Evening star., 1905-11-11
KING HOhORs M|KADO
Japanese Sovereign Gets His
toric Order Of Garter.
FREEDOM OF LONDON
TO GENERAL BOOTH OF THE
SALVATION ARMY.
Situation in Norway Concerning Re-
public-London City Council
Dearly Loves Display.
Special ref9ondence of The Star.


a,LONDON. October 30, 1905
The bestowal by King Edward of the Or
Ger or the Garter on the mikado Is as sig
nif1cant of Japan's new position among the
powers as the raising Of the status of the
British minister at Toxic to the rank CT
ambassador. Among all orders of the
world the Garter ranks first, and 1t is
nearly century older than the order of
the Golden Fleece Of Austria and SPAIN
1t Is coveted by foreign sovereigns as
eagerly as minor honors are desired by
lesser mOrtals 1t Is limited to twenty-five
knight companions. with the sovereign ana
the Prince of Wales and such extra knights.
foreign rulers and dignitaries as may be
admitted by special statute.
But whenever the number twenty-five is
exceeded pause, Is made in the creations
until death strikes the balance. The last
royal investment was that Of the King of
Spain. and the ceremony was performed by
the Duke of Connaught, who went to Mad
rio especially for the purpose. Before hlIn
the Shah of Persia received the order
special mission also travelling to Teheran
With the appropriate insignia and decu--
rationss s5gs
Nearly every ruler in Europe now wears
the order including the czar. the emperofs
OF Germany and Austria-Hungary, the
kings of Denmark, Belgium. Greece, Swe-
one or two minor German principalities.
Although technically known as the Order
of the Garter, from the picturesque but
probably mythical incident which has al
ways been looked upon as it's origin, the
decorations are not limited to that dis
tinctive badge.
Besides the garter of dark blue velvet,
edged with gold and worn below the knee
there Is a mantle also of dark blue velvet.
lined with taffeta the mantle which is
worn by the king on state occasions),
surcoat of crimson velvet. a hood, a hat
also of black velvet, Surmounted by
plume a collar constructed of twenty-sx
circular medals of gold, with a pendant OF
st. George, star. and broad dark blue
ribbon passing over the left shoulder and
crossing obliquely under the right arm.
4
Any one who expected Gen. Booth to
initiate sacred example and turn upon
the merchants and money-changers of the
city of London in their temple at the Guild
hall yesterday, when the freedom of the
city was conferred upon him, and reproach
them for their worship of Mammon. Will
be disappointed to hear that the good gen.
eral appeared to find his unaccustomed sur
roundingS quite cOngental, and bore him.
self with the greatest urbanity to the sup
posed worshipers of the golden calf. That
the occasion was, however, unique could
be discerned in the demeanor Of the city
councillors, who, for once, seemed little
self-conscious Of their robes, fearing per-
haps that they might be mistaken for Of
ficers in the Salvation Army, and in the
unwonted air of decorous mirth that some
times strangely stole across the broad iaces
Of the city policemen The army as al
ways however brought off the occasion
With great eclat, and the procession Of the
general at the head of thousand mon,
numbering out with instruments and voice
their familiar war marches, was even more
impressive than the ordered pageants OF
royalty
A carriage and pair had been ordered Tor
the generals use at headquarters, but the
general knew better than to destroy the
picturesque possibilities of the occasion by
any such accessories as that. So the gen.
eraI appeared in the midst of his men, al
though conspicuously apart from them.
and walked through the crowded streets
to the GuildhalI. His long white beard
and white hair waved in the breeze, and,
fourishing his old silk hat in his hand he
marched into the historic courtyard of the
GuildhalI 1t was really great triumph
for the red jerseys" When even the city
fathers accept and honor 1t, the voice of
cayiI must be either silent or condemned
as ultra-superior.
X
There was considerable outcry when the
London county council voted to spend S25,-
600 on the decoration and ceremony of