Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-01-30
ONE OFFICE WHICH ONLY MILLIONAIRES
CAN SEE THEIR WAY CLEAR TO ACCEPT

Duke of Wellingtons purchase VI -.
1t was just after Waterloo. li .'
the Eiysee-abaIaoned by the nee
ing Napoleon-a1ld looked at the sur
rounding properties. All were mag
nificent. the present private pa,
aces of the Rothschild, Piilet, w III
Pereire families, with their mac
Champs Elysees: and one, the ,paiace
of. Pauline Bonaparte. had peen
abandoned. like the Elysee. SO wei
lington said 10 the helpless French:
Well buy it for the British EN-
bassy." He fixed the price at s2o.ooo.
building sites. Only two such prop
critics have been cut up and each
made street, And it is as certain
that the state would now enjoin tre
destruction Of any of those vast
gardens parallel with the Champs
Elysees as il is that the British
would not Sell their embassy for un-
told gold. Its history and situation
give it overwhelming prestige. AND
it's garden parties are more scenic
and awe-inspiring to Parisians than
those of the neighboring French
White House.
Do you see?
All the ambassadors of the greater
powers are able to impose on the
Parisians land on one anoIher) with
garden parties-all except the Amer
lean ambassador.
themselves admirably to the social
mixing that is yearly becoming more
and more imperative. Before the
time of the late Sir Edmund Monson.
the British embassy had remained
tight closed. socially, to even the
richest British business men Of Paris,
on the ground that trade" is not
received at court. What howl set
up among the dowagers and hon
CRADLES when Sir Edmund broke the
charm and asked trade" to the
sacred garden parties.
Such parkrlike gardens in Paris run
into millions of francs. Germany.
after the Franco-Prussian war. took
the palace of Prince Eugene, in it's
"own grounds" at her own figure. 1t
would make you laugh. The Duchesse
de Galliera gave to Austria her his
toric palace of the Matignons, in the
Rue de Varenne Russia bought the
palace of the distress family. Up
to just before the war italy had her
embassy in rented house OF the Rue
de Penthievre, but it was mot i'm
posing enough for a first-class pow
err" So Italy bought the historic Ber-
wick Palace "in its own grounds"
tbuilt by the illustrious French war
rior, James Fitzjames. son Of James
II of England.
And SO on.
x *x
IUDEOPLE talk about simplicity"
said my ambassador. IF the
other powers had their ambassadors
living the simple life in Paris, it
would be ideal. But we cannot re-
form things all by ourselves These
usages have grown up"
And again: ut is not a question of
display: No American ambassadors
have lived lavishly. compared with
! those of other great powers We
have tried to do the needful thing"
Minister Morton in his day spent
$4,000 in doing the "needful thing"
Whiteiaw Reid, also mere minister
Grammont Palace. and he told me in
1892 that his expenses were $4,000
the least year and $4,000 the great
est. Ambassador Porter rented the
Splitter Palace at $4,000 and enter
tanned to the une Of $50, 900.
Ambassador Mccormick rented two
floors of big house on the Quai de
Billy from regent of the Bank of
France. They were important enough
to entertain, having the privilege Of
I the regents entrances and exists for
Ambassador White paid $4,000 a
year rent for the Ridgeway mansion.
Ambassador Bacon took it over at the
same rent Ambassador Herrick fol-
lowed suit.
Congress could have bought the
Ridgeway place in 1903 for, $3.50. 600.
Ambassador White recommended it
as historical spot. and the en-
bassy commission backed him up.
Later 1t could neither be rented nor
purchased and. the new-coming AM
bassador Sharp was obliged to look
for another house. One Of the Ridge
way heirss Count Gerard de Ganay.
had Just bid for 1t for his own resi-
m .cnf ~ 81 -