Emperor William's announcement with regard to his personal friendship and the interests of the realm may be taken as heralding a new era in German foreign policy. He inaugurated what has been called "personal diplomacy," and felt that it was possible to arrange the relationships between states by personally visiting and conferring with other sovereigns. Shortly after his accession, therefore, he set out on a tour of the European capitals. Bismarck, who planned his foreign relations on the basis of race psychology and possible future clashes of interests, opposed this strenuously. The visit to St. Petersburg (19th to 24th of July, 1888) gave rise to certain unpleasant scenes and was only returned by the Czar in a very perfunctory manner fifteen months later (October 11, 1889). The effect of the friendly attentions shown the Czar on this occasion was doubtless weakened by the fact that, less than three weeks later, Emperor William felt called upon to visit the Sultan, by whom he was most enthusiastically received in Constantinople. Even though the Emperor was most sincere in his desire to preserve friendship with Russia, events were to prove that his method of cultivating diplomatic relations was far less successful than Bismarck's way of working in silence and waiting for events. With regard to the internal administration of the realm, the problem that seemed most pressing to William II was the rapid growth of the Social Democratic party. This problem had already engaged the attention of William I and of Bismarck, who recognized its gravity. But here, too, the Emperor and Chancellor were to disagree. The former felt that he could easily master the situation, as may be seen from his remark to Bismarck: "Leave the Social Democrats to me." He was doubtless sincerely concerned for the welfare of the laborer and recognized in it one of the sources of the prosperity of the state. His policy was to be patriarchal and, bluntly put in Shakespearian phrase, amounted to giving them medicine to make them love him. But if, to change the metaphor, he offered them his hand in a velvet glove, they were, as may be seen from his speech, soon to discover that it was a hand of iron. HONORED GENTLEMEN: I greet you with deep sorrow in my heart, and I know that you grieve with me. The recent memory of my late father's sufferings, the astounding fact that three months after the death of his Majesty, Emperor William I, I am called upon to mount the throne, arouses the same feeling in the hearts of all Germans, and our grief has found a sympathetic response in all countries of the world. Under the weight of this sorrow, I pray God to give me strength to fulfil the high office to which His will has called me.