Americana

Last week was an "American week" in London:

The Houghtons. It started by Ambassador and Mrs. Houghton being received in audience by Queen Mary. The U. S. Ambassador also attended the usual Pilgrims' dinner, where he did not make the usual speech. Said he: "Anglo-American friendship is not a tender plant. . . . I sometimes wonder if it were not well that it be spared the scorching winds of after-dinner oratory. . . ."

The rest of his speech, which was short, warned Europe that, unless peace were firmly established and established on good faith and not on force, the people of the U. S. would discontinue to aid the reconstruction of that continent with money.

The speech was taken in London as meaning a distinct warning to Germany and France, in Berlin as a warning to France, in France as a warning to Germany. But France, after thinking things over, became convinced that Mr. Houghton's speech contained a direct threat to her, was accordingly indignant, hotly resented being classed with Germany as "Europe."

Allom. Then, Sir Charles Allom, returned from a visit to the U. S., told a reporter of The Morning Post:

"My visit to the United States made me more than ever conscious of the British working man's loss of output as compared with the American, who despises Bolshevist agitation and works as hard as he can and as well as he knows how. Many of the richest Americans are kept from visiting England by fear of the income tax. . . ."

"Margot" Asquith. Following this, "Margot" Asquith (Lady Oxford and Asquith) published her latest book, Persons and Places, one chapter of which deals with American impressions gathered during her last visit to this country (1922):

"Americans, while the most friendly people in the world, are too much concerned about each other and though not personally are nationally vain. They would rather hear themselves abused than not discussed, which inclines one to imagine that they are suffering from the uneasiness of the nouveau riche . . . in spite of their generosity and friendliness I was aware of an undercurrent of illiberalism and ferocity which amazed me . . . There is perpetual interference with personal liberty that would not be tolerated in England for a week. . . ."

Comment:

Lady Oxford, reviewing her own book in The Daily Graphic: "The second chapter on America was written for publication and has reservations, which is unfortunate. It would have been more interesting had she been able to write with complete freedom."

The Daily Herald:

"She sneers at the religion of the Spaniards, she insults all Italians who are not Fascists, she expresses dislike of almost everything American, which is not merely silly, it is ill-natured and calculated, like a great many of her pages on her short visit to America, to annoy Americans and confirm them in the opinion: 'Britishers never like anything to which they haven't been accustomed all their lives.' "

Whitney. The law lords of the House of Lords, sitting on the supreme appellate court of the realm, gave a hearing to a protest lodged by Harry Payne Whitney, U. S. financier and race horse owner, nonresident, non-British tax payer, against a -L-360,000 (about $1,746,000) levy on his income.