The Washington times., 1902-10-01

King Edward has never dreamed for
one moment of comforting any honorary
colonelcy of British regiment upon
| President Roosevelt, and IL he were to
do SO the President would be the very
| last person in the world to accept the
proffered distinction. Indeed, there is
only one thing more amusing than the
announcement made by the London
| Chronicle" of this English honor In store
| for the Chief Magistrate of the United
States, namely, the assertion that pre-
| cedents' were being sought
1t is hardly necessary to point out that
there is no precedent in Europe for the
comforting Of any honorary colonelcy
in foreign army Upon the president of
republic. No country is more lavish
in the distribution of honorary colonel
cies than Russia. Not only foreign
rulers and princes Of the blood, but also
queens and princesses, and even royal
babies in the cradle, boys as we'll as
girls in long clothes, are gazetted as
titular commanders of this or that Mus
covite regiment.
But in spite OF this neither the late
nor the present Car ever dreamed
for one moment of offering a colonelcy
to any of the presidents of the French
republic, although the latter is so close
ly bound to Russia by an offensive and
defensive alliance. For presidents OF
-b1 hot oc
chief magistrates of their respective ma
tions to the votes of their fellow-citi-
zens, hold their Offices for more or less
brief term, at the close of which they
retire into private life, and sometimes
into obscurity 1t would be obviously
inconvenient to saddle a distinguished
regiment with an honorary commander
who would hold his colonelcy for life,
but who might possibly on retiring
from the presidency OF republic adopt
profession and mode of life which
would impair the prestige of the corps
with which his name was connected, and
possibly even end by furnishing the
regimental escutcheon through fnan-
cial disaster or scandal In which he
might become involved. In one word,
the president of a republic on the COM
pletion of his term of office becomes a
private citizen. and the latter is not,
according to Old World ethics, quail
fed to hold position as honorary colo
mel of foreign regiment.
II there is one European power more |
than any other that has been particu
arly chary about the grant of .colonelcies |
to foreign rulers it has been England.
1t is only within the last decade that a
OF this kind has ever been
paid to any foreign sovereign, Queen
Victoria inaugurating the practice as
lar as England was concerned by ap-
pointing her grandson, the Kaiser, to
Royal Dragons. Shortly afterward she
appointed the Czar, who had become her
grandson by his marriage. to the hon.
,rary command of the Second Dragons.
better known as the Royal Scots Grays.
Emperor Francis Joseph is the honorary
colonel Oh the tlrSt Dragoon GudrOS,
while the King of Portugal is the titular
colonel of the Oxfordshire Light Infan-
.ry Regiment, corps which greatly dis
.inguished itself in the defense of Portu-
gal against the first Napoleon at the be-
ginning of the last century.
This completes the list Of foreign po-
entates holding colonelcies of English
'egiments. and there Is not the slightest
prospect of its being increased by the
addition of the name of President Roose-
-elt. since he himself would be the very
irst to decline such a tactless compli-
nent, even if it were paid by King Ed
ward The latter has many more con- |
enient ways and more appropriate ones
S well, of showing the very high regard
'hich he entertains for President Roose-
elt and for the people of the United ,
tates.
Several notable instances could be ,
tied where the grant Of honorary 7
olonelcies has been a source of endless