Omaha daily bee., 1910-11-26
THANKSGIVING IN LONDON
Ambassador Reid Tells Of Duties Of
Foreign Ambassador.
RECEPTION FOR REAR ADMIRAL
Officers Of American Fleet In English
waters Are HonOred-seymour
Says America e. Emerging
from shell.

| LONDON. Nov 25.-The American So
cietles' Thanksgiving dinner. which was
! held last night in Connaught rooms. was
1 made the occasion Of a demonstration in
/ honor Of Rear Admiral Murdoch and other
/ officers OF the American fleet at present In
| English waters.
/ Ambassador Reid and Mrs. Reid and the
/ members OF the American colony with
their wives had gathered in force under tho
presidency Of A. G Glasgow to welcome
/ the American officers and prominent Brit
/ fish naval men who had been invited TO
| meet them. Among the latter present were
| Admiral Sir Edward Hobart Seymour, Rear
Admiral j. r. Jellicoc and Sir William
Henry white, the famous naval construc-
/ tor. Admiral Seymour in proposing the
| health Of President Taft. said the visit Of
/ the American fleet was an indication that
America at last was coming out Of the
/ diplomatic shell to take the interest which
! It should take in nations on this side Of
the Atlantic. II It did this, he added. it
! certainly would be in the interest Of peace.
Mr.. Reid was called upon to respond to
toast to THE American Ambassador"
Reds Speech.
! He began by acknowledging the cordially
l with which they received IL as we'll as the
! kindness Of the terms in which it had been
| prepared but what he specially wished he
| said, to thank them for, was yielding to
/ his repeated requests and for the first time
| in six years leaving him to bear only his
own burdens, and not loading him also
/ with the duty of a set Thanksgiving
speech. He really did not know how many
/ he had made overe here on such occasions
He was only sure that the last was the
fifth in regular annual succession in the
same place, before the same audience. on
the same subject. He had been surprised
at this continued requirement as well as
amazed at the patience with which they
] had endured what they invited and he
was now grateful for their mercy to him
/ as well as to themselves in giving him a
| rest from double duty. He then con
tinued:
Il suppose l ought really to hesitate now
about any further response. l saw last
! year In popular and extremely clever book
on England and the English, which a great
many Of you were reading about the same
time a discouraging view as to any after
dinner speaking whatever by ambassadors.
The author often shows much judicious APP
probation and clever insight; but Of our
luckless appearance on occasions like this
he declares that A clawless kitten is not
more harmless or uninformng than for.
eign ambassador at a banquet
1t is not for me to dispute this dictum
or ignore it, And yet one wonders what
precise role this American citizen thinks
his foreign ambassador ought to plav on
such an occasion. Does he want him to
appear as clawing and scratching old cat?
Foreign Relations Necessary.
Many people may have thought itself
Isolated and may wish to remain so. But
when 1t has passed the first raw stages of
national existence and attained something
/ OF higher civilization that comes with age.
! education and above ALL with wider ex-
perience and interests II realizes more and
more the inevitable necessity of foreign
relations Of some sort and of business with
all the world. 1t finds accordingly its in
terest, no less than its duty, in making the
relations peaceful and pleasant II possible.
Its diplomatic corps thus becomes and must
become more and more the right arm of its
foreign service, while the navy and army
must be relegated 70 the place of a left
arm. They, in fact, are to be called into
vigorous use only on extraordinary occa-
sions, II at ALL and only as a last resort
But the duty Of the right arm is constant
and vital
| Il suppose what an ambassador is sent
| abroad for under modern and civilized con-
ditions is a very simple and straightforward
work. II Is to look out for the interests Of
his own country, and to protect and pro-
mote them 80 far as he can by honorable
and peaceful means. For this purpose II
may be that telling the truth with good
will may often be quite as useful to the
country that sends him as clawing and
scratching at the country to which he ia
sent
THE pursuit Of honorable American a.
plomacy, sir finds its type neither in the
clswless kitten nor in the scratching cat
! First protect and promote the interests Of
your own country. Next keep the peace.
These are the two great commandments
II there Is higher service to be rendered
/ ones country, or humanity no man has vet
pointed II out. II there is a nobler per-
Torrance connected with the merely human
affairs no man has yet found it out"
Rear Admiral Murdoch expressed his
thanks for the reception that he and his
men had received in London and Sir VIII
liam Henry White ana Rear Admiral Jelu
coe paid high tributes to the efficiency Of
the American navy
Celebration in Berlin,
BERLIN, Nov A.-DaVid jayne Hill
American ambassador, presided at a
Thanksgiving dinner at which 925 Ameri-
cans were present tonight. Mr.. Hill pro-
posed the health Of President Taft, to whom
a cable dispatch of greeting was sent. ana
also toasted Emperor William.
Prof. Hugo Muensterberg, professor NJ
psychology at Harvard university, spoke
OF ideallsm in America and c. Alphonse
Smith, professor OF English literature In
the University of Virginia, made a speeeb
on the appreciation Of the United States by
! Germany.
vote OF thanks was accorded Consul
General Thackeray and his wife, who or
ganized the dinner. Dancing followed the
| feast
TpINKc OE NAbF OoR ,.,zo