Evening star., 1923-07-29
CANADA THRILLED !.
BY HARDING VISIT
U. S. Executives Reception
Is Compared With That
of Prince of Wales.
Special Dispatch Il, Tho Star.


VANCOUVER, B. c., July 2k-
Forty-eight hours have elapsed since
President Harding broke the prece-
dent of a century or more and, as
Chief Executive of the United States,
visited the Dominion of Canada. The
| time has been long enough to obtain
| the reaction Of the people of Van
| couyer and western Canada gener-
ally toward Mr.. Harding. They not
| only like him but they like him i'm
| mensely.
A new significance has been at
tached TO the meaning OF the word
| 'neighbor" as the result of Presi-
dent Hardings visit. If he had never
| uttered the word. however, his every
| action would have conveyed just the
| impression which he 50 aptly ex-
| pressed. The one sentence which.
above all others that fell from the
| Presidents lips, struck home was:
Il think We are the best neighbors in
| the world"
The significance attached by Mr..
Harding to that utterance was fur
| ther revealed when he said:
1T is a good thing to have neigh
bors to whose place you can run
across and borrow couple of eggs"
The latter homely metaphor. illus
trating Mr. Harding's conception of
the nefghborliness existing between
the two English speaking countries
| of North America was understood
| and appreciated by every Canadian
| who heard il. or who read it Ia;zr IN
! the newspapers.
Simplicity Effective.
| Those who expected Mr.. Harding's
| chief utterance on the occasion OF
| first visit of the chief executive OF
| a nation alongside of which thu
| Dominion has lived in peace for 100
years were perhaps disappointed. bur
| the press and public men. together
| with the people of this part Of Can
| ada are unanimous in the belief that
| MIR. Harding touched a higher note in
| the very simplicity of his message.
| Every one who heard Mr.. Harding
believes the United States has mag
! netic personality as its titular head.
! His boyish enthusiasm for the recep-
| tion accorded him by the 100000 peo-
| pie who lined the streets to see him
| pass and who assembled in VancoU-
| ver's great rustic park to hear him
| speak won the hearts of the crowd
as no distinguished visitor except the
| Prince of Wales has ever done. Mr..
Harding's unspoiled dignity, which
| permitted him to do the unconven-
| tional thing at the right moment. had
1 in the minds of the Canadian people
| the genuine Prince of Wales touch.
The reception given to the Presi-
dent was SO spontaneous and over
whelming that an inevitable compar-
ison occurs to every one who saw II
with the similar demonstration on the
occasion of the visit of the Prince
! of Wales.
| 1t would be absurd to say. as in the
case of the Prince of Wales, that the
admiration for Mr.. Harding's per
sonality was what brought fully fifty
thousand people from out of town TO
Vancouver to welcome him. The po-
litical controversies which wage
around all political leaders are as
familiar to Canadian newspaper read
ers in connection with Mr.. Harding
as is the glamor which surrounds him
as a ruler.
Travel 1000 Miles.
The assembly of the vast crowd was
just as much a gesture of inter-
national friendship. as was the de-
cision of the President of the United
States to pay call upon his neigh
| Dor, Canada. Prominent men came
from places one thousand and more
miles away to attend the functions
| in the Presidents honor.
If international friendship was the
compelling motive. the people of
Canada demonstrated by the increas-
| ing enthusiasm they evinced at the
personal admiration had come to be a
chief factor in their welcome. The
banner line in the Vancouver Sun.
the morning paper, which read Van
couver Falls to Harding" expressed
exactly the degree of personal con
quest achieved by the distinguished
visitor.
The crowd was almost as great as
that which greeted the future King.
and al soon as the magnetism of the
Presidents personality was felt. the
| enthusiasm of the people could not
fairly be described as less manifest
! than that shown for Edward. Prince
of Wales.