The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-06-26
DEEPLY IN DEBT.
The Prince Of Wales Owes Vas
Sums OF Money.
his Royal Highness Often subjectes .
Deep Humiliation by Requests from
Creditors-The TraRby Croft
BaccArat Incident.

4
question, even approximately, offhand
For 30 years at least his books hau
shown a balance on the wrong side. ant
despite the large sums annually passing
into his strong box, the deficit is be
lieved to have increased every yea
with gloomy regularity. In 1884 III
was said to be getting. from all source
combined, about 5000. 200 year. Wha'
his gross income is now it would puzzh
anybody to find out Mr.. Gladstone
in 1889, with that knightly Difference
to the dynastic principle which has al
ways been SO marked characteristic
in him land which has been constantly
repaid by the most spiteful ingrati
tude from at least the head of thu
dynasty), passed through the house o.
commons measure to consolidate, re
arrange and otherwise reform tn,
whole business of royal grants, with
particular reference to the prince oil
Wales and his family. Mr.. Gladston,
vouched for the bill in speech of grea;
earnestness and eloquence. and it went
through all right, but have never me,
anyone who felt sure that he under
stood the exact effect of its provisions
1t was assumed, however, that it Ger
tainly left the prince no worse off thaI
be was before, and it did, in one re
Bpect. definitely increase his specified
income by creating a new grant o,
S18O,000 year to him for his children
this to be in lieu of further gratis
to them as individuals during his life.
time. Since then his elder son has died
and his elder daughter has married
banker-peer, who is also an intimate
friend of the prince, and who. we may
be sure, has relieved him from the
necessity of accounting for that par.
ticular fourth of the grant. Another
daughter, Princess Maud, is to wed
cousin Of the Danish family, who will
be handsomely provided for from q
financial point of view, and it may be
taken for granted that here, too, nc
heavy outlay is to be dreaded by the
prince, her father.
The prince of Wales still has, there.
fore, gross income of $500, 600 or more.
and yet, with all the machinery fol
Tightening his current expenses, which
experience and necessity have perfect.
ed, he gets more and more into debt.
l have seen with my own eyes letter
written not long ago by his principal
man of business to an old-esta blshed
firm of wine merchants, to whom the
prince had owed about $4,000 for five
years or more. They had asked very
respectfully for settlement. and this, |
In substance, was the answer, which, |
as has been said, personally saw: His |
royal bighness is extremely annoyed
at your communication. and instructs
me to say that IL he gets any more such |
letters his patronage of your establish.
ment will be at once and permanently |
withdrawn. j inclose $3.50 On account, |
which is the most that can be done at |
present"
1t is easy TO think barzhly of the stu
alton disclosed by such document as
this, but somehow to me the pathos of il |
comes uPpermest. If ever man was |
thrust by fortune into false position, |
and then remorselessly held there. rs in
wise, by forces entirely beyond his con-
troll. it is this unhappy prince Of Wales.
1t is not open to him to go through the |
bankruptcy court. He cannot cut down
bis current outlay to any such econom-
ical point as would yield savings large /
enough to affect the ever-mounting |
principal of his debts. He has to go on
in the weary treadmill, using the money
that comes in to extinguish here and /
there ancient claims which double |
themselves at usurious rates, mean
while contracting new obligations to
rise up and confound him later on.
II there were no other signs of this,
the social humiliations to which the
prince has surrendered himself during
the past dozen years, solely for the sake
OF the money they would yield, would
furnish ample evidence. have spoken
often before of the peculiar significance
Of Reuben Sassoun's presence at that
notorious Tranby Croft baccarat party.
The repellent old creature did not play
at the game. but he had an important
connection with il all the samoa con-
nection which alone accounted for his
having been admitted to the house at
all. His function was to sit behind the
prince and to put on the ia BILE out of his
pocket the necessary counters when
ever the prince lost. All the chips that
the prince won were net gain to his
royal highness.
A plain man might he forgiven for
thinking that il was not worth while
TO be royal highness on such terms as
these. But practically. all the sporting
princes of Europe have gone down on
to the level, and are not ashamed TO be
seer there. The prince of Wales suffers
from the double misfortune of being
much harder up and of LIVING in a vast
ly brighter blaze of publicity than the
others. That is all. OF course there
are princes of great position. like the
German emperor and his brother. who
do not play cards, and who hate the
whole debased atmosphere of gambling
and so-called sport" in which so much
OF modern royalty is plunged. But
they ale rare exceptions. and through
the others, the great majority, this new
and sinister figure of the court fsvorite,
called indi6erently Hirsch. or Sassouu.
or Bieichroder. or Polrakcf. has been
brought into familiar prominence.
Sometimes one of them, as in the case
Of Baron Hirsch. com bines with servile
and fawning instincts notable and even
lofty qualities. Mankind very properlv
IS willing. in the case OF Maurice Hirsch.
TO pass over lightly and quickly the
meaner aud laser side OF his character
ana IRE. ard 70 dwell for a long tine