Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY. JUNE 12, 1939 THE ROYAL VISITORS IN AMERICA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 12 June 1939, Page 6

Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY. JUNE 12, 1939 THE ROYAL VISITORS IN AMERICA

I HE people of the British Commonwealth of Nations were fully prepared for the enthusiasm with which the King and Queen were received in Canada, but they have been gratified and somewhat surprised by the extraordinary enthusiasm with which Their Majesties have been received in the United States. This spontaneous expression of regard for the British Monarch an 4 his Consort cannot but affect beneficently the relations of the two great branches of the English-speaking people. There is no reason for surprise at the remarkably warm reception which the Americans are extending to King George and Queen Elizabeth: the Americans are proverbial for their hospitality, and naturally extend the warmest welcome to their august visitors. The breach made between the two nations in the reign of George 111 is forgotten in the reign of George VI. There may be one or two minor problems which are outstanding between the two great nations, but it is man’fest in the main principles of their foreign policies there is nothing which brings them into variance, and now the British Royalties’ visit to the United States has afforded the Americans an opportunity to express their regard for the political head of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and for his much-loved Consort. The scene in the American Congress, where statesmen, Senators, and Members of the House of Representatives paid their respects to the Royal visitors, and the enthusiastic reception of King George and his Queen by the people of New York—where the crowds are estimated to have numbered three millions—together with the hospitality extended to the King and Queen by the President and Mrs Roosevelt, show that there is a nation-wide desire in the United States to welcome and honour Their Majesties, and to express feelings of friendship to the British people throughout the world. The expressions of Mr Hull, U.S. Secretary of State, “that the courtesy, consideration, and hospitality, characteristic of *he Americans were extended to Their Majesties, and that the visit could have none but a “thoroughly beneficial effect,” express the feelings of untold millions of Americans. Thus are the two nations brought more closely together by the action of the King and Queen who, though tired and weary after a strenuous programme, “are still smiling.” It may be too soon to measure accurately the effect that this rapprochement will have upon international politics, but it may be expected that the spontaneous nature of the Americans’ welcome to Their Majesties will make it a comparatively easy matter for the British and American Governments to act along parallel lines with a view to cementing peace among the world’s great Powers.