Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1911-06-22
KING GEORGE Wand y
QUEEN MARY CROWNED.
Scenes in Westminster Abbey.
Crowds DisappOinting---Appar
ent Frost.

London, June 22.-With pomp and
pageantry putting to shame the his
toric splendor of the middle ages, demo
cratic Britain gratifed her inborn love
OF formal show today when amidst the
most dazzling sceEes recorded in his.
tory, she crowned George V and his
vile Mary. King and Queen OF the
United Kingdom OF Great Britain and
Ireland and the British Dominions be-
yond the Seas. !" The crown was
placed upon Georges head at 12:37 p.
m. and just fifteen minutes later, the
crowning OF the Queen, much shorter
ceremony, had been concluded.
The venerable Archbishop OF Can
terbury, summoniug his rapidly waning
strength for the climax OF the spectacu
lar ccrem monial, his hands trembling
with emotion, placed the crowns upon
the heads of the new rulers, at which
the vast audience broke its restraint
with cheer, that, waking the echoes
amid the time-dimmed rafters Of the
ancient abbey, was taken upon by the
;hrongs without and carried to the ends
Of the British empire.
Despite the tremendous outpourlng
OF the people, the magniticence OF
the coronation scene itself, and the
general excitement, nothing could
bave been more apparent than that to-
days demonstration, from popular
standpoint, was far short of eXptcta-
lious. The crowds were enormous,
but so far short OF what the police and
soldiers were prepared to handle thai
the extensive preliminary work ap-
peared actually ridiculous.
Notwithstanding that there were paid
cheer-leaders along the lines OF the pro.
cession, the vocal outburst, were so
lacking i'll spout .neity as to almost
make the term frost" apply with
peculiar propriety to the portion OF
the event ip which the middle classes
figured.
The lack Of genuine enthusiasm was
generally commented upon by loyal
Britishers as well as cynical foreigners.
Iuside the abbey, naturally, where
tie royalists were gathered, there was
enthusiasm enough to suit the most
exacting. But wherever the pulse OF
common people could be felt, it was
found to heat feebly.
All foot traffic was stopped at $50
d. y, In.aled,atciy thereafter tue first
section OF the procession got under way,
and it arrived at the abbey at 800.
The second section started at 10, aud
the third, in which their majestles rode,
at 1928. An army of detectives, osten
sibly mere spectators, kept pace with
the royal carriages, signalling TO other
detectives in tho stands. who IN turn
phoned 10 Scotland Yard the progress
OF the royal carriage and all the sur
rounding conditions. In this way
Scotland Yard was kept in touch with
king and queen frolh she palace TO the
abbey.
The sky was slightly overcast and
occasianal spriukles tended to mar the
briIliancy of the occasion.
Queen Mary withslood the crowning
appearance was wholly i'll keeping with
the exalted station To which she was
raised, looking far more the part than
her royal spouse.
The procession back to the palace
began at 2:O3. As their majesties
emerged from the abbey, the greatest
demonstration Of the day occurred.
Cheers greeted the royal pair, and ln
spite of the coronation depression, their
majestieS stnled and nodded their
acknowledgements with more snthusl-
asm than they had ever been known 10
show before. The return trip evoked
much more enthusiasm than the Jour
ney 70 the Abbey.
A number of incidents that looked
for a while as though lhry would re-nlt
seriously marked the parade IL a"d
from the Abbey. The worst occurred
at Trafalgar Square, where The pol &C
nearly precipilatrd rirt wicn they
attempted to clear roadway for The
procession. Many at tn. ~, !atur>
wnom the police drove back had been
III their positions for hours aud they
stoutly resisted dISird m,nt. The
police line was momrniarliy hrnSen
aud had it not been that over Shelming
rein uforcemeuts were ru>hci t" the
scene, the crowd would have baked
the procession. The reinfurccments
drove the people back unceremonious-
II, several being slightly Injured
Just before the king entered the
abbey, one Of the guardsman's horses
took fright and threx its rider. The
horse dashed toward the spectators,
&ho were iammed so closely that they
could not get out of the way. A daring
policeman saved trouble, however, by
linging himself at the horses head
md catching the bridle
A number of persons were injured
Just before the return parade in
panic caused by a fire truck dashing
through the crowd. Scores of specta-
tors were knocked down and several
run over. None OF the injuries was
serious.
London, June 22.-The belief in the
minds OF countless thousands of Brit
ish subjects that today's expenditure Of
millions in The coronation OF King
George and Queen Mary was wanton
waste Of money that might better have
been spent to relieve the widespread
poverty in the empire, served to dampen
popular enthusiasm for the coronation
tnd gave an inauspicious start to the