Alfred Count of Waldersee], ed. Heinrich Otto Meisner. Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, 1928, vol. 1, pp. 336-38.
Original German text reprinted in Hans Feske, ed., Im Bismarckschen Reich 1871-1890 [In the Bismarckian Reich 1871-1890]. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1978, pp. 451-54.
Translation: Erwin Fink
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