Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-06
ONLY TO MEET A KING

"Ths London correspondents Of the
| American newspapers arc commenting
| with their usual excusable Jocoseness
| upon the lamentations Of the horde Of
rich but not otherwise distinguished
Americans-particula American wom-
enfolk-who are f1ling the English air
] with their outcries because the American
| ambassador at the court Of st. James
| hasn't found It within the bounds Of pos
sibiiity to present en- all to king Edward
| and Queen Alexandra" observed q gen
tleman OF the Department OF STATE. IT'S
the same old story over there every year.
| The vast majority Of England-touring
Americans possessed Of large bank rolls
and presentable womenfolk imagine that
| they are entitled to go through the ordeal
| of presentation at court II for no other
reason than that this country maintains
an ambassador whose sole business it is
| or ought to be, according to their view
| to attend to these things.
| 1T Is. q matter of the simplest
| course. wholly without the bounds Of
| reason for our ambassadors and ministers
| over seas to present to the various en-
| perors. kings. potentates and presidents
| Of Europe all Of the several hundreds Of
1 thousands Of Americans who take ship
| for the other side every year. Even II all
| Of the touring Americans were distin-
guished and fine and witty persons such
/ a thing would be physically impossible.
| II not altogether out of the question, for
| some thousands OF other excellent rea-
| sons. And among these thousands of
| other excellent reasons the chief one, Of
course Is that the European rulers really
| do not want to meet and converse with
| some hundreds of thousands Of Ameri-
! cans. 1t Is a nice point as to just what
| sort of Americans are eligible for pres
| entation at European courts, the premise
being allowed that all Of these courts
| 10, IA
! peculiar and tinical. notions as to this
| matter. Our ambassadors and ministers,
\ 1t may be as we'll to say at once, al Q thor
| oughly familiar with the presentation
| code, rarely or never lean to snobbish-
| ness in this respect, and, all things con-
sidered. make marvelously few mistakes
in handling this difficult part OF their
tasks
| But among many Americans travelling
abroad the idea appears to prevail that It
4 Is only necessary that they be rich or
| exceedingly well-to-do. and that they
make this fact sufficiently manifest to
| American representatives near the courts,
! for them to be taken Immediately by the
| hand. together with their womenfolk,
| and led directly into the presence of EN-
peror William. King Edward, Emperor
| Francis Joseph. King Alfonso, or the
| French president, as the case may be.
When they ascertain that the matter Is
| by no means simple they generally
| fume great deal. accuse the sorely tried
| ambassador or minister OF snobbfshness,
! and then plump themselves down and
| write the most vitriolic things about the
Secretary Of State or to their home town
! newspapers.
ut happened not so long ago that the son
| Of a wealthy brewer permitted himself to
become needlessly peevish in the senti-
ments he expressed in a letter to a Wis
| consin newspaper with reference to our am
| bassador to Germany. This young gentle
| man was in Berlin with his wife. and he
| " pfed II vii INN Villa
| His honest old brewer dad had met the
| emperor and had been most cordially
| treated by him. and, although the son was
born in Wisconsin. he feft certain kind
| ness for and federation toward the Hohen-
| zollerns. But-he forgot certain little incl
| dents and matters with respect to his own
| personality and that OF bis wife. Two
! cruel and inhuman treatment, thoroughly
| well proved in the trial Of the cases. and
the wife he had with him In Berlin-his
! third spouse-had herself been divorced by
] her first husband on charges that were any
| thing but pretty reading. 1t was the busi-
| ness Of the American ambassador to Ger
many to know all about these things. and
| the couple to the Emperor and Empress Of
Germany was manifestly out Of the ques-
! ton. The ambassador. as matter OF
| course was very nice about 1t all But
"' Say, look here what's the trouble, any
| way" Indignantly demanded the somewhat
| obtuse son of the brewer. My father
| talked with Emperor William for three
quarters of an hour few years ago.
| 1T wasn't possible. Of course. for the am
| bassador to point out the difserence-that
| the rolled young mans father was hon
| est old German, who'd raised mis- very large
| family of boys and girls without ever being
mixed up in anything morally questionable
! In his life. and that therefore, he was just
| the sort OF old-fashioned American-res.d-
ing German that the emperor took particu-
lar delight in meeting. The ambassador
did the best he could. however, toward
! modifying the young man, but It wasn't
| any good. The brewers son wrote some
perfectly awful things to the Wisconsin
| newspaper about the uppishness and snob-
| bishness and cheap aristocraticalness Of the
ambassador. which was very sad, It GER
| tainly was.
either. that a certain very wealthy Michi-
gan manufacturer, who had been divorced
| by no less than three unhappy ladies. after
they had borne his name and his abuse for
| worked up about the American ambassador
| to the court of st. James, because that
finty-hearted diplomatist eourteously de-
clined to present him and his fourth wife
4 a former show girl with tempestuous past
| to the king and queen Of Great Britain.
He wrote fearfully cross letter about 1t.
| too, to an American newspaper. Then, last
year. was the case CT the Colorado man and
| his family. The Colorado man had struck
| it rich while grub-stakng around the Grip
| pie Creek country and his wad had sud-
denly made noise like millions. He ar
| rived in London with his wife and their
| Ave daughters Now. they were all real
| nice. buxom. substantial women folk, the
| FIVE girls being apple-cheeked and just
| dressed to kill wherever they went. But
| there really seemed to be no particular
| reason why the American ambassador
should introduce the mother and the five
| girls. all in a row. to King Edward and the
| queen. When the father Of this interesting
| family was informed that certain circum-
| stances over which the ambassador had no
| control would prevent. ETC.. ETC.. he, too,
| was as cut up and angry about it as he
1 could. be-, and 50 were his wife and the five
| apple-cheeked daughters, and he got a man
\ he knew to write very jolly letter to a
| Colorado newspaper about 1t all. and there
| was the very dickens to pay. yes, there GER
| tainly was.
1.-The demands Of travelling Americans
| even upon their minor representatives in
foreign countries are. to say the least. ex-
| orbttant and unreasonable. One Of our
1 consuls general in the far east WAS scored
| quite severely last year by the champion
/ letter writer Of a party of American tour
4 lists who had visited the far eastern city
! where the consul general lives. The con-
| sui general. 1t appeared. had never so much
| as offered to take those tourists about the
city and show them all the points of in