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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 1914)
6 THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAJTD, OCTOBER 4, 1914. Incomes Titled Personas. Including Ex-Kin Vanish Led1 ' t ' " I -B iW.'f'i MWMaW. yZMlm- royal table F - .- '-Vi ))) 1 TTicm inY&ant. ""S BY LOUIS HYDE. OXDON, Sept. 25. (Special corre spondence.) All because of the war. which spares neither the high nor the lowly, several minor royalties resident in England find themselves within hailing distance of the poor house as a result of having, for the time being, been deprived altogether of their Incomes. Several of them actu ally would be in want but for the fact that King George has come to their assistance. Meanwhile, not only the King and Queen themselves. Dut several of the other most exalted members of the 'roy al circle have been hard hit in a finan cial way, and at least one of them has been placed In a mightily embarrassing and humiliating position. Prince and Princess Christian, for example, have had their entire private income, which came from German gov ernment annuities and money invested in German securities, swept away. The Prince, however, as Chief Ranger at "Windsor, has a salary of $2000 per an num, and as such he also occupies Cum berland Lodge, one of the finest resi dences at Windsor in the King's gift, rent free. To tile office of ranger there are at tached several perquisites such as a free allowance o milk and butter from the King's farm at "Windsor, and some of the servants at Cumberland lodge are also paid their wages by the King. But even taking these and some other minor perquisites into considera tion, it would be absolutely impossible for the Prince to keep up his estab lishment at Cumberland Lodge on a salary of only $2000 per annum, which would not. in point of fact, be sufficient to pay the servants' wages. The Prince before the war had a private income of about $a000 per annum, and the Princess an annuity of $3000 per an num. One of their daughters, the Princess Victoria, had $2000 per an num. The total private income, there fore, of the Prince and Princess Chris tian and the Princess Victoria amount ed to over $10,000 per annum, and this has now absolutely ceased, for it all came from Germany. Prince Christian, like many other minor royalties in England, lived up to the last penny of his income, and when sudden financial pressure came he had no resources of any sort to fall back on. As a matter of fact, during the first week and following the dec laration of war they had to obtain such necessaries as tea, rice, sugar and cof fee at Cumberland Lodge from the storerooms at Windsor Castle. The de claration of war came at the beginning of the month, at a time when the stores of such goods were usually exhausted at Cumberland Lodge and the trades men about Windsor, to many of whom the Prince was in debt, refused to de liver the usual monthly orders with out cash, which the Prince could not pay. An ordinary individual in the Prince's position would "not only have been quickly landed in the bankruptcy court but protiably have been im mediately reduced to the direst pov erty. As it was King George came to his relative's aid. He paid off certain immediate pressing liabilities due by the Prince and arranged with the tradespeople at "Windsor to supply Cumberland Lodge with neces saries in the way of food, the accounts for which will be discharged by the steward at Windsor Castle, and agreed to allow his relative $200 a month un til the war was over. There are 22 servants at Cumberland Iodge and all of them have agreed to remain on in the service of the Prince for th present without wages. Princess Christian is making scent in the still room at Cumberland Lodge and earns about $15 a week by selling it to some of the West End houses and to friends. Her Royal Highness employs four of her maids in the still-room and super vises all the work herself. The scent is sold in bottles at prices ranging from 50 cents to $2.50. Prince and Princess Alexander of Teck, who are notoriously among the most impecunious of royalties in Eng land, have also lost practically all their private means through the war. The Prince, who is, of course. Queen Mary's brother, received an income of about $4000 per annum from interest on mortgages on real estate In North Germany and the Princess has about $2000 per annum from German govern ment annuities. Queen Mary has had to come from time to time to the aid of her brother, but Her Majesty now has to support both him and the Princess and their family altogether. The Prince was appointed some little while back governor-general of Canada, but it is un likely that his royal highness will go to Canada until the war is over. The Prince was placed in a pecul iarly disagreeable position by the loss of his private income. His royal high ness is the chairman of a number of charitable committees, notably of the Middlesex Hospital committee, which was founded by the late Prince Francis of Teck, for the purpose of raising $1,250,000 for the hospital in question. When the Prince of Wales appealed for funds to relieve the distress caused by the war, (the fund is the most gigantic collection of its kind ever inaugurated in England, as may be Imagined from the fact that a week after it had opened over $5,000,000 had been taken), a committee of man- the outbreak of war, the bein? supplied practically