The San Francisco call., 1904-07-27
MEN analMAa1EERS IN
THE EGR.s he WORLD
MOxFE9

tanned large numbers of people at
once, such as deputations and dele
gates, who needed refreshing and
feeding, the china and glass were in
variably hired, if indeed, as was often
the case, the whole thing was not put
in the hands of caterers.
King Peter of Servia is having an
unpleasant experience of the hire
purchase" system at the present time,
as his crown is being paid for by in
stallments This is not the bronze
crown which is being made from
cannon kept as relic of his grand
father but is the jeweled structure
necessary for state occasions. 1t is to
cost E12, 800, but money is scarce in
Servia, so the Paris firm whichis max
ing 1t agreed to accept payment by in
stallments. Two installments of $3.50
each had been paid before the King
discovered that the officials entrusted
with the payments were endeavoring
TO square" the manufacturers to put
in bogus jewels and divide the Illicit
profits between them. The payment
Of future installments on the royal
crown is to be made by King Peter
himself.
The King Of Spain Is an example Of
a poor wealthy monarch who is obliged
TO resort to the hire system. Gold
plate, Jewels, trophies, and all sorts of
costly ornaments he has in plenty, but
they are the property Of the crown,
and useless except to look at. He has
a decent income-on paper-but it is
rarely paid, and consequently he has
to hire right and left when he wants
to make anything of a splash, as
the Americans would say.
For his forthcoming European tour,
carriages, horses. neutrality-suspicious.
ly everything-ha to be hired; and the
reason that he is not including Eng
land in his travels is. on the ground
of expense. His new castle which is
being built at Guadalajara, in the
province of that name. near Madrid,
is being paid for on the rent purchase,
or .'every-man- -his-own-landlord" prin-
ciple.
His neighbor, the King of Portugal,
either from choice or necessity, also
patronizes the hire system. To cele-
brate the visit of King Edward to
Portugal, King Carlos presented his
consort Queen Amelia with a mag
nificent rope of pearls. each of which
was separated by a diamond. A
Dutch firm got the order, and accepted
payment on the hire-purchase system.
1t is satisfactory to know that the in
stallments are being paid regularly.
The King of Sweden is an ardent de-
90 Very higr
reunions and elaborate functions are
rare in the Swedish court. so that
when anything out Of the way does
happen, hiring has to be largely re-
sorted to. A few years ago there was
a great party, including Queen Alex
andra (then Princess of Wales), the
King and Queen of Denmark, those of
Norway, the Car and Czarina of Rus
sia, the King and Prince George of
Greece, and German grand dukes and
princes without number. The reunion
was held at Fredensborg Castle, and
it was difficult to know what belonged
to the place and what did not. Fur
niture was hired-some all the way
from England-beds were hired, plate,
linen even, and silver all came from
OUTSIDE sources, anu NCA 2
fetched all the way from London to
Sweden to amuse the guests. His
Majesty Of Sweden hit upon a happy
idea to avoid horse-hire for his enor-
nous number of guests and their re-
tainers. AS head of the army, he
commandeered some Of the cavalry
| horses for the purpose.
There is no evidence TO show that
the German Emperor himself ever in
dulged in the luxury of the hire sys-
tenn; but the innumerable little heads
of the kingdoms and the duchies which
make up his empire do. 1t is a well
known fact that at the coronation of
the Gar of Russia the display of
| jewels was the greatest ever seen al
/ one single ceremony in the world, and
the bulk Of these was worn by Ger
man duchesses and princesses, who
were present in huge numbers, Ger
man and Russian relations being verS
cordial at the time.
Here were ladies wearing jewels to
4 the amount Of fifty times their nus
bands yearly income! Where did
they get them? The answer came
from the Continental jewelers. and
diamond merchants, whose stocks, for
the time being, were sadly ravaged
and diminished. The Jewels were all
hired. Not one stone in five hundred
that glittered and flashed in the palace
on the Neva belonged to the woman
who wore it. and many a beauty's
crowned head was aching with the
thought of how her temporary mag
nificence was to be paid for.
The King of Italy is not q keer
hirer. He certainly ordered a mag
nifcent steam yacht-the "Pia"-fron
a British firm on the hire system; but
after using 1t for a short season, and
paying two installments he returned it
and rumor says it was then sold tC
Mr.. Rockefeller It's exact where
abouts is a mystery, but 1t has disap-
peared from European waters.