The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-12
SNUBBED THE RUSSIAN PRINCE.
Mrs. Roosevelt Was Absent When
the Grand Duke Boris Came.
Baltimore American.

Correspondence Baltimore American.
Mrs. Roosevelt's action in declining to
meet Grand Duke Boris of Russia, and In
leaving her husband to entertain him alone
at Oyster Bay on Thursday last, will COM
mend itself to sensible people, both at home
and abroad. 1t is course which has been
adopted in the past in many capitals in
Europe in order to denote disapproval on
the part of the highest in the land of the
behavior of some royal or imperial visitor.
With the exception of the late King of the
Sandwich islands, every prince of the blood
who has visited the United States has
borne himself with a certain amount of
dignity and has manifested regard for
the prejudices, for the conventionalities
and for the views of the people whose hos
pitality he was enjoying. This has not
been the case with Grand Duke Boris. and,
while some of the stories which have been
printed about him may be somewhat ex-
aSgerated, there is no doubt that from the
time of his arrival at San Francisco until
the moment when he called upon the Pres
ident of the United States at Oyster Bay
he behaved in manner that implied
complete absence of any respect for the
American people or for their opinion con-
corning him. His indiscretions of one kind
and another, while open to criticism at
any time, became trebly reprehensible in
view of the fact that he was travelling as
a Russian grand duke, and as such in the
fierceSt glare of publicity, and his action
while at a New York theater in ignoring
the Governor of the State of New York,
who was in a neighboring box, in order
to devote himself to ladies of the chorus
was merely one example of the utter sans
facon with which he has behaved through
out his stay in this country, just as If
there were no necessity in his eyes for
observing any of the conventionalities of
life here in America, where nothing mat
tered"
That Mrs. Roosevelt's absence from the
luncheon given by the President for the
grand duke was rebuke, and a well-mer-
all that is said to the contrary, she left be-
fore he arrived and only returned after his
departure, thus indicating both that she
did not wish to meet him and that the
President was not anxious for her to re-
ceive the grand duke. 1t is rebuke such as
the one to which King Edward, when
| Prince of Wales, subjected King Milan,
when the latter was in London, by receiv-
| ing his call, but giving him no opportunity
of meeting the Princess The Grand Duke
| Boris's uncle, the late Gar was far more
drastic. For when the duke of Orleans
| came to St Petersburg in the train of ia
| nous prima donna with whom his name
was associated at the time. and rendered
| himself conspicuous by his devotion to her,
| he was not only ignored by the court and
| the imperial family but ordered to leave
the opera mouse one night when the late
| Car and the CZarina were present, and
| commanded by the police to leave the coun-
! try on the following day. While this, of
course, was an extreme measure, which
| created a great sensation at the time, and
| has no parallel save the case when the
King of Siam insisted upon the late duke of
| Sutherland leaving Bangkok on account of
his moral shortcomings. it is very usual
| practice for European courts to ignore
| altogether foreign visitors of royal and
| imperial rank whose behavior is such as
| to indicate that they have more regard for
| their own ideas of amusement than for the
| good opinion of the people Of the country
| in which they happen to be, and the Grand
| Duke Boris may consider himself lucky in
| having received any recognition whatsoever
on the part of President Roosevelt