The age-herald., 1902-03-13
Washington Day by Day

Washington, Marcn lz.-NopeSldi' -NO" that Prince Henry Is gone away over the sea to his native land of the storied Rhine, America may well rejoice that 1t has created the most splendid royal pro- gress of our time In any country. When the illustrious Prince Pometkin was the prime minister and political fa- vorite of Catherine the Great of Russia and was supremely fortunate in not be- ing her intimate personal and social ia vorite her imperial majesty, as history tells us, determined to undertake an ex- tended progress through many of the "governments' (provinces) of her empire. Esteeming Pometkin for his majesty of intellect and his art of statecraft Cath erlne gave him ample notice as to her intended progress
 It was the only time in her long histo- ry-making reign that the imperial and I imperious Catherine did not act upon the 1 immediate impulse of the momenet. Her favoritcs in the more personal sense were summoned from amongst the noble young officers of the guards regiments as she saw and one by one took q fancy to them. In all instances her summons were fatal, for no young officer retained her favor for a longer period than some five weeks. at the end of which time she caused each in his turn to be slain. 1 But Catherine did give her great min ister ample notice of her intended pro- gress, and we scarcely need to read be- tween the lines of history to realize that she did so in order to assure her own l greater personal comfort.
 Pometkins sense of self preservation was instantly aroused He knew that his head was at forfeit, and he proceeded to 1 play his own subsidiary despotism against the despotism of Catherine. By l his orders an army of men were imme- diately employed ih constructing passa- ble public roads, and along these roads he caused to be built dummy cities to l charm the eyes of the empress and con- vey to her mind the impression that the 1 Russia which he had made wretched and | starving by his terrible taxation to his own enrichment was actually prosperous and happy. Dead walls painted to rep resent the fronts of beautiful houses lined his new roadways and the tyranny starving slaves clothed them in f1imsi- est holiday attire, and forced them to l throng the sham streets of the sham cities and wildly acclaim as a sacred be- | ing the despotic and corrupt Catherine as in her golden chariot and with her army of attendants she swept by in her imperial progress
 That contemporaneous history which tells us this. tells us likewise that Pometkin's monstrous deception with its despotic cruelty was in the highest de- i gree successful in deceiving Catherine and that when she returned to her capital she loaded her minister with honors and riches for which he had no need. But 1 he saved his own head; and to this day he is accounted the greatest of all the high ministers in the long record of All the Russiasl
 It is of curious present-day interest that this seventeenth century master of men gave the world it's first object lesson in mushroom or boom" towns.
 But it remained for this free America
 
 progress of all time and the Prince Hem ry of Prussia has been the royal individ- ual to enjoy it.
 As a matter of course, America can not offer any pageant in any degree com parable to the late Queen Victoria's pro- gross through her capital of London in June. 1887, and again in June. 1897. both of which great historic events some of us were permitted to witness; but the progress of Prince Henry, which covered thousands of miles through our country, was made supremely great by the spon- taneous and wonderfully cordial greet ings of millions on millions of people un- accustomed to the pomp and pageantry of royalty, and undesirous of having such individual inherited power of and for themselves.
 While Prince Henry saw from the win dows of his car as he entered the out skirts of every city all possible evidence of unceanliness and unthrift, such as miserable shanties unkempt yards tum- ble-down sheds and fences and garish painted letters on rottening roofs and in wide fields of filth representing shoddy clothes and quack pills, the like of which 1t is impossible to see in the lowest quar- ter or district of all Europe, he yet found within every city proper a welcome which for unaffected heartiness and enthusiasm no community of the Old World can equal or even approach
 All our people wherever they saw this Prince of Prussia esteemed him their country's guest and therefore their own, and in the sense of hospitality and frank good will our people never before ap- peared tp such worthy and admirable ad- vantage The only pomp about it all was the pomp of democracy in supreme power the pomp of democracy's free and hearty welcome. The small guard which everywhere escorted the Prince was nec- essary for two rcasons-one to restrain honest Americans from being too ex- urberant in the gladness of their good- fellowship and the other and the prin- cipal one, to prevent anarchists whose profession is murder from staying the guest of the people whose careless good nature is a harbor of refuge for tho human monsters whose mission Is to slay Presidents and Kings and women and children alike.
 This nation of eighty million people pro- vides homes, employment and security for many a thousand hounds of hell in h1,,,, ,el,o,