The Washington herald., 1911-05-16
THE FESTIVAL OF EMPIRE.

British Festival of Empire. believe 1t Is
big idea. Behind these buildings Of
lath and plaster which are being put up
as II by magic in the London Crystal
Palace grounds; behind the great pano-
rama OF painted scenery which gives a
wonderful Illusion Of natural grandeur.
OF changing climates, and Of many coun-
tries; behind the commonest object ex-
hibited in the halls Of this exhibition.
, there is the idea. for which through GEN.
| turtles men Of British blood have done
great adventures in heroism, hardship,
and endurance.
This exhibition in the grounds Of the
Crystal Palace enshrines that great idea
OF empire which has become the
achievement Of the British race. Here, in
miniature. is the vivid object lesson Of
that achievement. Here, in facsimile.
are the Parliament houses of England's
daughter nations. telling the story of how
the traditions, the liberties and the laws,
gained after long struggles and strife in
that little island, have been handed on to
self-governing dominions beyond the seas.
Here. also, gathered in one place, are
specimens Of the empires great treas
lures. OF its natural resources of its indus
try. of its arts and crafts, expressing the
character of its many peoples, east and
west, north and south.
| This Festival of Empire is not the
l,glorification of the soldier nor of
power created and upheld by the sword.
Here is the living picture of an empire
gained not so much by fighting as by
| the courage of endurance. of industry,
and of long patience. Here honor Is
l.given to those farmers and merchants
and thrifty traders who dared and SUI
fered in order to obtain prosperous
homes and peaceful lives. Yet though
these were the chief motives which
inspired the men who made the empire.
1t has been a spirit of patriotism. or
loyalty to the mother country, and OF
reverence for the traditions of the race.
which has held the empire together In
a confederacy of nations.
AS the old Roman could say, however
poor or humble: Il am a citizen of no
mean city" so the ordinary English
man. the "cockney," or provincial, COM
ing to the festival and roaming about
its buildings and gazing at its scenic
displays and colonial exhibits, Will find
himself uplifted; he will gain. as II
were, a wider mental horizon, and he
will say: After all, the empire means
something to me. belong to a great
race"
Perhaps he will go away with new
grit. with new strength OF character.
with new hopefulness.s II can hardly
be denied that lately pessimism has
crept over the English people. They
have been downhearted. There has
been too much talk of national deca-
dence. Here in the Crystal Palace
grounds is the cure for these melan-
comes to the Festival of Empire but
will go away invigorated with the
sense that the British empire is lead
er in the modern world. and that its
natural resources are prodigious.
More than this. Here are the outward
and visible signs of a great confederacy
of nations, bound together by brother
hood, intimately related and Joined by all
the ties of family. For this festival is
not the work of a clever Snowman, ex-
plotting the empire for his own interest.
1t has been built up by the colonies
themselves. The governments and the
great statesmen and business men of the
oversee dominions have taken great
part in its organization. They have sent
over the best and most characteristic
products of their countries. They have
worked with enthusiasm to make the fes-
tival a real picture Of the imperial pos
sessions.
From oversee dominions will come
for the coronation vast numbers Of men
and women who have made their homes
in far-off places of the earth, yet still
look to England as the mother country.
Many hundreds of them will take part
in that great pageant of empire which.
under the direction of Mr.. Frank Las
~ will
tell. in living pictures, the story OF those
great adventures by which the empire
was founded and developed.
In the grounds of the Crystal Palace
the Londoner will rub shoulders with
his colonial cousins. The Crystal Palace.
during the coming months. will be the
meeting place of the empire. where
East meets West, where brothers Of the
race. divided by half world in their
homes and work, will make holiday to-
gether and renew their family bonds.
The imagination of the dullest fellow
will be stirred by all that he will see and
hear in this hive of empire. His awak-
ening will begin when he travels from
one end Of the empire to the other. 1t is
journey Of but mile and a half, yet
so cleverly has 1t been done that he will
have the most astonishing illusion OF
worldwide realities, passing through the
splendor and the natural majesty and the
quiet beauty of characteristic scenes in
Canada, Newfoundland, Australia, New
Zealand. India, South Africa. and other
colonial possessions. He will see the
dazzling whiteness of an Indian city and
look into the dim mystery OF an Indian
temple. He will pass through the vine
yards of South Australia and under
groves on which the rich grapes cluster.
He will gaze at the glory Of Niagara and
at the heights of Table Mountain.
For the first time in his life he will
gain a bird's-eye view. as vivid almost as
in life itself. Of what the British empire
means in its vastness and variety. But
this first impression will be deepened and
broadened as he wanders through the
government buildings in which Is the
treasure trove of the, empires products
and industry and art. It will seem to
him, not without justice. that all things
which the heart Of man may desire in
usefulness and in luxury and in beauty
are produced within the bounds Of the
imperial dominions. They need not go
beyond their own borders for any Of
their desires.
nlimitable are the riches Of their own
empire, as here shown for the first time
in one place. The man who has not el-
bow room at home. the man in whom
there stirs a spirit Of adventure, the
restless heart, desiring change of life and
habits, will realize that among people Of
his own tongue and race and under the
rule of the same King there are bound
less prospects awaiting him and infinite
possibilities.