Evening star., 1924-09-07
BY MARGARET B. DOWNING.


When March 4 dawns upon the
world. and the diplomatic corps that
Htatelest division of official Wash
dngton. foregathers in the Senate
rramber to see the Chief Executive
take the oath OF Office but MEM
terS of the ambasSadorial circle,
~aich normally numbers IA, can boast
the experience of having assisted at
such, Il ceremony before. OF these
1:aron de Cartier. the Belgian. was
present when Warren G.. Harding was
elevated, and. So, too. Scnor Beltram
Ejatteau. the Chilean. NJ. JuSSerand,
dean of the corps. was present when
Theodore Roosevelt. to use his own
trenChant phrase, ceased to be po-
1tical accident" and became the duly
elected 26th President Of the United
States.
The French Ambassador has assist
"a a every function since then. The
Spanish Ambassador saw William
Howard Taft inducted into office. but
hc was only Il minister then and held
the same rank when Woodrow Wilson
became the head Of the Nation. SEN
or Riano was the first ambassador
received by President Wilson, and
that on December |, 1913 The Bra
lillian Ambassador. who has just re-
tired from the foreign service of his
country, witnessed the simple cere-
monies which made Warren q. Hard
ing President, but he will not be here
on March 4. Nor will the German
ambassador, DIR. Otto Weidfeldt who
has likewise retired from statecraft
and Will re-enter commercial pur-
suits On his return to Germany. For
all the ministers save out of
he total of 80 accredited to Wash
inEton. the ceremony of March 4 will
ldVe all the interest of novelty.
The Rumanian minister, Prince
Antonio Bibesco, who joined the
dramatic ranks through the produc-
lion of his play Married Life" is
much better known on the banks of
Inc Seine for his histrionic ability than
Tor statecraft. He was. before en-
7orinG the foreign service, for several
Years the theatrical critic on Gaulois,
1h" Partisan daily, and he also served
'iII Bias in the same role. In fact,
the brilliant young diplomat once
thought seriously of the stage as a
profession. both as an actor and a
playwright, the first example OF the
combination in Shakespeare being
enough to inspire any ambitious
youth. The prince wrote many of the
parlor drama produced in Paris some
20 years ago, and he turned his pen
in the same direction in London in
l914 1t was as member of the
cast giving one of his farces for war
charities that he first met Miss Eliza
beth Asquith, now Princess Elizabeth.
Washington regretted that the
~ivacious Princess Elizabeth was not
here to enjoy Married Life" and to
receive her always frankly expressed
opinions on it. The wife of the
Rumanian minister is receiving fer
vent congratulations over the ap-
pearance of her first novel and this
distinguished young couple are shin
ing exceptions To the usual run of
members in the austere diplomatic
corps. which goes in more heavily for
social amenities and serious official
fetes than for literature and drama.
Nine. AloiS Stangler, wife of the
former commercial counselor of the
Czechoslovak legation, is occupying
her old home i'll Prague and this sea-
son has had the pleasure of welcom-
ing many whom she met during her
residence in Washington. Nine. Stang
Ter was among the most energetic
students of American public inStitu-
tions, and she spent much time at
tending congressional deba tes and in
inspecting municipal activities. She
also was among the social forces in
the corps and made quite a distinctive
place for herself in exceedingly
brief time. In Prague Nine. Stangl er
Is active in club circles and is t
present among the factors of the