El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-08

= HAVE met with much prejudice
4 against Americans, in the course Of
= my travels in Europe Most OF the
prejudice is sheer ignorance Britons,
from being the most travelled people
on earth. are now the most inSular-
They see the world through the dis
torting medium Of bigOted newspapers
have never seen any newspapers less
open minded than some British daily
and weekly journals -
Among the many fictions about
Americans 1 find an occasional TACT
and when this fact is antagonist1c 70
the American character it is painful 10
Americans in Europe, doubly so when
those Americans are doing what they
can to remove the cataract OF ignor-
ance from the eyes of intelligent Eu-
ropeans. The damning fact which 1 am
having thrown at me in every direc-
ton is the anxiety Of some American
parents TO wed their daughters TO Eu-
ropean aristOcrats.
Our nobility is an absolutely ex-
ploded superstition The blue blood
and the ancient genealogical tree are
myths The aristocracy of England is
almost entirely a modern thing of ig-
nominious, origin. Hardly a dozen no.
BILE families date their titles beyond
recent times Most of them have join
ed the ermined circle within the last
three generatiOns-many are as self
manufactured as our own rubber kings
or railroad millionaires-
There Is indeed a prejudice among
great Englishment against the title
which hides a far nobler "cOmmOner's"
name Benjamin Disraeli became the
earl of BeacOnsfield and thereby vulgar
lied the whole bench Of 'belted earls-"
No great statesman since his day has
given himself Cor accepted at the
hands of his sovereign a title of no
bility
W E Gladstone might have been a
marquis or anything else He died
commoner. Sir Henry Campbell Banner
man could not help his sir" but he
never let himself assume an ariStocratic
name which he would have abhorred.
Nor Is this example confined TO the lib
eral ranks. The defender of the house
of lords and of all old-fashiOned insti-
tutions Is Arthur James Balfour, the
beloved of duche SSes, and a Hneal
descendant of the Elizabethan Cecils-
a family of statesmen since the 18th
century. Mr.. BalfOur, as prime minister,
was like Disraeli, able to give himself
any title he fancied He will die as he
was born without any prefix or title.
Joseph Chamberlain and his son, Austin
Chamberlain, had only TO give sign.
and hereditary "honors' would be
as was ". E. Gladstone to lose his
identity in a meaningless title, Hen
mixer Heaton, the pioneer of the two
cent mail was offered a title when
the United States joined with Great
Britain in a universal penny postage
for English speaking countries. Mr.
Heaton refused il and retained the re-
spect of democrats everywhere.
Titles in England are under cloud.
Their origin is hardly ambiguity. The
reason why respected citizens decline
to accept titles is because they know
how much things can be purchased.
Artemus Ward hit the nail on the head
when he said he had called at the
house of lords ard asked for their tar
if. Mr.. Asquith and Mr.. Balfour would
not accept peerages, partly because
they have sold so many. 1t is said open
ly in England. in the press, and in par
lament without contradiction (because
the facts are strikingly obyious) that
the king of England "ennobles" such
individuals as subscribe sufficiently
large sums to the political funds OF
the party in office. Brewers, contrac-
tors, money lenders, bankers. hotel pro-
prietors, merchants and others be
come peers, although their, only con-
nectiOn with the public has been the
usual one of exploiting it in the or
binary course of business.
There could, accordingly, be no worse
time for the British people to become
accustomed to the idea, that a number
of American parents are anxious to
contract matrimonial alliance with an
effete and discredited aristocracy. Mu-
tua1 contempt may be the result. The
United States will not learn to re-
spect Britishers, whose principal OBJ
ject in wooing our daughters is a de-
sire to share the dollars accumulated
a
is likely TO continue its contempt for