Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-09
HAYS wHITEFRIARS SPEECH.
Pleasant Comment. AttestinG an
Agreeable First Impression.


The American ambassador, Mr..
Fielding the finance minister of the Cana
dian dominion. and Mr.. Gilbert Parker
the novelist. who has made the wild north
west live in his graphic pages. were guests
of the Whitefriars Club at the opening of
the winter season last night. 1t was the
first of the house dinners, under the chair
manship of MIR. Poulteney Bigelow. a
Whitefriar of long standing, and it was
inevitable that the rule of no speeches"
should be broken. His excellency, In re-
sponge to the toast of his health, aroused
much enthusiasm by saying that as an am
hassador he bore no message that would
not be acceptable to every Englishman,
and that there was no earthly reason why
any serious cloud should ever arise be-
tween the two countries; there were thou
sands of reasons to the contrary, and
they might all be summed up in one-we
eight TO be friends ny stress of sheer
sarity- As to harmony between America
and England, ard the dominion and the
United States. Mr.. Fielding said II was a
good omen that he and the American am
bassador had gone through the second
course without disputing to the waters
in which the fish had been caught. For
the many distinguished literary men Mr..
Gilbert Parker happily returned thanks,
and with ID. Christie Murray and Man.
Vile Fem among the speakers, there was
no lack OF literary tone in the gathering.
A fine speech was lost to this country. and
to the United States through the absence
of reporters from the Whitefriars Club last
night, but its essence is preserved in the
preceding paragraph communicated by one
of the Friars. From one of the guests we
further learn that in one of the jokes
made by Colonel John Hay a neat compli-
ment was conveyed to the proposer of the
toast in his honor-Friar Senior. Reference
had been made to the recognition of men
of letters and journalists in the United
states and Canada by appointments such
as those held by the guests of the evening.
Said Colonel John Hay: Il won't say why
We send our journalists and men of letters
abroad but the reason Is evident why
yours are not sent abroad They are need
ed for home consumption. The various
speakers at the Whitefriars harped good
deal on the theme of journalistic recogni-
ton In state appointments. as If inclined to
depart from the old traditions according to
which journalists gloried in their greater
influence as independent public;sts.
The American ambassadors speech was
exceedingly well turned-but perhaps this
Is only another way of saying that it was
the speech of an American. There is a
something which many of US do not pos
sess for after-dinner uses. and that is the
power of beginning a sentence with the
certainty of reaching its end. Colonel Hay
was especially happy in his declaration that
his instructions bore no message that
would not be acceptable to every English
man. His office was to promote peace and
good will. Lord Dufferin once defined am
bessadorial duties in much the same way.
1T is to prevent catastropheS.' he said,
That we meek, civil-spoken and m!ld-man-
nered persons have been invented. Look
Ing at you will perhaps say that we are
a poor and feeble folk as a solid preserva-
tive against such dangers. But such as 1t
is. 1t is the best device that human inge-
nuity has yet been able to discover" He
might have added that no small part of
the work is done at such gatherings as
that which Colonel Hay attended last
night The ambassador no longer lies
abroad for the good of his country, for
there is nothing to call for that particu-
lar exercise of his faculties. but he dimes
out He is accredited to the sovereign, but
he has to accredit himself to the nation
The change of methods Is one of the most
remarkable of the changes of our time.