The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-06-01
KING EDWARD IS NOT POPULAR.

Befofe coming to the throne, King
Edward of England was n jolly good
fellow. File had many friends and ad-
mirers. He participated in the sports
and pleasures of the people and was
very democratic in his ways-for Il
prince. All that is now changed. Hen
~ DevercauX in London letter to
the American press says of him:
When King Edward came to the
throne he was beyond all question tho
most popular ruler that England over
had. All his subjects, with the exccp-
| ton Of the Irish, We're proud of him.
and wished him all manner of good
| fortune.
That is not the case today The
general foslngs towara himself and
the court is one of Indifference. 1t is
easy to account for it. The London
shopkeeper has been disappointed in
the expectations he entertained of a
vastly improved business upon his ac-
cession. No improvement whatever
has taken place; in fact, the last state
Is worse than the first, for while the
queen lived the court was not in
mourning, and Edward, rs Prince Of
Wales, was of substantial use In stir,
ring up the fashionable world and put
ting the money of the royal set in cir
culation. But the mourning gives
everybody the blues, and there are vet
many months ahead of the dreary ex-
hibition Of ostentatious grief,
But business prostration is not the
only ground Of dissatisfaction with
his majesty. In the demands for the
support of the civil list, as it is called,
he has proved that no matter how
heavy the burdens the people have to
bear, he will not yield one lot out
of consideration for them. Everybody
thought that his royal mother had her
hand down deep in the public purse,
that, in fact, she had more than her
share, and that he should be contented
with the revenues that We're so gener-
ously allowed her He has been moth
ing of the kind. On the contrary, he
insists upon a far bigger allowance,
scouting all ideas of economy at a
time when every man in the kingdom
is suffering in his income and cutting
down expenses in the endeavor to
make both ends meet This manifesto
ton of intense selftshness is not rel
ished by Mr.. Bull, who Is himself Of
pretty generous nature when tho
world is going we'll him. The
apprehension is growing that he is to
be a pretty costly piece of royal bric-a,
brac.
Again, it was believed that he would
continue to be as king, the good fell
low that he was as Prince of Wales.
This hope has been shattered. He is
far greater stickler for etiquet than
was his mother, and in some of the
court novelties he has introduced he
has made himself not little ridicu-
lous. Some Of his old chums have
been badly snubbed by him, and are
made to realize that the old order has
passed away. Men whose hair Is gray,
or that have no hair at all, do not like
this kind of treatment from an old
associate on the race track, in the
clubs, at theater parties and at the
gaming table, even if it is inflicted by
one of the most potent Of princes It
hurts their pride and makes them the
butt Of their companions. AS a con-
sequence, they give the king as wide
a berth as possible. 1t is q well known
fact that many Of the higher nobility,
rather than submit to this imperial i'm
, pertinence, have fed from London to
parts unknown, where the royal CON-
mand cannot reach them. Edward has