The herald., 1897-05-04


and biased and slittered iD the corridors
lof the capitol and the lobbiee Of the ho-
tells. The administration. It was said.
lconcluded not to transfer this load Of
tinsel on Logans breast to its own
shoulders and so turned him down.
Whether this be The reason or not. his
just published book on Russia shows
that the Mckinley administrat ti0n might
have repeated the Bayard blunder and
got another so-cailed cosmopolitan dip
lomat who thinks well OF every country
but his own.
I'm Joyful Russia" is the exuberant
title Of his gushing book. Though It was
cold, dark and dank. he says. everybody
seemed saturated with good humor. and
that was what he felt every hour of the
months he spent in Russia. He does
not deny thai there is Siberia. but he
did not visit It. He does not deny that
there are knouts in Ruesia, but he never
heard one whiszing in the wintry air."
or coming down upon a prisoners back.
What he sawwas a rejoicing and pros
porous Russia,'; '.icieles wreathed with
roses. and fragrant with loyalty and
softly musical with blessings" other
peoples pens. he fears. have exagger-
ated the few evil things Of Russia. or set
them down in malice. The people he saw
were contented and rejoicing over the
coronation OF their much-loved czar.
There is probably much to mourn over
in Russia. he admits, as there is every
where else and will be untilthe millen-
mum; but after all he evidently thinks
Russia is not SO very bad after all. He
finds the people quite as happy and as
free to live their own way in all that re-
lates to personal liberty as in this coun-
try. In fact in some respects they have
more freedom than we do here. He
thinks we have formed violent miscon-
ceptions Of them. They are proud. intel
lectually and naturally. but very hos
pitable; at least they were so to Mr..
Logan. ! e y
Mr.. Logan naturally feels as If he had
had good time; for. by series of lucky
accidents, he had the best there was
going; being even the guest Of the czar,
and was in the throne room at the time
of the coronation. A foreigner thus
favored would hardly hear very much
of Siberia or the whizzing of the knout
on condemned mems backs.
While it is good thing for traveller,
and even a writer, to seek out the very
best aspect of foreign nation and pro-
nounce it all to be like Gods creation
very good, it is unfortunate in an am
bassador to hold this view. If he culti-
Yates the notion that there is little or no
wrong, or cruelty, or injustice in gov
ernment; that the people are in every
way admirable, joyful and delightful, he
may, first thing he knows, find himself
thinking them incapable Of being in the
wrong towards other peoples and ma
tions. He may find himself looking at
a question in which his own country is
concerned from their point of view and
W WOA0Ol IA 8 Nv liCtC tnC lIlcl ltS. VI lib OWu
side of the controversy come in. An at
torney. who begins by worshipping the
talent and power Of his opponent and
thinking that the client on the other side
is incapable Of doing wrong. will not be
able to put up very strong case for
himself. SO
This has been Bayard's whole attitude
during his embassy. The Americans, in
his opinion. played very poor second
fiddle to the British public. The British
were models as citizens and as people;
the Americans, headstrong, ungovern-
able, greedy, interruptions.
1t would hardly have done for this or
any other administration to initiate the
Bayard blunder.