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The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, January 01, 1911, Third Part, Image 20

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Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1911-01-01/ed-1/seq-20/

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(Written for Tbe Washington Herald.)
By WILLIAM MILLER BUTLER.
The majestic inarch of the years 1901
1310, ushering In the century which will
complete the second Christian millen
nium, has measured more than one great
event to live on the page of history. We
or this generation have Peary, Marconi,
Roosevelt Rockefeller, Carnegie won--derful
men, if not all truly great ones
who will take their proper rank in his
tory. Scarcely had the new century dawned
ere earth's most powerful sovereign
passed to her rest. Queen Victoria, whose
reign had begun in the youth of Lincoln,
died at Osborne House. Jsle of Wight, on
the eening of January 22. On February
2 her remains were borno from Ports
mouth through London to Windsor, where
the entombment took plice la the Frog
more mausoleum. Among other notable
personages who passed from the scene
of their labors during the year were Ver
di, the master of operatic composition, on
January 17; Benjamin Harrison, ex-President
of the United States, on March 13;
Crispi, the eminent Italian statesman,
on August 11; William McKinley, Presi
dent of the United States, by the hand
of the assassin Leon Czolgosz, on Sep
tember 14, and LI Hung Chang, the
greatest Chinaman of many generations,
on November X
The Prince of Wales was proclaimed
sovereign, with the title of Edward VH,
on January 24. Theodore Roosevelt took
PERFECT HARMONY UNITES
THE NEW RULERS OF INDIA
Bj EI-ATT1CHE.
Since King George's mighty empire of
India, with Its population of 300,000,000 of
natives is governed primarily from White
hall, by the secretary of, state for India,
the personality of the statesman who
has just been appointed to succeed Lord
Moriey. of Blackburn, in that office, must
necessarily be of Interest
Lord Crewe has many claims on the
attention of Americans At one period of
his life, both he and his fatner, the late
Lord Houghton, were much in the United
States, the earl being in those days
known as "Robin" MJlnes, and his poems
figure in many a Washington library
He was viceroy of Ireland during the
Gladstone home rule administration, and
now Is leader of the government In the
House of Lords. As such he is compelled
to champion measures which virtually
threaten the existence of the chamber of
vhlch be is a member Yet be accom
plishes his task with "o much courtesy,
and tact, that he bas excited none of
the rancor displayed by the Unionist
peers against members of the Asqulth
cabinet, notably Winston Churchill and
Lloyd-George. As an Instance of his
methods, the manner in which he moved
the second reading of the chancellor of
the exchequer's last budget, was charac
teristic of the man
Tho Unionist peers were impatient to
hear what one of their order could say In
support of a measure which the majority
of them opposed Lord Crewe leaned for
ward, just raised his hat and "moved"
pro forma. There was no speech Not
even a word- It was Lord Crew's curt yet
polite way of telling the peers that tho
discussion of the budget was none of their
business
He alone of the administration has
publicly, in a speech at Winchester, dis
cussed tho possibility of creating a. suffi
ciently large batch of Liberal peers, to
give the government the majority in the
House if Lords, neces&ary to carry Its
veto bill He pronounced it to be the
recognized constitutional remedy, and
added "If an occasion for Its exercise
arises, it is not a question of the pre
mier going to the sovereign, and asking
him to create a certain number of peers
as a favor, but it is the constitutional
exercise of the power of advice of the
minister to the monarch "
To Strengthen Imperial Power.
, As leader for the government at the
most critical period of the lords' strug
gle against the Commons, as secretary
for India, at a time when that empire is
about to undergo a species of adminis
trative reorganization, with a view to
strengthening the imperial authority, the
Earl of Crewe Is entering upon the niost
important stage of his brilliant career;
and it may, perhaps, be regarded as a
happy augury, that after twelve years
of a childless marriage, to Lady Peggy
Primrose, daughter of Lord Rosebery, his
wife Is looking forward to presenting
him with an heir, and that for the last
few months the workmen have been busy
at Crewe House, his London home, in ar
ranging nurseries for the long wished for
event.
Lady Peggy Primrose is Lord Crewe's
.second wife. HL first wife was Sybil
Graham, daughter of Sir Frederick
Graham, of Netherby, and a sister of
the present Duchess of Montrose. She
died after seven years of marriage, fol
lowed shortly afterward to the grave by
her little boy, and Lord CreweVJ sorrow
for this double bereaement found ex
pression at the time in a very touching
poem entitled "Seven Years." She also
left him with-three daughters, all of
them now married
The Milnera Monopoly.
Like so many houses of the English
aristocracy, that of Lord Crewe had its
origin in trade. No Industry is older
than the manufacture of cloth, and
throughout the greater part of the eight
eenth century the cloth trade of Wake
field was something very much akin to a
monopoly in the hands of the Mimes
family, hailing originally from Derby
shire, they had been settled at Wake
field since 16T0, and by degrees became
allied through marriage to many of the
houses of the aristocracy and gentry of
Yorkshire. It was through marriage that
they became possessed of the ill-fated
Lord Strafford's seat of Great Houghton,
from which thenew secretary of state
for India's father took his title of Lord
Houghton on his elevation to tbe House
of Lords. And later on they acquired,
also through marriage, Fryston Hall.
where Thomas Carlyle was wont to stay.
