The Washington herald., 1920-03-28

he had had a commission for the
last sixteen months to paint the
President, though whether to the
order Of one of the governments
represented at the Peace Confer
ence or some British or American
admirer Of the Chief Magistrate of
the United States Is not definitely
known.
EXPECTS GREETING
AT WHITE HOUSE.
/ It may safely be taken for
granted, the Marquise continued,
that Laszlo would not have crossed
the Atlantic at this particular time
unless he had received a definite as
surance that the necessary sitfings
would be accorded to him at the
White Mouse. In fact, his rather
sudden departure for America with
the object Of proceeding without de-
lay to Washington has left the inn
preston in England that Woodrow
Wilson is in a far. better condition
OF health than was generally be-
lieved by his countrymen until the
: last few days.
Laszlo was subjected to a good
deal Of suffering during the war BY
reason of his Hungarian birth and
his ennoblement in 1912 by the late
Emperor Francis Joseph, for all
though he had married an Irish
woman, had had his boys brought
up In England as Englishmen and
! had made his home entirely In
Great Britain for a quarter of a
century, being to all intents and
purposes an Englishman, yet he was
fnterned in 1917 as a dangerous
alien, the letters of naturalization
which he had secured in 1914 on the
Recommendation of Arthur Balfour,
Lord Lee, Lord Devonport and How
ard Guinness being revoked.
Married to a daughter of the late
Henry Guinness, Of the well known
Dublin brewing family, to which
the Earl of Iveagh belongs and of
, which the late Lord Ardilaun was
the chief, Laszlo had been a very
popular figure in English society
and held in high regard by Edward
VII, by Queen Alexandra and by
| King George. He had been a fire.
| quent and welcome guest at Sand
ringham and at Windsor, receiving
the Victorian order and many other
tokens of royal regard and good
, will.
ARREST CAUSES
WILD RUMORS.
Among his warmest friends had
been the Duke and Duchess Of Port
land, with whom he often stayed
at welback Abbey. and, having
agreeable manners and an abun-
| dant fund of anecdotes added to his
artistic gifts, he was the life and
sold Of many country house par
| ties-all this before the war.
His sudden arrest and his incar-
| ceration in Brixton prison led to
all sorts of wild rumors. Despite
all the influence exercised in his be-
| half. ii was found impossible to
| secure n reconsideration of his case
or any enlightenment as to the
| charges brought against him. In
deed. it was not until some time
after the signing of the armistice
that he was released. while in June,
1919, his letters OF naturalization
were restored to him.
The proceedings in connection
with this act Of reparation served
to bring to light that Laszlo was
entirely innocent of any actual hos
tility or disloyalty to Great Brit
ain, which had become the land
OF his adoption At the most he
had been indiscrect. The accusa-
tions on the strength of which he
had been imprisoned were to the
effect that. being a man OF consid-
cradle wealth, he had once sent
through the diplomatic bag of a
neutral legation in London some
money to an elder brother, who. ow-
! ing to the devastation of his es-
tate in Hungary. had been reduced
| to actual want.
| ACQUIRED LETTERS
OF NATURALIZATION.
1t seems also that at the time
| when a few weeks after the out
break of the war he secured letters
! of naturalization he had written to
this same brother explaining tc
him that since England was his
home he had made up his mind to
accord to her his allegiance and
! to secure her citizenship, but that
it had nevertheless caused him a
| wrench to sever his connection with
the land of his birth in her hour
Of trouble and to appear ungrateful
to Emperor Francis Joseph, who had
, shown him so much friendship, IA
| vor and kindness.
| II he had been enabled to use
the diplomatic bag of the neutral
! legation in London on these two
! different occasions in this fashion
! IL. was because his sister happened
! to be the wife of the first secretary
and counselor of the mission In
question. She died only the other
day. and Lazzlo Is now in mourn
ing for .-.er.
There was one further offense
charged to- Lazzlo. 1t was that
when Hungarian officer. who had
been a boyheod friend Of his. es-
capped from bennington Hall, where
he had been interned with other
enemy officers, and turned up in
| the Laszlo studio in London penni-
less and entreating him for assist
/ ance, the painter refrained from
turning him over to the police or
| to the military authorities, and had
placed a couple of f5 notes on a
table before leaving the room
When he returned the fugitive Of
| of course, had the notes, as Ii was
intended should be the case.
| While all these charges were Of
| fenses against the letter Of the law.
which was enforced with the most
ruthless severity during the latter
| stages OF the war, they were not
very heinous or indicative of any
/ treachery.> ".
This was the view adopted by the
court of kings bench. in June, 1919,
when. after IN extraordinary gal
axy Of eminent men had testified
| in his behalf. Laszlo was restored
to British citizenship and the can
collation. Of his letters of naturali-
zation Of 1914 was annulled.
| To bark back to the State De-