altogether with fowls from the farms at Windsor and Balmoral. One way and another the living ex penses at Buckingham Palace have been reduced by nearly 50 per cent. As far as the royal table was concerned Queen Mary had not much difficulty in put ting these economies into practice, but it was a different matter when it came to cutting down the "table" of the ser vants, especially of the upper servants, who fare sumptuously four times a day. The idea of the porridge and fruit breakfast which the Queen suggested Bhould. be the same for the servants as for the royal table was received with no enthusiasm by the servants. The Master of the Household, after having vainly attempted to induce the ser vants to accept the contemplated econ omies in the management of the ser vants hall, had to report to the Queen that it would not be possible to carry them out without getting rid of sev eral of the servants, many of whom have saved quite sufficient to enable them to retire, but this was a thing that especially at such a time the Queen did not .at all desire to do. The chief servants were summoned together and an arrangement was ar rived at with them that they should receive a board allowance and. board themselves as they please. Under this arrangement the cost of the servants' board will probably be reduced by about 25 per cent instead of the 50 per cent contemplated -by the Queen. In general, at the present time, a quiet, plain and unostentatious mode of living is not only rendered neces sary or wise for financial reasons among royalties resident in England, but It is highly expedient for other reasons. It is evidence to the work ing classes among whom distress is now widespread and whose condition is bound to become worse that their deprivations are being shared to some extent, at any rate, by the reigning house. There is so strong a desire at Buckingham Palace to create this im pression that a paragraph was pre pared for circulation to the press set ting out the economies that the royal family were practicing, but this some what panicky notion, which originated among the ladies of the royal house hold, was given up on the advice of Lord Stamfordham. Wars in Near East Cost Defeated States One-Half of Tbelr Population. fall back on, and no one to come to his aid. A number of the men servants employed in his establishment were Austrians, and. have departed to their native country; others went because agement was appointed by the Prince they could not receive their wages, or who nominated Prince Alexander of Teck as its chairman. This apoint ment was, however canceled almost as soon as it had been made for the reason that the Prince had obviously become too much of an object of charity himself as the result of the worse still, because they were unable to set sufficient food. By converting such articles of value as gold and silver ornaments and Jew elry into cash at ridiculously low prices. King Manuel has raised enough money to meet his immediate wants, which slumped 20 to 30 points in the war to act as chairman for a fund and these have to be curtailed to the panic that took place immediately be- for the relief of those who will suffer most ordinary necessities. The royal tore the outbreak of hostilities on the in purse by it. establishment is managing to get along Continent. The Trince and Princess with their with a couple of maid servants assist- Her Majesty, for some short time, family are now occupying a few e(j jn their work by Queen Victoria, was placed In the most embarrassing rooms at St. James' Palace; they have wno helps to prepare the dinner every position, for Bhe could not obtain even but two servants and are living in the day. So is the European Armageddon any ready money, a fairly plentiful plainest and simplest manner. V Of all royalties in England the ex King of Portugal and Queen Victoria, his wife, have suffered most severely in pocket by the war and the royal residence at Twickenham has thrown into utter confusion. whole of the income of the Queen was derived from German sources and, of course, ceased, but that did not amount to very much, not more than a few hundreds a year. But King Manuel, who had invested very largely lately in Russian and reflected in what used to be one of the supply of which Is necessary to keep grandfather. This was all the private most luxurious royal establishments in the establishments' at Marlborough means the Prince had before bis mar London. House and Sandringham soing, and rlage, but he got. of course, an Im Queen Alexandra has also felt the re- there were certain liabilities to. trades mense fortune with his wife, and suits of the war severely. Her Majesty's people which, though there was no neither he nor the Princess has suf- extravagance and carelessness about actual legal obligation on the part of tered any special inconvenience by the and wm continue to receive the inter- forces are divided Into a national army block of English Government and also of some British industrial shares and railway stock. Over two months ago the Kaiser disposed of his holdings in English Government stock, which was assigned in trust for the German Emperor to the Princess Henry of Battenberg, through whom the Kaiser and several other German royalties conduct their financial trans actions in England. The Princess Is, by the way. one of the wealthiest of for eign royalties in London. She, it ap pears, is now the holder of the stock