The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], December 06, 1914, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 40

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Far-Seeing Dutch Statesmen, Fearing the Fate of Belgium, Warn the
Queen to Mind Her Own Business and Make Her .
Mecklenburg-Schwerin Consort
Virtually a Prisoner in
the Royal Palace
E Amsterdam, Nov. 20.
F tlie many people who have suffered
by this war, the one who has been
most deeply humiliated Is Prince
Henry, husband of Queen Wilhelmlna, of
Holland.
Prince Henry’s sufferings have not been
aerolc. He has been kept prcaticaily n
prisoner in his wife's palace, spied on, for
bidden to communicate with his German
friends and generally treated as a sus
picious character by the country of his
adoption.
The war has made the preservation of
Dutch Independence an anxious and burn
ing question in Holland, and the sturdy
Dutch burghers will not allow the Queen's
German husband to stand In the way of
protecting their interests.
The Queen's consort was born a Prince
of Mecklenburg-Schwerln, and his nephew
is the reigning Grand Duke of Mecklen
burg-Schwerin. a sovereign of the German
Empire. Prince Henry was trained as an
officer in the German army and still holds
honorary' rank in it.
The Dutch have long felt that Iheir
powerful and growing neighbor, Germany,
was a danger to them. Holland has the
doubtful advantage of holding the mouth
•f the River Rhine, which llows through
Germany'.
A large element of Dutchmen once
looked to England as their friend, but the
Boer war occurred and dampened their
British enthusiasm.
Then the invasion of Belgium by Ger
many came and gave them a worse gliack.
troubles the German Prince Consort
naturally became an object of popular sus
picion. Dutchmen holding extreme anti
German views accused him of aiding Ger
man plans to subjugnto their country
With considerable ingenuity these people
circulated In Holland large numbers of
photographs showing Prince Henry in hts
German uniform as an officer of the Prus
sian Guards, the one which he usually
wore up to the time he became the bus
band of Queen Wilhelmina.
This, of course, was a pointed reminder
to the Dutch that the Prince had sworn
allegiance to the Kaiser. The photographs
excited considerable popular anger and
were frequently subjected to Indignities.
Other episodes occurred which brought
the Prince into more direct conflict with
the Dutch authorities. A large number of
German officers were among the German
troops who accidentally strayed over tho
Dutch frontier into Holland and were in
terned there.
The Prince paid frequent visits to the
imprisoned officers, had. long and friendly
talks with them, and supplied them with
luxuries. Some of them were old personal
friends of his, and ho naturally felt a
friendly interest in ail his former army
companions.
His conduct was made conspicuous by
the fact that the Dutch Government hail
ordered Dutch officers not to hold any
personal relations with interned foreign
officers of any nationality on account of
the suspicions of Dutch neutrality it might
arouse. The Prince is an admiral in the
Queen Wilhelmina Before Her Marriage to a German Prince.
The Royal Palace at the Hague in Which the Prince Consort Has Been Practically Confined ( /S
as a Prisoner by the Dutch Cabinet and War Minister. I
fliey realized that they had missed the
ame fate by only a few feet and that
some other “necessity of state'' would, in
the future, very likely compel the Germans
to do the same thing to them.
Queen Wilhelminu informed the Cabinet
that the safest cours^would he to preserve
friendliness with their powerful neighbor,
Germany, but the ministers solemnly in
formed her that they had been intrusted
with the duty of caring for the national
interests and would do it in their own
way.
Fighting Germans and Belgians wan
dered over the border into Holland. The
Dutch piobldzeil their entire army of
250,000 men, seized the intruding belliger
ents. and took every step to preserve their
neutrality. It cost them 1,000,000 gulden
or $180,000 a day. and the Dutch hate to
..part with money, hut they will do anything
to preserve their independence.
In the midst of these anxieties and
Dutch navy, and a general in the Dutch
army.
A meeting of the Dutch Cabinet was
held to consider the Prince’s conduct, and
prompt action was decided on. The Prince
was requested to meet the Cabinet at the
War Office. The Prime Minister, Jonklieer
Loudon, informed the Prince that he must
cease his visits to the German officers be
cause they were contrary to the orders is
sued by the Government.
“I shall not permit you to dictate my
personal affairs or to prevent me from
visiting my personal friends,” said the
Prince haughtily.
“Then we shall be obliged to deprive
your highness of your rank in the Dutch
army and navy,” replied the Prime Minister,
coldly.
“You are insulting me,” roared the stout
Prince.
In the course of the discussion the
Prince was made to understand that he
would be forced to obey
the laws of the country
and the orders of the Gov
ernment. The Prime Min
lsier was strongly sup
ported by the minister of the interior, Dr.
Cort van der Linden, and the^Minister
of War Colonel Bosboom.
"We must have Your Highness's prom
ise now that you will not again visit the
quarters of German officers, in order that
1 may give tha necessary instructions to
our officers.” explained Colonel Bosboom.