Crewe Hall, in Cheshire, together with a
very large fortune, yielding an Income
of some $200,000 a year, came to Lord
Crewe from his maternal uncle, the third
Lord Crewe of another creation, whose
barony became extinct at nls death
though the -title was revived in 'the form
of. an earldom later in favor of his
jj nephew.
-' v Lard Crewe is distinguished looking.
' Tarl 'xallafct Tvet with th lr of an th.
' - jtota, jrtthfeyes that 'suggest strong Amo
j, "- w m. um njy-
k jvto At.pabw to repress hia real feennaa,
nwHiiicaa ui mo ran oi mo. m oraer i aUad f c!ttb far -the TMftK aMMnhM
in sss mrajn wnax na neuevaa to ba tBtiaVuit.aa " - - - , uM-a, m
the oath of office as President a few
hours after the beloved McKinley breath
rd bis last. Czolgosz paid the penalty of
Ms crime In the electric chair in Auburn
lirison on October 29 Another assassin,
1? reset, who had slain King Humbert of
Italy, suicided in his prison in Rome on
Hay 22. Splendid things done for the
advancement of humanity were the or
ganization of The Hague Court of Inter
national Arbitration., January 30; the
first session of the Territorial legislature
ff Hawaii. February 20: the signing of
the Cuban constitution by the delegates.
; x'cnruary :a; tne estaousnment oi civil
I government in Manila, May 3; the confer
ring of the franchise on women taxpay
fxs of Norway. May 23, the assembling
of tne international tuberculosis congress
tn London, July 22, and the capture of
Aguinaldo, the leader of the Philippine
Insurrection, by Gen Funston, March 23
CarneirJe's First Gift.
The public thought was engaged with
the centennial celebration of the Instal
lation of Chief Justice Marshall and the
unveiling of the statue of Alfred the
Great, at Winchester, during the millen
nary celebration. It found something to
Think about in the incorporation of the
JJnited States steel trust, February 2a; in
fhe gift of Andrew Carnegie of $5,000,000
ffo New York for public libraries, and of
510,000.000 to the Scotch universities Then
name the marvelous flights of Santos
Dumont in his dirigible balloon around
the Eiffel Tower, and the thrilling tale of
the adventures of Miss Ellen M. Stone,
the American missionary captured by
grav Uy due to the dignity of his position
While viceroy of Ireland he happed to
cross from Djblin to Holyhead one day
and found the Duchess of Devonshire,
then the wife of the late Duke of Man
chester, among his fellow-passengers
Imagining, no doubt that he was still
amid the magnificence of his viceregal
court he did not rise when he saw her.
but graciously beckoned to her to take a
seat and was even affable encugh to in
dicate, by means of a viceregal pat with
two fingers, the exact chair adjacent to
him where he was pleased to permit her
to sit Although the viceroys of Ireland
are treated at Dublin with almost as
much ceremony and etiquette ai If they
were princes of the blood, the duchess
was rather taken aback by the conde
scending manner of the young lord lieu
tenant whom she known from babyhood.
She complied, however, with the signal,
and during the three hours' trip across
the Irish Channel exerted herself to be
pleasant But the moment she set foot
on shore of Holyhead she considered her
mission fulfilled. For his excellency the
viceroy of Ireland when in England or
Scotand Is nothing but an everyday peer,
and it was with an imperative ring in
her voice that she turned to him and ex
claimed "Here, Robin, bring me my
dressing bag please, and run ahead, like
a good boy, and secure me a compart
ment'" Lord Crewe meekly obeyed.
A Famoni Repartee.
Lord Crewe for a time was conspicuous
on the turf, maintaining a racing stable.
He has also shot big game in East and
South Africa, and excels as a fencer. He
lacks his father's, the late Lord Hough
ton, gift of repartee and geniality, but his
manners are more polished and correct
Indeed, he would never have exposed
himself to the rebuke inflicted by Svdney
Smith upon his father, then Moncton
mines. The latter, finding himself for
the first time in the company of Sydney
Smith, at a dinner given by Tom Long
man, was lacking in the respect due to
the ago and calling of the noted divine,
and addressed him as "Smith." whicn
every time made the hearers wince Syd
ney Smith bided his time. "I am going to
the archbishop's reception at Lambeth ,
MR. ROOSEVELT TELLS OF
MINERS AND THEIR HOMES
Theodore Rooserclt in the January Outlook.
