Many younger
sons after a short term of service in the army, usually as officers
and not as _Einjahriger_ leave the army and enter diplomacy
or some other branch of the government service. The offices of
judge, district attorney, etc., not being elective, this career
as well as that leading to the position of _Landrat_ and
over-president of a province is open to those who, because they
belong to old Prussian landed families, find favour in the eyes
of the government. Much is heard in Germany and out of Germany
of the Prussian Squire or Junker.
There is no leisure class among the, Junkers. They are all workers,
patriotic, honest and devoted to the Emperor and the Fatherland.
If it is possible that government by one class is to be suffered,
then the Prussian Junkers have proved themselves more fit for rule
than any class in all history. Their virtues are Spartan, their
minds narrow but incorruptible, and their bravery and patriotism
undoubted. One can but admire them and their stern virtues. This
class, largely because of its poverty and its constant occupation,
does not travel; nor does the casual tourist or health seeker in
Germany come in contact with these men.
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