TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11546, 31 March 1903, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The old joke about German Titled waiters in London beinjj "reDrudges, duoed noblemen" appears to be j based on solid fact*. According to the latest edition of an annual pub- i lication dealing -with the German nobility— and doing so much more critically than British "Peerages" treat of the British aristocracy—thousands of •waiters, coachmen, barmen, miners, and other workmen in the United States are recruited from the ranks of the German nobility. • This statement has given extreme pain to one Herr yon Kordegg, alleged to be an eminent authority on the arietocratio world of the Fatherland. A scrutiny of the records of this world, as revealed in the publication referred to, has convinced him that "practically every blue-olooded family of the German Empire is now represented in the United States, where their scions are for the most part engaged in the humblest employment." Herr yon Nordegg, however, takes a eeneible view of the position- His lament is not due to the fact that German "vons" and "grafa" are earning their living by their own exertions, but that they are doing it in each humble occupations. He does not see why the son of a German baron should not be as well equipped for supporting himself as the son of any professional man or tradesman, and he urgte the aristocracy to provide for their sons such training as will fit them foT professional and commercial occupatione. He describte the course of decay in a typical noble family as follows:—"The grandfather or great-grandfather is still an army officer, and perhaps even in possession of the here- : ditary estates. Times grow wotse and the estates must be sold. The eons, of course, ! have also entered the army. The day comes when they must resign on account of dire financial need, and when they would be glad if the State would supply them

with plaoee as subordinate officials. They then marry ■women far below their own social rank and become the fathers of many children. Among.the latter the old family traditions soon become extinct-. Tlie word 'yon, , which is the sign of nobHity in German nomenclature, is now % troublesome burden, and they take up any calling which -will win them bread- ,. The descent from leisured luxury to toilsome poverty ia really less of a descent than a sudden drop, for there eeems no middle course. Not only are America and other foreign countries full of these reduced noblemen, but they are met with in hundreds in Germany, where "the names of the very oldest nobles which appear in the highest ranks of the army, court, > and officialdom axe encountered among coachmen, and common labourers." Another writer points out that in all Berlin there is only one lawyer of noble birth, though there are plenty of policemen who are entitled to the prefixes of aristocracy.

In the opinion of Admiral Polar Sir Ciemente Markhem, the Explorutioii. most important rtaulta of Pokr exploration ere not those connected with commerce or even with science. lecturing recently at the Royal Institution, the Prwskten-t of tiheßoyaJ Geographical Society pointed out that in addition to extending our knowledge of the globe wo live on, Arctic expeditions had had a effect on the nations by promoting sympathy tund good feeling. In the search for the ill-fated Franklin, for instance, an merchant, M<r GrinHell, generously fitted out, *ud daspatclwd ■tlw> two 1-elief ships, aad two French naval officKa volunteered for service with the search expedition, AHen Young's expedation included an Austniaa and a Dutch officer, and two Italian officers accompanied Nordeaskjoldi. When Sverdrup eet cut on his latest Arctic cruise, in order to promote good feeling, he took on board the Fram natmralists belonging to the three Scandinavian oatiotuftities. "Speaking from personal kcowledge," observed Sir Clements Markham, "I can say positively that such acts of international courtesy and sympathy have had' good and lasting influence, which has bound us in closer union with other nations." Tlw joint explorationsat present being -undertaken in the Antarctic by the English, German, Swedish, and Scottish expeditions, it might be added, constitute another motable example of international cooperation in the interests of mankind. Another feature of Polar exploration to which Admiral Markham draws attention is the opportunity for distinction which it affords to our Niavy men. "In days of old many of the Xavy's best seamen came from, tiie Arctio fleets. Lord Nelson was an Arctic officer, and what l»e learnt in the ice-floes bore fruit «t .Trafalgar. Many, a great nuny, officers have followed in the footsteps of Nelson, from the lessons taught amidst floes aad icebergs, to high naval distinction." As regaav&s the work that at ill remains to Be> done dn Polar exploration, Admiral-if arfcham considers t u -t the main Arctio problem has beea solved, and that there is notihing left tha* would justify the despatch of aaiother large expedition. Io the far South, however, there stM remains a wide field "for high achievement, although the work of the Discovery and the other sliipa now in thh Antarctic regaone may be expected to cover the ground so thoroughly as to render another expedition unnecessary for many yean to oome.