The next place I stopped at was the
house of an elderly lady, with a grown
up son and daughter. The house was
as comfortable as possible, clean and
well kept; pictures on the walls, a nice
porch, and a candy shop, of which the
son took charge, just adjoining. This
was irdecd an American family; of old
stock The members at first refused to
believe who I was,4 and the son remarked
to my companion: "Some of the men
tried to tell me that man was the ex
President, but I told "them they couldn t
josh me, even if he did look some like
him. I guess he's a factory inspector;
that's what he is." Much to my amuse
ment, in this household I found that my
views were far more radical and. to use
the terminology of the day, "progres
sive" than theirs In fact in their views
on trades unions. Individual bargaining,
capital and labor, and the like, they were
at least as conservative as some of my
good friends of the capitalist class
whom I regard as reactionary and who
regard me as a revolutionist My host
ess was the widow of a soldier who had
fought in the civil war, and their son
was a member of the Junior Order of
American Mechanics, and he spoke very
warmly of what the lodge did In the
way of caring for Its members who suf
fered from misfortune and the way it
frowned upon the drink habit The only
complaint of the life which they made
was that the neighbors gossiped alto
gether too much not a fault peculiar to
any one social stratum.
Fail to Cndrratand the Needs.
x My hostess was connected with a
church and a member of one or the
church organizations for social and
charitable work; but she spoke very
strongly about the -fact .that tbe clergy
men did not understand the need of the
young men and -young' girls for., health-
iui amuee-nent. sne saia'u -was quite
useless. In such a community as' that ur
which they lived to expect 'that young
people would not like to dance and have
fun or that the young men would stay
idle all Sunday, without any amusement
or occupation. Shefjarfd "that y would
be an excellent thing' It amusement
rooas or halls, could be provided.-1' by
preference connected with"., the churches.
where no Jlquor would be sold and,from
which the young people would baveto
crnne home before midnight, but where
they-could dance and' enjoy themselves.'
8he -sJso':ssJdtiaBt''the'aadv'-siara waa
always pas.-a fesrfar.aar that It "was
axB4 rclob fr;th rotac
Bulgarian brigands and held till a $36,000
ransom was paid.
What were the extraordinary events of
the year 1902? The Panama Canal was
recommended to Congress as a bargain
at $10,000,000 Its operation, probably four
years hence, will radically alter the
whole course of the world's trade, and
may completely readjust the internation
al relations.
An Interesting event in which the Unit
ed States and Germany gave a happy
display of International comity was the
visit of Prince Henry, of Prussia, who
came over to witness the launching of
the Emperor's new yacht, the Meteor, at
New York, on February 23 Miss Alice
Roosevelt christened it.
On May 7 Mont La Soufriere, St Vin
cent's, belched forth his fires and de
stroyed over 2,000 persons. The next day
Mont Pelee began to shake his sides and
rained fire upon the helpless peoples in
the vicinity until St, Pierre and 30.000 of
its dwellers were consumed. Nor was
the vicinity at rest for the remainder of
the year, for Pelee was again in violent
eruption for five days, from August 30
to September 4, and 2,000 more lives were
sacrificed. Another disturbance of the
irtcrior of the earth produced earth
quake at Shamaka, Trans-Caucasia, caus
ing 2,000 deaths
Dlatlnjraiahed Dead.
Some distinguished men passed to the
great be) ond during the year 1902 Among
them were Cecil Rhodes; King Albert of
Saxony; Archbishop Corrigan, of New
York, T. De Witt Talmage; Emil Zola.
Rudolph Virchow, Rear Admiral William
i Palace," remarked Milnes, with "some
what of ah air. "Oh, are you?" answered
Sydney Smith. "So am L May I ask if
you have a carrlago here'" "No,", ex
claimed Milnes "Well, I havej' return
ed Sydney Smith, "and I shall be hppy
to give you a seat in it But you- must
do me one favor. Don't call the arch
bishop 'Howley.' "
The Origin off "Mayfalr."
Crewe House, where Lord and Lady
Crewe make their home in London, and
which) has been redecorated and en
larged, in view of the Impending corona
tion festivities, is a picturesque example
of the "rus in urbe " Formerly knovn
as Wharncliffe House, and built In the
lelgn of George IL before Mayfalr be
came the center of the fashionable world,
it is a low, wide mansion, with Ionic
columns, standing in the midst of spa
cious grounds, the velvety lawns of
which are shaded by majestic trees, and
cut off from the busy traffic of Curzon
street by a brick wan. fronted by a green
hedge.
Mayfalr did not always enjoy the pres
tige which it now obtains as the most
fashionable and ultra -excluslv e quarter
of London In the reign of Charles H it
was the scene of a popular festival In
honor of May, In that month, each year.
It was noted in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries for the popular
brawls of which It became the scene
every spring. These became such
source of trouble to the authorities, that
in the reign of George III the "May
fair" was abolished
Lord Crewe and Lord Hardinge, of
Pcnshurst the new viceroy of Indie, are
old friends classmates at Harrow, and
afterward at "Trinity College, Cambridge.
Moreover, they are renowned for their
tact and, thanks to tlilSj it Is Improbable
that any of those conflicts will arise
between Whitehall and Calcutta which
have in the past contributed so greatly
to interfere with the success of the ad
ministration of tho government of Eng'
land's Oriental empire With Iord
Crev.e at Whitehall, and his college
chum. Lord Hardinge, at Calcutta, there
will be no undue usurpation of authority
on the one side or the other.
talk and so be kept from worse places,
to which they would assuredly go if
they could go nowhere else Being of
good, thrifty stock, she also added that
Sunday was one of the best days for
selling things, anyhow.
A Good Cltlsen.
