Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-02-09

to barbarous times namely, that an ampas-
sador might whisper in the ear OF the SOW
eroign of the country to which he was ac-
credited. but that he might not talk to the
people of that country.
Whispering in the ears of sovereigns ana
not talking to the people has been the cause
of many wars.
You have the authority of Mr.. Wilson
himself for this.
TT is easy to see why the rule that an am
L bassador must talk only to sovereigns
came into being.
In the early days to be different nations
was to be almost permanently in state OIL
hostility or at least suspicion
Yet communication between nations was
necessary.
For this purpose the ambassador was in
vented.
II was ticklish business, being an am
bassador
So that there should be no mistake he
went directly to the person of the sovereign
Of the country he had business with.
If be had stopped on the way to talk to
| gentlemen of the press, as Bernstorff did or
Reading or all modern ambassadors do, some
! one would have run spear through him
The person Of the sovereign was sacred
| RpnrpSpDtlng one sovereign anu bNlhS VI
rectlv to the presence of another sovereign,
| the person OF the ambassador acquired cei =
! tain sacredness
| The perfume of the divine right Of kings
cIrnp to the man who got his words directly
from the mouth of one king and whispered
them directly into the ear of another king.
| And the ambassador needed in his business
| oyarv hit of sacredness he could pick up by
sticking pretty closely to the kings,
| Moreover, this was his function mar
rowly defined and jealousy guarded function.
If he did anything else, II ne stopped on
the street and talked to the masses or did
not keep eyes front seeking always the divine
presence of the sovereign, somebody would
think he was doing little spying on the
side and run him through.
If he went O. nights and collogued with thu
pretender with the Lodge Of those days
q q q
TIME last hit of the divine right of king'
l. surviving today is the right to have tht
only ear in which an ambassador may prop
erly whisper.
When Mr. Wilson gets angry at Lore
Grey's letter he gets angry because the divin
right of kings has been invaded, and this Il
spite of all he has said about open diplomac,
and about the right of the people to know al
about the diplomatic relations of their gov
erpmpnt with foreign governments;
But in these days you cannot run a spear
head through an ambassador who forfeits hi
sacrednesa by talking into other than tn
sacred ear,
All You can do is to call in the gentleme
Of the press, the lord high executoners q
modern society, aud tell them that you ar
dispeased.
q q q
VNHE thing that has ruined tne ctiqueRe e
l. diplomacy is the thing that has de
stroyed so many ancient polite forms. tn
arrival Of the people as the main factor i
government.
1t is all very well to whisper in the ear
of sovercigns but what all governments war
to do today is to shout in the market place
| in the cars Of each others people
Mr.. Wilson began it when his ambassadc
extraordinary told the gentlemen Of the Brit
> ish press that his master was insistent upo
unified command Of the allied forces o
! the western front
10 be sure, be did SO with the approyi