Commonwealth Fm
AMERICA'S VERDICT ON THE VISIT
By ERWIN D. CANHAM
AS the King and Queen approach British shores again their peoples may well be filled with genuine satis- faction at the success of the North American visit. I 'fol- lowed, as a journalist, every step of their way in the United States, from arrival at Niagara Falls to departure. At no point was there a real jarring note from the crowds of Americans who turned out in such numbers to give a friendly welcome and to be immensely impressed by the qualities of the King and Queen. A Congressman or two, a silly socialite, one eccentric or other at various receptions, made themselves foolish in small ways, but these things were altogether trivial. It is safe to conclude that the American people have a higher regard for and understanding of the British institu- tion of royalty than they have ever had before. We com- prehend a little more adequately than we have ever done the functions of the throne, and we congratulate the British nations on the many appealing qualities of these particular wearers of the crown.
To put matters bluntly, it is true to say that Great Britain has not had so much favourable publicity in the United States since the World War. Herr Hitler could take $ro,000,000. He could subsidise a dozen newspapers or publications in this country. He could engage a score of lecturers. He could print and circulate propaganda-material by the millions of copies. And he could not get one-tenth or one-twentieth of the favourable publicity in the United States which was produced during the four days of the Royal visit here. Full descriptions of the Royal visit have gone to the remotest hamlet and farm through the Press, the news-reels, and the radio. We talk about Ministries of Propaganda, departments of " cultural information." Well, the King and Queen have accomplished in unprecedented fashion that sort of task here.
The prime, Indeed, the sole cause of the visit's emphatic success was the personal qualities of the King and Queen. At the time of the abdication crisis, as is well known, there was a great deal of emotional and uninformed criticism of the new Sovereigns, and sympathy with the abdicating King. Today, if you asked the average American his view, I believe he would say that his feelings have changed. Indeed, those who came into contact with the royal party, and probably far wider circles of opinion as well, are now pre- pared to agree with the soundness of the British decision over the abdication question. We were told from Britain at that time, with a certain natural ambiguity, that we didn't comprehend the real issues. After seeing the King and Queen in action, it is accurate to conclude that many Americans, if asked, would reply: " Yes, we understand now. We appreciate, as we never did before, your unexpressed feelings about the King and Queen."
It would be wrong, of course, to assume too much from the happy circumstances of the royal visit. The fact that 3,500,000 New Yorkers turned out to see the visitors drive by does not mean that the Neutrality Law will be repealed by the Senate. But Americans themselves do assume that something fundamental, if not concrete and immediate, has taken place. It was typified most solemnly when the King laid his wreath on the quiet tomb of George Washington. True it is that Edward VII, as Prince of Wales in r86o, planted an English yew beside that tomb ; true, too, that Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales in 1924, planted another English yew there. There has always been a family type of bond between our two countries. There have also been the outward quibbles and bickering which characterise most families. Yet never before have the memories of that long-ago Revolution been so graciously and responsibly covered with flowers. It is the r5oth anniversary of George Washington's inauguration as President, and when George III's great-great-great-grandson paid this visit to the United States he closed a chapter in history.
Of course this is largely sentiment. But on what else is public opinion generally based? That sentimental realist, Mayor La Guardia; of New York, told the King, after they had ridden along the streets of Manhattan, that the royal visit had done more good than the sending of a dozen Ambassadors or the interchange of fifty diplomatic notes.
Well, there is a good deal in it. The unconcealed annoy- ance of the German Press during the visit was proof thal there was a practical side to the matter. Naturally, there were no " talks ". of any kind. But the American people got an entirely new view of royalty. And it was an ideal picture they witnessed. I could give countless illustrations. The King was often grave, often smiling. He had a fine coat of tan, he was always composed and quiet and thoughtful. For instance, he kept watching his appoint- ments and the time, and once, en route from the Capitol to the Navy Yard for a rendezvous with President Roose- velt, he had his escort drive round several squares until cheering told him the President had arrived first. The special assistance he gave the President's mother, or Pre- sident Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University, and dozens of other gracious touches, were all noted.
One does not need to tell English readers that the Queen captivated everybody. Mrs. Roosevelt relates one charm- ing story about her. All the children and young people of the Cabinet families had had opportunity to meet the King and Queen except seven-year-old Diana Hopkins, the elfin little daughter of widowed Harry L. Hopkins, the Secretary of Commerce. Mrs. Roosevelt told the Queen that Diana " imagined her with a crown and sceptre." The Queen replied that perhaps the child would prefer to see her when dressed for dinner, with tiara and jewels, in one of her Victorian story-book dresses. And so it was ar- ranged. Little Diana, by special planning, was presented to the King and Queen before the British Embassy dinner. That sort of thing, printed in most of the newspapers, means so much more than the fatuous irritations of social- climbers.
The Royal couple got what they gave. They gave un- stintingly of cordiality, of smiles, of graciousness through a gruelling schedule. They got precisely the same thing back: unfailing courtesy and friendliness from the men- and-women-and-children-in-the-street. It was a fine sight to see 3,500,000 persons, at a rough estimate, along the way in New York, all behaving like perfect hosts. The police, the Army detachments, really seemed out of place. No Irish groups, no Zionists upset over Palestine policy, made the slightest trouble.
Mayor La Guardia, who indiscreetly told what the King had said to him, related one thought-provoking incident. At a point in their drive, the crowd saw a vacant bit of pave- ment and began to rush into it A motor-cycle policeman swung out of line to drive the crowd back. The King, said Mayor La Guardia, as if speaking to the policeman, said : " Don't worry. The crowd always takes care of Itself." This splendid confidence in the crowd doubtless .txplains much of the success of the visit; it reveals something fundamental about the Royal visitors and about the Crown itself. An unexpressed, sub-conscious appreciation of these fundamental factors has come to the American people as a result of the Royal visit. And that appreciation may have far-reaching practical consequences. No greater contribu- tion to what for once may correctly be called Anglo- American understanding has ever been made.
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