There were a nu-nber of men in the
store, among them a miner just off his
shift, and as black as the coal he had
been mining1 He was obviously an In
telligent man and a good citizen; and
we at once plunged sympathetically into
a discussion of municipal problems and
the difficulty of doing what ought to be
done and at the same time avoiding the
spending of money that ought not to be
spent He told me that the Poles In the
town (he was himself of Polish parent
age) had a new picnic ground where
they could dance and have a good time;
and he was happy to say that the young
generation, born on American soil, were
drinking much less than their fathers
had drunk. Like the others, he spoke
of the need of amusement, but rather
curiously, he had never taken any in
terest In baseball, which seemed to be
somewhat of an obession with many of
the boys and young men I told him
that I thought baseball was as good as
any other healthful, vigorous amuse
ment, that the first requisite was to have
an amusement that would a-nuse, that if
the boys liked it it was just the game
they should be encouraged to jlay when
they had leisure. ',
Times off Iron Streaa.
In the half hour's talk with the miners
In this candy store the thing that im
pressed itself on me, as always, was the
fart that here in America, at any rate, in
any community, la any social stratum, it
la not usually the conditions'' and qualities
peculiar to that stratum, but those com
mon to an our people, that count for
most '"There "are times of iron stress
whentheneed Is one which affect only a
certain class, and affects all tho members
of .that class; and there arev very gross
injustices and Inequalities affecting whole
classes which should be remedied at once.
But frank recognition of this fact, should
be accompanied by equally, frank recog
nition of "the fact that in most cases It Is
not what to vaguely -called , the. ."social
system," bat Individual virtues and short
comings, that count meat:"narmallv..the
hard-worklog.'Sober'fore-haade(L intelli
gent father or ' son does, well by himself
and htofaOy-normally.-the chief burn
.. - - .izii. Zl .--i---
..-vw-jv --fr'ffi, nr-gt-ffHtttrirr-
wrraua iBwprnm cwmaroe
Inlalha Ma'talualn JtrtaV tklnw
datjrttarltMmikarnvttas baoaaaw ate to
T. Sampson; Hoe, the printing press
manufacturer; Mrs. Julia Dent Grant,
widow of the famous general; Bret
Harte; Krupp, the gunmaker; Nast the
cartoonist; Lord Paunoarbte, ex-Speaker
Reed. Tissot, the French painter, -and a
score more or less well known.
On February 6, 1904, Japan severed dip
lomatic relations with the Muskovites,
and two days later Vice Admiral Togo
engaged the Russian shlpand batteries
at Port Arthur. On February 10 the Czar
proclaimed war. A tremendous conflict
ensued. On January 2, 1905. Port Arthur
capitulated On Maji 27-28 was fought
one of the most awful battles of history,
when Togo engaged the whole Russian
fleet under Rojestvensky in the Sea of
Japan and either destroyed or captured
every vessel in that sea. An equally re
markable event occurred two weeks later,
when President Roosevelt appealed to
the warring nations to make peace. A
direct Interference In behalf of arbitra
tion was born and resulted in a meeting
of envoys at Portsmouth, N. H., and a
treaty that quickly adjusted thetrouWe
and1 restored peace to all the Orient. The
treaty was signed September 5. On Oc
tober 30 the Czar issued a manifesto
granting civil liberty to his poople, the
liberty of tho press, and a douma. or rep
resentative form of government.
The Slmplon tunnel, the longest In the
world, was opened In 1905 Late in 1903
Panama revolted from Colombia and
thereby opened the way for our getting
the canal by purchase and treaty. Mrs.
Florence Maybrick, after fifteen years of
confinement in an English prison, was
released. The steamer Gen. Slocum went
citcment Surely, all this can be said of
iho family of a millionaire Just as of the
family of a miner. There Is much that is
wrong in our social system, much that
needs action by the people in their col
lective capacity, either through the gov
ernment or through private association.
But such collective action, absolutely nec
essary though it may be. is never all im
portant Is never a substitute for IndU
vidual action, and is usuallyxvery much
less important than the sum of the indi
vidual's own qualities and characteristics.
Individual sclf-he'p, and the help moral,
spiritual, or material giv en by one indi
vidual to other individuals, will always
remain at tho base of good and success
ful citizenship.
DEEP MYSTERY
OF LOST STAR
OF BETHLEHEM
No data exists as to the actual ap
pearance of the star of Bethlehem which
chronicled the coming of the Messiah
and from which also dates the beginning
of our present measure of time. All ef
forts to associate or identify it with any
known body In the heavens at that pe
riod have failed. The planets Jupiter and
Saturn are known to have been In view
in the evening sky at that time, but
they were not "new stars." They were
well known heavenly bodies, Jupiter
being worshiped by many in these
Eastern countries, so it Is not possible
that It could have been either one of
them
Some effort has been made to associate
or identify It with Halley's comet, but
this has been effectually disposed of by
the remarkable tables of the previous ap
pearances of that comet prepared by
Messrs. Crow ell and Crommeldn, of the
Royal Observatory, England, in which
they show that its nearest appearance
to the dawning of the Christian era was
twelve years prior to that date.
