Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-03-22
THE BLOOD" OF THE AMERICAN
HEIRESS

dispatch from Rome states that
italian court circles and society In
general are greatly Interested in the
report that an Italian duke. man OF
achievement and genuine distinction,
contemplates marriage with an Amer
lean girl. According TO this dispatch.
which purports TO give the gossip OF
Rome. the dukes friends maintain
that the blood OF the BRIDES family
Is as good as that OF tho descendant
of Montenegrin shepherd whom the
King married from n semi civilized
court" This allusion Is to Queen
Elena. n daughter of the Prince OF
Montenegro.
As 4 rule. titled European suitord
for tho hearts and hands of American
, heircsses have magnanimouRly ignor-
cd considerations of blood. There Ia
no caste in blood. wrote Sid Edwin Ar.
mold which runneth OF one hnc. Ger
tain, II there Is. the Old World noble
men have easily adapted themselves
| TO the democratic theories of the New
World. They have been happy to wed
our girls on the assumption that the
plebcian strain in the veins OF Amer.
lean heirese5cs Ia q minor defect, more
than Offset By their plethoric purses.
To paraphrase Sir Edwin Arnold
there is no caste in gold" The Eu-
ropcan noblcman can be more luxuri.
GUS with the coin of Uncle Sans opu-
lent daughters thnn he can be with
the beauty unadorned with gold of the
titled and "nobly born" women of the
Old World. Therefore he overlooks
the Americans brides humble descent
In hfe- To
cial scale-and through Cupid to
make himself solid with mammon.
There is an old and concise max
i'm, "blood tells which is very sug.
gestive. Blood" does tell" but OF.
ton in way which is disastrous
There have been kings and men OF
title who never did good thing and
never said wise thing, who were an
afliiction TO Themselves and to their
people. On the other hand. there have
been men born in humble circum
stances who have risen to great
we have had Presidents who werr
of the plain people--one a railsplit
tor in his youth. another the driver
Iof canal boat. the third tailor.
If they had had daughters for whom,
there were titled suitors the ques-
ton of blood might have L'acn rails
ed aud European society might have
derided these plebeian descendants OF
American Presidents. And yet man
who has been elected President of the
United States has attained a far high
or station than that of tho hereditary
monarch or the man who receives n
patent Of nobility. With one possible
exception, we know OF no sovereign
Of Europe who could be elected Chief
Magistrate of this rcpublic--if for
cigners were eligible under our con-
Stitution. We know of no king or en-.
peror. with ono exception, who could
discharge the duties of President with
as great ability as the average Amer
lean statesman Blood tells un-
questionable. and We believe Amcri-
can blood tells" more for efficiency
and achievement and. in the long run.
for humanity, than that of any other
people.
There Is no cause for snccring at
the King OF Italy because he married
the descendant of a Montcncgrin
ihcphcrd II Is rather ridiculous as
sumption that king is necessarily
worry much greater in all the qualities
Of manhood than n man not horn In
The purple. As q matter of fact most
Of the kings OF History have rot risen
above the level of tho ave- &c man,
and many OF them hayr lien below
IT. WHAT king in the eighteenth cen
tnry or since was equal to our own
Washington or his peer in patriotism?
Our American sovereigns are the
EQUALS of the Old World nobility in
all that constitutes sterling manhood.
and II Is amazing that Old World so
ciety or courts should raise tho ques-
ton of blood What American
blood has achieved is written large