KEEPING COUNT OF THE KINGS.

Auckland Star, Issue 123, 24 May 1919, Page 17

KEEPING COUNT OF THE KINGS.

RAPIDITIES OF MODERN HISTORY.

TROUBLES OF AN EDITOR.

Very few people are familiar with that arreatliterary achievement known as the 'Almanach de Gotha." It is a <buiky volume, published yearly, and containing all sorts of information about kinga, queens, the lesser royalties, the rulers ot :ountries, and the mighty aristocrats ot the world. Americans are not particularly interested in the rulers of Europe A'ith the exception of some half-dozen 3r co that they are likely to run across ivhen they wend their way across the Atlantic, says the San Francisco 'Argonaut." Indeed there are some :ountries in Europe, and much frejuented countries, too, and that pre- • lumably hay» rulers of some sort, but curiously enough no one knows their names. For example, most of us who lave travelled at ail have been to Switlerland, but who knows tho name of the President of the Swiss Republic? Happy ittle Switzerland, with its unknown n-esident. One wonders what he thinks )f his brother potentate in America. -ome to think of it, we know nothing it all about Switzerland except that here is a whole lot of rising ground .here, and hotels and things. Are there iristocrats in Switzerland, or titles, or decorations? Do they have society columns in their newspapers? Now that is just where the "Almanach de Gotha" comes in. It would tell us at a glance all about Switzerland. We could learn in a moment who is the King of Armenia, or the Grand Duke of Mesopotamia, or the Emperor of the Cameroons. It makes a. specialty ot these things. If the wife of a German ligh altitude was thinking of having a saby the "Almanach de Gotha" was on ;he alert. It registered the advent of .hat baby, its age at birth, and its social statue. It revelled in heredities, geneilogies, and precedences. It lived on the nountain peaks of human society, and lothing that was royal or ruling escaped ts eagle vision. It breathed the rareied air of courts and seemed to thrive ipon it. But the "Almanach de Gotha" has >een in trouble. It cannot keep pace with the progress of events. The inconsiderate rapidities of modern history have proved too much for it. No sooner does it ascertain from the latest evening edition the name of the new King of Sanjak of Novi Bazar and get it into type and the proofs read than along comes another dispatch to the effect that his majeaty has retired to a position previously prepared (6ft by 2ft), that a free and sovereign people have availed themselves- of -the principle ot self-determination, and that street fighting is in progress and more acoming. And so it goes. The "Almanach de Gotha" for 1919 went to press in December, 1918, but it was hopelessly obsolete in about four minutes. The kings were simply unabfe to stand still long enough to be counted. And so a preface, hurriedly inserted, contained the doleful statement that "the editors regret that after having prepared three new articles on Finlana, Poland, and the Ukraine they were obliged to cancel all three owing; to the change in the course of events." When these articles were written there were three nice little German princelets already designated for the three nice little thrones. But where are they now? Where is Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, who was to have been King ot Finland? Does anyone know? There is one thing fairly certain, and that is that no one will offer a reward for Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse. Tie "Aimanach de Gotha" gets over the little difficulty of the Hohenzolleins and the Hapsburgs by putting "ex" before their titles. Quite a word, that S&ltuin in parvo, so to speak. But all tne titles of William 11., the ex-titles, are enumerated, fifty-three of them, and Charles of Austria is described as "King o>f Jerusalem, Prince of the Trentino and Lord of Trieste." And we neve knew that there was a King ot Jerusalem. The "Almanach de Gotlm" is perplexed about many things. The heads of the German Government are given as Ebert, Scheidemann, Dittman, Landsberg, and Barth—no Christian names nor titles. The Ukraine was a sore trial to the "Almanach" editor. He describes it as "a constitutional monarchy on a republican basis." It seems as Chough no one could be annoyed by that. The ruler of the Ukraine is known as a "Hetman," which seems to be an unobjectionable title. But here the unlucky editor got into trouble. Events were too speedy for him. He had to put in a footnote at the last moment to the effect that one more unfortunate had trodden the beaten path, and that General Skoropadski had been ousted. His place had been taken by four gentlemen called Winnitschenko, Pitliura, Schwetz, and Andreievaki. Let us hope that these admirable men will not take a prominent part in public affairs, or at least that they will act singly. The combination is too much for us. We are almost afraid that the "Almanach" may have to cease publication, at least as a yearly. Perhaps it might keep abreast with events if it were to be issued as an evening newspaper with hourly editions. Just at present the world •is a. little too rapid for the "Almanach"