Astronomy at this period was In an
advanced state. There was a wide and
general knowledge of the stars among
the Egyptians, the Chaldeans, and the
Greeks They lived out of doors or on
house tops and studied the heavens.
Probably they knew more of the appear
ance and phenomena of the heavens
than we do
Knew Earth Was SpherieaL
Hlpparcus, the father of astronomy, es
tablished the fact. of the precession of
the equinoxes, (that Is, that the sun
crosses the equator about one minute
farther westward each year) a hundred
and fifty years before Christ was bom.
and it Is consequently believed that he
knew the earth was spherical in form.
He catalogued LOOO stars, and invented
an Instrument for calculating latitude
and longitude
For centuries the Chaldeans had fore
cast eclipses of the moon upon a prin
ciple which is the basis of the method
used by astronomers to-day.
Astrology was an accepted science, and
played an Important part in every walk
in life. Kings and queens, as well as
the humblest herdsman, consulted Jlhe
astrologer to learn if the stars were fa
vorably or unfavorably situated for their
various undertakings. He was the ar
biter as to the declaration of war be
tween nations, as well as the everyday
affairs of men and maidens.
The influence of the stars for weal or
woe was universally acknowledged. What
then was more natural than that the
Ruler of the Universe should have turned
to the azure pages of this open book as
a mfilium through which to proclaim that
the lupur was at hand for' the coming of
tnepew oorn iing ui wie jewa;
"There Shall Come a Star."
Fifteen hundred years before Balaam
had prophesied that "there shall come a
star out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise
out of Israel."
When this new and strange light a
star, a comet a pillar of .fire we know
not which, appeared tothtf wise men, it
brought a revelation of. Balaam's proph
ecy. It beckoned them' on and they at
onco ..prepared to follow; to pay homage
to the divinely ordained King. As they
journeyed it preceded them until,. tbey
reached Jerusalem, when1 It disappeared
for; a time, to reappear when they re
sumed their journey, to pause at last OTer
the lowly cot of Jesus, who was destined
to have tho greatest Influence over raan-
I kind of any individual the world has ever.
The phenomenon of a star appearing in
-the lieavens for a brief period and then
disappearing bas occurred in several well
authenticated instances In comparatively
recent -years. Tbe mest remarkable' in
stance was in 157X2 when TychoBrahe,
th famouaDamsh- astronomer, saw a
star.Uaxe forth. In onehalf hour, and' it
became so brilliant tnat it mum oe seen
In, midday. i. .-'
In 1M there was one af the secona mas;-1
l.tfeM.-'' .a' .MA.ir4lu rfaifc hMMl.1
lUHHNt ! M JOT VW v& OT w. .w 1
nt - Tn ft t saeA-and'adoiaBtarj
mtt bav
haaet Almtimvutmil -arffhw tha aast'iaw yean
sr IMVJCtatnilw Wntt 0V
down In the East River and nearly a
thousand persons perished. The same
years recorded the death of several per
sons whose Influence upon mankind had
been impressive-Joseph Jefferson, Hnry
Irving, John Hay, ex-Queen Isabella of
Spain, Verestchagen. the painter; Mark
Hanna, and en. Longstreet.
China'a Awakening;.
The year 1906 was one of memorable
peace, so far as the relations of the na
tions were concerned But political and
social and religious agitation marked the
twelvemonth. China Issued an edifde
clearing that the empire would be given
a constitutional form of government,
after thousands of years of absolutism
in monarchy. France passed a law sepa
rating church and state. The Shah open
ed the first parliament in Persia. Alfred
Dreyfus, after years of torture and exile,
was restored to the army in France and
his honor vindicated. Vesuvius erupted,
the Island of Formosa suffered heavy
less by earthquakes, and the city of San
Francisco was wrecked and burned by
a like catastrophe. King Christian of
Denmark, Gen. Joseph Wheeler, Carl
Schurz, Hen rick Ibsen. Russell Sage, and
Mrs. Jefferson Davis were among the in
teresting personages who departed this
life.
The largest personal gift probably ever
made was that of Rockefeller, who in
ISO bestowed the sum of J32.000.000 upon
the General Educational Board. An im
portant compact among nations was that
made by the Central American republics
for an International court of arbitration
and general comity. On October 16 Sec
CARETAKER OF BOTANIC
GARDEN AND HIS FRIENDS
By CHARLOTTE M. CONGER.
The Botanic Garden is a government
Institution, conceived by George Wash'
lngton as a part of the great university
ho had In mind, but lost sight of in this
rushing age of ours, save by those to
whom the fence that guards It Is an eye
sore and to Congress, that makes appro
priations for its maintenance. It was
the Father of his Country who placed
the garden on Its ptescnt site in op
position to David Burns, that thrifty
Scot who had a bit of ground of his own
that ho wanted to sell for the purpose.