The Prince reluctantly gave the promise
required, but before long be found that
the Dutch had taken ample precautions to
see that he kept it. He was kept practi
cally a prisoner in the royal palace. As
a general in the army he was required to
report regularly to the War Office and to
remain in a certain place of residence so
that he could always be found in case his
services were needed.
Queen Wilhelmina as She Is To-day, Showing the Heavy Features Which
Seem to Have Caused Her Lack of Popularity in Holland.
When he went out his movements were
carefully shadowed by secret service men.
By all these precautions the Dutch have
reduced the Prince to a state of perfect
neutrality.
Queen Wilhelmina has also been im
pressed with the necessity of respecting
national feeling in these matters. Holland
is very nearly a republic, and it would
take no violent change of sentiment to'
make it entirely one. In former days It
was a republic with the Prince of Orange
as a kind of hereditary president.
The royal family enjoys some prestige
with the Dutch because it is descended
from the great national hero. William of
Orange, but it must be remembered that
How to Care for Birds and Slake Them Comfortable
C TOMATO CAN makes a first
class bird house if fastened to a
tree or the side of a barn. All
tnai is necessary is to cut a square piece
big enough for a door out of one side,
near the end that is to be the top—leav
ing one side of the square uncut, how
ever, so that the piece of tin can be
turned outward at right angles, to make
a shelter above the doorway and keep off
rain. If the can is fitted over the top of
♦ a tall pole it will not need any other bot
tom. WrenB and bluebirds readily occupy
such houses, which ought to be placed in
shady spots, because the bright metal be
comes very hot In the sun.
This is one of a number of ideas Bug
nested by the Government Biological
Survey in a book It is soon to issue about
"Bird Mouses and How to Build Them."
The publication is designed to afford in
struction in architecture for certain
feathered creatures which it 1b deemed
desirable to attract to the Immediate
neighborhood of human dwellings.
The practise of erecting bird houses
with this end in view is becoming rap
idly more popular all over the United
States, and, as one result, it has been
found that many species of birds hitherto
deemed irreclaimably wild can easily be
persuaded to become companions of man.
A few years ago only four species were
commonly regarded as house birds-—the
house wren, the bluebird, the tree swal
low and the martin. Since the move
ment to protect birds and make neigh
bors of them began, however, their na
tures and needs have become better un
derstood, and it is expected that, as the
requisite facilities are afforded, and as
the number of birds hatched in houses
increases, it will be practicable to invite
the companionship of these feathered
friends with increasing success.
A't all seasons birds may be gathered
about human dwellings by offering them
what they need. In Winter they are
often pushed for food, and if this re
quirement be supplied, they will report
daily at the lunch counter. On the other
hand, in Summer they prefer to forage
for themselves, and other means must
be sought to attract them. They appre
ciate fresh water for bathing and drink
ing. A shallow pool, if only a foot across,
becomes on hot days a centre of attrac
tion for all the birds in the neighbor
hood. It may be provided with a pan
set in the ground and containing a few
pebbles.
Birds are desirable not only on account
of their beauty and song, but because of
their usefulness as destroyers of harm
ful insects, especially during the breed
ing season, when they are obliged to
work early and late to obtain sufficient
food for their nestlings. If feathers, bits
of wool or twine be scattered about a
dozen different kinds of birds will make
off with them. If houses be provided in
which they can rear their young com
fortably most of them will be occupied.
Bird houses in the Southern States
have long been made in very simple
fashion out of gourds, a hole on one side
serving for a door. A piece of wire
through the neck affords the requisite
means for attaching the gourd to a tree
branch or elsewhere. A number of
gourds thus prepared and strung on a
pole seem to make a satisfactory apart
ment house for a colony of martins. Used
\singly, they are equally well adapted to
wrens and bluebirds. While not durable
when exposed to weather, they are easily
replaced.
Ordinary wooden boxes, if clean, can
be made into bird houses by merely nail
ing on a cover and cutting out an en
trance hole; hut such makeshifts are
rarely weatherproof and never pleasing
to the eye. Branches containing real
woodpecker holes, when obtainable, are
perhaps the best attraction that can be
offered most house birds in the breeding
season. By carefully fitting such a
branch to a fruit tree or shade tree Its
foreign origin may he so far disguised
as scarcely to be noticed.
Builders of artificial houses generally
go to the woodpecker for designs, and by
varying styles to suit the tastes of dif
ferent kinds of birds are rewarded by
such tenants as chickadees, tufetd tit
mice, white-breasted nuthatches, Caro
lina wrens, violet-green swallows, crest
ed fly-catchers, screech owls, sparrow
hawks and even some of the woodpeck
ers, the master builders themselves.
Red-headed and golden-fronted wood
peckers are willing occupants of artifi
cial houses if properly designed.
