As he said, when he made his speech from the balcony, he hoped that German swords should only be drawn to protect the fatherland. But after war was once declared he showed, by the way he talked and discussed war matters with his generals, that he was a worthy pupil of the great Von Moltke, and a firsthand strategist. For he had not forgotten Von Bulow's plea to his countrymen, that under no circumstance would France pardon or forget the seizure of Alsace Lorraine by the victorious Germans of 1870. On this head he writes: "When we consider our relations with France, we must not forget that she is unappeased. So far as man can tell, the ultimate aim of French policy for many years to come will be to create necessary conditions which to-day are still wanting for a settlement with Germany, with good prospects of success." Of Anglo-German relations Bismark wrote: "England is certainly disquieted by our rising power at sea and our competition which incommodes her at many points. Without doubt there are still Englishmen who think that if the troublesome German would disappear from the face of the earth England would only gain by it. But, between such sentiments in England and the fundamental feeling in France, there is a marked difference which finds corresponding expression in politics. France would attack us if she were strong enough. England would only do so if she thought she could not defend her vital economic and political interests except by force." Though Europe was on the brink of war time and again during the twenty-six years of his reign, the Emperor always cast his vote for peace, as one of our great statesmen, William H. Taft, said on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Emperor's reign: "The proof of the pudding is in the eating. When the German Emperor went upon the throne and developed his independence of Bismark and his intention to exercise his own will in the discharge of his high functions, there were many prophecies that this meant disturbance of the peace of Europe. Instead of that the truth of history requires the verdict, that considering the critically important part which has been his among the nations, he has been for the last quarter of a century the greatest single individual force in the practical maintenance of peace in the world." Likewise Theodore Roosevelt says of him, he was "The one man outside this country from whom I obtained help in bringing about the Peace of Portsmouth, was his Majesty William II. From no other nation did I receive any assistance, but the Emperor personally and through his Embassador in St. Petersburg, was of real aid in helping to induce Russia to face the accomplished fact and come to an agreement with Japan--an agreement the justice of which to both sides was conclusively shown by the fact that neither side was satisfied with it.