Evening star., 1926-11-24
My Impressions of America
By Her Majesty the Queen of Rumania
Written The Star and Other Members Of the North
American Newspaper Alliance
QUEEN MARIE's FAREWELL.

What / think or you; you want me u
condense my thoughts into words; yot
want me to share my Impressions with
you; you want me to be quite opeT
with you and tell you what l have
learned.
Well, dear people Of America. above
all l have learned to love you. That
is the big. essential thing: the big
happy truth. around which all l have
experienced centers.
l love you because of your warm
hearted hospitality, because of your
glorious desire to, go forward and sue
ceed. because of the frankness I find
in you. which is the very basis Of my
own character and which I had felt In
every one of you when l had met you
abroad. and which 1 found again or
reaching your shores. 1t was the
great attraction that you had for me
that something simple and open-heart
ed which one could get at without
diplomacy. and which makes one feel
friends Immediately, instead of labor
ing toward one another through q
thousand unnecessary subtleties OF
which your younger Nation knows
naught.
Shall also tell yoo of the things
which astounded me. and which
would perhaps like to see modified.
for we are being perfectly honest with
each other, are we not?
Finds Overmuch Curiosity.
You speak of freedom and democ-
racy. and yet, to my mind. in many
ways, through your overefficiency, you
have put on some chains which are
unknown to US in our older civiliza.
ton.
Your desire to know, see, feel, touch.
turns you into a sort of tyrant. There
seems to me no privacy in your Amer
ican lives. Everything everybody
does is pried into, not out of unkindly
but simply because every
one Of You seems to have. in spite OF
your business, the time to readevery
word that Is written about everybody.
How on earth you do 1t is more than
that you are so busy living that you
would have no time for that extraor-
interest in others. You have
so multiplied, organized. catalogued,
la beled and classified everything that
YOU do that no breathing space is left,
no time to sit down with your own
thoughts. This comes, l think, from
a. keen and young desire not to miss
and not to be the last to
hear.
I. for instance. your guest. was
never allowed to do anything but that
which was expected Of me. My pro-
gram was mapped out for me not only
by those who were arranging my trip.
but also by public desire, by public
customs. public institutions, that pub
lie right to have a share In every one
of my acts.
For frc 1,our v,rnuc ~,nvy. rhn.
tographers, your radio meet me be-
fore / have even put my foot into any
of your cities. am Immediately
asked, before I have seen anything,
what my opinion is of this or that
town, IL I do not consider this or that
State most beautiful. There is a chill.
dren's eagerness about it all, which
makes me wish to comply on the spot
with those, what seemed to me. VIC.
lently expressed desires, but which
were certainly, according to my ideas
a curtailment of my personal liberty,
1t was never for a minute taken into
considera ton II l was tired, dazed or
perplexed.
No Let Up for Her.
I was simply a part Of everything
else - the principal part even and
therefore, there could he no let up for
me. Simply had to 60 forward, be-
cause Of your imperious feeling OF
possession. l was yours for that day
therefore must I strictly adhere to
every one of your whims. Any break.
ing away would have made me a dis
appointment to tens OF thOusa nds.
Nature has endowed me with wonder
full health and phenomenal resistance,
SO you were not able to get me under.
even by your hospitality, but there
were moments when the word liberty
seemed to be a farce. Many Of your
big men had warned me beforehand:
BE careful, we Americana are terrible
when we love some one. We smother
them with our affection and we wear
them to pieces with our desire to see
them, near them and pour over them
all we have got to give"
And yet I was happy. ] frankly and
enjoyed 1t all, even what
hope you will permit me to call
your greed. 1t was children's greed,
naughty at times. but without guile.
Although I was eften dragged out
of my bed or away from some impor.
tant work l had to do, / was always
glad to meet the crowds that came
down to see me in my train. l liked
the cheerful, humorous conversations
we had together. 1 have seen good
humor In American crowds. They are
easily moved to laughter and joke Ia
answered by joke. Those great stic-
klers for ceremony would, no doubt
have been shocked to hear a queen
thus hailed and answering so glibly.
Dear old gra andmamma, Queen Vic.
toria, whose name is so well beloved
in America, would, feel sure, have
been horribly shocked had she been
able to see her queenly granddaughter
thus in joking conversation with
school children, workmen and honor
able citizens, gathered together be
meath the balcony Of her observation
car. To me these hours were sweet
and IL sadder ones are to follow when
get home. know that even sitting
alone in my room. when l think OF 1t
all. happy smile Will come irres1st'
IDLY to my lips.
Children Also Liked 1t.
NV children also loved these infor.
mai meetings, loved rapid contact es'
a hjished between the American pub
lie and us. We were strangers and
vet there was no feeling of strange
ness about it all. When both sides are
sincere, there is no shyness, and the
words one says to each other. even
il only hurriedly. have the ring OF
truth.
Yes, 1 have loved the American
public. in spite of their greedy desire
for always more and more, never re-
that although they were
always a new crowd, yet 1 always was
The same. Yet. as an old friend OF
mine. a Canadian, used humorously
to saw, any Queen, you must have
a smile that nothing can wash off"
And 40, think that all OF you who
have shared that smile will know that
nothing did wipe 1t off. and because
it was a natural smile which your
welcome called forth. / think also
that you will not forget 1t. 1t was
like an electric cosmic current which
all our hearts. used to
watch how my smile would light a
~