Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-19
IT MAY Be A CANCER
Revival of Rumors About
King Edwards Malady.
C0RON GOSSIP
DINNERS TO THE POOR CAUSED
DISSATISFACTION.
Americans Getting Hold Of Some Of
England's Rare Literary
Treasures.

Treasures.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
LONDON, July 9, 1902.
The doctors pronounce the king to be out
of danger. A week ago their phrase was
"out of immediate danger" There is now
no qualification. 1t has to be clearly borne
in mind, however, that the bulletin relates
only to the present illness and not to after
effects. This is point which l emphasize
because people here, at least, seem to have
lost sight of it and are rejoicing at the
kings recovery" Surgical science has ad-
vanced far, but not far enough to be able to
thoroughly clear such an abscess as that
from which his majesty has been suffer
ing, and in this there turks possibilities of
future trouble. The young are generally
able to absorb through their system what
pus there may remain, and the i'll effects
soon disappear: but in the case of the old
there is not always the vitality necessary
to further this process of ABSORPTION and
naturalization To put it properly the
germs of disease still exist in the body, with
an attendant danger or recurrence. This is
an authoritative medical view. On the other
hand, the kings "recoVery has in many re
spects been so exceptional that his subjects
may perhaps be eXcusably optimistic also
regarding the future.
There is another view taken by those who
have been following the kings case care
fully since the beginning and whose bust
ness ii is to know what is going on about
them. This view is that the king is not
suffering from appe ndicitis, but from a
humorous cancer, and that his days are
numbered. AS a matter of fact several
newspapers in London have eight-page pa
pers all ready for the event that their edi-
tors believe will happen in the near future
These papers, though they faithfully print
the bulletin that the public accept claim to
see behind them.
Coronation Plans Continue.
Meanwhile plans for the coronation seem
to be going forward. The announcement
made this afternoon by the first commits
soner of works that the stands in Palace
Yard and Westminster Gardens are not to
be pulled down as it is hoped they may be
utilized, for their original purpose can have
only one meaning Then there is confirma-
tory evidence in Mr.. Chamberlain's assur-
ance to the colonial troops that they VIII
see the king before they leave London. This
Goes not necessarily imply a great corona
ton pageant, but taken in conjunction with
other circumstances, it supports the theory,
now widely entertained in parliamentary
circles, if nowhere else, that we shall not
have to wait long for the coronation a
was supposed a few days ago. The sugges-
ton that the king is anxious not only to
get it over, but to get 1t over at such
time as will permit of the participation Of
the Indian and colonial troops is rendered
more plausible by the highly optimistic bull
letins issued day by day from Buckingham
Palace
Merry Day in London.
Saturday was the merriest day that
Greater London ever knew. The king enter
tanned half a million members of the toiling
masses; thousands of English and Ameri-
cans went to the Crystal Palace and heard
a musical program which included Home,
Sweet Home" and The Star Spanged Ban
ner." His majesty's well-to-do subjects
gave dinners in hotels, in their mansions
and in desirable residences" the river
from Richmond to Fawley was crowded
with boats; the Countess of Jersey held a
garden party at Osterley Park near Houns-
low, at which "au the world was present:
while al IL o'clock in the evening, at st.
James Theater. the colonial premiers their
wives and daughters together with the In
dian princes, a number of dukes and Ouch
eSSeS, earlS and cOunteSses, were present at
a reception given by Mr.. and Mrs AleXan-
der. The day the climax of a London
season which has been, despite untoward
circumstances, better than could have been
expected.
The kings guests at Stepney-the parish
to which every English child born at sea is
said to belong-numbered 5000; at South
wark, 81, 600; at Camberwell 80, 900: at Rer-
mondsey, -, 900; Bethnal Green, p 600; Fins
bury, 10000; Westminster p 600; ST. PAN
cras, $4,000 Shereditch, 1900. and so on
until we find that the local committees could
collect only $500 poor people If the in
telligent foreigner could have been driven
to each gathering, he would at the end
have exclaimed with some establishment
Are these poor people?" OF course, there
are poor people in London, but in the sense
of being shoeless and hungry, there are
none, or next to none. You may tramp the
London streets for years and never see a
child without shoes and stockings.
Where there is extreme Indulgence 1t is In
nine cases out of ten, perhaps in 800 cases
out of a thousand, the result Of drink. But
considering that in greater London there
are upward of six million Of human beings
II Is astonishing how very few there are to-
day who are singing THE Song of the
Shirt
Complaint Of Workman.
was speaking to workingman about
the kings dinners and he was most bitter
on the subject. Perhaps his statement of
the composition Of the kings guests may
explain why most of them did not look
very poor" the kind of people to whom
the Invitations were intended to be EXTEND
ed. My informant said that most of the
tickets were put into the hands Of Church
of England parsons for distribution, and as
USUAL tney lOOkeu dIteF tnelr own. In his
district, he told me that a small tradesman
gave out large number of tickets Most
of them were given to his customers One
man, neighbor of his, who must be get
ting between $12 and SIS a week, went
with his wife and child, did many other
"weil-to-dos." / suppose complaints Ike
these always arise over public free affairs
but instead Of making the king more popu-
lar, the dinners seem to have occasione1
much bitterness among the poor and I'M
grateful.
At Streatham. London suburb one of
the kings guests was an old woman who
sat down to similar dinner at Streatham
common when Queen Victoria assembled the
throne, in 1887. These dinners have reveal
ed the interesting fact that In many town
ships in London there are literally no poor.
If by poor is meant half-starved people. So
manifest was this the case at Streatham
that at one time it was thought advisable
not to give any dinners. Wiser counses
prevailed. but the word poor was obliter-
ated from the cards to avoid offending the
well fed, well clad and well behaved per-
sons who accepted the kings invitation