It was a stretch of marshy ground when
WashL-;ton fixed upon the rquare at the
foot of the Capitol for the home of the
Botanic Garden, and It nnuinc-d t
swamp until 1S22 when the Botanic So
ciety was formed and planting was begun
on the dryer portions of the square. The
history of the Botanic Society and how
its olnld the Botanic Garden, became a
part of the government and the story of
its nonagenarian custodian. William K
Smith, is as follows:
William Smith was born ninety-two
years ago In the land oN "cakes and ale"
and of Bobble Burns. His birthplace was
Heddlngton. which lies at the southern
base of the Carleton Hills, on the Tyne.
seventeen mires east of Edlnbi'"-!
memorable as the birthplace of John
Knox. Smith's first employer was Lord
Elcho, and from his famous gardens he
went to Kew, where all the horticultur
ists who have made a mark in this coun
try seem to have served an apprentice
ship. Then young Smith came to Amer
ica and shortly after landing here was
appointed superintendent of the Botanic
Garden by Franklin Pierce From that
time- until now he has directed it
Dominated by Two Pasaiona.
Mr. Smith's life and character have
been dominated by two passions lov e for
flowers and love for his countryman,
Bobbie Burns. In the little brick cot
tage covered from roof to base with
vines, Mr. Smith has hundreds of orig
inal editions and manuscripts of Burns'
works. His living-room is lined with
these memorials, and beside them are
PREPARING
THE KING'S
Coronations are not what they used to
be. In olden days the king's real author
ity dated from the moment on which the
crowd first pressed his brow. There was
much force in coronation then, and the
king was very careful of his Town,
which was not as it Is to-day. kept In a
collection until wanted and exhibited at
a fixed price to tourists. It was then
almost as Important as the grea: real
Itself, identified with royal authority.
When Henry VTI's attendants, finding
the crown which had been knocked off
Richard Ill's head In the bushes on Bos
worth Fieldf made haste to clap it, oat'
tercd as it was, on the victor's head.
they knew what they were about,
King George V will be no more a king
when he sits, crowned, in Westminster
Abbey next summer than he was when
the last breath left his father's body. He
succeeded 'to all kingly powers, rights.
Drtvileges. and prerogatives on the in
stant Nevertheless, he Is making the
most careful preparations for what has
become simply the most gorgeous cere
mony to be seen in the British Isles. As
a coronation can come only once in a
king's lifetime, as there is no way tor
him to have it done over again if It is
not satisfactory,. it is the simplest wis
dom to leave nothing to chance which
can be, arranged by precaution. Hence
the London napers bustle with circulars
from the earl, marshal, and findings of
the Court of Claims, which passes on
"the special services, duties, and offices
discharged as if tenure by divers noble
men and gentlemen.
The Karl Marshal.
. What robes peers and peeresses must
wear, and no other, and the only proper
forms of coronets-on all these subjects
the earl marshal has much to say, and
is saying it a column at a time, light
ened by illustrations. Coronations come
ai such Irregular intervals that unless
precedents aret carefully scrutinised
something, essential to the conservation
ot ceremony may be "Ignored,- or aa In
novation may creep in. To'guardagainst
such a shocking possibility a -Committee
of thb privy council has been constituted
by King George as a court MOf claims.
Before' this court all claims to suit and
service must be presented. ,AtCtts first
session various claKus were-, presented.
manly. to comply with "formalltlea. One,
however. ,may- well attract attention.' as
evidencing the care -with which, eves
srear.noDie aee ui niw,ri"ia. nop
priTilasearare respected. .TW TJuka'.of
Nlwssatm filed hta 'claim 'U, provide a
StoraLfer Itha MatfaY right AbmV aavi
. -.. -. . . , . i.. i ,.- -' -;--.vii. t-
wmii-iun wajv wh wrawnpn
retary Taft opened the 'Philippine as
sembly and gave our 10,000.000 colonists a
fine lesson in self-government. During
this year the world lost St. Gaudens.
Caslmir-Perier, Joachim and Grieg, Lord
Kelvin, Oscar IT. "Elijah" Dowie. Rich
ard Mansfield, and Gen. Alger.
The year 1908 witnessed the sovereignty
of the Idea of international arbitration
and found nearly two score of nations
under compact to sumbit their differences
to that peaceful mode of settlement. The
English Hbue of Lords became an ob
ject of popular and alarming attack, with
the prospect of a most radical change in
Its position In government.
The chronology of 1909 is fresh In the
memory of most newspaper readers. The
American battle ship fleet circumnavi
gated the globe, reaching the Suez Canal
on January 3, silently telling the world
as It went from pert to port that the na
tion it represented was able and meant
to maintain peace on earth and good
will to men. On March 23 Theodore
Roosevelt sailed for Africa to do what
no man of his station had ever done be
fore, and to arouse alt Europe when he
came out of the jungle, a year later, by
his thoroughgoing Americanism. On
April IS Jeanne d'Arc was beatified, after
all the years of bitter controversy oer
her rightful position in human history.
On March 31 the United States evacuated
Cuba, showing the world an example of
national generosity never before chron
icled In history.
Civil Liberty In tbe Orient.
On April 6 Commander Peary reached
the north pole. In Turkey and in Persia
civil liberty took giant strides, putting
paintings and engravings of Burns and
all sorts of odds and ends that recall Mr.
