New-York tribune., 1904-10-30
ROYAL APPEALS.
Extraordinary DeUices Employed to
Influence Popular Opinion.

Of q newspaper man who claimed 10 De se@N
ang information FOR the benefit OF the puOHc.
exclaimed Wrathfully; THE public be d!
no European monarch. let him be ever SO
oovrerful would venture nowadays upon such
an expression OF feeling. whatever his personal
sentiments may be with regard 70 the puollc'
he entertains q wholesome regard Tor It's oplh-
fon not only at home. but also abroad. AS an
illustration thereof Il IS merely necessary 10
call attention 20 the fact that at the present
moment an English professional lecturer is TOUR
ang IN the United States In behalf OF King Leo
E,old. There IS no concealnent about the inaIteF-
T-ne leeturer IN question admits that he has
been sent over here by the Belgian ruler ana
that he IS paid by him TO Tefute from the plat
form the charges brought against his majesty's
adn,snistrasion OF the Congo Free State. He
openlv acknowledges that the aim of his mis-
sion is to influence popular sentiment IN Amer
Sea .n favor OF that monarch. who. according 10
some Is the greatest philanthropist and the
most stern raoralist OF the age. while BY others
he is denounced grasping and cold bloooea
Fnonopolist whose INSCRIPTIONS methoos OF ac-
curing vast wealth are equaned only by ms
cruelty toward his family and the prohigacy OF
his private iife-
II Is only fair 10 King Leopold 10 state that.
while ne has many enemies. he has also num-
nor OF enthusiastic champions. among them Sir
Hugh Gilzean Reid who presided at the Inter
national Press Parliament at ST. Louis last
.,ro,,,er and who sor several years, with sal
arv superior 10 that received by the Belgian
Envoy to the court OF st. James's' has deNopea
himself 10 the care OF King Leopold's inter
osts IN the English and foreign press, while
there are also several American fnanelers Who'
banr either associated with the King in his
business enterprises or having enjoyed his
,,osritalitv are Of course IN a position TO speak
-vi.b authority in refuting the attacks that are
continually being levelled against him. There
AZ no one however whose utterances n this re-
-r,ec+ are entitled 10 so much consideration as
the Belgian Minister at Washington, who re-
Gently printed IN The North American Re-
view an eloquent plea IN behalf or MS SOW
ereign. the first occasion believe. Of an envoy
feeling himself called upon to undertake the
defence Of his King in q signed contribution 10
she nubNc press OF the nation 20 which he Is
accredited This article OF The Baron de Mon
cheur. the mission OF Sir Hugh Gilzean Reid
and above ALL the dispatch Of a professional
platform speaker, duly briefed and paid on a
lecturing tour through this country, all 90 70
show the extraordinary importance which King
Leopold attaches to public sentiment IN the
Unlted States and how eager he is that he
should be presented in the best possible light
% the American people.
The Princesses Louise and Stephanie. his two
eldest daughters. whom however. he processes
90 regard as longer forming part OF HIS fam
ily manifest similar anxiety 10 cOnciliate the
opinion OF the public and TO excite its sympathy
in their behalf by appeals thereto through the
columns Of the press. which they are using with
skill that would do credit 10 the most expe-
Fienced OF veteran actresses-or 10 their press
agents Stephanie's telegram TO her brother-in-
law. Prince Philip Of Coburg. was printed in the
Partisan newspapers before Il could possibly
have reached its destination. while both royal
ladies have managed. since the arrival Of
Louise on the banks Of the Seine TO keep them
selves IN the limeght of the boulevard press
IN z manner which. IN the words OF a oignitary
OF the court OF Brussels, "frise le cabotinage"
OF course the royal ladies explain their dlsclos-
ure OF unsavory family scandals in the Paris
journal" and in its contemporaries by the plea
that It is solely through the pressure OF popular
opinion that they can ever hope 10 obtain Jus
tice ana that for this reason II IS necessary to
take the public into their confidence. But this
only goes TO show the two princesses share King
LsopOld's views as to the importance OF popular
sentiment
It is only natural that the ruler OF a nation so
progressive and enlightened as Japan should be
willing 10 take leaf out Of the book OF the
most modern and I'D to date OF all European
sovereigns. namely. King Leopold. After having
cent abroad during the last three months at the
expense OF the state a large number OF natives
OF good standing who have lived in America and
IN England. who have a mastery OF our lanT
guage and a large circle Of friends here and IN
the United Kingdom with no other mission than
that OF procuring sympathy for Japan and re-
storing her sadly impaired financial credit, the
Mikado has now summoned from the battlehelds
OF Manchuria the most illustrous of the imperial
princes OF his house. namely, Prince Fushinli.
and has sent him TO America token of his
ard for he ~ 4l,a
prince has distinguished himself greatly in the
war, and It is believed in Japan that this alone,
aside from his rank a scion OF the reigning
house IN the immediate line OF succession to the
throne, viii not only assure him a warm well
come from the people here. but likewise foster
public enthusiasm in behalf OF the Land OF the
Rising Sun-preparatory 10 the inevitable ap-
peal TO the money markets of the United States
That an appeal OF this kind IS imminent is well
known. Japan's funds are we'll nigh exhausted
This Is indeed admitted by some OF her leading
statesmen the veteran ex- Premier and former
Minister of Finance. Count O5uma, having in
q remarkable speech delivered the other day al
Toxic expressed the opinion that the cost Of the
war would amount 10 about $40 a head OF the
entire population Of Japan, population that is
largely agricultural. and 10 whom the sum Of
8orty yen each yen divided into a hundred
sen. and each sen into a hundred smaller
coins, means the lifetime fortune OF an entire
family. The money markets Of Continental Eu-
rope are virtually closed to Dai Nippon. while
those of England IN spite Of the alliance with
japan. manifest disposition 10 exact most on
enous conditions. The good viii OF the Arneri
can people manifested IN a financial way
fhrough rs money markets Is therefore matter
OF vital Importance 20 Japan.
The tremendous weight Of public sentiment as
Factor n political matters can be appreciated