Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 February 1910 — MONARCH IN "THE CITY." [ARTICLE]

MONARCH IN "THE CITY."

London’s Lord Mayor Is Only Next to Kina; Edward Himself. Within the limits of the/ city the lord mayor is a little sovereign. His only troops are 1,000 policemen, but no royal troops may enter the city without his permission. He receives the password of the Tower every three months, under the sign-manual of the king. But other things are more precious to him than this, for he is the recognized fountain-head of hospitality In the united kingdom. The city of London Is the only city in the world which royalty officially recognizes. The mayor of London recently received the Emperor of Germany, the President of France and many lesser potentates. The city of Berlin attempted to assume a similar distinction during the recent visit of King Edward to Germany.

Within the city the lord mayor takes precedence of all persons save the king, Frederic C. Howes says in Scribner’s. Even the Prince of Wales falls behind him on official occasions. Prior to the creation of the Thames conservancy board, in 1857, for the care and preservation of the shipping of London, the lord mayor rode to parliament immediately after his election in a splendid mediaeval barge, with tapestried canopies and banks of rowers, like an oriental prince. Since the control of the Thames has been taken away from the city, the barge has never been used. “The lord mayor’s show” is the greatest show of London. Following his election by the members of the guilds, the lord mayor and the aidermen proceed with great ceremony from the Mansion house,, along Fleet street and the Strand, to the courts of justice, where the lord mayor takes the oath of office. The lord mayor is clad in flfteenth-centliry apparel. He Is covered with official jewels. Accompanied with a retinue of sheriffs and aldermen, the show then proceeds to the Guildhall, where the lord mayor’s banquet takes jilace. The cost of the show and the banquet amounts to about $20,000, one-half of which is paid by the lord mayor, and the other half by the sheriff. As compensation for his services, the lord mayor receives an allowance of $50,000 a year.