Some birds are satisfied with almost
any sort of lodgings. Thus bluebirds
and wrens are content to build In tomato
cans; but chickadees and nuthatches dis
dain such contrivances. Wood is a bet
ter building material than metal. En
trance holes should be counter-sunk from
the outside to exclude rain. Heads of
nails and screws should be set rather
deeply and covered with putty. All
houses should be easy to open for clean
ing. A perch at the entrance is unnec
essary and may even be objectionable,
as It is liable to be used by English spar
rows while they twitter in a way that
is exasperating to the more desirable oc
cupants.
A kind of bird house suitable for use
In trees may be made from a section
of log that has been hollowed by decay.
It should be fitted with a top and bottom.
Another way to make a log house 13 to
split a straight-grained log two feet in
length through the middle, and then to
cut out a cavity with a gouge. The exca
vations in the two halves, of course,
should be made to match exactly. It
Is desirable that the halves be fastened
together with screws, in order that the
house may be taken apart and cleaned,
and the top of it ought to be covered
with tin or zinc to keep out moisture.
Martin houses are built on the apart
ment plan to satisfy the social instinct
which is so marked In birds of this spe
cies, though conspicuously laaking In
most other feathered creature*. They
usually contain not less than ten or
twelve rooms, and for this reason are rel
atively complicated, especially If, as Is
often the case, they are miniatures of
elaborate buildings.
Copyright, 1914, by the Star Company. Great Britain nights Reserved.
Queen Wilhelmina, through marriages of
her ancestors, is mainly German.
The Queen is not to-day extremely popu
lar in Holland, contrary to the impression
that generally prevails in America. Her
early popularity was due to the charming
appearance she made as a child in national
Dutch costume, but this charm has passed
away and she has not. developed sufficient
moral or mental qualities to take Its place.
One cause of the Queen's unpopularity is
undoubtedly her unprepossessing personal
appearance. She lias grown ungracefully
stout, and her heavy, expressionless face
sags down with fat. A queen of this type
makes no appeal to popular sentiment.
The unromantic truth is that Queen Wil
helmina has become an abnormally heavy
eater. As she hardly takes any exercise,
she could not help growing fat. A French
writer, who was privileged to visit the
royal palace, has given some remarkable
details about her habits of feeding. He de
scribes how she consumed on an average
six meals a day.
He pointed out the interesting fact that
the Queen weighed more than the Kings of
Spain and Italy put together.
He said she was particularly fond of
sweetmeats and chocolates, which did much
to increase her stoutness. Here is the
schedule of Her Majesty’s daily meals:
8 A. M.—Coffee with whipped cream;
a dozen pieces of cut bread
and butter.
10 A. M.—Two hot meat or fish pat
ties; cheese.
2 P. M.—Lunch, usually hors d’oeuv
res, fish, roast beef, fowl,
dessert, wine.
4 P. M.—Tea; ham sandwiches.
7 P. M.—Dinner, consisting of eight
courses.
10 P. M.—Biscuits, liqueurs and bed.
In her girlhood the little Queen's mar
riage was a matter of the gravest concern
to the Dutch. She was the lUst represent
ative of the House of Orange living in the
country, and the next heir would be a Ger
man prince. Much opposition was felt to
Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as
a husband for the Queen because he wns
German, hut there seemed ne way of get
ting rid of him.
The national anxiety about the succes
sion was continued when the Queen for
a long time failed to produce an heir to
the throne. Three times she disappointed
the national hopes. At last, in 1909, eight
years after the marriage, she gave birth
to the Princess Juliana, now her only child.
In order to avert the danger of foreign
interference that might result from the
1'! . ■'
One of the Photographs of Que<n
Wilhelmina’s Husband in Hit
German Uniform, Which Have
Been Widely Circulated by .1,
His Enemies in Holland.
lack of a Dutch heir to the throne, a lair
was passed giving the Government power
to name a successor or to declare a re
public.
In tile early years of the Queen’s mar
ried life many reports were circulated
about the Prince’s had behavior. He was
so unpopular that the Dutch believed the
worst that was said about him. It was
even said that he bent the Queen. Accord
ing to the report, Major van Tets, a young
Dutch officer, who defended the Queen,
was killed in a duel with the Prince.
It was certain that the pair got along
very badly together. The Prince was ab
sent for very long periods in Germany.
After that the Prince gained some popu
larity by his bravery iu helping to rescue
the passengers and crew of a ship wrecked
on the coast of Hollnnd, while the Queen
has gradually lost her hold on the popular
affections.
Now the Queen and the Prince are ap
parently reconciled and are sharing their
many troubles together.
The Prince takes a great interest in
wines and liqueurs and personally attends
to the care and management of the vast
wine cellars of the palace. He is said to
have the finest collection of champagnes
and burgundies in Europe. /
This pleasnnt bobby has been of great
value in helping the Prince to forget the
difficulties, sorrows and humiliations of his
present position,
a }