Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1893-09-07
LEADERS AND RULERS.
How Some Common Names and Titles Came
to Be Applied.

How Some Common Names and Titles Came
to Be Applied.
There are heaps of history in titles.
For instance, take that of the prince Of
Wales" This title is always given to
the eldest son of the ruler reigning over
England, and it came in this way:
Wales is now part of the kingdom of
Great Britain, as Ireland and Scotland
are. But once for long time Wales
was separate kingdom. At last the
English conquered it, and then after
that there were always plots and rebel
lions among the Welsh people. By and
by an English king went with his queen
into Wales to see if the Welsh were i'll
treated, and if they were to try to make
things easier and pleasanter for them.
The Welsh mobiles and leaders all came
together to meet their English king and
to complain to him.
But the king gave them no chance to
speak. He rose and told them he had
heard they wanted prince of their own,
and that he meant to give them one-a
born Welshman and speaking no other
language.
Then, as the Welsh joyfully cheered as
loud as they could, he fetched out his
baby son, born the night before in the
Welsh castle, and of course the baby
could speak no other language" as he
was not able to speak at all. Ever since
the eldest son of the English royal fami-
ly has been called the prince of Wales"
lot
for king" is a word that comes from
"koenig," which means wise" or
''knowing man." l suppose the first
rulers-the heads or kings of small tribes
came to be so by knowing more" by
being wiser" than the other men of the
tribe.
Gear" and ''kaiser" both came from
the Latin word caesar" the title of the
great conquering Roman rulers, whose
only law was their own will.
The czar of Russia and the young
Kaiser William of Germany have much
more power over their subjects than the
queen of England has over the people of
England. Sultan" is another such title,
and it comes from an Arabic word,
which means absolute lord"
Grover Cleveland's title, president"
means one appointed to sit before or
over others. 1t comes from the two
Latin words ''pra," which means "be
FORE" and "sideo," which means ito sit.
The title shows that the presidents bust
ness is to sit before or above the law
makers and carry out and execute the
laws they frame. This is why the presi-
dent is sometimes called the 'chief ex-
ecutive."
Captain" means ''head man." It
comes from the word "caput," which
means 'sthe head" Colonel" comes
from the same Latin root word as ''col-
umn," and the title no doubt rose from
the regimental practice of marching or
attacking in column, with their COM
mander at the head.
As to the two titles democrat" and
Republican" when small boy hears
them he generally thinks of one or the
other of those political parties as the
people who are not of his fathers way
of thinking. It will do him no harm to
know exactly what each of these party
titles really means.
Democrat" comes from the Greek
word "demos," which means 1.-The peo-
ple," and from ''kratos," which means
''power." So a democrat" is one who
believes in the power or sovereignty Of
the people, each acting as nearly as may
be for himself.
Republican" comes from the Latin
words ''res publica,' which mean ''for
the common good."-Chicago Inter
Ocean.