Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1906-01-11
THE MlKADo's GARTER.
Bestowa. of the Ancient Order en- the
Emperor of Japan by King Edward.


Emperor of Japan by King Edward.
Hartford Courant.Aln sending the
order of the garter to the emperor of
Japan the king of England gives to-
his Far Eastern ally the highest social
recognition that it is within his power
to give. The order of the garter is
now about $50 years old. Fanciful
stories are told of its origin, some
making it about 700 years old, and
carrying it back to battle fought by
Richard |. against the Saracens, in
which a handful of his knights wore
blue straps of leather around their
legs as mark of designation. 1t is
generally accepted, however. that the
order was founded by Edward III. In
or about 1850, but again the authori
ties differ as to why he founded it.
Some say that he used his own garter
as signal at the battle of Crecy,
while others say that the Countess of
Salisbury lost her garter at a court
ball, that Edward picked it up and
handed it to her, and then, observing
some smiles over the chance affair,
remarked: Evil be to him who evil
thinks" (Honi soft vi NAL Y pense),
which is the well-known motto of the
order The official title runs-the
most noble" order of the garter; and
such it is-the finest thing of the kind
possessed by Great Britain, and prob
ably the finest thing of the kind that
there is in the world.
1t is really club of kings. There
are about sixty members at the pres
ent time, including one woman-Queen
Alexandra, who is designated as the
lady of the garter. OF these sixty
members more than twenty are heredi-
tary monarchs and their legal success
sors. The remainder is made up OF
members of the royal family Of Eng
land, and of men of capacity Of the
best stock of England The non-royal
members consist of dukes, marquesses,
earls and bishops. Austria, Belgium,
Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Per
STA, Portugal Roumania Russia,
Spain, Sweden, Wuertemoerg and
Hesse are represented in the royal list,
and such men as Earl Spencer, the
Marques of Ripon, the Duke of Nor
folk, the Duke of Devonshire, the
Earl of Rosebery, the Marques of
Lansdowne, Earl Roberts 0ittle Bob).
the bishop of Winchester and Che
bishop of Oxford are among the Eng
fish members. Almost all of the royal
members are fine and capable men
without regard to their official station
men that any club would be very
glad to have among its members. The
most inferior of the lot, personally. Is
probably the present shah of Persia,
but he stands for a country that,
withered as it now is, is great in his
torical durability and charm.
We have no doubt that the hand of
the king of England is to be seen in
the addition of the emperor of Japan
to this list. The addition is tactful
and deserved-a bit of social cement
added to the alliance betweea Great
Britain and Japan that will solidify,
by personal relation, the mutual po-
litical considerations upon which
this alliance rests. The whole pro-
ceeding is like King Edward, who has
the gift of making personal courtesy
serve and strengthen great interests of
state. Prince Arthur of Connaught,
the only son of the Duke of Connaught
the king, only surviving brother-is
to head the mission that will be sent
to Toxic early next year in order to
confer the order upon the Japanese
emperor. In thus promptly recogniz-
ing the antiquity of the Japanese
imperial family, and also its present
virile force in the affairs of the world,
King Edward accords to his Far East
ern ally well-earned place in this So
ciety of kings. There is no court So
ciety in Europe whose directing and
shaping force is not derived from the
members of the Order of the Garter.
France is republic, and therefore has
no court, so that she is not in this list;
but what goes socially in the king
doms and empires of Europe, goes al
so in France The imperial family of
Japan, after a thousand years and
more of Oriental seclusion, has at last,
through the good sense of the present
mikado, and the capacity and patrio-
tism of the Japanese people, arrived
at the first place in the social arrange
ments of the world. 1t has been Of
ficially announced in London that the
British legation at Toxic is immediate
ly to be raised TO an embassy, so that
at the time the Order of the Garter is
conferred upon the emperor King Ed
ward will be in communication with
his ally upon the intimate terms of
personal representation. Take it all
in all, the king of England has stretch
ed out hand from the west to the
far east that fails in nothing in the
particulars of respect and cordially.
We have no doubt that time will
stamp his quick courtesy as an act of
wise craftsmanship.