If the United States should call to the colors as many men in proportion to the population as Servia has done it would mean an army of upward of S. 000, 000 men, and this does not take into ac count the fact that the recent wars in the Balkans have made such heavy in roads into the percentage of adult male population. Probably if the United States called as many men to the col ors in proportion to the adult male population it would mean an army of 12.000.000. How terrible the ravages of the wars in the Near East have been is indicated by the census of conquered territory taken by Bulgaria In the early months of the present year. That count showed that where previous to the wars there had been a population of 702,000 there is now a population of only 301,000. Of course, Servia did not suffer that much, but these figures are indicative of the depopulating effect of the great wars it had to face. Military critics everywhere admit that in matters of discipline, leader- stock ship and spirit there Is no army of its size in the world that can make a better showing than the Servian army made during its wars with Turkey and Bulgaria. It is a fighting force that conceded to have every quality of strength that a military machine may possess. Its plan of organization is distinctive. Compulsory service is personal for all able-bodied men and pecuniary for all who are incapable of personal service. These latter must pay an indirect tax of 30 per cent additional. The military Deen her money affairs are matters that The have caused a cood deal of talk In the royal entourage of late. During the past season. Queen Alexandra enter tained in the most elaborate and cost- Wueen Alexandra to pay at once, pay- present financial disturbances. est . on jt until the. end of the war. ment could not be withheld without The Duke of Saxe-Coburg- and Gotha, when she will pass it on to the Kaiser, giving rise to much unpleasant gossip, a first cousin of King George, who King George derives practically all nas tnrown ill his lot witu the Ger- his private income from money in- The Prince ot Wales' trustees, who mans and is fighting for his native vested either in England or the col ly way at Marlborough House, and as have large sums of money awaiting in- country, has lost for the moment a sum onies, and has not, therefore, suffered a result, piled up very considerable vestment, at once offered to advance of .about $9000 which he had banked in any special loss by the war, but it has liabilities; to pay these it became nec essary that she should overdraw her and the landsturm, which forms the last line of defense. Service in the national army tegins at 21 and ends after 45. In the landsturm it begins at 17, ends at 21; begins again at 46 and ends at 50. The national army consists of three Her Majesty enough for her require ments, but Queen Alexandra for sov- London. and payment of which has necessitated many calls on his purse bans, the first ban, including all able- been refused to. the Duke's agent in both in the way of helping his rela- bodied men between 21 and 31. the sec- French securities on the advice of his banking account for a sum of about eral reasons particularly disliked the London. King George made a request tives at home and in the subscriptions ond ban all between 31 and 3S, and the banker in Paris, has, for the moment. been deprived of nearly the whole of a considerable income excepting the in terest on some of his holdings in Brit ish industrial concerns, which have declined about 50 per cent in capital value. The ex-monarch is in far worse circumstances as a matter of fact than he was at the time of the revolution in Port'ugal. He has no resources to $250,000; whilst arrangements were be ing made for this overdraft, the war broke out and Her Majesty's bankers would not, entertain the idea of the loan. idea of placing herself usder any ob ligation to her grandson. Her Majesty ultimately secured the money she wanted from her bankers, for which that the money should be paid to his he has been called upon to give to the third those between 38 and 45. cousin's agent In London, who hap- various charitable funds for the relief The first ban has Its cadre, a school pened to be a member of the royal of distress. The most extraordinary through with every able-bodied man household, but the Duke's bankers de- economies have, therefore, been made of 21 must pass. No one is allowed part of the gold plate at Marlborough clined to part with the cash unless in the management of the royal estab- to change his nationality while belong ing to the first ban, nor can any mem ber thereof receive any outside ap pointment or become even a monk un til he has served his term in the array. Baltimore Sun. ' It also happened that shortly before House has been pledged as security. compelled to do so by the government, lishment. Porridge and fruit form the the war Queen Alexandra, on the rec- Prince Arthur of Connaught has lost who declined to interfere in the mat- regular breakfast now at Buckingham ommendation of one of her financial an Income of about $3500 arising out ter- ' Palace with eggs and bacon once a advisers, had purchased a large amount of money invested in Germany which Before the outbreak of the war the week and fish twice a week. Meat has of CanaH;ji Pacific Railway stocky was settled on him by, his maternal Kaiser was holder of a considerable appeared on the royal table only once a 4