BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-03-08
Prince Henry And
American Hospitality

That is very sensible deliverancs which
the London Times Of last Thu ,iday morning
made upon the visit of Prince Henry and
the enthusiastic greeting ex ended to him
by the whole American peop ;. Do not be
alarmed, it sa;s at the liduuncs of The
press on both sides of the Atlantic who are
poking their noses deep into the Incident in
search OF hidden and portentous meanings,
there is nothing in the magnificent reception
that could not have been fOreseen from
''people whose hospitality to much less dis
tinguished strangers is proverbial." With
accurate insight into our national character
the stTimes" adds: cit was absolutely
certain beforehand that nothing would be
omitted which would add to the pleasure of
Prince Henry's visit or prove that the
chos an representatives of free people can
welcome the representative of European
monarch with as much splendor, courtesy
and regard as his own"
This is view of the case which should
commend itself al once to the supersensltve
patriots in this country who see in the
outpourings of our hospitality tendency to
s'flunkyism" and to the excited editors of
the Paris journals who see in it evidence
that we are ssnstion of snobs." There
may be funkies and even snobs among us,
but they are not the persons who are res.
ponsible for the present demonstrations in
honor Of Prince Henry. The American
people are simply showing now, as they
showed in 1860, when the Prince of Wales
came here, and later when the Grand Duke
Alexis visited US, that they delight to
welcome illustrious outpourings OF national
good will. The American people are at
heart peace-loving people. They harbor
no ill will toward any nation. They have
their outbursts of indignation and anger on
occasion against one nation or another &C
cordiDg to provocatiou, but deep and abid-
ing hatred toward any nation is not possible
with them. Why even to day there is no
bitterness felt against Spain. Ii the young
prince who is to be crowned King of Spain
in May had come here instead of Prince
Henry he would have received a welcome,
less magnificent perhaps, but still enthu.
sisstlc and hearty. II is a fixed rule OF our
national good manners to give every
illustrious visitor perfect ''whirl" of hos
pitalisy, and we take genuine pleasure in
the proceeding.
The foreign critics who dstect subtle and
tar-reaching political meanings in the pre-.
sent incident are as much ssoff" almost as
the "fiunky" and ssnob" commentators.
Unquestionably, as the London "Times"
says, such visits make for the peace Of the
world because they tend TO dissipate misun
derstandings and correct misapprehensions.
This is certain to be the effect in the present
instance. The two nations will be brought
into more friendly union than ever before.
President Roosevelt will be not less frm
than heretofore in his championship of the
Monroe Doctrine because his daughter has
christened the empsrof's yacht and he him
self has received the empsrol's brother as
the nations guesl; but the chances for q
misunderstanding between the United
States and Germany for many years to
come will be sensibly diminished by these
mutual courtesies and demonstrations of
good will.
The very critics in England and France
who are disturbed by the demonstrations J