The Savannah morning news., 1902-06-22


is no limit to his Liberty of initiative
in council. or objection, wholesale or
detail, to every important measure of
the administration. No decision of
the Cabinet it valid unless approved
of by him; he has a right to have
everything explained to him; every
despatch of any importance-2S 900 in
one year it might be-is sent to him,
and nothing is concealed from him.
1t is obvious what a powerful posi-
ton the Permanent Editor occupies.
The mere right to be consulted, and
have the opportunity of inspiring the
temporary staff, gives him a position
of influence in the conduct of the adj
ministration UNNECESSARILY greater
than that of any temporary editor.
But this is by no means all. The
Permanent Editor by the mere fact
of being permanent, speedy acquires
a prestige, an influence, and a store
of experience which makes him more
than a match for any of the tenn
porary STATS which run the Realm for
periods of uncertain duration. The
same permanence of office enables him
to communicate confidentially with
other permanents, whether in Ger
many, Austria or Russia, in a way
that is impossible to those outside the
royal caste.
In the case of the late Queen, this
influence amounted to a maximum;
in the case of Edward VII, it Is, of
course, reduced to almost a minimum.
Owing to her long continued service
and unrivaled experience, she had be-
fore she died acquired a position
where influence attained a degree of
authority hardly to be distinguished
from absolute power. All that, of
course, died with hel. The King will
never be able to gain a position SINH
lar to that enjoyed by his mother. If
only because he begins his reign when
he is over sixty, and by no possibility
can occupy the throne as long as his
mother.
The temporary staff is allowed
to run the Realm in minor matters
very much as it pleases, so that as it
does not threaten the continuity, the
stability, and the tranquility of the inn
mense concern whose shareholders
have trusted their interests to it's care.
But the moment danger threatens for
any quarter, then the Permanent Edi-
tor asserts himself, and-in the late
reign-seldom did so in vain.
In the hands of the Permanent Edi-
tor lies the nominal right to appoint
every Bishop of the Church, every CO.
lonial governor, every ambassador. He
is the fountain of honor. 1t can only
rain carriers and peerages through his
sign manual. And this nominal right
of appointment is often converted into
actual power of appointment by the
natural desire of the temporary staff
10 oblige their permanent chief, and
by the fact that he is Cor may be- far
better informed than they as to the
qualities of the men and the extent to
which it is proposed to accredit them.
For the King not only reads the print
ed correspondence of the ambassadors,
of which a few shreds carefully cooked
alone are printed in Blue Books he
can, and often does, carry on a direct
personal private correspondence with
these ambassadors, colonial governors,
Indian viceroys, and the like.
Outside the one, two or three mar
roWly restricted fields of party conflict,
the Permanent Editor has more say
in the settlement of everything than
all the temporary staff put together.
In he army, in the navy, in the CO
lonial service, in India, and in diplo-
macy, the Permanent Editor is incom-
parably more influential, if he pleascs
to exert his influence, than the lead
ers of both parties put together. AS
a rule, the strength even of the most
robust editor being limited, he does
not interfere with the regular routine
administration of the Realm. Editors
in-chief seldom concern themselves
about news paragraphs or the placing
of advertisements. Neither does the
King disturb himself about the small
things. the 1.-THE of mint and anise and
cumin. 1t is with the weightier mat
tiers that he deals. The god does not
step out of the machine unless there
is a complication worthy of so eXalt-
ed an intervention to unravel But he
is never beyond reach, and even in the
smaller things he is more potent than
any of his temporary assistants.
Looking then at the Realm as
newspaper, it is obvious that the posi-
ton of Permanent Editor, even though
it is limited by a prohibition of all
direct contribution to the columns of
the paper, is on the whole immeas-
urablv more influential on all questions
but those of direct warfare, than the
position of the most influential of his
advisers.
It is evident from this explanation
of the duties of the sovereign, that ev-
erything depends upon whether the
King is capable of exerting an influence
over his advisers, and of making his
character felt upon all those who serve
him. He has the opportunity of doing
a great deal, but he will never be able
to do as much as his mother. Her in
Hl6nce was on IIe Whole. especially III
relations between Britain and the
United States exercised in favor of
peace. She accepted it as her duty to
undo as far as possible the conse-
quences of the fatal folly of her grand
father, George III.
King Edward VII has neither the
sagacity, the resolution, the experience,
nor the patience of his mother. He Is,
however, by no means devoid of intel
ligence Since his accession he has
shown a remarkable interest in public
affairs, and although the habits of a
lifetime are not easily changed, he is
displaying greater readiness to take
pains and inform himself accurately
concerning the affairs of his realm than
most people suspected. He will not
be the balancewheel of the Constitution
which his mother became in her later
wears. but he will undoubtedly make
himself felt. and he is all the more
inclined to do so because of the envy
with which he regards his nephew the
Kaiser, whose omnipresent energy and
activity is felt in every department
of the German Empire.
Henry Cole, one of the oldest real
estate men of Denver, Col. will enrich
the Methodist church of that city by
over $350.000.