The Washington times., 1922-11-19
1899. by Charles Scribner'i
Sons. Published by arrangement with
tha Wheeler syndicate Incl

lCopyright, is22, by Charles scribner''
Sons. Published by arrangement with
the Wheeler syndicate. lnc)
= ONDON is always most hos
pitable and socially the most
- delightful Of cities. While
Mr.. Gladstone was prime minister
and more in the eyes Of the world
than any statesman of any coun-
try, a dinner was given to him with
the special object Of having me
meet him. The ladies and gentle
men at the dinner were all people
OF note. Among them were two
American bishops. The arrange
ment made by the host and hostess
was that when the ladies' left the
dining room I should take the
place made vacant alongside Mr..
Gladstone, but one Of the Ameri-
can bishops. who In his younger
days was famous athlete. made a
flying leap for that chair and no
sooner landed than he at once pro-
posed to Mr.. Gladstone this start
hing question:: "As the bishop Of
the old Catholic Church in Ger
many does not recognise the au-
thority of the Pope, how can he
receive absolution?"-and some
other abstruse theological ques-
tions. This at once aroused Mr..
Gladstone, who, when once started,
was stopped with difficulty. and
there was no pause until the host
announced that the gentlemen
should join the ladies'. I made It
q point at the next dinner given
for me to meet Mr.. Gladstone that
there should be no American
bishops present.
EXCITED BY BIG FORTUNES.
Mr.. Gladstone asked many ques-
tions about large fortunes in the
United States. was curious about
the methods Of their accumulation.
and whether they survived in sue
ceeding generations. He wanted to
know all about the reputed richest
man among them. told him did
not know the amount of his
wealth. but that II was at least
one hundred millions Of dollars.
"How invested?" he asked.
I answered: "All in fluid securi-
ues which could be turned into
cash in a short time"
He became excited at that and
said: "Such a man is dangerous
not only to his own country but
to the world. With that amount
of ready money he could upset
the exchanges and paralyze the
borrowing power Of nations"
But" said, you have enor-
nous fortunes" and mentioned
the Duke of Westminster.
'I know every pound Of West
minister's wealth." he said. 1T Is
in lands of generations and obliga-
tions which cannot be avoided"
"How about the Rothschilds?"
asked.
"Their fortunes" he answered,
sare divided among the firms In
London, Paris. Vienna, and Frank
fort, and 1t would be impossible for
them to be combined and used to
unsettle the markets of the world.
But Mr.. - could do this and pre-
vent governments from meeting
their obligations"
Mr.. Gladstone had no hostility to
great fortunes. however large, un-
less so invested an to be immedi-
ately available by a single man for
speculation. But fortunes larger
than that Of one hundred millions
have since been acquired, and
their management is so conserva-
tive that they are brakes and safe
guards against unreasoning panics.
The majority Of them have been
used for public benefit. The most
conspicuous instances are the
Rockefeller Foundation. the Car.
negie Endowment. and the Frick
Creation.
PRINCE TOOK HOLIDAY.
During the summer vacations I
spent two weeks or more at Hon.
burg, the German watering place.
II was at this time the most in
teresting resort on the continent.
The Prince Of Wales, afterward
King Edward VII. was always
there, and his sister, the Dowager
Empress of Germany. had her
castle within a few miles. I met
the prince frequently and was
often his guest at his luncheons
and dinners. He fell In at once
in the Homburg way.
The routine of the cure wss to
be at the springs every morning
at Z o'clock. to take a glass OF
water, walk half an hour with
some agreeable companion. and
repeat this until three glasses
had been consumed. Then break.
fast, and after that the great
n. -