Smith's "prophet priest and king," as
he called him In a speech delivered be
fore tho Society of American Florists
years ago
It has been Mr. Smith's privilege in
the nearly seventy years he has been in
Uncle Sam's service to meet most of the
distinguished men "Who have berved in
Congress Fancy knowing the statesmen
of Franklin Pierce's time and then hob
nobbing with the men who dominate the
national affairs of to-day, who might be
Pierce's grandsons. According to Mr.
Smith, William Pitt Fessenden, of Maine,
took more interest in the garden than
any other Representative Senator Fes
senden had a beloved verbena, raised and
presented to him by Mr. Smith, which
he guarded as though It were a tenderly
loved child. He would travel miles in
the fall to pot it, lest the early frosts
might kill it and no duty was so impera
tive that he could not be at his home in
Maine to transplant his verbena.
Another of Mr. Smith's Intimates was
"Sunset" Cox. the wit of the House, who
often sought a refuge other than his
committee room where he could relax
and rest He found this sanctuary In
Mr. Smith's vine-covered cottage, where
bis host talked to him of flowers and
Bobble or any other subject that was
suggested
Accordlng to Mr. Smith, there never
was a more ardent student of flowers
and trees than Charles Sumner, who was
wont to pass hours in the botanic king
dom, discussing horticulture, but that was
Sumner's way. He delved deep In every
subject that interested him. and whtn he
visited Mr. Smith's kingdom talked as
wisely as though tho raising of flowers
and the nursing of trees were the only
things on earth that interested him.
"Thad Steven' Dollar.
Thaddeus Stevens was another vt Mr.
Smith's great friends. When things got
too hot for htm up on the hill he mean
dered down to the bottom of it and sought
seclusion in the shades of the Botanic
Garden. Once Mr. Stevens asked "Thad"
Stevens to plant a tree among the memo
rial trees that had been put in the earth
DETAILS OF
CORONA TION
a careful, thoughtful man, and In these
times when radical doctrines are openly
preached to the common people he is
not going to allow any unlawful or
Irregular provision of gloves to be made
if he can help it Whoever else is slack
In his duty the Duke of Newcastle will
not be, and let Lloyd-George do what
he will, the duke will be at the King's
Fide on Coronation Day, ready with the
glove and prepared to hold up the royal
right arm.
Hereditary Loyalty.
Possibly a more selfish motive mingles
with the duke's hereditary loyalty. Many
estates are held on condition of render
ing some special service to the King stip
ulated in the grant : and In tnese days
when there is a manifest disposition to
humble peers it may bo well to prevent a
title from being clouded that the duke
should be' seen of all men in the great
hall ready to Incase the royal hand in
the glove aforesaid.
If the Duke of Newcastle is bound to
render this service as condition of some
tenure of Iandor place. It is a light obli
gation and one not unpleasant in Itself,
whirsis the requirement which underlies
or did recently- underly the holding of
certain lands of the crown that their
possessor should be always ready to at
tend the King when crossing the sea and
come prepared-with a basin for use in
case of seasickness has a drawback even
to those monomaniacally fond of travel
ing. Fortunately, few of the recent occur
pants of the-British throne have possess
ed the sardonic humor to enforce this ob
ligation, which m th- Middle Ages, in the
cranky ships of the period, was no dead
letter. There are tenures -of romantic or
dramatic expression imposed by Parlia
ment which are -proudly discharged by
the beneficiaries, as when a Marlborough
on the anniversary of Blenheim or a Wel
lington bn Waterloo dayApresents to the
sovereign miniature French standards,
falling which they might forfeit the es
tates they received from the national
bounty. -
f' '
Overlooked In Hotel' Bill.,
FVcmlife. ,
It, was In Italy. Dawson had just re
ceived his hotel bill, duly itemised.
'1 guess It's all right" he said, run
ning his eye over the items. "You don't
seem to have forgotten much,' If any
thing lights, service, the use" of plates
at three meals a day ah. yes, .you have
snitted one -every considerable item."
1 "Ah. said the landlord. Jwlth a pained
tsokfospfete aMe'andan todulgeafglaace
atitha eaaMar. ' ''
-"."m"- lflknM'lw W nut MS
JrcWaJcOn' 'my . dftibshtsxsraa, Jaat
those Oriental lands almost on the road
to pure democracy. In England, Lloyd
George Introduced a budget that every
where was acknowledged as revolution
ary, that meant an absolutely new basis
of government In, every quarter of the
world men began to navigate the air with
a success that almost rivaled the birds.
Halley's comet came back according to
calculation -and gave us a trifle of a
scare.
The necrology of 1909 contains the
names of Coquelln. the actor; Marion
Crawford. Theodore L. Cuyler, Geronimo,
Edward Everett Hale, Prince Ito. of Ja
pan, who was assassinated; Cesare Lom
broso, famous criminologist and psychol
ogist; Donald G. Mitchell, of "Reveries
of a Bachelor," Modjeska, Simon New
comb, Rojestvensky, the vice admiral of
the Russo-Japant.se war, and Swinburne.
The year that ended last night and
closed the first decade was full of good
deeds among the nations. Aviation reach
ed a wonderful degree of success, with
new records making nearly every month.
