Omaha daily bee., 1902-08-17

htnNhNlNNs OF tue american people nave sat
you conclude from his manner that his ex-
cellency doesn't resent the intrusion, that
he Is glad to see you-and that he woult
freeze you up and get rid Of you In about
ten seconds II you proceeded to be a bore
who didn't know when to 60.
Formerly one OF the great drawbacks tc
the fun OF being ambassador was the dead
broke American who CAM OF such good
family and brought such strong letters OF
introduction that there was nothing to do
except guarantee his hotel bill OF provide
money to pay his passage to America. Half
Of the time at the embassy was taken up
in listening to hard-luck stories, but Mr..
Choate, with his usual good fortune, has
escaped most OF that, thanks TO the or
ganiEation Of a relief department by the
American society in London.
Politicians wives who want to be pre-
scented at court take up a lot Of time, too,
and in the summer season folk who want
tickets to Parliament, letters to ~ofncials,
and all sorts Of personal privileges, keep
two embassy secretaries in a rush. Various
folk who have called and asked to see Mr..
Choate have been found to have the inten-
tion Of asking him to write out for them
a little list Of cheap boarding houses;
others, 1t appeared, cherished the idea that
a personal heart-to-heart talk with the
ambassador could reasonably be expected
to result In the loan Of a dollar until the
next American mail arrived.
Americana Kick on the income Tax.
One Of the most urgent Of these per-
sonal matters laid before the embassy IL
the income tax which Americans living
In London have to pay to the British gov
eminent, although most Of them get their
incomes In America. Each new victim
usually heads straight for the embassy and
wants to know what In something or other
the British government means by demand
ing a percentage Of his receipts from, say,
real estate on which he already pays taxes
in America. It does seem like an outrage,
but there is nothing the embassy can do
about It.
Unlike every other ambassador in Lon
don, Mr.. Choate has no court costume. The
distinguished Americans who go with him
to a levee to be presented to the king
have to scurry around for knee breeches
and buckled shoes, but the oficial repre-
sentative Of Jeffersonian simplicity goes in
ordinary s%wallow-tail and becomes NOR
bidly conspicuous In the gorgeous throng.
When Mr.. and Mrs. Choate entertained
the king and queen at dinner early in June
Fl6TpOnl mOEbhn Wdn dlb Ohb VI inc 6uOSNos
He rushed over from the continent on pur-
pose to be present, arriving only a few
hours before the time. He had been so
busy buying up odds and ends of steamship
lines, railroads and old masters that he
had forgotten all about knee breeches. He
was badly ratified when he was reminded
Of them at the last moment. None Of his
friends had anything of the sort that would
At him. and all the Morgan millions
couldn't move a london tailor to turn out
a pair Of court knee breeches in three
hours. 1t began to look to Mr.. Morgan as
IL he would have to be taken suddenly Ill
for the sake Of a good excuse for a~bsenting
himself from the dinner. when somebody
suggested that a theatrical costume might
help him out. Hurried search In the shops
around Covent Garden resulted in finding
a pair Of neither garments that made a
fairly good At, and in consequence Mr..
Morgan was presented to their majesties
In breeches that had previously seen serv-
ice on the stage.
It is said that Lord Curzon has had
enough of India and will be returning early
in the autumn to take a place in the cab
met II the present government remains In
once throughout the year-as II Is almost
certain to do. In that case Mr.. Choate will
have to move out. and as II is such a
dif1cult matter to get a suitable house, and
as he has had about all there is to get in
the way OF ambassadorial fun and glory, I
think It is more than probable that he will
retire from ONCE. Although he made a fine
fortune out of his law practice, he proba-
bly, finds 1t rather a bore on some accounts
to I'LL a position that calls for the expendl-
ture OF from two to three times his salary.