The Washington herald., 1917-04-23
BRITISH ENJOYS WELCOMED
BY THRONG AS FLAGS WAVE
Cheer BALFOUR PARTY
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arrived in squads. platoons, and compa-
nies.
The great doorways Of the Presidents
entrance to the station. seldom opened
even for the uses of the Chief Magistrate
himself, swung wide. and then, within =
few minutes of train time, Sir Cecil
Spring Rice, accompanied by Sir Richard
Crawford and Counselor Barclay, ar
rived and Joined Secretary Lansing,
Counselor Polk, Assistant Secretaries
Phillips and Breckenridge Long. and Mr..
Hugh Gibson, who were to constitute the
diplomatic receiving party.
Then came a brief wait. The stage had
been set for the ceremony. and all that
was needed was for the leviathan loco
motive to trundle up to the station plat.
forms. The crowd in the great bare plaza
was patient. Those in the crowd waited.
and as they waited they watched for
the first sign of life among the yellow.
trapped cayalrymen. Promptly at 2
o'clock there was sharp bugle blast.
The cavalrymen swung into their saddles.
Then the wait of a moment, while the
deep murmur Of applause from inside
the station drifted through the arches-
There was another bugle blast and
sharp command and 200 sabres flashed
in the sun as they came to the salute.
and the bright guidons dropped as the
head of the British foreign ONCE and the
Secretary Of State of the United States
emerged into the daylight.
Cheer Follows Cheer.
The crowd broke loose. Cheer followed
cheer. not the concerted football sort of
cheers that are significant of studied
drill and military regularity. but the
spontaneous sort of cheers, yells, hur-
rahs, and braves, intermingled without
regard for euphony or unison. but superb
Iy noisy and supremely genuine. Auto
mobile horns added to the din which
soon was taken up by the locomotive en-
gineers in the railway yard.
From the ranks of the crowd there was
n vast amount of waving OF fags and
handkerchiefs in enthusiastic accompani-
ment to the cheering. Mr.. Balfour. hat
in hand. smiled his greeting. and the
crowd yelled again. Back OF the noted
british statesman there appeared Mai.
Gen. Leonard Wood. in army blue, &C
companying Mai. Gen. Bridges, R. A, in
the Ereenish khaki of the British war
service uniform, with its scarlet-banded
CAP and collar marks. The appearance of
the two soldiers was greeted with more
enthusiastic shrieks from the motor
horns and more strenuous yells from the
crowd.
Troop TrOts Ahead.
Several minutes were occupied in get
ting the party comfortably slowed in the
waiting automobiles. several of them
handsome dark blue cars from the
White House garage, bearing the famous
insignia emblaZoned on their doors.
Meanwhile Troop c trotted to the head
Of the line and Troop B fell in behind,
and with a farewell shout from the null
titude, which was growing more and
more enthusiastic every minute, the lit
tie procession started.
It was indeed a triumph and day for
a. triumph Almost as the dwellers In
Washington watched their progress un-
der the mellowing rays Of the sun, the
great trees lining Massachusetts avenue
and Sixteenth street had sprung into
half-leaf. The streets were brilliant un-
der the vivid spring green and the crowd
and the waving flags along the way IN
tensified the brilliance OF the scene as
they intensified the look Of smiling graf
ifcation which spread over the couhte-
nance Of Mr. Balfour.
Through Massachusetts, avenue. Which
in the immediate neighborhood OF the
Union Station is street OF slnple[
homes and which grows in beauty OF
architecture and magnihcence of its resi-
dences westward, the cavalade and the
chugging motors progressed. From every
window, from every balcony, from curb
stones and little front porches the fam
ily heads and the housewives and the
Young folks waved a greeting. Every
house had its flag and every voice
cheer.
Rounding the Public Library the pro
cession entered the more elegant section
of the avenue. Again there was cheer
ing and more flag waving. At Scott cir
Gle an abrupt turning to the right brought
the splendid thoroushfare of Sixteenth
street, crowned with its steep Meridian
Hill into view. Here the enthusiasm
reached its limit.
Sixteenth street from the circle to the
Long residence, which is to be Mr. Bal
fours home during his American So
iourn. was black with people. At both
sides of the street for the entire two
miles of the northbound trip stood solid
rank of automobiles. The curbstones
we're filled with standing onlookers, and
the window parties were legion. TIE
ride through the erstwhile Avenue of the
Presidents was a fitting climax to the
general triumph.
Passes French Embassy.
In the upper end of Sixteenth street
the procession passed the French Embas-
sy. Ambassador Jusserand had assembled
or more of attractively habited women. to
wave their allies a greeting. From
high window of the great white sand
stone chateau waved alone the Tri-
color. But It was the biggest, brightest
Tricolor that Washington has ever seen.
Mr.. Balfour waved his top hat. and the
French party bowed and waved their
handkerchiefs in return. And then, In
a few more seconds the Cavalry swung
out of it's position and lined up in single
rank opposite the house chosen for the
British party. Again the bugles brayed
and the sabers swung in the air. The
guidons dropped. and only the little
cavalry miniature of the Stars and Stripes
stood stiff and straight
In dismounting from his motor car
with Secretary Lansing and Col Harts,
the Presidents military aid, Mr.. Bal
four cast his eyes appreciatively over
the crowd which cheered and cheered
him again. Then he looked up at the
cream-colored facade of the temporary
headquarters of the British foreign Of
fee, the Washington Downing street
At the top OF the building he saw the
Star Spangled Banner and the Union
Jack entwined. Over the marquise he
beheld a big Union Jack tapping in the