Wireless telegraphy came to be one of
the most helpful servants man ever dis
covered. Peace and prosperity blessed
the world generally. Andrew Carnegie's
gift the other day of $10,000,000 in interest
bearing bonds climaxes the efforts of the
international peacemaker and is an ear
nest of that glad day when wars shall be
no more. Among powerful personalities
departed, whose places shall know them
no more, were Chief Justice Fuller, Mark
Twain, Bjornson, King Edward, Florence
Nnlghtingale, Mrs. Eddy, and greatest of
all, Tolstoi
by other noted persons. Stevens looked
at the tree, at the spot where it was to
be planted, at his feet and hands, and
then thrust his hand down into his pocket
and pulled up a sliver dollar. "Here," he
said, "you get some nigger to plant that
tree for me." The next day he sent down
a bottlo of whisky with a note saying
that a Scotchman would not be likely to
water his whisky, but that in case Smith
should be so minded he wanted to Inform
him that the water In Tiber Creek would
not improve it
To their credit be it said that there
have been few -Senators or Representa
tives who have not believed, with Emer
son, that "flowers were made for tho
service of the soul," and they have been
generous in advocating the Botanic
Garden and voting' for its needs in Con
gress, but now and then there has ap
peared a man among the people's rep
resentatives, to whom
"A primrose by the river's brim
A yellow primrose was to him;
'Twas that and nothing more."
When Mr. Smith was conducting one
of these Philistines through the garden
one day, the Philistine wanted to know
what was the use of spending so much
money the nation's money on flowers.
When he came to the orchid bed. his
utilitarian spirit rose in protest "What
are the darned things worth, anyhow?"
he asked. Whereupon Mr. Smith said.
'My dear sir, if the Great Architect of
the Universe had been studying economy
when He made you. He would have put
you on four feet and fed you on grass."
which silenced Mr. Philistine.
A Carnegie Episode.
Andrew Carnegie, a countryman ot Mr.
Smith, is his great friend and crony, and
rarely misses an opportunity to visit the
public gardener. "I remember once."
said Mr. Smith, "I put my paw down
on the table and said. 'Here's the paw of
a laboring man and he's not ashamed
of it' Quick as a flash Carnegie put
his hand down on it and said, 'And
here's another.' "
Among the women in public life, Mrs.
Hayes was Mr. Smith's favorite while
sho was in the White House. She was
a constant visitor to the garden and
showed the keenest Interest in whatever
work was going on.
But of all the men, small or great,
who have been Mr. Smith's guests, tho
late Charles A. Dana he insists knew
the most about plants. He was, iu
fact, a trained botanist and could give
every leaf and flower its scientific
name in passing through the hot
houses. Tho first time he visited the
orchid house he examined the plants
with the keenest interest and finally,
stopping before what was at that time
a rare variety, he asked, "Where did
you get your PercillvianaT' "Now
what layman in the world." asks Mr.
Smith in telling the" story, "would
recognize a Perciliviana?"
Visitors to Washington, noting the
square devoted to the Botanic Garden,
which is fenced irb,a high, unsightly
brick wall, ask what is the good of
it Of what use is It In the economy of
the government? If we must have botan
ic gardens why hedge them In, cut them
off from public view so that no one can
enjoy their treasures? Why, Indeed? Mr.
Smith will tell yo j that the garden has a
great practical work in distributing
different species of plants and flowers'
throughout the United States and that
the high fences are required to keep
the wind from his delicate plants.
Absurd Site for Garden.
As a matter of fact, the presence off
tho Botanic Garden at the foot of the
Capitol is absurd. This spot was,
doubtless well chosen -in the first
place, but now, in the center of a great
city, it Is entirely out of place. Sooner
or later this will come to be recognized
and the garden will be moved to tfie
only logical place for it the National
Park.
While the great passion of his life 'a
Burns and Burns' writings, Mr. Smith
has not confined himself to this one
great writer. All his life he has been an
Incessant reader and is versed la the
classics as well as the moderns. Goethe,
next to Burns, is his favorite poet
Drawn to him. In the first place, because
of the great man's interest In botany,
Mr. Smith came .to love his writings for
their rare charm, and Goethe finally
came to occupy a place side by side with
Burns in his affections. Emerson ,1s an
other of his favorites, and in the
speeches which he was in earlier days
so often caned upon to make before hor
ticultural societies he quoted from Emer
son, more -than any other writer. And
Mr, Smith's speeches. were filled, with
quotations. "He could not see, lie" said,
why he should not use the. other "man's
words If the other man put the Idea bet
ter than he (Smith) could put it
It Is a happy oldage Mr. Smith is hav-
Insr amoiM- his beloved, nlanta-tand hla
beloved books. Which of the twa are the
dearer to him he Is unwHtlng tOMOfasn
nut nw time is pretty evenly atvMM.he-
n.AM 1.a M,A Wa .tmM. A IiIm
tlVTCU IIV V AMY WIHB HiWil lUIH.
he need the books, to. the way, puts.
It and-he
i njeya tham both tta ffulL .
.mw , thati Whaa ""passid '.th-mUattoaw-a
lav.tfl wttr:wmm
v
tr.J.l.SW-r'S'r1-
nfrM
v-v skr-f-i?'

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